Chinese New Year!

Edited, coz quite frankly it was rather lame!


Gong Xi Fa Cai - Happy New Year to all my friends and family. It's the Year of the Horse (the green, wooden horse to be exact) and it is looking like a good one for me - I'm a goat and according to the horoscopes, goats and horses get along because they're both quite similar animals.

Tradition dictates that you should have a reunion dinner to close the previous year so strictly, you should travel back to your elder's homes for a big feast. Unfortunately I don't live very near my Mum so we generally travel back on the weekend after to celebrate. This year, New Year's Day fell on a Friday so Si and I travelled back on the Friday evening.

Mum had been planning her menu since Christmas and Saturday was a major day of prepping and cooking the many dishes she had planned. She had already made curry puffs, a childhood favourite of mine for breakfast the next day. They look like mini pasties and the pastry is filled with a combination of curried minced lamb, peas and potatoes all highly spiced and very delicious. They are then deep fried and eaten hot or cold.

She had planned a huge amount of dishes, many of which are favourites of mine and they included prawn sambal - a sour, thick curry made with large tiger prawns flavoured with lime and kaffir lime leaves. This was my grandmother's recipe and brings back wonderful memories of Malaysia for me. We had steamed rainbow trout, wontons (deep fried dumplings made with minced pork and prawn), crispy belly pork, beef curry, chicken and cashews in black bean and a variety of other things. We also had a couple of traditional Malaysian desserts including Kuih Talam, a layered 'cake' made with coconut and pandan - a Malaysian leaf.

On Sunday she treated us to another variety of amazing food including curry petai - my second all time favourite curry, again made with prawns but with a distinctive bean called buah petai or sotu bean. It offers a pleasing crunch and a rather unique flavour but again, it was a dish from my childhood when I lived in Malaysia. We also feasted on a Chinese turnip dish cooked with spring onions and dried scallops which is then scooped and rolled up into a lettuce leaf before eating.

My mother is the most wonderful cook and I would love to see what she could knock up with a larder full of fresh Malaysian food in front of her!

(Above) Wontons - minced pork and prawn flavoured with coriander and sesame oil and stuffed and folded (by me!) into a wrapper and deep fried - this is obviously before they were cooked!

(Clockwise from top left): Prawn sambal, a fragrant, sour curry made with dried chillies and flavoured with kaffir lime leaves; wontons after they've been cooked; Chinese turnip that you stuff into lettuce leaves; Curry petai made with prawns and a lot of chilli; crispy pork belly

(Above) The huge prawns that went into our Sambal

Philip Seymour Hoffman & Addiction

PSH was discovered yesterday, dead in his apartment with a syringe in his arm and a bag of heroin lying next to him. Cue the public outpouring of grief and tributes but also the usual crap on social media about how selfish he was and how could he do this to his children.

I think people forget that addiction affects everyone around the world - young, old, rich, poor - be it an addiction to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, food, shopping, gambling, collecting cats... Obviously some are worse for you than others. Some people are strong enough to overcome the addiction and abstain from their particular poison for the rest of their lives but they will always be addicts. A true alcoholic, once sober will never be able to touch alcohol again for fear of relapse. Some aren't strong enough, the demons are just too great and they can't help but succumb.

I have heard nothing but good things about PSH - an inherently good man who was incredibly talented, charming to work with and an all round nice guy but PSH had a long history of addiction and notably, admitted himself to rehab just as he finished drama school with several more stints over the years. But ultimately his demons won the war in the end. I don't think it's fair to deem him selfish without having gone through such an addiction yourself. Think about having to give up something that gave you such a buzz - sugar or chocolate for example for the rest of your life without being able to have a tiny bit even once ever again. And now imagine putting yourself in an environment where that substance was highly accessible and available in great quantities 24/7. Unfortunately PSH lived such a life and the temptation was too great but this does not mean that he did not love his children or his partner (who he recently split from - a situation stressful enough to tempt him back to drugs, perhaps?).


Some people are asking why we should care that PSH is dead and that if it was someone ordinary, no-one would give a crap - what a stupid question. We mourn the loss of PSH because he is well known and we have seen and like him in films. We mourn the loss of his very obvious talent and the fact that we have been robbed of future masterpieces from him. I don't mourn the loss of a local crackhead because I don't know them but I'm sure if I did, I would, especially if they had contributed something positive to society, despite their personal demons.

