Popcorn!

I'm in my final year at university and with exams not far off I'm getting down to some revision.  As much as I think it's important to have a good diet (not just when you've got exams!) sometimes you need a break from the brain foods (although I do love avocados and blueberries).  So for those moments when you just need a tasty treat my advice is popcorn and not just the boring salty or sweet options (although these are perfectly fine).  I've tried out a couple of more exciting combinations.

I got a popcorn maker at the start of the year.  This may seem extravagant  but I realised that microwave popcorn really is expensive and that I would quickly save the £20 the machine cost me simply because basic popping corn is so much cheaper.  The Andrew James popcorn maker is also a much healthier way of making popcorn as it is air popped (rather than using fat).  You generally need to add a certain amount of butter or oil to get toppings to stick but this way you are in control of exactly how much goes on.  If you don't want to invest in a machine then don't worry, you can also just use a saucepan.

One thing I did learn while preparing this post was how hard it is to photograph popcorn, especially when your bowl is bright green!  I must therefore apologise if the photos don't look as appetising as they could, I will work on my photography skills in future.

The first batch of popcorn I made I flavoured with paprika.  You will be seeing quite a few recipes appearing on my blog which use paprika.  This is because a friend brought a lot of paprika after a visit to Hungary and I decided it was high time to use it.

Hot and sweet paprika

After popping some corn I mixed a couple of teaspoons of sweet paprika with about a tablespoon of olive oil and poured it over the popcorn before mixing in until the popcorn was nicely coated.

Paprika popcorn

Paprika popcorn is very tasty as it is, especially if you are fond of savoury popcorn.  However, we decided to make the popcorn even better by grating some cheddar cheese over the popcorn and microwaving it to melt the cheese.  This was a great idea and made for a very tasty treat.

Paprika popcorn with melted cheese

For those of you who have a sweeter tooth, the next batch of popcorn is for you!  Simply pop some corn and while it's popping melt a tablespoon of butter in a mug in a microwave, then add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the butter and mix it in along with a teaspoon of white caster sugar.  When the popcorn is ready pour over the butter, cinnamon and sugar and mix it in until the popcorn is evenly coated. I have read that cinnamon also works well with honey instead of butter and sugar but have not tried this combination yet!

Cinnamon popcorn

The great thing about popcorn as a snack is that you can use pretty much anything as a topping - I recently tried some salt and pepper popcorn which was interesting and grew on me as a flavour combination the more I ate.  As snacks go, this one is cheap, versatile and most importantly, delicious!

SE1 - Borough Market

I love visiting home and getting the chance to explore my home city, London.  There is so much on offer for foodies it's hard to know where to start, but ever since my mum told me that the German Deli has a stall and shop in Borough Market I've been dying to go.  I know it's not been long since I've been to Germany, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to visit the market with my mum this week.

We got to the market around 11 so we could have a good look round before deciding where to have lunch.  The smells coming from many of the stalls were so inviting and all of the produce was beautifully presented!

Having wandered around the stalls, tasting as we went, we made it across the road to the part of the market where there are stalls selling hot food, perfect for lunch.  After a brief pause to take photos in front of the impressive Brezen (I'm so used to talking about them in German I just can't call them pretzels), we wandered along the row of stalls until one serving Indian food caught our eye.

For £6.50 you could have cumin rice, with their three dishes of the day, I particularly liked the potato dish we tried, however the cauliflower and mung bean curries were also delicious.  The onion bhaji was unusual and although I liked it, it wasn't an outstanding part of the lunch.

Next on our list was the German Deli stall.  Although I only left Germany earlier this week but I am already missing the food!  Fortunately, this stall (along with their shop which is just around the corner) was able to satisfy my cravings.  We came away with some Nürnberger Rostbratwürste (a small, herby variety of sausage which I discovered on my year abroad), some Weißwurst, sweet mustard, a jar of Sauerkraut and a couple of Brezen.  I'm looking forward to cooking myself some traditional German food when I get back to Cambridge.

I was pleased to see the full range of Hela curry ketchups on their stand and will definitely be placing an order for some online, along with some Bratwürste to eat with it, at some point.

We finished off our trip by popping into Neal's Yard Dairy.  I hadn't heard of them before but they are a fantastic shop which specialise in British cheese.  The shop is amazing, mainly because the decoration is the cheese - there are huge wheels of cheese everywhere with even more blocks displayed appetisingly on the counter with labels to tell you what they are and where they're from.

After a last wander through the market to take in the aromas one last time we headed home, laden with German specialities and some particularly tasty goats cheese.  I had a lovely time and will definitely be going back soon to try some more of what's on offer - maybe something a little sweeter next time - and also to have a better look at the shops surrounding the market, particularly places like Bread Ahead, which looked really interesting - I would definitely be tempted to try a course there at some point!