Month: February 2007

I have a selection of friends all of whom enjoy the odd beer. It always amazes me to discover just how differently each of us views beer, however. For example, I mostly prefer a lager, but I know several people who laugh at lager drinkers as though they’re an...

This recipe, which my friend Cathy spotted in the New York Times and asked me to make, is actually called Indian Cornmeal Pudding. I am not an enthusiastic baker, so was a bit wary of trying my hand at this one, but it was ridiculously easy – especially if...

That soup of Jackie’s sounded so good I had to make some. For my version I fried the onions and mushrooms in olive oil and then added them to vegetable stock before zapping in the blender. I used frozen leaf spinach, which I separately added to stock before blending....

After a not so successful first attempt at fried dumplings, I gave them another go. This time I decided to buy the small pancakes rather than make them myself, and it made everything a lot easier. I went with my girlfriend to the excellent ‘Oriental City’ in Colindale, north-west London,...

It was nice. I put lean, skinless chicken breasts into a greased casserole dish. Into a stove top pan I put chopped onions, then aubergine, red, yellow & green peppers, mushrooms, and courgettes. I added half a pint of chicken stock, a few squeezes of black pepper and cayenne...

The fun of cooking for my friend Cathy in Los Angeles continues. Unfortunately, Cathy is unwell and needs to gain some weight. You know what this means? Cream and butter ahoy! I made another simple soup which will serve as a starter for our dinner tonight, and this is...

My housemate Peter (the recent anotherfoodblog celebrity) will soon be moving to Dublin to start work with Google. In celebration of this fine achievement, he hosted a party on Saturday night to enjoy a final farewell to most of his university friends. It was a great party with lots...

I’m in Los Angeles visiting my friend, the journalist Cathy Seipp, for a few days. We watched the Oscars yesterday (which is still today for me) with some friends, and it was quite bizarre to have them on the television when it was still quite light outside. Actually, it...

I was intrigued by last week’s news about cocoa. Apparently hot cocoa is enriched with flavinols which can boost brain power and combat heart disease and cancer. A Nottingham University team found that cocoa increases blood supply to the thinking part of the brain. This suggests it might improve...

Spring is in the air. The mornings are lighter, and the fields at the back of Trinity College are a purple blaze of crocus plants. I didn’t eat any of them, though I watched a moorhen contentedly nibbling on them. I had something different in mind for lunch. It...