Enjoy the Taste of Scotland

This Post was written by Lynn from Lynn's Cooking Blog




' Enjoy the Taste of Scotland' is a food event being held in Glasgow over this weekend. I was lucky enough to attend the Press Day yesterday and have written it up, complete with photographs on my site.

http://lynnblog.praemedicatus.com/?p=101

Bookworm in the kitchen

A beautiful review of more than just a cookbook by Foodari member Aniawl.

Aphrodite
Isabel Allende

If you wanted to be cynical, you could argue that Aphrodite is essentially a drummed up aphrodisiac cookbook – after all, it talks about food, it talks about love, it talks about passion for both, so I guess you could be justified. A quick search on Amazon throws up a whole list of “erotic cookbooks” where the celluloid clichés of strawberries, chocolate, oysters and champagne and the 101 ways with asparagus to make him want you more feature highly.

And yet, Aphrodite is a very different beast. The author – Issabel Allende – Chilean writer associated with the “magical realism” literary movement, throws in a little bit of …well… magic into this beautifully written and greatly imaginative potion of a book.

To say that Aphrodite is a cookbook would be a huge simplification and a great injustice to this book. It is a part memoir, part travelogue through artistic, poetic and literary references to sex and food and part recipe collection. It is also wildly self deprecating and humorous account of the writer’s long standing love affair with food.

How can you not love a book which begins:

“I repent of my diets, the delicious dishes rejected out of vanity as much as I lament the opportunities for making love that I let go by because of pressing tasks or puritanical virtue”.

For Allende the world of sensuality does not make a strict distinction between the pleasures of the flesh and pleasures of the table – the two are intrinsically intertwined. What I love about her book is that she goes beyond the cartoonish portrayal of what that relationship might be and she finds sensual pleasures in the most common of recipes – the earthy flavours of Bouillabaisse soup, Osso bucco or humble rice pudding – accompanied by stories from either writer’s own experience or that of her friends, and richly illustrated by numerous artistic references and dripping with poetic quotes.

The first half of the book is a delicious journey through history and exploration of what the relationship between the lust for food and lust for love looked like. We look back to the ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, Byzantine excesses as well as more modern times. The writer draws by the handful from her own specialist subject – the literature, bringing us some wonderful and sometimes surprising excerpts from world renowned writers – amongst others – Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Conger Chowder:

[…]the tender eel
glistens,
prepared
to serve our appetites.
Now
you take
garlic,
first, caress
that precious
ivory,
smell
its irate fragrance,
then
blend the minced garlic
with onion
and tomato
until the onion
is the color of gold. […]

The second part of the book is a collection of recipes – Sauces, Hors D’oeuvres; soups, main courses, and desserts. The selection of courses is very cosmopolitan and varied – you will find there foods that are commonly perceived as aphrodisiacs, as well as ones that may surprise you.

You might want to try this simple dessert:

Soused Pears This was the favourite dessert of my sainted aunt Teresa, who despite the purest of souls acquired a coquettish gleam in her eye when served this treat. Ingredients 1 large pear, peeled and halved Juice and grated zest of 1/2 lemon 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese 1 tablespoon honey 1 pinch nutmeg 1 glass red wine 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cinnamon stick Preparation Hollow out the core of the pear halves and fill with lemon juice to prevent it from turning dark. Combine ricotta, honey, lemon zest, and nutmeg and fill the core with mixture. Refrigerate. Mix together the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, and heat to make a thick, fragrant syrup. Pour over the chilled pear halves and serve immediately.

Your Favourite food food places

This Post was written by Andrew Webb from Eating Albion / Channel 4

Hi all. Some of you may have seen a post I put on the UKFBA website a few weeks back about The Big Food Map project I'm doing for Channel 4. See here

Well after asking Julia’s thoughts and permission, I’m back with a big favour to ask. As foodie folk with your ears to the ground, I’d like to ask what your favourite five (or more!) food places are in the UK and add them to our map alongside C4 talent’s favourites so that when it launches on 30th April there’s stuff there for the rest of the public to see and interact with.

So that’s five different food places (their names, locations, contact details if you know them) with a short review/reason (paragraph or so/50 words) on why they’re good, even better if they’re from all over the country.

