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@maybeitsbecauseimalondiner
A good idea. Feels nice. My hands smelled like coffee after. Not because of this, but because seemingly I can’t both walk the dog and drink an espresso at the same time without pouring it over my hands. Well-designed, simple packaging, looks cool on your sink. Also, 10p from each bar of soap goes to http://www.allegrafoundation.org/ProjectWaterfall/TheProjectWaterfallStory.aspx
If you love to eat fish you’ll want to make sure they don’t run out.
One way of helping keep plenty more fish in the sea is to source plentiful species from small coastal day boats. Marine biologist-run fish subscription service, Soleshare, does this for you so you don’t have to worry.
The deal is, you sign up at soleshare.net, choose to receive either half, 1 or 2 kilos of sea bounty either once a week or once a fortnight, choose a pickup spot (currently only in Hackney or Haringey) and pay a monthly fee (from £18 to £105 depending on amount and frequency).
I got this characterful gurnard, with super-waif big eyes and pouty mouth and a beautiful blue tinge to its wing-like fins.
Where do you start with a puppy like this? Soleshare offers filleting workshops, and posts helpful videos and recipes on its website so you can treat these creatures with the respect they deserve.
Well, that’s the theory. My filleting of the gurnard (it involves ripping back its head and pulling guts out through its ‘neck’) was of a standard that would make Monica Masterchef’s eyes pop out on cartoon springs. I think I need to work on my knife skills and lower arm muscles.
After disposing of the evidence of the massacre I was left with two slightly ragged fillets, which transformed via the magic of a hot pan, butter, garlic and sage into a couple of plump and delicious fishy pillows.
www.soleshare.net
New Palestinian/Lebanese cafe-bar on Stoke Newington High St, Tatreez Cafe, is airy, friendly and already popular with locals seeking filling, healthy and flavourful food (see fool above), unusual craft beer (see Lebanese Brew above) and delicious Lebanese and Palestinian wine. Good coffee too.
188 Stoke Newington High St
Stocks Farms still needs your support
Last Saturday the heavens were not kind and cried a river over Stoke Newington Farmers market, dampening the previous enthusiasm of local fans for queuing to buy beautifully delicious and sustainably-produced, high welfare meat from the boys of Stocks Farm.
Chris and Ian Learmonth have been overwhelmed by the response to their call for help when it looked like rising food prices and low sales were going to put these dedicated small-scale farmers out of business.
Sales picked up and offers of help came flooding in. But as Chris and Ian say "the extra sales are helping, but we still have quite a long way to go".
To boost business, the brothers are setting up an online order system so you can order your meat through the week to pickup at their weekend market stalls in Stoke Newington and Queens Park. There are plans for a home delivery service, too. At the markets they'll have a text ordering service - so you can text what you want when you join the queue and it should be ready by the time you get to the front!
But costs still need to be cut, so the Learmonths have decided to stop being certified by the Soil Association. Though they'll continue to farm in the same way, organically, they won't be able to call their products organic. However, they are joining the Wholesome Food Association, whose members pledge to farm organically and operate an open-gate policy so customers can keep an eye on how their food is being produced – and taste it (Iain's thinking Open Day barbecues!).
So keep buying from Chris and Iain if you can, safe in the knowledge that their meat is what is says it is, and has been produced in a sustainable way that is "good for the environment and animal welfare".
stocksfarmfood.co.uk
Now go eat that Voodoo that they do so well
Not sure why you'd want your slice spiced by an ancient Beninian religion, but if you can get over the gratuitous appropriation of a cultural meme, Voodoo Ray's in Dalston (related to the Dalston Superstore, so it's all haircuts and music turned up to 11 even when there's no one in there, but hey) is well worth a visit for monster slices of 22-inch pizza that taste of magic – black or otherwise. The thin bases pick up tasty stone-browned patches in an American Garland baker's oven, and are topped with intense, flavour-packed sauces. My Chili Slice (£4.20) had a thin but rich layer of chilli con carne, red onion, generous slices of jalapeño, mozzarella and sour cream. Eat folded in half with two hands, meaty juices dripping down your arms. That's the kind of voodoo ritual I like. Voodoo Ray's, 95 Kingsland High St, E8. Open 6pm-1am Sun-Thurs, 4pm-3am Fri & Sat. facebook.com/VoodooRays
24 hours and 40 storeys
My birthday lunch was consumed high above London, higher than the gherkin, here, and I wondered how we managed to stay afloat so high under the weight of the City guy egos surrounding us.
