On the Bus

Last night, as promised, Mr. Stripey and I joined some friends for a meal on the Rootmaster Bustaurant. This entirely vegan establishment is housed in an old Routemaster, a number of converted containers (like the ones on container ships!) for storage and an awning covered seating area by the bus, which would be lovely in the summer but not in the torrential rain of autumn. Luckily for us we had secured the most comfortable seats in the place, a lovely table for eight situated upstairs at the front of the bus.

And this is where my dreams of being a restaurant reviewer of note come crashing to the floor. With my cook's hat on, with my health inspector's hat on, with an eye to the cost and value of the meal I find there were many flaws in the experience BUT I had fun and the staff were friendly and I don't want to give anyone a hard time over it. So, when I'm critical, don't take it badly. This is how it was for me, on one evening in November. It's not a final pronouncement on the end of the world. 'k...

Also, all the pictures are rubbish. Sorry. You can read the menu at the web site above.



Starter of stuffed mushroom - Mr. Stripey had this and I only had a taste. He liked it, my mouthful was stuffed with raw garlic but tasted good.



Starter Mediterranean Quesadilla - mine. This was pleasant enough. The alfalfa sprouts could have done with another rinse before serving, they had that slightly musty taste of sprouts stored a little too long.

Several of the party chose the Panissa for starter and enjoyed it but we didn't take pictures. Soup of the day was Broccoli, a particular dislike of mine and the restaurant had run out of olives which was surprising and a bit disappointing.



Moroccan Vegetable Bake, the Mr's choice. He was underwhelmed although it was perfectly edible. There was a flavour that I identified as pickled lemon and he felt was soapy. The most expensive dish, we both thought this was probably overpriced.



Roasted Pumpkin and Walnut Tart, a few people had this. The bite I tried had good pastry and well matched flavours. A winner.



Stuffed Cabbage dish. This was my main course and I have to admit I chose it seduced by the thought of roast potatoes and red wine sauce. I did get some of those but not quite enough and not quite as my imagination had furnished them. The barley filling was easy to eat but the savoy cabbage wrapping everso slightly tough. Either the 'polenta' was lumpy or it was mashed cauliflower, I couldn't be sure.

And so to puddings. Vegans will know that to be provided with a full dessert menu is a real treat and we all saved room for the novelty.



Chocolate and Caramel Fondant was the pudding of choice for most, although it has to be cooked to order and takes 20 minutes to prepare. The menu does suggest that if you're going to want it you should order when ordering your mains but of course, we didn't actually read that far when perusing the menus at the start of the meal. The wait wasn't a problem as the conversation was flowing well.

As Chocolate fondants go, these weren't bad although the inevitable cracks about Masterchef were made, chocolate fondant being the nemesis of many an amateur cook hoping to impress.

The diners who tried the Walnut and Caramel tart said it was good. It must have been, I couldn't get a bit to try.



I wanted to be different so I had the cheesecake which, frankly, tasted stale to me. Others ate their portions so maybe my tastebuds were off but I had to leave it.


As a group we are greedy drinkers and we had a little difficulty getting our wine bottles replaced as quickly as we would have liked. Also the bus has no toilet facilities, if you need to go you are directed to a bar across the square (I assume they have some arrangement). The toilets there are fine but you have to negotiate the rain, the gaggle of smokers outside the bar and a tremendously loud interior to get to them, all of which contributed to a headache which followed me all the way home to Newport Pagnell. Well, it was mostly the smoke to be honest and I can't really blame Rootmaster for that, it's everywhere.

The bill for eight came to just over £320 including tip. This isn't a huge amount per head for London, particularly as we had several bottles of wine in there but it does put it at the more expensive end of the range of veggie restaurants we've tried. If the niggles could be addressed I'd have no trouble paying it again but as it is, I think it's a bit high for the standard of food and facilities being offered.

Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourselves.

Puzzle of the Pine Nuts

It may not be something that's ever caused you a problem but there is trouble about in one of the most essential ingredients of many delicious vegan foods. The issue is Pine Nut mouth or "cacogeusia" to offer up an entirely arbitrary medical sounding name for the phenomenon.

After eating certain types of pine nuts some people develop a nasty metallic taste in their mouths which persists for days or weeks even. It's not an immediate effect and can vary in intensity. There have been reports of stomach pains and upsets as well although this is less well supported. It's not obvious what's causing the problem.

