curlywurlyfi

Sunday morning was fresh pineapple + watermelon and a lot of whining, followed about an hour later by a gin + tonic. Fi

- bok choi, okra, courgettes + tofu stir fried with garlic, ginger, soy + chilli - cauliflower + carrots roasted with cumin, garlic + olive oil, suqeeze of lemon juice before serving all this healthy food in preparation for forthcoming weekend of horrific overindulging - hurrah! Fi

I'm Scottish and had them (deliberately) for supper last night - big up refrigerated transport, is what I say.

committed larb last night and am looking forward to leftover larb for lunch. is it just me or are there very many Ls in that sentence?

was leafing through the Alice B Toklas Cook Book last night and whammo, recipe for smelt! was late at night and I wasn't concentrating but seem to remember it involved lemon parsley + garlic (ie all the usual strong-flavoured fish suspects). If they're still good to go, and haven't been turned into garden mulch yet, and you have a copy of the book, it's about 2/3 of the way through. Please do tell me if this is the least useful post you've ever read... Fi

I made larb...

totally recommend Le Logge, in Smerillo, tiny and charming village up in the mountains, tel 0734 79129, waitperson: Romina (there is only her and I believe she is a daughter of the house). We went here twice it was so good. very rustic, very cheap, but delicious food - fried quails eggs on pancetta; bean soup/stew drowned in truffles; wild boar pasta; homemade salamis; grilled lamb from HEAVEN; mistra (local anisette) and vin cotto. But the best part about it is the view. Go at night (hope you get a clear night) and walk out through the arch to the right of the restaurant and you are on a tiny promontory sticking out over the valleys of a huge circle of mountains and all you can see are the tiny twinkling lights of other little villages, and stars up above. The most beautiful view I have ever seen. Real lump-in-the-throat stuff.

I spent New Year in Le Marche and had some fantastic (though relatively rustic) meals. Will check with my friends who live there. The one thing I do remember is that we did a really astonishingly comprehensive taste comparison of chocolate icecreams in the area we were (near Macerata/Comunanza) and Casa del Gelato in Macerata was head and shoulders above the rest. I second Ascoli Piceno as a great place to wander round. Have a coffee in the cafe in the square and admire the roaring lions outside the cathedral.

ripe (yellow/orange flesh) pawpaws (papayas) are delicious sliced in crescents like a melon, then squeeze lime juice over and top with crumbled crispy bacon. The seeds are allegedly edible but I used to eat pawpaw every day when I was little (lived in West Africa where they quite literally grow on trees) and never did. If you eat too much they have an, um, loosening effect. You can occasionally get little ones in UK supermarkets where they are stickered saying 'ripe and ready to eat' which is just such a bloomin' LIE - we buy them and leave them for 4-5 days till they are soft and perfumed and the skin, now more yellow than green, is just about beginning to wrinkle. Then slice and serve as above. Or if less ripe, they are very good in chicken + curried mayonnaise type salads.

democracy in action - I love it! when's the next one?

am feeling a bit freaked out - last night's supper was cod loin, dredged in flour then browned in a bit more olive oil than I would normally use, and at the last minute the juice of half a lemon squeezed over, a tbsp of chopped fresh parsley, s+p, and a tablespoon of capers - swish about in the excess oil to make a sauce. but what freaked me out was perusing the London Evening Standard over lunch about an hour ago, opening to the recipe page, and seeing that today's recipe was for rainbow trout... dredged in flour then fried in olive oil, lemon juice, caper and chopped fresh parsley. eeeeek! It's like Groundhog Day! Fi

SO true. Hey, should we do cocktail club? Fi

made Atkins-friendly supper (girls - tchah) - smoked mackerel pate with crudites (red + yellow peppers, cucumber) - chicken with shallots garlic parsley + tarragon inside, surrounded by sliced mushrooms, carrots, red + yellow peppers, garlic cloves + leek chunks, drizzled with olive oil then roasted, served with Dijon mustard - low fat low sugar butterscotch pudding which I was too full to eat I had two glasses of cabernet sauvignon - bring me carbohydrates in the fermented form I say!

oh no oh no - Andy, Scott, BLH - 17 Feb I am already promised to another. so sorry to disappoint the team... Fi

home made chewy meringues, sandwiched with cream. mmmm. you can also make harder meringues, then crush them up a bit and stir them into double cream whipped with brandy (rum/kirsch/Cointreau/whatever) and a bit of icing sugar, freeze in a pudding basin and unmold for what my mother calls Snow Queen Bombe. and of course, you could have the most beautifully clear stock in the history of the world. Fi

