Dîner chez moi - 25 June -01 July

I am in the salad mode recently. Perhaps because the weather is getting warmer or because all veggies look just so lusciously tempting begging to be eaten. Or I just am addicted to blue cheese dressing. Who knows?! Last week we had carrot salad twice and crudités for one night, instead of my usually blanched veggies dressed in garlic and olive oil. All were happily accepted by the carnivore hubby which is my measure of veggie success.

With 20+ centigrade forecasted for the next few days, looks like we get to enjoy our salad for a few more days. Here is what I have planned for next week:

Saturday: Roasted Chicken and chorizo, Tabbouleh (couscous salad)

Sunday: Jerked pork, Zucchini salad with harissa, olives and feta

Monday: Grilled sole, couscous, ginger pickled radishes and chopped tomato/cucumber salad

Tuesday: Tagliatelle with bacon and mushroom sauce, blanched green beans

Wendesday: same as Saturday

Thursday: same as Sunday

Friday: wild card day

My Mafalda moment

I 20 years ago would have laughed out loud at myself now.

I got annoyed with three half eaten baguettes a few days ago. Gosh, there must be a zillion of things in this world which are more worth of my attention and energy. I can't believe that I get frustrated with day-old bread.

I don't like to waste food. Oddly enough, I can toss away clothes or shoes without any guilt but it kills me to see food being wasted. Since there is usually just one person in the house who eats bread regularly, I appreciate the fact that it can be hard to finish a whole baguette at its peak. Thanks to all these frugal people out there (and the internet), I have learned ways to use up down-the-hill bread.

Here are a few ways to feel virtuous about old bread:

- Thickening agent in stew or soup. Just cook the soup/stew with some leftover bread. The bread becomes totally disintegrated and invisible in the pot after 1 hour. This is my favorite way to use up extra burger buns.

- Panzanella (Italian bread salad). If I am fortunate enough to have a sweltering day or two, this is what I go for. Locatelli's version is pretty good.

- Sweet bread pudding. I am very fond of Delia Smith's version with Marmalade. I usually make it with milk only. It still tastes divine.

- Savoury bread pudding. Why not? Ham and cheese are always friends. And guess what? They go well with leftover bread too!

Happy recycling.

ps. The title of this post came from a comic strip I once read as a little girl, Mafalda. This little girl who always has quirky thoughts said to her mother one day: You must have better things to worry about in this world, when she saw her mom tearing over chopped onion.

First BBQ of 2011

If I could ever figure out how British summer is.

Last Sunday we had rain, from morning till late night. Non-stop. I had to wear my fleece indoor to keep myself warm. Then Monday came, bamn, loads of sunshine. Today is even better. Warm and sunny all day long. It's so pleasant that we decided to get a disposable BBQ grill from our local supermarket and have dinner in the garden.

We've also got four Welsh lamb cutlets and one beef sirloin steak to keep the carnivore happy. Bell pepper and cherry tomatoes to make the meal look balanced. I also picked up a pot of whipping cream on the way to have Eton Mess to finish. Simple, straightforward, nothing fancy. Most ingredients went onto the grill without any work. We just sat by the table helping ourselves with some crisps and sour cream dip while waiting for the food to cook by itself.

We finished every grilled item. Our fingers smelled slightly smoky and our minds were thoroughly relaxed and immensely contented. That's how summer should be.

Neither here nor there

"Because of that chance decision, I have become a hybrid, fitting properly neither here nor there, being neither English nor any longer Italian, always missing something when I am here or something else when I am there" - Anna Del Conte.

Who can speak better of an immigrant's mind than Dame Del Conte?

Michael Smith You Rock!

I have followed some of the Great British Menu this year. One chef who caught my eyes (and not just with his food) is Michael Smith, the finalist for Scotland. His cooking style is uncomplicated and elegant. He is the only chef who managed to put three courses into the top 3 of each category (there are four courses/categories in total). As fate would have it, when the judges came to assemble different top 3 dishes for a coherent menu. None of his was picked. Sigh...

Well, that does not dampen my enthusiasm for trying his dishes. I was determined to try his dry rub designed for his very convivial looking and surely mouth watering Barbecued Lamb main course. Rosemary and lamb is a common combination but he added crushed fennel seeds to the lamb. When I was preparing the dry rub, I can only think of one word, elegant. It's as if the fennel seeds broadens the dimension of rosemary, away from the greenness and more on the woodiness and sweetness, perfect with lamb. The taste is earthly elegant, understated fineness, and undeniably scrumptious. Oh I adore it.

Needless to say, this dry rub has a permanent stay in my recipe box! Thank you Chef Michael!

Fennel and rosemary dry rub for lamb

- 400 g lamb rump
- 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 1/2 tbsp rosemary, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Mix all ingredients in a container. Let it sit in the fridge for at least one hour (overnight is fine). Grill lamb until the centre is pink.

Enjoy.

End of 2011 First Half, Almost

Can you imagine that? Five months have gone, puff, in a smoke.

What have I achieved in the first half? Not much really. I have felt that my 2011 has been aimless so far. I don't like the feeling of hanging around without any real purpose but I did it anyway as if it was my silent protest. Protest to what, you may ask. I am not sure. Protest against office politics, against my inability or perhaps unwillingness to change myself. Of course, I realize that this kind of "silent" protest is useless and meaningless because I am the only one who really suffer and situations are not really improving.

Well, well, well. Let's look at the bright side, shall we?

Workwise, I still enjoy doing science. Working with the new collaboration partner is fun. We are still at the honeymoon period where there is a lot of enthusiasm and energy. So that's good.

Also, I am still working on my pet project. Still highly motivated, even after 3 years. This line of research has generated several good publications and presentations. I am happy.

Homewise, I have spent more time (and ££) this year in the little garden of mine. I cannot tell you how gratifying it is to see a plant growing from the tiny seeds you sow not knowing whether it will come out or not to the point when it stands tall greeting the sun every morning and you can touch every leaf and stalk it has.

Lovely.

I also find it fascinating reading the book by Harold McGee. It's a big book but it's just wonderful. Finding out why we do (or do not) certain things in the kitchen is just so awesome. The first chapter on Dairy Products took me roughly a month to go through. Every time I have to stop, I can't wait to pick it up again next time. Brill.

The short but marvellous British summer is just around the corner. The temperature reached 20C today, gentle sunlight slowly and quietly splashing down from clear sky all day long. And the streets smelled of BBQ wherever I went. That put a smile on my face.

Andrea Bocelli - A Volte Il Cuore (Sometimes the heart)

And my darling is coming back this Friday.

What a lovely way to end a week and to start the second half of the year.