An impossible Friday five
Thanks kazzy_cee for tempting me with these. So hard if you're a cook...
1) What is your favourite food?
Well, this is impossible. Tomatoes, maybe? I use them in so many ways and I'd miss them so much if I couldn't have them. Or lemons, but I wouldn't ever eat a lemon per se. I just put them in absolutely everything.
2) What is your favourite food preparation method?
Honestly... frying. It's not healthy, but it's absolutely delicious. I like baked and roasted stuff, but living mostly alone it's not the most sensible option for everyday. I also like a stovetop braise with not too much liquid, for high-flavour things.
3) What is your favourite cuisine or style of cooking?
I am going to cop out and say Mediterranean... I like seasonal, warm-weather cooking (with tomatoes). Lots of vegetables according to what's good, lots of herbs and good oil, plenty of fish (which I don't like to cook but love to eat). Not too much faff and sauce as a rule, but when you do want to do gnocchi or spanakopita you might. If there's meat it's grilled, mostly. Lots of open air eating. Plenty of wine and cheese and olives, a hefty smack of salt from anchovies or feta when you need it. Yep. Italian, southern French, coastal Spanish, Greek, Lebanese, Turkish, all that. Probably Moroccan to Egyptian too though I've not tried it under those names.
4) Do you have any dietary restrictions and if so what are they?
No allergies. I have IBS as I think I've said several times and some things are unhelpful. Annoyingly, raw veg is often a problem, especially cucumber and peppers. Eating a completely veg-based meal just doesn't work; I need some kind of carb support. Chilli is terrible for me (I've just made a laksa tonight without chilli, which might be blasphemy, but it's just not worth the pain. It was lovely anyway, fragrant and tasty).
5) If you could introduce the whole world to one ingredient to improve their culinary experience, what would that be and why?
I think it would be lemon - fresh lemon juice. It makes almost anything better (apart from really good tomatoes), acts as a flavour enhancer as good as salt, and it doesn't mug food like vinegar does. About the only thing I genuinely stockpiled (as in "bought in a panic even though I had plenty of supplies") for lockdown 1 was bottled lemon juice.
1) What is your favourite food?
Well, this is impossible. Tomatoes, maybe? I use them in so many ways and I'd miss them so much if I couldn't have them. Or lemons, but I wouldn't ever eat a lemon per se. I just put them in absolutely everything.
2) What is your favourite food preparation method?
Honestly... frying. It's not healthy, but it's absolutely delicious. I like baked and roasted stuff, but living mostly alone it's not the most sensible option for everyday. I also like a stovetop braise with not too much liquid, for high-flavour things.
3) What is your favourite cuisine or style of cooking?
I am going to cop out and say Mediterranean... I like seasonal, warm-weather cooking (with tomatoes). Lots of vegetables according to what's good, lots of herbs and good oil, plenty of fish (which I don't like to cook but love to eat). Not too much faff and sauce as a rule, but when you do want to do gnocchi or spanakopita you might. If there's meat it's grilled, mostly. Lots of open air eating. Plenty of wine and cheese and olives, a hefty smack of salt from anchovies or feta when you need it. Yep. Italian, southern French, coastal Spanish, Greek, Lebanese, Turkish, all that. Probably Moroccan to Egyptian too though I've not tried it under those names.
4) Do you have any dietary restrictions and if so what are they?
No allergies. I have IBS as I think I've said several times and some things are unhelpful. Annoyingly, raw veg is often a problem, especially cucumber and peppers. Eating a completely veg-based meal just doesn't work; I need some kind of carb support. Chilli is terrible for me (I've just made a laksa tonight without chilli, which might be blasphemy, but it's just not worth the pain. It was lovely anyway, fragrant and tasty).
5) If you could introduce the whole world to one ingredient to improve their culinary experience, what would that be and why?
I think it would be lemon - fresh lemon juice. It makes almost anything better (apart from really good tomatoes), acts as a flavour enhancer as good as salt, and it doesn't mug food like vinegar does. About the only thing I genuinely stockpiled (as in "bought in a panic even though I had plenty of supplies") for lockdown 1 was bottled lemon juice.