And now with carrots!!!

After the success with my aubergine chocolate cake I just hade to try this recipe with boiled and pureed carrots instead of aubergines. A good dose of orange zest and cointreau instead of brandy and hey presto - wondercake. Loved it!!
The original is here and the rest is up to you!!

Top tips...

After making meringues or Pavlova I used to wonder what to do with the left over egg yolks. For anyone else wondering about this here are some tips -
You can use the yolks for about three days after being separated from their whites, put them in a bowl, cover them with water and put clingfilm over the bowl and keep in fridge.
Here are some things you can make with egg yolks - Mayonnaise,hollandaise, custard, crème caramel or zabaglione.
If you don't want to use them straight away you can freeze them. To stop them being thick and sticky when defrosted give them a quick whisk with a little salt or sugar before freezing them. (for eight yolks, you need ¼ tsp salt or 2 tsp sugar).
I found this website with examples of how to use leftover eggyolks that I think is quite cool because they have suggestions for what to make with 1,2,3 eggyolks and so on!

Sugar, butter and flour free Aubergine and Chocolate cake!!!

This cake was, despite it's peculiar name, absolutely delicious.
Aubergine chocolate cake doesn't seem to appeal to peoples imaginations but I think that after tasting most people will be converted!
The juiciness of it and the subtle taste of almonds mixed with the dark chocolate really and truly convinced me!
Even my ten year old 'I hate everything new' daughter loved it!!!!! Praise be something.
Recipe -

2 small whole aubergines (weighing roughly 400g)
300g 70% dark chocolate, broken into squares
50g good-quality cocoa powder
60g ground almonds
3 medium eggs
200g clear honey
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp brandy


Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 23cm-diameter x 7cm-deep tin with baking parchment and lightly brush the base and sides with a little oil.

Cook the aubergines by puncturing their skins here and there with a skewer, then placing them in a bowl covered with cling film. Microwave on high for 8 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and limp. Discard any water at the bottom. Leave the aubergines to stand in the bowl until they are cool enough to handle. If you don't have a microwave you can just prick them with a fork and bake them for approx 40 min in an oven at 200c

Next, skin the aubergines with the tip of a knife and purée them in a blender. Once the warm aubergine is puréed and smooth, add the chocolate, which will mingle and melt slowly. Set aside, covered once again in cling film, until all the chocolate has melted.

In a large bowl, whisk up all the other ingredients for a minute until well introduced to each other and slightly bubbly. Fold the melted chocolate and aubergine mixture into the bowl with all the other ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place it in the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in its tin for 15 minutes before turning it out to to a wire rack and peeling off the parchment. Quickly turn it the right way up again and put it on a plate. You can decorate with cocoa powder if you want but I prefer not to.

Serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream, creme fraiche or sour cream.

Bon appetit!!

Moustache wax - you never know when you'll need it!

The other day my friend Pia said her flatmate had a question that she had told him I was the one to ask!! She refused to tell me what so I waited in great suspense to see what it was.
Imagine how happy I was when he walked in sporting a wonderful new moustache and asked me if I had a clue where he could buy moustache wax!!!!
If you've been following my blog you will have seen one of my latest blogs about Liebling, a shop/cafe in Løkka. When I was there the first time I noticed they had no less then 3 - three, different moustache waxes. I made a mental note of this in case anyone ever expressed a need for this particular eversoslightlyobscurepieceofeversouseful cosmetics.
And lo and behold, two days later.................
check out their facebook group. Liebling.
You can find them here: Øvrefoss 4, Grünerløkka.

Books for cooks

Want to go to London? Love food? Want to do something other than just wander around markets, shops and museums?
Why not take a cookery lesson at Notting Hills famous Books for Cooks?
They have around 8000 book titles, a test kitchen where you can eat from a new menu every day and they run cookery lessons in their own workshop above the shop. All manner of lessons, Thai, Italian, Indian, fish, baking, Lebanese, even cooking in high heels!!
Click here to see what's coming up!
Bon appetit.

Maya Glaser Wins Observer Food Monthly best readers recipe award 2010

Imagine my delight, not to mention immense pride, when I met my friend Maya in London last week and realised her hangover was a result of heavy celebrating after receiving an award at the Observer Food Monthly award ceremony the night before.
She even gave me a copy of the Observer supplement for the following Sunday with a picture and recipe of her winning dish.
I have had the privilege of eating her winning dish and can absolutely vouch for its deliciousness!

