Vanilla Crème Fraîche Salted Caramels

Maki’s crème fraîche nama caramel recipe is the one I’ve been using for several years now. It is good. But hey, why use one word when you can use several overstuffed sentences? This caramel certainly isn’t the inoffensive and vaguely vanillary sugar-goo hiding inside chocolate bars; this is a confection with depth and flavour. As … Continue reading →

The Best Jerusalem Artichoke Soup from The Kentishtowner

Jerusalem artichokes are to my mind a bit strange, but that doesn’t stop me from liking them. I like them cooked slowly until their flesh, apple-crisp and bitter when raw, softens and mellows invitingly. They do not become more attractive upon cooking, though–in fact they become, if anything, even more hideous. This is not a … Continue reading →

Around Snacks Never Relax: Rhubarb & Rose Jam + Custard Doughnuts + Chocolate Cake

My beard grows down to my toes, I never wears no clothes, I wraps my hair, Around my bare, And down the road I goes. – ‘My Beard’, Shel Silverstein. (source) When I saw their Saturday morning spread on Twitter, I had to go to The Fields Beneath right away. Even though much of London … Continue reading →

Linguine with Sausage, Tomato and Dried Chilli

The British love of spaghetti bolognese – spag bol to many – is in specific terms a mystery to me,  but I can understand the general appeal of long pasta and rich sauce. It is definitely the thing to eat when it’s cold outside, as it is right now in my corner of the world. … Continue reading →

Around Snacks Never Relax: Grafton Buns

Do you remember The Fields Beneath? They continue to please me. I feel very lucky that my very first local is both awesome and earnest. It is still kind of a shock to go from living in the plain yoghurt suburbs to a place that is within easy walking distance of so many interesting things. … Continue reading →

Vegetarian Thai food: preliminary thoughts + spicy carrot salad sans pestle and mortar (carrot som tam; ส้มตำแครอท)

I shall begin this by saying that I am certainly not the first Thai person ever to be thinking of vegetarian Thai food in a manner that is a little different to the established Chinese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. For example, Leela has cooked a range of vegan and vegetarian Thai dishes in her ‘My Thai’ series … Continue reading →

Around Snacks Never Relax: Milo, Latin, Ursula Le Guin

I thought I might make a category of posts which actually fulfils the tagline of this blog, ‘Around snacks never relax’. I am pretty sure many cultures the world over enjoy eating little morsels of food in between mealtimes; in Thai, snacking as a food category is called ‘อาหารว่าง’ (ahaan waang), literally food + vacant/available/free, … Continue reading →

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake

I don’t think much of an introduction is needed for such a cake. The recipe comes from Deb Perelman’s mother and it is a delight; I look for excuses to bake it. The soured cream doesn’t add a noticeable tang but seems to encourage the plush texture, while the chocolate and cinnamon-sugar pebbling the cake … Continue reading →

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (Nam Jim Gai, น้ำจิ้มไก่)

I know that you can readily get bottles of Thai sweet chilli sauce in even the tiniest and most boring supermarkets these days, but it’s not out of mere gimmickery that I make this sauce at home. While the bottled versions are good, the flavours in this sauce are so much fresher, even when the … Continue reading →

Pad Cha: Spicy Stir Fry with Young Green Peppercorns (ผัดฉ่า)

Yesterday I had a late lunch of ramen at Tonkotsu with Mr. Pear. I’m not sure about the massive ladles you get with ramen here–I’m used to eating all kinds of noodle soups with these kinds of spoons–but hey, it works, and the ramen itself was decent. After we finished, I decided I wanted something complex … Continue reading →