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.

Pumpkin Soup

As a child, I used to really dislike pumpkin. I grew up in France and thankfully (for my preteen self) "Citrouille" is not a staple vegetable in their cooking. Even in the United Kingdom it doesn't tend to make much of an appearance except in photographs and recently--due to the ever increasing encroachment of American holidays-- at All Hallow's Eve.

I can't even recall exactly what it was about the dreaded pumpkin that caused me to develop such avoidant behaviour. As with most things, it was probably due to unimaginative and just plain awful preparation.

A few days ago, one of my good friends dropped by with a basketful of vegetables. I cooked up a storm with most of the offerings (curry, ragu etc) but the world's smallest pumpkin has been sitting on my kitchen counter for almost a week, taunting me. I decided to tackle it today.

I don't make soup that often, but it seems the best way to try out pumpkin for the first time in 15 years. Right now there's a tray of pumpkin flesh, chopped carrots and a giant bulb of garlic roasting in the oven.

I'll let you know how it went.