Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Nigella's Forever Summer [link]
ABC TV, 8.30pm, Wednesday nights

I personally prefer Jamie, but EvilHayama is a pretty big fan of Nigella. XD I do enjoy watching her over dinner and all, but she just plain distracts me with the whole sexiness angle! She gets all enthusiastic about how wonderful cream, raspberries or vinegar are and I end up dwelling on that instead of remembering the recipe or seeing what she thinks goes together (which is what I really get out of cooking shows and magazines). It's actually quite miraculous that I took notes on a recipe tonight!

Says the honourable TV guide this week: Nigella shares her passion for Japanese cooking at home when preparing delicious soba noodles with sesame seeds and peppered seared tuna.

Now the following recipe is on the site I linked back there, but I think that summarising recipes quickly and in the manner I'd cook them is a bit of an art. I've used some amounts from their ingredients list, though.

Soba Noodles with Sesame Seeds

* 75g sesame seeds
* salt
* 250g soba noodles
* 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
* 5 teaspoons soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 2 teaspoons sesame oil
* spring onions

Place the soba in a pot of salted water and bring to the boil.

Toast the sesame seeds in a frypan.

Put some rice vinegar in a large bowl, add some honey, the same amount of toasted sesame oil and a splash of soy sauce. Gently stir the mixture together.

Chop a small amount of spring onions and put them aside.

Shake the sesame seeds around - they should be lightly scorched/toasted all over by now. Put them aside as well.

Drain the soba and drench it in cold water. (Personally, I turn on the cold tap and hold the colander under it, using my hand to make sure the noodles are cooled down all the way through.)

Put the soba in the bowl of dressing, then scatter the shallots and sesame seeds over the noodles. Mix it all together by hand, then leave for half an hour if possible to let the flavours mingle.

Serves 2-4 and goes great with sashimi, tataki or vegetables!

Posted by Pirotess @ 06:58 PM AEST [Entry and Comments]

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Cadbury Strawberry Ripe

Interestingly enough, I can't find a site for this chocolate bar. That probably sums up the experience of eating it, though - it disappeared before I really had time to think of how it tasted. The concept of a Cherry Ripe with strawberries in it is nice at least... :D~

Posted by Pirotess @ 02:16 PM AEST [Entry and Comments]

Monday, February 10, 2003

Mangorind

Beautiful stuff, this. My mother kindly left a bag of these yummy Filipino candies behind when she last visited. If you've never tasted tamarind or tamarind candy, it's pretty strong stuff! Dried tamarind is so potent that you can usually only keep it in your cheek while you eat it... putting it on your tongue is murder. Mixing dried mango with tamarind seems to work very well, and you end up with a nice sweet-and-sour mixture (like dried apricots).

Now I want more of them. Waaaaaaah. Hopefully I can find some at the local Filo grocery...

Posted by Pirotess @ 08:36 PM AEST [Entry and Comments]

Monday, February 3, 2003

Peach waterplus [link]

Oh my goodness, this stuff sucks arse. Normally I tank up on Vanilla Coke or V at lunchtime, but I figured that today I might see what all the fuss over flavoured sports water was about. So I chose the peach flavour (being a fan of peaches, peach nectar, Japanese peach water and peach iced tea).

You know that taste you get in your mouth when you take vitamins? And you know how the water you have just afterwards also tastes like it, in a way that makes you drink water until you can't taste it any more? Now imagine drinking 710ml of the water that tastes like crap. It made me feel kind of nauseous, but I was thirsty and didn't want to throw it out so I forced it all down. The peach flavour just barely masks the damned vitamins.

Joining a gym has been the most yuppie thing I've ever done, apart from acquiring a mobile phone ages ago. Yuppie water and yuppie sushi bars (I'll explain later) are things I will never succumb to, however. I am so not touching MiZone unless someone can really convince me otherwise.

Posted by Pirotess @ 09:02 PM AEST [Entry and Comments]