Gosh, it’s been a month since the last post! My excuse is that I had a bit of a cold and have also been suffering from nasty arm injury (opening the oven was a challenge at one point).  This has put me off cooking, eating and writing for a bit.

Still, I more than made up for it at Christmas so I’m actually relieved that the festivities are almost over. I don’t think I could have maintained the “stuff-myself-stupid” extravaganza for much longer without some irreversible consequence to my BMI …. 

Right, bring on the New Year and all of the resolutions that go with it. Funny things, New Year’s “resolutions”. Everywhere is full of encouraging tips on how to set and keep yours, yet I’d struggle to name one person who actually achieved everything – or indeed anything – they set out to do.  My good intentions tend to go adrift by week one, so I’m usually disappointed with myself by the 10^th of January. But past failures won’t deter me from attempting the impossible, and this year is all about my lunch.

I have decided that I shall be taking a home-made lunch to the office with me at least twice a week. This is to make me feel better about eating healthy, wholesome stuff… That’s not quite true: I’m actually on a bit of a diet and I fear the hidden calories in the “healthy options” from the places where I normally buy lunch. Paranoid? Maybe. But why don’t people like Prêt or Eat simply print the nutrition details on their labels rather than “hide” them on their website? Take a look at the calorie count and all becomes clear!

Partly because I would not be seen dead with a plain Tupperware box, and partly because I don’t like to idea of a soggy salad, I have invested in a proper Bento box – a traditional Japanese lunch box that has handy compartments. I have chosen a black lacquered one with a red and gold motif on the lid. I got it from a company based in Singapore, which set off the alarm bells at the anti-fraud unit of my bank, but that’s another story entirely…

 What matters is that I now have something respectable to pack my lunch into and I’m already excited about creative ideas for my “at-the-desk-banquets”. Furthermore, I’m unlikely to fail in my ambition by the 10^th January simply because I’m only going back to work on the 11^th. Ha! 

 Roll on 2010 and have a great one!

With this horrid weather , a nasty cold has finally got me down. I shouldn’t complain – it could have been the “hog flu”, which half of the town seems to be suffering from. I just have the splattering but no-need-for-tamiflu variety. That said, the lurgy put me off food somewhat, so I haven’t felt like cooking. Instead, I have been drinking gallons of tea: Earl Gray (black!) with tablespoon of honey and an optional splash of brandy. What a concoction! It should be prescribed by doctors. The other liquid I have been enjoying is the M&S Christmas Soup. If you haven’t tried it – go on! It’s literally a Christmas dinner, blended. Superbly authentic flavours. I’m feeling festive already….

According to my unscientific poll of random individuals in the office, no one has ever heard about Stir-Up Sunday. That ’s a shame as it’s a great excuse for baking a cake. Basically, Stir-Up Sunday is a traditional day for everyone in the family to stir-up Christmas pudding while making a wish. If you want to do it properly, the mixture is to be stirred from East to West in honour of the three Wise Men and should have 13 ingredients, to represent Christ and His Disciples. A coin should be to the ingredients and cooked in the pudding.

Curiously though, the day is named not after stirring, but after a Church of England prayer : “Stir up we beseech thee, O Lord, the will of thy faithful people… “

Now, I’m not into making a Christmas puddings – that’s what Waitrose is for – but to celebrate, I’ll be making my Ultimate Chocolate Torte.

Ingredients (serving 8-10)

300g of good quality dark chocolate ,

300g of caster sugar , 200g of unsalted butter + 15g for greasing 

4 eggs,  1 tablespoon of crushed hazelnuts

 A pinch of salt

Set the oven to 160C.

In the medium saucepan boil some water. Place the first large mixing bowl over the saucepan, ensuring that the bottom does not touch the water.

Dice 200g of unsalted butter and break 300g of dark chocolate into small pieces. Place both of them in the mixing bowl over the boiling water and let it melt, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Take it off the heat and let it cool a little.

