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Month: November 2013

German fashion manufacturers capitalising on the Holocaust

Written by Bianca Boorer on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Hugo Boss’s publicity took a dive after a GQ party where Russell Brand highlighted the fact that Boss had supplied uniforms to the Nazis during World War II. He said, ‘If anyone knows a bit about history and fashion, you know it was Hugo Boss who made uniforms for the Nazis.’

GQ editor, Dylan Jones, responded: ‘What you did was very offensive to Hugo Boss.’

Brand replied: ‘What Hugo Boss did was very offensive to the Jews.’

However, Brand was called out for being a hypocrite when he was seen wearing a Hugo Boss jacket in February. Another comment from his speech: ‘But they looked f**king fantastic, let’s face it, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality.’

Hugo Boss was economical in his decision to join the Nazi party in 1931. By joining the Nazi party, he was able to secure contracts with them, he also believed Hitler would pull Germany out of the economic crisis. According to an article in the Daily Mail, ‘By 1940, the company was turning over some 1,000,000 Reichsmarks.’

Yet Boss ran his factories in a very Nazi-like fashion. Employees were from occupied countries, some of whom were kidnapped from their homes at the ages of 17-19, and exposed to harsh working conditions. Hygiene was poor with factories containing lice and fleas; they also had no access to medical treatment. Those who escaped were captured and beaten. In cases where workers committed suicide due to the drastic conditions, Boss paid for the funeral costs.

After the war, Boss was classified as a Nazi supporter and stripped of his right to run a business. When he appealed, he was later classified as a “follower” instead. His business now lives on after his death.

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It is surprising to think such world renowned brands have such a dark past. Should this affect whether we should buy from them? That’s for you to decide.

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Sources for information:

Daily Mail: Shameful truth about Hugo Boss’s links to the Nazis revealed: As Russell Brand is thrown out of a party for accusing fashion designer of helping Hitler.

Top 5: Musical sequences not from a musical

Written by Sarah Murray on . Posted in Film.

5. The 40-Year-Old Virgin

SPOILER ALERT: Predictably, the film closes with protagonist Steve Carell finally losing that burdensome cherry at the ripe old age of 40. He proceeds to celebrate said coitus with the lads in a fun fantasy musical rendition of ‘Aquarius’/’Let the Sunshine In’.

4. Anchorman

In another Judd Apatow classic, Ron Burgundy and the gang explain to us the meaning of love with a spontaneous barbershop quartet performance of ‘Afternoon Delight.’

3. (500) Days of Summer

Life is beautiful, you’re in love, and the only logical way to express your joy is through the medium of Hall and Oats. We’ve all been there. Only Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a flash mob to help him celebrate his recent hook-up with the beautiful Zooey Deschanel.

2. Beetlejuice

In a darkly comic scene that could only be the brainchild of director Tim Burton, the guests of a dinner party, hosted by the Deetz family, become possessed by the ghosts of the recently deceased Adam and Barbara Maitland. Wanting to scare the living inhabitants out of their old home, the Maitlands take control of their bodies and groove to ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).’

1. Wayne’s World

There’s something about Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that makes the urge to rock out literally impossible to suppress. Topping the list is the opening scene of Wayne’s World, the ultimate car ride sing-a-long that has everybody watching head-banging and air-guitaring with them.

Craving and saving – Are you fur real?

Written by Skye Scott on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Craving 

Michael Michael Kors at Net-a-Porter £255

Many designer labels continue to use real fur to show their exclusivity and their premium brand image. Everyone is desperate to show that they have the best quality products and it seems real fur shows just that. This Michael, Michael Kors Cotton blend coat with a fox trim hood is relatively cheap compared to completely real fur coats in the shops today. It is a premium twist on our everyday parka and could be worn everyday with jeans and converse to wrap up this winter. (If you can afford it!)

At £255 it is way out of reach for a normal student budget. Even so, does wearing a fox around your head and neck really make you want to spend that much? Real fur is known for its amazing warmth capabilities in the cold winter but surely we could just add a few layers. The question is, is real fur worth it?

 

Saving

 

The fur debate has long been around, with many highstreet and designer brands, beginning to shun the use of real fur for more harmless alternatives. As the alternatives to fur continue to spring up the question is raised as to whether there really is a need for real fur or whether we are just selfish, fashion demanding consumers. Stella McCartney continues to sell her faux fur coats at a premium price alike to other designer real fur coats. But as students, Stella McCartney is well over budget; luckily H&M have faux fur at affordable prices. H&M have plenty to offer with faux fur jackets and coats in all lengths, colours and prices.This jacket is perfect for the winter chill, paired with day dresses and woolly tights for day or worn to cover up at night.

It is a winner on all basis, style, price and of course harmless fake fur. Now in the sale at just £20, get it before it’s gone!

Creating the Illusion

Written by Abbie Mia Roberts on . Posted in Arts.

