Krista at Londonelicious came up with this corker of an idea – write a post about your perfect day in London (or anywhere else). At first I thought this might be quite a simple task – food-centred (obviously) – but I had no idea how often I would change my mind, I agonised over it! In the end I realised I would need an infinite amount of energy and stomach space to really make it work but this is my perfect day and so I wake up with both.

The day starts in our flat. Now of course I realise there are many wonderful places in this city to get breakfast and coffee (Monmouth being a personal fave) but I want the rare treat of breakfast in bed and so that is how we start. I will eat boiled egg with marmite soldiers, eggs benedict or florentine or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, depending on my mood. Chris and I will then catch a train to London Bridge (reeeally early) where we walk along the bank of the Thames, so that I can hopefully catch one of my favourite London landmarks, Tower Bridge, in the mist (there will be morning mist followed by bright sunshine on my perfect day).

I am a little obsessed with the fairytale bridge, massively incongruous against the modern skyline of superslick buildings and cranes. I think it is a masterful piece of architecture and when I see it surrounded by morning mist, it never fails to take my breath away. OK, so this is a bit of a crap photo but it was a cloudy day and she is opening, which caused me great excitement. Yes, I do refer to the bridge as ’she’ and I also follow her on Twitter which gives me no end of amusement as updates consist of ‘I am opening for the HMS blah blah to pass upstream’. I feel like I have embarrassed myself enough now and so will stop. talking. about. the. bridge.

We will take a look from the high level walkway and then amble on down to Borough Market (here’s my review) – of course. Remember, it’s still early at this point and so we are beating the crowds and getting first pick on the produce. It’s time to visit some of my favourite places so first up, the cider man. Yes, we are a couple of hours shy of midday but the man is so nice and jolly (how is it that I don’t know his name?) that we will stop for a chat even if we can’t face the hard stuff yet.

Then we join the queue for a chorizo roll from the Brindisa BBQ. This roll is so worth the wait you won’t believe it! With the tried and tested sustenance of cider (maybe) and chorizo inside me, we head around the market to pick up the ingredients for a picnic, to eat with friends at another of my favourite places later on. There will be cheese from Neal’s Yard – probably some of the barrel aged feta, although this Milleens looks good (if a little tricksy to transport).

There will be some calzone from DeGustibus (below), filled with vegetables and mozzarella…

…some cakes, of course, along with some scones, clotted cream and jam…

…and perhaps some pies from The Ginger Pig – always great picnic fare.

I need a little rest after all that walking around and eating and so we will catch the train to Charing Cross and walk to The Sanctuary in Covent Garden for a relaxing massage, to rejuvinate before the afternoon (I’m not sure what Chris is doing at this point, as The Sanctuary is ladies only – probably massaging his beer buds in the nearby pub). With a new lease of life we head up to Regent’s Park to another of my favourite places -  the Inner Circle, for that picnic with our friends.

Super tranquil with weeping willows over the lake, immaculate lawns and of course, the totally stunning rose gardens. They have started to die off in the pictures below but you get the idea.

We save dessert for later because we are heading South from one park to another – St. James’s. We are going here partly because it is a gorgeous place but mostly because you can feed the squirrels (they eat right out of your hand) and I adore those little guys. Cute, and yet you know they could take a finger no probs if they fancied.

Next, we will head towards Battersea. I have always wanted to explore inside the now derelict Battersea power station. I find the structure awe inspiring and eerily beautiful. Apparently, the ever present London pigeons are quite interested too so the developers have introduced a couple of peregrine falcons, to try and keep the little blighters out. The BBC has some great pictures and titbits of info here and the Londonist ran a fab little article too. I have just realised I also refer to the power station as ’she’. Make of it what you will.

Photo from Jon’s Pics London set on Flickr

From Battersea it’s back to London Bridge and a drink in the not-so-secret wonder bar that is Shunt. Pass through an unmarked door into the dark tunnels underneath London Bridge station to be greeted by a strange fantasy bar, (a different theme each week, chosen and created by London artists) – this place is really quite impossible to describe, but there are some great photo sets on Flickr.

