How to Picnic : BLT Frittata

It's PICNIC SEASON!!! Hooray!! The weather in London has finally improved and sunshine is upon us! And this picnic season, its Playdate Picnics!

If you follow along on Instagram or if we've ever met, you'd know I love my picnics! I don't really understand why anyone wouldn't like picnics. I believe they are the art of enjoying the best of life!! 

After dedicating many, many hours to the art, I feel like I am somewhat of a picnicking aficionado! I love a quick impromptu picnic, but the best picnics require just a little planning.

Here's what you need for my Perfect Picnic:

 A sunny day, it doesn't have to be terribly warm, just not raining!!

A cute picnic blanket, and in London, one with a waterproof backing helps so that you don't        get soggy! We have the Anorak Kissing Rabbits picnic blanket, and I want the Kissing Robbins next!

 Lots of scrumptious food to share, my picnic fav - frittatas

Refreshments - a crisp white is our indulgence, but even just sparkling water is fun! 

 Sunglasses, see point one

Reading material, or if you've got a little one in tow, a ball! It makes us more relaxed if we read an actual book or magazine, kick the ball around and just be offline for a while.

But my new favourite aspect of a picnic is the company I keep! 

Playdate picnics are my new favourite way to catch up with Maddie's friends, and their mama's! We may or may not have wine, but we definitely have yummy food, and a ball. The little ones enjoy running around and playing in the fresh air, and well, we enjoy the sunshine (and wine).

Having been on the Fast Diet for a while now, I have been discovering some delicious foods that are actually pretty good for you as well. And one of these such foods is the Spanish Omelette, the Frittata. I made this delicious one recently, and so decided to create a new one for our picnic.

Frittata's are the perfect food to take on a picnic, because they can be made from whatever ingredients you have at home already, and are best served at room temperature. 

BLT Frittata 

Ingredients

3 rashers of bacon, cut into small pieces and browned 

4cm of the stem of a leek, sliced finely and added to the bacon to brown slightly

3-4 new potatoes, cooked and sliced finely

2 medium/large eggs, beaten

Tomato, the bigger the better, sliced finely

Parsley, chopped finely, 1 tablespoon

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Once the bacon and leek are cooked, add the potato and let brown ever so slightly. Take off the heat and let cool a little.

2. Beat the eggs and season well. Mix the cooked bacon/leek/potato with the eggs and pour into a saucepan. Spread evenly around the pan until it is all well distributed and mixed. 

3. Sprinkle parsley and then place the tomato on top.

4. Cook on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until slightly browned on bottom, but not quite set on top.

5. Place under the grill for a further 3-5 minutes until the egg has cooked through and the tomato well cooked.

6. Allow to come to room temperature and only then slice it. A frittata should always be sliced when it has cooled and settled.

And then sit back and relax and enjoy the fresh air, good company and the finer things in life!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

The Conneticut Club (Sandwich)

Ok, so this one was a stretch. This is not a lifestyle blog. I write about food and DIY projects. Sometimes I've made the food, sometimes I review others' food. But I always like having these two avenues as my focus for each post I write. 

And then I went to Conneticut and well, I just wanted to share how gorgeous it was, and so made a sandwich, named it the Conneticut Club and away we go! 

So... let me tell you about the sandwich first. It wouldn't be fair to show you these houses on an empty stomach. 

A club sandwich is typically three slices of bread, with layers of salad, cheeses and a protein, or, in America, two proteins. I wanted to make a "club" sandwich for this post, partially because it felt very appropriate to this part of the country, and partially to represent the Country Club life that is CT. And I want in!! Being in the USA I used turkey instead of chicken, and at the local WholeFoods selected a maple roasted turkey to have finely sliced for me. First stop, the range of options of roasted turkey in the deli's in NY were just phenomenal! Who knew you could roast a turkey that many ways!! I feel sad thinking about our little deli down the street in London that has beef or ham. And that is all. 

So to accompany the turkey I put bacon, of course, some Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese's, butter lettuce and sliced tomato. I had a gluten free baguette looking for a good home and with a splosh of mayo, was good to go... 

....Off to a happy place, dreaming about life in the Club....

