Chorba Vegetable Soup

Always searching for different soups to serve in oryoki, I stumbled upon this one. Chorba is a lovely spiced soup that comes in infinite variations all across the Balkans, North Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. This is a vegetarian version, of course. Sadly I didn’t have any vermicelli, but […]

Lemon Oregano Dressing

This dressing complements a salad next to Caribbean-Style Beans. At first it was intentionally tart (which gave Robert quite a shock as it looked like another salad dressing I make that isn’t!) so now I  balance it out with a little honey. Ingredients 1 very, very small clove garlic 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons olive oil […]

Oven-Baked Tofu

Someone once asked me how did you make the tofu so crispy? At first I was mystified, but then realised they must have meant the tofu that was baked in the oven instead of fried in a frying pan. I do it quite often these days as it’s more convenient to make in large batches […]

Japanese-Style Noodles with Hot Broth

The last Friday of the month at Kirigayaji in Tokyo, Hojosan holds a zazen-kai evening (meditation gathering). After sitting zazen and chanting the Sandokai all the members come together to slurp down soba noodles with great abandon. It’s a very simple dish to make if you can get hold of the ingredients (check your Asian market for good deals!). […]

Caribbean-style Kidney Beans & Veggies

When I was an art student in Manchester in the 1980’s, my good friend Mark used to cook from a small paperback called The Frugal Cookbook. In it there was a delicious recipe called Jamaican Stew Peas that was easy to make and one that I could never get enough of. It was a comforting […]