101 Things To Do Before Next Thursday: Number 4

101 TTDBNT: Number 4 - Make your own curry powder

It's still not Thursday, is it? And when Thursday does come around it still won't be NEXT Thursday, will it? No excuses then... you have all the time in the world. Wahey!

Mind you, this is such a simple treat to make that I wouldn't be surprised if you set to as soon as you've finished reading this.

I made one of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes from her 'Ultimate Curry Bible'. You can find the recipe here as well.

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Assemble your ingredients

There are a few yellow mustard seeds in with the brown. You could probably get away with using all of one or the other. Those chillies are a few from the cupboard where I store my jams, jellies, preserves and wine. When I want fresh chillies I always over-buy and string the excess on a wire hanging in that dark place. They are dry and crumbly enough after a couple of months.

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Dry roasted spices... your kitchen smells better than a freshly popped can of tennis balls

The dry roasting is best done in a pan which you can guarantee to clean well or it will taint future dishes. I keep an old wok dedicated to spices to avoid any such problem. Watch out during the grinding as well. Again, I reserve one of the four glass jars which attach to my electric blade grinder for spices alone.

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Let the 'Ruby' commence

I made three times the recipe's quantities which filled a 250g/8oz jar. Modify the ingredients, especially the chillies, and find a mix which suits. Never err too heavy on the turmeric or fenugreek delivery, though, as they can make things go from hot but fragrant to bitter and twisted.

Do try. The aromas as you heat the spices are nearly as terrific as the knowledge that you made this yourself.

I now feel the insatiable need to do something before next Thursday. Perhaps writing '101 Things To Do Before Next Thursday: Number 5' will satisfy me.

David Everitt-Matthias - A Trio of Essentials

How I wish I could say 'A Quintet of Essentials'. 'An Octet' would be even better. But I'm being greedy. The three cookbooks which I talk about here are enough to satisfy the keenest of those whose favourite room in the house is the kitchen... until another is published, of course! 

I have referenced one of David Everitt-Matthias' recipes before but I do feel rather daft for not devoting more writing time to my favourite chef.  I haven't quite worked out the reasons for this. Just wobbling around with fear of failing to do justice to a hero and almost tongue-tied by the awe in which I hold him, I guess. Of course, I must include David’s wife, Helen, in any discussion of the twenty-nine year old restaurant perfection that is Le Champignon Sauvage. That perfection is built on the combination, development and application of their immense talents and skills, applied with huge determination. One couple have created an experience which ranks alongside the most enjoyable moments in my life outside of those with my family and friends.

I should focus on those cookbooks, shouldn't I? As a keen cook, the three published volumes in my introductory picture are the most treasured purchases that I have made to feed my enthusiasm. And feed it they have. I have too many books containing lovely recipes which leave me cold as I read. The writer gives nothing more than bald instruction and a shrug of 'Get on with it'. David's books have an abundance of those wonderful dishes you would expect from a double-starred Michelin chef but on every page his presence is felt. Exciting, at first glance, complicated recipes are presented with a quiet and insistent assurance that they can be produced by you while a great teacher advises, cajoles and encourages over your shoulder. 

You are given clear and practical ways to use the books. Store-cupboard and foundation items to make in advance mean that you can have great treats to enjoy and use in your cooking through the year. Recipes are challenging; challenges of technique and of flavour profiles and combinations. Any reservations are gently smoothed over as David weaves in details of wild, foraged items, the merits of unfamiliar ingredients, tempts you with unexpected creations and gradually seduces you into the certainty that this is achievable at home.

Every recipe has elements which you are invited to include, discard or save for consideration another time. Items which were 'exotic' a few decades ago are so much easier to source now but there are plentiful ideas for substituting any ingredients still difficult to find or if a particular flavour profile is off-putting. Alternatives which still work well are frequently suggested.

Desserts obviously dominate the middle volume but there are enough in the other two to satisfy the sweet tooth... and anyone who is looking to include vegetables right up to the end of a meal!

Before getting to the glossary and acknowledgements, each book includes a few delightful recipes for petits fours. Jellies, fudges, pastries and tracklement treasures simply confirm the touch and span of a master of his art.

Crispy pig's ears with a lovely acidic tartare sauce was the first recipe I tackled. The ears stay a matter for more understanding and sympathetic treatment but the sauce is a regular treat with other meals.

Mini cinnamon-spiced doughnuts followed. White chocolate and salted lemon fudge (using salted lemons from the 'foundations' section) demands to be made regularly. Some years back we had a Boxing Day to remember with more pleasure than usual after indulging in 'semifreddo of macadamia nuts with passion fruit and star anise sorbet'. Versions of glazed pork belly, pressed apples, acorn panna cotta and ras el hanout caramel have all been enjoyed in the making and in the tasting.

