May 2018 Favourites List

This month’s pictures are from Brighton on the south coast (of England). It is often called “London by the sea”, which seemed rather apt to me. Brighton is fun and full of things to do. It is cosmopolitan, multicultural and cultural. Brighton has always been close to my heart, since I studied there…. ummmm… *some* (ahem!) years ago. 

I could have shared pictures of the seafront, Palace Pier or Brighton Pavilion. All are beautiful and worth visiting. But they are already iconic and you will have seen them before. I have decided to focus on the street art of Brighton, something which wasn’t around in my student days. There is street art everywhere in Brighton, bringing some fun and colour to the city. However, the North Laine is particularly rich in street art. Pottering around the independent shops, tripping up on the latest street art is a lovely way of spending an idle afternoon. 

I hope you like these pictures. The “Icons” mural and David Bowie with his 12 string guitar were two of my favourite works. 

I also hope you will enjoy my monthly collection of food writing, recipes and cultural bits and bobs. 

Recipes 

Chicken Shawarma recipe from Dan, The Curry Guy, for anyone looking for a barbeque dish to drool over: http://www.greatcurryrecipes.net/2015/07/17/how-to-make-shawarma-kebabs/

Pakistani Keema paratha, perfect for lunchtime weekend cooking: https://food52.com/recipes/76946-pakistani-keema-paratha-spiced-beef-filled-flatbread

 

Nobuko in Kawaguchiko makes a mean miso potato at her little Izakaya (pub/restaurant). This recipe comes close... but we are still trying to recreate the experience! http://justhungry.com/new-potatoes-with-sweet-spicy-miso

"Ruff puff pastry" - a quick homemade version of puff pastry with Spring asparagus and home caramelised onion. https://www.belleaukitchen.com/2018/05/asparagus-caramelised-onion-and-parmesan-tarts.html

Colourful ceviche with an unexpected crunch. I would substitute the popcorn with roasted whole corn kernels (corn nuts): https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/fish-and-seafood/popcorn-ceviche/

Summer is on the way... so here are some early Summer salads from Nigel Slater: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/14/nigel-slater-salad-recipes-for-early-summer

I haven't used my seed sprouting jar in a while. I've been looking for new inspiration. This noodle, prawn and sprouted bean and grain salad looks worth trying out! http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/food/recipes/thai-prawn-and-sprouted-bean-salad

Who's ready to try savoury porridge? This is a congee style porridge recipe, meaning it has quite a bit of fluid added. But you could also try a risotto or dahl style consistency. Sweet porridge doesn't seem right a lunchtime, so this is a bit of a change. (You can buy Chiu Chow chilli oil and Shaoxing rice wine from your local oriental grocers): https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/quick-and-easy/savoury-porridge-with-ginger-and-chilli-oil/

If you saw my blog post about Adam Handling at The Frog restaurant cooking with Kikkoman ingredients and you liked the look of the soy sauce "salted" caramel, this might be interesting: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/chocolate-truffle-pots-with-caramel-sauce/

Michel Roux Jr made this dish part of his marathon preparation - fish cooked en papillote. Cooking fish in paper or foil is a great way of avoiding overcooking and introducing flavour: https://www.eatcookexplore.com/michel-roux-jrs-norwegian-haddock-baked-with-ginger-and-coriander/

In an effort to try to eat more wholegrains, I bought a pack of pearl barley. But it has been languishing in the kitchen cupboard, as the only use I could think of was to chuck it in a stew. So here's Nigel Slater to the rescue with a sort of Barley risotto... a "barlotto" if you will! https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/01/nigel-slater-pearl-barley-bacon-and-taleggio-recipe

I've always liked Yotam Ottolenghi's approach to flavours. So his collection of tray bake dinners - one cooking receptacle for a whole meal - is intriguing. Easy and tasty? Yes, please! https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/28/yotam-ottolenghi-tray-bake-recipes

A highly original vegetarian and vegan grilled fruit and grilled corn salad with quinoa: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/08/fiery-fruit-quinoa-salad-from-salad-samurai.html

Celebrate Spring with this menu for four people - Baked pork and saffron rice, Raw asparagus, fennel and ricotta salad, Smoked-haddock, radish and celery-leaf remoulade, Strawberry jelly with lime-basil syllabub: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/recipes/celebrate-arrival-asparagus-colourful-menu-four/

Food articles and food writing

"Curry". What smell is that, anyway? I've had a thousand assumptions made about my food, my cooking and the "smells" all my life. So much so I wear a shower cap when I cook Indian food to avoid getting the smell in my hair. So many resonances with this for me, but I say one thing: cook what makes you happy! https://www.buzzfeed.com/sharanyadeepak/you-smell-like-curry-youre-fired

I really enjoyed this thoughtful and eloquent piece of food writing from the fab Gavin Uren (AKA Le Petit Oeuf); why the politics of food is never simple and why "industrial" food deserves more love: https://medium.com/@lepetitoeuf/why-we-need-to-show-industrial-food-some-love-%EF%B8%8F-1013f7b0b1a

What you might have missed at Snig's Kitchen

Chef Adam Handling cooks Kikkoman at The Frog restaurant, London: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/the-frog-cooks-kikkoman.html

 

TV

Raised By Wolves (Series 1)

Plebs (Series 3)

Films

Easy Money trilogy (Sweden):

Easy Money (Snabba Cash)

Easy Money II

Easy Money III: Life Deluxe

Music

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

Agnes Obel - Citizen of Glass

 

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.

