Serving Size : Makes 24 cupcakes

METHOD

“[Breadbaking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony.  It leaves you filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells… there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel, that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.”  ~M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating

Now, doesn’t that make you want to go whip on an apron and bury your hands in a bowl of flour? I certainly hope so… and if it does, why don’t you try out the country loaf recipe I posted a few days ago – it’s the perfect earthy sort of loaf to go with the lovely earthy feeling evoked by that quote. If not, just close your eyes and recollect the smell of bread baking… I bet you feel instantly happier – that smell, even just the memory of it, is pure sensory prozac.

Okay, so now that the intro is longer than the actual post, herewith your step by step instructions on how to stone an avo (and no, I don’t mean get it high) with no mess and no fuss.

• Step 1: Cut the avo in half by inserting a sharp knife lengthwise into the avo and drawing it 360 degrees around the stone.
• Step 2: You now have two halves, one with a stone in, the other without. So here comes the fun part… Take the knife (and it really does have to be sharp, so don’t try this with a butter knife) and holding it as if you were going to throw it at someone, whack it down hard against the stone, so that the blade embeds itself into the stone – pretend the stone is someone you don’t like, or someone that really pissed you off (psycho women that let rip at me at Fournos on Sunday, I’m thinking of you…!)
• Step 3: Holding the avo half with your free hand, slightly twist and pull back on the knife and (if all goes according to plan and you didn’t accidentally chop your hand off) you should be left with two empty avo halves, and a knife with an avo stone stuck to it. So all you have to do is pull off the stone, chuck it away and voila, you are done! Easy eh?

By the way, as an aside, if you are going to use the avo on a salad, don’t waste your time peeling and slicing it (it just creates a green mushy mess) a much easier option is to use a teaspoon and to scoop out small chunks of avo (much like you would with an ice-cream scoop) and use the chunks instead. Nobody is going to think your salad is sloppy because you’ve got avo chunks instead of slices and, seriously, it’s a LOT easier and less messy… Which is always a Good Thing!

For more info, why don’t you visit their site and see what they have to offer: http://www.organicemporium.co.za/

Organic Emporium’s mission:

• To make an organic lifestyle affordable, accessible and easy.
• We are committed to a holistic approach to organic farming systems, including a sustainable environment and the needs of humanity.
• To exchange knowledge and expertise as well as inform any interested parties about organic principles.

Anyway, my little gush aside, this is the first recipe that Jenty cooked and is, conincidently, the first recipe I saw Nigella cook on the Nigella Express TV program, which is what inspired my interest in the book in the first place. And if you like croissants, and seriously, who doesn’t, then this ones for you too…

Serving Size : Serves 2 greedy people

METHOD

ADDITIONAL INFO

If you don’t have any bourbon in the house, first may I say, please consider it, and second, replace it, rather, with rum; Scotch whisky may seem the obvious substitute but it would be the wrong one I feel.

For more info see: http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?key=C&rid=109

Tibetan Goji Berries are regarded in Tibet as the “Fruit of Longevity and Well Being.” Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a food that offers your body longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency. Gojis are a complete protein source and a low calorie snack that strengthens your immune system, increases energy and helps to curb cravings. It has one of the highest antioxidant contents in all food, which helps to fight free radicals, keeping you young and vibrant. Gojis contain 18 amino acids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, 20 rare trace minerals, vitamin B1, B2 and B6 and vitamin E

For more info, see the remainder of the article (and a nummy sounding recipe for Vegan Anti-Aging Goji Berry Muffins!) here: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegan-anti-aging-goji-berry-muffins.html

INGREDIENTS

Serving Size : Serves 1

METHOD

Basically it’s all got to do with our plump and luscious red orb-ed friend the tomato and it’s rather elusive smell. I had always thought (and I bet you did too) that the scent of the tomato was in the fruit – after all, it seems like the obvious place to put it. But if you did think that, then you, like me, would be wrong because, surprisingly, the smell is in the stalk and leaves. Yeah, those rather woody, measly green bits, that we gaily turf into the bin (if they are on the  tomatoes at all when we buy them) without so much as a backward glance… Weird, huh?

Anyhoo, as you may know, much of our taste-buds actually work thanks to our sense of smell, which is why food tastes so rubbish when you have a cold (if you don’t believe me, hold your nose and put a tiny spoonful of cinnamon in your mouth. You’ll wonder when cinnamon suddenly became cement). So if you want to enhance the flavour of something, one way to do it is to enhance it’s smell. And that, dear peeps, is where this little tip comes in. Next time you buy fresh tomatoes try, if at all possible, to get ones that are still on the vine. Then once you’ve made your tomato dish (for instance, the relish that I posted here) put it in a sealed container with the stalks, and leave in the fridge overnight so that the gorgeous smell of ripe tomatoes can infuse into your little bowl of ruby lusciousness. Next day when you open it up, you’ll think little gnomes built a greenhouse in your Tupperware, as that wonderful, sweet, summery ripeness spills out and socks you in the shnoz! And when you put it in your mouth, that wonderful smell will translate into a rich, sumptious tomato-iness that’ll make you wonder if your taste-buds nipped off to Tuscany while you weren’t looking… Now, how simple was that?

Anyway, this recipe is by the undisputed (IMHO) queen of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan, and is as easy and quick as it is divine! It’s also, in my mind, doubly perfect in that with a bit of forethought (i.e. keeping Parmesan in the fridge and bacon in the freezer) it’s the sort of thing that you can whip up on whim at any time of the day or night, cos most of the ingredients are the sorts of things you would probably have on hand anyway – assuming, of course, that you’re not a student bachelor, in which case your kitchen probably contains 2 minute noodles, beer and mould… And why shouldn’t it? I say enjoy it while you can

As an interesting aside, Marcella Hazan has the following to say about the origins of this dish…

“An Italian food historian claims that during the last days of World War II, American soldiers in Rome who had made friends with local families would bring them eggs and bacon and ask them to turn them into a pasta sauce.” Who knows if it’s true, but it’s the sort of useless little nugget of information that appeals to me. Maybe it does to you too…

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Sorry, will try and be back on song tomorrow

By the way, although the recipe below specifies the seeds to use, this recipe can easily be adapted to use any seeds, nuts, fruit (e.g. raisins, goji-berries, etc) that you fancy. Just make sure that they add up to 150ml…

INGREDIENTS

METHOD