With the appearance of 'beyond essence' David explores further afield to the Middle East and beyond for wonderful additions to recipes already full of complex delight. I won't expand on the repertoire from which I frequently access recipes and ideas. I leave you to discover the rest for yourself. You will have rich pickings.

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dark chocolate and star anise truffle cake

My recommendation here will be old news to many home cooks but for others this is an acclaimed chef who you might not have heard of. His culinary stature is huge and accolades are regular but his media presence is quiet and small. That someone so accomplished exists with so little celebrity is an indication of great modesty. David does not court attention... but his work demands it. The generosity you will discover in these books is in his sharing of a lifetime's experience and experimentation. 

Another chef recently posted his own dessert recipe on social media. This was met with many a 'Yum' and 'Delish'. But most added, "Looks great but I couldn't possibly do this at home... please come round and cook this for me!" I have a sneaky feeling that if David could spare the time he would respond to such a request and make his way to your kitchen. Once there, he would refuse to cook. Instead, he would gradually create the confidence you need to produce the whole thing yourself. You would be getting the same invaluable input which has nurtured so many young chefs in his professional kitchen at Cheltenham. When one of his 'graduates' tweeted "He (David) never once raised his voice" I was not in the least surprised. 

'Stages' are available at the restaurant. Failing that opportunity, you still have the 'essence' of David Everitt-Matthias. His recipes give you access to a wealth of riches which are available to grasp and enjoy. If you don't have his books you really should.

Finally, a little pondering which is brought on by my love of calligraphy, printing and books.

After owning 'essence' for a few months I noticed this information following the title page:  

“A note about the text
This book is set in Sabon MT.
Sabon was designed by Jan
Tschichold in 1964. The roman
design is based on type by Claude
Garamond, whereas the italic
design is based on types by Robert
Granjon.”

David and Helen Everitt-Matthias love France. David immediately acknowledges the use of classic techniques which were developed in French cuisine. He has relied on them with great respect as a foundation for his cooking.. What he has subsequently brought to his kitchen seems to have close parallels  to the designs of Tschichold and other typographers for whom Garamond and Granjon were shining French lights.

I might be stretching a point but, for me, it is wholly appropriate that the text of my favourite cookbooks is designed with the same approach as David's...  he and Tschichold stand on the shoulders of giants and, adding persistent excellence and genius, search for and create stunning new expressions of their chosen craft.

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Sometimes Love Just Isn’t EnoUgh

At the end of next month Jan and I will celebrate our Ruby Wedding anniversary. Time to draft a bit of speechifying methinks.

“We were much younger then and, if we are honest, not utterly sure of the outcome, but we signed a contract to bind us.

It’s actually more than forty years now since we started our relationship. Right from those early days we explored many ways to make things work. Often we selfishly started with what was best for us as an individual. But we were big enough to realise that we had chosen our partner because we rather liked them and that helped us to take their hopes, wants and needs and mix them in with ours.

Once we had made that small but significant step, we started to really grow together. Protecting your own interests while desperate not to hurt someone you think of as so very special is a struggle. Occasionally we more or less gave in to the other’s demands but so much more often we found a way to work things through with positives for both of us.

Definitely a struggle… but a struggle that revealed countless things about each other which we wanted to hold fast to and build on. A struggle which strengthened us rather than pushed us apart. We became better together than we ever were on our own.

There is love, of course - love in all its different expressions. But there is now so much more. The intricate and complicated nature of our partnership makes it at turns vibrant and frustrating… but always gloriously enriching.

There… I could just as easily be describing our marriage instead of the British union with Europe, couldn’t I?

Our marriage will endure and grow. After all those same wonderful connections made over decades it is so sad that a nation has decided to give up its previously rewarding struggle and discard its partner.

Jan and I intend to live and work in peace with the decision made on the 23 June.

Our marriage remains our wonderful and enduring achievement. We will never let it go. We will never let each other go.

Some things were not meant to be.

Jan and I were always meant to be.”

While fearing the worst, I still hope I can utter different words to our invited guests in six weeks time. If not, we will still have something magnificent to celebrate and Jan and I will be together to share whatever comes.

Sometimes love is not enough. Sometimes… let’s be honest, almost always, we need to draw on much more complicated connections. Connections which have been forged over a time long enough to give truly serious thought to breaking those precious links.

“We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than that which divides us.”

(Jo Cox, British politician)

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#nationalfishandchipday - 3rd June 2016

The dish which was once considered so important that Winston Churchill wouldn't ration it during WWII due to fears of triggering widespread discontent is given a day of devotion today. 

