(Mostly) Wordless Fridays

Another week flown by, another week working for the man.

Guess what I found whilst on my travels:

 

 Have a lovely, safe weekend!

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The Flavour Thesaurus: Book Review

This isn't a recipe book, not really, it's so much more. The author has taken 99 common flavours and sorting them into flavour families, matching them, exploring tradional pairings - such a Lamb and Mint and less tradional - such as Avocado & Coffee or Ginger & Egg.

A 3-year labour of love for the author, it's not exhaustive but really interesting for broadening your cooking horizons. It's a mixture of information, science, experience and a few recipes accompanied by some lovely memories and restaurant recommendations. You could just read it cover to cover, forget the Foodie side!

The author goes into some interesting scientific detail as well - (your fact for the day:)Globe Artichokes "contain a phenolic compound called cynarin, which has the peculiar effect of making anything you eat directly afterwards taste sweet".

The Flavour Thesaurus: Niki Segnit

I really like the idea of using bridging ingredients, and it may be that extra 'something' I sometimes find wanting in my cooking eg. I love Salmon Bagels with Cream Cheese, but tried them today with the addition of fresh Lemon Juice. Delicious!! A book like this is good for a noob like me - I doubt I'll ever be a Michelin Chef, but I enjoy pairing flavours and playing with new interesting combinations of good quality ingredients. It's also interesting how once you have played with a recipe, you can tweak it to improve it, and how you can begin to try dishes from restaurants, but cooking them in the comfort of your own home.

The book is based around the food 'families and include a really funky circular diagram. The book itself is really handsome - perfect for a gift to a budding Foodie. My only grumble - it missed Honey & Kiwifruit (oh yeah, I had to go there!).

Reportedly, Heston Blumenthal buys all of his new staff a copy for reading. Did I mention this book begins with Chocolate? Winner!

I've also discovered a new English-ism - the tradition of going into a pub and burying a pickled egg in a packet of scrunched up crisps - apparently Salt & Vinegar is good, but Worcestershire is better. Challenge accepted.

(Disclaimer: the above links to an Amazon Associates UK account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links, but at no extra charge to you. So if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the link under the image. Help support a book addiction...)

What is your favourite pairing of flavours - traditional and non-traditional? Lately I'm obssessed with Ginger & Dark Chocolate, and Fries & Soft Serve.

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Celebrating Waitangi Day

Most celebrations of New Zealand's founding as a colony were marked on the 29th of January, until the (highly controversial) Waitangi Treaty was signed between the Maori Tribesman and English Settlers, agreeing to the 'sale' of Land in exchange for a variety of goods. Now, Waitangi day, celebrated by most Kiwis as our national day, is on the 6th of February.

It's a good day for celebrating being Kiwi, remembering our proud (and not so proud) heritage and appreciating the history of our small land. It does have it's share of long-standing tensions though - read more here.

Interestingly (your Fact of the day), the official commeration of Waitangi Day was 1930 and has been a public holiday since 1947. The first event was a Royal New Zealand Navy ceremony centring on a flagpole which the Navy had paid to erect in the grounds, then the following year, a Māori speaker was added to the line-up, and subsequent additions to the ceremony have been made nearly every year.


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In more general terms these days, Waitangi Day is treated as a celebration of New Zealand as a Nation, much like Australia Day. It's a bank holiday, with everyone off, generally enjoying spending time with their families.

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Some Ex-pat Kiwis celebrate it in London with the Waitangi Day Ball, and as per Sunday's post a Pub Crawl. Much to my surprise, the Waitangi Day Pub Crawl has made it as far as Wikipedia. "On the closest Saturday to 6 February, Kiwis participate in a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line... At 4 p.m., a large-scale haka is performed at Parliament Square as Big Ben marks the hour. Participants wear costumes and sing songs such as "God Defend New Zealand", all of which is in stark contrast to the much more subdued observance of the day in New Zealand itself."

I personally am going to celebrate Waitangi Day with a nice cup of Tea, some Lolly Slice and maybe a Bacon & Egg Pie.

