#header-inner { text-align: center; width: 660px; margin: auto; } CAFÉ SALVATION: October 2011

Wednesday 19 October 2011

LEON

It has taken my every last square inch of will power (how does one measure will power?  Inches?  Ml? Grams? Hmmm....) not to eat this week's Headliner, Chicken, Pumpkin and Butter Bean Stew.  Hearty but not heavy, warming but not blow-your-head-off spicy, comforting without you even realising you're being comforted...it's exactly the right dish to be serving at this time of year.  And I have the wonderful people at Leon to thank for it.

If you haven't bought a Leon book yet, then do it now.  There are a few to choose from but I think my favourite is the first,  Leon: Ingredients and Recipes.  The folk at Leon believe in 'food that tastes good and does you good'.  Reading this book for the first time was like finding my culinary soul mate.  I found myself frantically nodding in agreement whilst silently reading the intro.  And the books are a joyous experience in themselves, with pull-out pantries to get your nose tucked in to and snippets and soundbites from the recipe originators or members of the team.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed with your purchase and you'll find yourself hankering after more (I'm currently wishing for Allegra's latest, perhaps for my birthday at the end of the month, darling husband?).




Here's the rest of this week's specials:



THE WEEKLY SPECIALS

HEADLINERS
Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup
Served with a hunk of bread £4.50

Chicken, Pumpkin and Butter Bean Stew
Served with bread: £5.50
With Sides or Salads: £6.50
Diced chicken thighs, marinated in mustard, honey, chilli, garlic, fennel and oregano and cooked with Pumpkin and Butter Beans.

Fennel and Cherry Tomato Crumble
Ottolenghi’s delicious creamy fennel with thyme and cherry toms.

Falafel
Delicious balls of chickpeas, coriander, cumin and garlic.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken
A Salvation Staple – chicken breasts marinated in lemon and garlic; great with salad or in a sarnie/wrap.

SALADS/VEGGIE SIDES
Parsley Mushrooms
So simple but so tasty – and mushrooms are packed full of goodness!

Happy Carrot Salad
Just looking at this salad makes us smile: carrots, raisins, chilli and garlic, topped with our simple Salvation dressing – lemon and olive oil.

Pasta with Basil and Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Homemade pesto from home-grown basil.

Camargue red rice salad with quinoa, pistachio and orange
A great, low G.I salad with apricots and rocket.

The Salvation Staple Salad
Green leaves, fresh herbs, tomatoes and cucumber.
A BIT ON THE SIDE
Lemon Yoghurt
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Chilli Yoghurt
One Headliner + One Salad + a bit on the side = £5.50 (unless otherwise stated).
One Headliner + Two Salads + a bit on the side = £6.50 (unless otherwise stated.  Add £2.50 per extra headliner).
Taster Plate (one of each ‘Headliner’ + a bit of every salad + a bit on the side) = £6.50


*We’re so sorry – we can not guarantee that any of our products are nut-free.

NEW STOCK: BESS HARDING GREETINGS CARDS


Now you see them....soon you wont!  Bess's cards have been selling like hot cakes, and you can see why.  Bess is a brilliant illustrator; we have worked together on a variety of projects, namely children's books (the first of which will be published soon, watch this space!).  She is also rather marvellous at making things AND she builds pretty fantastic websites.  You can see more of her work here: www.bessharding.co.uk, and follow her blog here.

We have a few cards left in stock and more on order, and don't worry, you wont have to traipse through the corn field to view them - we did actually get 'round to displaying them in the cafe....





Tuesday 18 October 2011

SALVATION'S ARMY: OFFICER JEFFREY

There are a number of very wonderful people involved in Salvation and from time to time, within the medium of this blog, I'd really like to give them a mention, as Salvation wouldn't be what it is without them.

First up, our great friend Paul.  Paul is a brilliant graphic designer and an excellent writer.  We share with Paul a love of India and it was the crazy but beautiful artwork on the Indian trucks that we wanted the Salvation logo to be based upon.  Paul has obviously come as close as we have on his Enfield to these mental motors, as he nailed the image from the word go.  He has helped us hugely with our venture (not to mention every party we've ever thrown and more recently, Baynham's Cider), he is always on the end of the phone when things get a bit technical and he has an innate understanding of image and identity.  We were very lucky to be neighbours in London and we are hoping he'll be more local to us soon...

You can view more of Paul's work here:  http://pauljeffreydesign.com/

Sunday 16 October 2011

POSTERITY VINTAGE CHRISTMAS FAIR: SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER

I know, I know, it's October, I should be talking about Pumpkins, but I'm ever so slightly over-excited about our first Vintage Fair, to be held in the brick barn at Posterity on Saturday 26th November!

Not only will it be the kick start to your Christmas shopping, with an eclectic mix of stalls offering vintage home-wares,  toys made from reclaimed materials, jewellery and brilliantly quirky one-off pieces, but Posterity will be willing and able to solve the usual Christmas dilemmas; having the family over but you need a bigger table?  Not enough chairs and it seems unfair to put Uncle Dave on the sun lounger for the 3rd year running?  Getting the guest room ready and need a chest of drawers for Great Aunt Elsie's chest and draws??!!  There's a fantastic range of furniture in stock at the mo, with new pieces arriving every day....

And, of course, Salvation will be serving the scrummiest delights, not to mention Baynhams Christmas Spiced Cider, to see you through the day...I've even heard talk of a Santa's Grotto....

More news will follow.  Meanwhile, can all interested stall-holders contact Helen, Sue or David at Posterity on: 01531 636380 or cafesalvation@gmail.com.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

PIMP UP YOUR PIES!

