afternoon t at the rose lounge

roses

late saturday afternoon found i and i with three other ladies at the sofitel on piccadilly. we had to wait a while in the bar since our five o’clock reservation was significantly delayed by a group of ladies taking their tea at leisure. i guess windows of reservation seldom apply to female conversations. eventually we were seated in the very feminine rose lounge. soft pastel pinks and books whose covers were rose visuals made up the place. low sofas lined with substantial cushions were inviting and comfortable to settle into. shelves of books lined the spaces that are not mirrors or murals. for the most part the lounge is occupied by women.

tollhouse chocolate chip cookies

there was a time cookie baking was a staple activity for me. back in pakistan i used to bake a weekly batch that was sold at rifz cafe. i decided to make a batch midweek because for me baking is a great way to unwind. i didn’t realize that baking cookies in london would turn out to be a bit of a complicated affair. for starters it was shrove tuesday and a retinue of pancake crazed adults and children crowded the bakers aisle at waitrose where i had gone to get chocolate chips. the next challenge turned out to be the chocolate chips. waitrose’s cooks ingredients includes everything but chocolate chips. i desperately missed the over populated cookie chip variety offered by albertsons and frys in the us of a. there was butterscotch, white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, triple chocolate – i missed tollhouse more than anything! i decided to be creative and picked a bar of dark chocolate and decided to combine it with some green and blacks orange spiked maya which i had at home. i also got some margarine and a big fat shiny orange. thus equipped i headed home. 

before the cookie recipe i want to say one thing. in england a cookie is often equated with biscuits – to me these are two very different things. a cookie is soft and moist and crumbles easily. a biscuit is hard and crisp and requires to be bitten into. this is why biscuits are perfect for dunking and cookies generally require care. the dividing line between the two; butter vs. margarine. if you want a moist, soft and chewy cookie you want to avoid butter as that is what makes it spread and go harder. the other important this is the length of time you bake it for. for a cookie, it should look like it is slightly undercooked. a rule of thumb i generally work with is nine to eleven minutes in the oven with lightly browned edges. you then have to resist the temptation to lift them of the tray as soon as you bring them out of the oven as they will most certainly disintegrate. you have to wait for them to cool slightly.  

so here is what you need 

dry ingredients: 2 ¼ cups of flour, 1 tea spoon salt, 1 tea spoon baking powder

1 cup margarine

sweet stuff: ¾ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup white sugar

bringing it together: 2 eggs 

additions: 2 cups chocolate chips, 1 cup nuts (optional)

season: 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 

combine the margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. add an egg and then some of the dry ingredients and incorporate. continue until you have mixed everything. then add the chocolate chips and fold through evenly. i tend to like to add a hint of the season to my cookie dough so i added some grated orange rind that teemed perfectly with my spiced orange home broken chocolate chips. preheat your oven to 190 degrees celsius. drop cookies by the spoonful onto a greased cookie tray. you can let them be irregular or pat into shape slightly. stick them into the oven for nine to eleven minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. don’t worry if the centre looks slightly uncooked. they will continue to cook on the tray for a couple of minutes. let them stand until they are firm enough to lift off with a spatula. serve hot with a glass of cold milk, a cafitiere of fresh coffee or a cup of tea. i had hers with earl grey tea, i had mine with cafitiere of fresh yirga cheffe coffee and j had hers with black currant tea. 

this is a basic foolproof recipe that is the genius of tollhouse. don’t be afraid to tweak it to your likes. i often substitute some of the flour for oats to gives a varied texture. try different combinations of chips, perhaps a hint of cinnamon or raspberries which white chocolate chips. once baked make homemade ice cream sandwiches with a good quality vanilla ice cream. if they do last long enough ,keep them in a air tight jar. they generally tend to remain soft but for an added treat microwave them slightly to get the chips warm and melty. 

oh and don’t forget to eat some of the batter before it goes into the oven. it’s really addictive.

brunch buffet...an innovative idea?

