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Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce

This is a Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce chicken dish I made recently.

I am a bit of a fan of the Santa Maria Latin American Kitchen range of sauces and spices. Though I like to make my own sauces, sometimes for speed and ease I use ready made sauces such as the Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce. They are also useful when you don’t want to buy all the ingredients to make a sauce like this one, or only want to make a smaller portion as part of a wider range of dishes. I sometimes use the sauces for inspiration for cooking my own sauces.

The Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce is a tasty sauce and is one of my favourites from the range.

Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce

A creamy sauce made with coconut cream, lime juice & chillies. Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce has its roots in the Zulian region, in the north of Venezuela by the Caribbean Sea, where coconut palms grow. This fresh, tangy, coconut cooking sauce brings you a real taste of the tropics.

I generally cook some chicken with onions and pepper before adding the sauce and heating it through., I added some chopped coriander and served the dish with rice.

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Homemade Gluten Free Pizza

I have made my own gluten free pizza dough, but I was intrigued when I found the Davina Steel Pizza Base Mix in my local branch of Waitrose. I had tried their Focaccia mix and we had enjoyed eating that.

The process of using the mix is rather interesting in that you stir the mix, with yeast and water, into a batter and then “cook” the bases in a dry frying pan. Basically you spread the batter into the frying pan, cook on the hob, before removing. You then add your tomato base, cheese and toppings, before finishing off in a hot oven.

I was really impressed with the end result, these looked and tasted like pizza. I personally think the bases are better than others we have bought, both mixes and ready made bases.

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Flat White at Chatterton’s

I went to the my office in Bristol, the first time since March that I’ve been in the office, actually been anywhere for work apart from my desk in the house.

I did think about catching the train, but in the end drove to Bristol, parked and walked the rest of the way to the office. It was nice and sunny so was rather pleasant. It was an easy drive into Bristol and there was minimal traffic. Very few people around as well, unlike when I have walked to the office before.

I stopped for coffee at Chatterton’s Café, it’s right next door to our office, almost too close when I was working in the office pre-lockdown, as I quite liked a walk before sitting down and doing some work as I enjoyed my coffee.

I was looking forward to sitting down and having a coffee, however it was takeaway only and they were serving through their kitchen window. Nice coffee though.

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Pizza Express in Weston-super-Mare to close

The Weston-super-Mare branch of Pizza Express is to close down, under three years since it opened. It is one of seventy-three restaurants that the chain is closing.

The chain, which at the moment has 454 outlets across the UK, said it had cut a deal to reduce rent costs. It blamed the loss of income doe to Covid-19 and that these restaurants were no longer sustainable.

Though other restaurants opened in July, it was noticeable that Pizza Express didn’t and even with the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme starting on the 1st August, I noticed that many Pizza Express branches weren’t opening until the 13th August or later, losing the opportunity to get some additional sales in with the scheme. It was noticeable in Weston that all the restaurants in Dolphin Square are still closed despite the scheme.

Pizza Express was the third restaurant to open in Dolphin Square in November 2017, after Luda the bingo cafe and Nando’s. We’ve already lost Luda and T-Bone, and not all the spaces have been filled anyhow. Obviously the pandemic isn’t helping with the situation, but Nandos and Prezzo are still closed despite the Eat Out scheme being in operation. Loco Mexicano appears to be moving to the seafront, will they have two branches open in Weston, that appears to be unlikely as they are literally just metres apart!

I do think the Dolphin Square development will struggle in the future and I am not sure there is anything the council can do about it as well. It looks like

As for that branch of Pizza Express in Weston, I think I may have eaten their just twice. Once for a quick lunch (with a special offer from Three) and once for a family meal.

Given the choice we usually opted for the Prezzo as it had more choices on the menu and not just pizza. Having said that we’ve eaten at a fair few Pizza Expres

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Eating out (again)

The last time we went out to eat was in March, a week before the lockdown resulted in every restaurant closing their doors.

It was me eldest’s birthday and as a surprise we took him to Prezzo in Bristol. Most of the restaurants in Weston-super-Mare are still closed and we had some surprise guests for him coming from London, so Bristol was a better choice for us.

We had visited this branch in the old Leadworks before back in November, well before all the Covid-19 stuff and had a really nice meal.

This time, we booked in advance, as it was a Thursday, we couldn’t do the Government Eat Out scheme, but that wasn’t really an issue for us. Though from what we heard the day before with the Government Eat Out scheme they were really busy.

The Covid-19 restrictions meant that they had a one way system in the restaurant and they had reduced quite dramatically the number of tables in the restaurant. I think this was slightly exacerbated by the fact we were a party of eight, so putting all the tables together meant that it looked a little more sparse and barren than “normal”.

