I love a good wedgie

Of the potato variety I might add. The American Vegetarian loves potatoes, in any shape or form, mashed, boiled, roasted, baked, well in fact who doesn't? The potato made in any way is just really comforting and tasty. I love potato wedges. They are really simple and quick to prepare and a great way to eat potatoes. They go with absolutely anything which makes them the ultimate in side dishes. I like them with a great big dollop of kethcup.

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes

Good glug of olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste
3 cloves of  unpeeled garlic

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes and keep them unpeeled. Cut them in half and then cut the halves into wedges and then place into a nice big bowl. Add a good glug of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Mix it up really well so all the potatoes are covered with the oil and seasoning. Transfer to a baking tray and add three unpeeled cloves of garlic, and roast for around 40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. I give them a bit of a mix half way as well.

Serve straight from the oven (without the garlic) with almost anything!

Saffron Lounge (Desi Style)

Warning: This post is not entirely vegetarian:

When I was a kid, my first experience of restaurants was Pizza Hut (every time one of my mates turned 15 we all went to Pizza Hut and gorged on the salad bar), and an Indian, otherwise know as a 'curry house'. Growing up in a Gujarati home, I never thought going out for an Indian would be much fun or different. Why pay for food you can eat at home? But the food at home was all vegetarian and contained no onion or garlic (onions and garlic to my Mum is like kryptonite to Superman). So going out for an Indian was actually a very different and enjoyable experience. I had my first experience of tikka masala, jalfrazi, korma and peshwari naan at a curry house and enjoyed every onion filled mouthful.

So on Friday the American Vegetarian and I ventured to a curry house called Saffron Lounge, in Southend-on-Sea. (my family live there which is why I was there!).

Saffron Lounge is a modern take on an old skool classic. It's decor is all black and white, with leather chairs and white napkins. Pictures of a modern India adorn the walls and there's a tip of the hat to the old skool red velvet wallpaper in the bar area in the form of black velvet wall paper

The menu is a smorgasbord of Indian delights. Old skool classics as well as 'Healthy Options' an inventive 'tapas' menu and a salad section that consisted of more than just your every day side salad like a 'Paneer Tikka Salad'. Leaving the healthy options aside (it was Friday after all) I opted for a non veg starter and the American Vegetarian had a very lovely Hara Bara Kebab which is a great vegetarian starter. Its a spicy mix of peas, carrots, beans, spinach and potatoes made into a small sausage type shape and lightly fried. It also has a surprising piece of paneer through it too, which gives this dish a wonderful flavour and texture.

For my mains I opted for the 'Tandoori King Prawn Masala (desi style), which was a tasty, spicy, glorious mix of onions, garlic and tomatoes. The American Vegetarian had the Saag Bhaji (spinach), and the Bhindi Bhaji (okra) and these were just as good. They were not overloaded with oil, but a great mix of spices instead. We both shared the Saffron Lounge Dahl which was a lovely dish of spiced yellow lentils and some Saffron Lounge naan, which came with green chills' and coriander. I have to say this was lovely. I usually go for a plain naan, as peshwari is sometimes so sweet, its like having dessert with your mains at the same time. So this welcome alternative to the plain was very much enjoyed.

After all that food, we were both too full for dessert. I was there with three generations of my family and we all enjoyed the food. Saffron Lounge has something for everyone, it has the classics, it has something different (tapas menu), and it has something healthy. But if you want something a little extra spicy then ask for it desi style, they'll know what you mean.

Saffron Lounge
12 Hamlet Court Road
Westcliff on Sea
Essex, SS0 7LX
01702 330 575
www.saffronloungeessex.co.uk

OMG Home Made Mango 'Ice Cream' in 5 mins!

Ok so technically its not actually ice cream, but it is a very close contender, and the fact that you can make it at home in about 5 mins with only two ingredients, surely makes this worth a shout out.