Finally, as if we haven’t eaten enough already, it’s time to go for a meal with a difference (I have limitless resources remember?). This is possibly one of the most ridiculously extravagant ideas for eating I have ever come across, I’m not great with heights but if I had the chance, I would go for dinner in the sky….now that is a restaurant with a view…

Picture from www.dinnerinthesky.com

Ok, so British food gets a pretty bad rep (occasionally quite rightly so – see item 63 on the list) but there are so many British ingredients that are well worth celebrating. The Omnivore’s Hundred got me thinking about my own personal list and I could resist no longer (considering I only posted the Omnivore’s Hundred this morning, I didn’t resist very long). I’m so interested to find out what bloggers from around the world think about some of these entries and to see how many you have eaten. Of course, being a UK resident all my life, I’ve scoffed down nearly all of them – hardly surprising. How many have you tried? Anything I’ve missed that really should be on there?

(If you would like to post the list on your blog and link back here, please do so, I would love to see all that British fare spread around!)

 Edit: Apologies, I forgot to add the rules/guidelines/instructions/whatevers…

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Link back to Food Stories, if you would be so kind.

1. Grey squirrel (oh, how I’ve tried!)
2. Steak and kidney pie (one of my all-time favourite pies)
3. Bubble and squeak
4. Spotted dick (now come on, it’s a pudding people….)
5. Hot cross buns
6. Laver bread
7. Toad in the hole
8. Shepherds pie AND cottage pie (bonus point if you know the difference!)
9. Scotch egg (I’ve had excellent versions like the one at The Real Food Festival and bad ones, very bad ones…)
10. Parkin
11. Welsh rarebit
12. Jellied eels (I can’t eat the skin though)
13. Stilton (and now we have the wonderful Stichelton too)
14. Marmite (I love it, by the way..)
15. Ploughman’s lunch (I will never tire of the Ploughman’s)
16. Cucumber sandwiches
17. Coronation chicken (now THIS is another reason why we have a bad rep)
18. Gloucester old spot (my uncle keeps them in his back garden)
19. Cornish pasty
20. Samphire
21. Mince pies
22. Winkles
23. Salad cream (I used to be literally addicted to cheese and salad cream sandwiches, which is one hell of a dirty snack)
24. Malt loaf (LOVE IT spread thickly with butter)
25. Haggis
26. Beans on toast
27. Cornish clotted cream tea
28. Pickled egg (for the really hardcore, there is an old English pub tradition of putting an egg in a bag of crisps and shaking it about then eating it. I know this because I have worked in a lot of pubs in the past and talked to a lot of people from a certain generation!)
29. Pork scratchings (like I say, I’ve worked in a lot of pubs)
30. Pork pie (essential picnic food!)
31. Black pudding (William Rose do a great one if you are nearby)
32. Patum Peperium or Gentleman’s relish (I use this for seasoning)
33. Earl grey tea
34. Elvers
35. HP Sauce (got two bottles on the go right now)
36. Potted shrimps
37. Stinking bishop (I’m game though)
38. Elderflower cordial
39. Pea and ham soup (Niamh made a gorgeous one recently)
40. Aberdeen Angus Beef
41. Lemon posset
42. Guinness
43. Cumberland sausage
44. Native oysters
45. A ‘full English’ (how else would I cure my hangover? Well, apart from oysters, they are the BEST CURE)
46. Cockles
47. Faggots (practically grew up on ‘em)
48. Eccles cake
49. Potted Cromer crab
50. Trifle
51. Stargazy pie (not the original, but my own)
52. English mustard (brace yourself!)
53. Christmas pudding
54. Cullen skink
55. Liver and bacon with onions
56. Wood pigeon (see top picture)
57. Branston pickle
58. Oxtail soup
59. Piccalilli (I like it with number 30)
60. Sorrel
62. Chicken tikka masala
63. Deep fried Mars Bar (one bite! SO disgusting)
64. Fish, chips and mushy peas
65. Pie and mash with liquor (although I didn’t eat it in Manze’s, London’s oldest pie and mash shop but I will soon as it’s just down the road!)
66. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (with gravy)
67. Pickled onions
68. Cock-a-leekie soup
69. Rabbit and Hare
70. Bread sauce
71. Cauliflower cheese
72. Crumpets (one of my most favourite things in the world)
73. Rice pudding (I am not a fan)
74. Bread and butter pudding
75. Bakewell tart
76. Kendall mint cake
77. Summer pudding
78. Lancashire hot pot
79. Beef Wellington
80. Eton mess
81. Neeps and tatties (eat them with your haggis)
82. Pimms
83. Scampi
84. Mint sauce
85. English strawberries and cream (sigh wistfully….)
86. Isle of Wight garlic
87. Mutton (massively underrated)
88. Deep fried whitebait with tartare sauce
89. Angels on horseback (I really want to try these)
90. Omelette Arnold Bennett
91. Devilled kidneys
92. Partridge and pheasant
93. Stew and dumplings
94. Arbroath smokies (I ate one in Canteen recently and it was outstanding. Apparently, they do one of the best number 45’s in London)
95. Oyster loaves (sounds interesting though!)
96. Sloe gin
97. Damson jam
98. Soda bread
99. Quince jelly
100. Afternoon tea at the Ritz (It’s a British institution and I haven’t done it!)

