TeaBox Online, Sheffield

I was kindly sent some samples of fresh leaf tea by the friendly Kirsty (@teaboxonline) who set up an online tea business based in Sheffield, called TeaBox Online. I am a massive fan of tea in any form, at any time of the day. Tea is wonderful. It perks you up, calms you down, warms you, quenches your thirst, makes you feel instantly better and is a great drink to have in a crisis. So I was pretty excited about getting some free tea in the post and then getting to write about the magic of the wonder drink. I can't praise tea enough. It's bloody brilliant.

The first sample I tried was good old English Breakfast. And guess what, I had it for breakfast :) D's birthday breakfast actually- I followed the instructions on the packet (2 spoons per person, add water boiled to 100 degrees) and brewed up a nice big pot in my cat teapot. I love my teapot but am often too lazy to use it- getting loose leaf tea was the perfect excuse to get it out and pretend I was a real lady pouring out cups of tea.

Anyway, the tea was lovely. I drink mine black because milk is the work of the devil (I don't understand how it looks like it should be creamy and thick but actually has the consistency of water...freaky. Yes, I probably do need some kind of therapy) and this tea was one of the best morning cuppas I've had for a very long time. It was slightly more fragrant and delicate than my normal Yorkshire Tea tea bag job, and was really refreshing; the perfect accompaniment to my banana, cereal and yoghurt breakfast. (Yoghurt. Looks thick, IS thick. Not like milk.)



D had milk in his and had it with his special birthday breakfast of bacon and eggs and he also loved his cuppa. It's so worth going to the extra effort of brewing up a pot of loose leaf tea rather than quickly squeezing a tea bag into a mug of water- the flavour is so much lighter and you can taste all the different leaves that go into making it. TeaBox have definitely found the perfect blend for a lovely morning cuppa- highly recommended.



(I now REALLY want a set of vintage china so I can feel like a real lady instead of ruining the delicateness of leaf tea by drinking it out of chunky mugs)

The second lot of tea I tried was a blend called "Fatigue Fighter." I decided to take it to work this week as I was horribly tired after trying to pretend I was still young and hip by going to a student house party and then being kept up all night by D's horrendous coughing (he has man flu- I'm being suitably disdainful of him, no time for man illnesses!) and Delia's nighttime capers. (Chasing plastic bags across the floor with massive crashes into walls? Why not?) Fatigue Fighter is a blend of Chinese white tea, Lemongrass, Ginger, Ginseng, Ginkgo, and Rosemary and promises to give you a little lift and soothe your senses that have been battered by physical fatigue.



I brewed up a pot in a rather nice teapot I found in the work kitchen and offered it around the office. Most people were up for a cup- even the Man Of The Office, who believes that tea should be black, strong and only a bit of milk; true builder's tea. Everyone agreed that the tea smelt lovely- the aroma of ginger really warmed the office. Also all my colleagues were a fan of the flavour of the tea- slightly hot with ginger, yet delicate and floral with the other herbs, and wonderfully light. It certainly did soothe, but did it fight fatigue?

Well I took a second pot into a meeting with the boss, and we both had a couple of cups whilst discussing my upcoming Important Plans for my various little projects- I went into the meeting yawning and came out feeling energised and productive. So that's a yes from me, and the boss was appreciative too.



The Man Of The Office said that although the tea tasted lovely, it didn't provide any more of a lift than a normal cuppa would. Which I guess could be true, but black tea, and coffee, and Red Bull and the like are all loaded with caffeine, whereas this tea just feels a lot purer and a lot better for you, yet does the same job with herbal ingredients. I won't be giving up my black tea any time soon, but will definitely invest in some Fatigue Fighter for those times when I just fancy a delicious tasting lighter brew with a little health kick at the same time. This tea doesn't claim to improve your health in any way, but I certainly felt a little more virtuous drinking it- and didn't notice a slump later on like you usually get after a large injection of caffeine.

I would definitely like to try some more of TeaBox's selection- they've convinced me to invest more time in making the perfect cup of tea from loose leaves instead of a bog standard tea bag, and they have a fairly decent selection of other blends. The ethos behind the company is also something I admire- they really value customer feedback and even invite customers to create their own tea flavours, and they are a small family run independent business committed to quality and good service. Highly recommended.

Manjit's Kitchen, LS8, Leeds

I have been meaning to write this blog post for weeks, but what with many changes in my life (new job, woop!) I have been mad busy and have only just got round to it now. So sorry- but hope it's worth the wait!

Manjit's Kitchen is a home delivery service preparing and delivering fresh, home cooked Indian food on Friday and Saturday evenings in Leeds. There are tons and tons of takeaway companies in Leeds- many cooking what they claim to be traditional Indian food and many delivering on weekends to houses in Leeds. So what makes Manjit's Kitchen so unique and special? And why does it receive such amazingly positive reviews?

Well, unlike many traditional "takeaway" services, Manjit's Kitchen is not part of a restaurant, or indeed any kind of professional kitchen setup. All dishes are cooked in a secret location in LS8 in Leeds, in Manjit's very own house. No huge teams of chefs or industrial sized vats of "one sauce fits all dishes" curries- just Manjit herself and fresh, locally sourced ingredients cooked in a home kitchen and sent out with a driver to the customers. (And don't worry, the kitchen is EHO registered so your curries haven't been prepared in a dirty student kitchen somewhere with loads of rats running around!!)

Manjit's menu changes weekly- there is usually only a choice of three main dishes (all vegetarian) plus sides and extras- this week you can order kheer, which is traditional Indian rice pudding, or onion bhajis, plus rice and chapatis. Manjit also sells award winning Indian kulfi from Indie Ices- great to see small local businesses working together. In fact, the whole operation has a great local feel to it- vegetables come from an allotment in Harehills and Manjit has also sourced some ingredients from Oakwood Farmers Market.

Another thing that makes Manjit's Kitchen so unique and different from other home delivery services is that almost all of the publicity and ordering is done via Twitter (@manjitskitchen) No menus through the door, no listings in the Yellow Pages etc- this is pretty much Leeds's first Twitter based foodie enterprise! (If I have actually got this wrong and someone else out there is doing something similar, please do feel free to correct me!) But for me anyway, this innovative way of drumming up business and taking orders only adds to the friendly, local feel of the business- people hear about it through people they follow on Twitter, Manjit DMs (direct messages for those not in the twitterati!) confirmation of the order and lets you know when the driver has left with your food. Even her review page on the website is all comments taken from Twitter! There is a phone number and email address as well so don't despair if you're one of those people who hasn't even got the hang of Facebook yet, there is still a way of ordering.

Anyway, food review, that's what I'm here for right?! I decided to order from Manjit a few weeks ago, sent her a message via Twitter, received confirmation that my order had been received and would be delivered at the time I wanted and at 8pm there was a knock on the door and a delicious smell awaiting me in the kitchen!



