Benefits of Solo Dining

According to Koo Dae-Young from episode ten of Let's Eat, eating alone is the best way to enjoy a meal; it's the way to go and here are his reasons why:

• The more people you eat with, the more discussion you will have about what you eat. But if you eat alone, you can choose whatever you want quickly.

• When you eat with others, you'll be cautious about your eating speed and etiquette.  Also, you may not get to eat your favourite parts. But if you eat alone, there's no need to be stressed out and you can enjoy a meal all by yourself.

What's in Your Basket... Anne Widdecombe?

The Domestic Goblin shares one of the more entertaining and memorable articles written about a member of parliament in 2002:

"I don't shop much; a friend takes my mother to do the shopping for the two of us. I also don't do much cooking. Sundays would be the day that I properly cook something traditional like roast lamb. It is not a big family affair. My mother lives with me, but that's all.

The three great pluses I have is that I don't like salt, I don't like sugar and I don't really like a lot of fried food. However, I'm not health conscious, I know I should be, but I have no time to be neurotic over these things. 

I have Nescafé coffee entirely with full-fat milk in the morning. I don't go in for the fair-traded business as, I have to say, I think conscience coffee tastes ghastly. And I don't bother about buying organic or worry about GM food: I support British farming. The coffee is my breakfast because most mornings I run out the house in a tearing hurry. 

Shreddies are precisely the sort of thing I have as a late-night supper, after working the whole evening at the House of Commons, or some white bread. I'm afraid I don't like brown - isn't that sad? 

My cupboard is always stocked with tinned ravioli and I've always got soda because it goes in whisky - it's fine on its own but it also livens up orange juice. You'd never come to my house and find there was no soda water.

Cauliflower I love, and courgettes. I eat plenty of them because they're so easy to prepare. All I've got to do is wash, chop and steam. I'll eat the vegetables with mash and lamb chops. I could never be a vegetarian just because I love lamb chops so very, very much. 

Cod is the only fish I like, done in breadcrumbs. It has to be properly filleted as I find it a big battle eating a bony fish. I like stuff that's simple and quick and nothing between me and the enjoyment thereof. 

You'd never find me with an orange or a grapefruit because they're just such devils to prepare. My favourite fruit is bananas. The glorious thing about a banana is that it's filling, it's desperately easy to peel and it's easy to eat. I snack on them; it wouldn't be for any other purpose at all."

What nutritionist Dr John Briffa says:

Shreddies

Shreddies are a relatively low-sugar cereal, though their chief ingredient is wheat. Not everyone is sensitive to wheat - which can trigger abdominal bloating and fatigue - but I suspect it's more common a problem than is generally recognised. I generally recommend oat-based cereals. Not only do oats seem to be generally well tolerated, but studies suggest they can help lower cholesterol levels too.

Soda water

Soda water is essentially water with some added bicarb of soda and perhaps salt. Purists may argue that mineral water is better and I'd tend to agree with them. However, compared to diet cola or sugar-charged tonic or lemonade, soda water wins by a mile.

Frozen cod in batter

The cod's the best bit here, but in nutritional terms, it trails a dismal second to oily varieties of fish such as salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel and swordfish. A piece of fresh fish grilled with a dab of butter and some lemon juice beats battered cod hands down.

Tinned ravioli

With its refined wheat, minced meat, sugar and salt, this is a bit of a nutritional disaster. The tomato content (which might possibly help reduce the risk of certain cancers by providing the body with the nutrient lycopene) is its one redeeming feature. As an occasional stopgap this sort of food is fine, but I wouldn't recommend it as a staple. Baked beans (especially the low salt and sugar varieties) have a distinct edge I think.

Courgettes

Courgettes are a reasonable source of vitamin C and fibre. Steaming is a good way to cook vegetables as it helps preserve their nutritional value (as long as they're not cooked to mulch). Ann scores here for both choice of food and method of cooking.

Lamb chops

Lamb chops are pretty fatty, but I'm generally more relaxed about this than most nutritionists. After all, saturated fat is natural constituent of the human diet and is something that we are probably well adapted to eating in moderation. My advice is, whenever possible, to go for organic.

