Happy Herbs!

I'm really not sure if it's currently a trendy ingredient in cooking, but it would seem that borage has jumped onto my radar during the last few months.

My first encounter was probably 30 years ago when the Consultant I worked for invited myself and his junior doctor team over for Pimms and croquet; neither of which I had tasted nor played up until that point. Floating in the Pimms were fruits, cucumber and dainty little blue star shaped flowers, aka borage. 

For the last 20 years I have created a herb garden wherever we moved house and I have included borage along with rosemary, oregano, marjorum, thyme, sage and various mints. A herb garden is a great asset to a garden with the above being easy to grow, looking good pretty much throughout the year and bringing joy every time you step outside to snip a bit to add to your cooking or salads. Borage flowers are usually a piercing blue colour but this year I have added a white flowering one too. These can be added to salads and drinks or candied for cake decorations. The leaves can also be used in summer drinks to add a cool cucumber flavour.

Last week in Majorca I ate out in an Italian(!) restaurant and enjoyed borage stuffed ravioli with walnut pesto. The ravioli was tasty 'tho' personally I found the walnut pesto a little overpowering and sickly.

The flowers are a great source of nectar and so enjoyed by the bees who go on to make borage honey. Whilst away in the Cotswolds this year I enjoyed borage porridge which appeals to my sense of rhyming in the same way as wearing a Hackett jacket does! Imagine how pleased I was on finding that the Celts believed that borage brought courage! The Greeks thought it made people glad and merry - when added to wine(!) More generally it is regarded as comforting the heart, cheering melancholy, giving a sense of well-being and reviving one on a hot day (especially if served in a large glass of Pimms I suspect! Happy days!) 

Top Tapas!

Having spent a few days walking through the golden hued streets of Palma, Majorca, I am writing this from my apartment rooftop in the northern town of Port de Pollenca. 

Majorca, like much of Spain, is famous for its Tapas. The story goes that the sherry drinkers in Andalucia would place pieces of bread over their glasses to prevent fruit flies falling in to their drink. The bread was then often eaten and thereafter developed into lots of different snacks being served with a drink.

The locals eat it as an appetizer but ordering several dishes can make up a complete meal. Whilst many involve meat, fish and seafood, these are my favourite vegetarian tapas dishes:-

Pa amb oli - similar to the widely known bruschetta. It is bread rubbed with garlic, smeared with fresh tomato, given a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of sea salt. Cheese (and ham) are sometimes added.

Aioli - deliciously moreish garlic mayonnaise to dip food into or spread on bread.

Patatas bravas - fried potato cubes with mayonnaise and a spicy red sauce.

Padrones - small green peppers fried with olive oil, garlic and salt.

Truita espanyol or Tortilla espanyol - or Spanish omlette! It is an egg, potato and onion omlette often served in slices and can be hot or cold.

Other tapas or side dishes for the vegetarian are grilled aubergine or sweet bell peppers and steamed broad green beans and artichokes.

For a main course, a local vegetable stew called Tumbet is a winner which uses seasonal vegetables but usually consists of a mixture of aubergine, courgette, peppers, onions, potatoes and garlic. The first time I had it was 20 years ago in a restaurant called Coral in Port de Pollenca. It was like comfort food; wonderfully cooked vegetables in a (Heinz tasting) tomato soup!

A week of two halves!

What a mixed week I've had!

6th August was my husband's birthday and I booked for 4 of us to eat out in Leeds at Fazenda, a rodizio bar and grill featuring continuous tableside service of 15 different prime cuts of meat! Yikes! I did make sure they had a vegetarian option when booking. Upon arrival the meat eaters were given what looked like a beer mat with red (no thanks) and green (yes please) on either side. To begin with we went up to the salad bar which was amazing with its vast selection of delicacies. I could have made that my entire meal but did in fact enjoy a pumpkin risotto and also had a dessert included with my meal. Seeing the meat did not put me off as it all looked good quality. However, it did feel as if the waiters were surrounding me as they sliced their skewers of meat and I played a game of dodgeball with my plate and glass so that no juice nor fat dripped onto my food.

10th August was my birthday and a (meat eating) friend accompanied me to Roots and Fruits in The Grand Arcade in Leeds. This is a vegetarian and vegan cafe which has been open for the last 25 years and changed hands about 2 years ago. The decor is inviting with pictures by local artists adorning the walls and Kay, the owner, offered a friendly welcome. She was knowledgable about the food on offer and informed us that much of the produce is purchased locally at KIrkgate Market. We were there for lunch and whilst my friend chose a vegetable lasagne I went for a Carribean dish which included salad, hummus, coconut and jackfruit (new to me). We drank smoothies and tea and shared a slice of rich chocolate guiness cake. The restaurant is the only one in Leeds approved by the Vegetarian Society and has high ethical and sustainable credits with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free being catered for.

Later in the week my sister came to stay and off we went to The Veggie; an organic vegetarian cafe in Ilkley. I enjoyed a warm toasted pitta stuffed with cauliflower and chickpea fritters with salad, hummus and sweet chilli sauce. My sister had a sandwich of goats' cheese, red onion chutney and rocket in granary bread. We then finished with tea, coffee and a slice of coffee and walnut cake. This cafe also caters for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free diets.

All three places offered good vegetarian meals although if you don't like the look of meat I would not recommend Fazenda. However if, like me, you just don't like the taste, I would actually recommend it. There were 2 vegetarian choices, 2 vegan choices and 2 fish choices and, of course, that wonderful salad bar!

Why was the beach wet?

... because the seaweed! 

Seaweed is definitely having its moment in the sun (and sea) at present. Its culinary uses go way back in history but is probably something we now associate with chinese food and japanese sushi where it is a healthy dietary staple. Years ago we took our children on a trip to Legoland and London whilst staying in Windsor. There was a chinese restaurant with a reasonable buffet which we thought would be a good introduction to chinese food. My daughter, aged 4 at the time, used a chopstick in each hand to carry seconds of crispy seaweed across from the serving platter, hovering over our drinks, to land successfully on her plate where it was consumed with enthusiasm. It's maybe no coincidence that she was really in to The Little Mermaid at the time!

Seaweed contains many nutrients with iodine, calcium, protein and vitamin C amongst them. It is low in fat and high in fibre content. We probably don't recognise that we are eating it in some forms as it is used as an additive in many foods and drinks. Seaweed flakes (dulse) can be used as seasoning.

I have been wrong in thinking that samphire is a form of seaweed when in fact it is a plant from the parsley family which grows along the shoreline and salty mudflats. Whilst harvesting it is a slow fiddly job, cooking it is a breeze as it takes merely 1-2 minutes in boiling water to soften. It has a crisp and salty flavour which, apparently, goes well with fish, but for vegetarians makes a good accompaniment to eggs and other seasonal treats such as asparagus, fennel and peas. The other night I made the following concoction and it was truly delicious.

Panfried samphire and asparagus served with 2 soft poached eggs, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a sprinkling of grated parmesan. From pan to plate in 4 minutes - bliss! Would have been even better with some sodabread on the side.

So, even if you can't get to the seaside this summer, at least you can still have a little taste of the sea!