Mushroom Monday

Home lateish today, so mixed mushrooms with a bit of garlic and eggs were definitely the order of the day...




I didn't used to like mushrooms when I was little.
Now I can't remember why.
Is strange how that happens...

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Back in the Swing

I realise that I've been terrible at keeping you all updated on my various eatings.
I've been weirdly busy.
I'm having fun - just busy - that's all.
So here's a wee update.
Today, on my way home, I stopped in at the lovely Ginger Pig and my eye was caught by some glistening rump steaks.
Sometimes I forget, but rump is definitely my favourite steak - such a good flavour!
So here it is - with cabbage, cauliflower and roasted squash.
And an amazing Super Tuscan that represents one of the tail end of our wedding present wines (there are still a few left - just not as many as there used to be).

I've also recently eaten some delicious mackerel,

Something a bit like larb,

Some cabbage and Stilton,

And probably the last of the eggsparagus (with Stilton butter). And Ginger Pig bread and butter pickle, which, I think, is my current favourite thing,

And some work-muffins (blueberry and strawberry & white chocolate).

I also had an amazing joint birthday party (there are a lot of fabulous July babies amongst my friends), which we made lots of unphotographed food for.
Though there are some recycled leftovers here (apologies for the weird focus - I'm still playing with my new birthday camera lens).

And I got all these (and way more) totally unexpected PRESENTS!
Thanks dudes - you know who you are - I love you all :)

And here is a bonus cat to finish.
We actually have TWO nice cats, but the other is a trifle camera shy, so is rarely represented on blog/twitter/instagram - it's not that we don't love her just as much - it's more just that she requires in-the-flesh appreciation...

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Dead Elvis

I was a bit doubtful about condensed milk ice creams when I heard this month's BSFIC theme - not that condensed milk isn't delicious, you understand, it's more that it was hard to believe that it would make an ice cream that would be as good as you get from custard.

So I did some experimenting.
I whisked a tin of condensed milk with (I think) 600ml of double cream and a bit of vanilla extract.
Despite my concerns, it thickened up pretty well, so I stirred in some chocolate chippy bits, chucked it all into a (lined) loaf tin, stuck it into the freezer and forgot about it till the next day.

When I took it out of the freezer, it was a (apparently tragically unphotographed and now gone) revelation - smooth, creamy and delicious.
Unbelievable that an ice cream which took about 6 minutes of preparation and had no stirring or churning AT ALL could be so creamy, fluffy and delicious.
I was a total convert. SO easy.
I may never make real ice cream again!

So anyway, experiments all done and dusted, I set about thinking of awesome things that I could make with my new found lazy-icecream technique and, as I thought, one thing kept springing into my mind.

A few months ago, husband and I went and sat on a roof near London Fields and ate buckets of seafood at the God Save the Clam popup.
The buckets were good (and where else do you get to hit your food with a mallet before eating it?) and the cocktails were strong, but the thing that I really remember was the pudding - the Fat Elvis sundae - peanut butter ice cream, bacon butterscotch, bacon bits and croutons.
It was good. Very good indeed, so I decided to make my own version.

I made the same condensed milk ice cream as above - whisking a tin of condensed milk with 600ml cream, but this time, I omitted the vanilla and mixed in probably half a jar of peanut butter (I used wholemeal scrunchy, but obviously smooth or non wholemeal would also be fine) and a bit of honey for extra Elvosity.
While it was in the freezer, I made my other bits.
I crisped up some streaky bacon in the George and made a caramel sauce by caramelising sugar in a pan and then adding butter (I'd normally use cream, but I'd already used all that up in the ice cream -
butter gives a good flavour, but I think it's more difficult to work with - it constantly wants to separate from the caramel) and a wee pinch of salt flakes (much as I hate to jump on bandwagons, I do rather love my caramel salty).
I chopped a couple of bananas and added them to the hot caramel sauce. This makes for a surprisingly good flavour and does a nice thing to the bananas where some of them smoosh a bit into the sauce and some of them sort of solidify a bit, which is a lot yummier than it sounds and adds a kind of Elvissy peanut butter and banana sandwich element to proceedings.
I left all this overnight to cool/freeze etc and the next day, assembled my pudding, adding in some slightly smashed salted peanuts to add a bit of crunch (in place of the croutons, which, it turned out, I couldn't be bothered to make).

