The New Tigers Head revisited

A few facts and considerations regarding getting this pub back on its paws.

It has been closed since about 2007, possible reasons are it lost punters to the Weatherspoons and failed to look after itself décor wise.  One review on Beerintheevening suggested it was about 20 years out of date.

Even though it’s called the New Tigers Head the site was used as a beer shop called the Tigers Head from around the 1830s. turning into a pub in the late 1800s.

This site (not sure how old it is) shows what it looked like inside before it was completely boarded up:http://www.spacedup.co.uk/se3_lee-pub.htm .  One large ground floor space with iron pillars dotted around the place, looks like some original features remain there but it has pretty much been gutted!

In 2013 it was listed at “could be yours for £1.8m”, it does have water, gas and electricity.  But looking at it's inside, it would cost around half again to get it back to what it should be.

Google maps show no outdoor space.

Other pubs in the area:

The Old Tigers Head – right opposite.  Locals’ boozer best describes this place, recently lost its blue exterior and is now a wonderful shade of peach (big surprise when I saw this after coming back from holiday).   Something of outdoor space (according to Google), shows all major sporting events, has back room for live bands.  There is food here, not sure what it is like, probably very traditional pub grub.

The Edmund Hally – Burnt Ash Road.  It’s a Weatherspoons…

The Duke of Edinburgh – Lee Road by the river.  Locals’ boozer much smaller with a beer garden shows a lot of sporting events, not sure if it has live bands. There is food here, not sure what it is like, probably very traditional pub grub.

The Lord Northbrook – Burnt Ash Road by Lee station.  Once voted South East London’s worse pubs it won Pints and Pistachios (Shortlist) 1^st prize in 2013.  I’ll fess up I drink here a lot and love what they have done to the place.  They have extended into the back for a separate dining area but you can eat by the bar.  It has a similar look to what the NTH must have looked like, horseshoe bar in the middle, iron pillars hold up the ceiling.  They have also downstairs space as well as a beer cellar.  Food is very good almost restaurant standard with a small number of pub standards like burgers.   They sell beers from smaller independent breweries, but serve a couple of the usual suspects too. 

The Swan – Lee Road.  Recently shut down and reopened as a sports bar.  Know very little about this place, but have been passed a few times around 7pm and it’s been rather empty.

The Woodsman – Lee Road – shut!

In Blackheath both The Railway (I have been known to drink in there on a few occasions) and Hare and Billet have undergone renovations, H&B more dramatically than The Railway.  The Railway beer ethos is not the same as the Northbrook, but does have a few drinks you wouldn’t normally see in a Weatherspoons. 

Hare and Billet has undergone a similar transformation as the Northbrook (and again I drink here a lot) restaurant level food, a few bar snacks, no live music and will rarely have the TV on.  Run overall by The London Pub Co, but allow their landlords to make the pub what they want it to be.  Used to be a Greene King – great outdoor space – the heath!

Could this be like the Ivy in Nunhead?

Honestly I don’t know, looking at the area where the Ivy is, it’s a very residential road, with no other pubs nearby.  NTH is on the Lee Green junction with a large number of flats around.  Would there be enough “community spirit” to get this going, or would this be a more commercial enterprise?

What’s would the pub unique selling point be?

Perhaps look to the Northbrook to see what they have done décor and beer ethos wise, but perhaps there is a place for more traditional pub grub, over gastro-resto pub food.  What’s wrong with a good sandwich, burger and chips or dare I say more retro classics like kiev or (beans on toast?!).  Maybe offer a café feel to it as well, for during the day.

Is there a need for another pub in the area? 

If it takes a leaf from all the refurbs that have recently happened, YES there is.  It’s well connected for transport and with Lewisham throwing flats faster than you can spell flat, there will be a need for more drinking places!  Good quality ones.

This is not a "can't be done" but a "very long term and high cost" project.  I firmly believe that there is place in this world for everyone and I don’t want to take away the pubs like Old Tiger and Duke of Wellington, as they are part of the community too!

