Yum Scrumptious

Jamie Oliver Opens New Shop

2009-02-25T11:33:24+00:00

British Chef Jamie Oliver will be opening his own cooking shop in Battersea tommorow.

The shop, called Recipease, is being touted as a one stop shop for everything cooking related and will hold cooking lessons, as well as selling ingredients and cookery utensils (from Jamie's range - of course).

Jamie says,

“Recipease means recipes made easy. It’s a response to modern day life. There is nothing like this in the country.

"People can make food themselves, pick up freshly-prepared meals in our ‘grab and go’ section or get advice on where to buy great local produce. There really is something for everyone,”

The new shop will be open for customers to pop in for a do-it -yourself cooking session, a chef masterclass, or even to cook an impromptu pizza or curry!

The team have also contacted local schools to offer cooking lessons for children.

Although it seems a risky idea to open a business at this time of year, Recipease sounds fabulous. I'll definitley be popping in next time i'm in London.

How Daft Am I?

2009-02-12T11:51:49+00:00

I've just read a headline saying 'Grating cheese 'cuts risk of heart disease' says Food Standards Agency' on the Telegraph Website

I am ashamed to confess that (before reading the entire article) I thought that this was because grating cheese is more exercise than slicing it. Grating works your arm - burn more calories - you'll be fitter - less risk of heart disease.

I though 'oh great, cheese grating is a recognised exercise - this is brill, more cheese for me.'

Then I read the article, and realised it was basically saying that when we grate cheese, we use less. Less cheese - less calories and fat - less risk of heart disease.

That makes a lot more sense.

Classic Cocktails - Mojito

2009-02-12T11:21:59+00:00

A drink you can ~~chew~~ look cool with and enjoy. The Mojito is a cocktail you either love or hate, I'm a definite lover. Just make sure you sip through a straw, else you'll end up with bits of mint in your teeth - a decidedly less cool look.

Heres how to make it...

Ingredients

2 parts White Rum
1 part Lime Juice
Soda Water
10 Sprigs of fresh Mint
Ice Cubes
1 Slice of Lime
1 teaspoon of Sugar

Mash together the sugar and the mint. Add the rum and lime juice and pour over the ice.
Top up with soda water. Decorate with mint and lime slice.

Sip through a straw and enjoy

More Egg Stuff!

2009-02-09T17:36:38+00:00

I can't help it. I saw these 'Poach Pods' and just had to tell you about them. Everyone knows that poaching eggs is a pain in the backside - you have to make sure the egg has cracked perfectly and then do that fiddly bit where you spin the water around for ages, then to top that off it always (if you're me) seems to to slide of the spoon when your taking it out!

So the idea with the Poach Pods is that you lightly coat the pod with oil, crack in the egg, float in the water and cook. The really clever bit is that when it's done you flip the pod inside out and the egg is released onto the plate - undamaged!

The Poach Pod is available from Lakeland and costs £4.98

Simple & Sophisticated Food - Grilled Sea Bass, Crushed Jersey Royals with a Sauce Vierge

2009-01-29T12:24:55+00:00

I love, love, love Sea Bass. As Gregg Wallace (Masterchef) would say, " soft soft tender white meat, crispy, tasty skin etc etc."

What makes it even more appealing is just how easy it is to cook. So here is an simple, but stylish recipe to impress with...

Recipe From BBC Good Food

Ingredients

8 asparagus spears
Jersey Royal Potatos
a handful of mint leaves
4 sea bass fillets (skin on)
butter
Maldon sea salt
a squeeze of lemon juice
a handful of chive , chopped

For Sauce Vierge

10 small shallots, sliced
500ml cabernet sauvignon
1 bay leaf
4 plum tomatoes
a small handful of chervil leaves, chopped
a small handful of dill leaves
a small handful of tarragon leaves, chopped
175ml olive oil

Method

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. To make the sauce, put the shallots in a pan with the wine and bay leaf, and boil until wine is reduced to a syrup and the shallots are cooked.
Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for 20 seconds, run under cold water, then peel. Cut into quarters, seed and dice.
Trim the asparagus and boil in salted water until tender. Drain and refresh in ice water.
Wash the Jersey Royals, cover in a pan of cold water with some mint leaves. Cook until tender, 10-15 minutes, then drain and keep warm in a large bowl.
Heat a little oil in an ovenproof heavy-based frying pan. Season the seabass, put skin-side down in the pan, cook for 2-3 minutes then put in the oven for 3-4 minutes. The flesh should be firm and springy to the touch. Add a knob of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, then carefully turn the fillets over and keep warm.
Warm the wine and shallots in a small saucepan with the olive oil, add the tomato, herbs and season.
Use a fork to crush the potatoes lightly with a little butter. Sprinkle the chives over and season. Pile the potato onto four plates (you can use a ring if you want a neat, cheffy finish). Put the seabass on top, spoon the sauce vierge around the potatoes and serve with asparagus.

