On Thursday, before returning to Canada after a lengthy holiday here in the UK, my parents took me out for lunch at my favourite London restaurant. Now I know you’re all sick of us food bloggers harping on about Yotam Ottolenghi, his books, Guardian column and London delis, so I won’t bore you. I will only say that if you live in or occasionally visit London and you haven’t been to his Islington restaurant, you are missing out. Big time. Read more…
This morning, I happened to look up from my oodles of homework for a moment, and was blown away by what I saw out my window. A cloudless, blue sky! People wearing light jackets with bare heads and hands! For the second day in a row! That last point is the real clincher; here in London, one nice day is a fortunate anomaly. Two nice days means spring must be around the corner. Or so I’m really, really hoping. Read more…
Apologies for the quiet here, and for the lack of a market post this weekend. I’ve just returned from a Bank Holiday weekend (that’s British for “long weekend”) in Wales, visiting Andrew’s parents. As usual, their corner of Britain was the picture of pastoral bliss; we went to the seaside, took in a country fair (complete with show jumping and a sheep shearing contest), took a steam train to the summit of Mount Snowdon and saw a waterfall so pretty you’d swear faeries lived there. In true British fashion, the weather ranged from “so cold I think my fingers are going to fall off” to “maybe I’ll hang out on the patio and top up my tan”. Read more…
I love artichokes. I am an artichoke girl. To me, artichokes taste like summer: sitting on my parents’ back deck in denim cutoffs, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood (laughing children, birds, the occasional barking dog) and feeling lemony butter dribble down my chin. Which just goes to prove that it’s not always your first memory of something that sticks, because my first taste of artichokes was a world away from that picture. Read more…
Two weekends ago, I was overcome by the sudden and previously foreign urge to make ketchup. I’m not sure exactly where it came from; it can’t have been the thought of barbecues and picnics, it being February. Or maybe it was- an effort to recapture a bit of summer amidst the cold and damp of winter? Whatever the reason, I had my weekend project, and set out on my first-ever preserving adventure. Read more…
Last night, after enjoying a drink at the local pub, Andrew and I stopped in to visit my sister and her boyfriend, both to catch up and see if there were any spare baked goods lying around. (She is a baking blogger, after all.) Naturally, the conversation soon turned to food. Read more…
“Pesto Purée” is a bit redundant, no? Obviously a pesto is going to be puréed, and oftentimes (in my kitchen at least) a purée is a pesto. It’s just that I’m never certain what to call this; it started as a puréed pasta sauce and gradually morphed into a pesto, so I now use both terms. Read more…
I’ve always loved grilled cheese sandwiches. Comfort food at its finest, there is nothing more heartening than two pieces of bread fried with butter or olive oil (I use the latter and can’t tell the difference), with a layer of melted cheese between. My Mum makes the best ones. She has the patience to cook them very slowly over low heat in a heavy pan, essential for reaching that optimum balance of molten inside and crunchy outside. Read more…
Before I dash out to the farmer’s market this morning, I wanted to share one last recipe that I made this week. Remember those broad beans from last Sunday? I was going to make a Jamie Oliver recipe with them, one that I’ve been eyeing for a while. In the end, of course, I couldn’t help but alter the proportions of the recipe a touch, both because of a lack of the right ingredients on hand, and my own insolence. Read more…
I told you on Sunday that sandwiches have been the weekend lunch of choice around here. There is something wonderfully comforting and somewhat modest about tucking into two slices of bread with stuff between them. Andrew has it pretty easy – a couple of slices of honey roast ham, some turkey, a spreading of gourmet coleslaw and he’s happy. However, as someone who won’t eat meat or coleslaw (mayonnaise- ick), I have to be a little creative to keep my sandwiches exciting. My favourite way to do this is with spreads- a flavourful tapanade or pesto needs nothing alongside it other than some good cheese and fresh lettuce. Read more…