An Edible Voyage

January 2021 I'm a real fan of Japanese cuisine and I enjoy using Japanese flavours in my cooking, whether for traditional meals or incorporated in to other cuisines to create a flavour fusion.  I love how to line between sweet and savoury seems blurred and there's lots of fun to be had experimenting - I generally think of mushrooms as savoury and custard as sweet, but a shitake custard was one of the most memorable dishes I've ever had.   I was apprehensive about this cheesecake - would the miso be overpowering?  It wasn't.  In fact, I couldn't taste the miso per se, but it added a real depth, a richness without being sickly, elongating the flavour of every mouthful to create something a little bit special without being overly fancy. I swapped the traditional cheesecake base for a blended date and nut one to make it a little more nutritious, and mixed the leftover cheesecake mix (I was using a small tin) with condensed milk and froze to make a cheesecake ice cr...

March 2018 You need a good breakfast to keep your energy up for a day in the life of a burkutchu (eagle hunter).  Semolina porridge served with kaymak, a local dairy product similar to clotted cream, is certainly hearty, but what would a meal in Kyrgyzstan be without adding butter and one of the wide varieties of jam that adorn every table - it also adds flavour and makes it much less bland.  

March 2018 As in many nations, tea is a popular drink in Kyrgyzstan.  A Kyrgyzstan table is almost always adorned with butter and multiple flavours of  jam, and at the house of the family we stayed with in Bokonbayevo, butter and raspberry jam are added to tea to sweeten it and set you up for a day's hunting. 

September 2019 What would a trip to Kiev be without sampling all things Kiev?   Kiev cake has layers of meringue with hazelnuts, a creamy filling and a chocolate glaze.  Although it is fairly light and airy, it is rather sweet, which even the nuttiness couldn't offset.  Good to try though! At Rebra Kotlety they have all sorts of fillings for their Kiev, including raspberry! Had to be tried! The sharp fruit flavours shone through and worked surprisingly well against the richness of the Kiev.  The Kiev was a little dry, but scored points for the convenience of being hand-held. Find both of these at Rebra Kotlety, Podil.  There is also a branch at Obolon.