Coming out of Storage!!

Wow, has it been that long? Apparently so. In the longer-than-expected time I've been away I've had a lot of brilliant food experiences that involved diets, burger competitions, slow-cookers, nights out, nights in, new ingredients, total disasters and some brilliant successes.....and I didn't write about any of them. Doh!

But don't worry, if there are any of you still out there I'm back to blog so, stand by....

Going into Storage...

Hello everyone! I'm just writing to let you know that I'm going on a Nom Nom Nom blog hiatus for a while. I've got some personal projects to sort out and I'm also thinking of refocusing this blog.

Anyway, I hope the New Year has started positively for all of you, and I hope to be back writing soon.

:)

It doesn't get much boozier than this!

If you're staying in tonight, why not tune in to Masterchef on BBC2 and play this inspired drinking game? Too funny ;)

Join the Club.

For many years now I have been the advocate of that great British invention; the sandwich - simple, versatile and so tasty. As any true follower of the 'sanger' will tell you, the daddy of all sandwiches is the club sandwich or clubhouse sandwich.
I have been eating club sandwiches in hotels and bars ever since I was a little boy. Being an only child and the son of two cabin crew, I often found myself in strange lands and even stranger hotels. My folks soon realised how to keep me from causing mischief and spoiling their adventures: Food, and what do all hotels serve? The mighty club.

I wish now that I could revisit all the club's I have had, too young to remember or just not intrested unough to take it in, there must be hundreds. Plus I have realised in recent years that the design and composition of the club can vary hugly.

Allegedly first created in a New York gambling club in the late 19th century by cook Danny Mears, it seems that as with any great invention this was one born out of necessity. Perhaps to keep the game going, a tasty, easy to eat dish was thought up. With enough components, weight and style to satisfy the big spender of the day.

Wikipedia sums up the ingredients and layout perfectly:

"It is usually cut into quarters, and held together by cocktail sticks. The traditional club ingredients are turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. As with a BLT sandwich, the club sandwich is usually served on toasted bread, but untoasted bread can be used. Chicken is sometimes substituted for turkey. Mayonnaise is a common condiment, but honey mustard is sometimes used. Some versions also contain ham. Cheese is often added to the sandwich as well, usually Swiss, American or Cheddar."

Not too taxing. Remember to season well and put some thought into the construction, putting meats next to mustards and an even spread throughout the three layers.

Anything added is a bonus but take too much away and you may not be able to name it a club, as I discovered recently in a 'gastro pub' on Gipsy Hill on new years day. The club sandwich I ordered seemed like the perfect hangover cure, but due to ignorance or laziness it just turned out to be a chicken and bacon doorstop. No good.

Check Mooko's food flicker link to see the club and chips meal I made last August.
Also further reading on the history of the club sandwich can be found here.
Nom.

The Bento Challenge

A few weeks ago I mentioned Makiko Itoh's 'Just Bento' blog. I became hooked immediately, and I have always been intrigued by Japanese food but Maki's blog makes it so much more accessible for the layman. Now she has launched her very own Bento Challenge, encouraging readers to start incorporating Bento into their lives for their own reasons, many of which center around improved health and saving money. Well, here is my first attempt....

Bento does not have to involve special equipment, or special Japanese ingredients - it just needs to be a balanced, nutritious an portion controlled meal in a box. I like it because I get bored of food very easily - I can't stand big platefuls of the same thing (er, there are some exceptions like pizza and roast potatoes) so having lots of small things to munch on is very appealing for me. It keeps life interesting, and failing that it just keeps lunch interesting.

Here's the recipe for the Soba Noodles you can see in the centre. Interestingly it's a Nigella recipe. Cold Noodles not your thing? Try these, and you'll never look back they are so incredibly tasty.

Soba Noodles with Sesame Seeds

• 75g sesame seeds
• salt
• 250g soba noodles
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 5 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 5 spring onions

1.Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a high heat until they look golden brown, and tip them into a bowl.

2.Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add some salt. Put in the soba noodles and cook them for about 6 minutes (or according to packet instructions) until they are tender but not mushy. Have a bowl of iced water waiting to plunge them into after draining.

3.In the bowl you are going to serve them in, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, honey and oil. Then finely slice the spring onions and put them into the bowl with the cooled, drained noodles and mix together thoroughly before adding the sesame seeds and tossing again.

4.Leave the sesame seed noodles for about half an hour to let the flavours develop, although this is not absolutely necessary or sometimes even possible.

© Nigella Lawson, Forever Summer - Chatto & Windus, 2002

Happy New Year!

Here's to 2009 and here's to my first meal of the year. Lentil & spinach burger with cheese and mushroom. Oh yes. X

The Credit Munch

'Noho' is dead right now. I'm stuck at work in the no-mans-land between Christmas and New Year, which brings some peaceful benefits, but many of the sandwich shops have closed until New Year. Which is why I was surprised to see 'Salumeria Dino' open today, so I sauntered in for my favourite Chicken Escalope Toasted Sandwich on Olive Foccacia, (see below).

Usually, they're queuing out of the door at this place, but today was different because everyone except me appears to be having fun away from work.....Someone's gotta do it ;)

Whilst I was waiting for my lunch to be grilled to perfection, Dino was chatting to me about how the credit crunch has made a negative difference to his business -' people make their own sandwiches now' he said. I pointed out, no one can make a sandwich quite like him, but Dino's has felt the pinch and competition on Charlotte Place (let alone neighbouring Goodge Street or Charlotte Street) is tough.

This made me think: we need to support our favourite independent eateries through these hard times. I'm not saying eat out every day, or that you need to become a charity, but if you've got somewhere that you love eating at, and it's a small place then they're probably feeling a pinch in these tough times.

I'm calling it the Credit Munch - stay local and independent whenever you can. Perhaps lots of people buying local just once a week will make all the difference. Imagine if all our favourite sandwich shops closed and all we're left with are Tesco sandwiches. Not a nommy thought.

(Photo: Ewan Munro)