Happy Monday!!

I’ve been meaning to write this post for forever so I’m just going to delve right in. It’s more of a personal post than a strictly food related one, so I hope you’ll forgive if it gets a bit rambly. As I may have told you, for the cooking course I was doing in the States I had to complete a number of externship hours working in various food related establishments. I also wanted to get as much experience as possible, so took on a couple of part time jobs in addition to my externships. In fact, for a while I thought I would definitely want to get into the food industry full time … but then I had a little life setback which sort of put a temporary rest to that idea. (I’ll explain more about that later!) This means that for the past three months I’ve been working all over the place – everywhere from a restaurant to an artisan ice cream maker to a relatively large scale bakery. It’s been pretty crazy – but also really fun – and this is the first time I’ve ever really collected my thoughts on all of it. Although some of it was REALLY challenging – turns out I’m REALLY slow at making candied peel – it was also amazing and I definitely learned so much. Given that my mind is like a sieve (fun youth?! Old age?!) its extremely lucky that I wrote down many of the lessons as I went along. I’m going to split up my summaries into a little series – and I’m going to start with my first work placement at a tiny artisan ice cream maker here in London.

(An ice cream maker who also happens to make the best ice cream in the UK. Smug much?)

Okay guys – you know me and ice cream, this was BY FAR my favourite job. For two weeks I worked with Kitty Travers, helping her to prep ingredients to make ice cream to via La Grotta Ices. Kitty also lectures on ice cream at various universities and designs a range of ice cream for a well known restaurant. Working with her was really a lesson in tiny artisan production – it is literally one incredible lady running the entire business and making ALL the ice cream. Kitty doesn’t use any machines – apart from to churn the ice cream – so much of the work is prepping the fruit and add-ins. (Kitty is famous for her fruit ice creams and once told me her inspiration was to create a means for people to get the incredible taste of fresh fruit, with the creamy texture and mouth feel of ice cream).

The difference in how this ice cream tastes to industrially produced ice cream is unreal. Like seriously. Its like comparing homemade loaf to wonder bread – only the best kind of home made because Kitty obviously knows her trade so unbelievably well. Not only that, but she also knows ice cream so well, she can afford to be adventurous with flavours. On the first day she offered me a taste of cucumber and sour cream sorbet – to which I gave a slightly alarmed ‘um OKAY SURE!’ response… and then ate probably the best sorbet of my life. It’s a testament to her experience with food that these experiments turn out well – when I later decided to add some black pepper to my white chocolate ice cream (made in my own home!) the results were not nearly as promising.

Working with Kitty was also wonderful because it was just so calm and peaceful. Basically it’s just her working away in a tiny little kitchen that was once a georgian green grocer in a picturesque part of London. She’s like the poster child for aritsan food production. Every day we would just put Radio 4 on, brew some coffee on the stove and get to work. The downside is – as I’m sure you can imagine – the production margins. Doing it all by hand, and yourself, using only the highest quality ingredients.. its not a strategy the modern world is sympathetic to. Kitty has supplemental income through her teaching, her ice cream design and other food projects she has going on (named as one of the ten best young chefs to look out for, she can certainly stay as busy as she needs to!). Kitty also works 12 hour days, many days of the week – and although it might not feel like work in the same way as being a customer services rep does, it still impedes on your free time. I think Kitty has intentions to open up a full time shop – currently she sells at food markets! – and I know then she will need to look at means of expansion. I’m sure she will find people to keep up her high standards, but it will definitely be a change (a good one though because more people need access to her ice cream!). I can see fully the value of the statement ‘if you want a job done properly, you have to do it yourself’. In any case though, it was an incredible experience and a valuable lesson in how food made by hand with love just does taste different. Anyone going anywhere NEAR London, must try La Grotta Ices!

Lessons Learned:

ALWAYS use the best quality ingredients you can afford: Anything that doesn’t taste good on it’s own, is unlikely to taste good as an ingredient. Kitty buys only the freshest, in season fruit and tastes it all before putting it into her ice cream. Likewise with using fresh, unhomogenised organic milk and cream! Obviously we can’t all afford these things all the time, but be aware that ice cream is one of those foods (unlike soup for example!) where each ingredient really shines through.

Full fat will ALWAYS taste better. You can make frozen yogurt with low or non fat yogurt – but try using full fat greek style and a decent amount of sweetener. The results will be exponentially better. Adding a bit of condensed milk too yogurt based ices also gives a wonderful flavour.

Patience: After you make the custard base for an ice cream always allow it so sit in the fridge at least overnight before churning in an ice cream maker. This will allow the flavours to develop properly and give a much more rounded result. Sorbet on the other hand, can be churned immediately.

Recipes to Emulate:

Rasberry Sorbet (made with GOOD quality raspberries)

Chesnut Custard Ice Cream

Parfait Bars! (pictured below).

