Restaurant review: Handmade Burger Co., St Martin's Square, Birmingham

Recently, I was invited to attend a special bloggers' event at the Handmade Burger Co. in Birmingham.

I have actually eaten at the Handmade Burger Co. a few times before, so knew roughly what to expect and was expecting good things. In fact, in the early days of my blog, I did a review of the Touchwood (Solihull) branch of Handmade Burger Co. I praised the high quality of the food and innovative menu, but was less impressed by the state of the bathroom facilities. (Incidentally, this has not proved a problem since, although I've only eaten at the Birmingham restaurants since then...).

I was interested to try the restaurant at St. Martin's Square, as I normally dine at the Brindley Place branch when in Birmingham (it has lovely canalside views).

The meal was shared with my husband, Jo of Jo's Kitchen, Elizabeth of www.rosalilium.com, Emma from the Bullring, Mike, the Marketing manager, and Chris, owner of the Handmade Burger Co.

I'll write a bit about my experience of the food first, and then I'll go on to write about some of the stuff we chatted to Chris about.

Although the Handmade Burger Co. don't do starters as such, the waitress suggested that we start with some of the Chargrilled Chicken Skewers and the Halloumi and Veg Skewers. We tried one of each of the flavours of the chicken skewers, and they were all delicious, but I think my favourite was the lemon and coriander. The chicken was perfectly cooked and meltingly tender. The Halloumi and Veg were pretty darn good too.

For my burger, I chose the Jimmy's Beef Cheese Classic. I fancied a cheeseburger, and a fine cheeseburger it was too. I ate all of it, so it must have been good. It had a really good balance of flavours: the charring on the outside of the burger gave it a wonderful caramelised, but smoky flavour. I had handmade coleslaw as a side and pinched a few of everyone's chips. They were all nice, but I think I preferred the plain chips rather than the Peri Peri or Cajun flavoured ones.

My husband and I shared a sundae for dessert - banoffee pie flavoured. I kind of wanted to lick the sauce out of the bottom when we'd finished, but my tongue isn't long enough. Come on, evolution!

It was a real pleasure to chat with Chris, the owner of the company. He is very passionate about what he does and, most importantly, very passionate about good food. He told us a lot about where he sources his food from. He likes to buy from other family businesses and he likes to buy ethically. I was particularly interested about where he sources his chicken. He was upfront about the fact that it is not free range, because he can't get free range chicken breasts in the quantity he needs, but he does buy Red Tractor, Farm Assured chicken, which is the best he can get for what he needs, which is fair enough. As the name of the company suggests, all the burgers are freshly made on site each day, as are the chips. And Chris really does know a lot about potatoes!

The company is expanding with a branch in Leeds having just opened, and more opening around the country soon, including London and Brighton.

Chris also owns Chilacas, a Mexican Street food restaurant in Brindley Place, Birmingham, and Urban Pie, also based in the Bullring. I've not tried either of these restaurants yet, but they are definitely on my wishlist!

Visit to Poulton Lodge, Wiltshire

Apparently, I am severely behind on my blogging. I've been meaning to blog about my trip to Wiltshire which happened in March, since... well, since it happened, but apparently this has not occurred. Still, better late than never!

Back in March my husband and I went on a short break with my sister-in-law and her husband to Marlborough in Wiltshire. We stayed in a lodge on a farm called Poulton Lodge. It was very cosy.

Which was good, because it snowed while we were there.

We had a fun holiday exploring the surrounding area, including Stonehenge and Longleat Safari Park, and had some fabulous pub meals.

We also had the opportunity to watch the sheep on the farm being fed. This happened indoors due to the unseasonably cold weather.

There were no lambs at the time, but there were some heavily pregnant sheep.

I found spending some time chatting to farmers James and Deborah very interesting and educational. It is always a good thing to know where your food comes from and seeing the farm gave me a good insight into that. It also brought home to me the hard work that goes into being a farmer and how at the mercy of the weather the industry is.

If you ever fancy staying in a wooden lodge on a farm, I highly recommend this one!

Restaurant VMF review

A few weeks ago I wrote a review of Restaurant VMF - Aston Villa's fine dining establishment - for Dine Birmingham.

Somewhat bizarrely, my review has now been quoted in a news item on Aston Villa's website.

My review was of course totally honest, and I'm glad they appreciated it. I certainly appreciated the lovely food and drink they plied me with!

