WEEKEND JUICING

Recently, you can hardly move for articles about juicing and juices, and greens and health, and arguements about whether smoothies or juices are more beneficial etc etc. Either way, I know what I like and what I think tastes good, and this is my version of that. It's a juice not a smoothie, and it's one I only make once a week as I honestly don't have time to juice and then clean the kitchen (because I do always make a massive mess when juicing) before I go to work. So here it is - my weekend juice.

This is what I use, but you can grab anything fresh and green and stick it through the juicer! I do like using lemons or limes though, as it lifts what can actually be quite a heavy juice.

Makes 2 large glasses of juice

Large bunch kale
2 red beetroot
1 golden beetroot
1 cucumber
1 bunch celery
2 peeled lemons
3 apples
1 pear
Large bunch spinach
Large bunch cavolo nero

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MOTHERSHUCKIN LUNCHTIME

Last Saturday lunchtime I treated myself and the boy to lunch at a pop up -it was so nice to go to someone else's pop up for a change! I booked 2 places at the early sitting (2pm) of a pop up I've been meaning to go to for a while now but kept missing, so was glad they had space to fit us in. "Mothershuckin lunchtime" is all about seafood. The lovely girls who run the pop up source the freshest, best seafood they can get and serve it up to 15 people at a time in the Muse gallery on Portobello road.

We set off from home to Portobello, with the sun on our backs, on the nicest Saturday morning for a while. Portobello was buzzing, and it felt quite exclusive being able to slip into the Muse gallery while people peered in from outside, wondering what they were missing out on!

As with all good meals, we started with a good drink. I had the Bloody Mary, which was made with the Mothershuckers' own horseradish and a chilli infused vodka, while the chilli-shy boy stuck with a Meantime London lager.

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A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS

Having now done 3 public A Little Lusciousness pop ups, and 3 private A Little Lusciousness catering gigs, I thought I'd share some of the photos with you, although I can't share all the recipes, as they're going into my cookbook I'm writing!

STARTERS

Homemade hummus:

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20 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME...

As my blog reader numbers increase, and I realise that I might not actually know everyone personally who reads my blog, I thought I'd put together a little list of facts about me that you might not know.

- I'm originally from the West country, near a small place called Castle Cary in Somerset. My parents live in a tiny village there, that has no shops and 1 pub. It's a beautiful place, surrounded by fields, little rivers and farms, and I reckon you could live pretty self sufficiently in the village, as you can buy all types of different foods from local producers. I've been living in London for more than 10 years now though.

- I am obsessed with dogs - to the point where I ask the boy daily when we can get one (I'm still not sure I understand the reasons why not, but think it has something to do with me working full time in an office, and him therefore getting left with most of the care). I can't walk past a dog in the street without wanting to go and say hi!

- I work Monday to Friday as an assistant to a director of River Island. I love my job, and River Island are a brilliant company to work for.

- I am writing a cook book. This has been on my to do list for a while now, but 2014 is my year! I am hoping to self publish, so watch this space for a whole book of seasonal recipes.... I also do pop up restaurants and catering gigs, info about which you can find here. So far at my pop ups, I've cooked for 2 food writers for national publications and a top chef's literary agent, and have still had really good reviews, so I'd say they're going well so far!

- I don't drink non-alcoholic fizzy drinks. Apart from the odd Purdy's.

- I don't drink tea, and never have. I've tried it, I just don't like it. This amazes a lot of people, and my family are still in denial - my mum often offers me a cup of tea when I'm at their house.

- My favorite drink is water (fun!) or black coffee. My favorite alcoholic drink is bubbles or white wine. My favorite meat is beef, fish is mackerel, fruit is clementines and my favorite vegetable is beetroot. I also love cheese. Pretty much all cheese is good with me!

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GLOBAL GASTRONOMY / CINNAMON KITCHEN

This post is so embarrassingly late, I don't know where to start with the excuses! My photos are also dark, but I promise it's worth a read!

In November (the 3rd to be precise), I was kindly invited to a wonderful feast, provided by top chefs at Vivek Singh's restaurant, The Cinnamon Kitchen, near Liverpool Street. It was the most wonderful evening, and was put on in aid of Action Against Hunger's Global Gastronomy campaign.

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LAST MINUTE HOMEMADE MINCE PIES

If you look for mince pie recipes online 90% off them just list mincemeat from jars as the main ingredient, but it's so easy to make your own mixture, and you only need ingredients that you probably already have at home. This recipe also doesn't need to sit for any time before being used to make mince pies so it's perfect if you feel you've run out of time!

