7 things for 7 days...#3

A collection of favourite moments and random musings from the past week...

1. I've been suffering from one of those colds that the term "rotten" was created for. Fuzzy head, aching muscles, sore throat and snuffly nose; I felt so lethargic this week that I couldn't even drag myself to the gym (a sure sign that I was really sick!).

In an attempt to KO the flu I bubbled up a vat of this spicy broth packed with prawns, noodles and healthy vegetables - yet another recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals. The sour liquor with its chilli kick made a refreshing change from the rich and creamy coconut milk soups I normally make, and went a long way to speeding up my recovery.

7 things for 7 days...#1

Welcome to my new regular series for 2013 - a collection of favourite moments and random musings from my week. I've discussed previously the suffocating pressure I place myself under in the quest for the perfect prose, so I'm hoping that this series will encourage me to relax my writing style.

It's also an opportunity for me to continue developing my understanding of food styling and photography, which dramatically improved over the course of #Project366, without adding any more commitments to my (already exhausting) daily routine.

For me, this series is all about flexibility - no promises of weekly updates, no promises that my "7 things" will focus exclusively on food, and no promises that the themes will even remain the same each time. It'll just reappear when I feel like I have a handful of particularly appetising, amusing or thought-provoking things to share....

1. My top meal this week was this incredible Mediterranean mixed seafood "basque" from Sam's on the Beach in Polkerris, where my cousin works. It was as good as any cataplana I've experienced in Portugal, overflowing with collossal mussels and king prawns, bathed in a rich provencale sauce with deep tones of spicy chorizo, white wine and roasted garlic.

I was also seriously impressed by my Dad's giant portion of scallops and black pudding, resplendent with their coral still attached. I might just have to treat myself to that next time!

#Project366 – week 52 and the end of 2012

So that’s it for 2012…no more London Olympics, no more Diamond Jubilee, and no more #Project366! This time last year I set myself a challenge to capture a food-related photograph every day for a year, and confess to feeling a mixture of emotions now that it’s over. I’m delighted that I successfully reached my goal, proud of the improvement in my camera skills during the past 12 months, a tiny bit surprised that I didn’t miss a single day, and relief that there’s no longer the pressure to take a daily photo of something, anything, to do with food!

I’m grateful to my friends and family for supporting me through #Project366 (especially my long-suffering boyfriend!) and to everyone who’s taken the time to read these blogposts and follow my life on a plate for the past year. There were times when I was dashing around the country for work when I feared I wouldn’t find anything to photograph (hence the number of snapshots of train snacks!), and that I’d never write up my huge backlog of weekly updates. But thankfully I got back up to speed before the year drew to a close, and can share with you this final roundup covering my Christmas week menu and seasonal celebrations back in Dorset…

Day #358 - My signature dish of spicy sausage stew, full of smoked chorizo from Flavours of Spain and a secret ingredient that I hope to share with you in 2013…

#Project366 – Week 50

Every day this week I’ve expected to find a bright white landscape greeting me when I leave the house for my early morning gym sessions, but sadly we’ve yet to see a snowflake fall in London this winter. There has been some serious frost and face-aching cold winds lately though, so it can’t be long before my fantasy of a lazy “snow day” is fulfilled! Judging by these photos from the last week on #Project366, it’s certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Day #344 – I drink alcohol very infrequently these days, but I decided there was no better way to get into the “Taste of Christmas” spirit than by treating myself to a bottle of this rich and fruity Sipsmith sloe gin

#Project366 – week 21

I wish the weather was as glorious right now as it was during this week in mid-May! Making the most of the sunshine with plenty of delicious food during my numerous birthday celebrations in the capital…

Day #141 – Taking a deep breath and making a wish…Happy Birthday to me...!

Ice-cream sandwich to instantly satisfy your sweet tooth

It’s the end of another long day, which has been part of an even longer week at work where I suddenly seem to have transformed into Challenge Anneka. I’m conscious that I haven’t written an article in over a fortnight (breaking my 2012 blog goals) and have a heap of photos of my homage to Pieminister’s Moo pie, plus a blueberry loaf cake, patiently waiting to be shared with the world. But I’m afraid I don’t think I have the energy for that level of eloquence or entertaining conversation tonight.

However, before I rest my weary head and aching limbs I must share with you this “recipe” for the ideal instant snack to satisfy any cravings your sweet tooth may be suffering from late at night (or early in the morning, depending on when you read this!). I say "recipe”, because it’s really more a question of assembly…there’s barely any cooking involved, and as an added bonus it only takes a matter of minutes to rustle up!

