Thank You Someone Nice on Crystal Palace Road

Look what I found on my way to the pub last night. How kind!

Elderflower and Lemongrass Cordial

Me and Scrap picked a little bunch of elderflowers on our walk in the woods yesterday and thought we'd have a try at some home-made pop. There are tons of recipes, all roughly the same, showing how to make your own cordial but I followed this friendly version and just added a couple of bruised lemongrass stalks.

We made enough to fill 8 bottles, so that's one for him, one for me, one for his teacher Mr Gray, and the rest for the school summer fair. Don't think there's much chance of us waiting a month before we drink it though.....Scrap's already got the fizzy water ready and I'm thinking about a little splash in the bottom of a cool glass of Prosecco.

Poached Sea Trout

Apparently, they're only around for about three weeks and they were on special offer at £13.50 a kilo instead of the usual £20 and although I already had a whole shoulder of lamb, a large free range chicken and a lot of sausages tucked under the buggy, I bought one (£12.10). And a pot of Moxon's home-made extra-virgin rapeseed oil mayonnaise to go with it.
Generally, I'm not keen on trout, it's a dirty, muddy-tasting fish but the sea trout is like a softer, more delicate salmon so I thought I'd cook it the same way and poach it whole. Old-fashioned I know but gorgeous served chilled with a proper spring salad of asparagus and young watercress. Any leftover fish (and we did have some) can be mashed into mayonnaise with a bit of soft cheese and spread onto hot granary toast for tea.
Serves 4
1 whole sea trout, (or salmon) cleaned
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
few parsley stalks
1 chilli
1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
a few allspice berries
2 tsp sea salt
lemon wedges and mayonnaise, to serve
Place the fish in a roasting tin (or fish kettle if you have one). Scatter over the onion, carrot, celery, parsley stalks, chilli, bay leaf, berries and salt. Just cover with cold water, set it over two rings of your hob and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes then turn off the heat and leave to cool completely. Skin and de-bone then chill until ready to serve. A lovely weekend lunch!

Baba Ganoush

I know it's the wrong time of year for aubergines but I had a load left over from work and wasn't in a creative mood so rather than leave them to slowly shrivel in the bottom of the fridge, I made baba ganoush. Predictable I know but blooming gorgeous. Especially with some warmed up lavash bread from Sophocles.

Prick the aubergines in several places then roast at 200C / gas 6 for 30 - 40 minutes until collapsed and wrinkled. Leave to cool a little then peel off and discard the skin. Puree in a food processor then mix some Greek yogurt, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and a little bit of chopped fresh mint.

Bun Fight News

Yes, it rained and yes, it was windy but the people of Pecs didn't let us down. This year's Bun Fight was a triumph. We had veg sculptures galore including daleks make from peppers, miniature farms with broccoli trees, teeny, tiny rainbow carrots, elegant savarine ring cakes loaded with fresh fruit, toffee apple cup cakes and Charlie Fox with his award winning Victoria sponge. Sadly, Scrap didn't win anything with his 'horror' biscuits but he did come second in the vegetable hat parade with his Robin Hood hat of sugarsnaps to no 1, Loveday and her spectacular 'cavolo nero and radish crown' !

Brockwell Park Honey

Did you know they have bee hives in Brockwell Park? Well, I didn’t but they do and the honey those bees make is very special, so special that the folk at Petersham nurseries use it and now East Dulwich Deli is selling it. It’s not cheap, but it’s produced on a small scale, locally to you. And honey from London bees tastes particularly amazing because of the diversity of flowers in the city, far more complex than the common old single-crop honey from country bees. So there.
Landcroft House plans to be enjoying it on our toast all week and won’t be wasting a drop of it on the under-5’s flapjacks we’re making later for tomorrow’s zoo trip.

Boiled Crayfish

We accidentally ended up with some crayfish from Moxon’s on Saturday morning. I was buying bread from the stall outside when Scrap yelled for me to come in and look at ‘the naughty creatures’. And there were loads of them having a right old brawl with each other in a box on the floor. Anyway, they turned out to be quite a bargain as they’re a bit of a problem. Originally this variety of crayfish is from America, some fool released a couple over here and they’re now rampaging around our rivers, swallowing everything in sight, so us eating them is a very good thing. Bit like grey squirrels. Problem is, they’re sold live. They’re vicious, they fight, bite and try to escape. Well they had a good go at it when we got them home and the three us all stood around squealing when it was time to get them ready for the pot. Scrap shouting ‘kill them so I can eat them!’ so loudly the windows were bowing. So into a pot of boiling, slightly salted water they went for 4 minutes and out they came bright pink with juicy, sweet tails and claws. Our twelve cost about £6, they were yum and we helped save the planet.

