Foodie Sitting Still

I’ve recently discovered the wondrous joy of sitting still in my life. It has been a conscious effort to do so, a mysterious warm comfort blanket of stability, of knowing where I’m going to live and work for the next couple of years, of setting down roots to nurture into a sturdy oak upon which I can lean and read my Kindle. For a frantic frequent traveller who has been a post-doc in flux for four busy years. This feels remarkably nice.

I made the decision to sit still after a recent spate of awful travelling luck. It began in Stockholm, having been privy to a delayed flight and having the misfortune to arrive into Heathrow as bewildered as a baby deer as the whole terminal was in a state of chaos due to wayward plane catching fire resulting in a temporary shut down. You don't need me to tell you that Heathrow in crisis at 2am is not a fun place to be. The mania of fraught, worried and wordless Swedes, the screaming of understandably cranky children, the patience-wearing-thin-but-still-wearing-a-veil-of-politeness British Airways Terminal 5 staff handing out baggage reclaim forms to snatching dismissive hands, the bad Costa coffee. After dragging my sorry behind home at 3am sans suitcase, I was a bit pissed off.

I returned home 10kg lighter to find that to add insult to injury, some genius criminal mastermind had stolen the majority of my money and was living it up in Singapore. I imagined him/her gleefully withdrawing hundreds of pounds at a whim, presumably to sit in fancy hotels and drink Singapore Slings, glasses clinking in the hazy afternoon sunlight, the muffled sound of the busy city below punctuated with endless toasts: ‘to fraud!’, ‘to illegal cash withdrawal!’, ‘to the poor girl in her overdraft at the age of 29!’ . Or at least that’s how I imagine it.

A few days later after navigating a mind-boggling British Airways baggage reclaim system and eventually resorting to Tweeting them directly because it was easier (what have we become?), my sorry suitcase made it’s triumphant return, the slight squeak of the wheel mirroring my residual emotional trauma.

After my money was returned, my credit cards reinstated, clothes unpacked and Buddhist abandonment of all possessions ceased. I made the decision to stop flying about for a bit and stay at home more.

The decision has been a rather fruitful one. I’ve begun to read more. I have time to make espresso and listen to the Archers on a Sunday (poor Lilian). I know vaguely what’s happening in Syria. I’ve swapped permanent shoulder damage from heavy bag straps to resting and reading in the bath. I've swapped consumption of dubious WHsmith sandwiches at a dingy train stations to crusty homemade bread topped with in-season crab and a dollop of glistening homemade mayonnaise.

So this weekend I will be sitting still and making Welsh Rarebit. The food of my people. Such a dish combines some of my favourite things: Wales, cheese and a lovely ale.

Recipe and obligatory insta-grainy photo to follow.

Bon weekend

The Art of (Coffee) Happiness at The Bean

The art of frothy happiness

I've been spending a lot more time in Nottingham recently, mainly due to cleaning out my bank account on spontaneous trips to America, having lots of work on and freak weather conditions making me not want to leave the house.

My weekends have settled into a happy routine, Friday night laundry, Saturday morning brunch at home with the paper, Saturday night dinner with friends usually huddled around a heater with a glass of red wine, and Sunday at The Bean.

Since my return to the UK, a good cup of coffee, much like a good man, is hard to find. Just when I was on the brink of giving up the thought of ever experiencing frothy milked joy in this country, The Bean came upon it's glorious milky horse to come rescue me. Ok this is a little over the top, I've had two coffees from there today.

The location of this aforementioned wondrous place is nondescript, in fact, you wouldn't even give it much thought. Curiously tucked in a side street next to Sainsbury's, it's view and location isn't what you would call beautiful. However, on closer inspection, the place is perfect.

The formula is simple, expertly made coffees with great milk art (I'm a sucker for a milky leaf or heart), simple and cheesy toasted sandwiches and a happy, friendly atmosphere. I almost always sit downstairs amid the Sunday papers, but upstairs has a tranquil atmosphere where you could type away on your laptop for hours on end without being disturbed. If it's there I always go for the tuna melt washed down with a large cappuccino. And I nearly always end up staying for far longer than I anticipated.

