When beansprouts look like fish

You know when you get a close-up of an image sometimes and it looks completely different to what it actually is? Well I was taking pictures of my lunch the other day (as you do) and when I uploaded them, there was a familiar look about the beansprouts in particular that I couldn't quite put my finger on...

I was racking my brains for ages as I was sure it was some sort of fish that I was thinking of. Then, aha! It was those weird dried fish things that my mum sometimes makes at home, which I don't like eating because they're salty and you can see their evil eyes.

After some random googling of 'dried fish', 'thin fish', 'Chinese fish' and hassling my family to find out what it was, I managed to work out what I was thinking of: dried white bait!

I can't even remember if I've actually tried this or not. Don't know if I would actually... Continue reading this post..

What's your favourite texture of food?

Crunchy, chewy, soft, creamy, crispy, fluffy, mushy, mealy, soggy...any others you can think of?

I was munching on yet another bowl of granola at work the other day and came to a sudden realisation - that one of the main reasons I'm addicted to the stuff is because it is KER-runchy! I had this crunchy garlic chicken dish for dinner earlier too...


Apples, kettle chips, carrots, crackers, breadsticks, slightly overdone chips (the bits that everyone else seems to leave), pizza crust, ferrero rochers, celery, peppers, crusty bread...basically all foods that have a bit of a crunch to them. There's quite a satisfaction to be had with munching away at these - even if you are in a quiet area and could be annoying someone with your crunching.

Overboiled, soggy vegetables are a no-no for me. I love the crunch and rawness of vegetables and think the stalks of leafy veg are the best parts. People usually throw away the head of the lettuce but my sister and I used to battle for it. (That and the end of cucumbers too!)

Soggy food in general is just not a winner. That Rice Krispies ad where the kids are counting the rice makes me mad and want to scream, "Eat them, you little brats, they're going SOGGY!" I get most upset if I accidentally drown my cereal in milk and am left with a soggy mush. That doesn't make a good start to the day.

Then there are the foods that you might be able to eat in some textures, but not others:

Tomatoes - too slimey in sandwiches, lovely as a sauce, great when grilled but only when 'well done' - no sloppy tomatoes please!

Coconut - biting into a Bounty bar to find strings of coconut squeaking through your teeth is not good. But I could eat bowls of the stuff if it's in granola. Oh and in liquid form in coconut rum too :-)

And there are a few textures that I think are just plain wrong:

Jellybeans - you bite into the colourful fellow, and suddenly it's like plasticine - ick!

Pig's blood - ok, sounds gross to most anyway, but biting into it when in the form of jelly cubes is just..*shudders*. Not nice to have rolling about your tongue.

Quiche - is it meant to be wobbly like that?

Coffee - yes, I can't stand the stuff because of the strange 'layered' way it sits on your tongue. Do you know what I mean? Same reason why I don't like wine.

Fruit with stringy bits - I'm thinking of satsumas and their citrus siblings and bananas. I admit that I tend to just eat the stringy bits anyway but it's always an awful moment when you go to take a bite and you're left with a bit of string dangling out your mouth.

Yes, I've given alot of thought to this now (I'm enjoying some lovely crunchy popcorn right now, too). I reckon that texture is what we base our likeablility of a food on more than its actual flavour.

Anyone with me on this one? Continue reading this post..

Couch potatoes

I think I buy lazy potatoes because they always took ages to cook.

Actually, maybe I'm just cooking them wrong in the first place.

I grew up with rice as my main form of carbs and so naturally, it was all I made when I started to cook for myself. (My first attempt at steamed rice did turn out like a very questionable pile of mush, but I've got better at it, honest!).

I get a bit impatient with slow-cooking food (that's why I've always been an oven-phobe too) and so potatoes have never been my strong point. I haven't even tried to make roast potatoes! Indeed, I'm still trying to master the boiled and mashed variety. Really.

Ok, so I exaggerate, I'm not that bad at it. I just tend to get the timing completely wrong. And that I do not like. When you're cooking, it's just not very useful to have the rest of your food getting more and more overdone or sitting there getting cold, as you frantically try to speed up the potato cooking. Is it just me?