Franco Manca

Despite the fact that there's a packet of Waitrose Four Cheese Ravioli in the fridge with today's date on, I thought perhaps it might be a good idea for me and Ben 10 to visit the pizza place in Brixton Market that's been getting spectacular reviews. I texted my dad-friend Michael and he and his daughter were on his bike and outside The Ritzy within half an hour. And it was properly bloody brilliant: a small selection of wood-fired, sourdough pizzas; zingy, organic, home-made lemonade at £1 a bottle; no pudding but Monmouth coffee.
Open 12 - 4pm, Mon - Sat.

Chopsticks: Worst Restaurant In London?

Coming in at Number 1 we have Chopsticks, 71 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich.
We are not friendly, we do not like any Scraps, especially yours, and especially if he/she talks above a whisper or touches things (yelling 'yuk' when your rice arrives doesn't help). Oh, and our food is a fair bit below average too.

Salsa Verde

Me and Scrap took a trip to Moxon's and chose a fish each for lunch yesterday - me a sea bream and him a mackerel. While we in there I bumped into someone from Derby who I haven't seen since I was 18. And he's lived up the road from me here in East Dulwich for years. I love it when things like that happen.

keeps in the fridge for ages and is good with both grilled fish and meat
2 - 3 big handfuls flat parsley leaves
4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
1 shallot , roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon
4 – 6 tbsp good olive oil

Place the parsley leaves, anchovy fillets, capers and onion in a mini food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and whiz again then season with black pepper.

Rice To Meet You, To Meet You, Rice

I was in my favourite Peckham restaurant Ganapati last night when who should walk in with a gang of media mates but Rob's old pal Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. We had a fantastic meal, I chose the Andhra Spicy Lamb with Paratha which was thrillingly hot and spicy. Hugh and his lot were making a bit of a racket and seemed to be having a jolly time though they drank Champagne with their curries which I thought was a bit wrong. What was he doing so far from home, do you think?

Peckham Rye Cafe

I reckon - as usual - that I'm the last to know about the new cafe on Peckham Rye Park. And my, it is lovely! The menu is a bit limited with mostly just soup and sandwiches but it's so well done out and everyone's friendly and the waiters are handsome and my chickpea soup (£2.95) was delicious (and home made and came with organic bread) and Scrap's sandwich had very good ham in it.

So yes, the lovely park now has a lovely cafe. Like you didn't know already :)

Mall Or Nothing

I'm just back from a quick dash to the rubbish cook shop on Lordship Lane for some star-shaped cutters and you know, they had them too, in three different sizes as well as many other festive shapes.
I was walking back up the road feeling quite pleased when a woman stops me with a flyer. "Do you know about the new indoor market?" she asks. No. I do not."Well it's just here behind Caffe Nero and my friend sells oysters at the back." Five seconds later I'm in there. I've picked up three cut-price books for Scrap for £7 from the first stall, tasted cheese, browsed jewellery and hand-made pottery and some nice old furniture and at the back is the oyster man. He's got three types of oyster: Falmouth Bay Natives, Fine de Claire and Rocks at one of each for just £3.50. He has shallot vinegar that he's made himself and glasses of Champagne and does eat in (no chairs yet) or take away. That's tonight's tea sorted then!

Shallot Vinegar
Very finely chop a shallot and mix with 5 - 6 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Add brown sugar, salt and pepper, to taste.



Ed Warehouse, 1 Zenoria Street, East Dulwich
The Oystercatcher 07989 554536

Roast Onions and Bacon

I did a food photo shoot for a magazine in Dulwich Woods yesterday. While it was a logistical nightmare with the heavy props, camera equipment, models and all my food not to mention the freezing cold, patchy sunlight and having to wee in the bushes - it was so enjoyable! The keepers of the woods let us light a small fire to cook our sausages on and it's made me quite desperate for a week of autumnal camping. Still not got a tent though..


As I only had a fire in the woods, I did most of the cooking on Sunday and turned some of the onions and bacon I was roasting for tarts into a lovely side dish for our lunch. Place some shallots or small onions (I used some pretty red borretanes from Sains) in a large bowl and cover with a kettle of boiling water. Leave to cool so the skins soften and then peel them. Drizzle a little oil in a shallow baking sheet and add the shallots and few whole, unpeeled garlic cloves. Lay rashers of dry-cure streaky bacon on top and roast at 200C/Gas 6 for 8 - 10 minutes until the bacon is nicely cooked. Lift off the bacon then season the onions with salt, pepper and some fresh thyme sprigs. Continue roasting for 20 - 30 minutes until the onions are browned and softened. Snap the bacon into pieces and mix with the onions then drizzle over a splash of balsamic vinegar. Very good with a roast chicken.

