New foods: What have I learnt and what was the best?

Looking back over the list of foods that I tried there’s a great variety. I‘ve tried different meats, different desserts and foods from different countries.

Trying panna cotta, crème brulee and biryani inspired me to make me try the recipes out for the challenge as well. And my attempts at these dishes were successful.

Although there was a great variety, I think it would have been good to be a bit more adventurous with what I tried. The most adventurous I got was trying a locus and I think going forward I’m going to consider more out there choices.

In one of my first jobs I was given 2 bits of advice, the first always look up at the ceiling of places (especially in grand buildings) and the second was when eating out for one of the courses always go for something you haven’t had before. So with this in mind, trying new foods in the future won’t be a problem.

New food #29-32: What the gatherers brought

As part of the food gathering that took place on Sunday I asked friends to bring either a phrase or a new food to try. I ended up trying 4 new things and the first was Dal Puri which my friend Penny made. Dal Puri is an Indian flatbread made with lentils and they tasted great. It was really nice that she went to all that effort to create a food for me to try from scratch.

My friend Coops also did the same and made Pigeon Pie which was another great gesture of helping me complete my challenge. It also showed off Coops’ cooking skills and the pie had just the right amount of sauce, so it wasn’t too watery. He also bought an alpaca burger for me to try and I tried it a few days later. It tasted nice and was a rich meat. My Grandad had warned me off trying unusual meats as the last time I had an unusual meat which I think was goat, it did not sit well.

To finish off the day my friend Claire brought round Physalis to try which is a berry that tastes a bit like gooseberries. They’re more for decoration on desserts and are bright orange.
So a great variety of foods to finish off the food part of the challenge.

New Food #28: A fry up delicacy

At the weekend my family and I went to The Hermitage with my Grandad aka Lord Studman to celebrate his 90^th birthday. He’d never had breakfast out before and between us we managed to have nearly everything off the menu.

I went for a full English, which included black pudding. I’ve had plenty of cooked breakfasts, but never had black pudding. So what did it taste like? Well in small forkfuls it doesn’t taste too bad, a bit like stuffing you get with roast potatoes. But if you go for a big mouthful like I did towards the end, it starts to turn on you.

So if it’s on my plate in the future, I’ll remember to eat it in small amounts.

New Phrases #10-19 and New Food #27: After a hard day’s work

The people in my National Trust holiday were from a range of nationalities; Mel was German, Ulrich was Italian, and Jill was a New Zealander. And a few members of the group were really enthusiastic about my 29 challenge and wanted to contribute to it.

We regularly went to the pub after a day of working and one evening I asked a few members of the group for some phrases. So over a couple of drinks I managed to get 10.

Earlier in the day Ed who was 18 knew the German for ‘My submarine is full of eels’. Ed’s German was pretty good but he wanted Mel who is German to double check. So the first German phrase of the challenge is; ‘Hein unterseeboot ist voller Aale.’

Mel gave me two phrases; Giib ihm den kleinen Finger und er nimmt die ganze Hand, which means; give him your small finger and he will take the whole hand. And if you ever wanted to know how to say my mum fell down the steps with some potatoes in Swabian, it’s; Mai Muadar isch mit de Grombiara die Schtiaga nagahaglt.’

Ulrich was an Italian liver doctor who has lived in the UK for the past 11 years. The phrases he gave are very random and in different languages. Some are insulting and some make no sense at all. So here are the phrases he gave me. (Apologies if some of the spelling is incorrect, Ulrich’s handwriting was a typical doctors one):

‘I hau din & Watschm owe, dass den fur vienzelm Tag den Schaskl waggelt.’ This is Viennese for I am going to give you a slap to make your skull tremble for 14 days.

‘Ti strepps una gamba e bi piglio & cdci mel culo.’ This is Italian for I rip a leg off you and then kick you in the bum with it.

‘Des is a fenche Henn’ is south Tyrolean for that is a fit bird!

Not sure if some women would use this phrase as a rule for life but; ‘Si an magin sspientesque nuit nescio, homines mon sunt’ is Latin for ‘I don’t know if they are great and wise, men they are not.’