I remember trying to saute some new potatoes once. I diced 'em up, threw them in the wok and fried for an age with the rest of my ingredients - only to serve up and pick out the cubed potato because it was all hard. Now that wasn't right.

Anyway, so I thought sweet potatoes might be easier. I can't remember why now. I was making a korma but it took at least half an hour for the sweet potato to cook and I was not happy. I was HUNGRY. Hungry Jenny.

I was just standing there, poking at the potato pieces as they swirled around coldly in the coconut milk. I know that parboiling potatoes speeds it up, but I didn't think that would be necessary since it would be cooking in the milk. Or not, as it would seem.

Maybe the potato chunks I cut were too large. Maybe you're not supposed to cook a potato curry in a wok. Or maybe I'm just that backwards at cooking.

Still looks tasty though, right...? Well, I liked it! Continue reading this post..

I will never stop loving pie

Have you ever made something so beautiful that it actually makes you want to cry a little bit?



Ok, well I didn't even shed a tear but I was so pleased with how this pie came out, I was actually making yummy noises to myself (I was alone in the house). Maybe even sang a little pie song to myself...okNow I know this pie will not impress the culinary-unchallenged, or those that are just not that into pie, but this is just something of a beautiful accomplishment that I had to share with you.

Is that a bit crazy? Continue reading this post..

A classy evening in Bognor Regis

For those of you who don't know, Bognor Regis is a small seaside town on the South coast of England and the butt of jokes when any suggestion is made for visiting, staying, living, or generally being anywhere near the area.

Residents (usually) think otherwise and when I used to live there during my first year of uni, I felt strangely protective of the place. I remember writing an article for the student paper called 'Bognor Rocks' in defense of the town when it was voted as the second most boring UK town to live in. Needless to say, I have hardly been back to Bognor since moving to Chi.

So it was quite random that I decided to go there for my birthday meal last week, after deciding that I wanted to try 'somewhere different, but somewhere local', instead of just heading to a chain restaurant in Chi.

Random suggestions of gastropubs in local areas were suggested by my housemate Grace and after looking up a few menus, I decided that the Robin Hood in Bognor looked like a decent choice.

I don't like trying a new restaurant without scouting the menu first and although the Robin Hood doesn't have an official website as such (which would normally have put me off going), I was still able to find the menu online.

A quick poll to a few Bognorian pals cemented my choice to head for the Robin Hood - comments included "I haven't been there for years but my parents think it's ok" and "The steaks were disappointing last time but the burgers looked good". Hardly the best reviews to base a decision on but those reasons were strangely good enough for me.

And I was not disappointed...

It took me ages to decide what to have and in the end I was won over by this 'Extra thick' pork chop. Yes, not just a pork chop, but an extra thick one. And they weren't joking! It was so yummy and not tough at all. I thought I'd be sitting there battling with a thick bit of meat but it was perfect.

Service was pretty slow and the waiter seemed to forget about us alot (we had to ask a couple of times for our drinks and it took him ages to come and take our orders and clear our plates etc). But we were seated downstairs in a sort of hidden room so I guess maybe we were too tucked away for them to remember us. Usually bad service really annoys me but I didn't mind this time since there was quite a few of us there and we were just all chatting away. It wouldn't put me off going there again.

I got the last cheesecake on the menu too! Ha.

Continue reading this post..

My new party (food) trick

My housemates and I have many house parties and we usually get the usual fare of crisps, chocolate, biscuits and sweets to feed our guests. However, since I've given up all of that for Lent, I thought it'd be a nice idea to try and make something different.


These mini pizza fingers went down so well, I decided to make extra ones to take into work today too, which were gobbled down within about half an hour. Those hungry workers, I should have known to make more!

Mini Pizza Bites

Print-friendly recipe

Pack of mini pitta breads
Tomato paste
Mozzarella, thinly sliced
Wafer thin smoked ham
Oregano
Basil
Black pepper

1) Depending on how many you want to make and what it's for, you can cut each pitta bread into three, in half, or whole for each portion.
2) Grill the pittas lightly on one side.
3) Turn over, spread the tomato paste on top and sprinkle over a bit of oregano.
4) You can also add a bit of basil and just leave at that as a non-meat-and-cheese option. Or you can add mozzarella and/or a bit of ham too. Be generous with the ham because it'll shrink!
5) Top with a bit of black pepper and stick back under the grill quickly until the cheese melts.
6) Try and arrange them in the most beautiful way possible on a plate to serve...