On another note, keep an eye on this blog as I have a few blogposts in the pipeline, which I hope you will find interesting!

My Garden

Two months ago, I moved house. I've not really written about this yet, because as it turns out moving house takes up a lot of your time. I don't mean physically moving all your stuff, but usually when you move into a new property, you have to buy a bunch of stuff and a bunch of stuff usually needs doing.

I have moved from a flat to a house with a garden, so finally have the garden I have always craved. It's not massive but big enough to do some growing, and already has some well-established trees and plants.

Here is our garden when we first moved in:

 It was bushy.

I decided to have some raised beds put in for vegetable-growing. And as both my husband and I are rubbish at DIY, we got someone in to make them for us, and to do some other general maintenance tasks while they were there. This is the result:

I also have a decent-sized patio, so plenty of space for some pots. I've been to the garden centre this weekend and managed to get out and do a couple of hours of gardening today, so things will soon be starting to grow!

Tips on reducing food waste

I recently wrote this article on reducing food waste for our Green Champions newsletter at work, and thought it would be appropriate for my blog too.

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Reducing your food waste is a good way not only to help the environment but also to save money in your own home. 

Some facts and figures about food waste:

·         We throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink each year, at a cost of £12 billion a year. (Source: http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/)

·         Food waste costs the average household £480 per year (about £50 a month). (Source: http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/)

·         If everyone in the UK eliminated their food waste, the carbon dioxide saving would be the equivalent of taking one in five cars off the road. (Source: WRAP)

So, what can we do to help reduce food waste? Here are some hints and tips to give you some ideas.

Meal planning and shopping smartly

One way to try and eliminate food waste is not to buy too much food in the first place. This can often be easier said than done, but a bit of planning can really help. Try creating a meal plan for the week before you do your shopping and only buy what you need according to the plan. The Food Planner app is available online and on android phones - http://app.foodplannerapp.com/ - and is a useful tool to aid with meal planning.

Making use of your fridge and freezer

Storing fresh produce correctly will increase its shelf-life, e.g. carrots will last longer kept in the fridge, although potatoes are best kept in a cool, dark place (not the fridge). Many fruits and vegetables can also be frozen, so if you do find yourself having bought too much or with a glut from growing your own, making use of your freezer can be a great way to reduce food waste. This instructional video from BBC Good Food explains how: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/1011/freezing-fruit-and-vegetables . 

Making use of leftovers

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for longer. Go to http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/how-to-store-food-safely.aspx for advice on storing and reheating food safely.

Leftovers can also be used to create an entirely different meal, making the food you buy go further and reducing food waste. How about using leftover roast meats in a stir fry or even a stew? By combining leftovers with other ingredients, you can make a little go a long way! There are lots of websites that provide recipes using leftovers – here are a few you might want to try:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/leftovers/

http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/leftover-recipes

http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/inspiration/leftover-recipes.html

My new compost bin from getcomposting.com

Composting

Composting is a great way to make use of vegetable peelings, used teabags, coffee grounds, cardboard, garden waste and more! By using compost in your garden it will make your soil healthier and attract wildlife, including natural predators, to your garden. For more information on how to compost go here: http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/

For cheap compost bins go to www.getcomposting.com and see if you're eligible for a fantastic deal on composters via your local council.

These are just a few ideas on how to reduce food waste. If you have any more, I'd love to hear about them in the comments.

Abel & Cole Veg box - a typical week

I've been getting Abel & Cole veg boxes for a little while now and I'm really enjoying the range of fresh produce they provide. What I want to focus on in this post is what meals I make with a typical week's produce.

I get the £10 small veg box, which feeds 1-2 people. I find this about right for my husband and me. My box arrives on a Friday and this is what I got in my box last Friday:

Potatoes
2 large leeks
5 vine tomatoes
1 red pepper
Lettuce
Chard

This was supplemented by a couple of onions left over from the previous week's box and some shop bought garlic, in terms of veg.

The great thing about Abel & Cole is that you can see what you're getting each week on the website before your box arrives. I use this to plan meals and to plan my supermarket shop around this. I use the BBC Good Food website a lot in my meal planning, and the Abel & Cole recipes come in handy too.

Friday we had a quick and easy dinner of Fish Fingers, and Saturday we ate out, so I will start from Sunday.

Sunday
Roast pork, potato wedges and peas
We had a busy weekend and I was very tired on Sunday evening, so we had an easy roast which consisted of roast pork leg, potato wedges and some frozen peas, served with some apple sauce. The only thing from the veg box was the potatoes.