My first exposure to Conneticut was when I was about 6 (or thereabouts) when I started reading The Babysitter's Club, a series about a group of friends who started a babysitting service, set in the fictitious town of Stoneybrook Conneticut. I had then heard references in movies and TV shows and it was always the "Charlotte's" with blue-blooded-Conneticut-upbringings that I have always been curious to see in their natural habitats!

The train out of Manhattan is only an hour in actual time, but about 50 years in perceived time. The houses have manicured lawns (manicured by the gardener silly), each house proudly flies the Star Spangled Banner out front and the children can play on the streets without needing an armed guard. There is space. Tranquility. And maybe a few trust funds! 

We were visiting our Oxford friends who was staying with relatives in New Canaan and had two glorious days dreaming about what we could possibly do with a "small condo" that would have to be 6 times the size of our standard London flat. I mentioned that the little town looks like an advert out of the Ralph Lauren AW13 catalogue, to which my friend earnestly told me that No, Ralph lives in the next town over, not this one. Of course he does. 

We got to go for a little drive around the area and as we ogled each and every house we passed, we understood why it is such a sought-after location. One hour from Grand Central Terminal and yet a whole world away from the hectic/dirty/noisy/but-yet-incredible life of the city. 

Here are just a small sample of the photos we took driving around the New Canaan are of CT. As you can see, there is much to like (if rolling green lawns are your thing I guess). 

And well, we felt almost rude driving past these open gates, they were practically beckoning us to come on in for a pitcher of lemonade and cookies. 

If I have photographed your house, my sincere apologies. Please allow my husband and I to make it up to you over a round of golf at your club. Baby M felt instantly right at home out here, and didn't have any problems letting the locals know she felt more than comfortable!

Well CT, until we meet again, it was a pleasure.

Cromlettes (GF)

I was pretty chuffed with my global knowledge when last month my friend in New York (who had never heard of them before) asked if I had ever heard of a Cronut, and I could say yes!! I actually read the NY Times food section each week and love learning about the new hip foods in the States (I think the Crespeu will be something I try making, it's a really cool looking stack of layered fritattas).  Here's the article from June about Cronuts...incidentally, said friend did experience The Cronut at the SoHo bakery, but getting out of bed at 5:30 to line up for your token two Cronuts (that I can't even eat) wasn't terribly enticing for this mama!

Let me state that these Cromlettes have absolutely nothing in common with cronuts, other than sounding somewhat similar. They aren't croissant based, but rather, a cross between a crepe and an omelette. 

I purchased the Williams Sonoma cookbook Weeknight Gluten Free while we were in the US as a way of bringing food back with me, since I couldn't actually bring the entire GF section of WholeFoods back! I love to read cookbooks when I am in bed at night, and when I stumbled upon Herbed Egg Crepes (how much of a cooler name is Cromlettes though) I knew I had to give it a go.

I was so excited to make these for brunch and they were so delicious we then had them again for dinner the next night too. It is great to finally have a tasty alternative to crepes! Whilst they are obvious not sweet, they made for delicious savoury crepes, filled with a whole range of breakfast fillings. 

They were light in both taste and density, and so we never felt full or bloated after eating many and many! Un-surprisingly, they are egg-heavy, and so each Cromlette uses nearly an entire egg each, and I'm sure they would work using mostly eggwhites, although I can't vouch for that, I like to use the whole egg. 

I like to enjoy my food, and to me, filling and wrapping the Cromlette is half the joy of the meal. I made the first one crepe-style...

And then the second I wrapped up like a burrito...

The possibilities for fillings is limited only by your imagination and I can't wait to make many more of these in the future! Yay for a healthy and delicious gluten free breakfast option at last.

Ingredients and method:

1. Mix 6 eggs with a dash of cream, pinch of salt,  and a small bunch of chopped fresh parsley.

2. Put a little butter in a non-stick fry pan and swirl around to coat the bottom.

3. Pour in the egg mixture, but only enough to make a thin covering over the whole pan. If the first one is too thick, just use a little less next time.

4. Let it cook through for about 2 minutes on a low-medium heat. You don't need to turn the Cromlette over, just place it to the side and cook the next one.

