Tessa Kiros is not Portuguese. She is of Greek-Cypriot and Finnish parentage, so, you might ask, what would a London born, part Greek-Cypriot, part Finnish cookbook writer know of Portuguese food? Authenticity is not a word I am comfortable with. Perhaps being a mixed bag of ethnicities myself, I tend to refrain from hastily endorsing or decrying anything because of "authenticity" or a lack thereof, preferring to evaluate something based on its own merits, which fortunately, this book has ple...

Continue reading ...

I'm the kind of coffee drinker who would rather go without and brave a thumping headache, then drink a bad cup. What's a bad cup? Well, that would differ from person to person but it's pretty simple for me; tar-thick sludge is a big no-no, especially if it comes with little actual coffee flavour. Sour coffee is another turnoff - a little acidity, even more than a bit is fine, as long as it's part of the inherent character of the coffee, not a result of brewed coffee standing around on a heate...

Continue reading ...

Three things I need to tell you before I say anything else; I'm cheap - I don't believe in paying $3 when I can pay $2, I don't like white wine very much; I'll have the occasional glass of Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc and that's it, and having said that, I'm IN LOVE!!!

On principle, I ordinarily, steadfastly refuse to buy a bottle of wine over $25 because I truly believe good wine need not cost an arm and a leg and in these difficult economic times, I believe vintners and other producers of no...

Continue reading ...

My mum almost started foaming at the mouth when she saw a stack of these in a Marks and Spencer branch in Orchard Road today. When I said I wanted to buy a pack and try them, she shoved some mint humbugs into my hands as well, whilst pushing me towards the cashier. "Well, go on then, pay up and let me have one of those red and yellow ones" Mint humbugs I've had countless times but rhubarb and custard boiled sweets, not so much, in fact, not ever. I do know they're a terribly British flavour c...
Continue reading ...

Anyone who's been following my posts will know I'm a huge fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, so I have to watch myself here. In all honesty though, fan or no, there is very little not to like, no, love, about this book. It's thick, at a whopping 543 pages in all, crammed with lavish photography and written with what appears very much to be sincerity and undeniable passion.

HFW has even taken pains to include two indexes - one, a regular alphabetical recipe index and the other, an "alternativ...
Continue reading ...

I've loved Nutella (that gooey, sickly sweet cocoa and hazelnut spread) since I was about 6 and while I was recently trawling the shops at Changi Airport, killing time before boarding, I saw this very handsome package of midnight-blue-foil wrapped chocolate nuggets that had me at, well.... "Hello". What sealed the deal was the insane (I am now breathing in  lungfuls of the remnants of that ravaged package) chocolate and hazelnut aroma that managed to escape the packaging and the fact that it ...

Continue reading ...

I had a glass of this today, just before dinner, just because the thought of imbibing the essence of two of my favourite grapes, in the same glass, was suddenly too tempting for me to wait upon the roasted lemon and black pepper chicken wings glazing in the oven. I've been coddling two bottles of this on my rack, a 2007 and a 2008 and I thought it was time to open the 2007.

I have this friend who annoyingly insists that I am an aesthete and that my true addiction is beauty, not  a certain de...

Continue reading ...

Mine, mine, mine, mine, MINE !  At last. *sigh* I finally got one for my birthday about 2 weeks ago, in the exact colour you see above, a deliciously retro shade of creamy duck egg blue, that KitchenAid calls "Ice".

I've been silently lusting after one eversince I saw it on Monica Geller's turquoise  counter top, over a decade ago. Before that I'd been using either a Philips hand held mixer or a Kenwood Major, both purchased in the early to mid 80s. Eventually I stopped using both as the Maj...

Continue reading ...

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is my food hero of the moment, and probably will be for a while yet. It isn't for nothing that he's earned his amusing moniker. He has famously sampled everything from roadkill, to fugu, to placenta. He's done battle with some of Britain's largest supermarket chains, over the provenance of food, more specifically, about the way chickens stocked by supermarkets, have been farmed, and vexed burger titan, McDonalds with endless questions about what goes into their bur...

Continue reading ...

Oh, how I love these gold foil packed nuggets of pure chocolate pleasure! What's to love about Whittaker's chocolates? They're made from cocoa beans imported from Ghana, acknowledged to produce some of the world's best cocoa beans. Whittaker's, a New Zealnd company, handles the roasting and processing of the beans themselves. There are flavours like coconut, ginger and kiwi, but my favourite is the single serve (45 g) chunky bar absolutely crammed with diminutive and perfectly roasted almonds...

