Cheapest Birthday Meal Ever

I wasn't looking forward to going out to a restaurant this weekend.Why? I'll be quite honest and admit that I am stone cold broke. However, a promise to a friend is a promise to a friend--so after clarifying a few etiquette points on how little I could get away with ordering, I set off for this place:

I've always been a bit wary of restaurants or companies that use Disney characters (illegally) in their advertising, but boy was I pleasantly surprised.

The interior is lavishly decorated in a faux-Moroccan style, and the "kitchen" is pretty much open so you can see your food being grilled (should you choose to do so)

Being broke, I settled for the lentil soup--something I have never tried before, and handily the cheapest item on the menu. I've been looking for ways to use the lentils I bought a few weeks ago, and thus far have only actually cooked them into a curry, so this alone made the entire night worth it.

Fortunately, they served a type of moroccan flatbread with everyone's food so I actually had quite a sizable meal, finished off with a piece of the most delicious baklawa I have ever tasted.

It always strikes me that you can't judge a restaurant by its front of house, which seems rather counter-intuitive, but there you go.

Looks like UK schools are actually asking for more crappy food to be sold on the premises. Isn't that lovely.

I know, I know

It's been almost two weeks since we posted anything, but we have good reasons.

I've been recovering from food poisoning. Oh yes. I make bad food choices too. I opted for take-out and unfortunately that can be like playing russian roulette with your digestive system.

Furthermore, tonight is the culmination of 3 months' worth of work-- a charity fundraiser I've organised involving music, comedy and an auction. Phew! I will let you know how it went.

In the meantime, check this out.

Claims as to health benefits of sea salt "flawed"

Carlsberg don't make ragu, but if they did....

...Delia would definitely be behind it. I'm not a fan of Delia Smith's. I can't exactly put my finger on exactly why, but the musings on my generic dislikes of a woman I don't really know are probably best left to an entirely different post.

Feast your eyes on this baby.

This was the first time, believe it or not, that I had come across the concept of making a bolognese sauce using meat. If I hadn't tasted it before reading the recipe, I probably would have baulked at it.

My biggest problem with it isn't so much the time (because what are casseroles and slow cookers for, after all?) but rather the inclusion of chicken livers and pancetta. Who the heck has those lying around when they feel like making a bolognese sauce? Seriously.

That's why I've butchered another recipe. Don't give me that look, Delia. You lost any highground in the kitchen when you began promoting frozen mashed potato.

1 large onion
oregano
basil
black pepper
1 carton of passata (sieved tomatoes)
tomato puree
garlic puree
several garlic cloves
minced beef (I tend to use cheap frozen sachet mince)

• Finely chop the onion and fry until it begins caramelising.
• Add some finely chopped garlic (make sure it does not begin to burn, you're just aiming to kick start the release of flavours)
• Add the carton of passata, and a tablespoon or so of tomato puree. The garlic puree should go in now, just to reinforce the flavours from the fresh garlic--depending how strong you want it to be, you may wish to leave the garlic paste out.
• While this is going on, fry the beef mince until cooked. Drain the fat from it.
• Add the beef mince to the ragu mixture, and add the basil and oregano on a 1:2 ratio. (again, to taste)
• Leave to cook on a low heat until the beef breaks down. With frozen sachet beef this will be a lot sooner. If it needs a helping hand, take the blender to it. Add a few twists of black pepper.