January 2022 Favourites list

If it isn't too late, may I wish everyone reading this a happy new year, and I hope we all have a healthy, fulfilling and enjoyable year. We all deserve it, given the two years which preceded 2022.

This will be a succinct Favourites list post, which is a fancy way of saying it's going to be short. It's going to be short because my students and I have found ourselves in a very busy period of juggling classes and assessments. The students are, of course, taking the assessments. I wish them every success. I and my colleagues are, of course, doing the marking. 

My photos this month are a few recent dishes, from salads to stir fries. I'll be looking forward to new cooking challenges and discoveries in 2022. 

Onto my list of wonderful stuff, which I hope you will enjoy.

Food writing

Which food trends can we expect in 2022? https://metro.co.uk/2021/12/02/chefs-say-well-be-seeing-more-of-these-food-and-drink-trends-in-2022-15702638/

 

What’s in season in January: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/whats-in-season-january

I’m suffering serious cocktail envy after checking out the world’s best 50 bars. https://www.worlds50bestbars.com/list/1-50

How to up your home made cocktail game: https://www.olivemagazine.com/drink/home-bar-hacks/

Nissin’s Cup Noodle (the original “pot noodle”) has a fascinating origin story: https://www.fastcompany.com/90704340/the-surprising-origin-story-of-the-iconic-cup-noodles

Why do Indian recipes always have to come from some mythic grandmother? Brilliant food opinion piece by Sejal Sukhadwala: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/29/indian-recipes-mythic-grandmother-burden-tradition

 

In an act of selfless public service Angela Hui has tried to cook some recipes from the latest Conservative Party Cookbook "Corridors of Flour". As you might expect, the recipes lack either precision or flavour and dwell in the past: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3abax8/conservative-party-cookbook-recipes-corridors-flour

 

A cinema without popcorn? I'm with Rebecca Johnson on this - it's unthinkable. This is a fab read - on popcorns and escaping your cares at the cinema. https://pipewrenchmag.com/palace-for-the-people/

Recipes

Chilli and mango chicken with Indonesian sambal chilli paste: https://www.sidechef.com/recipes/4891/chili_mango_chicken/

Dishoom’s bacon naan roll with tomato chilli jam: https://www.dishoom.com/journal/dishooms-bacon-naan-roll-recipe/

Tom Kerridge’s tomato and sourdough bread salad with chargrilled-chorizo: https://tomkerridge.com/recipes/tomato-salad-with-chargrilled-chorizo/

One of our local restaurants puts a small dish of cucumber batons out while you peruse the menu. I wondered how they got so much flavour into what is often a bland vegetable. Looks like this is their secret. Thank you, Diversivore food blog! https://www.diversivore.com/chinese-garlic-cucumber-salad-liangban-huanggua/

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.