Bon Appetite Review

We went for the 6 Course "Surprise Tasting Menu". There was no surprise it. I'm not surprised it has lost its Michelin Star. The menu is dated and lacked the taste that the reputation of the restaurant accredited.

The amuse bouche was the nicest thing about the menu and it went south after that. However, the amuse bouche was counted as 1 of the 6 courses. That was a bit cheeky.

Second course was a goats cheese, beetroot, and yellow pepper puree. This was nice, but I'm not sure why it was served on a slate.

Third course was by far the worst of the night and one of the worst dishes I've had in a restaurant in a while. I didn't finish it. It would have been expected on a menu for brunch about 2-3 years ago. A huge bit of black pudding which wasn't anything special, on a bed of mushy peas, and a hard poached egg. How can a good restaurant serve a hard poached egg? The peas lacked creation. Not even a bit of chopped up mint thrown in.

Fourth course was mediocre. The beef was cooked well but serving prawns with a red wine jus, mash potatoes, and some sort of black pepper sauce just didn't make sense and didn't complement one another at all. Again, the yellow pepper puree appeared on the dish.

Fifth course was a deconstructed cheese cake. I don't understand deconstructed dishes. Just serve it the way it was meant to be. The cream cheese tasted similar to the goats cheese from the second course but with a bit of sugar to make it more of a dessert. Digestive biscuits crumbled up was a bit hard to keep on the slate.

Sixth corse was a chocolate and peanut butter brownie with coconut ice cream, and again a few crumbled up digestive biscuits. Nothing either amazing or bad about this. It was just ok.

While the photos look good, they don't deserve to be in a restaurant with this reputation. I would have expected it to be served in your local family restaurant.

Anyway, the company of my girlfriend made the night. The food was just a happy go lucky night out. But maybe I just had too high of an expectation.

I Think Im Turning Into A Hippy

I have been absent from this blog for quite some time now. Not that I haven’t had time, I just don’t really know what to write about. I have 3 blog posts in the drafts that I haven’t posted. Actually 4. But maybe I will be able to delve into that sometime in the future.

Currently, I am in Angers. A nice little town in the North-West corner of France. Stuck between Nantes and Le Mans. I’m sure you have heard of those two places. Its level with Paris but best for about 2 hours on a train. Failing that description, just Google it. 

I have been here for the last month. The temptation of Macaroons and Eclairs are on every street. If that isn’t enough, you can get a macaroon scented candle, and soap. Although that it hard, being a weekday vegetarian is easier. I don’t like the milk here, so i am now becoming a weekday Vegan. The only reason I say I am a ‘weekday’ is because I eat animal protein on the weekends. I love the cheese here so its is like a treat for me. In the past, I tend to do things at 500 miles an hour and give it either 100% or 0%. I can’t do things at 50%. So weekday vegan/vegetarian is something that has been challenging in terms of not going out and changing my whole wardrobe to 100% Fair-trade Cotton and Vegan footwear. I haven’t started petitions or went on animal cruelty marches outside government buildings. I don’t push it on anyone else as well. It was my choice to do this. Both for a health and environmental reason. 

Health reasons being that we do not need to eat animal protein. Eggs, fish, chicken, meat, game. I believe that it is fair healthier to eat everything from a plant basis. 

Environmental reasons being that if we eat more meat, then more animals have to be raised which causes more methane (a biproduct of animals farts and burps). This gas causes more of a problem to global warming then cars do. If everyone decided to choose to cut down on animal protein, it would have a greater result then if everyone started driving hybrid cars. Furthermore, the cattle then have to be fed. More cattle = more food. Food that could be used for humans. The transportation costs of both feed, then the animal to the slaughterhouse, and then to the shops is astronomical. Animals that aren’t organic, are pumped with anti biotic, which results in humans becoming more resistant to antibiotics, which leads to the creation of super bugs. Its all a vicious cycle. 

I think i just went 100% there. Anyway, you get the gist. Do I feel better for being on this diet? Yes. I don’t feel like I’m bloated or slumpy (i just made that word up). I feel more regular. I can make better decisions, rather then just throwing everything into my mouth and not caring what or where it came from. 

Another big addition that I have started was meditation. I do it everyday, and for a minimum of 20mins. Usually, if I only do 20mins, then I will do another 20 later on in the day. I just finished meditating for 40mins there. My longest was 90mins. It felt really good. Yes, at the start of meditating, i could only last 3 minutes, and even that was a push. But its like exercise. The more you do it, the easier it gets. My sleep patterns are more regular, I am not as angry as I was, I am more sympathetic to myself, and to others. I realise when enough is enough. I even have more energy throughout the day. Whats not to like about the benefits. There are so many things on youtube and the internet on how to begin meditating. If i was to explain to someone how to do it, it would be like this. 

1. Go to a quiet room, and turn off all the lights and electricity that you have on in that room. Phones, laptops, tablets. TVs. 
2. Look somewhere between your nose and the ground. That space in between. If you can’t, then just close your eyes, but remember to relax the muscles around your eyes.
3. Count on every out breath until you get to 16. Repeat 3 times. This should take around 3 minutes. For me, it takes 3 minutes to do 16 breaths. But at the start it was 16 breaths to 1 minute. 
4. Breath from your stomach, not from your chest. 
5. Focus on relaxing every muscle in your body. Scan through each body part. You’ll be amazed at how much tension you are holding. 

So enough about that. I am going to go on a run now, and then start massaging. 

Do your best. 

Adios

How To Make Tortillas From Scratch

Tortillas are stupidly easy. I prepped, cooked, and eat them in 42 minutes. So here's a step by step on how to make them.
I did try use rice flour but because rice flour has no gluten in it, i found it difficult to roll out the dough.

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  Scully TherapyClinic

  Makes 6-8; 
  - 250grams flour. (I used whole grain and normal flour. 150grams of whole grain and 100grams of plain. But you can make it using all whole grain) 
  - 140-150ml water 
  - glug of olive oil 
  - pinch of salt
  

  I then put in a few herbs and spices just to make them a little different. I used 1/2 a teaspoon on chilli powder, 1/2 a teaspoon of paprika and 1/2 a teaspoon of ground fennel seeds.

  - Mix together until everything is combined. Roll into a sausage shape and divide into 4 sections.

  - Put flour on the counter so they don't stick the rolling pin and the counter. Roll out as thing as you can.

  - Transfer into a pan with no oil and on a fairly high heat. Keep them on the pan until you think they are done, and look like done. Maybe 90sec each side.

  - Then fill with what you like. I put in homemade chilli con carne. Or spiced chicken with tomatoes, avocado, peppers and shredded courgette and kale.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The photo below is a homemade tortilla, tuna, red pepper, rocket and kale, and a homemade chipotle (chilli) mayonnaise.