'New' Deli

There's a new deli on Pollokshaws Road - the artist formerly known as Remedy has reopened under the (much better) name of Gusto and Relish.

Their website, which was working last week but now seems to be down, appeared to hint that they will be offering a delivery service before long, as well as some well-sourced deli food and light bites in their cafe.

Mr Gastro and I are househunting in this approximate neck-of-the-woods, so all new food ventures are most welcome.

I will definitely be paying a visit very soon!
GG x

Spag bol and deli dinners

I abandoned my ambitious crostini tonight when I realised I had no frozen mussels, and the weather was preventing a trip to the fishmonger. I decided to scrap it, and make good old spag bol instead. Maybe a bit heavy with the caramel croissant pudding for afters... but it was easily kept warm for Mr Gastro, and I could help myself as soon as it was ready. 

As I'm going to be cooking for one next week (Mr Gastro is away for work), spag bol might be on the menu again. I just don't put as much effort into cooking when it's only me, but I really should. Perhaps I'll go to a deli and buy some nice cheese, bread and meat; and have some picnic-style dinners! I bought some brioche earlier along with the croissants, and I'm waiting for it to go stale so I can make Mr. G a going-away bread-and-butter pudding... I say it's for him, but we all know the truth... 

GGx

Picture by Sarah Sosiak, Flickr

Dilemma

After meeting a pal in the West End yesterday my 'rain food' (see below!) ended up being a beautiful, steaming pot of mussels from Brel, in a garlic and white-wine cream. Absolutely delicious. I made moules mariniere for Mr Gastro not so long ago, with a huge (2kg) bag of mussels from Alan Beveridge (near Hillhead underground), some garlic, wine, shallot and parsley. He seemed to enjoy it, so I may repeat the feat soon.

Having come in last night and had a late coq au vin supper (yes, even after the mussels!) I need to do a bit of cooking this afternoon for tonight. Maybe something a bit simpler, like a penne arriabiata, or some mini vegetable filo pies with the Filo pastry I have in the freezer.... 

I think I need to go food shopping, and then decide! 

Photo by peskymac, Flickr.

Deli shopping

I mentioned in my last post, 'Credit Crunch Cook', that I do deli shopping if I happen to be passing. In Glasgow, there are so many lovely individual food shops I'm spoiled for choice. I mentioned Tapa yesterday, and I love their bread and cakes. Other favourites, though, include:

Kember and Jones, pictured, on Byres Road. They sell everything for a goumet picnic or deli dinner; olives, sundried tomatoes, wonderful cheeses and freshly prepared sauces. They have a good range of cookbooks too, and some kitchen 'gadgets'. Their meringues are really special.

Heart Buchanan, also on Byres Road. Their great service, where they will cook your dinner party food for you, in your own pots, is a lifesaver for the West End social set. But the deli food is a treat in itself - wonderful shelves crammed with jars from all around the world, smells emanating from the kitchen, meats and cheeses laid out under the counter. Marvellous.

Lupe Pinto's, on Great Western Road. Specialist deli selling American, Mexican and Spanish ingredients, including the legendary Bisquick. They've branched out into Japanese and Thai ingredients too, but this isn't their strength. Try the American sweets and Mexican spices. 

Other food shopping places that I love that aren't 'delicatessens' as such, are:

The Fish People, at Shields Road Underground. The best fishmonger in Glasgow, by a country mile. I have it on good authority that they supply to all the best seafood restaurants in the city. Remember not to visit on a Monday - but do go, every other day of the week, for beautiful, glistening fish, and the freshest shellfish you can find away from the coast. 

Roots and Fruits, Byres Road, Great Western Road. Brilliant vegetable shops, with a small selection of deli ingredients. 

Allison Street, Govanhill. Should really be Glasgow's Brick Lane, but the amount of fresh vegetable shops on this street, home to a varied mix of communities, makes it a foodie target. Citrus Green, at the Victoria Road end, is great for all sorts of veg, including many you won't have heard of! 

Lim's Chinese Supermarket on Cambridge Street. They sell everything for Japanese and Chinese cooking, including every kind of noodle you can imagine. They also sell woks and tea sets.

Credit crunch cook

My house is small, and doesn't heat easily. I've decided the best way to heat it this winter is to have the stove on, cooking, most of the day, rather than burning gas filling my rubbish heaters. Because the rooms are small, a good stew can heat my whole house for a day, not to mention the hot, steamy joy of actually eating the finished dish. 

The coq au vin I made tonight (see below) has made the house so lovely and warm that I'm going to dig out some old favourite cookbooks, including Lindsay Bareham's A Celebration of Soup, in preparation for my stew and soup heating-eating solution. I am already looking into getting a weekly organic vegetable box delivered (there are links to a couple of box companies who deliver to Glasgow at the bottom of the page), and I hope to be able to top this up with the farmers' market maybe once a month, a deli shop if I happen to be passing and, of course, the butcher and fishmonger. Luckily, my dad's a keen angler and can often surprise me with the odd catch. The wild salmon in my freezer came from his line. Making a conscious decision to stay away from the supermarket as much as possible, ironically in an effort to save money, has changed my eating habits forever for the better. I will occasionally do an online shop at a well known supermarket for bulk items: tins of  coconut milk and plum tomatoes; jars of curry paste; huge bags of rice. But in these times of financial anxiety, cooking big pots of healthy, fresh food will last a couple of days, be cheaper and heat your home (if it's as small as mine). It's a no-brainer for me.

Picture by Gypsy D, Flickr