Happy Waitangi Day!

As an ex-pat do you feel prouder of your Country on national holidays?

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"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's: Oranges and Lemons

I found this Church unintentionally and purely by chance. Found in the White Tower of the Tower of London, this has probably the goriest and saddest history of all the Churches in the rhyme, because of it's associations with Royalty, Torture and notably the two sons of Edward IV, known as the Princes of the Tower, a mysterious disappearance in relation to King Richard III's rule.

 

Rather ironically, I've had this post planned for a little while, but last night we have had the breaking news of the discovery of King Richards III's remains found in a carpark, possibly debunkig commonly held beliefs (and leading to an incredibly funny hashtag on Twitter #kinginacarpark - check it out & add me @londonkiwiemma whilst you're there).

 

The precise date of the White Tower's foundation is unknown, and it is also uncertain how long building took. It is traditionally held that construction began in 1078. It housed the accommodation of the King and his close retinue whilst being the strongest military keep of the Palace complex in case of attack.

 

Architecturally St John's chapel is almost unique in Castle building because of the semi-circular projection, and very few original internal decorations remain reminiscent of how it would have been in Norman times.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Catherine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

The Pokers and Tongs in the rhyme almost certainly refer to the grisly acts of Torture committed in the Tower or London, usually in the name of the current King or Queen. It's not somewhere I would like to be locked in overnight, let me tell you.

 

Halfway now to the full cachet of Churches...

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The Modern Pantry: Restaurant Review

I think I've said it before, but Brunch is swiftly becoming my favourite meal of the day. A few friends and I have checked out another few of London's Kiwi brunch spots - Kopapa (which I've found out recently means "Meeting Place"), the Providores and Caravan (Kings Cross) all run by Kiwi chefs with a passion for good food and great atmosphere.

The Modern Pantry was no exception.



Found in fashionable Clerkenwell, the Modern Pantry is housed in two Georgian buildings, the larger of the two buildings was originally part of an adjacent steel foundry, while the other was a townhouse.

The interior of the restaurant (we were downstairs in the cafe part) is nicely full of crisp clean furniture with warm highlights. We couldn't believe how large the place was - our floor, another floor above us and a floor above that with the facilities. It was so quiet it was hard to believe how many people were there being served.

Service was really nice - friendly, funny, happy to answer any questions and make substitutions and not overbearing in anyway, they wierdly just popped over whenever we started to think about ordering something. Maybe telepathy is a hiring condition there?

Our biggest problem was deciding what to eat from the extensive menu in the sunshine away from the bitter North wind. Every plate that came out of the kitchen - usually a good indication of what's good - looked delicious. As with most of the restaurants we've tried with Kiwi links, the menus are modern, focus on the ingredients, but don't have a particular food style - they do have a few Kiwi twists though - Marmite soldiers for instance.

We settled in the end for a variety of dishes:

Turkish Menemen Baked Eggs with Nigella Yoghurt and Sourdough Bread - a in essence a Turkish ratatouille of onions, tomato, peppers and lovely spice topped with two perfectly baked eggs, a spiced flavoured yoghurt and sourdough bread perfect for dipping.

Eggs Benedict withYuzu Hollandaise (Yuzu is a small oriental citrus fruit) and Bacon or Salmon; The Yuzu Hollandaise was met with mixed reviews, but the perfectly poached eggs looked delicous atop their salmon or bacon and Muffin brunch-fellows.

A delicious looking Grilled Breakfast (Bacon, Scrambled Eggs etc.) Everything seemed to cooked really nicely as you'd expect, this certainly isn't a greasy spoon.

And the Pièce de résistance: Ricotta filled pancakes with berry compote and Cream Fraiche. As per our very freindly waiters advice, we kinda had them as Breakfast Dessert, sharing between the table. Oh Boy were these delicious.

Crisp batter filled with soft creamy Ricotta cut with the sweetly sharp berries. This was... well it's making my mouth water. You load your fork with a bit of everything and just enjoy.

