thepassionatecook

The Henley Royal Regatta 2007 - Salmon & asparagus couscous with mint & lemon dressing

The first weekend in July always holds a special treat for me in store... it is an event I await with much anticipation, because I really treasure how a single occasion epitomises everything that is "very British, indeed". There are a few such events that the Brits do like no other nation: the tennis at Wimbledon, the horse-racing at Ascot, a polo match at the Ham Polo Club, a picnic concert here or here and having High Tea at one of the prestigious London hotels (last enjoyed in the company of my friend Pille at Brown's hotel). I have been to the tennis finals and I've seen a few picnic concerts, but the Regatta is the one event I keep coming back to.
It is difficult to describe, really, you must be there to experience these events in their full glory, but they have a truly unique atmosphere. You feel like the whole affair, from the venue to the sometimes impossible codes of conduct, are orchestrated by a greatly gifted master of ceremony... everybody knows just what to wear, what to say when, and there are these unspoken rules that are sometimes difficult to grasp for an outsider - as a foreigner, unless you have good friends who give you a thorough  briefing before you go, you are immediately spotted as the odd one out.
This past weekend, I had another chance to be part of the very pleasant and rather sophisticated crowd that gathers each year for the Royal Regatta in Henley on Thames. There are many ways to experience this exclusive rowing event: apart from being in a large party at one of the corporate tents, you can spread your picnic blanket on board of the Thames (in which case no dress code applies), you might consider paying for a parking at Remenham Farm with a space adjacent to the river path, and have your lunch served from the boot of your car (some families will bring their butler so they are not incommodated by having to get up for a refill of their champagne flute from the fridge in their Bentley or Ranger Rover) or, if you're incredibly lucky, you will know someone with connections and find your way into the Leander Club, the world's oldest and most renowned rowing club. This is were I was fortunate enough to experience my first regatta four years ago and it got me completely hooked.
There's no way to fool those in the know: if you arrive in denims and polo or wear a skirt above the knee, you're immediately spotted as being part of the plebs. But even if you dress up in hat and fancy dress, there is a prominent distinguishing mark in the form of badges giving you access to different areas of the racing facilities: the Leander Club itself and the Steward's enclosure being the most prestigious ones. If you're in the company of rowers, they will most likely also be wearing their club's colours in a jacket or tie (and some of them sport colours that I wouldn't even wear if they paid me). Funnily enough, despite the dress code being very strict on the men wearing a lounge suit and tie (many will wear their club's blazer and there's an impressive blazer hierarchy which I still haven't learnt to decipher) and the women wearing an elegant dress below the knee, it is completely acceptable and regarded as sensible and knowledgable to show up in wellies (yes, that's the English word for rubber boots: the grounds can get very muddy) - you'll have to find another occasion to wear those Jimmy Choo's that cost you an arm and a leg in last season's sale!
This year, of course, I still didn't fit any of my dresses (and I had no intention of buying one given how far I am from having reached my pre-pregnancy weight... not that I am trying, mind you, I find any kind of food just too good to resist and the last time I knowingly broke into a sweat were the intense moments of hitting the re-dial button to secure a table at The Fat Duck), so I arrived in plain clothes. And, after texting Jeanne to inquire about the state of the grounds, flipflops. But I had my new wellies in the car to be safe.
(from left to right: yours truly, Jeanne, Rachel, Andrew and Bill)
I needn't have worried about the weather for our mini foodblogger get-together at all (mini because Xochitl, Bonnie,  Anne-Sophie, Jenni and Joanna dropped out at the last minute) - we had glorious sunshine all day, even if it was a bit nippy in the morning. And soon enough, after gaining some strength by way of a bottle of bubbly (Allan Scott Methode Traditionelle £12.99 from surf4wine) and copious jugs of Pimm's, we laid out the picnic blankets and on them a spread that would distract many a team of rowers! With Andrew providing the alcohol (and baked some chocolate chip and hazelnut cookies which i failed to taste), the girls and our resident brew-meister were left to cater for our hungry bellies.
And despite Jeanne's very strict rule of only one dish per person, we had lots left over at the end of the day: new amongst us was Rachel of Yumchia who brought a delightful pasta salad with tomatoes, feta & olives as well as hoisin duck rolls (just how did she sneak those past the Cook Sister!?), Bill spoilt us with an utterly moreish roquefort quiche (homemade pastry, no less), Jeanne had her peppadew and parmesan muffins which are as much of an institution as the salmon & cream cheese roly-polies she didn't allow me to bring ;-) And she made a mackerel paté, thus breaking the very rule she established. In her defense, her husband Nick was present, too, and I guess he can therefore account for the smoked fish spread.
As for myself, I had had a busy week and opted for super-swift treats (yes, treats, I also broke the rule!): rhubarb & white chocolate buttermilk cupcakes and a lovely salad of couscous, flaked grilled salmon, thin asparagus stalks and a marinade with plenty of mint and lemon zest... this is a recipe out of the latest Waitrose "Seasons" magazine which my Mum always asks me to send her and it worked a treat. It's such a doddle to make, the salmon needs just 10 minutes under the grill, the asparagus and couscous can be made in the same time span and seeing that you're multi-tasking already, why not whip up the dressing instead of staring into your oven as if you were watching paint dry. So that's a glorious salad for a lunch, dinner or a bowl of picnic fare in under 15 minutes - how impressive is that!

