Tag Archives: cooking

Green

12 Sep

PastaThe end of the summer is near, I can see it in the leaves on the trees. They are turning ever so slightly brown (and red and gold). There is a little bit of a chill in the air, and the neighbours had a fire last night for the first time. I smelt it when I went outside onto the porch in the evening. The sun drops so fast out of the sky … it is dark before 7pm. These little indicators of the season changing makes me want to hold on to the lush greenness of summer for a just a little bit longer…

And so tonight, in defiance of autumn and winter, of the changing of the season, I made green pasta. Simple, vegan, and so deeply green. It was good. And it was fast to make. I used green spinach fettucini to augment the green … Use whatever green you can find, or like best, but I have a particular fondness for broccoli and zucchini, so that is what I used.

This recipe serves 4, but feel free to double or halve it. Use the best produce you can find – organic everything if you can afford it. Serve parmesan on the side, but know that it will make the meal vegetarian rather than vegan. And hold off on the urge to add lots herbs or some ricotta or a touch of cream. This works because it is so clean, tasting of green, and of the lasting sunshine of summer.

If you dont have any pasta in the house, but still want to make this dish, it would be wonderful served with rice, quinoa, couscous, noodles, or even with some yeasty brown bread. Its very adaptable!

You will need:

  • 1 head of broccoli, cut into chunks
  • 3 – 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 – 15 cloves of garlic, sliced fine (yes you read that right!)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup flaked almonds
  • 1 tsp – 1 tbsp red chili flakes (depends on your propensity for heat)
  • 1/2 tsp salt plus more for pasta and to taste
  • 1 zucchini
  • Approx 250 – 300 g dried pasta (I used spinach fettucini)

In a large pot, bring salted water to the boil. You will use this pot for making the pasta later, so have a handled sieve ready.

Chop the broccoli into edible chunks, and throw it in the water. You want to boil it until it has lost its snap, and when you bite into it, the broccoli is creamy. This can take anywhere from 7 – 10 minutes (sometimes more) depending on how thick or thin you have chopped the broccoli, as well as what kind of broccoli you are using, and its freshness.

In a non stick pan, over medium low heat, saute the sliced garlic until soft. This can take a while. Be patient. This is the basis of the pasta sauce, and its imperative you dont let the garlic burn. Lower the heat if you think it needs it. This can take you up to ten – 15 minutes, so prep your other ingredients while you wait.

Once the broccoli is to your liking, drain it from the water using a handled sieve. Leave as much cooking water as you can in the pot, and put the broccoli in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the red chili flakes and salt to the garlic in the pan, and stir. Raise the heat a little and add all the almonds. Keep cooking while you slice or chop your zucchini. I like it halved, and then sliced. Add the zucchini to the pan, and raise the heat to medium high. Stir well, and keep stirring. You want the zucchini to soften a little bit, and burn around the edges. The almonds will follow suit.

Meanwhile, add a bit more water to your boiling pot if you think it needs it, and bring it to the boil again. Add the pasta, and cook to al dente.

Add the broccoli to the zucchini in the pan, and stir well. Taste for heat and salt. You might want to add a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid from the pasta directly to the broccoli/zucchini in the pan.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente (I always check a few minutes before the stated cooking time on the box!), use a mug and save a bit of the cooking liquid. Drain the pasta, and pop it right back into the pot. Pour the contents of the broccoli/zucchini pan over, and mix well. You can add a little more of the pasta cooking water if you like, but it shouldnt be that neccessary. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Serve with parmesan on the side. Enjoy!

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Vegan Chocolate Cake

6 Sep

Chocolate Vegan CakeSo keeping on with the vegan theme this weekend, I decided to try my hand at a vegan chocolate cake. I know, right. Vegan and chocolate just dont seem to go together, but if you stop to think for a moment, cocoa powder, which is the most intense chocolate taste you can find, is vegan. Get all the other bits right, and you have one superb cake. Its delicious, tasty, moist, velvety, and very chocolaty … and yet at the same time, its not heavy as most cakes are. May be because there are no eggs, milk or butter to weigh it down, but honestly, this was the most decadent light chocolate cake I have ever sampled.

The recipe for this cake, in one version or another, has been floating around the internet for ages. Its called Depression Cake because it was created during the Great Depression in America. It uses simple, easy to access ingredients. I bet you have just about everything to make this cake in your larder! The vinegar is the surprise ingredient. When it interacts with the baking soda, it not only leavens the cake, but also ensures a deep moistness. Most vegan cakes are either really dry, or really heavy. The vinegar changes this completely by taking the place of eggs which serve to moisten and leaven cakes usually. Once its baked, you cannot taste the vinegar, but you can experience the effects of it on the cake – heaven!

