This avocado lentil salad is one of my favourite lunches, and something I make whenever I have cooked lentils leftover from another dish. Actually, I enjoy eating it enough that I sometimes cook lentils in order to make it. Continue reading
Date and oatmeal smoothie
28 Feb
This is a very satisfying smoothie, and the addition of oatmeal means you don’t end up wanting a second breakfast half an hour later. Continue reading
Chapatis
26 Feb
Chapatis are such an easy and satisfying thing to make, and so much better than the ones you buy. I make up the dough while my curry is simmering, then cook the chapatis when it’s almost ready to serve.
A basic chapati is made with just two ingredients – flour and enough water to turn it into a dough. I prefer to add a pinch of salt to the flour, and use milk instead of water, which produces a softer chapati. I also work a bit of oil into the dough while I’m kneading it to make the dough more pliable.
Pea and watercress soup
24 Feb
In spite of the watercress, this is a hearty, wintery sort pea soup. Not as rib sticking as the split pea soup I grew up eating in Canada, but very different to the chilled pea and mint soup we eat all summer.
Even after blending, I find that the soup still has a certain amount of texture. I like it that way, but if you’d prefer it smoother, you can always push the puréed soup through a sieve before serving. Continue reading
Snickerdoodles
21 Feb
Snickerdoodles… the name alone is reason enough to make them. They are also delicious, with a cakey, almost doughnuty, texture. They are sturdy little numbers, well suited to packed lunches. When I worked as a bush cook, I would often make snickerdoodles for my tree planting crew. Continue reading
Carrot raita
19 Feb
This carrot raita is a real favourite of mine. I love the way that gently cooking the carrot gives the yogurt a golden colour, and the earthy taste of the asafetida. It pairs really nicely with diced potatoes and spinach. Continue reading
Comté and rosemary crackers
17 Feb
Still working my way through the dregs of the Christmas cheese, I decided to make these comté and rosemary crackers. (Why I thought we’d eat our body weight in cheese over the holidays, I now have no idea. Perhaps all those cocktails I was imbibing clouded my judgement…)
The crackers went down a storm with the girls, who had been a bit sniffy about the Comté, despite my efforts to pass it off as “French cheddar”. According to Lyra, they are “even better than Goldfish crackers”, which is high praise indeed coming from her.
Chirashi sushi
14 Feb
Chirashi sushi is an adaptable dish. It’s colourful and impressive party fare when arranged on a large serving platter, but makes a great midweek supper as well.
In the time it takes the rice to steam, I can throw together a quick Japanese omelette, soak and slice a few dried mushrooms, shred some nori and make the dressing for the rice. After that it’s just a matter of tossing things together.
Tuna chickpea pitta sandwich
12 Feb
This simple tuna chickpea pitta sandwich is one of my lunchtime staples. I find the mix of textures particularly satisfying. It’s also low in fat and high in protein – the kind of food I’m looking for after recent indulgences.
Chicken suya
10 Feb
During our World Cup cook-off last summer, Nigeria was deliciously represented by beef suya. These proved such a hit with the whole family that Nigeria easily topped Group F in the first stage of the tournament, blew past France (salade niçoise, chocolate mousse), and obliterated Mexico (fish tacos) in the quarter-finals, before falling before Colombia’s unstoppable barras de limón.
Recently, I was lucky enough to be given a bag of authentic suya powder from a Nigerian friend and chef. I decided to try chicken suya this time, which proved to be every bit as tasty as the beef version. Continue reading
Steamed fish with Moroccan roast vegetables
7 Feb
I don’t recall ever eating roasted vegetables when I was growing up – not even roast potatoes. Vegetables were boiled or steamed, possibly mashed, and served with butter. Mum had a wok (not standard kitchen equipment in those days), and would occasionally make a big Chinese stir fry, but roasting vegetables wasn’t on the radar. Continue reading
Red cabbage, carrot and herb salad
5 Feb
This quick cabbage and carrot salad is a pared-back, vegetarian take on goi ga (Vietnamese chicken salad). It’s a nice accompaniment to a piece of simply grilled fish or chicken.
Roasted pears with butterscotch sauce
3 Feb
These roasted pears with warm butterscotch sauce pull off the clever trick of being both light and decadent. They also make the kitchen smell wonderful while they’re cooking.
Until recently, I couldn’t have you the difference between butterscotch and caramel. But having Googled it, I now know that caramel is made with white sugar and butterscotch with brown. Continue reading
Lemony red lentil soup
31 Jan
There are lots of recipes for red lentil soup out there. Having tried a few, I’ve pretty much settled on this lemony red lentil soup, which is adapted from a Sophie Dahl recipe I came across in Waitrose magazine.
Tandoori chicken
29 Jan
I’ll often order tandoori chicken in Indian restaurants, but had never made it at home until recently. I wasn’t confident that my oven was up to the task, but it turned out beautifully. You do need to plan ahead, as the chicken should marinate for a day or so.
