Deb cooks...

Deb Cooks... Debs Kitchen Creations is on the move.....

2011-12-05T17:51:00.000+01:00

After many months considering blogging and my blog in particular I have finally made the bold decision to move to a whole new site!

For sometime now I have been unhappy not only with how the blog looks, but how it has been conducted.

Since joining the wonderful world of blogging a few years back I have learned so much. Now, I'm no expert but I have recognised my mistakes along the way and found the blog to have become confusing and a bit mumbled to say the least.

So may I introduce you to my new and what I hope to be exciting new home at The Spanish Wok.

In future, there will be no new posts on Deb Cooks. However, the site will remain available for viewing as a reference for past recipes etc etc.

I now invite you to join me over at The Spanish Wok where I will also be showcasing restaurant reviews and if nothing else BETTER photography!!!!

All are welcome, readers old and new and importantly too, all current followers of Deb Cooks.

The comments section on this blog is being closed and I would welcome any comments etc over at The Spanish Wok URL http://www.thespanishwok.blogspot.com/

Thank you to everyone who has supported Deb Cooks and I look forward to our continued friendship in my new home.

Debs xxxxx

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-11-21T17:15:00.001+01:00

It's that time of year again when you need comfort food. Soups, Stews, Casseroles, Roast Diners, you know what I mean anyway.

Sometimes, it's almost impossible to purchase certain items here in Spain. However on a recent trip to our local supermarket I spotted a tin of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce and knew I had to have it as a recipe would call for it one day.

Today I give you not only a comforting soup, but cold killing, head clearing soup, which makes you feel totally happy and satisfied. Even if you don't have a cold or flu!

A little research provided so many different methods and ingredients that after gaining some knowledge I decided to come up with my own version.

I've made this a few times now and it's always a hit. In fact the first time I made this I decided to serve it for dinner. I new Barry would not be impressed to be served soup for his dinner so I told him I was making a stew. So there you have it, 2 for the price of one. Make it a little thicker for stew and add more stock for a soup. Best of both worlds don't you think?

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 4)

1 large chicken breast (skin removed)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion (finely diced)
1 large green chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 small green pepper (diced 1cm square)
1 small red pepper(diced 1cm square)
2 tsp chilli powder
1 chipotle chilli from tin (finely sliced) +1 tsp of the sauce
2 tsp cumon powder
1 can black beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 pts chicken stock
salt and ground black pepper to taste

For garnish:-
2 flour tortillas
grated cheddar cheese
fresh coriander

In a small pan, bring plenty of water to a boil. Once boiling add the whole chicken breast, turn out the heat, cover and leave for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

In a large pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and stir to coat in oil. Add a pinch of salt to stop onions burning. Cook 15-20 minutes until nicely softened. Add peppers, garlic and green chilli. Stir fry 2 1 minute and add the chilli powder, chipotle and the tsp of sauce. Mix well and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add tin of tomatoes, mix well and cook out the tomatoes for 5 minutes.

Add stock and black beans, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, shred the cooked chicken breast with 2 forks then add to the soup and stir in, cover and continue simmering for a further 10 minutes.

Heat 2 flour tortillas to become pliable or crispy (whichever you prefer), then cut into strips and grate some cheddar cheese.

Divide soup between 4 generous size bowls, top with strips of tortilla, grated cheese and a sprinkling of coriander (I could not get any, but it would have been far better with).

Get ready to feel warm, cosy and satisfied, enjoy.

Inspiring Recipes Week Ending 16.10.11

2011-10-19T17:00:00.002+02:00

I'm a bit behind with the inspiring recipes this week. The last week was a little tough as I've not been feeling so good. In fact as each day got worse Barry threatened to take me back to hospital again. There was no way I wanted to go back in after spending the end of last year and the first quarter of this year in there, so I persuaded him to give me a few more days. So glad I did as I then started to improve and am feeling so much better with just the odd bad day. I really had no idea just how long the recovery period would take and I sometimes wonder if I'm ever going to get back to a normal life.

I think this is another reason why I decided to start the series of inspiring recipe posts because I simply can't stand in the kitchen like I used to and some days can't even muster up the get up and go to actually prepare a dish. Therefore, the blog has suffered and I was anxious to keep it up and running. I promise more new recipes soon, but in the meantime, enjoy those selected for this series.

Chocolate Wasted Cake

Chocolate Wasted Cake by Art of Dessert blog

I'm not really a dessert person, but sometimes, just sometimes, I can be persuaded.

With this cake I could definitely be persuaded. Hop on over to Art of Dessert blog and check it out. PS If you do make it yourself, please come back and let me know too.

Smoked Gouda Ravioli with
Sun Dried Tomato Garlic Sauce

Smoked Gouda Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Garlic Sauce by Teacher Chef blog

I love ravioli and the filling in this dish with a fab sauce is right up my street. Now, where to buy smoked gouda in Spain? If I can't find it, I'll try it with normal gouda, but I best smoked would be fantastic.

If you too love ravioli, hop on over to Teacher Chef blog and check out the recipe.

Samosa

Samosa by US Masala blog

I've made the popular samosa many times myself and whilst I do enjoy my recipe, I'm still tweeking it until I'm fully satisfied with the filling, hence why I have not added them to the blog yet!

I came across this recipe and decided to check it out, they look fat and full (just the way I like them) and the recipe sounded reasonable so I'll be trying it out very soon.

If you are looking for a samosa recipe, check out US Masala blog here

Slow Cooker Korean Shredded Beef Tacos

Slow cooker korean shredded beef tacos by Good Thymes and Good Food blog

I just could not resist this recipe and will definitely be trying it soon. Korean and Tacos, what could be better?

Hop on over to Good Thymes and Good Food blog to see the full recipe.

Creamy Chicken Tacquitos

Creamy Chicken Taquitos by Handle the Heat blog

Everybody loves this type of dish right? A great any day dish and especially easy for a small crowd too.

Check out the full recipe by visiting Handle the Heat blog

Avocada Crab Roll with Soy
Sauce Caviar

Avocado Crab Roll with Soy Sauce Caviar

I do not ~~eat~~ like crab. However, I think this would work well with chicken too, but what really inspired me was the Soy Sauce Caviar.

What a wonderful invention, don't you think? Plus, avocados are everywhere here in Spain, so this is one easy dish for me. Just imagine how impressed your guests would be if you served this! It's definitely a wow for me, for the full recipe and instructions on the caviar, hop on over to La Fuji Mama blog I'd love to hear from you if you make the caviar too.

Spicy Chicken Tostadas

Spicy Chicken Tostadas by Pinch of Yum blog

Nothing makes me happier than chicken and spicy. I think a lot of you would agree with that too wouldn't you?

Another any day of the week dish, even for lunch too. For the full recipe hop over to Pinch of Yum blog

Well, that's all for this week. Happy reading and do come back and let me know if you try any of these delightful dishes.

Enjoy

Inspiring Recipes week ending 9.10.11

2011-10-09T17:21:00.000+02:00

Check out this weeks Inspiring Recipes to Try as shown below. Don't forget to check out previous and future weeks Inspiring Recipes here

We're going around the globe this week too.

Smoky Wok

Ginger Scallion Beef Noodles by Smoky Wok

Those of you who know me, know my love of chinese food and this recipe I just could not resist. Now I just need to succeed in the usual ordeal of purchasing spring onions over here. Not an easy task!

Head on over to Smoky Wok to obtain this and other delicious chinese recipes.

Melbourne Food Files

Preserved Lemons by Melbourne Food Files

When you live in Spain, like I do, a regular store cupboard ingredient is preserved lemons. However, you try and purchase them here!

I have attempted to make preserved lemons previously. Unfortunately, they went mouldy. If anyone can suggest as to why this happened, please be kind enough to let me know.

A must have ingredient for tagines. Hop on over to Melbourne Food Files to check out the recipe.

Red Shallot Kitchen

Coxinha - Brazilian Chicken Filled Pastry by Red Shallot Kitchen

These little bites just look so delicious and wouldn't they make an amazing appearance on any party table?

Maybe one day soon I'll get around to trying out this recipe, I'm sure looking forward to the tasting.

Check out the recipe over at Red shallot Kitchen

Veg Recipes of India

Jeera Aloo by Veg Recipes of India

Most of you are familiar with my love of Indian Dishes and this dish sounds particularly interesting.

I just love Bombay Aloo as a side dish and looking forward to trying this potato dish too in the near future.

To check out Jeera Aloo and other indian dishes visit Veg Recipes of India

Hope you too are inspired by my choice of recipes to highlight this week, let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by.

Roast Chicken in a Bag

2011-10-08T17:11:00.000+02:00

You know how it is, for whatever reason you empty your kitchen cupboards and find things hiding at the back you totally forgot about.

Having recently moved home, I came across some roasting bags. I must have bought them a long time ago because I don't even remember purchasing them. I remember using them a couple of times in the UK (in the days when I was not really a cook) but can't say I remember how good they actually are!

You all thought I was going to say I found a roast chicken in the back of the cupboard didn't you?

The only one thing I did remember about the roasting bags was that they do help to keep your oven cleaner. However, seeing recent adverts on TV for a spice mix bought with a bag and the comments about how tender the chicken is with this method, I decided to roast my whole chicken in one and see the results. Fantastic, beautifully browned, moist, succulent and flavoursome chicken!

No recipe as such required here, simply place 1 heaped teaspoon all purpose flour into the bag with seasoning to taste, plus herbs and spices of your choice. Shake it up a little to coat inside of bag. Pop in the chicken and secure with supplied ties. Make 6 small slits around top area of bag, place the whole thing into a roasting dish and cook for the usual time (depending on weight) at 180. Perfect.

Once cooked, the juices will be sitting in the bottom of the bag which can be used to make a delicious gravy.

Enjoy, x

Inspiring recipes this week - 1.10.2011

2011-10-01T17:16:00.002+02:00

For far too long now I've been copying recipes into my documents with every intention of trying them out. But of course, that rarely happens. I think because I forget and because the list is so long I get put off reading through it. So instead I decided to document (and share) those recipes in reqular blog posts. The added bonus this way too is that I also get to have the recipe photo meaning I'm more likely to actually make them myself.

Plus, it gives a little due credit to those blogs which have posted the recipes I want to try.

Photo by Simplyreem

Chicken Nuggets by Simplyreem

This is a dish that has been on my 'to do' list for sometime. This recipe has given me renewed inspiration. I think partly due to the wonderful photo and also the addition of potato chips to the coating. Pop over to Simplyreem to check it out.

Photo by TLT

Mustard Salmon by TLT

This beautiful photo inspired me to check out this recipe. So glad I did, it looks professional and is super quick and easy to prepare. Pop over to TLT's blog to check it out.

Photo by LiveLovesPasta

Baked Potato Soup by LiveLovesPasta

It's that time of year again when we are thinking about soups. Although here in Spain we are still having beautiful hot sunny days, the evenings are certainly much cooler now and in order to sit outside in the evening you definitely need to be wearing a jumper. I had it when the signs of summer ending are upon us. This soup will warm you up though, pop over to LiveLovesPasta blog to check it out.

Over time I will also add the recipes from my list in order to share those too and remind me of the ones I really am inspired by.

Have a good week everybody, Debs.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca for Miguel (and inspiration for a new house name)

2011-09-06T17:47:00.002+02:00

Over a ladies lunch with my friend Fran the conversation turned to food. Nothing new there then LOL. That was probably about 2 months ago and we discussed a dish I had recently tried which I was raving about, mainly because it's quick and flavoursome too. Obviously that dish was Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca for Miguel

Also, commonly called tarts pasta!

Fran asked if I would put it my blog so she had the recipe. As I was not sure when I would be able to do it at that stage I told her I would email her the recipe. Of course I forgot and each time we spoke she reminded me yet again to forward the recipe.

Fran said Mike, her husband (commonly known as Miguel) would love this dish and she was keen to make it for him. Despite her constant requests, I still forgot to email the recipe so one day over coffee I gave it to her verbally instead, job done.

I'm not sure quite how she remembered it, but she did nonetheless and made Spaghetti alla puttanesca for Miguel, just a few days later. Turns out he loved it!

Sadly and very suddenly we lost Mike recently. Fran reminded me how pleased she was that she was able to make this dish for him before that tragic day and so I promised her I would finally make it a blog post in memory of Miguel.

Sorry Fran for all the previous delays, but at least now the blog post is more special than it would have been.

Fran & Mike (Miguel)

Mike and Fran are very special to myself and Barry. We first met them nearly 20 years ago. They had become friends with my in-laws upon meeting in Spain. A short time later Barry and I came to Spain with some friends for a holiday and whilst in a bar one morning this lady approached us and said "you must be Mike & Dawn's son because you look just like your dad"!!!

From that day we have all been very close. So much so that after I had lost both my parents, Mike and Fran unofficially adopted me, despite having 2 daughters and a son already. They obviously had no idea at the time what they were letting themselves in for LOL. That was over 10 years ago now and I'm often heard referring to them as my mum and dad.

Coincidentally, we moved into a new house recently and always wanted to change it's name (sorry to my in-laws as we bought the property from them). The house has always been called "Casa Mirador". Don't get me wrong, we don't dislike it, but; it seems almost every other house out here is called "Casa Mirador"! Sitting in the garden one evening talking about Mike, a new name suddenly seemed so obvious. Mike and Fran used to look after the land for my in-laws and planted the whole garden area. A garden Mike has always been proud of and deservedly so. I'm sure you've already guessed the new name for our home, "Jardin de Miguel" in memory of the wonderful man that created our amazing garden.

A relaxing corner in "Jardin de Miguel"

Well, I'm sure you are soooo hungry now after all that reading, so without further ado, here's a delicious recipe as a tribute to my adopted father Miguel. Farewell my friend.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca for Miguel - Serves 2/3

250g dried spaghetti
Olive oil
5 cloves garlic (finely sliced)
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tsp capers (rinsed)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp anchovy paste (or 4 fillets)
1 tsp tomato puree
50g black olives

Heat approx 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic, chilli flakes, tom puree, anchovy paste (or fillets) and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well to combine and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook to reduce tomatoes for about half hour.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water as per packet instructions. Drain well and toss with the sauce together with the capers and olives. Serve immediately.

Fajtas (chicken and/or beef)

2011-08-27T09:21:00.000+02:00

When I first began blogging I had it in my head that every recipe had to be completely homemade versions, why?

Throughout the week we eat a variety of cuisines, especially Chinese and Indian, sometimes even Spanish too, all of which I make homemade and from scratch.

However, we also have some "cheats" meals too, one such favourite being Fajitas. We probably opt for this maybe once a month, mainly because it's tasty and quick.

I have spent the past couple of years trying to perfect a spice mix in order to produce a completely homemade recipe. No matter what ingredients I have used I just can't replicate that wonderful smoky flavour of the Old El Paso spice mix so I've given up trying and relented to the fact that I actually enjoy the store bought spice mix, why bother making it?

The realization of this also highlighted that actually "not every recipe on my blog has to be completely homemade in order to share it with you", right?

So, here it is, my version for the most delicious Chicken Fajitas and remember, you could ring the changes by using beef too, or even both for a small crowd.

Enjoy

Japanese chicken curry in celebration of returning to blogging (at last)

2011-08-15T13:47:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone, It's such a long time since my last blog post. In fact is was way back on 1st March with a hospital update just days before my last (and hopefully final) operation.

During my long stay in hospital, in periods of feeling reasonably well, I spent a lot of time checking out recipes and what my other blog friends had been cooking up. Having read some blogs with Japanese recipes, reminded me of my love for Japanese cuisine and prompted the blog post a renewed love affair with japanese food which also happens to be Barry's favourite cuisine, despite mine being chinese!

One dish I've always wanted to create is a Japanese curry and as such have trawled the internet on many occasions in order to make my own spice mix. However, the very few I found sounded very unauthentic or suggest purchasing S&B golden curry cubes so eventually I gave in and bought some online from Japanese Kitchen. My thinking was that if I liked the flavour I would endeavour to recreate my own spice mix. With great surprise I was however shocked to discover the flavour is much like my homemade chinese curry sauce!!!

Before posting the recipe below, I would just like to say "thank you" to all who sent me messages during and after my stay in hospital and the support during the many months of my getting well again. I appreciate all of you, family and friends alike.

Japanese Chicken Curry (serves 4) adapted from S&B packet instructions

1 x 100g pkt S&B Medium hot curry sauce cubes

3 x medium carrots (peeled & sliced)

3 x medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)

1 x medium onion (peeled and cut in 8ths)

450g chicken (cubed)

3 x garlic cloves (minced)

1" piece of ginger (peeled and grated)

620ml water

Stir fry chicken pieces with groundnut or veg oil until just cooked through, remove from wok and set aside.

Add a little more oil to wok and sStir fry onion chunks for 5 minutes until beginning to brown, add garlic and ginger and stir fry for a few more minutes, stir in carrots and potatoes.

Stir in the water, bring to a boil and simmer with lid on until potatoes just cooked through.

Break up the curry cubes and add to wok, stir well to combine, simmer for a further 5 minutes (add a little more water if too thick).

Add chicken back to wok, stir well and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes to heat chick through.

Serve with plain boiled rice.

My thoughts: The packet says it serves 5, but personally I would say 4! Very nice a definite must try. However in future I'll just use my homemade chinese curry sauce as it tasted very very similar! Adding the potatoes was great, the sauce was a little thick despite adding extra water, but this definitely felt like a winter stew dish. Therefore, the next time we have this dish will be when it's cold, raining and simply horrible weather outside!

Hospital Update March 2011

2011-03-01T15:28:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that I shall finally be going off tomorrow afternoon for my long awaited operation.

This operation is going to ensure my electrolytes remain balanced and I therefore will not become ill after a few days off the drip. As has been happening since November last year.

I'm hoping that after spending a fews days in intensive care I will be transferred back to a private room and a few days later will be able to sit at the computer again.

All being well, I'll do my earlier promised post and fill in the problems to date.

The £400 Cookbook

2011-03-01T15:17:00.000+01:00

Forget Masterchef: there is a new contender for the title of culinary heavyweight, one that proves cooking doesn't get any more expansive than this. Weighing in at a colossal 48lb (22kg), it is the world's ultimate cookbook, spanning six volumes and covering 1,500 different recipes.

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is the creation of übergeek-turned-foodie Nathan Myhrvold, best known as Microsoft's former chief technology officer.

The billionaire scientist, who quit the software giant in 1999 because he felt working there impinged on his cooking time, will publish the book in the US next week through his publishing company, the Cooking Lab. British cooks will have to wait until April to get their hands on a copy – provided they're feeling flush: even at Amazon's discounted rate, the 2,438-page tome still costs £296.25 (down from £395).