Bananas

Rich in fibre and vitamin C, both of which are lauded for their health maintaining and disease protective effects, bananas are also full of potassium. This is known to help keep blood pressure under control, which helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Bananas are a good snack food and alternative to sugar as a cereal topping.

Nescafé coffee

There's not much good to say for instant coffee from a nutritional perspective. Caffeine has been linked with an array of health issues including insomnia, anxiety and stress incontinence. However, the fact that Ann eschews breakfast in favour of a mere mug of Nescafé is a tad more concerning. Skipping breakfast tends to sap mental concentration and memory. Plus, I have noticed that individuals who go without food first thing tend to spend the rest of the day lurching from one not-so-healthy snack or meal to the next.

Cauliflower

Nice choice. Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable (other members of this family include broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage). There is evidence that eating plenty of cruciferous vegetables reduces risk of some forms of cancer. Generally speaking, the deeper a vegetable's colour, the more nutritious it is. Substituting broccoli now and again would be a step forward.

White bread

White bread releases sugar quickly into the bloodstream. In response, the body secretes insulin which is designed to bring blood sugar levels down again. That's fine, but one way insulin does this is to convert sugar into fat. Fat formed in this way tends to settle around the middle of the body, ultimately creating a characteristically rotund figure. Slower sugar-releasing breads such as 100 per cent wholemeal or whole rye bread would be a better bet.

Link to the article:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/10/foodanddrink.features3

Chinese Turnip/Daikon Cake

Vegetarian version

750g Chinese turnip /daikon radish: 

Slice half into thick matchsticks and grate the other half and cook in a large frying pan or wok on a low heat until translucent. Drain out any excess water.

In a separate pan, fry these together:

• Shitake mushroom - thinly sliced
• Cloud ear - thinly sliced
• Carrot - grated
• Spring onion - chopped
• Ginger - grated

Switch off the heat. Mix cooked items together in the daikon pan/wok. Add salt and sugar to taste and a drop of sesame oil. 

Let everything cool to room temperature. Then gradually add the following to the mixture and fold in gently:

• 130g rice flour (sieved)
• 1.5 tblsp corn starch (sieved)

Pour mixture into an oiled or lined dish/container and steam for 45-60 minutes, depending on the thickness of the container.

Let it cool down then take out of container and cut into desired shapes and pan fry.

The Hill We Climb

Written and recited by Presidential Inaugural Poet, Amanda Gorman:

"When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it"

(Wednesday 20 January 2021)

The Dryer Sheets of My Heart

"I was living like half a man
Then I couldn't love but now I can

More soul than I ever had

I love the way you soften my life" - ('Darlin' by the Beach Boys, paraphrased by Sheldon Cooper, episode 9:10).

"A life is like floating

and being carried away by the Imjim River.

Love has no border;

Keep swimming to the end" - (Katagiri from Midnight Diner, Tokyo Stories).

Japanese Castella Cake

Japanese Castella Cake / Kasutera (カステラ) 

This honey sponge cake is very popular in Japan.

Ingredients 

6 large eggs (room temperature)

200g sugar

200g bread flour

80ml or 5 tbsp honey

2.5 tbsp warm water

Honey mixture for brushing Castella:

1 tbsp honey

0.5 tbsp warm water

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.

Line the loaf tin with oil then parchment paper.

Sift the bread flour into a medium sized bowl.

In a small bowl, mix 2.5 tbsp warm water to honey.

Crack the eggs into a separate larger bowl and whisk until combined.

Add the sugar into the bowl with the eggs and mix on high speed for five minutes.

Add the honey mixture into the egg mixture and whisk on low speed for 30 seconds.

Add 1/3 of the bread flour and whisk on low speed (Speed 2) for 15 seconds, then add more flour and whisk for 15 seconds. Add the last remaining portion and whisk until just combined for about 1 minute. Do not over-mix.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin.

Using a skewer, draw a zigzag to remove the air bubbles in the batter.

Pat the loaf tin on the flat counter a few times to level the batter and release air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

To serve, slice off the sides of the cake with a bread knife and cut into one inch slices. 

Eat at room temperature.

* This post was inspired by episode 5 of 'Single Papa' *

Recipe derived from Just One Cookbook