Dulwich Mirror Pictures Gallery: 5

Another belter from the Daily Mirror's picture archive. The lad on the left - Terence Taylor - has such a great haircut - rarely seen from that day (my guess is about 1954, but no date is given) until Barney Out Of New Order resurrected in 1983. Nice fish too.

Reference Number WA452232
"... Parents can bring children to family services at St Peters Church Dulwich regardless of how young they are The Reverend Norton recently announced that he would be holding these services monthly and that children could bring pets if they wished. Twelve year old Michael Pickup of Dulwich brought his goldfish in a jam jar in the first of these services and is seen with fish Peter and John and friend Terence Taylor at prayer..."

I wonder if this is Michael today? Or maybe this is? As for Terence Taylor...

Green Cuisine

When Green Cuisine opened up on Lorship Lane about six months ago I was half disappointed as I'd always fancied opening a shop on that stretch myself and half very excited, lets face it, I was never going to do it and blimey, do we need a cookware shop in East Dulwich.

I don't complain often, in fact nowhere near often enough - we've all been trained to accept poor service or badly cooked food as speaking out rarely gets a satisfactory outcome and you know, we don't like to cause a fuss. But that shop is so absolutely rubbish I feel ready to go in and take that bloke on for a proper barney. It is so poor! For a start he answers the phone like a grumpy adolescent so you think you have the wrong number, it doesn't open until 10am, if you go in the shop, the girls don't even stop their chat to look at you and baring in mind that I'm probably the only 'customer' that's walked through the door for the last 2 hours, you'd think they could make a tiny bit of effort but most irritatingly of all, it doesn't actually sell any of the things a cook might need. "I need a 2 litre pudding basin, do you have one?" Nope, will a soup bowl do? No, it won't. Next time I go in, my scales have broken during a baking session. I'll take any style, don't care how much. Nope. No scales. In a cookware shop. Today, first week in November and it's time to make the Christmas Cake. I can't find my tin, could be anywhere so I give them a call. "Do you have a square 18cm cake tin?" No. "No square tins, some rounds ones but not very big" Brilliant! Because no-one round here will be baking cakes, not in November eh??
A cookware shop that doesn't sell cake tins, pudding bowls or kitchen scales!!! Not good enough by a long long way.

Witches' Cats

We're going to Scrap's friend's Halloween tea party this afternoon and we're very excited. We're taking spooky cat biscuits and scary sausage rolls.

Makes 10,000 Biscuits
100g salted butter, room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
few drops vanilla extract
grated rind of 1 orange
2 tbsp orange juice
300g self raising flour
tube of black piping icing
silver balls, to decorate

With an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla essence. Add the flour and the orange rind and juice and bring together to make a fairly soft dough.

Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and stamp out shapes - use a cat cutter if you have one – currently £1 each in Roullier White on Lordship Lane. Lift the biscuits onto non-stick baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes until pale golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Pipe or spread the biscuits with black icing. Silver balls make good eyes.

Dulwich Mirror Pictures Gallery: 1

I have decided to post all the pictures that include the word DULWICH in the very excellent Daily Mirror picture library (or as many as I can before I get caught).

This absolute classic is Reference Number WA447362
CAPTION: Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) with German actress Anita Pallenberg and eight day old son Marlon leaving Kings College Hospital Dulwich London.

Now, I'm guessing here, but they mean Kings College Hospital, Camberwell, right? Like the Kings College Hospital, Camberwell where Landcroft House's own son and heir was born? How rock and roll are we again?

More tomorrow. PLUS: some exclusive tittle-tattle with George Clinton.

Lomography

My friends Gareth and Ruth gave me a Fisheye Lomo camera for my birthday. How brilliant is that? I am very excited about it and off on holiday tomorrow so could do with some tips on how to use it.

By the way, the Pecs branch of Boots have got Kodak disposable underwater cameras on BOGOF this week. Don't suppose that's very useful information unless you're off on holiday somewhere warm and sunny and by the sea.

My Favourite Pub

Is definitely, definitely The Montpelier on Choumert Road. Like most of the pubs in SE London, it's been taken over and done up recently. But it hasn't quite turned into a standard gastropub - there's still a waft of the old pub it used to be that hasn't quite been bleached out and I like that.

Anyway, I had a little mid-week birthday bash in there the other night and they were so good, it was quite heart-warming. We went in the week before and Scrap had a very good fishcake and chips while I made a plan with the manager: whatever food I wanted, whatever booze I wanted, no minimum spend, no set price per head, we agreed a figure and that was that. On the night, our area was set aside, the candles were lit, the glasses were lined up on the bar-top, we had hand-cut chips, dips, chorzio and ciabatta, big salads and a fabulous chocolate tart made by the chef. And they let Robert bring in a surprise cake from my favourite baker and the house Prosecco was top drawer. It was just lovely and I give The Montpelier full marks for customer care. The fact it is directly across the road from my studio is an added bonus.