MORE quinoa? Yep, I’m afraid so. It’s January, the time for austerity, of body as well as mind. And there’s nothing more crushingly austere than a super-douper health food grain. Right?
Wrong. Quinoa, despite its, holier-than-thou goodie two shoes reputation, is actually pretty tasty. Delicious even. I know! I was as surprised as you. Nutty, just the merest hint of crunch, and it stands up to sauces. So good, in fact, that I had to have it twice. In quick succession. Continue reading
Soup is a constant. From slurping French onion soup at Gatwick as a child to being blown away by the sour spicy hit of Tom Yam on my first trip East, soup appears all over the world. It must answer a deep seated need for nourishment and warmth that goes beyond simple degrees celsius.
Sometimes, particularly when I’m under the weather, I crave a clear meaty broth, simple chicken and ginger or a more complex Pho – which many consider to be the ultimate soup. Clean, crisp and subtle flavour. Other times, when it’s cold and I’m hungry, I need a soup with substance. Something that will slide thickly over the tongue, smooth and soothing and full of taste. Continue reading
As The Grubworm is two years old it feels like it’s time for a bit of a refresh, hence the new look. Expect more small changes over the coming weeks as the blog evolves.
It’s January, traditionally a time of restraint and moderation. And so I thought I’d kick off 2012 with something healthy and tasty. Spinach for the iron and vitamins, and quinoa because it’s damn tasty (and makes a change from cous cous or rice). Continue reading
You may have noticed a drop in the number of restaurants posts I’m writing. From a bit of a deluge in October and November last year to just three so far in 2011. Partly this is down to eating out less as I try to breathe life back into my battered body and bank account. But it’s not just that. I’m suffering from restaurant fatigue.
This is more in the bloggy rather than the eating sense, but not totally. Making mental notes about the food, thinking about the best camera shot and worse of all, choosing dishes to fit what I want to write. It’s all got in way of simply enjoying the food. Continue reading
Summer time is salad time. Which is great because I’m not getting home till quite late at the moment and all I’m craving after a long hot walk home is something fresh and light to eat on our small balcony.
Add a glass of delicately dry Provençal rose or a tart sauvignon blanc, and the warm light of the setting sun and you have something approaching paradise – or at least as close as you can get in London. Continue reading
I don’t care if spring has chilled down to the level of a Greenland glacier, it’s still sunny. And so, in the great British tradition, I am determined to forge ahead as though I’m in a temperate paradise.
So it’s got to be fresh light food to match those – ahem – fresh winds blowing down from the north. Continue reading
There’s nothing better for a night when you’re feeling a bit crappy than a full on assault on the senses. This delivers that attack in spades. Chilli heat, silken aubergines and smoky tofu. All those strong flavours maintaining a fragile truce.
Blues are banished – along with any remaining subtle taste buds – in the pungent, silky-smooth smoky chilli miasma. Continue reading
No-place does vegetarian food like the South Asian subcontinent. I’ve had very good vegetarian Italian, Japanese, Thai and for want of a better name, fusion food. But nowhere, and I mean no-where, that I’ve come across takes vegetarian based cooking so seriously and has such a breadth of veggie food. It’s my go-to cuisine when i’m in need of a serious green (or orange, yellow, red etc) flesh-free hit. Continue reading
You don’t get home till 7pm, it’s cold outside and you’re knackered. But you still want some good home cooked food. What to make when you feel like this can be a real dilemma. Over the years I’ve developed a number of dishes are a good solution to this particular problem. But in the winter the number dwindles drastically and the need for something hot comes to dominate. But this spicy little number is great whatever the time of year.
It’s superbly adaptable and is ridiculously quick to make. More assembling over a flame than actually cooking. I use my magic warming ingredient: Lee Kum Kee chilli bean paste – it gives a wonderfully pungent heat to any dish and has many uses. Here it suffuses the whole dish with its characterful heat, transforming a dish that is usually very simple and clean, into something almost meaty in character. Continue reading