Crack 4 eggs into the second mixing bowl. Add 300g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk with the electric mixer for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture turns pale and thick.

Gently fold melted chocolate into the eggs. Mix in 1 tablespoon of crushed hazelnuts.

Line the base of the tin with baking paper and grease the sides with a little butter.

Pour in the torte mixture and bake for 40 minutes.

Let the torte cool (it will sink and crack) before taking it out of the tin.

Chill for an hour in the fridge before serving.

Damn, I forgot my nephew’s birthday, again. He is going to be eight and I probably missed his last 5 birthdays. What’s makes this one worse is that I’m actually away, so there is no chance of recovery with a last minute panic-buy masquerading as a well-thought present.

As I’m in the proverbial middle-of-nowhere my only salvation is a tiny gift shop in the hotel lobby. I rushed there this morning with a stash of foreign currency that amounted to a few bills of real money only to discover the shop did not sell any birthday cards. Why would they? Oh, but if I wanted a 3-day old newspaper there were plenty to choose from!

In panic I turned to the postcard rack: I might as well send something at least to acknowledge … That’s when these sensational postcards caught my eye. Twice a large as standard (and twice as expensive) on the front they had the usual picturesque view of a touristy spot. But on the back each of them had a recipe from the local cuisine! Inspired – at least for me.

The shop keeper must have thought I was mad marvelling at these cards, selecting the most suitable one for my nephew. But I took my time thinking that if every country and region in the world produced one of these, it would make the most amazing collection of recipes. Just think: Big Ben & Bangers and Mash; Statue of Liberty & Salmon Bagels; Kremlin & Borsht. What a feast of an idea!

In the meantime, here is a Pawpaw Salad from the postcard:

Serving 6: 500g raw pawpaw – 2 limes – 4 garlic cloves – black olives – parsley – oil – salt – pepper Cut off the top of the pawpaw, drain the milk for 15 minutes, then peel in cold water. Drain and grate. Prepare the sauce with lemon juice, ground garlic and oil. Dress the fruit, season, then decorate black olives and chopped parsley.

Or arugula, ruccola and roquette – call it what you will.

 Apparently, those fabulously peppery leaves I love to use my salads are quite an offender when it comes to the digestive system of Mr D, who has had a tummy crisis recently (nothing of my doing, honest!).

 I learnt this shocking fact from a dietitian the other day. A revelation, at least to me!

 It looks like we should be banning rocket from the Dunachie household for a bit. Goodbye too to watercress and uncooked spinach, which can also cause havoc to sensitive tummies, together with green peas, kidney beans, celery and tomatoes. Not to mention onions of any kind.

 And muesli is one of the worse foods he can eat, as dried oats and fruit will only upset his gut. The list carried on. I stopped listening.

Admittedly, this was a conversation in a context of a sensitive tummy condition – but rocket?!  Give me a break.

And I’m chuffed to bits. Here it is:

A recipe competition with Red magazine in association with Waitrose.

 (For those outside the UK I should explain that Red is an upmarket lifestyle magazine in the UK targeting women 30+; Waitrose is a posh, middle-England supermarket. Both are very respectable brands indeed.)

 Actually, I have not actually seen the magazine yet as I’m away travelling, but my friend, Meike, scanned this for me.

 It might not be a Michelin star, but hey – I’m proud.

 And just for the record, it was the crusty lamb with celeriac mash and beetroot that swayed he judges.

Not quite, but the point is this: cows poop and poo a lot. And in doing so they produce prodigious quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which is lethal for our climate. And the scientists are worried about it.

Now Lord Stern of Brentford, in his interview with The Times, has called for us all to give up our steaks and follow a vegetarian diet. “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases,” he says. “It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”  

Earlier this year I read in the New Scientist that according to one study a farmer needs to feed his cow 15kg of grain and 30kg of foliage to produce 1kg of beef.