I can’t wait to hear the responses to this. I am bound to have missed something absolutely essential and I know I will kick myself when someone tells me…

(The picture at the top is a salad I made recently using UK pigeon breasts, beets and watercress. It has a pomegranate dressing and is finished with more pomegranate seeds and walnuts).

I am finally free of extra work commitments and therefore back to more regular blogging – hurrah! So here we have the best ever meme style list thingy ever to do the rounds – it’s the omnivore’s one hundred. I now know that Jill and Andrew from Very Good Taste had no idea their little list would be so popular.

When I started reading the list and realised I had never actually eaten huevos rancheros I was stunned. So I made some. I have to say, my Food Stories version was pretty fine. I used chorizo and greens in the beans and although very untraditional, ohmygod – they were so good. Especially, with the salsa, avocado, jalapenos and blobs of creme fraiche with a fried egg on top. A sprinkling of coriander and a toasted tortilla to tear into bits and use as a scoop for all the good stuff….

So, onto the list. Here are the rules if you would like to play along…
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison (love it)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (ta da!)
4. Steak tartare (I LOVE steak tartare. There is something about the meltiness of raw beef. When it comes to actually cooking steaks, I like it just ’shown the pan’ too)
5. Crocodile (once – can’t even remember what it tasted like)
6. Black pudding (quite a lot, actually. Chris likes it on Saturday mornings)
7. Cheese fondue (Chris doesn’t like melted cheese on Saturday mornings or any other day or time of the week)
8. Carp (at least, I don’t think so)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush (I like to BBQ the aubergines in the summer)
11. Calamari
12. Pho (I know, I can’t believe it either, it’s a bit of a huevos rancheros situation isn’t it?)
13. PB&J sandwich (I only recently got over my fear of the PB. I had a serious craving for it one day after hating it for years. I ate some on two slices of toast and then abandoned the jar. I did, however, try this when I was a child)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (We were recently in Reykjavik, Iceland and wanted to visit the famous hot dog stand Bæjarins bestu, which means ‘Towns Best’ but we ran out of time. If the queues are anything to go by however, those dogs are good)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (my dad used to make a lot of fruit wine)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (don’t do it – well, not unless you eat a lot of chillies)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (so many that I don’t even bother telling you about them any more)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (had them at lunch yesterday in fact)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float (I had to look this up! I would try it but I can say for certain I would not finish it)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (more than a few)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (I honestly don’t think so)
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (so high on the list you wouldn’t believe!)
42. Whole insects (I ate a fried cricket and Ros, Julia, Bron and Pete were my witnesses. Pete ate a chocolate coated scorpion and Ros ate, well, a bit of everything! She really took one for the team I have to say…)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu ( I wouldn’t risk it thanks)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (oh, maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner….)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (more than a little overrated I thought)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (these sound good, I love Japanese pickles)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (friends will not let me forget how I once ate some chicken nuggets when VERY drunk so I am in for some serious teasing about the fact I ate a fair few Big Mac meals when I was a teenager)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (I had never even heard of this but if I ever visit Canada, I will try it)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (a whole lotta offal gets ate at Food Stories HQ)
63. Kaolin (I would try it but I don’t really get it)
64. Currywurst (sounds pretty good!)
65. Durian (there is a shop selling fresh Durian just a 10 minute walk from my front door – I passed by only yesterday and saw a big box of them outside. I must take the plunge!)
66. Frogs’ legs (a subtle, slightly fishy flavour methinks)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (despite our previously stated love of offal, we haven’t got around to this one yet)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (many a forgotten night…)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (I’m sorry but that sounds disgusting)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (not….yet)
85. Kobe beef (see above)
86. Hare (Chris and I were both a little disappointed with the flavour of hare as we expected it to have a much stronger flavour)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (I may have eaten it in Iceland but I’m not sure – long story)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (Belazu rose harissa is delicious)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox (I had gravadlax and Scottish style smoked salmon, but not lox – to my knowledge)
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So there are 37 items on the list that I haven’t tried and a few that I never will. Some of them will be sampled as soon as possible though, such as the Pho and curry goat. The list is very US-centric, so it’s not surprising that some of these items were completely new to me – the Hostess Pie and s’mores for example. It is a personal compilation of course, so if I were to make my own, I would add things like marmite, ploughman’s lunch and grey squirrel, which I tried to track down at Covent Garden Night Market but couldn’t find. I was also surprised to find that I haven’t blogged many of the items on the list, something which I shall be rectifying in due course!

