Court & Cider: or, What I'm Going to Miss About London

Its hard to believe that in a mere two weeks I'll have to leave my cute little central London apartment and fly back to the suburbs (that is until Harvard once again calls). Just when I figured out how to bake cookies in the larger toaster and the best way to do a stir-fry in $5 pans on a hot plate. One thing I won't miss is my lack of real cooking equipment, the high exchange rate, and cheap, delicious, authentic Mexican and Asian food (and In'n'Out fries... I'm sorry, guilty pleasure).

What will I miss? Amazing Indian restaurants and grocery stores (I could hardly find Fenugreek Seeds in all of Boston, let alone at these prices!), a plethora of vegan fare, numerous farmers markets and health-stores just down the corner, Monmouth Coffee, and of course, the infamous, the pubs!

Pub life is something that I think American could learn from the UK. Not because I'm a big drinker, but just the opposite. Instead of having to choose ampy bars where you can hardly hear your friends, the cool place to go grab cheap drinks also includes delicious food and a chill atmosphere. Plus, most pubs can serve up a fantastic cider... I'm thinking I'm going to have to import this stuff as my drink of choice!

One pub in particular has stood out, and I know I'm not alone in thinking this. The Court is a lively pub just off of Tottenham Court Road that is immensely popular with the local UCL crowd. On Friday nights, students and business folk alike gather, overflowing into the streets with cheap drinks in hand.

The Court is a Yellow-Card location, meaning if you put out a pound, you get a--not surprisingly--yellow card that gets your discounts at a number of pubs and bars, about 1-2 pounds off select drinks; ideal for us starving college students. While I've enjoyed my fair share of cider here (Sam Smiths Reserve or Blumers are a sweet introduction), the star of the night was the food.
Lucky me, for 6 pounds you get 2 meals and one option happened to be a Vegan Veggie Sausage and Mash. Oh yes! I had the Vegan Burger & Seasoned Chips here before, and it was, surprisingly, oh so delicious! The Veggie Sausage and Mash fared just as well. I've actually had similar veggie options while here, such as the Veggie Sausage at Wetherspoon. Let me tell you, don't waste your time, please go here!

The red onion gravy was thick and smooth and so rich it could pass off as the real meaty thing. The mash was fluffy, and the veggie sausage was perfection! It was comparable to the best onion and veggie stuffing you've had, lightly fried, but like a fresh falafel, light and veggieful on the inside, perfectly seasoned. Needless to say, for the price, its the best deal in London I've found, a steal.

Toni's Tikki Masala

Apologies for my inexplicable week-long absence. Toni & I were touring Europe, Germany & Amsterdam (pictures of food adventures to come!). It was an amazing time, and Amsterdam especially is such an amazing city, so vibrant, everyone is so nice, and just a quaint place (for not speaking the language basically at all, you can still feel safe & at home). If you have the chance to visit, do go, its well worth a visit!

Anyway, I've come back armed with photos, blog updates ready: many recipes to follow this week. A lot relate to how I've been toying around with different ethnic foods and, recently, tried my hand at perfecting some Southern comfort food, vegan style (the collard greens, grits, and brussel sprouts were all on sale this week).

For now though, here is the recipe I promise last week, a delicious Vegan Indian Chickpea Tikki Masala! Being that Indian spices are much cheaper here in London, Antonio and I have been powering through literally a curry or two a week: here's my favorite (the perfected spinach curry to come!)

Toni's Tikki Masala

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped
1 T ground fenugreek
1.2 T cumin seed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb print sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
1/2-1 green chili pepper, chopped (desire of heat)
3 T of garam masala
1 can of diced tomatoes with juice
15-20 T of soya cream (desire of consistency)
1 can of chickpeas
1.4 cup water
Salt, to taste
Coriander/cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium. Add chopped onions to the frying pan and cook until soft and translucent.
2. Move onions to the side of the pan, add fenugreek and cumin to the opposing side, keeping them untouched until aroma appears.
3. Once onions, fenugreek and cumin are mixed together, throw in chili pepper, garlic, and ginger. Stir together until garlic aroma appears.
4. Mix in garam masala to form a paste
5. Add tomatoes and mix.
6. Add cream and mix well. Bring to boil
7. Add water and chickpeas [or, whatever vegetable you want] and cover. Simmer for five minutes (this will allow your curry to thicken a bit, although it should turn out to be on the saucy side).
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Serve with rice and garnish with coriander. Enjoy!

* Note, in the picture there are potatoes included, but the second time around we found chickpeas alone to be a better choice. Unfortunately, it was too delicious for me to take a good picture before it was gobbled down by guests.

Peace&Love

Fried Friday: Onion Bhaji

I'll be the first to admit that even with a health conscious lifestyle, the hankering for something crispy and fried may appear. And so sometimes we indulge, and that's okay; but there's a right way to do it.

For one, if you're going for one sin, try to combat it with some good. Instead of trying to deep fry that vegan chocolate bar (.... I've seen it go down) go for fresh veggies! Opt for monounsaturated oils (I went traditional canola oil, but peanut or olive work, though this will alter the taste).

Since Antonio was making a curry (curry attempt #6... 7? Just wait until you see the final product, they're already delicious!), I figured I'd satisfy my craving by veganizing a favorite: Indian Onion Bhaji.

Ingredients

* 1 medium yellow onion
* 3 medium carrots
* 1/2 tablespoon graham masala
* 1 teaspoon crush cumin
* 1 teaspoon crushed fennel greek
* 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/2 teaspoon raw pink Himalayan salt
* 1/4 cup flour (white, unfortunately, recommended for texture quality)
* 3 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 3 tablespoon water
* 1 cup canola oil

Directions

1. Peel onion and chop off ends, and slice in rings from end to end. Place in large mixing bowl.
2. Peel carrots, grate roughly into long pieces. Place in large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together spices and flour. Mix flour & spices with onion and carrots in the large mixing bowl.
4. Put cornstarch mixture in with flour and veggies. Mix very well by hand. You want to make sure to spread the cornstarch mixture through-out so everything is covered and binds together; this may take a lot of "mushing" together by hand... but that's the fun of it!
5. Roll out mixture into roughly six veggie balls and flatten as much as possible.
6. Once mixed, in a large shallow frying pan (I opted for the cast iron) heat half the oil on medium heat.
7. Once the oil is hot (test by dropping a small bit of water in and see if it sizzles, but be careful!), you can start dropping in the veggie patties, 3 at a time, making sure they are just touching. Wait until they are golden brown and then flip; once golden on both sides remove. Repeat process with remaining oil and veggie patties. Enjoy!

Next time I'm going to try to find another alternative for the white flour; I'm thinking chickpea flour, suggestions welcome :) In the meantime, here's a preview of Toni's delicious curry recipe to come!

peace&love