The Sugar Bar

Sugar, the weather, dehydration, the evil world…I don’t know…(something!) has unleashed its terror! A spot on my nose and a spot on my chin! As irrelevant to food or to anyone else’s concern as it is, I wish only to share with others my horror and how I dissipated this frenzied alarm with plenty of orange juice, water and a plate of loveliness. And if you wanted to know, even my golden cocker spaniel spurned me when she caught sight of these f***ers on my face. Tch! Talk about true love and fidelity. It’s probably about time I chucked her out and gave food and shelter to that stray black cat down the road. That’ll teach her a lesson for mocking her spotty mistress!Right. So, moving on from spots and the psychological drama of a 21 year old and her dog, I’d like to give you the Poor Knights of Windsor, otherwise known as french toast (or eggy bread) with a dash of sherry and prepared in a slightly different way. Honestly, I like to think that the Brits are finding (once again) reason to include alcohol into yet another dish. A pudding, a breakfast meal, a snack – these knights of windsor aren’t too much or too little if you get what I mean. Also, you can have them savoury or sweet just like French crepes or English pancakes; what could be more exciting than such variety?

If you’re wondering about the name ‘poor knights’, it’s probably metaphorical — due to the fact that stale or nearly stale bread is preferred. Take something gross, unexciting and bordering on poisonous. Give it a good making-over a la Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, and what do you get? A well posh plate of yumminess. I mean, that’s just totally genius, isn’t it? Besides, it is apparently so, that the older the bread, the better it soaks up the prepared egg mixture. Convenient! But if you’re really intrigued, the poor knights (not the Knights Templar) were really the retired knights of Edward III who accompanied the Knights and Ladies of the Garter. They were given lodging at Windsor Castle and paid a pension – the King’s way of looking after his own financially ruined but loyal knights.

Thinking of setting up some sort of themed breakfast? Why not go all out. Egg it up with Soft Boiled Egg and Toy Soldiers too? The boys should have a field day and decorating the table spread should be exciting. Check out Gomestic for really cool contemporary egg cup designs!

It is common to find poor knights of windsor made with stale white bread and I mean really good bread, even brioche, that’s gone a little stale. But it doesn’t hurt to use pretty peasant-y breads. I mean, that’s the whole point of this. So I’ve used some dusty, grimey, ol’ multi-grain bread and it actually was, to me, better than just plain white. With sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, a bit of poppy and a touch of rolled oats, there was so much more going on than just egg and sherry. What a great way to start the day with all the fibre goodness, vitamins from egg, and a shot of sugar (and alcohol) to lift energy levels for a long day. So what I’ve been trying to say is, this is good. Like real good.

If you’re still unconvinced and reckon it’s just me being all posh and snotty, fine then, grumpy. Go back to your usual french toast and miss out on this creative spin of the regular french toast (and really, I’m not just saying this cause I like my alcohol)!

This recipe yields 4 slices. Please note, typical recipes use only egg yolks and recommend that this produces a finer, homelier result but I don’t like wasting the whites so here goes all.

Poor Knights of Windsor
Ingredients

4 slices stale white or multi-grain bread
2 tsp golden caster sugar
80-100ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tbs sherry
3 large eggs
1 tbs salted butter, for frying
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
maple syrup, for serving
selection of fruit, for serving (optional)
dollop of strawberry jam, for serving (optional)

This is really the simplest breakfast or brunch one could ever prepare. I highly recommend using a good non-stick pan (I use Tefal) so as to reduce the amount of butter you use for frying. It means less mess and less calories!

In a bowl, beat the eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, sherry and sugars. Place both sets of liquid each in a deep-set plate or bowl, enough to put the bread into to soak.
Place frying pan on low heat and add a quarter of prepared butter to pan. Soak a slice of bread in the milk mixture first, gently pressing down. Carefully flip it around and coat. I like it not completely soaked in milk so as to get more of the egg mixture in the bread. Remove with a firm hand and transfer to plate of egg mixture. Repeat the process and coat through thoroughly, giving it a proper soak. Once butter is melted in the pan, quickly transfer the bread slice to pan and allow to cook about 1-2 minutes each side (this means your pan has to be hot enough). Repeat the cooking process for the rest of the slices. This will be quicker as the pan gets hotter, so stay on your feet!