Roasted soup & baked crisps – how’d you like them apples?!

The only apple I’ve ever been tempted by is the Big one more commonly known as New York City. 

Admittedly, if I had a fear of doctors I'd be sure to note the fruit’s apparent silver bullet-esque protection and dose myself up daily. But eating an apple doesn’t excite me – it’s not colourful like a kiwi or a strawberry, or flavourful like a mango or a banana. Indeed, if it had been me there in the Garden of Eden, I’m fairly confident that I would have been able to resist the snake’s charms to try the fruit of the loins of the tree of knowledge, and stay blissfully ignorant.

#Project366 – week 4

Feast your eyes on these flashes of food finesse from the final week of January…

Day #22 – My first trip to Jamie Oliver’s flagship restaurant Fifteen for an Italian-themed lunchtime supper club by one of their 2006 graduates Luke Robinson. Seeing those mopeds reminded me of the buzz I felt when Jamie first hit our screens as the Naked Chef!

Introducing #Project366 – week 1

One of the challenges I’ve set for myself in 2012 is to follow in the footsteps of Shutterbean, one of my blogging idols, and capture a food-related photograph every day.

With the aim of improving my photographic skills, I’ve decided to add another element to my gastronomic version of #Project366 and only use Instagram to edit these snapshots. The single shape option offered in this package will force me to think more carefully about the composition of my images, and I’m intending to develop the art of focussing the viewer’s gaze on a certain spot by using the tilt-shift tool and wide range of filters more effectively. 

I hope that you enjoy these brief insights into how everyday life appears through the eyes of a food fanatic!

Day #1 – Having totally forgotten to take any photos of the numerous meals I’d cooked during the first day of 2012, I was forced to settle for a snapshot of my healthy bedtime snack (my favourite Jordan’s cereal bar and mug of tea)

Amaretto tiramisu to kick trifle off your Christmas list

My festive season is always a wonderful mixture of nostalgic celebrations – some timeless societal traditions, plus some more recent personal rituals. Each Christmas eve my former schoolfriends and I are reunited in the same local pub to swap stories of the highs and lows of the past year, and each Christmas morning I awake to discover that the snowman stocking my Mum made me as a baby has been filled with gifts.

A roasted piece of meat to last all week

In the past, I never understood the appeal of the quintessentially English roast dinner. It seemed to me that people spent a disproportionate amount of their designated Day of Rest slaving over a hot stove, considering how bland and limp the resulting "meat and three veg" often tasted. My favourite part of a roast dinner was previously the Yorkshire pudding, so given the option I would generally have preferred to just eat the batter alongside a couple of decent meaty sausages as Toad in the Hole.

In my eyes it was particularly incomprehensible why anyone would want to spend every Sunday cooking a roast. There’s such a plethora of delicious dishes available from such a vast array of different cuisines - spicy Mexican stews, tender Moroccan tagines, fresh Italian pastas with silky sauces - why would you choose to restrict your weekend dining to a lump of dry meat and a plate of soggy vegetables?

Spicy sausage stew for a sunny day in Spain

The weather gods appear to have misunderstood the meaning of British Summer Time. This year we lost an hour as normal, but didn’t seem to be gaining any increase in temperature in return. So when my boyfriend told me we had the chance to escape breezy Britain for a trip to sunny Spain with his family, I jumped at the chance.

I’d been caught out in the rain so many times over the past couple of months, I’d finally accepted there was no point in purchasing the Gladiator sandals I’d promised myself – so this sojourn sounded like a dream come true. As someone who grew up by the sea, there’s nothing I love better than siesta-ing on a soft sandy beach, listening to the backing track of waves lapping the shore. However, he confessed there was just one tiny thing about the holiday I should probably know in advance…

Use your (chocolate and banana) loaf!

I confess that I’m not much of a baker - but this is more for reasons linked to desire than to ability. When cooking, you generally want to taste the finished dish to judge its success or failure, decide what needs adapting to improve the flavours next time, and hopefully ensure that it will bring a smile to the lips of any dinner guests. The danger I face if that dish is a tureen of velvety chocolate mousse or a basket of cupcakes is that my sweet tooth will overcome my sense of portion control, and pretty soon my body will involuntarily wibble and wobble more than a jelly on a plate (and not in the way Beyonce meant…!).

Saturday night spaghetti

Discovered some rather tasty looking chorizo whilst perusing my parents’ fridge. My first opinion of paella was rejected due to laziness - spending Saturday night home alone may be one thing, but spending the majority of the evening standing over a stove stirring rice would just be a step too far.