I can't wait for next year's Regatta... and while I wait, I might organise a gathering at a polo match (Germany is playing England on the 15th of September) and maybe I'll even buy myself a ridiculous hat and show up at Ascot next year!

For more picnic food on thepassionatecook, browse here.

Learning to cook... Indian

I can't believe that it's now more than 2 years since the very first UK (and Ireland) foodblogger meeting took place... one sunny afternoon in May at our old house in Twickenham. We've had many merry get-togethers since, be it to just eat and  have fun, check out the newest hypes in the restaurant scene, meet food bloggers from abroad or cook together - the latter being a more and more popular reason to meet up.
This month, I invited Padmaja of Spicyandhra to give us (that's Anne-Sophie, Bill, Bonnie, Jeanne, Xochitl and myself) an introduction to Indian cooking... thinking we'd learn all about Chicken Tikka Masala, Jalfrezi, or Korma (for the faint-hearted) and other staples of most British households. We couldn't have been further from the truth.
Coming to think if it, it is obvious that there is not one Indian cuisine... the subcontinent is so vast and its population so varied that you can find plenty of different cooking styles depending on where you go. And of course, there's the biggest Indian outpost right here in the UK. The country's century-long connection with India has brought along a love for Indian food, but surprisingly little understanding of it - according to Padmaja, the aforementioned dishes are nothing but an invention for the British palate!
Don't think we were disappointed... the dishes Padmaja taught us to cook were all delicious in themselves and certainly achieved one thing: at least for me, it took the fear out of cooking Indian. Mixing your own curry paste is not that daunting and, contrary to popular belief, does leave lots of room for experiments.
We started with Padmaja's signature dish and all took turns at sweating over placing a a handful of dough into boiling oil with our bare hands: lentil soup with lentil doughnuts was mildly spicy and incredibly aromatic, the doughnuts might be a bummer for the hips, but they're a real joy for the palate! Next some aubergine and potato bajjis - again, not a lump of grated vegetable like in (supposedly) Indian restaurants here, but just slices of them dunked in a subtly aromatic batter and deep-fried golden brown: eaten with a salad of raw red onion, I bet none of the participants of our little workshop had trouble finding a seat on the train back!
As a main course, we enjoyed a chicken curry, but unlike many Anglo-Indian concoctions, this was rather "dry" for want of a better word, not swimming in a sea of quite calorific sauce. Lots of tomato and a great masala paste made from fresh coconut, ginger, and dry spices, then interlaced with fresh coriander leaves and plenty of chilli, we needed a fair amount of (also home-made) chapathis to stand the heat. This and a delicious mint rice (with more green chilli) had me longing for more, more, more.
Most Indian cookbooks I know have such a daunting list of ingredients that you're almost put off by it - the first time I tried, ten years ago in Vienna, I had to clarify my own butter (ghee) before I could even think of starting, and I was unfamiliar with most of the spices. Here, however, we mostly used things that are staples even in my household: plain oil, cumin/caraway and coriander are both seeds that we use a lot in Austrian cooking as well (see my traditional roast pork) and so are poppyseeds, chilli is something I use very often, dried as well as fresh, coriander leaves I love and have all the time, ginger is widely available as well, the only things that might not feature on your daily shopping list are fresh coconut, curry leaves and gram flour - but it's definitely not like you need to buy a whole battery of spices that you'll never use up! Especially not since these dishes were so good that I will want to make them again and again...