So here it is - the Dead Elvis.
(Disclaimer - this is NOT a healthy option).

This is my entry for the July Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream challenge.

A Few Things

A few things that have passed my lips in the last few days...

Asparagus, eggs and gherkins. And Ginger Pig bread and butter pickle.
The pickle is my new favourite. When I'm nearing the bottom of the jar, I shall definitely be attempting to recreate this myself...




Salmon with stirfried soyey vegetables.




Lamb's liver, samphire and delicious fish saucy aubergine.
Weird combo, but all yummy.




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Picnic

Yesterday, we picnicked in the sunshine in my sister's garden.
Not on the beach as originally planned, but still all good.
I love picnics, and, predictably, over catered this one.

And a slightly different angle on proceedings...

And the piece de resistance... Birthday cheeeeese :)

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Grass

Or double grass...

Asparagus and samphire. With messy plaice fillets.




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A Celebration

Of the fact that my iPhone blog app seems miraculously to be working again...
Asparagus with chorizo and tomato sauce.

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Spoiled Sunday

Today I made a sourdough focaccia.

Here it is again, for luck...

And husband made tea - lovely Ginger Pig rump steak, steamed veggies and some bonus oven chips.
Spoiled Sunday :-)

Summer

Yesterday I ate this - chorizoey squid and prawns with samphire.
I love samphire - it really is one of the tastes of the summer. So buttery and delicious, despite being entirely unbuttered.
I slightly resent paying for it - like blackberries, it's one of those things that really ought to be free. However, until such a time as I am in my rightful place on the salt marshes by the river, I guess I shall have to suck it up.

Today, I made some bakewell style cupcakes, or, as I like to think of them, fairy cakes.

And then I ate some chicken livers and asparagus.
Such a happy month, where samphire, asparagus, strawberries and raspberries intersect - I love it.

Hello....

Hello.

I seem to be a terrible blogger at the moment - not totally sure why - I guess I'm jut a bit out of the habit.

So anyway, to ease myself back in, here are some things for you.

A few weeks ago we went to Miss Jordi and Chuchibum's marvellous Friday Night Dinners supper club (on a Saturday, obviously) and ate an obscene amount.

Gorgeous home made challah and rye.

Pastrami cured salmon and beetroot.

Sort of sabich.

Everything again, all smashed up together with the addition of chopped liver, ready for me to stuff into my face.

Our beverage of choice.

Chicken soup (for our souls).

Schnitzel (husband ate a number of these that it is too embarrassing to tell you).

And again with tsimmes, Israeli salad and potato kugel.

Rugelach. Oh my, the rugelach.

There were other, non pictured, things as well. How all Jewish people (if they do indeed eat this stuff every week) aren't enormously fat, I do not know. 

I guess they're happy though. This is very happy food.

Probably the best supper club in the World - you must all go as soon as they're back from their summer break.

I have also eaten one of the much blogged Ginger Pig cockerels,

Made far too much bread (one example here),

Eaten an actually obscene amount of cake (and made some) at my first Band of Bakers event, which they kindly let me attend, even though I am not *technically* (or at all, really) from the South East,

Eaten some asparagus and eggs with CHEESE (so decadent),

Been to my first ever crawfish party at Bea's of Bloomsbury - where we were the official eating champions (and maybe a teeny bit drunk),

Finished off asparagus, samphire, cheeses and the last of the cockerel stock in this unholy (but luckily tasty) concoction,

Bake swapped and been baked swapped - lovely @Workinglonmummy sent me these in exchange for some (far less glamorous) jam tarts,

(here they are again, up close - mmmmmm....)

Been the v happy recipient of a penguin/chocolate care package from the wonderful @KaveyF,

Started to panic about asparagus being over imminently, so eaten even MORE eggsparagus,

And finally, bringing us right up to the moment, made some deeeeelicious sticky chicken wings (and drumsticks too).

That's all for now - sleep tight everyone.