If you think that makes it the bible of the kitchen, well, it is actually longer than the Bible, even though Mr Myhrvold, 51, claims it could have been longer. Not that writing it has been a one-man job: he had 72 of the world's best chefs advising him, and the 1,500 recipes include contributions from them, plus others developed in his multimillion-dollar Seattle food lab.

His aim was to combine his two great passions, science and food; something that began to fascinate him back in 2004 when he set out to crack the secrets of sous-vide, a method of slow-cooking food inside vacuum bags in a water bag. The book investigates the physics – and maths – behind a plethora of cooking techniques from making the ultimate cheeseburger to how to make Neapolitan-style pizza without investing in a brick oven, offering cooks inventive new ways of cooking old favourites.

Mr Myhrvold's opus comes stamped with the ultimate in molecular gastronomic seals of approval: Heston Blumenthal, of Fat Duck fame, and El Bulli's Ferran Adria have written forewords.

The work contains a number of revelations, including advising cooks to use more oil if fried food comes out soggy, and that expensive pans are a waste of money. Indeed, investing in the cookbook could ultimately save some cash: it claims that organic food is no healthier than non-organic.

Mr Myhrvold, who owns the patent incubator Intellectual Ventures, admits spending "millions of dollars" on the book, though this would hardly have dented his fortune, which is reportedly more than a billion dollars. He owes his wealth to Microsoft, where he led the development of Windows software. His other interests span dinosaur fossils and global warming, and he has attracted investment of more than $5bn from Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia and Sony to foster green technologies in developing countries.

Article written by The Independent

Prices are rocketing in the spice world!

2011-02-22T17:35:00.000+01:00

After a series of natural calamities and poor harvests, the price of spices from ginger to nutmeg have rocketed in one of the hidden stories of global food inflation. Traders and brokers reported prices of some spice staples have increased more than tenfold over the past five years and in turn hit food manufacturers and consumers.

Speculators have joined the fray encouraged by high prices and poor returns on the financial markets, leading to hoarding and pushing up prices.

Several years of hurricanes and devastation in major spice growing areas have led to a perfect storm of circumstances that contributed to the price rises. Cyclones that hit Madagascar destroyed vanilla crops, hurricanes in the West Indies affected nutmeg and unpredictable monsoons in India cut chilli harvests. Milan Shah, who imports spices for the UK food industry, struck deals to buy cardamom at £1.20 a kilo in 2007 but four years on the price stands at £16.50.

In Britain prices have followed the upward trend in the £250m a year herb-and-spice market where demand is fuelled by a growth in ethnic cooking and health concerns: reducing the salt level in diets has resulted in an increased use of spices, said Anthony Palmer, UK General Manager of Schwartz.

The spice trade represents a small sub-section of the food supply chain where prices have been volatile recently due to extreme weather. The last food price crisis, in 2008, quickly dissipated as the world entered recession, demand fell and farmers shifted into production of higher priced crops.

"Manufacturers of ready meals are changing their recipes because they need something more constant," said Anant Mathur, of British importer The Rice 'n Spice International. "The taste of food is going to change."

Sir Gulam Noon, the curry magnate who specialises in ready meals, said: "The prices of all of the raw materials have gone up all over the world.

"I hope it's a short term thing but sometimes prices don't come down again."

Cardamom

Highly popular in the Middle East, cardamom was originally grown in southern India but is now grown elsewhere, including Sri Lanka and Guatemala. Yields in Sri Lanka were down sharply this year with heavy rains that caused flooding and landslides. However demand for the crop has remained buoyant in the Middle East. It is used heavily in sweets and the early Ramadan holiday has meant supplies were snapped up. The crop was also disrupted in Guatemala.

Black Pepper

The global demand for black pepper - the dominant spice in the global market - has far outstripped supply. India - formerly the world's biggest producer - has been hit by crop failures owing to the late monsoon rains in 2009 and disease. The problems for Indian suppliers have meant that it was overtaken by Vietnam as the world largest producer, which supplies some 30 per cent of the world's exports. However its own stocks are almost exhausted, contributing to the price rises. The world's No 3 three producer, Brazil, has also been affected by high temperatures and drought that caused a big dip in supply.

Chillies

The erratic monsoon season damaged the chilli harvest in India with unseasonal rains in early December. Originally found in the Americas, it was introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus. At least half of the crop was feared to have been damaged in India owing to the rains; disease also affected yield and quality, according to traders. Spice makers also blamed speculation for raising the price of the final product.

Coriander

Although the price for coriander (one of the first spices ever used by primitive cooks) has been largely flat over the year, there has been a sharp spike in recent weeks. The relatively stable price - compared with some of the other most popular spices - has been attributed to its diversity of supply. It is also grown in eastern and southern Europe and north Africa and the variety of growing conditions and locations have levelled out short-term spikes in price and production. The price has spiked in India over the last couple of weeks in part owing to the late monsoons that affected growing conditions and cut production.

Paprika

While the price has been driven up by increasing producer prices in Peru, brokers in Europe blame the rise in domestic price on stricter pesticide and toxin rules that have restricted supply. Originally grown in Central America, the supply of paprika to European consumers is dominated by a small group of family businesses in Murcia, Spain, who buy up a large proportion of the world's crop for processing. Brokers say rules have tightened over the last five years, preventing much of the crop being sold in Europe - driving up the price.

Cinnamon

An earthquake in 2009 in Indonesia damaged a number of plantations, causing major disruption to the cinnamon crop, contributed to supply problems and drove up the price. The damage to the trees has a long-term significance: the spice is obtained from the inner bark of trees which take some 15 years to mature. Analysts also reported that competing crops, like coffee and cocoa, were being planted instead to increase returns for farmers.

Cumin

Cumin has been relatively expensive for the last couple of years, with too little of the crop grown to satisfy demand, particularly in India, where it is a staple of Indian cooking. Spice brokers say the trade in cumin has been highly influenced by speculation, notably in India, the source of a majority of the world's spices and the centre of their trade. The nature of farming - with thousands of backyard growers each supplying a few sacks to co-operatives - has also contributed to the volatility of supply and pricing.

Ginger

The price of ginger has been hit by both strong demand in China and a smaller than expected crop in India. While it is native to those two countries - and they are two of the key producers of the crop - it is now also produced elsewhere in Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean. As a root spice, it is susceptible to damage from flooding. In November last year, China's Commerce ministry blamed hoarding and speculation for driving up prices. The food industry said that Nigeria was only slowly releasing supplies to achieve top prices.

Turmeric

Turmeric, another root spice, had a smaller annual crop last year. It is an integral part of Indian cuisine - used in most meals, with few alternatives to its use (when used to colour foods, it is much cheaper than one alternative, saffron). As well as being used for colouring, it is used in India as an aid to digestion, for skin conditions and for other medicinal purposes. Much of the smaller supply is taken for domestic use in India, thus driving up the prices for export.

Nutmeg/Mace

Historically both highly prized and expensive, the prices of nutmeg and mace - from the same tree - have increased sharply. Supply is dominated by Indonesia and Grenada.After nearly 50 years without suffering from a hurricane, Grenada was hit by two in 2004 and 2005, Ivan and Emily. Trees were destroyed and the long growing period until they can be harvested has meant that its nutmeg industry - the world's second largest - has not yet fully recovered. Indonesia, the world's largest producer, has been unable to pick up the slack.

Article written and published by The Independent Newspaper, Food and Drink

Update from Hospital!

2011-02-21T12:01:00.000+01:00

Remember my previous post, A Message from Hospital, posted in December informing you all that I was in hospital again? Well, guess what, I'm still here! Yes I know it's virtually the end of February, I constantly remind myself of that!!!

Well, as a consequence of my hospitalisation, I am unable to get into my kitchen and knock up any creations. In fact, I wish I could take over the hospital kitchen, the food is ~~crap~~ really bad.

Under the circumstances, my blog has suffered along with my readers and it's time I did something about it.

Thankfully, I have wifi access here in the hospital. I think if it were not for this I would have gone completely mad sometime ago. Actually, there are days I think I have gone mad and this is all a bad dream. If only.

Anyway, I have published a few posts recently which I have labelled Hospital Blog Posts. I have done this to highlight the fact it is a post due to my current situation. Hoping therefore that all readers, old and new will understand my lack of recipe posts.

I have been spending a lot of time on the internet whilst in here and one exercise I have been particularly enjoying is listing all the recipes, dishes, cuisines etc I wish to try when I can get back into my kitchen.

The down side to this list is that it is getting rather long. Plus, I already have a list at home which has been growing for sometime. If I don't stop now it will just get out of control, so I have to find something else to fill my time in here.

In order to keep my blog alive I am constantly looking for inspiration in order to get writing to produce regular posts.

One area that has lacked and suffered greatly is my regular interviews. My last planned guest kindly forwarded the information required and then I was rushed into hospital and on the email is where that info has stayed. Apologies to that wonderful person and friend. We'll be publishing this week, I promise. Additionally, it is my intention to re-introduce these guest interviews on a monthly basis.

Would you like to be interviewed for my next guest post? If so, send me an email, or comment below.

Some of you already know my health problems etc and understand why I am in hospital and whats more, why I am still here after such a long time. However, there are many of you who are probably totally confused. I know I am LOL. Therefore, I shall be writing a post very shortly to explain the situation fully and bring you all up to speed.

So, until I can offer you real recipes, I hope you enjoy everything else I dish up for you in the meantime.

You can view here are the other posts labelled Hospital Blog Posts

Spanish Chef Santi Santamaria dies 16.02.11

2011-02-18T18:14:00.000+01:00

Chef Santi Santamaria - R.I.P

The famous 53 year-old chef Santi Santamaria died on Wednesday 16th Feb 2011 when he was visiting his restaurant in Singapore. Santamaria was a well-known defender of Catalan cuisine, which he combined with creativity and a certain degree of innovation. He defended natural products and he launched a bitter controversy with Ferran Adrià – recognised by many as the best chef in the world - on how top innovation was used in cuisine. However, despite last year’s controversy, Santi Santamaria and Ferran Adrià led the Catalan cuisine since the early 1990s and pushed for its international projection. Santamaria was 1 of the 4 Catalan chefs with a restaurant awarded 3 Michelin stars. In fact, he was the first one to get them, back in 1994, for his restaurant ‘El Racó de Can Fabes’, in the village of Sant Celoni (45 minutes North from Barcelona). ‘El Racó de Can Fabes’ never lost the 3 stars since then and Santi Santamaria increased its constellation with 2 stars for his restaurant ‘Santceloni’ in Madrid, 1 for ‘Tierra’ next to Toledo, and 1 for ‘Evo’, close to Barcelona’s airport. Santamaria recently opened a restaurant in Dubai called ‘Ossiano’, located on the palm-tree-sized artificial surface, and another one in Singapore, called ‘Santi’ and led by his daughter.

Santamaria collapsed when he was showing his Singapore restaurant to a group of journalists. He was immediately transferred to a local hospital. However, despite resuscitation attempts, he died.

Santi Santamaria’s death represents an important loss for Catalan cuisine. Joan Roca and Carme Ruscalleda, both also with 3-Michelin-star restaurants, emphasised Santamaria’s talent, creativity, passion, and love for cuisine. They both stressed his leading role defending Catalan traditional cuisine and fostering its international projection.

In 1981 Santamaria transformed the family traditional restaurant into ‘El Racó de Can Fabes’, together with his wife, Àngels. In fact, Santamaria was always affirming that his main cuisine teacher was his mother. In 1988, he got his first Michelin star and in 1990 the second one. In 1994 he got the third one, becoming the first Catalan chef to receive this top distinction. In fact, Santi Santamaria was also the first Spanish chef to collect up to 7 Michelin stars in the same year. ‘El Racó de Can Fabes’ repeated the maximum distinction non-stop in the last 18 years.

In 2006 he opened his restaurant ‘Evo’, in the hotel Hesperia Tower, close to Barcelona’s airport. ‘Evo’ was awarded with 1 Michelin star. In 2007, he opened his restaurant ‘Tierra’, next to Toledo, also with 1 Michelin star. Santamaria was the owner of the 2-Michelin-star ‘Santceloni’, in Madrid’s downtown. Recently he opened ‘Ossiano’ in Dubai and ‘Santi’ in Singapore.

Santi Santamaria was a collaborator of the Catalan News Agency and he wrote a couple of articles on CNA’s blog ‘Catalan Views’. The articles were two reminders of the seasonal feasts. The first one explained how he remembered his childhood summer meals, while everybody was celebrating the village party and the patron saint day. The second article explained the tradition to celebrate Christmas around a table and an exquisite meal. In fact, Santi Santamaria used to collaborate with many media, such as the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.

Article written by Catalan News Agency

A renewed love affair with japanese food.

2011-02-15T15:31:00.001+01:00

Having spent so much time in hospital of late I find myself at a bit of a loose end on occasions LOL. Afterall, what is there to do in hospital? Not a lot is all I can say!

Luckily I have internet access. If it were not for this I swear I would have gone totally loopy before now. Maybe I already have and this is all a dream!!!! Somebody please wake me up and remove this straight jacket.

Anyway, due to my love of food (well not according to my doctors and family, but that's another story) I have been writing lists of recipes I would like to try when I get back into my kitchen. For some odd reason Japanese food is topping the list.

Strangely, this is Barry's favourite cuisine and I have made sushi on many occasions in the past, but not since starting this blog! Plus I don't actually remember the last time I prepared a japanese meal. Watch out kitchen, here I come!!!!

In the meantime, by blog is suffering along, with my readers as I cannot offer any new posts due to being stuck in hospital and not my kitchen. So, for starters (excuse the pun), I've written this little post about Japanese food until I can offer you some delicious new recipes.

Enjoy.

Sushi

Sushi is a typical Japanese food with over a thousand years of history and tradition. It has become perhaps the most visible example of Japanese cuisine in other countries. Consists of cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar that is shaped into bite-sized pieces and topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with fish, egg, or vegetables and wrapped in seaweed or stuffed in a small tofu pouch.

continue reading about Sushi here, via About Sushi

Bento box

Bento (written 弁当), or obento (お弁当) to use the honorific term, is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box. Beyond that basic definition though, just about anything goes as to what kind of box or container is used, as well as what is put inside that box.

continue reading about Bento here...

Nyotaimori, also known as ‘Body Sushi’, is a type of sushi or sashimi that is served on the body of a women, typically naked women body. This kind of serving is rarely found in some parts of the world. This is an obscure Japanese practice, which had attracted immense media attention when it was first introduced.

The women that lies down on the table, without moving is trained for several hours every day to finally be ready to be served upon. She must be able to lie there untill the guests have eaten all the food served on her body. Ideally, she is supposed to have a bath with non-fragrance soap, and later a bath with cold water to cool off the body. However, in many parts of the world, it is essential to have a layer of plastic or other transparent sheet between the body and the food.

Many people, including the ones who participate and the ones who eat, refer to Nyotaimori as an art. However, many feminists are against such art, and firmly believe it should not be a part of any tradition. Some are against it due to improper use of the women’s body, while some countries like China are against it due to hygiene issues. However, the tradition still exists and will continue to be an art in some parts of the world.

There have been several reference to Nyotaimori in movies, books, TV series and shows in the last few years. In Sex and the City, Samantha covered her body with sushi as a Valentine’s gift.

Churros with a difference for Valentine's Day!!!!!

2011-02-11T10:40:00.001+01:00

Before we begin, I must confess that posting a dessert for Valentine's Day was NEVER my intention!

How did this happen? Why did I not want to post about food for Valentine's Day? Well, quite simply, "How it happened" I shall explain later. As for "not wanting to publish a post regarding food for Valebntine's Day" is just me being selfish LOL.

You see I'm stuck in hospital, feeling sorry for myself, thoroughly fed up and will be eating (probably alone) some ~~c..p~~ awful hospital food as usual, on the eve of 14th February!!!!

How it happened!!!!! Well, having been perusing popular sites such as Tastespotting, Photograzing/Seriouseats and Foodgawker etc, I became increasingly fed up with being offered very little other than "Valentine's Day recipes"!!!!

It's almost as though the whole world has been abducted by aliens and can do nothing other than think of Valentine's Day. I began to resent it and was starving for "norma/everyday" recipes.

Rant over LOL. Anyway, I stumbled upon a recipe which caught my eye. Nobody was more surprised than me I can tell you. Of course it's not one of my own recipes and I certainly am not in a position to be preparing it for Valentine's Day (well not this year anyway) but I decided to jump on the bandwagon and publish a recipe for this upcoming event LOL.

So, without further ado......

Orange-kissed Churros with "Hot" Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Published by Woman's Day site caught my eye because it is an everyday dessert with a simple twist! (excuse the pun) making is suitable for valentine's day too.

for the full recipe click here to view

This dessert not only holds a romantic name but I have images in my mind ot how to eat it too. No more said, I'm sure you get the idea LOL.

Aproveche lovers everywhere.

Victoria Beckham craves orange marmalade during her 4th pregnancy

2011-01-28T09:51:00.001+01:00

She's craved smoked salmon and pickled onions in previous pregnancies, but this time Victoria Beckham has set her sights on something sweeter.

According to reports the former Spice Girl, is expecting her fourth child in the summer with footballer husband David, has developed a craving for marmalade.

And friends of the 36-year-old have said that she currently likes nothing more than toast spread with the popular orange preserve, washed down with cups of English breakfast tea.

'Victoria's having a lot of tea and toast with lashings of marmalade,' a source told The Sun.

'She can't get enough of the stuff. Mostly she's been having it on toast, accompanied by lots of cups of tea.

'And although she looked a little peaky last week, she's not having morning sickness like she has done before.

Victoria has been seen out in recent weeks looking tired and drawn, suggested she is feeling the effects of this latest pregnancy

But despite the less pleasant physical aspects of pregnancy, David, 35, and Victoria are said to be over the moon.

The former Spice Girl is set to give birth in the summer after revealing earlier this month that she is pregnant.

The couple have three sons - Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and five-year-old Cruz, but although Victoria has in the past expressed a desire for a daughter, they have decided not to find out the sex of the new baby in advance

However legend has it that mothers-to-be who are craving sweet foods are more likely to be expecting a girl, which means Victoria's current fondness for marmalade could indicate that a pink bundle is on the way.

The Beckhams are in the UK for a few weeks while David trains with Tottenham Hotspur and Victoria prepares her new fashion collection.

The new line is due to debut at fashion week in London and New York next month.

Aproveche Victoria.

A message from Hospital

2010-12-07T14:54:00.001+01:00

Hi guys,

Just a quickie to let you know I'm back in hospital!

I became seriously ill on the eve of Mon 29th Nov & have had emergency surgery again!!!!!!

