March 2018 Favourites List

This month’s picture may seem a little out of place for a favourites list for March. They’re more in the vein of Christmas! 

We Brits are obsessed with the weather. We can talk about it in incredible detail, with any other English speaking human being, for any required length of time. We get excited about it, we often complain about it, we never get bored of it. Even the subject of what to wear for the weather can embroil us in deep conversation.

We don’t have fifty words for snow. But we can talk about it forever. London rarely gets snow, being down in the very south of the UK and because it has its own microclimate (often a degree warmer than the outskirts). So when the cold weather front dubbed “The Beast From The East” hit us, bringing us some of the white stuff, we filled our boots. Instagrams, tweets and Facebook pictures of backgardens, snow covered cars and snowmen filled everyone’s timelines.

We only had a decent inch or so of snow. Our compatriots up north had a lot more. But don’t begrudge us our flurry of joy. We had so much fun. The trains didn’t run, the roads weren’t gritted, and boilers went on the blink. But we didn’t mind, it was just something else to chat about.

My pictures are of Central London in the snow. I hope you like them. I will confess, I really hope when I come to compile next month’s favourites list Spring will have arrived! I’m freezing!

Recipes:

Mung bean vermicelli are so see through, they are called glass noodles. Here's a Thai recipe using prawns and pork mince which uses them: https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/glass-noodle-salad-v2/

New noodle recipes by Yotam Ottolenghi using rice vermicelli, udon and sea spaghetti: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/10/yotam-ottolenghis-noodle-recipes

La Scala in Beverly Hills has the reputation of being the restaurant of Hollywood stars. They are famed for inventing the American chopped salad - easy to eat, no need to slice anything, light and unfattening. Perfect for busy actors lunching. La Scala shared their recipe with Rick Stein on his recent Mexico series. https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/chopped-salad-from-la-scala

I would swap out Cumberland sausage for the more meat-rich Italian sausages I can get from the Italian deli in Lewisham. But a quick supper dish for cold evenings: https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/pappardelle-with-spicy-sausage-and-kale/

Did anyone else like the look of Madhur Jaffrey's Lamb shanks braised in yoghurt and spices served with dill pilau on a very recent Saturday Kitchen Best Bites (10 March)? The recipe is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lambshanksbraisedina_91037

Food writing I’ve enjoyed this month:

Food memories take us back to better times, more innocent times. This beautiful evocation by food blogger and NHS doctor Aaron Vallance of his grandma Beryl's chicken soup has made me a little misty eyed. https://www.1dish4theroad.com/2016/12/grandma-beryls-chicken-soup.html

Food writing is best when it is passionate, full of love... or full of laughs. This is a brilliantly humourous blog post on Brussels sprouts... AKA mini demon cabbages! http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2018/03/20/die-demon-cabbage-die-i-will-make-you-like-brussels-sprouts/

Southern Italy is a beautiful place to travel around. Imagine flitting from town to town sampling the very different and perhaps controversial versions of pizza to be found? Imagine no longer… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-15/the-wild-pizzas-of-southern-italy-have-to-be-seen-to-be-believed

Pre-prepared ingredients in supermarkets often attract negative comment. "Why would anyone buy ready made mashed potatoes?" But many of these products aren't a short cut for "the lazy". They're necessary for those with pain/strain/injury issues, disabilities and persistent conditions. The packaging often has far too much plastic, but that's a problem across the board in our supermarkets. Before we judge, we need to be more thoughtful. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2018/mar/16/pre-chopped-onions-arent-pointless-if-you-cant-hold-a-knife

8 March was International Women's Day, prompting Metro to write about 5 inspirational women of Indian origin, shaking up the London food scene. (International Men's Day is 19th November, in case you were wondering.) http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/08/meet-5-indian-women-shaking-up-londons-food-scene-7355930/

After International Women's Day, it seems apt to think about whether food marketing should be gendered. Why would one chocolate bar be "not for girls", yet another is a feminine indulgence? What next? Bloke blue bottled Champagne? Women's flowery sausages? Let food be food, I say! http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/08/food-and-drink-isnt-gendered-so-can-companies-please-stop-marketing-it-as-if-it-is-7369052/

Beyond five spice - a guide to the essential condiments for home cooked Chinese food: http://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-spices-condiments/

An emotional, beautiful, evocative read. Remembering his Vietnamese-American upbringing, Andrew Bui discusses his love for Pho. And he shares his recipe. https://thecookscook.com/columns/family-meal/a-bowl-of-pho/

 

Food recycling taken up a notch - how used chewing gum can be given a new lease of life: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/stories-43198104

 

A tour of London's Chinatown with Fuchsia Dunlop: https://munchies.vice.com/en_uk/article/53qwg8/a-guided-tour-of-londons-chinatown-with-fuchsia-dunlop

 

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen:

Some thoughts on blogging, to coincide with me finally adding a recipe index to my blog: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/recipe-index-new-to-snigs-kitchen.html

Here is that recipe index for you to browse through! http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/p/recipe-index.html

Films:

Lady Bird

Suffragette

The East

TV:

Mum (second series)

Before We Die (Innan Vi Dör)

Synth Britannia 

Synth Britannia at the BBC

Music:

Agnes Obel – Aventine

Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice

Dorothy Ashby - Afroharping

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.