I dream about being the type of cook who wanders through a farmers market, gets inspired by whatever’s in season, and runs home to make something simple and delicious without consulting a single recipe. The reality is that I am extremely recipe-bound. I shop with a detailed list, rarely impulse-buy, and usually have meals planned weeks, sometimes months, out between recipe development and content planning. And I get full-on decision paralysis at the farmers market when I try to freestyle a…

If you love the ease of a quick bread but crave the tender, fluffy crumb of a homemade biscuit, these Biscuit Muffin Breads are about to become your new favourite little kitchen shortcut. This quick Biscuit Muffin Breads bake up soft, fluffy, and golden in just 30 minutes. A cozy, 6‑ingredient comfort bake you’ll want to make on repeat. There is nothing like accompanying a meal with a delicious morsel of bread on the side. Soups, salad, stews, etc. If you have a roll on the side, the meal…

This new Demerara rum expression from El Dorado follows a previous “high ester” release a couple years ago that paired Diamond Distillery’s intense Diamond High Ester (DHE) marque with a rare LBI marque. This time they’re pairing DHE with what is probably Diamond’s most famous still, the legendary Port Mourant wooden pot still initially put into service in 1732 (yes, almost 300 years). PM is one of my favorite stills as it produces oily, heavy, and pungent rum that in the best of ways tastes…

I recently ventured out to Asakusa to visit Leaves Coffee Roasters. Along with Glitch and Koffee Mameya, these three shops seem to be the trifecta of Tokyo pour over coffee shops commonly recommended on the internet. I mentally prepared myself for the long lines of tourists - but to my pleasant surprise when we showed up about 10 minutes before the store’s opening time, we were only the third group of people lining up. So we easily made it into the store when it opened at 10am. Leaves Coffee…

Recently tried Matsuzakaya They are mainly a butcher shop and are also known for their roast pork and other foodsApparently they have been in business for over 80 years. We tried their sweet sour pork...932 yen (tax included) for 333 gramsThis was delicious, not overly sweet with lots of tender pork pieces and veggies in itand their koumiyaki (spice grilled) chicken...480 yen (tax

Want to know less? This is a full breakdown of my holiday - day-by-day. If you want to just see the highlights, I will post a round-up at the end of this series. Previously # In part 2 we headed to the Korean DMZ for a tour, met a North Korean defector, and learnt lots about the history of South Korea. It was a very serious and sobering day. 10th May: Dressing Up at Gyeongbokgung # But today our destination was a chance to lighten the mood. A holiday palate-cleanser if you will. I had been told…

I wrote at the start of the year about my parlous experience with the British tax and student loan authorities, whilst resulted in me being on the hook for several thousands of pounds in the previous tax year. My goal is to reclaim almost every single penny of that… …but the bastards won’t make it easy. As a reminder: when we last left our intrepid hero (i.e., me), I had three avenues of reclamation ongoing: amending my tax return for 2024–25 UK tax year, where I had overstated my…

20cm x 15cm (8"x6"), oil on board

This is a very interesting one and I believe it to be its third iteration. Way back, this was garlic teriyaki and it was a splendid variant – one my wife loved and she’s not the biggest noodle human. Then they came out with a version with a huge drop in sodium – about 35000mg down to 700mg. Then we have this one in the ‘carton’ version. Well, let’s give it a try. Nongshim Yaki Udon Premium Teriyaki Flavor – United States Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare,…

Birmingham’s biggest restaurant opening this year is in London. Our biggest culinary export, a two Michelin wielding chef by the name of Aktar Islam, has opened a restaurant in the big smoke called Oudh 1722. And before you think about Aktar’s cooking, get this preposition out of your head; it is nothing like Opheem. They might share the same garam masala recipe, they might use the same customer intel, but that is it. Whilst Opheem is very much a two star restaurant that uses flashes of the…

During 2020 and 2021, when I spent a LOT of time at home, I got really into making condiments. It's surprisingly easy to make condiments - for some reason, I had the idea that making sauces was harder than making "regular ass food", and I'd been avoiding it for literally decades. But it's not harder! If anything, it's often easier! And if you have an immersion blender, it's sometimes even brainlessly easy! My favorite two condiments to make were ketchup and thai peanut sauce. In particular, I…

