Day 20 - Wet Wednesday

Food was the first thing on my mind when I woke today. After a few drinks I definitely had the munchies. Breakfast was served downstairs and we chose quickly. I went for Eggs Benedict with bacon. It was extremely yummy but slight overkill with the hollandaise sauce. I had to set up a toast barrier to curb it's creep across my plate. Gerry went for the vegetarian breakfast and said it was yummy. It was paired with copious tea, coffee and juice and had the appetite I could have sampled fresh pastries and yoghurts. I do love the staff at Hotel Una because they do a real stand-up job!

After breakfast we took a little trip up to The Lanes to have a wander, Gerry desperately trying to stay out of the many funky clothing shops that adorn the streets. In my hunt for a bag I dragged Gerry into TK Maxx. I bought the Man's Bag from that particular branch 5 years ago and I wanted to see if it could come up trumps again. Bingo! I purchased a brilliant Mandarina Duck bag with an RRP price of £185 for a bargain £50! I think I'm in love with it.  It is slightly bigger than the Man's bag though so I don't think that the MB's is totally out of the game just yet. I also picked up a smaller bag form Rowallan's. I do like it but I'm still deciding whether its a keeper or returner. Hmm decisions, decisions.

Seeing as breakfast filled us up quite a lot we abandoned our sushi lunch plans and started back to London. With the rain setting in, it seemed the right time to go. See you soon Brighton, probably on a Thursday!  We made good time up to London and after a round about way of getting home we settled in on the sofa with bowls of homemade hot pea soup.

Pea & Mint Soup

It was just enough to last us until dinner and what else but sushi of course.  It was quick and easier after a busy couple of days and simply delicious. I think Eat Sushi is fast becoming one of my favourites.

To round off an enjoyable couple of days we watched Pan's Labyrinth. We've not watched it for around 4 years so I was just about ready to see it again but boy did I forget quite how graphic and at times pretty scary it is! I think the acting is superb and the director, Guillermo del Toro gets the tone of the film spot on. He really does pull you into the story and you forget that you have to read subtitles. I think the last 3 films that we have watched together are foreign language films and it makes me remember what talent is out there aside from the standard American and British offerings.

Anyway, off to bed now. It's been a good couple of days.  I think it's good to get away for a little while, if only for the night, it's just unfortunate that when you come home the troubles you tried to escape are probably still waiting.

Favourite View in Brighton

Day 9 - Brunch and Other Things

After too few hours sleep thanks to work last night I dragged myself from my bed and met one of my oldest friends for a civilised brunch affair.  We went to one of my favourite places, The Wet Fish Cafe, and I ordered the 'Bubble & Squeak, Poached Eggs, Crispy Pancetta, Sausage & Hollandaise Sauce'.  I thought since it's quite a feast I could do as the name suggests and combine my breakfast and lunch intake.  There was a slightly embarrassing moment when the waiter said that they were out of 'bubble' leading P and I to discuss which part of the potato and cabbage concoction the bubble would be and would I therefore just get a potato cake or pile of cabbage. I have since discovered that 'Bubble' is simply a shortened name of the entire thing.  The 'bubble' part is likely because the ingredients are first boiled - giving us the bubbles, and then it is fried producing the squeaking noise, hence the second half of the name. Oh the shame.  Anyway, in the end they had enough 'bubble' to go around so it joined the rest of the awesomeness on my plate. It was delicious and I wish I could depict it here in all its glory but I was so ravenous photos were forgotten.  Having stuffed ourselves well and truly  P and I returned to Chez Fisher for a cup of tea.  All in all a very lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.

After P had left, Gerry returned home from making TV magic and we both promptly fell asleep on the sofa.  I had intended on watching 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?', which to my credit I did start but it was so truly awful that I fast forwarded through the end and hit my snooze button.  SJP and Hugh Grant should be ashamed of themselves for that effort.
Awaking at 6pm, I put the brain into gear for dinner.  I wanted something quite light but comforting. I checked the fridge and came up trumps with half a squash, a small sweet potato and some sweetcorn.  Soup it was.

I fried up half an onion with garlic in oil until translucent and then added diced squash and sweet potato.  I sautéed this for around 8 mins just to soften it up a little and then added a pint of stock, 100ml of milk and a pinch of basil.  I simmered this for around 15mins until the veg were tender and chucked in the sweetcorn for the last 3 mins until cooked through.  Off the heat and all whizzed together.  It was actually really nice, quite fragrant from the sweet potato but Gerry said was a winner.  Once again I have created culinary magic from ingredients in my fridge. Hurrah!!

Sweetcorn, Sweet Potato & Squash Soup

Day 3 - Sunday Soup

Well after the roaring success of last night's dinner party I am feeling quite good about my cooking abilities.  Looking back at the spread last night I do think I might make less rolls next time though!  We also had a little sashimi which was melt in your mouth delicious! 
Anyway on to today.  I thought I would make a nice fresh soup for lunch. It's lovely and sunny outside but a little chilly so a warming soup could be just the ticket.  I'm using what I have left in the fridge - spring onions, potato, peas and mint.  I also have some maple bacon left over from my Canadian themed breakfast yesterday so I think I might pop that in too, just to make it a little more hearty.

The below recipe made enough for four people.

• I cut 2 rashers of bacon into small strips and cooked them in a large saucepan in a little oil until crisp. Then drained them on kitchen paper.
• Next I added a knob of butter to the saucepan and stirred in half a bunch of sliced spring onions and a 1 diced potato. This cooked gently for 3-5 mins until soft.  I then added a finely chopped garlic clove, just because I love garlic!
• I made up 1 litre of Vegetable stock, which I poured into the softened onion and potato mix, returned to the boil for around 10-15 mins until the potatoes were tender.
• Then added the peas. I let this boil for 3-4 mins until the peas were done. 
• Almost done, I took the pan off the heat, added a small bunch of mint leaves and then whizzed it all up with a hand blender until smooth. 
• Finally, checked the seasoning and added back in the crispy bacon bits.

Winter Pea Soup with Bacon