I've been hearing a lot of bullshit and sweeping statements about fame and how bad it is and how it is the cause of so many things. It is NOT fame, but more the culture of celebrity. Being famous does not condemn you to a life of drugs, multiple unhappy marriages and general misery, just as being brought up on a council estate does not mean that you will grow up to live on benefits, eat ready meals and have a brood of children in your teens. Fame will certainly open different doors, both good and bad but it is wrong to blame drug culture etc on being famous. It is more widely available, certainly but not everyone will seek out the opportunity to do drugs. I know many people, some in the TV industry but many of whom are not, who take drugs of all sorts. Addiction does not discriminate. We just hear about it more if the person who suffers is in the public eye.

Why is it we rarely hear about the philanthropic nature of celebrities - who really knew that Scarlett Johansson was an ambassador for Oxfam until the SodaStream story broke? Who can really tell me about Will.I.Am's STEM project or how much he has donated to charity from his salary from The Voice? How many charities (or which) can you tell me that Katie Price has patroned or raised a vast amount of money for? The answer to these questions would probably draw a blank with most people but if I asked how many children does Katie Price have any by how many different fathers, I would suspect that many more people would be able to answer that or would have at least heard of several associated stories over the years.

Why? Because the good stuff is boring and the bad stuff is interesting. The act of (often misguided) celebrity is what we see splashed over tabloids and magazines - that is what we have to look at and criticise, not fame itself. Why is it we take such relish in seeing a young, 19 year old boy being arrested or shake our heads at a 20 year old girl in skimpy clothing, gyrating as she performs on stage? (I'm sure you know which celebs I'm talking about here!). Being famous does not cause you to stick a syringe in your arm any more than it does to go shoplifting. Personally I think it comes down to genetic make up and that some people are more likely to be addicts because it's human nature.

You can be famous and well known without being a 'celebrity' and there are many famous people who go to great lengths to protect their private life. Daniel Radcliffe has said in the past that celebrities who are on Twitter and other social media should not expect their lives to stay private.

It is not fame that brings unhappiness, fame is a consequence of certain life choices - you cannot say that every famous person in the world is unhappy, but a small minority are and it is us, the celebrity seeking public who are the ones who find happiness in their misery and therefore we should question ourselves before we question and judge others no matter who they are or how high their fall from grace.

Great Bristol Cake Off

Jack FM in Bristol are running 'The Great Bristol Cake-off' looking for the best cupcake in Bristol. I thought I'd enter for fun so cobbled together a recipe and sent it off.

Had a call yesterday and I'm one of the five finalists! I have to compete in a bake-off tomorrow with an hour and a half to bake and decorate 6 cupcakes. Argh! 

Only problem is that I've NEVER baked these cakes before so it'll be down to test batches tonight after work. Wish me luck!

Everyone loves a macaron...

I normally make big things. A big, rustic loaf of bread. A big joint of beef. A big mess... you get the idea. I thought I'd go for refinement this week though and knock up a batch of macarons. 

I adore macarons - I've been fortunate enough to go to Laduree on the Champs Elysee to sample them and could literally wolf down a dozen of the chewy, crispy morsels in one go if it wouldn't cripple my wallet. I've never made them though but have seen dozens of people do them on TV so thought I'd have a go. 

175g icing sugar

125g ground almonds

3 large free range egg whites

75g caster sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Sift the icing sugar and almonds into a bowl.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. I also added some food colouring and cherry flavouring - you can add almost any flavour, just remember to avoid oil based flavourings as this will destroy the integrity of the meringue.

3) Fold half the almond and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half, and fold the mixture until it is shiny and has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.

4) Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across (I drew round a pot of bicarb to give me guide lines to pipe to), onto the baking sheets. Give the baking sheets a sharp tap on the work surface to get rid of any air bubbles. Leave to stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to form a slight skin. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

5) Fill the macarons and sandwich together - I use passionfruit and lemon curd but you could use buttercream, jam or ganache

For a first effort they turned out pretty well - crispy and chewy, although I wasn't too pleased with the colour. However, winging their way to me is a set of Wilton colour pastes so I can get a really intense colour next time. (That's a mini cake stand in the pic, I haven't made giant macarons!)

Get out of bed bread

How many times do TV chefs bang on about making your own bread and how easy it is? Of course they're right - it IS easy and I love doing it but often I just don't have the time. I used to have a sourdough starter. In fact, the first few posts on this blog are about it but I rarely got to make a loaf with it. It wasn't practical for me to make one during the week when I was at work as it would have over-proved and if I was out of the weekend it wouldn't get a look in then, either.