Me and D had ordered Chana Masala (chickpeas, onion, tomatoes and spices) and Tarka Daal (lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, spices) with chapatis and cumin rice as a side to share. Apologies for the photo- apparently blue is a really bad background for food photography and we just kind of bunged it all on the plate- the photo definitely does not do the food justice. It was absolutely delicious. Just the right spice level, packed with flavour- each mouthful filled your mouth with such a wonderful combination of heat and spices, and the chickpeas and lentils were perfectly cooked. The rice was fluffy, light and delicately flavoured with cumin and the chapatis were to die for- I prefer them to naan in any case so was glad they were an option on the menu.

Below is a better picture provided by Manjit of her Chana Masala- and yes it does taste as good as it looks in this one! Unlike some Indian takeaways, the curries weren't greasy or oily and it really did feel like I was eating decent home cooked food prepared with care and even a bit of love!



Manjit's Kitchen comes highly recommended from me, and from various others on Twitter. The food is delicious, authentic and full of flavour; the ethos behind the service is one I fully support- buying locally and collaborating with other local businesses, and the service is impeccable. I'd get in there soon if I were you because I think this service is one which will grow and grow- I'd imagine there will be a waiting list soon!

By the way, I am interviewing Manjit herself for the Culture Vulture blog this week, so keep checking that site to find out more.

Toast Bar and Bistro, Leeds

I recently spent a cold Sunday afternoon wandering around the Reetsweet Craft Fair and the vintage pop up fair in the Corn Exchange. The craft fair was pretty busy and it was nice to see independent crafty people getting the chance to flog their wares. The vintage pop up on the top level of the building was also full of people- all stuff was reasonably priced and there was a massive variety of vintage goodies, from clothes to shoes to accessories to old books etc. I didn't live in Leeds when the Corn Exchange was a mecca for all things independent and quirky; I've only known it as Anthony's Piazza and it was great to see it looking full and with quite a few people wandering around. Others have told me that it is nowhere near as good as it used to be, but compared to a couple of years ago, the place is positively heaving!

After all the browsing and a rather nice espresso from the little coffee stand there,we were pretty hungry and decided to wander over to the West End of town for food. We rarely venture up that way, apart from when we visit the great little bar that is Baby Jupiter and we discovered that Toast was open and serving food. The bar itself is modern looking inside with leather seats and massive TV screens showing the football- it was fairly quiet but I'd imagine it gets busier on weekday evenings when the office workers nearby drop in for post-work drinks.

The menu is fairly standard- a selection of sandwiches, breakfasts, a Sunday roast, burgers and various meat and fish dishes. They also offer a "build your own platter" deal where you choose 4, 6 or 8 items from a deli-inspired selection (cured meats, cheese, olives etc) which I was tempted by, but unfortunately they don't do this deal on a Sunday.

So D and I both chose sandwiches. I went for the chicken, houmous, cheese and sweet chilli sandwich on granary bread (mainly because I was intrigued by the combination of cheese and houmous) The menu has changed slightly on their website from when I went, but I seem to remember the sandwich having a name including either Leeds or Yorkshire- considering Yorkshire folk have a tendency to put cheese on strange things (christmas cake??) I'd imagine that was the reason behind the combination!

Anyway my sandwich was really really good. Massive big thick slices of granary bread, with tender chunks of chicken and tons of melted cheese. I couldn't really pick up on the flavour of the houmous though- I think it could have done with being a bit more thickly spread. The sweet chilli, chicken and cheese worked really well together though, and would have been a delicious sandwich on its own; considering the houmous was fairly unnoticeable and I kind of wondered what the point of it was!



D chose the man's option- steak, caramelised onion, mustard and rocket. He asked for the steak medium, and it came that way, and like mine, the portion was beautifully generous- thick slices of steak, a good pile of caramelised onions and huge doorstep slices of bread. The flavours of the chargrilled steak, sweet onion and tangy mustard complemented each other really well, and D wolfed it all down before I was even half way through mine- a sure sign that he was loving it!



Our sandwiches at Toast were a perfect break from the cold weather- filling (no side order of chips needed, and no space for a pudding!) satisfying and very tasty. The atmosphere in the bar was perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon- relaxed and fairly quiet, and the service was excellent- friendly and attentive. Our food was washed down with a gin and tonic for me and a bottle of beer for me- Toast have a wide range of continental beers, and a cocktail menu as well. Although my G&T came in one of those silly short glasses- my biggest hate in bars is being given a small glass; I like to make my drinks last (plus when wandering around with a small glass I inevitably end up spilling a bit) Note to bartenders- tall glasses for this blogger please! (and yes I'm one of those annoying customers who always waits until the drink is poured and then asks for a taller glass)

I love discovering new places to eat and drink in Leeds- although I have my tried and tested favourites, it's always nice to have a bit of a change. So if anyone reading this knows of any new and interesting places for a Sunday afternoon pit stop, do comment below, and you never know, I might review it :)

Thai Erawan, Oakwood, Leeds

You've probably guessed by now that I am a bit of a wimp and don't like any form of cold, wet or windy weather. (No I don't know why I moved to Leeds either.) So it will be of no great surprise to anyone that on Bonfire Night, I elected not to go and stand in a wet, muddy and freezing Roundhay Park, but instead persuaded D to take me out for a nice meal. Oh did I mention it was cold? So I didn't really want to go very far, plus the buses would have been all crowded and slow because of the bonfire at Roundhay, so we walked the three minutes round the corner to Thai Erawan, a small Thai restaurant and takeaway nestled in a small parade of shops in Oakwood.

Despite living in Oakwood for six months now, we hadn't actually eaten in any of the restaurants here- had a fantastic takeaway curry from Nawaab Khan's one Saturday night, but we usually go either to town or to Chapel Allerton for meals out. However, Thai Erawan has recently been enjoying some very positive reviews, like this one in the Leeds Guide, so we decided to go and check it out.

The restaurant is fairly small, decorated with traditional Thai furniture, statues and pictures and was pretty much empty when we arrived- I guess most of LS8 were up at the park, as most of LS8 don't hide indoors when there is a threat of rain! We were shown to our table by a very friendly waitress, who brought us some peanuts to nibble on while we perused the menu- nice touch, except both me and D despise peanuts. (Well I do, D is one of those fairweather nut haters- more on that later!)

The menu was massive and slightly overwhelming if I'm honest, but after reading through the entire thing I decided to stay away from my usual stir fried dishes and go for something a bit different. For starter I picked the crispy seaweed rolls- I was interested to see how they made the seaweed crispy- and for main I chose a "Sizzling" dish- chicken with black pepper, lemongrass, lime leaves and chilli on a sizzling platter.

