Tom's Kitchen, Chelsea, London

Tom's is bigger and better than mine.  His kitchen that is.  Hidden in the heart of Chelsea, Tom's Kitchen is the kind of place you take your friends, Burberry Jacket and most importantly, your appetite.

©Christopher Bacon

Given its location, the food is reasonably priced and the cosy yet bustling atmosphere is enough to draw the crowds in from a chilly London's eve. I've only ever been there in the midst of winter which is something I'm entirely grateful for. It meant I was able to indulge in all the rich comfort foods for which Tom's Kitchen has become so popular.

Living away from home, I can see why my sister makes regular visits to this place. It's home cooking on steroids and the perfect substitute for a mother's meal. The macaroni cheese is one of the best I've ever had (yours included mum, sorry!) and the shepherds pie is phenomenal. My sister's favourite, and mine by association, is the spaghetti with tomato sauce, fresh basil and parmesan.

I'm almost certain my sister is known as Oliver there. She certainly does her best rendition when asking for not one, but two extra bowls of sauce. Luckily the waitstaff are a lot friendlier than Mr Bumble and they oblige.

Be sure to do what you would at home and always make room for dessert. The chocolate hot pot with pistachio ice-cream is worth undoing your top bottom for!

©Christopher Bacon

©Christopher Bacon

©Christopher Bacon

©Christopher Bacon

©Christopher Bacon

©Christopher Bacon

Amphibious Ice Cream Truck Makes a Splash in the UK

If Mr Whippy doesn't float your boat then the HMS Flake 99 is sure to leave a good impression. Forget Greensleeves, this multi-finctional vehicle blasts a crooning Rod Stewart to mark its presence.

Commissioned by UK ice cream company Fredericks to mark National Ice Cream Week, it also aimed to draw attention to the dwindling numbers of ice creams vans. Read more about HMS Flake 99 here.

Image: www.designboom.com

Image: www.designboom.com

Pasta alla Siciliana

©NotAnotherFoodie

Roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, ricotta, basil and olives all come together to make a seriously delicious and healthy pasta Sicilian style!

What you will need:

©NotAnotherFoodie

• 3 baby eggplants
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 4 mushrooms
• bunch of basil
• 300g ricotta cheese
• 1 small container of kalamata olives
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• pasta of choice (I like rigatoni or penne for this dish)

Heat the oven to 200ºC and boil water for the pasta. Halve the eggplants lengthways, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and then roast with the unpeeled garlic cloves for 20 minutes or until soft.

©NotAnotherFoodie

Heat a dash of olive oil in a deep pan, cut the mushrooms into chunks and then add to the pan along with the cherry tomatoes. Cook on medium heat until they brown, add the diced tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a simmer. Cook the pasta. Chop the roasted eggplant, scoop out the garlic and combine with the sauce.

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

Add the olives and chopped or torn basil (leave enough to garnish).

©NotAnotherFoodie

Drain the pasta and serve. Top with a generous dollop of ricotta and a sprinkle of basil.

©NotAnotherFoodie

Forget Flowers, Say it With Toast!

I absolutely love this Toast Messenger by Sasha Tseng. It lets you "toast" reminders, sweet nothings or rude scribbles on your (or someone else's) breakfast. Burnt bread just got so much more exciting!

Image: Yanko Design

Image: Yanko Design

Onion & Red Wine Gravy served with Beef Sausages, Mash and Almond Broccolini

©NotAnotherFoodie

This is a ridiculously easy French classic. Perfect with steak or sausages, it has all the flavour of a restaurant without the associated price tag.

What you need:

©NotAnotherFoodie

Gravy

• 2 brown onions
• butter
• 1 cup red wine (don't spend too much on this)
• 1 1/2 cups of beef stock

Rest of the meal

• 1 bunch of broccolini
• potatoes
• sausages
• slivered almonds
• milk
• butter
• lemon

Finely chop the onions, heat the pan and melt 30-50 grams of butter in the pan. Cook the onions on medium to low heat until golden brown. Boil the potatoes for the mash.

©NotAnotherFoodie

Add the red wine and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then add the beef stock and simmer for a further 20 minutes. While you are waiting for this to reduce, make the mash (adding butter, milk and seasoning to taste) and grill the sausages.

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

Just before you're ready to serve, cook (boil or steam) the broccolini and roast the almonds. Serve the broccolini with a dollop of butter, drizzle of lemon and a sprinkle of almonds. Place the sausages atop a generous helping of mash and drown with the delicious gravy. Enjoy with the leftover wine!