As you can see, I did cream cracker versions too, which is literally the same recipe, except you don't need to grill on one side first. They're so quick to make and are going to be my new quick party food fix.

Try them out at your next do - you won't believe how simple it is! Continue reading this post..

Do I give the impression that I enjoy food?

It was my birthday the other day and my gifts included a baking set, a fabulous polka dot pie dish...

...a posh-looking set of serving dishes...

...and this cool recipe book stand.


As you can see, I'm so chuffed with all of these presents that I've already made use of them! The recipe book here was actually a gift I got earlier this year too. It's called 'Pie, Pie, Pie'!

And it got me thinking about Christmas too, where I got three cooking-related books, a recipe file and a tortilla chip plate with matching bowls. I'm going to need a bigger kitchen soon.

Do you reckon people have cottoned onto the fact that I love food? ;-) Continue reading this post..

Anyone sick of Italian yet?

I know there's a recession and everything but the same Italian chain eatery vouchers are going round the houses a bit too many times aren't they?

Pizza Express - 2 for 1 voucher here until 29th March.

Pizza Hut - order a delivery for over £30 and mention the code 'FOW0501XN' to get 50% off until 30th March.

ASK - 2 for 1 voucher here until 9th April.

Zizzi - 2 for 1 voucher here until 9th April.

Don't get me wrong, this cash crisis is splurting out loads of other restaurant vouchers too but these particular ones are being recycled time and time again.

They had better be careful not to shoot themselves in the foot because soon everyone will have eaten everything on the menu and never come back, staff will get sick of rushing around a heaving restaurant of voucher-hungry diners and people will roll their eyes when hearing a slight suggestion of going to these places for a 'quick' lunch.

I don't know about you but it has actually put me off wanting to go to any Italian restaurants at the moment for want of having something different to eat for a change!

After I went to Cocoon a couple of weeks ago, a lovely Pan-Asian restaurant in London, I was a bit disappointed to hear later that evening that we could have got a whopping 50% of our entire meal (my mate's housemate was in a position to get us this discount).

Although we would have saved a good £15-£20 each from doing this, I would rather spend extra money at the moment on an exciting-looking meal I had never tried before, than just another boring pizza. Continue reading this post..

Earthworm Lard: what happened next?

It all started to go wrong when Earthworm Lard accepted the warm invite from Cinderella to stay in her cellar for the night. He had had a pretty rough day trying to build a new house out of various fruits and getting tangled up in some discarded sellotape just now was the last straw.

At least there was a biscuit crumb on the ground. A Rich Tea one at that too. Ooh, another crumb! And another, and another. Earthworm Lard quickly forgot his troubles - it was a natural obligation for him to eat whatever was in sight after all.

Suddenly, he was swept up into the air to be met by Cinderella's massive yet friendly-looking face. She had witnessed his sorry adventure and welcomed him inside. They chatted for hours about how they would help each other to live out their dreams. He did feel extremely sad that she was unable to attend this Ball she spoke of (even if it did seem a bit glorified to a simple Earthworm like him).

As Earthworm Lard began to talk about his next house-building plan (making a hammock out of a banana skin), he noticed that Cinderella was looking past him. He stretched his head around to be blinded by a sapphire light. The entranced Cinderella wandered outside toward it and he did not see her again for the rest of the night. Hm, what a mystery.

The next morning, he woke up to angry shouting from upstairs. He could only crane his head up so much but caught the words 'glass slipper', 'Prince' and 'Ball'. A bit more neck-craning and eavesdropping later, Earthworm Lard learnt that Cinderella had left for good to marry this 'Prince' to live in the clouds.

Earthworm Lard was NOT happy. She had moaned about her problems to him all night, promised to help him build a new home and bam - disappeared to miraculously live out her dream. He began to chew furiously on the crumbs and dirt on the floor, which is what he often did during such emotional moments.