Yesterday I was released from intensive care to a private room & can now have access to my laptop.

Please bear with me, whilst I pick myself up again, until I can get life back to normal.

Hotel Chocolat - Review coming soon!

2010-11-29T15:29:00.000+01:00

I was recently contacted by Hotel Chocolat to publish a review of their products.

This is so exciting for me because:-

One - I just looooove chocolate, who doesn't?

Two - I am often contacted by other companies to write a review and then dismissed because I'm based in Spain! "And, the problem is?"

This morning I received my "review" parcel from Hotel Chocolat and I am delighted with it.

The presentation is beautiful and very professional. But what's more (you're dying to know which range I received I can tell) I received a very apt item!

The Ultimate Advent Calendar - Truffles for Two.

Perfect, as there's only two of us in this household and Barry (bless him) still gets excited over his advent calendar each year! This year however, it's specifically produced for the adults. On the back of the beautiful box it says "So grown ups can look forward to Christmas too!". What could be better?

Oh, by the way, I've not decided whether or not to tell Barry about this yet as I may just hide them from him, eat them all and deny ever knowing about it, so keep mum, Sssshhhh.

Pop back very soon, the read the full review.

A big "thank you" goes to Hotel Chocolat for the invitation and not questioning the fact I'm based in Spain!

Becoming a better blogger.

2010-11-24T11:49:00.002+01:00

We're making big changes around here - coming soon!

"Don't panic - this is not a masterclass in how to blog (we all know I'm not capable of that don't we?). Quite the opposite in fact!"

3 years ago, whilst having a leisurely drink with friends in a local bar, our good friend Michael mentioned he was thinking of starting a "blog".

I looked at him rather strangely and simply said "What's a blog?".

He did explain, but being totally honest, I still had no idea what a blog was!

A short time later I stumbled upon some food blogs and it all became clear.

I had recently become a member of The BBC Food Messageboard and it became apparent that many of the other members there had their own blogs.

I made many friends on the message board and also became a regular visitor to some of their blogs.

Then, in April 2009 I decided I wanted a blog too.

I have to confess I had know idea how to do this, but found my way to blogger and followed the simple steps. That was the easy bit!

Anyhow, to cut a long story short. As proud of myself as I was in actually managing to create a blog, it was a little confusing navigating my way around the features etc.

As time went on I learnt to be more creative and less frightened of pressing buttons too.

However, at some point during my enthusiasm I realise I've lost the way and my blog has become a bit of a mess. Did you notice? I'm sure you did!

In fact, it's become such a mess that I recently expected my laptop to explode!

I've come to realise that I have made many mistakes along the way (I'm sure you noticed that too, didn't you?). But equally so, I have also learnt an awful lot too.

Now don't get me wrong, I have not become an expert, far from it. But I have learnt some very valuable assets, eg. a little about HTML, a little about photography (and I mean a little, but I'm improving, I think, what do you think?) and many other requirements needed to become a successful blogger.

There was a time when I would see something on somebody else's blog and think "how do you do that" or "I want to be as good as them".

There is still so much to learn, but I now feel capable of greatly improving my blog. Not just for my benefit, but for my readers too including those who are past, present, old and new alike.

The changes and improvements are going to take some time and I would be extremely grateful for your patience during this process.

I would be interested in any thoughts and suggestions you may have (good or bad), so don't be shy, please leave your comments below.

Restaurante El Jardin, Malaga City

2010-11-17T09:57:00.000+01:00

El Jardin is said to be, Malaga’s secret. The best, most authentic Tango and Flamenco show in the Costa Del Sol, every Friday and Saturday starting from 11pm. Also good food and a very friendly service.

see video of tango/flamenco night here courtesy of TV Spain.com

El Jardin was recommended by some friends. As it is just a stones throw away from the hospital where I was unlucky enough to have my operation in January this year, we decided to pop in and check it out.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, we did not have time to stay and sample the food due to an appointment at the hospital, but we will make better plans for a future visit. We did however, have time to pop in for a quick coffee (cafe con leche) and take in the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Coffee is served with a bite size sweet snack and the service was very prompt. Brought to us by a waiter in smart dress with a fabulous smile, despite the fact we only ordered coffees!

It was surprisingly busy too considering it was almost 4pm. The majority of the other patrons had clearly been enjoying a leisurely lunch (lucky them).

As I am unable to provide a complete review at this time (watch this space) see here what others says

I will most definitely be returning shortly as I hear the food is fabulous!

Wrapping up Christmas 2010

2010-11-08T15:50:00.000+01:00

Where has this year gone? I can honestly say this year has passed by quicker than any other and I haven't got myself organised for Christmas yet, how about you?

This year I'm going to make things easy and do all my shopping online. I'm really not in the mood for trudging around the shops, carrying bags, getting sore feet, and probably frozen half to death into the bargain. No, it's not for me this year! I'm going to stay at home, be relaxed, comfortable & warm and take my time chosing gifts via the internet.

Perfect.

Where to start. First up a list of everyone for whom we'll be purchasing gifts for. Then, what would they like/need or be thrilled to receive. List sorted, now for the fun part - shopping online

Here's a few ideas to get started:-

Looking for something for the kitchen or home? Lakeland providing everything you'll ever need.

Ideal for the partner

Perfume Plus Direct Great prices on all your perfumes/aftershaves & more

Beautiful watches for him and her

Watch Shop Designer watches at affordable prices.

How about something different? Everybody loves a hamper

Virginia Hayward Hampers

Looking for something for the man or men in your life?

Bhs Menswear

Give some Christmas spirit, stock up for yourself too.

Yourfavouritewines.com Get your favourite wine/champagne and more for less.

Don't forget about your pets too!

Zooplus.co.uk For all your pets needs

Your favourite supermarket also provide some fabulous gifts too.

Sainsbury's

What a wonderful idea, a cooking class gift, yes please.

Atelier des Chefs Everybody knows a foodie.

You won't be stuck for ideas here.

Debenhams

Or here

Marks and Spencer for all your favourite products

Looking for something different? or even those that already have everything? This is the place to shop.

Iwantoneofthose.com Gadgets/gizmos galore

It's not just the presents to consider either, remember to order plenty of food and wine, Christmas cards too and don't forget your dining table decorations!

iflorist Flowers and more
Donald Russell Get your turkey, meats and other specialities here
Yourfavouritewines.com Wines, champagnes and more
Sainsbury's Taste the difference this Christmas
Marks and Spencer Personalised Christmas cards

Don't leave it until the last minute and then have to rush around the shops. Grab yourself a coffee, or a glass of wine. Sit down, relax and shop till you drop.

Bombay Aloo

2010-11-06T17:28:00.001+01:00

Another indian restaurant/take-a-way favourite. A dish I've been meaning to post for a long time, I just don't know where the time has gone this year!

One of my favourites too and a dish I always order when eating out. This homemade version is even better though, so next time you want a take-a-way, save some money and make this at home too.

This is a Kris Dhillon, recipe taken from Kris Dhillon's book The Curry Secret

Not got a copy yet, It is available here, via Amazon

Here is my slightly adapted version. Original recipe states to cut 1 tomato in 8 pieces. However, I prefer to remove the skin first and cut away any of the core too.

Bombay Aloo (Serves 4)

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2" piece fresh ginger, grated

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 tsp garam masala (I use homemade)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 green capsicum, deseeded & sliced

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tomato, skin & core removed, cut into 8 pieces

4 tbsp chopped coriander

Boil the potatoes in water with a little 2 tsp salt and the turmeric until cooked.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a karahi or deep frying pan and fry the finely chopped onion for about 3 minutes, until translucent.

Add the ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin and chilli powder, stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add the 1/2 tsp of salt, the sliced onion, capsicum, tomato puree, lemon juice and cut tomato, stir fry for 2 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and add to the pan. Mix well and serve immediately sprinkled with coriander.

Note: This dish can be made ahead and re-heated.

The Curry Secret, available via Amazon, here
Other books by Kris Dhillon:-
The New Curry Secret, available via Amazon, here
Thai Cookery Secrets, available via Amazon, here

A new addition to our family!

2010-11-05T16:47:00.001+01:00

I'd like to introduce you to our newest family member. Her name is Leyla, she's the most beautiful and affectionate cat I've ever come across.

You can read how we became her new parents by clicking here.

We're not sure yet how Leyla and our dog, Beaux are going to get on, watch this space to find out more.....

Welcome Leyla.

Leyla, another foodie in the family LOL

Tea Smoked Duck Breasts

2010-11-01T16:15:00.001+01:00

Smoked duck is a recipe I've been wanting to attempt for a long time. However, I have to admit I had a slight fear of damaging my wok, my kitchen, my home, or something much worse!

Well, I need not have worried, it was a cinch. Really it was, trust me. If I can do it, anyone can.

Before we begin I do have one confession "I am a useless photographer". There I've said it.

As I cook mostly of an evening, we all know that's the worst time of day for food photography, my shots were just too bad to publish!

But, all is not lost, as I'm also promoting Donald Russell here as our recommended supplier for your duck breasts so all photo credits and a big "thank you" go to Donald Russell

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

2 Donald Russell Duck breasts with skin

2 tbs Shaoxing wine

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbs Sichuan peppercorns

2 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup loose green tea leaves (I used japanese green tea)

1/3 cup rice

3 tbs dark brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick broken into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon vegetabe oil

Wash and pat dry the duck breasts. Score skin about 1/2 inch apart through fat (do not cut into meat) in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife.

Combine rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger in a sealable plastic bag. Add duck, skin side up, and press out as much air as possible before sealing. Marinate duck (skin side up), chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Transfer duck breasts to a plate and pat dry, discarding marinade.

Toast peppercorns and salt in a dry small heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring mixture and shaking skillet occasionally, until peppercorns are fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Coarsely grind mixture in grinder. Rub mixture all over duck skin, then let stand, uncovered, at room temperature, 1 hour.

Meanwhile, line bottom of wok and inside of lid with a double layer of heavy-duty foil, leaving a 3-inch overhang along edges. Stir together tea leaves, rice, brown sugar, and cinnamon pieces in a small bowl, then spread in an even layer (1/4 inch thick) on bottom of wok. Invert rack and set in wok. (It will rest 1 1/2 to 2 inches from bottom of wok.)

Heat a heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then swirl in vegetable oil. Add duck breasts, skin sides down, and sear, without turning, until skin is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer duck breasts, skin sides up, to center of rack in wok, arranging them 1 inch apart. Heat wok, uncovered, over high heat, until steady wisps of smoke begin to appear, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate, then cover wok and, using oven mitts, fold overhang from wok and lid together, crimping to seal tightly (foil will be very hot). Smoke duck breasts, covered, 8 minutes, then remove wok from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes for medium-rare to medium. Carefully unwrap foil (smoke and steam will billow out) and transfer duck to a cutting board. Let stand, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes. Cut each duck breast across the grain into thin slices. Serve duck warm or at room temperature.

I served the duck breasts with noodles. However, I think a salad would definitely by my choice next time.

If you would like to try this recipe, please come back and let me know your thoughts.

No meat is more tender or delicious than that from Donald Russell, Royal Warrant holder and Britain's leading mail order meat supplier. A pioneering online butcher.

Banana Crackle

2010-10-30T18:06:00.000+02:00

I think I'd have to rate bananas as one of my favourite fruits. Fantastic as a quick snack, or just a piece of fruit after lunch maybe.

But, added to other ingredients for a dessert, the possibilities are endless.

Where does the title "Banana Crackle" come from? Well, we kinda made it up because we could not think of anything better (or perhaps I should say more appropriate) to call it.

Banana - because naturally it contains bananas. Crackle - the dessert itself does not crackle, but your teeth might! You have been warned.

Deb Cooks...
Banana Crackle

Recipe serves 4

4 firm bananas

50g unsalted butter (softened)

4 tbs dark brown sugar

2 tbs dark rum (optional, but definitely more special with)

For the "Crackle" praline

50g caster sugar

Make the crackle first. Can be made well in advance too.

Pour the sugar into a heavy based skillet and heat on moderate until the sugar has dissolved and turned a nut brown colour. Pour onto greaseproof paper, spread out and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper and bash with a mallet to achieve small pieces. Leave to oneside until ready to use.

Heat the butter in a skillet then add the dark brown sugar, stir well to combine. Meanwhile, remove skin from the bananas, chop off the curved ends and discard. Now chop each banana into 4 pieces.

Add the dark rum and mix well. Now add the banana pieces to heat through and soften slightly.

Place 4 pieces of the cooked banana into individual serving bowls and pour over the toffee sauce. Now sprinkle on the crackle pieces and serve.

Deb Cooks...
Banana Crackle

Especially delicious served with vanilla ice cream. However, we had to do without as I thought I had some in the freezer but unfortunately did not. Shame, but we all enjoyed it nonetheless.

Oh, and by the way. Remember this dessert is not a good idea to serve to those with false teeth, or those with no teeth at all LOL. For those on diets, you can treat yourself occasionally, can't you?

The World's Most Expensive Range Cooker!

2010-10-24T09:40:00.000+02:00

Having just purchased a new property, which we will be renovating. I have naturally been thinking about designs and appliances for my new kitchen.

Looking around the internet, I have come across some fabulous items.

This one in particular caught my eye!

Grand Palais 180 Range by La Cornue

Not only do you need a large kitchen area for this beauty, you also need a large bank balance! Available from around $46,000.

"Two vaulted ovens, one gas and one electric. Two large hot plates allowing all variety of frying pan and saucepan rotations, facilitating the preparation of even the most complex of menus. To complete the picture, two large solid brass burners on each side.

Other configurations may be produced, in accordance with your wishes: only gas ovens, or only electric, gas burners or electric plates, a lava rock, a teppanyaki grill or even induction plate. As for the choice of finishes, and combinations with regard to materials and colours, they are almost infinite.

Each time a « Grand Palais 180 » leaves our workshops, we almost certainly feel the same sense of pride as the magical artisans of Molsheim when a "Royal" left Bugatti."

Text from La Cornue

Would I purchase one of these? Yes, if I could afford it! Can I afford it? Sadly, no!

A message for those who can afford it "the rest of us are extremely jealous" LOL.

Cancer Free at last

2010-10-20T17:44:00.000+02:00

After recently having another scan, I finally met with the oncologist last night for the results. At last, it seems I am now cancer free and will not have to visit the oncologist again for 3 months when I'll have to have a routine scan.

It's been a tough year learning that I initially had an enormous tumour (thankfully that was removed) and then having to endure the treatment for both chemo and radiotherapy, but it's all been worth it to now be told the cancer has gone. Of course, they have told me it could come back, but let's not dwell on that too much.

I will be returning to hospital again soon to "be put back together" as I call it. Not wanting to go into the unpleasant details, I shall leave that up to your imagine LOL.

I have received lots of emails and messages from your wonderful people and I felt therefore that I should let you all know the good news ASAP.

Once again, I would just like to say an enormous "Thank You" to everyone who has kept in touch during this horrible time, your support has been tremendous.

Teryaki Salmon (my way)

2010-10-14T15:12:00.001+02:00

I don't eat anywhere near enough fish. I don't like seafood and the only fish I'll really eat is salmon fillet, sole and sea bass, but I do have to be in the mood! I also confess to not being adept at cooking fish either. I always manage to overcook it! However, I eventually mastered salmon and am now trying to eat it more that I used to.

My preferred way is generally griddled to achieve a nice crispness on the outside with a moist, but just cooked centre and served with chips. Not so healthy eh?

Deb Cooks...
Teryaki Salmon (my way)

Barry loves japanese food and regularly requests teryaki salmon. Whilst I too love japanese food, I'm not keen on my food being marinated in teryaki sauce. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy teryaki sauce but I can't take it when it totally dominates the dish.

I new I had to find another way to satisfy barry's occasional craving for teryaki salmon and also my need to eat more fish too.

Suddenly I thought 'why does the salmon have to be marinated in the sauce, why can't I serve the sauce separately?' Also meaning you can add as much, or as little sauce to finished dish as individuals require.

Success. Barry got his favourite japanese dish and I got to really (and I mean really) enjoy my salmon more than usual.

Teryaki Salmon (my way) serves 2

2 x salmon fillets

Teryaki Sauce

1tsp sugar

1tbsp sake

1tbsp mirin

2tbsp dark soy sauce

Rice dish accompaniment

100g long grain rice

1 small red pepper

1 small bunch spring onion

1 small tin/jar of beansprouts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1" piece fresh ginger, grated

pinch of MSG (optional)

Pat dry salmon fillets with kitchen paper and set aside.

Make the teryaki sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare & cook the rice according to packet instructions. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients for the rice. Deseed and thinly slice the red pepper, chop spring onions and drain the jar/tin of beansprouts.

Get your griddle pan on the hob. Season and oil the salmon fillets. When griddle very hot add the salmon fillets presentation side down until cooked halfway through, turn over to cook the other side.

Meanwhile, put the teryaki sauce into a small pan, bring to a boil and reduce by half until thick and syrupy.

Whilst the salmon and sauce is cooking add a little peanut oil to a wok, when smoking hot, add red peppers and stiry fry. After a few minutes add the garlic and ginger. Stir fry for one minute then add the spring onions, beansprouts, MSG (if using) and the cooked rice. Stir fry until aromatic and heated through.

Place rice mixture onto plates and top each with the salmon fillets. Drizzle as much or as little sauce over and around the dish as required.

Enjoy.

Umami

2010-10-14T10:54:00.001+02:00

What is umami?

Known as the fifth taste.

Taking its name from Japanese, umami is a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. As the taste of umami itself is subtle and blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavors, most people don’t recognize umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious.

Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University

The discovery of UMAMI - the fifth tasteUmami discovered by a Japanese scientist

Dashi stock made from kombu (kelp) has long been an indispensable part of Japanese cuisine. It has also long been known that the active ingredients contained within kombu hold the key to its delicious taste. This did not escape the attention of Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University, and he undertook research to ascertain the true nature of this ‘deliciousness’. In 1908, Ikeda succeeded in extracting glutamate from kombu. He discovered that glutamate (or glutamic acid) was the main active ingredient in kombu and coined the term 'umami' to describe its taste. He was sure that this taste was held in common by other foods that a savory flavor, including those used in Western meals such as tomatoes and meat, and, indeed, upon investigation it was discovered that these foodstuffs also contained umami.

“Those who pay careful attention to their tastebuds will discover in the complex flavour of asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat, a common and yet absolutely singular taste which cannot be called sweet, or sour, or salty, or bitter…”

Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry, Washington 1912

Turning umami into a globally-recognized term

In the wake of glutamate, other ingredients that offer the umami taste, namely inosinate which is found in bonito flakes, and guanylate which is present in shiitake mushroom stock, were discovered. The four basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter have been widely recognised for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that various studies proved that umami, found in glutamate, actually constituted a legitimate fifth basic taste. Since then, umami’s status as ‘the fifth taste’ has been recognized internationally.