Continue reading ...

The manufacturer of this six-slice, chrome toast rack describes it as "modern" and "funky" but when I saw it, I immediately thought retro and 50s. I love kitchen appliances and accesories from that era and have a toaster that was one of my mother's wedding gifts. It doesn't work anymore and is beyond repair, but I love the lines and look of it so much, I can't bring myself to throw it away; there's even a full page picture of that toaster in my cookbook, which is littered with pictures of my ...

Continue reading ...

I saw this movie, with my intended, when we were in the full flush of love. But you don't have to be in love to appreciate the beauty of this cinematic gem directed by Alfonso Arau.The title alone, especially in Spanish, (Como Agua Para Chocolate - go on, say it and see if you don't get goosebumps)is deeply evocative and the movie delivers on all the unspoken promises the title makes. "Like water for chocolate" is apparently a Spanish colloquism/euphemism for sexual frustration - something th...

Continue reading ...

            

Coconut vinegar is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually the fermented sap of nipah palm flower clusters. The flavour is wonderfully refreshing without the usual face puckering sourness of most vinegars and it is much more subtle than regular distilled white vinegar, malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar. It's very complementary to fish, chicken and fruit like semi-ripe papaya and mangoes and if you're throat feels sore of if a bout of the sniffles is coming on, a couple of table...

Continue reading ...

     

I have what almost amounts to a fetish for dainty sugar crusted rose petals and will put them on cheesecakes, mousses, cupcakes, tarted up layered cakes, syrup soaked pancakes, ice cream desserts and just about anything sweet that doesn't put up a fight. I make them myself, when time permits and my pots of roses are particularly productive. For those not similarly disposed, India Tree makes lovely crystallised flower petals that reportedly taste as good as they look. If your computer res...

Continue reading ...

I've always recommended the French Press or cafetiere for making good coffee at home and the Bonjour Maurice Ceramic French Press makes a great cup with the added advantage of keeping the coffee warm for longer than most other presses do. This is achieved by its double walled construction which retains heat marvellously but does not alter the taste of the coffee. Its filter is rimmed with either rubber or silicone which makes doubly sure that the grounds stay put at the bottom of the pot and ...

Continue reading ...

Years ago, I used to get my supply of Bath and Body Works products from a girlfriend who's a flight attendant. Each time she flew to San Francisco, a group of us would wait with bated breath until she returned with bottles of self foaming Bath and Body Works anti-bacterial hand soaps spilling out of her luggage. They smell divine, really do keep your hands soft and  zap all those microscopic nasties your digits habitually harbour.This particular variant doesn't have a self foaming dispenser b...

Continue reading ...

Have you ever seen such a ridiculously fabulous cake stand? It's amazing the things you stumble upon when you're bored out of your mind at two in the morning and trawling the internet for an insomnia remedy. It reminded me of those flapper dresses that women loved wearing in the 1920s. Even the plainest of cakes would have a certain cachet, served on this (ever so slightly) over-the-top stand. It's actually for weddings but we could all use a little beauty in our lives, even on ordinary days....

Continue reading ...

Bickford's is an Australian institution and their range of cordials is delicious in every sense of the word. The gently curving bottle, the beautifully rendered label and even the gold tone on the cap all ooze old world charm. Looks aside, I cannot sufficiently describe how wonderful a tall, icy glass of this tastes on a day like today, when the tap water comes out hot enough to make instant coffee, even with the heater off, and laundry dries almost brittle crisp in two hours. They carry a st...

Continue reading ...

These glazed ceramic bowls scream "MEDITERRANEAN" and will cheer all but the most stoney hearted. They're sold individually at USD 7.95 a piece, have  a capacity of 16 oz and measure 9 inches across. I think they're pretty enough to use out of the kitchen; for holding bars of soap or potpourri in a Mediterranean themed bathroom for instance, if you've got one or want one, now. They caught my eye probably because I've just come back from an island vacation and remain in island withdrawal. Pity...

Continue reading ...