The starters came fairly quickly; not surprising as the restaurant was so quiet (at this point, there were three couples including us in there). The waiter brought us a hot plate for the middle of the table and placed the starters on there so we could share- great idea but D had soup- not the easiest of sharing dishes! My crispy rolls stayed nice and warm though! I was slightly disappointed to see that "crispy seaweed" didn't actually mean that the seaweed itself was crispy, but rather the seaweed rolls had been deep fried in breadcrumbs. But my disappointment only lasted until my first bite- the rolls were absolutely delicious. The breadcrumbs were crispy and not at all greasy, the filling of minced chicken and prawn was wonderfully moist and well seasoned and wrapped delicately in seaweed which provided an extra element of flavour and the chilli sauce they were served with was the perfect accompaniment.




D looked a bit wistful as I bit in to my rolls and insisted that he taste some, and I could see he was regretting his choice of Tom Yum soup with prawns (clear spicy soup with prawn, mushrooms, coriander, chilli and lemongrass)- until he tried it! We often make hot and spicy broth style soups at home, and they're always pretty tasty and flavoursome, but they just do not compare to Thai Erawan's soup, which has an extra depth of flavour, probably down to some secret ingredient that we don't put in at home! The prawns were succulent and cooked perfectly (without the intestinal tract that TV chefs are always telling us to remove!), the broth was just the right level of spicy and bursting with flavour, and the mushrooms added a delicious earthiness to it. Both starters were perfectly portioned to whet our appetites for the main course, and I must say, after the excellent standard of the starters, I was excited!



By the time our main course arrived, the fireworks were finished, and hundreds of people were streaming down Roundhay Road, looking for somewhere to eat. The restaurant soon filled up and there was a lively buzz of conversation which improved the atmosphere no end.

As I said before, I'd opted for something a little different, and my sizzling platter did indeed arrive sizzling! Tender chunks of chicken were stir fried in the most delicious sauce I think I've ever had in a Thai restaurant- it was thick, salty, spicy, sweet...and every mouthful was like a little explosion of deliciousness in my mouth. I asked the waitress what was in the sauce to make it so tasty and she laughed and said it was the chef's secret- won't be creating that one at home then! I ordered a portion of jasmine rice to go with it- perfectly cooked and just the right stickiness- the portion was fairly large so probably best to share.



However D had gone for the Pad Thai with Pork so a lot of the rice went untouched. Now, I'd mentioned before how he claims to hate nuts...I did point out that the Pad Thai came with peanuts but he shrugged and said it would probably be nice. Ha. Fake nut hater. And yes, when the dish came, he sprinkled the peanuts liberally over the noodles and said they were delicious. Anyway, I tried a bit without peanuts and without egg (egg is another one of my Food Hates) and he was right- it was really tasty- thick rice noodles with succulent chunks of pork, crunchy bean sprouts and spring onion- well flavoured, moreish and incredibly tasty. The egg had been kind of "spun" over the top of it like a little nest (much like spun sugar) which I thought was a pretty cool touch.

By this time we were fairly stuffed so decided against pudding (partly because of this, and partly because none of the desserts looked particularly appealing; there were the usual Thai desserts like Thai custard, fried banana, and even fried ice cream, but there was also a bizarre collection of ready made frozen desserts) The service all night was impeccable- friendly waiting staff with just the right level of attentiveness (not hanging around, but not taking ages to bring you something) and the restaurant had a really nice family feel to it. In fact, someone called up to order a takeaway and the woman taking the call knew him by name and asked how his family and job were which I thought was a nice touch. I'm glad we have such a great little restaurant in Oakwood and it's convinced me to try some of the other eateries here; Oakwood doesn't have a great reputation for fabulous independent restaurants but I'm hoping that will all change once I've sampled them all. Come on LS8! (the best postcode in Leeds!)

Just thought I'd mention that Thai Erawan also do takeaway, and there is an Early Bird menu which offers great value at two courses for £7.95 or three for £9.95, served from 5pm to 7pm. They also do a loyalty card- visit/order a takeaway 5 times and receive £10 off your sixth meal. No excuse not to go now!

The Delightful Delia

Have been neglecting amusing cat stories in favour of serious stuff about food and restaurants and supermarkets and food festivals etc...poor Delia is feeling left out as I did promise some of the blog would be about her, and well, she likes the limelight. So here you go, comical anecdotes accompanied by cute pictures to cheer you up on this windy November day.

Firstly, since my last kitty update, Delia has had The Operation to remove any chance of her coming home pregnant. (Any parent's nightmare!) We took her in first thing in the morning (there was a tear in my eye as I shut the door on her scared little face in a cage) and went to get her later, after I'd interrogated the vet on chance of death etc. Vet warned us she may be a bit groggy and sleepy. Not Delia. The moment we got her home, she was running around, getting into mischief and generally acting like she was on crack. Got to take the mick out of her for a bit though because a massive bit of her fur was shaved off- it still hasn't completely grown back now. She looked ever so silly.



Anyway, a few days later, she was allowed outside. I love watching her play outside. She chases flies, hides in the hedge, nibbles on leaves and runs for cover every time a car goes past. I'm glad she's scared of cars. Not like my old cat who used to sit in the middle of the road for fun. Yes, he got run over. Survived luckily, but it still hasn't made him realise that cars can kill. Delia is much more of a wimp and for that I am thankful. She won her first fight the other day though! One of the fat fluffy cats from across the road dared to try and set foot in our garden; there was a loud yowl and I looked out of the window to see Delia sitting triumphantly at the gate whilst Fat Cat No1 From Across The Road ran away looking terrified.

In other news, Delia has been wrecking our house. She broke the window blind which meant we had to buy a step ladder so that every day we could take the blind off the window and put it back on. Here she is climbing the ladder. We have a new blind now. I give her a week before she destroys it.



I also cannot remember the last time I had a good night's sleep, because the beastie has decided that the ONLY place she wants to hang out between the hours of 10pm and 7am is our bedroom. She's either in the bed (purring, taking up all the room), in the wardrobe (leaving her little hairs all over my clothes) or chasing things around the floor extremely noisily. Oh and a couple of times she has been hanging out in the chest of drawers:



Dinner times have also become a nightmare- she gets up on the table, sniffing our plates, chasing bits of food around the floor and howling loudly if we dare to lock her out so we can enjoy the meal in peace. The other day she would only leave my dinner alone if I gave her something to eat. We had spicy fish (not for cats, although I would like to see what would happen if she ate madras paste!) and potato wedges, so I gave her a bit of potato. She liked it. She also likes to steal salad leaves off our plates and run away with them. Here she is on the table "helping" me make breakfast:



The cold weather means that the heating is on during the day now. Delia's favourite place to sleep used to be on top of an old rucksack (no I cant explain why she chose that over the lovely soft warm cat bed that we bought for her either!)....



....but now she prefers stretching out next to the radiator (on the broken blind). Snoring away and looking adorable. She likes the fireplace too but hasn't quite yet learned that flames are dangerous and can burn whiskers. I think I might have to invest in a fireguard.



Finally, here's a (blurry) picture of her in a bag! She climbed in, so we carried her around the house. Maybe a little mean, but she is such a spoilt little brat at times, she needs to learn that me and D are the bosses! And there is nothing like being carried in a bag to strip away a little bit of dignity.




Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

LS6, Hyde Park, Leeds

A couple of weekends ago, D and I braved the FREEZING weather (no, I'm not a Northerner, I'm a wimp!) and took a little trip to Hyde Park- I'd heard about a clothes swap going on there and wanted to get rid of some summery clothes and swap them for winter woollies! The clothes exchange was held at Remade, a small community fashion studio in Hyde Park, who use unwanted clothes and community skills to create new fashion items- website here. They hold a monthly fashion exchange, where people can bring clothes to swap, which are exchanged for tokens, which you can then redeem against clothing and accessories that other people have brought along. I went with 11 items of unwanted summery bits (mostly shorts- I think I'm getting too old for sparkly denim hotpants!) and left with 7 new items- 2 dresses, a skirt, a jumper, a pair of boots, a pair of woolly tights and a hat, plus 4 tokens that I can redeem at the next exchange, which is this Saturday (November 13th), details here. Hope to see some of you there, and it truly is a great project- encouraging recycling, promoting community involvement and providing a great little social space (there's a cafe selling homemade cake and hot drinks) and something different to do on a Saturday.

Anyway, after swapping my unwanted stuff for a whole new wardrobe of warm clothes, it was lunchtime and D and I were both starving! There's a decent little collection of cafes, bars and takeaway places on Hyde Park Corner, so we wandered up there and decided to go to LS6 (formally known as the Clock Cafe) as I had never been and wanted to check out somewhere new.

The cafe was rammed; full of families and students- rather than putting me off, I quite like busy places as it suggests to me that it's a place worth going to. We found an empty table and, due to it being really busy, had to wait a while for a waitress to acknowledge our presence- something that would normally have annoyed me, but to be honest, it was nice and warm inside so I wasn't too bothered! Eventually, we were handed menus- D had been craving a fry up, so went for the Full English, whereas I chose a hot sandwich- the menus aren't available online, so I cant remember exactly what it was called, but it was the one with falafel and houmous in it! . We also ordered two black coffees. The decor of the cafe is seriously cool- retro furniture, mirrors all over one wall, bright colours, cosy little alcoves, and all the menus came in old record sleeves. (Mine was Paul McCartney's Pipes of Peace, which was actually number 1 on the day I was born, there's a bit of trivia for you!)

As I mentioned before, the service was quite slow and the waiting staff didn't seem to be overly concerned by this- it did take a while for our order to be taken, and then for the food and drink to come, and a few other tables nearby were getting a little annoyed and resorting to shouting at any member of staff who walked past in order to get their attention, but to be honest, the whole vibe of the cafe was casual and relaxed, and this slow service seemed to fit in with the whole "lazy Saturday lunch" atmosphere. Maybe avoid if you're in a hurry! I love relaxed places though, the coffee even came in huge mugs which just made the place feel homely and chilled out.

Anyway, the food finally came! D's fry up was huge and contained all the essential elements you'd expect from a full English- it's definitely easy to see why this cafe is popular with the hungover Saturday afternoon crowd! His only complaint was that both the bacon and the toast were rather soggy and underdone- it did say on the menu that the sausages and bacon are cooked in an oven rather than fried to make it more healthy, so that might be an explanation for the bacon! I would not have been impressed if my bacon had come like that as I like mine crispy and cremated. D did wolf down the entire breakfast in record time though, which shows that it hit the spot perfectly- decent, hearty, no frills food to fill you up and banish any Saturday afternoon blues.



My sandwich was equally as filling- a generous portion of tasty falafel sandwiched between two massive slices of ciabatta. The sandwich itself was lovely; the middle Eastern flavours of falafel and houmous and roasted veg worked really well together, and my only complaint would be that the bread could have been a little more toasted as advertised on the menu; it was a bit reminiscent of eating one of those "oven bake at home" ciabattas from a supermarket straight out of the packet. The sandwich came with a side salad and some coleslaw; neither were particularly impressive; the coleslaw had too much mayonnaise and the side salad was just a bit of tomato, cucumber and lettuce with no dressing, a bit like the salads you used to get in late 80s/early 90s pubs (and definitely like the one you still get at my grandma's, although last time I went there for tea, she'd obviously been watching a bit of TV cookery- probably not Nigella though, as in my gran's words, she's "very frightfully frightfully" (er think that means posh!)- and served up separate leaves of cos lettuce, each containing a cherry tomato, a walnut and an olive) I'm just being picky though, because like D's fry up, I ate the lot and it definitely filled me up, warmed me up, and kept me going until teatime.



Like other eateries in the area, LS6's menu has a predominantly Mediterranean/Middle Eastern feel to it and has a pretty decent selection of breakfasts, hot and cold sandwiches, salads and cakes. It also does an evening menu and I think sells alcohol as well, so I might check it out one evening- the ambience and decor of the place is great, and with a few tiny improvements, the food could move up a couple of levels as well, taking it from decent Saturday afternoon student fare to food that could compete with some of Leeds's best cafes. Definitely a place worth checking out for a relaxed weekend lunch.

Foodie Festivals

This post has been a really long time coming, so long in fact, that it no longer seems that relevant! However, I promised, and I have the photos, and this post can be resurrected once next year's festivals come around!

Anyway, as you probably know by now, I like food. So every time there's some kind of food festival event, I like to try and go- I love looking at the stalls of local, independent producers, and watching cooking demonstrations. Plus when a city puts on a food festival, the restaurants get in on the act too and offer cheap deals or special menus for the "foodie" crowds. And some festivals even get the celebs in!

The first festival I went to this autumn was the York Food and Drink Festival, held back in September and lasting a week. D had a week off work and suggested a day trip to York- I forgot the festival was on, but was pleasantly surprised once we got there and spotted it- a massive long row of tents and stalls in the central square (Parliament Street?) and a tantalising aroma of spices, meat and baked goods.




The festival's main aim seemed to be to showcase the best of local food and drink producers, and a quick check on the website just now confirmed that! Furthermore, it isn't run by the City Council- it's totally independent and not-for-profit. On the Monday when we were there, all visitors were given the chance to vote in the Yorkshire Post's Readers Awards- we were given a form with a list of stalls to go round and sample their products, marking them out of ten. My favourites were Indie Ices (from Leeds!), who sells delicious, authentic and creamy kulfi (Indian ice cream), The Chilli Jam Man, who makes a range of chilli jams ranging from mildly spicy to blow-your-mind hot, and Keelham Hall Farm Shop's incredible rhubarb and mango pork sausage (sounds freaky, but is actually amazingly tasty- I kept going back for another sample!)

Since the festival, both Indie Ices and The Chilli Jam Man have become a lot more well known and popular in Leeds and on the Yorkshire Foodie Scene- Indie Ices have just started a collaboration with home cooked Indian food delivery service Manjit's Kitchen, and The Chilli Jam Man was on Calendar News! If only I'd written this blog immediately after the festival instead of being lazy and waiting this long, I could have been one of those smug "I told you they'd be big" kind of people, but as it is, you're just going to have to believe me that I SAW THEM FIRST!