Although the issue has been registered with the British authorities since the middle of 2009 at least no formal answer is yet forthcoming, indeed it's not clear whether any official scientific efforts are being made to resolve this, although you can register with Food Standards by emailing here; toxicology@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.
Let them know the details of the pine nuts you consumed and the length of time you experienced the bitter taste.

The Danish food ministry have released some details of their researches which suggest that it may be related to Chinese sourced pine nuts, perhaps from species of pine which have not been traditionally used for eating but which are now being exploited because the world market in these nuts has grown but it doesn't seem to be as simple as merely avoiding Chinese sourced nuts although I must admit this has been my strategy for some time now.

Then, today, my attention was drawn to a website run by a graduate student in the Netherlands, The Great Pine Nut Mystery. This looks like a really useful resource for gathering together all the information about pine nuts that can be found and helping Grace and the researchers at Wageningen University unravel the mystery.

Slipped off the MoFO wagon for a spell but I'm out to dinner tonight so look forward to some bleary phone photos of my dinner tomorrow!

MoFo ate my reader

I've had to unsubscribe from the RSS bundle - not only was I drowning in reading that I had no chance of keeping up with it seemed to be overloading Reader in some way and causing all sorts of errors and anomalies. I'm going to make a point of popping over to the Where in the World page instead and working my way through what catches my eye there.

Anyway, I've not done anything very exciting to report. Mr. Stripey made a request for Millionaire's Bar, the sort of thing you give your wealthy uncle so he dies young and leaves you all his money, it's that rich. My first attempt at this has shortbread which is too crumbly and a caramel layer that's too chewy (although delicious and worth a posting to itself).



So it's back to the drawing board. I hope our bodies can take the punishment.

And then, I made soya milk. I know, it seems so unlikely, but this is the first time I've ever made soya milk in all my life. Truth be told, I don't like it much and for the small quantities that have been necessary it's just so much easier to buy some.

However, I have a cunning plan and it requires that first I master all aspects of soy product manufacture enabling us to enjoy home made tofu, tempeh and in the fullness of time maybe even miso and soy sauce too. I used the recipe here although it's not going to be particularly different to any other recipe. All I can say is, what a faff. It's not difficult but it is boring. I shall be working on my attitude problem assiduously I can assure you. And here are the results of my labours.

Rush job

Just a quick one to make the quota! Dinner tonight was pretty simple, boiled spuds, steamed cabbage and a rich onion miso gravy with slices of smokey tofu simmered in it.



Pudding was another very simple construction. Apple Fool. Most usually made with the mouth puckering green gooseberry or the equally sour faced rhubarb, fruits fools make any sharp fruit puree delicious, sweet and creamy.

If you google for recipes for fruit fools you'll find plenty that demand huge quantities of double cream but in the cash strapped middle England of my youth fruit fools were made with custard alone, not even an egg custard but the magnificence that is Birds Custard, just cornflour, sugar, vanilla flavouring, colouring and milk.

We've come a long way since then. Although I still have a can of the good stuff in the cupboard I splashed out on some ready made custard from Alpro. They may make rubbish soy milk and yoghurt these days (someone in marketing has decided that even the unsweetened versions need to have vanilla keynotes!) but it's hard to fault their instant custard. It's a gem of its kind.

Use equal quantities of freshly made fruit puree and custard by volume. I had some excellent cooking apples; Lane's Prince Albert, but any cooker that will give a soft frothy sauce will do. Mix the two together and chill until required. A tall glass and a shortbread biscuit will dress it up for company but we just ate ours with a teaspoon.

As usual apologies for the photos. I can't wait for the daytime to be longer than night again.

Get out of Jail Free Card

O.k. I'm taking the easy way out today. Reading the VeganMoFo RSS feed is taking so much time I don't have any energy left to cook. Seriously, although I've linked to the RSS feed page you might prefer to bookmark the Where in the World page and concentrate on one country at a time. My brain is fried trying to keep up.

This is the list from IEatTrees that everyone's doing... if you've not done it yet, hang on to the thought. It just might save your life.

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

You know, I don't think there is one. I knew I'd miss meringues and I do, but I'm working on it. I do miss good cheese, and I expected to. I suppose a lot of commercial confectionery - I had a mild sweetie addiction but if I do take a bite of something by accident these days I find it tastes stale and rancid, not very nice at all.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

I was mainly brought up in a houseful of conventional eaters and it stunted my curiosity to an extent. Luckily I had an Aunt who was a great foodie and she introduced me to the complexities of French cooking. From there, the world was my oyster.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?

