London Baby!

Gosh, what an eventful and loooong week it was last week! I won’t dwell but needless to say, I have finally finished my 4th year of medical school by completing a rather complicated thyroid biochemistry report at 15:59 on Friday – I had one whole minute to play with before the deadline lol! Anyhoo, enough of that – I shall be channelling my inner 1950s housewife and denying ALL knowledge of being *almost* a doctor for the next month wahoo!

To kick start this wonderful month off, I once again set the alarm clock for 05:30 and fell from bed, into a shower, into some pre-prepared clothes, into my car, to the station then onto a train (via an IV infusion of coffee at Costa) to London BABY! (Does that ever get old?!) And once there, I met up with 5 girls I’ve gotten to know over the past several years from the old Nigella.com. When one lass who called herself Cappuccino decided to come over from her home in Finland, as many of us as poss wanted to join her for a day of foodie fun. And we have the most fabulous day!
After a “pre-meet up meet up” with Shaz (who is extremely lovely and we chatted like we’d known each other years!) we met Cappuccino, Casey and EricTheKat (to use their old forum names 😉 ) congregated at the fabulous Borough Market, we went a wandering and found delights such as these giant spices!

Ok, I PhotoShopped the image on the right which is actually a teeny weeny pot of chipotle pepper I couldn’t resist buying for some soul food I’m now able to make but the image on the left shows cans that must have been a kilo worth of sweet or spicy smoked paprika – I’ve never seen spices in such vast vessels! I didn’t partake in a kilo of paprika but am longing to see that King Can on my wee dinky spice rack lol! 🙂

The market was moderately busy for a Saturday morning so we were able to stroll about quite leisurely and as I was wandering, lost in a fuzzy headed foodie haze, I caught the most spectacular site out of the corner of my eyes – now tell me you don’t agree?

The most ginormous pile of the most incredible variety of heirloom tomatoes, the like of which I have only ever seen on the Barefoot Contessa … and to be honest, I think I paid for their air fare too! These are what I bought:

One red and two green tiger stripey toms and three luminescent yellow toms. I was 100% smitten the instant I saw these, knew I had to have them, did not stop to look at the price because after all, they are only tomatoes so imagine my face when the market seller asked me for £6.60 for these 6 tomatoes?!?!?! Actually, I have an excellent poker face so I was just “fainting on the floor” inwardly metaphorically speaking lol! Anyhoo, onwards and upwards – on to the Sweet Section:

These a wee small selection of the sweet stuff on offer at the market – giant vanilla or raspberry meringues, multicoloured macarons and of course – the infamous “Curly Wurly” cake of Konditor & Cook. This is a cake many of the original N.com crew bonded over – Shaz was singing it’s praises loudly – but I am yet to make it and I know not why? I mean, just what can be bad about a chocolate cake slathered in vanilla cream cheese frosting? I feel another post coming on…

At this point, we 6 (including the lovely Cappucino’s boyfriend aka photographer for “Team London” for the day) were ready to leave the market in search of lunch and to meet another foodie friend Mandy in Covent Garden. So we strolled along the South Side of the Thames in glorious sunshine (I got a bit of a tan!) and took in sights such as these guys blowing giant bubbles to many a child (and adult – me)’s delight!

Oh, and took a minute to stand and pose outside the London Eye en route to possibly my favourite place in London, Covent Garden.

So eventually we made it to our lunch destination – Thomasina Myer’s cheap, fun and fresh fabulous restaurant Wahaca were we became 7 and ate our fill of handmade guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa and yellow habanero dip for starters washed down with mostly Mexican beer with heaps of fresh lime juice in a glass with a salt dipped rim – a “classic chelada” – ooooo! Then, as the restaurant is really “Mexican tapas”, we ordered a vast selection of dishes to share – tacos, tostadas, quesadillias and tacquitos filled with various cheeses, veggies and meats and a side salad. Oh my word, it was a bountiful banquet I could eat everyday of my life! (As y’all know, me and hubs went to Mexico for our honeymoon and fell in love with their food big time.) Anyhoo, as for dessert – as it was a “treat” day for me I thought, sod the calories and gimme pud! So I opted for the salted caramel Valrhona chocolate ice cream which OMG is worth going to London for alone! Our biscuit making bud Pam went for the churros with the most divine chocolate sauce you could imagine – both deserve places in the chocolate hall of fame.

Then what else would a bunch of foodies do who have spent the day guzzling samples at Borough Market then feasting medieval banquet style at Wahaca but go to the Primrose Bakery of course!

My Fabulous Foodie Friends 🙂

Here we oo-ed and ah-ed over the rows and rows of beautifully decorated cupcakes and partook in a box each to take home. I was very restraint and only took a mocha one for me and a coconut lime one for Hungry Hubby. Oh I love, love, love this shop but of course I would do as I made their amaretto cupcakes as my wedding cakes last year – and I’m a big sentimental softie pants!

So we said our goodbyes to the Primrose Bakery and shortly after, started making our weary ways home, tummies bulging over our waist bands and shopping bags bulging with memorabilia but with the still radiant sun warming our shoulders. A truly fabulous foodie day and one I hope to repeat at the next available opportunity! Thank you ladies for making this the most fun way to start a month long holiday I can imagine! Mwah XXX