I just grabbed whatever fruit was in the bowl, and you can vary the types and quantities of all the fresh and dry fruit as long as they add up to the right amount.

For 36 mince pies

600g dried fruit - I used about 200g sultanas, 200g raisins, 20g cranberries, 80g chopped apricots, 30g golden sultanas and 70g chopped dates

4 or 5 citrus fruit, zested and juiced - I used 2 large oranges and 3 clementines

4 apples or pears - I used 3 apples and 2 juicy pears, which made up for the small amount of juice from the clementines

60g butter

8 tbsp brandy

Grated nutmeg

Put all the ingredients, except the brandy and nutmeg, into a small heavy bottom saucepan, simmer and cover. Leave to gently simmer for 20minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes add 6 tbsp brandy, stir, cover and return to the heat for about 5 minutes. Once all the brandy is absorbed, turn the heat off and add the rest of the brandy and a good grating of nutmeg.

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CHRISTMAS BUTTER BISCUITS

These buttery biscuits are possibly one of the easiest recipes I've put up here, but don't let their simplicity fool you - they are actually seriously delicious!

Makes about 40 biscuits

300g plain flour
200g salted butter
100g caster sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Zest from 1 orange

The easiest way to make these biscuits is with a magimix. If you don't have one, you can still make them, it may just take a little longer!

Tip all of your ingredients into the magimix and pulse until the mixture just starts to form a ball. If you're doing this by hand, tip all the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix. Add the butter, chopped into small cubes, and crumble the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. At this stage combine all the crumbs together until they just form a ball.

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 175C.

Tip the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface. You will probably need to divide the ball in 2 and do this in two batches. You can keep the 2nd half in the fridge whilst you cook the first batch.

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it's about 3mm thick. These biscuits are really thin, which enhances their texture once cooked. I like to use heart shaped cutters, but you can use whatever you have, or even just cut squares with a knife.

Place the cut out biscuits on a sheet of greaseproof paper, and put this onto a baking tray. Cook the biscuits for 8-9 minutes, or until they just start to turn golden at the edges. Remove from oven and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Move the greaseproof paper off the baking tray and leave on the side to cool.

The biscuits will keep for a week or so in an airtight container - or put them in a cellophane bag, tie with a ribbon and give to your loved ones for Christmas!

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SAT 14th - NEXT A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS SUPPER CLUB

Next Saturday, 14th December, I'm hosting another supper club/pop up restaurant at my house in West London, and there's still a few tickets left, available through Grub Club, if you want to come along.

The last event was such a great success that I really can't wait for this one! We had such a varied group of people come on the night, from students, to photographers, to food journalists (eek!) - from all walks and ages of life. It was a brilliant night at our house, a chance to meet new people and rekindle old friendships over a long and plentiful dinner, and I've been very fortunate to have had great reviews of the night.

My supper clubs focus on using seasonal, British and really well sourced ingredients. I have visited the farms that produce the food I'm using and have seen the cows that the meat I'm using in my main course and the cheese for the cheeseboard comes from! Everything on the night is handmade by me, at home, promising the freshest and yummiest food around.

The menu for the 14th is as follows:

To start - Cornish mussels cooked in cider with baby leeks, served with the crustiest, fluffiest homemade bread (I normally cook wholemeal fruity bread, but this wouldn't go well with the mussels, so I was perfecting the crusty white bread all of last weekend and literally could not stop eating it!)

For mains - This is the part I'm most excited about feeding everyone. I'm serving a beef and beer pie, with the most extra-ordinary meat I could find. The rare breed highland beef comes straight from Oxenpark Farm (more info here) who rear very few animals each year in order to ensure the animals are reared in the best way possible.

The cows are fed on 100% grass and clover and the taste of the meat is just incredible. This will be served with horseradish mash, star anise glazed carrots, greens and an ale gravy. Perfect winter grub! 

Something sweet - After a litte post-mains break, next up is a sweet and decadent pear and almond tart. Pears are poached in a ginger syrup and then made into this sumptuous, gluten free tart, served with a homemade butterscotch creme fraiche to take the edge off that sweetness! This is one of my personal favorties! I'm also serving a MAD pudding wine with this for everyone to enjoy.

Cheese and more - Once the pudding has been served it'll be time for cheese. I'm using the excellent Montgomery cheeses, straight from their small Somerset farm, and serving these with some of my salty, herby, wholemeal crackers and a cherry tomato chutney on the side.

