June 2020 Favourites list

Hello friends!

The UK is taking slow steps out of Lockdown. This means that I have little to report as I have not been up to much. So the introduction to this month's favourites list is going to be short. Summer in the UK is slowly unfolding. We just had the longest day of the year (the Summer Solstice). My cooking exploits are on Instagram and my other thoughts are on Twitter (my handle is snigskitchen for both). 

We have been told that pubs, bars, restaurants, museums and galleries can re-open from July 4th. Of course, this is going to be subject to certain safeguards. So we will have to get used to a brand new version of "the new normal". The first day that non-essential shops re-opened, people were perhaps over enthusiastic, with many queuing around the block for the Nike Shop, Selfridge's and Primark. That novelty has now worn off. What the take up will be with this new relaxation of measures, we have yet to see. 

I hope that all of you are safe and well. Please don't forget, wash your hands, cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. If other people want to keep a distance from you, please try to be cool about it. You may not know their situation or understand their fears. If you are supposed to wear a mask on public transport, please do so. It is small preventative measures that will help us all. Because behind every person you come into contact with is in a network of other people, some of whom might be vulnerable or needed on the front line. 

We have all been through so much these last few months. A little bit of caution and care for others should help take us forward through our next steps. 

Anyway, let's get onto my collection of lovely stuff. 

Food writing and articles:  

What is in season in June: http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/june.php

 

How to grow your own salad and herbs: https://www.olivemagazine.com/guides/how-to-grow-your-own-herbs-and-salad/

How to choose and cook with fish sauce: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/30/it-makes-everything-taste-better-how-to-buy-and-cook-with-fish-sauce

For decades, monosodium glutamate (MSG), naturally occuring in Parmesan cheese, ripe tomatoes and some types of seaweed has been demonised as a "bad" or unhealthy food product. It all dates back to a late 1960s paper. The astonishing truth is, that paper appears to be a complete fake. https://news.colgate.edu/magazine/2019/02/06/the-strange-case-of-dr-ho-man-kwok

Recipes: 

How to make Jambalaya, a masterclass from Felicity Cloake: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jun/10/how-to-make-jambalaya-recipe-felicity-cloake-masterclass

Chef Tim Anderson's vegan cauliflower katsu curry recipe: https://www.kaveyeats.com/2020/05/vegan-japaneasy-recipe-cauliflower-katsu-curry.html

Looking for new home baking ideas? How about coming back to that school cookery class classic, the flapjack?  https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/25/just-add-chocolate-or-dates-or-banana-10-delicious-flapjack-recipes-to-suit-every-taste

Smoky noodle salad by David Atherton, using lapsang souchong teabags for the dressing: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/13/david-athertons-recipe-for-smoky-rice-noodle-salad

Thai sweetcorn cake recipe from Rosa’s Thai Café: https://www.rosasthaicafe.com/recipes/sweet-corn-patties

Ishan Kolhatkar’s recipe for a “Bigish Mac”, a copycat version of the fast food classic: https://medium.com/@kolhatkar/bigish-mac-350bf816dd64

Miso salmon and ginger noodles (I would use buckwheat soba for this): https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/miso-salmon-ginger-noodles

No-cook chickpea, tomato and cucumber salad, a vegan recipe from Meera Sodha: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/30/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-no-cook-salad-chickpea-tomato-cucumber-salad

What you might have missed at Snig's Kitchen

My recipe for lockdown freezer ragu sauce means one lot of cooking and 10 portions of delicious pasta sauce: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2020/06/lockdown-freezer-ragu-sauce.html  

Music:

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Pet Shop Boys - Introspective
Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold

TV:

What We Do In The Shadows (Series 1 & 2)
Black Books (Seasons 1-3)

Film:

What We Do In The Shadows
Withnail and I 
The Red Riding Trilogy

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.