Wednesday 25 November 2015

Birthday Trip and Food Inspiration.






NOPI




I have been lucky enough to celebrate another year on the planet, another year older and a few more bits not working as well as they used to,  but I'm still here and finding a little something to bring me joy everyday.  It doesn't have to be much, watching the birds at the feeder, listening to music or reading a book, they all enhance my life.  Having said that every now and then we go for broke and do something big, so we decided at the last minute on a trip to London for a long weekend.  As it was my birthday we got to do all the things I wanted to do,  how good is that!!

Our trip seemed to revolve around food.....A LOT!.....all types of food.  It is good to go somewhere different and try something new, the most unusual being the raw food cafe we went to for breakfast.  The bearded one's daughter lived nearby and suggested we give it a try as she knew it would be gluten free and vegetarian.  We really didn't know what to expect but were pleasantly surprised, even himself enjoyed the food which was an even bigger surprise.  It was so nice to know that I could have absolutely anything on the menu, that is a first for me since having to go gluten free.   It is called Tanyas and we went to the one in Chelsea, you can see the menu if you click on the link.  We ordered a few things to share, my favourites were the jam untoast, which was raisin 'bread', cashew cream and goji berry jam.  The fruit crepe was also tasty, made with dehydrated flaxseed and banana, filled with fresh fruit, yogurt and maple syrup.  Even though we enjoyed it I really couldn't see myself eating only raw food and it must be extremely time consuming preparing it all, I will be looking up some recipes though.






Of course we went back to my favourite restaurant in London, Yotom Ottolenghi's NOPI.  I just love what that man does with spices!  The bearded one's daughter bought me a signed copy of the NOPI recipe book which I have already cooked from.  I will share the recipe with you on my next post.  We also tasted orange wine, which was delicious.  It is white wine that has been left to ferment longer with the skins on which gives it an orange colour.  It tastes like a fortified wine, very unusual, I might just have to order some for Christmas :)








The other food highlight was a trip out to Camden Lock Market.  What a fabulous fun place, full of music, colour, smells and delicious street food from around the world.  On week days I find London very 'uptight', people dressed in their dark work clothes, heads down rushing along the streets looking pretty miserable.  It was lovely to go to a place that felt so vibrant and relaxed.   It was hard to choose what to have as there was plenty of gluten free, vegan and vegetarian dishes.  Food heaven!










After we ate I was taken on a cruise for my birthday.....well a canal boat from Camden Lock to Little Venice which was a lovely trip and goes right past London Zoo.  If you get a chance it is something a bit different and not a shop in sight.





Of course there were also German Xmas markets, but sadly not much there I could eat, they seemed to be mostly bread, pastry, meat based offerings, but it certainly brought a bit of sparkle to the Southbank.

I'll share more adventures on my next post.

Chickpea xx




37 comments:

  1. What a wonderful Birthday treat. I'm glad you had such a lovely time with fabulous food :) happy Birthday!

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    1. Thank you, it is such a treat to try all the different food.

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  2. Happy Birthday Chickpea! I do like the sound of orange wine....
    Leanne xx

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    1. It was very nice, I don't know if it is available locally.

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    1. I would have thought there would be other things in it, maybe dates or something, it had a lovely raisony taste to it.

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  4. What a fantastic birthday treat with all those interesting foody things

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  5. Sounds like a great Birthday trip. Belated Birthday wishes. All that food looks and sounds idyllic, food heaven....I must admit to be rather partial to the food on a German market.

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    1. I would loved to have sampled some of the delicious food but can't imagine any of it would have been gluten free :(

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  6. What a wonderful Birthday, you celebrated in style and why not, enjoy life to the max as you only have one shot of it, those meals look fab :-)

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    1. My thoughts exactly, we never know what life has in store for us so need to celebrate these milestones.

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  7. WEll that all looks amazing, although I suspect that restaurant is way above my means

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  8. What a wonderful birthday break - the market, the food, the canal cruise - all so lovely. That would have suited me, but I always turn down anything like that because of leaving my elderly dog. One of my sons wanted to take me to Paris for a few days on my last birthday - but I said no, mainly because of my dog. Silly me!

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    1. I will be getting a dog when we move so will be facing that dilemma in the future.

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    2. Oh but the companionship of your dog will more than make up for having to miss out on the odd treat, I promise you. I look forward to seeing your new family member when he/she joins you for your rambles.

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  9. What a wonderful birthday and gift.
    Your photos are terrific. Did you try the Peruvian food ? it is a favorite.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. No we had already eaten before we got to that stall, will have to save that for our next visit.

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  10. Happy belated birthday. The food looks amazing, I feel hungry just looking at it.

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    1. Thank you Anne, I wish I could eat like that everyday.........but then I would end up twice the size!

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  11. Belated Happy Birthday, Chickpea! It looks like you had a wonderful time and the food...the food....yummy! x

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  12. That sounds like a perfect birthday... Belated greetings! NOPI is on my list of restaurants to visit. I love Ottolenghi's food.

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    1. His food is amazing, we order lots of dishes to share so we can try everything :)

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  13. What a food-fantastic birthday! Many happy returns. I don't know how you managed to eat it all, I'm sure I would have had to have a doggy bag! :-)

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    1. Haha I didn't eat it all, we shared everything so we could taste lots of different dishes ........and walked for miles all over London working up an appetite!

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  14. WOW,what a great Birthday Trip you had.Love all the foodie pics,yum yum.x

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  15. Happy Belated Birthday wishes! Looks like you had a fab time.

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  16. happy happy birthday xxx Nopi is on my wish list of places to visit. one day x

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    1. Check out the bathrooms when you are there!!

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  17. Happy belated birthday, it sounds like you've had a wonderful time x

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  18. Oh my, it sounds like you well and truly celebrated your birthday. Your food photos had me drooling! I love Ottolenghi's food but have never eaten in his restaurant .........yet! I'll have to keep Tanyas in mind next time we go into London too. Thank you for the inspiration and have a great weekend. xx

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