Guess who's back in the kitchen?

So, eighteen months after my jubilant escape from the nine-to-five (and another British winter!), I'm finally back in the kitchen!

And with more than a couple of tales to tell...

From exploring the majesty of Angkor Wat, to surviving the frentic traffic of Saigon; lazing on the beaches of south Thailand, to diving the incredible and fragile Great Barrier Reef; trekking in the mountains of north Vietnam to skydiving over Byron Bay... this was a trip of memories and magic.

And the food! Well, as you may expect, food was my focus. Everything I hoped for (and occasionally a little bit more...) Noodle soup and 'real' pad thai from countless street vendors, equally good as a breakfast, or a late night snack after a night on the Chang. Fiery dried stingray and icy cold beer in a bar in Chaing Mai, crab claw curry in kuala lumpur, where vats of curries steam and bubble and call. Deep-fried tarantulas challenged my idea of roadside eating in Cambodia, while beef intestine soup in Hong Kong proved surprisingly silky.

Watch this space for the first of many recipes from my travels, starting tomorrow with a fabulous authentic Thai curry as taught to me in a Chiang Mai cookery school!

Fallen off the surface of the earth?

Yes... and re-emerged in South East Asia!

No foodie stuff this time, just wanted to say a quick hello! I've finally started my trip (the interim weeks of planning barely leaving time to eat, never mind blog!)

I am currently in Melaka after a short time in Singapore - and just starting to find my feet.

I'm keeping a travel blog here, and have just completed my first entry, so if anyone's interested, check it out. That will be for general travel stuff - I still plan to use KitK to talk about foodie bits and pieces - and to show off any recipes I might pick up at the cookery classes!

I'll be back with a foodie entry soon!

Smoked Haddock with Welsh Rarebit

For me, this was one of the highlights of my recent 24,24,24 meal. Top quality naturally smoked haddock, with a savoury, cheesy topping. What is it about the smokiness of the haddock that just takes cheese so well. As my friend Alice said, there isn't many things that aren't improved by adding bacon or cheese - and this proves it. It is a dish that makes the world seem like a better place. Make it a full dish by putting the whole lot on crusty, seeded, granary bread. Or just use the leftovers on toast for a quick supper - the best cheese on toast you've ever had.

On other news (because, y'know, you aren't going to get a post without having to hear about my trip ;) I had my jabs last night - and boy can I feel it today! My left arms is basically useless - last night it was all I could do to heat up a tin of soup... And I've got to go back two more times to get top ups.

2 weeks, 1 day and 4 hours left at work... woop!

Smoked Haddock with Welsh Rarebit

Serves 6

• 6 fillets of undyed smoked haddock
  
• 25g butter
• 25g flour
• 150ml milk
• 175g cheddar cheese, grated
• 150ml brown ale
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• Flour for dredging fish
  

Combine the flour and butter together until well combined - the butter should be slightly soft before starting to get it really well mixed. (This is a beurre manière btw!)

Bring the milk to the boil, then stir in the beurre manière, whisking until the sauce is thick. Add the cheese and remove from the heat.

Mix together the ale, mustard and worcester sauce in a small saucepan and reduce until thick. Add to the cheese sauce, along with the egg yolks and seasoning, then mix well.

Season some flour and dredge the haddock - tapping off all excess. Fry in some olive oil on a medium heat until almost cooked through. Spread a thick layer of the rarebit on top of each fillet, then put under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until brown and bubbling.

Akara - Nigerian Spiced Bean Patties

I know, I know - so much for getting all my 24,24,24 recipes up in a week! I've been rushing around like a mad thing; booking flights, organising jabs, insurance, money. Not to mention trying to see all my friends and family before I go!

So cooking has been a rare occurrence, and blogging even more so. Apologies for not dropping by my regular blogs (despite catching up with some from my reader... commenting has been beyond my resources!)