Anyway, I was mightily impressed with the York Food And Drink Festival. Not only were independent, local producers heavily supported and promoted, but there was a huge variety of events taking part all over the city- Leeds Loves Food could do with taking a few tips from these guys!

(Oh and as for the winner of the Yorkshire Post Readers' Choice Award- Newfields Organic Produce. So I dont always have my finger on the pulse.)

Three days later, I hopped on a train with D and we went to Nottingham to the Nottingham Food & Drink Festival. It was a much smaller festival than York's, with only 20 or so stalls, but they had celebrities! And one celebrity in particular, who I must admit to having an incredibly huge crush on, the lovely Gino D'Acampo. I think it's the accent. And the dashing good looks. And the....anyway I digress. Yes. Food festival. My first impression was that the Nottingham foodie scene isn't quite as impressive as the one in York, or the one in Leeds. Yes there were quite a few decent local stalls, but most of them seemed to be from Leicestershire! I was glad to see that Homemade Cafe (one of my favourite places to eat when I was a student in Nottingham- check them out if you're ever there. Amazing sandwiches and cakes.) had a stall at the festival. However the focus did seem to be on the celebrity theatre and demonstrations, and there was much more of a commercial feel, with chains such as Yo!Sushi and Wagamama setting up stalls there.



I was impressed with how many celebrity chefs Nottingham managed to get in for the festival; the lovely Gino, Ainsley Harriott, Momma Cherri, Atul Kochhar and Sat Bains- the festival's main aim definitely seemed to be to pull in the crowds and raise Nottingham's profile. And this definitely all becomes clear when you read that the festival was put on by We Are Nottingham, who run the Business Improvement District for the city centre- "improving your experience when you visit Nottingham" So more a tourism/business venture than promoting local producers/independent activity then. Or maybe I'm just horribly cynical.

Anyway, Gino. Mmmm. There was a massive queue for the book signing. And a massive crowd for his demonstration. I was part of both. And yes, he was amazingly lovely and good looking and charming and even a little bit rude (you might not want to take your children to one of his live shows!) even if he did only boil some pasta, add some pesto to it (he got someone in the audience to make it!) and then make a tiramisu in a glass- one of my biggest hates; Tiramisu should be done in a big dish so all the sponge and cream and alcohol layer up together like a big old creamy spongy alcoholic lasagne. So 2/10 for the cooking and 10/10 for the entertainment. And 12/10 for the looks.



The third and final foodie festival that I have visited so far this autumn was the World Curry Festival in Millennium Square, Leeds. Held in a big marquee on the first weekend of October, it promised big things- celebrity chefs, a corporate day, local food producers, curry samples....but the general opinion of the event was that it was a bit of a disappointment. Firstly, on the Saturday, the first of the public days, the curry had all run out by 2pm! And secondly, on the Sunday, torrential rain meant that it was literally a washout...rivers of rain flowed through the tent! D and I went on the Sunday luckily, and braved the rain (my feet were soaked through after five minutes!) Tickets were originally £6 but for some reason, we only paid £3 for the Sunday- maybe the organisers had decided to cut the price following complaints and refunds on the Saturday.

The curry on offer was provided by students from Leeds City College- a great idea to encourage young talent, but a bit of a shame for any local curry businesses who may have wanted to showcase their dishes at the event. There weren't that many stalls at the festival- and most of them were selling pre-prepared curry sauces in jars and various spices- not much to sample, and not much to excite any curry enthusiasts. The college students had cooked a variety of curries from all over the world, from India to China to Jamaica to Malaysia etc, and you could sample four of them plus bread and rice for £5- a pretty good deal I thought, especially as there were eight dishes on offer and between two of us we managed to sample the lot. They were tasty, although nothing was particularly original or mind-blowing.



We settled down after lunch in front of the demonstration stage to watch Hemant Oberoi who cooks at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, and then Jean Christophe Novelli, that well known curry chef (!) who threw a ton of spices together and told the audience that curry didn't have to follow any rules; you could just experiment and see what worked. Entertaining, yes. Informative, authentic and correct- maybe not.



I know I sound like I'm putting a complete downer on the festival but I just felt that if Leeds wants to host a World Curry Festival and promise "a celebration of all things curry" then they could have done it so much better. More stalls with samples and offers from local businesses. Not confining it to a marquee but making use of all the space on Millennium Square so that it wasn't so claustrophobic feeling and crowds could flow more easily. Maybe even not putting so much emphasis on the "corporate day", which from the brochure looked pretty good, but making it more accessible to visitors from all over. The best part was definitely the involvement of local students, investing in the city's culinary future and providing opportunities for them to learn about a great type of cuisine.

I look forward to next year's festival however, and hope that the organisers manage to make it bigger and better, in order to pull in more visitors to Leeds and mark it as one of the country's great foodie destinations. We have the knowledge and the skills, we just need to use them a bit more!

Waitrose, Meanwood, Leeds

Oh how I love Waitrose. When living in Chapel Allerton last year and hearing that the (frankly rubbish) Scummerfield..er Somerfield supermarket was being taken over by either the Co-Op or Waitrose I got a little excited. Sadly Chapel A got Co-Op. The crap town in the Midlands where my parents live got a Waitrose. I went home that summer to cat sit and found my generous dad had left me and D £60 worth of Waitrose vouchers. For two days. We spent the lot and rolled back to Leeds, bellies full and eyes opened to a whole new supermarket experience. (Not that the ungrateful residents of the town appreciated it of course. I heard one woman remark "Where have the chicken nuggets gone? It's not as good as Somerfield here.")

Anyway, Leeds finally got a Waitrose in Meanwood. The fact that it is 15 minute walk followed by a 15 minute bus followed by another 10 min walk from my house did not phase me or D and we shunned the Tesco that we live next door to, as well as the Co Op that we live down the road from, and set off for the Promised Land. (OK, so I may be exaggerating the excitement slightly, but for a girl who loves both shopping and food, a good supermarket is like finding those shoes you wanted in the sale in your size!)

Waitrose did not disappoint. OK it's brand spanking new, so all nice and clean and white and full of enthusiastic friendly staff who hadnt yet been beaten down by weeks of dealing with stupid customers, but I was really really impressed. The shelves were full and everything was in the right place and there's a rather nice homeware/cookware section (as well as getting excited by supermarkets, I also love to spend a few hours lusting after kitchen gadgets and equipment and mentally refurbishing my entire house. I am aware I need to get out more. Working on it.)

And there's a cafe! That's something my parents' Waitrose does not have...possibly as I suspect the inhabitants of the town would rather spend their hard earned cash on a pint of warm lager or a pie and chips. Not that I'm a snob. Or spent 18 years of my life dreaming of moving away. Anyway, the Waitrose cafe is fairly similar to an M&S one- a small selection of hot food, along with sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee and various other baked goods. D and I decided to take a short break from our wandering around open mouthed in awe and wonder at the vast selection of high quality food in the shop and had a black coffee each (fairly decent) along with an apple danish for me and a marmalade sponge for D.






