Blog fans, it was only a matter of time before the higher echelons of the Scottish social media scene recognised me and mymonkfish for their Top 30 ‘Best of Scottish’ websites. Entering the chart at number 13 monkfish was up there with the best of them! Continue reading
Posted in edinburgh
Tagged Anna Millar, BBC OLIVE MAGAZINE, Best Scottish Websites, eating out in Edinburgh, eating out in scotland, edinburgh restaurant reviews, James Ramsden, masterchef, Mr Predictable, ottolenghi, Scottish food blogs, Small Adventures in Cooking, The List, The List Best Scottish Websites, Victoria sponge
It’s been a while since my last blog post so to make up for that fact what better subject to talk about than CAKE!
There’s a buzz in the air at the moment about ‘secret supper clubs’ so it goes without saying that sooner or later a ‘secret CAKE club’ would be born. Continue reading
Plenty, a fab new book by Yotam Ottolenghi has been my book du jour this weekend and ‘Plenty’ is what we’ve been eating. ‘Plenty’ of our five a day I should point out – this particular book is veg-tastic so not for the veg-shy amongst you. A much needed green fix was required after the over indulgence of last weekend…. Mr Predictable purchased me this lovely book for my birthday back in June (he’s good) but as ever I’ve not had a minute to really sit down and read it let alone attempt some of the culinary treats so I made a point to rectify that this weekend.
Posted in baking, edinburgh, in the kitchen
Tagged broad bean burgers, ottolenghi, quinoa salad, vegetable tart, yoghurt dip, YUM!
Come dine with me at Rock House, Loch Tay?!
This post is way overdue….two weeks ago myself and Mr Predictable spent what can only be described as an awesome weekend away at Loch Tay staying at ‘Rock House‘….wow, it was amazing. Where to begin…..the food of course!….and then more about the house which was inspiration to say the least…and then the views…….
Rock House at Loch Tay
Delectable hosts Penny and Roland spoilt us rotten from the moment we arrived till the moment we left. To start, 5pm friday, Ottolenghi olive oil and apple cake – can you believe it – the cake I made not so long ago – it was a lovely welcome to Rock House and a sign of things to come!. I then spotted that Penny had at least 200 cookbooks on her shelf, I’ll never feel guilty for buying another cookbook ever again (and have bought two in the last two weeks!!). We had monkfish for dinner that night – how did she know?! My favourite and it tasted divine. Dessert lit up Mr P’s face – Rick Stein chocolate torte meets meringue in several layers, he was in heaven and I wasn’t far behind! The company was delightful, verging on an episode of Come Dine With Me in the nicest possible way!
Breakfast was so up there with the best breakfast we’d ever had, home made EVERYTHING, need I say more. Porridge, stewed plums, cinnamon crunch, home made bread and jam, poached duck eggs…you get the picture! Same again Sunday morning cooked by Roland, as good as the day before he’ll be glad to hear! We treated ourselves to a BBQ down on the beach by the Loch on saturday night which was great…veuve cliquot and sausages, life doesn’t get better than that…we stumbled, quite literally back up to Rock House in the pitch black via a field full of sheep and went to bed happy.
So, wow, get yourselves there, the architect designed house is outstanding, the peace and quiet is a welcome break from the city, we were treated like royalty and our hosts were the loveliest hosts you could ask for. If you’re a foodie trust me, you’ll be in food heaven and leave thinking life doesn’t get better than that and when can we go back?!
Look at the view!!!
ps photos courtesy of Roland and Penny Kennedy
Posted in baking, out of the kitchen
Tagged come dine with me, loch tay, ottolenghi, rock house, Roland and Penny Kennedy
It’s been a full on weekend of cooking, diy, gardening, eating and drinking…really enjoyable and guilt free as the DIY burnt the calories needed to eat the list below…
Saturday – in between stripping the wallpaper in the hallway with Mr P I rustled up a rye loaf with seeds (Ken Wood helped out, he’s good) and some lovely red onion marmalade courtesy of a recipe from BBC Good Food, delish with cheese, yum.
Red onion marmalade
Sunday – a trip to Real Foods on Broughton Street for some vital ingredients then home to make Ottolenghi’s Granola Bars to keep Mr P going this week. Oooh, Real Foods, not mentioned them to you before and they perhaps warrant their own post but check the link, fab health food shop in Edinburgh full of interesting ingredients and they have just started stocking Willie’s Cacao products, even more reason to pay them a visit. Anyway, back to the story, my new husband is still munching his way through last week’s Rocky Road but I think it’s time for a health trip following the over indulgences of December and he seems quite up for some healthiness apparently (!) so 30 minutes later, Granola Bars, done…
Ottolenghi's granola bars
And on to what I’ve been looking forward to making all week, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s beef stew with cheddar cobbler topping…you’ve got to love the ‘F-W’, he’s a comfort food eater when the winter’s upon us (aren’t we all?!) and I stumbled upon this article on the Guardian website the other day….a quick ten minute read later and all of a sudden ‘who ate all the pies’ was the order of the day and I was in the supermarket gathering the vitals. It’s now 18:25 and there’s 35 minutes to go before spooning the cheddar cobbler onto the beef stew then another 35 minutes later and Mr and Mrs Predictable will be in comfort food heaven, can’t wait. It’s the little things in life….
Will post photo later once it’s on the plate. Will be serving it up with some buttered cabbage, can’t quite contain my excitement so will have a quick sherry to calm down ;-), laters…
Posted in edinburgh
Tagged beef stew, comfort food, granola bars, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Ken Wood, ottolenghi, Real Foods
