Author: blenderandbasil

Blender & Basil is an invitation to explore, create, and connect as a global community of food enthusiasts, generate new traditions and create a home away from home. Reach out to us for collaborations and let's share our culinary adventures!
Baby Recipes, Recipes

Sugarless apple, cinnamon and veggie muffins – perfect for babies

To kick start our new category of recipes (due to one of us having a baby who’s now eating solids), we thought we’d share this apple, cinnamon, carrot and courgette muffin. It uses a flour and banana base – the banana’s there to add some extra sweetness. All our baby recipes will be sugar and salt free, and as our baby has cow’s milk allergy, we’re using margarine (Pure, to be specific, as recommended by the GP). This recipe is inspired by the courgette muffin recipe from BBC Good Food.

Also, with our baby recipes, as all mamas are probably running low on time, we’ve gone for the method with the least amount of prep work. In this case, we’re doing as much as possible in the blender. You’ll still get a nice and fluffy texture following these steps!

These make a nice batch of 12 muffins. The prep takes around 5-10 minutes, and it cooks in 25 minutes.

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Recipes

Hot and sour soup (suan la tang) – a simple warming Chinese recipe

Hot and sour soup is a perfect winter warmer now that we’re through to the last month in the year and the temperature’s dropping (further). It’s a soup that’s always on the menu in Chinese restaurants, and there are lots of fusion recipes around as well, such as the hot and sour chicken noodle soup. Traditionally, you’ll have hot and sour soup after a meal, and it’s supposed to help you feel better after a night of drinking – also extra handy during the festive season!

The soup is originally from Sichuan, and you’ll find that the ones in restaurants are quite thick due to the cornflour. The versions you make at home generally don’t contain cornflour, so the consistency is much more watery. Here we’ve put cornflour as an optional ingredient, as it really doesn’t affect the taste of the soup.

This is a really easy recipe, and will cook you a nice pot of the soup. I can have half a pot to myself, but generally, it should serve 4 people.

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Recipes

Sweet and sour pineapple and turkey stir-fry – a recipe for leftovers

Thanksgiving means turkey galore! And whether you’ve got some raw turkey left in the pack or if it’s already cooked, this Chinese recipe with pineapple, traditionally made with chicken, can give you a completely different meal from the roast the day before. We’ve cooked this with raw turkey, but if you have some already cooked turkey, especially where you’ve rubbed it with salt and pepper/stuffed it with herbs, then simply skip the first step. Continue reading “Sweet and sour pineapple and turkey stir-fry – a recipe for leftovers”

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Sushi Heads_review
Appointments

Sushi Heads – The Local Sushi in Tottenham

A recent entry to the list of local restaurants in North London, Sushi Heads is perfectly located amongst the other local finds on Philip lane. At perfect distance from both Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters stations, Philip lane has revealed itself as a home for local potential, where new restaurants and cafes are making the most of the up and coming spirit of the neighbourhood, without breaking the sense of local community that’s so breathable around N15.

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Food_Beijing_Restaurant
Foodie Travel

Beijing: a foodie’s heaven and a tale of two restaurants

When making a culinary trip to Beijing, hutongs are a must – there are many foodie finds among the traditional courtyards. However, if there are more of you or if you are travelling with young children (or even just want a roomier sit-down environment), give Ju Qi (局气) or Jing Wei Zhai (京味斋) a go. Ju Qi, named after a Beijingese word for having poise … Continue reading Beijing: a foodie’s heaven and a tale of two restaurants

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Carbonara delle isole_recipe
Guest Posts, Recipes

Carbonara delle isole

I made this Carbonara dish a while ago and I decided to call it Isle Carbonara because the two main ingredients I used come from the two big Italian islands. My Sicilian friend Martina brought me a Ricotta Salata, and in the fridge I had a piece of Mustela, a cured pork loin typical of Sardinia, which is used as an additional ingredient to basic soffritto for regional dishes. Continue reading “Carbonara delle isole”

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Recipes, Simple Recipes

Stir Fried Spicy Chilli Chicken (La zi ji ding)

Chicken with chillies is a recipe from Sichuan’s Chongqing, which means it’s very spicy and mouth-numbing. The idea is that when you have the finished dish, it will look like a plate of chillies, and you can then have fun searching for the smaller pieces of chicken among the chillies.

The main spices are dried red chillies (of course) and Sichuan peppercorns, and if you want to know how much to add? The answer is lots, as long as you can bear it! The traditional chilli to peppercorn ratio by weight is 4:1. Continue reading “Stir Fried Spicy Chilli Chicken (La zi ji ding)”

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Christmas_Menu_Spaghetti_House
Appointments

The Christmas Menu at Spaghetti House

Every year the Christmas period starts a bit earlier. Fact. Isn’t it everyone’s favourite rant through the autumn months? Yet, when I received an invitation to sample the Christmas menu at Spaghetti House, I could feel nothing less than excitement. Only the mild weather at the end of September was stopping me from wearing a Christmas jumper!

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Recipes

Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) recipe – spicy tofu with minced pork

Mapo tofu is one of the most well-known dishes from the Sichuan cuisine, and as with most Chinese recipes, there are many variations to the recipe. It is also extremely easy to make, and the main ingredient is soft tofu (medium can also be used if necessary, but is not ideal, but stay away from silken and firm – here’s a guide to tofu types!)

This version uses more minced pork than usual, and doesn’t have as much sauce as some of the other versions. If you decide to use less pork, then you can reduce it to 100g without affecting the flavours. You can also add a tbsp of chicken stock powder to it instead.

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Clearspring_Umami_Paste_Chinese_Mixed_Veg
Product Review, Recipes

Chinese mixed vegetables (Su Shi Jin) with Clearspring Umami Paste

Chinese cooking can often be at odds with a vegetarian diet (of course, there are exceptions), and that’s partly because in Asia, umami, aka the fifth taste, is just as important as your sweet and your sour. This is what made MSG such a core ingredient. This is also the taste that Clearspring‘s organic Japanese umami paste offers to provide in a form that’s much healthier and still suitable for vegans. As a fan of Clearspring’s miso, I was keen to try out their umami paste when Clearspring offered samples.

Clearspring_Umami_Paste_Chinese_Mixed_Veg

The paste comes in two flavours, ginger and chilli, and in a tube form that’s easy to squeeze and easy to store. This recipe uses the ginger version, as it’s a traditionally non-spicy dish.

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