Alexa

I'm a secret lemonade maker..

This is such a simple recipe... lemons, sugar, sparkling water.  Quantities vary (which makes it fun) and it tastes SOOO much better than your average shop bought stuff.  All it takes is just a little time and prep.

I say it's a recipe its more an explanation as there are no clear quantities given but stick with it :)

The Ladywell Tart

What's a Ladywell tart?  A Bakewell tart made with rhubarb instead of raspberries.  What's a Bakewell tart?  For those who don't reside in the UK a Bakewell tart is a sweet shortcrust pastry base with cooked down raspberries (raspberry jam) topped with a frangipane (a sort of cake mix made with almonds).  There is the Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding.  Is there a difference?  Yes, a tart is made with a short crust pastry topped with an almond sponge mix and pudding made with a flaky pastry topped with an egg and almond paste.  Both contain raspberry jam.  Oh the stuff you see with a fondant on top.. most people would not consider it a true Bakewell anything.  I say "meh".

So I am making a Ladywell tart (I made up the name, but it is a place not too far from where I live), and I will be going through all the steps and giving you the final verdict.  There will be a separate comparison on a different page.  Is this something that could be easily bought out?  Or is it an exercise of ease itself?

Two sides to every tail

After my rather (but hopefully not too preachy) rant in " Pig of an issue", I came across this article and made my heart sing!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22014346

This is a UK initiative (very early days) of 100 farms that are attached to their local primary schools.  The aim, to educate children about where their food comes from, what it takes to rear animals and what happens to them afterwards.

As it was reading the article, I was thinking to myself....this is what I want to see!  Kids, from a young age, are learning where meat comes from and what veg looks like.  They are encouraged  to eat peas straight from the pod, muck out and feed the animals, and, while they probably don’t go to the abattoir, help to sell their products back to the community.

World baking day 19th May 2013

This date nearly slipped me by, given the embargo on cookery channels when my beloved it at home.  Well I  caught an add a couple of days ago but did nothing about it.  I had even gone on Twitter the Saturday before, saying "do I or don't I bake" - at that time I had decided not to bake.  But I was going to make curd and said as much (again on Twitter), I used the hash tag World baking day.  In a stalkerishly short amount of time I had a Twitter from World baking day stating I had the bake brave spirit - dare I take the ultimate challenge.

Rhubarb curd recipe

Well after my first attempt last week I was not going to be beaten with a rhubarb curd.

I did a little thinking and changing of quantities, and I think I have created a nice little recipe to share with you all!

Curds and whoa!

News flash - first attempt at rhubarb curd as failed dismally, I mean it didn't go wrong.  But it tasted too sweet, it was the wrong colour and there was too much scrambled egg at the bottom.

I have made curds before, lemon, and lime - both worked beautifully, the only thing I would say is I could have made them more tart.  I love that sharp mouth watering, mouth pucking feeling you get when eating a small spoonful of lemon or lime curd.  Creamy, buttery, sharp, fresh.... I could go on!  So I got to thinking about what else would work as a curd.  It would need to be full of sharp vitamin c taste, so that opened up a world of grapefruit, passion fruit, even pineapple (but would need to work on that last one a bit, pineapple  can be temperamental.  Not to mention, rhubarb.  That tart, pretty pink and green vegetable that would strike fear into heart of any child at lunchtime.

But we have grown up and our tastes have changed and it's time to give rhubarb a chance.

Tinned tomatoes

Well now, I feel its time to get another comparison on this blog, and I want to go with a good staple food.  Tinned tomatoes.  These babies can make an amazing yet simple sauce *see the cupboard love series* but they can either cost the earth or cost peanuts.  Is it really necessary to pay nearly a pound ($1 something) for one tin?  Is there really difference in taste and quality in the cheaper "no fills" version.  Join me on this little adventure - personally I don't know if there will be a discernible difference, I reckon there will be more water in the no frills one but essentially the same.  But we shall see :)

Cupboard love 3 This time it's pasta! (in 3D)

You may by now have noticed a couple of things with this series of blogs, one I like to blog with some intent to inspire (but hopefully not preach) and the other is the rather film-like titles I have given them.