I used light brown sugar in this recipe. Of course some vegans dont take sugar or honey. If you are one, then substitute agave or liquid cane syrup to give the same sweetness as 1 cup of sugar. I also upped the amount of cocoa powder (because I really like chocolate) and added a dash of cinnamon. I find that cinnamon or coffee really deepens and develops the taste of cocoa powder – it ripens it and allows the cocoa scent to flower. I wouldnt add coffee to this cake simply because we were eating it in the evening, and I didnt want everyone to be up until all hours. However, if you like coffee better than cinnamon (or another spice – like nutmeg or even more vanilla), go ahead and substitute.

This cake is immensely forgiving. And very easy to make because literally, you can do it in the cake pan, though I used a bowl. And please, try and make it with the chocolate frosting. While the cake by itself is great, the frosting just brings it right over the top! The frosting is the icing on top 😉 Its creamy, light and yet very chocolate. I cant believe its made with so few ingredients, but again, the interaction of the different ingredients (salt is key here – dont leave it out!) created a creamy frosting that really worked well. Try this cake, and serve it to carnivores you know and love. They will not believe that there are no animal products!

Serves 8 – 10 (depending on greed). I used a 9 3/4″ spring form pan for this cake.

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (if you have it – all purpose flour is absolutely fine too – the whole wheat flour just gives a little nuttiness to the cake which is nice)
  • 3/4 – 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon (you can add up to 1 tbsp more if you feel the need but it will become very cinnamon-y)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 2 tbsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 cup soy milk

Preheat your oven to 175 C (350 F)

Lightly oil a 9″ or larger cake pan. I did not oil mine – I lined it with greasproof paper, and it was fine. Oil if you wish. You can also mix all the dry ingredients straight into the cake pan, and then pour the wet ingredients over, but I preferred to do this in a bowl.

In a large bowl, measure out the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a fork or small whisk, mix together until completely combined.

In a 1 cup measuring cup, measure out 2/3 cup canola oil. Measure the vanilla, and vinegar into the cup, and beat together well. Pour over the dry ingredients, and then measure and pour over the soy milk. Mix everything together very well with a fork or whisk, and immediately pour into cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached.

Let cool for at least 20 minutes before icing.

With Vegan Chocolate IcingCreamy Chocolate Icing

  • 3/4 cup icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup soy milk or soy creamer
  • 3/4 tsp salt

Mix everything in a small bowl. Whisk together for a few minutes, until the mixture is completely combined, and has become slightly fluffy, creamy, light and glossy. Pour straight over the cake, and refrigerate for a few minutes. The icing will be soft, but will not run.

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Rendang Potatoes!

4 Sep

DelectableI have long mourned the loss of rendang from my life as a vegetarian. My sister, too, says that the one thing she might consider eating meat for again is rendang. For those of you who dont know this food of the Goddesses, here is the definition of rendang from Wikipedia:

Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally chicken, mutton, water buffalo, duck, or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava) slowly cooked in coconut milk, spices and sometimes kerisik (toasted coconut paste) for several hours until almost all the liquid is gone, allowing the meat to absorb the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender. The spices may include ginger, galangal, turmeric leaf, lemon grass and chillies.

Its as good an explanation as any … rendang is difficult to explain, because its kind of curried, but not really. But once you eat it, it can become obsessional. Each state in Malaysia has a different kind of rendang, and we grew up eating Rendang Tok from our Dad’s home state of Perak. We of course consider that the height of rendang. But to be honest, since we both became complete vegetarians, any kind of rendang would be most welcome.

One of the reasons I love cooking is that inspiration comes from strange places. I have often wondered how to translate rendang into a vegetarian dish that was easily accessible. Jackfruit and cassava are not available here in the US, at least not easily, and so … I was looking at the potato gratin I made the other night, and marveling at the alchemy which turned the milk and cheese into a gooey sticky lovely binding for the potatoes, and suddenly, I thought, oooh. What if I put a rendang sauce together with boiled potatoes and roasted the whole thing in a high oven? I think I might be on to something…

So today, when I had quite a bit of time to potter about the kitchen, I decided to make rendang potatoes. I served them with rice and a beautiful mixed vegetable curry, which got quite a bit of sweetness from sugar beets and artichoke hearts and stems. The potatoes were spicy, salty, crispy and gooey with rendang paste. They were phenomenally good.