Salmon tournedos on spiced lentils with foie gras and fig chutney

If you’re anything like me, I bet you are also losing count of all the cookbooks you have – nobody but a keen cook will understand that you can never have too many of them, nor too many food magazine subscriptions… but every once in a while a little voice inside my head yaks on about what a waste they all are if I don’t use them very often or, as in some cases, not at all.
There are those cookbooks that I do actually use almost weekly – more for reference than anything else – and there are others which I keep glancing into for inspiration, but never actually make any recipes from it. Formulas for Flavour is one such book, or at least it was until recently when I launched the “CookBookCookClub” where a bunch of lovely people (Bonnie, Christina, Jeanne and Jenni) come over to my place to cook from cookbook selected at the previous meeting. We cooked two recipes from the book and I have been so impressed with it that I have since done a few more out of it.
In the book, John Campbell helps the experienced home cook create dishes so complex and ornate as you usually only get them in a top restaurant. Each and every dish consists of multiple recipes, with each component outlined to be prepared up to days in advance, so that the actual cooking on the day and plating is a doddle. He suggests to go for one stunning course and select simpler dishes for the rest of your meal – probably wise seeing that some of the recipes will see you using up just about every plate or mixing bowl in your kitchen, unless you’re equipped to cook for an army battalion…
Just to give you an idea of what kind of recipes to expect: “Goat’s cheese ravioli with tomato fondu, pickled onions and basil foam”, “Roast scallop with artichoke barigoule, sauce d’epice and foie gras”, “Chicken & shitake terrine with parsnip puree, dried figs and truffle dressing”, “Raspberry milk shake, white chocolate & raspberry mousse and lemon & nut biscotti” and the list goes on. Everything is explained very simply, from the various steps involved, planning ahead, pictures of the more challenging techniques and tips for the plating. If you’re looking for something to easily impress your guests with, this is the book for you. (Of course this would involve you actually cooking the dishes as well, not just having the book on your coffee table!)
For our last meeting, we chose salmon tournedos sitting on a warm salad of spiced lentils (with a tasty, if extravagant dressing of red onion, cumin, balsamico, soy sauce, chilli sauce coriander and pickled ginger). This was supposed to be topped with a slice of pan-fried foie gras but we had to resort to foie gras quenelles instead, as we were all inexperienced at buying and preparing the fresh foie, and it was accompanied by a fig & apple chutney and herb crème fraiche. Now, I personally found that both the salmon & lentils and the foie gras & chutney could have been two dishes of their own, they didn’t need each other, but we thoroughly enjoyed the richness of it all and the array of flavours on the plate. And that was just our starter!
Best of all, with so much preparation done in advance (the fig chutney will keep in the fridge for weeks, the tournedos and lentils are best prepared the day before, the herb crème fraîche really isn’t much effort at all - if you’re happy to skip the step of making your own chlorophyll - so all it needs is a quick turn in the pan for the salmon and the foie gras and you’re ready to plate and look pretty darn good.
I do realise now that the reason for not using this book more often is that I would invariably look at some of the recipes on a Saturday morning and realise that for most of the dishes, I should really have prepped a few things in advance… but with a bit of forward planning, which I am now intent to adopt as my new, precious skill, most of the recipes in the book will be a walk in the park!

Other salmon recipes on thepassionatecook:
Salmon fillet on aubergines and slow-roast almon tomatoes (April 2004)
Salmon strudel (April 2006)
Sesame salmon in orange-miso sauce with pineapple pak choi (January 2005)

Upcoming UK meetings for foodbloggers

I know, I know... quite some time has passed since our last meeting in December, but I have a good excuse! Now that the bump is gone (well, not really, it's just gone through an unbelievable metamorphosis), the Cook Sister! and I are organising a few get-togethers for food bloggers again... I hope you'll be able to come along to one or the other, or maybe all!

LEARNING TO COOK ... INDIAN: 9th June 2007

We keep hearing that the favourite British dish is the curry – but how many people can actually make one at home? I personally have always thought it was too much hassle to mix your own curry paste, and I probably was just scared of the endeavour – not knowing what differentiates a good paste from a great, or where to get the ingredients, etc.
On the other hand, anything homemade always plays in a different league, so I am curious to find out more about Indian cooking… and I’m inviting other foodbloggers to join me. Padmaja of Spicyandhra to teach us some basic, but vital, moves in the world of Indian cookery and what’s best, participants can even decide what we want to learn about: chapattis, masalas, vadas… whatever tickles your tastebuds! Spaces are limited to 8 so that we can all get our hands dirty – sign up ASAP to secure your space!

DATE: Saturday 9th June 2007 from 1pm
LOCATION: my kitchen in South-West London
COST: We'll be splitting the bill for ingredients
To secure your place, please send me an email by the 25th May:

HENLEY FOODBLOGGER PICNIC: 7th July 2007

Well, the tulips have been and gone, the trees are green again and the boys in lycra are on the water every night. That can only mean one thing… it’s almost time again for the Henley Royal Regatta!

Ah, yes, Henley. Rowing since 1839. Royal Patronage since 1851. And a foodblogger picnic since 2005. Not in order of importance, of course!! It is probably one of the most prestigious world events for rowers and has been going since 1839 (the Royal sobriquet dates back to 1851 when Prince Consort Prince Albert agreed to become the event's patron - since his death the reigning monarch has always agreed to be the event's patron). But it is also a fascinating, utterly English social occasion. To be honest, rowing is a bit of an elitist sport and it certainly attracts a very particular crowd of rather well-heeled English people and visiting international teams. Add to this the fact that there are certain tents/enclosures along the 2km course that enforce a dress code of blazers for boys and skirts, heels and hats for girls – and you have a recipe for the most perfect people-watching conditions imaginable! (Plus there's the rowers in lycra, of course, which is always a bonus ;-))

And then of course you get the normal people like us (indulging in food too much to be wearing wet suits), who arrive in jeans, walk a bit further along the course, away from the competitors' tent and the Stewards' tent, past the food stalls and makeshift cafes to the Remenham Farm enclosure.  There we fling our blankets on the grass right by the river's edge, unpack our Pimms and food and settle in for the day to watch rowing in front of us and an endless fashion parade and snippets of half-overheard conversations from the constant stream of people walking behind us.  There is loads to watch as you quietly pickle yourself with Pimms, loll about (hopefully!) in the sun and tuck into the world’s best picnic food as made by your fellow foodies. Perfect!