Glutamate is naturally present in most foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. Two kinds of nucleotides that contribute most to the Umami taste, inosinate and guanylate, are also present in many foods. Inosinate is found primarily in meat, whereas guanylate is more abundant in plants. Another nucleotide, adenylate, is abundant in fish and shellfish. The foods on this page contain high quantities of Umami elements.

Want to know more?

Umami publications are available here, courtesy of Umami Information Centre

Learn more at umami from Wikipedia, here

Book - Dash & Umami, the heart of japanese cusisine

Get the book via our Amazon page here.....

R.I.P Sir Norman Wisdom

2010-10-05T12:42:00.001+02:00

Comedian and actor Sir Norman Wisdom has died at the age of 95.

His family said he died "peacefully" at the Abbotswood Nursing Home on the Isle of Man. He had suffered a series of strokes over the past six months.

This wonderful man was my hero from childhood days. I vividly remember as a very young child being glued to the TV every time a Norman Wisdom film was shown. Throughout the whole film I would be crying with laughter.

My family regarded this as hugely entertaining! Not just the film either, probably more my crying & laughing I think.

To this day, the feeling that showers me has never left. I only have to look at him and a big grin appears, followed by laughter then tears. Why does this happen? I've never been able to explain, he just makes me cry with laughter, always has and always will!

He will be sadly missed, not just by his beloved family, but his many fans too.

The only good news of course is that there will now be many showings of his films on TV for weeks to come.

Now that's something to laugh about.

And his death is something to cry about.

R.I.P Sir Norman, my memories will never leave me.

Versace giveaway, the winner is........

2010-10-03T17:41:00.000+02:00

Apologies for the late posting of our winner. I should have posted on 1st Oct, but life seems to have taken over these past fews days and we're a little late. Better late than never though, eh?

I decided to get Barry to pick our winner this time. At least now he feels he has finally contributed something to this blog LOL.

Barry picked Louberry, he says for no other reason than he liked the name! Fine by me and I doubt Lou will be complaining about that either.

If you have time to spare, pop on over to her blog Living Lou and check out her site. Keep an eye out too because in her comment by response to her entry, she said 'I'd like to show off my favourite scallops on this'.

I don't know about you, but personally I can't wait to see her scallops smartly displayed on her winning Versace tray.

In conjunction with Dinnerware Sets this giveaway is kindly supplied by CSN Stores. They are major suppliers of all home goods and many more items. Please take a minute and check out their sites too.

So, it just leaves me now to say a big 'thanks' to everybody whom entered and an even bigger 'thank you' to CSN Stores for kindly arranging this superb gift to one of my readers.

Not forgetting of course 'congratulations' to Lou of Living Lou Blog.

Comiserations to all those who entered but did not win. Please come back and visit regularly for more recipes, giveaways, etc.

Debs

September 2010 - An Interview with...

2010-09-30T13:37:00.000+02:00

Firstly, I must apologise for publishing late this month. I bet you were all wondering where this month's interview had got to? Do I ever let you down? Oh, actually I did for a couple of months I know, but I was ill and therefore feel I was allowed then LOL.

Despite this month's guest moving to another country and being incredibly busy, we managed to get together eventually. So, better late than never. This month I am pleased to introduce you all to Johanna Wagner from The Passionate Cook. Johanna is most definitely a passionate cook too and her fabulous blog will tantalise your tastebuds with some truly wonderful recipes.

So, let's get to know her a little better. Please join me in saying 'welcome' and read on to learn more about Johanna and her blog The Passionate Cook

Q - Why have you recently moved from UK to Singapore?

A - My husband got headhunted out here by a large Asian bank headquartered in the city state. When he started interviewing, we didn't actually think it would happen, but when talks got more serious, we thought long and hard (it's a big thing to move halfway across the world with three children) and decided to jump in the cold water - everybody says the city is perfect for raising children (very safe and child-friendly) and we were looking forward to a warmer climate, amazing food experiences and lots of travelling through Asia, which we had never really visited before!

Q - What do you hope to achieve in Singapore?

A - I haven't actually made my mind up... leaving London meant giving up my studies (BSc in Herbal Medicine), my practice (ear acupuncture and naturopathy) which was just starting to flourish, my beloved catering engagements (fancy fingerfood for private functions like birthdays, christenings, weddings). While I can still continue my food writing from here, I have yet to find out whether I can legally practise in this country and if I can find some local courses or, even better, an apprenticeship, to deepen my knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

On the other hand, I know that there is soooo much for me to learn culinarily - the various cuisines on offer here will inspire me no end and lots of people around have asked if I'd continue giving cookery lessons, which I might actually do together with my friend Pam of The Cooking Ninja.

Q - After the move, you mention you'll be starting again with kitchen supplies. What will be first on your shopping list & why?

A - My first purchase was a big wok so I can get started experimenting with local cooking. Tomorrow, I am off to my first big shopping trip to the spice market - spices are absolutely essential in my kitchen, over the years, I had amassed a great variety of wonderful (and sometimes weird) ingredients brought back from travelling or given to me by friends... those that are essential to my cooking and hard to come by, I actually brought with me - I was allowed one box with food stuff.

The first thing I always stock up on when out shopping is fresh fruit and vegetables - and I love, love, love the variety and all the new fruits I have discovered so far: snake fruit, jack fruit, long kong, japanese pear... all wonderful discoveries.

The hunt for some food items I feared I might not get here started pretty much the day we arrived... butter with fleur de sel is essential in my household, so is good bread: my Mum shipped my fresh sourdough culture via courier last week and it survived... so now I am back baking my own sourdough bread, which I missed a lot these past two months!

Q - Tell us about your food journey to this point in your life.

A - I have always loved food for as long as I can remember... my Mum is a great cook and so was my grandma. My first eye-opening food adventures were my travels - we would go to Italy four times a year, I spent pretty much all my vacations from the age of 15 in France where I had my first oysters and cooked live lobster and got to know the joys of never-ending lunches with family and friends. I then lived in Mexico where I pretty much sat in the kitchen whenever I was at home, watching the host family's helper Lupita cook amazing food and soaking up everything like a sponge... then came the student years when I met my now husband, together we would save up to eat in "fancy" restaurants which broadened our taste horizons and for a while, I was trying hard to re-create those dishes back in my own kitchen. It was when we moved to London eleven years ago that I really got into cooking - for the first time I had a big kitchen and eating out was often hit-and-miss and very expensive... so I buried myself in cookery books and got my hands dirty - I haven't looked back. Cooking has become essential in my life as a great passion - I love its therapeutic effects on me and I love how I can make other people happy with it as well.

Q - Why did you start your blog and how old is it?

A - When I went on maternity leave with my second child, I struggled not having my high-powered job in advertising anymore... I missed the variety, the sense of achievement at the end of the (admittedly very long) day - after all, I was reduced to being a milk bar to my son and changing nappies all day long!

So I set myself the target of documenting my kitchen experiments, involving own creations, old family recipes and dishes I fancied in cook books and magazines - and in my first year, I published a recipe almost every day.

That was more than six years ago now, the frequency of publishing on my own blog has slowed down somewhat (especially at the moment, but I will come back with a vengeance ;-)) - life has got in the way... three children, a practice and my studies demand time... plus I started writing for other publications as well.

Q - Tell us more about 'Digital Dish' and how you are involved?

A - Digital Dish was an initiative by a US food blogger five years ago - gathering recipes from food blogs around the world (there weren't many of us). Back then, self-publishing was as unknown as the phenomenon of blogging - the book was an amazing effort by pretty much just one person and it didn't have any funding or a big publisher behind it, so it is not really a cookbook to drool over, but documents the very beginnings of food blogging, the variety of people, styles and cuisines. So although it is probably not the kind of thing I show around proudly at a dinner party, it was cool to be a part of this piece of food blogging history.

Since then, however, I have been asked to contribute to many other publications, including regular columns for the online arm of GU, the biggest cookbook publisher in the German-speaking market, and also some books that DO look well on your coffee table, like National Geographic's "Food Journeys of a Life-Time" and about to appear on the shelves this October "Drives of a Life-Time - 500 of the World's most spectacular trips" - a few others are awaiting publication.

Q - What is your favourite cuisine?

A - How sad if I had to limit myself to just one, I find the greatest pleasure in the variety that this world has to offer. Unlike many other people, I don't despise "fusion", if it's well done, taking inspiration from other cuisines can work very well.

I would say my favourite food depends on the moment and the situation - heart-warming Austrian food, comforting bowls of soup, a proper Mexican chile con carne, or a slice of home-made sourdough with salted butter - they all have their place.

At the moment, I don't tire of eating out in singapore - even the simplest of hawker stalls or markets have the most amazing array of Asian food available and people here are passionate about eating, it's one of the greatest pass-times here... I couldn't have found a better place to live!

Q - What cuisine/food do you dislike & why?

A - I don't really eat offal - it's the idea that puts me off. I have tried all kinds of stuff, but wasn't bowled over. I also hate beetroot (the only vegetable that I don't like), but I am working on it.

Q - Tell us about the other countries in which you have lived (inc your home country) and which is your favourite to date?

A- I was born and bred in Austria, a beautiful piece of this earth - I still like going back and in certain places, my heart just skips a beat at the sight of the breathtaking scenery. The food is also wonderful - comfort food at its best, from the very simple mountain fare to the elaborate drama of eating Tafelspitz in Vienna or the elaborate cakes on offer in your typical Kaffeehaus.

Mexico was the experience of a life-time - I was young, very far away from home for the first time in my life, and things different - very different. I fell in love with the people, the country, the traditions, the music, the food, when I returned back home, my Mexican teachers at uni would say I am more Mexican than the Mexicans... I haven't been back since, for fear of not experiencing it the way I did back then, but I keep in touch with my friends and family there and all things Mexican really.

London was a great decade, I love it for how cosmopolitan it is, yet, how relaxed our life was where we lived in and around Richmond - after I gave up my job, that is. The food shopping is spectacular, unrivalled in terms of speciality shops... and the culture, the concerts, plays, exhibitions, galleries - I have travelled wide and far, but I don't think any city can match that (although NYC might come close). And I learnt so very much in my time there!

And Singapore, what can I say. I don't think I have ever felt at home somewhere as quickly as here - even moving to Vienna as a student was lonelier and took longer. The city is absolutely beautiful - very green, very organised, very exotic... both the locals and the expat community have been very welcoming and after two months, I am struggling to keep on top of my calendar! And the food - I've alluded to it earlier, there so much great-tasting fare at incredibly reasonable prices... every day there are new discoveries and I can't wait to take advantage of all the great travelling to be done from here.

Please now join me in saying 'many thanks' to Joahanna for her time in creating this post. I know it was difficult for her with moving etc, but I am truly grateful for her efforts in producing this month's interview.

"Mucho gracias Johanna & welcome"

That's all folks......

until October......

Hurry, Versace giveaway coming to an end!!!

2010-09-27T16:13:00.000+02:00

Entries for the Versace tray/plate, originally posted August 16th see details here will be closing at midnight this Thursday, 30th September.

So, if you have not already entered, you have until Thursday this week to add your entry. The winner will be picked on Friday 1st October.

The clock is ticking, get your entries in now or you'll miss out. To read the full terms & conditions for entry, see the full, original post, here

GOOD LUCK to everybody who has or will be entering this amazing giveaway.

The times, they have a changed!!!!!

2010-09-23T08:19:00.000+02:00

At last. There have been two major issues in our lives that needed a major change. The first being to sell our property & the second to be cancer free!

You may remember two previous posts on this subject, one on 1st August here and one on the second on 22nd August here

Starting to chill out!

I can now, excitedly. report our house sale has finally completed. It was a difficult sale which it all started back in April this year. Even our agent said she have never known a sale take so long & be so difficult. I won't bore you all with the details of it. But, I would be grateful if you wonderful people would join me in my happiness at this important closure.

You see, we purchase a run down property to renovate & then sell before commencing with the next one. This is how we justify our living in Spain. However, on this occasion & due to the 'recession' it has taken longer than normal to sell the property. Therefore, we have not earned any income for that period of time and were struggling to live a normal life.

On top of that, as many of you know, I was then diagnosed with cancer in January of this year. Could life have got more difficult?

Well now the house is sold and we are temporarily residing at my cousins villa before purchasing another property. Will blog about that another time!

With regards to the cancer, we are awaiting one more scan, early October, and hopefully this will provide the results we so desparately wish for, keep everthing crossed for that.

Now we have a bit of money in the bank again, I intend to treat myself to some goodies for the kitchen that I have been unable to afford to date. Watch this space & I'll report back with my prizes another day.

That just leaves me to thank everybody for the support we have had this year and I hope to report further good news after seeing the oncologist very soon.

TTFN

Blog Hopping

2010-09-15T06:46:00.000+02:00

I only recently discovered blog hopping. Why did it take me so long? I've absolutely no idea. But, sometimes life is like waiting for a bus isn't it? You wait for ages, then 3 (or more) come along at once LOL.

Since I've discovered this I see it on so many other sites too. I joined in recently with my other site over at, Expat Life & Style, here with Pink Dandy Chatter for Sunday Blog Hop, here

It's a great way to meet other bloggers and gain additional followers too.

So, this week I decided to add Deb Cooks... to another blog hop with Jamarah Crafty Creations for Tuesday Blog Hop

There are of course some blogs that hold a blog hop for every day of the week, but come on; you can't spend every day of your blogging life blog hopping can you?

Well, maybe some can, but not me. Life's too short & there are more important things to do & blog about so I'll stick with 2 for now.

It's great fun though & as I said earler a great way to meet new friends, so come join the party.

You'll easily spot me on the other sites when you see my wonderful sparkly lips shown below.

This just leaves me to say, 'Thank you' to Pink Dandy & Jamarah Crafty Creations & 'Welcome' to all & I look forward to getting to you know you too.

Pecan Pie

2010-09-02T19:08:00.000+02:00

Now, I'm not a huge dessert lover, but sometimes needs must!

We were having guests for sunday lunch and I always like to offer a dessert when we have company.

Pecan pie is something I've been wanting to make for sometime, but the problem is finding shelled pecan nuts in Spain. Not easy.

As luck would have it my brother & family recently visited and my fabulous SIL always brings a shopping list for me. This time I remembered to add shelled pecan nuts.

So, no excuses, I just had to do it.

Glad I did too because our guests loved it.

DKC - Pecan Pie

The recipe is taken from -

This is a fabulous cookbook, should you wish to purchase a copy, please visit our Amazon book store, here

Ingredients:-

150g pecan halves
30g unsalted butter
60g muscovado sugar
30g caster sugar
125ml golden syrup
3 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp single cream
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of grated nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 egg yolks

Pastry:-
175g plain flour
90g chilled butter, cubed
about 2 tbsp cold water
1 egg white, lightly beaten

23cm (9inch) loose bottom fluted flan tin
baking beans

Make the pastry:-

Put flour into a bowl, add the buttter and rub in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add enough water to make a soft dough. Wrap in clingfilk and leave to chill for about 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface and line the flan tin. Bake blind in a preheated oven at 180c (gas 4) for 10 minutes.

Remove the beans and foil, lightly brush the pastry shell with egg white and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pecans in the oven, turning occasionaly for 10-15 minutes. Reserve a few pecan halves and coarsely chop the remainder.

Put the butter into a heavy saucepan and cook over a gentle heat until it turns golden brown. Add the sugars and golden syrup and heat gently until the sugars dissolve. Add the brandy, brint to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla essence, cream, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Whisk together the egg and egg yolks. Whisk a little hot syrup into the eggs. Add half of the syrup, little by little, then add the remainder. Leave to cool.

Arrange the chopped pecans and pecan halves in the pasty shell. Pour the syrup and egg mixture over them. Bake in a preheated oven at 180c for about 40 minutes until golden brown and set. Leave to cool before serving.

DKC - Pecan Pie

Aproveche.

Thanks for visiting & remember, we value your comments.

August 2010. An interview with...... Oh, & a recipe too!

2010-08-25T17:01:00.000+02:00

For the last week, I've been so busy packing boxes in readiness for moving house. I'ts been a long & difficult journey getting to this point, click here to read all about it. So, this afternoon, I've taken a break in order to post this month's interview.

Please join me in welcoming, Sunflower, from her fabulous blog, Sunflower's Food Galore.

Sunflower is a chinese lady, now residing in the UK. Her food blog is all about Chinese & other asian recipes. Mainly home cooked food, not what you may be used to from your local restaurant or takeaway. This is authentic food at its best!

If you're not familiar with Sunflower I suggest you pop on over to her blog and check out the amazing recipes. There are so many as Sunflower is a constant blogger. She works hard to provide us with mouthwatering recipes, almost on a daily basis.

Read on to discover more about Sunflower & get a taster of one of her latest recipies to...................

Q - You are Chinese, but grew up in Brunei, tell us about it and what life is like there?

A - Brunei is a Muslim country, it's hot all year round. It's small country but quite wealthy. Lifestyle is generally comfortable though not as cosmopolitan like any big city. Muslim belief and lifestyle is optional.

Q - When did you go to England and what prompted this move?

A - I come to England to study and have stuck here since.

Q - Where does your love of cooking stem from?

A - I think from my mum who was a good cook.

Q - Have you ever, or do you, work with food in a professional capacity?

A - No.

Q - Tell us a little about some of the recipes published on your site, i.e are they what chinese eat at home, or are they more geared towards recipes you think the western world want to see?

A - I think most of my oriental recipes are as authentic as I can manage to find the right ingredients. I don't like fusion Chinese/western (or takeaway menu) too much unless the recipes are originated from the the far east. I have expressed my dislike of Chinese/English curry on BBC messageboard.

Q - How often do you eat out at restaurants & what type of food would you mostly choose?

A - I don't eat out much in England, especially Oriental food. If I am abroad I like to eat out nearly everyday. My favourite eating out food if not oriental, probably Mexican. Love Mexican food to bits.

Q - Are there any recipes you'd like to try, but have thus far been a bit intimidated to do so & why?

A - Can't think of any yet.

Q - If you had to pick one dish as your favourite, what would this be & why?

A - Authentic Peking duck with skin so crunchy it melts in the mouth.

Q - Tell us about your blog, why you started it, what have you gained from it, etc, etc?

A -The blog has been going on for few years now. I only post my everyday cooking, and concentrate on oriental recipes. I am not very good with taking pictures and they can be boring. I only hope readers will try the recipes and like them. I don't think I can be a flashy professional blogger that will earn money from blogging.