The main reason you should go to this tiny exhibition is to make your own stop-motion video. With a miniature platform area providing the set for your movie, complete with a set of blocks (or anything you happen to have in your bag), a large mounted screen that instantly plays back your creation and a handy-sized camera button that you press to snapshot each of the 12 frames of your animation, you’ll be there ‘til closing time. Trust me. I personally chose to make my pen appear as if moving around on its own (which I perfected time after time until I was standing there hands on hips basking in the praise I received from the spectating crowd of 3 very impressed fellow MOSI visitors. If you manage to tear yourself away from that little treat however, you will notice that the exhibition somewhat sidesteps our current undergrad generation. Looking at animation in the North West, the exhibition displays nostalgic insights into the makings of our parents’ favourite characters (Dangermouse, Bill and Ben ) and then skips ahead to the our younger cousins’ beloved friends (Bob the Builder). There are some familiar characters though: if you thought the Miss Spider form James and the Giant Peach was creepy – wait ‘til you see her puppet’s interchangeable faces. And if you thought Wind in the Willows’ badger was a wise and cuddly guy, his puppet skeleton stripped down to its mechanical core might just ruin your childhood memories of him.

The very serious art of cereal eating

Written by Bea Chapman on . Posted in News.

It’s 10pm on a Sunday. Dinner was a good few hours ago, yet there is that little something missing. Only one solution really: a bowl of cereal. Friends of mine will know that cereal is a big part of my life, perhaps as it has kick-started my day since I could say the word ‘krispie’, perhaps because I am stupidly active and am constantly hungry. I find breakfast-skippers crazy – there’s nothing better after a nights sleep than a system reboot with a cup of tea in an oversized t-shirt.

I have always been one to stick by a steady routine, which starts at my favourite meal of the day: breakfast. This column may appear to give you excessive insight into my cereal habits, in which case I apologise. I hope however, it opens your eyes and gets you on your way to Sainos.

Cereal eating in the UK dates back to the early 1900’s when Force was first introduced as an alternative to the traditional, stodgy oatmeal. Packaged cereals were considered convenient and attracted advertising. Nowadays we are confronted with an entire aisle to choose from – something that would bring sweet happiness to William K. Kellogg. The modern day tooth has also been catered for: we now have a ‘chocorock’ and a ‘honey hoop’ trying to push my beloved Bran Flakes off the shelf. These cereals have over 50% sugar and aren’t so great if your looking for a healthy alternative.

Prices aren’t always on the cheap, but if you look out for the offers, 250g is priced around £1.50. This works out as about ten portions, and, well, you do the maths – it’s a cheap option. Go wild and buy a few packets, divulge into the variety, yolo.

I categorise cereals into two main groups: light and dark. This corresponds to primarily their grain shade, but also is important in ordering the bowl’s layers. For example, I would always mix (bottom up) the ‘dark’ Bran Flake with the ‘light’ Rice Krispie. This not only gives visual variety, but also a mix of textures when mixed with milk. Another favourite technique is the classic ‘Weetabix stock’: overdrowning Weetabix in milk to leave excess ‘stock’ in which to flavour the next selection.  Don’t judge me.

Cereal can be eaten at any time of day, in any bowl, and in any mood. A splash of milk never fails to refresh and keeps those bones good and strong. The good (or otherwise referred to as boring) cereals are full of fibre, so technically it’s a healthy pick. Cereal won’t break you bank, or let you down. Commit to your bowl (don’t leave it for an hour on the windowsill) and your bowl will commit to you.

So start your day the right way, and you won’t regret it. One tip though – save Apricot Wheats and Granola for those precious trips home in the holidays. Let’s not push the student budget now.

This ‘n’ That Review

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

To the untrained eye, this traditional working class curry café, situated in a dark alley reminiscent of Gotham City, would pass completely un-noticed. Located in Soap Street, deep in the heart of the Northern quarter, just off the Shudehill coach interchange, this mancunian gem has been churning out curry for decades. For a fiver this fine establishment’s clientele are served a delicious, and more importantly copious, three part curry helping.

The atmosphere inside this café is an uneven patchwork of radically different life stories woven into an enjoyable 30 minute lunch break away from the bustling city life. Whether it is a group of paramedics talking about a particularly long shift over steaming black coffee, bricklayers and painters flicking through yesterday’s papers before they return to work or even students, old and current, enjoying the Northern quarter on a rare sunny day, none of the customers sitting on the café’s plastic chairs have anything in common.

The place definitely has an authentic charm.

I get served my steaming plateful of madras, korma and jalfrezi and sit down opposite a gaunt, tired looking ‘hipster’ economics student with a clear penchant for alcohol. I say hipster because he’s wearing a woolly jumper on a very warm day – apparently that is the style in the Northern quarter these days. He tells me how he discovered this place in his first year. After practicing for a gig in the area, he and various other band members would come and take advantage of the café’s friendly service and friendlier prices. Little did I know, the two big black bearded fellows in leather jackets and faded denim pants were actually practicing jazz musicians who play regularly in the area, Martin, the hipster economics student, introduced me to them.

Over coffee and an exotic brand imitation of Fanta they let me in on their take of the Northern Quarter and how the city has changed from ‘Gunchester’ with the Hacienda’s notorious nights to Media City UK and the metrolink. Needless to say, to them and the other musicians they know, the Northern Quarter is one of the few places which still has ‘soul’, much like, in their opinion, ‘This and That’.