Both cakes were delicious- my pastry was flaky and light with a pretty tasty apple filling- you could tell they made the filling themselves and didn't just get it out of a tin of ready made apple pie filling. (And if they did, then it was a very good quality pie filling!) D's sponge was quite dense, yet moist and full of tangy marmalade flavour. The only negative I can find to say about the cafe is that they put all the calorie counts on the cakes. I know some people might find this helpful but come on, if you're going to eat a cake, you know it's not going to be good for you! I don't want to know that the pastry I just ate had more calories and fat than my entire lunch and breakfast combined thank you Waitrose. I don't want to leave the cafe with cake-guilt.

Waitrose's selection of both fresh and dry ingredients puts most other supermarkets in the shade. I subscribe to Olive magazine, and quite often I've been unable to source certain ingredients such as Belazu rose harissa, or good quality dried porcini, or those wonderful Merchant Gourmet puy lentils- Waitrose have them all and then some! It may be a little expensive and indulgent for a weekly shop (although they do have a pretty good "essentials" range and price match Tesco on many branded goods) but for a delicious pre-prepared Saturday night in front of X Factor dinner (we had roast rump of lamp with a herby crust- as good as a restaurant!) or for the odd hard-to-find ingredient, it's perfect.

Oh by the way, I should probably add a disclaimer- no I do not work for Waitrose, have never received any free stuff for them, and am not being held at gun point by the manager of the Meanwood store to write a decent review. I just like supermarkets. And as supermarkets go, Waitrose is definitely my number 1.

Many Meals Out - part 2 (Salvos, Azucar, Casa Mia)

So the reviews of all my meals out during a particularly gluttonous week continue here.

Meal 4- Salvo's, Headingley, Leeds

Salvo's Italian Restaurant really needs no introduction. Famous for winning Gordon Ramsay's F Word's Best Italian Restaurant last year, and incredibly popular throughout Leeds, it is one of my favourite places to eat in the city and going there for either a quick lunch in the Salumeria or an indulgent three course meal in the evening is always a treat (website).

Me and D had spent the afternoon pretending we were young student types again (gatecrashing Leeds Met's freshers fair- free leaflets, woop!, and drinking our way up the Otley Road- kind of like a reverse Otley run but without the fancy dress) and by 7pm we were STARVING. So decided on a trip to Salvos (I was craving pizza...result of the copious amounts of vodka drunk maybe?) and their pizzas are the best I've tasted in Leeds, possibly the best I've tasted EVER actually.

Being a Friday night, there was a waiting list for tables and the bar was pretty crowded, so the very friendly front of house man gave us a ticket and told us to come back in an hour. When we got back we were seated immediately, and given a little sampler of delicious focaccia which really got the tastebuds going and made me want to order everything from the menu.

However, I finally decided on the Penne Piccante N'duje, which is penne pasta in a tomato and fennel sauce with spicy Calabrian sausage, served with pecorino. It was fantastic- the pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was to die for- deliciously spicy and really full of flavour.



D went for mussels cooked with white wine, thyme and chilli and he loved them. I don't like mussels (the texture is just too slimy) but I tried a bit of the broth and it was light and fragrant- really tasty. We also shared some giant Sicilian olives with garlic bruschetta because as I said before, we were really really hungry! We'd wanted them to nibble on before our starters came, but they actually came at the same time which was a bit annoying- however as we weren't waiting very long for our starters, it wasn't a huge problem.





I obviously chose pizza for my main as I'd been craving it all afternoon- I went for the Pizza Norma- sun dried tomatoes, aubergine, rocket and parmesan. As always, Salvo's pizza did not disappoint at all- light crisp base, generous, well flavoured filling and not soggy in the middle! (like so many other pizzas are) An interesting thing to note is that on the bill, the pizza was listed as Pizza Norma Major- can anyone shed any light on this bizarre pizza name?!



D had a pasta dish, again from the specials menu- I can't remember exactly what it was called as the specials have changed now, but it was veal ravioli I think- and he was very impressed with it- it was really rich and full flavoured; and he couldn't finish it all despite our attack of drunken munchies! The puddings were tempting, but we were really stuffed by this point, so decided to roll home.



Had an absolutely lovely evening at Salvo's; as always the staff were efficient, friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere was buzzing and warm, and the food was top class. Salvo's have just been awarded an AA rosette- congratulations! It's definitely well deserved.

Meal 5- Azucar, Brewery Wharf, Leeds

Tapas is one of my absolute favourite types of food- I think because I'm so indecisive and want to try everything when I eat out. Tapas allows me to do that! Anyway, following the closures of both La Vina on Greek Street and that little Latino place up near the university (can't remember its name, but the tapas were lovely!) I need to find a new tapas place in the city centre (that isn't La Tasca- it's rubbish)

Azucar up at Brewery Wharf is a cool bar and tapas restaurant part owned by the legendary Howard Marks (website). The decor is funky and modern and there is an extensive cocktail menu, not to mention a wide selection of tapas.

It was fairly empty when we went (5.30ish on a cold Sunday evening) but started to fill up by the time we left and there was a 3 for 2 on tapas offer on- it runs until 7 on weekdays and all day Sunday. We ordered a wide range of dishes- pickled anchovy fillets, smoked fish cakes, lamb kebabs, their speciality "drunken chicken in apple sauce," patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce), halloumi and vegetable kebabs and tomato bread.



All the dishes were delicious- none of the pre-prepared, reheated, flavourless stuff that you get at certain other tapas chains. Highlights were the pickled anchovies, mainly for the presentation, and the drunken chicken- tender, melt in the mouth chunks of chicken in a really tasty apple and cider sauce. Everything was full of flavour and not too heavy or greasy, and you could tell the ingredients were of pretty decent quality.





We got a bit screwed over on the three for two deal though as we were stupid and ordered a scoop of banoffee ice cream to share for dessert- so the only things that came off the bill were a £1.50 ice cream and the bread! Not quite the value for money deal we'd expected. Nonetheless, the food was worth every penny and I'd really like to go back and try some of the other dishes- I'll just be careful what I choose next time! Oh and it's 2 for 1 on Tuesday evenings- so even more of an excuse to check it out.

Meal 3- Casa Mia Coffee Shop, Chapel Allerton, Leeds

Casa Mia is a small Leeds based chain of Italian restaurants, and the Coffee Shop in Chapel Allerton is my favourite out of the three (four if you count the takeaway in Bridgewater Place) because of its friendly, relaxed, family-orientated atmosphere (website).

D and I decided to pop there for a quick lunch one weekday and as we have a loyalty card it was 2 for 1 on pizza (you can get one from the website for free, and there are some really good money saving offers) There is a huge selection of pizzas to choose from, as well as a range of pasta dishes, panini, antipasti/salady things, and main courses, like salmon, chicken milanese, chicken cacciatore (stew) etc.

