Coconut Noodles with Fish

I absolutely love Asian food. This love started when I was introduced to Chinese food around the age of 10 (this may seem late to you, but in Greece we didn't really have too many international restaurants when I was growing up). My uncle took us out to an Eat All You Want Chinese restaurant. Not a buffet Eat All You Want, but a 'order what you like' Eat All You Want Chinese restaurant! I think we only got through the starters we ordered so much. Oh, and the duck with pancakes. Mmmmm, Eat All You Want duck with pancakes! I had to unbutton two buttons that day!

Since then, I have fallen in love with Indian food, mostly from my University days, Thai food and, more recently, Japanese food. When I went traveling with my husband a year ago we really enjoyed the food in Cambodia and Thailand. The flavours were always so clear and fresh, and I completely fell in love with Fish Amok (a Cambodian Fish curry) and Phad Thai. We also did a brief Thai cookery course and learned how to do make beef Massaman curry. That was a fun day.

Unfortunately in spite of my love of eating Asian food, I have never been great at getting the balance of flavours right when cooking it. I mean, when I follow a recipe it works out just fine, but when I am just improvising its not quite right. In European food I tend to have a good instinct as to what works and how much I need to use of each ingredient. But Asian food is more complex and uses ingredients I am still familiarising myself with. In any case, this time I got it right! It worked and I am proud.

Serves 2

2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs red curry paste
1 red onion
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbs of fish sauce
200g of white fish fillet, cut into chunks (I used Hake - cheap and tasty)
100g french beans
100g baby corn
100g mushrooms
1 tbs crunchy peanut butter
300g rice noodles (that is the weight once cooked, so around 150-200g dried)
squeeze of lime

Heat the oil in a wok and add the curry paste. Fry off for 1-2 minutes, then add the chopped onion. Once the onion has softened a little, add the coconut milk and the fish sauce. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes then add the fish and the vegetables. Cook for a further 5 minutes and then add the peanut butter and the prepared noodles. Heat through and add a good squeeze of lime. Serve while hot.

Apolafsi Taverna - Lixouri, Kefalonia

Places bring out different feelings in people. The home you grew up in, the playground you used to play hide and seek in, the sea you learnt how to swim in... We all get attached to places for one reason or another. For me, Kefalonia is special. Not just because I spent every single summer of my life there, or because it is beautiful or because I have family and friends there that I know I will see every year I go back. It is special in a magical way. It draws me back every year - even when I have been off travelling the world, I have to spend at least a few days in Kefalonia to feel myself again.

I know I am not being 100% objective here. I grew up spending every summer there, in my Nona's house, close to the beach. I learnt how to swim there, I learnt to ride a bike there and I ordered my first drink in Lixouri. But it definately has something special about it even to people who don't have a direct connection with the island. I see that from many friends and family who came over once to visit and are still coming all these years later!

One of the places that I have been going to from a very young age, and that is still one of our favourites to visit while we are out there, is Apolafsi Taverna. It is just outside of Lixouri and has great views of the bay looking over to the other side of the island. The interior of the Taverna hasn't changed much over the last 40 years, with its mosaic floors and large ceiling fans, but the outside space is beautiful and a great place to spend a warm summer's night stuffing your face with good food.

The Taverna is family owned and the quality of cooking has remained consistant throughout. I have probably ordered everything on the menu (and off) and I have never had anything bad there. The pre-cooked dishes (Stifado, Cephalonian meat pie, Kokkinisto etc) are all pretty heavily spiced with cinnamon and cloves, but if you like that kind of thing, you will very much enjoy them.

Last Sunday night I went there with my husband for a fairly quick dinner alone, as missy was behaving in her sleep! We weren't too hungry, as Nona had cooked another big lunch, but we decided we could handle a couple of starters to share and some meat and fish. We ordered fried tomatoes and fried courgettes with some tzatziki to dip them in and then fried red mullet and beef stifado.

The fried starters were both good, though the tomatoes were amazing! They retain their shape in the flour batter and they just get crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The tzatziki was a perfect accompaniment with the starters as the cooling yoghurt and cucumber cut through the hot, rich batter. I thought I wouldn't have much tzatziki, as I felt quite tired and raw garlic can just send me straight to bed, but I couldn't resist...

The fried fish was good, though not the best I have had there. They were not quite crisp enough, but the flavour was good. The beef stifado was very good and extremely tender. As I mentioned, it has quite a strong flavour of cloves, but the stifado can take it as a flavouring. The fries on the plate were also great, having absorbed some of the stifado juices.

I do love this place, mostly because of its familiarity, but also, of course, because of the good food, friendly service and lovely ambience. We paid 33 euros for all that (including bread, a litre of draught Greek beer and a bottle of water). It is not as cheap as it used to be, but Greece isn't in general any more (we can have the euro dicussion another time!). If you ever happen to be in Lixouri or even the other side of Kefalonia, it might be worth the drive over.

St David Coffee House - SE23

You are probably wondering how it is I managed to visit a Coffee House in Forest Hill, when I am in fact currently in Athens... that is a very valid question. The answer, however, is not that interesting; I visited St David a day before I left for Athens (amongst half a dozen times I have been there previously!). This time I managed to get pictures and everything - how accomplished of me!