I've taken many a coffee connoisseur there to obtain their opinion. International coffee lover DP commented that it had a mild, drinkable quality (the taste of the beans not overpowering). New Zealand arrival SI noted that there may well be some kind of illicit drug laced within the milk that makes it so moorish. You can't usually stop at one.

So, to an unexpected lovely place. The site of coffees with old and new friends and sometimes many solo hours of contemplation about life, love and what to have for dinner.

Thank you Bean for making my winter that little bit better

The Bean
1 Stoney Street, Beeston
http://www.coffee-beans.co.uk/

2012: A year in food

Yep it's that time of year again, the end of one food era and the beginning of another. This year has been marked by not only things that I never thought i'd ever do (go to China solo, sign up for a half marathon, drive a car....) but also things that I definitely would do. That is eat, a lot.

So I thought I would share with you my personal food highlights of 2012.

Best breakfast out

My two stints in Sydney have made this one difficult but I'm going to go with the place with not only the nicest food but also the best memory. Bills. My breakfast here was a simple affair, a good old British meets Aussie fry up. Except each element is delivered to perfection, the scrambled eggs are of course legendary, the heart stopping slab of butter positioned between two perfect pieces of sourdough and the delicious sausages. Washed down with a much too small cup of coffee (pyramid scheme). Additionally to the food I have great memories of that breakfast, it was a warm morning, I was sat opposite a school watching parents drop their children off, I'd just read about how interconnected we all are in the world and I was exchanging eye contact with the barista who was far too good looking for his own good.

Runners up: Greek eggs at Demitri's Kitchen (Melbourne), a classic fry up at Boston Tea Party (Exeter, UK), simple but beautiful avocado and tomato at Elizabeth Bay Cafe (Sydney) and the £10 French platter at Enoterra (Shanghai)

Breakfast fail of the year: Element Fresh (Shanghai), 4 poached eggs, sausage and sweet toast...really?

Best breakfast in

Smashed Avocado on Toast

This year i've spent a lot more time in my self-proclaimed fabulous kitchen. I've spent many a solo Saturday taking in the papers and aeropressing the hell out of my coffee. But one breakfast moment in particular stands out, that's my smashed avocado on toast.

I think this one was so significant because it was my first weekend back after Shanghai and I had dragged my weary hungry self to Sainsburys for the first post-jet lagged feast. With hunger and greed ravaging my soul, I had eagerly filled my basket with treasures, some super fancy golden yolked eggs (I'm pretty sure laid by hens that were fed exclusively with organic feed from Fortnum and Mason), a loaf of sourdough, some beautifully ripe hass avocados and some Greek feta. As I began to consume my eggy masterpiece I had one of those moments where I wished that somebody had been around to taste what a wonder I had created. The best I could do was take an arty farty hipsomatic instagram of it and as my friend TES would say, promise to 'blog the shit out of it'. So here it is:

Best Scrambled Eggs when you haven't eaten scrambled eggs or decent bread for 2 months
Serves one greedy person

Really good quality room temperature eggs (3 if you are feeling crazy)
Cubes of feta
A handful of rocket
A splash of cream
Butter (the good stuff, I like the one that's flecked with sea salt)
A nice ripe avocado
A couple of slices of good white bread
A squeeze of lemon
A scatter of chopped fresh parsley

Toast your sourdough or whatever nice thick bread you have cut. Lavishly spread with that beautiful butter. Mash some avocado in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of sea salt and some black pepper. Spread generously on your hot toast. Next melt some butter (I know, I know...) in a pan and add your eggs with your handful of parsley and splash of cream. Scramble until gooey, don't let them go too far, take off the heat and let them firm up a bit. Arrange beautifully over your bread with a scattering of feta for saltiness and a handful of rocket to make you feel better. Serve with a fresh pot of coffee, the newspaper and Etta James.

Best fancy lunch

M on the Bund Brunch (Shanghai)

Dessert Platter, China Doll (Sydney)

A tie between my hatted lunch at China Doll with blushing bride VC and Welsh hottie GPR. We were spoilt with cocktails, duck pancakes, delicate and tender sashimi and a flurry of desserts (pictured).

