On a mission.

Emerald Sesame Kale

It's time that I confess that this girl is on a serious mission. In about 7 weeks time I will be donning a wedding dress and saying 'I do' to that beau-hunk of mine, otherwise known as G. This means that these days I am paying an unusual amount of attention to the size of every pore on my face, the strength and shine of every strand of hair on my head and yes, of course, any extra jiggle in my walk.
Seven weeks and counting.

So now maybe you understand why it is that when I walked into Whole Foods the other day I avoided all those decadent things at the prepared foods counter and opted for a big old serving of their Emerald Sesame Kale.
This stuff was seriously green.
So green, in fact, it made me feel like my skin was going to instantly glow the minute I took that first bite. I even got them to throw in some roasted asparagus and baby bok choy with miso just to show them how serious I was about this whole thing.

I'm aiming for glowing skin here people, and I am going to show no mercy.

It was the most ridiculous looking pile of stuff and even the most forgiving eye would admit that it didn't look all that appetizing in it's plastic container. But like I said, I'm on a mission.
Admittedly, the asparagus and the bok choy were consumed with little fanfare.
But that kale.
Oh my, that green, green kale.
I had no idea kale could be that good. Maybe that's not saying much coming from a girl who doesn't buy it all that often, but I think I may now be officially converted.

Unfortunately, it seems that Whole Foods saves their best recipes for their cookbook. They seem to have a recipe by this name in there but the full recipe is not posted on their website.

However, I did manage to find two recipes with the exact same name and same ingredient list so I think I may be on to something. But if anyone out there has the real deal, you will give me a nudge, won't you?


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If you're interested, the 2 recipes I found both contain: kale, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic and soy sauce. I haven't tested these recipes yet but the ingredient list does give us a good head start, don't you think?

Emerald Sesame Kale from Open Harvest
Emerald Sesame Kale from Outpost Natural Foods

Baharat. A new word in my vocabulary.

On my last trip to Moro, my lunch date and I swooned over an appetizer of spinach encased in the softest dough, wrapped much like a samosa. The spinach was flavoured with a mixture of spices that had us completely entranced. I don't even remember what the dish was called* but at the time the two of us drifted off for a moment as we tried to decipher what this heavenly flavour was. I was certain there was nutmeg and she was equally certain she could detect cumin. We finally asked our server to settle the matter once and for all. She headed off to ask the kitchen and came back with a piece of paper in hand and the word Baharat on it. She confirmed that it was a mix of not only nutmeg and cumin but several other spices. My lunch date and I pondered this new word in our vocabulary with more than a bit of awed appreciation.

Since it is just a mix of spices you might already have in your cupboard you could easily make it at home. I would love to tell you that I did that, but alas, I cheated. When I was at the Whole Foods the other day I saw it there on the shelf and couldn't resist taking the easy way out. The mix that I bought is made right here in the UK by Steenbergs and according to its ingredient list this baharat contains paprika, pepper, cumin, coriander seed, cassia, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg. It is apparently widely used in areas surrounding the Persian Gulf to flavour mutton. Slight variations in its ingredient list are not uncommon, as you will see if you happen to do a google search on it.

It has a warm and musky scent; mellow but not lacking oomph. It was a great addition this past weekend to some greek yogurt which I served with spiced meatballs and flatbread. (oh I could sing the praises of greek yogurt for hours.)

I have an overflowing spice cupboard as it is but I always will gladly make room for more, especially one that is a wee bit exotic. A girl should never underestimate the power of a thrilling spice cupboard.

I'll keep you posted on my experiments with it, in the meantime I'm more than happy to get my thrill by taking a whiff from the jar every now and then.


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Update: check out Saveur's description and recipe for a Syrian version of Baharat as well as a Turkish version

*I have since been reminded by my 'lunch date with a fabulous memory' that the appetizer was called a fetayer, which seems to be spelled a multitude of ways including "fatayer". Here's some more google for you, there seems to be alot of variations.

More Food Love.

Soba noodles with crispy tofu, avocado and microgreens

I took a little trip to the new Whole Foods on Kensington High Street the other day with Clotilde and came home with 2 bags full of happiness. We spent 2 hours wandering around that store and if it wasn't for our overflowing baskets and our need for a caffeine fix, we probably could have kept on going. Seriously people, it was 3 floors of magic. You have never seen two gals reading peanut butter labels so closely while discussing the merits of smooth (my preference) versus crunchy (her preference).
By the time I got home I was exhausted but my weary bones did not keep me from digging into my new stash and whipping up a soba noodle salad with some crispy tofu and the cutest little microgreens a girl ever did see. They are a micro combination of Red Mustard, Broccoli, Mizuna, Rocket and Coriander called Ed's Wild Mix from Secrett's Farm in West Sussex.

The next morning I couldn't resist using those little microgreens again for my first ever homemade breakfast burrito. It was a momentous occasion. The burrito idea was inspired by another Whole Foods find: super thin wholewheat flatbreads (almost as thin as filo) called Mountain bread. I scrambled some eggs, and wrapped them up with greens inside the flatbread and oy!
Who knew I could be so thrilled by a breakfast burrito?



There are still some other exciting ingredients that I bought that I have yet to dig into, but just knowing they are there waiting to be discovered has me all giddy. I haven't felt this thrilled by a grocery store since my days in Paris, exploring the Grande Epicerie. There were no unicorns to be found, but it was pretty magical nonetheless.


