Monday 25 February 2013

Veggie food review - The Gate (pub), Chorleywood...

It happens to us all.....getting older...

And with that come the inevitably difficult choices of where and how we want to live. Security is key, companionship may be important and continued fun and joi de vivre (dare I say it) has got to be a necessity! We're only on this mortal coil once (I think) so gotta make the most of it I say!!!

And so it was that we went with David's mum to (what turned out to be) a wonderful assisted living complex - with a view to it perhaps being the place for her to move to.

What made it wonderful was that it felt lively, warm and homely. There was a buzz about the place and the residents in the bar having a pre-lunch tipple certainly seemed to be relaxed and in their element!
This is how later life should be...

When I heard that they frequently go out to the local pub for a bit of a knees-up of a nighttime - I just couldn't resist seeing where these young-at-heart people go.

And so to my review...


[NB Whilst I can't account for the over 60's night out experience - I can account for a leisurely lunch discussing the merits of assisted living with all mod-cons.]

The Gate is smart and attractive and looks like one of those gastro-type pubs that you are going to feel safe in. It's what I call 'contemporary rustic' inside, clean and welcoming, with wood floors, coir mats and with a distinct bar and restaurant area. You can eat in both areas and dogs are welcome in the bar section (great as we had our two girls with us).

It's service at the table and swift at that - barely time to consider the required tipple - but I really liked the fact that there was a separately printed vegetarian menu - so that we didn't have to do the usual trawl for the (v) on the general 'war and peace' one.
This makes it much easier and shows that they have though about catering specifically for vegetarian customers. Great start.

On the menu:

nibbles, starters, sharers, leaves, pasta, pizza, sides
 
'Rustica Fired Pizza' £9.45 with fennel and pomegranate side salad £2.95

The pizza was...
absolutely yummy!
The plate the pizza was on was...
absolutely stone cold!!

The salad was...
a weird combination of bitter leaves, pomegranate seeds, a non-descript dressing and fennel seeds!






So this meal was a very strange combination - like I say, the pizza really was delicious (if a little anaemic looking) but served on a cold plate it naturally cooled very quickly. I had visions of a delicious crunchy fresh fennel salad to go with it - but mouthfuls of fennel seed and bitter leaves just tasted like an extremely strong oily aniseed ball! To me, it was inedible.

We gave our waiter feedback on the plates which he accepted with genuine concern and said he would raise with the chef. I didn't mention the salad, as bizarrely, Dave said he liked it! (sometimes I do wonder about him...)

Mum had scallops with couscous and said it was delicious and Dave had a pizza too which he also enjoyed - but it would have been wonderful had the plates been less arctic.

I'd love to waffle on more about the ambiance - but a certain two girls (it turns out) aren't very good at sitting still in bars while we eat pizza and they don't. Oooops.

BUT, the Gate seems lovely - its clean, toilets were good (always important), staff were efficient and pleasant and if I were 83 I think, yes, I'd be there once or twice a week for a sherry or two :)

Ye ha grandma!


Chantal xx







Recipe: tasty soda bread in a flash...


If, like me, you can be a little impatient with the whole bread-making process, then you'll love this super-quick, super-tasty recipe as much as I did. It's pretty nutritious too.










Gather:

450g wholemeal flour
225g fine (pinhead) oatmeal
65g  plain white flour
65g  wheatgerm (+ extra for dusting the tin and loaf top)
65g  wheat bran
2.5 tsp bicarb
2 tsp soft brown sugar

1 litre buttermilk

2 tsp sesame seeds for topping the loaf


Create:

  1. Heat the oven to 230C  /  210C [fan]  /  Gas 8
  2. Grease 2 x 900g loaf tins and dust with some wheatgerm
  3. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together well
  4. Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix well to form a wet dough
  5. Split the dough between the two tins, smooth the tops, slash with a floured knife, sprinkle with the sesame seeds
  6. Bake the loaves for 10 mins at the above temp then lower to: 130C  /  110 [fan]  /  gas 1 - and bake for 1 hour
  7. Skewer test the loaves to see if ready or knock on bottom for a hollow sound to indicate cooked
  8. Allow to cool in tin for 10 mins then turn out on a wire rack and resist the temptation to try it straight away - at least until its cool enough to slice!


Devour: 

Enjoy with lashings of your favourite toppings - sweet or savoury goes equally as well!
Eat within 2 days and freeze if you have any left over - but you won't.


Notes:

As you can see from the pic mine came out a bit anemic - but I'm getting used to a new oven. I think in future I would not drop the temp so low for the last hour and maybe give it less time.

Buttermilk is generally sold in 284ml tubs and so buying 4 meant that I had 136ml (approx) spare. If you have the time and the inclination you could up the proportion of the dry ingredients pro-rata so that all of it got used. If I ever get round to it i will re-post!

Enjoy!

Chantal xx

p.s.
I made this before trying to live vegan - so I shall try it with soya yoghurt instead - if you have any suggestions for a different method then please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you!



Thursday 21 February 2013

Amazing animals...

I'm not sure if its fanciful thinking but I seem to recall as a kid that at the end of the news every night there would always be a little 'feelgood' story - something to warm the cockles after the doom and gloom of the main news.
Well, it seems the beeb have perhaps been told that they need to revise this tradition - (as for a while there it got pretty stark and bleak) and I've noticed lately that the 'awwww'-smiley-inducing end stories are making a bit of a comeback. AND a lot of them focus on animals and their 'amazing' behaviour.

And so for the subject of my weekly 'Amazing animals' post, yet again:

Mariska, nicknamed the 'houdini' horse, has learned to unbolt her stable door and indeed that of others. They didn't discuss whether she had made a break for it (presumably she might have done if badly treated) but she's clearly got an independent streak.

See more, read more here.

 


Animals are so underestimated for their intelligence and logic but their ability to reason and solve problems is well documented by scientists and by so many people who have regular contact with animals.

Yet humans consider themselves to be superior to horses and all other living things. It strikes me that a true sign of 'superiority' (I hesitate to even call it that, as it sounds negative) would be to recognise that ALL species are equal and have equal rights - rights to live in peace, without pain, fear and the threat of abuse.

So well done Mariska - for trying to get your voice heard in a world full of humans, most of whom aren't yet listening.

Chantal xx 
have a great weekend x