(If you would like to make the beans I used for my huevos rancheros, fry some cooking chorizo, add onions and garlic and then beans (a ratio of 2:1 pinto and kidney) and some stock (just a little to loosen). The throw in shredded greens and let it reduce a bit before mashing the beans up a little. I also added a little cumin. They were fantastic)

I’ve been tagged by Manju of Three Tastes – the task being to pick out my top 10 favourite photos from Food Stories. My photos are technically appalling, no doubt about it, but I still enjoyed trying to capture the moment. I must say that Chris and I relished looking back through the archives and remembering the meals we’ve shared together. These are the favourites for the happy memories that they evoke. Here goes, in no particular order…

The garlic starfish. This wet garlic was an absolute revelation – the skin peels off effortlessly and the cloves pop right out of their skins like a dream. It’s beautiful. Yes, I think that garlic can be beautiful. This was the day we also completed our mini garden on the balcony where we ate the crab-cucumber rolls (see below).

My first challenge as a member of the Daring Bakers. Initially I thought it was a silly idea to make lollipops from a cheesecake, but after eating the first 2 6, I was totally converted. They are flavoured with rosewater and pistachio – my favourite ingredients at the time – and the baked cheesecake recipe is one of the best ever.

These gluten-free amaretti biscuits I made for my friend Louise – she has both an allergy to gluten and a serious taste for Amaretto (as do I). They did turn out a little chewy but it added to their charm and I polished off quite a few myself by way of ‘quality control’.

These crab rolls are perfect summer eating. Thin strips of cucumber containing Whitby crab meat, alphonso mango, chilli and coriander. Gorgeous textures too.

The colours of these young globe artichokes are stunning. I like the way a little hair from the choke has settled itself on the centre of the artichoke, making it look like the light is bouncing off it and sparkling.

This lamb rack was flavoured with lavender flowers and honey. I remember being so excited to discover lavender as a cooking ingredient. I put the remaining stems in a vase on my desk as an aid to concentration during exams (the reason I haven’t posted so much the past couple of weeks).

This baklava is from the early days of Food Stories. I found the recipe a little heavy on the butter, even for my taste, although it did win me over on the sin factor. The summer light streaming through the window does something that takes me back instantly.

One of my favourite ever food photos – I just want to stick my finger in the bowl and scoop up a big blob of unctuous-gooeyness and then again, and again and again…..Just like I remember feeling at the time when making the uber-challenging Opera Cake.

If you are looking for a new way to enjoy asparagus, this could be it. Pare thin strips from the spears with a vegetable peeler, top with crumbled goat cheese, parma ham and a raspberry vinegar dressing.

OK, so this isn’t a picture of food – but it is a fantastic photo, taken by Chris on our balcony garden. Check out the way that bee has his foot on the petal. Awesome.

 Edit: Um, so I just realised I forgot to tag some other people – doh! Here we go….

Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking
Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie
Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe
The White on Rice Couple

This is an entry for ‘In the Bag – Cooking the Month of April‘ hosted by Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie. I’ve been watching this event for a while and considering that Food Stories is all about seasonal cooking it would be a bit silly to miss this one – non? When I saw this month’s ingredients I was excited, firstly because the flavour and waxy texture of Jersey Royals is so fantastic and secondly because I can never seem to get enough watercress. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to get to a market so I had to opt for being ripped off by the supermarket for a well-travelled, disturbingly-perishable bag of watercress. I did pick up some very cute baby Jersey Royals though, which made up for the disappointment.

I’ve made potato bread before using this recipe so I decided to follow the basic structure and just play around with the ingredients as necessary. Firstly, I must say that this loaf is moist – at first I thought too moist, even sticky. The next day however, it dries out a bit to a respectable bread-like texture. Problem is, you obviously need to eat it warm from the oven otherwise what is the point in baking bread at all? I’m just warning you that’s all. We actually enjoyed the gooey texture. It’s definitely comfort food.

Now, on the back of my derogatory supermarket comment, I did make a surprising discovery a couple of days ago – Greek basil in the herb section. I’ve never come across Greek basil before and I really would not expect to find it in Sainsburys but find it I did and snapped it up pronto. The leaves are very small, like miniature Italian basil leaves but neater and the flavour is very peppery, much more so than it’s common counterpart. It also has a distinctive grassy taste, ‘just like Greek olive oil!’ I screamed (the excitement was all too much…). I chucked a good handful into the bread mix and it perfumed the bread (and our flat) with a wonderful aromatic scent.

I made a simple black olive tapenade to eat with the bread, a spread which I find to be highly addictive and consequently really bad for my waistline. It’s not the tapenade per se that’s the problem, it’s the large quantity of bread that I spread it on. That’s the problem the BEST THING about food blogging, it’s like your duty (you tell yourself!) to test out these recipes and disseminate. I mean, I HAVE to eat that extra slice, I can’t quite tell if those flavours are right yet…..It gives me an excuse and that is the reason I get up at ridiculous o’clock to exercise 5 times a week……

Jersey Royal, Watercress and Feta Bread (with Greek basil!)

Adapted from this recipe

350g Jersey royals, 2/3 grated, 1/3 chopped into small chunks
200g feta cheese
A generous handful of watercress, chopped
A generous handful of Greek (or regular) basil, roughly torn
350g self-raising flour
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 heaped teaspoon of fine salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon sugar (I think? I’m not sure if I actually added this…)

Preheat the oven to Gas 5/190C/375F and grease a baking sheet really well.

- Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
- Add the grated and chopped potatoes, spring onions, watercress, basil and crumble in the feta.
- Use a palette knife to blend thoroughly.
- Beat the eggs with the milk and add to the bowl. Bring together to form a loose dough, still using the palette knife.
- Put the mix onto the baking sheet and shape it into a rough loaf. Dust the top lightly with flour.
- Bake, middle shelf for 50-60 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool on a rack before serving.

Black Olive Tapenade

We like our tapenade to be anchovy-heavy so you may want to adjust the quantity if you want less of the fish, more just a seasoning. I also like to make it fairly chunky as you can see, which I think helps to keep the individual flavours.

2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons capers, chopped
8 anchovy fillets, chopped
40 pitted kalamata olives, chopped
Small bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- I really enjoy chopping this by hand but I realise that normal people would probably just chuck it all in the blender. Pulse everything except the oil. Decant into a bowl first, then stir it in.

If you like feta-


Smoky, sweet and spicy red pepper soup with feta and mint
Globe Artichoke Salad
Feta, Chicory and orange Salad
Farro Salad with Rose Harissa Dressing
This is great with feta too – Watermelon, Caerphilly and Pumpkin Seed Salad
Beetroot with Cumin and Feta

I’ve also been tagged for a meme, 3 times – so I think it’s about time I got around to doing it. I’ve been tagged by -

Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie
Ryan from Ryan’s Recipe Blog
Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking

The task is to write a six-word memoir. Describe yourself in six words. Ummmmmm, for some reason this makes me uncomfortable but I’m going to do it anyway. Hungry. Hedonistic. Weird. Lucky. Organised. Blonde.

And I’m going to tag

Christie from Fig & Cherry
Peter from Kalofagas
Cynthia from Tastes Like Home
Tami from Running with Tweezers
Mag from Hummus and Tabbouli