Name this vegetable!

During one of our Sunday eat-a-thons Lily and I decided to pop into the massive Indian supermarket on Brick lane and pick up a few bits and bobs.

Then we came across this vegetable which has the appearance of a snow pea but 10 times the size.
What is it? And how do you cook it?

Chunky cucumber sandwich

I've been following this pregnancy diet my friend told me about (thanks
Ellen!), called the Gentle Birth Method - it means going without wheat, sugar, dairy
(with the exception of goat products) and tomato for your whole
pregnancy, in order to avoid a long labour to a monster-sized baby.

So far the no wheat thing has worked well for me, it's eliminated the nausea
and headaches and now I don't feel like napping all the time. YEAH!

The only challenge is finding stuff to chow down on – which isn't so bad after
you get your head around it. Eating out on the other hand is a bit trickier.

Here's an easy one to get started on. It's a great lunch or after work
snack. So simple, yet so delicious.

What you need
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Tofutti soy cream cheese spread or pasteurised goat's cheese*
Sourdough rye
Salt and pepper


(*TAKE HEED!! Not all goat's cheese is safe for pregnant consumption. Avoid
ones that are unpasturised and that have a rind. I used one from the goat's
cheese stall at Islington farmers market)

Knocked up: The early months

Just as I was congratulating myself for escaping morning sickness altogether, I was whisked off A&E for Hyperemesis (extreme vomiting) which was triggered off by an infection.
After that I found my appetite was half the man it used to be, I was too tired to cook and it gave me a horrible headache anyway - hence the reason for the posting drought.

The first few months being up the duff can be a bit tricky food wise. Here are a few tips if you find eating a chore:
* When you can't eat or drink without feeling sick try sipping ginger beverages like ginger beer, ale or cordial

* Don't stress too much about being healthy yet, the main thing is to get something down and keep it down. Remember - the baby is effectively a parasite at this stage and knows how to get what it needs from you

* Build your appetite up slowly. I lived on Mini Cheddars (Country Cheese crackers for the Australians out there) for a couple of days, then graduated to grilled cheese and tomato on Sainsbury's cheese and black pepper english muffins, then to pizza, then a whole veggie burger. I don't usually eat this sort of stuff but it was the only thing I could bear to stomach!



* Miso soup sachets are great for a quick fix - all you have to do is boil the kettle, no cooking involved. Go for the ones a the health food shop - they don't have all the E numbers and MSG

* Congee (recipe here) is fantastic for when you are feeling poorly and it's super easy to prepare

* Always keep a stash of food in your desk drawer at work. Fruit, nuts, muesli bars (Dorset muesli bars are my favourite) dig in when you are feeling queasy - eating small amounts throughout the day helped me keep nausea at bay

* Drink lots and lots of water to flush out toxins and keep things regular

If my experience is anything to go by, your appetite will be back to normal before you know it!

Chew...now with added baby

It's been exciting times at the Chew-Carter household!
We have recently discovered that we are in the family way and are expecting a Mini Chew in early March.

Now I can eat for two! Yay!

Beware: The awesome power of mushrooms

Part of Carter's birthday present this year was a guided mushroom foray in Hampstead Heath. Thankfully it was one of those rare days this summer where it wasn't raining which made it all the more enjoyable.
We rocked up at the meeting spot where our guide mushroom expert Andy Overall gave us a crash course on mushroom spotting that covered the different mushroom families, the toxic ones and most importantly, the edible ones.



Being early in the season, we came across more used condoms than mushrooms (I wonder if this is the exact spot where George Michael was busted cruising?) but it was incredibly relaxing strolling through the woods with nothing on my mind other than seeking out little mycological treasures. It was like chilled-out easter egg hunt for adults.
We became very familiar with the inedible Earthball that was in abundance, looks like a mini puffball but has the aromatic qualities of the inside of a brand new Tupperware container. It was quite a thrill to find a mushroom you could actually eat - our best finds were the Hare's Ears that Carters found in the bushes...



and these Amethyst Deceivers...



By late morning our little basket was filled with oyster mushrooms, hare's ears and boletus. They were mostly found by other peeps in our group who were kind enough to share with us, this dude below really hit the motherload and the end of the walk when he discovered all these chicken of the woods mushrooms hanging out at the base of a massive tree.



The next morning, I gave the mushrooms a quick rinse (I know you're not supposed to...but I couldn't help thinking about George Michael) pan-fried them with lots of salt and pepper and enjoyed them on toast. They were absolutely amazing - you could taste the different flavours of each mushroom and differentiate the textures. The hare's ears were crunchy, the Boletus has a sweet flavour and the chicken of the woods had a, well, chicken-like texture with an ancient woody earthy taste.



