Market Living

Borough Market,

8 Southwark Street,

London,

SE1 1TL

Oh. Dear. God! This is the most frustratingly brilliant places I've ever been to in a long long time. The only way to describe it is as an artist haven, a foodies visual orgasm and my nirvana.

The whole premises consists of a labyrinth of stalls and vendors selling luxury food at a price that immediately forces you to suck air through your teeth. But these sellers are crafty, they've learnt that we (meaning 'I') can be made do any bidding my the meager use of 'free samples'. It does also help that the samples happen to be absolutely amazing, after all who'd have thought that a free sample of an award winning granola would have me raving about it hours later?!

My best advice is to arrive early, this way you can see all the fresh game before it's snatched up and the more interesting of the homegrown produce bought or mauled by curious tourists.

Eat lunch in and perhaps sample an ostrich steak burger. Don't pull that horrified look at me! Ostrich meat is actually one of the healthiest meats in the world, low in fat, high in tastes and apparently very easy to produce. I'm always surprised that it isn't as highly advertised as it should be, this is also coming from a beef farmers daughter! I know my meat.

If you're not quite after food then have a look at all the juice stalls. One in particular, it's name has completely left my head (typical), mainly specializes in warmed spiced juice, perfect for the early days of spring that are still holding onto that bitter winter bite. I happily recommend the 'Warm Spiced Pear", a drink designed to heavily mess with your senses of seasonal time, the pear suggesting a nice summer drink whilst the spices bring forward festive spirits. Perfect for Spring I think.

I can't really say much more about the market except that I should be there again soon to try and see more but I doubt that I'll ever see it all in one day.

Ain't Nothing But

Ain't Nothing But,

20 Kingly Street,

Soho,

London,

W1B 5PZ

Oh what I can I say about this place....well I can say a lot but they're all good trust me.

Ain't Nothing But, for me, is a magical place that fuses two things that I like to see in a bar, good live music and the nicer aspects of a dirty little bar. Ain't Nothing But does this and more. I'm an avid fan of general indie music and what not so to my surprise I found myself one night in a pure blues bar in Soho. Now in my mind blues is all meloncholly styled music , that's half true, SOME of it is but that night none of it really was.

When I went to the bar, it was a Monday and my friend and I believed that it was going to be a quiet drink out with some gentle blues music. Oh how mistaken we were! Upon entering we were faced with a full little bar with friendly faces from various proffesions and industries all swarming together due to a shared love of blues music, or in my case music. The atmosphere is one that I've never found in many clubs or event nights (with the exceptiong of WAR in Dublin.) It can only be described as hominess in a dirty old mans bar. I know that doesn't sound so great but unless you've been to such a place you will always be ignorant of the gentle atmoshpere.

Although the atmoshpere is altered mildly due to the music. Upbeat, loud, live, lusty music, what more could I ask for?! Well drinks are always a good start.

For London the prices for drinks are reasonable, for an Irish person living on the London outskirts, the prices are brilliant compared to Ireland. Ask them and they will do their best to provide whatever concotion you crave. A good example is my present vice of tequila with various other drinks with a twist of lime.

I can't really say much more about this place apart from that I highly recomend it.

Infamous Last Words Indeed!

I think that I've gone beyond temping fate to fully inviting it in and asking it whether it preferred the red wine or the white wine as I serve up the remainders of my sanity with a side dish of my patience.

Five days of disastrous travel later and I'm finally heading in the general direction of Ireland with the strategic use of trains, boats and Wales. When in doubt go to Wales!

So unfortunately I've had to go back on my word, as I had promised to give handy little recipes for x-mas along with various locations around Dublin and other areas that are suitable to meet up with old friends.

However I can give you two little reviews on two hotels that I had to do an emergency stay at hotels who's clientele are on different ends of the "social ladder." The Hilton Gatwick and Premier Inn Euston. When I arrive back in Ireland and have my sanity to some degree back then I shall reveal the dark truth.....It's not that ominous but still quite surprising.

Happy Christmas All x

Christmas Slowdown...I think not!!

