The podcast (which so far contains only two episodes):

• Episode 2 – ArchWeekWalk
• Annotated walk to my office
• Episode 1 – Jencks and Erskine
• Erskine puts the world (and critics) to rights

And other topics…This is the journal of an architect, rather than an architecture journal, so occasionally you get entries like the ones below:

Recipes

• Spoon the mix into the ring
• Integral part of book-coffee-cheesecake maneuver
• Eves Pudding
• Domestic goddess Be-Ro style

Misc.

• Rodeohead and John Peel
• The mighty Peel uttering my humble name
• More Tea Mr Bond?
• The key to MI5
• Flash Mob Birmingham
• ‘Twas me
• We note, you blog
• Art baton
• Diagramming, Climbing
• Diagrams, mapping and me with my shirt off

In a moment of extreme generosity and bravery, I let Al Morrissey cut loose with the final part of the latest recipe from Crash Test Kitchen this weekend.

Homegrown cookery lessons on video, much easier to learn than reading a list of ingredients: http://crashtestkitchen.com

The recipes category is feeling neglected. For further justification see the comments of the very useful round up of architecture weblogs over at thingsmagazine.net.

Ingredients:

• 12 digestive biscuits
• 100g butter, softened
• 1 tsp clear honey
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 orange juice
• 1 orange zest
• 250g Mascarpone
• 1/2 pot whipped double cream
• 150g caster sugar

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits and combine with butter and honey. Place this mixture into a metal ring and press the mix evenly on the bottom of the mould.

2. Add the juice and zest from the orange and lemon, along with the sugar, to the Mascarpone and whipped* double cream. Stir together gently to avoid splitting the mixture.

3. Spoon the mixture over your biscuit base and encourage it to set by putting it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

4. Eat it.

5. Groan with delight.

* I forgot this bit once – still edible but difficult to serve elegantly

Amidst the colours, shapes, sounds and smells of childhood rests the memories of certain TV personalities. Delia Smith, Ken Hom, Madhur Jaffrey – all regulars on our TV thanks to my Mother’s interest in cooking.

Nestled in there, alongside Delia’s half hearted smile, Madhur’s sari, and Ken’s wok, is the nameless domestic godess from the cover of the Be-Ro recipe book.

My mother’s cookery skills have long since surpassed the need for recipe books so I recently liberated it in order to share it with you. I tried the ‘Eve’s pudding’ a couple of weeks ago and can report that it’s fantastic with custard. Put down your Jamie Oliver and get back to basics.

It was pretty successful but perhaps a little bland, I suspect I should have added more herbs.

Ingredients for 4 :

• 300 g leaf spinach (frozen or fresh)
• 4 freerange chicken breasts
• 8 chopped fresh tomatoes or two cans of chopped tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic, finly chopped
• 3 medium sized onions, finely chopped
• red wine (can be of lesser quality, mainly used for the fond)
• olive oil
• pepper, rosemary, basil, oregano, salt
• 500g fettuccine
• creme fraiche

Cube the chicken and heat up a generous amount of olive oil in a solid non-stick or cast-iron pan on maximum heat until it smokes and add the chicken, frying it until it has a tasty golden brown colur. Turn down the heat to medium and add the onions and the garlic, stirring continuously. When the onions are golden and soft, add a generous slosh of red wine and stir furiously to generate a nice fond.

Now add the spinach and the chopped tomatoes and a tablespoon each of oregano, rosemary (fresh or rubbed) and basil. Let the sauce simmer for ca 45 on low heat and add salt , pepper to taste and finish with a generous helping of creme fraiche.

Liberated, as always, from the pages of everything2. We have Heisenberg to thank for this one.

Caipirinha – a brazillian kick ass cocktail

What you need: Cachaca, crushed ice, caster sugar and a plastic mixing jug with a lid (if you are making for more than one person).

