A new email
has found its way to you (thank you Ruru for giving me the final push- gmail has been a source of contention many times in my life but this may well be worth a try). On to the good stuff now.
Food news of the week:
Plain and clear as day, this first choice of news is. My coffee blondies have taken my kitchen by storm, and my flatmates (and other friends) have welcomed them with open arms. It started as a joke: use instant coffee in these? Really? But the flavour comes through with a punch. They look simple, almost like the peasantry of a baked good, but taste like wonderful buttery pops of caffeine. I initially named them coffee blondie muffins because they turn out well in muffin liners too, but either way, its taste and texture remains the same (and excellent).
That aside, over the weekend I had the privilege of eating lots of lovely food, but the miso butter grilled corn from Zuma London is something else. You will make a mess but embrace it; let those sweet umami juices run all over your face. The fatty tuna nigiri, tuna maki roll and chocolate dessert are my personal recommendations too... the chicken wing skewers were rather forgettable.
Last one, promise. I had a premature birthday celebration at Brat, where the Basque cheesecake and velvet crab soup blew my mind. A must-go for your next trip to Shoreditch, where apparently all the good food is now.
Science news of the week:
The treatment of bulimia with ketamine highlights both the severity of such an overlooked mental disease, and the promise of ketamine in not just depression, but eating disorders too, which may be comorbid with depression. Briefly, ketamine is an antagonist of the receptor NMDA, which results in an increase of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which is suggested to play an antidepressant role. Other possible ket targets are still trying to be elucidated.
Insight of the week:
The concept of self-possession is something I am trying to come back to on the daily. I came across this concept only recently, but it makes so much sense: to retain a strong sense of self, of what your core values are and what things make you feel happy and satisfied. For me, that would be a routine yoga practice, reading and writing, things I am prone to putting on the back-burner for things like funny tiktoks or senseless, time-wasting arguments. Once priorities are set in stone, everything else follows suit.
Recipe of the week:
Well, what else? I did not call it an obsession for fun. Refer to the link above for pictures and small talk, of course.
Coffee blondies, makes one loaf of blondies or 6/7 muffins
Ingredients
100g butter, at room temperature
50g light brown sugar
50g white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp fine salt
110g plain flour
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 tsp baking powder
Directions
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and prepare 6-7 muffin liners. Alternatively, grease a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan; you can use this mold for the same batter and its quantity.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soft butter, sugars and salt using a strong metal whisk. Use a rubber spatula to help cream everything together. Once pale and fluffy, add the egg and whisk that in well. Then tip in the flour, baking powder and instant coffee. Use the rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet.
Scoop large tablespoonfuls of batter into the muffin liners, or scrape everything into the loaf pan. Bake for 20 mins. Insert a wooden skewer into the centre after 20 minutes- if it comes out wet then bake for 3-5 more minutes, or until the skewer emerges again with moist crumbs. Let the muffin liners or loaf pan sit for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before cutting and serving. Best enjoyed alone with a cup of coffee. Ah, perfect.
|