 I dont have any specific recipes – those are just ideas for flavour combo’s I particularly loved – I guess just follow the good quality ingredients advice above!

Thank you guys so much for your sweet comments on yesterdays post – totally made my morning! I really want to do a post on the various – and I mean VARIOUS – jobs I have had over the past few months. Since completing my course it’s been a whirlwind of externships and part time gigs – from making pickles to churning ice cream (my favourite of course, but sadly not one with the potential to go long term). I’m really aiming to get a post up early next week!

In the meantime though I had to tell you about this totally delicious dinner I had yesterday.

We spent last Christmas at Louis aunt and uncle, who live in the English countryside and are basically the best cooks ever. I think I talked about them before? That’s their spice rack in the picture above, and their cookbook selection is no less impressive. I can spend hours getting lost in it, most especially with a nice bourbon by my side. This Christmas I spent a particularly long time pursuing their selection of Nigella cookbooks.

Now, truthfully Nigellas TV personality is not someone I’m particularly drawn to (understatement). On TV her movie star nose, perfectly blow dried hair and endless finger sucking are kind off too much for me, but in print her recipes are actually pretty appealing. She is definitely a chef I think I have the same taste in food as and, whilst I try to avoid lingering on the dessert section for too long (my poor hips), the salad section is definitely appealing. This is where her recipe for Asian Chicken Salad comes in!

This recipe is actually more of a ‘strategy’ than a specific recipe as such. It’s not really the salad or chicken part you need to pay attention to – just make the chicken and salad however you fancy! – it’s really the DRESSING that’s so important. As a major fan of Asian style salads in restaurants, I’ve never quite been able to nail the sweet/ tangy/ unami dressing balance… but finally I think it’s happened. Of course everybody’s tastes are a little different, so what I’ve written below is more a template than anything else. You’ll need to tweak the amounts to meet your own preferences.. but these are the ingredients to start with!

As a final note – this salad was really delicious last night, but it was also one of those occasions where the leftovers are even better. Isn’t that always the case with coleslaw style salads? I WOLFED down the second portion at lunch and am already thinking of making another double batch for lunches all next week. On account of all the cabbage and fish sauce and such this is possible more of a ‘Mommy Meal’  – but it’s a totally fine one at that. Make it soon Asian food lovers!!

Speak soon friends! xo

Asian Chicken Salad – adapted from Nigellas recipe.

Serves 2 – 3 VERY generously

2 chicken breasts, ideally free range

1 small white cabbage, cored and shredded

2 medium carrots, grated

4 inch ginger, peeled and grated on box grater

2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced (I love onion flavour – you may want to reduce to 1 onion though!)

1 – 2 small thai chillies, de-seeded (or not if you prefer things spicy!) and finely sliced.

2 limes, juiced (smash the limes against a hard surface briefly before juicing, to ensure they are easier to juice)

4 tablespoons unrefined brown sugar  (I used Sucanat)

2 – 4 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 – 2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 – 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

1 – 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or omit if you don’t like using vegetable oils – I generally dont but make an exception for Asian style salads!)

1 handful of mint, chopped

1 handful of cilantro, chopped

handful of cashew nuts (optional, but tasty! toasted almonds would probably be nice too…)

1) Bake chicken breasts using favoured method. Once cooked remove the skin (making sure to eat it yourself!) and then shred or chop the chicken, and set aside.

2) Combine next 5 salad ingredients in a large bowl and set aside

3) Combine 6 dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a lid. You can either whisk with a fork or shake to combine. I would start with the lower amounts of all ingredients and then taste to adjust. I like very tangy acidic flavours and I ended up using all the rice vinegar (in addition to the lime juice!) and even adding some extra fish sauce. However, everybodys tastes are different so just balance it according to your preference. I like to dip some cabbage in it, so I can get an idea of how it will taste with the veggies! The dressing will also develop in flavour as it marinates the salad.

4) Once you are happy with the dressing toss over the vegetables and mix in the chicken. Add the chopped herbs at the last possible moment so they keep their colour. Try to allow the salad to marinate for at least one hour before serving.

Happy New Years Guys!

Hope you all had a wonderful one! We went to a delicious and amazingly fun party at a friends house (many thanks to Alan Stewart for cooking us delicious pork and a totally awesome salad). It was one of those parties where we were meant to leave at one am, but ended up leaving at 4am… a good sign right!? We then spent New Years Day firmly attached to the sofa, watching a total of four movies and eating a total of 2 1/2 containers of ice cream. I’m normally such a restless person that sometimes it just nice to have an excuse (if you can, uh, call it that..) just to do NOTHING ALL DAY.

I start a new job tomorrow so I’m currently just getting ready to truly appreciate my last day of total relaxation. I’ve also been reading this really interesting article on New Years Resolutions, which has definitely inspired me to try to make some New Years resolutions of my own. You know how I love a bit of pre-emptive planning! In the meantime, I wanted to share a sort of recap of my favourite recipes of 2012. Some of the recipes are links to other blogs (blogs I love and get great recipes from, which you should totally check out!)… I hope you can find some fresh foodie inspiration to brighten up your January.

