Things that made me go 'mmm'
In no order whatsoever:
Oven-roasted tomatoes: This was just one ingredient in a recipe, but for me it was the star of the plate. Quartered tomatoes slow-roasted in a not-very-hot oven, sprinkled with sea salt, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and scattered with thyme sprigs from my windowbox of herbs. The long, slow cooking really intensifies the tomato flavour, rendering them fork-yieldingly soft and extremely juicy, with a hint of caramelised sugars.
Want to make oven-roasted vine tomatoes? Here's a Country Living recipe.
Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations: If I'm buying ice cream, Häagen-Dazs is my favourite brand, because it's very creamy and it's solid. It's not fluffed up with whipped-in air like lots of other brands. Try this test next time you're shopping: weigh a 500ml tub of H-D in your hand; now compare how heavy that is with a 500ml tub of another brand. That means more ice cream for your money...
However, Secret Sensations aren't 500ml (a size which I am not proud to say, I could eat myself in under 24 hours) but a far more sensible 100ml. They come in a twin-pack, for around £3.49, in Crème Brûlée and Chocolat Fondant. The latter is the one I've tried: creamy, intensely chocolaty ice cream enfolding a gooey chocolate puddle in the middle.
Pizza fresca: I wandered through Soho on Wednesday, trying to decide what to have for lunch. Then it came to me: Malletti in Noel St. Its two branches (one in Clerkenwell too) sell authentically Italian pizza by the slab. Two beautiful Italian men in front of me were discussing the options with the man behind the counter, and I just managed to follow what they were saying. So when he said 'Next please' I said 'la fantastica!', since that was how he'd just described it to them. And fantastic it was: thinly rolled pizza dough baked with a smear of tomato, topped with fresh spinach, deseeded tomatoes, avocado and torn mozzarella, lightly seasoned with pesto-based dressing. £3.95
Red Stripe lager: In particular, the bottle I drank last night in the Jamaica House at the North Greenwich Arena. I find the inside of what's otherwise known as the O2 a bit sterile. But when we stepped outside into the wood-decked area of the Jamaica House, wow, what a difference! The buzz of excellent live music, fresh air on a warm evening, and a happy, lively party atmosphere - a big crowd with Jamaican roots, plus hordes of international visitors - and a lovely cold beer. Later on there was a hell of a party as Jamaica got a clean sweep in the men's 200m, with Usain Bolt getting gold, Yohan Blake silver and Warren Weir bronze. (And the French women's basketball team went through to the final, so it wasn't the only highlight of the evening...)
The five best things I ate last week
What have you enjoyed eating or drinking this week, at home or on holiday?
Editorial assistant on allaboutyou; Music lover, travel bee and food fanatic.
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Read moreAssociate editor of All About You, loves life (mostly) and one-pan recipes (always).
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