Sound like your idea of fun? Take our quick quiz to find out if it’s for you:
- Are you a food blogger?
- Do you live in London or, anywhere within a day's travel of London?
- Did our previous events look like fun to you?
- Are you tired of being the only person in your group who photographs everything before they eat it?

Well, if so, then why don't you join us on Saturday 7 July 2007 for the third UK food bloggers’ Henley gathering.  You are welcome to bring friends, family, partners and kids (although you may spend the day trying to keep them out of the River Thames...!). Cook Sister! will be co-ordinating food and drink, so if you want to come, please could you drop her an e-mail including:
- how many are coming (just you, you and partner etc.)
- what you plan to bring by way of food (let the imagination run wild here folks!). Do remember though that a) it's a picnic and cutlery may be in short supply and b) the food will have to survive a reasonably long train journey - an hour from Paddington Station, longer if you are coming from further afield. I also think that this year we need to be strict and each try to bring only one or two things at most – last year we had an obscene amount of leftovers.

We will let you know closer to the time about details such as maps, directions, train times and the like - for now, please just let me know if you are planning to attend so that we can keep you abreast of developments.

HONEY TASTING

Here's a little riddle for you:  What food never needs refrigeration and never spoils; was used in over half the known medicines of ancient Egypt; and was reputedly what Cupid dipped his arrows in?

Hint:  (to steal a joke from Blackadder It starts with a bee.)

Give up?  It's honey, of course - that magical viscuous golden liquid that bees create from plant nectar and their own enzymes, and that has been sought after by humankind for millenia.  But we're not here to study the history or the chemistry of honey - I am far more interested in its ability to reflect its origins, because honey has an almost unparalleled capacity to tell you at the first sniff or tiniest taste exactly what it was created from.  Think, for example of chestnut honey, acacia blossom honey and lavender honey: three very different beasts indeed.  Honey can range from very dark brown to nearly colourlessly pale yellow, with the darker colours usually corresponding to the more strident flavours. In the USA alone there are 300 different types of honey from different floral sources, including avocado, blueberry, clover, orange blossom, sage and wildflower.  There is even a type of honey that is poisonous to humans, made from azalea (rhododendron) blossoms. You have been warned!

Fascinated yet? Well then why don’t you join some like-minded bloggers for a honey tasting. After our very successful and educational butter and salt tasting last year, we thought we’d tackle something sweeter this time round. We are hoping to taste at least 10 honeys from around the world – more if people can dig out their stored sweet treasures brought back from trips abroad months or even year ago. I know it’s a long way off, but the way my diary goes, it’s better to get a date sorted out now, so here are the details:

DATE: Saturday 8 September
PLACE: at Cook Sister!'s house in East London – details to follow later
TIME: 2pm or thereabouts – then we can segue effortlessly into high tea – or cocktails!
RSVP: Please send me an e-mail if you are interested in attending and I will put you on the guest list

More details to follow in the summer. Until then – remember to look out for unusual honeys that we might want to taste :-)

Cocina Mexicana - Learning to cook Mexican: Flan for dessert!

(picture courtesy of Cook Sister!)

I know I am turnning your menu plans on the head now, but for the continuation of our Mexican Cooking Extravaganza, I just couldn't resist blogging about the dessert before all the mains... firstly because it's just too yummy and secondly because there's less work involved ;-)
Mexico is not necessarily renowned for its sweet cuisine - probably also due to the climate which doesn't really make you crave what we call traditional desserts over here in Europe... at 45 C and more in some places, you wouldn't trust anyone who serves you mousse au chocolat or elaborate cakes involving large amounts of cream. In this climate, only hydrogenated fats can be trusted and those don't make for particularly delicious creations! If you browse Mexican cookbooks, you will find you're not really spoilt for dessert choices - wheras any other cuisine will have a whole chapter dedicated to the sweet finish of the meal, Diana Kennedy's "From my Mexcian Kitchen" mentions only one dish - and in a by-line...
Of course, Mexicans do have a sweet tooth just like us, but due to circumstance, sugary dishes tend to be very different from what we know here - pan dulce (sweet breads), cookies, churros (fried sticks of dough dusted with sugar and cinnamon), sweet tamales (dough made from cornmeal, stuffed with fruit or nuts and steamed in corn husks) etc... but the king of desserts in terms of being the most wide-spread has to be flan.
Often confused with a simple custard, flan is baked in the oven, like crème caramel, but tends to be firmer than its French cousin. The caramel is poured into the bottom of the baking dish, then swirled around to cover the sides. Once it has set, a mixture of eggs, (often condensed) milk and sugar is poured in and baked in a water bath for about an hour. Once cooled, it is turned out onto a plate and served with its caramel syrup.
Whether it was out of necessity or not, I have become addicted to flan and if only my family liked it, I could make this much more often. I find it terribly moreish, being in love with everything that involves caramel I can easily make a meal of it... and since it keeps very well, I sometimes make a whole flan just for myself and indulge in it for days on end - well, we all have our weeknesses, don't we?

