The Glamorous Dry Cleaners (above) is a great example. You probably pass shop fronts like this all the time, but have you ever stopped to admire one? I mean really, could you get a less glamourous looking sign than that? What the hell is that font? And rainbow colours? I can’t think of any time when that symbolised glamour!

Then there is this little gem, Little Hut. Again, out of the corner of your eye you immediately recognise the ubiquitous high street newsagents, but have you actually taken in what they have to offer? From the looks of it, there isn’t much the Little Hut can’t do for you, since if it isn’t an international money transfer, bus pass, lottery ticket or bottle of wine you are after, they also can cash your pay cheque, print photos of your birthday party and top up your oyster card while you read one of their Nigerian magazines. If you are worried that you’ll never make it out of there with all those possibilities, you could just hang around outside and browse the small ads.  This is a newsagent not to be ignored!

In case you think you might have overlooked some of your own local curiosities, you can go hunting for them on Emily Webber’s photo blog www.londonshopfronts.com. And if it isn’t there yet, remember the website is updated daily, so your corner shop could still be coming to a small screen near you soon!

*Ok, ok – with perhaps one exception thanks to the success of British film director Mike Leigh

Ingredients

• 500g Beetroot
• 50g shelled pistaschios
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1tsp fennel seeds
• 3 fresh chillies
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 bunches spring onions
• 100g fresh coconut, grated
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml plain yoghurt

Method

Boil the beetroots until tender and peel them under cold running water, then chop them into thick matchsticks. Toast the pistachios in the oven or on the hob. Crack the cardamom seeds and remove the seeds, discarding the pods. Slice the white ends of the spring onions and chop them finely. Drop the green ends into a pan of boiling water for a few seconds then plunge them into cold water. Chop them carsely and put them into a food processor with the pistachios, cardamom seeds and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and blend, adding a little cold water in a slow stream until you get a thick butsmooth puree. Pass this through a sieve, fine enough to take out any coarse pieces of scallian – into a small pan. Hlave the chillies lengthways, and chop them into slices. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a shallow pan and cook the sping onion white bits, the chillies, ginger, mustard and fennel seeds over a medium heat, stirring for 5 minutes, then add the beetroot and coconut and the pistachio and green onions paste, and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and stir in the yoghurt just before you serve.

Rasa is a vegetarian South Indian restaurant on Stoke Newington Church street, Hackney, London N16

Okay so there is no hard and fast recipe to this, you just learn to use what you have got and vary it according to mood. My favourite variation follows, its great for colour to brighten up a dark wintery day and tastes delicious and very moreish.

Ingredients

1/2 red cabbage
3-4 carrots
1 small celeriac
handful (total) of seeds/nuts eg sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cashew nuts
fresh parsley (if you have some)

For dressing:

a lemon
olive oil
honey
grainy mustard
salt and pepper

Method

Finely slice the red cabbage (i don’t recommend using a food processor as it shreds the cabbage too fine) and peel and then julienne/grate the carrots and celeriac (food processor comes in handy here!). Mix all together in a large bowl.

Make up a dressing to your taste, lemon juice is particularly good here but otherwise its variable. I do 1/3 lemon juice to 2/3 oil (total half filling a small jar), a 1/2 tsp each of honey and mustard and then season it.

Toast the seeds/nuts in a small frying pan until they are lightly browned and make popping sounds. Do watch these as the cook, if you try and do something else you risk forgetting and letting them burn – believe me as one who has tried!

Now just throw it all together – toss the dressing in, stir in some roughly chopped parsley and sprinkle with the toasted seeds.

This salad can last a couple days – i find its really nice to take for lunch alongside a sandwich. I would say if you don’t polish it off in your first sitting then enjoy it in the next day or so while its still fresh and crisp.