Another incredible lunch moment of 2012 was lunch at M on the Bund with my wonderful Shanghai ladies. Not only was the food, view and atmosphere beautiful but also this was the moment, a week before I left, that I took the moment to appreciate the incredible experiences I had, and the amazing people that I had the pleasure of meeting. The fact that this moment also involved a Swedish smorgasbord and champagne was the icing on the cake.

Best absolutely mundane lunch

In my whole year my lunch highlight involves me crouching over my desk (which I made into a kitchen) in my little room in Shanghai, indulging in what might have been the best sandwich experience of my life. I think at this point I hadn't eaten decent bread, ham or cheese for a month and I had just discovered that you could get all of these things in my local supermarket just a hop, skip and a jump away. So I greedily constructed the best sandwich I've ever had, a slice of French cheese, some ham that I'm pretty sure on retrospect was a week out of date and butter all crammed in a huge crunchy and miraculously non-sweet baguette. I stuffed this with expensive salt and vinegar crisps imported all the way from the UK and for the first time in a month felt the culture shock melt away.

Best fancy dinner

Let's not beat around the bush here, my two best dinners out both involve Australia. The first, Porteno, two hatted heaven, specialising in meat but trumping with vegetarian delights such as quail egg salad with cauliflower puree. The second, one hatted happiness at Lolli Redini where I had a triple cheese soufflé foodgasm. Bravo Australia, you've done it again.

Notable mentions: The steak at Tonic (Nottingham), incredible pizza at brand new Scarpetta (Shanghai), birthday Yunnanese at Lost Heaven (Shanghai) and Duck at my beautiful friend's wedding (Corn Barn Exeter)

Best dinner in

Ronald McDonald eat your heart out

My stand out dinner also involves a solo Saturday night, for the whole week i'd had a hankering for a beautiful chicken burger. Having sneakily visited McDonalds that Tuesday for a McChicken Sandwich and still not satisfied, my attention turned to home made. I wandered around Waitrose hoping for inspiration and a few ingredients captured my attention, some beautiful fresh chicken breast strips, a packet of fresh breadcrumbs, some crunchy fresh rolls and some garlic mayonnaise. My dinner was set.

A Chicken Burger Supper for a blissful night in
Serves one girl with a hankering for a burger

A packet of chicken breast strips (you could do this yourself but I find this easier)
Either fresh breadcrumbs or a packet of panko (both are fantastic)
A crusty roll
A handful of whatever leaves make you feel better about yourself, I went for baby spinach
Half an avocado
Either homemade or really good quality garlic mayonnaise
Some mozzarella if you are feeling really naughty
An egg and some flour
Some skinny fries and Dijon mustard for dunking

Get yourself three bowls and whisk up one egg in one, some flour in another and your breadcrumbs in the final. Douse your chicken strips in flour, then egg, then roll generously in breadcrumbs. You could add some parmesan to your breadcrumbs here if you are feeling particularly mental.

Once you have coated your chicken heat some oil up in a shallow pan and fry each until golden. Pop them on a baking tray and finish off in the oven. Use your judgement depending on thickness, this should only take 15 mins max.

Prepare your lovely roll and get your chips cooked. Fill the roll with whatever you feel like. I added a strip of mozzarella, a smear of mayo and a handful of lovely peppery rocket. Add your hot chicken strips straight from the oven and serve with salad, fries and a dollop of Dijon for dunking.

Goals for next year

I have many food goals for next year, I want to visit Nottingham's very own Michelin Starred gaff. I'd love to eat a burger at Electric Diner in London. I want to try the new Scandinavian cuisine that is all the rage right now for my hopefully impending trip to Sweden and finally I'd like to bake my own bread and make some pate upon which to spread (if I can bear the sight of those livers).

So here's to an amazing year in food. I wish you all the best for 2013, may your plates be bountiful and your heart full of joy.

Lots of love and kisses
HYKAEI x

Cold Night Cookery: Vegetable Lasagne

If you don't like this, I don't like you

With the nights drawing in and the cold weather howling outside my window every morning I have decided to do something wild and spend more time at home. Over the last 12 months most weekends have been spent jumping on expensive trains to visit loved ones around the country. While I have enjoyed every minute of these visits, my winter plan was to spend more time enjoying my home, taking in some music, having lots of baths, writing and of course cooking.

