Silly Hats Supperclub

Nibbles Scribbled Up

Thankfully in the second Scribble the Nibbles Supperclub I:

a) did not crack open the tequila, so can remember better what I served my guests and

b) remembered to take a few photos, in amongst juggling plates – including this nifty one of the menu board, so I have a visual prompt of what was cooked, even if I had forgotten…

What I always find fun about any sort of creative endeavour is how much of a learning curve each one proves to be.  Part of the process is sitting down, strategising the logistics and planning the menus/guests/table settings etc.  Having just spent a lovely lunchtime perusing Ferran Adria of  El Bulli restaurant’s ginormous bible, I have been thoroughly inspired and, as a result, I’m feeling doubly excited about October’s upcoming Supperclub. 

The Inaugural Launch of the Scribble the Nibbles Supperclub

My Inspiration

Well.

It has been more than a little bit of time since I’ve given the Scribble the Nibbles blog some love – my business setup/plans for world domination has been taking up quite a fair bit of my time.

However, that doesn’t mean that things have been quiet on the Scribble the Nibbles front.  In fact, it has been all the more boisterous, only behind the scenes.  Back in June, I started up the Scribble the Nibbles Supperclub, which is taking place every other month (or every month, when I’m feeling energetic) – with Piccolina, my flat, as hostess, and me acting as chef/general skivvy.  It is so far doing a neat little trade and is a very enjoyable monthly creative challenge (as if I don’t have enough of them already!) – forcing me to produce some tasty homecooked fare and providing a little learning platform each time.  

Recipe: Grilled Mackerel, Samphire & Potatoes

Easy Peasy (a bit of) Lemon Squeezy

I am busy procrastinating energetically over completing some ‘proper’ writing for my day job, so I thought I’d share with you my little afternoon sojourn to Soho and rather delightful resulting supper.  Perfectly light and nourishing for a lovely warm London evening.

Whilst on my inspiration-seeking potter, the glinting emerald green samphire at the fishman’s stall on Berwick Street Market caught my eye, and a sudden craving for a fish dins struck me.  Not wanting to carry a pongy bag around with me, I carried on my meanderings, eventually returning around about 5 (he opens until 6pm), and asking his advice for an inexpensive tea.  He was very lovely, advised the mackerel (I’ll save my pennies and go back for some rather more expensive and luxurious white fish when I’m feeling flush), and gave me a quick filleting lesson to boot.  He managed to make something I fail miserably at every time look enviably effortless.  I resolved to have a go myself the next time.  I asked him whether his fine samphire would set me back too heftily, whereupon he gathered a generous wodge, weighed it, and threw it in for a mere £1 extra.  A healthy dins for under 3 quid – no complaints from little ol’ me!

Review: Bamboula, Brixton

Oh hoo, trying out new camera angles...a little nibbler in action

If the raging desire for some summer sun has hit and you’re sitting in the office striking off the days till your next holiday, then you can do worse than to head to Brixton.

And more specifically, to Bamboula.

Opening the doors to the restaurant is like stepping straight over the threshold of a Caribbean island and, were it not for the occasional glimpses of gloomy grey London outside, the lashings of rum punch and sunny disposition of the owners, combined with the lilting music mean you can just about convince yourself you’ve stepped off the beach to grab a bite to eat.

I’d gathered together four little nibblers (including some who have yet to be scribbled up but who, after many years of nibbling alongside me, have duly earned their place in the ranks) because I’d got a hankering for some curried goat and jerk chicken.  Plus, what better place to have a lovely, low key gathering of amigos of a Thursday evening?!

I’m lucky in that they all indulge me in my demands to ‘try as many of the dishes as possible’ – even with the presence of two very hungry boys who were somewhat dubious about the concept of ‘sharing food’ (actually, come to think of it, Sweet Tooth expresses doubt about this method every time as well…), we voraciously ordered many dishes to be shared from the lengthy menu.  By this point we were halfway through a jug of rum punch, and so we might just have been somewhat overenthusiastic/vocal in our ordering.

It was a hearty affair.

Review: Joe & the Juice, Carnaby Street

Grr - the Iron Man

I hereby declare winter officially over.

Spring has sprung, and I am throwing off the shackles of winter, and embracing all things sping-like, airy, floaty and sunny.  Which is why I’m off to collect my new bike from Luv Handles today!

But, and perhaps more significantly for a food blog, this means less hot chocolate, stews and stodgy winter food and more…juice!

It started with me discovering a juicer that I have had for about 8 years without using, and which was lying forlornly in the ‘charity box’.  My inner decluttering geek had turned up her nose ages ago at the juicer – surely the ultimate (great big clodhopper of a) ‘unitasker’.  But then something happened one day, I was feeling frivolous and fruity, and I thought I’d whack some fruit in and see what happened.  Pineapple, strawberry and orange juice, as it turns out, is a little piece of heaven.  So Spring/Summer 2011 is all about the juice.

