The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
The EBI spamish mafia would be proud. Cooked a full paella for 11 people on a beachside grill. It wasn’t my best – the rice was still a bit too wet so there wasn’t any soccarat – but damn if it wasn’t tasty nonetheless.
It was hilarious watching people pointing and talking about the guys cooking a paella. My BBQ-fu is strong. And I think I managed to not get heat stroke while cooking for an hour in full sun during a heatwave!
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White wine slushie
120ml chilled, fruity, sweet, white wine like a Pinot Gris, Kabinett or Spatlese Riesling, Gewurztraminer Place all ingredients in a blender. Note that any sort of frozen fruit juice can be used: mango, orange, pineapple, peach, watermelon. |
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Espresso granita
100g firmly packed dark brown sugar In a bowl, combine brown sugar and espresso and stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely. If desired, add coffee liqueur. Pour mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 30 minutes, then, using a fork, scrape and stir to break up ice crystals. Return granita to freezer until firm, 8 to 12 hours, occasionally scraping and stirring with a fork. To serve, spoon granita into small chilled glasses or bowls and serve at once. |
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Red wine and orange granita
100g sugar In a saucepan, stir together sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has completely dissolved. Once mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and let cool. When mixture has cooled completely, stir in wine and orange juice. Pour mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 1 hour, then, using a fork, scrape and stir to break up ice crystals. Return granita to freezer until firm, 8 to 12 hours, occasionally scraping and stirring with a fork. To serve, spoon granita into small chilled glasses or bowls and serve at once. |
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700g mixed onions (such as sweet, yellow, and/or red)
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
375g plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper (for serving)
– Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Peel and trim ends off mixed onions. Cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice.
– Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss onion with oil and 2 tbsp. water until evenly coated. Season with salt and toss again until well
coated.
– Bake, tossing and stirring onions every 10 minutes, until all onions are golden brown and
softened, 40–50 minutes total (some onions will brown more than others but that’s okay!).
Let cool.
– Transfer onions to a cutting board. Finely chop caramelized onions and transfer to bowl.
– Add yogurt and lemon juice; season with salt and lot of pepper. Stir to combine.
– Sprinkle dip with cayenne pepper.
Serve with carrot sticks, radishes and chips alongside.
Ingredients
350g andouille sausage (or any spicy, smoked pork-based sausage)
225g uncooked shrimp (peeled and de-veined)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded to even thickness
3 bell peppers (one each of green, red, and yellow or orange), diced
1 white or yellow onion, diced
2-3 jalapeños, seeds and stems removed
1.5 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups / 500ml chicken broth
800g crushed tomatoes (2 regular sized tins)
3 tbsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, or to taste
coriander, for topping
Slice sausage into medallions. Remove tails from shrimp if they are still on. Chop chicken into 1-inch pieces.
Add sausage, chicken, bell peppers, onion, jalapeños, chicken broth, tomatoes, cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper to greased slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on low. Stir in rice and cook another 1-2 hours until rice is fully cooked and tender
About 20 minutes before serving, uncover slow cooker, stir in shrimp, re-cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Stir contents of slow cooker, sprinkle with chopped coriander, and serve hot.
Cajun seasoning:
2 tbsp Italian herbs
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp dried thyme
200g carrots (peeled and chopped )
100g onion (peeled and finely chopped)
2 tbsp ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup / 60ml soy sauce
1/2 cup / 120ml rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup / 180ml organic canola or sunflower oil
Instructions
– Put all the ingredients except for the oil in a blender and blend until smooth.
– Slowly add the oil and blend until the mixture has emulsified.
– Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
– Serve with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber.
Asshole seems to have found a new napping spot, with little to no regard to what might be under him when he flomps.
After an intensive but interesting day of talks, Bobbles is chilling out at the airport waiting for his flight.
I’m in Brussels to give a talk at a personalised nutrition workshop. Bobble, who by law must always travel with me, is helping me go through my speaker notes.
I’ve also gotten advice and support from my colleagues.
Been craving sushi for a while, and been wanting to make sushi for a while. So I did. Didn’t have any fish at hand, we had been filet tataki, some teriyaki chicken and a tamago omelette. Ben did the rolling, I did all the other prep. Highly satisfying, even if the kitchen looked like a warzone afterwards.