This Friday night was a rare gem, my housemate and I were miraculously at the same place at the same time on a weekend and we also had a lovely visitor. No better time to cook my extra special vegetable lasagne.

In our household growing up we didn’t eat a lot of minced meat, my dad couldn’t really stomach it and my mum followed suit so rather than fry minced beef for our lasagnes and and chillis we either used vegetables, and later on in my childhood, Quorn.

Quorn is a marvellous thing when added to hearty meals, adding bulk and if you ask me actually tasting nicer than mince (I hate the look, sound and smell of minced beef cooking). So in my endless quest for the perfect vegetable lasagne I have finely tuned and crafted the ingredients until I have found the ultimate combination of taste, texture and nutritional value (ish, ignore the cheese).

The inclusion of the soft jarred peppers in oil is a 2012 revelation as a result of doing my weekly shop at Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s own jarred peppers are wonderful, slightly charred and sitting in a delicious, delicately flavoured oil that I like to keep and add to other dishes. I personally can’t have a vegetarian lasagne without a courgette or two and I couldn’t explain to you why. The jury is out about how to chop them and it depends on my mood. Sometimes I want a fine dice, sometimes I want them a little more chunky, other times I go for circular cuts to fully absorb the flavour. Tonight I’m feeling circular. I don’t usually use aubergine (or eggplant to the foreigners), tonight I feel like it. I’m probably going to layer it with the pasta after separately chargrilling it, maybe slopping it about afterwards with some olive oil and basil. We’ll see how we go.

I’ve experimented with different kinds of pastas, blindly believing that fresh is best I recently used fresh sheets to find that they disappointingly shrivelled up when I added them to the hot sauce, like they were ashamed of their long durum wheat yellow bodies (it’s Friday afternoon, it’s getting a bit abstract). So now I’m of the mind-set of screw you fresh pasta and I’m back to good quality dried stuff, sometimes I go for the green, today its traditional.

The cheese sauce is quite possibly the glue that holds the whole wonderful construction together; I obtained this wonderful recipe from my mother who can’t half make a mean cheese sauce. I understand that I’m supposed to be making a béchamel but who cares, I’m adding cheese. I’m also sprinkling the top with cheese and blobs of mozzarella. Lighten up, it’s Friday.

Finally to top it all off a lovely glass of red wine at room temperature. Pinotage should do it tonight. Ah. What a week. Oh and I appreciate I haven’t updated you on the running training for a while. Yeah..it’s going um....well....

Cheerio

HYKAEI BEST vegetable lasagne for a cold Friday night with friends

(Serves 6 or 4 hungry people)

Quorn mince (one bag)

2 onions or 3, whatever

Some garlic, diced, sliced, jarred. Whatever you have the energy to do with it

A couple of big jars of passata and a tin of tomatoes (preferably organic)

Some soft peppers in oil (I like Sainsbury’s own)

Olive oil

1-2 Courgettes and maybe a nice looking aubergine

A ball of mozzarella

Some fresh basil

Either dried or fresh lasagne sheets. I used fresh the other day and they weirdly shrivelled when I put them on the hot sauce so maybe go with some good quality dry ones

For the sauce

A block of good cheddar (just some nice mature/extra mature- nothing too extreme otherwise it will be overpowering)

Milk

Butter (real butter please not margarine). I like the French stuff

A little flour

Method

Firstly chop your onions up to a relatively fine dice, they should at least not be huge. Get a bit of olive oil going and fry until tender, adding some garlic until your kitchen starts to smell like mamas kitchen (I also appreciate the irony that Italians don’t EVER use garlic and onions at the same time). At this point add your veg, if you chopped the aubergine into small chunks add this now, you’ll probably need more oil, these things drink oil like Jamie Oliver on a slow day. Also add your courgettes ensuring that you have the heat high enough to get some colour on them all. Now it’s time to add the Quorn, ah magical, from freeze dried to mince in 0.2 seconds. Done.