Steak and Chimchurri Sauce – One of my new favourite meals EVER. If you use nice steak it isn’t cheap – but it is delicious, especially with sweet potato fries. There is also lots of quite reputable evidence which indicates some of the compounds in fresh herbs like parsley, help to mitigate the possible carcinogens formed when charring meat. So, as usual, traditional cultures have it right when it comes to serving ideas.

Thanks to Simone for introducing me to chimchurri!

Chicken and Lemon Shallot Sauce – This meal is so fresh and delicious.. and you know how healthy I consider both chicken and butter to be. Be aware the lemon taste is very pronounced – Louis who is more a fan of rich sauces doesn’t enjoy it as much, but I’m just so into tangy acidic flavours. Definitely serve it with steamed greens or broccoli to help mop up the sauce!

Orange and Beef Stew – One of my favourite recipes on this blog, full stop. It’s so warming and hearty AND it tastes better as time goes on. Stews are basically the English version of chillies – the perfect winter dishes and very inexpensive to make.

White Chicken Chilli – Always, always, always.

Baked Pears and Salted Caramel Ice Cream – Now, you know I feel about salted caramel ice cream and I finally got around to making some of my own. I followed sweet Tricias recipe except without the added salted caramel prailine bits. Although we had some initial disasters making the salted caramel – when you think the caramel is burnt, just go with your instincts – eventually it all came right! We served the ice cream with a variety of things.. from cookies to cake.. but my favourite was a simple baked pear concoction. The ice cream is so sweet you dont need any further dessert!

What were your favourite food discoveries of 2012?

And may your 2013 be filled with love, joy, laughter, excitement and good intentions realised! xo

Okay, so I realise that isnt the MOST sophisticated photograph to kick off a post about my favourite easy cookie with… But I can explain!

You see that cookie up there is the lone remaining representation of a batch of 24 cookies that I made just two days ago. After spending last week tweaking my favourite cookie recipe a bit, I made a double batch and then spent most of the weekend morning trying to get some light to photograph them. (ANY form of photography in England in December makes me a feel like resident of the North Pole… tips gratefully received!). Luckily for me I did manage to get a few good pics .. after which I ‘celebrated’ by stuffing myself with about 12 cookies …and then hastily packing off the rest to anyone who would take them… as a matter of serious EMERGENCY.

Oh, and then I realised I lost my camera cord. Seriously guys it is nowhere and although I can see all these photos that actually look GREAT – but I just cannot for the life of me work out how to get them onto my computer.

Truthfully though, if light wasn’t an issue, I could easily have made and photographed another batch in about 30 minutes. Really the reason this recipe is my favourite is partly because of how simple it is.

This cookie recipe uses all standard pantry ingredients (the cookie recipe I’m sharing next is a bit more ‘exotic’!) and is basically one bowl. The cookies take under ten minutes to bake and are unbelievably forgiving. The only slight downside to the cookies is that they are not cookies that taste best fresh out of the oven; for starters they need to cool down in order to firm up, and for a second thing their taste seems to actually develop a bit over a couple of days. Don’t ask me why! Anyways, although that makes them a little less perfect for eager taste testers (hello me), it makes them great holiday gifts. The taste to me is reminiscent of viennese chocolate shortbreads and although they can’t really be considered healthy, at least they are more sustaining that other cookies and they don’t have any refined sugar. They are also gluten and egg free!

I’ll be updating the photos when my new camera cord arrives (obviously this is an ideal time of year to be ordering from Amazon!). In the meantime I hope you like them!

Super Easy Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free!) 

12 cookies 

• 80g butter (about 5 tablespoons)
• 60g unrefined muscavado sugar (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 100g almond flour (about 1 cup – I’ve used plain ground almonds here and it has worked fine too!)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 50g chopped chocolate (this is about 1/2 a cup – you can use chocolate chips, but I find chocolate bars to be less expensive and better quality on the whole!)

1) Heat the butter and sugar over a medium heat, whisking constantly until the sugar is incorporated. Take care not to burn the butter and take off heat once melted and incorporated. Stir in vanilla once it is off the heat (heating vanilla extract ruins the flavour).

2) In a medium bowl whisk together the almond flour, baking soda and salt (whisking is the lazy mans version of sifting!). Once whisked, pour in the butter-sugar-vanilla concoction and mix well with a wooden spoon. Allow to cool to room temperature and then stir in the chocolate bits. (Doing this before it is cool will result in melted chocolate which is kind of a pain!).

3) At this point it is best to chill the dough in the fridge for an hour or so as it will be easier to shape. In a pinch you can shape straight away though. (You can also freeze the dough at this point!). In any case you’ll want your oven heated to 180/ 350 for when you intend to start baking. You’ll also want a baking sheet lined with parchment and a tablespoon measuring spoon.

