Did you miss me?

I noticed it had been a while.

Not a lot of cooking happening for the moment and perhaps, blogging here has lost its urgency.

But never say die.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year - it's really just another day, further hours, some more minutes and seconds since the last year but there is something about arbitrarily marking off a period of time makes us draw breath and consider our place in the universe.

For this blog then, the time has come for a radical rethink, a rebuild and a new direction. I'm not yet sure where to take it after five years of documenting a little of my life, some of my attitude to cookery and a lot of my rather mundane meals but I feel this old shell has been outgrown.

Expect a small hiatus, after that I hope to be back starting something new, that won't be entirely unfamiliar but will present the old favourites in a new way and give the new techniques a chance to become more comfortable.

To the next stage... Cheers.

A Christmas Competition

Although we are a resolutely atheist secular family the winter holidays do offer an excellent chance to express our British socialisation norms and get everyone together to share some time. Trouble is, the standard pastimes of such Xmas gatherings, eating, drinking and slumping in front of the television always leave one feeling vaguely cheated of shared topics of interest and close interaction.

This year a plan was hatched to keep the creative and competitive animals engaged while still feeding the inner beasts.

We decided on a contest. Originally inspired by Masterchef Professional that format was quickly ditched as too complicated to administer and judge, not to mention far too filling with 5 cooks at the pass. So the brief was to produce a small amuse bouche or appetiser, just a mouthful or two for each person to taste and judge.


Tapenade Toast - a really simple tasty morsel that was absolutely on target in my opinion, savoury, crispy and making you hungry for more.

The points were awarded via an anonymous online questionnaire for originality, presentation, deliciousness and christmassyness. That last category did cause some problems as it's a bit intangible and some complained they weren't given enough warning.


Hearts of Almond - a raw savoury marzipan served on tiny crispy crackers and beautifully presented. Recipe available on request.

Everybody tried hard and the standard was extremely high, with just six points between the lowest score and the highest.


Three Types of Tart - Red pepper, Pea and aparagus and a rich Onion Jam on the thinnest of crisp pastry shells. Delicious.

We had to take turns in the kitchen, looking over each other's shoulders and helping out (and making helpful remarks, which isn't quite the same thing) but the gaps between each presentation helped to keep our appetites sharp and our appreciation honed.


Polenta Fusion - Polenta Chips with Japanese seasonings and a seaweed salad garnish.

I was grateful that my Stripey Son and the former Mr. Stripey, neither of whom are vegan, kindly adapted their ideas so that all the offerings in the contest were animal free and could be enjoyed by everyone.


Cold and Hot Fruits - a chilly red fruit sorbet served with a mulled spiced warm tangerine cocktail. A taste sensation.

I'm not going to reveal the winner, see if you can guess.

Underground Pop Up Supper Clubbing

Last night was the final date for the three public dining dates I'd arranged for this autumm. I haven't felt able to blog about the venture during the last month as it's been something of a roller coaster of emotions, confusion and disappointments and I didn't want to project the wrong impression while I was still trying to encourage people to join the meals.



Keen eyed observers will have spotted that although we had a successful 'dry run' of the Newport Pagnell event with friends from London the actual public night was cancelled as there were only two confirmed bookings by the date and it seemed unfair to get those kind and trusting people to turn out for something that would not, could not be as billed.

This was very disappointing and I put it down to a combination of my poor marketing skills and a dearth of vegan interest in the area.



However to confound my despair the next planned evening, in Nottingham, sold out and we even had a short waiting list. This was more as I'd been hoping and planning for and it was good to give my fledgling catering skills a work out in Paul and Alex's kitchen with tables full of hungry diners to enjoy the food. It seemed to go well with few problems and I hope everyone was as happy and pleased with it as they seemed to be. Nottingham vegans and their friends really are very sociable and lovely.

Particular thanks to Adrian at the Vegan Nottingham guide for allowing me to advertise on his site, it made all the difference.



And so to last night in Ealing. We tried in every way we could to publicise this dinner, with notices in local health food shops, on Twitter, on Supper Club Fans, with a Facebook page, on the Vegan Forum and by plain old begging of our friends and relatives but although I had thought something in Greater London could hardly fail in the end we had just one erstwhile friend in attendance. A very pleasant dinner in great company was had but it could not be described as any sort of public event or successful as a supper club meal.



So, regretfully, the supper club experiment has now ended and it doesn't look like it's worthwhile to try to take it on any further. Time to think of some new adventure to try.

Cooking every day

But little time for blogging. Here is a haul of vegetables from the local Farmers' market in Newport Pagnell. I'm missing my French veggie patch which could have supplied most of these lovely things but still, it's nice to support other growers.

Things I have learnt

Yesterday was the Supper Club Rehearsal Lunch. It was a success I think, with no major disasters and a good time had, but it was a learning curve and these are some points to remember.



Despite starting several days beforehand we were still cleaning, assembling tables and ironing tableclothes just before the guests arrived. It is sometimes difficult to know what to do when guests are unavoidably detained in bad traffic. The amuses were a hit, even the garlic dip which is nearly pure garlic with a little salt and oil, was popular. Get the table laid early.



A bread basket is a wonderful and necessary thing but it's difficult to serve oil and balsamic vinegar elegantly and people can feel intimidated. If I'd had an extra person to wait front of house it might have been possible to hand the bread and dressings individually but people don't like to reach.