While you can easily buy tandoori masala (spice mix) at the supermarket, I made my own using the inspiring bag of spices my good friend Mary recently brought me from the Manama souks. I based my masala on this recipe from The Tiffin Box website. Continue reading
Yogurt with spinach, parsley and onion
27 Jan
We had this spinach and onion yogurt dip as part of a Middle East inspired meal I pulled together the other night from bits and bobs in the fridge.
Considering it’s essentially a bowl of yogurt mixed with spinach and onion, this dip tastes surprisingly rich. The original recipe is from my trusty Madhur Jaffrey’s World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking. Continue reading
Haggis, neeps and tatties
25 Jan
We celebrate Burns night every year, hosting a supper with friends. As dinner parties go, it’s an easy meal to prepare. I toss a Macsween haggis in the oven, peel a big bag of potatoes and a couple of swede (much tastier than turnips), make with the potato ricer and that’s about it.
We usually start with mackerel paté and oatcakes – homemade this year as the local shop was out. Before tucking in, we stumble through a reading of Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” – delivered in a range of appalling Scottish accents – before toasting the “chieftain o’ the puddin’ race” with a shot of whisky.
Scottish oatcakes
24 Jan
This is my mum’s oatcake recipe. She used to divide the dough into four, roll each piece into an 8″ circle, then cut it into quarters before baking. I prefer to make round oatcakes using a biscuit cutter.
Falafel with tahini sauce
22 Jan
Falafel are another standby from my student days. With one tin of chickpeas you can produce a dozen crunchy little nuggets to eat alongside a salad, or stuff in a piece of pitta bread with tahini sauce.
Traditionally, falafel are made with uncooked chickpeas or fava beans that have been soaked overnight before being coarsely ground. This results in a nuttier texture than these falafel. While the outsides are crisp, inside they are soft – almost fluffy.
Indonesian squash and spinach soup
20 Jan
Spicy, creamy with coconut milk, and the most gorgeous deep yellow colour, this Indonesian squash and spinach soup is loved by the whole family. Plus, we have prawn crackers with it (served in individual bowls to avoid disputes over who’s had too many).
The original recipe comes from the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.
Cranberry oatmeal muffins
17 Jan
Since running out of turkey, we’ve been adding a spread of cranberry sauce to our grilled cheese sandwiches. But at the rate it was going, we’d have been eating cranberry sauce in April…
So I decided to knock the rest of it off by making cranberry oat muffins for breakfast this morning. I just substituted a cup of cranberry sauce for the usual mashed banana in my oatmeal muffin recipe.
Thai sausage rolls
15 Jan
These Thai sausage rolls are the pretty much the only ones I make these days. With the fresh herbs and Thai flavourings, they seem lighter and less greasy than the regular kind.
I always make a batch at Christmas, and a couple of other times throughout the year. I’ll often freeze some, to be baked from frozen on another occasion. Continue reading
Potato, leek and Stilton soup
13 Jan
It’s mid-January and I’m still incorporating Christmas leftovers into our meals…
When I discovered a forgotten wedge of Stilton at the back of the fridge, it inspired me to make this potato, leek and Stilton soup. While I’ve never really warmed (ha!) to vichyssoise, a bowl of this soup is my idea of a perfect winter meal.
Continue reading
Spaghetti bolognese
10 Jan
Spaghetti bolognese is one of those family meals I make so regularly that I no longer follow a recipe. I always start with a soffrito of onion, carrot and celery – sautéed in olive oil with a couple of cloves of garlic. Continue reading
Sake-soy marinated salmon
8 Jan
Salmon is the lifeblood of British Columbia, the province in Canada where I grew up. It permeates everything – the history, culture, mythology, ecology, and economy. It feeds the people, the bears, the soil itself. It attracts tourists and sends them home with suitcases full of salmon products. Continue reading
Green lentil soup
6 Jan
After a couple of weeks of indulging myself with cocktails and Christmas baking, I find myself craving things like this green lentil soup for supper.
Like many young girls, I converted to vegetarianism in my teens. This wasn’t a straightforward thing to do in northern Canada in those days. The supermarkets had only recently started selling yogurt – tofu, hummus, and soy mince had yet to arrive. There were no veggie burgers, sausages or nut cutlets in the freezer section, and Quorn hadn’t been invented.
Savoury porridge
4 Jan
Apparently, savoury porridge is having a moment. I’m hailing myself as a breakfast pioneer for topping my porridge with hot sauce, butter, salt and pepper rather than sugar since childhood.
After twenty-five years of scoffing at me rather than with me, Adam tried his first bowl of savoury porridge a couple of days ago. “This is delicious!” he said. “Where have you been all my life?”