4) Shape dough by separating out tablespoons full of the dough, putting them on the parchment and flattening with the back of a spoon. You should get about 12 cookies. Bake in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes.. take them out when they start to brown around the edges. They’ll still be pretty soft when they come out as they will continue to harden afterwards. Leave to cool for at least an hour – they are best eaten a day or two after baking.

These cookies are slightly crumbly by nature – but I think thats part of their charm. They’re a little like a chocolate shortbread and are some of the best tasting super simple cookies Ive ever made.

(Source)

My absolute baking love is almond flour.

I first discovered it when I had a slice of Spanish Almond cake at our local Farmers Market and I immediately went home and baked an entire cake of it. Despite my incourigble sweet tooth, I am NOT a ‘spontaneous baker’; like I have ‘bake gluten free mince pies’ scheduled for exactly 8pm on the 22nd of December… already. So really, what I did speaks volume of how I felt about that slice.

Since that day my love for almond flour has only grown and it is now pretty much the only flour – bar coconut flour and the occasional bit of barley or sorghum flour – that I actually bake with. Here is why!

1. Flavour

For me, the actual flavour is incomparable. Almond flour is sweeter than regular flour, but in a subtle way; consider the natural sweetness of almonds as compared to grains. So good!

2. Texture

Almond flour cakes pretty much always turn out soft and luxurious – almost like a soaked sponge and I LOVE that. Sometimes almond flour goods taste a little under baked but I like that – it reminds me of cookie dough and beats a dry crumbly outcome any day. Plus, they keep so well!

3. Satiety

Almond flour is filled with protein; compare 20g per 100g vs the 13g in white flour. It’s also filled with healthful fats. Almond flour is far lower on the GI scale than white flour OR wholewheat flour- meaning it’s more likely to sustain you and less likely to cause a sugar rush- sugar drop – weight gain scenario.

4. Health

Almonds are wonderfully nourishing and the flour is no exception. Some of the fats may get damaged when you bake with it, but almonds are also filled with vitamin E which can mitigate this effect. Of course anything you bake will have added sweeteners and a fair bit of fat – so it would be misleading to consider any baked good a ‘diet friendly’ food. However, if you are going to eat sweets you might as well eat sweets that satisfy you .. both emotionally and physically. You should also store almond flour in the freezer to keep it fresh.

5. Forgiveness Factor. 

Almond flour is THE most forgiving flour to bake with. It doesn’t ever rise much, so no-one expects a perfect rise, and it also tastes so wonderful just on its own, that you can forgive a multitude of sins. Nobody has preconieved ideas about how the cake should look or taste – compared to say a Victorias sponge – so you can get away with being far more … um …’inventive’.

For me the only real downside of almond flour is the cost. But if you aspiring to a ‘eating a tiny bit of the perfect stuff’ diet even that shouldn’t be a concern.. You can still buy enough ground almonds to make a half a batch of cupcakes for less than Starbucks muffin.

Awesome.

How about you? Do you have any reasons to love – or hate! – using almond flour in cooking? AND any favourite recipes? I’m coming back with one of mine later this week!  

(Source)

Um. Um. Um. Where did the last five months go!?! Because I finished my course two weeks ago … and now I’m back on English soil, it all feels like SUCH a dream.

So, it seems if I am ever going to write a recap now had better be the moment.

Here goes! (Warning – it’s a long one…)

The Good Parts

1. Getting More Confident About Cooking. 

Duh.

This was interesting though, because my original idea – that I would graduate cooking school and be some Michelin style chef – turned out to be totally unfounded. (How I ever reconciled that idea with Challenges 1 & 2 is anybodys guess… but whatever). I did however certainly make progress.

I am the sort of person who will own an appliance for years without reading the mannual (I had my I-phone for 6 months before downloading an app, which drove my husband to near distraction .. but that’s another story). As it turned out, I am also the sort of cook who would add baking powder to a dish without the faintest idea of it’s purpose, or lightly sear meat just because that’s what the directions told me to do. I definitely feel like I now have a far better (um, existent?) understanding of the basics of cooking, and am way more confident in the face of creating a recipe. Cooking healthy meals for my mum and her friends, or taking muffins to someone who feels sick, have gone from being the interests I would like to have, to being the interests that I do.

2. Becoming More Aware of What I Think Is Healthy. 

Despite being a nutrition centred school, we made a LOT of different types of dishes at school, and I would NOT say our recipe book followed any definite mantra of what consistuted healthy. Speaking as someone who has followed every different health fad for the last seven years, it was weird to suddenly be expected to eat foods that I would NEVER consider making myself (gluten free pancakes with a side of quinoa and jam porridge, being a prime example).

Weird, but weird in a useful way.