If you have access to a great market, try and make your rendang sauce from scratch. I give you below a basic recipe for rendang sauce that you can then treat as I do to prep it for the potatoes. If you dont have access to a good market, do as I did. Buy rendang sauce, jazz it up a bit, and boil it down until it is very very dark and very syrupy. Mix it with boiled potatoes, add a bit of olive oil or peanut oil, and roast until the rendang sauce becomes a paste, coating and loving those gorgeous crispy potatoes. Heaven.

For rendang sauce

I used 1/2 bottle of Rendang Sauce from World Market. I mixed it with:

  • 1/2 can thick coconut milk
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp grated fresh garlic
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed

Boil this concoction in a saucepan over medium high heat for at least 30 minutes, mixing often. You might need up to an hour. The mixture will turn from light brown to a deep dark chocolate brown, and will reduce by up to 3/4ths. This is very very good. Taste and adjust seasonings. Once it is ready, fish out the lemongrass stalk, and set aside and prepare your potatoes.

If you are cooking the rendang sauce from scratch, you will need:

  • 2 – 5 fresh red chilis, seeded and chopped
  • 3 dry red chilis
  • 2 inches galangal root (a type of Asian ginger), peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 red onion, chopped (or 3 shallots, chopped)
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch ginger, peeled
  • 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass, smashed
  • 1 tsp fennel powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp tumeric

Create a paste from these ingredients in a food processor. Add a tiny bit of water if you need it, but you shouldnt really. Set aside.

  • 4 -5 tbsp olive oil mixed with peanut or toasted sesame oil (about 50/50)
  • Spice paste as above
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 tbsp tamarind pulp (mixed with water and deseeded)
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed
  • 7 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 – 2 tsp light brown sugar, or palm sugar if you can get it, to taste
  • 2 cups thick coconut milk
  • 1 – 2 cups dried grated coconut, toasted

In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, heat the oil, and fry the spice paste until it becomes fragrant, and begins to separate from the oil. Add the rest of the spices, sugar and coconut milk . Mix well, and allow the mixture to boil until it is reduced by at least half. This can take up to an hour, and should be done on medium heat. Drain out the spices, and return the mixture to the heat. Add the toasted coconut, and continue to simmer the mixture until it is very thick and dark glossy brown, probably a further 30 – 40 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if need be. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Assembly

  • 1 1/2 lbs (about 3 kg) potatoes, sliced. I used fingerling potatoes, and left the skin on.
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Rendang sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 200 C

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are just soft. A fork should be able to pierce one with little effort. Drain, and tumble the potatoes into a casserole dish that should fit them quite evenly. Its okay if they are crowded, but you dont want them in big layers – they will steam rather than roast.

Pour the reserved rendang sauce over, and stir to cover. Make sure every last potato has been totally glazed in the sauce. This is important, so take your time. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Pour over the olive oil, and roast in the oven for at least 30 – 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are quite crisp, and the rendang sauce has reduced further to a thick dark brown paste.

Serve and get ready for people to go into paroxysms of joy.

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More Food Passions

12 Aug

Virginia RichYesterday was the first day of fasting month here in Malaysia, and it was so so so hot. Last night I made scrummy cinnamon cookies, but I didnt cook at all today, and all I felt like doing was lying in bed, in my cool room, and reading. Lazy, yes? But very pleasurable, and I am all about pleasure 😉 Unfortunately, because of an incident with a cat tower and jumping, I ended up up-ending my entire household and moving furniture about. By the end of  it all, I took a look at my bookshelf and did exactly what I wanted to do in the beginning… curl up with a good book.

And suddenly, I realised something. I love a good murder mystery – always have. Its my “relaxation” reading. I love the puzzle of it, and the characters, and the whole wonderful feel of mysteries. Long ago I realised that I really only like (and now read exclusively when I read mysteries) mysteries written by women. P.D.James, Margery Allingham, Elizabeth George, Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, Ngaio Marsh, Patricia Wentworth, Dorothy Sayers, Martha Grimes, Lilian Jackson Braun, Patricia Cornwall… the list just goes on and on. As a young woman growing up, I searched for strong female characters, for heroes, for a woman’s “voice”. I found all that, and more in mysteries written by women.