I wasn't overly hungry, so decided to go for a light pizza- the "Raffaele's Special;" ham, ricotta, parmesan and basil. I don't know who Raffaele is but he's a genius; the base was lovely and crisp, the topping was flavoursome and light and despite thinking I wasn't that hungry, I demolished the lot.



D went for the Porcini pizza- which was a little different, as instead of using tomato sauce for the base, it uses wild mushroom puree and is topped with more mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella, parmesa, basil and olive oil. It was much richer than my pizza, but so full of deep mushroom flavour and wonderfully creamy with cheese. Only one small criticism- because the base was loaded so generously with oozing cheesy mushroomy topping, the middle of the pizza had gone slightly soggy. If you're a big fan of mushrooms, then this is definitely the pizza for you!




The best thing about Casa Mia is without a doubt the desserts. They are displayed in a glass cabinet, tempting you throughout your meal, and I defy anyone to be able to leave without sampling one! (Or maybe you have better willpower than me....) The staff go with you to the counter and describe what all the desserts are- I ordered a chocolate and pear tart, and D went for the tiramisu. Weirdly, I opted for a scoop of banana ice cream to accompany my tart- I know the flavours don't really go together, but I really love banana ice cream.

The tart was amazing. The rich, dry chocolate filling- yes I know rich and dry aren't really two adjectives that go together, but somehow it worked- was luscious, and the pastry was perfectly crumbly. I could have eaten it twice. Or three times. And no, the banana ice cream didn't really go, but I ate it separately- two desserts! The pear in the tart was dried, which I wasnt expecting, I think it would have been nicer with fresh pear. But that's a minor grumble considering I wolfed down the entire slice in about 2 seconds and considered getting another one.



D's tiramisu was also wonderful- what would you expect from an authentic Italian restaurant though?! The mascarpone was rich and creamy and the sponge was neither too soggy, nor too dry. Apologies for the picture- it wasn't served like that, D dug in before I'd had the chance to get my camera out.



OK so a quick lunch turned into a long, lazy feast...and we left feeling very satisfied with swollen bellies and a need to sleep it off. I love the Casa Mia Coffee Shop- the service can be a little slow, but it just adds to the ambience of creating a real Italian feel, encouraging people to take their time over the food, not just cram down a quick sandwich or Greggs sausage roll like so many British workers do in their lunchbreak,and truly enjoy both the food and experience.

Many Meals Out- part 1 (Siam House, Alley Cafe, The Wardrobe)

Hi readers

Have been mad busy over the last week or so with a new community project I'm working on with Oblong Leeds - watch this space for more news about it. So I have unfortunately fallen behind with the blog and got a ton of things I need to write about...going to whack them all into a couple of extra long posts if that's ok. (Wlll give you all a nice long distraction from whatever work you should be doing right now- I should be cleaning the kitchen, heh.)

So here we go- Davaikoshka's Mini Reviews of Many Meals Out:

Meal 1- Siam House, York

Siam House is a small Thai restaurant hidden up a staircase on York's Goodramgate.(website) We've eaten here before and were very impressed with the service and food, so decided to have dinner there after a day at York's food festival.

For starter, we shared Golden Bags (minced chicken wrapped in pastry and fried) and Sweetcorn Fried Toast (like Prawn Toasts, but with sweetcorn). Both starters were wonderfully spiced and not at all greasy, and came with wonderful dips and a very pretty salad!




Main courses were a red curry with beef for D, and a stir fried pork dish with holy basil for me- both pretty unadventurous dishes, but nonetheless delicious. The mains were served with steamed rice.




Siam House do a very good value early bird special, which runs all night on Mondays and before 7pm Tues-Sat. We took advantage of this offer which meant a two course meal with steamed rice only cost £10.95 each, bargain for such good quality, authentic Thai food.

Obviously such a cheap meal meant I had to take advantage of the cocktails- this one with lychee liqueur and vodka was particularly delicious (and potent!)



Meal 2- Alley Cafe, Nottingham

Another day, another food festival, another meal out, and another 1lb gained :)

Me and D both went to uni in Nottingham, so when we found out there was a food festival on there (featuring the lovely (and fit!) Gino D'Acampo) we decided to go relive the old days and check out the best of Nottinghamshire produce. (A future blog post about food festivals is on its way, and includes a pic of me with Gino- excitement!!)

Anyway, Nottingham has a pretty decent independent restaurant scene, and after a day of sampling various unhealthy treats, I decided I wanted to go to Alley Cafe, which is a small vegetarian/vegan cafe down an alley (hence the name!) just off Nottingham's Market Square (website) I used to have a massive crush on a vegan boy, and in an attempt to woo him, I took him to this cafe several times, and was pleasantly surprised with how delicious vegan food could be. The cafe also has an almost European feel, with lots of art exhibitions and live music/DJs; we were there for acoustic night.

All the items on the menu are vegetarian and many are vegan- most veggie dishes can also be changed to make them vegan. The menu ranges from full english breakfast (including veggie sausages, and something called "Baconesque"!),to burgers, soups, sandwiches, snacks, puddings and pizzas.

D and I shared an antipasti platter to start- olives, tomatoes, artichokes, peppers and crostini. It was delicious, really full of flavour, and I didnt miss the parma ham!



For main course D had Black Bean and Mole Burritos, which were really tasty- tortilla wraps stuffed with flavoursome beans, topped with cheese, cocoa and nuts and served with salsa, sour cream and salad. Generous portion size as well!



I chose the "Tempting Tempeh Burger", despite not knowing exactly what tempeh was! The spicy tomato marinade and potato wedges on the side were what convinced me to brave the tempeh (which is apparently some kind of soy bean patty) and I'm really glad I did- despite being a burger and chips, it felt really wholesome and healthy; the tempeh was full of flavour and the potato wedges seemed to be baked instead of fried and were perfect- crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.



I'd definitely recommend this cafe to vegetarians/vegans, and would even persuade the most hardcore of meat eaters to check it out- the food may be both healthy (to some, that equals boring!) and lacking in meat, but it definitely isn't lacking in flavour- and the general ambience of the place is fantastic. Can we have a branch in Leeds please?!

Meal 3- The Wardrobe, Leeds

Despite living in Leeds for over two years, and hearing many wonderful things about the Wardrobe (website) I'd never actually checked it out. I decided to pop in for lunch a couple of weeks ago, as for once, me and D were on the east side of the city and very hungry (having just walked all the way from our house up in Oakwood to town- I was on an exercise kick haha)

I was surprised to see that half of the Wardrobe was an actual restaurant- I'd always assumed it was more cafe bar like. However, this wasnt a problem- I like waitress service, and our waitress was really friendly, explaining the menu, recommending particular dishes, and not minding when I asked for a "massive glass of tap water please, I've just walked here from MILES away!" (I like to exaggerate. Makes things sound more impressive!)

