Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, err no the grass is rubbish crop this year which ever field you are standing in, our meadow still hasn’t been mown, the weather has not been fit, looking at last years blog post on the topic I can see it was cut on the 24th of August, and that was a month later than the previous year, 2006, at this rate in a few years time, Simon the farmer will be hanging tinsel and mistletoe in the cab of the tractor when haymaking. But it is no joke, the best they can hope for now is making silage not hay and that will be of dubious quality, meadow grass doesn’t stand around patiently waiting to be mown, the poor summer grass has seeded and started to die back whilst other scraggy grass is forcing up through it,making a [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
I feel lucky to have friends that think of me before they leave for a long trip. Besides being able to see them before a long goodbye, they are generous enough to give me their still worthy groceries that would have otherwise been thrown away. The OO’s latest pre-long term sojourn yielded two bags full of mad goods:
-chicken stock
-goat cheese
-oatmeal
-kettle corn
-pita chips
-tortilla chips
-olives
-the lame-ish pasta that I made for us
-heavy cream
-butter
-eggs
-lemon
-Greek yogurt
-tarragon
-flour tortillas
-garlic
-scallions
-basil
-bananas
-1 1/2 orange peppers
-vanilla pudding
-hummus
-cinnamon raisin English muffins
-Kraft grated cheese
This grab bag allows me to use many things that I ordinarily don’t have in The Littlest Kitchen - heavy cream, tarragon, olives, butter. Don’t get me wrong, I love butter. As someone who has grown up eating margarine and discovered real butter as an adult, I’m a convert, never to go back to that combination of grade D milk and oil. But in [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
We’re headed to Vietnam tomorrow morning. Before we go, we thought we’d show you some pictures from Taipei…
No tags for this post.
Related posts
No related posts.
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
Sliced Ginger Root (Used with permission.)
Sir Toby Belch: Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?
Clown: Yes, by Saint Anne, and ginger shall be hot i’ the mouth too.
Twelfth Night. Act ii. Sc. 3.
Shakespeare deemed it as “hot in the mouth.” Confucius dictated rules about cutting it. No poets have praised it, but ginger is here to stay. Gingery yellow ginger imparts a certain pep and prance to gingerbread boys and gives gingersnaps their bite. Most often associated with Christmas sweets, versatile ginger (Zingiber officinale) reveals a long and fascinating history.
Young Ginger Plant (Used with permission.)
In ancient Bengal, in a time out of mind, people discovered a hot spicy yellow roots - related to turmeric and galangal - and called it sringavera, meaning “horned root” in Sanskrit. Ginger, a rhizome plant almost a twin of bamboo and being easy to grow, quickly spread [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
Raleigh is fortunate to be getting a classic French brasserie, Coquette, the latest venture from the Urban Food Group restaurant company. Coquette, which basically means “flirty girl”, will be taking over the space previously inhabited by South in the North Hills Mall.
I’m very fortunate in that I’ve been granted complete access to the Coquette project. From the business plan, financial model, menu and recipe development, to extensive interviews with the owners, chefs, and front of the house managers, I’ll be telling a story over the next few months about the opening of a new, high-end restaurant. You’ll learn about construction, finances, landlord relationships — things that you just don’t hear about very often. If you have questions, ask them here, as I’ll try to get answers. In the end, this should make a compelling story of what goes into a restaurant.
Coquette is scheduled to open in late October or [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
An eye opener —
Beef-eating is portrayed in the U.S. almost as a patriotic endeavor. Our favorite sports heroes - from Michael Jordan to Drew Bledsoe - are featured in McDonalds ads and toys. We are literally bombarded with ads for McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s. But there is something very odd about all this. There are hints (or front page headlines) telling us that there is something wrong with all this beef consumption.
In fact, a quick study of the issues surrounding beef consumption finds some very disturbing facts:
1. Beef contains significant quantities of the most toxic organic chemical known - dioxin. This chemical is toxic in the trillionths of grams. (A trillionth of a gram, called a picogram, is one million millionth of a gram. A gram is about 1/30th of an ounce.) Dioxin has been linked to cancer, endometriosis, Attention Deficit Disorder (hyperactivity in children), reproductive systems defects in [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
For decades now, nasi kandar lovers in Penang have known about this place. I was introduced to this place during a conversation with one of my foodie friends who innocently uttered: “Line Clear, Line Clear!
At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about but I was too “cool” to show my ignorance. Then one day, I walked past this place, looked up and my ignorance vanished. It turned out to be one of the more famous backlanes of George Town.
Here is where nasi kandar lovers from outstations satisfy their curiosity and have their fill of that famous nasi kandar of Penang that everybody talks about.
No tags for this post.
Related posts
No related posts.
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
This curry is full of big, bold, clean, clear flavours. It is good with any type of flat bread and a tangle of blanched chard or spinach leaves dressed with lime juice and olive oil. Onion squash comes into season around this time of year: don’t bother to peel off the skin – it is best left on.
Ingredients
1 medium onion squash
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 green chilli, chopped (seeds left in)
10 curry leaves
A bunch of coriander, roots and stalks finely sliced, leaves reserved for garnish
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
Juice of 2 limes, or to taste
15-20 little ripe San Marzano tomatoes
340g jar (or tinned) good-quality peeled plum tomatoes
250ml coconut milk (fresh or tinned)
Method
Using a large, sharp knife, slice through the middle of the squash. [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
…and I’ve been up since 4am, trying my hardest to fall back to sleep. With no success, obviously.
I am a big fan of sleep, so this ongoing, seemingly neverending bout of insomnia over the past few months is not doing much for me.
A few hours ago, I actually fell asleep fine at 11pm after 3 hours of reading (We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - I LOVE it, more on that later) and two bowls of Ciao Bella chocolate sorbetto that I am obsessed with. You seriously must try this stuff, it is the closest thing to Italian gelato that I’ve ever had at home. The chocolate is intensely chocolatey, and so rich tasting, you really don’t need to eat a lot of it. And trust me, I’m not a person who can eat a “serving” (is a serving really a half scoop of ice cream? That [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 12-09-2008
On my mission to eat healthier, I have started to purchase boxes of organic vegetables from Wensleydale Organic Farm. It is 45km from Johannesburg. They deliver at various drop-off points and then we collect. The closest one for me is in Kensington.
I am still learning about organic food, but definitely understand the benefits.
“The word Organic means ‘living’, and in practical terms, this means natural food that is grown and processed without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Nothing unnatural is allowed so there are no growth hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, dyes, chemical coatings or irradiation allowed. There is no genetic engineering allowed in organic foods.
Organic food is nothing more than pure nutritional food - the way it used to be.”
The box is full of green goodness (and some colour too).
The box included: eggplant, butter lettuce, spring onion, beetroot, corn salad…
Naartjies, Broccoli, baby spinach…
Radishes - how good do [...]
No tags for this post.
Related posts