I'm so excited about my trip - my itinerary is starting to come together. Land in Bangkok, a sleeper to Chiang Mai, maybe a few days in Laos. Traveling from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani, then 10 days in Ko Phangan for Christmas and New Year. Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore; and a flight to Ho Chi Minh City - or Saigon as was. Cooking and eating in Vietnam is one of my most anticipated foodie adventures, then I'm taking a couple of weeks to travel through Cambodia back to Bangkok - anticipated highlight, Angkor Wat.

And that's the first 3 months!



So I'm taking a break from planning, booking, and fizzing, to bring you the recipe for the Nigerian bean patties I made for the Foodbuzz 24 24 24 meal. These turned out incredibly tasty - the patties had a more complex flavour that you would expect from so few ingredients. I did have to make a few adjustments to get the mixture to hold together. I think it is because the tinned beans were more water-logged that if I'd used dry - so make sure you don't add too much water when blending. If the mixture is too wet, or won't hold together when frying, mix in a bit of flour to bind it more.

Thanks for the recipe Mariska!

Akara

• 2 tins black-eyes peas, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 large onion
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 egg
• Water to mix
• Oil to fry
• Salt to taste

I used my food processor to do most of the work for this!

Roughly chop the onion then place in your food processor. Blitz until finely chopped, then remove to a bowl.

Place the beans in the blender and blend until well pureed. Add the cayenne, salt and a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen. Be careful not to add too much water!

Add the egg and beat for a minute or so, then add the onion and gently fold in.

At this point I put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours, which didn't seem to do it any harm!

You can either deep fry or shallow fry the akara. I decided to shallow fry mine - but because I had added too much water, I had to mix in some flour to ensure they stayed together first. If you have to do this, don't panic - they still turned out really tasty!

Shallow fry until brown and crispy on all sides. Serve as they are, with salad, or with hot pepper sauce!

A bit more news... and Coconut Spiced Kangaroo Kebabs

More news!

I have booked my flights for my trip! I leave England on the 30th November, flying to Bangkok. I'm feeling so many mixed emotions right now that I don't know quite what to do with myself. Taking myself to the pub for a calming glass of red is an option!

Anyway, before I do - here is the first of my recipes from my recent international dinner party!

This is the first course I served in my recent 24, 24, 24 meal - an Australia dish for my friend Belinda! (Psst... I'm going there :P )

I had heard a number of times that kangaroo is notorious for being tough, and that it should never be cooked more than medium rare. It is a very lean meat - and so it is easy to dry it out. To help make it as tender as can be, I marinated in in a mixture of orange juice, coconut milk, lemon grass, ginger and garlic.

Coconut Spiced Kangaroo Kebabs

Feeds 6

• 300g kangaroo fillet
• 150ml coconut milk
• 150ml fresh orange juice
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1" ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 thai red chili - seeds in

Blitz the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chili to a fine paste - add a bit of OJ to thin it out if required.

Stir in the coconut milk and orange juice.

Dice the kangaroo fillets into 1" pieces, and add to marinade. Allow to soak for at least 3 hours - or overnight.

Thread the marinated meat onto soaked bamboo skewers.

Preheat a grill (or broiler) as hot as it can be. Grill the kebabs for 3/4 minutes on each side - do not overcook!

Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with a scattering of fresh cilantro!

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Six Friends, Six Countries, One City

When I first moved to Brighton I was lucky enough to meet five amazing girls at pretty much the same time! Since then we became very close - long boozy lunches in the pub in Winter; all day picnics on the beach in Summer; and random fancy dress parties pretty much any time of year. We've been clubbing in Ibiza; sightseeing in Budapest; sunbathing in Mallorca; and moonlight camel-trekking in Morocco. Been through break ups and make overs; late nights and countless bottles of wine. These are my girls - my Brighton family.

When an announcement went out inviting foodbuzz bloggers to submit ideas for a unique dinner to help promote their official launch, I racked my brain to think of a special dinner, with very little success.

I had all but given up on the idea when I went round to Alice's flat to dinner to have our regular mid-week Ladies Night. Then Vicki came up with a brilliant suggestion. None of us girls are actually from Brighton originally - and more than that, we're all from different countries - England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Pakistan and Nigeria! She suggested that I cook up a menu with different courses for each country. And I was happy and excited to hear from foodbuzz that they wanted to go ahead with her suggestion!

