Sunday 4 September 2011

Thank you Steve Hatt

and huge thank-you to the hubs for preparing this lovely sushi lunch
I came back from the gym SO pleasantly surprised. I was craving sushi-- how did he know?!? :-)
this was T's take on a baked scallop dish that we had at Mai Sushi. The scallops were baked in a delicious spicy mayo sauce with roe on top. OMG.. it was/is drool worthy!!
a whole lotta fresh fish




and freshly shucked oysters!!



Seriously, if you've never had an oyster, you're missing one of the greatest slippery experiences in your life. They are so delicious!
asian inspired oysters with mirin, sesame oil, and roe
beautiful aren't they?!
so sad when they are all gone :(
T made us chirashi bowls with most of the fish
yay I love ginger- such a wonderful palate cleanser



salted cooked mackerel and after all that heavy white rice, time for a nap!

The Draper's Arms

Tarek and I had a date night Friday at the Draper's Arm's, a bib gourmand gastro pub within walking distance from our flat.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Bib Gourmands:
Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must offer menu items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. Bib (Bibendum) is the company's nickname for the Michelin Man, its corporate logo for over a century.
oh wheaty, textural bread.. how I miss you!!
After getting yelled at by Club Gascon (okay, they didn't exactly yell  at me, but I'm overly sensitive!), I'm trying not to take flash pictures out of respect to other diners who might find the bright light to be annoying. Thankfully, I was able to get somewhat decent pictures on my SLR.
We ordered the salt pollack brandade,which was realllllly good! It had the texture of mash potatoes and was perfectly salty, creamy, and delicious. The brandade was also complemented by a perfectly soft boiled egg- YUM!
pint of prawns with garlic aioli for a dipping sauce. The prawns were small compared to the ones we order at my all time favorite pub Cadogan Arms but they were still pretty tasty with the aioli.
T and I both ordered the braised ox cheek with black mustard mash, watercress, & crispy shallots. I guess we were both craving something hearty, which this dish met perfectly. We both agreed it would be a great dish to have in the wintertime.
We also had a side of triple cooked chips. They were REALLY fantastic. To have a perfect chip, it must be
  • crispy on the outside
  • warm and soft on the inside
  • taste like a true potato (none of that oily aftertaste)
I was a bit disappointed by our other side of kale. They were very vibrant in their green color but tasted bland; I guess nothing that a little salt and pepper wouldn't fix! Overall, I really enjoyed our meal and would definitely go back.

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies

I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies the other day, so I decided to try out a really simple flourless choco chip recipe from a new blogger I found.
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/30/flourless-chocolate-chip-cookies/
3/4 cup GF oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/8 tsp salt, all ingredients blended together in a food processor to the consistency of flour
3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons soy milk + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

I was a bit skeptical about the crumbly texture but I think its because I added too much soymilk! Oops.. I did my best to form them into balls with my hands.
I got 8 decent size balls on the greased cookie sheet (ergh... I think we need to get a new one!). I popped them into the oven at 175 C for literally 5 minutes and they came out looking terrible but tasting amaazeballs!
IWANNAHOTONENOW!!!
I just couldn't wait to get my grabby hands on these bad boys. They were chewy, oaty, chocolatey, and delicious!
Oh yea.. they were gone in 2 days :)