Cocina Mexicana - Learning to cook Mexican II

I've had quite a lot of comments and emails from readers since the first post in the series and the craving for authentic Mexican cuisine is something that seems to spread the world over... so I'll start sharing the recipes now. Apparently, last year's winner of Masterchef UK, Thomasina Miers, is planning to open a Mexican restaurant in London. I know she's spent quite a long time in Mexico, recently to specifically work with chefs and restaurant owners there - now, like her or not, she has a passion for Mexican food which I have experienced first hand. Whether that's enough to run a successful and authentic restaurant, I don't know, but I'll definitely be trying it out.
But let's delve straight into the cooking. (Ingredients or dishes marked in italics have a corresponding recipe either below or in a post to follow.)
We started off making some sopes. Sopes are made of the same stuff as tortillas (look for Masa Harina or Maseca, but make sure it's very fine, unlike what you can buy from CoolChile) but unlike maize tortillas, they're formed into small patties, rather than waferthin rounds. These are then toasted on a comal or, in the absence of one, a regular pan on the stove, topped with frijoles, lettuce, queso fresco (or Lancashire crumbly) and salsa verde (There are a variety of other toppings, incl. shredded chicken and various sauces, but the base, frijoles, lettuce and cheese are pretty much a constant). They (amongst other things) are also personally responsible for my weight gain when I lived in Mexico, as there was a small stall just behind the school I was working at, where a wrinkly old woman with a genuine toothless smile would prepare them all day long - and the smell coming into the classroom would cause me to sneak out at every occasion to tuck into some sopes!
While we all assembled our sopes and discussed the dishes we were going to prepare, we also snacked one something very typically Mexican (picture above): potato chips sprinkled with lime and salsa, and jícama, a vegetable consisting of 90% water, which around here seems to be called yam bean or Mexican turnip. You simply peel it, cut it into sticks and enjoy with lime juice, salt and chile piquín (you can use cayenne pepper as well) - it makes for a very healthy low-calorie snack.
Next up a dish that requires some advance preparation: ceviche. Now this must be one of the most bastardised dishes as it has become a bit of a food fad around the globe in recent years. A modern version of the shrimp cocktail, probably, which in the 70s was also many-a-time converted into something completely and utterly inedible.
Fresh ceviche, though, is such a treat when it's well executed - I adore it so much that it recently featured on my list of 5 things you need to taste before you die... so here's your chance! You can use any type of fish, but white fish gets preference all the time as it doesn't discolour in the curing process. That's right: the fish isn't grilled or baked or poached or fried, it is simply cured in lime juice and this marinating process "cooks" the flesh. I believe it was Xochitl who told us of her father taking them out on a fishing trip somewhere in good ol' Baja and the very first thing he'd do was to catch a fish, preparing it and curing it there and then for them to enjoy a few hours later, while they were catching the rest of their evening meal. After curing, the fish is flaked and mixed with fresh julienned or chopped vegetables and a generous helping of cilantro (fresh coriander), then scooped out of the bowl with tortilla chips.
Another dish that needs to prepared well in advance is frijoles (sorry, no picture, but you can see some served for breakfast here). These refried beans are really a staple food, served with every meal from breakfast to dinner (and certain people will even snack on them in between meals). In the North (where Iliana and Xochitl have their roots), they use pinto beans, whereas in Mexico City (where I lived) and further South, only black beans will do. The preparation is very much the same, though. There's the original, labour-intensive version where you soak your dry beans the night before, then leave them to slowly cook for the day (Xochitl's Mum actually uses a slow cooker for this purpose). There's the intermediate version where you use whole, wet beans from a can (on my last visit to Waitrose I saw that they're now selling them in tins as well ("Epicure" black beans in salted water), though I cannot vouch for the quality or availability across the country - refer to my first post in this series for more reliable shopping addresses) or you can buy them ready-made, again in a can. We tried an old cheat's trick so see if it really helps to mask the flavour that you sometimes get from tinned vegetables: fry some onions until they're brown and fragrant, then add the beans and cook together before mashing them up... this is my preferred way of doing a quick version and even our resident Mexicans had to agree that it works beautifully.