Although the combination of eating this variety of foods, and my externship with culinary idol Zenbelly, actually re-affirmed to me my ‘principles of eating, it was still exciting to re-experience the other side. Personally, I’m back to a high fat, high protein, minimal grains type of deal … but I do that with the knowledge that endless quinoa salad really is not for me (and also that it DOES work for some).

I’m a big believer in constant self experimentation.

3. REALLY loving food. 

Before I started school I thought I really loved food – and I did! – but I also definitely still had anxieties attached to it. Could I eat this without getting fat? Wrinkly? Developing cancer? Foods – and meals – were either a healthy sum of their parts (a meaty protein with a lot of vegetables) or a total indulgence.

I’m now way more respectful of the time and energy it takes to produce a meal. I’ve come to realise that a) food is a neccessity (somehow before I always thought of it as an indulgence) and b) that the eating of good food should therefore be a celebration.

I’ve also finally accepted that eating – and food – are not some sort of mathematical equation. Nutrients exist, but we all respond differently to them and have different needs and different bodies. Eating similar amounts and similar dishes to my fellow students and teachers- all of us with totally different body types, energy levels, food needs etc – was eye opening. I think before I was always trying to control the output (which was basically how I looked) and moderating the input. I ate healthily, but my defining barometer of how healthy I was being would always be my body type (and distant second, how good I felt). I’ve now stopped viewing that as a measure of health and, although Im totally 7lbs heavier, I know my body definitely feels happier and more ‘me’. It was a great thing to just let go of!

(pic above is of a raw fruit cobbler my classmate and I made for raw food day… delicious if I do say so myself…)

The ‘Challenges’

1. Not Functioning well under stress. 

This SUCKED. Because in as much as I expected to graduate my course, hosting dinner parties for thousands, I did not actually imagine it being that hard. I thought I would go in every day, the teacher would ask whether we fancied baking pie or cookies, I would create some magical sugar free, low calorie, marketable good and then I would go home and blog all about it. Ha HA. It turns out cooking school is actually really hard work (and in fact everyone complained that our course was not hard ENOUGH, but I’m going to pretend that isnt actually the case).

For the hours that you cook – about three per day – you are assigned a recipe, paired up with someone and then you have three hours to get the dish on the table to serve all the others. Although my class was a very friendly class, there is a CLEAR element of competition and if you are someone who is near deaf, very clumsy, who near blunted their knife in week two, and somehow cooked for two years without much understanding of the basic rules, this can be very stressful. I compare the experience to signing up for yoga, and then finding yourself a member of the local basketball team.

However, although I found the experience difficult – right until the end – that was also why it was rewarding. For someone who always choses the path of least reistance, this was a great lesson ‘If you aren’t being challenged you arent really growing’. It was also stressful in a more active way and I’ve realised there is a different type of stress to being on your feet and having something tangible to show at the end of the day.

2. Being A Beginner.

When I said basketball TEAM before, my analogy was intentional, because we were always in groups for cooking. That meant not only did I have to deal with my own fear, I also had to face all the other members of my (accidentally-joined) basketball team.  Clearly though Challenges 1 & 2 are highly interrleated … and both stemmed from my misunderstanding about the parameters of the course. As it turned out not only was cooking school stressful but it was also largely attended by people who managed to be both years younger and more experienced.

I know a big part of this hurdle was that I did NOT – by nature – used to do well under stress. I know I cook far better at home than I ever did at school. Another problem (which I had always previously considered an advantage) was that Louis did actually train as a cook. So at home I was free to dream up gin and cucumber ice cream, with smoked salmon lasagne to start, and Louis would remember to preheat the oven, peel cling film off my oven bound pans, or know that cucumbers need to be peeled. Turns out I actually bypassed many of the basics, and just let someone else do them.

I’m not sure there was any real advantage or character growth here (and my midterm soup is not an event I would re-visit even if there was), but it did mean the only way was up. I probably learned more in my course than ANYONE else … and I certainly got more for my money.

3. Missing home. 

This isn’t really a challenge connected to the course, but it’s a pretty big challenge connected to anything that pushes that you out of your comfort zone. I wouldn’t say my homesickness was painful on a daily basis, but there were times. Obviously Louis went back half way through, and then there were times when I would see photos of my friends having drinks or parties (ALL English sunny days get extremely well photographed!) and just pine.

Besides, falling in love with anything new (in the way I really fell in love with California this time!) is always a little bittersweet. Even my happy moments of feeling like I desperately wanted to move to California, to to take up cooking as a career, I felt sad about what that would mean sacrificing.

(pic above is of a plate of crudite, roasted vegetables and pesto I made for one of our improvisation days.. delicious, but not overtly sophisticated..) 

