Still No News

Another week has passed and there’s still been absolutely no news about the out building. Essentially we're sure that we’ve lost all of the tools, all of the timber and all of the stuff being stored in there, we’re certain the insurance company aren’t going to replace any of it but, whilst it’s a huge loss that we can’t really afford to absorb, it’s not our main concern. What we really need to know, and what we’re really concerned about, is if or when the insurance company are going to help us with the building its self, the longer it stands without any work being done to it the greater the risk of collapse and if it collapses it’s likely to take the other building attached to it down with it.

I Made Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork on the Barbecue...

I’m really developing a taste for Caribbean food, I made jerk chicken and jerk pork on the barbecue with sweet potato wedges, rice and peas and corn on the cob.

Simple Blackberry Crumble

We're getting into August, summer is starting to wind down (wishful thinking), it'll soon be Autumn and the brambles are already loaded and ripe. That can only mean one thing, it looks like it's blackberry crumble time.

You will need:
500g frozen blackberries
2tsp light brown sugar
250g plain flour
100g butter
75g granulated sugar

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Tip the blackberries in to the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkle over the brown sugar.
3. In a large bowl, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it has a breadcrumb like consistency.
4. Mix in the granulated sugar.
5. In a fairly even layer, tip the crumble mix over the blackberries.
6. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Notes:
Serve with custard, cream or icecream.

Review: Hickory’s Smokehouse, Castle Bromwich

Earlier in the year I paid a visit to Hickory's Smokehouse, in Castle Bromwich, and to be honest I was quite impressed. Walking into the place the smell of smoking and grilling meat hits you instantly and within seconds my mouth was watering. We hadn’t booked a table and, with it being fairly busy, we had a slight wait, this wasn't unexpected and thanks to the layout of the restaurant it wasn’t too bad. The restaurant has been separated into two main areas, a larger eating area and a smaller bar area, we walked over to the bar, found ourselves a couple of stools and ordered drinks. The bar has a decent selection of good quality beers, ciders, spirits and soft drinks to keep you ticking over while you wait, in fact I’d go as far as saying the selection was better than a lot of pubs I’ve visited as of late.

After waiting for about 40 minutes a member of staff collected us from the bar, took us to our table, spent a few minutes explaining the menu and left us to our deliberations. As there was 2 of us, and it being the first time either of us had visited, we went for the Smokehouse Platter to get a little taste of a bit of everything and, as it turned out, we were in for quite the treat. The platter came with several types of ribs, smoked beef sausage, beef brisket, pulled pork and beans, fries, slaw and pickles, we split everything down the middle and shared it out onto two plates. All the meat was absolutely gorgeous, so much time and effort had clearly been put into preparing, smoking and cooking each different cut that I honestly can’t fault a thing with any of them, even the pork and beans was absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending any of the meats we tried. The pickles and slaw were decent, they made a fairly good side and a reasonable counter point to the meat, though I would have personally preferred frickles or mac n’ cheese. Unfortunately they were slightly let down by the fries, they weren’t great, they were somewhat tasteless and greasy. They seemed like run of the mill frozen fries to me, the likes of which you’d expect to find in a chain pub, this is something that I found disappointing in a place that clearly puts so much effort into other aspects of their food and, seeing as the fries come with virtually every meal, I expected them to be better.

Overall I really do recommend this place, it’s a great place to eat with decent decor, a good atmosphere, a good menu and, for the most part, excellent quality food. Obviously some improvements could be made, but I left feeling full and happy with my menu choice.

It's Not Looking Good

It’s now been two weeks since the fire and a week since the second set of fire and forensic investigators visited the wreckage. We’re still no further forward, we’ve heard absolutely nothing more from our insurance company and it’s starting to look like we’re going to be footing the bill ourselves. If that’s the case we’re in a real mess, we simply can’t afford what it’s going to cost to clear the ground and that’s before we’ve even thought about the re-building process.

Review: Tasty Plaice, Grand Central Birmingham

On Sunday afternoon I happened to be in Birmingham town centre, in Grand Central, waiting on a train home. Since I hadn't eaten anything all day, I decided to get some food and try out one of the many eateries in and around the local vicinity. Unfortunately the place I was really interested in hasn't opened yet so, as it had been several months since the last time I had takeaway fish and chips, I settled on Tasty Plaice.

Whilst I do have to compliment them on their service, it was fast, friendly and fairly efficient, the food itself was definitely disappointing. The first thing I noticed was that, despite being quite busy and assumingly having a high turnover, a lot of the food appeared to have been sat in the heated display for some time. This is never a good thing, it points to poor management, high food wastage and generally means that everything will be over cooked.