We are now officially obsessed with all things mushroom. They are free, fun to pick and delicious but you gotta know your shit.

Cooking with not much gas

Coming to America: Day 11, Greenwich Village, New York City

The words 'best falafel' will always get my attention. Everyone knows there's a lot of terrible falafel out there in the big bad world - dark brown discs of any texture ranging from deep fried sawdust to rubber. I'll never forget the pride in the voice of one kebab shop owner as he asked me how I liked his falafel. I couldn't bring myself to tell him it looked and tasted like a wet sock left for a week in a plastic bag.
My love affair with this humble chickpea patty began when I was in university. The local strip housed a Falafel Kitchen, which pretty much kept me well fed for my entire uni life. Sometimes they would stand on the street handing out falafel balls on a tray to entice customers into their store. I would always devise a way to walk back and forth several times for another little snack.

Fast forward to The Big Apple, where Moustache in Greenwich Village, has a reputation for serving the city's best falafel. They're part of the Slow Food movement too, so you know they're putting thought into what they do.




Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, with distinct, identifiable flavours, served with pillow-soft pitta bread and fresh salad; what you get at Moustache is exactly what every falafel in the world dreams of being. The best in New York? I'd need to do more research to be sure. But the best I've ever tasted? Definitely. Don't miss the chance to try it if you're in the area.
Get the table in the window and, if you're very lucky, you'll get a little episode of New York life. While we were there, a fire truck turned up to quench a fierce flood from the apartments above. Hot falafel, fresh mint tea, and brawny men with axes. What more could you want?

clearing out your closet

Prices are rising and so stopwasting food! Let's beat the credit crunch and use up crap left behind in your cupboards by past visitors (in my case two of the same box of cereal, Alpen muesli, in the red box. But any old oat based breakfast cereal would do nicely. I think better than the traditional plain oats because of all those extra little bits)add any other fruit or chocolate (which I think would taste gross) to this recipe to really use up what is festering in the back of your cupboards

Flapjacks

What you need
80gm brown sugar
100gm butter
2 tbs. golden syrup
250gm left over cereal (or oats)
pinch salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1.5 bananas thoroughly mashed
1 lemon (rind removed)
10 small cubes crystalised ginger chopped finely

1. Heat oven to 220
2. Melt sugar, butter and syrup over low heat
3. Add mashed banana, cystalised ginger and lemon rind to butter mixture
4. Fold in cereal, salt and ground ginger
5. Pour into lined tin
6. Bake for 25mins
7. Meanwhile make a syrup from the juice of the lemon and equal part sugar over a low heat (until sugar has dissolved)
8. Pour syrup over just cooked flapjack, score into pieces and leave to cool in the tin for 2 hours

Lentil As Anything

Wow, this feels a little like those movies where the city family heads to the beach for an epic summer that changes their whole lives and when they return home to remove the dust covers a symbolic montage explains that, though nothing appears different, nothing will ever be the same again. It's been a good couple of months since I last posted (I'm sorry Chew!)... tumbleweed indeed.

I moved house in June and I've been sniffing suspiciously round my new kitchen ever since, not particularly inspired to develop a relationship with it. I could search for a deep psychological explanation but, really, I think it's because the oven is shit. That said, I am now slowly getting a cooking groove back on, mainly thanks to two foxes who've taken up residence in my back garden. I can see them frolic and play from my kitchen window and their excited yapping and tail shaking is a beautiful thing (even if they drag all kinds of crap into my yard).

Drunken Lentils

Getting back on the horse with something simple -- and in need of uber nourishment after an epic 40 kilometre mountain climb -- I opted for a big plate of marinated mushrooms and boozy Puy lentils. I wanted a big bang of flavour in the lentils, so cooked them down in a miso sachet stock and big cup of water, sharpened with generous splashes of white wine, vodka and Pimm's No. 1. A good forty minutes simmer time saw them reduce into a thick, salty stew, the ideal companion to some stir fried mushrooms (marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, sesame, balsamic and a splash of soy), brown rice, toasted seeds and ribbons of flash fried egg. Looks dirty, tastes foxy.

goodbye chef

A little shocked to hear about Isaac Hayes giving it up on a treadmill on the weekend. He looked well fit -- and performed beautifully -- when I snapped these pix at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2005. Hayes and Porter, the great Stax team.