I clear up my tray and leave the two musicians fighting over a very sizeable vegetarian samosa…

In a certain sense the café hidden away in this little side alley, like a sea urchin tucked in between large rocks, has withstood the relentless tide of modernisation which wracks the city of Manchester. Yet here in the shade of the 21st century’s towering glass apartment and office blocks, you can’t help but feel the nostalgia sinking in midway through your third or fourth spoonful.

Yet at the same time that is the café’s greatest appeal; in a city where everything and everyone around is claiming to be trendy, modern and fashionable, ‘This and That’ doesn’t even try.

Recipe of the Week: Baklava

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

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This rich, sweet pastry of the Ottoman Empire has stood the test of time. Its crisp pastry, crunchy nuts, and gooey syrup tastes as good now as when it was invented back in the 13th century. Joanne Procter keeps this traditional Turkish dessert alive in this brilliant recipe.

Ingredients

For the baklava

  • 250g walnuts
  • 100g almonds (whole)
  • 60g light muscovite sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 175g butter, melted (plus extra for greasing)
  • 24 sheets of filo pastry to fit a 9 x 13 inch tray

For the syrup:

  • 90ml clear honey
  • 70ml water
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 5-6 cardamom pods
  • 5-6 cloves

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan. Heat it over a medium heat, and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved and it begins to boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer it until it has thickened slightly—this should take 10-15 mins. Once this is done, tip it into a measuring jug and leave it to cool.
  2. Roast the walnuts and the almonds in the oven at around 200°C (fan oven) for 7-10 mins. When you remove them, leave the oven on.
  3. Mix together the walnuts, almonds, sugar and cinnamon, then chop them up in a food processor or by hand.
  4. Grease the tin and lay down one sheet of filo pastry across the bottom—it doesn’t matter if it goes up the sides a little as well. Brush the sheet with some melted butter.
  5. Put another sheet of filo on top of this, and again brush it with melted butter. Keep repeating this process until you have 6 layers of filo.
  6. Once you’ve buttered the 6th sheet, sprinkle on one third of the nut mixture.
  7. Apply another 6 sheets of filo, brushing with butter in between. Then sprinkle on another one third of the nut mixture. Repeat this with another 6 sheets, sprinkle on the last of the nuts, and then cover with 6 more sheets.
  8. Once you’ve buttered the top layer, cut off the edges of the pastry which are sticking up around the sides, so you have a nice even top. Cut the baklava into squares, but only cut down to about half the depth of the baklava – leave the bottom half intact.
  9. Bake for 15 mins at 200°C, and then reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Remove from oven.
  10. Whilst it’s still hot, pour over the syrup you made earlier. Now leave it to cool, and enjoy!

The Great British Bake Off Debate

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

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Faye Waterhouse: in favour


The Bake Off is building to a grand finale, and oh how I’ve enjoyed flexing my culinary muscles and buying bags of sugar and flour and washing more bowls than I even knew I had.

‘The Great British Bake-Off’ is on the television. Whether you like baking or prefer the eating you can’t help but be drawn in by the success of the show. There is something undoubtedly comforting about switching off from the outside world, making a cup of tea, and settling down to watch someone turn ingredients into something tasty.

For those who are oblivious to the show first of all, where have been! The show is split into 3 challenges: a signature bake, a technical challenge where the bakers try and replicate a recipe from Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood, and the showstopper that usually is something that resembles a work of art. Each week is separated into sweet and savoury with one contestant being named ‘Star Baker’ and another being asked to leave.

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins couldn’t be more perfect for presenting the programme–they are forever hopping from baker to baker and generally run amok in the tent. The moment when Mel caused Francis’ biscuit tower to collapse was particularly amusing. However, the best double-act has to be Mary and Paul. Dare I say it but their on-screen chemistry makes the cakes and breads seem even more appealing! Not so appealing however is Paul’s strong aversion towards Ruby the youngest and prettiest baker in the tent—need I say more?

One of my favourite contestants has to be Howard from Sheffield, the baker who was forever using alternative ingredients which when went well went very well and when went bad went very bad. Hemp loaf was never going to be a classic was it. Howard won the public’s vote when Deborah ‘accidentally’ stole his custard. In the baking world this was a cardinal sin and Deborah was soon given the boot by Paul and Mary.

Now it is just women left in the competition and the pressure is on to be consistent every week. The signature bake is always interesting with the bakers often coming up with unusual flavours and interesting recipes. The technical challenge is, I admit, perhaps a bit too complex. I had never even heard of some of the names of the recipes, never mind tasted them. I find myself sometimes wishing it might be nice to see something simple baked to perfection such as a Victoria sponge cake that way a normal person like me can attempt it but that’s not the idea of the technical challenge.

We tune in because we want to be amazed by what new culinary creations they can come up with in the time it takes us to sit back and relax and slurp our tea.

Ben Walker: The non-believer

The Great British Waste of Time, that is the Bake Off by the way, is a nadir in food and drink programming. If I want to see patisserie perfection then I’ll seek out Mr Blanc or Roux, not Beca from the Valley’s or Mark from Magnet. Food TV should either whisk you away to the dizzying heights of Michelin magic—a fantasy land of culinary escapism, or it should act as Sherpa and guide us to achievable home-cooking (see Nigel Slater). Yet the GBBO is caught in the wardrobe, neither in Narnia or reality, but trapped in the hinterland—the show dares to stretch its fingers to a fantastical world but all too often sinks into boring mediocrity. Here I shall draw my scimitar and carve a savage polemic against the scourge of Tuesday night broadcasting.

