July 2022 favourites list

Hello everyone! This month I would like to share my usual mix of foodie writings and recipes, with some photos from a recent visit to Rathfinny Wine estate, Alfriston, East Sussex. Rathfinny on the south coast of England, is fortunate enough to share the same chalk seam as the Champagne region of France, along with a similar climate. This of course makes it perfect for British sparkling wine. 

At the wine estate, set in the rolling Sussex countryside, you will find Turner Prize winning artist Nathan Coley's light sculpture "A Place Beyond Belief", which when you see them, sums up the stunning views. It is part of a major outdoor exhibition of his works, which will be on display until 29 August 2022.

We visited Tasting Room, the Rathfinny restaurant which overlooks the vines and hills, the perfect place to marvel at the English countryside and enjoy delicious food and good wine. We chose the lunch menu as we were visiting in the daytime. You can visit to try the wines, eat at the restaurant, or even to stay on site in the peace and quiet of the vineyards. 

I hope you enjoy my photos and my foodie picks for this month!

Food writing and articles:

What’s in season in the UK in July: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/whats-in-season-july

In defence of pre-chopped garlic – from Gabrielle Drolet. This is an important read on why pre-prepared ingredients being frowned upon is often unconscious ableism. https://thewalrus.ca/garlic-in-a-jar/

 

Which oil should you use when cooking – top chefs give their views: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jun/21/which-oils-are-best-for-cooking-kitchen-aide-olive-sunflower-rapeseed

Kavey’s complete guide to using a wok, from seasoning it, maintaining it, cleaning it and storing it: https://www.kaveyeats.com/the-complete-guide-to-maintaining-your-wok-seasoning-cleaning-and-storage-tips

Glassy Junction in Southall is apparently the source of the phrase “feeling glassy” (meaning I’d love to have a proper drink). It is gone now. But there are other Asian (Desi) boozers out there. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/desi-pubs

Travel, food and art. A list of the 12 best museum restaurants in the world. https://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/museum-restaurants

This is one of the most unusual cooking tips I’ve seen – using a cardboard egg box for baking meatballs. It seems it works very well. Do I dare try it? https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/i-tried-alton-browns-meatball-cooking-hack-and-heres-how-it

Food and travel – the best streets for Tapas in Spain: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/tapas-streets-spain

Smoked pork cheek, Sussex asparagus, lemon dressing, hazlenuts

 

Lifestyle:

Doing things in less of a hurry (like weekend cooking), taking your time, and "slowmaxxing". Could this be a new  self help technique to get us through these stressful times? https://metro.co.uk/2022/06/26/slowmaxxing-is-the-latest-self-care-trend-why-its-worth-your-time-16891165/

Risotto of garden peas, ricotta and mint

 

Recipes:

3 Summer salad recipes – a Kale chicken Caesar, a Smoked trout, egg, Jersey Royals and summer veg salad, and finally a Falafel rainbow Buddha bowl: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/summer-salads-uk

A recipe for kabocha squash soup recommended for picky eaters and fussy children: https://thetakeout.com/quick-easy-squash-soup-recipe-for-picky-eaters-1849071330

We’ve all had red wine sangria, but what about changing it up for this white wine and elderflower sangria? https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/cocktails-and-drinks/white-wine-sangria/

Denver beef steak, kohlrabi, black garlic ketchup, broad bean, grelot onion

 

David Chang, founder of Momofuku, shows how to make his ever popular Corn Miso – a great lunch for Summertime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNodneSjYW8

Pipian verde – a pre-Hispanic Mexican sauce for meat, fish or vegetables, made from pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, leafy greens, and spices: https://www.maricruzavalos.com/pipian-verde/

Broken sheets of lasagne form the basis of this vegan recipe from Meera Sodha with Summery broad beans and rocket: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jun/11/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-broken-pasta-broad-beans-rocket

Chefs in Schools is a food education charity, training kitchen teams to serve better school lunches. Here they share their recipes for kisir, corn salad and Moroccan chicken: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/apr/30/moroccan-chicken-bulgur-wheat-kisir-corn-salad-recipes-chefs-in-schools

Sea bass, spinach, braised fennel, carrot, langoustine bisque and nasturtium

 

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

Risotto primavera, a recipe post: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2020/07/risotto-primavera.html

TV:

Depeche Mode at the BBC (a tribute to Andy Fletcher)

Avoidance

Outlaws (Series 2)

In Concert: Eagles 1973

Synth Britannia at the BBC

Mille feuille of English rhubarb, tonka and honey chiboust, sorrel ice cream

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.

June 2022 favourites list

Welcome to my list of favourite things I've been enjoying this month, along with my recent writing and blogging. 

Over the recent Platinum Jubilee long weekend here in the UK (celebrating the anniversary of the Queen's coronation), we decided to take a short trip to East and West Sussex. One stop off was Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex. 

The small town of Petworth is a quaint little town with many old fashioned antique shops and cute little historic houses with cottage gardens. Pottering around the streets in the sunshine was so pleasant, it put a real smile on my face. 

A particular highlight was visiting Petworth House, a property looked after by the National Trust. It is a very imposing place with great historical importance which is chock full of art. As a privately created collection, it is unique and of genuine cultural importance. There are many original works by Turner, who visited frequently. 

