Innocent Inspires -An evening of good taste.

Yesterday  I attended the Innocent Inspire event which took place in the Crypt under St. James Church in London with a few of my foodie friends, Sylvia Filozof, Manjiri Chitnis and Fiona Mclean.

"Innocent Inspires series"s are a series of inspirational evenings that are tailor made by Innocent to give you a sensory night of good taste.The focus of the evening was to understand why does taste matter,how does it work,what's the perfect combination and how can good taste  transform your life and career?

The venue was transformed in to an inviting and cosy atmosphere with beautifully set table, cosy candlelights, flowers in jam jars, ample Innocent Juices and a lively buzz of excitement.We were greeted at the door with a delicious raspberry, lemon and rose water mocktail that smelled divine and even tasted sensual. This was just the beginning of the evening. The evening kicked off with an introduction by Innocent and followed by a wonderful talks from the guest speakers while we munched of foodie treats.

Florence Knight head chef at Polpetto Restaurant, Florence talked about seasonal foods and how she gets inspiration from them in her cooking. She served us an amazing ice-cream which had a combination of pepper, caramel and sliced peaches.

The second talk was Ms Marmite Lover - the undergound supper club queen. Ms Marmite lover is one amazing woman with a fantastic personality. she is really entertaining with an awesome sense of humour. I could have sat and listened to her antics all evening. From her talk I learn't the importance of carbs in our diet. Apparently carbs release serotine a happiness hormone so we should all be indulging in them when we need to be happy. During her talk it came as no surprise when we were served up marmite and toast and virgin bloody Mary's made with tomato juice and marmite!!! Needless to say I hate marmite and was not brave enough to try it although looking around our table there were many empty bottles so it must have been good!!!
As we listened to the speakers we were constantly supplied with crudités and dips by the Dip society.I got my first taste of a spicy Beet dip and houmous made with rapeseed oil. Both were delicious.

The next speaker Bombas and Parr - jellymongers extraordinaire continued to entertain us.I was so amazed to see how a person can be so passionate about jelly!!!It was interesting to learn how one can make a career from making giant jelly models and selling the idea to the world!!! Our taste buds were  tickled with a jelly tasting session, but before it was served  we had to chant for it to appear!!!Sadly being a vegetarian I did not try the jelly although it looked delicious and was very wobbly just like a jelly should be!!! I learn't that the upcoming trend is to have jelly at weddings and funerals too!!! Finally cup cakes have a rival!!!

The next talk was by Emilie Baltz a transatlantic food designer, her focus was on smells and taste and we were taken on a sensory journey by smelling vanilla pods and biting into figs with ear plugs in our ears!!!The sound of the bite into the fig and the smell of vanilla gave taste and smell another dimension.

Last but not least we had a wonderful talk by Ollie Dabbous chef- owner of the game changing Dabbous.What can I say about this young man?? He received his first Michelin star only after 1 year of opening his restaurant, he is the most sought after chef in the culinary world.

The evening ended with Q&A with all the speakers and a lovely goody bag of Graze box, Innocent Juice, a box of mints and some vouchers together with a very unique bill for the event.

I would like to Thank Innocent Inspire for inviting me to this event ,it has certainly awakened my senses and understanding of good taste.

Quesadilla-Mexican

Delicious snack made with tortilla wraps, vegetables and cheese.

Ingredients

4 whole wheat tortilla wraps
1 red onion finely chopped
1 courgette finely diced
1 tomato de seeded and finely chopped
60 g cooked sweet corn
30 g diced mixed peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
90 g grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. In a frying pan add the oil and wait for it to heat, add the onions and sauté until translucent
2. Add the diced courgette and the sweet corn and peppers. Add the salt, chilli flakes, cumin powder and paprika and mix well. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until vegetables are cooked.
3. Remove vegetable mixture from heat and keep aside.
4. In a clean frying pan place one of the wraps.Sprinkle some of the grated cheese on it and on top of the cheese add half the vegetable mixture.Add the chopped tomatoes on the top and add a little more cheese.
5. Place the second tortilla wrap on top of the cheese and press down with a spatula.Cook the Quesadillla for 1 minute and then flip it over.

6.Press again with the spatula and cook the Quesadilla on the underside for another minute.
7.Remove the quesadilla on to a plate and cut it into quarters or sixths.
8. Repeat for second pair of tortilla wraps.
Serve with dip of choice.