But within this very particular genre, there is another one. And as I gazed at my bookshelf, I realised that as I have been enjoying my newly empowered space as a gourmet, gourmand, cook, food lover, I have also been enjoying more murder mysteries written by women all about food! There is a name for this sub genre – culinary mysteries – and it is totally completely delicious! These mysteries are not hard-boiled scary stories. Instead, they are cozy, funny, engaging puzzles, with a little bit of murder, and a whole lot of cooking!

I thought it would be fun to share my favourite women culinary mystery authors with you. These are the books I reach for when I dont want anything too “serious” or too depressing. When I want mystery and puzzles and to have my mind engaged, but also when I want to read about someone else’s passion for food and cooking. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

  • If the genre interests you, I would certainly suggest trying an anthology first. My favourite is Death Dines at 8:30 edited by Claudia Bishop and Nick DiChario. This is a wonderful anthology featuring mainly women, with a sprinkle of men as well! Published in 2001, this is a compendium of fabulously tasty short stories, and delicious sounding recipes … I am particularly intrigued by Diane Mott Davidson’s Tennessee Chess Pie 😉
  • Speaking of whom,  Diane Mott Davidson is the current grande dame of culinary mysteries. Her heroine, Goldy (Bear) Shulz, is a caterer who solves murders on the side. The series is entertaining and fun, and Goldy is a great and sympathetic character – a real woman, trying to support her family after a divorce, who is smart and  resourceful, and a great cook too! There are 15 books in this series – my favourite being Dying for Chocolate (I can relate!) – and the Scout’s Brownies recipe on page 98 😉
  • The pioneer of the culinary mystery genre was Virginia Rich. She wrote three books, The Cooking School Murders, The Baked Bean Supper Murders, and The Nantucket Diet Murders. Her hero, Eugenia Potter, was created in the late 1970’s, and reflected a power shift in gender roles. She is your favourite Aunt, the feisty woman who lives next door. She is inspiring and smart, and she doesnt take shit. I love her – and I love the recipes. Mmmm… Gussie’s Sour Cream Apple Pancakes (in The Nantucket Diet Murders) Yummmmm. After Rich’s death, her family asked Nancy Pickard to finish three books based on her notes. These books are good, but not as wonderful as the first three.
  • And last, but definitely not least, Claudia Bishop writes the Hemlock Falls Mystery series, with Sarah Quilliam and her widowed chef sister, Meg, who are the proprietors of the Hemlock Falls Inn. There are 15 books in this series, with wonderful names like Just Desserts and Toast Mortem … these stories are quirky, funny and a wonderful easy read. The recipes are lovely … Poached Pears a la Quilliam stuffs red wine poached pears with cream cheese, walnuts and orange liqueur. Beautiful.

There are many other women who write in the culinary mystery genre, but these three are my favourites. Enjoy! And do as I do, make a point of baking or cooking at least one recipe from each book. You will be happy you have done so 🙂

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Favourite Things (Part 2)

26 Jul

I was thinking just now (when the fire alarm woke me for no fire) about posting a few more of my favourite things. As a cook, I get obsessional. I have favourite knives that no one else is allowed to use, and, for example, I only like using the biodegradable rubbish bags. I only drink Ceres juices (from South Africa of course!) and while I will buy plastic bread, I try and only have organic milk and eggs. Strange, but these are my balances, in my kitchen. Its a pleasure to have been able to develop these choices and learn what balances appeal to me and only me. You would be surprised how much of a struggle it is sometimes to claim my own space. All this musing reminds me of a story …

When I first rented my apartment, I went shopping to fill up my pantry. I get nervous when I dont have enough in the pantry to make at least 3 good meals. Anyway, I stopped at the jam aisle, and flush with that particular pleasure one gets when living on one’s own, tried to figure out what jam I wanted. I suddenly realised… I knew what kind of jam my Ayah liked, my Mum, my sister, my ex-housemate, my other ex-housemate, my ex-husband… I knew what kind of jam was every body’s preference – except for mine. Hell, I didnt even know if I liked jam at all! And then I realised, jubilantly, that now was the time to figure that out…

It might sound like a minor episode, and in reality, it was, but it was also an empowering experience. Shopping truly for myself, and my tastes. For my desires and my comfort. Mindblowing, after a life of cooking and feeding everyone else. I think that is when my commitment to being a vegetarian really sunk in and stuck – because I did not have to do it for anyone else but me.

I suppose the reason I am telling this story now is that this blog is intensely personal as well. I cook what I like, when I like (to paraphrase Steve Biko). I cook to share, of course, and as an extension of my loving for family and friends, but also because cooking is me. And I cook because its what I love, and where my passion lies.

