I spent the past weekend in Hangzhou, capital of the Zhejiang Province in China, visiting a friend who’s working there for a couple of months. Hangzhou is probably best known as home to West Lake – one of the most picturesque places in China, and purportedly one of the few places where the hyperbole of Chinese poets did not overstate its beauty.
Where, apparently, your right hind leg should reach for the sky when you’re attacking a lens cap. In other words, HELLO OUR TWO NEW BABY KITTENSES! Tobias is the rather obscene one, and Seth his slightly scrawnier brother. (Their self-appointed godmother decided on the names, for those who are curious as to the outcome of my straw poll.)
Oh, and no, Mr Jealous & Possessive (aka Rufus) is not handling the newcomers’ arrival particularly well. But not too badly either, I’m sure he’ll get over it in a couple of days. (Also, he’s still the only one allowed in our bed/to shove our heads off our pillows with his rather generously sized rear end, so that should count for something?)
Stay tuned for more pictures. Oh, and I’ll be moving house soon – exciting times ahoy!
I know, I know. I’ve been bad, I’ve been absent. But I have an excuse! For some of it, anyway.
You know how for a while a whole bunch of food magazines, food blogs, and other food-related media were banging on about essential appliances? How everyone just needs a good skillet, a heavy-based saucepan, a chef’s knife and a flat-edged wooden spoon to cook almost anything? Well you know what they missed out on? You need a FRIDGE. Keep reading →
A couple of quick notes:
1. Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
Michael Ruhlman‘s new book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking is out, and I’m beyond excited. It’s a book that deals with – as you can imagine – ratios in cooking and baking, which help anyone who spends in the kitchen to understand the basic relationships between ingredients, as opposed to having to memorise how many cups, tablespoons, grams, ounces of a myriad of different ingredients one recipe requires. Instead, you learn to make bread with 5 parts flour + 3 parts water and from there, instead of having just one recipe, you have the possibility of thousands. Over on his blog, there’s also a post that he’s written introducing the book, and I’ve nicked the video to repost here. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!
2. The Miele Guide
“The Miele Guide was created in 2008 in order to better recognise and celebrate Asia’s best chefs and restaurants. This annual publication evaluates restaurants across the region and releases an annual ranking of Asia’s Top 20 restaurants in addition to profiling the best restaurants across Asia. The inaugural 2008/2009 edition profiled 320 restaurants in Asia as based upon the opinions of the region’s most respected restaurant critics and food writers, popular public vote, the votes of The Miele Guide’s invited jury, as well as anonymous tastings conducted by The Miele Guide’s contributing editors and editorial team. Through this rigorous system, The Miele Guide showcases establishments that deliver excellence and exceptional dining by Asian standards.
As an independent guide, The Miele Guide does not accept any advertising, sponsorship or free meals from the restaurants reviewed. The Miele Guide is published by Ate Media and sponsored by Miele, a German manufacturer of premium and innovative cooking appliances for the home. While a naming sponsor of this guide, Miele does not exert any influence over the selection and judging process that determines which restaurants appear in The Miele Guide.”
I feel like I’ve been on some perpetual search for the elusive perfect cake most of my life. To me, it should be moist, but with a light, tender crumb. The buttery richness shouldn’t be outweighed by a heavy handed baker adding too much sugar, the eggs should give it a beautiful golden hue. There should be enough flour to give it structure and density, but not so much that it becomes leaden, dense or dry. A playful whiff of vanilla would be a fantastic foundation, and perhaps a citrusy glaze or an asymmetrical marbling of chocolate to build the complexity of flavours never hurt. But the search is over. Keep reading →