Q - We would love to see another recipe from you. Do you have a new one for instance, that is not yet on your blog, that you would like to share here with us first?

A - Of course, here is a simple but finger licking good recipe..........

Sweet and sour dry fried super king prawns.

Sunflower's Sweet & Sour dry fried super king prawns.

You need to get raw king prawns in shell as big as you can afford. Chinese supermarkets have them at reasonable price.

For this recipe, I used super large king prawns about 6" long. You can use smaller. Great as a simple and impressive starter with a few salad leaves.

8 - 10 raw king prawns in shell (fresh or frozen)

about 8 -1 0 cloves garlic, about 1/2 a large bulb

about 1 tbsp chilli sauce

about 2.5 tbsp tomato ketchup

about 2 - 3 tsp oyster sauce

about 4 - 5 tbsp oil

Method:

Crush the garlic cloves in the skin. Do not beak them up too much. Peel but do not chop or cut, leave whole.

Trim the prawns with scissors, cut off sharp edges from the tip of the head and tail. Keep the heads they have plenty of flavour.

Heat oil not too hot, add garlic pieces. Fry gently till garlic has turned light golden brown. Push garlic to one side.

Heat high and add prawns. Fry till colour changes to red and brown a little on the shell, turn over and fry the other side. You should get a very strong fragrant. This will only take 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and oyster sauce.

Stir fry sauce, prawns and garlic together till sauce has reduced and thicken.

The garlic pieces should taste sweet and tender.

Thanks Sunflower, this looks & sounds delicious. I'm sure it'll be a real winner with all our readers too.

Enjoy everybody.

Please join me in thanking Sunflower for her time & effort in creating this month's interview. Don't forget to pop over to her blog Sunflower's Food Galore to sample many more recipes too.

Please be sure to visit us again here with your comments. Additionally, if you try Sunflower's recipe above don't forget to leave a comment on her blog too.

That's all folks..........

Until next month's interview with............

The times they are a changing (for a brighter future!)

2010-08-22T16:51:00.001+02:00

Remember a couple of weeks ago I posted The times they are a changing? If not, click the link here to view the post.

Well, I'm now happy to report that the times are most definitely changing, at last and for the better too.

This will be me very soon with all our work ahead!

For the past 4 years, life has been a real struggle, both financially & personally. It all changed when we purchased our current house. Now, don't get me wrong, I can't blame the house but sometimes it feels that way. Then, this year things got harder and worse. In January I was diagnosed with cancer and so far this year has been taken up with treatments, scans, doctors appointments etc etc.

Well I'm pleased to report I've now finished the treatment. We are not out of the woods yet, but the prognosis is looking good. I won't know until October whether or not I'm getting the all clear, but I'm being positive, especially as I'm feeling reasonably well now.

But, the most exciting news to date is that we've sold our house (jumping up & down with excitment). It's taken 3 years due to the bad property market here in Spain, but we've finaly received the 10% deposit and will be completing on 20th September. So, now we're busy, busy, busy packing.

We will be purchasing another property, but I'll keep you in suspense about that until nearer the time.

I just wanted to share my good news and hope you'll join me in celebrating too.

Oh, and don't forget, your comments are very important to me and I value your time in posting them.

Hasta pronto.

Giveaway - A beautiful Versace piece to add to your collection of food props.

2010-08-16T17:28:00.004+02:00

Versace by Rosenthal, Barocco Gift 3.25" square tray.

Now tell me who would not want to win this beautiful gift in which to show off their next foodie creation?

Well, I know for one I'd be jumping for joy if I were to win this beautiful gift, how about you?

Agree? Well now's your opportunity (details to follow).

In conjunction with Dinnerware sets by CSN Stores I am so pleased to announce that one lucky winner will shortly be the proud owner of said item. Will it be you? I can see already you're desparate to get your hands on it.

Additionally, this collection contains many items for you to add at your leisure too if you so wish. See the full range HERE This collection would grace any dinning experience, whether your home be modern or traditional, it will fit perfectly. Plus, imagine your guests faces when they see this remarkable Versace piece.

CSN Stores offer the most amzaing dinnerware sets, not only the various Versace collections, but a whole plethora of other collections too, check out the dinnerware sets, here it really is inspirational.

Furthermore, CSN Stores have several, in fact over 200, sites in which to purchase products of all kinds, see the link here to see all stores .

OK, I can here you all groaning as you're desparate to know how you can win this Versace piece so I'll put you out of your misery.

Oh, just one more thing though. This is available ONLY to USA & Canada, residents. A huge apology to everyone else, but that's the rules. But don't just feel sorry for yourself if you're not a USA or Canadian resident. Neither am I so I can't get one either, Do you feel sorry for me too now?

Without further ado, here's the rules to follow for entry:-

Comment below (inc a link in which to contact you) by telling us why you would like to be our winner, inc what foodie creation you envisage showing off on your Versace piece.

There, not so difficult is it. In fact I think for such a graceful piece the rules are easy peasy, don't you?

Before, leaving this site, don't forget to check out the links above.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who are entering.

Now, we don't want anyone to be missing out on this wonderful opportunity, especially as it's the holiday season, so the final date for your entries is the 30th September 2010.

Just think, YOU could be the proud owner of this Versace piece well in time for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Wow.

Good luck everyone and don't forget to follow ALL points to qualify for a valid entry.

The winner will be picked at random on 1st October 2010 and announced thereafter.

Time is running out!

The clock is ticking, it's nearing the end of August now. So, If you want to be in with a chance of winning the Versace piece shown above get your entries in ASAP.

Art and fun with food!

2010-08-15T15:20:00.009+02:00

Sometime ago I stumbled upon some amazing food art pictures & thought it would be fun to publish a post we can all enjoy.

If only to put a smile on your lovely faces and brighten up your day.

Please join me by leaving comments, suggestions & links to others you may like to see included. Maybe, you've been clever & arty & would like me to include your own creations. Either way, I'd love you to come & join in.

There are so many to choose, it's impossible to post them all, so I'll start with A. Namely apples & aubergines.

As I go through the alphabet, this post will be updated regularly. So please visit as often as you can to see the latest pictures etc.

A big 'thank you' to all those lovely people who have published these photographs. Whoever you are, they are all truly wonderful & I hope you don't mind me sharing.

Apple - Ouch, this one is not so friendly

Apple - This one has a nice six pack!

Aubergines - These little penguins are just so cute, don't you think?

Aubergines - Leaves picked to make a trendy hat!

Banana - Going bananas in the water!

Bread - This loaf is looking for handouts!

Cabbage - Oh my, could this be the end of the world as we know it?

Carrot - See, it's not just us humans that are created all shapes & sizes!

Carrot - Poor fellow clearly could not stand up to the parsnip!

Cabbage - Nice hardo!

Chicken (legs) - Ready for a romantic dinner?

OK, so now we've approached D in the alphabet. I'm stumped, all I could think of was Donuts. I think my brain has frozen today. Anyone think of other foods beginning with D? If so, please leave your comments below, many thanks.

Donut- this ones a real wake up call, can't tell the time here can you?

Donuts - Fancy afternoon tea with me? let's get stuffed together LOL

Eggs - Pretty in pink

Eggs - Fancy a fried egg with sunscreen?

Eggs - Join the egg & ~~spoon~~ sperm race.

Eggs - Oh dear, this one's been fired.

Eggs - These poor fellows are so not eggcited!

Eggs - Having a cracking time!

Fish - Looking sufishely happy with himself!

Fish - he's been eating his spinach!

Fruit - we're not the only ones that shout & pull funny faces!

Fruit - Bananas monkying around!

Fruit - Swanning about!

Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream

2010-08-09T19:03:00.000+02:00

I seem to be really enjoying ice cream of late. I have no ice cream maker so it all has to be done by hand; which is fine if you've got the time to keep breaking down the ice crystals.

Maybe I should be adding an ice cream maker to my wish list LOL.

Recently, I asked my friends on the BBC food forum to suggest ice cream flavours & somebody mentioned Rhubarb crumble.

Just one problem, we cannot purchase rhubarb here in spain! Maybe because of this mere fact it was a challenge & this flavour appealed so much, I've no idea, but we got there in the end.

My brother and family were due to fly over for a holiday and my fabulous SIL always asks for a shopping list of things I either can't get here or are too expensive to purchase here.

That was it 2 tins of rhubarb added to the list & I was on my way to feed my craving.

This recipe was adapted from a Delia recipe shown here

As I don't have fresh rhubarb, I drained two tins. One problem, the rhubarb was very green, unlike the lovely fresh which has vibrant red colours in it.

This was a little disappointing as I new the look of the finished ice cream would not be too appealing.

Brainwave. Add a few drops of red food colouring. Success, we now have a beautiful pink colour.

Apart from using the tinned rhubarb & a dash of red colouring; I followed the original recipe.

We were invited out to family for sunday lunch with a few other guests too, so I decided to take the ice cream & it was a resounding success. Everyone tried some and they all said it's the best ice cream flavour they've ever had.

What more could a foodie girl wish to hear LOL.

Thanks to all my guinea pigs at mum & dads lunch yesterday for your encouraging comments.

The times, they are a changing

2010-08-01T07:16:00.004+02:00

Make yourself & coffee & join me (marshallows all round)

Well, my blog is just over 1 year old now & I've learned so much. I decided to update the blog with a new look & I'd really like to know what you think of the new layout. So, please leave any comments or suggestions you may have.

There's still some work to be done in tidying it up to, so please bear with me whilst I make a few changes here & there over the coming weeks.

Anyway, the Queen has two birthdays, so why can't I?

These past few months have been a difficult time in this household (actually in reality it's more like the past couple of years). There's just so much going on. Some good news, some bad news. However, we think there is light at the end of the tunnel now, but not wishing to tempt fate I'll not spill the beans just yet.

I'm hoping that within the next couple of weeks everything will have resolved itself and I'll then be in a position to share the news with you. Only if it's good of course, cos you won't want to listen to my woes if all goes pear shaped will you? No, I thought not ha ha.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for the help to date with my blogging experiences. Not just to my followers (you are truly wonderful people), but to the many friendships I have gained too. Friendships I would never have imagined. Most of which I've still to meet in person one day. But that's just something else to add to my 'to do/wish' list.

Don't forget, I'd really like your thoughts & comments on the new look, so grab yourself a coffee & join me in a coffee break.

TTFN

Who fancies a blogsphere trip to Spain?

2010-07-31T10:09:00.004+02:00

My family enjoying our pool

Ha ha, bet that got your attention didn't it?

Since starting my food blog, I've been contacted by so many people asking about Spain. Not just about my life as an expat, but also advice & questions regarding food etc.

As a consequence, I've just started a new blog to share my life, passions & experiences called expatlifeandstyle, please pop over and have a look around.

There are just a couple of posts to date, but more will be added on a regular basis.

Feel free to leave your comments/suggestions/contributions etc.

I look forward to your visit.

Competa feria (last weekend) & the foam party!

July 2010 - An Interview with........

2010-07-24T09:06:00.006+02:00

For this month, July, we have the pleasure to meet Sue from her beautiful blog Mainly Baking

I first became acquainted with Sue over at the BBC Food Messageboard sometime ago where her Chocolate Brownies have made quite an impact on everybody, Especially me. Now, I'm no baker, but I just love Sue's Brownie recipe. I asked Sue if she would mind if I published a blog post on her chocolate brownies recipe & she kindly agreed. Shortly afterwards, she began her own blog & wow has she been busy.

In fact, Sue has so many brownie recipes, see them all here

Well, without further ado, you can read all about sue below....

Please join me in thanking sue for her hard work in putting together this interview, & don't forget to check out her blog Mainly Baking
Debs Q - When did you start your blog & why?

Sue A - It was really only a bored moment on a Sunday afternoon, about a year ago, which started me blogging. I’d heard about blogging, obviously, and seen how it was becoming an important medium of communication, so just wanted to see if I could do it, without needing a high level of technical skill. Once I’d started, I felt that linking to one of my blog posts was a better way of recommending recipes to others, especially with the BBC food messageboard becoming fussier about the source of posted recipes. Relating my experiences with a recipe, whether or not it was successful, could also give more information than a short post on a messageboard. I wasn’t really interested in reaching a wider audience than the people I ‘knew’ on the messageboards I used, so acquiring ‘followers’ has been an interesting bonus for me.

Debs Q - What encouraged you to start baking?

Sue A - Baking featured a lot in my childhood. I was a child of a poor family during the mid-50s, when meat was relatively expensive. Filling the family with stodge played a part in most meals – the main meal always had a dessert based on flour, fat and sugar and often pastry, dumplings or Yorkshire pudding as part of the meat course, as well as potatoes. The other 3 meals (we always had a late evening supper) were based on bread and cake. Snacks were often sweet and usually homemade – biscuits, flapjacks, jam tarts etc. My mother wasn’t a very good cook in general, but she did bake well, and it was one area of cooking which I was encouraged to help with. There was a period after I first left home at 18, when I didn’t bake for a while, but as soon as I married and had a home of my own I started again.

Debs Q - Tell us about your famous chocolate brownies. I say 'famous' because it appears everybody on the BBC food site raves about them (including me)?

Sue A - I’m not sure why this took off as ‘the’ recipe to use for brownies. It certainly wasn’t the only one recommended when I first responded to a request for a recipe, and it still isn’t. At the time, the BBC wasn’t as rigorous about posted recipes being original, and I don’t think I’ve ever claimed that this one was totally original. It is in fact based quite closely on a recipe from Good Food magazine, from the late 1990s, if I remember correctly. The first time I made them, an American friend told me they were as good as any he’d had ‘back home’, which sealed it for me as a recipe to keep! I think it’s so successful because it can be cooked to varying levels of ‘gooiness’, depending on personal taste, and even when well cooked they are still very tasty.

Funnily enough, since I started paying more attention to my baking, and reading more blogs, I’ve found several recipes which I prefer now.

Debs Q - Do you have any funny baking stories to share with us?

Sue A - I learned the hard way that springform baking tins are not watertight. Even if they don’t leak cake batter out, they will still let water in! I was making a chocolate cake which needed to be baked in a bain-marie. Thinking only about the ease of eventually getting the cake out of a baking tin, I used a springform tin, and didn’t think any more about it until taking the cake out of the oven. The test to see if it was done was OK, but it just didn’t look right. When it had cooled enough to handle, I could wring water out of it! It gave a new meaning to the word ‘sponge’ when applied to a cake!

Debs Q - Aside from baking, what are your other favourite dishes to prepare?

Sue A - I’m often bored with the prospect of cooking meals every day, but I think cooking a full roast dinner, with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding, gives me the most satisfaction.

Debs Q - What is your favourite cuisine & why?

Sue A - As a cook, I think my style is still quite traditionally British, with a just a sprinkling of regular dishes from other cuisines – lasagne, curries and tagines for instance. As a restaurant customer, I think my favourite cuisines are those from the various Asian countries, mainly because I don’t feel confident about cooking those dishes well myself, so only eat them in restaurants. We often look for Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants when we eat out.

Debs Q - When eating out, what is your favourite restaurant & why?

Sue A - We only eat out regularly while on holiday, so it’s impossible to have a favourite, as we rarely return to the same places.

Debs Q - What's the worst meal you've eaten out & why was it a bad experience?

Sue A - I remember going into a seaside café and ordering fish and chips for the whole family. The four pieces of fish were all the same shape and covered with lurid orange breadcrumbs; obviously straight out of a catering pack of frozen preformed fish pieces, not even whole fillets. They weren’t inedible, but it was a great disappointment to not get a good quality piece of fresh fish, in a bubbly batter, at the seaside!

Debs Q- Are there any baking recipes you'd like to try but have thus far not had the courage?

Sue A - French macarons are definitely high on the list of things I want to make. What’s putting me off trying is both the waste of ingredients if I fail, and the fact that I think I’ll need more patience to do them well than I usually have. I’d rather make one large cake, or a tray bake to cut up, than fiddle with small biscuits or other individual baked goods.

Debs Q -Who do you aspire too most with regards to baking?

Sue A - I have a book called ‘Desserts’ by Michel Roux, Senior, which has the most amazing restaurant-quality dishes in it. I would love to have the time, skill and patience to recreate some of the more complicated multi-stage recipes in the book.

That's all folks......

Pinchitos de pollo (spanish chicken kebabs)

2010-07-11T08:23:00.014+02:00

NOTE: This post has been moved to the authors new site at The Spanish Wok

To view Pinchitos de pollo, click this link

Thank you so much for visiting and I look forward to meeting you at my new site The Spanish Wok

Oreos cookies & cream ice cream

2010-07-10T10:20:00.004+02:00

This is a recipe I have been meaning to whip up for a long time. I realised a while back that oreos cookies are being used in various recipes because the cookie itself is so popular. Yes, I too love the cookies, not that we indulge that often. Barry is always trying to lose a bit of weight so we do try to be healthy most of the time, but sometimes a little treat is in order.

Having purchased a packet of these delicious cookies I googled recipes for ice cream. Having been a little disappointed with some of them I decided to make a basic vanilla ice cream recipe & simply add the crushed cookies (the whole packet!).

Basic ice cream recipe as shown here for praline ice cream recipe

I don't have an ice cream maker so churning (as such) has to be done by hand. Once the basic mixture is ready, pour into a shallow airtight container & freeze for 2-3 hours.

Crush the oreos cookies by piling into a freezer type bag & simply bash to bits with a rolling pin.

Remove the basic ice cream & mix well with a fork or electric mixer to break down the ice crystals. Now add the crushed oreos and mix in well.

Pop the whole thing back into the freezer & leave overnight.

Voila, the easiest of mouthwatering ice creams.

Enjoy.

Char Siu Pork (2)

2010-07-07T16:51:00.011+02:00

NOTE: The page has now moved to the authors new site at The Spanish Wok. Thank you for visiting.

Please pop over to The Spanish Wok to view this page and many more.....

See you there

Homemade Naan Bread

2010-06-22T16:22:00.009+02:00

Those of you who know me, also know my love of indian cuisine. Whilst I have mastered some of my favourite takeaway dishes at home, naan bread has been a difficult one to crack.

Having tried various recipes, both from cookbooks & the net I have been extremely disappointed until now.

The following recipe comes from Madhur Jaffrey, listed on the BBC good food site, here

Basic plain naan recipe (makes 6)

150 hand hot milk
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp active dried yeast
450g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs vegetable oil, plus extra
150 natural yoghurt
1 large egg, beaten

Pour milk into a bowl, add 1 tsp of the caster sugar & the yeast, stir to mix & set aside for 15-20 minutes or until dissolved & frothy.

Meanwhile, sift flower into a large mixing bowl, mix in the salt & baking powder. Add remaining 1 tsp caster sugar together with the yeast mixture, 2 tbs vegetable oil, yoghurt & beaten egg. Mix to form a dough ball.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth. Form into a ball.