A loud clattering followed by a shriek of laughter made Earthworm Lard jump (and burp). "'ere, look at this, sis! Forget about that tramp with the Prince, this will do"

All Earthworm Lard could see was darkness as the clattering-noise-making woman slammed her great boot down infront of him. Hey, where did the crumbs go?

"Watch this" the voice boomed. Suddenly, a shower of gorgeous crumbs scattered down like heavenly rain around him. Opening his greedy mouth, he gulped them down and shuffled back along the floor to eat what he could.

More laughter. "We've got our own houseworm here, he's licking the floors clean!"

Earthworm Lard stopped dead in his tracks. A HOUSEworm? Not likely. He immediately tried to scamper away but his heavy stomach (and lack of legs really) did not allow him to go very far. Suddenly, he was swept up with a biro and came face to face with the Ugliest-looking woman ever. Oop, no, there was one over there in the shadows too.

"Come now, little fatty worm. Stay with us and you'll never be hungry again," the Ugly face cackled. The second Ugly emerged with a fist full of even more crumbs. Hobnobs! The best.

To hell with it, Earthworm Lard thought, I'll figure out what to do with these old hags another time. For now, there are beautiful crumbs to be had.

For anyone wondering if I forgot to take my pills today, this story was prompted by two ideas set by my work's writing group which I attempted to incorporate into the land of Earthworm Lard. And yes, it turned out a bit odd. The first prompt: a 'what happened next' story after a particular Disney story, and the second, to include 5 random words picked by the organiser.

Can you guess what they are? (You'll get a biscuit crumb for every correct answer...)

Read Earthworm Lard's other adventures.
Continue reading this post..

Restaurant to try: Belgo

When I know I'm going to eat out somewhere, I like to know what options are available. Last Saturday when I planned to have lunch with my Sauf London mate Lisa, I didn't get time to scour the net for ideas. So we decided to just wander up the high street in the hope that we'd find something that took our fancy - oh, yes, we like to live dangerously.

After a bit of umming and ahing infront of a selection of restaurants, we ended up at a place called Belgo. I didn't cotton onto the fact that it's actually a Belgian restaurant, even though it specialises in mussels. Lisa and I were purely attracted by the Express Lunch menu - a small selection of tasty looking dishes for only £6.50 each. It's hard to resist a good bargain.

Now they did offer mussels on the Express menu and I was tempted to try them since they are a speciality there. To my recollection, I've only tried mussels once - and the next day I was on a school trip and fainted. It probably wasn't related at all but you know how your mind associates these things with each other, especially when you're young and I've kinda been put off trying mussels since. Although now that I'm a grown-up of sorts, I should just get on with it and try them again. But since I had a long train journey back that evening, I didn't want to risk it.

Anyway, I've been going through a real salmon phase at the moment so went for a salmon fillet with leek mash. The mushroom sauce that it sat in was light and creamy and because the mash was hidden underneath the salmon, it stayed nice and hot as I ate it. I hate it when food goes cold as I eat it. (That's why I scoff my food down a bit too fast sometimes...)

Surprisingly filling too :-)

Other restaurants I've tried that you might like to read about. Continue reading this post..

A huge let down to Pie...

It was National Pie Week last week and the days slipped by without me managing to consume any...

I have betrayed the essence of my Pie love and I don't know if I will ever be forgiven...

Continue reading this post..

Restaurant to try: Cocoon

I was due to meet up with my fabulous friend Nathan and was on the hunt last week for an equally fabulous place to take him to dinner. I can't actually remember how I found the place we eventually picked - a fantastic place called Cocoon in Regent Street, London.

We walked in to be greeted by a kind gentlemen who offered to take our coats and pointed the way to the restaurant upstairs. With the heavy curtains, red carpeted floor and stairs winding up and round to the unknown, I felt like we were stars arriving at a film premiere. ( I knew I should have dressed up a bit more). "This is a restaurant, right?" I whispered to Nathan, as we climbed the stairs.

We were greeted at the top by another kind gentlemen and as we went to our table, I looked around feeling extremely pleased that we'd come here. And we hadn't even eaten yet! I was so tempted to wander around the restaurant and take pictures but it really isn't that kind of place :-p It has quite a romantic feel to it actually - the glass tables with rose petals inside, the comfy round swivel chairs, warm lighting and soft curtains. Although we reckon the curtains are there to hide the hustle and bustle of Regent Street outside! When you sit in a restaurant like this, you'd expect to see something calm and serene outside like a lake, not busy people bumping into each other down the street and buses getting road rage.

