Food and Culture

My Berlin Kitchen Giveaway!

September 18, 2012

I have something very exciting up my sleeve today: a copy of the brand new book, My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) from Luisa Weiss, who many of you will know better as The Wednesday Chef.

My Berlin Kitchen tells the story of how Luisa grew up with her heart split between two places, shuttling back and forth between her dad in Boston and her Italian mother in Berlin. Luisa was working as a cookbook editor in New York when she decided to bake, roast and stew her way through a massive collection of newspaper clipped recipes, which she’s since documented on The Wednesday Chef.

The one place she could always look to for steadiness and comfort was the kitchen – something I think so many of us can relate to. I know that when I make shepherd’s pie or eat a really good bacon sandwich, I’m transported back to England in an instant. It’s a powerful thing.

It seems that Luisa (isn’t she cute?) never really stopped hankering for Berlin, and My Berlin Kitchenis her story of finding her way back home (and falling in love along the way), complete with recipes in every chapter.

If you’d like to win a copy, please leave a comment below telling me which two places (metaphorical or actual) your heart is torn between when it comes to cooking and baking.

For a maximum of two additional entries:

1. Tweet about the giveaway (e.g. “I’d love to win a copy of @wednesdaychef‘s new book from @angharad_guy! http://bit.ly/Rnn5L8″)

2. Link to the giveaway on Facebook (my facebook page is @EatingforEngland if you’d like to tag me in your post; Luisa’s is @The-Wednesday-Chef).

**Leave additional comments here telling me you posted it on facebook or twitter.**

This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and will close on Tuesday, September 25. Good luck!

Update:

The winner is comment number 7 (generated by random.org): Annie! 

“I’m continually torn between the meat and potatoes food model of my relatives from rural southwestern Minnesota and the vegan-ism I’ve come to appreciate in my current urban life!”

Congratulations Annie! Email me your address and I’ll get Luisa’s book out to you asap!

Lamb Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon

August 13, 2012

Have you ever been to Morocco? Whenever I think about traveling there, I’m reminded of this video that distills 4,000 photos into a gorgeous 2 minute film of two backpackers’ adventures. Seriously, have a watch and you will be transported (and desperate to go!).

When I think of Morocco, there are several foods that spring to mind but none more than tagine (slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce).

I don’t think you could fit any more flavour into this particular dish if you tried.

The lamb is meltingly tender and carries with it all the flavors of a spiced, zesty marinade.

The there’s the zingy broth, which is salty from the marinade and olives, sweet from the carrots and onions, and crazy-fragrant from the fresh parsley and cilantro that you can see swimming in the broth in these pictures. It’s killer, friends.

The full recipe is over on the Caravanserai blog.

Houston-Style Green Salsa

August 8, 2012

We’ve been on a green salsa kick recently. Cooking still doesn’t sound that fun so instead we’ve been coming home, cracking a beer, and eating way too many chips with this salsa. It’s rillyrilly good.

It’s up to you, of course, to make it as spicy as you like. Our first batch was good but thicker than we wanted and nowhere near hot enough. The second batch (and I should note, this is most definitely a Dan-led initiative) is the recipe you see below. We used two hot peppers and left the seeds in – actually we just lopped off the stems and threw them into the blender whole – plus we added a pinch of cayenne pepper.

The avocado and sour cream do an amazing job of bringing some creamy balance to the heat of the peppers but it’s certainly got a kick so cold beers are advised :)

Houston-Style Green Salsa
adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 1 lb fresh tomatillos
  • 1 large avocado
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 serrano peppers, seeds removed (or left in!)
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • Salt, to taste
  • 2 tbsp sour cream

Directions

  1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and drop them whole into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to soften them. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer them from the pot to the blender.
  2. Remove the pit and scoop out the avocado flesh. Add it to the blender along with the garlic, onion, peppers, lime juice, and sour cream.
  3. Blend until you reach desired consistency.
  4. Add cilantro, cayenne, and a large pinch of salt, pulsing once or twice to combine.
  5. Leftovers will keep several days in the fridge. Yields 2 cups.

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