Pour a little vegetable oil into large bowl add dough ball & roll around to coat. Cover with oiled cling film & leave for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to highest temperature & put in heavy baking try to heat too. Preheat grill (see note below).

Punch down the dough & knead again briefly. Divide into 6 equal balls, keep covered. Shape each into a tear shapes approx 25cm x 13cm.

Remove try from oven & place on the naans (see tip). Bake for approx 3 mins until puffed up.

Now place the tray under grill (about 10cm from top) for approx 30 seconds or until slightly browned.

Baked, puffed up & ready to grill

Grilled & ready to eat, yum

NOTE: Whist this recipe is for a plain naan, you can add extra ingredients to the mix before kneading e.g garlic, black onion seeds etc etc. Your only limitations are your imagination! Why not try stuffing too once divided into balls, before rolling & shaping!

TIP: I have found this easier in 2 batches of 3 each batch. Additionally, I'm lucky enough to currently have 2 ovens which makes it easier. First batch in oven, then transfer to second for grilling whilst at the same time baking the second batch.

However, now the hotter weather has arrived. I'm tempted next time to bake as instructed, then finish off on the BBQ. Hoping this will give a better flavour too. Will report back once this has been tested.

Make up several batches & freeze. Wrap individually in foil, keep in freezer bags & remove, defrost as required. Simply keep in foil & reheat in oven until hot. Brush with melted butter, delicious.

June 2010 - An interview with...................

2010-06-09T16:48:00.012+02:00

June already! This year is flying by, I can hardly believe it's June so soon. The winter here in Spain has been very long & very, very wet. Then suddenly during the last few days of May, the sun shone, the temperature increased immensly and summer arrived; until today!!!!! It's gone cold, raining again (grrrrr) and our coastal views have disappeared in the mist. I'm currently wearing a cardigan & feeling quite depressed, plus we've just encountered a power cut which is a regular occurance during bad weather!

OK, rant over. This month, we have the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger, Kavey, from Kavey Eats

Photo of Kavey taken by Pete, Kavey's husband

Hope you've enjoyed this month's interview & don't forget to look out for next months too with.......... (you'll just have to wait & see) hee hee. Kavey, stretching pizza dough at La Lotta picture taken by Alan Ager

Kavey opened up her blog to the public just over 1 year ago & has become very popular & well known in the blogging world. Apart from her duties as a wife, an employee & a blogger, she is also very involved in her mum's website too (read on to discover more).

I first became acquainted with Kavey as a member of the BBC Food Message Board a couple of years ago, where we would frequently chat & share tips, recipes etc. We both started our blogs around the same time & immediately became followers of each other's blogs.

Coincidentally, Kavey lives fairly close to my previous home in the UK & occasionally posts reviews of pubs/restaurants I used to visit.

Well, that's enough of me ranting on, read all about Kavey below. Oh, & remember to pop over & visit her site too.

Debs Q....... Your blog is just over one year old, but you had recorded many posts prior to going public, why did you not open your blog initially?

Kavey A...... All the archive posts (anything dated before 2 April 2009) were not originally posted to Kavey Eats (which didn’t exist in any form until that date). They were originally written and shared in a variety of places including emails, food discussion boards, a personal life blog and even travel reports. When I created Kavey Eats at the beginning of April last year, I realised that it made sense to copy all that content into the blog as an archive record of my earlier foodie mutterings.I've always been into my food, always loved sharing great food experiences with other like minded friends and family, even taken photographs of special dishes for many, many years. So I don't know why I didn't start a blog sooner, really, especially as I had been reading other food blogs for several years. But it just never occurred to me to do the same. Then I went to an Easter chocolate tasting event, also attended by many London food bloggers, and it nudged me into the realisation that food blogging was essentially just creating a platform to share experiences I was already putting into words elsewhere.

Debs Q....... You are also involved with some other blogs. Tell us a little about them too.

Kavey A...... The only other blog I contribute to is one my husband and I keep as a personal record of our vegetable gardening – it’s not really a blog of interest to others, I should think.

But I am heavily involved in my mum's recipe website, Mamta's Kitchen It's not a blog but a collection of recipes with supporting advice pages and a discussion board. The site started after my sister and I, having left home, asked mum to write down the Indian recipes we'd failed to learn growing up. That request morphed into the idea of a family recipe website, which I designed and my husband created. Mum continues to provide most of the content (though we have some wonderful regulars who also contribute in many ways). Pete and I administrate and look after the IT side. After its launch, the site was quickly discovered by non-family members, I’m not sure how that happened actually. As they started to spread the word, our visitor numbers grew. In response to the many lovely messages and requests from readers, we gradually added all the extras you see now.

Debs Q...... Unlike most food bloggers, you do mostly restaurant reviews and socialising with other bloggers rather than cooking. You say 'I prefer someone to cook for me'. I guess this is not just your husband Pete, or your mum, Mamta. Give us a little more insight into your food passion.

Kavey A..... Many London food bloggers do a lot of restaurant reviews, I guess because we have such an incredible range of restaurants to visit! But yes, overall there are definitely more recipe food blogs than restaurant review ones. Apparently, the best advice for increasing visitor numbers is to specialise in one area, be that baking, vegetarian recipes, restaurant reviews, chocolate or something else. But I blog primarily for my own pleasure and I love all of it so I post anything and everything food-related that I want to talk about. My mix includes restaurant reviews and recipes, yes, but also interviews (more of which to come soon), food festivals, cookery book reviews and more. I do enjoy cooking but I also find it difficult to spend hours standing up in the kitchen or bent over a chopping board - it kills my back and hips. So when I cook, I like to find recipes which don't require too much fiddly preparation. Short bursts of effort between periods of long, unattended cooking are perfect! Luckily, Pete is not only a great cook, but happy to follow suggestions about what would be nice to eat! That said, we do cook together a fair bit. We've been cooking some great things recently and there are a number of recipe posts I'll be sharing in coming weeks.

Debs Q....... You socialise a lot with other food bloggers. Tell us more about this & what you get up to?

Kavey A...... I became active on twitter at around the same time as I began blogging and have found the London blogger and twitter foodie community very active, welcoming and hugely sociable. And of course, with our shared interest, it’s unsurprising that many of us arrange to meet up for food and drink experiences together. Often it’s just a case of someone talking about a new restaurant, or a particular dish at a favourite old one, others expressing interest and a date is organised.

In addition, one of the wonderful things about having a food blog is receiving invites to some great PR events; often these are a lot of fun and some are quite unique. And of course, I meet lots of foodies at these events too. What I particularly like about these is the opportunity to meet with chefs, cookery book writers, product developers and restaurant owners whom I’d never normally have the chance to interact with in this way. And hey, who knew I’d get my face printed on a personalised cereal box?!

Debs Q........ What's your favourite cuisine?

Kavey A...... I have a particular fondness for British, Indian, Chinese and Italian, with Japanese following closely behind. I don’t think I could ever narrow it down to just one!

Debs Q....... Are there any cuisines you've not yet tried, but hope to one day?

Kavey A...... Oh, lots! I don't know much at all about the very varied cuisines of the East. I've never tried food from Laos, Burma, Cambodia... and even from better known Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia I've tried only a fraction of the diverse foods eaten there. Plus there are so many cuisines I love but want to know more about - Chinese, Japanese, several South American cuisines... actually, there is no cuisine, not even British, which I have comprehensively tried all of!

Debs Q........ What is your favourite restaurant & why?

Kavey A...... My all time favourite restaurant has been closed for a couple of years now. It was a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant called La Lotta, just a minute's walk from us. Not only was the food truly excellent, but the staff became genuine friends (we still see them socially). That always made a meal out there a much rounder experience. We went there for casual weekday lunches, we went for quiet, relaxed dinners, we went for sociable meals with friends, we went for fabulous boisterous meals with larger groups, we went for celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, job successes. Even with the other restaurants I love, I don't think anything will ever replace it. Of restaurants that are open, I'd say Bob Bob Ricard. I enthuse about this place so positively I've been accused of being their new PR, but it's just such a great experience. The interior is crazy and luxurious bling in a style that harks back to the heydays of the Orient Express, such an over the top excess that it makes one feel special just walking inside. I'm not a huge drinker but their cocktails are fantastic. Their signature rhubarb and gin cocktail is my favourite, which is odd because I don't like rhubarb and I don't like gin! They offer a range of chilled vintage vodkas served with Russian zakuski (snacks) which are delightful. The standard menu is full of comforting (mainly British) classics, all superbly cooked. And service is very warm and friendly. It's not cheap but it is good value. I took Pete there for his birthday at the end of May and we had, as always, a wonderful evening!

Debs Q........ Which restaurants are on your wish list to try out next?

Kavey A...... Oh my list is ridiculously long with new places being added faster than I can tick others off, but a few I’d like to visit are Club Gascon, Hibiscus, Le Gavroche, Ottolenghi, L’Anima, Viajantes, Providores, Terroirs, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, any of the Galvin stable…

Debs Q......... You & Pete grow your own vegetables & fruits. Tell us what you've got planted and what's on your wish list.

Kavey A...... Vegetable wise this year we’re growing 4 varieties of potatoes, leeks, lettuce, gherkins, sweetcorn, courgettes, carrots, 3 varieties of tomatoes, sugarsnap peas, peppers and purple sprouting broccoli.

For the first time we’ve also planted lots of fruit this year including a cox’ orange pippin apple tree, raspberries, tayberries, gooseberries, rhubarb and wild strawberries.

Oh and I just bought some purple shiso seeds after falling in love with the herb at Mat Follas’ The Wild Garlic restaurant recently.

I think, for the moment, this is enough, though I’m sure I’ll think of something extra to add to the list next year!

For anyone interested in growing your own, you might enjoy my recent review of Celia Brook Brown’s New Urban Farming book in which she shares her experiences of taking on an allotment and shares lots of advice, ideas and recipes.

Debs Q........ Tell us more about your other passions, travel & photography.

Kavey A...... My parents love travelling, especially my dad, so I've inherited that passion - it's in my genes! I'm really pretty obsessive about it, I'd even go as far as saying it's a bigger deal to me than food, though it's a hard call and one I'm glad I don't have to make. So I've been fortunate enough to travel around the world since I was very young, and seen so many wondrous places. And I'm lucky enough that my husband, who had not really travelled overseas before we met, has grown to love it as much as I do. We particularly enjoy travelling to see wildlife in its natural habitat - our last trip was a month in the Falkland Islands surrounded by penguins and albatross. Our next trip is a return to Kenya on safari. For me, researching and planning a trip, which can sometimes absorb me for several months, is just as enjoyable as the trip itself and the memories afterwards! I got into photography as a kid and begged my parents to get me a proper camera - they bought me my first SLR when I was 12 or 13. Since then I've gone through active and quieter phases of interest, but have always been excited about taking pictures on my travels.

I started selling prints of some of my images several years ago, which was hugely gratifying. I’d like to update and reactivate the print sales website and get some recent images up on it, that’s another project on my long to do list at the moment!

These days both Pete and I sell images through stock libraries – it’s on a very small scale but it all goes towards more travelling and more great eating! Despite being interested in photography for so long I'm very lazy with my food photography. Mostly I'm just desperate to eat the food as soon as it’s ready, and seldom take the time to grab more than a snapshot or two, let alone put in place any food styling or decent lighting. I admire the stunning food photography on many of the blogs I follow but it’s not an area of photography I have much skill or focus on.

That's all folks.......

I won a giveaway! plus a couple of extras!

2010-06-01T13:03:00.011+02:00

I never win anything, but this year I did, al fin.

Back in March this year, Kavey, a fellow blogger, of Kavey Eats ran a competition to win a little jar of Diddle Dee Jam. Usually when Kavey runs a competition, it's open to UK residents only. All you have to do is leave a comment for her and the winner is picked at random. Because I live in Spain & therefore can't usually enter, I always leave a comment anyway saying how unfair she is LOL. But, this time, the competition was open to everyone, wherever they may be. Not thinking for one minute I'd win, I duly left a comment & actually won.

Diddle Dee Jam is produced in the Falkland Island where these unusual berries grow. Kavey explains it all so well in her post relating to her amazing trip there, read all about it here

Upon forwarding my address to Kavey, I waited & waited & waited for my parcel.

Suddenly, I received another email from Kavey, apologising as she had packaged the jam but not posted it! Anyway, by way of apology she said she'd repackage it with some other goodies too.

Wow, now that's worth the extra wait, don't you think?

Now I was getting even more excited to receive my parcel, especially as I had no idea what else I was to expect.

When it arrived, I also received 2 of Kavey's homemade creations.

Nectarine & Ameretto Jam, plus Apple & Sultana Chutney.

I was eager to try the Diddle Dee Jam first, so upon receiving my parcel, I buttered some bread & consumed with gusto LOL.

What an unusual jam, like no other I've ever tasted. I can only describe it as sweet & sour with an interesting crunch from the berries.

If you ever visit the Falkland Islands, do source this wonderful jam & try it for yourself.

The Nectarine & Ameretto jam was delicious. Not sure I'd rush to make it myself, but it was damn good.

I think I got spoilt by trying the Apple & Sultana Chutney, which blew me away it was so good.

Kavey has kindly sent me the recipe for Apple & Sultana Chutney. My MIL was here at the time I received it and she too loved it. So much so, she encouraged me to ask Kavey for the recipe so I can make it for her!

Watch this space for Kavey's recipe shortly.....

Many thanks again Kavey, you may have just turned me into a chutney making queen! LOL

May 2010 - An Interview With.........

2010-05-05T11:01:00.009+02:00

Firstly, may I apologise for my lateness in posting this promised interview that was due to be published in April . Unexpected events took over and therefore I was unable to post sooner. So now we have an early interview for May, with none other than the fabulous Margaret from Kitchen-Delights. Don't forget, after reading all about her, to pop over to Margaret's blog and have a good old look around.

Margaret is another hard working blogger. Posting regularly and always offering give-aways & competitions. Something I've not really had the opportunity to do much of to date, putting me to shame!!!

Want to know more? read on........

Debs - Q. When did you start your blog & why?

Margaret - A. I started my blog in September 2006. My son suggested I start a blog and he set it up for me because he knew I was trying to find ways to start an online record of my cooking. Prior to starting my blog, I had no previous knowledge of the world of blogging.

Debs - Q. Tell us about your weakness for kitchen gadgets and what’s your latest purchase?

Margaret - A. Yes, I do love gadgets and just can’t resist them. They do have to be fit for purpose though and the vast majority of them are, I guess this is because I buy good, reliable brands.

Take for instance ring pulls on food cans, I just don’t seem to be able to pull the lids off safely or I find the contents of the can splatter everywhere, or worse still the ring pull parts company with the lid. I bought a ring can pull and wouldn’t be without it now. This is one of my low value gadgets.

My latest gadget, and most costly, is a Kenwood Cooking Chef. We attended the Birmingham Good Food Show just before Christmas 2009 and Kenwood were demonstrating this machine. I had seen this previously in magazines and had read up on it, it seemed to be the perfect dream kitchen machine. My husband, to my delight, said he would buy it for me as a Christmas present for this year, next year, the year after that, and I guess the year after that too! The Kenwood Cooking Chef only came out a few months ago and is a truly wonderful piece of kitchen machinery.

Debs - Q. You cook many recipes by various chef’s/cooks. Who is your favourite chef/cook and why?
Margaret - A. Delia Smith has to be my favourite cookery writer. She has given us some wonderful recipes and mostly I trust a Delia recipe to work, because she tests them over and over again in a domestic kitchen. Delia introduced us to the Melting Chocolate Pudding, a recipe given to her by Galton Blackiston the owner of Morston Hall Hotel in Norfolk. There are very similar recipes around but all with different names. This pudding is everywhere – magazines, cookery books, restaurant menus and can easily be made at home.

My favourite chef has to be Jamie Oliver he has brought us in the main, healthy food recipes. He has inspired twenty and thirty year olds, male and female to cook, by being so passionate about food and cooking. He has also helped to turn around the school meal service in the UK, which sadly before the Jamie Oliver Schools Campaign, served up poor quality food to our school children. He inspires us to cook with his television appearances and his informative books. I was fortunate to eat at Jamie’s Italian in Brighton last year and the food was superb.

Debs - Q. What is your favourite cuisine?

Margaret - A. It has to be Italian. Pasta is so versatile and can be used in so many dishes, everything from salad to baked spaghetti. Somehow, I always feel Italian food is healthy and enjoy both cooking Italian recipes and eating it. I also love most Italian foods, especially the meats. At Christmas I always buy a few boxes of Panettone – there is nothing I enjoy more than a Panettone bread and butter pudding.

Debs - Q. What is the most successful dish you have created in your kitchen?
Margaret - A. Beef Wellington – I cooked this for a special birthday family dinner, for my husband. Everyone said it was the best home meal ever, and most memorable.

Debs - Q. And, what is the most unsuccessful dish?

Margaret - A. The most unsuccessful dish was Red Cabbage with Cranberries. I know this answer is the complete opposite to my answer above, where I mention Delia recipes work. To be fair to her, maybe this was just not to our taste. I made this after Delia brought cranberries to our attention, we all went out and bought them, and then thought that we should like them. I call them the dreaded cranberry. Red Cabbage with Cranberries just didn’t work and braised red cabbage just doesn’t need messing around with.

Debs - Q. Have you, do you, or would you, work in the food business.

Margaret - A. The answer is no, to all of the above. I would love to test kitchen gadgets here at home in a domestic environment though!

Debs - Q. You run a lot of competitions on your blog. Tell us a bit more about that.
Margaret - A. In the past I have run competitions and giveaways for PR companies. It seemed a good idea at the time, and I dipped my toes in the water to see how successful or otherwise they would be. I have quickly learnt though, that unless it is designer chocolate or cookery books, they have a tendency to fail. Not sure that you will see many more ill judged competitions or giveaways on the blog in the future!

Debs - Q. What is the most memorable meal you have eaten out? Where was it & why do you consider it to be so good?
Margaret - A. The most memorable meal I have eaten out is at The Gables Tea Room, Weobley, Herefordshire. We were out and about on a tourist trail and came across this beautiful village. The tea room caught our eye, and they were serving the most perfectly executed meals, desserts and cakes. Everything was either made on the premises or came from Weobley Dairy. They use locally sourced products, where they can. Our lunch was superior to most of our dining out experiences and came at a fraction of the cost. They will never win any Michelin stars but it was good, honest food. After we left, we realised just how incredible these little hidden gems are. We have been back a couple of times and are about to go again.

Debs - Q. Likewise, what is the worst meal you’ve eaten out?

