River Cottage Canteen, Finale to National Vegetarian Week

River Cottage Canteen Bristol is probably a little known, little gem. The newly established progeny of the successful Axminster canteen is set to rise in popularity, if not for the good tasting, honest grub then for the league of more sustainably aware and environmentally sound restaurants popping up throughout the country. Unlike some of these restaurants, River cottage doesn't pang of pretentiousness but instead provides a great, no fuss, reasonably priced and family friendly place to eat. 

To celebrate the end of National Vegetarian Week and Bristol Veg Fest, we dined at River cottage. Also in celebration, RC Bris made a very brave move and declared an all vegetarian menu for the whole day. I'd like to hope that not only vegetarians sampled its delights, but also that meat eaters were able to taste some great vegetarian food to satisfy any pallet. Although I myself was joined by two meat eaters I can't help remembering the moment when dinning in a gorgeous vegan restaurant in York, a family of 'meat eaters' sat down, peered at their menus and promptly left again... I think the lack of mysterious pulses and whole foods and also the safety blanket of 'chips on the side' make RC an ideal place for a first veggie dining experience.

River Cottage Bristol's informal dinning area and welcoming staff made it a real pleasure to eat out. The service was perhaps slow at times but easily forgiven as they're still finding their feet. Their 'open kitchen'  or 'food theater' is a love it or hate it thing but the bustle and array of ingredients really added to the relaxed atmosphere. Now down to the food! It was fresh, flavorsome and in some cases, down right beautiful. Among the starters were aubergine and feta parcels and fava bean falafels. Pickled racchio pizzas and freshly made flatbreads were all baked in the stone based oven on display. I'ts a mean feat to achieve such a degree of satisfaction when the food actually tastes like its doing you good, but River Cottage managed it. With their ever changing menus in time with the seasons, they won't fail to get returning customers. So if you're looking for somewhere refreshingly local, environmentally conscious and down right tasty it is definitely worth a visit. 

Eat local, Eat seasonal, Eat well.

Small Cook xx

Warm spring salad

I'll be honest with you... This was one of those days where you get in late and are desperately searching for that quick and easy thing to fill your late night supper need. When I tasted this dish, it was so fresh and delicious (healthy too!) that I'd thought I'd share it with you. I love this time of year, there's lots of gorgeous greens coming into season and asparagus is one of my ultimate favourites. Asparagus is one of those vegetables that our British farms do so well. The likelihood is that asparagus is grown on your doorstep around this time of year so make sure you check the label! Say no to Spain and yes to Ross-on-Wye!

In a little oil cook chopped asparagus and mushrooms until tender or al dente or whatever the fashionable way to eat asparagus is these days.... add a clove of sliced garlic and a heaped teaspoon of pesto. At the last moment I added a handful of baby spinach leaves and double podded broad beans just to warm through. Serve this salad with crumbled goats cheese and a gooey poached egg, spring on a plate!

Enjoy!
Small Cook xx

National Vegetarian week (May 20th - 26th)

National vegetarian week is here, not only a celebration of the best veggie food around but also a great chance for non veggies to roll up their sleeves and challenge themselves to cook up some fantastic veggie delights! 

I often hear the phrase " I couldn't go veggie, I love my roast dinners to much' but what would a roast dinner be without the veg after all?! So take a chance on the humble vegetable, you might surprise yourself. Increasing the number of vegetarian meals you consume in the week could have a wondrous affect not only on your health but animal welfare and the environment around us too! So big happy cow smiles all round!

Vegetarian cooking can be surprisingly simple yet delicious, but if you're struggling for ideas just remember even some of the best restaurants still get it wrong (Veggie lasagnas and grilled field mushrooms are so last decade!). Why not try easy lentil dahl a simple Indian dish with a taste and nutritional content out of this world!

Eat Local, Eat Seasonal, Eat Well.

Small cook xx

Lentil Dahl

Finely chop one onion and add to a pan with a little vegetable oil. Once this has softened add 3 cloves of crushed garlic and a thumb sized amount of grated ginger, cook until aromatic. Add a teaspoon of turmeric, two teaspoons of ground coriander and 1 cup of red lentils. Stir this for a moment then add 2 cups of water, leave this to simmer until the water has been absorbed and the lentils are soft, add 2 diced tomatoes and cook through for added texture. Dahl is not traditionally a spicy dish so if you like it hot add some chilly flakes and add salt to taste.

Why not try serving with onion bahjis and a cucumber and mint dip?

Cupcake Crazy

It's National Cupcake Week and to celebrate I thought I would share with you my favourite 'party piece' cupcake recipe. Cupcakes are incredibly versatile from a child's birthday to a decadent dinner party dessert, they're perfect. I'm a big fan of the old favourites, lemon and chocolate but the flavour combinations you find these days are endless! I've gone for one of my favourite flavour pairings, cherries and chocolate, Black Forest Gateau cupcakes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/black_forest_cupcakes_02412

Some think the gateau is a bit dated, but 70s classic or not it keeps reinventing itself and cupcake form is an excellent way to sample it. For a twist on this recipe I made a pistachio cream frosting with chopped pistachio nuts and icing sugar to taste. Pistachio, cherry and chocolate is one of those killer combinations you must try.

Happy baking people!