In Saskatchewan, there’s a sandwich with many names–or at least many variants of the same name. Some menus in the area spell it Frajolaki, as I have; others spell it Frazolaki. Still other restaurants spell the name Fratzolaki, a spelling that seems to be more common in Regina than in Saskatoon. It might also be called a “Fragolaki” (I’m looking at you, Flamingo Restaurant in Melville, SK) or according to at least one report, a “Fraggle Rocky.” “Fratzolaki” may be the closest to being…

I must really be in the mood to bake this week because I am back with another recipe that I decided to give a whirl! Today we have some Blueberry Cornbread Cookies with honey butter buttercream and blueberry compote from Eat at Maude’s, who I stumbled upon during a nightly Instagram reels binge. View this post on Instagram I wasted no time making these. I saw them and knew I had to have them immediately, but I was lacking blueberries and cornmeal. Funny enough, I had cornmeal but it was…

While my weekends are often filled with a cooking or baking project, for weekdays we usually keep things simple and Kristina Felix’s Easy Chicken Tacos have earned their spot in our regular rotation! I love a dish that’s ready in under 30 minutes, but doesn’t skimp on flavor and these tacos deliver! Chicken thighs (my forever favorite cut) are coated in a mixture of garlic, lime juice, tabasco and onion powder and cooked in a skillet before getting diced. The really smart move is adding water…

Here's another one by Marukyu Koyamaen! General InfoThis is the Yugen matcha; weirdly, the shop page I ordered from said the name means "still dark", but seeking to confirm it, I found instead: Yūgen (幽玄) is a Japanese term that refers to a profound and mysterious sense of beauty that is only partially perceived, emphasizing suggestion over direct representation. It is often associated with traditional Japanese arts, particularly Noh theatre, where it evokes deeper meanings through subtlety and…

If you’ve ever enjoyed pizza in Sweden, you may already know about the simple little side dish that quietly steals the show: Swedish Pizza Salad. This light, crunchy cabbage salad is tossed in a tangy vinaigrette and infused with dried herbs, making it the perfect refreshing contrast to a hot, cheesy slice. It’s incredibly easy to make, uses everyday ingredients, and keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to a week — ideal for busy days, meal prep, or your next pizza night. Whether you’re…

These Chocolate-Tipped Cream-Puff Pocky Sticks are a fun homemade take on the favorite Japanese sweet snack. Thin lengths of piped choux pastry make the sticks, which are baked and then coated in chocolate glaze. While I did actually measure my piping tip, I clearly piped my Pocky a bit on the thick side. In fact, some wise guy asked me if they were breadsticks. I tipped them with the matcha white chocolate coating and sprinkled on some tiny sugar pears. While my chubby Pocky didn’t fully dry…

Hey look! I thought I’d do this up again as it’s truly wonderful stuff. I think it’s a wee bit different this time around but we shall see. Shall we? Vecorn Singapore Laksa Soup Noodles – Singapore Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains achovy and shrimp. To prepare, boil 360-400ml water and add in soup base sachets. Once at a boil, add in noodle block and cook 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy! A single pack from the multipack. Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). An…

Because a couple of you asked, Odd & David, I’ll try and recreate the recipe for last night’s pork stew. So, here goes nothing … Ingredients: 8oz pork pieces (mine were lean loin) 1 large yellow onion cut in chunks 6 carrots cut in chunks 3 large potatoes cut in chunks 2 bay leaves large pinch of oregano a good splash of Worcestershire sauce (about 1 tsp) 1 ½ cup of Aurora mushroom broth 1 tbsp tomato puree sunflower oil salt & pepper flour Method: Heat the oven to gas mark 5 or 350F dredge the…

Have you heard of the Croquembouche [CROCK-you-EAM-butchy]? It's a French thing.Well, if not, here's what it's supposed to look like: So kinda like old, cobweb-wrapped monkey bread. But in a yummy way. Well, a certain anonymous person - who shall remain unnamed to protect her anonymity - found this gem at a wedding which she may or may not have anonymously attended: I believe her exact words were, "it looks like some kind of primitive jungle cake being attacked by a swarm of lactating…

There’s the more modern Shanghai, beautiful lanes full of expensive yoga studios or artisan coffee shops, lined with the London Plane Tree (法国梧桐) and the Wukang Mansion (武康大楼), and renovated parks like the North Bund (北外滩) and West Bund (西岸). There’s also the Shanghai as the international metropolis and a symbol of China’s rising economic […] The post Cake and Timepieces appeared first on Jaap Grolleman.

