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Christmas lights of a whole other kind, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.
Suw’s father was possibly a bit enthusiastic with the brandy on our Christmas pudding (a very moist English fruit cake for my countrymen who might be impossibly confused about the idea of setting a pudding alight). When I flambé things, the flames usually die down after only a short while, leaving the dessert warmed but otherwise unaffected. This poor pud went on flaming for about five minutes, setting some of the raisins on fire, hence the bright orange jet on the side. The result was a bit of charcoal taste, like when marshmallow toasting turns the white globs of fluff into sugary infernos.
I shouldn’t complain too much because at least it allowed me to get some great action shots.
moar funny pictures
LOLcat, Suw and I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I think that I’ve finally figured out what I’m going to make for Thanksgiving dinner with Suw. Baked Egg crepe custard cups with french beans with pumpkin custard for dessert. Yum.
And this little bit of holiday crunk video, the Turkey Wrap from the folks at BoingBoingTV.
I walked into my favourite Italian deli up the street, Gazzano’s, only to find the queue stretching longer than than at a post office during the recent strikes. I was just about to head back dejected to the office canteen, when I thought to go up to Exmouth Market and see what was on offer. I often have a Breton galette or sometimes a veggie burrito, but this time I spotted the Sporeboys’ stand with a lovely basket of wild mushrooms and some risotto on offer. Yum.
There was only one problem with this, and that was Suw and I make mushroom risotto pretty frequently. Suw leaves me to saute the mushrooms in Amontillado sherry because it has such a lovely nutty character that really brings out the best
in the mushrooms. She makes the rice, and she’s got it down to a science. It’s pretty common for us to have this meal.
How did Sporeboys’ stand up? Well, I think they were being overly cautious with the salt. It was a little bland. As Suw pointed out, they were probably taking care not to use too much salt as it sat on a simmer for a long time. Oh well, I’ll remember to add a little extra salt to taste next time. But for a fiver, it was well worth it.
Technorati Tags: Exmouth Market, London, mushroom
I’m quite behind in my blogging these days, but here is one of the pictures from my recent quick trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On the last night in town, we went around the corner from our hotel for dinner, and on the way, we passed this stand selling durian fruit – known as the ‘king’ or ‘god of fruits’. Malaysians love it, but for those who didn’t grow up with the fruit and acquire the taste, the biggest challenge is to get one of these things past your nose. Even sitting in the stand, it gives off a stomach wrenching stench not too different from rotten eggs. But it’s part of the vibrant night life of Kuala Lumpur, an amazing city.
One of the things that I miss living in London is Mexican food. Crazy Homies in Westbourne Park is good. It’s a bit LA fusion for my blood, but for lack of other options, it does the trick. The tequilla is hideously expensive, but then I have a soft spot for Patrón Añejo. About the only place that I can get that cheaply is across the border from Yuma Arizona, where my parents spend the winter.
Apart from the lack of options in London, Suw also can’t stomach spicy food, whether it’s Mexican, Thai or Brick Lane Vindaloo. That’s why I take the opportunity when Suw is travelling for work to indulge my love of Mexican food.
Now, strictly this isn’t Mexican food. As a matter of fact, the black bean recipe is Cuban, or so I was told more than a decade ago when I was looking for a cheap, just got out of university recipe. Garlic, onions sauteed until translucent, then some black beans and vinegar. I added a little tomato, some cumin and some cayenne. Last week when I made it, I added some pickled jalapeños. I guess it makes it a bit Trans-Atlantic that I use Welsh extra sharp cheddar. I also managed to get some tomatillo salsa at the Waitrose down the street. That was nice.
A little tequila would have been nice, but I can’t really get good tequilla here. Yeah, I can get some Cuervo, but unless I have fixings for margaritas, I prefer things like Patrón Silver or maybe a good reposado. (Go to Wikipedia to get the lowdown on tequillas.) Of course, Negra Modelo always is good to wash down the heat. I can get that at Crazy Homies or the Texas Embassy Cantina, a bizarrely named and placed restaurant near Trafalgar.
I wish that I could help Suw develop a taste for Mexican food, but this seems like an allergy thing not just a taste thing. She says that peppers make her ill. In having dinner with her parents, they’ve thought something was on-fire spicy that I thought was refreshing.
But when Suw is away, I always indulge my taste for Mexican food and jazz. I guess that’s why we work. We can have different tastes in food, music and a fair few other things, but we still give each other space to be ourselves.
technorati tags:blackbeans, tomatillo, tortillas
Suw doesn’t like spicy food. In fact, she actually says that she is allergic to capcasins.
I’m just the opposite. I love spicy food. My father got his MBA at East Texas State University, and I joke that I was weaned on chili. That’s a bit of an overstatement, but I love hot food, especially Mexican food. When Suw asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said a good Mexican meal. Those aren’t that easy to come by in London, although if someone knows a place that I don’t know about, please leave me a tip in the comments. (Oh yes, and the Texas Embassy Cantina doesn’t count.)
One of the few places that I’ve found is Crazy Homies in Westbourne Park. It feels a little too much LA to me, but the food is good, and I can get my favourite Mexican beer there, Negra Modelo. Suw, despite her dislike of hot food, took me there for my birthday last night. Hot food, good beer, and a shot of Patrón Añejo (very dear, but it was a celebration) to chase it all down. Here’s to another year.
It’s long overdue that I blog a little bit about cooking. Today, Suw and I went down to Borough Market, one of our favourite places to spend Saturday.
I took this picture at the Furness Fish, Poultry & Game stall in the autumn of 2005. Suw and I often go shopping for dinner at the Market before stopping off at Wine Wharf to rest after fighting the crowds.
Borough Market is probably just as popular with American tourists as it is with Londoners, based on the accents around the market. It’s now one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of London. It’s really best to get to there before noon, or else you’ve really got to get your sharp elbows out. From noon to 2 pm, it’s almost impossible to move.
We buy olive oil in bulk at Borough Olive Company, and we buy French rosé straight from the barrel at a stall just down the way from Furness. I buy my morning cappuccino from Monmouth Coffee Company as well as freshly roast beans. Bedales wine sellers is a place to really do damage to the credit card. They have a great selection of New World and European wines. Suw and I found an amazing Barolo Chinato at Bedales, a counter-intuitive dessert wine of barolo with “a natural infusion of China Calissaja bark, rhubarb root, and about ten other aromatic herbs”.
I suppose I shouldn’t rattle on so much about this because it will only mean that more people find their way to Borough Market. It’s one of those wonderful places in London that you want to keep secret so it doesn’t become overwhelmed.
Suw and I went to Furness and bought some Silver Pomfrets. I’d never had the fish before, and neither had Suw. We put them under the grill.
Now, for my American friends, the grill is what we in the US call the broiler. It was one of the earliest separated by a common language laughs that Suw and I had. She told me to stick crumpets under the grill, and I thought what did the BBQ have to do with crumpets and why would we stick them in the coals. This made even less sense seeing as it was November, and starting the grill seemed a little extreme in the late autumn.
The fish were lovely broiled. Silver Pomfrets live in shallow coastal waters and feed on plankton. They don’t have a strong fishy taste but rather a delicate light white fish taste. Suw made some lemon butter, and we had asparagus from Spain with shaved parmagiano reggiano. Suw noted that the cheese, aged at 28-months, was older than our relationship. This made me feel slightly impetuous, asking her to marry me after only going out about 18 months so I decided not to dwell on it. The meal was simple and lovely. Great ingredients don’t need too much embellishment.
technorati tags:boroughmarket, food, cooking, fish, wine
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