So on to my favourite things. Some may seem very ordinary, but they are indispensable to my kitchen. I couldnt do without them…

Pretty little cheese all in a row

Greaseproof paper / baking paper

Goddess, I love this stuff. I use it every single day, for something or another. Its such a simple kitchen staple, and until I really started cooking on a regular basis, and for my own whim and fancy, I didnt realise how much I used it, and relied on it. I like it better than plastic wrap or aluminum foil because its paper – much more environmentally friendly to throw away (some bits can even be recycled) and much better chemically when interacting with hot, soft, wet or otherwise foods.

I use greaseproof paper to line my baking tins for everything from cookies to roasted butternut. They are a wonderful means of preventing that sticky gooey mess that ends up at the bottom of the tin and that takes hours to clean. They are a brilliant way to ensure that cookies and cakes bake evenly, and dont stick to the pan. I used to think it was a waste to use baking paper on top of a perfectly good baking tin – but I used it once – in response to strict instructions in a recipe – and have never looked back.

I use it to wrap all my cheeses in comforting, organised little packages. I hate the plastic cling wrap or packaging that most cheese comes in these days. Once the cheese is open, the plastic encourages it to dry out quickly, or even for mold to form. I butter my cheese (I know, crazy, but it works) lightly to keep it moist, and wrap it in baking paper. It is fresh and delicious and there is so much less wastage.

I use it to cover puddings or mousse or soups – anything liquid that will form a skin – when I store in the fridge. This little bit of paper (sometimes I oil it a bit so as to prevent major sticking) prevents the skin from forming, and makes me feel much happier than if I were to cover a hot liquid with plastic wrap. I always worry (I told you I was slightly obsessional) that the plastic will release toxins in reaction to the hot liquid, and that would be bad for the consumers (namely me and those I love).

I use it around my cutting board, and underneath a bowl when grating cheese, to pick up the mess, and make for instant cleanup. Oh I love this stuff. Its simple and inconspicuous, but its a staple I cannot do without.

How do I love thee...

Immersion Blender

I have loads of fun toys and gadgets in my kitchen. Ive got my beautiful and deeply beloved Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (I saved up for that baby, and have used her a lot), my Cuisinart food processor, and my professional ice cream maker (on sale, and adored). But the one thing that I have found I use all the time is my Kenwood cherry red immersion blender. I bought it on a whim because it was on (another) sale. I thought, this might be fun to play with at some point. When I unpacked it eagerly at home, the plug point wasnt attached, and I am not technical in that way, so I left it until I found a friend who would figure it out for me.

I didnt really think it would get that much use in my kitchen, but to be honest, its the thing I turn to for most of my pureeing, chopping, mashing needs. I made the most amazing blueberry banana smoothie with my immersion blender – in seconds – and it just liquidised all that frozen fruit in the blink of an eye. I make the densest creamiest soups with it, I mash potatoes with it (they come out like silk if you use a deft touch, otherwise they can get a bit gluey), I creamed butternut and spinach for a pie and mixed them with sour cream — all using the immersion blender.

Its such a simple piece of equipment as well. It looks like a … well, now come to think of it, it could be, to a naughty mind, just a little obscene! Its a large wand, with a head that holds rotating slicers. It operates like a food processor, but its much smaller, and because its handheld, much easier to control. Dont get me wrong, I love my food processor. But in part because of space issues, its a big pain in the tukus to take it out of its little storage space. And once I am done, the food processor involves a lot of parts to clean up. Not so with the immersion blender. You pop off the metal part of the wand, wash it, and you are done. It is awesome. Probably my new absolute favourite gadget. I keep thinking of new ways to play with it…

Hardworking and beloved!

Fridge

When I first moved into my apartment, my landlady provided me with a fridge. Dont get me wrong, it wasnt an awful fridge. But it was definitely from the 1970’s, that particular vomity green colour that all major appliances had back then. It was very retro in not a cool way, and it wasnt very big. I could barely fit my juice and staples in, and I certainly didnt have enough freezer space for more than ice cubes and a carton of Ben & Jerry’s. I thank the good Goddess that this indispensable piece of kitchen equipment is par for the course. But when I renovated, I decided I deserved a larger fridge. I think I might have gotten my measurements wrong, or in my mind’s eye my kitchen was bigger than I thought it was, because this fridge just fit. I had to get things built around it, but I dont care! I love love love it.

