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Smells Like Spring Spirit

March 22, 2009 4 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Eggs in the pasta flour

pasta flour for ravioli

This picture makes me think of Easter. Eggs in the pasta flour.
Straining the mushroom stockStraining the mushroom stock
Straining the mushroom stock, picked on my trek to the Withnail and I cottage in Cumbria.

A mix of Portobello (brought from Portobello rd hehe), button and oyster mushrooms.
chopping onions
Chopping onions, melting them in butter
double cream and milk for a frothy onion capuccino
Adding equal parts double cream and milk for a frothy onion capuccino
ravioli, sealing the parcels with egg

production line of ravioli, sealing the parcels with egg 

The production line of ravioli, sealing the parcels with egg.
Cutting them with a small wooden zigzag wheel. the ravioli

Laying out the ravioli to dry, some even on the Aga

Laying out the ravioli to dry, some even on the Aga!
basil for the garnishwilted basil with ice
Chopping up the basil for the garnish, freshening up the wilted basil with ice.
fresh ravioli stuffed with a mix of mushrooms, onion capuccino sauce

The final plate, fresh ravioli stuffed with a mix of mushrooms, onion capuccino sauce. Created by Charlie Nelson.

Rocket salad, 50p a bunch at PortobelloSalmon smeared with blackened seasoning, in a pouch of olive and walnut oil, white wine
        Rocket salad, 50p a bunch at Portobello. Salmon smeared with blackened seasoning, in a pouch of olive and walnut oil, white wine. 
      Mix for the tarte au citron
      Mix for the tarte au citron  
 Rose-water meringues
 Rose-water meringues                                                                   
Chris Pople of Cheese and Biscuits plays 'Rocket Man' on the piano
Chris Pople of Cheese and Biscuits plays ‘Rocket Man’ on the piano
Last night, my parents came to the Underground Restaurant for the first time.
“Who else is coming?” asked my mum.
“Amongst others, four of Britain’s top food bloggers,” I say.
“What are their names?” she asks.
“Cheese n Biscuits, Eat like a girl, Hollow legs and Food Stories.”
“What imaginative parents they have!” quipped my mum.
Charlie and I spent all day making the ravioli. It’s a meditative process, the ritual of kneading the egg yellow dough, feeding the tongue of pasta through the machine again and again, each time on a narrower notch, laying out the strips, a production line of little dollops of mushroom mixture sealed by egg into parcels. For the recipe read his blog post here.
I was chatting to Charlie about one of my guests for next weeks’ astrology and food night, the renowned astrologer and psychic Jessica Adams. Jessica told me a few weeks ago that my great-grandmother is helping me with the Underground Restaurant. As she spoke I started to get goosebumps.

“Can you feel that?” she said, squinting at me.

“Yes,” I replied, amazed, a spooky mix of disturb and comfort.

As I recounted this incident to Charlie, the same feeling happened, I felt a tingle, a shiver. I looked at Charlie and he, a sensible and down to earth young man, said:

“I’m coming out in goose pimples, look at my arms!”

Very weird. As if her spirit passed through the kitchen. 
One guest was vegan. The last few weeks have had almost entirely vegan menus. But I felt like making fish for tonight. Despite my atheism, unconsciously I do link Spring to Easter and Christianity, although the word Easter and the tradition of Easter eggs is pre-Christian, from Babylon. The symbol for Christianity is fish, Pisces. For my vegan guest I replaced the salmon with smoked tofu and seed burger. We made a special portion of vegan, no egg, pasta and used soy cream for the sauce (the onions did not melt properly in vegan margarine however). I made a vegan chocolate mousse with Green & Blacks’ Mayan Gold. As Eat like a Girl remarked, it tasted like Fry’s Chocolate Cream.
My teen and her friend the lycée bomb hoaxer waitressed. My parents sat with her parents and their 10 year old daughter, who was tucked up into my bed when she got tired. (File under ‘yet another difference between normal restaurants and home restaurants’.)

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Previous Post: « Spring Equinox menu 21st March
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Comments

  1. Helen

    March 22, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    And what a fantastic evening it was! Brilliant. You were an excellent hostess. Chris was great on the piano too wasn’t he? Love that last picture.

    Reply
  2. Lizzie

    March 22, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    It was, as Helen said, a great evening. Excellent food too, that onion cappucino was really moreish.

    Reply
  3. MsMarmitelover

    March 23, 2009 at 9:05 am

    Thanks for coming.You were all such good fun. I only wish I could have hung out more with you.
    I loved the fact that Chris played…so in the spirit of the whole thing! Need to get it tuned though…anyone know a piano tuner? Will give dinner in return…

    x

    Reply
  4. thora

    March 25, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    I visit London frequently and ever since Easyjet made it so easy and affordable we usually go every year, even for one single day (next time is May 1). Now, I’m SERIOUSLY considering staying a whole weekend some time so that I can visit your UR. I’ll let you know well in advance. Until then, reading your blog will have to do.

    Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, s My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, spinach, cheddar. I used crème fraiche and blind baked puff pastry shells. I was up at 11 last night making these for todays street party, which featured in the mail, telegraph, mirror, metro courtesy of photographer Gavin Rodgers @asproider
Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-ba More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-based version of the original. Beautifully constructed, designed and written by @nikisegnit it’s vegetarian rather than vegan but recommended for both. She widens the sensory vocabulary around plant flavours in this book- encouraging new delicious sounding combinations. Now she includes new categories such as flower & meadow, caramel roasted, zesty roost- just the words make me salivate. #foodbooks #bookstagram #newbooks
Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a seaweed that tastes just like truffle. Just done a little kelp foraging at low tide with @thetempleharris’ Amanda Saurin. Isle of Harris. Turquoise sea, white sand, cloud hovering just above. @camperdays.international @roosterpr
I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @bre Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @brentcouncil Willesden library. I’ve been doing this a few times a year for the last few years. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a kitchen set up permanently. Libraries are community centres and could be used to teach how to cook from scratch.
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