Condesa London, authentic Mexican Tapas

With the lovely Daniel

Last night a group of us were invited to sample the authentic Mexican Tapas at Condesa, a gorgeous little Tapas bar in Covent Garden.  As well as the fantastic food, their wines were fabulous too, and you can tell that they are very proud of both - and with good reason!

Daniel Caballero opened the bar 3 months ago, and his, and his staff's passion is evident.   We had a fantastic night, and I will be going back with my family very soon!  Caballero translates as "gentleman" in English by the way, very fitting for Daniel who is indeed just that.

Below is an example of some of the food on offer.  A real little gem in the heart of London town :)

A choice of meats and olives

Salmon to die for....

 

Quesedillas with mushrooms and truffles

Pulled pork mini burgers, just delicious

Chicken mole with chocolate - yummy

A slection of cheeses

pigs cheeks, so tender

nice twitter plug!

Condesa can be found at 15 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7NG. a short walk from Covent Garden train station.  You can contact them on 0203 601 5752, email info@condesalondon.com, follow @condesalondon, or check out their website www.condesalondon.com.

Go find out for yourself, so lovely to try some original, authentic, not messed around with Mexican food, offered by a Mexican who talks about his country and it's fayre with pride and passion.

Enjoy!
Annie x

Slow Cooker Store Cupboard Lamb Curry (Keema)

In a bid to use up what food we have, I decided to throw a few bits together to see if it worked.   It was delicious, and saving me a trip to the Supermarket - where I inevitably spend a small fortune - was cost effective too.   After all, it is mid January and funds are low!

Ingredients
500g minced lamb (found in the freezer having been reduced)
2 onions, diced
1 can chopped tomatoes (always have them to hand)
2 green chillies, sliced - I kept the seeds in, up to you dependent on taste
3 cardamom pods split or bashed with the blade of a knife
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp chilli powder - I have hot
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 tsp ginger (cheater from the fridge)
100ml lamb stock
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric - to be honest not sure it did anything to the flavour or colouring so wld omit next time!

Basically threw it all together and left it for 7 hours.   Added some green beans I found close to their demise and left for another hour.   Was delicious served with Basmati rice :)

Enjoy
Annie x

St Albans Film Festival - Get Involved

St Albans is to host is first ever Film Festival and there are only a few weeks left to enter as the deadline for entries to the festival is the end of Jan 2013. You don’t need to be based in Herts, anywhere is fine, UK and International entries already!

 

There are six prize winning categories and they will be awarding a prize to the best short film made by a school age child age 5 -15. The films can be dramatic films, animation or documentary and can be on any subject they like. They can be as short as 1min but no longer than 20mins.

 

They will be choosing the best films and screening them to a live audience at the festival March 8^th – 10^th and they will invite the short-listed film-makers to take part. One will win the cash prize. We have lots of press covering the festival so it will be great for the students and schools involved. They have films submitted already from schools and also from individual children. It’s just £5 to enter a film. There will be lots to take part in alongside the screenings including workshops, talks and events throughout the festival.

 

If you would like to find out more you can see their website & here is a lovely promo film they made to inspire children to make films: YouTube

 

If you have any questions on the competition, please email: stalbansfilmfest@gmail.com

This is so exciting folks, get involved, cannot wait :)
Annie x

 

Cheese and Marmite Straws

I watched a fair few of the Gino and Mel Christmas food programmes last year (this is New Years Day), and the recipe for Cheese and Marmite straws caught my eye as being easy for the kids to make and then enjoy.

I adapted it slightly as they are not overly keen on working with parmesan, and used 100g of grated Mozzerella instead.  They were duly made and devoured.

The original recipe is here, its fab!

Enjoy
Annie x

Chameleon Crunch - bug feeding game

I loved the walking, talking, humming Chameleon, and more importantly so did the children!  It's for Ages 4+ and can be played by 2-4 players.  

The idea is that you feed the chameleon your bugs, and whoever has the most bugs in his mouth when he stops moving is the winner.   It can be tricky as some bugs can escape, so was a lot of fun!

You can buy the Chameleon Crunch for £19.99 from Amazon, Argos and Toys "R" Us.  I would point out that it does need 3xAA batteries which are not included.

Enjoy x

Sponsored post

Whac-A-Mole Molehill Mania Game

We were given Molehill Mania to play with.  It is designed for 2 players, for Ages 4+ , which is perfect for my 2.  Though as you can see below, Scarlett enjoyed playing with her friend :)

The rules are fairly simple, there are 5 blue, 5 green and 1 red mole.   You simply bash the sides with the mole-catching mallet to make them fly out, and the children have to collect them up.  As soon as 1 player has 6 moles then their mallet shows its full.   There are actually 3 levels of play.  You can make it more detailed in that each player has to find their own colours, but at the moment they are enjoying just being the first to get to 6!

We've decided that the winner shouts "King of the Molehill"!  Great fun, will be taking it to their cousins on Christmas day :)

You can buy Molehill Mania for £16.99.  It's available at Amazon, Argos and Toys R Us.

Enjoy x

Slow Cooked Caribbean Trout

Well it is in the slow cooker though only takes 90 mins to 2 hours, so a new take on the slow cooker for me.  The original recipe was for 4, but this is for 2 and I have ommited a red pepper cos I didn't have one, feel free to throw a sliced one in!

2 small trout, gutted, heads and fins removed and rinsed well with cold water (to remove the fins its easiest to use scissors)
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp olive oil
3 spring onions, thickly sliced
1 tomato roughly chopped
1 fat red chilli chopped (I kept seeds in, according to taste - you could try scotch bonnet)?
1 sprig of thyme
150ml fish stock
salt and pepper

Slash the trout on each side 2 or 3 times.  Mix the spices, salt and pepper on a plate, then coat the trout with the spices on both sides.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the trout and fry until browned on both sides.  Transfer to the slow cooker, top and tailed to fit in one layer.

Add the remaining ingredients to the frying pan and bring to the boil.  Pour over the trout, cover with the lid and cook on high for 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Serve with warm bread to mop up the juices and we added some spinach too.

Enjoy x