I have since discovered the absolute joy of soda bread. I don't have kids but I imagine it would be fab to do with them as not only is it ridiculously simple but it's so quick - this weekend it was ready within an hour of getting up out of bed. It's best eaten on the day but makes good toast the next day

You need:

450g strong white bread flour
1 level tsp salt
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
300ml buttermilk
tepid water - about 6 tbsp / 90ml

The buttermilk I buy comes in 284ml cartons but my digital scales tell me that if I scrape every last bit out, it generally comes to 300ml. Otherwise use a little plain, live yoghurt to make up the difference.

1) Preheat your oven to 200 / 180 degrees C (conventional / fan)

2) Lightly grease a baking tray

3) Sift the flour, salt and bicarb into a mixing bowl

4) Pour in the buttermilk and water and combine the ingredients with your hands or a wooden spoon to form a very soft dough

5) Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and shape into a round about 7 inches in diameter. Place on the baking tray and using a sharp knife, slash a cross shape into the top

6) Bake for 30 mins, then turn the loaf upside down and bake for a further 10-15 mins until it sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack

Wallfish Bistro

This review also appears on Bristol Bites...

July saw the opening of the new WallfishBistro in Clifton located on the site of Keith Floyd’s fist restaurant. The new owners have an impressive CV having worked for Mark Hix, Rowley Leigh and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall so expectations were high.

My friend, Naomi and I booked in for a fairly early dinner after work and while we started off in an empty restaurant, that certainly wasn’t the case come the end of our meal when every table (including the room downstairs) was occupied.

It’s a cosy space, there’s no getting over that but the greeting is friendly, warm and genuine and the ambient atmosphere tranquil and timeless – no overly twee ‘Nautique’ theme in sight except for our very cute pitcher of water in the shape of a fish that gave a satisfying ‘glug’ as we poured from it – in fact, it’s known as a gluggle jug (Christmas list, here I come!).

We were then presented with our menus that change daily depending on what might be available. Although we had both come for the fish, the vegetarian and meat options were also mouth wateringly tempting serving dishes such as patridge, grouse and Creedy Carver duck.

Naomi and I are both lovers of roasted pork and decided to share the pork crackling appetizer egged on by the enthusiastic sounds of our waitress and the promise of ‘epic crackling’. It came in a ramekin with an accompanying side of gooseberry sauce that was tart and delicious. The crackling itself was epic -  seriously crunchy and we had trouble hearing each other as we made our way through the generous portion but it was well done, appropriately salty and whetted our appetites for the main event.

I am an absolute sucker for a whole crab with oodles of mayonnaise to dip the flesh into but I always make a ridiculous mess – last time I had crab in Weymouth it ended up in my hair, across the room, in my handbag… I felt I couldn’t subject fellow diners to a crab shell shower so I went for the lemon sole with beurre noisette and potatoes.

Naomi went for fillet of bream with cockles, clams and samphire. Both dishes were cooked beautifully – the delicate flavor of the lemon sole wasn’t at all overpowered by the beurre noisette and it was truly a joy to eat. Sometimes the best dishes are the most simple and it was definitely the case here. Naomi’s dish looked spectacular and the flavours complimented each other beautifully. The clams were sweet against the salty samphire and the fish firm and meaty. I think we could have happily eaten both dishes over again.

Absolutely stuffed from our main course, we were determined to not have pudding but the dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel caught both our eyes and we had to go for it. I do love dark chocolate and this was gorgeous. Bitter and rich, the crème fraiche served with it really cut through it but neither of us could taste the salted caramel. Until we got to the bottom of the glass. The caramel existed as it’s own entity in the bottom of the martini glass, not swirled through as I thought it might be and unfortunately it was so salty that it had both of us reaching for our drinks after one mouthful. It was less saucy than solid. More like a softened Toffee Penny from a box of Quality Street dropped into a bowl of Cornish sea salt and was deeply unpleasant. It was such a shame that this was the climax to an otherwise scrumptious meal.

I would definitely go back – there is no doubt that the chef has a very good knowledge of how to cook fish and I’ve eaten enough bad fish dishes in my time to know but I would suggest that the taste of the sea need not be in all of his food…

Here we go round the Mulberry bush...

Yes, yes, yes. I'm one of those a-typical females who loves handbags and shoes and yes, I do have copious amounts of both. I blame my mother...!

I went to Bicester Outlet Village on Friday and got sucked in to the Mulberry shop. I know I shouldn't have but here's what happened.

Oopsie...

But I figure, it's something I'm going to use for years and years and I completely and utterly fell in love with it the moment I laid eyes on it. (Forgive the picture, I was far too excited to pose it properly and put the light on!

I could have gone for something brown (never black!), or taupe but it's a statement bag. It's huge and I want to show it off. Plus I love jewel colours and it'll lift up the drabness of a navy blue winter.

YAY!