 First, the concept is terrible. Asking retired Christine to produce Religieuse is like asking Pierre Koffman to make a series about the best technique for pouring milk onto ones cereal—a waste of time. Unless of course the GBBO audience is comprised of sadists who exact great pleasure out of seeing an old age pensioner sweat over her inability to make choux pastry.

Second, twee does not cover half of it. A marquee, a meadow, a stately home, gingham and Mary Berry all add up to sickeningly sweet tele; a hell that is the equivalent of being trapped inside a Cath Kidston factory. So many pastel colours, nice little patterns, and bows and ribbons add up to an overdose for those who were not raised in Darling Buds of May. If this was really baking in Britain then it should be filmed in the brutalist Park Hill estate in Sheffield or out of some new build affordable housing complex in Slough.

Third, I shall prove that Hollywood is not kneaded. That big galoot wanders around squeezing and prodding, pulling and poking everyone’s dough—who knows where his dirty mitts have been? I certainly would lash out, angled spatula in hand, if his intrusive sausage fingers came near my rye bread mixture.

Fourth, Ruby is so annoying. Last episode she upset me so much I became distracted and split my ‘crème pat’. As it stands, she is clearly a big favourite to win yet every little thing she does is coated in self doubt and misery and whining—‘it’s not proven enough’, it’s over baked’…Modesty soon becomes very infuriating when the person proclaiming their inadequacy clearly knows they are actually quite good.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully I have made clear that the BBC need to seriously reconsider filming another dire series of Bake Off.

 

The Hairy Dieters Eat for Life

Written by Faye Waterhouse on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Si King and Dave Myers are The Hairy Bikers, but due to a recent transformation, both their image and cooking reflect their new image as the Hairy Dieters.

Their new book The Hairy Dieters Eat for Life is an extension of the hugely successful Hairy Dieter’s Cookbook. So King and Myers have proven you can shed pounds and maintain a healthy diet following these recipes but are the meals actually interesting and inventive enough to justify the rather pricey tag of £14.99?

Well, the book is divided into sections such as ‘breakfasts and brunch’, ‘meals with mates’, and ‘something sweet’—useful when looking for what you fancy. Personally, I found being told how to make what they describe as a ‘wakey wakey breakfast salad’ or fruit salad to you and me slightly patronising. However I quickly understood their aim to create dishes that are fresh and flavoursome.

I particularly liked the ‘real food fast’ and ‘meals with mates’ sections and was surprised to discover that most of the recipes don’t require buying random ingredients you’ll use once then put in the cupboard forever. A lot of the dishes rely heavily on herbs and spices to give flavour so it would be worth stocking up on these. I enjoyed making (and eating) the Chicken Provençal, it took approximately the amount of time they said it would—none of that ’15 minute meal’ nonsense here, and the chicken was tender and satisfying considering its classed as ‘low calorie’.

The ‘something sweet’ section of the book is somewhat small as to be expected and they like to ‘rely on the lovely flavour of fruit to supply that hint of sweetness’. I was somewhat dubious. However, curious as ever I set about making the apple and blackberry cornflake crumble, yes that’s right cornflakes, one of many alternatives King and Myers use to create healthier alternatives to the classic recipes. It took no time at all to rustle up and the verdict… a hit! The cornflakes added a nice crunch which went well with the tartness of the fruit and at a calorific content of 192 per portion (providing you’re not sneaky and delve in for more) not at all naughty!

I was pleased to find more traditional dishes such as Tikka Masala, burgers and roasts. You may struggle slightly if you are a vegetarian as most of the dishes are based around meat and fish. Vegetables usually do play a big part in bulking up the meal though. I was a bit disappointed when I realised the majority of the meals are best cooked and eaten fresh and can’t be stored away for another day but this isn’t too much of a drawback as most of the dishes don’t take long.

Well done Si and Dave, a diet book that not only seems to serves its purpose but also tantalises taste-buds and leaves me feeling rather smug that I know £14.99 was well spent.

The not so humble Burger

Written by Ben Walker on . Posted in Food & Drink.

The Burger has come a long way in recent years, it has made the long journey from cheap, naff, drive thru fodder to now hold an ever present place, and indeed central place, on menus across the entire spectrum from dirty food central Almost Famous to King Street’s Jamie’s Italian, to Chorlton and West Didsbury, all the way to Simon Rimmer’s fine dining establishment in Hale. The Burger, it would be fair to say, dominates the culinary landscape.

Now, I’ve eaten a lot of Manchester’s burgers, and though my quest is still merely in its infancy, I shall share some of my experiences so far.

Now a charred ruin of its once mighty self, Almost Famous, currently relocating (but still operating out of LUCK LUST LIQUOR & BURN) made/still makes the best burgers, staying true to the dirty food revolution. Astoundingly flavoursome with cheese, bacon, pulled pork, beef patty, secret sauces, and a sweet brioche bun. Don’t wear your best clothes as this is a truly dirty experience, but a truly delicious one too. Regular and sweet potato fries are to die for. Burger and fries for less than a tenner.