The Bonus

So far I’ve tried to focus on the more cooking related aspects of the experience.. but really what MADE the course for me, was the people on it. It definitely took me a while to settle in (having not really HAD to try to make friends for about 16 years had left me a bit spoilt I guess).. and there were some moments when I thought I would never make it. A key low point being when one of my – now a good friend –  classmates said she couldn’t imagine me out of class because she just thought Louis and I must spend our refined evenings eating canapes or attending art galleries. So.Not.True.

As it turned out it actually all came well in the end – too well perhaps because now I’m faced with really missing them all. Despite being such a not-extrovert, I’ve decided just the experience of meeting a whole new set of people teaches you so much about yourself – this is why people love to travel I suppose! But I think also meeting a whole new set of people who share a common interest – but all coming at it from different angles – is so wonderful too. I honestly so much from each and every one of them. Because my University degree was not, ahem, completed at a time when I had the strongest work ethic (ahem) – and my nutrition degree was then completed online, I’d never really had this experience of ‘like-interested’ comraderie before.

(I think I was also spoilt by having a class full of such incredibly smart, motivated, unique and strong women. But I could be a little biased there)

Overall I would definitely have to say the whole experience was one of the best – and luckiest – thank you Mum for letting me live rent free – ones I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it – even as I now sit back in London, desperately seeking a decently paid job and working out how to move house … again! We actually move in about a week and Im hoping to post some of my favourite adaptations of our school recipes the. Until then!!

Life lately has just felt soooooo busy!

(And yes – unemployed 30 year olds who are living with their mothers are totally allowed to feel busy too!)

The thing is - despite of my technical lack of employment – I do suddenly have a lot of non-jobs going on. First up, I’m the budget manager for our final culinary showcase (a self appointed position I should add .. and another prime example of me generously over-committing, and then taking out my stress on all my dearest and dearest. Seriously.. what am I like?!).

I’m also preparing my final presentation – and I’m working my sort-of-soup-kitchen gig. (Which is, BTW, far and away my favourite job EVER, and also – as luck would have it – the one job I will NEVER get paid for).

Most excitingly though, I’m completing my culinary externship hours .. and doing so with my culinary mentor (and now good friend) Simone. I’ve been helping Simone out with a Paleo pop up she’s running in the city … and she’s basically become my favourite cook in the world. I blame Simone  entirely for my current obsession with putting homemade chive-y aioli on EVERYTHING (including – as a new bikini season choice – slabs of triple cream cheese). I also- thanks to Simone –  covet stone fruit salsa, almond flour cookies and homemade balsamic reduction.

And easy green coconut sauce.

I first had easy green coconut sauce on salmon and  cauliflower rice, as my staff meal two weeks ago. It totally blew my mind and I therefore did what any normal person would do; made it for myself on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.

Why mess with the formula – thats my usual (and adventurous) approach.

Seriously though – this dinner is SOO easy and delicious – the sauce is just made in a blender, as is the ‘cauliflower rice’ that I ate it with. Between the super healthy coconut fats, the fresh herbs and the cruciferous vegetables, it’s one of the most balanced and healthy meals you can eat (especially if you make it with salmon, like you’re actually supposed to…). Because I didn’t really make any changes to the sauce – and you totally need to check out Simone anyhow – I’m just going to send you directly over to the recipe on her blog. The only change I made was to add a pinch of dried ginger to the sauce.. which I generally do with everything.

Oh, and to make it with prawns on Monday, chicken breast on Tuesday and Tempeh on Wednesday.. with some leftover chicken Thursday too. As you do.

What’s been your go – to easy dinner lately!?

]]> http://wineandbutter.com/easy-green-coconut-curry/feed/ 12 http://wineandbutter.com/30-at-30/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=30-at-30 http://wineandbutter.com/30-at-30/#comments Sat, 04 Aug 2012 16:48:57 +0000 Em http://wineandbutter.com/?p=3835     Hi Friends,   SO since Monday I’ve been a little absent from my blog. In a rare change of scenario I actually have a valid reason for this absence… I turned 30! Which is weird, terrifying, exciting.. and also really rather blessed. Turning 30 was actually quite reflective for me. So I sort [...]]]>

Hi Friends,

SO since Monday I’ve been a little absent from my blog. In a rare change of scenario I actually have a valid reason for this absence… I turned 30! Which is weird, terrifying, exciting.. and also really rather blessed.

Turning 30 was actually quite reflective for me. So I sort of brainstormed a little list of some of the things I’ve learned over the past decade (which was, for the record, far and away the best decade to date!). Most of these bits of wisdom are actually taken from other people – meaningful conversations ..or lines in books that made me place the book down on my chest, look up the ceiling and just say ‘mmmmmmm’.

1. Overtip! Thank you Joy the Baker.  Who also totally gave me the idea for this post.

2. ‘Always be a little kinder than necessary – for everybody is fighting their own battle’

They have this sign at my work and I love it so much. Best daily reminder ever.

3. Have Patience

Also known as ‘Let it Be’ and ‘All Things Pass’.

Word.