on a delightful weekend of renewed friendships, tentative springs and big steps forward, m and i found ourselves in hyde park on a chilly sunday morning in need of a warm refuge that would welcome us for a couple of hours of reading, writing and obviously chatting. being in an exploring mood, we decided to wander about the fairly unfamiliar bayswater area until we came across something appealing. our choice was the cosy charlotte, a dim-lighted café with wooden tables and low couches by the window.

the smell of traditional, greasy english breakfast which overpowered us as soon as we stepped in clashed a bit with the superficially sophisticated look of the café, but we decided to give charlotte a second chance. we sat down and ordered reasonable coffees, surprised to discover that the main item on the menu, the apparently popular “brunch buffet”, did not include drinks.

after indulging in the pleasure of the observer food monthly, i gave in to my hunger and headed to the appealing buffet while m sat back with her reservations. the warm options, pale scrambled eggs, tinned baked beans and a suspicious mix of sausages and onions threatened to kill my appetite, so i went straight to the next table, offering a selection of savouries. i picked a few slices of ham, a selection of cheese cubes, a slice of onion tart, a sample of egg-tuna-mayo and an inviting muffin. the overall result was not a complete disappointment, but far from exciting. the muffin was a dry affair which only tasted of fennel seeds. ham and cheeses were clearly taken out of a plastic tray, but the egg and mayo salads were somewhat innovative and the onion tart reminded me of home-cooked meals.

a short pause occupied by a debate about the most appropriate side of the nose for a piercing led me to a new trip to the buffet, this time to its sweet side. i picked and mixed two or three of the loaves on the table and i toasted the unexciting brown bread twice with little success due to a completely inefficient toaster. surely, for over nine pounds a head, there had to be something more tempting than nutella on toast in that buffet! the chocolate cake turned out to be dry and i couldn't even figure out what the main ingredients of the other slices were. the only, at that point unexpected, joy came from a soft, moist and flavourful slice of saffron cake. being a great fan of saffron, i had never thought of using it for a loaf and i now wonder why. it was a true revelation.

the saffron surprise and the comfy couches, however, could not make up for the rest of the food, highly uninspiring and overpriced, the lack of choice on the menu beyond the buffet or, to be honest, the unorthodox flushing method in the toilet. the great thing about exploring is the possibility of uncovering hidden gems in this ever-changing city. charlotte was, unfortunately, not one of them.

café garcia

on sunday i and i had decided to spend the day in a café, just like we used to do last year when we were post-graduates. the trial and subsequent disappointment of charlotte was borne of that. when my stomach decided to dictate its hunger i and i decided it was time to abandon the comfy couch and search for something different. since we were so close to portobello road i took out my moleskin for a consult on what i had penned down for that area. on my list appeared café garcia so off we went to the end of portobello road to try out this place.

 attached to café garcia is a delicatessen which stocks spanish and italian foods. i found her favorite childhood biscuits and i came out with a jar of dulce de leche made in argentina. but before our trip to the delicatessen we had sat in the café itself which has a modest menu – there is paella and ceviche and some empadanas with different fillings. the sweet counter comprises a display of flans, churros and some other spanish sweets. on a table across from us two little girls sat drinking a rich dark hot chocolate but sadly i was so full on the disappointing brunch buffet that i didn’t have a partner in crime to halve my guilt with. i did however eat the paella which was warm and satisfying which a strong meaty flavor of chicken and a sweet edge of red peppers. the hot chocolate of course demands another visit but that isn’t the only thing that we will be returning to café garcia for. 

paul rothe & son

this is a quaint old shop that proudly bears the emblem of its centurion status. its windows are a broad lattice of white wood and through the glass appears an array of jars – pots of conserves, jams and chutney stand in colorful succession. paul rothe and son serve sandwiches that aren't frilly, just wholesome assemblages of generously buttered bread with condiments and meats, vegetables or cheeses. i had slices of smoked salmon with a squeeze of lemon juice and pepper on a light rye whilst o settled on chicken mixes (basically the sandwich mix of the day) on thickly buttered granary. thus equipped and warmed after coffee and tea we headed to the national portrait gallery to see the taylor wessing photography exhibit.