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