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Dried currants are a lie! lol they are just dried 'champagne' grapes (those really small ones). Although I prefer to lie to myself and say they aren't raisins (still grossed out from childhood lol)

I think you need to try it and report back. But imo currants are superior to raisins in butter tarts.

Batch 42: 90g blanched Spanish almonds 90g apricot kernels 350g water 280g sugar 60ml Wray & Nephew Overproof And I got a chance to use my new homogenizer!

Thank you! That sounds fantastic.

Grill eggplant over charcoal: Grilled eggplant salad (yam makreua yao) from Thai Food: Cool and peel eggplant, then mix with mint leaves, sliced shallot, chopped scallion, lime juice, chile powder, and fish sauce. Serve topped with ground dried shrimp and steamed eggs. Temporary bachelor meal because Mrs. C is out of town and does not like the texture of mushy eggplant.

I had a lot of corn to use up, so I blended some of it in a vitamix with salt and pepper and a splash of milk, then strained it. Then I just cooked some sliced shallots in butter until soft, added in the corn liquid until it was warm, then stirred in some corn kernels, a handful of Parmesan and a handful of shredded basil. Season to taste. Pretty simple.

Duh! It gets worse! I'm an idiot. The Chinese for 'fig' is 无花果 (wú huā guǒ) which literally means 'no flower fruit'. Reminder to self: Don't post before your second coffee of the morning.

I'm clearly fig ignorant. The only figs we get here are dried. I've never bought them. They're usually used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

I made something called Molten Brownie Bites in the Takoyaki pan tonight. Pictures show them both cooking and the finished product. These are great little fudgy things. When I put the batter in the pan I I inserted chocolate chips in the middle of each one. Eating them warm, as we are doing, and you get that nice melty centre. I've got some other things I want to do with this pan. Fair warning - octopus balls will not be among them.

Not a huge pasta fan but this one hit hard… carbonara base, sautéed local corn, orange garden tomato seen below, pancetta and some fish pepper.

The "flower" part of figs is internal to the fruit and are pollinated by wasps that burrow into the centre. So bees can't make honey from them. However, fig trees can produce fruit parthenocarpically, without pollination.

Digging around has revealed that there is something called "fig honey", but it isn't honey at all and not made by bees, but people. It's a syrup made from figs. How to Make Fig Honey

I’ve never seen fig honey either. Maybe the figs are sweet enough as is. Or because figs are generally pollinated by wasps so the bees take their business elsewhere.

Lemongrass chicken with home grown lemongrass and chillies. Cucumber salad

Thanks! Nothing like a little pig fat and cream to smooth out the swordfish! I get a weekly fish share from a local community supported fishery group. They’ve started a side business to convert their fish scraps into fertilizer. I’m thinking sausage could be more lucrative 🙃 I’ll see what they think!

Do, the bees harvest the figs for nectar? My friend who recently sent me lychees from the family lychee farm also sends me lychee honey which I like a lot. Never seen fig honey, though.

Not homemade - from Boston, apparently. Mrs. C picked them up at our local seafood market. Edit: I think she was hoping they were like the delicious smoked swordfish we had in Puerto Vallarta, which tasted like pastrami. No ideal why it hasn't caught on globally, I wish we could get something like that locally.

And still is. It was also one of late French mother's short list of favourites to cook and eat. The dish was named after in Honour of Napoleon after his victory in the Battle of Marengo, Italy. Rice is certainly eaten (and grown) in France and my mother and grandmother both served it with this dish. Corn is gaining acceptance but still not common.

My kitchen floor is sticky because I spilled lime juice on it.

The local hospital carries those traction socks and hands them out to patients. I think I must have 4 or 6 pairs of them now. I really like them.

Yes definitely. Do try them you will be amazed at the difference in the taste and the texture. The little ones in the photo above just get sweeter as they get darker but they are still nice and firm. Down here in this heat, the Cavendish bananas will be soft and mushy in about 3 days and these will last and be good for at least five to seven days.

Sounds delicious! Is the swordfish sausage homemade? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that, but nor have I specifically looked for it!

I have some of those. You need tough soles to wear them.

Never thought to use anything other than the standard grocery store bananas(Cavendish I assume.) I do have access to Asian and South East Asian markets so will definitely give different banana varieties a try once I go through the plethora of bananas in the freezer!

Charlie frequently mentions a program that he enjoys about food history. He has asked me to look at some of the shows and make some of the recipes. I intend to do it but always forget. But the other day he sent me an email containing a program about one of Napoleon's favorite dishes. Chicken Marengo. The program said it remained popular in French cuisine after his death. We tried the recipe, and he said it was really good and it reminded him of Chicken Adobo. The sides we had with it, most probably, were not ever eaten with this meal in France..rice and corn. Thomas Jefferson tried to interest the French in corn when he was ambassador to France during George Washington's presidency and they were not interested in eating food meant for animals.