28.lifestyle
Monday 29 October 2012
The Courier
thecourieronline.co.uk/lifestyle c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk | @courier_life
Halloween ‘How To’
Pepper Lanterns
With Halloween looming, pumpkin carving is one of the best and oldest ways to get you in the mood for the festivities. However, as a vegetable that tends to be a little overlooked at all other times of year, pumpkins can be expensive and difficult to get hold of last minute, so why not try our budget friendly alternative? Step One: Buy your peppers. Unlike pumpkins, these don’t cost a fortune and won’t have sold out in every Tesco for miles around by the time you finally get around to some last minute Halloween shopping. They also come in a variety of colours and sizes.
Naked Bakin’ Toffee Apples This week I’m offering you a Halloween themed challenge. It may be hard but ultimately it’s worth it. Of course I’m talking about the childhood pleasure of toffee apples! Toffee apples bring out the best in people because nothing beats the crunchy sweetness of these delicious treats. Plus mine are so much better than anything shop bought! Feel free to eat as many of these homemade beauties as you like.
Making the toffee may be slightly more complicated than some aspects of baking as I’m guessing that most of you won’t have a sugar thermometer (despite writing a baking column, I don’t either). You can pick one up for an amazing £6 and it’s 100% worth it. Once you have the toffee making down, you can forget the apples and just have a toffee fondue. Let’s face it − everything is made better once dipped in sumptuous, sticky toffee. This recipe provides the possibility of gooey, hot goodness. Who wouldn’t be sold?! You will need 8 Apples 400g golden caster sugar 1 tsp of vinegar (you could be pedantic and use white wine vinegar but ultimately any will do) 4 tablespoons of golden syrup 100ml water 8 lollipop sticks 1. Fill a bowl with water and dip the apples in. Wait for 5 seconds, take them out and dry them off with a towel. Twist off the stalks and push a wooden skewer or lolly stick in the end of each apple. 2. Put baking parchment or foil on a baking tray and place the apples. Make sure it’s near your cooker otherwise you will be left with a sticky, chaotic mess. 3. Tip the sugar into a pan along with 100ml water and set over a medium heat. Heat through until the sugar dissolves (this will take around 5 min-
Step Two: With a sharp knife, cut the lid off your peppers and hollow out the inside, scraping away any leftovers with a spoon. Step Three: Carve a face! With the pointy end of the knife, carefully cut away eye holes and a jagged mouth. You can be as creative as you like here; the bigger the pepper the more room for intricate carvings!
Restaurant Review The Forth
Sunday to Wednesday: Noon - 11pm Thursday to Friday: Noon - Midnight Pink Lane Newcastle upon Tyne 01912326478
Step Five: Put the ‘hat’ back onto your pepper, and put in a prominent position on your bedside table for a spooky bedside lamp!
Fran Ede
When we approached The Forth, we were slightly worried. From the outside it appeared like any other Newcastle drinking hole, full to the brim with locals. We were reassured by the friendly staff (including an ex-Courier writer) that we were experiencing the Friday evening rush and that our table would be ready for us shortly. We arrived twenty minutes early (we underestimated our ability to navigate around Newcastle
4. It will take about 10 minutes for the sugar to boil. Don’t be alarmed if it starts excessively bubbling as that’s the result we are after. All those who don’t have a sugar thermometer, now it’s your time to shine (if you do, you’re aiming for 140C). You can test the toffee by pouring a little into a bowl of cold water. It should harden instantly and when removed it should be brittle and easy to break. If you can still squish (technical term) the toffee, continue to boil it. 5. Now when your toffee is ready you get to have some real fun. Dip and twist the apple in the hot toffee until it’s covered. You might want to try spooning the toffee over the apple as dipping isn’t always successful. Leave them for a while and allow the toffee to cool before eating. This will take around an hour 6. All finished! If you feeling generous offer them to trick or treaters. If not, eat and enjoy. Sally Priddle
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Step Four: Light a tealight and carefully lower it into the centre of the pepper. You can pick up a multipack of tealights in a variety of colours and scents for less than £2 in Wilkinsons.
And if you do get hold of a pumpkin... The basic steps are the same as with a pepper, only you’ll need to spend a lot more time hollowing out the inside with a sharp knife. Ideally, you want the wall of the pumpkin to be as thin as possible to make it easier to carve through – don’t worry, light won’t be able to get through the skin so it doesn’t matter if it’s not quite even! Then carve into the side of your pumpkin. You can be really creative here as it’s a much bigger surface.
utes). Then stir in the vinegar and golden syrup.
past Northumberland Street...) and expected a slight wait. There was a report of a man already sitting at our table, insisting he was part of our party, which was a bit unexpected. After the waiter had helped us kick out our unwelcome guest - and provided us with a bottle of house wine to kill time - we were led to a secluded alcove for the more sophisticated dining experience. Our table featured (highlight of the night) a
“amazing lunch deals with a Sunday roast set to rival those at home” chalkboard with our names written on: ‘Reserved for Rosie and Jess’. Cue fleeting feeling of celeb status. We looked at the menu, and were faced with a choice of gastro-pub classics including burgers and a posh version of fish and chips. We ordered the wild salmon fishcakes and roast Shropshire chicken. The salmon fishcakes were very tasty and they came with chunky potato wedges and home made coleslaw. The hint of lemon added to the flavour of the dish and the overall presentation and freshness of the food was impressive. The roast chicken was served with a basket of rustic looking skinny fries and a miniature jug of red wine gravy. Again, the food looked as good as it tasted. This was most definitely the chic version of chicken and chips. Once we had polished off our main courses, a little persuasion and a passionate recommendation from our lovely waitress Helen (our new BFF) was all we needed to browse the dessert menu. We swiftly decided that we had just enough room left to satisfy our sweet tooth and opted for the lemon cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding. The cheesecake was a perfect choice, both palate cleansing and a refreshing end to the meal. The sticky toffee pudding was a definite indulgence and the warm sponge accompanied with the vanilla pod ice cream was an unbeatable combination. The menu boasts a more sophisticated version of classic pub-grub and is definite must for those in need of good food at student friendly prices. The Forth also offers amazing lunch deals with a Sunday roast set to rival those at home. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and even left the restaurant with complimentary refresher and drumstick sweets. We would definitely recommend a visit. Rosie Devonshire and Jessica Timms