April 2018 Favourites List

After March’s wintry, snow clad pictures, it is a delight to see that Spring has sprung! I was fortunate enough to spend this year’s Easter break travelling around Japan. Ever since Mr Hammick, my primary school Humanities teacher, taught us the Sakura song (in both English and Japanese) when I was 10, I’ve always wanted to see the cherry blossom. He had lived in Japan for 10 years, and had learned to speak Japanese. He told us about Japan, and I loved hearing every story. 

The delicately pink, five petaled Sakura is the national flower of Japan. The blooms last 3 to 5 days, depending on the weather. A windy day can spell tragedy, a seriously wet day is catastrophic. The blossom in a single town might last a week or two. The plum blossom lasts a month. So why do the Japanese love the cherry blossom so much? It is the combination of the indescribable beauty and its transience which makes it so irresistible. 

Chasing the Sakura in Kyoto, Kanazawa, Kawaguchiko and Tokyo was an unforgettable experience. I learned that Fujisan is as shy and elusive as he is described to be. If you see him, take your pictures immediately. Visibility rarely lasts the day. Clouds can mask him completely, such that you’d never believe he’s only a couple of kilometres away. Haze caused by mist and bright sunshine can make his full outline hard to discern. In full view, it is a truly awesome sight; a singular mountain, all by itself, with the most perfect sloping, conical outline. What an icon!

Kyoto’s streets are vivid and picturesque with the blossom in place. It is a fascinating city of culture and architecture at any time of year. The beautiful drifts of Sakura make the streets of Gion, the Philopher’s Path and the canals on the approach to Ginkakuji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion) like a dream come true. The historic streets of Kanazawa are fun to wander around, the city’s gastronomy is among the best in Japan, but the blossom around the Castle and Botanical Gardens are ethereal; like cascades of snow. 

The deer of Nara are always adorable, but the cherry flowers make them even more photogenic and catching the very last Sakura in Tokyo at the tomb of the last Shogun,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu in Yanaka was poignant.

I hope you enjoy my pictures from my trip. The enchanting Sakura flowers made a big impression on me, and the memories are something I will treasure for the rest of my life.  

Recipes:

Italian sausages are deliciously high in meat content, meaning you don't need many for a decent meal. Here's a recipe using Broccoli Rabe (Rapini) I'm looking forward to making! https://www.today.com/recipes/grilled-sausage-broccoli-rabe-pesto-recipe-t121456

Here is the bean soup which forms the base for the Sausage Broccoli Rabe: https://www.today.com/video/make-this-hearty-bean-soup-and-get-3-delicious-dinners-out-of-it-1153914435654?v=a  

Jalebis are a treasured childhood memory... off-the-scale sweetness, best eaten when they're so fresh they're still hot. The idea of making them at home seems a bit daunting to me, but just seeing a recipe for them on a national news website made me smile from ear to ear:  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/17/jalebi-indian-sweet-street-snack-recipe-tamal-ray

 

Comforting, fruity, sweet and warming. Cookwitch Lisa makes a variation of Nigel Slater's Lebanese rice pudding from his series on the Middle East. http://cookwitch.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/nigel-slaters-middle-east-fragrant.html

 

Sort-of-Moussaka. Minced pork and minced lamb cooked in aubergine and tomato sauce, stuffed into half an aubergine, covered in white sauce, topped with cheese and baked. https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/auberginemoussakawit_88436

 

This Couscous stuffed aubergine with Tahini sauce shows how diverse vegetarian and vegan food can be: https://searchingforspice.com/couscous-stuffed-aubergine-tahini-sauce/#wprm-recipe-container-10071

 

Black cod with miso, as made famous by Nobu restaurant. (NB: black cod is actually sablefish or butterfish, but you can substitute sea bass or even salmon).  https://www.justonecookbook.com/black-cod-with-miso/

 

Japanese stewed pork, with a touch of sweetness: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/food/recipe/kyou_19176.html

 

An inventive fish taco recipe using pickled ginger and wonton wrappers. Sounds tasty rather than authentic, but isn't it taste that ultimately counts? https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/foodanddrink/tuna-tacos-with-avocado-and-pickled-ginger-recipe-a3807846.html

 

Miso chicken teriyaki made with flavourful chicken thighs: https://www.japancentre.com/en/recipes/1441-miso-chicken-teriyaki

Sesame and yoghurt roast lamb. Serve with salad and flatbread for a weekend cook out with a difference. https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/sesame-and-yogurt-crusted-lamb/

 

A fragrant gingery soup for supper and a tart for lunchtime, Nigel Slater's new butternut squash recipes: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/25/nigel-slater-butternut-squash-recipes

 

Farro is one of the old style wholegrains which is coming back into fashion. Here's a Winter salad which you can whip up: https://food52.com/recipes/74872-deb-perelman-s-winter-slaw-with-farro

Food writing and articles: 

Malaysian and Singaporean food in London: http://londonist.com/2015/09/the-best-malaysian-and-singaporean-food-in-london

 

Achievable and realistic food advice from Dr Hazel Wallace: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/recipes/food-medic-dr-hazel-wallaces-feel-good-food-fuel-week/

London restaurant news to get excited about - Din Tai Fung is coming! (Fantastic dumplings ahoy!) https://london.eater.com/platform/amp/2018/4/13/17233694/din-tai-fung-dumplings-two-london-sites-centre-point-covent-garden

35 cheap eats in London: https://london.eater.com/maps/best-cheap-eats-london-restaurants

How to eat 12 popular Japanese dishes correctly. (From sushi to gyoza!): https://matcha-jp.com/en/2555

 

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen:

An afternoon of French food discovery “La French Food” at Business France: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/la-french-food-afternoon-tea.html

TV:

Damned (Series 2)

Film:

Coco

Buena Vista Social Club

I Can Speak

Paddington 2

Music:

Buena Vista Social Club 

Neil Young - On The Beach

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.