‘να μου πείτε o μούσα του ανθρώπου και ο οποίος είχε πολύ ρίχνονται γύρω και πολύ προκλήθηκε αφού κατέστρεψαν την ιερή πόλη της Τροίας’ is ancient Greek for ; ‘Tell me, o Muse, of the man and who was much thrown around, and much suffered, often he destroyed the holy city of Troy.’

‘Sant’ Peri, Sant Peri, fil de put a quin non se alavi’ is Cetalan for Saint Hilery, Saint Hilery, son of a bitch whoever doesn’t drink up.

Lastly Rob another member of the group who is a hospital inspector and along with me were the DD’s which stood for the designated drivers with dazzling personalities gave me this French phrase; Honi soit qui mal y pense, which means ‘evil to him who thinks evil.’

Mel and I also tried pork scratchings. During the trip the others got Mel to try different British things. We both agree though that pork scratchings is not a delicacy we want to try again, they smelt like dog food and didn’t taste too great either. 

So all in all a very productive educational session at the pub!

New Food #24-26: My local

A couple of months ago a gelato shop called Fabios opened two doors down from where I live. On the first day people were queuing down the street and I even wrote the shop a welcome to the neighbourhood card (in the hope of free gelato, but they didn’t reply.) I went there during the week and they have a variety of flavours on offer and including one called experimental. You can try before you buy and the guy serving said if I like salted caramel (which I do) I’d like the ice cream. So I tried it and I did.

I then went for a scoop of it and it was really creamy ice cream. I decided to find out once I finished what the flavour was. This is because a couple of years ago I had non-alcoholic mojito and I liked it until somebody said there was in mint in it which I didn’t realise and hate, and then drinking it afterwards I couldn’t stand it. So I thought if I was told the flavour halfway through I might not like it after hearing what it was.

It turns out it was actually olive oil flavour! And it was very smooth and creamy. So if it was on sale again I’d definitely have more.

Other new foods I have eaten recently have been veal, which to be honest wasn't the most memorable meat, it was a bit of a nothing taste. And I also tried coleslaw. You may think that I would've eaten coleslaw by now, but I hate salad and pride myself on being the body that salad didn't make. But eating it with a Nandos a few weeks ago it didn't taste to bad. But I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again.

New Recipe #19, New Food #23 and New Phrase #9: Classy Cricket

As I ‘ve said before my dad Bobby and I like cricket and he’d been camping with my sister for a week while The Ashes was on. So this afternoon he came round to watch some of the test highlights.

I’m in full challenge mode so I also took the opportunity to cook a new recipe as well. I cooked Crème Brûlée, which is something I hadn't tried before either. I planned to cook it this weekend for a while, but as luck would have it they were cooking it on Bake Off this week, so I got some tips from there.

It was pretty straight forward to make, however I was worried it would turn watery or like scrambled eggs. Timing wise I had to leave it in the oven for 10 minutes more than the recipe said and they came out well. They tasted great, and I’m surprised at how filling they are.

What would have been better was if I used a blowtorch to caramelise the top. I do have one, but I didn’t realise that you need fuel in it, and I didn’t have any. So I did the Mary Berry way and grilled the top, which worked just as well.

While Bobby was here he also told me a phrase in a different language. He’s always been into history and we watched Time Team every Sunday growing up. So he taught me the Latin for ‘The Senate and People of Rome’ which is Senatus Populus Que Romanus!

So a fun afternoon and the cricket weren’t bad either.

New Recipe #15 and New Food #22: Aussie Traditions

My friend Laura is getting married in September and I couldn’t make her hen do. So instead I put on a Neighbours day for her, as she is a massive fan of the show.

I went the extra mile and asked my friend Jas who lives in Australia, as well as my friend Tom who now lives in New Zealand what aussie things I should cook. They both said Lamingtons so I gave them a go.

Lamingtons are basically a sponge cake dipped in chocolate syrup and then rolled in desiccated coconut. Really simple and really yummy!

I also tried Vegemite. I had it on toast and the first few mouthfuls were fine, but then it was a struggle and it started to taste like tar. Why do aussies like it so much?!?

