This Saturday afternoon I escaped the heavy skies into a place full of clean warmth and light: L’Atelier des Chefs in Marylebone. 

I spent the afternoon at a joyous cooking class with some fellow foodie bloggers. The event was organised by Niamh of eatlikeagirl.com and Trusted Places, our generous patrons, making, of all things, macarons!

Now, I’m not known for making fussy food - and there is surely nothing fussier than a mini gourmandise that takes upwards of 2.5 hours to make - but I have to say that we had a splendid time. The kitchen was impeccable, large and bright, the tutor charming and exuberant and the company enthusiastic and welcoming. Everyone delighted in the wonderful bright colours of the meringues, the siliness of the piping and the simple pleasure of throwing down the trays (to get rid of air bubbles, a noisy business). Laughter was the constant soundtrack to the day and I can honestly say it was the most collective fun I’ve had without alcohol in ages.

Plus the macarons were delicious (except for the foie gras ones that I really couldn’t stomach) and I hope I made the first steps towards expanding my foodie friend group.

Thanks to all for a great day: Lizzie, Su-Lin, Krista, Josh, Alice, Helen, Jonathan, Abi, Kang, Tom, Alex, Bron, Mark, and Shuna.

Not forgetting our hostess Niamh and director of photography Laura.

Read more on the trusted places blog

I’ve been approached by one of the most popular series’ on BBC3 - Kill it, Cook it, Eat it - to help them find some foodies to join in a debate about hunting.

The series is about the ethics of meat eating and meat production and is a topic I expect every real foodie is already very engaged with, I know I certainly am. And this series explores the hunting of meat pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to eat

They are looking for a few different people, I said I’d help them out - So, whether you’re a vegetarian, a meat connoisseur or something in between; if you have strong opinions about hunting and game, then please get in touch. Importantly you should never have actually hunted.

If you are interested please contact:

Giorgio Murru
Assistant Producer
Firefly Film and Television Productions Ltd

GiorgioMurru@fireflyproductions.tv
020 70332286

Hello, I’m back!

Apologies for a couple of weeks of silence but I have been holidaying in South West France, the Lot-et-Garonne region, wine and musketeer country. I thought I’d have an internet connection to keep in touch when I was out there but it proved to be intermittent at best and the pull of the sunshine, the view (vines and sunflowers on undulating hills) and a good book were just too strong to keep me slaving away at it.

I’ve a couple of other things to post about, not least a great trip to the strange and marvelous Albi cathedral (and gorgeous restaurant we found just steps away, of course!), but first I wanted to share with you my revelation about fresh herbs.

At home I usually have a packet of parsley, thyme or basil in the fridge - bought ‘fresh’ in a bunch they clearly pack a stronger punch than their dried cousins but then, at the house where we were staying (my Dad’s) there was rosemary, sage, thyme and bay, I picked them one evening to make a little bouquet garni to go in the lentil and goat’s cheese stew bubbling on the stove and the explosion of flavour was amazing.

I had not fully appreciated that herbs picked off the plant were so MUCH richer, deeper and more fragrant. As a foodie I am now totally sold on growing my own, I know that home grown veg is infinitely better, but without the space (my balcony is 1.5mx1m) I can’t see that happening - although a tomato plant or two are looking distinctly possible - herbs, however, are the next best thing and will make a real difference to your meal.

Plans to turn the balcony into a mini herb garden are afoot!

Did anyone catch this new series (Chinese Food Made Easy) on BBC2 last night?

Although the programme itself was pretty awful, the presenter Ching-He Huang is very attractive and passionate but somehow lacks charm and that special entertainer quality that can bring out the best in the guests on her show and generally the direction felt pillow handed, I will keep watching. What Ms Huang lacks in presenter skills she more than makes up for in cooking ones.

Her recipes look both delicious and simple, perfect for easy weekday suppers as they take only minutes to prepare (Honestly, she made a beef in oyster sauce with oyster mushrooms and spinach in 3 minutes, and whilst it will probably take me 15-20 that’s still a damn fast supper in my book).

As quick, tasty suppers are the holy grail of the urban foodie I will try out her recipes and post the best of them here. I’ll doubtless start with her (healthy) egg fried rice as it is a take-away favourite of Mr Foodie’s…

More to come soon.

Friday night in our house is, and always has been, pizza night. You can tell where I am in my life by what kind of pizza it is - at home my mum would cook a supermarket pizza with oven chips (there is something so wrong and yet so right about a crisp oven chip doused in vinegar) and serve it with a nice green salad. As a student I’d get those nasty little cheap frozen ones and add toppings to make them edible, or occasionally have a Dominos splurge. Once I started working I moved on and up through the supermarket brands and now I often go to my favourite little pizzeria, Il Bacio, but tonight I am making my own!

I have some left over arrabiatta that I’ll blend to a paste (maximising available resources), some dough rising in the cupboard and some lovely field mushrooms and bacon to use for toppings, I’m very excited. Will post picture and recipe later…

Welcome to my new foodie blog, where I’ll post recipes (podcasting some so you can listen while you cook) and all the interesting food stuff that comes into my view.

A couple of years ago I had an idea for a website, one that would allow me to pursue my foodie passion - of course time and London being what they are I never managed to get past the thinking and talking stage. Then last October I started an MA in web design and my thesis project (due in June 09)  offers me the perfect opportunity to create this site…

A site for urban foodies like me, London/city dwellers who love food and cooking, care about where it comes from but don’t live in a River Cottage with endless time and funds or access to nettles that haven’t had dogs or car fumes at them. I hope, with your help, to create a place where we can share recipes, get food news and meet foodie friends.

The core function will be a recipe database - I know there are many others but this one will be deeper and wider than any of those - plus there will be a wealth of other fun, informative, useful food information and a forum for people to get together. Beyond that I have my ideas but I see the site developing in whatever ways its members want it to.

 Of course this is a long way off from this blog, but as Lao Tzu said:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step“

And this is mine.

I’d love it if you could join me on my journey, feel free to add comments along the way, or just bookmark this site and come back in a few months to see how it has grown.

For now, that’s me, take care.

Mia, Urban Foodie