The Riding House Cafe

This place eeks coolness.  An eatery where the novelty of brunch never wears off and you always leave more than a little satisfied. Stomach full, taste buds content and on a caffeine high, The Riding House Cafe which is popped behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street on Great Titchfield Street, is a mouth-watering go to for brunch.

With a laid back vibe, you’ll be transported somewhere between the realms of a New York warehouse, a Victorian kitchen and if you head to their private dining room a stable yard.

Booking or no booking, saunter in sometime before 12.30 as brunch will switch to lunch. 

Hang your coats up and find a seat. 

Nestle cosily on a scruffy sofa, take a chair at the bar or find a space on the long dramatic table. There’s something for everyone here; whether you’re on a date, with a partner, a friend or meeting mates.

Scan the menu and order your drinks! Smoothies come served ingeniously in glass milk bottles and coffees are more than a little strong.

Reasonably priced, brunch dishes range from health kicking muesli to full on fry ups, and the list is endless so no matter what your body needs... you'll find something.

We went for the Titchfield Street Mueslli and ordered several plates worth of eggs with chorizo hash browns! 

These hash browns are potentially the best in town; crunchy and toasty on the outside but rich and soft on the inside, oozing with the tastes and smells of a good fry up.

Devour your breakfast and natter away, you’ll easily lose track of time. Once finished and set for the day settle up your bill - in total we normally spend £10-£15 each and leave more than content with our breakfast. If you’re feeling energized by the gentle buzz of the place, pop off to shop on Oxford Street or stroll over to Marylebone High St, the options are perfect.

Perfect for dates or the “morning after” breakfast. You can chill out relax and not be spotted. Brilliant for groups. Not ideal if you’re positively reeling and in need of a dark silent room.

-         Try it out for dinner as it turns itself into a great wine bar and restaurant by night, plus there’s a fantastic private dining room for hire too!

Bluebells

If you go down to the woods today... its impossible not to be bluebell-er-rised.
When the weather is nice its hard not to head out of town for the countryside, leaving London and the rat race behind. Bird song, sun and woods carpeted in bluebells.

On a spring weekend, Poppy and I set off on a healthy  walk to some woods just by my parents home where growing up my brother and I used to play swallows and amazons, hide and seek and tag.

At this time of year it is awash with bluebells. Rich in colour, these small flowers sleep through the winter and at the first sign of spring burrow up to cover the English woodland floors. With Poppy trotting by my heal, the sun glinting through the leaves, a wood pecker tapping away and the odd bumble bee busily buzzing past we hung out in the purple woodland wandering past ponds, stepping over logs and finally kicking back in the shade before heading home for a good 'ol cup of tea. Nothing says British spring time quite like a sea of bluebells.

Bread making

Bread making is an age old art and for many baking a set of fresh loaves is the perfect way to escape the hustle and bustle of life, sinking into a world of flours, bread tins and grains.

Growing up we were only allowed home made bread - any shop bought bread was banned. At the time being deprived of pre-sliced white bread seemed very unfair, but now I'm a truly grateful to have gained a taste for grains, wholemeal and fresh steaming loaves straight out of the oven.

It's a myth that bread making will take up lots of time - in truth it will take up perhaps 15 minutes of your actual time, but your bread will need to rise for two hours in a warm spot.

An easy loaf to bake is rye bread. Rye bread is made with rye flour, producing a rich, dense and flavored bread. It will keep for longer than average bread, and being a form of sour dough is lower in glutton that other breads. Delicious with eggs, jams and ideal for sandwiches. A perfect loaf for any beginner.

200g of Rye Flour
200g of Strong wholegrain bread flour
7g sachet of yeast
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of maple syrup

1. Tip the flours, yeast and salt into a bowl. Pour 250ml of luke warm water and add your maple syrup into the bowl to form a dough. Sprinke flour across your work surface and tip out onto to knead (see here) for 10 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball. It will be quite a heavy dough as rye flour has less gluten than conventional flours, so may not be as elastic as you'd expect
2. Place the dough into a large well oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in a warm place for 1-2 hour, or until the dough as doubled in size
3. Tip the dough back onto your well floured work surface and knock out any air by kneading for 1 minute. Shape into a round ball, place back in the bowl and leave for a further hour (or until it has doubled in size)
4. Heat your over to 200 degrees celsius. Take a baking tin, line with baking paper and place your bread onto it. Slash a few incisions across the top of your round dough and place in the over for 30 minutes. Tap the bottom of the loaf and look for a hollow sound to ensure the bread is cooked through. Smoother a slice with butter and sit down with a cup of tea.

