he goes to my head and intoxicates my soul: calvin trillin

Calvin Trillin's The Tummy Trilogy

You go to my head
And you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning 'round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne . . .

. . . You go to my head with a smile
That makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand Julys
You intoxicate my soul . . .  

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I wish I could tell you that I was awash with birthday champagne or even Pimms, but I wasn't. During the neo monsoon season that had cloaked Britain in grey clouds and downpours for months, I was in a foul mood. Things were bad. I didn't even feel much like cooking. Yes, it was that bad. I even cancelled my birthday drinks due to lack of interest (my own) and had returned to my cave to sulk.

summer treats: raspberry swirl cupcakes

raspberry swirl cupcakes

Raspberries are probably my favourite of all the summer fruits. They sing “summertime and the living is easy!” There is something about the way that their muted pink colour rebukes the showy brashness of the strawberry which appeals to me. I also love the sensation of the raspberry's multitude of little drupelets exploding in your mouth with an eye puckering sweetness and floral aroma.

smoked paprika and rosemary roast chicken

I love the taste and smell of smoked paprika and am always trying to find a new way of using it up. This easy marinade seemed the perfect way of infusing some flavour into pieces of chicken. This is about as easy as can be, which is just the way I like to cook!

what's in season: august

my garden tomatoes!

Oh baby, baby what can I do?
You know you drive me crazy when I'm looking at you
The summer's really here and it's time to come out
Time to discover what fun is about
Here comes the summer
Here comes the summer
Here comes the summer 
John O'Neill, The Undertones - 1978  
 
Ah, happy memories. The Undertones with all their teenage exuberance can still bring a smile to my face. I have another reason to have fond memories in that that after my little brother had sneaked backstage, they had signed a birthday card for me back in those more carefree days. What nice boys they were!

an italian-style bread salad: panzanella

panzanella (Italian bread salad)

I was in a hurry and needed to throw together a quick lunch for two and the cupboard was almost bare. Almost bare, but not quite. Even when I am down to the basics and a few crumbs, I will always have a chunk of bread (since I bake about twice a week), a heap of tomatoes (whether fresh, tinned or dried) and a few jars of olives. This is life in the Kelly household; you can never go hungry.

sweetcorn fritters with crème fraîche, hot smoked salmon and chives

sweetcorn fritters with crème fraîche
and hot smoked salmon

My friend Rachael rescues retired battery hens, who like jaded showgirls arrive with tattered feathers and fading plumage. She seems to name her birds after Victorian parlour maids (Gladys, Betty, Mildred and Flo), who once they have acclimatised to their new life, learn to roost and overcome their fear of the outdoors, to roam across her property, where they like nothing more than to gorge on sweetcorn and chase marshmallows up and down the lawn!

smoked salmon pâté with peter's yard crispbreads

smoked salmon pâté

If my mother taught me anything about cooking it was about being prepared and keeping things simple. She loved hosting parties, but she always ensured that she had prepared some of the dishes in advance, keeping herself serene. I can only dream of serenity. My default position is more Tasmanian Devil, (dim-witted and short-tempered) than glamorous Rachel Allen, the cookery Queen of Serene! Which is why many of my mother's cold soup or fish pâté recipes, easily prepared a couple of days before the main event, are now part of my hoard of good party recipes. Effortlessly delectable; the perfect party food.

dinner with delicious magazine

the menu!

I was lucky enough recently to be invited to a "meet-the-Editor" dinner at Delicious Magazine. It was a chance for the magazine to talk to some of their readers and to find out what we really think about food magazines; what we like to eat, cook and what sort of food do we aspire to cook.

grilled salmon in smoky tamarind sauce

grilled salmon in smoky tamarind sauce

In the past, if asked if I would like to go to a Mexican restaurant, I would typically answer "no". My experiences of Mexican food in London (and New York for that matter) had been typically awful - generally mushy beans, beans and more beans, with overly sweet sauces, uniformly sickly, accompanied by rotgut tequila. It turns out that I had been mistaking TexMex for genuine Mexican and that real Mexican food could be fresh and tasty without any kind of reliance on sugar and powdered garlic!

books galore and a chance to support your local library

BBQ cookbook display
in the window of
my local library

"The sun will come out tomorrow" so said the mawkish song as well as British weather forecasters, but if it doesn't this might be a really good time to check out your local library. You might be surprised to learn that amongst the highbrow, lowbrow, CDs, DVDs and games, that your library has a number of cookbooks to provide inspiration on even the darkest and dampest of days.

At a time of austerity, I had to face up to the fact that I had a serious addiction. A book addiction. A dependence that in frugal times I could no longer afford to support. I would rather feed myself than feed my habit. 

something for the weekend? roast leg of lamb with a greek-style marinade

lemon and garlic roast leg of lamb

This is a suggestion for Sunday lunch, since the weather forecasters are predicting sunshine and this meal is bursting with sunshine flavours and a slight whiff of the Mediterranean. Of course, a girl can dream! And even if the forecasts are wrong, lamb cooked with lashings of garlic, herbs and lemon is a meal perfect for any dinner table or barbecue.

rhubarb and pink gooseberry crumble

rhubarb crumble

I am rather fond of rhubarb, as much for its sour, yet fruity flavour as for its air of mystery; this is a vegetable that masquerades as a fruit - a cross-dresser in the kitchen. Combined with the eeriness of the Rhubarb Triangle and the unearthly sound of nightly creaking as the rhubarb is forced upwards in the dark is a quality which I find equally thrilling.