Anyway, the lunch menu is kind of modern British/French and has a lot of choice, from sandwiches to pasties, to salads and omelettes, and full on "proper meals"- for example, fish and chips and chicken casserole. I chose the celeriac, butternut squash and potato pasty. It came served on a wooden board (I love things like this, it makes things feel more rustic!) and was accompanied by a root vegetable slaw and a roast tomato and garlic salad. The pasty was wonderful- flaky, light, buttery pastry baked around a really tasty filling of perfectly cooked vegetables- the whole thing tasted of autumn and warmed me up inside. The tomato salad was amazing- roasted red and yellow tomatoes in garlicky oil. The slaw needed a bit more dressing I think, as the overall flavour was of cabbage, but nonetheless, the three components worked very well together and it was a really delicious, and interesting, meal.



D ordered the smoked haddock omelette, but unfortunately the kitchen was out of smoked haddock. The waitress offered normal haddock as an alternative, but D decided to go with the duck salad instead. This was a confit duck leg, on grapefruit, mandarin and pea shoots, with a ginger oil dressing. The duck was beautifully moist, although a little too salty on its own- however the saltiness worked perfectly with the mandarin and grapefruit- D thought it was a really good twist on the traditional duck a l'orange. The ginger oil was lovely- I'm a sucker for flavoured oils, and it really complimented the flavours of the salad.



All in all, the meal at the Wardrobe was very impressive, and I would definitely return. The highlight of the trip was a possible sighting of Evening Standard critic and Masterchef regular Charles Campion at the table near to ours- it looked just like him, but we were too aware of being caught out staring as the restaurant was fairly empty at the time! Maybe any Wardrobe staff/friends of Mr Campion could comment here to confirm if it was indeed him- if it was, then how exciting! (I love anything to do with Masterchef haha)

Part 2 of Davaikoshka's Many Restaurant Reviews coming up soon :) Salvos! Azucar! Casa Mia Coffee Shop! Plus a post on various food festivals and an update on the various escapades of my little beast of a kitten. And a review of the shiny new Waitrose. Phew. Bet you can't wait!

Oakwood Farmers' Market

I love farmers' markets. I love wandering around the stalls, taking in the sights and smells of delicious food, chatting to the stallholders and buying lots of delicious goodies to take home. I am also a firm believer in buying local, and supporting small, independent businesses, which is at the very core of farmers' markets' values.

Oakwood Farmers Market is held on the third Saturday of every month at the Oakwood Clock (at the top of Roundhay Road- if you don't know where it is, you get the 12/13/13a bus from town and get off just before Roundhay Park) Their website is here- you can find information about stall holders as well as news and updates. I was pleased to see that they have achieved FARMA accreditation, which means they "have a well run market offering customers fresh, wholesome food direct from the local producers, who have, on average travelled just 20 miles to be at our market." This not only shows their commitment to providing customers with good quality, fresh food but also guarantees a fair deal for producers, supporting the local economy and reducing food miles.

I am lucky enough to live less than 5 minutes walk from Oakwood Market, so every time the third Saturday of the month comes round, I roll out of bed, have breakfast in front of Saturday Kitchen, get dressed, and wander up the road- fortunately it was sunny last time I went in September; I am ashamed to say that I once gave the market a miss because it was raining slightly. I don't like rain one bit. Yes, I'm a wimp.

The market is always pleasantly busy, and it has a real community feel, with people of all ages wandering around looking at the stalls. The market is operated by local community organisation REAP (Roundhay Environmental Action Project- website here) and their stall was giving away free plants to encourage people to start growing their own- we went away with two strawberry plants with instructions on how to look after them/grow them. I would LOVE to have a nice crop of strawbs next summer, and they'll be so much tastier if I know I (well, more likely to be D if I'm honest...my hatred of rain extends to a hatred of most things outdoors, including gardening!) grew them myself. Inspired by the "grow your own" idea, we also bought a rosemary plant and a chilli plant from another stall. I just used two of the chillies in my dinner (mushroom fricassee on potato cakes- thank you Waitrose magazine!) and they were deliciously spicy.

There really is a wonderful variety of stalls at the market, ranging from delicatessens, to bakeries, to butchers, to greengrocers- there's even a little coffee shop! The previous time we visited, we bought a delicious loaf of homemade bread, some rhubarb and an interesting variety of squash- this time, I wanted something I could eat straight away, so I bought a cupcake from Cutting Cake Patisserie (website) and a chorizo parcel from Salts Deli (website- their shop is based in Leeds City Centre and another branch is opening soon in the Light) D got a slice of raspberry and almond tart, also from Salts.

The sky was, at this point, starting to look a bit grey, and D had to get off to Manchester to go and watch sodding Man United (I love him, but god, this is one of his worst faults!) so I took my purchases home for an early lunch.

I was so excited about the chorizo parcel from Salts. I love chorizo, and I love pastry-and here were the two together! Amazing. And I was not disappointed. The pastry was wonderfully crisp and light, and slightly orange-tinted with chorizo juices. The filling- chorizo, roasted pepper and caramelised onion- was just the right mix of spicy, smoky and sweet. I just wished I'd bought two! I ate it cold, but I think it would be delicious heated up and served with a salad and some patatas bravas (well it is a Spanish style deli after all!)




Now, D's raspberry and almond tart...I instructed him to take a picture before eating it (he took it to Manchester with him), but there was a little accident upon transportation and it ended up all mushed up in the box. He did still take a picture, but it would not be good publicity for Salts if I posted it here as it really was quite destroyed! He assures me however that it was utterly delicious- creamy custard and tart raspberries encased in perfect pastry.

For "pudding" I had a lemon and poppy seed cupcake from Cutting Cake Patisserie based in Meanwood. Cutting Cake does not only make cupcakes, but also does wedding/celebration cakes to order as well as handmade chocolates- which were also available to buy at the market, with a selection of other cakes.



I love lemon and poppy seed together. I love cupcakes. So I was pretty excited about trying this one as well! It looked beautiful, a swirl of buttercream on top with a sprinkling of poppy seeds. I was almost reluctant to bite into it for fear of ruining its good looks, but regrettably (:P) it had to be done! The sponge was light and quite dry, flavoured with lemon. It was really tasty, although I think it would have been nicer if it had poppy seeds in it as well, but that's a small quibble. The dryness of the sponge may not have been great on its own, but when paired with the luscious buttercream on top, it was perfect. I'm not even a massive fan of buttercream- I usually scrape most of it off, but the sponge definitely needed it and the combination of the two together was wonderful. Well done Cutting Cake- you converted me to buttercream, and whilst Sunshine Bakery still holds the crown of the Best Cupcake in Leeds for me, you're a close second and you can at least hold the accolade of making the only cupcake I've ever eaten all the buttercream off!

Oakwood Farmers' Market is on this Saturday- hope to see some of you there!

EDIT: Oops, got my dates all muddled up. The next market is on Sat 16th October :)