This set of 4 antique silver finish bottle stoppers, embellished with clear glass jewels, is  as useful as it is heartbreakingly beautiful. If like me, you've always got half finished bottles of wine in the fridge or a bottle of brandy with a broken stopper then you know you need this. Or, imagine your own home made bottles of lemon or lime cordial crowned with one of  these dainties. Each stopper is about 2.5 " tall and made from real cork. Use them in your kitchen or bar. Suggested price US...

Continue reading ...

Before I bought this book last month, I had never heard of Valentine Warner and the real reasons I decided to get it were the 50% discount (SGD 21.50 at Borders), the outstanding quality of the paper used and the fact that I liked his curly hair. Yes, for the uninitiated, that is the way we women buy things, usually. Well it's become my favourite cookbook of the moment (I am very fickle in that department)  and there are reasons aplenty to like this one. It's loaded not only with recipes but ...

Continue reading ...

Well, what else, after my most loved tea, if not my most coveted teapot? If you've ever tried to find a black teapot, you will know that it's virtually impossible. Fret no more. I have been dreaming about this dark and gleaming beauty since I first laid eyes on it. This glazed stoneware teapot by Rosanna is part of the Rococo Noir tableware range that includes a sugar and creamer set and pedestal cake stands. It's inspired by 18th century French Rococo art but given a modern and dramatic twis...

Continue reading ...

The best black loose leaf tea I have ever tasted. Dilmah prides itself on many things. I think they should be proudest of the fact that their tea outshines many other 'premium' teas, at a fraction of the cost of these 'premium' brands. There is a very distinctly bright and fresh character to their tea, unequalled by anything else I've so far tried. Even their range of tea-bags, the bane of tea connoisseurs, makes tea that tastes very, very good. This particular one is my absolute favourite of...

Continue reading ...

If poaching eggs is always a hit and miss undertaking, you might want to consider this ingenious solution to meandering egg whites and strangely shaped poached eggs. No funny business with vinegar, mini water cyclones in your cooking pot or slippery sliding with saucers. These 'pods' also, theoretically anyway, do away with soggy, water laden eggs that take all the crunch and fun out of toast and crusty English muffins. "Theoretically" because I haven't tried them, yet. The idea alone though ...

Continue reading ...

If you're as batty about antique or retro glassware as I am,look no further than Laurie Leigh Antiques. Just bat your lashes at this gorgeous pair  of double cased hock glasses. They took my breath away. Hock is an archaic British term for German wines in general or specifically German wines from the Rhine region. From St Louis, France. Circa 1920. Height: 7¾ inches. Price: £595.00. For full details see here.
 

Continue reading ...

Don't be fooled by the basic no-frills look of this pan, which I actually find quite beautiful, in an elemental sort of way. I have tried my share of cookware, (won't name names though I sorely want to) This is the same pan I recommend in my cookbook, that my editor wouldn't let me name. But this is my blog, so I'll scream it from any mountain top; de Buyer of France, makes hands down, the best frying pans I have ever cooked with. I have the 26 cm frying pan which I paid SGD 59 for, at 5...

Continue reading ...

Sweet Brazil was created in 1986 when Paula de Lima Azevedo left her job in advertising to concentrate full-time on making fine chocolate.Presently there are two stores in São Paulo and Sweet Brazil is known for its creatively and beautifully designed chocolate made from a blend of terroir cocoa, and most of all, for its elaborate Easter eggs and Christmas offerings.Sweet Brazil makes fine chocolate all year round in an arresting array of appetizing shapes - bars, bonbons, clusters, spheres ...

Continue reading ...

I cannot personally recommend these quirky French beauties as I haven’t tried them but aren’t they a treat? Imagine one standing on your kitchen counter, and the amused, or indeed, bemused reactions they would elicit. They look more like dolls then graters but those whorls of grating teeth on the ‘skirts’ look sturdy and sharp; possibly sharp enough to shred your nail tips off, if you’re not careful! The grating skirt is approximately 13 cm tall and the rubber base ensures a firm an...

Continue reading ...

This knife is a dream to use. The curvy handle provides a very comfortable and firm grip and prevents hand or wrist fatigue. The curve and length of the blade is absolutely perfect and allows fast and effortless cutting. I’ve had this knife for about a year now and have hardly looked at another since I bought it. I can’t remember the exact price but I got it at a hefty discount and paid about SGD 70, at Tangs  – a mere pittance for the quality. The cutting edge seems to remain sharp no ...

Continue reading ...