New Food #18-20: Full of Bubbles

Over the weekend I tried Ginger Beer for the first time. My parents love the stuff and as you can see from the picture, my dad has started to like photo bombing! I wasn't a great fan of the taste, and the smell was of ginger was too strong for me.

I also tried passion fruit bursting bubbles which my mum bought me for Christmas. You can put them in drink or in yoghurt, so I tried both. They tasted quite nice even though the shell was apparently made out of seaweed. Once burst it was just like a passion fruit purée.

And on Sunday I tried olives. I remember on a holiday with my uni friends, two of them; Emma and Chris would get through a jar of them very quickly and eat them like raisins. The ones I had were part of a vegetable wrap and they were okay, but then the last one tasted disgusting and has put me off eating them again.

New Food #18: Posh food

My friend Rachel had never had Sushi before which for someone who is very go with the flow, is quite surprising. So when myself, my friend Rae-Anna and Rachel were in Milton Keynes, we went to Yo Sushi!

I thought I’d go for something new I hadn't tried on the menu and there was seared tuna and caviar at the bottom of the page. So I thought why not. With caviar I've had perceptions thanks to film and TV that it tastes quite revolting, but it tasted okay, a smoky fish flavour, and considering its fish eggs this isn't surprising! It didn't make my face pull a funny expression or anything. Some things are very over reacted these days.

New Food #11: Warming basic

Cast your mind back a couple of weeks ago and it was a little bit on the cold side. So with some great reduced meat from my local Morrisons I decided to make a stew. And for the recipe I just followed what the packet recommended to do.

Stew is a favourite of mine, but the best part of all I forgot to add….dumplings! It’ll be something to master for next time.

New food #16 and #17: Strong tastes and unusual combinations

I’m not mad on cheese. I like it but not a big fan like some people. I love melted Camembert in a box and your bog standard cheddar and Brie and cranberry. But with my dad and one of my sisters not liking cheese, growing up there wasn’t lots of adventurous cheese in the house.

On Saturday I tried Stilton for the first time. My new guy loves cheese couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried it before. So I tried it and it was okay. I can eat it in small portions, but it tastes even better when melted. We made pork and Stilton burgers and having the Stilton oozing out of them tasted great.

Also on Saturday I tried a caramel chocolate with an unusual filling….balsamic oil. My friend Jen got me these as a thank you for feeding her pets while she was away. I was wondering how they would taste, but they tasted amazing, and I still can’t put my finger onto the reason why. I guess I’ll have to try some more, it will be such a chore!

Reconnecting #7, New people #10 and new food #15: Midlands meet up

After finding out at work I had 2 and half days holiday to use before my contract finishes I thought I’d catch up with some uni friends.

The first being my friend Humaira, but to me she is known as Di-Lowe because she fancies Rob Lowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, so the name combines both guys. And to her I’m known as Doll, because when we went out for lunch once a waiter called me Doll, and the name has stuck.

                                This is us in 2009 at the Capital FM Summertime Ball.

We've been friends since uni, and we’re both firm believers in the quote that Carrie Bradshaw says in an episode of Sex and the City: ‘Friendships don’t magically last forty years….you have to invest in them.’ Upon leaving uni we’d text or email nearly every day, support each other through job hunts and have regular catch ups every few months. Even though she is based in Birmingham, and I’m in Hitchin, distance wasn't a barrier for us.

But then life happens and somehow the close contact we once had got lost. A few months ago we kick started our friendship and now we’re back to how we used to be. I last saw Humaira in 2013 which is a lifetime for the pair of us, so Friday was a happy reunion for us both, and it was if no time had passed.

I also got to meet her son Ayden who is 5 months old (correct me Di-Lowe if I got his age wrong!) and apparently I was a calming influence on him.

Di-Lowe not only made us Nachos and got my staple of appletiser, but she also made Biryani which she suggested I make. It tasted great, not as spicy as I thought and very filling. Can't wait to try cooking it myself.