The most handsome hamburger of them all (Ben Walker)

The Daddy Burger from Violet Hour in West Didsbury is a close second. A fine location to sit and watch the Didsbury set mooch on by whilst you dive head first into a sumptuous offering indeed. Again served with pulled pork and really crisp bacon, the beef patty is bigger, but the bottom of the burger suffered from too much juice seep-through. The chips served were only mediocre, but a totally awesome battered gherkin topped the mountainous heap of cow and pig. All in, £10.

West Didsbury’s entry courtesy of the Violet Hours
(Ben Walker)

They can’t all be great, and worst so far, and at nearly £15 astronomically expensive, one Mr Jamie Oliver. He has rolled out his glorified chain restaurant to King Street, screaming and shouting ‘look at me’, and indeed the burger garnered such attention, but the substance was totally lacking—I don’t just want looks, but personality too.  The bacon was so thin and charred it was over crisp, if not burnt; also the patty was a bit under seasoned. The bun was not sweet enough, and overall the dish was too dry. The chips were parmesan and truffle oil should have made we weep with joy, yet my tears were sadly ones of sadness, reserved for when the billed arrived.

Too big, too dry, too expensive.
(Ben Walker)

 

The Cornerhouse: one of the culinary highlights of the year so far.

Written by Ben Walker on . Posted in News.

I say Cornerhouse, you say cinema? Well maybe, and you’d be right, but there is far more to 70 Oxford Street than just independent film.

Succulent pork ribs, stone baked pizzas generously topped, bread made in-house, locally brewed beer and ale, and possibly one of the finest cheesecakes I have had the pleasure of eating are things one would associate with a very good restaurant.

Luckily, that’s where we ate this week—a venue of cool music, sophisticated conversation, attentive service, and above all excellent food thoroughly reasonable priced. The Cornerhouse restaurant, far from being just an attachment to the cinema, is a quality gastronomic entity in its own right, a standalone eatery well worth a visit.

Having heard of the bread that is baked, in house and daily, we opted for the Artisan Bread Selection. We were brought olive focaccia that had simultaneously a substantial and light and springy crumb. Yet there lacked a little flavour, I’d have preferred more of a punch of garlic or black olive or rosemary here.

For starters there was Albondigas from Spain, Croque-Monsieur from France, wings for the Deep South and Potted Shrimp from Morecambe. Maybe a little lacking in identity and cohesion, but I’d back them to be executed well (all served as small plates/sharers, nothing exceeds £8). We however made a beeline for the mains, as we wanted room for the delights of the patisserie chef.

‘Slow Cooked with our own BBQ sauce, fennel and cola’ delivered all the depth of flavour, richness and stickiness that you would hope from very large helping of ribs (£11.25). The sauce had caramel, a tinge of aniseed, a little spice—a nice balance of sweet and savoury. By the end of it my fingers and face were smeared with feral dashes of sauce that had escaped by mouth. The horseradish coleslaw, stylishly decorated with Nigella Seeds, was a real winner, instead of being a sad side; it packed a warm, crunchy punch and was a worthwhile addition. The chips were thin cut fries, crispy, well-seasoned, and homemade.

We also had the Pizza Le Reine (£8.25). The base for great pizza is always essential, and the stone bake was authentic—thin and crispy. The topping was plentiful and the classic combination of Le Reine flavours were deliver in spades. The black olives were sharp, the Serrano ham soft and the Parmesan shavings were salty, the rocket peppery and fresh, and the mushroom brought a very deep savoury taste. When I have pizza I always order Le Reine, and this was a brilliant example of one. There is an entire menu dedicated to Pizza, though far form just a pizzeria, I think I would class pizza as a bit of a speciality here.

We moved onto dessert. Vanilla cheesecake with a tart raspberry coulis, presented with two Mikado-like chocolate covered sticks (£4.95). The cake itself was seriously good, one of the best I have had in a long time. Not overpoweringly sweet, you could get a taste of cheese, and the texture was sublime. The base was buttery and crisp—no soggy bottom here. The sauce was the deepest red and balanced the creaminess with sharpness beautifully.

A word on drinks I think is also appropriate. The beer selection has improved exponentially to now include local brewery Outstanding (Bury) and the increasingly popular American pale ale Shipyard from Maine. These will appeal to craft beer drinkers without a doubt, but there are also some more recognisable labels to fall back on as well. Wines start from £15.50, and for that you can get a soft and fruity Tempranillo/Syrah blend. At the top of the range there is Some Young Punks—both white and red, I guess they are the Brew Dog of wine producers right now—young, cocksure, but really delivering the goods. Both the Riesling and Shiraz are priced at just under £30 if you’re treating yourself.

Proceedings, as so often, were rounded off with coffee, which is taken seriously here. We left not just full and satisfied, but happy in the knowledge of unearthing a gem on the Oxford Road corridor.

 

 

 

Carb-free-cauliflower-based Pizza

Written by Joanne Procter on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

1 egg

Handful of grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

200g tomato purée

4 figs

200g Gorgonzola

1 medium pear

100g Prosciutto ham

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C, and line a baking tray with well-greased-greaseproof paper.