Cocoon is a 'Pan-Asian' restaurant which is basically a fusion of foods and styles from different Asian cultures. Here they offer a blend of Japanese, Thai and Chinese dishes. Perhaps Nathan and I were too overwhelmed by the slightly upmarket and stylised nature of this place and the beautiful waiters because we really couldn't get to grips with the menu!

There were sushi options, dim sum, soups, mains and sides (ok, looking back at it now, it really wasn't complicated, it was just us being backwards) but also a smaller menu with a set menu option. I think that's what threw us and after several conversations and questions with various waiters and waitresses, we managed to order our food. It was a bit confusing to have a completely different waiter/waitress each time someone was due to come over but I was impressed that they were so attentive and friendly, despite our many questions!

The food didn't take too long to arrive - my main was this Pad Thai (basically stir-fried noodles with egg, fish sauce, lime, peanuts and vegetables):

It was presented on a cool triangle plate and was a neverending pit of noodles - I was munching away for ages, yet halfway during the meal, it still looked like I'd hardly made a dent in it! I was savouring it though as I always feel a bit sad when I finish a meal, especially if it's a really yummy one. The flavours in this were amazing and it's one I'm going to try and recreate at home one day.

I'd definitely come here again because both the food and service was top-notch. You could say that it is a bit pricey (especially the drinks) but I think it's quite reasonable for what they offer - not just in terms of quality of food but the whole experience too. The fact that it was a beautiful restaurant in itself with a calming ambience to soak up was a bonus.

Can you tell I don't come to places like this often? Perhaps it's time for me to step up a notch and go to more places like Cocoon!

Other restaurants I've tried that you might like to read about. Continue reading this post..

7 Days of Chicken

Chicken is a wonder-meat for home cooking. So tender, so versatile, so willing to make your cooking life easier. I don't know about you but sometimes I want to do more than just stir-fry or grill it. There's nothing worse than being stuck in a chicken rut.

So here are 7 different ways for you to experiment with chicken. (Some look questionable yes, but they are all very tasty, I assure you!) Now I'm no expert cook, so these are easy-peasy recipes...

So if you happen to buy a massive pack of chicken fillets, or your freezer breaks down and you have to eat all the chicken, or maybe you just happen to be in the mood for chicken every day of the week, why not try one of these...

Cluck one
Asian Poached Chicken

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken fillets
Soy sauce
Ginger slices
Garlic chunks
Sesame seeds
1 courgette, sliced
100g basmati or normal rice
Hot water/stock

1) Add the rice to pan and lay the chicken on top, splashing over some soy sauce. Press in some ginger and garlic around it
2) Pour in some hot water/stock until just covered, then boil and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
3) Toss the courgette with the sesame seeds and a bit of salt.
4) You can add the courgette into the pan shortly before the chicken has finished, or serve cold with the chicken and rice.


Cluck two
Crispy Parmesan Chicken

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken fillets
3 tbsp grated parmesan
1 egg, beaten
Steamed rice and broccoli to serve

1) Spread the parmesan out on a plate.
2) Dip each fillet into the egg before rolling in the parmesan.
3) Grill on each side for about 5 minutes until it looks toasty and crisp.
4) Serve with steamed rice and broccoli.


Cluck three
Honey and Lemon Chicken

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken fillets
Juice of half a lemon, plus zest
1 tbsp honey
4 carrots, chopped
100g rice

1) Mix the lemon juice, zest and honey
2) Brush the mixture on one side of each fillet
3) Grill for 5 minutes, turn over and brush on any remaining mixture. Grill for another 5 minutes.
4) Serve with boiled carrots and steamed rice.