Meet Herbert

This little man was quietly tucked up in Windsor castle. At a ripe old age he snoozed gently next to the butler's Bentley, the vicar's Ford and the cook's Clio. Once a week he'd stretch his tires, rev his engine and roll out of the castle gates to zip around the town.

At first he'd be a little rusty; he'd cough, the cogs would crank slowly and the wheels start to turn, but it was never too long until the joints felt well oiled and the old boy showed he still had a kick to him!


One day Herbert woke up and headed out of town, with the sun shining life felt great zooming along the roads out into the country and before long into London town. Passing Buckingham palace he tooted his horn, navigated Hyde Park corner and zipped down past the park before winding up in the colorful streets of Notting Hill. Popping by The Hill Gate (a pub on a tiny mews)  for a quick drink, he then slowly drove to a nearby street and settled down. So comfy was this new found spot, Herbert decided to stay!

Meet the new little car...

Pulled Pork Tacos

When friends come round the best dishes are always simple, hassle free, fun and satisfying. Pulled pork tacos in my opinion tick every single box. They allow you time to hang out with your pals and you don't need to be a master chef to cook them up either
Hungry hands dive into the table, tortillas are grabbed, piles of steaming caramalised, salty  pulled pork disappear quickly while coleslaw by the bucket full with fresh crispy salad is eaten up.
A sociable winner, these are cheap to make and require minimal effort , working very well with Raspberry and Strawberry mohitos (drunk while cooking, at the table or for a desert) [take this smoothie and substitute oats for a tsp of honey and a shot of tequilla]

For four:

Pulled Pork
1.2 kg of pork (belly or shoulder)
1 tbsp of salt
1.5 tbsp of dark brown sugar
1/3 of a can of coke cola
A sprinkle of smoked paprika

Rice
1 mug of rice
1 mugs of water

Tacos or flour tortillas

Coleslaw
One cabbage
Two carrots
One red onion
4 tbsp of mayonnaise

1. Take your pork, scour and rub in the smoked paprika, salt and sugar. Place into a slow cooker and add the coke cola. Turn on medium and leave for 6-8 hours. Turn on low and leave for 8-10 hours. 
2. With half an hour to go it's time to make the rest the dish. For the coleslaw, chop your cabbage, onions and carrots. Add your mayonaise and place in a bowl. Prepare a salad of your choice, a find romanian lettace hearts work best. Cook your rice for 20 minutes. While the rice is cooking, take your pork out of the crock pot and simply shred using two forks.
3. Heat your tortillas slightly. And serve.

Raspberry Mohito:

1. Take the breakfast smoothie and substitute oats and flaxseed for a shot of tequila and a tsp of honey.

Spring time in Cambridge

This weekend the sun came out in one of my favorite cities, Cambridge.

Sam's old university, this city holds many a memory of summers lying by the river Cam, punting in the sun, parties that went on until the early morning, being locked out of college at night, climbing through college windows as well as those late nights in the library. So with sun bursting through the clouds, the temperature up, the bicycles out in force and the streets lined with students, tourists, buskers and street food vendors, Sam and I broke out of London to head up to studious city and spend the day wandering.

Just a quick train ride from London, we caught up with old friends, chilled out in old watering holes and even snuck in a late night kebab (shhh just for old times sake!)

 

The Rum Kitchen

Do you remember this hangover? Yes? I shamefully had a sore head, but all off the back of a fun filled evening with friends, Caribbean music and rum cocktails just off Portobello Road.

A few months ago a new local opened up near where I live in London - its name? The Rum Kitchen. Wander through the back streets and mews' around Westbourne Park until you wind up outside the Caribbean shack. Bursting with Caribbean vibes and hidden in a small cobbled road, this is a fun, not too expensive (but not too cheap either) joint with good vibrations running through it.

For an evening full of fun, dancing until the early hours and cocktails that taste out of this world - this is a great place to head with friends. Warning, do not come here for a low key romantic date and yes, you may find yourself heading home as the sun rises across the mews....



 after all, they do say there that ...