Sweet and spice at Thaikhun

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Asian food. In this particular case, South East Asian food.

A couple of weeks ago we stopped in at Thaikhun in Bath, one of the newest editions to the bottom of town, eager to get stuck in to all the gorgeous Thai delights that (many of) my friends hadn’t stopped going on about.

I knew we were going to love it just from the awesome decoration and amazing smell that was wafting out of the open kitchen when we sat down. The staff were very friendly and the food was ready super fast, which in a Thai street food restaurant I guess you subconsciously expect!

We went for pork and prawn dumplings, and pork skewers to start, which were both amazing. Packed with all the flavours that you expect from Thai food – a bit sweet, a bit sour, definite hint of lemongrass, and the gorgeous richness of grilled meat – these were just wonderful. Good start, we thought!

Next, we had roasted pork belly with green beans in a Thai red curry sauce with coconut rice, and a sumptuous chicken Penang curry and jasmine rice. Fab. Just fab. And all complimented by Singha beer.

My pork belly had been boiled and then cut into slices and roasted to render the fat down, complimented by the squeaky snap of green beans and a spicy, flavoursome sauce. The Penang curry was generously portioned with hunks of soft chicken. I’d made Penang curries before at home, but this was something else! We were planning on going for the sweet sticky rice with mango for dessert but just couldn’t manage it. Next time!

There was something about being surrounded by the brilliant Thai market-style decoration as well that seemed to make it even better – buddhas, street signs, old clocks and little pots of flowers are all around you as you tuck into these gorgeous dishes, plated up on beautiful serving dishes.

An absolute must if you’re in Bath and have a hankering for some sweet spice!

2017 is here!

Well, that went fast, didn’t it?! I’m not really sure where the last few months of 2016 went but I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Year, and is ready to boss 2017!

I didn’t post throughout December simply because I was so busy – we moved into our new home in September and pretty much every waking free moment since then has been spent on trips to various homeware stores, waiting in for IKEA deliveries etc. etc. BUT, I did make some gorgeous festive food (and ate a lot of it too!), and have a few pics of what I made to share.

We also went to London for New Year’s and had a meal at Marcus Wareing’s Tredwell’s restaurant, which was beyond amazing! I highly recommend it – it doesn’t matter if it’s a special occasion or not – just go!! So, here are some shots of the last couple of months of my year, and here’s to 2017! Happy New Year, everyone!

Lovely smooth dough and fruit about to be kneaded in for Paul Hollywood’s stollen recipe

Fruit combined with the dough

Dough rolled and ready for the oven!

Brushed with melted butter and dusted with icing sugar. Wonderful!

Festiveness 🙂

Christmas at home in a nutshell. Lovely!

Work Christmas party time!

New Year’s in London Town

xxx

What makes me, me. Part 13

Brand new bedroom | Bath in autumn | Wholemeal rolls dough | Harley Quinn & Co. print | Christmas decs! | Jaguar E-Type | Homemade granola | Our kitchen | Brogues in autumn

Simple wholemeal rolls

As I’ve said in my previous post, I decided to batch cook some minestrone soup this week for my work lunches and bake some wholemeal rolls to go with it. Perhaps unsurprisingly I went for Paul Hollywood’s wholemeal rolls recipe, coming across it in this article in The Telegraph from a couple of years ago.

To make the rolls, you’ll need:

• 400g wholemeal bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g strong white bread flour
• 10g salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 320ml tepid water
• Olive oil for kneading

The method is nice and simple. Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, keeping the yeast away from the salt, and add about half the water. See how the mix combines and add more of the water until you have a rough dough.

Turn out onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth and springs back when lightly pushed with a finger. Put the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove for at least an hour.

N.B. Paul says you can leave it for two or even three hours but I’m impatient! I’ve never left anything for longer than the minimum time and it’s always worked fine for me.

I was using this recipe for rolls rather than the loaf that Paul specifies, so after an hour I tipped the dough out onto a floured surface and knocked it back by repeatedly folding it in on itself a few times. I then divided the dough into 10, rolled into into balls and placed them on a floured baking tray. Next I covered the tray in some cling film and left to prove again in a warm place for another hour.

After an hour the rolls had risen really well so I put them in the oven at 220 degrees for 20 minutes. If you’re making the loaf rather than rolls then it’ll need 30 minutes. About halfway through baking the rolls started to smell AMAZING! I took them out after 20 minutes – they were a lovely colour and sounded hollow when tapped. Done!

I waited for them to cool and then put them in a zip-locked bag to freeze so that each one would stay as fresh as possible. The only thing with making your own bread is that without using preservatives it won’t last as long as bought bread.

Have a go!

Warming chunky minestrone soup

I decided last week that I’d had enough of eating salad and wanted soup for my work lunches! We’re nearly into November and I found myself craving big bowls of gorgeous chunky soup and rolls to dunk into it. So, at the weekend I dug around in my fridge and made this delicious minestrone soup.

To make this soup, you’ll need:

• 3 large carrot, roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 large potato, cut into small dice
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2l vegetable stock
• 400g can chopped tomato
• 400g can butter or cannellini bean
• 140g spaghetti, snapped into short lengths
  The recipe also calls for 1/2 a head of Savoy cabbage but I didn’t use it.

The method is super simple – chop everything up as finely or as chunkily as you like, fry in a pan over a medium to high heat with the olive oil for about 5 minutes and then add the stock, tomato puree and tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add the beans – I went for butter beans – and spaghetti, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Check for seasoning after 10 minutes. I added a spoonful of pesto to my soup as I just love it! As I said, I’m having the soup for lunches this week, so I waited for it to cool completely and then decanted it into a large plastic tub. The only thing with not eating it immediately is that the spaghetti absorbs more of the liquid, but I don’t mind!

