We're moving. Not far, just up Mare Street to the top of London Fields, but it's enough to be a hassle. And for the last few weeks, I've been steadily working through the contents of our pantry so that we won't have to lug boxes of tins up the street. But it has got me thinking: there are certain items that, in order to cook healthily and tastefully all the time, must be present in any cook's cupboard.
non-perishables
tins of chickpeas, butter beans or other beans (for lunches)
tins of chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and peeled plum tomatoes
a tin of tomato paste
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
white wine vinegar
cider vinegar
brown long-grain or basmati rice
wholemeal pasta - ideally one long type and one chunky type
bulghur wheat
couscous
brown or green lentils
vegetables
red onions
white onions
garlic
spices/flavourings
bouquet garni (for soups)
bay leaves
oregano
dried mixed herbs
curry powder
cayenne powder
Maldon salt
black peppercorns
fish sauce
bouillon powder (chicken and vegetable)
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A passion for food and love of cooking lures me into the kitchen most nights, cooking for myself and my husband. If I'm not there, I'm trying restaurants both new and old. I live in east London with my husband, and I write about culinary and health-related issues surrounding food and create recipes that are seasonal, healthy and delicious (most of the time!).
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Meet the chef - Jennifer Trent Staves
A passion for food and love of cooking lures me into the kitchen most nights, cooking for myself and my husband. If I'm not there, I'm trying restaurants both new and old. I live in east London with my husband, and I write about culinary and health-related issues surrounding food and create recipes that are seasonal, healthy and delicious (most of the time!).
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Labels
- healthy recipes (61)
- fish recipes (40)
- low calorie recipes (40)
- autumn recipes (33)
- soup recipes (33)
- vegetarian recipes (33)
- pasta recipes (19)
- salad recipes (19)
- root vegetables (18)
- work lunch (17)
- chicken recipes (16)
- under 400 calories (16)
- quick dinners (15)
- under 300 calories (14)
- under 350 calories (11)
- lamb recipes (10)
- london restaurant (9)
- seafood recipes (9)
- summer recipes (9)
- egg recipes (8)
- italian recipes (8)
- under 250 calories (8)
- under 450 calories (8)
- under 600 calories (8)
- beef recipes (7)
- curry recipes (7)
- restaurant reviews (6)
- sunday lunch (6)
- tv food (6)
- under 700 calories (6)
- mexican recipes (5)
- tomato recipes (5)
- under 200 calories (5)
- under 500 calories (5)
- comfort food (4)
- special occasion recipes (4)
- under 550 calories (4)
- winter recipes (4)
- under 800 calories (3)
- under 900 calories (3)
- casserole recipes (2)
- cupboard recipes (2)
- south beach recipes (2)
How it all started...
It all started here on a lazy Saturday morning. Having been out late for drinks with friends, I was lounging on the couch watching Saturday Kitchen with a cup of tea. I had been thinking about starting this blog for awhile now, but a new job was keeping me busy. But with my husband Pete snoozing away and having time to catch my breath, it finally began.
Some background: food has always been a part of my life. I grew up in Atlanta with my parents, brother and lovely cocker spaniel. My dad is an amazing cook, and as we grew up, it was dad, experimenting in the kitchen. A fisherman at heart growing up on the Gulf coast of Florida, he loves all seafood and would cook it most days if only my mom would allow. My mom is also a great cook but prefers the comfort of a recipe book close at hand and doesn't like wavering from the print.
When I moved to New Orleans at 18 to go to college at Tulane, I began my own cultural food awakening. There were spices and flavors I'd had, some I'd recognized, and some I'd never even heard of. When I finally had my own flat, I had my own kitchen, and I played by my rules. I'd want to cook something, but didn't always know how - so a ring home to Dad gave me the instructions needed. Confidence grew, and I found I wanted to come home to cook most nights. I didn't want prepacked food on the shelves or the nearest takeaway.
By the time I moved to London at 22 (I didn't realize it was permanent at the time, but it has turned out to be) I felt awakened. I was willing to take anything on, try new things. Or so I thought. English food culture turned out to be such an enlightening experience. Thai and Indian food were not a part of my food life - but they're intrinsic to my enjoyment of food now.
Vegetables. Oh my god vegetables. It sounds weird but there isn't anything better. I was a vegetarian for about 5 years - and I swear, I didn't eat nearly as many vegetables as I do now. American use of vegetables in my experience consisted mostly of green beans and corn. Although Americans do a great salad too.
But the English have opened up my eyes to the beauty and simplicity of the vegetable. I now load my plate with things I probably would have considered disgusting in my teenage years. Parsnips. Fennel. I can't think of a vegetable I don't like, to be honest. If I come across one, I'll tell you. But the more I eat, the more I like.
Therein lies the rub. I love food and love experimenting but (like everything else in my life) I can get carried away. Take it that bit too far. One year I gained twenty pounds just because of my love of food. (Lack of exercise probably didn't help!) But over the past year, I have come to realise that you can make gorgeous food with amazing flavours - and it can be healthy - but it's not always easy. You have to work at it, have to experiment, which is exciting in and of itself.
I personally think most recipes don't need half of the oil they call for. Tweaking things to make them healther (and often, more flavorful) is exciting and I love it. I can (almost) always eat my own food. There are notable exceptions.
Cue the husband. Tall, lean, stomach capacity the size of North America. He can eat for days and not show a thing. And as I'm generally the cook in the house, it's been a sub-project to find things I can eat that he'll enjoy too. You'll see as we go along. I have several tactics - but my end goal is that we have nearly the same meal on our plates when we sit down. That involves compromises on both sides - but we're both happy after the meal. If either of us isn't - you'll hear about it.
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