Cluck four
Crispy Garlic Chicken

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken fillets
6 crackers
25g butter
1 garlic clove
Parsley
Lemon zest
1 egg
2 tbsp plain flour
Olive oil

1) Blend the crackers, butter, garlic, parsley and lemon to make breadcrumbs.
2) Beat the egg in a wide bowl and sprinkle flour onto a plate.
3) Score the underside of each fillet and coat first in the flour, egg and lastly the breadcrumbs.
4) Add oil to a pan and fry the fillets for 5 minutes on each side.


Cluck five
Almost-Oyakodon Chicken
This is 'almost' Oyakodon because I use normal chicken stock instead of dashi

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken breasts or thighs, cut into chunks
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
100g steamed rice

1) Heat the stock in a pan and add in the soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
2) Add the chicken and simmer for a couple of minutes.
3) Bring back to the boil and gradually add in the beaten egg.
4) Turn the heat down and leave to cook for a minute.
5) Serve by pouring the chicken and egg soup over the steamed rice.


Cluck six
Harissa chicken

Print-friendly recipe

For 2:

2 chicken fillets
2 tsp harissa paste
Juice of one lemon
Fresh coriander
Some mint
200g butter beans
200g couscous
250ml hot water/chicken stock

1) Mix the harissa with some of the lemon juice and coriander.
2) Rub over the chicken and grill on each side for 5 minutes.
3) Put the couscous in a bowl with the water or stock and cover for 5 minutes.
4) Uncover and mix in the butter beans, mint and remaining coriander and lemon juice.

Cluck seven
KFC
Ha ha, go on, have a day off, you've been cooking all week!

More chicken recipes here! Continue reading this post..

A Series of Sinful Events: Gluttony

I spent 40 minutes yesterday consuming the largest steak I've ever tried to eat.


This is a 20-ounce T-bone steak which I had at Smith and Western's last night. I felt compelled to try the largest steak on the menu when I received vouchers from my former boss and looked for the most expensive meal on offer. I later decided that I'd use the vouchers to get money off the whole bill rather than just get a free meal myself but I still wanted to eat that steak.

Now I don't like those eating challenges where you try and eat as much food as possible. You know the ones I mean, where there's a long table of big spotty people wearing baseball caps, with piles of burgers infront of them - the bell goes and everyone stuffs their faces.

But there's something about being able to eat alot that I find unnaturally satisfying. When I worked at Starbucks a few years ago, we went for a Chinese buffet at the Water Margin in Portsmouth. We challenged each other to eat as much as possible and I won after chomping down 5 plates and 3 bowls worth of food.

I regret not trying the 2lb burger challenge at the Surf Grill Shack in Chichester (which has unfortunately now shut down) - one summer they had this challenge where you didn't have to pay if you managed to finish the meal! I'm not sure that I would have done it actually but I do wish I had tried it now.

But I was actually feeling nervous about eating this steak in the days up to the meal. I don't think I've ever eaten that much meat in one go. My workmate was telling me how she ate a THIRTY-TWO ounce steak once and her digestive system shut down for 2 weeks. Nice. A similar thing happened to me during my last visit to Hong Kong where we pretty much had 3 meaty meals a day for 11 days.

I don't go out of my way to eat as much as possible. Honest! But my greedy eyes really are bigger than my belly. Although I make it my business to finish every scrap on my plate, I know that what I eat is quite a lot more than a standard portion. It doesn't help that I can never work out how to cook a single portion of rice, pasta, meat or even veg - I avoid the hassle of measuring ingredients if I can help it!

As I was eating this steak, I was actually trying to slow myself down because I could feel myself trying to eat it as quick as possible - so as to beat my stomach's realisation that it was getting full or something. That's bad isn't it?! I started the meal with the sole intention of finishing the steak at least, and managing any of the rest of the meal as a bonus. But as I tucked in, I couldn't help myself nibbling into the sides - the yummy baked potato in particular - and found myself finishing the whole lot.

Would I eat this again? Probably not actually as it really was a bit too large. But I don't regret eating it at all as it was the juiciest steak - though my steak-expert housemate Grace had to teach me how to cut it properly ("against the grain!") as I had a bit of a battle getting it into bite-sized pieces :-)

I had to walk it off afterwards and couldn't bring myself to look at the photos to do my blog last night! But looking back at the photos and writing about it now has made me kinda hungry...

Read the rest of the Series of Sinful Events Continue reading this post..