Let it Snow

Let it Snow

Let it Snow!

Ah infamous last words or what?! Sorry about the recent lack of posting but I do have genuine excuse, I'd personally like to blame a fractured foot, which's made going round to places very difficult and secondly I'd also like to blame the recent injury of badly strained neck...well it's on the lines of strained but either way I'm only just getting movement back in my neck Joy!

Anyway, pity plea over. 'Tis the season that foodies like me love. Christmas! The one time in the year where gorging yourself to the extent that you put the ancient Romans and their exquisite feasts to shame. After all, you need that extra layer of fat for winter warmth...or something along those lines.

For Me Christmas is a time when all the classic foods come out. Often they're tweaked by celebrity chefs who sometimes forget that the classics are often best. So over the next few days, I will hopefully be giving you some of my favorite recipes for Christmas dinner, naturally for those of you who haven't planned it yet. Shame on you!! I'll also be giving you my version of the 12 pubs of Christmas which is more or less the 12 places that I've found to be brilliant to meet up with friends for nibbles or a drink or 4.

Pygmalion Cafe

Powerscourt Townhouse Centre

Dublin 2

+353 1 6334479

Oh Murphy and his Laws are at work here, bastard. I have spent a good two years......ok I lie when I say two years I mean six months, trying to find a cafe that can be my local haunt that fulfills my requirements.

Requirements:

1. No tourists- Not to seem anti-tourist in present economic climate but it is a little frustrating when you're attempting to rush through Dublin and there's somebody walking very very slowly in front of you because the want to take a picture of a "typical Irish pavement/sidewalk/footpath/walking-space/ Zara's running track". HOWEVER ,every time I have been here I have only ever seen one tourist who happened to be rather lovely and did not interrupt my coffee drinking. Bliss.

2.Polite staff- I'm pretty sure that the head waiter and manager are beginning to recognise me but not with disgust. Always with a smile, a little joke and me swooning ever so slightly. Oh did I not mention that they're rather good looking?

3. Good food- Now I wouldn't class myself as an expert in chips but I'd think that I'm pretty close. Now the chips here.......WOW! I reverted back to growling and my partner in crime when he tried to steal one. This has only ever happened once and that was with the last of a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery NY. So they're good.

4.Decent drinks- Homemade peach ice-tea, also within walking distance of the "Pygmailion Bar", 'Nuff said I think.

5.Comforting decor- The decor is in a word, homey. Beaten leather couches, padded cream seats and sturdy wooden tables with mismatched cushions strewn around the cafe. Don't forget to look up at the big feathery/fluffy chandelier dangling above.

6. Entertainment- Oh there's plenty of it here without being to obnoxious. Situated in the middle of the centre on the ground floor, it's prime location for sitting and watching the world go by. The music isn't loud and doesn't drown out conversation. So far I haven't heard any recent chart music which is nice just to listen to some Damien Rice and Snowpatrol just dancing in and out of ear shot.

I'm pretty sure this is my new haunt.

Critic Goes Chef

This Wasn't Covered in the Diet Plan

I'm not the sort of person who has a major sweet tooth....ish, years of being the "fat" child in school lead me to loose weight (in a healthy manner through regular exercise and healthy eating and all that before someone accuses me of promoting eating disorders. C'mon, this is a food blog!) ANYWAY, I lost weight and recently after a traumatic struggle with a dress that now has a ripped zip, I have realised that I have an increasing waistline.....YAY! I've also realised that there are certain reasons why this is despite my healthy eating habits.....excluding pizzas and general food binges with certain friends.

I have narrowed down two of the main reasons for the sudden increase in indulgent foods.

1. I have discovered that baking is a great stress reliever so when stress arises the baking trays and mixing bowls come out.
2. The winter months evoke this primal urge to snuggle up beside a fire and eat something either indulgent or comforting....or both!

Today however, reason two came into play. Harsh, icy cold, windsswept me into the kitchen to bake my little heart out with cookies and muffins.

Chocolatey Chocolate Cookies

(try saying it really fast!)

