Buy Local, Cook Global

Lunch hour's cold sandwich leaves me craving an exotic dinner. I'm tempted to replicate the curry I get my from nearby tandoori hut. They make it seem so easy, my takeaway ready by the time I've dug out the exact change to pay, yet I can never get it right at home.

Then I found Mighty Spice and its Thai Green, Indian Tandoori or Chinese Schezwan spice mixes. The blends are masterfully mixed and don't need much else besides the main meat or veggies. The mixes are pretty basic, which means they can easily be adapted depending on how motivated or inspired the chef is.

The mixes are fresh so they don't have potent preservatives, unlike most jarred sauces that glow so unnaturally vibrant from grocery shelves. Find Mighty Spice at Morganics, Portobello Whole Foods, Selfridges or Whole Foods Market.


Bright Summer Stir Fry
Serves 4

• 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large handful of broccoli florets
  2 small carrots, cut into strips
• 1 container Chinese Szechwan Spice Mix
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• *Vegetarian* Substitute 400 grams smoked tofu or 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 3 or 4 basil leaves, ripped up into strips

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok if you have it) and add onions and orange peel.
2. Next add veggies and stir fry until tender, 3-4 minutes. Set aside
3. In same pan, stir fry chicken cubes until white and cooked through.
4. Return vegetables to pan and add in Schezwan spice mix. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring to coat meat and vegetables.
5. Throw in basil strips, and cook a minute longer, stirring once to mix.

Serve with brown rice or lo-mein noodles. Garnish with extra basil or shaved orange peel if you're feeling fancy (or company's coming!)

Scrumptious Crumpet

I like mine crisply toasted and drizzled with honey.

It is all about the toasting. When done right, the cratered surface is crisp while the center is fluffy. So whether you choose peanut butter, strawberry jam or marmite (ick), it seeps through the warm, cratered surface into the cavern of the yeasty cake. Picture "nook and crannies" flooded with glistening butter...YUM

The name is some modification of 'crompid cake,' which sounds like something between chomped/stomped and decrepid. Where did these modest pastries orginate? The peasant alternative to real biscuits? The kitchen maid's use for leftovers? Surely the elite had much more decadent and sugared pastries to indulge in.

Regardless, they suit me fine, whether at breakfast or for afternoon tea.

*I also think "crumpet" is one of the cutest terms of endearment I've ever been called*

Cafe Flow

Writing in cafes is not just about the coffee. (Although, most writers would nominate caffeine as a candidate for musehood in modern times.)

It's the luxury of having someone else prepare you a coffee and serve it to you complete with fluffy froth on top. It's the time you allow yourself to play with that froth, making patterns with the tip of your spoon or corraling it from the side of the cup back to the middle. It's the refuge of the place itself, an escape from your office or a break from errands.

It's the moments you let pass slowly watching others bustle in and out, taking their drinks to go, barely enough time to sip. It's about the taste of hot milk from a ceramic rim instead of a paper one.

Cafes help me focus. The whir of espresso grinding and milk steaming is enough noise to help me center into a creative flow. An uneven table is ideal, its inconsistent wobble challenging the steady rhythm of my pen. When I do pause to put my pen down, the froth is dissolved, the cappucino cold but the page is full.

Muddled, Not Stirred

What makes a cocktail worth £12? What makes a bar drink better than what you make at home? What differentiates a mixologist from a bartender?
The art of muddling.
Few bartenders take the time to muddle, forever hurried to fill drink orders quickly or they may lack the proper equipment. It makes such a difference though.

Take a mojito, for example. Toss the sugar, lime and mint to the bottom. With a few solid pounds, the lime juice starts to dissolve the sugar, the mint leaves are torn to shreds, releasing their brightest flavours. Add rum, ice and club soda and the drink will barely need a stir. The masterfully mixed drink will be as smooth as water - just be careful how quickly you slurp it down.