Small Cook xx

Felin Fach Griffin- A Critique

The Felin Fach Griffin lies nestled between the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons, with such gorgeous countryside you'll be happy to know the food lives up to the scenery. I guess you might describe the Felin Fach as a Gastro-pub, with it's relaxed atmosphere supplemented with fine dining, however, I'd prefer to describe it as a good food done well, minus the pretension. 

Inside lies sumptuous sofas and comfortable dining spaces, the warm rooms with intriquing art works and furniture give an unique and quirky atmosphere. One of the most refreshing things about this restaurant is that the food is sourced with sustainability and seasonality in mind. The menus change from day to day, which is one of the best gifts you can give a customer who is likely to return again. 

My menu was as follows:
                                           Oak Roast Salmon Fishcake with Garlic Aioli 

                         Cornish Hake Fillet with a Clam butter, New Potatoes and spinach 

                                           Creme Brulee with Homemade Shortbread

The highlight of the meal for me was the Hake fillet, the delicate flavour of the fish was complimented by a sweet butter sauce and the clams were delicious. It's the first time I've ever tried them but I will definitely be doing so again. I often find Creme Brulee to be hit and miss at most restaurants I visit, either being to sweet or to eggy. I have to be honest and say this was spot on, rich and smooth, the custard held its own but was not too firm, the topping was light and caramalised well allowing for that characteristic and satisfying crunch when you tuck in. The homemade Shortbread was delightful adder extra, rich in butter and perfect in crunch.

All in all I really couldn't fault it, the dining was homely and comfortable and you were warmly welcomed. The chef had clearly thought about the menus, which I think really makes a difference, to know that the produce has been carefully considered before its put on the plate. The Felin Fach Griffins website describes itself as enveloping you in a big cuddle and sending you to bed with a smile on your face, it did just that, I'll be back again. 

Small Cook x

Mmmmmm chocolate

So this is the cake my sister and I made for my mums birthday...... How did we come up with the idea you ask?  Well, we thought what does our mum like and basically, she likes chocolate.  Sooooo, how did we do it? With chocolate everywhere and a whole bottle of dye!!

My sister came to my house with three loaf size slabs of chocolate cake - kinda like a dense, fudgey cake (actually was really nice and not too rich, so the cake overall wasn't too sickly sweet with all the icing).  We went to tesco to get the decoration food.  Now, I am slightly ashamed to admit it and it was my sisters idea, but we bought the icing (or should I say frosting...).  I was all up for making some chocolate ganache, but for ease, I was persuaded to buy aunt crockers chocolate frosting and I tells you I'm not regretting it (I'm now having the odd spoon full when I come back from work... or 2... or 3.... and I'm putting it on my strawberries and cream.... mmmmmmm, yum!) 

We covered the cake in the frosting and stuck two of them together. We then stuck a slab of chocolate on the end.  Next, the tenuous bit.  Here's a tip.... If you buy lilac dye, just tip the whole bottle in!  We started by just putting in a couple drops, then a few more, then mixed it up, then a few more drops, then mixed it, then more drops, then mixed it, then added a bit of icing sugar to stop it being so runny from all the dye, then more dye, then mix, then dye, icing sugar, dye, mix, dye, icing sugar........ you get the picture...... We had to leave it a bit to dry out before we rolled it - it just fell apart when it was rolled out and lifted up.  Next the 4 handed difficult bit.  One of us layered the icing on the cake and the other sprayed the silver spray on the other side making sure it didn't go on the rest of the cake.... it's a good job this isn't really a recipe book, because I just don't know how would actually explain this without drawing a diagram or something. Then chop some squares from the final cake, ice them, put them on the board (without dropping one upside down like I did) and put some squares of chocolate on it!  Simples! The writing on the top is just skill..... ;-)

Happy Baking! xxx

 (WARNING: remember when putting the candles in that they don't go through chocolate...... otherwise you end up with wonky candles and lots of holes where you tried to put the candle in the cake......)

Easy Peasy Green Salad

How can something so delicious be so slimming?


This was my first thought after tasting this delightful summer salad recipe. We are currently enjoying pea season and I'm a big believer in buying veg in season, the taste is unparalleled at a time when sun ripened fruit and veg are crammed full of flavour. 


Recipe:
Head and tail a bag of sugar snap peas and pod a generous amount of garden peas, this will form the base of your salad. Toss these in a saucepan of boiling salted water, the water only need just cover the peas, add a knob of butter. The key in cooking fresh green veg is to lock in flavour. These only need stay in the pan for 3-4 mins till just cooked, this method almost steams the veg and gives a buttery taste without loosing to much to the water, whilst the peas retain a slight crunch. 


Once cooked plunge these into ice water to stop the cooking process. Mean while toss some rocket in a bowl containing a table spoon of pesto, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little extra olive oil to give a more dressing like consistency. If you're feeling fancy you can use fresh pea shoots we see at all the top restaurants delicately placed on minute servings of salmon... at least you'll carry on the theme. I however, love the peppery flavour off rocket. 


Add the peas to this and mix well, season to taste. For an extra flourish you can add torn pieces of mozzarella and a few cashew nuts for crunch. There we have it, Easy Peasy Green Salad, all the flavour of a summer garden squeezed into a light salad. Perfect for hot summer days, BBQs and times when you just feel like a light meal. 


Enjoy! 


Small Cook xx