 

We tried several coffees (Kiwi's definately know how to make a mean flat white - full bodied without being burned, full fat milk (gasp) at just the right temperature) and whilst we didn't order any of the delectable smoothies or delicious sounding 'reviving cocktails', we were tempted into ordering some of the hard to pronounce Teas made locally. We were also advised (laughingly) by our waiter that the Tea company recommends their Teas are served in stemmed wine glasses. Ever the adventurers we had a try, and thankfully had no incidents of smashing (though it steam a few specs).

 

Overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Unobstrusive friendly service, good food and a nice atmosphere it is a place that is very easy to linger in on a Saturday morning.

 

 

I definately recommend going to The Modern Pantry for a nice brunch near to Farringdon Tube Station (watch out at the station for marauding Kiwis but only near the 6th of Feb though). Be warned the menus are extensive, they have daily changing menus (including separate Saturday and Sunday Brunch menus) and I understand that you're advised to book as it can get very busy.

Eggs Benedict: Bacon or Salmon? Discuss. 

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Waitangi Day Circle Line Pub Crawl

A traditional of Kiwis living in London is the Waitangi Day Pub Crawl. 27 pubs, 1 at each of the 27 stops of the Undergrounds Circle Line. It's (allegedly) known as one of the most famous pub crawls in the world and this date is particularily special to London and abroad Kiwis - Waitangi Day considered New Zealand's National Day (more on Waitangi Day later in the week, stay tuned!)

If you ever happen to be in London around the 6th of February, feel free to dig out a connection to NZ (or just a couple of beers!) and join in, the atmosphere is Ka Pai (good), beer is warm(ish) and the laughs are plenty!!

 

Sheep strolling down to Sloane Square. As you do.

I suspect most Londoners don't really know what's hit them, but by all reports everyone represents New Zealand well - we are by and large a peaceful nation, and it reflects here. 4,000 costumed drunken Kiwi's rampaging London equals bemused Police, no arrests, a bit of litter cleaned up by arranged cleaning vehicles, a run on Pies & Kebab shops and a lot of sore heads today.

I told you Kiwis have a special love of Lolly Cake!

I'm totally undecided as to my favourite costumes; the Sheep, the Farmers, The Weta (a indigenous insect pictured as below posing);

 

Kiwis dressed as Kiwis crossing a Pelican Crossing...

The Air New Zealand Plane,

The Minties,

The Buzzy Bees,

The bottles of Watties Tomato Sauce (cause you'll always be a Kiwi if you love your Watties Sauce")

 

It was just too much!

The day culminates in a Haka (Maori War Dance) outside the Houses of Parliament & Westminster Abbey at 4pm.

 

Absoloute kudos has to go to the organisers (I use this word loosely as it's more of an organism than a iron-clad event), to the awesome police & stewards keeping an eye on proceedings and to the crawlers - you represent the best of New Zealand abroad.



Favourite quote by the organisers: "If you have done the pub crawl in other years you are all aware that the police are very easy going and get into the spirit of the event - but that is because we are also good natured enough to not be *****s"

The extent of most of the malarky - the traditional run up a street light;

The police are in complete control and look pretty bemused...again...

My favourite quote from the Police "I'd love to move to New Zealand if this is what you lot are like Drunk. If these were drunk Englishman, there would be much more hooliganism and brawling. You guys are just funny!"

How are you celebrating Waitangi Day?

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(Mostly) Wordless Fridays

With yesterday one of my favourite days of the month, today seems a little lackluster. That was until I realised it's Friday, and then that it's almost the weekend already! Time for a little Tea with the Ladies and then perhaps Sunday Eggs.

It's only January, and we've already broken the first Easter Egg in the office. Oops!

Life is balance.

GREAT start to a book.

 

Look, no snow! 

I'm definately coming back as a cat! She's so lazy, she only opens one eye to check out me patting her.

 

 

Did I mention we also got a spare door seal for our Washing Machine as the old one kinda exploded? Life on the edge my friends, life on the edge.

 

 Do you prefer hectic weekends, spur of the moment weekends, or to relax in your PJs?

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