Thai Salmon Parcels

Since I’ve been living without an oven for a couple of months now, I’ve had to become inventive. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve found there are certain things you just can’t cook without an oven (lasagna being one of them). However there are many things you can cook using hobs and a bit of imagination.

Weekend in the East End

I had a dreamy weekend cycling along pretty canals (apparently the East of London of sinking in them), digging up old ladies gardens, watching the Big C and enjoying spending time with Yvette.

Comfort food!

The boys rush off to the gig in Berkhampstead that they is no way I am willing to trek to on this cold, dark Wednesday night. The perfect opportunity to spend the evening lying in bed, catching up on Homeland and chopping on Rachel Comfort Food!

The last of the summer salads!

I’m feeling herb and pulse crazy! As far as I’m concerned, chuck a pile of herbs, pulses, olive oil, lemon juice, perhaps some lightly fried onions and garlic in a bowl. Add in caramelized red peppers or crumbled feta or diced cucumber, tomato and spring onion. 

Roasted Aubergine with Fried Onion and Chopped Lemon

Aubergine, feta and lemon. Perfect – on its own or with pasta. But aubergine, feta and lemon with aromatic, caramelized onion? Interesting suggestion Yotam Ottolenghi.

Apple, Sultana and Walnut cake

Baking requires an exceptional eye. Says Marigold. I pondered this as I run up and down the stairs to check on my cake every 5 minutes. It looked golden brown and delicious, sprang back when pressed but persisted to fail the skewer test. With mighty strength, I resisted the temptation to take it out early. Apparently fruity cakes (which happen to be my favourite type of cake) are especially problematic because they take longer and cook and then carry on cooking after you take them out of the oven.

Chicken Salad with Garlic and Yoghurt

Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes are always delicious and usually vegetarian so I was intrigued by his chicken salad with garlic and yoghurt which I caught sight off in the Guardian. And anyone who has met me twice knows yoghurt, salad and garlic are surefire winners. Plus I am always on the hunt for cooking chicken without drying it out because dry chicken is the stuff of horror movies.

Fennel and Lemon Risotto

Organic vegetable boxes! What fun!

Ruth gave me some fennel from hers haul last Saturday and I spent a large part of this week debating with myself what to do with it. I don’t buy fennel often; I’m not entirely sure why, maybe its because its strong flavour demands forethought, maybe because in my head it is a vegetable for special occasions.

Feta and Spinach Souffle

After a long week of moving house and starting an internship, I’m finally able to get back into the kitchen. Yay!

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

So I was a little dubious of cooking with pomegranate, more so because it required a special trip to Waitrose (because apparently they are too exotic for Coop) and an obscene effort to extract the seeds. I was happy to swallow my words. The contrasting tastes of the sweet-bitter pomegranate, the salty feta and the subtly flavoured patties bounced of each other. The herby yoghurt and creamy avocado provided welcome moisture. I found this recipe attractive and tasty, a lovely vegetarian summery meal, not that I am naïve enough to hope for a summer in this country.

Carrot cake

 I never imagined it would be so traumatic cooking with my 20-year-old sister, newly returned from university in Exeter. It was a titanic struggle. I now feel physically and mentally drained, almost unable to write this post.

Egg-fried rice noodles

So this evening in an ideal world I would be preparing for my interviews tomorrow. But I am desperate to tell you about what I cooked last night although I’m afraid I don’t have a photo at the moment because I forgot to take one in my haste to eat. I will add one soon because I will definitely be cooking this again.

Aubergine in garlic and tomato

I’m going to share with you a very simple recipe for aubergines in tomato. The beauty of this recipe is that it requires very few ingredients and very little hard manual labour in the kitchen but it is absolutely delicious, especially if you are an aubergine fanatic like me. The aubergines should be so tender as to melt in the mouth and enveloped in a rich, garlicky tomato sauce. I served it with (soft) boiled eggs and some crusty walnut bread; the contrasting textures balanced each other perfectly. It made a perfect light summer-time lunch. 

Chicken souvlaki

I fancied kebabs on Monday because it felt like summer. It may be only March but the sky was blue with a couple of funny-shaped clouds. Ed, Dexter and I went on a long walk across Nomansland, stopping for a pint and a coke and a bowl of water in a sunny beer garden in Sandridge.

Chorizo, pepper and pork stew

Last Saturday night, I thought I was going to Flo’s for a quiet cuddle with her staffie, Dexter and then I got a call at 4 o’clock demanding that we spend the evening at mine. With little food in the house I was forced to dive into the freezer and luckily I found us some lovely looking pork steaks. 

Mousaka

I wanted to start this blog with my favourite food of all time. Spanokopita. Filo pastry brushed with olive oil and thinly layered with a spinach, feta, dill and egg filling. I could happily eat this dish morning, noon and night. The enjoyment I have had in the making and eating of this dish (from the age of about 8 or 9) marked my first sense of pride in my Greek heritage and my first feeling of passion and pleasure for cooking and combining ingredients. The recipe I have always followed (I know of the existence of no better one) was borrowed from my Yia Yia (grandmother).