Sweet Potato and aubergine subji with a red onion and coriander raita.
Enough for 2-3
The base -
1-2 medium sized onions
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 green chilli peppers (according to what strength you like) finely chopped
Salt and pepper to season
25g butter(optional)
A good swig of Extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
a good handful roughly chopped coriander
The vegetables -
1 large aubergine cut into small cubes
2 medium sized sweet potatoes cut into slightly larger cubes (keep skin on)
2 good handfuls of roughly chopped spinach
The raita -
half a pot of natural yoghurt
1/2 clove of finely chopped garlic
1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
A handful of chopped coriander
A good squeeze of lemon

Fry the onions, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and chillies with a pinch of salt in a little nit of butter and olive oil until soft.
Stir in the garam masala, turmeric and cardamom, followed by the chopped tomatoes and half of the chopped coriander.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes before adding the aubergine. Leave to simmer under a lid for 20 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes. If it gets too dry, add a little water.
Leave the mixture to simmer for another 20-30 minutes then add the spinach. Leave to simmer until the spinach wilts, then add the rest of the coriander and season.
For the raita, mix the yoghurt, garlic, red onion and coriander in a bowl, add a squeeze of lemon and season to taste.
Serve the subji with basmati rice or toasted lebanese pitta bread and the raita on the side.

Maya, I hope you don't mind the adulation, but if you do...tough! You deserve every bit of it.

For a list of all award winners you can look at the Observer website.

Geometry of Pasta

Well I am happy to say that I just found this book in London and as I am maybe over averagely interested in what pasta is right for what sauce it suits me perfectly! It is packed with great graphics of the different types of pasta and loads of great recipes.
You can get it on Amazon and take a sneak peak at its contents here.

Trellick Tower and Goldfinger, what's the connection??

Trellick Tower is a towerblock in North Kensington, London. You get a great view of it if you walk up Golborne road. It was designed by the architect Ernö Goldfinger and finished in 1972. It is now a grade II* listed building, meaning that it is a building of special architectural or historic interest. It was built for Greater London Council and all the flats were let as council flats. The majority of them still are, but those that are not are very attractive objects on the property market.
As for the connection between Trellick Tower and The Goldfinger most of us know as the villain in Ian Flemings book? The villain is indeed named after Ernö himself. Apparently he was given to notorious rages and not a friendly man to work for. Fleming had also been one of the protesters to the tearing down of the cottages that made way to what would become Goldfingers house.
Goldfinger threatened to sue Fleming for using his name but the dispute was eventually settled outside the court and Goldfinger received six books as part of the settlement!!
I bought this cup from the London Transport Museum t remind me of wandering down the Golborne road with my friend Maya. Check out the other amazing things they have here. PS. Make sure you look at their poster shop!!!

I recommend.....

Akevittkurs hos Kraft Byrå

Nothing much changes...

We all know fashions come around again and again but I imagine the first time these boots were on the market they weren't exactly fashionable!! Anyone want to buy the new ones check here

Liebling

Just stumbled over Liebling. Newly opened cafe/shop in Øvre Foss in Grünerløkka.
Fantastic selection of gifty things and good coffee! Bavarian mustard and whoopee cushions in perfect harmony.
Recommend it for Sunday shopping and everyday coffee.
Can't wait to buy christmas presents here.
join their facebook group here

Gingerbread in Oktober??

Might seem strange but as we we're doing a piece for a christmas article it had to be!
The thing is that it was surprisingly good fun, no stress, lots of happy kids, despite the complete lack of 'the christmas feeling' (the Mamma Mia soundtrack and crocodile and elephant cutters might have helped!).
The recipe was really nice, from Brød og Korn.

Spice Mojo!

And here are some other more unusual areas of use for grains of paradise, or Guinea grains as they are also called!
Happy Mojo :-)

GRAINS OF PARADISE, also known as Guinea Grains, can be added to any mojo hand carried for luck. Keep a handful on you to chew while Gambling, spitting onto your hands before throwing dice. Fill Home Protection Packets with GUINEA GRAINS, glue Michael the Archangel cards to them, and place them at the front and back doors. To Get a Job, put 9 GRAINS in each of your shoes and 9 in your mouth. Hold them in your mouth as you ask for a job; as you leave, spit them on the ground. Grind equal parts GUINEA GRAINS, Red Pepper, Black Mustard Seeds, whole Black Pepper, and Poppy Seeds to a powder by hand, cursing the entire time, and throw on your enemy’s doorstep to cause Inflammatory Confusion.

Grains of Paradise are the new pepper!

During my work with Lene and Nadins book launch I had the pleasure of visiting the spices room at Arcus. One of the spices I came away with was grains of paradise.
The plant they come from is aframomum melegueta and is a member of the ginger family. The plant has purple trumpet like flowers that develop into pods containing small reddish brown seeds. Once upon a time these were imported to europe from Africa to Europeand used as a fashionale substitute for black pepper.
Today the grains of paradise are largely unknown except for in north and west Africa.
Nowadays the use of grains of paradise in the rest of the world is in some beers as Samuel Adams, some gins and our very own akevitt!
There seems to be a budding revival for the use of the corns and I am happy to promote them as I think they have an amazing smell and taste that is great to use as a substitute for pepper and even in cakes and pies.
I have also heard rumours that they help relieve indigestion and arthritis!!!

Love this Feta!

This is such good feta cheese. Not only is it organic but also just the right combination og firm, crumbly and fresh fresh tasting.
Does things on my tongue that any good cheese should!