At last, it's cold enough to get some winter warmers on the menu!  The woodburners arrival is imminent, so to keep us toastie in the run up to its installation, we've cooked up our tasty Punjabi Pie.

This dish reminds me of my childhood.  My Dad is a fantastic cook and I spent most evenings as a kid whiling away an evening in the kitchen,  chatting to my Pops whilst subconsciously absorbing everything he was doing.  Pops is a fan of spice and loves to experiment with food, adapting recipes to better suit his tastes, and this dish is a prime example of that.

Based on our British Classic, Cottage Pie, the secret to Punjabi Pie lies in the spice mix added to the onion and garlic during the first stages of cooking.  For 500g of beef, start by frying one red onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on size of cloves and how much you enjoy the flavour).  Add one stick of chopped celery and one diced carrot.  When the onion and veg are soft, add a healthy palm-full (sorry, I don't use measured devices, but if you cup your fingers to create a well in your palm, you'll have the right amount) of ground cumin, coriander and half a palm-full of turmeric.  Stir until aromatic, then add your beef to the onion and spice mix.  Season well, add some tomato puree and fresh red chilli (quantity dependent on how hot you like it), and once the beef is browned, add a tin of chopped tomatoes.  Half-fill your tin with water and add this to your mixture.  Taste and alter your seasoning to suit.  Wack in the oven for 30-40 minutes and crack on with your mash topping.

Pops would use a mixture of potatoes and swede; this week I've gone for pots and sweet potato (mainly because I like the colour and for me, food is all about colour).  Boil both veg - about 3 good sized potatoes and one sweet potato for 500g beef - in salted water until soft, drain and mash with plenty of salt and pepper and a generous knob of butter.  We like to throw in some grated cheddar (again, it gives the mash a glorious golden colour as well as tasting yummy).  Take the beef mixture out of the oven and pop in to your serving dish, spread the mash over the top (make it nice and thick, there's nothing worse than an anorexic pie topping), and sprinkle on a bit more grated cheddar.  Pop the dish back in the oven for about 25-30 mins (depending on your oven:  I use and Aga, so in a conventional oven I'd have it on 190 for 25-30 mins).  Once your topping is golden and smelling amazing, your pie is ready!

Why not Pimp Up your Pies?!  You can add a twist to most run-of-the-mill recipes, turning wet, weekday suppers in to dramatic delights, just with the addition of a few spices, fresh herbs, lemon or lime juice....it really can be that simple.  I'm looking forward to taking the Punjabi Pie in to another realm:  Sherpa's Pie will involve lamb, fresh ginger, chilli, toasted cumin and coriander seeds, maybe some lentils and spinach...I'm undecided on my mash topping - any suggestions?

We'll be enjoying our slice of Punjabi with some Glorious Green Beans (Granny Smith's runners always have been, and always will be, the sweetest runner beans I've ever tasted) and a delicious dollop of spicy red lentils.  Lunch, anyone?


THE WEEKLY SPECIALS

HEADLINERS

Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup
Served with a hunk of bread £4.50

Popsy’s Punjabi Pie
A twist on the British Classic, Cottage Pie.  Popsy’s version includes minced beef with cumin, coriander and turmeric; a family favourite!

Sweet Potato Cakes
We roast our sweet potatoes for maximum sweetness and add chilli, soy sauce and spring onions to create these gorgeous cakes.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken
A Salvation Staple – chicken breasts marinated in lemon and garlic; great with salad or in a sarnie/wrap.

SALADS/VEGGIE SIDES

Glorious Green Beans
Granny Smith’s Runner Beans, mixed with Soya beans in lemon, chilli, rosemary and garlic.

Happy Carrot Salad
Just looking at this salad makes us smile: carrots, raisins, chilli and garlic, topped with our simple Salvation dressing – lemon and olive oil.

Pasta with Basil and Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Homemade pesto from home-grown basil.

Spicy Red Lentils
Red lentils with a delicious blend of aromatic spices.

The Salvation Staple Salad
Green leaves, fresh herbs, tomatoes and cucumber.

A BIT ON THE SIDE
Lemon Yoghurt
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Chilli Yoghurt
One Headliner + One Salad + a bit on the side = £5.50 (unless otherwise stated).
One Headliner + Two Salads + a bit on the side = £6.50 (unless otherwise stated.  Add £2.50 per extra headliner).
Taster Plate (one of each ‘Headliner’ + a bit of every salad + a bit on the side) = £6.50


*We’re so sorry – we can not guarantee that any of our products are nut-free.




THE BREAD AND BUTTER MENU

BREAKFAST  BRUSCHETTA’S: £5.00
Rustic bread, topped with:
Oak Roasted Salmon and Creamy Eggs
Creamy Eggs and Smoked Bacon
Avocado, Tomatoes and Goats Cheese
Mushrooms and Parsley £4.00
Tomatoes £4.00
Salvation Special:
Bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes £6.00
GO LARGE!
Add another slice of toast to the Salv Special: £6.50

TOAST
with Jam or Marmite £2.00
Beans or Cheese £3.00

TOASTED TEACAKE
With Jam and butter £1.80

Please see counter for fresh scones and cakes.  Also available to order through ‘Little Penguin’.

OPEN SANDWICHES OR WRAPS: £5.50
Two slices of locally baked beer bread or a herby wrap, housing our delicious fillings and served with a green side salad. Please let us know if you want them toasted.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken
Veggie Fritters
Grilled Salmon
Ham
Cheese

KIDS MENU
WRAPS
£3.50
Please see above for fillings.

PASTA: £3.50
Choose from the following topping:
Pesto/Grated Cheese
Served with:
Lemon & Garlic Chicken/Veggie Fritter/Salmon £4.50