It all started with some leftover steamed sweet potato and a bit of pesto, but boy did it snowball.
Last summer we went to a friend’s place for lovely early-evening mezze before I headed off to the States. All the dishes were lovely, but the roast sweet potato with pesto was particularly memorable.
With tabbouleh on the brain and sweet potato and pesto in the fridge, I figured, eh, why not have a mezze night? Every time we head to our favourite Turkish restaurant around the corner from us in Hackney, I dive into their divine mezze plate. Why not try my own version, with is soaked with demonstrably less unidentifiable red oil?
It was actually very easy and required minimal cooking. We ate spread out on a blanket on the living room floor, like a little picnic. Cue the ‘awwww’s…
sweet potato with pesto
leftover steamed sweet potato, with two tablespoon of pesto mixed in. Though it could be roasted should you prefer. Serve cold.
roasted aubergine
oh so simple. Preheat the oven to 200 C and roast two aubergines, sliced in half lengthwise, with a few sprays of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. When done, scrape the aubergine out from its skin and serve in a bowl.
tabbouleh
you know the drill
courgette, dill and yogurt
a bit like tzatziki. Add the courgettes and dill to a food processor and finely chop. Mix in three spoonfuls of fat-free natural yogurt and season well.
carrot, radish and thyme
a little one I made up. Very earthy, and a refreshing break from the other, more classic flavours. Chuck one large carrot (or two
olives and feta
hh, do I need to explain?
stuffed vine leaves
no, I didn’t make them – but only £1.95 for eight of these bad boys – you gotta love them.
harissa
This lovely chilli garlic “relish” goes with absolutely everything. But beware – it’s very hot (though worth it).
All served with warm tortillas. To die for. My favourite? I couldn’t possibly pick… they’re like children to me now…
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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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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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