Now you need to start adding your tomato based things to the mixture, either chop your peppers up or just throw them in whole adding a bit of the oil as well for good measure (not too much). Pour in your passata and tomatoes, a bit of water if you like and even some tomato puree if you want to go tomato crazy. Leave this to bubble away like a tomato sauce nightclub for a little while, use your instincts, if it starts thickening and looks awesome, it’s nearly done. Tear up some basil and add some seasoning, sometimes I add sugar sometimes not, always a bit of pepper, maybe salt. See what you think. You can EVEN throw a bit of your glass of wine in for depth of flavour.

If you are layering your aubergine like me then use this moment to fry in batches and set aside.

Right sauce DONE, set aside.

Now you are on to your cheese sauce, you need to watch this because it will cook quite quickly and then you will frantically need to construct your masterpiece (two people are better than one). First of all you need to make a roux. I never have exact measurements for this, just throw in a good old dollop of butter, a fair slice from your beautiful French stuff. When it starts to melt add a couple of heaped tablespoons of flour. I never add enough at this stage so don’t listen to me, add more. Stir until it makes a paste and now you need to add your milk whilst whisking, you can add some nutmeg at this stage if you want to be traditional. I never do, that stuff gives you hallucinations. Again this is a judgement call, it should be relatively thick now and this is your moment to throw in handfuls of salty amazing cheddar until the sauce can barely take no more.

Now to construct, layer sauce with pasta, a smidge of sauce, eggplant and repeat until you slather the top with cheese sauce. Dot with torn mozzarella and basil and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese (stop eating it). The key is to make sure all of the pasta is covered by liquid or it won’t cook.

Time to select a wine, gutsy Pinotage wins!

Put it in a hot oven, make yourself a simple green salad, cut some bread and dunk it in olive oil, and pour yourself a glass of red.

I saw you eating that leftover cheese sauce!

Bon appetite!

The Loneliness of the Not So Long Distance Runner

Running isn't so bad

In a slight change of tac, rather than write about the time I ate a butter encased cheese filled croissant, I've decided to write about something a little crazy that I did recently. Sign up for a marathon.

It's safe to say i'm not runner, nor am I sporty. I have an aversion to the gym, I can't catch to save my life and I have repressed memories of PE where I was kicked off the netball team after one terrible game as Goal Defence.

That aside, this year is all about challenges and distancing myself as far as possible from my comfort zone. So here I am, four and a half months from the marathon, slightly terrified, slightly in denial with a faded print out of my bootcamp style 'training schedule'.

I decided that it might be quite amusing to document the highs and lows of my 'training', the times that I don't bother because I have to eat a 3 course meal or go to Australia. The times that I go and want to throw up after 11 minutes (that happened today) and the pure of euphoria of doing something new.

In true researcher style i've already done the groundwork about how to be a runner, apparently you have to have good shoes, a lot of will power and dedication and an acceptance that you will get blisters and occasionally want to cry.

Glancing at my beginners 'how to get around the marathon without dying' schedule today I decided to test out my stamina by going for my first run in a year. The back drop was idyllic as I huffed and puffed my way around 4k going through a range of emotions, the low point 10 minutes in where I actually wanted to keel over and get into the foetal position and the high point 33 minutes in when I realised that I was over the hump and could actually keep going.

Sights of my run included a couple going to 2nd and maybe 3rd base as I jogged by, a few lovely squirrels, some lazy walkers eating ice cream (who I scoffed at in a smug runner satisfaction) and the chicks of Spring that have now grown into lovely scary ducks.

Level of pain post run..hard to say. It's been 5-6 hours and I can already feel my legs seize up. Maybe I went in too hard.

As I came home a little out of puff tucking into my yoghurt and blueberries and nuts, I realised why some people do this. The euphoria of pushing your body is quite rewarding, I got into a little world of my own with the backdrop of Hot Chip thinking about life and the future and how nice the park looked drenched in orange.

So run 1 over, 4k done. I will update on the highs and lows of the rest of my training.