It first appeared in our lives when the American Vegetarian wanted to make a mango smoothie. She got out the blender, frozen mango chunks, and some soya milk. But she just didn't have enough soya milk to make it into a proper smoothie. She kept the blender on and it just kept blending. The finished result was a mango ice cream look alike.

Ingredients

Frozen mango chunks; a big handful
Some soya milk. approx 50ml.

Method

Place both ingredients into the blender and blend. Now you will have to stop and start the blender and give it a stir so the mango chunks reach the blades. I stop and start about 5 or 6 times and give it a bit of stir to help it along. But you will end up with a thick creamy consistency of cold mango. Top with anything you want, or just eat as is.

Very refreshing on a hot summers day...when we actually have them!.

SAF Restaurant

On Saturday the American Vegetarian & I made reservations at SAF restaurant. A vegan raw food restaurant in the buzzing and eclectic area of Shoreditch. SAF stands for 'Simple Authentic Food', and it delivers by its name and so much more.

The menu at SAF is a mix of both raw food and cooked food (food which has been cooked over 48 degrees Celsius). The starters that we had were all raw and the flavours, textures, colour and taste that emanated from each plate was astounding. I wish I could cook (or not cook!) food like this. It is so inspirational to see vegan food that is this good. I guarantee that even the hardest of carnivore's would walk away satisfied after eating at SAF.

So on to the food. For starters we first had the Cucumber Consomme. We were presented with a jug of cucumber broth and a bowl of what can only be described as a crushed cucumber sorbet which was surrounded by herbs, and pink peppercorns. You pour the broth over the cucumber sorbet and watch it all dismantle until you have this extremely refreshing and cold cucumber 'soup'. It was amazing. I loved the theatre of the dish as well. Watching the dish change before you once you add the broth was exciting and ingenious. We also had the Blue Hemp Cheese, which is 'cultured pumpkin and hemp cheese'. This dish was also amazing. The presentation, flavour and texture of this dish is something that I can safely say I have not tasted before. The sweetness of the apricot chutney balanced well with the creaminess of the cultured hemp 'cheese'. It came with a slice of dehydrated tomato too and this thin little slice had so much flavour to it, more than any hydrated tomato I've had.

After our starters we were graciously given a complimentary starter from the chef. They have a new summer menu and said they just wanted our feedback. This was a first and a very welcome first. Either the chef really did want our feedback or because we were seated opposite the open kitchen he could easily see that once the food came, the talk went down to a minimum between us and all he saw was us swapping plates every so often. The complimentary third starter were Caviar Blinis. The 'cavier' was made from hemp and beetroot. Little balls of gorgeousness atop sourcream and a sweet potato base. Again, it was presented beautifully, and the different textures and flavours this dish possessed was just divine. All three starters were so good that I truly cannot pick a favourite.

For mains I ordered the Black Tofu and the American Vegetarian had the Seitan Kebabs. Both these dishes were not raw. I've only had seitan in New York where it is readily available in vegetarian places and also non veg places as a veggie option. Its the protein portion of wheat and its not so popular in the UK, and I'm not sure why. When the seitan kebabs arrived, there were two skewers, which looked like a lot and I felt the dish could have done with just the one skewer. The Black Tofu came with two pieces of tofu and I felt it could have done with a third piece. The tofu was marinated superbly in a miso dressing, and came served with rice, kimchee and bak choi. Both dishes tasted amazing, but if I could have swapped a kebab for another piece of tofu I would have.

After all this food, we were actually too full for dessert. Which was ok, as it gave us a reason to go back and try the desserts only!

The decor, service and atmosphere is great at SAF, and the menu is so inviting that you wonder why there are not more people enjoying raw food. They also boast a fantastic botanical cocktail menu and cucumber flavoured tap water on tap. I love SAF and urge anyone, vegetarian or not, to go and have a SAF experience. You'll walk away amazed at the variety of vegetarian food, and come back for more.

SAF Restaurant
152-154 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3AT
020 7613 0007
www.safrestaurant.co.uk