 

But... this month's pictures are not going to be of Petworth House's sumptous interiors or the museum quality artworks. There are almost so many, I felt overwhelmed, and unable to take them all in. Instead, I am going to share pictures of the kitchens in the servants' quarters. The staff here had a hard life, working long hours and taking little time off. These industrious people nevertheless used their skills and creativity to create feasts for guests, daily meals for the incumbents, and, of course, their own more modest "family" meal.

The arrays of perfectly polished and pristine pots, pans and equipment would have been heavy and difficult to clean. Cracked and sore hands would have been commonplace.

 

To learn how to use this rotating roasting rack would have taken a great deal of time and effort to master. There is something similar at Heston Blumenthal's "Dinner" restaurant in London - operated by electricity. Here, someone would have had to rotate and monitor the roasting by hand and eye alone. 

I hope you look at these pictures and marvel at the skill, dedication and grit of these workers. I certainly did. I will now leave you to enjoy my collection of things related to food, cooking, music, film and TV.

 

Food writing and articles:

What’s in season in the UK in June? Finally the soft fruit has arrived; strawberries, raspberries and cherries: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/whats-in-season-june

London’s best rooftop bars: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/london-best-rooftop-bars-sunny

In case you are hoping to enjoy some al fresco dining, here are the picks of the top supermarket picnic food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-picnic-food

Vegans making east Asian food need a substitute for fish sauce. Could Maggi seasoning liquid be the perfect vegan alternative? https://lifehacker.com/the-best-vegan-fish-sauce-is-a-bottle-of-maggi-seasonin-1848945167

Dare I recommend this for my dissertation students? The Japanese writer’s café where staff prod and cajole procrastinators into finishing their writing tasks. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/coffee-tea-nagging-japans-anti-procrastination-cafe-2022-04-26

An essay on “keema spaghetti” (or keema macaroni), a decidedly Asian (Desi) meaty pasta dish, and a recipe.

Essay: https://tastecooking.com/keema-spaghetti-is-4500-miles-away-from-bolognese

Recipe: https://tastecooking.com/recipes/keema-spaghetti/

“Velveting” is the Chinese wok cooking technique which keeps meat juicy and soft, even after cooking through. Chef J Kenji Lopez-Alt talks Emily Kwong through the process (9 minute listen). https://www.npr.org/2022/06/01/1102406135/how-to-keep-meat-juicy-with-science

Recipes:

If you have leftover pork chops or roast pork, this quick and spicy salad is an easy meal-in-a-bowl: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/curried-pork-bulghar-salad

Nigel Slater’s clear summer soup with prawn cakes, plus a recipe for Asparagus and broad bean soup: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jun/12/nigel-slater-recipes-clear-summer-soup-with-prawn-cakes-asparagus-broad-bean-soup

Jack Monroe’s “Sardinesca” – a sardine replacing version of spaghetti puttanesca – low cost and low energy for people struggling with household bills: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sardinesca_94123

Sesame dressed noodles – Liang mian Taiwanese noodle salad recipe from Chef Jeremy Pang: https://schoolofwok.co.uk/tips-and-recipes/liang-mian

Sejal Sukhadwala, author of The Philosophy of Curry, shares a recipe for Strawberry curry and gives the lowdown on fruit curries in Indian food: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/strawberry-curry

Jose Pizarro makes a variation on the classic Spanish potato Tortilla – an asparagus tortilla: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/asparagus-tortilla/

Rangoon Sisters Amy Chung & Emily Chung share their recipe for khayan jin thee thoke – tomato and crunchy peanut salad: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/may/30/the-rangoon-sisters-recipe-khayan-jin-thee-thoke-tomato-and-crunchy-peanut-salad

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

My recipe for Risotto primavera: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2020/07/risotto-primavera.html

My salad of black Provencal rice, asparagus and fine beans. Have it vegan style, or top it with oven baked Toulouse sausage and a poached egg. https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/686966302531878912/cooked-provencal-black-rice-steamed-fine-green

A version of cheater’s bhel puri (an Indian light meal from the chaat family), with a link to the twitter thread of steps and preparation: https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/686509909269004289/cheaters-bhel-puri-potato-tomato-cucumber-red

My other writing

“Bad enough MPs are gaslighting us about food poverty, but will the trolls please just stop.” My opinion piece on food poverty (and the explosion of food banks), the UK cost of living crisis, gaslighting by government and the twitter trolls who assist them. https://mediadiversified.org/2022/05/31/bad-enough-mps-are-gaslighting-us-about-food-poverty-will-the-trolls-please-just-stop/

Film

Parasite

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

TV

Glastonbury 2022: Paul McCartney

Glastonbury 2022: Crowded House

Glastonbury 2022: Billie Eilish

Glastonbury 2022: Burna Boy

Glastonbury 2022: Khruangbin

Sex Education Series 1 and 2

Suspect https://www.channel4.com/programmes/suspect

Jeff Buckley: Everybody Here Wants You (non UK: https://youtu.be/pTBCwcgrtkg) (UK: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0017njl/jeff-buckley-everybody-here-wants-you)

Music

Jeff Buckley - Grace

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.