Whole Foods
The Barkers Building
63–97 Kensington High Street
London W8 5SE



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The Soba Salad

I tossed the noodles, some shredded carrots, and sliced green onions with a dressing of sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Then I tossed in the microgreens. I pan fried some tofu strips in peanut oil and added this to the noodles. (I fry the tofu strips so that they are crunchy on the outside with still a bit of softness in the middle--you can fry them more or less to your taste.)
Finally, I added some chopped avocado and sprinkled some sesame seeds on top for good measure.

Lunch at the Borough Market

Barbecued chorizo on a bun with arugula and piquillo peppers

Every food lover who comes to London knows about the Borough Market. I certainly had heard of it and knew that it would be one of the first places I would go. And I had no doubt that I would like it. Of course I would. But people, I don't just like it. I LOVE it.

And I love it even more on Fridays.

On Fridays, all the suits working in the neighbourhood come to the market for a "hand-held" lunch. Then they go to the nearest pub for a pint and spill onto the streets, drinks in hand, for some chit chat and some people watching. Most of the time it's so busy you have to squeeze your way through the beer glasses just to get anywhere. Normally I hate a crowd, but this one makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It's going to be a long time before I can safely say that I have tried most of the hand-held lunch options that are available there. But I can tell you that I do get a tremendous thrill from Brindisa's barbecued chorizo on a bun with arugula and piquillo peppers. There is always a line up there, but I have never been not willing to wait.
There are no tables at which to sit and eat, but the curb in the front of the Brindisa stand is always full of people sitting down, and assuming the proper eating position: legs spread apart so as not to drip chorizo juice on their trousers.

In Paris, you wouldn't dare buy something at the market then park yourself on the nearest curb and dig in. They would probably demand to see your passport and put you on the next flight out of there.
But here it's all part of the charm. The Borough Market has a social aspect to it that I absolutely love, even if I go alone and it means sitting off to the side and just watching everyone else being social. I am skilled at the art of being a wallflower. So, if you see some gal sitting by herself, smiling, with chorizo juice on her face and arugula in her teeth, that's probably me. (Clearly, I am also skilled at the art of making myself sound like a loser.)

The best part is, when you're done, you can wander back through the market and take your time selecting your dessert.

Oh, and of course, get some shopping done if that's what you had intended to do in the first place.


Brindisa website

Did I ever tell you about that yogurt?

When I talk about things that I love about London I wonder if I wouldn't be more unique if everything I loved was some kind of best kept secret. But the fact of the matter is, I like the Fortnum & Mason food hall.

There I said it.

I just can't seem to pass it by without stopping in. I'm not so interested in the jams and teas on the ground floor, it's the good stuff in the lower level that always lures me in.

As luck would have it recently, just when my feet started to complain from all the walking and my stomach started to alert me to the dinner hour, I was in the neighbourhood.

I picked up a couple of ripe yellow tomatoes, some hand-picked local arugula, some French goat's cheese (a crottin de something or other, I forget now), some organic Salchichon* from Spain and for dessert, a blood orange and a pot of honey yogurt.
To some, this dinner is maybe kind of meh. To me though: oy.
Happy happy.
And let me tell you about that yogurt.
Perfectly creamy and smooth, with the purest honey flavour--not overly sweet. Just right.
AND, River Cottage, treats its cows well.
I put my hands on my hips, cock my head to the side and ask you this:
"It makes the yogurt taste that much better, doesn't it?"
I think SO!
AND in case you recognize the River Cottage name, yes this is Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall's yogurt, so to speak.

Nice work Hugh.
Nice work.


Fine yogurt. I could have licked the jar clean.
But if I had, I probably wouldn't admit it.


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*Salchichon: like chorizo but with pepper instead of paprika

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River Cottage Website

Fortnum & Mason Food Hall
181 Piccadilly, London
tube: Piccadilly Circus or Green Park

If you do want to know a secret: don't overlook the wine bar in the food hall at Fortnum & Mason just because you're not in the mood for wine. (Does that even happen?) You can rest your feet a bit over a pot of fresh mint tea (made from leaves) and a couple of champagne truffles.

Moro. I love it. And that's that.

The first time I ever went to Moro was just shortly after we moved here. G and I dressed ourselves up and because it was too early for dinner, we opted to sit at the bar and test out some of their tapas.

We spent a few hours over small dishes of syrian lentils, chorizo, olives, empanadillas, patatas bravas and fresh sardines. While my eyes and tastebuds danced with glee, G immersed himself in the wine list and we tried wines by the glass from more countries than I care to admit.

For days afterwards I couldn't stop talking about it to anyone who would listen. I even bought Moro's 2nd cookbook and like a woman possessed I made 6 of their recipes in what seemed like a single weekend. They were all fabulous.


Needless to say, I have been back to Moro several times since then, and I still love it. I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels and, most importantly of all, I love the food. Their rosewater and cardamom ice cream is the stuff of my dreams.

Sometimes, I will admit, you have to break the ice a little bit with some of the staff, but show your enthusiasm about any of the dishes or the wine and that seems to do the trick. Either way, I'm just so happy when I go there, that even if the staff ignored me completely, I'd still sit there with the biggest smile on my face.

It's also worthwhile to check out the shop next door to them, called Brindisa, which carries many of the spanish ingredients that Moro uses in their dishes. Brindisa can also be found at the Borough market.

MORO
34 - 36 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE
Farrington Tube
Tapas are available 12:30pm to 10:30pm Mon to Sat.
Dinner from 7pm to 10:30pm Mon to Sat.

BRINDISA
32 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE
Farringdon Tube