Easter cupcakes

I haven't had a baking spree in a while and didn't want to miss an occasion. So to pay my respects to the most chocolatey of all holidays I made some chocolate suicide cupcakes for Easter. Only for those who hadn't already eaten their body weight in Easter eggs and all that fill them. I was pleased with how they turned out.

I used a simple chocolate cupcake/fairy cake recipe, and topped them with a swirl of chocolate buttercream icing, sprinkles of Cadbury's Mini Curls with 3 Cadbury's Mini Eggs in the centre for little chocolate nests. I had fun making them and enjoying the extremely chocolatey scent. I thought they looked cute and they were very well received. I didn't taste any (I know, what kind of cook am I never tasting my own work??!!) so I had to take people's word for it that they tasted good too, but the feedback was all positive so I'm claiming it a success!

The mighty burger

An unplanned trip to our favourite go-to restaurant for dinner last night inspired me to embark on a burger tour of London. It's a project I can't believe I haven't undertaken already. The humble burger is one of my favourite foods and I have been thrilled to see the introduction of the so-called "gourmet burger" on many restaurant and pub menus and on high streets in the form of specialist restaurants, like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Hamburger Union and Fine Burger Company, for a start. My Significant Other is also a burger fan. Being American he doesn't seem to have had that much choice in the matter!

So let's start with Gourmet Burger Kitchen, or GBK to its fans. It has become a regular haunt of ours and meets with the approval of American SO. In fact, on our first visit back to the US after he moved here he declared a burger he had in one of our favourite places there "not even as good as GBK". I'd say that was quite a recommendation in itself. Our "local" one is West Hampstead and I have to say it is still the best one that I have been to. The others I visit regularly are Soho and Covent Garden and the SO also goes to one in the City.

Having cut bread out of my diet recently I always get a burger without the bun and they are always very accommodating about it. No fuss at all. I get a plate with a burger and its toppings, with the salad toppings and relish on the side, and also a good amount of extra salad leaves with house dressing which I never even have to ask for.

This is my plate here. It's a cheesburger, cooked to a perfect medium (which is standard, if you like your burger done any other way you need to request it), topped with avocado. On this occasion the avocado wasn't quite ripe enough and wasn't as tasty as usual but still good. Somehow I feel better getting so much green on my plate, however misplaced that might be!
The SO had a cheeseburger the usual way as shown here. A tasty towering delight with a generous wedge of real cheese.He also got fries and garlic mayo which I clearly forgot to photograph due to the focus on my own screaming hunger when my burger arrived. These are some of the best fries in London in my opinion, thick and golden with a mealy inside and just enough crunch on the outside. It is nothing short of torture that I can't eat them at the moment. But I do love the garlic mayo we always order them with. Be warned though, it is strong stuff and not for the faint-hearted. If you order it everyone at the table has to eat it, or those who have cannot speak to anyone else the rest of the night. You think I'm kidding but once you've tried it you will know what I mean. I stole some of it last night for my burger and salad. It was the only decent thing to do. There is a garlic mayo burger on the menu too and I recommend it, although not if you have to interact with people afterwards (or indeed the next day). Don't be foolish enough to believe toothpaste or mouthwash will help either, this is strong stuff.

GBK is also a burger joint you could take your vegetarian friends to. We have gone there before with a veggie couple and they had a portobello mushroom burger and the goats cheese with aubergine burger which they liked. There is also a falafel burger which I see on other tables often and seems a popular choice. I myself have only ever had the one veggie option which was the goats cheese burger. It was really tasty but a lot of goats cheese and I am of the opinion that you can have too much goats cheese in one go. But that's just me. There are also other interesting menu options like a chorizo burger, various chicken options, a venison burger, etc. and while they always look interesting to me I can rarely bring myself to order anything other than a standard burger since that's what I'm really there for.

Overall I love GBK as a reliable casual dining option and it's a no-brainer when we are at a loose end and don't fancy trying to figure out where to go. They are also doing a lot of 2-4-1 offers at the moment which makes it even more attractive. If you haven't been, go to their website and print off a voucher and try it out. They are all over the place now too. I remember when there were just the 2 available to me and now I'm spoilt for them. Go! You won't be disappointed.

Good fats, good carbs and all that

The latest chapter in my never-ending quest to shed these stubborn excess pounds takes me to a place where the GI is low and the white flour evil. The foods I order in restaurants now tend to be meat based and ordered substituted with a side of something green instead of whatever form of potato it usually comes with (unless I am with my potato-loving significant other who will happily eat forbidden foods off my plate).

I am now constantly on the lookout for GI friendly recipes to try at home too. I have begun to love cooking and baking more than I ever have. A good friend who has known me a few years and used to spend lunchtimes with me in the staff room when we worked together claims she barely knows me now. She says I used to throw a strop at the thought of assembling a sandwich, let alone cooking a whole recipe. She's right. My idea of cooking was opening a bag of salad leaves and arranging them on a plate. Oh, how far we have traveled.

Anyway, that long pre-amble was just an explanation for the kinds of topics that will be covered in this blog. Mostly, but not exclusively low GI/South Beach Diet/low carb friendly recipes. The main exception will be cakes and baked goods. I love baking now and although I don't eat the stuff I bake, I still love making it. Also, with any luck there will be numerous restaurant posts and I usually have friends with less restricted food needs present, so you'll get a more rounded idea of the menu than just my lamb shanks or rib eye steak or salad.

The silent blog

I haven't exactly been posting dilligently have I? In fact, I have had a fine old time eating out frequently and ignoring the opportunities to blog about them. Add to that the amount of recipes I have successfully tried, resulting in extreme smugness and joy, and I am the world's worst food blogger.

Take this as my resolution to do better. I'll have to look at my camera and phone and see if there are any subject-worthy photos to blog about. Watch this space.

Eat my words

So what's all this about? Well, quite simply, I want to talk about my food experiences. I am of Chinese origin which means I am genetically food obsessed and it also means I will eat most things! I live in London and have had some really rich experiences eating out, I travel a reasonable amount and I try to cook and I want to share my thoughts on those things. This will be made up of extremely no frills accounts of varied dining experiences from anywhere and everywhere, recipes and attempted recipes, my experiences of being a foodie on a diet, and anything else food related that comes to mind.