February 2023 favourites list

Greetings to you all, thank you for joining me this month!

I have been enjoying reading about food, planning what to eat, cooking and eating in this month. There has been no discernable theme, other than "things I like". I also had a couple of chances to go out, for Valentine's day (in Petts Wood, Kent, see below) and for a scrummy pub lunch in the nearby Kent town of Chislehurst. 

I've included quite a few items here which are not about recipes, or are about explaining ingredients and techniques. Sometimes I rely too much on recipes, and I would like to do more home cooking off the cuff. 

The cultural pickings this month are thin. It's hard to focus on music, film and TV when you're marking assessments. Hopefully next month will be an opportunity to indulge in a cultural as well as culinary fashion! 

Crab cocktail

Food writing

What’s in season in February? Sweet potatoes, celeriac, kale. https://realfood.tesco.com/whats-in-season/february.html

Baklava, with its layers of pasty, nuts and oodles of sweetness, is a dessert or treat I love. This guide to the different varieties is going to be useful to me next time I'm drooling over the bakery section of my local Turkish grocery shop! https://www.tastingtable.com/1155810/variations-of-baklava-explained/

Whether, like me, you are a huge chaat fan, or if you are taking your first steps into the world of the many Indian snacks under the chaat umbrella packing a big flavour punch, this read is full of inspiration: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-make-chaat-indian-south-asian-street-snack

Homemade currywurst sauce with Bratwurst and chips

Peter Som, writing about his Grandmother’s cooking, featuring her handwritten recipe from her notebook is one of those amazing peeks into someone else’s life. I bet she never thought anyone else would be reading her notes. https://www.saveur.com/culture/chinese-white-cut-chicken/ Here is her recipe, for people like me who can’t read Cantonese. https://www.saveur.com/recipes/white-cut-chicken-recipe/

Kitchen know-how

A cook’s guide to mushroom varieties: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/feb/21/the-world-is-your-oyster-mushroom-the-expert-guide-to-cooking-delicious-fungi

A guide to all the different types of noodles you might find in an east Asian grocery shop: https://www.seriouseats.com/asian-noodle-shopping-guide

Know your juliennes from your batons and your cubes from your dice - a visual guide to different knife cuts in the kitchen: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/visual-guide-to-useful-knife-cuts

Scampi, chips and tartare sauce

 

I use oyster sauce to make my stir fry sauce, which I do enjoy, but is getting a bit same-y. So this guide on how to use oyster sauce is going to give me new inspiration. https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-use-oyster-sauce

Love guacamole, but hate it when it goes brown? Here are 9 ways to keep it fresh, road tested. TL, DR? Lime juice 2nd. Lemon juice 1st. https://www.thekitchn.com/best-way-to-keep-guacamole-from-turning-brown-showdown-23503922

Chicken with orzo

 

Recipes

Recipe for vegan pancakes, with one savoury and one sweet treat for Pancake day (Shrove Tuesday): https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/17/pancake-day-how-to-make-vegan-pancakes-this-shrove-tuesday-2-18294404/

We made Helen Best-Shaw’s roasted swede soup. It’s delicious! Roasting the swede, parsnip, carrot and onion makes a massive difference to the flavour. It works so well with root vegetables. https://fussfreeflavours.com/easy-roasted-swede-soup/

Roasted swede soup

 

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

My Valentine's Day lunch at Indian Essence in Petts Wood, Kent: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/709269962858102784/valentines-day-lunch-at-indian-essence-indian

My recipe for Creamy Stilton and pea pasta: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/708271231586238464/creamy-mini-farfalle-bow-tiebutterfly-pasta

Creamy Stilton and pea pasta

 

Music

If you have not yet heard on4word's exceptionally detailed cover version of Radiohead's In Rainbows album, rendered in Mario 64 sound effects, dig in. On paper it doesn't work. In your ears, it totally does. https://youtu.be/B2JHChJpG_A

Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space

TV

Happy Valley – Seasons 1-3

The Gold

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.