I made some wholemeal rolls to go with this soup using a Paul Hollywood recipe. Click here to read my ‘Simple wholemeal rolls’ post.

To see the original recipe on BBC Good Food, click here.

Banana and blueberry breakfast muffins

These are a super tasty option for breakfast if you’re tired of cereal or toast. Plus they’re pretty much as healthy as muffins can be! The mix of wholemeal flour and oats makes the muffins nice and filling so you won’t feel tempted to snack mid-morning. Unless you actually choose to eat the muffins as snacks, in which case, go ahead!

To make the muffins you will need:

• 125g plain flour
• 75g wholemeal flour
• 200g rolled oats
• 75g brown sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 250ml milk
• 125g blueberries

The method is slightly different to what I’m used to making muffins – you separate the egg yolks and whites and whisk the whites so they’re lovely and fluffy and make the batter very light – but it definitely makes a difference. These were huge when I took them out of the oven!

Firs things first, weigh out your dry ingredients, make a well in the middle add the mashed banana, egg yolks, sunflower oil and milk. Mix until all combined but make sure you don’t over mix it – muffin batter does’t like being handled too much.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they form light peaks and gently fold into the batter. Fold in the blueberries as well and spoon into 12 muffin cases. You’ll have a lot of mix but it will portion out well into 12.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees (fan) for 25 minutes until golden brown and the blueberries have cooked and lightly burst and released their juice. That is my favourite part about adding blueberries to anything!

I divided the muffins up, putting six into a sealed tub and freezing the other six in a zip-locked bag. This is perfect if you’re going to eat them for breakfast as they keep really well.

To see the original recipe on BBC Good Food, click here.

Easy, healthy granola

This is a super straightforward recipe for tasty granola that’s delicious sprinkled on yogurt or eaten with milk. The recipe is from Elizabeth Rider and takes no time at all to prepare.

To make the granola, you’ll need:

• 170g rolled oats
• 70g nuts, chopped
• 30g mixed seeds
• 40g dried fruit, chopped – I used dried apricots, sultanas and cranberries
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (or a combo of both)
• 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil or other healthy cooking oil
• ½ tsp vanilla extract or almond extract
• 1 large pinch fine sea salt

All you need to do is weigh out all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix it together with your hands. The warmth from your hands will melt the coconut oil and ensure everything is well combined. Next, tip the mix out onto a baking tray, smooth out so that it’s evenly distributed and bake in a preheated oven at 150’C for 10-15 minutes.

After five minutes I took the granola out of the oven and stirred it a little to make sure it was getting evenly toasted, and then baked it for a further 10 minutes. The smell in the kitchen of oily nuts, coconut oil and maple syrup was amazing!

When the granola was evenly toasted I took it out of the oven and let it cool completely before tipping it into a kilner jar. The granola will keep in an air-tight container for up to two weeks. I couldn’t wait to have a lovely bowl of Greek yogurt topped with a couple of spoonfuls of granola and a drizzle of honey. Delicious!

Courgette, pesto and halloumi frittata

This is a super simple, super tasty frittata that is delicious with a pile of salad leaves and a generous drizzle of balsamic dressing. I have been making it for the last two weeks for work and it’s just as lovely when it’s reheated – the perfect tasty lunch for chilly autumn days!

To make the frittata, all you need is:

• 1 courgette, grated
• 2 tsp pesto
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped

This is a recipe that I found online but modified, adding in the pesto and spring onion. All you need to do is grate the courgette, squeeze all the excess water out of it and fry it for a couple of minutes on a medium heat in a non-stick ovenproof frying pan. Meanwhile, preheat your grill.

When the courgette has been frying for a few minutes, mix the eggs, pesto, spring onions and dill together in a jug with plenty of black pepper and then add it to the pan. Stir it briefly making sure that the egg mix is evenly distributed around the pan and cook on a medium heat until just the top of the frittata is still runny.Slice up your halloumi and place it on top of the frittata in whatever pattern you like. Mine looked a little scruffy but it doesn’t matter! Next, put your frying pan under the grill for 5 – 10 minutes until the halloumi is a gorgeous golden brown and the top of your frittata has set. Keep an eye on it as once the halloumi starts to melt it will spit and speed up the grilling process!

When your frittata is a lovely golden brown take it away from the grill and either serve immediately with a mixed salad, or wait for it to cool completely, wrap in tin foil and put in the fridge. It will quite happily give you five good-sized portions for lunches and is particularly lovely eaten (heated up), with some salad leaves and sliced avocado.

Enjoy!

Pancakes, ice cream and sunshine

Amazing rump steak at Brasserie Blanc | coconut and pistachio ice cream | summery hanging baskets | beautiful Bath | fruit pancakes | tart au citron | lovely coffee | blue skies | garlic and herb escargots

The best pizza at Stable

I am definitely a pizza-lover. When I had a (square) slice sitting on a wall outside the Pantheon in Rome it was a revelation to me, and I’ve loved it even more since, even though I probably annoy everyone by saying that no pizza since has been as nice!

Now, this pizza from Stable isn’t the same as that pizza, but it’s pretty damn amazing.

Stable has been in Bath for a little while and I know they have a few branches over the South West, having been founded in Poundbury. Their thing is pizza, pies and cider, which sounds pretty good to me!

This is now one of my favourite places in the city to go for food, especially when I fancy something really tasty!

I’ve now been there three times and have had the same pizza – the Avonmouth Angler – every time. It’s just so good! A gorgeously thin, crispy base, topped with hunks of salmon, smoked mackerel and spinach, plus, of course, a rich tomato sauce and mozzarella. Yum!

It never takes me long to polish one of these off, especially with a pint of Dorset cider to wash it down.