The food also did its best to bring us back down to earth, not always in a bad way. It was heavy on pig, but the slices of porky head were thin and mouth-melty; rich ox cheek shreds were enwombed by spongey doughnut casing; dainty pea arancini came with a forest-floory dip.
Trouble was, too much of this tasty stuff was smothered in heavy dustings of smoked paprika. Love it, but it gave the impression the menu was designed to compete for attention from bankers whose minds are more on comparing sizes of each other's expense accounts (the wine list gives ample opportunity for conspicuous consumption) than subtle signals from the palate.
Go? Yes, at 2am (it's open 24 hours, drinks licence 8-3am), surrounded by the City's nighttime jetsam, for a glass of English fizz and a bag of deep fried pigs ears, and watch London twinkle like a dirty star below.
Found this in our bag of delicious shrimp from Tom Disson at George's Plaice on the Roman Road.
Another surprise to add to the delight of finding this, "the last old fish shop in the East End". This description comes from the Gentle Author, who tells the tale of Tom and his stall so much better than I ever could, here.
Our haul also included the tastiest whelks I've ever had and a plump pickled herring with sweet, sweet onions.
Get down there and take some time to chat with Tom, while you decide between the crab, cockles and jellied eels. He's got over thirty years' worth of fishmongering stories to tell you...
George's Plaice, 486 Roman Road, London E3 5LU
And I never knew there were seals (or possibly just a seal) in the wharf at Billingsgate!
(The title above is a link)
Giving Dalston finger-lickers an ethical alternative
Challenging the chick-pizz hegemony, a group of idealistic chicken lovers want to give Dalston finger-lickers an ethical alternative for their fried chick-dins by establishing the first free-range fried chicken shop in the UK.
In their own words "We are here to serve people who love fried chicken but hate how and what it's made from." As well as cruelty-free, free-range fried chicken, they'll be dishing up alternatives to fries, such as mash and rice.
I think it's a great idea and hopefully will encourage locals to think more about eating a bit more healthily and with more consideration for how what they eat is made and where it comes from.
They'll be offering at-cost school's out specials to catch the kids on their way home, train local youth to work in the shop and offer them mentoring if they want a catering career, plus they'll give a portion of profits to local youth charities.
A ten quid donation here gives you a free chicken dinner that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy rather than greasy and queasy. Bargain.
http://www.peoplefund.it/the-chicken-shop/
Visited Charcuterie & Company at the South Bank last Sunday. Perhaps a mistake to go on the last day, but I was disappointed. There were a few charcuterie stalls selling their wares from Poland, Austria, Britain and Spain, but diluted with cake stalls, chopping boards and other stuff. I wanted more information, education and interaction.
I did catch the end of the ham-off in the event tent, which pitched noir de bigorre, culatello and jamon iberico against each other. A great opportunity to taste some delicious products but a travesty of a vote which gave the win to the culatello! Nothing compares to jamon iberico and anyway, these three cured hams were totally different in texture and flavour - quite incomparable.
Still, I did come away with some superb jamon iberico de bellota from Flavours of Spain, which I had for breakfast on pa amb tomaquet, made with the last of my homegrown tomatoes - sweet grushovkas from the Real Seed company. Try planting them next year. They're early and easy growers.
Mealworms with yoghurt and bee vomit (aka honey) from Stefan Gates' Extraordinary Snack Box at the Experimental Food Society event last weekend.
Also in his box were: lambs testicles (delicious), gilded sausages, jellyfish salad (nice but I've had it before), and space dust. Fun, interesting, tasty and educational. As I was hoping the rest of the event would be - but sadly, no. Cue big farty Family Fortunes wrong answer noise.
Stefan's lunchbox was easily the best thing in a rather disappointing event. It should have been renamed the Spectacular Sugar Sculpture society, cos that's what most of the displays were. I wanted more tastings, more activites, and more variety, please!
Only a fiver for a ticket but I still felt rather ripped off.
Mealworms were delish, though. Kind of sesame seedy.