We were slightly early, but we were given a warm welcome and shown to our table. You can use an online process for ordering food and drinks, but we were given the option of ordering from the waiting staff, which we chose. We did this partly, as I didn’t want to use the phone to order, but also to ensure that when we did order the gluten free dishes we knew we would need that this would be taken down and recorded accurately. It was also nice to interact with a real person. Ordering by phone reminds of the self service tills you find at supermarkets, they have their place, but sometimes you need to or want to interact with a person. I think there is a time and place for self-service or automation, then there is also a time and place for service by a real person. When I go out to eat, it’s not just the food I am going for, but the whole dining experience, which includes service and atmosphere as well as excellent food.

We ordered some drinks, well coffee for me as we waited for the rest of the table to arrive. As we waited I looked over the menu. Prezzo currently have a limited menu, about 50% I think of the old menu, but there was still quite a bit of choice of starters and mains.

I wanted to start off with the calamari, but they had run out, so I went with the hummus instead.

This was rather tasty and there was a nice portion of fresh flatbread to go with it. It was a nice start to the meal.

For my main course I wasn’t sure if I wanted a pizza or something else. In the end I went with a large Mushroom, Spinach and Olives Pizza that came topped with rocket leaves.

Mushroom, Spinach and Olives Pizza

This was a really tasty pizza and I enjoyed eating it. 

It was nice not to be rushed, and we spent quite a bit of time in the restaurant eating and talking. We finished off the meal with some more coffee.

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Great views and great coffee

Clifton Suspension Bridge

Meeting up with family near to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, I really did fancy a coffee.

Up on the hill overlooking the bridge is the Clifton Observatory. A former mill, built in 1766, was damaged by fire just eleven years later and lay derelict for over fifty years until, an artist by the name of William West rented it as a studio. West installed telescopes and a camera obscura, which were used by artists of the Bristol School to draw the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods on the opposite side.

Clifton Observatory

I’ve not been to the cafe in the Clifton Observatory before, but it looked like table service was off limits, due to Coivd-19, but they were doing a takeaway service.

They served a range of coffees, which was nice, so I went with my usual choice of a flat white.

This was served with a smile and a contactless payment later I was handed my coffee. The flavour of the coffee was excellent and the milk velvety and smooth as it should be. Really excellent coffee.

Great friendly service and the coffee was delicious.

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French Tassimo

At the end of July we went on an Eurocamp holiday in France. Though I wanted to take my Tassimo coffee machine, I was overruled so we took a cafetière that worked well.

However when visiting French supermarkets, as well as the campsite shop I was intrigued to see the different Tassimo offerings available.

Over the last year or so, Tassimo in the UK only appears to offer either pods for espresso or really large mugs of coffee.

So it was interesting to see what you could get in France. They had a much wider range of espresso coffees, but they also had a range of longer coffees, or café long.

In the end I did buy two packs of café long pods, Classique…

…and Intense.

I couldn’t try them whilst on holiday, but had one when I got home and really enjoyed it.

I thought I might be able to order these (and other) pods from the Tassimo French website. 

Going through the site though, it looks like they will only deliver to French addresses… which is a pity.

So I will need to ration my consumption of these café long pods, though they won’t last nearly long enough until I get back to France.

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Self-catering at La Croix Du Vieux Pont

One of the reasons I blog, it’s more for me than other people. It’s a useful reminder for me about what I have eaten, what I have cooked, and as in this post challenges when cooking on holiday.

At the end of July we went on an Eurocamp holiday in France. Having visited Brittany last year and stayed at a Eurocamp site I had anticipated blogging about my  self-catering experience and what worked and what didn’t, but for some reason never got around to it. I wish I had as it would have made this trip a little easier. 

I did post my challenges with self-catering when we went to Calpe in 2016 and 2017.

This year we went with another Eurocamp to La Croix Du Vieux Pont in Picardy or Hauts-de-France in Northern France. So I have decided to quickly write up some of those experiences in preparing for self-catering.

My previous experience of self-catering apartments was from the Greek Ionian islands and Cyprus. This was before children, so it was me and my other half. We rarely used the self-catering facilities for cooking, as we would eat out a bit, but it was useful to have a hob, a fridge and a few utensils and crockery. The “kitchen” in the apartments I experience were very minimal and not really sufficient for anything more than snacks and hot drinks. Also the local shopping environment wasn’t exactly great for self-catering, with very small supermarkets.

When we booked our Calpe holiday in 2016, due to dietary requirements (gluten free) we wanted to ensure we had not only a self-catering kitchen, but a decent enough kitchen for actual real cooking. We found the kitchens in caravans in the UK great for self-catering, if a little cramped. However I would usually take a range of ingredients and kitchen utensils to make my life easier when cooking. So I did something similar when we went to France this year.

At La Croix Du Vieux Pont, we had a three bedroom caravan which came with a well-equipped kitchen including a proper gas hob, an oven and an outside gas barbecue as well.

