Thug Kitchen’s Peach Pancakes

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I’ve been enjoying Thug Kitchen a lot lately and decided to try out their peach pancakes over the weekend – shown here topped with banana,  strawberries and agave.

I have to say, my first reaction was disappointment: I made the batter the night before and the pancakes came out wet and stodgy despite extensive cooking.  So, imagine my surprise when I decided to use up the leftover batter midweek…the result was fluffy and delicious and exactly what I’d been expecting with my first try.

The difference?  I think in the meantime the heavy wholemeal flour had time to break down a bit…so next time round I’m going to experiment with different flours/flour mixes.

Fortunately my Goth is a huge fan of breakfast pancakes.

Fishcake bento

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I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather over the past couple of days, so I thought a protein-packed bento would help get me back on my feet. Sushi rice, asparagus,  spicy scrambled egg, sea bass fish cake, cucumber salad and two types of stir fried veg should do the trick 🙂 image

  • I made four fishcakes using 200g mashed potato, one sea bass fillet poached in milk and some salt and pepper. Normally I’d add a few chilli flakes, but my Goth finds spicy food challenging. Just flake the fish, stir it into the mash and  form into four small patties. I patted them with breadcrumbs and grilled until golden.
  • For the cabbage stir fry, I shredded some Chinese greens and fried them in sesame oil until soft at which point I added a splash of soy sauce and generous pinch of chilli flakes.
  • For the yellow pepper and red onion stir fry, I just soften the veggies in a small amount of oil.
  • The cucumber salad is cucumber marinated in rice vinegar with a sprinkling of ume-shisho powder
  • For the scrambled egg, I scrambled and egg with a sprinkling of the nearest spice mix in the kitchen, which I believe was harissa-based.

 

Refreshing Asian-style soup

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Is it too warm for soup at this time of year? A lot of the time I’m very much inclined to think so, unless we’re talking about gazpacho or similar. But thinking about my warm weather habits when eating out, it occurred to me that Asian-style soups – with their zingy combination of ginger, herbs and limes – are also great when the thermometer’s up. I have two variations on this theme, both of which make a lovely, light, refreshing late supper when it’s warm.

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Basic Asian-style soup

Gently heat 250ml chicken or vegetable stock per person and add the following, making sure you leave any chicken/delicate leaves until the end:

  • 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, cut in large pieces
  • 1 carrot, in thin slices or ribbons
  • Cabbage, pak choi or Chinese greens, shredded
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 large handful bean sprouts
  • Shredded cooked chicken (and/or tofu)

For Japanese style:

Towards the end of the cooking process, add one tablespoon of soy sauce and one tablespoon of mirin or rice vinegar. Pour the hot soup onto a bowl of cooked soba noodles and top with chopped spring onion and sliced radishes.

For Thai style:

Add lemongrass when you begin to heat the stock, and 100ml coconut milk when you add the chicken. Top with coriander and sliced chillies. You can pour the soup on top of glass noodles, if you like

Quicknic in the park

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When it’s sunny, I hate to think I can’t enjoy being outdoors until the weekend…but of course there’s that little matter of going to the office every day and putting in the requisite eight hours which can leave little time for getting out and about. However,  one of the beautiful things about living in London is that home is never too far from a park. So, when the weather is good I’ve been preparing simple picnics I can stash in the fridge and take to the park after work.

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Aubergine and chickpea salad, naan bread and fresh cherries

I made the aubergine and chickpea salad the night before by combining grilled aubergine and courgette with a tin of chickpeas, chopped red onion, fresh coriander and a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and paprika. Leaving it in the fridge overnight allowed the flavours to deepen and wheb I got home all I had to do was spend a couple of minutes heating the naan before heading out to enjoy the sun.

Venison and duck egg ‘scotch’ eggs fiesta Friday

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I’ve always wanted to try venison scotch eggs and these look fantastic!

MisteR Fitz's avatarCooking with Mr Fitz

Whilst feeling in the ‘richer’ end of eating. I decided to use up the duck eggs by making venison scotch eggs..

Venison?

Yeah had some left over Mr Fitz venison sausage mix in the freezer ..

Perfect for this wonderful snack..

Any meat works well really . The scotch egg is one if those fantastic inventions. This one for sure would go down very well on a hunting trip in the hills and hollows.. As well as just for regular snacking!

To be fair though they are pretty rich in not only taste yet cashola .. So mind your wallet as well as waistline !

Making them is easier than you think.. Didn’t quite get the duck eggs right as was out of ice to stop them cooking ..

Had to just run the cold water tap over them, not ideal really, ho-hum..

So once eggs are boiled and cooled…

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Julep lamb chops

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I love gin cocktails and the mint julep is one of my favourites because of it’s fresh, summery taste. I was inspired to create this recipe while drinking a gin and tonic while I prepared some lamb for the barbecue. It adds an extra twist to the traditional minted lamb recipes and the brown sugar adds a divine crunch.

  • 8 lamb chops
  • 50ml gin
  • large handful mint
  • 3 spring onions
  • 1 medium onion (white, red or brown according to your preference – shallots might also be nice)
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Juice and zest of two limes
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • Pepper
  • Salt

With a food processor or hand blender, combine all the marinade ingredients into a paste, then slather over the lamb. I left mine to marinate in the fridge for three hours, but you can prepare this the night before or sooner if you have less time or want a less intense flavour. When you’re ready, heat your grill, barbecue or grill pan to a high heat if you want rare lamb with a crispy skin, or medium heat for medium or well done. Tastes great with potato salad!