Baileys Deli and Coffee Shop

For more information about Baileys Deli click here

Back in June I visited the Corner Gallery where I had some paintings that a new deli was opening just a few doors away that very morning. I was delighted to find a little taste of Borough market with artisan breads, olives, prosciutto etc to sample and came away with a few tasty goodies.

On Aug 18th Baileys held a tasting day. It was also a fund raising event in aid of St Christopher's Hospice. It was a fine day so there were chairs and tables outside and a big table with a range of delicious artisan organic breads from Flour Power City on offer to sample.

I had a good coffee, organic and Fairtrade from Green Cup They collect the used grounds and recycle them to make into slug and snail resistant compost for the garden which is a great idea. I put my coffee grounds onto the compost on some of my outdoor potted plants.

Artisan organic breads from Flour Power City Bakery

above 'Guess the Weight' of the Hoxton Rye loaf

The tomato and olive bread was my favourite.

 and the almond croissants...

In my next post I will show you the cakes.

Baking with Lavender

It was the Carshalton Lavender Open week end last weekend.
These biscuits were for sale on Kathleen's stand pictured below. The recipes are shared here with her permission.
 The semolina gives a crunchy texture and I like the strength of the lavender flavour.
 If you haven't tasted it before and you are not sure about it try just 1tsp of flowers. If you don't like the texture of the flowers you can buy a natural culinary lavender essence for cooking here. or blitz the flowers with the sugar.
 Don't use lavandula stoechas, that's the one with rabbit ear petals, usually called French or Spanish lavender. It doesn't taste as good as it contains camphor.
Queen Elizabeth 1 is said to have enjoyed lavender in a conserve and used it for migraines. The French have traditionally used it in herbes de Provence. Long out of fashion in food in the UK lavender has started popping up again in foodie restaurants and recipes. Some people don't like the idea as it make them think of soap.

The biscuits were sitting alongside various creations crafted by Kathleen and friends and included some pretty cupcakes.

I had a stand for my paintings and silk scarves which you can see on my art blog

more lavender cupcakes

Potato and Rosemary Bread

 I had 175g of left over mashed potato This works out at 1 part mashed potato to 2 parts flour. It is more potato than I have used before in a bread dough so it was a bit of an experiment. The potato gives the bread a good flavour and a lovely crispy crust.
It makes the dough wetter than usual and more difficult to handle so it was kneaded  by machine.

For a drier mix use a little less liquid or use I part mashed potato to 3 or 4 parts flour.

 
175g mashed potato
325g strong white flour
70g strong wholemeal flour

4 tbs olive oil (3 for the dough mix and one for drizzling on the top.)
300g water ( hand hot)
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2- 1 tsp salt

A small bunch of fresh rosemary    I used about 6 pieces of fresh rosemary each about 12 cm long. The leaves were stripped from 3 of them then finely chopped. These were added to the dough mix.
The other 3 were cut into small pieces about 2 cm long these and were used to stud the top of the dough.


 Put the ingredients into a bread machine on a dough only setting. When this has finished begin the cycle again but only leave it on long enough to mix the dough a second time. It should look elastic and well aerated.

Some of the dough was tipped, almost poured, onto a well oiled baking tray and spread out to make a  layer of about 1/2 in thick, sprinkled with olive oil and studded with rosemary.

Optional Extra
 The rest of the dough was spooned into muffin cases to half full. I placed some pieces of aged Gouda onto the dough then another spoonful of dough. This was topped with chopped onions and a sprig of rosemary. A little bit of finely grated carrot adds a bit of colour but is optional.
These were left in a warm place for 30 min then baked at gas 6 for 20 min till golden brown and eaten hot.
Very more-ish.

Walnut Bread with Rye

This was made in my bread making machine using the recipe for a white loaf but substituting some of the flour with rye flour and the addition of walnuts. I thought that these flavours work well together and it was lovely toasted.

125g rye flour
325 strong white bread flour
A large handful of chopped walnuts
40g Olive oil
1 tsp salt
I tsp dried yeast
300ml water

Lunch at Wahaca

 Thomasina Miers went on to open Wahaca after winning Masterchef. She was inspired by the  street food and markets of Mexico.There are now several branches in London. We have eaten at the Soho branch twice recently on both occasions and although fairly busy we were shown to a table straight away.The printed menus on the table double up as table mats when the food arrives. 

On our first visit we chose the Wahaca selection which is plenty for two.There is so much to choose from so their selection gives an idea of the variety of what's on offer and is good value. My favourite was the crispy chicken taquitos with green rice and black beans.

On our next visit we chose some favourites from the selection and tried some new things as well, all delicious. This time I wanted to try mole, not a small furry animal, this is a spicy savoury sauce with chocolate. The chicken mole tacos are shown bottom right.

bottom left pork pibil this is slow cooked pork with a Yucatecan marinade 

top right Black bean tostadas

top left  tostada

 All delicious and worth a visit.

to drink  Citrus fizz, fresh lime with mint and sparkling water, much more refreshing than the usual soft drinks.

 Houchada, almond and rice milk with cinnamon both drinks complement the food well. 

There is a good selection of Tequilas.

On the chilli scale I found the food to be mild to medium hot. One of the sauces on the table comes with a warning from the waiter and this one was hotter.

Service was friendly and prompt. The atmosphere was informal with some lively Latin music. 

Olive Bread

I started with a batch of white dough made in the bread making machine. I stretched some of the dough out thin on a floured work surface, spread it with tapenade and rolled it to make a long thin mini baguette. This was left in a warm place to rise then baked in a hot oven.

When sliced the pattern is revealed. Tapenade is made from finely chopped olives and olive oil

They were served with wine and other canapes. Puff pastry works well in place of dough and smoked paprika with grated cheese as a filling.

Meyer Lemons and Dydd Gwyl Dewi

When life hands you Meyer lemons make pancakes, delicious with a drizzle of mel de cana!

Mild and sunny enough today to get the garden table out of hibernation and eat these in the garden.

These were a lovely gift. I have never tasted nor even seen a Meyer lemon before. They are a bit rounder and softer than a lemon and a more golden yellow with a lovely fragrant smell.

Very lemony, though maybe a little sweeter than a lemon, the lemon flavour has a hint of mandarin.

March 1st is St David's day in Wales ( in Welsh Dydd Gwyl Dewi) and people there traditionally wear either a daffodil or a leek to mark the day, They have similar names in Welsh Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek")

St David's is a pretty little place in Pembrokeshire in Wales, actually it is the smallest city in Britain as it has a cathedral. It is very near the sea but built in a hollow so that in the days of marauding hordes it could not be seen from the sea.