Weekend at The Plough - Harborne, Birmingham

Last weekend I was lucky enough to dine out twice at The Plough, which for a student with a fairly restricted budget, was a major treat. After my trip there at the end of last year (read all about that here) I was desperate to go back and try the rest of the menu.

On Saturday I headed to The Plough for brunch. I'm a big breakfast lover. I'm a morning person and never miss breakfast, so eating out for the first meal of the day is one of my favourite things to do, and after examining The Plough's brunch menu I was very excited. (By the way I find breakfast and brunch to be pretty similar - either way I always end up having a bit of lunch and I guess the only real difference is that you go out later for brunch).

I decided to go for a smoothie, I think it was made with strawberry and mango.

If I really think about it, it was probably a bit overpriced but it was yummy and we went out for brunch to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday, so as it was a special occasion I decided to splash out a bit. When I looked at the menu the coconut milk porridge jumped out at me and I'm not really sure why. I don't particularly like coconut but I think seeing as it came with honeycomb and mango that was what swayed me. I'm very glad I ordered it though.

The portion size was spot-on and as well as coming with a few chunks of mango, it was also served with a mango purée which was delicious.

The porridge was really tasty and I will definitely make porridge with coconut milk in the future for a a bit of variation. Everyone elses food looked really good as well, in particular the pancakes with bacon and maple syrup.

On Sunday my parents came up to visit so we went to The Plough for Sunday lunch. We all had the roast.

It was massive! I went for beef, which was served pink, and there was loads of it. I hate going out for Sunday lunch and only being given one small slice of meat but this is not something to worry about at The Plough. The beef was really tasty and seasoned with a fair amount of pepper. I found the roast potatoes to be a bit too salty for my liking but they weren't so salty I found them inedible. The Yorkshire pudding was good and the veg was great too (peas, red cabbage and swede mash).

It's not cheap but you definitely get your money's worth and it's all really good quality. My only niggle is that the potatoes were a tad too salty and I would've prefered more gravy, but I guess I like to drown my plate in gravy so most people would probably find it to be an adequate amount. It's the perfect place to go when parents come to visit, if you want to splash out for a special occasion or if you just love great food and money is no object.

I'm yet to try the burger so I guess I'll have to go back soon!

Current Obsession: Avocado

My obsession with avocados began a fair few months ago and I still can't get enough of them.

I just love them. They have a subtle flavour and a creamy texture and make lunch time so much more interesting.

My favourite way to eat avocado at the moment is by mashing it up, adding a bit of black pepper and lemon juice to it, and then spreading on toast and topping with bacon or prosciutto and poached eggs.

I think bacon and avocado is a combination made in heaven and this dish makes the perfect weekend brunch.

I also love cutting it up and adding it to salads, such as my Chorizo and Avocado Salad.

Its great mashed up and spread in pitta breads or wraps as an extra filling to sandwiches. It's filled with good fats, fibre and vitamins so you can enjoy it, smugly knowing that it's doing your body some good.

If you've never bought an avocado before it can seem a bit alien so here are some tips I think are useful to know for buying/preparing avocados.

1) Don't waste money on cheap avocados that aren't yet ripe. When faced with a choice between cheap, unripe avocados or more expensive ripe ones, especially as a student, you probably think you're saving money going for the cheap option. In my experience, all of the cheap avocados have ended up going straight from unripe to over-ripe and have been sometimes mouldy when I've cut into them. Personally I don't find it's worth buying cheap ones that I may have to throw out without eating, when I can spend a few more pence on one that's already ripe and ready to eat.

2) To cut, use a sharp knife and slice down the middle of the fruit, making sure you cut through the flesh to the stone all around the outside. Twist the two halves and pull apart, and to remove the stone, use a sharp knife to slip it out. 

3) If you put a bit of lemon juice on one half if you want to save it for the next day, it will prevent it from discolouring. Also I've heard that by keeping the half with the stone in for the next day, the stone will stop the flesh from discolouring, but I haven't found that works for me.

I love them and I'm pretty sure they will be top of my weekly shopping list for many more months. If you haven't tried them, give them a go! You may be missing out on something you really like.

Brunch at the Fino Lounge - Whitchurch, Cardiff

Ever since the Fino Lounge opened in Whitchurch six years ago it has been the place my friends and I meet. We love the Fino and yesterday we went for brunch/lunch for a catch up. I had a breakfast dish from the new menu and it was so good I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

The Lounges are a chain of cafe/bars that have grown from the original Lounge which opened in Bristol in 2002. I love the idea behind them, there is something for everyone. They describe themselves as being  "informal, neighbourhood food led cafe/bars open all-day everyday where families, friends, and locals can come for a coffee, a drink, or something to eat in a relaxed comfortable environment". I find there are plenty of occasions where the Fino (or any other of the Lounges) would be a suitable place to go.