Ignoring my initial misgivings, and hoping the food in the display was only there for display purposes, I decided to go for haddock, chips and curry sauce. The chips themselves were black country style, meaning they're battered, and whilst this isn't inherently a bad thing, when done well black country chips are absolutely lovely, these were not good. They were cold, greasy and tasteless, they had clearly been being kept warm for quite some time as any crispness was long gone and it left them unpleasantly soggy. The curry was the only hot thing on the meal, unfortunately warmth was all it had going for it, it was watery and almost completely tasteless. The fish, the thing I had been looking forward to most, was by far the biggest disappointment. Happily the fish did not come out of display, however, when I cut into it, it was a very small, thin piece of fish coated in a lot of heavy batter, which was both soggy from standing and hard from being overcooked. The batter was so cold, hard and greasy that it was almost inedible, I ended up cutting a large proportion of the batter off and throwing it away. Inside the fish hadn't fared much better, it was almost cold and very dry. The fish had so little of the flavour that you would normally associate with fresh, fried haddock that I honestly couldn't have told what type of fish I was eating, it just tasted old.

Needless to say I won't be making a return visit and, as much as I liked the service, I won't be able to recommend this place to anyone. It definitely was not worth the nearly £7 it cost me for one of the worst portions of fish and chips I've had in a long time, I've had much better fish and chips at half this price.

Maple Syrup Candied Bacon

Sweet maple syrup poured over salty crispy bacon is a surprising, and thoroughly delicious, combination. Why not take this to the next level? Actually cook your bacon with maple syrup and make a sweet and salty bacon candy treat.

You will need:
10 - 12 rashers of streaky bacon
4 tbsp of maple syrup (possibly more)

Method:
1. Pre-heat your grill to a medium / high temperature, if you get it too hot it will burn the sugar in the syrup.
2. Place a piece of tin foil over your grill pan and lay the bacon out evenly on top, do not overcrowd the grill.
3. Drizzle over some maple syrup and use a brush to ensure the bacon has an even coating.
4. Place the pan under the grill and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until the bacon reaches your desired level of caramelisation.
5. Turn over the bacon, drizzle on more maple syrup and repeat the process.
6. Once your desired level of caramelisation is reached remove the bacon from the grill and allow to cool slightly, this will let the caramelised sugar in the maple syrup set and give the bacon a crispy, candied finish.

Notes:
This is not only great on its own, as a sweet and salty treat, it’s also awesome in a bacon cob (yes it’s a cob, as in cobbled loaf, not a bun, a bun is sweet) with a good helping of tangy brown sauce.

Had Enough of This Week

Is it ok if I just want to lie next to you, with my head on your stomach, and forget the world exists for a while?

No Progress

I know it’s only been a week, but, since the fence went up there’s been absolutely no progress made on clearing the rubble or even on securing the site. To top that off it’s starting to look like the insurance company are going to try and get out of helping us. We’ve heard absolutely nothing from them until this morning and all we’ve heard today is that they’re now sending a second fire investigator and a second forensic investigator over to check out the wreckage. Basically the insurance company didn’t like the opinions of the first two, independent, guys they sent over so they’re sending over guys from their in-house teams.

The Rebuilding Process

After a stressful few days the structural engineer, fire investigator, forensic investigator and insurance loss adjuster have all been. Checks, investigations, interviews and reports have all been done, in some cases several times. Thankfully no reason to deny our claim has been found and the insurance company has given the builders the go ahead to come in, make the site safe and start clearing the rubble.

The builders arrived first thing this morning to fence the site off and make a start on the gable ends, hopefully by the time I get home from work some progress will have been made and I'll be able to take some photos.

Nothing But The Shell Remains

The fire crews have been and gone, the wreckage is cooled and starting to dry out. It's now much easier and safer to get in close and see the damage, so here's a few better shots of what remains.

If It Wasn't For Bad Luck I'd Have No Luck At All

What an amazing start to the week, woken by the smell of smoke to find the garage and work shop entirely engulfed in flames and then getting to witness it collapsing, crushing the greenhouse and anything else in it’s path to shards. Thousands of pounds of tools, camping equipment, motorbike, stored furniture and greenhouse reduced to a smouldering pile of ash and rubble in no time. Thankfully no one was hurt and the fire crews arrived in time to stop it spreading to any of the surrounding buildings, including the house.

Wolverhampton Food Festival

Some epic food was had at the Wolverhampton Food Festival over the weekend.

Impromptu Fire Pit Cookout

When I got home from work yesterday, It was such a nice evening, I decided that an impromptu fire pit cookout was in order.

Not Really A Review: Baked In Brick, Digbeth

It was a pizza kind of weekend and thanks to Baked in Brick in Birmingham, who served up some of the best pizza I’ve ever had, I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Although not officially open yet, over the weekend they were offering a taster menu and, if this is anything to go by, I really can’t wait to see what the full menu has to offer.

Summery, Outdoorsy Thing Was Done

So I did a summery thing today. Ok, I had to wait until it was nearly dark out and even then it was too bright for me so I had to wear a hat, but summery, outdoorsy thing was done.