I’ve already attended a couple of cookery classes at Food at 52 – Flavours of Italy run by school founder John and Scandinavian Christmas Baking with Trine Hahnemann. Recently, I went back to attend another of Trine’s classes, Flavours of Scandinavia. The class focuses on the kind of simple, healthy cooking that Scandinavians enjoy at ... Read more »
King Oyster Mushroom & Cream Pasta
Cep aka porcini is such a prized mushroom that it is often showcased as the key ingredient in very simple dishes like the tagliatelle ai porcini I enjoyed in Parma a couple of years ago. It’s fêted in porcini festivals; there are recipe books dedicated to it; even children’s stories! But fresh porcini is expensive, ... Read more »
Messages of Health, Happiness, Love & Good Fortune (3)
Part 1 & Part 2. Fushimi Inari-taisha, Kyoto As the head Inari shrine, Fushimi Inari-taisha is large and grand. Inari is the kami (spirit) of fertility, rice and industry, amongst others and many pray for success with their harvests and in business. A popular way to give thanks to Inari is to donate a torii ... Read more »
Home Preserving: How to Can Apple Pie Filling
I posted recently about different methods of preserving food, with a particular focus on home canning. My first experiment last year was salmon, new potatoes and shallots in olive oil but as I was only able to heat treat at 100°C, I’m not confident about having eradicated the risks of botulism, so will likely discard ... Read more »
(No Bake) Mini Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes
I recently found myself with some beautiful fresh buffalo ricotta and a plump Amalfi lemon. Courtesy of The Sauce, they were part of a Campania taster box that also contained buffalo mozzarella, fennel salami, sopressata di Gioi (a cured pork sausage with a core of lard) and a Bagnoli truffle. I wasn’t sure how best ... Read more »
Messages of Health, Happiness, Love & Good Fortune (2)
Part 1. Yasui Konpira-gu Shrine, Kyoto This temple wasn’t on our shortlist of those we really wanted to visit (there are so very many, especially in Kyoto) but it should have been. Instead, we stumbled across it when walking from Kennin-ji to Yasaka Pagoda. The entrance is in a quiet residental street, through a ... Read more »
Messages of Health, Happiness, Love & Good Fortune (1)
Even for those who are not religious, or who follow a different faith, it’s an uplifting and beautiful experience to visit Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples in Japan. Before entering a shrine, visitors usually wash their hands and mouth with spring water. Shrines have a fresh spring water pool provided and bamboo ladles with ... Read more »
Review: Cuisinart Electric Spice & Nut Grinder
“YOU CAN’T USE THAT GRINDER FOR SPICES! MY COFFEE WILL TASTE OF CURRY!” * That desperate wail will be familiar to any of you who share your house with a coffee lover. We used to have an old blender with a spice grinder attachment but it wasn’t very good so we threw it out years ... Read more »
Beetroot & Lemon Zest Home Cured Trout
I planned to make beetroot and lemon cured salmon for Christmas day. I planned a great many trootI planned to have a practice run a month or two in advance, trying out two different cures and choosing the one which worked best. No trial run happened. I planned to ask for more advice on recipe ... Read more »
About Home Canning & Other Preservation Methods
I’m very used to making jams, jellies, chutneys, ketchups and pickles, all of which require basic sterilisation of jars, easy recipes and a straightforward process to fill and seal the jars. In these recipes boiling helps kill harmful bacteria and yeasts as well as reducing the moisture in which they thrive; sugar or acid stops ... Read more »