Butternut Squash Casserole

With Halloween and Bonfire Night having just passed, this time of year calls very much for the orange and yellows of butternut squash and sweet potatoes, this casserole from the BBC Good Food website (you can reach the recipe from the link) perfectly fits the bill.  The sweetness of the squash and potatoes runs though it, and the hearty cous cous makes it perfect comfort food for a winter evening (are we in winter yet? or the last dregs of autumn?).  This is obviously vegetarian but it would go perfectly with some spicy sausages chopped up into it.  It does go very nicely with a sprinkle of grated cheese on top and a splodge of natural yogurt.

Changes I made to the recipe:  I didnt have Bulgar Wheat and so I used giant Cous Cous instead, you could just as easily use its smaller cousin too though!

The Pudding Clubs 'Jam and Coconut Sponge'

Steamed puddings are the order of the day as the nights draw in, I found this great recipe on the fabulous The Pudding Club website (you can grab the recipe through the link).  I had never attempted a steamed pudding before and took guidance from the good old BBC Food Techniques website and it worked a treat!!  The pudding was moist with just the right amount of coconut running through the sponge and topped off with a good dollop of jam.  The one and half hours waiting for the pudding to steam was well worth the wait!  Although not shown in the photo we did of course add lash.ng of custard to it.

Changes to recipe:  I used strawberry rather than raspberry jam but to be honest the variations that you could use with the pudding are endless!

Potato & Leek Gratin

We bought some cute little individual casserole \ pie dishes and what better way to use them then with an oven bake.  I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website (the link goes through to the actual recipe).

The recipe is for 4 but it easily reduces down.  Really nice to do something with leeks and the combination with the bits of bacon is lovely.

Changes from recipe:  Instead of using ham I used bacon lardons which were super flavoursome.

Susan Reimer's Apple Spice Muffins

So I had some dessert apples I needed to use and I had been hankering after a muffin for a while - put the two together and I heard Apple Muffins calling!.  I have a great little book by Susan Reimer called Muffins Fast and Fantastic.  The book has a multitude of flavours, and lots of muffin baking advice.

The original recipe is below:


Ingredients
255g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice (or try 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of ginger and cloves)
 raising flour
110-140g fine white granulated sugar
1 egg
170 grams chopped apple
150ml milk
90ml vegetable oil or 85g butter melted
60-85grams raisins, sultanas or chopped walnuts


Optional topping
3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
60grams walnuts, chopped


Method

• Preheat oven to 190-200C. Place paper cases in a muffin tin (makes 10-12)
• In a large bowl, sift together: flour, baking powder, salt, spice and sugar.
• In a second bowl, beat egg with a fork. Stir in chopped apple and milk, followed by oil\melted butter.
• Pour all of wet mixture into dry. Stir until just combined, adding dried fruit\walnuts during the final strokes.  This batter is thicker than most: apple released juice as it cooks
• Spoon into tins. Sprinkle with topping. Bake about 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed gently. Cool for several minutes to make removal easier.

Chilli Prawn Noodles

I have had total disasters with noodle dishes, but this one is always a winner, its super refreshing and rather healthy too!!  The chilli gives just the right amount of heat and the prawns are really refreshing.

I got it from the BBC Good Food website (you can reach the recipe from the link).

Changes to recipe:  I used small prawns rather than the larger king prawns.

Enjoy!

Cafe Bangla - Brick Lane, E1

Cafe Bangla sits almost at the end of the rows of Indian restaurants on Brick Lane, its always a sense sensation on the ears, eyes and nose and the walk to Cafe Bangla allows you to take everything in.

The interior is something to behold, the first time we went it wasnt on recommendation of the food but to see a huge Princess Diana mural that it had on the wall!  Now Im not particularly a huge Diana fan but the oddness of a Indian restaurant having a tribute mural on their wall was something that had to be confirmed or put to bed once and for all......well the mural did and still does exist!  The rest of the walls are also covered with murals but more traditional Indian dream like sequences.  The restaurant isnt huge compared to some on Brick Lane but  the size adds to the cosyness and friendlyness of the restaurant.

The menu, however, is huge and takes a while to wade through but has all of the Indian classics you could want and then some.  After some beer and some conversation with my dinner companions I finally made my choices.  For a starter I had King Prawn Puri at £4.85,  followed by a classic Lamb Dhansak at £5.15, the former had a good amount of prawns, soft covering and good amount of sauce the latter was delivered sizzling to the table, with just the right amount of spicy heat.  With poppadums, rice, a beer and coffee (which we werent charged for) the total including tip was £20 - a real bargain for some great food.

Service was good and they happily let us take as long as we wanted to finish the meal (I hate restaurants which hurry you out of the door!) - we whiled away a good couple of hours there.  It definitely remains one of my favourite places on Brick Lane.

If you are venturing to Brick Lane make sure you stop by for a visit - the food is great and you just have to see in real life the Princess Diana mural! - see some urban myths are true!

If you cant quite make it to Brick Lane and want to try your hand at Indian cooking at home - The Easy Indian Cookbook by Manju Malhi published in 2010 is a good place to start...

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The Woolpack - London Bridge

Not quite Greenwich you may say, but lets not forget that London Bridge is a super quick 9 minutes away on the overground from Greenwich Station and so is always worth a visit.  London Bridge is going through lots of changes at the moment what with the building of the new super tall Shard building and the regeneration of the area around Bermondsey Street.

And its on Bermondsey Street that we find The Woolpack pub, outside it has the look of a traditional boozer, inside the decor seems to be a cross between a east end pie and mash shop and a american diner.  Now this isnt a criticism - I think it looks great, I love the booths and the tiling on the walls.  Outside there is a terrace, lovely on a summers day and in winter if it gets a bit nippy they have a basket of blankets on offer to keep you warm and cosy - bliss.

Main courses are between £8 to £12 pounds and cover awesome burgers to fulfilling salads, they also do a Sunday Roast but if you go definitely try and check out one of their burgers.

The staff are friendly and efficient and the locals trendy and welcoming! Definitely worth the train ride!




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