We’re interested in everything from a bio-dynamic organic grower to a greasy spoon that’s a pillar of the community. Producers, retailers, independent shops, deli’s, butchers, fishmongers, all sorts

What’s in it for you?
Well in return for helping Channel 4 pre-seed the map with content we’ll add a link to your blog in each review you add. (normal users don’t get this) And we’re also writing an article about food blogging and will list those of you who contribute, this’ll have your name, the name of your blog, a link to it and a short bit about you and why you started it, like Julia’s asked you for the UKFBA.

When the map actually launches you’re more than welcome to add more places, and enter a competition to win £100 worth of organic groceries every month.

How do I contribute?
Well you can add a reply on the UKFBA forum, or in the comments below or email me direct at bigfoodmap -at- channel4 -dot- com

Name of Place:
Address:
Post Code:
Address: (if you know it)

What kind of place is it? (Choose one of the following, up to three max)
Baker | Deli or specialist | Market | Butcher | Farm Shop | Pub | Local Box Scheme | Fishmonger | Restaurant | Café | Greengrocer | Take away | Sells online |

Good for..? (again choose one of the following, up to three max)
A hangover! | Just the two of you | Fab with Friends | Hearty | Healthy | Traditional | Exotic | Proper Boozer | Posh Nosh | Eccentric Owner! | Al Fresco |
Cosy and snug | I’ll Expense it!


Your Name: (this will appear on the map and link to your blog)
Your Blog URL:
A little bit about you:


That’s it in a nutshell. I know it’s a big ask, but if you’d like to be amongst the first to share your local knowledge with Channel 4 we’d be extremely grateful. The idea behind the big food map is that users suggest the best or most interesting food places, and I go and check it out, interview the owner and publish the video and article on Channel4.com for all to enjoy.

Here’s some more info. Thanks for reading

Who’s doing this?
Andrew Webb, a freelance food writer for Channel 4

How can I contact him?
bigfoodmap -at- channel4 -dot- com

What’s the duration?
27th April to the 17th November 2008

When is he in my area?
April 27th - May 12th - The South West
May 13th - May 31th - Wales
June 1st - June 21st - The West Midlands
June 22nd - July 9th - The North West
July 10th - August 16th - Scotland
August 17th - Sept 1st - The North East
Sept 2nd - Sept 21st - Humber and the Yorkshires
Sept 22nd - Oct 8th - East Midlands
Oct 9th - Oct 24th - East Anglia
Oct 25th - Nov 26th - South East and London

Where’s this appearing?
Articles, photos and videos on channel4.com/food which
Regularly gets 5 million page impressions a week

The Big British Food Map

Britain, it seems, is in the throes of a food revolution. Channel 4's Big Food Fight season of programmes throughout January united Channel 4's food talent in a quest to get people thinking about what they are eating and cooking better quality food. The reaction to the season, both from viewers and 4Food users alike was huge. What is clear is that as a nation we want to know more about where our food comes from, and crucially we are willing to vote with our feet and make real consumer changes.

The Big British Food Map is one man's quest to harness our collective knowledge of interesting and delicious food across Britain and the stories and people behind those products. Even if most of us still do our weekly shop in a supermarket, we all know of at least one or two places, be they near our homes, near work, or where we go on holiday, where we can buy or eat really good food. Maybe you know a farmer, a grower, manufacturer, producer or an independent retailer? Or a great restaurant or pub that's at the heart of the local community. We also want to hear from food bloggers, have you got your ear to the ground in your area and want to show Andrew around? We want to hear and share the food stories of Britain, and meet the people behind them.

Andrew Webb is the food lover who will embark on a journey across Britain, region by region, gathering suggestions from users about their favourite food places, visiting those places, trying the food and meeting the people who make it, and writing about his experiences on 4Food.

REMINDER: One Perfect Ingredient

This Post was written by Maninas from Maninas: Food Matters

REMINDER:

One perfect ingredient, many ways to cook it

One competition, 5 LUCKY WINNERS!

ONE PERFECT INGREDIENT - THE COMPETITION is still on!

Write about your favourite ingredient, post a recipe and enter the competition to win Marcus Wareing’s fabulous new book

One Perfect Ingredient, Three Ways to Cook It.

Wine for Spice on LBC Radio

I have just got a call from a producer on LBC Radio to talk about matching wine with curries and spicy food.

I'm going to be chatting live with Jeni Barnett on the Food & Drink Programme
on FM 97.3
on Sunday 6th April 15:40 > 16:00. (changed to 20 mins)
The whole programme is 15:00 to 17:00.

(listen live)

Best

Warren Edwardes
CEO Wine for Spice
http://wineforspice.com