Great, glorious British Fish & Chips from a great and glorious fish and chip shop anywhere in Britain can be a heavy challenge to the digestive system. At least, it has become so for my wife and me in later years. We still can't resist the occasional trip for traditional punishment, whether it be from a takeaway or at a Formica-topped seaside restaurant table.

What follows is now our much more regular (at least once a fortnight) way of enjoying a classic. I will find it very hard to forgive you if you don't source your fish from the best supplier possible. Forget the supermarkets and seek out a proper wet fish shop, a good fish van or drive to Grimsby Fish Docks like I did to buy haddock for our meal tonight.

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Fish

Haddock fillets. Cut a sheet of baking paper large enough to go under and fold over the pieces of fish. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with almost no oil whatsoever. Place on an oven tray with the paper covering and bake at 200°C for about ten minutes... until the flesh has not completely surrendered and is flaky and still looks slightly 'glassy'. 

The lack of batter here might put off a few but if you've taken the trouble to find good ingredients why mess about with them? With this approach, you get rid of all that messy deep fat frying too. 

Chips

Wedges, actually. King Edwards for preference. Cut each potato into six or eight 'Toblerone' shaped pretenders according to their size. Don't bother peeling the skins. Boil in salted water for fifteen minutes and drain. When relatively dry, tip into an oven tray which has a light drizzle of oil on the base and has been heated for ten minutes in that 200°C oven. I added thyme sprigs and crushed cloves of garlic. If you aren't prepared to follow me to the letter, just go with your own ideas... cayenne, rosemary and lemon rinds have all made an appearance here over time. Back in the oven for fifty minutes before serving.

The 'chips' are cooking first, of course. I'm letting you make notes on a piece of scrap paper with strict instructions on timing so that all comes tidily together for plating.

Tomatoes

Halve a punnet of cherry tomatoes and put them flat-side down on a tray with a glug of olive oil. Once all are positioned, slide them around and turn onto their curved side. Sprinkle the glistening tops with torn basil and grind more salt and pepper on them than you think is dignified. Prepare these and put in the oven after the fish has gone in. They will get about forty minutes and hopefully caramelise a little in places. Keep an eye on them and take out and rest somewhere warm if they are getting too well done.

Peas

Buy a 300g can of Harry Ramsden's Mushy Peas for each couple you are feeding. Heat in a microwave. Sometimes cooking is a doddle, eh.

When all is ready (you did make those notes on timings, didn't you?) serve on pre-heated plates and make ketchup and HP brown sauce available. You might want to add vinegar or find a recipe for tartare sauce. I was so excited about having a special day devoted to one of my favourite meals that those last two were left out.

Don't wait until the third of June next year. This is a great way to enjoy iconic ingredients which really aren't so very difficult to cook at home.

 

Feast of the Annunciation/Good Friday - March 25th 2016

A lousy picture of a wonderful bird. This robin occupied a tree next door for two and a half hours while I tidied around our garden, cut the grass and put up a bit of the outside furniture.

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For those entire two and a half hours the redbreast sang its heart out. I realise that it was very likely not trying to attract me, but a mate.

Flitting away for about forty minutes, its return was followed by a further hour of singing.

Glorious!

I know I'm a heathen, but I'm guessing that I found as much delight in this as any Christian fellow contemplating the dually portentous events of the Annunciation and the Passion today.

The Barcelona Pavilion - Update

Less than a day after publishing my appreciation of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion I decided to follow the Twitter feed of The Fundació Mies van der Rohe.

Right away came the announcement of the latest installation (or intervention) to which the pavilion would play host.

Here is a link to details of the competition which Spanish architect Luis Martínez Santa-María has just won.

And here is how the ‘Fear of Columns’ jury explained their decision:

“The jury particularly valued the compelling nature of the winning entry, which encapsulates the vertical component of the pre-existing columns in contrast to the horizontality of the Pavilion. The project denotes an absolutely contemporary approach marked by awareness of the environment and the need to permanently reutilise resources. At the same time, it expresses the provisional character of an ephemeral installation temporarily affixed to the Pavilion.”

These are a couple of English websites which tell the story. Both are on-line publishers of magazines on design and architecture… bustler and dezeen.

There you have it. If you are in Barcelona for any of the five months after the 1st of June you will not only see the glorious work of Mies van der Rohe but also decide how much the latest addition complements his design.

We will not return so soon. But do watch out in ten years’ time when I post photographs of this building in its completed state!

Mies van der Rohe - The Barcelona Pavilion

Please link to this update after reading here.

