Today's Recipe - Mushroom Bruschetta

Following my recent move, and the replacement of an hour-plus commute with a half hour stroll into town, I've finally started to cook a bit more often which has been really enjoyable.

Recent highlights have been a version of a Nigel Slater recipe for Lamb Chops with Bacon Pieces (e-mail me if you'd like more info on this - sounds odd, tastes gorgeous) and a Chicken Carbonara using Aunty Delia's version as its starting point.

Today I had leftover mushrooms to use up and some thyme freshly planted in the garden, so I made use of both to make a simple Mushroom Bruschetta (OK, it was served on toast, but that's splitting hairs!) Here's my method:

In a pan heat some olive oil with a knob of butter. When hot, add the mushrooms and saute, reducing the heat slightly. Once they are almost ready to serve add some fresh thyme, black pepper and a splash of lemon juice.

Meanwhile drizzle slices of french bread or ciabatta with olive oil and toast both sides. Serve on a warm plate with the mushroom mixture heaped on top.

Of course, you could use different herbs, add garlic, use ordinary bread (as I did), add soy sauce or any one of a number of things to either jazz this up or adapt it to what you have available. Recipes should always be your starting point not a cut and dried route map - I just hope I've whetted your appetite.

Andrew

The Power of Fopp

Everyday I pass a branch of Fopp and do not go in, with very good reason: it is far too easy to spend money there.

Yesterday, however, I had some time to kill, so I went in... and, quelle surprise, I spent money! Now, the thing with Fopp is that there are so many bargains it can get easy to get carried away. A bit like when you're at IKEA and you keep adding little things to your yellow bag because they're only a couple of pounds.

In the past (before they were rescued from administration by HMV) it was the cheap art books that were my biggest weakness. Now it can be almost anything! I've previously mentioned Paolo Nutini on this blog - his album Sunny Side Up only cost me £5.

Yesterday I succumbed to purchasing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which has been on my reading list for ages. It's 1000 pages long, and cost me a whole £2!!

Not content with that, I then found Annie Lennox's Songs of Mass Destruction which is her only solo album I didn't yet own - £3 and it was mine!

Now £5 may not be a lot, but I could have spent a lot more - there were a series of re-issued Eurythemics albums with bonus tracks at £3 each, for example - and I could easily spend that and more everyday if I didn't have the willpower to walk past.

So, I look forward to reading my book in due course and reviewing it here, and I'm sure Annie will get another mention too!

Andrew

Iconic Images 5

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh is one of the few books I've preferred in other mediums, both the play, which is incredibly powerful theatre and the film, which is a fantastic adaption, with brilliant direction, a fantastic soundtrack and great acting.


The poster of an emaciated Ewan McGregor with it's stark orange border was one of the most striking images of 1996. Another poster, featuring Renton's monologue from the film, graced the walls of many a student:

Andrew

Summer is here...

...and for the moment it's probably best not to ask for how long. Instead, here's a couple of tunes to match the weather:



And the one I thought of first, but which has disabled embedding, can be found here.

Andrew

Up, Up and Away!

Followers of my Facebook status will know that this morning I went on a balloon flight. Here are some photos:
And one by a colleague who wasn't there, but saw our balloon accross the city:


Andrew