Submitting to;
 Flavours of Mexico event by simply.food 

Lets cook with cheese event by simply.food

Mexican Rice- Arroz Mexicano and a Procook cast Iron pan review.

A delicious protein packed aromatic Mexican rice with fragrant cumin and coriander.

Ingredients:

250 g / 8 oz white basmati rice
500 ml boiling water
250 g /  8 oz precooked cannelloni beans
1 green capsicum  finely chopped
1 white onion finely chopped
1 large carrot peeled and grated
2 medium potatoes peeled and finely diced
125 g / 4 oz precooked sweetcorn kernels
60 g / 2 oz finely chopped fresh coriander
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it in cold water for 30 minutes.
2. In a large pan heat the oil when it is hot add the onions and sauté them on low heat until translucent.
3. Drain the rice and add it to the onions and sauté the rice until all the grains are coated in the oil.stir the rice gently so that the grains don't break.
4. Add the carrots, potatoes,cannelloni beans, pepper sand sweet corn. Mix the vegetables with the rice.
5. Add the salt, chilli powder,cumin powder and coriander powder and half the amount of fresh coriander.(reserve other half for garnish) Stir all the spices into the rice and vegetables.

6. Add 500 ml boiling water to the rice and bring the rice to a slow boil.
7. Once rice is boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pan with the lid.
8.Cook the rice on lowest setting for 22 minutes.(During this time do not open the pan lid)
9.After 22 minutes open the lid, all the water will have been absorbed with the rice and grains should be soft and fluffy.
1. Garnish the rice with remaining fresh coriander.
Serve Hot.

You may like:
Singapore five spiced rice


The Aubergine shallow Cast Iron Casserole featured in this recipe was recently sent to me to review by ProCook Kitchenware. It it is hand cast from molten iron which makes it very strong and durable with an integral handle.It is topped with a smart, stainless steel handle and enamelled inside and out.The pan is 28 cm round with a capacity of 3.5l. The added feature is that it is suitable for all hobs and ovens including induction.The pan can be used for cooking and serving as it looks elegant even when taken straight from oven to table.The pans are available in cream, black red and aubergine in various sizes.
I used the pan for cooking on a gas stove and the oven, I found that it worked well on the stove and equally well in the oven.However I did find that cooking casseroles and rice worked best in this type of pan as trying to cook anything with less liquid in the pan caused the ingredients to stick to the bottom of the pan. The pan hand washed well although it is not suitable for dishwasher.I loved the look of my pan, the aubergine colour looked very elegant.Although it did not bother me for anyone who may be frail, be warned the pan is very heavy to lift and may prove difficulty in handling.I also found that the knob on the pan lid got very hot and required an oven glove to open the pan lid.The pan is available on the ProCook website for £ 42.00 almost half the price compared to high street shops.It is also guaranteed for 25 years.

Thankyou to ProCook for sending me the pan to review, all the views and opinions in this post are my own.

Submitting to:
Flavours of Mexico event by simply.food

Event Round Up ~ Lets Cook With Nuts

We had a wonderful collection of entries for this event Lets Cook with Nuts.
Thank you to all the participants.

Here is the Round Up.

Announcing event -Lets Cook with Cheese

Cheese can be made from a variety of milks, not only from cows, but goats, sheep, buffalos, and even horses and camels. It takes about 10 litres of milk to make one kilogramme of Cheddar. Cheese is one of the most concentrated sources of key nutrients, including calcium, protein, and vitamins A, B12 and D.
There are many types of cheeses available ranging from soft to hard. The varieties textures and taste all vary

Some examples of cheese are:

Paneer, Roquefort, Camembert, Feta, Mozzarella, Emmental, Cheddar, Gouda, Taleggio, Parmigiano-Reggiano, gruyerre, red leicester and Monterey Jack.These are just a few of the hundreds of combinations and varieties available worldwide.

This event is all about cheese, I am inviting all foodies to create some dishes using cheese and send them to this event.

To Participate:

1.Prepare any  vegetarian recipe using Cheese as part of the Ingredient   (eggs allowed) please link your dish using the linky below by entering your Dish Name and Post URL
2.Please link this event announcement with your entry, this is mandatory.
3.Use of logo is  not mandatory but it helps to spread the word if you can use it.

4. Multiple entries are allowed, archived are only allowed if reposted and updated with this event link.

4. In the event of problem using linky you can email me the entry at simplysensationalfood@gmail.com

Please use this format:

Your Name: Recipe
Name Recipe URL
Image no larger than 300 pixels.