October 2018 Favourites List

Happy Halloween my friends! I hope you are ready for the colour, energy and light hearted fun of 31st October. As the days draw in, our shared Autumn and Winter festivities give us the chance to socialise, dress up and have fun.

I'll be teaching on the day itself, so I won't be able to join in the costumed antics. Unless I pretend my White Book is a book of spells and say I'm dressed as Hermione Granger! 

Whether you'll be Trick or treating, handing out sweets to neighbourhood children, having a fancy dress party, or scaring yourself silly with scary films, I wish you a very happy Halloween. 

This month's pictures are the wonderful Halloween treats and bakes at Konditor and Cook. Aren't the gingerbread ghouls adorable?

I hope you enjoy this month's selection of stuff I have been enjoying.

 

Recipes: 

It's National Curry Week, spice lovers! I remember when I was a child my mum and dad once struggled to find essential ingredients like fresh coriander leaf, methi seeds, green chillies, atta. You couldn't find stuff like you can these days - how times have changed! I remember the failed substitutions - *never* try making Indian hand breads with Whitworths flour! I was pleased to read Meera Sodha's account of her family's successful experiences, plus a unique recipe - Lincolnshire sausage and potato curry: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/30/lincolnshire-sausage-potato-curry-recipe-meera-sodha

Poutine is Canadian for indulgence; chips smothered in gravy and topped with cheese: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a579473/poutine/

 

Love Nando's? Here's how to make your own Piri Piri chicken: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/oct/17/how-to-cook-the-perfect-piri-piri-chicken-recipe

 

Lamb curry with spinach - a classic Indian recipe from Mamta's Kitchen: https://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10479

Easy traybake of hot, sweet and sour tamarind prawns with bulgur wheat and pak choi, for a simple dinner: https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/tamarind_prawns_with_36430

 

Nigel Slater's Fattoush with crisp olive flatbread would make a packed lunch with a difference: https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/fattoush_with_crisp_53560

One pot Vietnamese style beef stew, flavoured with lemongrass and star anise: https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/vietnamese-beef-and-lemongrass-one-pot

Date and oat bars - for snacks or taking to work or sharing. With dates, sweet potato and tahini. https://cookwitch.blogspot.com/2018/08/date-and-oat-bars-vegan-unless-ive.html

Thomasina Miers makes an unconventional lunch, using Middle Eastern ingredients to combine lamb, aubergine, pitta bread, chick peas and pomegranate seeds: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/24/thomasina-miers-spiced-lamb-and-aubergine-fatteh-recipe

Three vegan recipes from Fuchsia Dunlop; Stir-fried spinach with chilli and fermented tofu, sour-and-hot silken tofu with avocado and dry fried shiitake mushrooms: https://www.ft.com/con…/c6f9ade0-bba1-11e8-8274-55b72926558f

 

I found myself dreaming of Izakaya food - Japanese pub grub.... This fits the bill perfectly - Japanese meatballs with Ponzu (I'm sure you can substitute meats if you don't eat beef!): https://www.kikkoman.co.uk/recipes/all/japanese-meatballs-with-ponzu

An all in one dinner of chestnut mushroom rice topped with salad, giving you 3 of your 5 a day:  https://www.bbc.com/…/recipes/mushroom_wild_rice_salad_47495

Food news and articles:

I don't know about you all, but working in Central London means the choices for lunch are the same old limp sandwiches and crisps or rather expensive options of posh wraps, soups and sushi. So I was surprised to discover this cookbook "Made In The Office". It's been around a couple of years. All the recipes can be made with kettle, toaster or microwave. By Rachel Maylor, published by Quarto Cooks: https://www.quartoknows.com/blog/quartocooks/made-in-the-office-behind-the-scenes

A few of the recipes can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/25/made-in-the-office-rachel-maylor-lunch-recipes-kettle-toaster-microwave

Food and culture are things to be shared. Here's a great piece on how Chinese food (or at least an approximation of it) became Indian comfort food: https://qz.com/india/1420618/how-chinese-cuisine-became-indian-food  

Cookbook giveaway from Kavey Eats - win a copy of Asma Khan's book Asma's Indian Kitchen - the Darjeeling Express cookbook! 10 November deadline! https://www.kaveyeats.com/2018/10/giveaway-asmas-indian-kitchen-cookbook.html 

My recent writings: 

Not food. I wrote this for my new students, starting their learning of Civil litigation, criminal litigation and ethics: https://snigsclassroom.blogspot.com/2018/10/10-bptc-knowledge-subject-tips.html

Film:

Department Q - The Keeper of Lost Causes
Department Q - The Absent One
Department Q - A Conspiracy of Faith

TV:

Trust
The Story of... Pulp's Common People

Music:

Nadine Shah - Holiday Destinations
Ghostpoet - Dark Days and Canapes
Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems


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.