To say I'm a film buff would be a bit much, but they are (at times) a big part of my life and can add a bit of fun to life.  But I can't say that I am a true film buff.  I write like this as I want people to enjoy cooking and have something of a message to give, but also to keep things light hearted :)

So we come to the end of the series, with all things padding being at the heart of it.  Now before I post the next picture I must warn you - it is the worse looking of all the cupboards.  Ready.... get ya 3D specs on.....

It's in the paste 2 - Pesto change-o!

Following on from  my first "It's all in the paste" on Thai green curry, which turns out as fun to make, but not cost effective.  But does freeze very well!

I got to thinking, what else can I compare, what else could be easy to make (well supposedly) yet something people don't think twice to buy in.  Then it hit me!  Pesto.  A great quick tea, full of flavour and something that I think could be a lot easier and cheaper to make.

Pig of an issue..

I have just read this article and was surprised and saddened by it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22098224.   While the article centres on the US this is not just a US issue.  Many farms across this country and the world are in the same state.  But is it sad to think that governments are more worried about people find out about the conditions on these farms than the farms themselves.  Choosing to criminalise the filming of undercover material. – Bit backwards perhaps?

Cupboard Love 2 - The return to oils

Well I hope you all enjoyed my "spicy beginning", now on to my next cupboard oils and vinegars.  This also contains tinned items and right at the top chocolate and biscuits.  At least it being set so high up we don't automatically reach for the top shelf when hungry.  Although things do tend to get forgotten!  I have biscotti that has been opened since December :/.

Along with herbs and spices, oils and vinegars are pathways to flavour!  Liven up salads with simple dressings, fry stuff, even cover your chips with (malt vinegar is still my favourite chip enhancer although onion vinegar does also have it's uses!).  While you won't always be catapulted to a different country in the same way herbs and spices can, oils and vinegars are essential companions!

Shall we take a look?  Brace yourself....

Cupboard Love - A spicy beginning

I understand that my blog is meant to be able comparing food stuffs and currently I haven't really done that yet. Don't worry I have several things planned for coming posts, but firstly I should probably talk about what helps make food taste amazing.  Herbs and spices.  Those little pots and jars will be your gateway to flavour and food enjoyment.  Not to mention the oils and padding foods such as rice and pasta.  Invest in those cupboard buddies and you could find yourself saving money in the long run.  Investing does involve spending a bit of money each time you go shopping but believe me it will make all the difference when you have no money but have rice, oil, and a few herbs...  This post is the first of three and I will go through each one with you.

I am not going to dictate to you what you should have, but show you what I have.  Yep I have taken pictures of my cupboards to show you what I have lurking in there.    Any inspiration I give will be truly unintended ;)

So today is my spice cupboard, I will go through some of the items that me and b/f use all the time.

Something fishy

There is something fishy afoot in the UK papers today.  In the wake of the horsemeat scandal it has been found that some fish and chip establishments are selling other fish as cod or haddock.  Possibly because we are all on tenterhooks on horsemeat, authorities are now checking everything.

Both cod and haddock are in a dangerous decline and with efforts to farm these fish, successfully, currently not within our grasp; what are we to do?  Or even expect?

Sure as eggs is eggs

Well it's Easter and we are all consuming eggs, be it from a chicken or a coca bean.  Perhaps you are even painting them!  Eggs and Easter go hand in hand - the reasons are religious and not for this blog :) 

What I was to talk about is the humble egg, that little oval shaped food stuff that can be part of a quick meal (scrambled perhaps) or wow guests at a dinner party (nothing like a high-topped souffle).   

Converting butter to oil

Butter or olive oil? 

