Absolutely embarrassing that The Brazen Head has 16th place in this list of ‘the most legendary restaurants in the world’. I had lunch there once when I was on jury duty and the Irish stew was flavourless, watery muck. [c/o Kottke.org] #link
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Simpler then I’d assumed! On a similar note, we made horchata (from Chef John’s recipe) the other day and it turned out really well. #link
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I also need to try this, although I’ve decided I only really like tofu when it’s either crunchy on the outside, or pillowy and melt-in-the-mouth. So we’ll see how this goes. #link
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I’m going to try this, but I’ll bake the tofu instead as I’ve had good results doing that recently. #link
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I made this a few weeks ago, and the second time it turned out great. The first was botched due to poor-grade, almost bitter syrup (thanks but no thanks, Aldi) and issues with bringing the syrup up to temperature. Second attempt, I used a bigger pot for the two bottles’ worth; I took it a little higher than the recipe suggests, up to soft ball stage on our sugar thermometer. And I didn’t bother adding nuts. The mixture went in a silicone bread loaf mould to cool and I just chopped it into squares a few hours later. Also, it actually tastes better the day after you make it. #link
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The last time I made overnight oats, the texture was, well, off-puttingly glutinous. But if I do get the urge to try again, I might do it this way. #link
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So I let a month go by. That’s why I went with ‘weaknotes’, after all. Bullet points required here, I think — just the highlights, the most remarkable that I didn’t already tweet or blog. Here we go. More…
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An essay on the multi-million-dollar protein food industry. Which is pretty much like the gluten-free industry, or any other mass-market food fad. #link
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Hummus is dead easy to make and I really should make some more often. (Same goes for chimichurri, though I’ve found it harder to get the flavour balance right.) #link
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A longform debunking of nearly every contemporary food/health myth you’ve ever heard. #link
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Wait, what?! Why?! #link
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It endures because it keeps thing simple, and does them well. I still remember the egg cream I had there in 2010 (and not only because the air conditioning was a blessing on such a hot day). #link
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“One was just bouncing around on the windowsill and I was kind of losing my temper at this point, so I took off one of my shoes and I threw it in the direction of the seagull, and both the seagull and the shoe went out the window.” [c/o The Takeout] #link
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These all look delicious, which is why I’m saving this here, but more than an hour to prep and cook does not an ‘easy midweek meal’ make. #link
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I would quibble with pith as a ‘perfectly normal food’ (if you’re not avoiding the pith when you eat citrus, you’re doing it wrong). Other than that, this mostly leaves me thinking about how much my palate has changed over the last few years. Once upon a time, not so long ago, I was That Guy who lived on starch and didn’t touch fruit or veg; I still don’t really eat fruit (it’s a texture and tartness thing for me) but I’m game for most vegetables now, provided they’re properly prepared and in the right combinations. (For instance, raw tomato is not appealing — but slice it, salt it, put it in a sandwich or on a burger? I’m good.) #link
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It’s not all that weird, unless you were naive enough to think your favourite mom-and-pop-feeling chain wasn’t decided upon down to the last detail. Maybe it also feels uncomfortable to think of oneself as an individual while at the same time fitting a little too neatly into a brand’s demographic classification, like a negation of individuality? No sweat; it’s as much in their heads as it is in yours. And I’d be more worried about Facebook doing it than a ‘fast casual dining experience’. #link
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Saving this for the recipe for puy lentils with roast aubergine, tomatoes and yoghurt. (That’s a lot of aubergines, mind.) #link
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Experienced some serious Baadher Meinhof with this dish, or the title of it anyway, in 2017. So I’ll have to try making it, won’t I? #link
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It’s only to an extent, but I can identify with this; I don’t care so much about how others perceive me, but I know I would feel better, holistically, if I can get my head right. And for me, managing what I eat really is all in the head. #link
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A very useful reference for nutritional info, here. #link
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Eh, this seems like more trouble than it’s worth. #link
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We’ve been rewatching DS9 as of late, and of course that means jonesing for Klingon coffee, Sisko’s morning beverage of choice. Now, if I could have that with some cellular peptide cake… #link
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I’ve seen a couple of these ‘Chipmonger’ places and I can understand, at least on an intellectual level, the need to compete in an increasingly hipster marketplace, minimalist and fashionably distressed and all that. But even at that, they look fairly bland and soulless; at a glance, could be a barber shop as much as a chipper. Give me a Macari’s or a Romayo’s (or a Milano’s, for our current go-to local) any day. #link
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Bad restaurant reviews are the best restaurant reviews, and Jay Rayner brings us a doozy here. I normally think of Rayner as an insufferable dick, the smug dandy from MasterChef and that, but I can warm to comments like this: “I have spent sums like this on restaurant experiences before, and have not begrudged it. We each of us build our best memories in different ways, and some of mine involve expensive restaurants. But they have to be good. This one will also leave me with memories. They are bleak and troubling. If I work hard, one day, with luck, I may be able to forget.” #link
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Highlighting the actually not-so-secret world of mass food production, and product manufacturing in general. Streamlining is cheaper, hence single producers are contracted by various brands and chains to supply their needs. They’ve been doing it for decades. (That branded thing you like? There’s probably an own-brand equivalent that is literally the same product.) But there’s a cost for this efficiency, whether relatively benign (like ‘metallic-tasting’ hummus) or more significant from a public health standpoint (see the horse meat scandal, which was really about not knowing what was in the food, rather than that thing being horse meat). #link
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But Snopes says ‘not so fast’. Though it is true that the leading brand, Libby’s, uses its own variety of pumpkin that’s probably far less fibrous than the ones you’d carve for Hallowe’en. #link
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Recipe hack for fluffy chocolate chip cookies
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It’s cold enough, I could go for this. And then, for dessert, a slice of chocolate-pumpkin layer cake, or maybe a nutmeg-maple cream pie (which is basically a milk tart with different spicing). #link
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Easy recipes are the best recipes, and this looks like a good winter warmer. #link
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Recipe for slow cooker chicken tikka masala
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Butternut squash soup with chilli & crème fraîche
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3 Ingredients, No Ice Cream Machine & Your New Favorite Sherbet
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No-Knead Bread
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What Is American Cheese, Anyway?
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Take it with a pinch of salt – the food marketing myths we’ve swallowed whole
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Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks
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Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Spinach Curry Recipe from Blazing Salads
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Nigel Slater’s halloumi with beetroot and sesame bread recipe
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Recipe for lasagne bread (scaccia)
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Recipe for Southwestern soup
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Make Chipotle’s Delicious Cilantro-Lime Rice at Home
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How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia
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Hot dog! 100 years of Nathan’s Famous at Coney Island – in pictures
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White fish with spicy beans and chorizo
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Stir-Fried Chicken With Ketchup
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Sugar-free tiramisu recipe
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I have journeyed to the soul of chocolate and I bring you good tidings
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Momofuku Pork Belly
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Why food allergy fakers need to stop
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Aubergine rolls with spinach & ricotta
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