Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio (Bò Tái Chanh)

 A fiery, fragrant Vietnamese take on carpaccio — paper-thin slices of raw beef “cooked” at the table by lime juice and layered with herbs, peanuts, shallots, chilli and fish sauce. It’s the kind of dish you eat once and instantly crave again: bright, fresh, crunchy, aromatic.

Charred Romaine Lettuce Cesar Salad

A post in honour of tomorrow's thanksgiving leftovers. Served here with apple and a side of red cabbage coleslaw (another recipe to share soon).

Mexican Chicken Wings, Cola Glazed

Cola is popular in Mexico, trust me!  This interesting pairing makes a lot of sense.

I love a chicken wing, especially oven baked with baking powder (it crisps them beautifully).

There's no marinade for these wings.  Time favourable bonus.

Coat the dried little wings in cumin, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and baking powder.

Bake on parchment or a rack.

Glaze and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Cauliflower Cheese (on Steroids)

This vegetarian main or Sunday Lunch side gets a welcome umami boost from roasting the cauliflower and dressing it in mustard, thyme and parmesan.

Then we drench it in plenty of cheese sauce.  Cauliflower cheese..but not as we know it.

Hot and Sour Soup

This Vegan favourite is also great for cold and flu season. There's heat from lots of black pepper and sour from Black Rice Vinegar.

Pictured here with a drizzle of sesame oil.

It's quick too, easy for a working from home lunch.

Carpaccio with stracciatela

 No-Cook Luxury Protein Lunch 🥩🌿

Sometimes the best meals require no heat — just impeccable ingredients.

Today’s lunch is a thick beef carpaccio draped with fresh stracciatella I made this morning, creamy avocado, razor-thin Thai chillies for fire, a scatter of chives, and a generous pour of ultra-fruity olive oil I brought back from Santorini. Finished simply with salt, black pepper and a sharp squeeze of lime.

Tuna Melt Stuffed Mushrooms

Someone once said, "life's too short to stuff a mushroom," I disagree!

I loved a Tuna melt at Mitsuii (a Japanese bank I worked at in London).  The chef added corn and spring onions to the tuna then topped it with mild cheddar.  The melt mixture went into a small baguette type sandwich that was grilled.  I always tipped on a sachet of black pepper.