Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Faulty flawless meal, pie love and harmless toxic

Baked Spinach Savouries
Today's Food Diary
Breakfast: Rolled oats with kiwi fruit and linseeds
Lunch: Baked spinach savouries (or salted spinach cookies?)
Dinner: Chicken tandoori, lamb curry, garlic naan and rice
Baking/sweets: Nil

Lunch was simple and excellent. Baked spinach savouries or salted spinach cookies, are really simple to make, tasty and healthy.

Dinner was flawless. It is usually easy to find a flaw in a dining experience, even something minor like the color of the sauce or size of the dining table. This time I struggled to find something wrong. The lamb and chicken were flavourful and tender, the sauce had the right consistency with just enough kick, and the naan was soft and fluffy like the clouds. The amount served was just right, service was attentive but not intrusive and the atmosphere relaxing. The company and dinner conversation was great, but the restaurant gets no credit for this.

Very few restaurants manage to get everything right.

When I said the dinner was faultless it was not actually true. I smelt like a spice market when I left, and will probably do so for the coming days. And a couple of critical aspects were missing – complimentary lassi on arrival and box of chocolates on departure.

Today's Favourite Photo
Blueberry pie love – taking love to a whole new level. I have never seen anything like this. 


Today's Favourite Blog
An excellent blog demystifying charcutepaloozians – preserving and curing meat. I have never preserved or cured meat but I have cured fish. The article pretty much covers all the main aspects of food curing, including health concerns. This is important and I found three sentences particularly interesting.

“If you’re healthy, no bacteria you encounter in the craft of charcuterie will kill you, especially if you have a quality source for your meat.”

With regards to sodium nitrate found in bacon and corned beef: “You do need to handle it with care because it’s toxic if you ingest it directly.  It’s colored pink to prevent accidental ingestion.” "In the amounts called for in curing meat, and in the amount we commonly eat, it is not harmful in any meaningful way."

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4 comments:

  1. Those salted spinach cookies are eye-catching! I'm going to have to bookmark that recipe.

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  2. I would like to try the salted spinach cookies, looks so good :)

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  3. All are interesting choices, but I am taken with the photo of the pie. I can't resist blueberries and the crust of that pie is memorable. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  4. yummychunklet adn Anncoo: I would love to hear your reaction when you try it
    Mary: thanks, that crust was certainly memorable

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