Oh, anything with buckwheat in it. Yuck.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

We talking volume or frequency? A lot of low caffeine teas, like redbush or herbal blends and then I make up for that by as much espresso as I dare.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?

That weird stuff that was strangely addictive! My safe offering to omnis is baklava. They love it, and so do I.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

Am I OCD? No comment. I don't much like fusion cooking but luckily that fad has fallen out of fashion.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

Pickles

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?


Everything.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?

Chocolate, oil, spices. Almost anything really, although sometimes corners can be cut in the interests of economy.

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favourite snacks?

Normally, not much of a snacker. I just have six meals a day.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?


Marinated artichoke hearts.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

I love aubergines. And grapes are so easy to eat but really, all fruit and vegetables are fab.

What is the best salad dressing?

Classic vinaigrette.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Seriously? Soy sauce. However, I eat a lot of marmite too.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?

Any kind of soup. Feeling feverish? Miso Soup. Full of cold? Hot and sour soup.

What is your favorite cupcake flavour? Frosting flavor?


I don't eat cupcakes. Really.

What is your favorite kind of cookie?


Or cookies. Well, I'm lying. I like pink wafer biscuits but they're hard to get vegan. Also Nice biscuits, a sort of fine coconut thin shortbread biscuit which are probably not so well known world wide. Oh, and Bourbon creams... eh, takes me back to my youth!

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?

Most frequent is probably a big pan of mixed roast vegetables. I love all the food we eat, or I wouldn't make it.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

The Stripey male is much less keen on foods that are acid or bitter than me, so I don't make meals like that. He'll eat them but he won't ask for seconds and it breaks my heart.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?

You mean cooking? Depends, the evening meal usually takes about an hour but other food prep and meals can bump that up to three hours or so.

Waffle waffle waffle

I had a good birthday for cooking aids. This lovely shiny Cusinart waffle iron was a present from my son and I've been trying some different recipes to see how to get the best of it.

First of all I went for the absolutely most simple recipe I could find, based on this one called Frasvåfflor (you'll need to scroll down a bit to find it.)

Lacking enough vegan marg. I made substitutions and came up with this;

60g neutral flavoured vegetable oil
125g soya milk
100g flour (I only had spelt)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla essence.

This made four waffles, which were nice enough to look at but really tasteless.

So the next experiment used this recipe:

(based on the one at GroupRecipes)

115g strong white flour
115g rye flour
115g spelt flour
(the reason for this odd mixture of flours is that I only seemed to have a lot of strong bread flour on hand and thought it would make the waffles tough. Substitute 345g of plain or cake flour or use half that and half fine wholemeal flour)
50g sugar - white, brown, whatever
1 teaspoon (about 9g) baking powder
pinch of salt

25g light vegetable oil
350g non-dairy milk
170g water (you may not need all of it)

Get your waffle iron hot before you start to mix.

Weigh and mix the dry ingredients. Weigh the wet ingredients and add to the dry. Mix well. You may not need all the water but I found the mix much too thick in the original recipe and needed to thin it down a bit.

This makes about 12 waffles in the Cusinart. Ladle a good tablespoon onto each section and spread it a little bit.

Close and cook to your preference. I found these needed about 4 minutes and could maybe have taken a little longer if they were to be eaten immediately. As I was expecting to freeze them, I took them out before they were perfectly golden to allow for further browning in toaster.

They freeze well, allow to cool, bag up with some parchment paper dividers and toss in the freezer. You can then remove one or two for breakfast and reheat in the toaster from frozen. Almost as good at the freshly cooked ones.

Mofo Day 5 - Greek Chickpea Soup

Another reason for hating the winter, flash photography.

Recipes pop up in all sorts of unlikely places. My pointer to this absolutely classic simple Greek staple came from Agricultural Biodiversity, a site which brings together all sorts of interesting things about humans, crops and the wild relatives that spawned them. Today a link there about the European Food Information Resource took me to a recipe file (it's a downloadable .pdf) where I found the recipe.

The original (on page 51) made far too much soup for two and I wanted to use the pressure cooker to reduce preparation time, so I soaked 500g chickpeas in hot water for two hours and then pressure cooked them at high for 20 minutes. Half the chickpeas were put aside for another dish and I continued with the remainder.

