Dinner at Roseleaf bar cafe

Tags

Cooking, edinburgh, food, Gluten, Gluten Free, Gluten-free diet, Home, Restaurants, Roseleaf, Salmon, Shopping, Special Diets, The Shore

I’m lucky enough to have the Roseleaf as (one of) my locals down at the Shore, and have spent many a cosy evening in this welcoming little place with friends or the boyfriend and a glass of wine.

Last night I took my Mum here for dinner, as I’d heard they have a rather good gluten-free selection – and they do! If the cute, vintage-inspired décor and pot-tails (cocktails in teapots, of course!) aren’t enough to draw you in, the food certainly should be.

Every possible dietary requirement was clearly marked out on the menu and Mum was delighted to find Goc stood for gluten free with oatcakes. I was impressed – normally it’s a struggle to find somewhere catering so perfectly to gluten-free diets.

We both went for the Sicilian Salmon – a seared salmon loin on a bed of warm caponata salad including peppers, aubergines, olives and capers, surrounded by a creamy plum tomato and yoghurt dressing and garnished with plenty of rocket.

It took a little while for our order to come out, but when it finally did I enjoyed every mouthful. I particularly liked the crispiness of the salmon skin and the rocket and creamy dressing worked well together. This would be the perfect dish on a sunny afternoon with a crisp glass of white wine.

I loved the Roseleaf before, and now I’ve tried its food I love it even more.

The “Help me with my vegetables!” Competition

Tags

Chili pepper, chillies, competition, courgette, food, fruit, grow your own, peppers, Plant, Seedling, Tesco, tomato, tomatoes, Vegetable, Watercress, Zucchini

Remember when you were a kid and you got to grow watercress for school then eat it? I loved it. And the idea of growing my own veg at home never quite left me, so I was pretty chuffed to find grow-your-own kits in Tesco for a bargainous (reduced) price of 24p for tomatoes and £1.28 for a box with chillies, courgettes and peppers.

Eagerly I sowed the seeds, patted down, watered and set by the window. I kept my fingers crossed – they were, after all, reduced because they were past the optimum time for planting. Still, ever the enthusiast I kept a watchful eye over them and until one day…seedlings appeared!

The first seedlings to pop up were the tomatoes – easily identifiable in their own individual pot.

The second seedlings to pop up were the…well it would seem my excitement has gotten the better of me.

I planted the chillies, peppers and courgettes without leaving a marker for which was where. Problem. As far as I’ve read, each needs to be tended to differently. Could I possibly have failed on my first attempt? Faithful blog readers, I need YOU!

“Help me!” said the unidentified seedlings.

Competition time

Time to show off your vegetable growing know how. All you have to do is tell me which vegetable these seedlings will grow into – for the first person to tell me the correct answer will win the GRAND PRIZE.

The GRAND PRIZE

I shall personally and lovingly post the first fully grown vegetable to you. Have you ever received a courgette in the post? Well, now’s your chance!

Leave a comment below and both I and my ill-fated vegetable plants will love you forever and ever and ever.

Tapa review for Bite Magazine

Tags

Bite Magazine, Cook, Edinburgh restaurant, food, leith, Madrid, restaurant, restaurant review, Spain, Spanish, Spanish cuisine, tapa, tapas

Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing Tapa Restaurant in Leith for Bite Magazine.

A year spent living in Madrid ignited my passion for Spanish food and the food served in Tapa would certainly not have been out of place in the sun-drenched Plaza Santa Ana, where I whiled away many a pleasant afternoon with friends and a caña or two…

Keep an eye out for the July edition of Bite where you can see the review in print and read lots of other exciting foodie related stories.

Tasty adventures in Portugal: A trip to the market

Tags

food, foodie, healthy, market, mercado do bolhao, oranges, portugal, sardines, travel

During our stay in the northern city of Porto we visited the colourful daily market – Mercado do Bolhão. It’s a glorious place to explore and a great way to get a taste of local life.

The market was pretty quiet when we visited in the afternoon, but I imagine mornings are the busiest time when the produce is at its freshest. Mercado do Bolhão was everything you might picture a Portuguese market to be – from glistening sardines to bountiful displays of fruit and veg, stalls bursting with colourful flowers to traditional handmade ‘azulejos’ (those ceramic tiles you see practically everywhere in Portugal).

We treated ourselves to some enormous green olives which we munched away on whilst exploring the stalls, and couldn’t resist buying some juicy oranges for the train ride back to Lisbon.

It’s no surprise that the med is so famous for its healthy diet and long life expectancy – the food on offer here was nothing but nutritious and bursting with goodness. Next time I go to Portugal I’m going self-catering so I get the chance to cook some of that delicious looking fish for my dinner.

The boyfriend even managed to get himself a lucky Portuguese cock, bought from a tiny, gentle Portuguese lady who made up for her lack in height with boundless enthusiasm for her collection of cocks.

Unfortunately Portuguese cocks don’t travel well, but lucky for Rob I’m a dab hand with the superglue…