Writer, Eater
So here I am with a new (but old) kitchen which includes a mid-2000s dishwasher. Except for a short period ten years ago, I've never lived with a dishwasher and harbour some suspicion of them. How does one best enjoy a dishwasher?
Do you queue for food?
Holidaying in San Francisco recently, it struck me how often the discourse about obtaining or finding good food is about how long you might have to wait to be served (or seated). We watched people queue for ages for ice cream, bread, tacos, fried rice and more. For me, it was the opposite of what enjoying food should be about.
Keeping your knives sharp
One of my greatest fears when someone asks me to cook with them is the prospect of blunt knives in their kitchen. I hate being asked to finely slice an onion or trim a piece of meat with a large dull-edged kitchen knife. Ugh. I believe I've once successfully nagged a friend into getting some decently sharp knives.
OMG I can still make macarons!
Ten months after I last donned my patissier gear and squeezed out a few hundred macarons, I returned to the piping bags for a brief baking blitz. My back hurt for two weeks. So then I made a cake instead.
Pierre Hermé's book on macarons is now in English
The most impressive book on macarons is now in English! Pierre Hermé's 2008 French book "Macaron" is out this month in English.
FEATURES
TASTY PRESERVES
Daring Bakers: lavash
At some point I'm going to have to stop saying oh-my-god another-month-has-passed! But it seems only days ago that I was munching on éclairs. Lo! today it's time for lavash crackers, thanks to the Daring Bakers. No buttercream. No ganache. No calories (almost).
Read more Sat 27 Sep, 2008Plummy goodness: plum and cardamom cake
Before the last juicy plums vanish from the markets and fresh produce displays, buy up and bake a cake! This delightfully fragrant cake is dense and moist, strong with the aroma of plum and cardamom and lifted by tangy pieces of plum. The perfect cake...
Read more Thu 20 Mar, 2008Travel 2008 — Córdoba (Spain)
Córdoba is the first port of call in Andalucía. It's famous for what would have been the world's largest mosque (the Christians buggered that up), and for a smooth gazpacho. It is absolutely crawling with tourists. A pleasant place to visit and, perhaps, to eat.
Read more Thu 15 May, 2008Two years of Syrup & Tang… it's an anniversary!
Who'd have thunk it would come to this: hundreds of hits for the word "macaron" (and many nice comments)? When I started Syrup & Tang two years ago, I set the scene with the things I love: books, travel, a moan about dining out, and (somewhat belatedly) baking. Come inside for a...
Read more Wed 25 Mar, 2009It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas… macarons!
It seemed time for a little Christmas spirit, though most of it seems to be passing me by at the moment. On the occasion of a little lunch at my place for friends, I wanted to serve some new flavours of macarons to my faithful tasters. Some very...
Read more Sun 14 Dec, 2008
