I Love Sushi

Where I grew up in Las Vegas, or to be more specific Henderson, there were two things that were guaranteed to be on every corner - a Starbucks and a sushi restaurant. Most of the sushi restaurants have their pros but the best all-around is in my opinion I Love Sushi. It was right around the corner from my old high school and we used to eat there 3 times a week. Yes 3 times a week, I had a sushi addiction.

Some of my favourites were Baked Green Mussels, Screaming Orgasm, Crunchy Roll, oh the list could go on and on. It doesn't matter what roll or sushi you chose, it was all delicious but there was one thing that remained constant. I would start every meal with a miso soup and boiled rice with spicy ponzu sauce. This became a sort of comfort food for me. Whenever I was feeling ill my mom would be dispatched to I Love Sushi to bring me back some miso soup and boiled rice with spicy ponzu sauce.

Screaming Orgasm from I Love Sushi



facebook.com/YOSushi

Now that I'm an expat in England, sushi restaurants are rather hard to come by. Sure there is a chain of YO! Sushi restaurants that I head to whenever the craving becomes too much. They have this thing called Blue Mondays where they serve their most popular dishes for £2.30 which I enjoy. However they are nothing compared to I Love Sushi and cannot provide me the thing which I crave most - boiled rice with spicy ponzu sauce. Trust me, I've asked.

Therefore it was up to my own devices and some help from my sushi partner in crime, Amy, to create my own version of spicy ponzu sauce. Amy used to live in Las Vegas but has since moved to California, and while she has plenty of sushi restaurants to choose from she still misses the spicy ponzu sauce from I Love Sushi. Between the two of us we have been able to create a version of the sauce we love.

Ponzu is a Japanese citrus sauce served with sashimi, tempura, and rice, among other things.

'I Love Sushi' Ponzu Sauce

• Soy Sauce
• Sesame Seed Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Rice Vinegar
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Tip: Keep fresh ginger in the freezer, it stays fresh longer and is easy to grate into dishes. It grates so finely that you don't even need to peel it.

Mix the ingredients. For every part soy sauce, have nearly an equal part lemon juice. You will only need a drop of sesame seed oil and one clove of garlic. Add rice vinegar, ginger, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce to taste.

The recipe isn't perfect but on nights when I don't feel well or are feeling a little homesick this does the trick.

Q: What do you have when you're not feeling well or homesick?

Erin x

Curry - the nation's favourite dish

If I were to ask you to name some quintessentially English dishes, I don't think curry would be the first thing to spring to mind. Fish and chips? Yes. Yorkshire puddings? Yes. Curry? No. But today English cuisine is influenced with flavours and ingredients from all corners of the world thanks to the Empire. A long history of conquering and immigration have brought new dishes to the English table.

 

Going out for a curry nowadays is pretty much as English as going to the chippy on a Friday night. They even say that Balti (a type of curry) originated in Birmingham. Ask any Englishman his favourite curry house and he will most likely be able to name it without thinking. The English are also fiercely loyal to their curry house. In Worcester, Luke and I had Pete's Indian. In Milton Keynes we have Bekash, which technically is in Stony Stratford, but we would never dream of going anywhere else for our curry cravings.



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I was first introduced to the glory that is curry in England while visiting Luke at his university house in Rusholme, Manchester. In Rusholme there is a street known as 'Curry Mile' because it is dominated by curry houses, as well as Asian fashion shops, grocers, and Shisha bars. In fact it is thought to be the largest concentration of South Asian restaurants outside the Indian subcontinent. On a hot summer's night with the neon lights, exotic smells, and green grocers spilling out onto the pavements being on 'Curry Mile' is like being abroad.

While I love curry, I've never been able to make an Indian curry at home, trust me I've tried. Sure you can buy a jar of  Sharwood's Tikka Masala cooking sauce at the super market but it will taste nothing like a curry from the Indian restaurant AND even less like a proper curry. Enter Mira. Mira works with me and like so many British citizens comes from Indian ancestry. Her parents moved over from Uganda years before Mira was born. (Did you know they have a lot of Indian immigrants in Uganda, I didn't!)

Besides making me laugh on a regular basis with stories about her family (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but instead of Greek insert Indian), she has also taught me a lot about Indian culture, which I find fascinating. And the most important part of any culture is, in my opinion, the food! She's brought in lots of delicious treats to try from pau bhaji  (a thick potato-based curry on top of a toasted roll or pau) to thepla (a pancake filled with spices).

I've been begging Mira to teach me how to cook a curry for months and finally she sat down and wrote it all out for me which I am now going to share with you. Now curry is a sweeping statement as there are so many different types of dishes with different flavours. Most of them however have the same basic ingredients and you add different things depending on your taste to make them a Madras, for example.