OK – so growing the feed takes its toll on the climate. Add in the methane and you can see why cows are so unpopular at the moment. Add the argument that the grazing land could be turned into sustainable farming or even unused fields – and it is easy to see why you might soon be banished from polite society at the mere thought of a juicy steak.     

Well, well, well. Before we all turn into tofu addicts, let’s think about this.

One, the cows have not caused the climate crisis – people have – so leave the poor beasts alone. Two, like anything in life, it’s all about moderation.

 And on this note, I’m off to cook my Sunday roast – beef, of course.

What’s the point of Halloween? No really, do you know?  Actually, the story is fascinating.  In the old days it was as much to do with Harvest than Horror. Yes, for the Celts it was a celebration of the end of the summer: a day before 1^st November, which marked the beginning of winter (they only had two seasons in those days). 

Then Christianity spread though the Celt’s world, and before the poor guys knew what hit them , the 1^st November became “All Saints” day – an honour day for those who died for their beliefs. This was called “All Hallows” in old English, so the night before ended up being called “All Hallows Eve”, which eventually become Halloween.

I guess one thing led to another, and a story got out that ghosts walked the streets that evening, so people started wearing masks and costumes to fool the buggers. The day after –  i.e. on the All Saints parade – poor people begged the richer folk for food in return for the promise to pray for their dead relatives.  In the end this turned into “trick-or-treat”.

The whole pumpkin business is equally sinister: allegedly a bloke called Stingy Jack, a famous trickster, failed to get into either heaven or hell because of his trickery. So the devil gave Jack a piece of glowing coal in a hollowed-up turnip so Jack could wonder the night. Turnip became pumpkin once the European emigrants hit America, and there you have it – the end of bedtime story.

No wonder I don’t like pumpkin – or Halloween, for that matter.

With a big brunch yesterday we skipped lunch. Mid-afternoon, however , I started feeling peckish and the idea of an “afternoon tea”  was seeded in my head. Unfortunately, I’m not good at making cakes for a simple reason:  with no self-control, I would eat everything I’d bake. So I don’t.

But since the temptation was there, I made myself some green tea and wondered off to the cyberspace to look at cake recipes. I stumbled across Apple and Spice blog, which has fabulous recipes such as Apple & Blackberry pie or what looked like a very ambitious creation, Pistachio Petit Four cake.

But my mind moved quickly off cakes and onto more serious matters: Kate, the lady who writes this particular blog, needed to watermark her photos as some bloke was totally plagiarising her posts! How cheap!

Earlier in the week, I read on Good Food magazine site that some “luxury” food stuff gets copied or imitated to provide cheaper alternatives. For example, the authentic Wasabi sauce (which is expensive) is sometimes substituted by a cheaper version of horseradish, mustard and green food colouring.

As that wasn’t enough, I also happen to read the A Slice of Cherry Pie post, covering the“Discover the Orgins”  campaign designed to raise the awareness of 5 key European products:  Parma Ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Burgundy, Port,  Douro Valley wines, which I guess suffer from cheap imitations.

So it dawned on me that even with something as innocent as cooking there is potentially quite an ugly world out there. Sad but true: “They steal anything these days”.

My favourite morning of the year – an extra hour of sleep.  Brilliant.

Having missed breakfast though, and with an extra long wait for lunch I have decided to serve  a brunch –  a meal that’s normally not practiced in our household. On the menu were scrambled eggs with a magnificent combination of flavours : sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and the fragrant fresh tarragon, that just kicked the whole thing into a different sphere.  All served on sunflower seed bread, organic of course. A treat!

Serving 2:

Chop up 5 sundried tomatoes and 3-4 white mushrooms. Sauté both in a large frying pan with a little butter. Meantime, crack 5 eggs into a bowl, whisk and season. Finely chop up a ½ bunch of fresh tarragon. Add eggs into the pan and scramble vigorously. Mix in the tarragon. Done.

Serve on a slice of sunflower seed, pumpernickel or rye bread.