Reconnecting #6 and New Food #14: Je voudrais une galette

Last weekend I went to The France Show at Olympia with a guy I've been seeing for few months. He works in France quite often, but doesn't see any of the country, just the hotel and airport or train station. So I thought the France Show would in a way show him more of the country.

Growing up I always was a bit funny visiting countries that didn't speak English. On family holidays I was quite moody and anxious in those countries as a result. It was only towards the end of the holiday I relaxed and had fun. I've no idea why I felt this way, but as I'm getting older, I'm a lot better in foreign countries. So The France Show was my way of reconnecting with a country I wasn't great with growing up.

The best part of the show had to be the food and there were a lot of different stands. Apart from eating a large macaroon and a cookie that was the size of my head, I also had a Galette. A galette is a French savoury pancake and I had mine with spinach and cheese which was pretty filling. It was also great training for my stomach for Pancake Day which is fast approaching.

New recipe #5 and New food #13: Festive food

Christmas is time for family, friends, fun and festive food. And so for the first time I tried Turkish Delight and thanks to my sister Lisa’s skills, she created a GIF of me trying it. See below!

I’ve been cooking a lot recently, thanks to binge watching Jamie Oliver’s Money Saving Meals and getting inspired to cook leftovers. So Christmas Day evening I cooked turkey soup and turkey and vegetable pie. Then on Boxing Day I cooked Baked chocolate and Clementine cheesecake.

It was a fairly straight forward recipe, although my mum did have to save the chocolate mixture as for the first time I over melted chocolate!

The baked cheesecake was a success and tasted of Christmas. And as you can see I unintentionally coordinated my outfit with the cheesecake.

New food #12: Perfect pudding

Last night I went out for a Christmas Meal with my school friends. Hard to believe I've known some of them for 15 years, some even longer! As always its lovely to catch up.

With the challenge in mind I decided to try something new off the menu, and I went for panna cotta. The main reason for trying this is I am a huge fan of Masterchef Australia and on the latest series of the show there’s a contestant called Emelia whose signature dish is panna cotta. When the show started there were around 25 contestants, so a lot of names to remember. So me and my flatmate Charlotte just called Emelia panna cotta until we remembered her name!

How I haven’t tried panna cotta till now I have no idea, but it was delicious, creamy but not too heavy. I’m hoping to make some myself soon, but as I’ve learnt from aussie masterchef, they don’t always go to plan. Fingers crossed I have beginners luck when I create them!

New food #11: Festive Fettuccine

I’m very close to my Granddad, until I started my current job we used to speak every other day. But with my commute being longer to work I can only talk a couple of times a week.

Over the past couple of years he has increasingly liked his chick flicks. He likes watching films, but ones that are easy going so he can get a good night’s sleep. Until recently his go to film was The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. My granddad loves Sandra Bullock and seen most if not all of her films. It’s the dream to get them two together for afternoon tea, it would be comedy gold.

His new favourite film is The Holiday, and last Monday to get December off to a festive start I went round to watch the film with him. He also sees the films as being educational; with The Proposal he learnt what a latte was. In The Holiday he was disappointed as they talked about Fettuccine but never showed what it was. So I found out what Fettuccine was (its pasta) and I cooked some for my granddad. So it’s a new food we both tried, and it tastes just like tagliatelle, maybe a little thinner .

Upon watching the film, we discovered there was something else we didn't know; what is pinknuckle? It was mentioned but we had no idea whether it was a food or something else. A quick google and it is a game. Could this be another new activity I could do for the challenge?

New foods #8 #9 #10: An apple a day does not keep the doctor away in Rome

Fun fact for you, you can’t find apple juice in Rome, at least not in the hotel or shops we went in. Considering my favourite drink is appletiser and I like apple juice to go with my breakfast, I was wondering where I could get one of my five fruit and veg a day. (Yes appletiser does count as one of my five fruit and veg a day, it says so on the label!)

So Salvidor our trusty barman recommended peach juice, and I loved it. Although its probably got a day’s worth of sugar in it! I also tried grapefruit juice. I'm expert on the stuff, well grapefruit as I served a lot of it when I was a breakfast helper at an old people’s home. Grapefruit juice has a weird taste to begin with, and it was okay afterwards. I’ll stick to my apple juice though, apart from when I'm in Rome.