I decided in the end to do a tasting menu - six small courses. It was a wonderful evening. The girls arrived at half seven; the wine was opened and the chat started immediately!

The guests!

From left:
Vicki (Welsh) - recently landed a dream job as an Editorial Assistant in a publishing house - woop!
Alice - the Londoner, going traveling the week before me!
Moon (Pakistan) - getting married in the Maldives in February - and I'm bridesmaid!
Me! Wearing my Joust Winners' Apron
Mariska (Nigerian) - got married in Vegas a couple of weeks ago (intentionally!)
Belinda, moved to Brighton from Sydney only a few weeks before I met her!

The Food

Marinated Kangaroo Kebabs

First up, my Australian offering - kangaroo kebabs. I had to go up to London to get the meat from Borough Market - and most of us hadn't ever tried it before. With some trepidation I marinated the meat in coconut milk, orange juice and lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chili. A light grilling to just more than rare, and it got its rest while I took the photographs!

The meat was deliciously tender, with the smoothness of coconut and the Asian flavours rounding out the rich meat perfectly. Kangaroo has the reputation for being tough, but served rare, was as tender as fillet steak... Empty plates all round!

Akara

Akara are bean patties and are the Nigeria course in my international menu. Mariska provided me with a recipe - I'd never even heard of them before! Akara are fritters made from black eye peas, onion and cayenne pepper. Apparently in West Africa they can be served as breakfast, appetizer or snack - and are also sold as street food. And I can see why they are so popular - we all loved them!

Smoked Haddock with Welsh Rarebit

I really wanted to serve Welsh Rarebit for the Welsh course - and smoked haddock seemed like a suitable vehicle! Welsh rarebit is made almost like a very thick cheddar sauce, with mustard, dark ale and worcestershire sauce mixed in. Spread thickly on pan-fried haddock, then broiled til brown and bubbling, the savoury cheesiness matched the smoked haddock perfectly.

Cock a Leekie Soup

Some more Scottish Scran! For a soup course we turn to Scotland, with a bowl of cock a leeky soup. Cool name, huh! Cock a leeky soup is a very old traditional soup - originally made by making stock from a whole boiling fowl, then adding leeks and prunes. More recently, an ordinary chicken is used, and rice is added during the final simmer. I wanted to add prunes - but the shop was out! It definitely hit the spot despite that!

Pakistani Fish Curry with Methi Roti

I asked Moon for a recommendation for what to cook from Pakistan - and she offered me a gorgeous recipe for fish curry - just like her mum used to make! I was excited about making this one, as I love spicy food, and am always happy to try out an authentic recipe. A paste of ginger, garlic, turmeric, chili powder and cumin was cooked out with some water, then yogurt gradually added to make the curry base. I added in fillets of pollack and simmered until cooked through, then mixed in a good handful of coriander.

I finished the dish with sliced green chillies for those who liked it hot - and a yogurt dip for those who didn't! Scooped up with homemade methi roti... heaven. This is a beautiful curry - thank you to Moon , and her mum, for the recipe!!

Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie! Ummmm... Did you know it originated in England? I didn't - I always thought it was an American creation for some reason. But no, it's English. And not just that, it originated only eight miles outside of Brighton, at the fantastic Hungry Monk in Jevington. Yes, I've been there, and tried banoffee pie in it's birthplace!

Dulce de leche, boiled up from condensed milk; cream whipped with an espresso reduction; coffee-scented biscuit butter base; and chopped perfectly ripe bananas. Simple, easy, irresistible!

Fin!

The evening was a success! We didn't finish eating until half 11; there was much hilarity and I don't think more than ten seconds of silence at any time. On the whole, we all enjoyed the drawn out dining style... with the notable exception of Alice... The grazing thing is fine, but what I really like is sitting down to a big plate of pie!

The sign of a good night!