So, this should get you started - and by the time you've got the ceviche and frijoles ready, I might have another post for you, including recipes for various taco fillings, a variety of home-made sauces and a divine and indulging dessert!

Cocina Mexicana - Learning to cook Mexican I

(From left to right: Keiko, Shuna, Jeanne, me, Iliana, Xochitl, Jenni - photgraph taken by Vanessa Toh, courtesy of Jeanne)
Ever since I moved back to the "old world" after living in Mexico, I have been looking for authentic Mexican cuisine in Europe. Wherever I have lived or travelled, I would often seek out the Mexican restaurants to see whether they could do any better than the ones in my hometown. Without much success. It was only last year, I think, that I found Mestizo, where you might find a few things to quibble about (their tacos al pastor being a let-down, for example), but the food is good enough for the entire Mexican population of London to go their for a veritable culinary pilgrimage. So next time you crave chilaquiles, find your way to Warren Street Tube - they've just started to do a Mexican brunch on weekends as well!
In the absence of good restaurants, I decided to cook my own. With some Mexican friends back in Vienna we'd have regular cooking sessions, where we'd get our hands dirty rolling tamales, making our own mole or cooking up a pozole. The ingredients were easy to be had (Casa México), unlike here, as I had to find to my dismay when I moved to London more than seven years ago. You'd think that with a huge Latino population, you'd find a good source somewhere, but no. Apart from CoolChile who cover some of the spectrum, namely dried chile whole and ground, some "kits" (frijoles, mole, pozole, etc) and fresh chiles and tomatillos in the summer, there is really no shop in the capital that would sell the whole enchilada (pardon the pun). No tinned frijoles, no ready-made sauces, no condiments, and, worst of all, no fresh tortillas. (Actually, CoolChile do sell tortillas, but they're just not good enough, I hate to say. What that means for their Taquería in Notting Hill, I can't say).
So when I went to Edinburgh the weekend before last, I was very surprised to find a shop dedicated to Mexican cuisine. Lupe Pinto's (don't be fooled, the owner is a proper Scot, no sight of a Guadalupe as a Mexican co-owner to be found) sell everything from dried spices to cupboard staples like maseca and all the beans you could think of, various brands of sauces, tinned beans and other vegetable preserves, even sweets and cooking utensils. The tortillas will have been pre-frozen, so you'll have to consume them straight away and they reached me quite dry despite being in a plastic bag, but they're the closest to a real tortilla that I have gotten in this country. Their website is not a reflection of the variety of products on offer, so it is best to ring them up and ask if you don't happen to live in Edinburgh or Glasgow. They do next-day delivery all across the country and their fare doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Also, I just found out that US-based mexgrocer have just opened a UK (online) shop on the 1st of October - still no fresh tortillas, but at least it makes comparing prices and brands easier.
So, with the shopping more or less sorted, I was still on a mission to convince Europeans that Mexican Cuisine is something worth seeking out and, more importantly, that the crap they were being served at so-called "Mexican" restaurants was so far removed from what it should taste like that it wasn't even funny. It was like trying to make them understand that fresh line-caught salmon does taste better than fish fingers. Or convincing someone who'd been brought up on Cadbury's that it's worth paying £6 for a 200g-bar of Valrhona for your mousse au chocolat or £20 for a few select chocolate truffles from an artisanal chocolatier.
And when I finally was introduced to Xochitl a few months back, I knew I had met a fellow food addict who took her culinary heritage as seriously as it deserves. So we were on a mission and determined that we would educate the world about Mexican food, starting with our fellow bloggers. Looking for even more credibility, we sought the assistance of Iliana (the only true-bred Mexican in the round and a good friend of Jeanne's) who was all too keen to spend an afternoon cooking the food she so craves. And this is how, one fine Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves in my kitchen, tucking into sopes for some sustenance, munching on jicama with lime juice and chile piquin, drinking agua de jamaica and discussing an elaborate menu with our 5 eager "pupils" (the aforementioned aside, we had Jenni of Pertelote, Keiko of Nordljus, Shuna of Eggbeater and Vanessa (who hasn't got a blog - yet!):
We'd be making Ceviche, Chiles Rellenos, Frijoles, Machaca, Fish Tacos, Tinga de Pollo, Puerco Asado, Rajas con Queso, Salsa Mexicana, Salsa Chipotle, Salsa Verde and a Flan for dessert.
So with the shopping tips divulged, it won't be long before I get down to individual recipes... so stay tuned!