On our last night I also tried clams, but there was a lot going on with the meal, as you can see below. There’s tagliatelle, mushrooms, truffle, and clams. Clams, well the edible part of it, not the shell is tiny so if you’re eating it with pasta it could be quite well hidden. Eating it on its own is nice, not too salty as some seafood can be. It would be great to try again in a risotto.

New places and activities #6, #7 and #8, and new food #7: More than a stone throw away

On Sunday my friend Kayleigh and I had a very early start as we took a coach trip to Stone Henge, Salisbury and Bath with Golden Tours. I was expecting a fair few OAP’s on the tour, or as my flatmate called them the blue rinse crew, but apart from the tour guide there wasn't any. And Kayleigh and I were the only ones that weren't tourists!

Our first stop was Stone Henge, and it was good to see a landmark, but with the early start and a box of mini doughnuts not kicking in for energy, it didn’t really dazzle me. We then made our way to Salisbury and had a look round the cathedral which after leaving made me feel very cultured and knowledgeable.    

Bath was the last place we looked around and I loved it. We looked round the Roman Baths, and the best part was that one of the audio guides was done by Bill Bryson. His commentary was aimed at children but was quite funny. Especially when he said of the look of one of the statues; ‘He didn't look like the sort of guy you’d want to go to the pub with.’ I even tried the Roman Bath Spa water, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although Kayleigh might disagree!

Unfortunately we only got to spend about 90 minutes in Bath, but what I saw I loved, and will definitely go back at some point. Even though coach tours are very structured, I think they are great to give a taster of a place that you haven’t been before.  

New places and activities #3 and new food #6: Eating horror

I don’t usually do anything for Halloween but this year I went all out and celebrated twice, the second time was mainly to celebrate my birthday (which happened to be 3 weeks ago.) On Friday me and Twinee went to an Edible Horror Farm. It took place at Standalone Farm in Letchworth, where during the day they had kid friendly Halloween things to do.

So what is an Edible Horror Farm? Well we were given a tour of the farm in groups of 15. Our tour guide was an American ‘crime scene investigator’ who encouraged us to take pictures of all the crimes. The crimes were fairy tale ones, so we saw the three little pigs….dead, and the wolf from little red riding hood….dead. There were also various limbs hanging from trees covered in blood en-route, to add to the horror. I also got picked on to be the ‘team leader,’ so every now and then the detective made sure I was taking in everything. He also took down my name and date of birth, and later on in the tour I got called upon and I looked over to a field to see a scary clown and a grave with my name on it. I've saw my own grave!

After the tour finished, we got to eat lots of horror treats. There was a little house with a creepy lady, with lots of cake eye balls to try. A haunted tree had baskets hanging off it, filled with macaroons. And then there were 2 other barns, which had random things to try. These included rabbit poo which was really chocolate ganache and human ears which were chocolate brownies and these tasted great.

Two highlights of the food I tried was a ‘dead body’ made out of fruit cake, which also made me jump (the human alive parts, not the cake.) And also for new food number 5 I tried…..a locus! It was okay, tasted crunchy and a little nutty in flavour.

What did you do for Halloween, anything weird and wacky like an edible horror farm?  Also thanks Twinee for the great photos!

Try new foods #4 and #5: The flying cheek of it

I’m a big fan of Australian MasterChef, forget the British one, the Australian one has bigger challenges and better food! Recently they had a challenge that involved cooking pigeon, and when booking a work dinner I saw pigeon was on the menu, so of course I had to try it. The picture isn't great, but it tasted pretty good. The meat was firm but not too chewy, and was perfect size for a starter.

For my main course I had Ox cheek, and my phone was playing up so no picture of it I'm afraid. It tasted great; the meat was very soft and flaky. With the gravy that went with it being quite rich, this meant I got full quite quickly. Next time I won’t be having two meat courses, but will definitely have both meats again.

I ate at The Tickell Arms, which is a great pub restaurant in Whittlesford near Cambridge. Let me know if you've tried any unusual meats, and what ones I should try next.