Nutritional Info...

730 kcalories, protein 43.5g, carbohydrate 23.5g, fat 47.3 g, saturated fat 7.5g, fibre 3.5g, salt 0.84 g

How Much...?

2009-01-29T00:55:55+00:00

I like Heston Blumenthal. I really do. He seems very nice on the telly, and his food looks amaaayzing. So I thought, 'I know! I'll buy one of his cookbooks - maybe I can learn to make disgusting sounding but extremely tasty food. Maybe I'll even learn how to to that crazy dry ice aroma thingie and look dead clever infront of everyone...'

So off I trot to Amazon for a gander. Where, to my dismay, I find that Heston's latest cook book is currently retailing at £215. Yes Two Hundred and Fifteen Quid!

Even more distressing is that fact that it looks so beautiful I want to stroke it. It comes in it's own folder, has silver embossed pages, and little manga cartoons of Heston and his alter ego - Little Heston.

Aw man! I sooo want it. But if I decide to be rash and purchase, it means that while I'll be able to drool over the gastro porn pics and crazy recipes, I won't be able to afford actual real food for two to three weeks (depending where I shop) . At all.

So... The point is - if anyone reading this buys it - maybe you can email me some photographs or something. And then perhaps you can ring me up and read me the recipes over the phone.

Go on - it's on the Amazon widget to your left! :)

Classic Cocktails - Cosmopolitan

2009-01-28T14:30:13+00:00

The cocktail de rigeur of the Sex and The City girls, the cosmopolitan is a sweet, vodka based cocktail renowned for it's lovely pink colour

To make a cosmopolitan, get out your trusty cocktail shaker and pour in...

1 1/2 parts of Vodka

1 part of Cointreau

1 part of Cranberry Juice

dash of Lime Juice

A little bit of crushed ice

Shake it all up, and pour into your glass (it has to be a Martini glass, else it will look rubbish)

Garnish with a slice of lime, slurp it up and repeat all above steps!

Scrumptious Chef No 2 - Daniel Green

2009-01-28T12:43:04+00:00

This one's easy. A chef who used to be a model!

Dan Green is a healthy foods cook who has appeared on BBC, UK Food, Discovery Health, and Carlton Food. When he was younger Dan was overweight, and started developing recipes to help him drop the pounds, taking inspiration from his favourite british and asian foods.

So he lost all the weight and became a model, at one point working for Gucci. He soon realised that his heart lay in cooking so he decided to drop the modelling and focus on that instead.

He now has his own cooking shows in the US and Malaysia, as well as a variety of cookbooks and is due to appear on QVC during 2009.

I've never tried his recipes, nor have I seen him on television. But just look at his face...

Terrible News...

2009-01-27T11:48:47+00:00

It appears that the price of chocolate is set for an increase due to to worries about the crop in West Africa, as well as the current weakness of the British Pound (in which the key cocoa contract is priced).

Apparently, premium brands of chocolate are likely to be the most affected because currently everyone is skint and doesn't want to pay for posh chocs (that use more cocoa).

After the jump in wholesale prices, Cadbury's, Mars, and Nestle have warned that if the cocoa prices stay high, then they will raise their prices in accordance.

The good news is that the price of chocolate has not gone up today, as in right now. So I suggest we all go out to our local chocolatiers/newsagents/whatever and stock up on milky ways before the crisis hits. I know we are all poor at the mo, but whats worse than being poor? Being poor and not even being able to afford a bar of chocolate. That's what.

Go on then. Do it. Do it.

Swarovski - Clack Egg Cracker

2009-01-26T20:11:49+00:00

In the same way I didn't know that Egg Cosies existed, I am now surprised to find out that there is such a thing as a clack egg cracker. While writing this blog, I seem to have discovered that eggs is not just eggs. They are in fact the key to a mahoosive range of gizmos and gadgets out there, designed to aid us with the act of actually eating, well...eggs.

