Category: Food

Chillies, Food, Uncategorized

Growing 

Posted on by lifeaccordingtopaul

It’s fair to say that as you make your way through life that the things that you like and ultimately make you happy and satisfied will change.

From my own perspective, a fine example of this is growing plants, namely chilli plants. I’ve always loved eating chillies and spicy food but never contemplated the satisfaction of growing your own. Even now as I write this post I am still struggling to comprehend how a person changes or even develops new hobbies. I suppose you don’t know what hobbies you may like  until you give them a go. 

I would thoroughly recommend chilli growing to anyone who likes to cook with fresh ingredients and have a bit of free window sill space to grow them on. As someone who has never really grown anything they are a decent challenge whilst still being relatively simple. 


Cheers, Paul. 

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Food, Lunch, Saturday, Uncategorized

Saturday Lunch…Simple

Posted on by lifeaccordingtopaul

Hi there,

Its been a busy old month and now I’m the other end of it I have found myself with a bit of time on this fine Saturday. The sun is shining but my stomach is grumbling and something special is needed to repel the impulse to take a trip to the local fast food establishments. After all, Christmas is pending and the indulgence to follow is enough of a reason to deter oneself from eating fast food.

So, the regimented search through the cupboards and fridge commence knowing that despite a love for food it surpasses my cooking skills by light years. Luckily I spy a nice sized potato and this means one thing; Jacket Potato. My mind then carries out the following calculation, Potato+Time = Oven baked jacket potato with Tuna and Cheese and its on. I do love a jacket potato but doing them in the microwave is not the same, they deserve to baked and I mean baked proper!

However, hunger is making timing of the essence so in the microwave it goes. The clever beast tells me it needs 7.5 minutes for this 400g potato so on it goes. Just when it thinks its done, its out and in the preheated oven for an hour to give it the oven baked touch it deserves.

Now the waiting game begins so the radio goes on and its time to prepare the Tuna and Cheese for its hot, melty end. I’ve always loved tuna and also dolphins so its pole and line caught and tinned in spring water and tipped in a bowl. It needs a fork run through it to break it up for maximum exposure to its best pal, mayonnaise (sorry to say ‘it has to be Heinz’) add a liberal dash of vinegar and black pepper and it gets mashed.  Next up the Mature Cheddar is grated to within an inch of its life making sure its going to be enough for under and above the tuna (obviously!) to take it to the next level.

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Beware – Hot Contents

Time’s up, open the door and watch as it appears in a billow of steam looking like your mate after returning from a year in Dubai without packing sun cream. Grab a knife, cut through the crisp shell and the lack of resistance from the fluffy joy inside meaning that its perfect. Apply the first coat of cheese, scoop the tuna on top and finish off with the remaining cheese to make the dream come true, but wait….resist the urge to eat it and put it back in the oven on its plate.

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Nearly there, be patient!

Give it  5 minutes and pull it out of the oven reborn as a thing of beauty as tuna and cheese have become one. Pure and simple satisfaction on a plate and you deserve it! and you take your time to savour it as you know the plate is scorching from the oven and won’t let you down.

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Who needs garnish…

There you have it, simple Saturday lunch. Roll on dinner time!

Cheers, Paul.

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Food, Lunch, Uncategorized

What do you want for lunch at work this week?

Posted on by lifeaccordingtopaul

What a question! An easy one if you are one of the disciplined fitness gods and goddesses of the world but not so if you’re not…..

It’s a question I get asked by my partner and one that I ask myself every weekend and it normally ends up following these steps:

1. The desire to take something to work for lunch 

2. The desire to do the above and it to be healthy

3. Go out and purchase said food items

4. Make lunch on Sunday ready for the week

5. Go to work and buy something more appetising. 

6. Regret purchasing more appetising food in lieu of healthy and cheaper food from home. 

It is an amazing thing to witness yourself failing ‘week in, week out’ and still not changing the habit of a lifetime (and believe me I have quit smoking). Firstly the pure expenditure is ridiculous and despite underpinning the local economy it’s far from ideal once you add up the total amount you actually spend each year. Secondly I’ve come to the conclusion that any pre-prepared shop food is not actually going to be that healthy unless it’s fresh which guess what? Equals expensive. 

The last problem I have is where I work which at present that is within close proximity to a number of food establishments. I can manage to dodge the breakfast rolls and fast food of this world but still end up going to the nearby bakery or shop for lunch. 

The conclusion is that I need to break the habit and get organised to save money and eat healthier. If you have any ideas that have worked for you then please comment.

Here goes for next week….

Cheers, Paul. 

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Burgers, Food, Uncategorized

Burger: Five Guys made it One Guy ate it…..

Posted on by lifeaccordingtopaul

IMG_4434.JPG

Hi,

This afternoon I finally managed to get hold of a Five Guys burger after quite a while since seeing one of their places in London. Well I can certainly say it was worth the wait…

As you can tell from the picture I kept things pretty standard by ordering a plain old cheeseburger; the platform on which I like to compare burgers. However, a plain old cheeseburger was not what was delivered and instead what was delivered was something else.

In order to break it down for you:

The Burger Itself:

It was awesome, juicy but not messy and reminiscent of the patties served in the US (duh, they are from the US!) with a great beefy flavor. The cheese is amazing as well and the two become one in the bun. There are plenty of topping choices on offer which no doubt add to the meal and i will no doubt choose one next time.

The Bun (Trust me this is an important part..)

The bun done its job well holding it all together without making a mess and without falling apart even to the end. It perfectly complimented the burger in keeping it about the meat and cheese by moulding into the burger with every bite.

The Fries

The fries were good and plentiful for a regular size, even much so that i couldn’t finish them. The skin being left on is a nice touch and Cajun spiced fries are also available.

The Milkshake (Vanilla)

Went down a treat whilst waiting for meal and after to finish off with a sweet touch.

The Price

A bit steep at £30 for the two of us but hey, you get what you pay for and I certainly have not been waiting for dinner to come along.

Overall conclusion

A decent, solid american style burger right here in the UK that doesn’t try too hard to impress as it doesn’t need to. Keeping it simple and delicious is certainly the recipe for success for Five Guys..Well done. You will definitely being seeing me again in the future.

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Burgers, Food, Uncategorized

My best burgers of 2016

Posted on by lifeaccordingtopaul

A slight break from the norm to have a look at a few of my favourite burgers of 2016. 

Travelling was low in the agenda this year but I still managed to sneak a few visits to varying burger joints to sample the merchandise. Going to New York again helped significantly being that it opens up a whole new ball game for the burger lover. Anyway here it goes in no order of preference…

1. The Fire Station, Waterloo, London. UK.

What a perfect end to a day at the races this was. 

Image from Eating London

2. Chalk Valley Farm and Kitchen, Southampton, UK.

Image from Tripadvisor

My Southampton staple never disappoints and has an amazing range burgers and meats. 

3. Schnippers Quality Kitchen, New York, USA.

Image from Yelp

I dare say if you live in NYC you’ll probably say there are many more places out there then this chain restaurant but hey if it works it works! Stunning burger after a huge trek up Broadway. 

4. Shake Shack, New York, USA.

Image from Serious Eats

The world famous, well worth the wait as the first time we sought it out in 2014 it was closed. 

5. Handmade Burger Kitchen, Southampton, UK.

Image from Tripadvisor

Well thought out burgers with all the right ingredients. 

6. Heartland Brewery, New York, USA.

Image from Serious Eats

Yes another chain! Loved the burger at the 8th Ave address. Easy going and tasty. 

Well that’s that and here’s to the future of sampling more burgers out there. I just need to remember to take a photo before I demolish it! 

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