Margaret - A. We booked in at a reputable Restaurant for a meal in an area that is a food/tourist hotspot. For the main course, my husband ordered sirloin steak – it arrived with a very bland selection of vegetables and to make matters worse his steak was greasy, I think they must have fried it in loads of oil, it definitely hadn’t been seared in any way. People were walking from a bar lounge area past our table in a constant stream, to make their way to either the Ladies or Gents – not good and quite annoying. This place has very good reviews, but other than location and the clientele, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the restaurant was so popular.

So, to end our interview for May; please join me in saying a big 'thanks' to Margaret for giving us her time in creating this interview.

Don't forget, pop over to Margaret's blog, Kitchen-Delights to have a peak inside.

That all folks......

Happy 70th to the best MIL (mother-in-law) in the world

2010-04-16T16:33:00.006+02:00

Mum opening her presents on the morning of her birthday

I'm a bit late in posting this but here goes.

Monday 5th April was my mother-in-laws 70th birthday. As friends of my in-laws were flying back to UK on the day before, my father-in-law arranged a celebration on saturday 3rd April. There were, I think, about 25 of us. The venue was a favourte chinese restaurant of many of the attendees.

It was a fab night, thoroughly enjoyed by all. The photos below show how everyone is enjoying themselves.

My father-in-law, Mike, looking suspiciously asleep in the restaurant!

My mother-in-law's (Dawn) table

Our friend, Mike, looking suspiciously like Rick Stein! (must be the drink)

Most of the group got into this shot

My fabulous MIL (Dawn)

Paula with her daughter, Amy

Our great friends (my adopted mum & dad) & Amy's grandparents, Mike & Fran

Last, but definitely not least, my amazing husband Barry. Enjoying a glass of wine as usual LOL

I know, I know. Where are the photos of the fabulous food? Sorry, we were to busy eating & enjoying ourselves and before I new it the food was finished and I'd not had time to photograph any of it .

I must tell you though that Dawn was supposed to be celebrating her birthday in the UK. This will now prove how considerate, thoughtful & amazing my in-laws actually are.

Due to my unfortunate illness earlier in the year, my in-law's decided they should be with us in Spain to help out. Not that there is a great deal they can actually do, but they decided to give my husband a break by doing a lot of the trips with me back & forth for chemo/radiotherapy treatment.

I'm eternally grateful to them for this & all they have done in the past too. I bet there's not many people out there who's in-law's would do the same.

How lucky am I?

Apologies to my sister-in-law, Tracey. She was planning a surprise party for her mum & had to phone everyone to cancel.

Unfortunately, Tracey was unable to be with us for the birthday celebrations. However, she did visit briefly in March & it was great to see her too.

Happy Birthday!

2010-04-15T12:44:00.004+02:00

Yesterday was the first birthday of my blog. It was a busy day and unfortunately I didn't have time to post. So a belated happy birthday it is LOL.

Well my first year has been a happy experience. I've learned a lot about the internet, but still not totally computer literate yet.

I've met lots of interesting people & have also gained quite a few friends. Unfortunately, I've not met anyone in person but hopefully I will one day.

I'd like to thank all those who have helped with queries regarding blogging, recipes, photography and many more issues too.

My biggest thanks goes out to all my followers. Especially being patient with me so far this year not being able to post much due to my illness.

However, things are improving and whilst I have been cooking & producing new recipes, I've had so little time to post them.

Anyway, in the next few days I'll be posting this month's interview, so keep an eye out for it.

Thank you to one & all & here's to another year ahead; cheers.

I've been a bad blogger lately!!!!

2010-03-11T07:10:00.004+01:00

Apologies to all my followers & blogging friends for not posting lately. As many of you know, at the end of last year I became unwell. Consequently, the new year was a terrifying start after being diagnosed with colon cancer & undergoing emergency surgery.

This week is being taken up with my second chemo session Mon-Fri, but today I'm awake early due to a little discomfort. What better time to catch up with everybody? So no excuse not to post & catch up with what you've all been doing!!!

I have so many photos of dishes cooked up last year that I've not yet posted. I'm sorting through said photos and will be posting again very soon.

However, in the meantime, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their recent comments & well wishes. It's so uplifting to receive such support from everyone and I just wanted to let you all know how appreciative I am.

Due to my circumstances I've not had the opportunity to invite & interview a fellow blogger yet this year. Next month (April) is the 1st birthday of my blog and I'll be posting my next interview then, so watch this space for some interesting reading.

I have however, been keeping an eye on you all & been reading most of your blog posts with interest. Unfortunately, with the constant trips into Malaga City (1 hour journey each way) for not only treatments, but various appointments with docs, tests & scans; I've not had much enthusiasm or time for cooking & blogging.

We're getting into a routine now & after a receiving a P.E.T scan result this week I have some good news to report.

It seems there is a lesion showing at the lower part of the right lung. It's common for colon cancer to spread to lungs and/or liver so the oncologist requested a P.E.T scan which is an exploratory in depth scan of the area. We visited the oncologist Tuesday this week for the result and it appears to be nothing to worry about at this stage. She has requested a follow up scan in a few months to see if there is any activity, but in the meantime we're hoping the chemo & radiotherapy will sort it out.

First bit of good news this year so far. Happy days!!!!

In sickness & in health!!!!!!!

2010-01-31T12:59:00.004+01:00

When I married (13 years ago) I did'nt think about what was being agreed to during the ceremony; we both just said 'I do' and got on with our married life. It never ocurred to me that my fabulous husband would actually have to prove he would be there for me, under any circumstances 'in sickness & in health'.

Well the sickness is over, the surgery is done (for now), several pills have been swallowed (I hate swalling pills) and we on our way back to health.

This post is dedicated to my husband, Barry, for his amazing strength, encouragement and commitment during our worst ever Xmas & New Year.

Firstly, I like to apologise to all my followers & friends for my sudden disappearance, but I'll explain below.

Just prior to Xmas I became a little poorly. Initially I had good days & bad days. The week before Xmas things became worse and I literally wanted to curl up & die. I did not have the strength or will to do anything about my condition (at that time we did not know what it was). The weather here became horrible and we had the worst rainfall for 50 years. It was relentless and living along a dirt track is not condusive to heavy rain.

By Xmas eve, our track had collapsed and was unpassable by vehicle. The only way was on foot (in wellington boots) & risking life by walking along the cliff edge. No easy task when you're unwell!

To cut a long story short, we finally got the track cleared New Year's eve and after too long being so ill, we finally got to the hospital on 2nd Jan.

Luckily we have private health insurance and the service was fantastic. Within an hour I was on a drip and had had some x-rays.

I won't provide the gory details of my symptoms, but I can tell you that I've had a major operation to remove a large tumour between the colon & intestine. I've since learned that they also removed 7 lymph nodes. The tumour was cancerous but the surgeon is confident it has all been removed.

I'm starting chemo shortly and finishing with radiotherapy. The whole treatment will last 6 months.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank Barry for all he has done and remains to do. He had to drive over an hour (each way), twice a day to the hospital. Look after our dog as well as himself. Now I'm home, I've not been able to do much to date and he's been amazing. No just looking after me but the housework & cooking too.

We now face many more journeys to the clinic for chemo & radiotherapy. Roll on 6 months time.

Last, but not least. I'd like to say a big thanks you to all our friends & family. The support and help from everyone has been amazing; I/we love you all, xx

Slowly, I'm getting back to normal and will be posting more recipes shortly. Thanks for bearing with me.

December 2009 - An interview with....

2009-12-16T15:46:00.011+01:00

I can't believe how quickly this year has gone and it's December again already, let alone Christmas next week. I really must get organised.

Anyway, this month we have the pleasure to meet another Debs, otherwise known as Debinhawaii from her fabulous blog called Kahakai Kitchen

That's all folks....... (until 2010)
I became to know Debs through a weekly event on her blog called Souper Sundays (click here to view) where other bloggers can submit their recipes for inclusion each sunday. The recipe can be soups/stews, salads & sandwiches. There's a great roundup every week and Deb herself always adds a recipe too.

Debinhawaii must be one of the hardest working bloggers I've met so far. She is involved with other blogs too and you can read all about her and her involvements below.

So, please join me in welcoming Deb to the monthly inverview blog post.

Deb "How long have you been a blogger and what inspired you start?"

Debinhawaii "April makes 2 years of blogging for me and I am about to hit 500 posts. I started as a blog “lurker” just reading and drooling over food blogs for a couple of years before starting my own. I finally started my blog in order to be able to take part in some of the blog events and challenges I saw and also as a creative outlet for cooking and writing. I was missing creativity in my job and my blog became a way to keep me sane."

Deb "You also have involvement with other blogs too; tell us a little about them?"

Debinhawaii "There are currently two other blogs set up around blog events that I am involved in, Cook The Books and I Heart Cooking Clubs. Cook The Books is a wonderful bi-monthly virtual book club hosted by Rachel of The Crispy Cook and Johanna of Food Junkie Not Junk Food and me. We take turns selecting food related books and share hosting duties. Everyone reads the current book and cooks a dish inspired by it. It is so fun to see the amazing creations people come up with. I Heart Cooking Clubs is a spin-off of Tyler Florence Fridays where we cooked the recipes of Tyler Florence for a year. My fellow IHCC hosts (Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies and Heather of girlichef) and I decided to focus on a different chef or cook every 6 months. Right now we are featuring the recipes of Nigella Lawson. We have different themes each week and people can pick any recipe that they like that “fits” that theme. I love the flexibility of being able to choose my own recipes rather than have them chosen for me. "

Deb "You are originally from the Pacific Northwest and have been in beautiful Hawaii for almost 9 years now. Why did you make the move to Hawaii & would you go back to the Pacific Northwest?"

Debinhawaii "I moved to Hawaii in early 2001 basically for work, to join a partnership with some good friends. I have no plans to move at this time but if I did it would be back to either Seattle where I lived before moving here, or to Portland, where most of my family lives. I do love the Northwest, except for all the rain!"

Deb "Where does your love of cooking come from?"

Debinhawaii "I think loving to eat good food gave me the desire to learn how to cook it. I also like the creativity involved, how different ingredients and techniques work together. My Mom and many people in my family are great cooks but I tend to be a bit more of an experimenter in the kitchen than most of them and I think that came from traveling all over Asia-Pacific for work and being exposed to different foods and cultures."

Deb "Each Saturday you post on Simple Saturday Sippers. What inspired this & is it easy to find something new each week?"

Debinhawaii "I love beverages of all kinds--the first places I check out in any natural foods store are the bottled beverage isle and the tea isle to see what is new. I found that next to soup, the category I was tabbing the most recipes for in books or cutting out in magazines was for different drinks so SSS seemed like a great way to work through all the recipes I had and incent me to create some too. The only hard part is that I don’t often plan them out ahead so it often comes down to Friday afternoon and what I have in my fridge and imagination to create a drink. I have come up with some delicious last minute drinks though so it works!"

Deb "Each Sunday you post on Souper Sundays. Tell us more about this & how it has grown since you started it?"

Debinhawaii "Souper Sundays (now Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays) has been going on since October 2008. I started it as a personal initiative to work through the many soup recipes I had marked to make. I love soup and was making it about every week anyway so I just made it into an event. I put out an invitation for others to join in and at first it was my just friend Natashya then slowly others started sending in their soups. It varies each week; sometimes it is just a handful of people, and other weeks the “kitchen” is pretty full with lots of friends joining in. This past spring I got a lot of comments that we were getting out of “soup season” for many people. (I personally think soup is pretty season-less but I live where on average there is only a 10 degree variation in heat!), so I opened it up to the natural pairings of salads and sandwiches which has been fun."

Deb "Each Tuesday you post about 'Things I Am Loving This Week', tell us about this & what inspired you to start it?"

Debinhawaii "I am a food and product junkie—I love to try what is new and I like to share the things I love with others. Most of the time it doesn’t seem like it needs a whole post so I grouped them together once on a Tuesday into “Things I Am Loving This Week” and I got so much positive feedback, I have kept it up. All the things I put in there are things that I have purchased or were given as a gift by a friend or family member, or a recipe I have tried and loved. Product or cookbook reviews for items sent to me free by companies are always reviewed and posted separately and disclosed."

Deb "That's Saturday, Sunday & Tuesday taken care of, what do you do the rest of the week LOL?"

Debinhawaii "Great question—I usually have a Nigella recipe to do for IHCC and sometimes an event like Presto Pasta Nights, or lately I have been doing a lot of cookbook reviews which are fun but take work as I try to cook at least 4-5 recipes from each book to "road test" them. I am trying to work through my enormous cookbook collection by cooking at least one recipe from each book I own but some weeks I don’t fit that in. I need to stop buying them or I will never catch up! ;-)"

Deb "What is your favourite cuisine and why?"

Debinhawaii "I could never pick just one—I really have favorite foods, ingredients and dishes in many cuisines. Probably the two I cook most often are Thai & Indian because I love all the flavors and spices. Curries especially are a favorite."

Deb "What is your most hated cuisine and why?"

Debinhawaii "I can’t think of a “cuisine” I hate, I have dishes I like in all of them. Actually I try not to “hate” any more around food. I try to look at things I may not like or love as opportunities to find a way to like it. That being said, I have not yet found a way to like durian, uni (sea urchin), mushy cooked grains and cereals or most organ meats (except liver in a pâté) LOL!"

Deb "What is the worst disaster you've encountered whilst creating dishes?"

Debinhawaii "I was making some Fennel Frito for a blog event and was using my old chop box to thinly slice the fennel and I sliced a good hunk out of the top of my middle finger. The disaster, besides the throbbing was that without thinking I was dancing (the dance of pain!) around the kitchen holding my finger up and there were splatters of blood everywhere and I mean everywhere! The ceiling, the walls, the window curtains… So in addition to the pain and loss of dignity (plus some fennel and fingertip), there was all the clean up I had to do! I have since purchased a sharp mandoline and use the finger guards religiously."

Deb "What is the your most triumphant dish?"

Debinhawaii "Hmm…I can’t think of one particular dish. I am most triumphant when I make an original recipe, it turns out well and people really love it and want the recipe so they can make it. I think there is a little “high” when you give people pleasure through great food you have created."

Deb "Are you, or have you, ever been involved with cooking for a living?"

Debinhawaii "Not actual cooking for a living, although I have been involved in food and restaurant operations and support."

Deb "Are there any dishes you would like to have a go at, but thus far been too nervous to do?"

Debinhawaii "I have some long-standing yeast fears so serious bread baking makes me nervous. Part of it is laziness though—I don’t like to make things that require a lot of attention, detail or work like lots of kneading. I made gnocchi once for a blog challenge and although it turned out well, it was too much attention to detail for me to enjoy making it. ;-)"

Deb "Tell us a little about yourself, (e.g) hobbies & interests, lifestyle, family etc?"

Debinhawaii "I am not married and live in East Honolulu with Max the cat, my only ”baby.” My family is all in the Portland area but I have lots of good friends and “ohana” (family) that have adopted me here in Hawaii. I am on a sabbatical of sorts from my job (which was heading up Human Resources and Training for our two companies in Hawaii), trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I still have not completely figured it out yet but I started a distance learning program in Health Counseling from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in October and hope to combine my interests and passion for food, cooking, nutrition and training into a more fulfilling career. Right now the 10-month certification program, some part time consulting, cooking and blogging keep me pretty busy but in my free time I love to read, watch movies, take different cooking classes, walk, be at the beach, and just enjoy life in Hawaii."

Please join me in saying a big 'thanks' to Debinhawaii for taking the time to participate in this months interview.

Don't forget folks, you too can participate with Debinhawaii and her followers in the weekly event Souper Sundays

La Mumba (spanish hot chocolate & brandy drink)

2009-12-15T10:54:00.004+01:00

This is a very popular hot drink here in Spain. So simple to make too. It will warm you up and make you smile. May even make you giggle if you have too many LOL.

Milk
2 tsp chocolate powder
1 tbsp (or more to taste) brandy

Choose your vessel for serving and fill with cold milk. Pour the measured milk into a saucepan, but leave a little in your glass.

Heat milk in pan to just boiling point. In the meantime, put the chocolate powder into the glass and mix with the little cold milk left behind. Now pour in 1 tablespoon (or so, to taste) of brandy and mix with the milk chocolate.

Pour in the hot milk and serve. Aproveche.

Thai Yellow Prawn Curry

2009-12-11T16:28:00.007+01:00

When I make other types of curry I always make my own paste. But with thai curry, the Mae Ploy brand of pastes are so good and reasonably priced, it's better to buy them.

(serves 2)

Approx 30 cooked & peeled prawns
200ml coconut milk
1 tbs yellow curry paste
2 tbs nam pla (fish sauce)
1 tbs palm sugar or caster sugar
juice of 1 lime (approx 1 tbs)

Pour 100ml of the coconut milk into a wok and stir in the yellow curry paste, bring to a boil and boil rapidly for a few minutes or until the sauce is reduced by half.

Stir in the fish sauce and sugar and bring back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the remaining cocount milk, lime juice and the prawns. Heat through for another 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately with thai jasmine rice.

And the winner is...........

2009-12-07T16:39:00.007+01:00

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to Kris Dhillon for so kindly giving away her 2 cookery books to our lucky winner.

For those of you who missed the competition, you can read all about it here.

Secondly, a big thank you to all those who entered the competition and apologies to the non winners. There can be only one.

I was a little dissapointed at the lack of entries, but I guess that could be because Kris's books are so popular; most people already own them.

The only fair way to pick our winner, was to write all names on individual pieces of paper, fold them up, and put into a dish. Then, after a little shake, the winner was picked out randomly.

Congratulations to Anne of Annes Kitchen. Your fabulous books will be winging their way to you very shortly.

Remember to regularly visit Kris Dhillon's blog The Curry Secret to catch up on new recipes.

Plus, I'll be posting some more of Kris's recipes too in the future here

Chinese Chicken Curry (takeaway style sauce)

2009-12-04T16:30:00.005+01:00

Whilst I love indian curries. I am partial to chinese curry too. Well, those who know me, know my love for chinese food in general.

That's why I set about creating my own version of this popular sauce sometime ago, see original one here & this new improved version here

Chicken breast, cut into thin slices
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp shaoshing wine (or dry sherry)

Mix the above together and add the chicken, leave to marinade for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare your curry sauce see recipe, here

IMPORTANT: when ready to cook the chicken. Rinse off the marinade, you don't want to be eating the baking powder.

Once the sauce is ready, keep it simmering whilst you stir fry the chicken. Once cooked, add to the sauce, stir & serve.

Perfect served with plain or egg fried rice. Enjoy.

Chinese Curry Sauce - takeaway style (improved version)

2009-12-04T16:07:00.009+01:00

NOTE: This page has now been moved to the authors new site at The Spanish Wok, thank you for visiting.