Even when you think everything is in hand, it's easy to overlook small details. I sent the starters out without their apple crisps. It's amusing to rush around the table and dress things in public once in a while but I think it's a habit that could become irritating.



It's a mistake to cook something on the day that you haven't tested a dozen times before. The tarts were pleasant enough, certainly edible but the presentation was appalling and I nearly lost it completely by not regulating my ovens adequately, trying to cook too hot to make up for lost time.

And we forgot to take pictures of the pudding! Which is a shame. Ice cream does need to be churned before the meal and not during it, no matter how delicious soft serve is. When adding alcohol to puddings be aware it might not suit the drivers.

Everyone still had room for sweets and coffee. I'm not sure if this means the portions were too small, the guests were too greedy or it was all too delicious.

I had fun.



If you would like to join a Supper Club meal in Newport Pagnell on Saturday 12th November then please let me know in the next couple of days as take up has been very slow and I'm hovering on the edge of cancelling.

Nottingham and Ealing are selling well, so if you were thinking of eating with us then it's probably a good idea to get your reservation in now.

Yesterday was World Vegan Day

And this is the post I meant to put up for it!



After a fairly uneventful journey back to the UK I've had to settle into the work plan for November and really get on with stuff. It's not coming easily to me, beset by worries that everything will go terribly wrong and panicking because although places for the dates in Nottingham and Ealing are going fast there seem to be no vegans or vegan-curious diners in the whole of the Milton Keynes / Newport Pagnell area. It's a worry and with just 10 days to go I need some new ideas for publicity.

Pictured above the Hazelnut Shortbreads to go with the Fruit Compotes and Ginger Ices on the Newport Pagnell menu. They worked quite well and I'll have another go to perfect the cooking times when the private Dress Rehearsal lunch takes place this Sunday. Guests for that are mostly coming up from London, although Alex who is hosting the Nottingham event with his husband will come down for the day.

I hate to beg but I'm going to. If you have any friends, relatives or contacts in the Newport Pagnell area (we're close to Bedford, Northampton and Milton Keynes too) and you think they'd like to try some Underground Dining (they don't have to be vegan, the food will stand on its own merit) then do let them know we have an event on the 12th November. Tickets are available here, I can accept email reservations at catofstripes@gmail.com and the menu and all details are also available at the Stripey Cat Supper Club website.


The vegetables for the mustard pickles, which are degorging before cooking and bottling.

Er... #2

This Hallowe'en pumpkin head is my current self portrait. I feel orange, ugly, and essentially empty headed. Although I've not quite completed Vegan Mofo 2011 (I've never done one completely yet) it's all over for me.

I was kindly given the Liebster Award by Jeni Treehugger.

“Liebster” is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’. The idea behind this award is to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers and show your support during Vegan Mofo!

The rules of winning this award are as follows:
1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

This is very difficult for me because I love you all and I have many many blogs on my reader list. Also I have no idea how many followers most of you have or whether you've been awarded already but this mofo I have mostly been reading...

Tea and Sympatico
Cooking Vegan food Up North
The Vegan Cupboard
Adventures
The Vegina Monologues (I cannot tell a lie, it's the title that hooked me)

But I'm not going to lay the obligation on further. If you think you've found a good blog that's under-appreciated then tell the world. That's all it needs.

Ciao

Supper Club Tests #4

I'm not really trialling the griddled aubergine steaks for the Supper Club but the rich red wine sauce that goes with them. Onions and mushrooms are cooked together in olive oil until they are richly caramelised, red wine is added, a big glassful, to deglaze the pan and to add fruity acids of its own. More stock, seasonings and some sweetness in the form of redcurrant jelly or brown sugar enhances the flavours and then the whole pot full is allowed to simmer and thicken.

It tasted good but as you can see from the picture it needs to be sieved before serving to remove the slightly unsightly gribbly bits and possibly thickened in the classic manner with a beurre manié (suitably veganised of course).

Les Amuses

Language is a funny thing. In particular names of things have a habit of changing over time because, usually in an attempt to make things interesting again, someone decided to redefine the wheel.

Time was when these tiny snacks that come with the drink before the meal were called hors d'oeuvres or appetisers but those names now often refer to the starting course of a meal set. Don't even talk to me about entrées, that word is abused worldwide to such an extent it is almost meaningless.

Scratching around for something fancy to call what the honest Brit on the bus would call nibbles, menu writers have seized on another French phrase and made it their own. Enter Les Amuses. You can have amuses gueules or bouches, but to keep it simple for an international audience the qualifiers are usually omitted.



I have a particular fascination with tiny food. Miniature portions of things, tiny replicas, salty savoury morsels to be devoured in a bite all call my name. A book bequeathed to me by a beloved aunt is William Heptinstall's Hors D'Oeuvres and Cold Table which despite being very dependent on flesh as an ingredient is a wonderful, sharp read full of good advice and clever wheezes.

Today I've been playing around a bit in the shallows of the craft. To be honest these very simple bites are not shining examples of their type but, did I say? my kitchen is very very cold at the moment. Still they do fulfil the basic criteria and with a little bit of tweaking or some wholesale alterations will provoke an appetite nicely.