I absolutely love Eric Lanlard's cup cakes so was thrilled to bits to hear about the wonderful new Cake-Boy app. Its full of his tantalizing recipes and available now on the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.
Happy baking!
Monday 25 November 2013
Saturday 16 November 2013
Bill's Restaurant Richmond UK
Click here to read my first review as a guest blogger on the Totally Richmond website.
Lazy Susan Food Reviews: Bonnington Cafe Vauxhall UK - vegetarian and vegan...
Lazy Susan Food Reviews: Bonnington Cafe Vauxhall UK - vegetarian and vegan...: I spent three months living in Oval earlier this year. I had read about Bonnington Cafe in one of my favourite books Veggie & Organic Lo...
Bonnington Cafe Vauxhall UK - vegetarian and vegan
I spent three months living in Oval earlier this year. I had read about Bonnington Cafe in one of my favourite books Veggie & Organic London but never made it there to experience it myself. So when the opportunity arose for me to house sit in Oval for a weekend, I jumped at the offer. Two whole days to eat food from the places I know and love including SW9 Sushi Bar, Mimi's Deli, Malinka Continental Delicatessan and finally a chance to book a table for lunch at Bonnington Cafe.
The restaurant is tucked away in a residential area of Vauxhaull and accessible by foot from Harleyford Road though the Harleyford Road Community Garden or by car on Vauxhall Grove.
The concept here is unique. Bonnington Cafe is a co-operatively run vegetarian and vegan restaurant, you can read more about it here. The mission statement proudly displayed inside the door explains it simply -
'The Cafe User Group (CUG) is a non-professional group of enthusiastic vegetarian cooks who run the Cafe as a community eating and meeting place. We appreciate the opportunity to cook once a week for friends and anyone else within the community and outside who cares to come along. We sell food in the evening for approximately four hours and at lunch for approximately two hours, and attempt to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Each cook plans their own menu, does the shopping and cooking. We attempt to buy quality products and because we are different cooks each night, we maintain a variety of styles and dishes. The menu is simple - a soup or other starter, a choice of 2 or 3 mains and a dessert or two at affordable prices'.
The website has a diary of who is cooking and when. Bookings are made by contacting the rostered cook directly. On my visit it was Margarete, she is a veteran and has been involved in the Cafe since the 80s. She takes a seasonal approach to her cooking and sources local foods to create mostly 'traditional' recipes which are 'adapted to her taste'.
It's not until you arrive that you discover what is on the menu. For my visit it was:
Starter £2.50: Roast Pumpkin & Pepper Soup
Mains £5.50: Pasta Pesto or Aubergine & Chickpea curry with rice, both served with salad
Dessert £2.50: Spicy Chocolate Cake or Apple Pie
Tea £1, Coffee £1.20, Fresh Juice £1, no wine list but BYO alcohol with no corkage
You are probably thinking the same thing that I was when I saw the menu on the blackboard - the food here is incredibly cheap! Everything but the cake was vegan too.
The soup was full of flavour with good consistency. It was pleasantly oily on the surface and full of well balanced spices and coriander.
For my main I chose the curry. It had beautiful flavour, the veggies were soft and the sauce was rich and thick with black sesame seeds stirred throughout. The salads were tasty and complemented the dish well. One with shredded carrot, beetroot, cabbage and both pumpkin and sunflower seeds. The other bulgar wheat, spring onion, coriander and mung beans. Both were dressed with a little vinegar and sat beside a simple combination of crispy lettuce and baby spinach.
It was almost impossible to decide between the desserts. I waited to see what my neighbour ordered and then chose the other thinking I could cheekily ask about her choice. I had the apple pie, it was divine. Soft and luscious fruit, smooth and delicate pastry served with a side of vegan custard. Spectacular! I was told the chocolate cake was very good also. The sponge was soft and there was a thin layer of citrus sauce in the middle which was a pleasant surprise.
I absolutely loved this place. Margarete worked the entire room like a professional but in her own quirky style. She seated me ("anywhere you would like"), took my order, served the food, cleared the plates and collected the money. The Cafe was full by 1:15pm and the curry was unavailable shortly after. The message here, get in early!
While the venue itself would not win a design award, it was warm inside and bright with ample sunlight beaming through the front window. The furnishings are mismatched and many of the items have been donated in return for free cake or soup. None of this seemed to matter, the place was full, the room was buzzing and the food to die for. I can't wait to go back and share it with my friends.
Bonnington Cafe
11 Vauxhall Grove
London SW8 1TD
Lunch 12-2pm and dinner 6:30-10:30pm
bonningtoncafe.co.uk
Copyright © 2013 Lazy Susan Food Reviews
The restaurant is tucked away in a residential area of Vauxhaull and accessible by foot from Harleyford Road though the Harleyford Road Community Garden or by car on Vauxhall Grove.
The concept here is unique. Bonnington Cafe is a co-operatively run vegetarian and vegan restaurant, you can read more about it here. The mission statement proudly displayed inside the door explains it simply -
'The Cafe User Group (CUG) is a non-professional group of enthusiastic vegetarian cooks who run the Cafe as a community eating and meeting place. We appreciate the opportunity to cook once a week for friends and anyone else within the community and outside who cares to come along. We sell food in the evening for approximately four hours and at lunch for approximately two hours, and attempt to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Each cook plans their own menu, does the shopping and cooking. We attempt to buy quality products and because we are different cooks each night, we maintain a variety of styles and dishes. The menu is simple - a soup or other starter, a choice of 2 or 3 mains and a dessert or two at affordable prices'.