As I mentioned earlier this week, there are plenty of really nice places to go for a coffee in North Cardiff. The Fino is one of them. The interior is really cool (I feel a bit naff using that word, but that's what it is!). There's a mix of tables with benches and mismatched chairs and sofas. The walls are covered in vintage-style patterned wallpaper and a selection of interesting photos and mirrors. I love looking around at the walls whenever I'm there as there is always something I haven't noticed before. I've been to another couple of the Lounges and they are similarly decorated and all have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Also they really feel like they have a character and personality, not just something created in an office that could exist anywhere like a lot of chain restaurants and cafes.

The Fino Lounge has a lovely, bright upstairs area with big windows that are opened in the summer. Its a great place to hang out. I don't want to say too much about it as no doubt it will feature quite a lot in future posts. I don't think I can understate how often I go there! Here's a link to their website if you want to find out a little more.

Yesterday I met up with some of my friends for lunch. We were going to meet in the morning and after having a little look at the menu several of the brunch dishes caught my eye. After we changed our meeting time to the afternoon I decided to take advantage of the fact that they serve brunch all day and ordered something new that has been added to the menu recently (they tend to change their menus several times throughout the year) called The Mexican.

Chorizo, peppers and chili in a tomato sauce with a toasted muffin topped with guacamole and two poached eggs. It was good. Really good. So good I can't stop thinking about it.

I don't really know what else to say about it apart from that it was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had (even though I ate at 2pm) and it will be really hard to ever try anything else from their menu. It was pretty hot so I would advise steering clear if you can't stand spicy food but I loved it. A beautiful balance of flavours and perfectly poached eggs. It was absolutely delicious.

My friends thought their food was delicious too. Two of them had a firm favourtie, Lounge Eggs (a toasted muffin with poached eggs, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce) which they both enjoyed.

Another friend had the Halloumi and Muhammara Dip Panini (right) and the other one had the Twisted Chicken Club Sandwich (below). They both really liked their food and I can vouch that the chicken sandwich is good as I had it at the Arco Lounge last week. It was really flavoursome with a lot of different elements in it but not too complex that all the ingredients were lost (although when I had it there was very little guacamole which I was a tad disappointed about). Sometimes you can't beat a good old sandwich!

We all enjoyed our food and the new additions to the menu are very welcome (although we wish they would bring back the meatball panini!).

If you recommend anything from the new menu then please leave a comment below!

Migas

About 4 years ago, on a family holiday we caught the ferry down to Santander in northern Spain and drove through the Pyrenees to the Costa Brava. We stopped off in the mountains for a couple of nights on the journey to the coast and one night I had Migas as a starter in the hotel restaurant.

I wasn't entirely sure what I ordered as the restaurant staff couldn't speak English and my mum's translation was something like breadcrumbs with bacon and eggs. I thought I'd give it ago anyway and I'm glad I did.

I was served a bowl filled with crispy breadcrumbs and bacon, and I asked for it without eggs but instead there were some grapes all mixed in. It was delicious anyway and as soon as I got home I found a recipe online and made it myself.

I have absolutely no idea where I got that recipe, and when I made it earlier I just made it from memory (if I remembered correctly that is) so I'm not sure how traditional this is but it tastes good!

To make enough to serve 2 you will need:

125g of breadcrumbs (made from a two day old or slightly stale loaf of white bread)

35g of diced chorizo

75g of lardons (or diced bacon)

1 1/2 teaspoons of sweet Pimentón (or smoked paprika)

Plenty of olive oil

2 eggs

Add the Pimentón to the breadcrumbs and stir so it is evenly distributed.

In a frying pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the meat until it is cooked and crispy.

Once cooked, chuck the breadcrumbs into the pan and stir until they are lightly coated in oil, the meat is evenly distributed throughout and they have turned orange.

Keep cooking until the breadcrumbs are all crispy and set aside. In the pan, add a little oil and fry the eggs. Serve in a bowl with an egg on top of each pile of crispy breadcrumbs.

I love this dish. Its so quick and easy and tastes amazing. I just love sweet Pimentón, its probably my favourtie spice and combined with the chorizo it turns the breadcrumbs a wonderful deep and rich orange. I think this would be a great brunch. Let me know in the comments if you've ever had/made this, I'd love to know how traditional this dish is and at what meal it's usually eaten!