Abel and Cole

Doorstep Drop Off

A few months ago, thanks to a very, very dear friend I discovered what is now quite possibly one of my favourite companies on the planet... Abel and Cole.

As soon as I logged on to their website I was converted, and every Monday I am now the extremely delighted recipient of a delicious variety of seasonal, organic veg. And who wouldn't find Monday mornings more bearable when you wake up to a great big cardboard box full of goodies sitting in the porch!


One of the winning factors for me is the ease of use of their website. It is so fool proof that even I manage to select my likes and dislikes, choose the dates I'll be on holiday (and so won't need a delivery), flick through the endless recipes and add bits and bobs onto the back of my main order.

We have the small veg box which is £9 and plenty for the two of us. The weekly boxes are always varied which gives me the perfect excuse to try out new recipes (not always successful... as Robbie will vouch for) and it also makes sure we're eating more of our 5 a day!

You can log into the site in advance and change your order if there's something you don't like, or you know you need something extra. And it's not just veggies! There's a whole range of food and drink - all fresh and organic.

This was yesterday's delivery (and yes some of the items do arrive looking like they've just been pulled out of the ground, but this is to keep them fresh and to try and prevent any transit-bruising):

If there's ever a vegetable that someone might not be as familiar with using as they are with the good ole' carrots or broccoli, they even pop in a handy little guide like they did for this little aubergine...

We got an extra present for free (sometimes the nice people at Abel and Cole do that) - a mini mince pie. Unfortunately I scoffed it before I remembered to get my phone out and take a snap. My first mince pie of the season!

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, they'd included a Christmas booklet. As well as showcasing the wines and foods they sell online, there were some great Christmas recipe ideas too...

As well as fulfilling my vegetable dreams, Abel and Cole are also very particular when it comes to being eco-friendly. Not only can you leave your empty boxes on the porch each week for collection (they use them again), but they also have some very 'cool' cooler-bag ideas too...

This week I'd found their Chilli Crab Spaghetti recipe online, and ordered a few extra bits to make it. I'll post it up once its cooked. This is the crab meat that arrived in the above cool bag, nice and... cool :-)

Beef Tacos

Taco Tuesday

After spending two days listening to the endless drones of a man-flu victim, there was nothing else for it. If it kept him quiet for half an hour, I was going to slave away at the stove for twenty minutes to prepare his fave dinner - Cheesy Beef Tacos.

This recipe is SO quick and easy, looks the part and tastes restaurant quality! If you want to try it, here's what you'll need:

• 500g beef mince
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2tbsp tomato puree
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1tsp ground Cumin, 1tsp Chilli flakes, 1tsp hot Paprika
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped into small chunks
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• Lettuce
• A load of grated cheddar cheese
• Ready made taco shells, I use Old El Paso, below

For the lettuce, I use baby gems as the leaves fit perfectly into the little taco shells...

 
Firstly, fry your onion and garlic in a little oil. Add the mince and brown all over. Then add your Cumin, Paprika, Chilli flakes, tomato puree and give it all a good stir.

Allow to cook for a few minutes to let the Mexican spices flavour the meat.

Meanwhile, prepare your taco shells so they are standing upright in an oven proof dish. Add the lettuce leaves something like this:

Pile the mince meat mixture into the taco shells. Sprinkle OVER-generously with your grated cheese, and pop in the oven till cheese is melted, glistening, and screaming out your name.

Add the chopped tomatoes and spring onion to the top of the tacos and stuff any gaps you can around the sides with spare tomato.

Grate on a little more cheese (one can never have too much). Place delicately on a plate with a lettuce leaf to make it look like a Ramsey creation and serve!

Oh, and don't forget to summon the flu patient before you polish them all off!

MEATliquor

MEATliquor

The best thing about a restaurant located just off of Oxford Street is that it is located just off of Oxford Street. The perfect face-filling location after a full-on day of high street trawling.

Not only is it located within spitting distance of Topshop, H&M and Zara, but MEATliquor also offers the PERFECT dinner when you've worked up a huge appetite after being on your feet all day. Full fat, cheesy, chilli burgers, chips, deep fried whatever-takes-your-fancy and a menu full of tasty desserts too!

I must say, if you don't want to be queuing round the corner of the street for (yes) around 2 hours, then you should definitely arrive early. MEATliquor is a popular place and they don't take reservations - its a first come first served kinda place!

Decor is Gothic; blood, werewolves, bears, strange smiley pigs and a lot of black, red and white sprayed all over the place, with graffiti messages like "I do not live in the world of sobriety."

To start, Sophia ordered some extremely naughty deep fried pickles that came with a tasty dip. Apologies for the darkness of the pictures... low level lighting would be an understatement... 

Sophia AKA Meat Madam / Chief Burgerette sucking on a Battered Pickle

Deep Fried Deliciousness!

There's also a variety of cocktails which had to be sampled - it would have been rude not to! I went for the 3 rum Grog on recommendation!

For main courses, I went for the bacon cheeseburger, Sophia had the philly-cheese-chilli-steak-heartattack-mountain and we both opted for some chilli cheese fries... just in case we'd under-ordered!

Perfectly timed as we finished dinner, one of the waitresses appeared with a tannoy announcing the bravest man of all men, Will, who was about to take on the 10 minute challenge! Managing to overcome paralysis-by-over-indulgence, we scooted over to join in the cheering as the restaurant accompanied Will's friends in banging fists and shouting 'You can do it Will!!!'

