Top
Search
Food corner

"Cooking, in effect, took part of the work of chewing and digestion and performed it for us outside of the body, using outside sources of energy. Also, since cooking detoxifies many potential sources of food, the new technology cracked open a treasure trove of calories unavailable to other animals. Freed from the necessity of spending our days gathering large quantities of raw food and then chewing (and chewing) it, humans could now devote their time, and their metabolic resources, to other purposes, like creating a culture."

Michael Pollan

Twitter feed
Categories
Tags
Aleppo pepper Alicante all spice almond anchovy apple apricot Argentina artichokes asparagus aubergine autumn avocado bacon banana Bangkok barbecue basil bay leaf beef beetroot bergamot berry biscuit bistro bloggers blue cheese Bolivia Borough Market bread breadcrumbs British budget budwig diet Buenos Aires buffalo sauce bulgar wheat burrata butter cabbage cafe cake Calais Cantonese capers caramel caraway cardamom carrot cauliflower champagne chard cheddar cheese chicken chickpeas chicory chilli chocolate chorizo Christmas chutney cinnamon clams cloves cobnut cocoa coconut cooking class Copenhagen cordial Córdoba coriander cornflakes Corsica cottage cheese courgette courgette flowers crayfish cream cream cheese creme fraiche cucumber culinary catastrophe cumin currants curry daikon Dalmatia dates delivery dessert dill dips dough Dubrovnik duck Easter easy Edinburgh egg eggplant elderflower falafel fennel festive feta fettuccine ffine bean fflour Filipino filo fine dining Finsbury Park fish fish sauce five spice flour food aid food anthropology food tour French game garlic gastropub gherkin ginger gluten free goat's cheese goat's curd golden syrup green tomatoes greengage Guinness halloumi ham Hanoi harissa hazelnut hibiscus Hoi An hominy honey horseradish humanitarian relief Indian Islington Istanbul Italian jam Japanese juniper Kent ketchup ketjap manis kielbasa kinilaw Korean lamb langoustine leek lemon lemongrass lentils lime linseed llime lobster London loquat Madrid market mascarpone Mayfair Mendoza Mexican mid-range milk mint mirin mixed peel mixed spice monk's beard morcilla mozzarella mushroom mussels mustard mustard seed Nahm Natoora Nepalese New Nordic New Year's Day New Zealand noras nose-to-tail NYC oats olive olive oil onion orange Oxfordshire oxtail paprika Paris Parmesan parsley party pastry peanut pear peas pepper Peru Philippines pickle pine nuts pineapple pistachio pizza plum pomegranate pomegranate molasses pop-ups pork Porto Vecchio potato prawn preserved lemon prosciutto Provence providore prunes Puerto Iguazú pulse pumpkin purple sprouting broccoli quail egg quick radish ragu raisins ramen ras el hanout raspberries red pepper paste red wine refugees restaurant rhubarb ribs rice ricotta rocket rosemary runner bean saffron sage San Sebastian sauces sausage scallops seafood seasonal shallot short and sweet shrimp paste slow-cooked smoked mackerel smoked salmon sorrel souffle soy spaghetti spinach spring squid ssauces St Basil's Day stilton stock street food sugar sumac summer supper club Sydney syrup Tabasco tagliatelle tahini take away tamarind tarragon tart Thai thyme toffee tom yum paste tomato tomato paste tortilla tray bake tuna Turkey veal vegetarian versatile Vietnam Vietnamese vinegar walnut water chestnut white pepper wine wings winter yoghurt yum cha

Entries in walnut (3)

Wednesday
Apr302014

Edmonds Afghans

DateWednesday, April 30, 2014 at 10:32PM

Yes, Afghans. New Zealand’s favourite, casually racist biscuits. I loved these biscuits as a kid and it never occurred to me that there was something inappropriate about their name until I made them for someone who had not grown up with a well-thumbed copy of Edmonds Cookery Book on their kitchen bookshelf.

We can perhaps excuse their name if we consider them as a product of their time. Edmonds Cookery Book was first published in 1908 and the recipe for Afghans is thought to have been in there at least since the 1940s. In a post called ‘Decolonising the Chocolate Biscuit’, one NZ food blogger (no name to be found) suggests that the problem is not with those who named the biscuit, but with the connotations it carries today. She/he suggests decolonising the biscuit by renaming it ‘Decolonisation Walnut Surprise’, among other suggestions.

Click to read more ...

AuthorVix | Comment4 Comments |
tagged , , , , , in
Tuesday
Jul272010

Stephanie Alexander's simple banana cake

DateTuesday, July 27, 2010 at 6:41PM

This recipe is a staple in my house, I make it all the time. This is mainly because the boyfriend has a habit of slipping a large bunch of bananas into the trolley each week and then leaving them to rot. I find this cake works best with overripe bananas, so I try to step in before they are completely past it and the result is a seemingly never-ending supply of banana cake and some very happy friends and colleagues.

Click to read more ...

AuthorVix | Comment16 Comments |
tagged , , , in
Sunday
Jul112010

Dad's best-ever chocolate brownies

DateSunday, July 11, 2010 at 3:06PM

  

Since I am currently experimenting with an entirely new way of cooking (see my last post, measuring up), it may take a little longer to get my own recipes into a workable state, so I thought I would start with someone else's.  

The Flour Power City Bakery, which has stalls at all the major London farmer's market and some further a field, claims that their ultra chocolate brownies are 'Absolutely the best in town!'; a claim which I seek to challenge. Notwithstanding the fact that I think my Dad's brownies are the best-ever, I think many a brownie I have tried has beaten them by a mile. What the Flour Power brownie is lacking is that essential rich, chewy, fudgy quality which makes a brownie a brownie and distinguishes it from a slice of chocolate cake. And the secret? A sticky tar-like concoction made from butter, brown sugar and lots of it! 

Click to read more ...

AuthorVix | Comment8 Comments |
tagged , , , , , , in