The slaw is made up of red cabbage, pomegranate and watercress salad
SocialJoy
Lets start with the main social event of the month, going to the Wilderness Festival at the beginning of August glamping for 4 days. A talk called Munchies where famous chefs, influencers and journalists all connected with food talking on a panel from Tom Aitken, Angela Hartnett to Grace Dent, so really on trend discussing sustainability, eating healthier and ethical foods. The food stalls were amazing, from a roasted aubergine, onion bhaji naan at Naarnia to poke bowls, Malaysian curries and afternoon tea on a double decker bus. We also tried out aerial yoga and open lake swimming, so something for everyone.
Had a lovely family bbq in between the continuous August showers where I made minced turkey asian style burgers with brioche buns and a slaw of red cabbage, sour cream, horseradish & pomegranate, very fresh and delicious. And a traditional trifle, always a winner!
I saw a great talk at the National Theatre with Nigella Lawson and Yotam Ottolenghi being interviewed by the author Bee Wilson. It was all about authenticity of food and a Q&A with the audience on any subject relating to foods from what would your last meal be on earth to what would you serve Trump if he came to dinner!
WorkJoy
On the day I returned from the Wilderness Festival, I had to hit the ground running as I was doing a live cooking demo at Wedlake Bell Law Firm in the city the next day and needed to prepare some dishes for x20 people to serve as well. I was going to demo a plant-based brain power smoothie and my infamous pea, za’atar fritters on my portable hob to an audience of x20. I also brought along some prepared dishes of roasted sweet potatoes, roasted oranges in marsala and figs, and vegan seitan (chicken) salad and avo brownies. The firm also organised a wine co to pair the dishes I was serving and we finished the session with very good wine on the roof terrace!
The next day I ran the second Government based course for London Waste & Recycling Board (LWARB) for x14 people at KitchenJoy cookery school. The objective was to cook and learn about low cost vegetarian ingredients that can be used from leftovers. We made an asian spicy mixed grain bowl of quinoa and red rice with broccoli and a soy + tahini dressing. For dessert we made sweet potato brownies with left over mashed potatoes. https://www.lwarb.gov.uk/ http://smallchangebigdifference.london/
KitchenJoy
This month I ran a course on “Foods for Sleep”. There are many of us who do not get enough sleep or interrupted sleep patterns throughout the night. Particular foods can help enhance your sleep quality. The dishes we made were a smoothie with home made almond milk as almonds are a great source of melatonin and the sleep-promoting mineral magnesium, two properties that make them a great food to eat before bed. Also turkey burgers which contain a lot of protein and tryptophan which helps induce tiredness. And finally oat and chocolate chip cookies as oats are very calming and relax your system.
Below is a recipe for the slaw I made at the bbq, as it is so easy, tastes delicious and looks so colourful, enjoy!
Red cabbage, pomegranate and watercress coleslaw
Serves 6
Ingredients:
300 ml sour cream
1 tbsp horseradish sauce
100g pomegranate seeds
sea salt
1/2 red cabbage
approx 60g watercress
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
To make the dressing, whiz the sour cream, horseradish and a little salt in a blender. Cut the cabbage, slicing finely, discarding any thick white strands. Combine the cabbage, watercress, onion and half of the pomegranate seeds in a large salad bowl. You can prepare the salad to this point in advance, in which case, cover and set aside and chill the dressing. Shortly before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and scatter with the remaining seeds.
