O'Neill's: A suprisingly good meal

A few more recommendations where I did not take any pictures:

O'Neill's in High Wycombe: surprisingly good! They now do specials from Thursday to Saturday, which includes pigeon! Who would have thought it from a pub chain?! I had a boar and chorizo burger when I went with celeriac coleslaw which was super tasty with amazing fries. Really good food and nice atmosphere during the day.

Malay Satay at Noodle Nation. Definitely the best dish here! I had sweet and sour battered chicken the other day but this was far too sweet. The Malay Satay is lightly peanutty!

Willie Gunn Restaurant and Wine Bar in Earlsfield in London. We tried to go to Mel's Vintage Beats and Breakfast which looked amazing but when we arrived it was fully booked. So we went over the road to here. There was a good breakfast menu and for £6.95 you can get a full English. Good produce just beware of the hard fried bread.

Roast Pepper Lasagne and Joan Collins

My pescetarian Kat (that's her full title) and Kazza Wellard (again her full name) wanted some dinner when they came to stay (greedy so and so's). After taunting me by eating Chocolate Caramel Digestives, which I couldn't eat at the time because I was off chocolate for lent, I thought I better make them something.

So I went for a recipe out of Cook Step By Step called Roast Pepper Lasagne. This wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped, especially as just as it came to assembling it I had to go and call Joan Collins for work.

Luckily Kazza and Kat stepped in.

There are quite a few ingredients in big portions! I had a stockpile for the freezer!! It definitely tasted a lot better fresh. Not sure if it was worth all the hassle. Perhaps if you buy ready roasted peppers it would be easier.



Here's the ingredients:

For the tomato sauce:

2 x 400g cans tomatoes

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

leaves from one bunch of basil

leaves from 7 to 10 oregano sprigs (I used dried)

leaves from 1 bunch of flat leaved parsley (again I used dried)

salt and pepper



For the lasagne:

4 red peppers

4 green peppers

2 tbsp olive oil

750g thinly sliced mushrooms

1kg ricotta cheese

pinch of ground nutmeg

375g lasagne sheets

175g freshly grated Parmesan



1. Put the tomatoes, half the garlic and two thirds of the herbs in a shallow pan. Season. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 25 to 35 minutes, until thickened. Put in a food processor and puree into smooth (I forgot to do this).

2. Grill the peppers, 10cm from the rack, into blackened on all sides. Put in a plastic bag, seal and cool. Peel off the skins. Halve the peppers, scrape out the core and seeds and cut into 1cm strips.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and remaining garlic and cook, stirring for 10 to 12 minutes, until liquid evaporates. Put the ricotta, remaining herbs and nutmeg, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir together.

4. Fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Add 1 tbsp of salt and add the lasagne a sheet at a time and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes (my sheets got stuck together so perhaps add oil). Drain on a tea towel.

5. The heat the oven to 180c (350f/ gas mark 4). Brush a baking dish with oil. Spread 3-4 tbsp of tomato sauce in the dish, cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, overlapping slightly.

6. Spread on a quarter of the ricotta, then a quarter of mushrooms and peppers. Spoon over a fifth of the remaining tomato sauce, and Parmesan. Continue to make four later, finishing with lasagne on top. Cover with the remaining sauce and Parmesan. Bake the lasagne for 35 to 45 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.



I served with salad and bread.

A few places I would recommend for snacks and cakes

HERE are some places I have been to where, shock horror, I didn't take photos of all of them. But which I would recommend. On the way back from High Wycombe my mum and I stopped at The Plant Cente at Knowle Hill in Evesham. We had the best carrot cake ever, with a lovely cup of tea, all for a couple of pounds. The owners were really making an effort and there was pretty bunting and chintzy tablecloths.

The next day we went to The Crown in Longtown, Herefordshire. This pub has really improved over the years and offers a really good menu of homecooked meals. With half a glass of cider I went for the Beef Wellington Pie, with chips and vegetables. The pie was homecooked and was packed with beef and mushrooms with a puff pastry top. For dessert I had meringue and raspberries, which was just as good.

Then it was onto Simply Stunning in Wormelow, which is a furniture store, but which also has a small cafe. The ambience isn't great as it is basically a group of sofas pushed into a small room. But the lemon drizzle cake was worth going for.

At The Horse and Jockey in Tylers Green I had a prawn cocktail baguette with chips and salad, which reasonable and tasty with fresh bread and salad.

And finally if it is a burger you are looking for then head to the The Carpenters Arms in Camberley. They do really good burgers. I had a beef burger with cheese and bacon and chips (again!!) The beef was really tasty (it tasted real!) and overall a good meal.

The Bounty in Bourne End

IT was quite possibly the first sunny day of the year on Sunday! And to celebrate I thought a stroll in the sunshine and some lunch was in order. I dragged Tom along (!) and we walked down to Bourne End marina, which is a lovely spot. I have never been there before and I was really impressed. There are quite a few pubs around but we decided to go to The Bounty, which is the other side of the river.
It is really quirky with lots of stuff all over the walls from funny stories to icing skates. There are old fashioned pub games, lots of outside seating and lots of dogs!
It was so sunny so everybody was out and about. You queue to order in a conveyer belt style, and this is food and drink, but it makes everything quicker so that's ok.
I went for the beef lasagne with chips and salad (£9.95). It is served on a big silver platter, which isn't the classiest, but it is a big portion.
And the food was good pub food. The lasagne was well cooked with tasty beef, and perhaps a bit too much cheese for me. The chips were well cooked and the only let down was the lack of salad.
Tom went for one of the burgers, which also looked really good.
I would recommend this pub for a nice sunny day, especially if you sit outside by the river.

Back to the delights of Wagamama

I went to the University of Reading and we seemed to go to Wagamama's at least once every term, but mostly more, because it was cheap and really tasty. But after I left I seemed to go there a lot less, and I have always favoured good old Noodle Nation in High Wycombe (probably beacause it is worse for you!!).
But when I was last in London and met my uni pal, Michelle, we returned to our student days and went to Wagamama's near the Houses of Parliament. 
I went for Yaki Udon which is teppan-fried udon noodles in curry oil with chicken, prawns, chikuwa, egg, beansprouts, leeks, mushrooms and peppers. garnished with fried shallots, pickled ginger and sesame seeds.
I love this dish. It tastes so fresh and is under a tenner. I think I may just return to Wagamama sooner.
P.S. I can't for the life of me remember what Michelle had.

A tough bit of bugsy

The rabbit!

Before I went on my hols to sunnier climes Tom and I spent a lovely afternoon in The Red Lion in Penn. It is right next to the pond and was taken over by the Royal Standard (one of my favourite pubs) more than a year ago.
We ambled down about 2ish and there was a good atmosphere in the pub with nooks and crannies and interesting wall decor!
I went for the special of rabbit, which was a mistake. When I have had rabbit before it has been tender and lighter in colour. Not this piece of rabbit. I think they must have found the oldest rabbit in Bucks on his last legs and about to die anyway. The meat was tough and stringy, dark and very strong in flavour. Not at all like what I had eaten before. It was served with a rich sauce, potato and cabbage. Not a good main at all. It was a challenge to eat, whilst also trying not to eat the bone.
Tom, however, went for the fish and chips, which looked amazing. So perhaps the key here is to stick

Fish and chips

to what you know.
Desserts were great too- I had a lovely Eton Mess and Tom went for a Creme Brulee.
It's a nice little pub, with good staff. I think next time I will go for a classic pub dish.