Finely grate the cauliflower and place in a microwaveable bowl. Cover with a plate, or you can use cling film and poke a few holes in it. Microwave for 5 minutes, and then remove from the microwave and leave to cool.

2. When it has cooled enough to handle, tip the cauliflower out onto a tea towel, wrap it up and squeeze out all the moisture over the sink. Then place the dried out cauliflower in a bowl, and add the Parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper, and crack an egg into the mixture. Stir it all together until you develop a dough-like texture.

3. Spread the cauliflower-dough out onto the baking tray so it’s pizza-shaped, and pop it in the oven for about ten minutes until it’s nicely golden-brown on the top. Whilst the pizza base is in the oven, make a start on your toppings: chop the fig into quarters, and chop the pear into 1-2cm cubes. Tear the prosciutto into small pieces and break up the Gorgonzola into little bits.

4. Remove the pizza base from the oven and spread over the tomato purée. Arrange all the toppings, and then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Et voila, a sophisticated, guilt-free pizza – who said the post-fresher’s detox has to be boring?

 

An Introduction to Wine

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in News.

Welcome to the wine column which embarks you on a debauched and decadent voyage through the world’s finest vineyards whilst confined to a measly student budget. In this week’s article I will be revealing the secret technique to singling out a decent bottle of wine from the hundreds of mediocre and vinegary substitutes which seem to make up Sainsbury’s aisle 7 this fall…

So what exactly could you be looking for when shopping at your local grocery store or supermarket?

Firstly, if you were tempted in acquiring a bottle of white you would have learned from experience that a disappointing white tends to have much direr consequences than a disappointing red.

The safest bet in the under Tesco’s £4.99 price bracket is to aim for the Chardonnay. Far less acerbic than the Tuscan Sangiovese or the Venetian Suave grape, the dry yet crisp sensation of Chilean (£4.17) or Spanish (£4.59) Chardonnay lies safely in the middle ground. Its pacific and somewhat soft nature ensures that this is always the first casualty of the evening. Sauvignon Blanc is another of these centre ground white wines and generally comes with a refreshingly sweet and fruity flavour. However don’t be caught unawares as the classic notes of asparagus and gooseberry come at a hefty price; a standard ABV lower than 10% or in the case of Tesco’s First Cape discovery series, an abysmal 5.5%.

For those with a sweeter palate, south western French Monbazillac wine is a good investment as it combines Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion with Muscadelle. Usually available in supermarkets around Christmas, the bright molten gold complexion of its body will catch your eye instantly: It resembles diluted honey. As for the taste, it is either acquired or it is not. Imagine Disney’s sweetest and most lovable characters bottled up into a yellow alcoholic syrup: understandably a huge success with women.

One to watch out for is the oddly trending Pinot Grigio. It tends to be an increasingly common student trap because the only difference between the wine priced at £3.99 and its £7.99 counterpart is the bottle’s design. To fork out an extra £4 simply because some intern at the Armani store wanted to play with shape patterns isn’t worth it. Worse still, the Italian Pinot Grigio on the shelves in Sainsbury’s and Tesco has the tragic characteristic of soiling your taste buds with a deeply unpleasant lingering after taste. Still, if style is all you are after…

When it comes to red wines this fall there are two types of wine that stand out on most supermarket shelves: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

A bottle of decent Merlot will generally be less acidic and less bitter than the Cabernet Sauvignon next to it, providing you are willing up the stakes to more than £3.49. If not, then you may have unintentionally placed a ticking time bomb in your Tesco shopping basket: Bulgarian Merlot from the Reka Valley. This wine from the Thracian lowlands is truly barbaric. Probably brewed in the rusting vats of a derelict industrial complex outside Sofia last week, a single swig will scorch your throat and set your digestive system ablaze, leaving you gasping for oxygen and cold water. For an extra pound or so you could acquire a bottle of Gaston Tureau’s Bordeaux (£4.99) or one from Chile’s Central Valley (£4.79) and actually make it to class the next day.

In terms of cost benefit, Cabernet Sauvignon has certainly proven itself to be the most reliable bottled liquid in a supermarket’s wine section. Unlike most Merlot and unfortunately the vast majority of Rioja they seem to ship over from Spain in old jerry cans, from £3.69 upwards you are in safe territory with Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a stronger, slightly more acidic taste at first than Merlot and Rioja but by and large you won’t be left disappointed or feeling cheated. At least that is certainly what I believe after having uncorked more than 250 during my year abroad in Paris.

White Chocolate Popcorn and Strawberry Daiquiri Dessert

Written by Joanne Procter on . Posted in Food & Drink.

This is a sensationally stylish dessert that you can serve either elegantly or as ‘Mess’.

Joanne Procter retells her recipes for a dish for both the discerning diner and student cook.

 

Ingredients

100g popping corn
1 tbsp olive oil
100g white chocolate
300g strawberries, chopped
30ml white rum
1 tbsp caster sugar
75g pecan nuts
250g mascarpone

Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the popping corn and put the lid on the pan. Turn
the heat right down and leave the corn to pop. Meanwhile, fill a pan with boiling water,
and melt the chocolate in a large bowl on top of the pan.

When the corn stops popping, that means it’s done, so empty the popcorn into the bowl
of chocolate and stir it all in. Put that to one side to cool, and start the strawberries.

