The White Hart at Hamstead Marshall

I trust very few people when they tell me if a restaurant is good or bad. All of these select people went to The White Hart (after its recent reopening) before I'd had a chance and to say they were less than impressed would be somewhat of an understatement. However, I have learnt recently that a poor first experience is not always a fair representation of a restaurant although, to be honest, why should you put up with a poor experience when you're paying for it? That's another matter.

Damson and Apple Crumble

Crumble is the food I turn to when the evenings start getting darker and it starts getting cooler. The way the sweet, slightly tart fruit of choice bubbles and seeps through the crunchy, crumbly, biscuity top is a sure fire way to warm you from inside to out. What I love about crumble is that it's so versatile; the fruit is whatever fruit you can get your hands on. 

I think that a person's crumble is as unique as their fingerprint. Some crumbles are like a great wave of shortbread on top of the fruit, some are all big and little bits scattered willy nilly all over the place, some add extra sugar on the top, some add nuts and some add oats. Whatever your crumble style, it's your own. 

Purple Cauliflower Cheese

When you have a cauliflower and you add a little cheese you can't fail to make something unfathomably gorgeous. There is no other place I know of that you can get a purple cauliflower apart from my local farmers' market. If you saw it at a glance you may have to do a double take to reassure yourself that it is real. 

I think the cauliflower is a very lucky vegetable. It's no looker but I'm yet to meet someone who doesn't think the union of cauliflower and cheese is glorious. Being purple as opposed to its equally delicious, much paler, white cousin adds something extra to what might otherwise have been a beige overload on the side of the plate. 

Glo Restaurant at Reading

Glo restaurant in Reading might be one that you walk right past without even noticing it. It is slightly understated and doesn't make a meal of itself. I have to say that I thought Glo was a chain and it was all mass produced microwaved food. I was invited to review this restaurant by a PR company. It turned out that in fact the food is locally sourced and freshly prepared on site.
There are grills, pizzas, curries and all sorts; something for everyone. They also have an extensive range of cocktails and some rather inviting combinations and flavours. It was nice to see that the non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu had been considered and were not just an afterthought. The picture is of a delicious mango lassi and it took us a while to realise the swirls actually spelled something out!

Lemon Drizzle Cake

There have been cakes in my past which I tried either when I was too young to appreciate them or they were a mass produced poor version of what is actually a beautiful cake. An example of this is carrot cake. What I thought carrot cake tasted like was nothing compared to when I made one for myself; it wasn't dry it was moist, it wasn't boring it was luscious and the icing is by far my favourite of all icing. 

Another cake I had always ignored was lemon drizzle cake. Ones that I had tried were too sticky, not lemony or had so much icing you could have waded through it. This was my unshakable opinion and I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, until I made it myself.