4. Overdress. Put on makeup. Tame your wild hair. 

(And yes I feel for you on that challenge, because I can spend DAYS without a blowdryer, in clothes that double as pajamas. 

But I also know that every time I hit snooze and leave the house with bed hair, no make up I DO run into exactly who I don’t want to. Fact. Another fact: People notice you more, respect you more and even like you more when you look nice. No need to get obsessive – and yes I know it sounds stepford wifey – but every day I make an effort, life is better. Just make the damn effort). 

5. Let what you eat be what you LOVE…

6. … but make sure what you love, loves you back.

Food choices or relationships it’s all the same. Don’t make boring compromises.. but don’t let toxic choices be your default. If something or someone makes you feel like crap then really… it has to go.

7. White teeth are worth coveting.

(If you have them, I’m jealous.

White teeth are also worth appreciating and sharing… SMILE!!!)

8. Everything in life is a trade off. Your life will never be perfect. But chances are it can be amazing.

9. Expect less, give more. 

ps – teach me hoooooow!

10. Lateness is a form of selfishness. 

(AKA – your time is NOT more important than everybody elses.

And always being late – that REALLY pisses other people off. There’s no way to tell you without sounding petty, but you should stop being such a douchebag….

Mega note to self )

11. Cardio, weights and flexibility!

Say it again… Cardio weights and flexibility!!!!!!!! 

12. Give people the benefit of the doubt.

Except for boys you are having dealings with. Be cynical of them.

12. Take everything less personally. EVERYTHING. 

13. FORGIVE. 

ps – that includes yourself

14. Greet every challenge as an opportunity for you to learn a lesson.

15. Learn to bake.

(And you totally don’t have to eat refined sugar. You don’t have to eat gluten – in fact these days you don’t even have to eat grains, eggs or butter. But if you can make one sweet treat, that looks pretty life will be better. You can show love, earn forgiveness and be a good friend. It’s a skill I WISH I’d learned earlier.. )

16. Wake up early.

17. Set a timeline for each day. 

18. Master one perfect cocktail.

Personal recommendation: Amaretto Sour.

19. Eat more ice cream

Unless you are dairy intolerant – see number 6.

20. Walk more.

21. Do sit ups.

(I hardly ever do. But on those rare occasions that I do, I am happier.

Do some situps). 

22. Find something that helps you to be grateful.

23. Send birthday cards!

(Total work in progress… lets view this is more of a resolution than a lesson learned….)

24. Travel.

25. Remember that it never gets easier, you just get better. Overcome challenges. 

26. Know some 30 minutes meals. 

28. Practice being patient.

Set aside one hour each day when you won’t get impatient with anybody elses shortcomings. If you already do this for longer than that … ignore me. 

29. Wear more stripes.

30. Have fat clothes and thin clothes.

(Because you WILL have fat days. And that’s okay -so long as you aren’t stuck in shiny leggings and a hoodie…)

Bonus Lesson:  Loyalty is a virtue.  And virtues bring rewards. Thank you to my beautiful best friend for teaching me that. 

Now – you guys teach ME some of your best life lessons!! AND have a wonderful weekend!

Since coming to California, I view my food tastes as having matured considerably … something you might hope would happen after two months of culinary school! To be honest, I view moving on from frozen yogurt to ice cream as the peak example of my increasing sophistication. Oh and also my new tradition of having a mini dessert every day. It’s all very French you see!!

However, not all my increasing maturity has been to do with dessert. Another key example has been getting more into simple dishes. We all know the theory that if you use good ingredients they can sort of speak for themselves … but I’ve always been such a condinment whore, not to mention consumer of over flavoured processed goods, that I found this hard to totally embrace. Sure I bought good produce (some of the time) but everything had to be smothered in hot sauce, mustard, parmesan … or sandwiched between some crusty bread. I used to explain to people that yes I liked avocado but ‘only in sandwiches’.

Recently though, all that has changed! Well, not all of it because I still do love mustard (and horseradish and parmesan.. and sandwiches). But I’ve also developed a kind of THING for simplicity. A great example of this has been one of my new favourite lunches of late – salads made from avocado, tomato and fresh herbs. Okay, they are then covered in some chopped olives (olives arent considered a condinment… are they?) and toasted walnuts, but they still. They have that air of simple sophistication. Especially when – gasp – they taste best with a dressing made from only olive oil and balsamic.

(Incidentally, as well making me feel like a beret wearing novelist every time I eat it, this is also the salad my health nut American best friend used to eat aaaall the time. Walking advertisement no?! And in case you want any specific details avocadoes are filled with healthy, and fresh, mono-unsaturated fats and vitamin E. SO good for skin, eyes and immunity! The only thing you want to be careful is making sure you eat the walnuts within a day or so of toasting them, as otherwise the fats can oxidise and turn a bit rancid).