To finish - Finally, and if you've still got room left, I'm serving the least British sourced part of my menu - I have special a Guatemalan and Brazilian coffee blend, or a selection of herbal teas to round off your meal with some of my ginger shortbreads.

It's £30 a head for the evening, and includes all of the above! It's going to be a really fun, food filled evening and I hope as many of you as possible can come along!

You can get your tickets here.

If you can't make this date but are interested in future events, do check back on my blog - there's a link on top right to A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS and I will keep that updated with details of my events.

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SALT BAKED BEETROOT with CANDY WALNUTS and PEPPERED GOATS CHEESE

This salad is perfect Autumn food. Yes, it's a cold salad, and it therefore doesn't seem like it will be the most comforting thing you can eat, but the flavours are heavenly! Although it's a salad, this one takes a little bit of time to prepare, so is ideal if you want to do something in advance for a dinner party, for example.

Serves 4

For the beetroot:

4 medium beetroot

8 sprigs of fresh thyme

1kg table salt

2 egg whites

For the walnuts:

20 walnut halves

100g caster sugar

100g water

1 bottle vegetable oil

For the goat's cheese:

200g soft goat's cheese, Welsh is ideal but you can use Chevre Blanc

1 tsp creme fraiche

1 tsp cream cheese

Tsp of fresh thyme leaves

Ground pink peppercorns

For the salad:

Mixed salad leaves, including some purple leaves

1 teaspoon English mustard

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Start with your beetroot. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the table salt with the egg whites in a large bowl, and cover a baking tray with tin foil. Lightly scrub each beetroot clean and pat dry with kitchen roll. Take 2 sprigs of thyme and hold against the edge of the beetroot. Grab a handful of the salt/egg white mix and press it around the beetroot until the whole beetroot's encased in salt and egg white. Place each one onto the baking tray once done.

Repeat with all the beetroot and then cook at 180C for 1 hour. Once ready, leave to cool slightly, then crack each beetroot open, pulling the beetroot from its salt case.

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MONTGOMERY'S CHEESE - A TOUR

I've always loved cheese. From the moment I could say Camembert (or come-on-bear as I used to call it) I can't get enough of the stuff! So when I was reading Tamasin Day-Lewis's cookbook before bed the other night, and she continually referenced Montgomery's cheese, I thought I'd get in touch with them and see if I could arrange a little snoop around their cheese factory, to see where the best of the best is made. After all, they were our local cheese farm where I grew up.

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CHILLI CHERRY TOMATO CHUTNEY

I've posted a chutney recipe before, but as it's getting towards the time of year when we start thinking about Christmas presents I thought I'd put this recipe up, as gifted in jars it's a wonderful present to give.

The main difference between this chutney and the last one I posted is the level of sweetness. The last chutney recipe I put up was made with green tomatoes, raisins and other bits and pieces, and makes quite a sweet chutney. This chutney is a little sharper, and spicier, and is perfect with cheeses and cold meats. As with the other chutney, you can also eat this one straight away, although it does improve with time, so is at its best around 3-4 days after you make it. This version is also redder in colour than the other chutney, so is prettier to look at!

Makes 2 jars of chutney

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp dried chipotle chillies
1 tsp dried ancho chillies
500g ripe cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
Knob of ginger
150ml red wine vinegar
200g golden caster sugar
1 tsp Worcester sauce

Preheat the oven to 60C.

Put the coriander and cumin seeds and dried chillies in a dry frying pan and heat for a couple of minutes until you can smell their aromas. Remove and crush up in a pestle and mortar.

Chop the larger cherry tomatoes in half and leave the smaller ones whole. Dice the onion finely and crush the garlic and ginger. Add all the ingredients to a wide saucepan and heat until bubbling.

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ART IN EAST LONDON - THIS WEEKEND

Last night I was lucky enough to go to 2 previews of art exhibitions that are on in East London this weekend, and if you're in London, I seriously recommend going to both.

First off was The Moniker Art Fair, on Hanbury Street, off Brick Lane. It's a huge exhibition in what I call the old part of the Truman Brewery (the south end), with over 50 artists exhibiting urban, contemporary art. There's something for everyone there, and my mind was blown wandering round the exhibitors stands, seeing the variety of art on offer. The place was buzzing, and I could've well spent many hours there (had I not known what was waiting at the next event we went to!)

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