Please hop over to The Spanish Wok to view this page and more....

See you there.

Carrot & Lentil Soup (serves 6-8)

2009-12-03T13:18:00.008+01:00

I love soup. In fact, soup will be featuring a lot more, here on my blog. Barry doesn't like many vegetables and most often he is happy to have just mushrooms with his meal. But, he'll eat virtually any vegetable in soups. So hello winter, welcome a variety of soups.

I came across this soup on whatsforlunchhoney blog It looked so pretty and with the addition of lentils, I just had to try it.

I did make just one slight adjustment to the original recipe, as I thought it contained way too much cumin. Visit here to see the original recipe.

650g carrots, peeled & grated
150g red lentils, washed
1 onion, finely chopped
1ltr vegetable stock
125ml cream
1 tbsp ground cumin
sprinkling of dried chilli flakes
good glug groundnut oil
salt & pepper to taste
coriander leaves, to garnish

In a large pot, heat oil and cook onion. Add chilli flakes, cumin, carrots & lentil and mix well.

Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook approx 15 minutes until lentils softened.

Remove from heat, add cream & blend until smooth, season & reheat.

Divide between bowls, garnish with more chilli flakes, cream & coriander leaves.

Thanks to Meeta at whatsforlunchhoney for sharing your delicious recipe.

Participating in souper sundays with kahakai kitchen

November 2009 - An Interview with....... Plus an exciting announcement. Oh & a competition too.

2009-11-26T16:38:00.014+01:00

This month, we have the pleasure to meet Kris Dhillon, author of 2 cookery books to date and recently became a fellow blogger too. Pop over and take a look at Kris's site, The Curry Secret, here.

The rules:-

1. Simply post a comment here and explain why you would like to be the lucky winner.
2. Add in your comment a link to your blog so I can find your contact details.
3. Visit Kris Dhillon's blog The curry secret, here and add yourself as a follower.
4. If you feel kind enough LOL, I would appreciate it if you add yourself as a follower to my blog too.

The winner will be picked at random on Sunday 6th December 09, so make sure you have made your entry on or before Saturday 5th December.

The books will be posted directly to the winner, hopefully in time for Christmas. What a wonderful gift.

Please join me in thanking Kris for her time and especially for her kindness in providing, not one but two great cookery books.

Thanks Kris, from us all.

I have cooked up many of Kris's recipes, but not all have been posted yet. See recipes I have posted so far, by clicking the link here. Don't forget to visit Kris's blog too, by clicking the link here where you'll find many recipes. Many of which are not in her books.

That's all folks (until next month's interview)

I guess you're wondering how I have a photo of it already as it's not due to be published until April 2010. Well, the good news is you can pre-order now with Amazon, click on the link here for details.

COMPETITION TIME!

One lucky person will soon be the proud owner of these 2 fabulous books:-

That's all folks. Well for the interview anyway, I guess you're all eagerly awaiting instructions to win The Curry Secret & The New Curry Secret?

You'll have to wait a few more minutes, because firstly we have an announcement.

Kris mentioned that she has written a new book called 'Thai Cookery Secrets'.

So, let's say a big welcome to Kris, who has also kindly offered to give away both books to one lucky reader. But you'll have to read Kris's interview before receiving details of how to be our competition winner!

Debs - You were born in Punjab, what was life like as child growing up there?

Kris - I left for England just before I was 5 and don’t have much recollection of those early years, but my mum took me back when I was about 18 and I was completely smitten by the place. The peace and tranquillity of village life was a stark contrast to the pace of life in western society even in those days. I loved the sense of community, the relative simplicity of day to living, the ‘one-ness’ with nature and of course the bountiful, wonderful fresh food that region of India is renowned for. I learnt to milk cows (well buffalo actually), make fresh yoghurt, butter and cheeses, cook with just picked vegetables and exotic herbs and spices. I watched enchanted as my grandmother made the most amazing sweets, snacks and flavour packed pickles, and as the most delicious meals I have ever eaten were created from a few humble vegetables growing up the barnyard wall. Most 18 year olds these days, and even then I must say, would find all of this quite boring but I was hooked. That was how I wanted to live and I wanted the food I ate to be that good.

Debs - You moved to the UK with your parents. What age were you then and why did you go to the UK?

Kris - My parents were the first generation of Indians that migrated to England to find work and make “their fortune” with the intention of returning to their homeland and their way of life that much better off. Of course for most that dream didn’t materialise, the right time to return never did eventuate. My parents went back to India many times, built a new home and hankered to go back to live there when us (westernised) kids grew up, married and left home. Sadly, they never did.

Debs - You opened a restaurant. Tell us more about it, i.e the menu, where it was, how long you had it, did you enjoy it, would you do it again. Etc

Kris - I was very driven in my younger days and from about the age of twenty I had looked at various means of combining this drive with my love of food within the confines and restrictions that were imposed by the Indian culture on Indian girls at the time. The opportunity finally came when I was in my early thirties (and married) and together with a couple of family friends and relations, we opened a restaurant in Wolverhampton. The menu was pretty typical of Indian restaurants of the time – Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Chicken Tikka Masala, Sheek Kebab were all on the menu and enjoyed by the local, mostly Anglo-Saxon clientele. It was an interesting time and I lapped up the new cooking methods, techniques and ‘secrets’ of Indian restaurant cooking.

A part of me would love to do it again, but owning a restaurant means long hours of hard work. I have neither the drive nor energy for that and I’m pretty content doing what I’m doing now – for the present at least.

Debs - Tell us more about the catering business you had too?

Kris - After a few years the business partnership soured. My marriage had also broken down and I had two young children to look after. The catering was something I had developed as an off shoot from the restaurant and it gave me the flexibility I needed at the time so I continued to grow that. With the help of some good staff I ran the catering business for several years until I left England for Australia. It was around that time that I wrote The Curry Secret.

Debs - You now live in Australia, where abouts are you and why did you move there?

Kris - The simple and honest answer is I met and fell in love with an Australian! We moved to Sydney in 1993 and have lived and worked there since that time. About 5 years ago we bought 8 acres of land in the country about 10 kilometres west of a lovely country town called Orange. The main house is being built as we speak but we had a small cottage built nearly 2 years ago so that we could start establishing the vegetable gardens and orchards. We now spend more than half our time in Orange and the remainder in Sydney.

Debs - You've moved around a lot, do you intend to stay in Oz, or are there any plans to move again?

Kris - I have no intention of moving again. That would be incredibly hard and I really love living here. I’m finally doing what I’ve wanted to do since my first trip back to India – growing my own fresh food, writing about it and teaching how to cook some of the fantastic dishes I’ve enjoyed over the years.

Debs - If you had to cook just one dish, what would be your ideal choice of all time?

Kris - Mmm, I think I would find that quite difficult. I love the changing seasons, the new produce and styles of cooking that come with them, but if I had to cook just one dish I think it would be some type of dhal. Dhal is tasty, nutritious, satisfying and really simple to cook.

Debs - Do you cook and/or experiment with other types of cuisines, or do you stick to asian?

Kris - I read cookbooks and recipe books like most people read novels and whilst the food I was bought up on, i.e. Indian, remains my favourite I couldn’t possibly refrain from delving into other cuisines. I am simply enthralled by the various foods from around the world and love to cook different things. I particularly adore Italian and Thai cuisine. In fact, in our household Indian only gets a look in once in a while.

Debs - If you were to go to a resaturant, what foods would you choose to eat?

Kris - Even though I enjoy eating out, I don’t all that often. Most Sydney restaurants try to out do each other with the complexity of their dishes rather than the quality and freshness of the ingredients. There are a couple of really good restaurants in Orange serving locally produced meats, olive oils, cheeses, quality breads and tasty vegetables and I really enjoy long Sunday lunches at these every now and again.

Debs - As you have approx 8 acres of land which you are turning into an oasis for growing organic fruit & veg, plus herbs & spices, tell us more about it and did you acquire the land solely for that purpose?

Kris - It wasn’t the sole purpose but it was a major factor. We wanted somewhere away from Sydney where the pace was slower, the people friendlier and the environment cleaner. Sydney is a great place for young, ambitious, outgoing individuals but not so good when you want to slow down a little and smell the roses. However, I only want to slow down, I don’t want to stop. Orange is such a ‘foodie’ place with dozens of boutique vineyards, several olive groves, cherry, pear and apple farms, small livestock producers etc. etc. etc and they do a lot to showcase what they proudly have with various activities throughout the year that bring people in from all over the state. The region also has a good climate with reasonable rainfall (most years but not this year) for growing a wide of variety of fruit and vegetables. It’s perfect for someone with a passion for good food.

Debs - You have 2 books to date. Any plans for a third?

Kris - My third book Thai Cookery Secrets is due to be published April next year and we are in negotiations to do a fourth book based on slow cooking.

Debs - Tell us more about your business where you teach others to cook.

Kris - I’ve been holding classes at the Orange Regional Cooking School. It’s a pass time rather than a business although I intend to do more of it once the house is completed. I’ve designed the kitchen to enable me to have groups of people in for cooking demonstrations while they enjoy a glass or two of the local wines before savouring the dishes we prepare and a tour of the gardens.

Debs - What is the best meal/and the worst, you have experienced whilst dining out.

Kris - There have certainly been many memorable meals, but the best of them were usually prepared in someone’s home. The best meal I’ve eaten out was probably at Lolli Redini’s in Orange. She is such a good, innovative chef who doesn’t try to be too clever. The flavours of the dishes she served were lively and fresh and the combinations of ingredients unusual but cleverly balanced. From memory, I had an entrée of King Prawns on a bed of shredded papaya, avocado, mint and red onion in an Asian style dressing. A sprinkling of crispy fried onion bits over the top gave a lovely contrasting crunch to the creamy avocado. The flavours and textures were just divine. The main was a deliciously moist duck breast on a truffle mash with a sauce that was both sweet and savoury. Served with a side of fresh tender-crisp vegetables it was perfect. A delicious, light chocolate mousse completed the meal. The worst meal was probably also at Lolli Redini’s some months later! She lost interest in the restaurant for a while and her replacement just didn’t have it. The entrée was greasy and lacking flavour, the duck was raw, yes, almost completely uncooked and the steamed vegetables just didn’t arrive.

Debs - There are a lot of people out there who would love to write a cookery book. Tell us your experiences of this and are there any tips you would offer those who would like to do the same?

Kris - If you have an idea that you believe will appeal to people, put it down on paper and send it off to a handful of publishers who publish in that category. Don’t become despondent if your idea isn’t accepted straight away. Keep trying. I was so convinced that an Indian restaurant cook book would be popular when I first wrote The Curry Secret, I was prepared to self-publish if necessary. However, I didn’t have to. I sent a synopsis to 6 publishers and one of them, Elliott Rightway, liked it. I think if you believe in something enough, you can make it happen.

Debs - Tell us a little more about yourself for instance your family etc.

Kris - Not much more to say other than what I’ve already said and what is on my website and blog. I have two beautiful daughters, Lisa and Nicolla, both of whom live in Australia and a gorgeous little dog who is the baby of the family and goes with us everywhere.

Photo of me and my doggy.

About 3 years ago, my good friend, Fran, invited us over for a curry. I was blown away as it was so good. I said to Fran 'this is the best curry you've ever made for us, can I have the recipe'. This was when I discovered Kris Dhillon's first book, The Curry Secret.

Thanks Fran, for introducing me to Kris's book. I ordered the book from Amazon and very shortly afterwards discovered a new book was due to be published (April 09), so I waited patiently for April to arrive and ordered Kris's latest book, The New Curry Secret.

April happens to coincide with the birth of my blog and I very quickly started to publish some of Kris's recipes.

Shortly afterwards, Kris contacted me via email to thank me for publishing her recipes and also to inform me she now has a blog too.

We quickly became friends and hence my excitment when Kris agreed to be this month's victim for an interview.

Christmas Panini

2009-11-21T14:35:00.004+01:00

Like most of us I guess, I've been thinking about christmas lately. It was nearly lunchtime and I decided to try a little experiment.

I love panini, usually with a filling of tomato, basil & mozzarella; but today I fancied a festive sandwich and having cranberry sauce & brie cheese in the fridge, what could be better?

Panini bread is something that has been on my list of breads to try for a while, but too late for today, so a compromise was in store.

Having a thick sliced white loaf in the cupbard I decided to sample the christmas panini with normal bread and made up my mind that, if good, I'll definitely be making panini bread very soon.

I do not possess a panini press, so it occured to me that I could virtually achieve the same affect from my griddle pan.

Success, it worked and it was delicious too. It definitely reminded me of christmas and I'll be making this again. Next time with real panini bread and with the addition of leftover turkey, yum.

Take 2 slices of white bread and cover one slice with slices of brie (I cut off the rind as I absolutely hate it)
Spread the other slice of bread with cranberry sauce.
Close up to form your sandwich.

In the meantime, place your griddle pan on the hob and get it really hot.

Now spread a little olive oil over one side of your sandwich. Once the griddle is ready, place your sandwich into the pan (olive oil side down). Now immediately spread the top side of sandwich with olive oil.

Press down hard with a fish slice and after a minute or so, lift up carefully to see if it's browned enough. Once nicely browned, flip over to brown off the other side.

DONE

Cut your sandwich in half and enjoy.

Brilliant. The cheese was perfectly melted and gooey, the cranberry tasted sweet against the brie and if I shut my eyes, it felt just like christmas.

Christmas delicousness on a plate.

Participating in souper sundays with kahakai kitchen.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2009-11-14T15:43:00.008+01:00

I had not heard of pulled pork until earlier this year. Typically, once you are acquainted with something, you see & hear of it all the time. So, I decided to look into this as it appears to be so popular. I read lots of recipes on the net and there are so many variations and stories about where and how it originated, I got completely confused at first and put it to the bottom of the list of dishes to try.

It kept playing on my mind though and I finally decided to give it a go.....

Having been shopping and found the best piece of pork I could I told Barry we were going to try something new and his face said it all. He obviously didn't like the sound of it at all. But like most new dishes I had a feeling he'd love it once all the hard work was done.

I decided on a site I liked and chose their rub mix to start me off, it's from baby back grill. I used only the dry rub, as I already had some BBQ sauce in the fridge, left over from Chinese BBQ spare ribs, see my recipe for the ribs here

So I'd purchased this lovely piece of pork and I could tell Barry had decided he REALLY wasn't going to like this because his exact words were "we've nothing planned for dinner tomorrow, cut it in half and use the rest for a roast tomorrow evening"! Having realised it was quite a large piece for just the two of us, I agreed and carried on with a little pulled pork recipe. I'll tell you now, he lived to regret it because he couldn't stop eating it! I did mutter "I told you so" so many times, I lost count LOL.

So here's my (HALF)little piece of pork with the rub mix well massaged into the pork.

Before making up the rub mix, preheat your oven to 110C.
Dry rub mix:-
1 tbsp mild paprika (I used spanish pimienta dulce)
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all the ingredient together in a bowl. Place the pork into a roasting tin, rub some olive oil into the meat and sprinkle the rub all over the meat and massage in.

Cover with foil and place in the oven. The recommend time was to roast for 6 hours, but being such a small piece I actually only cooked it for 4 hours.

Turn halfway through cooking time.

Traditionally this dish is eaten with other dishes, generally coleslaw. However, not having any coleslaw in I decided to make up some dressed lettuce. Well I did now have 4 hours to kill whilst waiting for this delicious pork to cook.

For the dressed lettuce I don't have set measurements.

Wash and dry some cos lettuce leaves. I think I used about 5 leaves.

In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard. Add a little lemon juice and white wine vinegar to taste, then season with salt & black pepper.

Finely shred the lettuce and mix with the dressing. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Once the pork is cooked, leave it to cool slightly, then simply shred it by pulling it apart with 2 forks (just how they do in the chinese restaurant with the peking duck, I'm sure you've seen it done).

Now you are ready to mix in the BBQ Sauce, shown here. Simply mix all the ingredients together, then bring to a boil in a small saucepan, before mixing with the pulled pork.

Now we're ready for the best bit. Compiling your sandwich.

Cut slices from a fresh white loaf and butter them. Pile on your pulled pork, mixed with the BBQ sauce as shown in the photo above.

Now add on top of that the dressed lettuce, as much or as little as you fancy. Now top with the second slice of bread and slice in half. Done.

The pictures only show one sandwich, but the recipe actually made 4 rounds. I had one sandwich for my lunch, no prizes for guessing who ate the rest!!!! Despite his initial concerns.

Yes, we did have the other half of pork as a roast next day and boy did he moan, saying he'd rather have more pulled pork.

Sometimes, a gal just can win, grrrrr.

This was soooooo delicious, I wish I had done it before. But, never fear, I'll be doing it again very soon.

There's only one change I'd make and that is to leave out the 5 spice to the BBQ sauce. Well the sauce was originally for chinese ribs, I just happended to have some left over.

I'll be even more delicous next time. Shall I save you some?

Chinese Spicy Salt & Pepper Spare Ribs

2009-11-13T14:21:00.004+01:00

I always love these spare ribs when I go to our favourite chinese restaurant, so sometime ago, I decided to try them at home.

I followed a recipe and was just so dissapointed. The flavour was there, but the ribs were as tough as old boots.

When I get a dish in my head I want to be able to create at home successfully, I'll generally find another recipe or turn into Heston Blummenthal and go about creating it 'my way' to achieve perfection LOL.

It worked, see how delicious these look. Well they truly were tender and scrumptious with all the flavour too. Try them & see. Be quick though, they won't last long.

We often have ribs and the ones I usually do, Chinese BBQ style, are sticky and sweet, see the recipe for BBQ Spare Ribs, here but sometimes you tire of the same recipes and want something different for a change.

So, here's my recipe for Chinese Spicy Salt & Pepper Spare Ribs:-

Spice mix:-
500g Pork spare ribs
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
1 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Marinade:-
1 tbsp Light soy sauce
1 tsp Caster sugar
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
ground black pepper

Grind all the ingredients for the spice mix in a grinder to a powder.

Take just half of the spice mixture and toss the ribs in the mixture to coat well & set aside.

Meanwhile prepare the marinade by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Now add the ribs coated in the spice mix and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Bring a large pan of water to a boil and add the ribs with the marinade ingredients. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender when tested with a sharp vegetable knife.

Drain the ribs and pat dry. Now toss again in the other half of spice mixture to coat.

Fill a wok with oil, or heat a deep fat fryer and once the oil has reached 180c deep fry the ribs in batches for 1-2 minutes. Deep fry the ribs again for a second time. Drain on kitchen paper, transfer to a platter and serve.

Go on give them a try, you won't be dissapointed and I'd love to read your comments.