Now, I realise this lunch idea is unlikely to have you emailing your loved ones and saying ‘ That Emilia of Wine and Butter.. she always has the most ORIGINAL ideas’. But, really I just wanted to post this more as inspiration to make your favourite seasonal salad for lunch this week (summer is, after all, the season to be doing it!). It’s so easy to get carried away thinking your food needs a million additions and seasonings and condiments and flavours… and believe me no-one loves strongly flavoured foods – and wacky combinations! – more than I. However, sometimes it’s so nice just to take a step back and eat simple things at their seasonal best. If this is a theory I can embrace than truly anyone can!!

PS- The reasons the salad in photo 1 looks so different to 3 & 4 is because the earlier shot was for photo purposes only. For photos 3 & 4 I filled the bowl in a realistic fahsion (with a total of 3 tomatoes, half an avocado and 1 /4 cup of toasted walnuts).

No-one should have to eat a salad with less than half an avocado.

Okay, so I have no idea if you are like me; the sort of person who probably doesnt appreciate being given a cookie recipe on a Monday.

For me, Mondays are generally about a) survival and b) ‘getting back on track’. They are about setting my alarm clock for two hours later than every other school day, rewarding myself constantly for not phoning in sick (I’m awesome), and feeding myself something that isn’t microwave Pad Thai, or hummus and broccoli, for dinner. Mondays do not now, and never have, equated to baking.

But this recipe is so easy and so good that maybe they just should!

I first got into Double Chocolate cookies back in the day when I used to have a Nana’s vegan cookie for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY. And at £2 a pop, with like ZERO protein and 30g of sugar per cookie, I have absolutely no idea how I convinced my frugal nutritionist self this was a good idea. I guess I was rewarding myself for NOT phoning in sick?!

Small goals & frequent rewards = the key to both happiness AND cavities.

(BTW, just because Nanas cookies are ‘fruit juice sweetened’, this does not make them ‘healthy’. I kidded myself for ages .. but they actually have just as much sugar as a maple syrup sweetened cookies. and fruit juice concentrate has fewer vitamins and minerals.)

Anyway, despite not being the most nutritional choice for a balanced breakfast those Nanas cookies were delicious. Double chocolate cookies definitely have a place in Monday life; it’s just more of an after dinner role. Therefore, after I adapted my new favourite chocolate chip cookie EVER last week (recipe is coming soon!), I knew I had to play around with the ingredients to get a double chocolate cookie version.

It took a few tries, but on Round Three I think I nailed it… the trick is to add cocoa powder to the flour (don’t sub out any flour – just add cocoa powder in), as well as to add walnuts. It’s also crucial that you use maple syrup – I tried both agave and honey and both were NASTY. Maple syrup all the way!

Whilst the worlds best chocolate chip cookies that I made last week were big and chewy, these are thinner cookies.. which is normally not my thing. However, for these cookies it seems to really work. I actually feel like if they were any thicker they’d be too reminiscent of those cocoa based brownies (which I am not a fan of… brownies should have proper chocolate in them). These double chocolate cookies are also still soft and chewy in the centre – they are just not that thick.

If you do decide to make these you’ll notice I’ve built in portion control with scaling down to such a mini recipe. I think the reasons for my doing so are self explanatory ; however, you can easily scale up. It’s also worth noting that although these cookies use wholegrains and non-refined sweeteners they definitely don’t (or at least to my palate…) taste healthy. Which is a good thing for both kids and reminding yourself that they are NOT meant for breakfast.

Note to self.

Wholegrain Double Chocolate Cookies

Make 4 large cookies (built in portion control – can easily be scaled up!)

Ingredients:

1 TBSP + 1 tsp coconut oil

1 TBSP + 2 tsp maple syrup

1 TBSP sucanat or other unrefined sugar (it won’t matter too much what you use…)

1/4 cup barley flour

1 TBSP oat flour (could use additional barley flour if desired .. may need to increase to 2 TBSP depending on dough consistency)

1 TBSP cocoa powder + 2 tsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda (very scant)

very generous pinch salt

2 TBSP chocolate chips

1 TBSP crushed walnuts

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Heat coconut oil until melted and then stir in maple syrup, whisking with a fork. Then stir in sugar and vanilla extract. (I usually do this in the saucepan on the stove – no sense in adding washing up!).

Sift together flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir wet ingredients into dry, trying not to overmix (about 12 turns of the spoon is ideal!). If the mixture is too wet you may need to sift in an additional 1 TBSP of flour – it should hold together well like standard cookie dough. Gently fold in chocolate chips and walnuts then drop onto parchment lined baking sheet, using a tablespoon. I like to finish with a final sprinkling of salt!

Flatten cookies slightly and bake for 11 minutes. They should still be slightly soft when the come out of the oven.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes (yep – seriously!) and then devour with a cup of milky herbal tea and good book. Bye Monday!

Nutritional Information: Calories 160, Fat 7g, Protein 2g, Sugars 11g.