Its freezer is on the bottom – a clever bit of design, because you dont use the freezer as much as the fridge part, and so bending to check out whats in the bottom of the fridge lurking in the veggie bin, is a thing of the past. My fridge is full of stuff – my vitamins and staples (flour, sugar, salt – all of which I keep in the fridge because of the high heat and humidity here) – as well as food I have just cooked and am saving for friends to eat and taste – or thats waiting to be frozen for next week – and fresh fruits and vegetables waiting to inspire me. It gives me great satisfaction to look into a full fridge – may be its that Jewish-Muslim feeding people thing, but I love knowing that if someone drops by, I will always, always have something to offer them.

My fridge makes me feel safe (against hunger, because as anyone who knows me knows, I could just fade away! 😉 ) and satisfied. When I look in my fridge, I see all the things I have made (thats one last lone oven roasted fig in the centre, by the way, waiting for AngelKitten and Ezril), and I know that I have expressed my love and passion in a way that is distinctly me. I also am inspired. Sometimes I just look in the fridge and think… Oooh, I will make that today! Or I think, I need something soothing and quiet. And whatever my mood, I can always find inspiration there.

Its funny, but taking photographs of the interior of my fridge was a bit intimidating. Kind of like showing your your undies to complete strangers. Oh well, its me, and this is my blog, so fudge it 😉

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My Kitchen

26 Jun

I have always wanted a huge kitchen, with an island where I can stand and cook, an Aga, or a big six burner professional oven (or ovens), and a dining nook. I can see the kitchen of my heart in my mind’s eye. And it is fantabulous! Its a place to hang out, chat, eat, laugh, share. Its an extension of my cooking philosophy and my way of living – casual yet passionate, full of pleasure and joy.

The reality? My kitchen is so small that if I stand in the middle of the (possibly 8 foot) square room, and hold out my arms, and slowly turn a circle, I can touch all the edges of the room – the fridge, the oven, the sink and the stove top. The kitchen is crammed with cupboards and storage, and still, there are some things (like my professional ice cream maker, or the huge cast iron pot) which just dont fit in – and therefore find space snuggling elsewhere in the apartment.

Dont get me wrong, I love my kitchen. I know where everything (well, most everything) is, and I can produce some pretty phenomenal food from here. I love it for its windowed view of my garden airwell, for its compact efficiency, and for its double sink. But if you stick more than 2 people in the kitchen, no one can move!

So I thought I would give you a “tour” of my kitchen, beloved, bedraggled, and slightly battered though it is, its mine, and I love it!

The fridge is immediately on the left, as you walk in. The front is covered with magnets – hooks and clips and things I love. This view shows my two favourite – a hook magnet, holding the most awesome pot holder from my sister – its by Annie Taintor and says, “Resentment is the secret ingredient” – made me laugh out loud when she gave it to me! And the second is a clip which holds whatever recipe I am working on at the moment. A useful trick for hands free checking of recipes while cooking.

Above the fridge is the bookshelf which houses may be a third of my cookbooks (I didnt realise I had so many!) and some store cupboards for things I dont use very often. I have a step ladder to help me get up there! I love my Mah Meri Kitchen God wood mask – he protects me and ensures that everything that comes out of my kitchen is delicious!

Going in a circle, after the fridge comes the oven, and then the countertop. Well, its more like a fully stuffed area where all the immediate cooking stuff is. Stand mixer, kettle, toaster. Bottles of olive oil, wine, and home made vanilla essence. My knife rack, which holds my most used work knives, not my obsessional ancient Sabatier which I collect, and take out every now and then to caress. My spice shelf – holds the usual suspects, grinding pepper, white pepper, fleur de sel, Maldon, vanilla, smoked paprika, herbs of various kinds. Its a mess, but its an organised mess, and I know where everything is!

Next to the countertop is my double sink (a lifesaver!) and big windows looking out onto my airwell garden. I love this view, and my gorgeous Tord Boontjie lamp which hangs outside. This airwell is where PutPut and Kai (the cats) hang out all the time (their litter is hidden in a long wooden bench) and it gives much needed light and air to a very small space.

Just to the right of the door leading to the airwell garden (and my self contained washing machine + drier – another lifesaver!) are my most used pans, and my oils and seasonings – sesame, truffle, and varied olive oils, canola, red wine, apple cider, and white vinegar, balsamico, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce. Mmmmmmmm. Delicious!

All in all, a compact and slightly (okay, very) messy space. But it works for me, and its efficient. I would love a bigger place, but until then, this is my solace and my joy – my very own kitchen!

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