Which is where my new love, Joe & the Juice, comes in.  One of my recent, and favourite work-away-from-home finds – Joe & the Juice is AWESOME.  The perfect place to nip to when in Soho, or to escape from the wilds of Oxford and Regent Street, and trick yourself into getting your daily dose of  vitamins.  Not to mention a good place to work, actually.  I find it a great source of inspiration – maybe it’s all that goodness going into my veins.

Epic Food Adventure: Roast Belly of Pork

The Gribbler's Bottom

Tee hee – I wondered how long it would be before I managed to get my boyfriend’s bottom on the internet.  What I was in fact trying (/failing) to photograph, was his favourite Sainsbury’s shopping bag which has a peacock on it and says, oh-so-modestly ‘I am naturally handsome’.  Ne’er was a truer word said, m’darl’…

It’s no secret that the way to this particular girl’s heart is, clearly, through her stomach, and The Gribbler is pretty darn nifty in the kitchen.  He likes kind of old school, quite epic meals (see our previous chutney escapade, and have a guess at whose idea that was…), and is particularly fond of what I call ‘Grr Man Food’.  i.e. generally quite filling meaty options (though I should add that he’s also a dab hand with fish).  He revels in an unashamed devotion to Rowley Leigh, the Sunday Financial Times’ chef.  So when I heard an excited and triumphant yell from the Sunday pages, and saw his two favourite (culinary) things combined in Rowley Leigh + a Belly of Pork recipe, I knew we were gearing up for one of our Epic Food Adventures.

And so, before we cast off the shackles of that long hard winter for good, and frolic off into the hills with salad stuff and lighter bits, over these next few days I’ll gently feed you a handful of remaining ‘winteresque’ food escapades that are still mere scribbles in my notebook.

Review: Dose Espresso, Barbican

Your Daily Dose

I’m riding high on caffeine (Federation Coffee, Flat White, Nude, Opus), so why not round it off with a magic number five?  Introducing….Dose Espresso.

Teeny tiny, tucked between Barbican Station and Smithfields market, it might be small, but it packs a punch.   If I might be so bold, I would claim that this to be my favourite actual coffee in London (cafe-wise, it’s a little cramped to get too cozy in).  I get one of their takeaway cups in hand (modestly sized, rather than these alarmingly vat-like S***bucks buckets) and I feel calm.  (The caffeine jitters come later).

Apart from the coffee, a few other things I love about Dose:

Review: Opus Cafe, Brixton

Good grief – I should not be allowed to drink three cups of tea before bedtime

But rather than lament that I’m clearly not going to feel sleepy tonight, I shall capitalize on my caffeine-induced hyperactivity and make up for not giving this blog much scribbly nibbly lurve, and tell you about one of the best places for hot chocolate that I have yet to find in London – definitely merits a top 5 nomination.  We’ve seen Paul A. Young, and Foyles, and a handful of other cafes’ take on HC, but I’ve known about this for well over a year  now, since I’ve been going out with The Gribbler, in fact, and it’s about time I let you in on the secret.

You ready?

It’s Opus cafe, Brixton.

Review: Flat White, Soho

Oh deary me, well I’ve been a bit absent from the ol’ blog this last week, haven’t I?  And I was doing so well for a while there.  The truth is that the (currently top secret, but at some stage to be revealed) business is starting to take off and is getting pretty action packed, so a lot of my time has been taken up with spreadsheets, meetings with manufacturers, investor pitches, totting up numbers, polishing designs and sleepless nights.  Not a lot of getting out and about.

All of which is GREAT of course, but not so good for poor little neglected Scribble the Nibbles!  So here’s what I’ve decided, my dear little nibblers – rather than completely throwing my hands in the air and exclaiming that I can’t possibly start a business and write an entirely different blog, I’m going to let StN be my creative outlet for when the start up is getting a bit too all-consuming, and I need to think about something else for at least half an hour.  Which means posts might not be quite as frequent, and I will (attempt) to keep them short and sweet!  Still following?

Cafe: Nude Espresso, Spitalfields

We live in a strange world where girls take photos of their coffee...

I sometimes need a break from my office (currently The Kitchen Table – oh the startup cliche) for a change of scenery and some inspiration.

Which means it is quite lucky that the coffee shop renowned as being the best in London is no more than about 75…93…well maybe 113 (it really depends on how long your legs/caffeine depleted you are) paces from my front door.

But of course, you’ve all been to Nude Espresso already, right?

Well, whether you have or whether you haven’t, I am here to tell you that it is worth a trip.  Yes, aaall the way on the Central Line, aaaaall the way to LIVERPOOL STREET (gasp!).  This is proper nitty gritty East End, folks.