Fill with whatever fillings you desire and enjoy, guilt free!!!! I want to do a cheesy/mushroom one next, as well as a sweeter one too. I'm thinking cinnamon and marscapone....of course!

meg-made it to Five Leaves in Brooklyn (review)

Well technically it is in Greenpoint, but if I had of lead with that, would you have known where in the world I was talking about?!

Five Leaves is a little cafe on Bedford Ave in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that is going great guns! 

My friend Julie and I happened to be in the area on a miserably wet Thursday so she suggested we go to this famous little Australian cafe that they had never been to because there is always such a wait on the weekends. I'm not a huge fan of waiting terribly long for my food and am a huge fan of anything Aussie, so of course we went to check it out. 

Well, we waited on the corner with the 40 year old skater boys that is Brooklyn, but happily were seated right away, pram and all.

The menu was mostly American, with just hints of Australia in there...for example, beets and pineapple on a burger (which I know I know I should have ordered, but I did not, I just don't like pineapple!) and avocado comes with pretty much every breakfast option! 

I was craving a burger though, but went for the regular grass fed beef burger with harissa mayo. It was cooked to medium-rare perfection, tasted exactly how beef should taste, was fresh and filling and just really good. Oh and fries come with...

Julie ordered a far more interesting lunch, a grilled shrimp roll. To the untrained visitor, this is grilled prawns on hearts of palm (huh..., I agree?! Apparently the middle of some palm trees are edible!!), with pickled chilies and fried capers. Oh and with fries.

And Baby M was ordered a side of truffle fries. Yep, I'm that mum!! I'm getting my baby hooked on truffle oil at 14 months old!! Had we of known that our plates were going to be 65% fries, we perhaps wouldn't have ordered the extra serving, but then again, there weren't all that many remaining at the end of the meal! 

This is going to sound silly, but I have some truffle oil in the cupboard (as you do, it was a gift) and I don't ever know what to do with it, so I think I might try frying me some truffle fries next time, they are delicious!!

We then opted to walk instead of catching a cab, it may or may not have had something to do with the quantity of fries consumed, but it was also a nice way to see a bit more of Greenpoint. Which, has some really lovely tree-lined-brownstone streets, classic Brooklyn. 

So if you are in Greenpoint and are looking for just a really good place to eat without the pretence, head to Five Leaves and you won't be disappointed. Although if you are hoping to be there on a weekend, maybe go and put your name down ahead of time (they don't take reservations) and have a pre-fries stroll around the area before you are seated. It is definitely worth a wait though, it really is very good!

GF Fish & Chips....it can be found!

I have finally, FINALLY found some fish & chips that is a) delicious and b) gluten free! Really good fish & chips is something that I miss from home. A lot. Brisbane seems to have an abundance of really top notch fish & chip joints that are top of our "must eat when home" lists, and we haven't even come close to matching any of them here in the UK. Until today that is. It still doesn't come anywhere near A Salt & Battery in St Lucia, but I will say that Oliver's Fish and Chips in Belsize Park, is the best we've had in London thus far.

I stumbled upon them through a Gluten-Free review from a few years ago when they were doing one day a month with a gluten free menu. It was so successful that now every Wednesday is GF day, and so today, I dragged my friend along (we weren't sure whether there would be a regular menu as well, and if not, what on earth we were getting ourselves in for) and we had some lunch. 

I order the Cod Goujons, GF, and my friend was able to order just regular Cod. 

I was so pleasantly surprised to see this arrive:

And as I cut into my Cod, I was even more pleasantly surprised so to see this:

The batter was actually light and crispy and wasn't oily. Our usual experience has been for very thick and oily batter that you leave behind and view as being a vestibule to simply keep the fish warm, not fit for human consumption. But this one was different! It had a lovely flavour, a lovely crunch and if I hadn't of been told it was GF, I would never have known. 

If you are gluten-intolerant and are looking for a good chippy in London (.......on a Wednesday), then look no further! 

UPDATE: I mad a very silly mistake and when i read the menu which said that the batter was either traditional or matzo meal, i just assumed this was the choice between regular and gluten free. Matzo meal is not gluten free. i contacted Oliver's and found out that the batter is made from a combination of GF Plain flour, GF Rice flour and Cassava flour. so what i ate WAS gluten free, but my apologies for stating it was matzo meal. xx