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

"Sanchilatas" aka Mexican San Choy Bau

©NotAnotherFoodie

What do you do with leftover burrito mince?

I decided to fuse Chinese and Mexican to create "sanchilatas" - seasoned mince with capsicum, coriander and lime served in a lettuce shell. It may sound boring but I think it's pretty damn tasty and great when you feel like something a little healthier than a taco!

What you need:

©NotAnotherFoodie

• iceberg lettuce
• burrito mince (cooked according to burrito seasoning directions)
• capsicum
• coriander
• lime

Reheat the seasoned mince (or cook if you don't have it as leftovers). Tear the lettuce trying to keep whole pieces so that you have a bowl shaped leaf. Dice the capsicum, chop the coriander and wedge the lime. Serve according to the photo below.

©NotAnotherFoodie

Lego Food

Who didn't love Lego as a child? Or even as an adult? Between us my sister and I had a hospital, a medieval castle, an airport, a racing car track and numerous other vehicles, structures and little Lego people - we just couldn't get enough. These impressive "Lego food" creations have inspired me to pull out those little bricks and get building all over again!

Image: www.photofunblog.com

Image: www.duckingham.com

Image: www.creativereview.co.uk

Image: www.food2.com

Image: http://pleated-jeans.com

Image: http://walyou.com

Mushroom Pasta

©NotAnotherFoodie

Mushrooms are one of those foods that divide people - you either love them or hate them. I'm definitely on team fungi and this mushroom pasta sauce is always on my winter rotation.

What you will need:

©NotAnotherFoodie

• 6 large cup/button mushrooms (or 12-16 small ones depending on size)
• 1/2 can mushroom soup concentrate ( I use Campbell's)
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves
• parsley
• grated parmesan
• pasta of choice

Put the water on for the pasta and heat some olive oil in a large pan. Slice the mushrooms reasonably finely but don't fuss too much. Cook the mushrooms on low-med until soft and dark.

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

Crush the garlic and add, stirring for 30 seconds. Cook the pasta. Add the red wine and beef stock, turn up the heat and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then gradually add the 1/2 can of mushroom soup concentrate, stirring as you go (this will thicken the sauce).

©NotAnotherFoodie

©NotAnotherFoodie

Drain the pasta, serve and garnish with parmesan and parsley.

©NotAnotherFoodie

Oven Baked Tarantulas

Catch them. Squash them. Eat them?

The idea of snacking on a spider gives me the heebie jeebies but exotic food company Edible caters to those braver than I with a range of bizarre delicacies. Discovering their Cambodian oven baked tarantulas made me very squeamish. For more about Edible click here.

Image: Edible.com

Heart Attack Grill®

Heart Attack Grill® Nurse

I'm really not sure what to say about this except: Only in America.

The Heart Attack Grill® is a hospital themed restaurant franchise that promotes obesity for fun's sake. Inside the restaurant, customers are "patients", orders are "prescriptions" and waitresses are "nurses".

Menu items include Butterfat Milkshakes®, Flatliner Fries® and the infamous Quadruple Bypass Burger®. "Patients" who successfully finish this burger to end all burgers are pushed in wheelchairs out to their cars. With an estimated 8000 calories, the wheelchair gimmick could very well be a necessary precaution for some diners.

Customers weighing over 350 pounds (160kg) eat for free which understandably has health organisations up in arms but despite the controversy, Heart Attack Grill® is unlikely to change it's ways. At least they're honest about the potential health implications associated with the food they serve!

Heart Attack Grill® Quadruple Bypass Burger

Heart Attack Grill®

Would You Eat Vomit?

No? Neither would I! What about sperm whale's vomit? Still wouldn't? No, neither. We're probably in the majority but after watching a particularly disturbing episode of Heston's Feasts the other night, I discovered there are people who relish it. Gross.

I don't normally watch Blumenthal's creepy little experiments but there are so many WTF moments, it's almost as absurdly entertaining as Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The ambergris episode was no exception.

Upon revealing his "secret" ingredient (by secret I think he means disgusting), Heston's guests had mixed reactions. Some were simply curious while others were presenting with a serious case of gastro-twatism. One said "I'm not actually bothered because it's expensive" (great reason champ), while another referred to it as "the blingest thing in food... I spit on your caviar."

What a bunch of tossers. Clearly these gastro-twats failed biology and totally missed the whole point of vomit - expelling something from your system. I can think of another creature that eats vomit, a cockroach. If these die-hard foodies want to take dining tips from cockroaches then who am I to object, but let it be known that cockroaches also eat faeces. That's not a suggestion Heston!