Sorry chaps. Went on Monday as promised, but was with girlf who is dieting for wedding day, so we allowed ourselves two cocktails each (may I recommend the Hedgerow Sling, with sloe gin, gin, lemon + crushed ice?) at the expense of food, so only shared a plate of impeccable Pata Negra charcuterie with quince jam, almonds and caperberries, and some absolutely wonderful olive bread. Really good, but none of it a test of the kitchen. As an eGullet field operative, I'm definitely in the B team, I'm afraid. Fi

goat's cheese - I'm sorry, but it's like licking an old goat (totally sympathize, hathor!) dulce di leche - feel your tooth enamel cringe away in horror! rollmop herrings - just, sorry, NO.

split them, scrape out the tiny little grains with the point of a knife and beat into mascarpone with a combination of some of the below: - rum/brandy/Cointreau - sugar - grated lemon/orange rind - chopped fresh mint/basil - strong black coffee or bitter chocolate then use to fill a pastry case and top with sliced fruit for instant dessert.

an opportunity to show off my music nerdliness? bring it on! Fi

Not just Indians! I had one of these for breakfast... yesterday! Has been a favourite of mine ever since I reached hangoverable age. Fi

My boss has just come back from lunch there and is now stomping about the office fulminating about the dreadful and churlish service. Can expand, but since it would be reportage rather than direct experience it may not be strictly eGullet policy.

What he said, but with a ripe banana (it's the ethylene that does it, apparently). Fi

Bloviatrix, hope Blovie recovers soon - strep throat BAD. slightly weird supper as I left the major ingredient - beautiful little piece of ham - in the office fridge last night. Scowl. Had to zip into the local Marks & Spencer when I got off the tube, where they were out of pretty much everything. So we had - lemon sole fillets, pan fried in butter + parsley - roasted sweet potatoes - baby bok choi fried with garlic, fish sauce + lemon juice Still, it's not all bad, I will obviously be feasting on ham tonight. Fi

Tuna Fantastic Serves 2 as Main Dish. I first had this at a girls' night at a friend's house. I couldn't believe something she just slung together while the pasta was boiling could be so tasty. I would eat this once a week if I was allowed. 250 g dried good quality penne (eg De Cecco) 200 g tin of tuna 250 g cherry tomatoes 50 g tiny capers big bunch fresh basil big glug good balsamic bigger glug your best olive oil salt + freshly ground black pepper Put the pasta on to boil in a big pan of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, drain the tuna + put in a big serving bowl (salad bowl is perfect). Halve the cherry tomatoes, drain the capers, shred the basil + add to the bowl with the vinegar, oil, s + p. Mix well. When the pasta is ready, drain + add to the bowl, toss and check for seasoning (it may need more balsamic or oil). Then eat in vast quantities. Also good for lunch, apparently, but it's never made it to the next day in my house (too good as midnight snacking food). All quantities of ingredients are approx, by the way, so don't kill yourself if you don't have exactly 250g cherry tomatoes, it's just by eye. Keywords: Main Dish, Pasta, Fish ( RG832 )

Tuna Fantastic Serves 2 as Main Dish. I first had this at a girls' night at a friend's house. I couldn't believe something she just slung together while the pasta was boiling could be so tasty. I would eat this once a week if I was allowed. 250 g dried good quality penne (eg De Cecco) 200 g tin of tuna 250 g cherry tomatoes 50 g tiny capers big bunch fresh basil big glug good balsamic bigger glug your best olive oil salt + freshly ground black pepper Put the pasta on to boil in a big pan of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, drain the tuna + put in a big serving bowl (salad bowl is perfect). Halve the cherry tomatoes, drain the capers, shred the basil + add to the bowl with the vinegar, oil, s + p. Mix well. When the pasta is ready, drain + add to the bowl, toss and check for seasoning (it may need more balsamic or oil). Then eat in vast quantities. Also good for lunch, apparently, but it's never made it to the next day in my house (too good as midnight snacking food). All quantities of ingredients are approx, by the way, so don't kill yourself if you don't have exactly 250g cherry tomatoes, it's just by eye. Keywords: Main Dish, Pasta, Fish ( RG832 )