After a day of head-banging seminars (and I don’t mean this in a way where there was loud, pounding music going on; just that they were pretty intense on the brain) and walking back in the dark and cold wet streets, I knew I deserved a treat. The big treat was of course a day of shopping in Birmingham on Wednesday. The immediate treat was my freshly delivered Casa Rinaldi squid-ink pasta. This came through the post the previous morning. For speciality pasta, fine virgin olive oil, fruit sauces, balsamic vinegar sourced from Modena and Italy, I recommend Passionate Palate. Good service, fast replies from customer service and rather quick dispatch service as well. If you’re stressed for time, they do an emergency delivery too. Now, it can’t get any better than that eh?

The second I stepped through the front door, kicked off my wet shoes, threw my coat in the closet, bag in the bedroom and then headed straight for the kitchen to unwrap my pasta package. Mushrooms and peppers out of the fridge and sliced up. Chicken stock and crème fraîche mixed together (add the cream according to how thick you want this sauce to be. I was looking for more of a wet soupy sauce so I could taste the pasta more since chicken and squid probably ain’t the best combination). I’m sure some of you might be scrunching up your nose in disapproval of this crazy, fusion dish. But I quite fancied something like this — forest meets sea. You never know. Left the sauce to set for a bit after adding a little lemon zest, italian herbs and the smallest shake of chilli powder. Cooked the pasta til al dente then drained and poured some sauce over it. While the pasta was cooking, the mushrooms and peppers were in the frying pan with a little olive oil and cracked pepper. Now then, pasta on the plate. Mushrooms and peppers blanketing it a second after. Followed by a few tablespoons of leftover crème fraîche sauce and a little grated lemon over the top for a the tiniest creeping of lemony twang into the dish so you won’t taste so much the chicken stock.

Overall, I’m quite happy with this dish considering I’d been looking forward to it all week! Squid-ink pasta is definitely a shocker…especially if you’ve never particularly liked anything so black on your plate. But it’s got a different thing about it. Not just the colour, but it’s less wheaty? However, it really is the same thing as regular pasta. Only that before the pasta is set out to be made into its shape and then sent to undergo its drying process, squid ink is mixed into it to colour it. I couldn’t really taste that much of it since I think I might be getting down with the flu or something and can’t taste as well as I usually do. One thing for sure is that it wasn’t fishy at all. Hannah looked quite suspicious of it but not to worry. I doubt anyone would enjoy making a fishy-tasting pasta. It’s good. I’m gonna keep sourcing for squid-ink fettuccini. I’m more a fan of thick pasta rather than spaghetti types. And the next time I make it, I’ll cook it carbonara style but replace the bacon bits with calamari bits! Ahh, the anticipation.

Fish dinners are great. Good for a simple, posh meal or a humble dish between friends; clean taste if you don’t want something too heavy and intense, or that will fill you up too much leaving you no room for pudding! I feel I’m coming down with something too so fish was definitely a healthier option for me tonight.

The types of fish I really like are cod, haddock, sea bass, monkfish and tuna. I know to some it’s an outrage salmon isn’t on that list but I don’t know why. really not a fan of its taste. It is lovely when cooked well but I just don’t particularly fancy it. Strange I know. Tuna is the ultimate favourite because they’re so easy, especially in sandwiches and wraps that are quick to go when I’m too poor for lunch at the pub or at the university cafe. They have quite a distinct lemony flavour as well and good solid bite to it. A plus point is that they’re pretty much fatfree, rich in omega and aren’t too high up the price list.

With tuna steaks, one has to be careful not to overcook them or they will become rubbery and tough. They usually only need a few minutes on each side, frying in a pan of hot olive oil on medium heat. Because of its own flavour, tuna steaks seldom require any extra sauces. Lemon or fresh herbs are usually the best with this fish as it does not overpower the tuna steak itself. For tonight’s dinner, I simply cooked the fish with a little cracked pepper. Stirfried some chopped courgettes and orange peppers very quickly and flavoured it with a coriander pesto (mmm…the smell of coriander is just heavenly. it gives it an oriental aspect as well if you’d like to head in that direction). I didn’t add any salt at any point. Sounds odd as I usually do in most of my meals but I have a thing abt fish being overly saltish. It’s great for certain fish but when it is too much, it feels as though the fish wasn’t even cooked and came right from the sea. Works for some. But not too much for me. I like to taste more flavour than ‘’seawater” if you know what I mean. Topped this by grating a Gold Medal Royal Welsh Show 2007 mature cheddar over it before eating.