That’s a good question, calorie wise butter seems to do a little better;

Butter = 100 cals per tablespoon (tbsp.):  Olive Oil = 120-130 cals per tbsp.  But fat wise, well you don’t need me to tell you how much worse butter to olive oil. 

I doubt there is an advert in Italy showing a group of elderly British men and women dancing to techno with the caption “butter keeping hearts and joints strong”.  Amusing as that would be it would never happen.

Personally I have a weakness for butter, as a child I would cut of bit of butter and eat it like cheese.  I still have to resist the temptation to put a huge hunk of butter on my hot cross buns or scones.  I just love that buttery tasty ….  

Banana and coconut loaf - an experiment

We had a flurry of birthdays in my office this week and it is tradition for the birthday people to provide cakes and other snacks to celebrate their getting older.  Although I am not sure why the birthday guy or gal should have to bring in the food when it is THEIR birthday - but anyway that's the way it has been and always will be.

So as part of this "fuddle" - a northern term for smorgasbord, collection of food.  It does have another more obvious meaning but in this case it does relate to food ;) - I said I would bake a cake.  I can't remember the exact moment of inspiration, but I fancied making a banana and coconut loaf with limes thrown in for good measure.  

In the scale of

As mentioned in my first post, I wanted to write about the different scales of [x] when cooking.

I love cooking, but I know a lot of people don't or only do it as a necessity.  While I don't want to convert anyone who really doesn't like cooking I hope that you readers will get a better idea on how long and or easy it is to cook something.  But I have also added a more personal scale, the scale of smug.  Just how pleased are you at the end of making something.  I will give examples to help you understand my thought process – lists are by no means exhaustive.  So let’s begin...

Carrots and Potatoes

The exercise I am about to write about was the main inspiration for this site.  After a comment on a friends upload on Facebook, I got thinking about “is it really more expensive to buy from a farmers market than a supermarket?”.

The comment wasn’t directly saying that, but the gist of it was “it’s alright to be picky if you have money.  Try shopping when your'e on benefits”.  This is not the first time I have seen such comments, the BBC Have your say is always full of these sorts of comments.  People assume because there is a small amount produced by a smaller farm that it must be more expensive.  (There are those people who are just food snobs and love nothing more than to show off at how they can afford to shop at these markets.)  HYS can be amusing at times, with these extreem views from either side.

So back to the point, which was, I honestly didn’t know if buying veg from the market was more expensive than at supermarket and wanted to find out.

My first attempt proved very interesting.

Welcome!

Welcome, welcome!

Welcome to this food blog, unlike most (well perhaps some, ok quite a few) food blogs, I am not going to be talking about what I eat.  But about comparing the cost of food from various shops and markets, comparing homemade to shop bought.  There will be recipes, hints and tips, I will also be introducing scales of difficulty, time and smugness more on that in a different post).  Where possible anything made will have a price per head (and how it is worked out) so you can see whether it is truly cheap to make something yourself or buy it in.

So why have I started this blog... Well it was impart due to the horse meat scandal that has undermined the ready meal industry and the UK supermarkets.  However, all this has done as added more fuel to the "I can only afford the cheap ready meals" which has been raging for years.

This got me thinking (after commenting several times of the BBC news website "have your say") is it really that expensive to buy the raw ingredients of a pizza rather than a pre-packed or even take away pizza?  Is shopping at a farmers market a middle class luxury?  And does it really take that long to make spaghetti bolognese over shop bought heat in the oven ready meals?

I hope that you will find some interesting answers to such questions and more.  I will always be honest and if it turns out that it is cheaper/fast and more convenient then I will say so.


Of course this is just my own personal opinion, and I will try not to preach; but I will be honest.  I hope you will enjoy some of what I write, and at times I hope you will comment on what I write.  Don't be afraid to disagree, just be articulate and respectful and I am sure we will have a decent debate.

This page will remain the first thing you see, but look to the side for new pages jam packed full of stuff!  Wordy, foody stuff - just no drink.  I love a tipple but this isn't what this site is all about.

Happy reading :)





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