Haddock, Spinach, and Saffron Sauce

When I think haddock I think fish and chips. It peaks in winter/early spring, when greasy fried fish are probably most desired. Or a creamy fish pie, some humble fishcakes or a fragrant kedgeree.   It feels very quintessentially British, and almost... boring, sorry.  It's because in my mind I'd ever only associated it with those dishes. Haddock has always sounded perfectly nice, but it's not like the popular boy in school.

Dark Chocolate and Ginger Wholewheat Scones

I hadn't made scones in awhile.  There was a point where I was making scones constantly -- it was the best discovery I had made in this country.  See, prior to coming to the UK, my exposure to scones were limited to those Beijing Starbucks triangular scones with a cloyingly sweet drizzle on top.  They were so flat and stodgy and just too sweet. I didn't think I liked scones.

Cacio e Pepe

I like white plates as they just match everything.  With dark colored plates, especially in the evening when the lighting isn't good, and the food is of a warmer color - I mean I'm very unhappy with this photo, my photoshop skills aren't good enough for this.  I shouldn't complain, these are my boyfriend's plates, he kindly lets me cook in his kitchen whenever I want, so I shouldn't complain over his plate choices.  I know.  Okay, so despite the photo, I still wanted to share with you one of my favorite pastas - cacio e pepe.

So, as with all simple dishes - make sure the few ingredients you get are of good quality.  Get a good aged pecorino. The thing is, as simple as it sounds, it can bit a bit tricky to get this sauce right.  It's all about love and patience with this dish.

Raspberry and Star Anise Friands

The recipe said 10 egg whites. Ten egg whites - what was I supposed to do with the remaining 10 yolks? Make a high cholesterol omelet?  Three jars of lemon curd? A sh*tload of mayo? I was already making a dessert so I can't save the yolks for another dessert and just the idea of these 10 egg yolks sitting in my fridge waiting to be used because they could go bad any day stressed me out too much.  I couldn't deal with 10 yolks, I've never had to deal with that many yolks.

Lamb with Sumac, Green Tahini Sauce and Aubergine

In the past few years many of the cookbooks I've purchased have been brought back to my parents' home or have been donated to charity, and now at this moment in my current home in London, I have over 30.  I read these when I have breakfast, I read these on a chilled Saturday afternoon and I read these before I go to bed.  I never read them when I actually want to cook from them because I just end up googling when I need a recipe from inspiration.  The most ridiculous is this: I googled Ottolenghi's recipes when I own four of his books.

How to: Homemade Pressed Cottage Cheese

It was a Monday where I was at lunch with some colleagues, with whom I shared the same gender, age and status in the company.  They talked about their booze-filled weekend and the bars they went and the people they met and the drinks they drank.  They then turned to me and asked what I did over the weekend - I said I made cheese, and I killed the conversation right there.