250g chickpeas (dry weight)
Water
1 large onion
70g Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
15g (1 scant tablespoon) white flour
7g (1 heaped tsp) salt

Soak the dried chickpeas overnight (for about 12 hours) in a bowl of cold water, then rinse them thoroughly and place in an uncovered saucepan filled with water over high heat. When the water starts to boil, skim off the foam which forms on the surface and reduce the heat to a medium temperature.

After 10 minutes, add the onion and the salt (the onion is added at this early stage so that it can dissolve and blend into the soup). Add hot water as required during cooking so that the chickpeas don't dry out and stay "soupy".

Test the chickpeas whilst as they cook until they are soft. This will take about 2 hours. Or speed this step up by soaking the chickpeas in hot water for a couple of hours and then pressure cooking according to your pressure cooker's instructions. You can add the onion and salt to the pressure cooker at the start or in the next stage.

Take about a quarter to a third of the cooked chickpeas from the pan and mash them with a potato masher or stick blender. Return the chickpea pulp to the pan and stir in. Add the finely chopped onion and salt now if it's not already in the pan, and cook for a few minutes until soft. Bring the volume up to about 1 litre with more hot water if needed.

Mix the lemon juice and the flour in a bowl and add to the soup. The amounts in the original recipe are a bit odd, I think for 500g chickpeas as described it should be 30g white flour or two tablespoons. The flour both thickens the soup and helps the olive oil stay in suspension. The lemon juice is for flavour so adjust to taste but you'll need at least one whole lemon's worth. Allow the soup to cook for 15 minutes or so to cook the flour and meld the flavours.

Then add the olive oil and simmer for a few minutes more. It should be comfortingly thick and simple. Add some chopped green herbs if you like.

Serve, with bread, salad, olives, vegan cheese or whatever.

Les neiges d'antan

Carrot Cake from my birthday 2006

Aubergine Tikka

Instant Fail on VeganMoFo as I totally didn't make the necessary post for yesterday. In my defence, well, there isn't very much, but that post will be along shortly, probably in the company of several others.

So, this is a meal I cooked for myself about three weeks ago. An Aubergine Tikka Masala. The sauce tasted great but was strangely unappealing to the eye (and not entirely like the original) so for now, here is how I made the Aubergine Tikka part without a Tandoor.

Cut large aubergine(s) (it's delicious, do plenty!) into biggish chunks, they will shrink by about 50% when cooked so cut with an eye to finishing with bite sized pieces for serving.

Sprinkle a good teaspoon of fine salt over the pieces and leave to degorge for about an hour. Now, this step is often regarded as unnecessary with modern varieties of aubergine but the point here is not to remove bitterness but to slightly dehydrate the fruit so that it will absorb more of the marinade in the next step.

When the pieces are oozing liquid, squeeze them dry. You can rinse the salt off first if you like, probably a good idea if you have high blood pressure but rinse quickly and squeeze well.

Make a marinade of 100g non-dairy yoghurt, a tablespoon of mashed garlic, a tablespoon of grated ginger and a half teaspoonful each of ground turmeric and a good red paprika. These spices will help with the colour. You can also add a little garam masala or your favourite curry powder if you like but don't overdo it.

Mix the dry aubergine into the marinade so that it is well coated and leave for an hour.

Heat your oven to hot.

I used a hob to oven pan for this, a wonderful cast iron oval skillet which holds a fearsome heat. Heat your pan up as hot as it will go on the hob with just a splash of rapeseed or peanut oil in it. Put the pieces of aubergine in, with the marinade still clinging to them, making sure they are well spread out. Turn them over so that they are sealed on all sides.

Add a sliced chilli and some finely sliced onion rings and pop the whole pan into the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the aubergine is richly golden.

Serve with naan breads, a raita, salad and other curries.

Decisions, decisions.

Whose idea was it to run VeganMoFo actually in the same month as NaNoWriMo? For someone with a very limited ability to get myself motivated even as far as making breakfast it is definitely taking the piss. I don't think I can do both and my ability to choose rationally is pretty poor too, so I may end up doing nothing at all.

Anyway, I can at least have a go at blogging this. For my birthday, a whole month ago now, I received a kit of secret powders and special tools so that I could start to experiment on the rather well trodden paths of molecular gastronomy.

I'm still learning techniques at the moment so it will be a while before our meals start to show much influence from the higher echelons of fancy cuisine and even longer before I'll have any original recipes to share but for the moment please be amazed by my first attempt, a beetroot caviar.