In 1972 I had some skills in calligraphy and drawing, having used them for Art ‘A’ level. I had been seduced by the world of medieval art and International Gothic. Thames and Hudson were publishing sumptuous reproductions of illuminated manuscripts and I was powerless to resist them. Embarking on a degree in art history meant that practical skills were all but discarded. This was never a happy state of affairs as I trundled through and came out with a third-rate degree. Meeting my first-rate wife at the same time in Norwich would generate a much more meaningful certificate and will always count as huge compensation.

UEA’s School of Fine Arts and Music (FAM) was peopled by a stellar cast of academics at that time. I failed to take full advantage of their wisdom and enthusiasm but still remember them as terrifically accomplished and positive examples of the teaching profession.

Eric Fernie introduced me to the glories of Norwich cathedral on days when I shivered less with the cold than with the delight of revelatory intimate detail about the building.

Nigel Morgan appears since to have shifted his focus forward a few centuries... right up to the fifteenth. Back then he was all Carolingian, Insular and uncial... and so enthused it almost hurt.

John Onians began lecturing a year before my arrival. It was his sad task to write this obituary of the wonderfully forbidding but, ultimately, very approachable Dean, Andrew Martindale.

It was Stefan Muthesius who would drag me kicking and screaming back into the twentieth century as he prepared a group of us for a subsidiary paper on Modernist Architecture. The contrast between its "less is more" approach and the visual minutiae of High Gothic is stark. But I was prepared. Walking daily in the 'Brutalist' UEA campus of Eaton Park had prepared me. I was already in a casual relationship with slabs of reinforced concrete. There, in seminars, alongside Gropius, Le Corbusier, Lloyd Wright and... well, others fade into comparative insignificance... was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. We studied his early visionary sketches for mostly unfulfilled designs and soaked up the continent-spanning works of his realised genius. And we looked at photographs of his iconic German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona.

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We necessarily looked at photographs. Black and white photographs. The pavilion was commissioned months before inauguration of the Expo, completed on time and disassembled at its end in 1930 before a year had passed.

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I first visited Barcelona in 1973 as a hitch-hiking student. I returned in 1996 with my wife and two sons on a day trip over the French border to visit Park Guell and have lunch at McDonald's. This March, a further twenty years later, I was able to look at, walk around and feel the impact of the architect’s genius. Since the late 1950s it was proposed to reconstruct the pavilion. Finally, in 1986, it rose again in the original location.

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I was totally unprepared for the impression the building would make upon me. I have since filled in certain details of construction and read more analysis by art historians but the overpowering memory is that of wonder at the intensity of feeling created by such restrained and simple elements. I say restrained, but, of course, the polished marble is sumptuously rich. Yet, for me it does not shout out its luxury and decadence. Instead, it joins with other elements to calmly guide you round the space like a reassuring, concerned, loving parent might. You feel, at once, cocooned and free. All weighty things achieve a confounding lightness. The whole concept was intended to demonstrate the spirit of the Weimar Republic and "the clarity, simplicity and honesty" of Germany at that time. Modern architectural language expresses itself all around us now but I cannot remember being previously aware of it speaking to me so succinctly and with such assurance and conviction. It was poignant that most of the other visitors were groups of students experiencing Mies van der Rohe's design first-hand. They were discovering the building at the same age as I did but without that tantalising wait of forty-five years before actually seeing it. 

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Finding this picture of dignitaries at the pavilion's opening presented a lovely contradiction to me. These are people who sport the trappings of formal fashion. Yes, they have the restraints of convention and expectation, but I can't see them as anything other than helpless anachronisms in contrast with the space which has been designed for them. They seem rooted in time while, all around them, the ideas of one inspired person float and fly towards us eighty-seven years in the future. 

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I have interspersed pictorial ‘slices’ of my experience in this post. There is an album of selected pictures from my visit here. You can, of course find multiple images and sources to investigate further on the internet and in libraries.

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Mine was a rather strange and special experience. My wife and I still enjoy so very much together. But for once I walked up the few steps onto the elevated marble slab floor on my own. Jan can be seen in one of my photographs, reflected in the building’s glass sheets. Footsore after a trek around Monjuic, the Miro Foundation and the Olympic park and stadium, she sat all the while on a bench about a hundred metres away. I waved once but never beckoned her over to share what I was basking in. This 'trial separation' actually elevated the whole thing for me. It was thrilling to be somewhere magical and to have the chance to enjoy it alone, without distraction. After nearly forty years of marriage, I was almost at ease with my selfishness. And, if the mild pangs of guilt do fail to subside, I have half-baked plans to return in another twenty years to walk together up those steps on our Diamond wedding anniversary.

Once again, it will be very difficult to prevent Professor Muthesius from being there. I'll set aside room for the rest of my old tutors on that distant bench vacated by my wife... or they might all just sit quietly on Barcelona chairs.

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