News
In search of the perfect sweetener
A tale of one man's sugar journey from sweet substitutes to a new African miracle berry. Can any of them be a worthy replacement? This ties in with BBC One's Tomorrow's Food programme which I'll be iPlaying this weekend.
How to choose a great restaurant from reading the menu
I find this tricky, particularly when abroad - how can you tell if a restaurant is worth visiting without a look at (the often unreliable) Trip Advisor? What are the tell tale signs? The size of the menu is a biggie, for example, as how can a restaurant be brilliant at producing 50 dishes from five cuisines? Not likely.
Reviews
Yo ho ho and 24 bottles of rum: edible advent calendars – taste test
Funny article about a family trying out a load of advent calendars, most of which are insanely expensive. The kids' comments are amusing, read it just for that. Or if you're interested in a calendar of 24 mini rums.
Best cookbooks of 2015 for Christmas
I always love to receive a cookbook at Christmas, snuggling up on the sofa on Boxing Day to peruse the pretty pages and plan what I'm going to make first. Here are some picks from the Evening Standard, something for everyone I think. My top buy of the bunch would be Diana Henry's A Bird In The Hand which is a brilliant book I've rambled on about frequently. It offers all things chicken - simple, quick dinners, fancy dishes for friends and fantastic family feasts. Only £6.29 on Amazon at the mo which is pretty crazy, look in indies if that's your preference.
Local News
Winter Market at The Bond Company
Hot on the trail of the Autumn Market is the very festive Winter outing. It promises all the usual street food, beer bus and craft stalls, but with a sprinkling of Xmas sparkle in the shape of mulled wine, a snow machine and oodles of fairy lights. If you're not feeling in the mood yet, head along to this next Saturday 5th to de-Scrooge with an egg nog.
Recipes
Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos
I made these for a family feast a couple of weeks back and in the hurry to gobble them down, I forgot a picture, so here is a more superior, stolen image from Oh She Glows. If you're not vegan, don't let the fact that they contain no animal stuffs put you off - these are seriously good with a slight spicy kick, soft, sweet squash and bite from the beans. Just sub in any grated cheese, top with salsa, guac, sour cream and jalapenos for a Mexican fiesta in the mouth. Perfect party cooking as you can pretty much prep everything in advance. I served these along side pulled pork, niiiiiiice.
Parmesan and parsley-crusted salmon
It was time for a change this week; nearly every time salmon is on the menu it has the same old (very tasty) treatment - grilled with a honey and wholegrain mustard topping. This time I jazzed it up with a crunchy, herby crust. The salty, savoury Parmesan tang really worked with the mellow salmon flavour. Super simples to make...
Food for Thought
ShareTheMeal
The United Nations World Food Programme has decided to get down with the tech generation and create an app where you and I can buy a meal for someone who is hungry. With one click you can donate 35p which will pay for a whole meal for a child. "Smartphone users outnumber hungry children by 20 to 1" - makes sense we help out, what is 35p to us?
Although I fully embrace the festive season, I do not agree with people having their Christmas lights and trees up before December - what is with that?? Plain wrong. But starting your shopping is allowed, see advent calendar and recipe book ideas below. Gift ideas coming next time. Baaaaaaah humbug.