The challenge is that the contestant must polish off 3 hot chilli dinners in under 10 minutes. If they manage it, the £20 meal is free, and should they finish the platter in close to 3 minutes, they're added to the leader board just to prove their utter eating amazingness!

 I was also thoroughly impressed with the toilet signage - because everyone loves a naughty word...




























On top of the excitement of Will coming in at under 10 minutes and getting his whole meal for free, there's also a photobooth for hours of fun at the end of the evening, when one has over-indulged in rum cocktails!

Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

This fragrant stir fry dish takes about 20 minutes from start to finish - perfect if you're home late and just want a tasty dinner on the table as quickly as possible. It's really healthy but the best bit is that it tastes like it's straight from the Thai local take away!

These Thai flavours certainly pack a punch so if you're not a fan of spice go easy on the ginger and chilli.

 

To make this you'll need:

• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 clove garlic,sliced
• 200g egg noodles
• 1 limes, juice and zest
• 4 spring onions , sliced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced with the peeler
• 1 tbsp mint
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cm root ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chicken breast fillets , skinless, sliced
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce 

Mix your lime zest and juice with the sugar, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli and 1 tbsp of the Sesame oil and set to one side.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of the Sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok and stir fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes until golden in places and cooked through.

Add the carrots, spring onions and noodles and stir fry until piping hot.

Using a peeler to slice your way through the carrots gives the perfect stir fry result!

Remove from the heat add the dressing you made earlier, the mint and the coriander then toss to mix and serve.  Delicious!

Jambalaya Night

A Taste of Cuba...

Whenever I'm cooking for a larger group, I always find it easier and more sociable to cook a gigantic pot of something tasty, that sits on the stove for people to help themselves as and when they fancy.

On this occasion, it was for the boyfriend and me, plus the 'rents, who were over from Spain for the week... so no need to impress with haute cuisine!

Reminiscing about childhood holidays in Cuba, where my family and I would sit on the beach by day, and tuck into a rich, spicy Jambalaya in the evening, got me in the mood to create an old family favourite. This spicy, rice dish originated in the Caribbean Islands. The Spanish culture mixed with the native foods and created what we know as Jambalaya - a mixture of meat, vegetables and seafood topped up with stock and plenty of rice. If you want to make this dish you'll need:

(serves around 8)

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 450g skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 450g smoked pork (I used gammon steak)
• 900g long grain rice
• 20 odd prawns, raw
• 2 tins plum tomatoes
• 500g tomato puree
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 1/2 pints (2 litres) chicken stock
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1tsp dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves

If trawling to the supermarket doesn't appeal to you, buy these ingredients online here.

In a large pot, brown the chicken cubes in the sunflower oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides - about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Do the same with the gammon or smoked pork, (no need for salt and pepper) The smell of the cooking bacon may warrant an early taste.... just make sure it's cooked through! Set aside with the chicken.

Add chopped onions, celery and red pepper to the oil left in the pot. Cook for 5 minutes until onion and celery turn transulcent.

Add tomato puree, and stir for a few minutes. Then add the tins of plum tomatoes, the stock and scrape any tasty sticky bits on the side of the pan into the liquid, stirring until smooth.

Add cayenne (2 tsp is pretty spicy, you may want to start with 1 and see how you go), a bit of pepper, oregano, thyme and bay leaves.

Return the chicken and pork and then add the rice. Stir, cover and cook with the lid on for about 20 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the bottom isn't burning.

Once rice is tender and most liquid has been absorbed, add the prawns and cook it for another 10 minutes. When they're perfectly pink, grab some plates and forks, call in the crowds and enjoy!

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. This dish gets tastier by the day as flavours marinade.

Duck & Waffle - Breakfast with a View

Not recommended for those with a fear of heights!

So Sunday just gone consisted of heading into London with husband-to-be, Mother and Mother-in-Law, to view the Queen's Chapel (our wedding-venue-to-be) following its recent refurbishment works.

Of course one can never start such a task without devouring an enormous fried breakfast, and it seemed like the perfect excuse... I mean opportunity... to test the new Duck and Waffle at the Heron Tower.

This quirky new restaurant is on the 40th floor of the tower, which is somewhere near the top of this...

Thankfully there was a lift!

On flying up to the 40th floor at a rate of knots in a glass, OUTER FACING lift, we were greeted with a breathtaking view of London just as the 9am haze was clearing:

We were first in the restaurant and had a choice of table, so opted for one by the window. The menu was as equally pleasing as the view, and it was a difficult choice between the full English or the chocolatey waffles!

 

As you can see, I went for the take-no-prisoners-fry-up, and boasting a giant mushroom, black pudding and plenty of crispy bacon it didn't disappoint! 

 Those watching their waistlines opted for something on the healthy side, but which looked equally as tasty

After gaining a few more pounds, and the restaurant had rapidly filled up, we had another quick wander admiring the decor before making our descent!

The bar area - pretty sure this vast collection would include your favourite tipple!

Light feature

Great view of the Gherkin

Viewing point

Not wanting to put any budding visitors off, but have a look at the video below to see just how quickly you descent from floor 40 to ground... the flickering isn't poor video quality, its the metal frame flying past us as we continue downwards!

The Duck and Waffle is also open for lunch and dinner.