A big, fat bacon bap
Make mine with HP sauce please!
In addition to continued marathon training, the last two weeks held many adventures in food. And as such, the bakery runs keep on coming! This time I plodded my way to Ancient Lights Bakery in Forest Gate. A small micro-bakery down an unassuming back alley, dominated by cars pulling into the nearby garage. Not the most idyllic setting for a bakery but my route there certainly was! I managed to cover many of the unexpectedly beautiful greenery in East London including Hollow Ponds, Wanstead Flats and Wanstead Park, which I was particularly taken by. The autumnal colours in combination with the discovery of the Wanstead Grotto transported me to a vast countryside estate rather than a patch of grass not far from the North Circular. London holds surprises around every corner!
At the end of my run, I was rewarded with some baked treats - a chocolate chip cookie, cardamom bun, caponata buns and a Forest sourdough loaf. Don’t worry, I had some help eating it all! I’ll be honest, the cookie and cardamom bun were inhaled pretty quickly so the most I can say about those was that they were delicious and full of sugar to pep me up after my long, cold run. I waited until we got home to reheat the caponata buns and also pick up a vegan sausage roll at Wild Goose Bakery. The caponata buns were almost like a mini pizza, with a soft chewy dough with a satisfying pull. This paired well with the caponata, which was heavy on the tomato - I personally could have taken more tang (having recently visited Sicily, home of the caponata, I now consider myself an expert in the dish, naturally). Although I did love the addition of the goat's cheese on the top bringing some tang. The loaf also deserves a shout-out too - fantastic texture; again nice and chewy. We were pretty stuffed with carbs by this point so that got sliced up and frozen (as is the way with most of our loaves!). Overall, a lovely way to end a tough, but rewarding run.
The other couple of bakeries I’ve managed to pop into over the last few weeks have been Grodzinski in Stamford Hill and Pollen in Manchester. If you’re a fan of the soft, doughiness of a chocolate babka, but don’t want to commit to buying a whole one, in the knowledge you might eat the entire thing in one sitting (yes, this is from personal experience, shout out to the Rinkoff’s babka - a little too delicious), then my suggestion would be to pick yourself up a somewhat safer rugelach. These little pastries are rolled similar to a croissant but are doughy rather than flaky. A welcome little treat on a cold autumn evening. Next up was Pollen, Manchester who still had all their Halloween items out when I visited. Unfortunately, at this point, I was in desperate need of hangover relief and ordered the cheese and ham croissant. A classic, if not a bit boring. I can confirm the fattiness really hit the spot with my need for grease but I think I’ll save a more in-depth review for another time as I fear my tastebuds were not as they ought to have been. This was a stunning bakery though and I’m excited to go back for one of their loaves too.
I had the pleasure of attending my first Friendsgiving recently too. I’m au fait with a Thanksgiving, having grown up with a best friend from America whose mother really knew how to nail a sweet potato bake (it’s all about those candied pecans). But this year I went to my first Friendsgiving. This was potluck style where everyone could bring their own dish so our offerings varied from mutton curry to spanakopita. It really was a cultural safari on a plate. My favourite way to eat. The spanakopita was particularly delicious alongside a homemade cranberry chutney. Sweet and savoury in one delicious bite! My offering to the table included Ottolenghi’s potato chaat, carrot, fennel & mung bean salad from Meera Sodha and Anna Jones’ lemon, cheddar and green chilli tart. You may wonder about the flavour combinations on the last dish, but somehow, they just work. In fact, it really reminded me of a cheese, jalapeno and orange Danish I had enjoyed at the gone but not forgotten Morny Bakery on Francis Road. This combination of citrus and cheese feels really wrong, but in Anna Jones’ recipe, the key is in slicing the lemon really thinly and adding the chilli for kick and balance. It’s also stupidly simple to make but looks very impressive. Win-win!
Next up for my gourmet experiences was a biodynamic wine tasting at local wine (and all things delicious, really) shop Yardarm on Francis Road in Leyton. This was a fabulous evening where co-owner Eliza took us on an adventure starting off in the Clare Valley with a very clean, refreshing Mount Horrocks riesling to the Welsh countryside of Ancre Hill to Austria for a light fizzy red known as Hunny Bunny and ending with some more traditional wines from Rioja and the Loire valley. I’m not typically a wine drinker, but understanding more about all the love and care that goes into the production of biodynamic wine, really transformed my experience. It was fascinating to appreciate the more clean crispness of the riesling which was produced under such exacting conditions to ensure it was recognisable, to the more esoteric examples of the pinot noir and the slight fizz of the light red. We learnt about the beginnings of biodynamic production from the social reformist and claimed clairvoyant, Rudolph Steiner (whom I only knew about through Steiner education). The amount of patience, care and consideration of land that goes into this style of wine production, really struck me, and Eliza’s impassioned and personal way of presenting each glass really transformed the experience. I will now forever ensure I am tasting new wines on fruit and flower days only.
The final expedition over the last few weeks, has to be the most classic of all London foodie experiences - Borough Market. Love it or loathe it, it’s an icon I just can’t resist. The key is, to be tactical about when you arrive and who you’re with. My advice? Go early and preferably on a weekday. I had a rare Friday off and we arrived before 11, with the crowds descending at about midday. Even better, 10am on a Tuesday I reckon. We meandered around the food stalls for a bit. Stopping for an extended browse at Spice Mountain, potentially one of my favourite spots. I was tempted to pick up some new and exciting spices and then reminded myself, that in a few weeks, we’re jetting off to Sri Lanka where a world of spice awaits. We took in the beautiful cheese and charcuterie on offer, dodging the overpriced strawberries and chocolate queue (what’s all that about?!). I then looked longingly at the Kappacasein Dairy, wondering if it was too early for a big fat portion of the raclette. Sadly, I decided as I’d failed to get up for my run (DOMS, IYKYK) we turned to Maria’s Cafe and had a big fat sandwich instead (not sure that was remotely a healthier choice and if anything, worse due to how large it was, but I’d been wanting to go here after spotting it in the Vittles ‘Best 50 Sandwiches in London’ and I’ll never miss an opportunity to tick something off a ‘best of’ list). The sandwich of choice was a bubble, bacon, cheese and egg bap. Not something strictly on-menu, I added the egg as instructed, slathering some HP sauce for good measure, and a cup of strong tea (milk, no sugar please). I can confirm it was simultaneously delicious and quite overwhelming. If you’re going to try this yourself, I’d encourage you to follow it with a gentle stroll to The Tate to aid digestion.