Now if you'll excuse me I think I've earnt a piece of cheese on toast, if I can get up.
Ouch

Memoirs of a Martini: Best Cocktails in Nottingham

A Nottingham sunrise

Back from my holiday to Australia and a house move on the cards I was feeling decidedly more settled into the city. So settled in fact I was even considering purchasing some kitchenware (new coffee machine..swoon). Moving around a lot is a double-edged sword, itchy feet and the thrill of new experience is tempting but the downside is that I am never able to really settle somewhere.

Things were changing and Nottingham was looking and feeling a little more like home. To celebrate the heady joy of standing still for once I have upped my tour of the city. So this series of posts starts with the best cocktails in town (it's tough research but someone has got to do it).

Browns

20 Park Row, Nottingham NG1 6GR

http://www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/locations/nottingham/

Berry martini and a cosmo

Our tour starts at the newly opened and rather fancy Browns. My fellow food lover and office mate HS suggested some Sunday afternoon cocktails and one thing led to another and before we knew it we were enrolling in their loyalty program and telling all that would listen about the joy of their booze.

The great thing about Browns is that their signature delights are only £3.95 after 4pm from Sunday-Wednesday. How could we resist. Purely for research purposes we tried a multitude but we can highly recommend the cosmopolitan (complete with lit orange zest) and the berry and pomegranate martini. Our Greek companion NC loved the rum based vanilla daiquiri and the marinaded olives. If you want to soak up your straight booze a little more the flat breads adorned with chorizo and prosciutto are a tasty and cheesy snack.

Flatbread joy

The bar staff are really friendly and we even had an impromptu martini making session. If you are lucky enough to snag a table in their dining room the mains are a very reasonable price. However, be warned, this place is flavour of the month and perpetually packed full of beautiful people with pearls, nice neat beards and fancy jackets (not all at once, that would just be weird) so get there early.

Tilt

Upstairs, 9 Pelham Street, Nottingham

http://tiltbar.co.uk/

Tilt seems like an old friend to me now, the type of friend that always insists on getting me drunk.

It was love at first sight, I was mainly attracted to it's cosy loft, smiley staff and promise of good liquor and live blues. What could be better than that? The cocktails are great, a favourite of mine being Gin Garden which is adorned with cucumber and elderflower cordial. Refreshing and delicious.

I have hazy memories of sampling their rum cocktails, although I do believe that the such incident culminated in me falling asleep next to a carton of cheese, chips and garlic sauce in front of Snog, Marry, Avoid.

You can take the girl out of Wales....

The Living Room

7 High Pavement, The Lace Market

http://www.thelivingroom.co.uk/location/nottingham

I have mixed feelings about The Living Room, I'm not usually a fan of chain places but the setting of this place is something special. Set in the heart of the Lace Market just off a little cobble stoned walkway and opposite my favourite Saturday night hang out Nottingham Contemporary it's a convenient place for some decent food and a great cocktail.

I've visited The Living Room on a number of occasions from early in the evening to a quiet Sunday night to a bustling Saturday. Saturday it all gets a bit packed and stressful but early Friday night is the best time to nab a table, not have to queue for the bar and enjoy some live piano music. I always love a grand piano when I'm out and about. Maybe it's because I secretly want to be in Ally McBeal, without the anorexia and hallucinations.

A special living room cocktail treat is their apple pie martini, concentrated appley alcoholic goodness topped with real double cream. It's rather decadent and worryingly tastes totally non-alcoholic. Hiccup...bar tender pass me the custard.

Tonic
6b Chapel Quarter, Chapel Bar Nottingham
http://www.tonic-online.co.uk/

Tonic is another one of those places that I love to hate, I love the nice food, the fancy table service and importantly the cocktail menu but a little piece of  my heart does belong to the more quirky independent places. That aside, Tonic does make a damn good Grey Goose martini.

Oh they also do food too, good food. Like this, rare fillet steak with a rich jus, marrow garlic kiev and dauphinoise stack.

Remnants of a martini

 As you can see the martini was demolished way before this arrived. Can I have another? Shaken..not stirred and some more dauphinoise please.

The Walk: Nottingham's Worst Kept Secret

The Walk Cafe
12 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR
Tel: 0115 9477 574 Website: www.thewalkcafe.co.uk

Due to work commitments I had left Christmas shopping until the very last minute so the last but one Saturday before Christmas was set aside to bite the bullet and brave the hoards of Nottingham folk in the city centre.