Monday
Barney's Monday Night Rice
I've blogged about this recipe before. It's a great way to use left-over pork and is a quick and easy dinner. Again, not much from the box, except for an onion from the previous week's box, but I do use more things from the veg box later on in the week, I promise! We also got three sandwiches out of the joint of pork.

Tuesday
Lamb and Spinach Curry
I substituted the spinach with chard. And this also used up 4 of the 5 vine tomatoes. I used diced lamb leg rather than neck as the lamb leg was on offer. It probably would have been better if I hadn't burnt the spices (I'm currently getting used to a gas hob, having always used electric!), but luckily it was still edible!

Wednesday
Leek and potato soup
I fancied trying a leek and potato soup, as I'd never tried one before. I didn't want one that used cream as my husband is slightly lactose intolerant, but he is ok with milk, so this recipe seemed ideal. I didn't bother with the mustard toasts - we found the soup pretty filling on its own. I roughly halved the recipe, and used my 2 large leeks and a few small potatoes. I used chopped frozen parsley and stirred it in at the end, as I don't have any growing at the moment, and I find it a waste to buy fresh herbs from the supermarket as half the packet always goes to waste. This made 4 bowls of soup, so was eaten for lunch the next day as well. And very tasty it was too.

Thursday
Buffalo burgers, potato wedges and salad
I'm a big fan of Laverstoke Park Farm Buffalo Burgers. They're healthier than beef burgers and taste great. I served these with some potato wedges and a salad consisting of lettuce, red pepper and tomato, dressed with a little olive oil and balsamic syrup.

I also used some of the salad stuff and a potato for a lunch.

Next veg box is due tomorrow. I'm looking forward to all the lovely meals I can make with my fresh produce!

Restaurant Review: Fiesta Del Asado, Birmingham

Fiesta del Asado claims to be Birmingham's first Argentine Asado restaurant. Having never tried Argentine food before, my husband and I jumped at the chance to dine there as the guests of one of the managers.

Fiesta del Asado is located on the Hagley Road in Edgbaston, so a little bit of a trek if you're travelling from Coventry as we were - we opted to get a taxi from Birmingham New Street station, but according to Google Maps, the restaurant is about a 20-minute walk from Five Ways station.

First impressions were that the restaurant was very stylish and modern, yet a bit rustic looking. It had a nice atmosphere, although we found the restaurant a bit noisy, but this was probably because we ended up being seated next to some rather loud people; and we didn't mind so much once the wine and food was served, as we were focussing more on that!

Service was good - very attentive, but as I mentioned, we were dining as guests of one of the managers. However, we did notice that others also seemed to be receiving similarly good service.

For starters I ordered Aceitunas marinadas - marinated gordal olives stuffed with guindilla. These were HOT, but I like them. They made an exciting and fiery start to the meal! My husband had Morcilla Curada - traditionally-smoked black sausage flavoured with paprika & sweet caramelised onion. He enjoyed this very much because it was a bit like a slightly spicy black pudding. We were also served some bread and what looked like an olive tapenade, which was delicious.

For our mains, both my husband and I ordered steaks: I had the 8oz rump and my husband had the 11oz fillet on the bone. My steak was really tender and juicy and I really liked the spices it was seasoned with - they added lots of flavour without being overpowering. Both steaks came with salad served on the side, and we also ordered a couple of extra sides: fries with parsley and garlic, and a selection of vegetables tossed in lemon and butter. The chips were really good: nice and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle, and the vegetables were also really well-cooked and well-seasoned.

For dessert, I ordered the Churros con chocolate caliente (traditional churros with spiced hot chocolate), as the waiter had recommended them, and my husband ordered the chocolate fondant. The waiter returned with my husband's dessert but not mine, explaining that the chef had suggested we get into the Argentine spirit and share both desserts, so they'd bring us the next one when we finished the first! This was fine with us... The fondant was very good - it came served with dulce de leche ice cream and walnut brittle, which provided wonderful textures as well as flavour. The churros were very good too, and they were something I'd never had before. I really enjoyed the spiced chocolate dipping sauce that accompanied them, as did my husband, who said it took all his effort not to drink the rest of the chocolate after we'd finished the churros!

Prices are reasonable considering the high quality of the food, and we'd be happy to return again as paying customers, although maybe we will wait until the weather is a little bit warmer, so we can walk from Five Ways!