The website has a diary of who is cooking and when. Bookings are made by contacting the rostered cook directly. On my visit it was Margarete, she is a veteran and has been involved in the Cafe since the 80s. She takes a seasonal approach to her cooking and sources local foods to create mostly 'traditional' recipes which are 'adapted to her taste'.
It's not until you arrive that you discover what is on the menu. For my visit it was:
Starter £2.50: Roast Pumpkin & Pepper Soup
Mains £5.50: Pasta Pesto or Aubergine & Chickpea curry with rice, both served with salad
Dessert £2.50: Spicy Chocolate Cake or Apple Pie
Tea £1, Coffee £1.20, Fresh Juice £1, no wine list but BYO alcohol with no corkage
You are probably thinking the same thing that I was when I saw the menu on the blackboard - the food here is incredibly cheap! Everything but the cake was vegan too.
The soup was full of flavour with good consistency. It was pleasantly oily on the surface and full of well balanced spices and coriander.
For my main I chose the curry. It had beautiful flavour, the veggies were soft and the sauce was rich and thick with black sesame seeds stirred throughout. The salads were tasty and complemented the dish well. One with shredded carrot, beetroot, cabbage and both pumpkin and sunflower seeds. The other bulgar wheat, spring onion, coriander and mung beans. Both were dressed with a little vinegar and sat beside a simple combination of crispy lettuce and baby spinach.
It was almost impossible to decide between the desserts. I waited to see what my neighbour ordered and then chose the other thinking I could cheekily ask about her choice. I had the apple pie, it was divine. Soft and luscious fruit, smooth and delicate pastry served with a side of vegan custard. Spectacular! I was told the chocolate cake was very good also. The sponge was soft and there was a thin layer of citrus sauce in the middle which was a pleasant surprise.
I absolutely loved this place. Margarete worked the entire room like a professional but in her own quirky style. She seated me ("anywhere you would like"), took my order, served the food, cleared the plates and collected the money. The Cafe was full by 1:15pm and the curry was unavailable shortly after. The message here, get in early!
While the venue itself would not win a design award, it was warm inside and bright with ample sunlight beaming through the front window. The furnishings are mismatched and many of the items have been donated in return for free cake or soup. None of this seemed to matter, the place was full, the room was buzzing and the food to die for. I can't wait to go back and share it with my friends.
Bonnington Cafe
11 Vauxhall Grove
London SW8 1TD
Lunch 12-2pm and dinner 6:30-10:30pm
bonningtoncafe.co.uk
Copyright © 2013 Lazy Susan Food Reviews
Sunday 10 November 2013
This is it!
Welcome to Lazy Susan Food Reviews
Food writing has been a hobby of mine for some time now. Food in general is something I find incredibly interesting. I grew up in a small town in rural Australia and we always had something delicious growing in the garden, perhaps that's where it started. Alongside our vineyard we had fruit trees, I remember the summer peaches being the sweetest, juiciest creations I longed for every year. I don't think I've tasted summer fruit like that since.
I day dream about food a lot. What I'm making for dinner each night, where I will go on the weekend to eat, what's in season, what recipe I will try next, is there an igredient I've never tasted before. It consumes most of my free time, wandering around food markets, reading food books, following chefs on social media, talking to colleagues about what I ate on the weekend or a wonderful restaurant I visited - I just love food.
This love of food sits appropriately alongside my love of travel. I travel to discover new food and find hidden gem restaurants. I love talking to locals about food, the places to eat away from the tourist areas and what the true regional specialities are. I am fortunate that I travel with my job which allows me to try food in different places almost on a weekly basis.
I have plenty of food stories to tell. I hope you enjoy reading them and that my reviews help you find somwhere wonderful to eat.
Amare il cibo
Lazy Susan
PS - why Lazy Susan? Well I figure my love of food is like one of those big circular boards in a Chinese restaurant, I can spin it around and stop it when I feel like tasting something new.
Copyright © 2013 Lazy Susan Food Reviews
Food writing has been a hobby of mine for some time now. Food in general is something I find incredibly interesting. I grew up in a small town in rural Australia and we always had something delicious growing in the garden, perhaps that's where it started. Alongside our vineyard we had fruit trees, I remember the summer peaches being the sweetest, juiciest creations I longed for every year. I don't think I've tasted summer fruit like that since.
I day dream about food a lot. What I'm making for dinner each night, where I will go on the weekend to eat, what's in season, what recipe I will try next, is there an igredient I've never tasted before. It consumes most of my free time, wandering around food markets, reading food books, following chefs on social media, talking to colleagues about what I ate on the weekend or a wonderful restaurant I visited - I just love food.
This love of food sits appropriately alongside my love of travel. I travel to discover new food and find hidden gem restaurants. I love talking to locals about food, the places to eat away from the tourist areas and what the true regional specialities are. I am fortunate that I travel with my job which allows me to try food in different places almost on a weekly basis.
I have plenty of food stories to tell. I hope you enjoy reading them and that my reviews help you find somwhere wonderful to eat.
Amare il cibo
Lazy Susan
PS - why Lazy Susan? Well I figure my love of food is like one of those big circular boards in a Chinese restaurant, I can spin it around and stop it when I feel like tasting something new.
Copyright © 2013 Lazy Susan Food Reviews
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