I remember watching Ready Steady Cook (yes that very flamboyant Ainsley Harriot) and one of the head chefs on there said cheese and fish is a big no no. I have to agree that most of the time it really isn’t such a good idea. But can’t support that statement fully as well because I admit to having had a very good fish quiche once. And I love my marinara with lots and lots of fresh grated parmesan. Anyhow, I justify myself only by saying that my craving for cheese outweighed everythin else. And a tiny bit over the courgettes was a good idea when it started melting into it and blending in with the pesto.

image provided kanalydesign.com

I remember friends from primary school who often had a ‘favourites’ page in their little coloured notebooks. These pages were scribbled with names of singers, actors and famous stars; not to mention favourite movies, songs, food and colours. These were always a great way to start a conversation when we kids, when things were so simple and no one really got bored of ya even if you rattled about the difference between raspberry red and strawberry red.
yes to me, there definitely is a difference.

strawberry red is a bright, vibrant almost glossy red. Given, raspberries come in different colours depending on the season. You’ve got black, white, pink, yellow etc. The stranger colours like purple are all due to hybrid seeds. Boysenberries and loganberries are all hybrids of raspberries. Nevertheless, you’ll agree that raspberry red is a thick, mature, matte-looking deep red. It’s almost fuschia-like for some. And I find that colour strangely powerful and comforting at the same time. It is the colour not of tartiness, not too much youthful like strawberries. But one of confidence, wealth, intelligence and elegance. Red is the colour of woman.
It’s sexy, it’s versatile and really…it’s plain hot and yummy.
I suppose that is why the raspberry for me wins any other fruit hands down - always.
I simply have a love affair with raspberries.

Other than looking good and tasting exeptionally good, raspberries are rich in Vit C and dietary fibre. They are also near topping the rank in anti-oxidants Doesn’t quite look like it huh in such a tiny thing.
It’s always good to get fresh fruit. There’s nothing more refreshing then getting to take morning pick pint/punnet of fresh raspberries and eating them straightaway. They’re tiny little blasts of goodness. Bombs of taste!
However, when these are not in season or too expensive, frozen raspberries aren’t too bad a choice either. They tend to have less firmness and squish or bleed easily - perfect for muffins.
Lemon is a very versatile flavour and can be added to sweet or savoury dishes. And they’re always easily available in your local supermarket, corner shop, back of your fridge, maybe even your newspaper stand! Whatever it is, it’s always good to have lemons lying about.
Though I don’t have this recipe with me anymore ’cause I kinda just whipped it up without thinking about the baking equation, I’ll just say this was very moist and best eaten hot as the raspberries are still so wet and juicy within.

Unfortunately this will be the last post for summer berries since I now have to face the fact for real that I’m well into my winter term. Stay tuned…I’ll try and put some yummy posts up soon.
Also, look forward to Chinese New Year. I’ll be attempting to take on Chinese cuisine…may the force be with me.

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This post isn’t just one to celebrate the new year 2008, but is one really dedicated to my mum and her own culinary adventures. The sekihan, also known as osekihan, or Japanese red-cooked festival rice, has been made by mum as well and I proudly present it to you here.
The adzuki bean is the second most important dried pulse in Japan and together with glutinous rice, known as mochi gome, they are the combination of red and white — colours associated by the Japanese with joyous occasions and celebrations such as weddings and birthdays. In a sense, the sekihan (red-cooked festival rice) is a celebration cake. The glutinous rice is a sticky rice and are very small, rounded grains. This type of rice is also seen in traditional Chinese rice dumplings or ba zhang which has a sad story behind it about a Chinese poet who out of love for his country drowned himself in the sea to escape the corruption brewing within the imperial court. The countrymen who loved him so made dumplings (meat covered in rice and then wrapped in lotus leaves) and threw them into the sea. The dumplings were meant to lure the fish away from eating his body so that he could finally be at peace after death.
For more details on this story, leave me a comment I’ll get my dad to retell it

Glutinous rice is also seen in lots of desserts like the nonya pulot hitam and little cakes common in Southeast Asia. In Thai cuisine, it is served as a dessert with coconut milk and fresh mango. Mmmm. To many, glutinous rice may be very strange due to its sticky texture which is very much unlike Japanese rice (it is sticky too) and tends to be almost glue-like. However, it absorbs flavours very well and hence, is very adaptable in either a savoury or sweet situation. What a clever grain indeed!
The adzuki bean, might I have you know, is considered very healthy and is used in Chinese herbal medicine as an antidote to stomach upsets and as a laxative! When cooked, it has a subtle sweet taste and aroma and its colour stains the rice to give its well-known purply red colour. Beautiful! One can find the adzuki bean in popular Japanese cakes or snacks like dorayaki or Japanese pancakes as a bean paste filling.

Here’s how to make it: (the japanese kitchen by Kimiko Barber)
400g mochi gome (glutinous rice)
110g adzuki beans
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons toasted black sesame seeds
*salt and sesame seeds mixture is known as gomashio

Wash the rice until water runs clear, set aside.
Wash and rinse the beans and put them in a saucepan with water. bring to boil, cook for 5minutes and strain off. Add 850ml water and bring to boil over a low to medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover and leave to stand 10mins.
Transfer the beans to a larger saucepan. Reserve the cooking liquid in a bowl and pour a ladleful of liq from a heigh of 30cm back into the bowl. Repeat with 5 more ladlefuls - it will intensify the redness of the liquid.
Add the rice to the saucepan and pour in 700ml of liq - if there is not enough, add water instead. Cover and add a pinch of salt before placing over heat. Bring to boil and cook for 5mins, turn off heat and don’t lift the lid until it has steamed for 15mins more.
Stir and serve with gomashio.

It is usually eaten after cooked but can also be served at room temperature.

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