125g Dark Chocolate (70%cocoa at least)

150g Plain Flour

30g Cocoa Powder

1Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

125g Soft Butter

75g Light Brown Sugar

50g White Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cold Egg

2 Bags of Dark Chocolate Chips

First things first, as always preheat your oven to 170C or 325F and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure that the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl or the chocolate will go grainy, this is very important! Make sure to keep stirring and keep an eye on it whilst doing the other bits.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together, personally I'd use a hand mixer or if you are lucky enough to own one, a free standing Kitchen Aid (those of you that have one.....I dislike you.. those of you that L O V E M E....send me one please and I will send you baked goods.) If you don't have a mixer then do it by hand, this is a suitable cardio work out if you put enough effort in.
4. Add the melted chocolate and mix together (you may dip your finger into the sugary chocolate goodness in a bowl....just to sample it of course.)
5. Add the vanilla and the egg and beat together then slowly, piece by piece add in the flour and mix together. Make sure that all the flour mixture is all blended in,next tip in ALL of the chocolate chips. The mixture at this stage should be hard to mix.
6. On the tray split the mixture into 12 lumps carefully spaced apart then place in the oven.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Skewer with cake tester or what I do, a wooden skewer for kebabs, if it comes out clean then the cookies are good to go.
8. Place them on a cooling rack.
9. Dig in
10. Curl up beside the fire/boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/pet and watch the wind shake the trees/people/barley and enjoy.

The Exhibition Inn

The Exhibition Inn

3-5 London Road
Godmanchester
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE29 2HZ

United Kingdom

+44 1480 459134

I've recently noticed an increasing trend amongst many restaurants and pubs, they appear to enjoy using the word "gastro." I know that you mightn't find this amusing but I do seeing as "gastro" essentially means stomach so we are therefore going to pay through the nose to go eat in a "Stomach" pub. That being the amusing part, the annoying part is that so many pubs in the UK claim to be a Stomach Pub and therefore believe it just to charge an inexcusable amount of money for two chips that have been dipped in rose petals and a piece of beef that previously had been hand fed by Delia Smith and slept on a bed made from Cheryl Coles hair. This all of course being a micro meal designed to feed a child, not of course somebody who is genuinely hungry. So I'm always happy to refrain from using the before mentioned title for such pubs. That was of course before I was dragged to The Exhibition on Bonfire night to escape cowering Jack Russels and the dreaded "Friday Night Tv Slump."

Now the person who was taking me to The Exhibition had hyped it up in regards to it's pizza's. So we rolled in, cold and me still looking over my shoulder wearily for fireworks, finding ourselves a nice table and a tab was quickly opened (I do enjoy it when he takes me out with his tab.) I was handed the menu and of course I was expecting the standard pizzas, Hawaiian, Peperoni, Ham and Mushroom etc. What I was expecting was Thai Beef Pizza with Lime, Tandoori Chicken and Yogurt and many others that sent my mind into a complete fluster.

So dutifully I ordered the Thai Beef Pizza whilst Mr. Jepp ordered the Tandoori chicken. He being a veteran to this local haunt didn't seem to grasp my awe but happily put up with the excited little three year old I'd suddenly turned into. Shortly after the pizzas arrived and I was amazing. Unlike other places that serve pizzas, the meat was not from a packet but was a completely fresh chunk of steak with a lime carefully placed in the centre. It seemed a shame to eat it.....but I was hungry and edible art is generally in the need of being eaten.

Now I have to highlight that pizza was of a substantial size as was Mr.Jepp's who then proceeded to help me finish mine, not before I ate all the tender beef off. Having been greatly satisfied by "Nomtastic" pizza I took a look around the little pub and was even more pleased. Traditional English Pub is the most suitable phrase to match The Exhibition. The building itself is a grade two listed building nestled in a town that carries a complimenting mixture of old converted farmhouses and modern housing in an area on the outskirts of Cambridge. The atmosphere in the pub itself is warm and welcoming which is always appreciated in the recent blustery and often harsh cold weather.

Personally I can't wait to go again and possibly this time steal something off Mr.Jepps plate for once.