leaky bucket

apologies to all the male diners who ate with us on saturday. kelly was in london, so i worked the sink. thankfully it was not that busy, so i managed to keep up ok and also got to talk to some of the diners. the problem with the place is that the upstairs is being left to rot and we have to deal with the consequences. sometimes we feel like the little boy with his finger in the dam, because as soon as we think we've blocked up one hole, another appears and the water comes in. the men's toilet area appears to have the biggest hole. i'll be taking in some plastic sheeting tomorrow and some mastic, to see if we can't stick on a big plaster, but really the place needs to be knocked down and built again. you guys are the most patient people and i would like to extend our thanks to you once again.

here are a couple of recipes.

shrikhand

we're making this vegan and to do so, you have to plan ahead. it is easy to make with good greek yoghurt because that is quite thick anyway but to make it vegan it is best to start by making a labne. labne is a yoghurt cheese that is made by straining yoghurt through a piece of muslin or a tea towel. line a sieve with the muslin and put in the yoghurt. place over a bowl and leave in the fridge for a minimum of one day, better two. this will allow the water to drain from the yoghurt and give you something like a ricotta consistency. at this point you can let your imagination run away with you. add chilli, garlic, herbs, honey, sesame seeds and roll in your hand to make little labne balls to accompany a wide range of Mediterranean food. to make the shrikhand we take the drained yoghurt and sweeten with vanilla sugar and agave nectar (honey would be just as good), then whisk. this is too thick so we now let it down with undrained yofu, in a 2:1 proportion; start with 2 yofus that have been drained, sweeten and then add an undrained yofu back in. you can then add what you fancy. this wek we've used mostly mango but also some kiwi and some mangosteen. serve in a sundae glass.

this week i shall be attempting a vegan barfi to go with the shrikand. barfi are extremely easy to make, especially if you start with condensed milk. just add whatever you like (ground pistachio or other nuts, dessicated or freshly grated coconut) and mix and bang it in the microwave. do it in 1 minute bursts and stir in between. you will feel the texture begin to change as it is cooked and stop when it feels thick. place in a box and allow to cool. cut in to bits and you have a delicious snack. i'll try to make some vegan condensed milk by dissolving lots of sugar in some soy milk and letting it simmer until it thickens. i may add some cardamom pods as well because we had a beautiful cardamom and rice milk sorbet at Park House on saturday. i may even steal that for a future menu. fingers crossed that it works.

cheers

wayne