cookbook addict

Ages ago, W. travelled to Manila to work on a project. A Chinese guy he worked with took him to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and ordered an Asian feast in his honour. During dinner, the man told him his all-time favourite dish was chicken and rice. Pressed for more information, he said the chicken was just boiled in water. I found that really strange when he related this, but why not, after all chicken is comfort food all over the world, and rice is Asia's number one staple. But simple boiled chicken as a favourite dish? Now I understand the concept, this man had probably never cooked it for himself so how could he know that water wasn't just water but had the added components of herbs and condiments to improve it? And that you need other seasonings and relishes to really make the humble poached chicken shine? Hainanese chicken rice I was inspired by food-loving friends to try this recipe, which had caught my eye ever since I got Bill's Every Day Asian book. It...

Slow cooker teriyaki chicken 600 g boneless skinless chicken legs 2 tbsp cornflour 60 ml soy sauce 60 ml mirin 60 ml sake 60 ml water 2 cloves garlic, grated 2 tsp light brown sugar Coat the chicken legs in cornflour (frozen are OK) in the cooker. Then pour the other ingredients in and turn the chicken pieces in it. Cook on high for about 4 hours or until the sauce bubbles gently and reduces a bit. Voilà! One cannot live on cake and pastries alone, sadly, so I came up with this slow cooker teriyaki chicken after being inspired by friends who use their slow cooker very regularly.

Je me suis sentie un peu plus créative ces derniers temps, aussi bien dans ma cuisine que derrière la MAC I've been feeling a bit more creative lately, both in the kitchen and at the sewing machine. The before picture Le mois prochain, nous allons déménager, alors en triant un peu ma garde-robe, j'ai pensé remodeler certaines pièces plutôt que de m'en débarasser. Cette marinière Petit Bateau m'a été offerte il y a des lustres. Je n'ai jamais trop aimé la coupe, un peu baggy, mais pas assez pour cacher les parties un peu trop arrondies de mon corps, juste suffisamment pour les faire ressortir. Also, we'll be moving next month so while I've been sorting out my wardrobe, I thought I'd refashion some of the items in there, starting with this red marinière from Petit Bateau, which I got as a present many moons ago. I never quite liked the fit, which was a bit loose, but not enough to hide the plumpy bits of my body, just enough to make them stick out...

Well, not exactly, because my slow-cooker is a Breville, not a Crockpot brand name. After hearing from my friends how useful and time-saving a slow-cooker (SC) is, I decided after some consideration to go out and buy one. Around these parts, SC aren't very popular. If you want to slow-cook something ( mijoter ), you use a cocotte , that is, a Le Creuset. But with globalization and all that, it is possible to buy one, whether online or in town. (For people in Luxembourg, there is one in Auchan, Darty will order one for you, but the very helpful and friendly people at the Singer shop on Avenue Monterey have 3 different models to choose from, like, now .) I chose my Breville because it wasn't absolutely huge (4.3 liters). It's kind of pretty too, in an understated way. OK, not pretty, but not a disgrace to the kitchen either. Anyway, it has three settings, low for keeping warm, medium and high. It isn't automatic but since I hardly ever leave the house for long stretches o...

Thanks to the lovely Claudia, I have recently watched many episodes of Nigella's food shows, including Forever Summer. In a time when I find it hard to plan ahead my meals, ie looking at my cookbooks for inspiration, writing down grocery shopping lists and going to the supermarket, I was surprised to be inspired by so much DVD watching of La Nige. The last program I watched was Forever Summer, and therefore it had the most vivid impact on my memory. The other day, we hopped over the border intending to gather strawberries in a special field where you pay for the amount of fruit you've collected (and stuff your face in the process). It was to have a little fun and show Maya where strawberries come from (she loves them). Alas, what disappointment when we found out they had cleared the field to sell the produce in a stall by the side of the road, having a strawberry fest that weekend -probably the end of the season (?) Anyway, we consoled ourselves by spending time in Trier, ...

Ten days ago, this book came to my attention and after a surprisingly brief interval, I had it in my hands. I had never heard of the Ottolenghi mini-empire in London, probably because I last went there in March 2007, and hardly had any time to take a full foodie tour of the city. Also, I guess I'm not very trendy, so I was kept in the dark as to the existence of their three cafés-restaurants-delis. Anyhow, behind the Italian name Ottolenghi hide, not only Yottam Ottolenghi himself, but also his partner and co-chef Sami Tamimi. Both come from Jerusalem, one an Israeli boy of mixed European descent, the other a Palestinian, and their food obsession has led them both to London. The food is rich in colours and flavours, the savoury recipes ripe with lemons, fresh herbs and tons of garlic. The book has a huge array of recipes for vegetables, making even much-hated veg like cauliflower appetizing. It also gives many ideas for pulses and grains, so all in all it's a good investment fo...