Most wine writing tells us three things: whether the critic liked the wine, what the wine smells and tastes like, and how good it is presumed to be. These are important to know, but they do not exhaust the task of criticism. What wine writing too rarely explains is how a wine produces its effects. We get the verdict, the descriptor list, and perhaps a score. What we less often get is an account of how the wine moves, how it creates tension, how it resolves that tension, where it changes…

Other than watermelon, I’ve never been a huge melon fan – as Eric Kim notes in Korean American the honeydew melon is usually the most unloved morsel in American fruit cups. My aversion was why it took me so long to try his Honeydew Semifreddo … but if anyone can turn me into a convert, it’s Eric. I love the simplicity of a semifreddo. For this one, honeydew is puréed and sieved, then the juice is combined with egg yolks and sugar that have been gently warmed and whisked into a thick sauce. That…

This one was exciting for me, because I think it is the first matcha I have ever pre-ordered! General InfoAs you can already see with the packaging and name, this one is spring-themed! Harukasumi means "Spring Cloud". It was very limited and is only available for a month (probably each year?), and I got it in May. It's from Uji, and works for both usucha and koicha. I paid 57,50 Euro for it (I know...). Seems that right now, my usual supplier only has the 20g version left. Color and Smell The…

There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of homemade White Chicken Chili as a quick supper on a busy weeknight. This creamy, hearty dish is a delicious twist on traditional chili, made without tomatoes and instead built on tender chicken, mild jalapeños, soft white beans, and a warming blend of herbs and spices. A swirl of sour cream and a splash of cream at the end give it that velvety finish that keeps everyone coming back for seconds.It’s simple to make, wonderfully satisfying, and…

After visiting the Yanesen area a month ago while walking between Ueno and Nippori, we made a re-visit, this time checking out the recommendations of some friends who live in the area. First stop on the list was armadillo bakes&coffee, a little cafe near Sendagi station. They made a good first impression with their armadillo mascot (look at that cute guy on the front of the store!) and we were excited to see that they had some pour over on the menu - and there were quite a few beans to choose…

Shipwrecked Paradise Island Tiki Bar is the Sacramento location and sister property of the original Shipwrecked in nearby Davis. Located in Midtown near Capitol Park, the bar is basically an adult version of Rainforest Cafe thanks to elaborate set pieces, animatronic snakes, and a jungle theme. They call themselves a tiki bar and while there aren’t tiki idols there are plenty of skulls and stone idols that fall enough into a “big tent” categorization of such things. We arrived before 5:00 for…

Tem um ditado que eu sempre gostei bastante, após ouvi-lo pela primeira vez há muitos anos, atribuído de forma apócrifa a Confúcio, quando na real é apenas um fruto da cultura popular. A sabedoria vem de escutar; de falar vem o arrependimento. Eu nunca vivi por essa filosofia, apesar de achá-la prudente. Sim, eu acho que eu sou um bom ouvinte (minha esposa e meus sócios podem ter outra opinião a respeito), e eu gosto de pensar que eu sempre soube escolher a hora de falar menos e escutar mais.…

The last Korean review I did involved a spicy and sweet noodle served hot I kind of think might have been better cold. Well, here’s a cold noodle. Sounds good – let’s check it out! Woobool Restaurant Cold Buckwheat Noodles – South Korea A distributor / import sticker (click to enlarge). Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, boil noodles in 500ml water for 2 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Take sachets and add to 180ml cold water and stir. Finally, combine and…

Well, it’s officially peach season, and my mom gave me a small box of fresh peaches from the famed Peach Truck. I immediately knew what to do with at least a couple of them, and got to work trying out a new Half Baked Harvest recipe I saw on her Instagram: Cinnamon Crunch Peach Muffin Bread. View this post on Instagram So let’s dive right in by taking a look at the ingredients list. Here’s everything you need: Since I had literally just been given the peaches, the only thing I didn’t have on…