UK Foodbloggers - events coming up

Forgive me for having been a bit slack at organising things lately, but it's been hectic, what with finally resigning from my glamourous job in advertising and getting accustomed to a life at home with two kids to entertain over the summer holidays.
Although it's kept me on my toes, life hasn't prevented me from thinking about reasons for meeting up with the illustrious round that are the foodbloggers in London and beyond. The disappointing news first: for those of you who've already been saving up their hard-earned pennies for a food & wine trip to Austria, you'll have to keep filling up that piggy-bank, as it's become too late for organising it now, as I won't be able to fly from the end of November. But I might organise something for next summer/autumn.
This should not be a reason for dispair, though, there's lots we can do around here, of course, and here's what I propose:
(Remember that most dates are flexible and subject to change and I'll try to organise them depending on demand - so let me know which ones tickle your tastebuds!)

23rd September: Cocina Mexicana: Cooking Mexican at Johanna's in South-West London.
Between Iliana, a Mexican friend of Jeanne's, Xochitl and myself, we'll be arranging a hands-on session for an introduction to Mexican cooking - the menu is still in the works but we will cater for vegetarians and carnivores alike. And of course, we'll be enjoying our creations afterwards!
Cost: We'll be splitting the bill for the ingredients we buy.

October (exact date tbd):  Knife Skills, venue tbc
Jeanne's friend, a professional chef at the Docklands Museum's restaurant, will assist us in honing our knife skills, to make us more efficient in the kitchen and prevent accidents such as this one.
Cost: tbd

28th October:  Butter & salt tasting at Johanna's in South-West London.
The idea is to sample butters from the cheapest supermarket brand to what the finest Delicatessen and the Borough Market have to offer. We will also dip our fingers in the best salts available, from Fleur de Sel de Guérande to pink rock salt from the Himalaya - a little promenade through what I have amassed on my travels, basically.
We'll try it raw, on toast/potatoes and in food and change the salt and butter consumption of an entire nation by rating it and blogging about it afterwards ;-)
The plan is to resume the afternoon with low-fat, low-sodium food and some alcohol - purely for medicinal purposes!
Cost: We'll be splitting the bill for the ingredients we have to buy.

8th November: Mushroom & Truffles workshop at Harvey Nichols.
And some drinks & nibbles afterwards for those who are interested.
Cost: £15 for the workshop

Mid November (date tbd, but a Sat or Sun): Make your own chocolate truffles at mychocolate in London.
After a short intro on how chocolate is gained and produced, we'll be handrolling our own truffles. Perfect preparation for some nice home-made Christmas presents or just to indulge yourself, as well as for the last edition of SHF for this year which I will be hosting in December.
Cost: £50, £44 if we can book as a group of 8 or more.

2nd December: Christmas Gathering & Cookie Swap at Johanna's in South-West London.
Apart from the traditional mulled wine and punch, I have not decided what I'll be making this year - I am torn between another Austrian evening, a Swiss Cheese extravaganza and Christmassy finger food... details to follow, but let me know if you have preferences.
Cost: bring your own cookies.

December 9th: Invitation by June to visit the Bath Christmas market. The plan is to hit the stalls at 4pm when it should be getting darkish - for maximum sparkle. But you can arrive earlier and have a tour of the Roman Baths or splash around in the new Spa Baths. In any case, we will be taking in some heart- and bodywarming food afterwards.
Price: arrange your own travel and accommodation (if required)

Please let email me as soon as you can if you're interested in attending, as some events require quite a bit of advance booking (truffle rolling being one example). Also, if you have any suggestions, please let me know.
It goes without saying that these events are open for foodbloggers from overseas as well, should you find yourself in the country at that time!

Hope to see many of you for one or more of these gatherings!