1. Crush loads of ice and put in freezer along with Cachaca bottle.
2. Wet and chill glasses in freezer with a sugared rim ready for later.
3. Wash, quarter and juice your limes, 1-2 or more per drink. Don’t be fussy about this, try to get as much lime into the cocktail as possible and throw in the bits of skin if you like. The more zing the better. Keep some lime slices for decor in glass.
4. Put crushed ice, a shot of Cachaca and lime juice in mixer. Add caster sugar to taste – start with a tablespoon although the Brazillians like it with about 2.5 per glass. Shake well and pour into chilled glass with more crushed ice if you want.
5. The amount of Cachaca can be varied, start with the normal spirit measure.
6. Sit back, sip, enjoy and think of the Rio Office*.

A slightly odd entry, since I’ve given up drinking, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find a special occasion worthy of a few cocktails and a brief lapse in my alcohol free regime.

*The Rio Office is a long held dream by myself and co-workers who find ourselves stuck in an office in the West Midlands.

So I donned my Google goggles and went hunting. As you might imagine, it didn’t take long to find something…

The comparison between Aberdeen Rolls and French Croissants, at least in terms of texture if not appearance, has been made by several writers. It has been suggested that rolls and croissants have a common ancestry that dates back to the end of the seventeenth century in Budapest after the defeat of the Turks. It’s unclear as to when rolls were first made in Scotland but where ever they came from they have subsequently became an Aberdeen speciality. If you visit the Northeast of Scotland you will find Aberdeen Rolls on sale in every bakery, corner shop and supermarket and if you taste them you will be hooked forever. The names Aberdeen rolls, Butteries and Rowies are interchangeable so take your pick or even use them all, you’ll be understood what ever you call them.

These quantities will make about 16 rolls.

• 1 lb of plain flour
• 6 oz butter
• 4 oz lard
• 1 heaped teaspoon of salt
• 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar
• half oz fresh yeast
• quarter pint of tepid water

taken from http://www.ifb.net/webit/recipes.htm (there are full instructions on preparation on the site)

That’s this weekends baking sorted.

Jiaozi dough

• 3 cups flour
• up to 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 300 grams fresh Chinese (Napa) cabbage
• 1/2 lb ground meat (pork or beef)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground white pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 green onion, minced
• 2 slices fresh ginger, minced
• 3 TB sesame oil

Ingredients

• 1 lb fillet or sirloin steak
• 3 tablespoons groundnut oil/vegetable oil
• 2 dried red chillies, halved lengthways
• 4 sping onions, shredded finely
• 2 large fresh red chillies, de-seeded and shredded finely
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
• 1.5 tablespoons of Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil salt
• chopped spring onions (two bunches should be enough)

For the marinade

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped fresh root ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 0.5 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour

Marinade the beef, brown it in a wok and then put to one side. Fry the chillis and shredded onions, add the meat and remaining ingredients. Keep the chopped spring onions to add when complete. Don’t make my mistake and forget the ginger root.

Added this to rice and made some Chinese style dumplings for starters. These are a doddle (minced pork, cabbage, soy sauce – wrapped in dough and deep fried) but my dough could do with some practice.

Later, after I’d saved my laptop from a cloud of steam pouring from the microwave, I sent a message to the author of the recipe over at everything2. Got a reply suggesting we try ohagi, but by then we had already polished off a tub of ice cream.

• 3 Tsp butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 3 Tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

Last minute shopping in Wolverhampton town centre highlighted a gap in the baking powder market. Tesco Metro were sold out. Marks and Spencers (the only other grocery store in that part of town) have a ‘bakery’ section, however, upon closer inspection I realised it consisted entirely of ready-made cakes in boxes. The sign appears to be a signal to people who want to avoid bakery. The local Indian supermarket came to the rescue on the way home – replete with baking powder, directly opposite the Halal meat.

Oh, and don’t forget the Maple Syrup; it’s a crucial requirement for this American style pancake.