Organic Food Joys (Eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs...)

After last year when I grew my own tomatoes on my balcony, I had a sudden new found love for fresh and organic food. The tomatoes I bought in stores were just watery sacks of starch compared to what I grew last year - sweet and plump, zingy and colourful - beautiful fruits of the gods. Then of course came winter and being stuck with only a balcony and the harsh snow of winter - grew nothing else. However my neighbour who raises geese came over with these beauties you see at the top here. First of spring. I was starving so I got on to frying.... eggses and chipses!

Home Made Tofu (recipe)

I tend to find that tofu sold in most places is either too damned expensive, silken type only or has a foul bitter taste to it. The bitterness is something which often is unavoidable as they use a solidifying agent which has to be washed out. It also has the side effect of having calcium in it which makes it brittle and hard to cook with. Here's my homemade recipe with a citrus zing!

Spanish Omelette / Tortilla de Patata (recipe)

Spanish omelette is something that gets done SO HORRENDOUSLY WRONG so much of the time. The dry and flaky air-filled nothingness that is Spanish omelette which is served in Tapas chains across the world is an insult to this dish! Try making it this way and I guarantee you it will come out perfect every time.

Red Curry Paste Isaan Style (recipe)

During many of my travels I found that red curry pastes differed in their ingredients, some have star anise in them, others have fennel seeds and some have palm sugar.

To be perfectly honest, I think the best tasting paste to me is the Isan variant of Khaeng Phed (hot curry or red curry) which is quite strong (and not for the faint hearted) and can be added or subtracted to in order to make a variety of other dishes. I learned this recipe from my neighbours in Nong Khai.

Thai Jasmine Rice - Why Your Home Thai food doesn't taste Thai

One of the things that people always complain about when they try to recreate dishes from the places they have been abroad is that it doesn't taste the same, even when you followed the recipe that you had when you were over there.

This was the case for many of the dishes I had in Thailand. One thing that factors into this of course is the quality of travelled ingredients, the availability of properly grown and organic foods and the conditions under which the food is cooked. Then you have the added problem of actually having the right recipe or finding the ingredient you need in your own country.

I however found that there was one very simple thing that could be done to better authenticate the dish - are you ready to hear it?

BBQ Season: Smoked Belly Pork and Spare Ribs with Tenessee Style Whiskey BBQ sauce

If there is one thing I love, it's gotta be BBQ. There's something that gets my gears going at the though of going back to my cave man roots and grilling meat outside - to the extent that I was banned from doing BBQ more than twice a week by my girlfriend and one point because that was pretty much all we ate! This recipe is one of my all time favourites. I tend to make the sauce twice a year and on special occasions because it is NOT cheap to make by any stretch of the imagination, but it is well worth it !

How MSG and the Instant Noodle murdered food

No matter where you go in the west, the mention of noodles as a meal is seen as cheap student junk food made from instant packets. In the east, instant noodles or "ramen" are sold everywhere very cheaply but looked down upon as being bad not just for your intestine but generally for one's soul.

How could it be that a traditional dish which is so delicious has become the scum of the culinary world?

Noodle Bar in Schiphol Airport