They're pretty hard to find if you want to try them for yourself and aren't happy eating birdfood. I've found a couple of sites that sell 'human-grade' BBQ flavour mealworms - they might go better with, say, yoghurt and maple syrup or a savoury creamy dip.
Try here or here.
Very excited
After many, many years of searching, I've finally found somewhere that serves bienenstich.
That's beesting cake, a german sponge with cream or custard and honeyed almonds.
I grew up in Chester in the 70s and 80s. The true star of the city, for me, was not its Roman walls, famous racecourse or the Rows, but its Weinholts bakery, owned by a family of German heritage. Their bienenstich had the softest brioche and a filling of vanilla custard AND cream. It comforted me through my teenage years and I've been looking for it ever since leaving home.
Well now I've found it. At the new Beyond Retro in Dalston, of all places.
The cavernous shop has a cafe that manages to be cosy despite its industrial setting, with friendly helpful staff who are very good at persuading you to have cake, especially when you're staring at it as if it's a long lost love. Coffee's good too, but I don't like the fact they only have disposable cups. Hmmm. There are cutesy kitschy cups dotted around filled with sugar and twizzle sticks, so how about putting coffee in them?
Beyond Retro Café
92 -100 Stoke Newington Road London , N16 7XB
02079232277
Mon-Wed 10:00 - 19:00 Thurs 10:00 - 20:00 Fri-Sat 10:00 - 19:00 Sun 11:30 - 18:00
Toad-in-the-hole with garlic, chili and paprika sausages from Stocks Farm at Stoke Newington Farmers' market.
A farmers' market bargain?!
Who ever heard of such a thing.
Well hold onto your fascinators, babies, because I'm about to blow your minds.
I think I have found the philosopher's stone of the farmers' market - a bargain!
The Location: Stoke Newington Farmers' Market, St Paul's Church, Stoke Newington High St, N16
The Time: 10am-2.30pm,every Saturday
The Holy Grail: Moist, delicious cake-bread in an array of fruity, spicy and boozy flavours
The Source: Global Fusion Creole Vegan bakery. (I know, it sounds like something Charlie Brooker would invent to snark at, but it's true! Deliciously deliciously true!)
The Price: £4 for a sizeable loaf (I reckon about 10 good portions).
For some reason, I didn't want such a good bargain so I bought half a mango and linseed loaf for £3. Still a great price for a moist cake with an intriguing and irresistible tangy/sweet-savoury flavour. It would go brilliantly with homemade cocount icecream, if anyone wants to bring me some.
Afternoon tea fans! Do you want to indulge in some of the finest cakes known to London, served by lovely ladies in beautiful vintage gowns, all for the amazing price of £5!
You do? Of course you do. Well, head over to...
http://www.justgiving.com/avohoteldalston
...hand over as much dosh as your heart and purse will allow and reward yourself with the lightest scones, the moistest sponge and the daintiest cucumber sandwiches.
Afternoon tea in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care 3-5pm, Sat 30 July Avo Hotel, 82 Dalston Lane, London E8 020 3490 5061 https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158277960912466 http://www.justgiving.com/avohoteldalston
As I was heading out this morning a lovely man appeared as if by magic, bearing a box. What was inside? Cupcakes. Sweet-strawberry-stuffed fluffy and still warm at heart. £1 each. I only had a fiver. He only had one pound change. I bought four. As you can see, there are two in the photo. You do the delicious, sweet, naughty naughty math. Hopefully my mystery cupcake man will return and I will get his details to post here in case my dear readers would also like a magic morning cupcake moment.
Lunch today: leftovers from my Abkhazian feast yesterday. Shredded chicken in a yoghurt, walnut and polenta sauce spiked with the famous Abkhazian spice paste, adjykha, along with eggs in adjykha-spiked yoghurt and spinach also dressed with adjykha and yoghurt.
The feast was research for part one of my new series: Around the world in more than 80 dishes without leaving London. Catchy title, eh?
I'm eating my way alphabetically through the 203 sovereign states as listed by Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states). This includes some states with limited international recognition, such as Abkhazia, which makes for some interesting geopolitical discussions over dinner.
Look out for a proper report on my initiation to Abkhazian cuisine, coming here soon!