Category Archives: Plateful

blogs dealing with food of course!

Candy Sushi DIY Kit

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I posted on tumblr a while ago, about a lunchables like kit in Japan, where you can make your own candy sushi. It’s amazing to look at, because the end product really does look like sushi.

I happened upon an article in Boing Boing about this kit again. This time the author of the article and his daughter got their own kit to make their own candy.

He links to a site that sells these kits — along with English instructions —  and I’m tempted to try one out. You can purchase it on their website for $5. Is it worth it though? Perhaps. We’ll see.

How to make tea…

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If you want to make tea with teabags it’s quite simple, and Charlie already has the video to show you how. This entry is to show you how to make tea using loose tea leaves – without leaving a mess.

First you need to boil some water. Using a kettle is quite efficient for this.

Next, search the shelf-tops for your mother’s teapots and choose one that you like. Rinse it out.

Next you want to take your tea leaves and measure the amount you want (I usually use about one tablespoon because I like the flavour to be strong). You can pour this directly into the tea pot, or into a convenient little tea ball strainer.

Pour in the hot water, close and let it sit for about five minutes.

Pour into cup of your choice, even though your mother reminded you that she has matching tea cups and if you’ll be posting pictures on the internet, you should use those matching tea cups.

Enjoy!

Dinner at Tea and Sympathy

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

Yesterday I went to Tea and Sympathy to have dinner with my friend, Juyon. I love Tea and Sympathy, partly because it’s so small and quaint, and as J pointed out, it’s reminiscent of eating in someone’s kitchen, and partly because the staff have lovely english accents and are super friendly.

We had scones with jam and clotted cream. I wanted to try the crumpets, but the waitress said that the website was outdated and they haven’t served crumpets in a year, due to the fact that they kept eating the crumpets all day long.

We shared the Sussex Chicken – cornish hen, mash and peas.

And a side of macaroni and cheese. I had the best tea that I’ve tasted there yet, the Chocolate and Mint Rooibos, it was so good I picked 1/4 pound up to take home.
For dessert we shared the Treacle pudding (with custard), but alas, it was so good I got distracted, and only remembered to take a picture once it was all finished – and in record time.
I absolutely love Tea and Sympathy, and I’d really love to try their Sunday brunch!

How do you like your crumpets?

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When I was younger, I read about crumpets at tea time in books. Since it was tea time and you had cakes with your tea, I always assumed that crumpets were sweet. I was wrong.

Crumpets are savoury little breads that you can have with butter, jam, marmite or whatever you imagine. So how do I eat my crumpets?

I like to pull out the toaster (which I hardly use). Then when it pops up …

I like to spread some of this …

YUMMY!

Making Crumpets

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I didn’t try crumpets when I was visiting England, so I only have the pictures to go by, however, that didn’t stop me from trying to make crumpets.

I found a recipe online and a video on youtube, and with some mathematics and google I was able to convert the recipe so I can make some crumpets!

You start out with some flour, I used only bread flour (strong white flour) since we didn’t have any other kind at home. I made it once before and used the correct mixture, and the dough came out better, so be sure to use plain (all-purpose) flour as well.

Add some salt, sugar and yeast. mmmm yeast ….

Mix it all together and pour in some warm (not hot!) milk. It’s suppose to have an elastic like finish, not stiff.

Let it rise for about an hour, you’ll notice this isn’t as elastic-y as it should be, this is due to only using bread flour, so make sure you use all-purpose as well.

Add some baking soda to some water, then mix that in with the dough.

The mixture should be pancake like. I put a bit more milk in because of the lack of proper flour. Let it sit for a little while longer.

In a buttered pan, using cooking rings (I used cookie cutters instead) cook your crumpets.

Then —- TADA! A lovely savoury treat!