To give me enough fuel to be able to shoulder barge groups of jeering teens and side step mums with triple buggies I decided it was time for a warming hearty lunch. I wandered around Delilah for a while assessing the food situation. Deciding it was too cold to sit outside (are these people mad?) I was just about to give up hope when I smelt a waft of fish and chips and spotted a small sigh. Ah ha I had finally found 'The Walk' cafe, Nottingham's worst kept secret.

Nottingham veterans had previously recommended 'The Walk' as having the best fish and chips in town, I was excited! One thing to note is don't come here if you aren't very hungry for fear of ordering from the children's menu. Luckily three days of stress and sneezing had left me ravenous. I settled on the battered haddock and triple cooked chips with mushy peas. A highlight was watching the super slender fashionistas trying to order. Now should I share a small plate of calamari with you or split a salad? I was having no such thing, my food was arriving as nature intended, piled up on a massive piece of slate!

Triple cooked chips.

I really enjoyed my lunch, the fish was beautifully cooked and the chips definitely put some meat on my cold bones. The highlight was the mushy peas, just like grandad used to make. I swallowed it all up and prepared to brave the Christmas crush. I will return to try some panko covered schnitzel for some Australian nostalgia and maybe a massive slice of cake.

Recession? What recession?

As it's the festive season it seems fitting to end this post with a  rubbish cracker-esque expression, so Merry Fishmas everyone. Here's to some festive eating before more wonderful adventures in 2012.

From Deli with Love: Part 1

It's no secret that I'm a little bit in love with delis. They are wonderful places, even during my student poverty days in Mumbles I still saved a few coins to buy two slices of imported Italian thickly cut ham stuffed with basil and rosemary to wedge between two slices of freshly baked white bread with a much-too-thick layer of salted butter.

So being still relatively new to Nottingham I am determined to scope out some lovely delis to while away some hours with the paper and a frothy coffee. My journey starts with one that is in it's infancy, a mere one month old and conveniently located close to work.

Smythsons Deli
361 Derby Road, Lenton NG7 2DZ
Tel: 07403 771491 Website: http://www.smythsonsdeli.co.uk/
At the moment cash only (just like all the trendy places)

Spot the fridge of beautifully made lavender ice cream

I first heard about Smythsons when an Australian colleague recommended it as having half decent coffee and some good sandwiches. With my desire for a coffee that comes somewhere close to a De Cleiu (sigh) I headed down for a spot of lunch.

What I love about this place is how great the staff are, from the looks of the 'good luck' cards that adorn every piece of spare space this is a cafe that has a whole lot of love. My coffee was great, and takeaways are good value at £2 for a small (a nice change from the long queue at Costa).

Creamy coffee and the Good Food Magazine..perfect

The owners are savvy with food and offer a lunchtime deal of a sandwich, some Yorkshire crisps (of course, this is Britain) or a bag of nuts and seeds and a coffee for £5. Interestingly last time I was there I noticed that they now deliver to offices within a 1 mile radius! Amazing.

The focus is on good local produce as it always is these days, an assortment of hams and cheeses adorn the counter and you can select any weird and wonderful combination to put in your sandwich or panini. I opted for the salami, comte cheese and chilli jam (a favourite combo at Number 8 Deli in Bridgford). The panini was pretty good, not amazing and the doorstep sandwiches are better. They have a hot and healthy lunch special every day and the day I visisted they had a hearty warming veggie chilli, a steal at £4 (50p extra for a wedge of that great bread).

Giant doorstep sandwich packed with love and a posh ploughmans

The current crowd seem to be intrigued passers by and academics. Due to it's location next door to Subway I suspect they may gather some customers that fancy some decent, non mass produced food for their lunch.

The highlight for me is the coffee, the cappuccino is frothy and delicious and becoming my favourite morning pick me up on the way to work.

I will return over and over again and look forward to trying a posh ploughmans for lunch (I had stilton food envy) or even stretching to buying some of their great looking handmade pastas and sauces for an easy dinner. Well done Smythsons, you are a welcome dot on my horizon.