The Blue Christmas
1 Jan
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#12: The Blue Christmas
All things must pass – the holiday season, our friends’ visit, the twelve cocktails of Christmas – and it seems fitting to wrap it all up with a Blue Christmas cocktail. Continue reading
A Cocktail of Two Cities
31 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#11: A Cocktail of Two Cities
This Christmas, our great friends Margo and Aaron travelled from Canada to spend holidays with us. They are both cocktail lovers, and their visit was a big part of my idea to do the twelve cocktails of Christmas.
One of our gifts to Margo was a copy of Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails With a Literary Twist. She thanked us by mixing up a round of A Cocktail of Two Cities. Continue reading
The Sazerac
30 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#10: The Sazerac
I’ve enjoyed listening to my Christmas in New Orleans CD throughout the holidays, which is enough of a reason to make the sazerac my tenth cocktail of Christmas.
The ones we make aren’t as authentic as you’d be served in the Big Easy – we coated the glasses with Pernod instead of absinthe and use Canadian rye whisky, although I have recently got my hands on some Peychauds bitters. Continue reading
Sloe gin negroni
29 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#9: Sloe gin negroni
Sloe gin is delicious, and sipping a little glass of it neat while watching Alastair Sim’s Scrooge discover the spirit of Christmas makes a perfect holiday afternoon.
But a shot of sloe gin isn’t a cocktail. This led to the idea of using sloe gin in a negroni – where it cosied right up with the red vermouth, and stood its ground against the bitterness of the Cinzano.
Hot buttered rum
28 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#8: Hot buttered rum
This delicious, hot buttered rum certainly hit the spot after a cold, wet evening at the football. It’s beyond my photography skills to make this drink beautiful, but I promise it tastes far better than it looks.
The Harvey Wallbanger
27 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#7: The Harvey Wallbanger
Essentially a screwdriver gussied up with an indulgent splash of Galliano, the Harvey Wallbanger is definitely the cocktail of Christmases past for me.
My parents always made Harvey Wallbangers during the holiday season. They probably made them year-round – the Harvey Wallbanger was a happening drink in the 1970s – but in my memory they are associated with our annual Christmas carol singing party. Continue reading
Cola de mono
26 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#6: Cola de mono
Cola de mono (or “tail of the monkey”) is a Christmas drink from Chile. It’s pretty similar to a white Russian (or Kahlua and milk), but tastes cleaner and less cloying than my memory of that drink. Continue reading
The Scarlett O’Hara
24 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#5: The Scarlett O’Hara
Cranberry juice is the reason the Scarlett O’Hara makes my Christmas cocktail list – plus it’s very tasty. It’s also a good way to use up any Southern Comfort you may have lurking at the back of your drinks cabinet.
The Dandy Shandy
23 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#4: The Dandy Shandy
Sometimes, a beer-based cocktail hits the spot. Especially, after we’d popped into the pub for a pint after ice skating. And were having sausages and mash for dinner.
Plus the dark colour of the Dandy Shandy goes perfectly with the long, dark nights of December.
The Sidecar
22 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#3: The Sidecar
Now that you can buy anything year round, it seems strange to recall that when I was growing up in northern Canada, satsumas were available only during the holiday season. Getting our annual 5lb crate of mandarin oranges, as we called them, was an eagerly awaited Christmas treat.
Each orange was individually wrapped in green tissue paper, like a little present. I imagine there would have been about thirty oranges in the box – or six each – and we were allowed one a day to make them last. Sometimes I’d remove the tough skin from each segment and eat it cell by juicy little cell.
So the citrusy sidecar in its festive, sugar-frosted glass is an easy choice for my Christmas cocktail list. Continue reading
The whisky mac
21 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#2: The whisky mac
The whisky mac is a is a wonderfully warming mix of whisky and green ginger wine. Named after a Colonel Macdonald who invented it while serving in India, the whisky mac is a great antidote to the cold, damp British weather.
I make it with a 1:1 ratio, but some recipes call for up to three times the amount of whisky to wine.
- a decent blended whisky, such as Famous Grouse
- green ginger wine (Crabbie’s or Stone’s)
- Add equal amounts of whisky and ginger wine to a highball glass and stir to combine.
- Ice and shortbread optional.
The Santa-secco
20 Dec
The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#1: The Santa-secco
A ruby-bright, festive mix of prosecco, pomegranate juice and fresh pomegranate seeds. I love the way the bubbles cause the seeds to float to the top instead of languishing at the bottom of the glass, the way fruit usually does in a mixed drink. Continue reading
Introducing the Twelve Cocktails of Christmas
19 Dec
Christmas can feel overwhelming at times. Presents to wrap, cards to write, shopping, cooking, school events, family visiting, tree decorating, tantrums, tinsel… That was just today – and there’s no sign of things letting up in the week ahead.
Forget “bells on bobtail ring” – I plan to keep my spirits bright with a cocktail or two over the holidays. Which gave me the idea for the Twelve Cocktails of Christmas. As I reminded myself this evening, if you don’t have time to enjoy a few cocktails at this time of year, you’re working too hard.
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‘Tis the season to be jolly!
Ten More Bites 