Thank you to foodbuzz for giving me the chance to spend such a wonderful night with my best friends. And thank you to my best friends for being there!

I will be posting up the recipes over the course of the next week - stay tuned!

Warning - Envy-Inducing News Within! (And Proscuittio Wrapped Sole ;)

I have some news that I just couldn't wait to tell you!! *

Hang on - first things first. it appears I have been remiss in my accreditation of Peter the Greek. You may recognise the formation of my plating below as reminiscent of a certain, recent Kalofagas post. And indeed it is. But I was so excited, I forgot to write it up ;) Peter, my humblest apologies... ;)

I'm leaving good old Blighty just in time for the cold(er!) season, and going off on a mighty, foodie traveling adventure, all by myself!

It's been on the cards for a while, but I didn't want to post about it until I had spoken to my work. I have just had 'the chat' with them today - so now the countdown begins! This is the news I was being mysterious about in an earlier post, and is the reason why I have leased out my flat... It's a good un, huh?!

So anyway, I don't have tickets booked yet, but I will be flying to Bangkok sometime later than a month from now, but hopefully before Christmas. I'm then going to travel around SE Asia overland for a few months - meeting up with a couple of friends on Ko Pha Nang for the Full Moon Party.

Then to recover from the excesses we'll be taking a diving course - new to me! Other than that I'm going to visit Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Plus anywhere else that takes my fancy - probably Sri Lanka, and just maybe a trip to China to visit another friend.

And I'm taking a week to nip over to the Maldives to celebrate a friend's wedding (I'm bridesmaid!). Imagine a week of five star luxury (not to mention the free cocktails!!) after all that back-packing! :D

After that I plan to spend some time in Australia, then maybe a month in India on the way home.

Did I mention that I've been researching cookery schools? Because that's one of my main reasons for going! The food. Cooking and eating. Eating and cooking. And smelling. Then maybe a bit more eating. Just imagine... nom nom nom...

I'd love to meet up with any fellow bloggers out in those neck of the woods - and any recommendations for things to do, see, eat or cook will be most welcome! I've only allowed myself to plan loosely as I want to have freedom to make my decisions when I'm there.

Right, I'll turn the envy generator off now. (No, not really, I'm still grinning like a loon!)

But I wouldn't make you green, and leave you without even a taste of food, so have a delicious plate of...

Prosciutto Wrapped Sole with Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 2

• 1 large dover sole, skinned and filleted (i.e. 4 fillets)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
• 125ml white wine
• 4 slices prosciutto
• 2 cloves roast garlic
• Floury potatoes, boiled in salted water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• Juice of half a lemon
  
• knob of butter
• A shot of cream or milk
• Sugar, Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 150c.

Prepare the Base...
Take a baking dish just big enough to take all the tomatoes in one layer, and drizzle in some olive oil. Cut the onion into 8 wedges, and lay in tray. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes until soft and sweet.

Wash the cherry tomatoes, add to the onions and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Turn up the heat to 175c, throw in the glass of wine, chuck it back in the oven and set about making your fillet rolls.

Prepare the Fish...
Mix the olive oil with the lemon juice, paprika, cayenne, and a twist of sea salt if you fancy.

Take one fillet of sole, brush with the oil mix, and roll into a twist. Take a slice of prosciutto and wrap it round the fish, making a little skirt. Repeat with all the fillets. Brush the top of the fish with any excess oil mixture.

Get the oven dish out again, and sit the fish on top of the tomatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.

Make the Mash...
Make the roast garlic mash, by ricing the the potatoes and mixing in the butter, milk or cream and cloves of roast garlic. Make sure you mush up the garlic first - otherwise someone's going to get a garlicky shock... Hey, now there's a party game - mashed potato roulette... with garlic, chillies and chocolate!

Finish the Dish...
Move the fish to rest, and stir up the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as required - you may want to add a bit of sugar if the tomatoes are sharp.

Serve!
Serve with green beans, a wide grin, and a smug air!




* Apologies to my Twitter buddies - maybe I should have written this before I tweeted the news?! ;)