Anyways, I didn't know I needed one of these until I saw this Clack Egg Cracker - Swarovski Crystal Edition, no less!

The idea is to place your eggs under the metal caps and let the ball drop (technically it's called clanging) down on top of it. The result is that the top half of your egg is sliced perfectly so you don't have to pick off all the nasty shell pieces.

It's a little bit genius really.

The Clack Egg Clanger costs £17.99 and can be bought from 'Not On The Highstreet'

Gordon Ramsay - An inspiration to young Christians?

2009-01-25T20:51:37+00:00

I was bemused to read recently, that a best-selling faith magazine has named Gordon Ramsay as an inspiration to young worshippers.

Youthwork Magazine is urging preachers to use Ramsay as the subject of Sunday School sermons, and has even published a 'ready to use guide'.

The suggested sermon talks about the foul mouthed chef's rise to fame through adversity, and also has a series of "What would Jesus do?" style questions, only with Ramsay instead... i.e;

"Imagine you are in the position Gordon found himself when he found out he would never be able to play football again. How would you feel? "

Or...

"Do you think Gordon was able to see the "bigger picture" and not feel angry about giving up football?"

Martin Saunders, a christian writer, and the guy responsible for the piece says

"The fact that Gordon swears does not prevent him from being a good role model for young people. His drive, ambition and passion for bringing on another generation of young chefs are things to be admired and respected."

Fair do's - Ramsays' a go getter, he's achieved a lot at a young age. He's good at cooking and telly stuff.

But... doesn't Christianity promote the sanctity of marriage? If so, then why would a faith magazine ask young people to look up to a man who has recently been accused of having a long term affair?

Maybe they forgot about that bit...

Scrumptious Chef No -1 Jean Christophe Novelli

2009-01-15T17:08:25+00:00

I've chosen Jean Christophe as my first Scrumptious chef because...well, just look at him!

The 47 year old chef (who looks about 30), was born in France. He moved to Britain in 1983, where he worked in Keith Floyd's Devon Restaurant; 'Maltsters Arms', before branching out on his own, and deciding to live in Britain permanently.

What makes him Scrumptious?

Ok, so besides the sexy french accent and intense eyes, he's obviously a talented (and rich) guy. He owns restaurants in London, South Africa and France as well a cooking school at his farmhouse (sigh) in Hertfordshire.

Oh yes, and he loves dogs. So much so that he's got 21 of them. And you know what they say about men who likes dogs?

No? me neither - but I know it's something positive!

Scrumptious Rating - 7/10

Orla Kiely does Housewares for Target

2009-01-15T16:25:48+00:00

Apartment Therapy have just announced that Target are launching a new range of Orla Kiely Homewares in February. The collection, showcasing Kiely's usual bold colours and patterns will include kitchen storage, linens, and dinner and serving ware.

Only one problem - Target do not ship to the UK, so if you want these, then your gonna have to make some American friends sharpish, or pray that someone is kind enough to put some of the products on ebay!

Masterchef Addiction

2009-01-13T15:54:16+00:00

It's back! Masterchef was brilliant last year, and I'm already obsessing over it this year.

Obviously,I love the cooking bits (especially the part where the contestants have to do a lunch service in a pro kitchen), but my main reason for tuning in is the unintentionally hilarious judges.

Gregg Wallace (the one with the glasses) is an 'ingredients expert' who has a wierd habit of sucking the fork everytime he takes a mouthful of food. His judging technique basically consists of describing the food on the plate (ie sweet, sweet, sweet tomatoes, juicy, juicy beef fillet, enhanced by the fluffiness of those chips etc etc)

The other one, John Torrode, is unable to speak in volumes less than 5000 decibels and that's about it.

Every episode, without fail, the two judges 'disagree' about which contestant to put through to the next round, cue lots of pained deliberation and huff-puffing.

It's brill. Watch it!

Gorgeous Egg Cosies

2009-01-12T20:38:01+00:00

Forgive me for trying to blog about food, and not knowing that 'egg cosies' existed! Until now that is.

I'm not the kind of girl who gives my egg time to go cold, but if I were I'd cosy them up with these totally cute egg cosies, available in different designs.

These are priced between £5 and £22 and can be bought from Not on The Highstreet