I first heard about this place from Di (the owner of Jacks SE22), so my husband and I went to check out the coffee a few months ago. We kind of got hooked and would use the excuse that baby needed the extra sleep after her swimming on Saturday mornings and drove there to get coffee (and hot chocolate for me, as no decaf available). It worked for everyone concerned; Missy would get an extra 30 minutes sleep in the car and we would get our morning drinks and pastry to take away.

We eventually decided a trip to sit in was due, as we noticed a Sourdough toastie with Montgomery Cheddar (from Neal's Yard, no less!) on the blackboard. How exciting! Melted Montgomery Cheddar - can it get any better? Well, after sharing one with my husband, I can say that it can get better: there are chopped spring onions in there too and it comes with a lovely fresh salad of tomatoes, peppers and onions to cut through the gooey, rich, melting cheese. Dreamy stuff, really.

We also ordered a ham and mustard sandwich, which was perfectly suited for the hot weather of that day. Cold ham, cold, chunky tomato, crunchy lettuce and mustard for the kick. I can't say I am a big fan of ham sandwiches usually, but this one was worth the money and the space in my stomach.

My husband ordered a macchiato, which was very good (they use Square Mile coffee beans and know how to get the best out of them!). Coffee there is consistently good, which is more than you can say for most coffee shops in London. Their cakes and pastries are good too and there is always good variety, just to make indecisive people's (like us) lives that little bit harder.  Last time we had an apricot frangipane tart to share. It was fluffy and buttery and perfectly sweet from the fruit.

All in all, I really love this place and would go much more frequently on my own if it didn't involve walking up a great big hill (you would have guessed from the name Forest Hill, right?). The interior is fantastic, with lots of vintage everywhere you look. I always feel like I am visiting an aunt in Greece, in a good way! It is very welcoming to families and babies and the owners and staff are always helpful and friendly. If you are ever in South East London, pay them a visit.

5 David's Rd SE23 3EP

Off for my Summer Holidays!

The day has finally come! I am going back to Greece for the last 3 weeks of Summer. I am looking forward to it for some relaxation (plenty of hands on help from the Big Hungry Family there) and also for the food! Yes, what else would I be thinking of?! The only thing that scares me a little is the flight over with missy, on my own. It is all planned out in my head and I have plenty of distractions for her with me, but it all depends on her mood on the day, so wish me luck! And I apologise to the person sat next to me on the plane in advance (I too used to be one of those people who would tut if I saw someone with a baby sat anywhere near me... the irony).

I am, of course, going to be taking plenty of pictures and blogging as many recipes as possible. I imagine that 99% of the food I shall be consuming will be Cephalonian recipes. I mention this because, just with all countries in the world, there are many differences in regional cooking. Cephalonian food is influenced by Greek (obviously) as well as Italian and British (the island was occupied by the Venetians and the British till 1864 - there is a little history lesson for you...).There is plenty of garlic involved as well as lots of cinnamon and plenty of herbs. One of the famed dishes is the Cephalonian Meat Pie. I hope I will be able to dedicate a whole post on just this recipe!

The only issue that may come between me and you for the next few weeks is the Internet connection (or lack of) on the island. But, push come to shove, I will post them all once I am back in Athens or London. I promise plenty of delicious family recipes, lots of pictures and hopefully some stories from our time out there. I wish you all a lovely rest of the Summer. x

Banana French Toast (BLW)

When I looked into the possibility of following Baby Led Weaning I was warned about the potential messiness that it can cause. NOTHING, though, could have prepared me for what it is actually like! There are all sorts of things covering her chair, Oatabix on the walls and I tend to discover bits of food under her chin, behind the ears, on the back of her head and in the belly button - yes you read this right! It is all part of the fun and I am relieved I will be off to Greece for a few weeks soon, where she can be as messy as she likes, as we will be eating outdoors and she will be naked.

Despite knowing that it is all part of the fun, my OCD self cannot quite cope with the idea of curry on the ceiling, so I am trying to keep to drier things - hence fish keftedes and this french toast. This is until the feeding is a little more established and her aim and concentration skills improve a little more (though throwing bits of food on the floor is part of the learning curve, as I understand it).

This is a pretty easy recipe (ready in 15minutes from start to eating) and is a good option for a family breakfast - though the adults may like some crispy bacon on the side. The banana in this dish replaces the need for sugar and therefore makes it a little healthier.

Serves 2 plus hungry baby

2 large eggs
1/2 cup of milk
3/4 of a banana
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4-5 slices of bread (or as many as you need to use up all the liquid)
1 tbs of butter

Whisk the eggs and the milk in a bowl. Add the banana and mash it in, then add the cinnamon and mix all together. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture on both sides and place in a preheated frying pan once the butter has melted. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through.

She seems to enjoy most things bread related and finds it really easy to chew and swallow. This was definitely a successful recipe and one that I will be making again soon, especially as it was also a hit with me and my husband!