Plates up once your lovely toasts are cooked. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve with your favourite fruit or jam. If you’re one for the savoury like I am, serve your knights of windsor with a good helping of salted butter, freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. Heaven!

Earlier this week, one of my mates said to me, “I’ve just realized how funny you are. Every damn thing you say is Facebook quote-worthy.”

Obviously flattered, the topic of the worthiness of my witty banter soon passed and things got right down and dirty – the topic of food, chocolate, Sunday roast and Christmas mince pies. Indeed, I am often less bothered about what I say really than the yummy concoctions I put in my mouth. I mean, I get totally psyched about that!

One good thing about my pals and I are that we are easily teased by food. Apart from friendship, this is the strong bond that brings us lot together. Think of us as a Knighthood of Glorified & Appreciative Eaters, if you like. So anyway, everyone got properly jittery when Starbucks released their Christmas red cups, considering the fact that among us we have people who have either worked/works at Starbucks and/or are just generally unadulterated Starbucks junkies (and unafraid to admit that we are). So, still satiated and buzzing from an afternoon Christmas special drink (with the roof of my mouth tingling a little from burning it on a dark cherry mocha), feeling nice and toasty in my new slipper socks as my room is slowly infused with the scent of burning mulled wine candles, I plot my Sunday lunch.

And blimey, was this Sunday lunch very brilliant on the flavours! Just last week, I’d popped two beautiful pork steaks into the freezer in an effort to save them for a time when I was better prepared ingredient and energy wise. Today was just the perfect day for tasty steaks and what better to pair pork than with apples? The advent of winter also means making use of wintry flavours in fruit and nuts. Instead of chomping on that next bar of Aero chocolate, I was beyond delighted to deck myself in my black sugarbar apron and get working within the comforts of a heated home on a hearty meal.

I found an interesting recipe on goodtoknow.co.uk incorporating Chinese ingredients for a pork marinade. I was a little worried on how that might work with a fruit risotto but my fears were put to rest once I put a fork of meat to mouth. The flavours were gorgeous! Chinese 5 spice and the garlic was just wonderful, making the meat so juicy and succulent with a nice lacing of oriental sweetness. I adore this marinade and highly recommend it. In fact, I’m hoping to use this recipe again next week for another friend of mine, in hopes of wowing his socks off and showing him what a stunning cook I am. Actually, it’s also because I owe him a meal after he whipped me up some amazing chicken fajitas about 2 weeks ago. This man, I swear, is some sort of god of fajitas.

The apple risotto too was quite amazing. Word of advice, don’t pick sweet apples such as Royal Gala or Pink Lady. As much as these apples are tasty and beautiful to look at, I find that choosing a rather tart apple like Braeburn or maybe even a Cox just perfect, especially since it’ll go well with a dash of white wine.

This recipe serves 2.

Pan-Seared Pork Steak on Apple & Pecan Risotto
Ingredients

For the marinade & pork steaks:
(adapted from goodtoknow.co.uk)
2 fresh pork steaks
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1/2 clove garlic, very finely chopped
1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs toasted sesame oil
sprinkle of dried thyme

For the Apple & Pecan Risotto:
150g Italian arborio rice
about 400ml vegetable stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
40g salted butter
1 shallot, chopped
30-40g grated parmesan
1 red apple (I’ve used a Braeburn), chopped into small cubes
1/3 cup whole pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
sprinkle of dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning

In a small bowl, mix together ingredients for the marinade. Place pork steaks in a large plate and pour marinade over the tops of the steaks. Rub gently into the steaks, flip over and cover the clean sides with marinade. Make sure to pat the chopped ginger in the marinade onto the steaks. Cover plate tightly with clingwrap and let sit in the refrigerator overnight or for at least an hour.

For the risotto, make sure you start on it about 10-15minutes before pan-searing the steaks as this will take about 5-7minutes to cook completely.
Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the risotto rice and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the shallots and fry a little longer. Ladle about 2 ladles of vegetable stock into the saucepan, lower heat and let simmer. The arborio rice will slowly absorb the liquids in and be careful to only add a ladle of stock each time, stirring now and again as the rice cooks – you can add liquid to risotto but not take it out!
When all the liquid is nearly absorbed, add another ladle and continue this cooking process. This will take about 10-15minutes to cook. Once the risotto rice is cooked through, add the white wine and stir. Once the consistency of the risotto has reached the desired thickness, remove from heat and add 1/2 the prepared grated parmesan, thyme, apples and pecan. Stir with a quick and firm hand until all the ingredients have just come together.
Add the rest of the grated parmesan, saving a tiny bit for sprinkling over the tops. Season with black pepper if needed.

