Black rice porridge with rhubarb
SocialJoy
Welcome to my August blog and all the news from this month. I hope we are all still enjoying the summer, although the weather is a bit off and a lot of us managing with staycations.
I went along to the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire this month, apart from being a bit soggy, it was really fun. Lots of different music, comedy, talks, fancy dress cricket and amazing food market stalls. Each morning, there was a food panel, hosted by journalist, Lisa Markwell and featuring festival chefs, such as Robin Gill from Darby’s, Thomasina Miers, founder of Wahaca, plus sommeliers, and restauranteurs debating the future of veganism to social media of food trends. All very interesting!
Sampled the wonderful food stalls such as Naania which was roasted aubergines in a naan bread and vegan coconut yoghurt & berries for brekky.
It was my girlfriend’s 60th birthday, so I treated her to Afternoon Tea at the new Chiswick House Pavillion on the deck. Was very delicious and Rhubarb was allowed to come along too! https://www.gardenpavilion.co.uk/afternoon-tea
Another girlfriend’s 50th Birthday was at Vinoteca, the champagne and wine was flowing all evening. The food was just delicious with canapes of grilled steak kebabs, Neal’s Yard fried cheese balls, followed by leg of lamb, roasted veggies, and cheese + a very decadent chocolate cake. We were truly spoiled! https://www.vinoteca.co.uk/locations/chiswick/
Rhubarb had her 1st birthday and received a few treats and toys that she is working her way through. Most of them are now destroyed and in the bin and a new batch will be arriving soon!
We had a Carribean night at my Hogarth health club with rum cocktails, jerk chicken and Caribbean band playing all night. The fire pit was on too, so we could roast a few marshmallows at the end of eve.
The Sunday bank holiday was spent at Hampton Court Food Festival, trying lots of delicious samples of toffee vodka, and other tipples. It seems wine in a can is now the new trend and they tasted really good. Also there was a bloody mary in a can just called Bloody which had a kick to it.
This month’s recipe is a rhubarb breakfast dish, as its in season and very versatile to use and easy to grow in your garden too, but you can use any fruit you wish. And did you know Rhubarb is actually a vegetable and it is unusual because it’s very sour and slightly sweet. In fact, its dried roots have been utilised in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It is a very good source of vitamin K1, Vitamin C and fibre. The leaves are poisonous so make sure you discard these.
It is one of my favourite foods on the planet and that is why I called my doggy Rhubarb! M&S sell a rhubarb cordial which is great with sparkling water!
Its great to mess around with different grains for both savoury and sweet dishes. I love using the black rice for brekky, its has a nutty texture. It is best if its soaked overnight with coconut milk (from a tin). Quinoa is also a great grain for breakfast too, just cooked in water and topped with greek yoghurt and berries.
WorkJoy
RDF Television Ltd from Bristol, hired out my kitchen space this month for Eat well for less which will be aired on BBC One on the next series. I can’t wait to see KitchenJoy on the TV and will send a link when RDF let me know.
I am working with Audrey Zeitoun who is a Life Transitions Coach on a joint cookery event on 27th October - How to break unhealthy eating habits which will cover
“Replacing a bad food habit with a good food habit takes time and patience. It requires several steps, from setting your goals to get support. One of the important steps is figuring out what your barriers are.
What has stopped you from changing your eating habits in the past? What do you think might stop you in the future? Identifying these barriers now, and having a plan to help you get past them, will help you change bad food habits into good food habits”
Audrey will be discussing this topic in detail as above and I will cook a savoury dish which will be an energising brain food and matcha green tea energy balls.
KitchenJoy
A few more vegan classes online and also in person this month.. But generally August is a quiet month for the cookery school and time to take stock, relax, holiday and pretend the sun is out !
I have a few vegan day classes coming up which means I need to add quite a few more recipes to fulfil the day. I made a vegan blueberry cake with olive oil which turned out just fine. Unfortunately Rhubarb seemed to like it a lot as well and managed to squirrel away most of it too by climbing up on the island.
Please contact me for more details if you are interested in any other types of medicinal cookery classes or 121 tuition. This also applies to online private cookery classes and team work building sessions.
BLACK RICE PORRIDGE WITH RHUBARB
Serves 2
1/2 cup black rice
1/2 cup whole-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
Rhubarb topping
2 cups rhubarb (chopped into approx 10cm batons)
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
1 stick cinnamon
2 whole star anise
2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup whole-fat coconut milk
Put the black rice & salt into a saucepan and add the coconut milk. Ideally soak overnight but absolutely not necessary. Bring the rice to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 30/35 minutes, until soft, it will be nutty like brown rice.. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 to 10 more minutes to thicken.
In a separate pot, combine the ingredients for the rhubarb topping. Heat over medium low until rhubarb is cooked and has broken down. Taste and add extra sweetener or cinnamon as desired.
Divide the black rice into two bowls and stir in the rhubarb mixture. (taking out cinnamon stick and star anise)
Add pumpkin seeds, nuts and coconut flakes if you desire.
. 🙂
Enjoy ……..
