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Displaying items by tag: cheap eats

Sunday, 21 November 2021 18:39

No Porkie ...

But these pork chops cost me 75p each. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that loin of pork was £3 a kilo in Morrisons. I had a chat with the butcher at my local Diss branch, where the pork was piled high. He told me that the supermarket has increased the amount of meat it prepares as part of a measure to help out the country's struggling pig farmers. I cut my own chops from a bone in loin joint, marinated them in Tamarind and Cumin and cooked them over the fire. Delicious! Read more about Morrisons farming here.

Tagged under
Tuesday, 29 September 2020 14:59

Roast your pumpkins - waste not want not.

Don't waste the flesh of your pumpkins this Halloween. Chop the flesh into chunks along with onions and carrots cut to the same size. Add some crushed garlic, salt and pepper and a few sage leaves. Splash a little olive oil over and mix well before roasting in a hot oven for about 30/40 minutes until soft but not charred. Use to make Roasted Pumpkin Soup or a delicious and colourful Roasted Squash and Blue Cheese Pizza.

Published in Recipes
Thursday, 12 September 2013 13:51

Market Weston's best kept secret

We don't want you all to know about this pub because it's busy enough as it is but we just had a tasty and great value home made lunch here, two courses for £5.70. The bill for four was under thirty pounds - including four drinks from a selection of guest and house ales. We had plaice and chips, chicken veronique (a bit like chicken supreme with grapes, but we didn't find any grapes in ours...) peach mousse with Archers, and bread pudding. There was a dish of fresh veg each; a choice of mashed, chipped or sauted potatoes, and custard or cream on the puddings. When the puddings ran out they put on new ones - hot chocolate pudding or whisky and raspberry trifle. This is how to fill up a pub or restaurant - very friendly staff welcoming lots of older local people who were brought up on this kind of home-made food and who know how good it is.

Published in Pub foodie
the cooks 
And here is their recipe.
Crispy mackerel sandwich
• cornish line caught mackerel
• sweet pickled red onions, 
• watercress, 
• fresh tartare sauce
• a nice lightly toasted bun of your choice (something quite light)
For the pickled red onions
Thinly slice your red onions with a mandolin and gently simmer for 20 minutes in red wine vinegar and a good helping of sugar. You are looking for the vinegar to be as sweet as it is sour to excite the palette. Remove from the hob and leave to cool. Once cool this can be kept in a Kilner jar in the fridge. The flavour will get even better with time.
For the tartare sauce
Of course you can buy a tartare sauce but we choose to make ours fresh for every event. Here is a quick version for you to try: mix mayonnaise with sliced capers, gherkins, grated hard boiled eggs, a finely sliced shallot and fresh chopped parsley in a bowl. Add lemon juice, sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.
For the mackerel
Rub a little oil on the skin of the de-boned mackerel and place on a hot griddle. Lightly toast the inside of the bread leaving the outside as it is. Ensure the underside of the mackerel is cooked well enough before turning to keep the fish in one piece and guarantee a crispy base - you are looking at around 60% of the cooking time on the underside. Turn over and allow to finish cooking through. Whilst waiting mix your watercress with a good pinch of the pickled red onions and allow the red wine vinegar to coat the watercress.
Make a bed out of the watercress and pickled red onions on the lightly toasted bread, lay the crispy mackerel on top and finish with a good dollop of cold tartare sauce. Enjoy.
Published in Dish of the Day
Tuesday, 26 April 2011 11:46

Fram Fest

strawberries and cream anyone?

The sun was full out for this and so were the hot sauce and chutney sellers - rather too many for one festival. But local bands and good fast food, we had hot fried mackerel sandwiches. Remind me to look for an airstream on e bay for suffolk foodie.

Published in Fetes and Festivals
Sunday, 20 March 2011 22:06

Winners in Wortham

This tea room won Suffolk magazine's Food and Drink Award last year for best tea or coffee shop, and I always wondered what that big teapot sign led to - we really liked the lemon cake.

tearoom sign       the tearoom 

Published in Cafe and tea rooms
Tagged under
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 09:46

Future chefs?

Lunch with Sarah at West Suffolk College's Zest restaurant, one of the best value meals in Bury and a chance to contribute to the experience of young people training to be in the restaurant business. I had nice lamb hot pot with some far too vinegary red cabbage (I told them) and then Key Lime Pie.  Sarah had veg option which escapes me now. Abundance of service from students and both meals lovely - under £12 for two .

Published in Restaurant foodie
Monday, 16 November 2009 09:45

A religious experience

Lunch with two American student backpackers who are staying with me for two days, after showing them round the Abbey Gardens. Went to the Cathedral Crypt restaurant as it had to cheap and more or less English. Sure enough - Liver and Bacon - but not hungry enough today.  Had really nice Root Vegetable soup that came with bread (£2.95) and they had Bacon Rolls (£2.75) as well, although the Americans didn't seem to know what a bacon roll was. We shared a lovely Gooseberry Crumble Tart (£2.95) with custard, but I can't understand why it has to be a crumble on top of a tart. One or the other would be fine wouldn't it?

Published in Cafe and tea rooms
Thursday, 28 January 2010 09:34

Welsh Rarebit in Elmswell

Here it is - my brunch from yesterday at that little cafe in Elmswell -where Goodfellows butchers used to be next to Mace.  Is it called Bumbles? I met my sister for a coffee.  They do good cappucino and my flat white (I have to tell them what to do - no one in Suffolk knows what that is yet ...) was good too. I had this Welsh Rarebit which tasted much nicer than the picture looks, because the Worcester sauce has made it go a bit brown. My other sister once told me a fab recipe for Welsh Rarebit  -  grated cheddar and a large spoonful of mayo - under the grill. Browns and bubbles up really nicely. I think they do hot lunches here too because a very friendly couple were having casserole and mashed potatoes at another table.  Now I see the picture it reminds me - I wish they would get rid of that horrible plastic Christmas table cloth!

Published in Cafe and tea rooms
Tagged under
Thursday, 15 April 2010 09:27

So long since I ate out?

Nothing to write about in Suffolk because I haven't been out.  Went to London and had lunch in Wahaca - the Mexican Market Eating restaurant of the only female Masterchef winner (so far) www.wahaca.co.uk. Lots of hot sauce, tortillas, meat and fresh salad - very quick, very nice and very cheap - with simple delicious drinks like home made lime squash. £36 for four of us.  Suffolk still has a long way to go.

Published in Abroad
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