Foodbloggers unite (again) at the 2006 Henley Royal Regatta

(From left to right: Nick, Jeanne, Andrew, myself, Shana, Xochitl, Jenni, (gatecrasher in the background), June and Claire.
With the weather much better than the year before, I left the house in good spirits that first Saturday in July. Not even the heavy traffic I encountered in the motorway and the bumper-to-bumper ride between said motorway and beautiful Henley Upon Thames could dishearten me. After all, I was looking forward to our second Foodblogger picnic, organised once again by Jeanne, the Cooksister!.
As befits our trade, we were spoiling the Royal Henley Regatta with a picnic spread that made all those "beautiful" people parking on the riverfront look like amateurs, despite their silver cutlery, crystal champagne glasses and butlers serving food out of Fortnum & Mason hampers and M&S cooling bags (if not prepared on the spot by a personal chef, that is). This year saw a new line-up of foodbloggers, with the usual suspects providing some continuity. Sadly, no representation from overseas this time, but we welcomed Jenni, Xochitl with driver (err, husband) and friend Claire, June as well as Jeanne's husband Nick (proving, as last year, a valuable source for information about the event, even though most of us were paying more attention to tha food than anything else) as well as their friend Cecil.
We had some crudités for which I made a smoked salmon and a gorgonzola & pecan dip (recipes below), two versions of home-made stuffed bread, both utterly delicious, a variety of salads (recipes for my cold meat salad with peppers, cheese and spring onion, as well as my potato salad with chives and crispy bacon bits to follow soon-ish), Jeanne's regular contribution of feta cheese & peppadew muffins, a feta, spinach & bacon quiche, chicken with preserved lemon & coriander and lemon & herb-marinated olives. The food was obviously suffering in the blazing heat (no inch of shade to be found on our side of the river) and one passerby even made a curiously misplaced comment voicing his concern about salmonella (we didn't offer him anything, of course), but we managed to get by with cooling bags and icecubes... and of course by just devouring as much as we could in as little time possible.
Contentedly stuffed, we spent the rest of the afternoon dangling our feet in the cold Thames water, watching some very trim men and women in lycra paddle by (yes, there was some rowing, too) and nibbling on a generous selection of cakes and sweet nibbles. Andrew, Xochitl and Jeanne had all brought their versions of a bakewell tart, resulting in a bit of a "mine's better than yours"... after three versions, you'd think that there was hardly enough space for cantuccini and fruit cake, but we managed to eat our way through all of them, if only in little bites.
And who would have thought, as the day was drawing to a close and the sun was finally showing some mercy, a few of us sneakily finished off the bread and olives and had a second, third or fourth helping of just about everything...

Blog Birthday Party - the report.

From left to right: Jeanne, Pille, Xochitl, Steve, Christina, Shana, Anna, Colin, Amy, Andrew, June.
With apologies for the long radio silence and a heartfelt "Thank you" to all of you for your great recommendations for Rome (which I shall compile into a proper post soon), this is to say I am back. Back, and back with a vengeance.
Nothing better to beat the nausea, weight loss and faintness of the last months than to cook up a storm in my very own kitchen and invite a bunch of fellow foodbloggers over for a blog birthday celebration!
Jeanne and I were both celebrating two years of foodblogging and pleased to welcome a few old blogger friends, already considered regulars at our irregular meetings ever since the first event a year ago, like Andrew (SpittonExtra), Christina (The Thorngrove Table), Anna (Baking for Britain) and, joining us from Estonia by way of Edinburgh for the second time, Pille (Nami-Nami) who was actually en route to Greece (oh the jet-set life she leads!!!). But we were very lucky to also count a fair number of new faces: Amy (Cooking with Amy) had come all the way from San Francisco, thus acting (as is tradition) as our ambassador par excellence for all blogs overseas (we were sorry to have to accept late cancellations from Zsofi (Chili & Vanilia) in Brussels and Nicky (Delicious Days) in Munich). New "local" bloggers included Xochitl (Xochitl cooks), June (Bread, water, salt, oil) and Shana (owlfish)... what a great addition to an already lovely group! I hope we'll see you more often from now on - and: remember, remember, the 1st of July at Henley!*
Copious amounts of pink cava called for scrumptious food for stomach lining, especially given that the first cork popped shortly after 2pm! The menu of finger food we put together reads as follows:

• Olives and smoked almonds
• Salmon & cream cheese roly-polies
• Feta, melon, mint & olive skewers
• Mini-potatoes with wasabi crème fraîche and caviar
• Tuna & celery cream rolled in roast red peppers (Jeanne)
• Gazpacho shots with poppyseed & paprika swirls
• Figs & manchego wrapped in prosciutto
• Croustades with creamed mushrooms and crispy pancetta
• Olives in crispy parmesan pastry (Jeanne)
• Halloumi, peppadew & boerewors skewers (Jeanne)
• Chicken balls with Vietnamese dipping sauce

Those items on the list which warrant a recipe have either got a link to an existing entry or a recipe will follow shortly - for Jeanne's contributions, please consult the Cook sister! website for details.
For an indulging finale to a fabulous party, I had borrowed my friend Martina's chocolate fountain and after a few scary moments when everybody was busying themselves cutting pineapple, mango, kiwi and banana with Global knives (I only realised when they were in action that they were working under the influence of alcohol and the strong summer sun... well, the hospital is just across the road and they were good enough not to make me drive them to A&E after all) we were fighting to get access to the dripping chocolate feast.
Apart from the very moment this picture was taken, Xochitl's husband Steve, as well as our very own Andrew, managed to secure pretty much permanent positions around the bar table, with everybody else competing for the remaining 30 cm of table access... which came to show afterwards with huge chocolate stains on their otherwise perfectly white shirts - serves you right for being greedy, chaps!!
It certainly was great fun having everybody over - it's always fantastic to welcome new additions to our blogger meetings, but we had an exceptionally nice group of people this time... great company, gorgeous weather and delicious food - a truly memorable birthday party for Cook sister! and The Passionate Cook!
*Two bloggers felt scared enough at the prospect of meeting complete strangers in a non-public environment to bring along their partners for moral/physical support - so welcome, also, to Steve and Colin!