August 2025 favourites list

Welcome to this month’s list. I hope you love the food writing, tips, travel, and recipes I have collected for your reading pleasure.  

 

 

This month’s photos are from a small wildflower grass verge grown by a residents organisation in Hounslow. The colour and vibrancy of the poppies and cornflowers was so much prettier than just plain lawn. The bees and butterflies benefitted from these flowers more than they would have with grass alone, and we all know how important it is to look after the bees. I had to stop to take a picture, and I hope the residents will be doing more of the same next year.  

Food writing  

A zingy and spicy guide to the different types of ginger in the world: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/different-kinds-of-ginger  

There have been lots of hot takes on the early dining conundrum; whether a 6pm or 8pm table reservation is ideal, whether it is a Gen Z thing, whether it is the end of civilisation… I’m not remotely Gen Z, but have to say, I like an early table for all the reasons this diner does. It might have something to do with living far enough from Central London that any public transport journey takes me more than an hour… https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/restaurants-bookings-early-bird-dinner-6pm-b2801647.html  

Kitchen tips 

I love garlic. But I confess, I don’t enjoy peeling it. I tend to give it a good bash and then peel. https://www.foodandwine.com/how-chefs-peel-garlic-11784335 

I try to match up my cooking oil either to the type of food I’m making, or matching to the likely cooking temperature. Here is a guide to cooking oils and when to use them: https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/you-might-be-using-the-wrong-oil-a-guide-to-cooking-oils-and-when-to-use-them/ 

Cooking pasta is one of the first things many of us ever had to learn, but we might have acquired some ingrained bad habits: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/6-mistakes-you-make-when-cooking-pasta_uk_688ccb69e4b08a266e7d518f 

There are so many kitchen gadgets you fork out for and discover are badly designed, difficult to use, or just not needed as often as you thought. Here are 6 to avoid, and I completely agree on glass chopping boards, just yuk: https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-guardian-australia/20250327/282106347439901  

Yotam Ottolenghi on umami, fermentation, and how to make your food just taste “more”: https://archive.ph/Z6nwE  

The Yotam Ottolenghi tomato and date salad he discusses in the above article (with an umami boost of fish sauce): https://archive.ph/godoz  

How to get the richness and flavour of restaurant quality risotto at home: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/restaurant-level-risotto-tips_uk_688786dee4b0b5f7e9081232 

 

Recipes  

Minced Lamb and Aubergine Noodles recipe from new cookbook Chinese Made Easy by Kwoklyn Wan: https://www.kaveyeats.com/minced-lamb-and-aubergine-noodles 

This is the point in summer where tomatoes are ripe, red and ready. Felicity Cloake has turned her usual attention to detail to the Italian classic Pasta al pomodoro crudo (pasta with raw chopped tomatoes): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/aug/03/how-to-make-perfect-fresh-tomato-pasta-recipe-felicity-cloake 

TikTok sensation and School of Wok tutor Emma Chung shares a recipe from her first cookbook, crispy chilli beef with sriracha: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/crispy-chilli-beef-recipe-sriracha-easy-fakeaway-b2789838.html  

 

 

Food and travel  

Mieke, otherwise known by her blog name Dorothy Porker, is a Dutch-Indonesian food author and cookbook writer living in France. She's done us all a massive favour and collected her top food tips for Bordeaux: https://www.dorothy-porker.com/some-bordeaux-food-tips-for-you/ 

One of my favourite things to do when travelling abroad is to visit a food market. Another, is visiting grocery stores and supermarkets. When I tell some people they think it is a strange and mundane thing to spend precious annual leave on. Others agree it is a view into food culture which you wouldn’t get any other way. This piece is a beautifully written celebration of this holiday activity:  https://www.goya.in/blog/the-anthropology-of-aisles-reading-cultures-through-grocery-store  

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen 

My mini blog post on Tom Kerridge's recipe for Barbecue pork chops with spicy white beans: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/790710841641205760/barbecue-pork-chops-ms-recipe-ms 

My Doll Hello Kitty Dim Sum Japanese prawn flavour instant noodle review: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2025/08/doll-hello-kitty-dim-sum-noodle-review.html  

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.