Wednesday Wednesday Winter Wednesday
Well there I was, waiting for winter to kick in and being very confused about the warmth, until a few days ago. Gah! Well, it’s time for comfort food, clearly.
Hence…shepherds pie on the menu today!! With brussel sprouts and parsnip chips.
Also, sweetcorn and potato fritters served with homemade cucumber relish, excitingly cooked cabbage (I haven’t worked out how yet, but it WILL be exciting), and salads.
And, pizza. With aubergines and peppers and mushrooms and and and…
Where is everyone?!
January 29, 2009
Filed under Food & Recipes
Tags: homemade, kimchee, nappa cabbage, pickle, pickled carrots, pickled swede, vegan
Today was really quiet, which meant that lots of pickling could be done!
Seriously, I really like pickling things. About a month ago it was making chutney, which I still love don’t get me wrong. But nothing beats a good pickle.
Today was free-style advant-garde pickling. We just had a look around to see what there was lots of and then jarred it up, covered in vinegar with a bunch of spices.
We did carrots with garlic, carrots with mustard seed, swede (yes i said swede!) with fenugreek seeds, cumin and a plain one too just to check if its horrible or not.
I also made some Kimchee with Nappa cabbage, which I’ve never done before. We’ve made lots with white cabbage, and just started a new jar with green but never tried the traditional Nappa (or Chinese leaves as its also called). To do this the cabbage was soaked in brine for about 7 hours till it was soft and then mixed with garlic, ginger and chilies, and put in a jar. You have to leave it somewhere for a while to start to ferment and once its as fermenty as you like, stick it in the fridge where it will last for ages whilst getting better and better.
So even if you were all busy today, in about a week there are going to be some awesome pickles at the cafe so I’d think about changing your plans and coming back again.
preservation at pogo
November 30, 2008
Filed under About the Cafe, Food & Recipes
Tags: fermentation, hackney vegan, london vegan, preserving pears, sauerkraut, vegan breakfast
At the start of the week we found ourselves in posession of ten kilos of lovely English pears, completely unexpectedly. Didn’t know what to do with them for a while, pears are lovely and all, but we just don’t use them on a day to day basis! So after a smidgen of panicking, we found out that we could preserve them, without just turning them into jam or something. Claudia made a syrup involving red wine, and jarred the sliced, peeled pears in the liquid. It looks really pretty and they should last ages, although we think we’ll use them at Christmas for special desserts. Wine soaked pears with vanilla ice cream anyone?
At the same time, I was making a new batch of sauerkraut, with about five pounds of white cabbage. Fermentation rocks, everyone should try it.
Today is Sunday! We have breakfast enough to last all day I reckon. Come on down and get yer fill of american pancakes, scrambled tofu, baked beans, smoky tofu sausages…mmmmmmmm!
Later, there will be nutroast and a special tofu and winter veg stew.
XX
more sprecials…
November 21, 2008
Filed under Food & Recipes
Tags: brownie, cake, chilli, gluten free, laksa, sugar free, vegan, wheat free, won tons
Today we’ve got chilli with kidney beans and roast peppers that comes with nachos, salsa and sour cream, then there’s a Malaysian laksa (coconut stew) with rice noodles and tofu. We’ve also got sweet potato won tons which come with lemon and ginger sauce with rice and salads.
Bit of a international theme today.
The cakes aren’t international though, but we do have a wheat-free chocolate & cherry cake and a gluten-free, sugar-free walnut and banana brownie.
Sunday fodder
November 15, 2008
Filed under Food & Recipes
Tags: hackney vegan, vegan breakfast, vegan sunday roast
Come get your vegan fry-up! Scrambled tofu, pancake, beans, rashers, sausages, fried herbed potatoes, mushrooms, and for the healthy and virtuous, a massive salad with homemade bread.
And in the evening, there will be nut roasts and bangers and mash and red wine gravy…mmmmmmm!
Saturday Specials!
November 15, 2008
Filed under Food & Recipes
Tags: breakfast, lasagne, loaf, salad, vegan food
Its already full today, and we’ve only opened 30 mins ago…where did everyone come from!
We’ve got Breakfast on the menu with pancake, sausage, scrambled tofu, rasher and fried potatoes.
Then lentil, mushroom and tofu loaf with mash, Pogo gravy, and steamed veg.
And roast vegetable lasagne that comes with the salads.
There’s coleslaw and beetroot with carrot and seeds, and lovely vegetable soup with homemade oatbread.
Its all rainy day food to feed you up and make you warm. Its almost a shame its not raining.
Le Menu!
Today, Friday 14th Nov 08, we had:
Thai broccoli and coconut soup
Chickpea curry with rice, raita and chapati
Homemade falafel in a wrap with salads and tahini sauce
Chili with smoked tofu and peanuts, served with rice
All the usual delicious tofu burgers with various toppings.
A selection of fabulous cakes and sweets including mango cake, brownie…and coming up today is a chocolate cherry cake!