09/03/2015: Yakisoba – packet recipe
http://www.japancentre.com/items/itsuki-pre-cooked-yakisoba-noodles-with-sauce
What do you think of when you hear “yakisoba”? Probably a dish you’ve eaten in Wagamama or a similar place? I had yakisoba when I was in Japan for lunch and have just craved it so much since I’ve been back. Yakisoba is pretty much a staple in Japan perhaps like spaghetti bolognaise would be in the UK. It tastes TOTALLY different to the versions I’ve tried in the UK and I LOVE it. You stir fry the noodles with cabbage and sometimes bits of chopped hot dog sausage and stir in yakisoba sauce and voila! It tastes so absolutely delicious I’m now craving it again as I write this!
10/03/2015: Warm quinoa salad with grilled halloumi – BBC Good Food
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1841634/warm-quinoa-salad-with-grilled-halloumi
Tonight we opted for a fairly simple quinoa salad with roasted peppers and halloumi. I’m becoming quite a big fan of both quinoa and halloumi considering I hadn’t really eaten either much before this year. This salad was a perfect combination that we both really enjoyed and it was pretty quick to make which was a big plus.
11/03/2015: Chicken jalfrezi – Indian Express, Wandsworth
http://indianexpress-takeaway.com/
We were both craving a bit of Indian tonight so went for a classic (well in Britain at least). There was definitely no shortage of food as we also had a side of onion bhajis and two naans (peshwari and keema) to help with the curry. The curry sauce was tasty and had a good amount of heat but unfortunately the chicken was tough and over cooked. The naan bread also lacked a bit of structural integrity and fell apart in our hands when dipping in the curry. Overall a bit disappointed with the quality for this meal.
12/03/2015
Lizi: Okonomiyaki – own recipe
Mark was out for the evening so I thought I’d cook something that he had already eaten and so I went for okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake/omelette containing cabbage and whatever else you can think of to put in it! I was taught how to make it by my Japanese friend and you essentially make a pancake batter and stir in the cabbage and other ingredients (usually whatever you have that needs using up!). Once the okonomiyaki is cooked through on both sides, you top it with okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayo, nori flakes and katsuobushi. Yum!
Mark: Cheese and wine tasting – La Fromagerie, Moxon Street, London
http://www.lafromagerie.co.uk/
Tonight I was out at a work social evening for a bit of cheese and wine tasting. Well, let’s be honest, a lot of cheese and wine tasting. This is a really cute shop/restaurant which specialises in cheese and everything that goes with. We had the whole place booked out for the night and the spread was brilliant. The tasting was laid out as a journey down through France and into Northern Spain and Italy, with each cheese partnered with a chosen drink from the same region. The cheeses included (but were not limited to); Normandy Camembert, Pont l’Eveque, Lou Larzac, Tou dels Tillers, and Robiola di Langhe. In addition to the cheese and wine, canapés were provided throughout the night, too many to mention here but my favourite had to be the confit pigeon and chestnut with pumpkin filo parcels. I really recommend giving this place and try if you’re in the area.
13/03/2015: Stuffed cabbage rolls – Just Bento
http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/bento-sized-mini-cabbage-rolls
I had some cabbage to use up after making okonomiyaki and I had seen this recipe and thought it looked like a neat little idea. I’ll be honest, I probably won’t make again. I thought the meat was tasty but the cabbage around the outside was so fiddly to make and just didn’t have the texture I was expecting. I may have used a different type of cabbage but even so, I just didn’t think it was totally worth it for the time it took to make.
14/03/2015: Traditional Cornish pasty – West Cornwall Pasty Company
http://westcornwallpasty.co.uk/
Tonight we were lucky enough to have tickets to the Scotland/England Six Nations match at Twickenham and saw England win the Calcutta Cup (SWING LOWWWWWW). It took us a while to get out of the stadium and then even longer to get on to a train so we knew by the time we were home we wouldn’t want to bother with cooking. Instead, we decided it was totally appropriate to get a traditional Cornish pasty from the West Cornwall Pasty Company on our way home. It was the taste of victory!
15/03/2015
Lizi: Roasted pork shoulder – The Nuthall, Nottingham
http://www.thenuthallpub.co.uk/
Today was Mothering Sunday in the UK so I was in Nottingham with my family and my cutie pie nephew. Dad had booked a table at the Nuthall and I went for the roast pork. The presence of a huge yorkshire pudding was a little different but I’m not going to complain about a roast dinner that has huge yorkshires AND crackling! That’s frankly heaven on a plate as far as I’m concerned. You may be appalled at the apparent lack of vegetables but I promise that there’s a good pile of cabbage hidden underneath all the potato-yorkshire-meaty goodness. This is a great little restaurant that really knows how to make a good plate of food. A solid choice for Mothering Sunday.
Mark: Yum Nuer – Hi Bangkok, Wimbledon
Mum was in Wimbledon for Mother’s Day so we treated ourselves to a Thai takeaway in the evening. I’m still avoiding using up some of my Thai favourites so I went for a salad options to be a bit different. The salad was hotter than I expected but was actually really pleasant. The chilli wasn’t overwhelming and gave the dish a nice tang. The beef strips were sweet and tender so all in all really pleased with my choice.
A Year in Dinners 