For the pork steaks, preheat the oven to 200d Celsius and prepare a hot frying pan. The pan has got to be very hot but not overly hot. Grease lightly with cooking spray. Remove steaks from refrigerator.
Place steaks on hot frying pan and let sear for about 7 seconds (you will have to judge this by eye). With a pair of tongs or a spatula, flip the steaks quickly to sear the other side for another 7 seconds. Now remove and place on a grill, then slide into the oven to cook for about 5 minutes. Once cooked, serve quick on a bed of apple & pecan risotto with a sprinkle of grated parmesan.

If someone invented a giant comfy grandfather chair that recharged your ‘life’ levels, I’d totally get it – crumple straight into it like dead batteries to a charger and stay in there lifeless till I’m good and ready for the world.

Completely maxed out in terms of energy today. Never realized 4 hours in the library could be so soul-sapping (since it has never left me so dead tired before), to the point that I turned down a pub quiz night and pound-a-pint, and an invitation to Gatecrashers. Normally, if there is a lack of events for the evening, I’d happily light my row of candles by the window sill, turn the lights down, slap on a face mask and cuddle under the covers with my readings. My brain is completely fried, my eyes red and tired, and my neck stiff as hell. I can’t seem to do anything else other than sit my laptop on myself and struggle immensely hard at completing this post.

What I’d give my life for right now? A back massage, an eye mask and the comfiest king-sized bed with the most luxurious bedspread and most decadent down duvet in the world!

If my week (subtract last week’s amazing nights out and my 21st) of bad karma was not depressing enough, it would be laughable to think the people up there were letting me go scot free without a next round of setbacks. Round Two is a fucked up shower that might fall through the ceiling, a injured right hand that got caught in a door and being woken up by a deafening faulty fire alarm. Some tribes somewhere believe that your soul travels out of your body whilst you sleep. Hence, one should be gently woken up (if truly necessary) to give the soul sufficient time to return to the body that houses it. Reckon, not only was my body shattered from lack of sleep, my soul has been given a right electric-shock from that horrible alarm. If I were crazier than I already were, which is really a bad thing, I’d go up to that dastard manmade invention and give it a good talking-to. Only I was taught in school that there’s a difference between living and non-living things. Cheeky as I am, I ain’t gonna try and provoke that barrier between them. Not all binaries of the world can be exploded.

The pictures for this post aren’t much. 3 out of 4 of the lightbulbs in the kitchen went bust and I didn’t have a spare lamp anywhere for extra lighting. I forget that a return to student life is equivalent to foregoing little luxuries like not having to pay the bills, groceries bought and ready-stocked in pantry and fridge, and err… lights?

The sauce is power-packed and inspired by a gorgeous sauce paired with scallops from Melonfish. The strength of the garlic and lemon were pretty superb with the sweetness of the courgettes. The flavour of the salmon, it being an oily fish, pulled everything together and tamed the piquancy of it all.

Lemon Herb White Wine Sauce
Ingredients

knob of butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
200ml white wine
3 tbs chopped tomatoes with some natural juice
dried basil leaves
dried Italian parsley
pinch of dill
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp shoyu
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Courgettes & Apricot Jam
Ingredients

2 courgettes, sliced into medium-sized strips
olive oil, for cooking
2 tbs good apricot jam
salt and pepper, to season

Grill salmon steaks as you normally would.

For the sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add olive oil. Sauté garlic in the fats, be careful not to let them brown. Add wine, tomatoes, lemon juice and zest and mix well. Next, add the rest of the ingredients. Lower heat and let it simmer until thickens. Season to taste.

For the courgettes:
Heat olive oil in large frying pan. When oil is hot enough, add the courgettes and stir-fry till slightly browned. Remove from heat. Add jam and stir, making sure to coat all courgette strips with jam. Season a little. Serve.