Place the chopped strawberries in a saucepan with the rum, 3 tbsp water and the
caster sugar, and bring to the boil.Once the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency,
take off the heat and sieve the strawberries, retaining both the liquid and the
strawberries to use later on. Leave both to cool.

Spread the pecans out on a baking tray and place them under a hot grill for just a
couple of minutes, until they’re lightly toasted. Then crush them however you want–with
a rolling pin in a paper bag, by hand, pestle and mortar….go crazy!

Place most of the nuts into a mixing bowl, but keep a few to sprinkle on top at the end.
Add the mascarpone to the mixing bowl and mix together with the nuts.

Once everything’s cooled, it’s time for the fun bit–assembling the trifle! I’ll tell you how
I did it but if your muse is telling you to go your own way, feel free to rearrange the
layers. Or, if you’re really wild, just mush everything together and serve a ‘Daquiri Mess’.
Place a few bits of popcorn in the bottom of the glass. Next layer, the strawberries.
Then a little bit of nutty mascarpone. Now, a nice sprinkling of crushed pecans and
popcorn, followed by a drizzle of strawberry rum sauce.

Falafel

Written by Maddy Hubbard on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Falafel are incredibly cheap and easy to make, so I definitely recommend giving this recipe a go. Ideally you need a stick blender – one of those hand-held food processors used to make soups, but you could probably manage with a potato masher and some good old fashioned elbow grease!

1 tin chickpeas, drained

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2tbsp flour

3 tbsp parsley

1 tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

 

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and use a food processor, stick blender or masher to form a rough paste from them.

Form into balls and fry in half a centimetre of oil over a medium-high heat until golden brown on each side, which should take about 4 mins before you flip them, but will vary depending on size.

Serve with pitta breads, hummus, salad and any other mezze you can think of!

What of coffee on campus?

Written by Ben Walker on . Posted in Food & Drink.

So, there are to my reckoning three types of coffee drinking within the not so little insular world of UoM. The first isn’t really proper coffee; I refer to the quite repugnantly sweet and syrupy and artificially flavoured buckets of lukewarm swill. Of course this is a verbal assault on the likes of gingerbread lattes, double ‘mochachino’ latte with vanilla, cream and choco-flakes. It is necessary to dig a small grave in the mountainous terrain of over whipped cream to find the liquid; the reward of all that strenuous effort is not worth it.

Though these drinks are nasty, I am not sending these drinks on the long march to the beverage gulag. There is a place, though ever so slight, for them—just don’t call it coffee or really associate with coffee.

Number two is a drink consumed out of habit and necessity. An early morning pick-me-up macchiato, a mid morning recharge cappuccino before clawing towards the luncheon hour, or that last-ditch afternoon latte to drag oneself to home time. Here I believe the consumer is looking for the effects of coffee more than the taste, and this is what indeed Food on Campus rely on, and with a steady customer base, F on C sit happily on the coffee monopoly.

Then there is the third type, the discerning drinker, in search of that elusive nectar; body, aroma, and taste. Now it may seem out of the question to expect Oxford Road to sprout a North Tea Power, but why? There is definitely a market in the campus area for a truly elite coffee house, serving a variety of brilliant coffee drinks from elegant flat whites to powerful ristrettos. For now however I can suggest looking out for Eros coffee in University Place, Café Nero—the high street’s best chain and to its credit pretty good coffee, and finally The Anchor, over looking Whitworth Park, as the areas entry as best independent and most enjoyable place to sit and savour.

The Anchor. Ben Walker

 

 

 

American Smoke and intellectual osmosis

Written by Kathryn Pleydell on . Posted in Books.

As part of the acclaimed Manchester Literature festival, a gaggle of celebrations of all things literary, Iain Sinclair, a contemporary psychogeographer, presented his new book, American Smoke.

Gracing the beautifully exposed brick walls of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, on a vain level I thoroughly enjoyed the location of the event. A tasteful interior and impressive array of modernist fiction gives the former mill an aura of scholarly opportunity, as if any essay I worked on in this location would gain a first due to intellectual osmosis.

However, my dreams of intellectual success were dampened, literally, when a man spilt his pint on me. After swiftly moving to my seat, in a pathetic attempt to dry my saturated clothing, Sinclair was warmly welcomed by the University of Manchester’s very own Jerome De Groot. Formalities aside, Sinclair began to explain his attempts to ‘build up an argument with place’, describing his absorption with Hackney in his youth, a setting of many of his novels. However, despite this geographical setting, Sinclair mused about his utter absorption with the United States of America, and how this culminates in his forthcoming novel American Smoke. He described the novel as a walk in the footsteps of Kerouac and Olsen, among others, stitching together fictional memories and awakening these literary masters.

His readings were very enjoyable to listen to, featuring lively writing and contemporary references, such as Boris Johnson. However, I do have a complaint. In one reading he references both Middlesbrough and Hull as dystopian microcosms. Heightening my swell of annoyance due to the lingering smell of beer, I could not ignore this insulting allusion to the two cities near which I grew up. Admittedly, they are not the most pleasant of places, but this blind remark reminded me somewhat of Lord Howell’s idiotic definition of the North as ‘desolate’.