This was in many ways better than the equipment I have had at UK holiday parks, for example there was a washing up bowl and a draining rack! This made clearing up after a meal so much easier than just having the sink and draining board.

I took the following items with me to make cooking and catering easier.

Chopping board – for some reason the only chopping board I find in caravans are glass ones! So I always take a plastic chopping board with me.

Knives – I have found the knives on holiday either blunt or broken, so I have a large kitchen knife and a bread knife that I use on self-catering holidays.

I took a sieve with me, but in the end didn’t use it, as the caravan was equipped with a colander.

I took a spare baking tray, as usually there is only one in the caravans I have been in, in addition I took a pair of tongs which is useful for turning items on the grill. There was a long-handled barbecue tongs were provided which worked well for the outdoor barbecue.

Though I wanted to take my Tassimo coffee machine, I was overruled so we took a cafetière that worked well.

I took a potato peeler and I also took a pair of scissors, but there was one in the caravan.

The other things I take with me our sandwich bags, cling film and foil. This is easier to store uneaten food but also for packed lunches.

To help with washing up and cleaning, I took some steel scourers, washing up sponges, j cloths, washing up liquid and tea towels. In addition I take spare bin  liners as well.

I also took the following ingredients, though I know I could get some of these in French supermarkets, I wanted to avoid spending extra money on basics that I already had in the kitchen.

      • Pasta
      • Rice
      • Tomato pasta sauce
      • Pesto
      • Sunflower oil
      • Olive oil
      • Salt
      • Pepper
      • Parmesan
      • Various seasonings
      • Onions
      • Pepper
      • Butter

As two of our household are gluten free I also took a range of gluten free items as well.

I pack the fresh food in a cool box, which if we get a small fridge I use during the week as supplementary fresh food storage. The fridge though we got was pretty big and I didn’t use the cool box.

Overall I don’t think I missed anything, apart from some mustard and white wine vinegar to make a French dressing, so in the end we bought some dressing from the supermarket.

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Chipolatas on the Barbecue

One of the nice things I have enjoyed when self-catering at a Eurocamp in France is the gas barbecue that is outside every caravan. Something I have never experienced in the UK (maybe it rains too much).

One of the advantages of the barbecue is that you can avoid using the oven or grill in the caravan which can heat up the living area considerably, which when it is hot anyhow, makes it very uncomfortable.

On the first evening of our recent holiday to France, we popped to the local campsite shop for some quick extra supplies (we had brought some basics with us, as well as enough food for the first meal). However as we had time we thought we might get some French food for the evening meal.

I picked up a pack of Chipolatas sausages, which I grilled on the barbecue.

These were really nice, meaty, tasty and delicious. We had these quite a few times over the holiday.

Over the week, as well as Chipolatas I also did Merguez sausages, lemon chicken and some nice peppered rump steaks.

Most of the time we had these with salad, though I did cook Pommes Rissolées a couple of times, and also made a (gluten free) pasta salad as well.

The only challenge was on the final evening, though I regularly cleaned the griddle part of the barbecue, the bottom part did have too much grease on it, so we had some flames which resulted in certain pieces of food getting somewhat charred! When we go again I will clean this part of the barbecue as well.

Part of the (new) housekeeping agreement with Eurocamp, as well as emptying the fridge and doing the washing up, you also had to clean the barbecue.

Knowing this in advance, I did bring some metal scouring pads and cloths for this purpose. It came up okay, but having some proper cleaning spray or similar would have been useful. However I got there in the end.

I really enjoyed cooking on the barbecue during the week, it was quick to light up and made catering much quicker and easier.

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Gluten Free Colourful Victoria Sponge

Gluten Free Colourful Victoria Sponge

This is a tasty but colourful gluten free colourful Victoria sponge cake.

The recipe is based on the weight of two eggs

Ingredients

For each layer of the cake

      • 3 standard eggs
      • Take the same weight of two of the eggs of soft butter
      • Take the same weight of two of the eggs in caster sugar
      • Take the same weight of two of the eggs in self-raising gluten-free flour
      • Vanilla essence
      • Food colouring (different colour for each layer)

For the filling

      • Strawberry jam
      • Whipped cream

Method

Cream the sugar and butter until you have a smooth consistency. I try and leave the butter out so that it is really soft.

Beat the eggs, add some vanilla essence. I then added athe food colouring to brighten the cake mixture.

Stir the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar with some of the flour, until the mixture is smooth and consistent.

Then fold in the remaining flour until it is combined with the rest of the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a greased cake tin.

Repeat the process for the second (and if required third layer).

The bake the cake in a 180º normal oven or 160º fan oven for 25-30 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool and then construct the cake, spreading jam and then cream.

Finally dust the cake with icing sugar.