Anyway, other than this remark, the writing and content was somewhat charming and full of quips, and the experience was enjoyable (other than the beer and geographical discrimination).

“I have a dream”: Lemn Sissay & Manchester Camerata

Written by Annie Muir on . Posted in Books.

No introduction necessary, Lemn Sissay and the Manchester Camerata walked out into the Manchester Town Hall and blew us all away.

The Manchester Camerata is acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras; they played Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13 in B Flat, Op. 130, which was written between 1825-6. Andrew Mellor states that the quartets which came at the end of Beethoven’s creative life ‘became a means of personal expression’ and describes that they have a reputation for being ‘obscure and impossible music born of an unstable, irrational mind.’ The Camerata were flawless (to my unmusically-trained ears) and fascinating; I sat bolt upright in my seat for the entire performance.

The quartet was split into sections, in between which Sissay would bound onto the stage with hair like Willy Wonka and perform his new poem commissioned by the Manchester Literature Festival specifically for this event. I feel truly privileged to have witnessed it.

The poem was Sissay’s personal response to Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. He didn’t mention the title of the poem, but I think it would be called ‘I Belong’, which was constantly repeated throughout: “I stand on top of the Hacienda. It means house, it means home. And I shout ‘I Belong!’ ”

Leaping around, wide-eyed, spitting out lines of immigration and Manchester and John Cooper Clarke, Sissay could have rallied us up and sent us out into the streets; he spoke of “the unassailable us” and told us to “unlock all doors.” No one dared to interrupt him except for the church bells, which forced him to pause one section and start again.

The Camerata finished with the ‘colossal chain of fugal variations’ which friends of Beethoven successfully persuaded him to cut from the original piece (it became its own piece: ‘Grosse Fugue’). The musicians chose to restore it to its rightful place.

At the end of the event, Sissay jokily differentiated between the people who came for the music and the ‘poetry people’ in the audience. I came primarily for the poetry, but the music was so interesting that it worked in a similar way to poetry: sending your mind in all sorts of strange directions as you try to focus in on it.

The ‘music people’ must have been equally shocked by the power of Sissay’s poem, which woke us all up from the musical stupor each time he came on. His poem should be heard in every school in the country and shouted from the tops of buildings across Manchester.

Writing a Path Through Palestine

Written by Elizabeth Linsley on . Posted in Books.

I went to this talk half expecting a slightly irritating, unoriginal rant, but at a small event in a church hall Bidisha managed to tackle one of the biggest contemporary global issues in a way that was warm and human and taking sides. There were no extracts read from her new book Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path through Palestine; it was more a description of her trip to Palestine, taken with the aim of observing what was happening before writing her book. It is nigh on impossible to remain neutral whilst discussing the Palestinian question but Bidisha managed it by treating it as an emotional and human problem, rather than a political, geographical or religious one. She spoke about bullying and abuse of power in a general context and then applied it to this setting.

Bidisha is also very interested in the power of words, whether written or spoken. She talks about how the words used by the authorities are used to control and humiliate, particularly the word ‘forbidden’. On the other hand, the words of Palestinian children were of hope for the future, which reflected the tone of the talk.

Beyond the Wall would be an excellent introduction to the Palestinian question for anyone who feels they should know more about the subject but are overcome with a terrible inertia when confronted with epic historical tomes. For those who are already familiar with the Palestinian question, it would offer a fresh, emotional perspective on one of the most hotly debated topics of our time.

‘If I could take beautiful photos, I wouldn’t write short stories’

Written by Carmen Hall on . Posted in Books.

Tucked behind The Ritz down a little side street is the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, a literary café dedicated to the Mancunian writer who most famously wrote A Clockwork Orange. It is fitting that it is actually an old mill; there is an industrial quality to the inside. As part of the Manchester Literature Festival, ‘up and coming artist’ Sarah Hall and Deborah Levy, whose Swimming Home was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, paid a visit to the Foundation to read from their latest collections of short stories.

The formal atmosphere of the event cracks nicely when Levy laughs and corrects the presenter: “I’ve written five books, not nine.” She has a frankness that seems to separate her from the audience of seemingly reserved, intellectual types.

Her latest collection of short stories Black Velvet is centred on love, loneliness and travel in Eastern European countries. She was childhood friends with my father, so at a personal level I had heard some gentle criticisms of her work – ‘pretentious’ being one of them. I disagree. Levy’s writing is such that even her most disconnected, ambiguous sentences seem to make sense. She describes London and “its tough tender girls” with vitality, and her stories have a slow metabolism to them.

By contrast, Sarah Hall is young and sharp. Many of the stories in her collection The Beautiful Indifference tell of isolated communities in the North (where she herself grew up in the ‘70s) and the violence therein. When an elderly northern man from the audience questions the authenticity of using mostly female characters in such a violent setting, she claims she is quoting from a voice just as true but constantly overlooked.

In the lively Q&A after their readings, Hall and Levy both agree that short stories are a powerful literary genre, underrated and underappreciated. It is less about the development of a plot or a character and more about catching a snapshot of a moment. “If I could take beautiful photos, I wouldn’t write short stories,” says Levy. There is something open and unsettling about a short story; the dropping of something potent without the need for an explanation.