Ingredients:

 

• 1 tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsps. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Chilli Powder
• 1-2 tsps. Mustard Seeds
• 1-2 tsps. Cumin Seeds
• Garlic
• Onions
• Fresh or Tinned Tomatoes
• Oil
• Fresh coriander (Optional)
• Lemon (Optional)
• Your vegetables and meat if you so desire (Many Indians are vegetarians but lamb/chicken curries are also popular. Just don't use beef!)

 

 Instructions 

 

1. Heat up oil in a pan.
2. Add mustard seeds.
3. When they have popped, add the cumin seeds. Other things can be added here like cardamom sticks, cloves, fresh basil, bay leaves, etc. Be careful it doesn't burn though because this cooks really quickly.
4. Add the onions and crushed garlic. (Ginger can be added her too if you like it)
5. When they have browned add your masala which consists of coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder to taste (about a teaspoon, you can always add more later). Other spices like garam masala can be added here too - but Mira's family doesn't use it.
6. If you feel it is sticking or gone a bit too dry or is burning then add a little water.
7. Make sure you cook out the masala on a lowish heat, the oil will start bubbling out a little and when you stir you will see it changes consistency. The more you cook it, the stronger the taste but don't burn it.
8. Add in your vegetables and meat. If you're using potatoes of any kind it's good to parboil them otherwise they remain hard.
9. When these are nearly cooked, add in chopped or tinned tomatoes and let it cook out.
10. Here's your chance to put it right. If you feel it needs anything else like extra salt or lemon if it's too spicy or needs a kick.
11. If you want more sauce, depending on how tomatoey you make it then just add hot water and let it cook out. The sauce will thicken.
12. Sprinkle fresh coriander on top and serve.

Q: So what do you think of this recipe? Are you going to try it? Send in photos of your curry creation to quintessentiallyenglish16@gmail.com! 

Erin x

Recipe: English Onion Soup

With the weather turning autumnal, I suddenly start craving warming foods that I wouldn't dream of touching during the summer months. Number one on that list is soup, one of my favourites being French Onion. There are a number of passable French Onion Soups that I've had at restaurants but none can compare to my Grandma's recipe. To properly prepare my Grandma's soup takes hours, of which I don't have the time or patience for. This has lead me to creating my yummy interpretation of this French classic - English Onion Soup.

The recipe is really simple and only requires a few ingredients, but most important to its success is a slow cooker!

Ingredients:

• 50 g (1.76oz) butter
• Approx. 4 large onions
• 4-6 garlic cloves (smoked garlic if you can get it)
• 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
• 750 ml (3.1 cups) sweet or medium English cider
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 100 g Cheddar cheese 
• 1 egg yolk

Method:

1. Cook the onions and garlic in the butter on low heat, stirring frequently until the onions become soft and nearly translucent (roughly 25 minutes).
2. Transfer to the slow cooker, add the stock and cider and cook on LOW heat for about 6-8 hours. If you don't have the time to let it cook, you can put the slow cooker on HIGH and heat for roughly 3 hours. 
3. When the soup is done, preheat the grill and toast the bread on one side until golden. Put the Cheddar slices on the untoasted side and grill the cheese until bubbling. 
4. Remove the soup for the heat and whisk in the egg yolk.
5. Serve with the cheese toasts on top and a cold glass of English cider!

I usually make the soup the night before and put the dish in the fridge to let it steep over night. Then in the morning before I go to work all I have to do is take it out and turn the slow cooker on! It's great coming home to a warm meal!

Erin x

Recipe: Tarte au citron

Q: What could be greater after a dinner of spaghetti carbornara (Luke's and my staple dinner in France) than a tarte au citron?
A: Absolutely nothing.

Luke and I weren't feeling quite satisfied after dinner last night so Luke suggested we bake ourselves a little treat in the form of a tarte au citron. Neither of us had ever attempted this before, but how hard could it be? After finding a recipe online we found that in truth it was very simple. All you really need are some basic ingredients like flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and of course lemons.

The two things that make this recipe hard are the prep work (which isn't substantial but still zesting three lemons doesn't happen in 2 seconds) and waiting the 20-30 minutes after it's in the oven to eat it. It seriously smells so good! Luke and I had a lot of fun with this recipe and a great time making it together. It probably didn't turn out perfect, but it didn't matter to us in the slightest, the flavour was phenomenal!

Our yummy tarte!

Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy

Tarte au Citron

 

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 150 g (5oz) plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 100 g (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter
• 50 g (1 1/4oz) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• Few drops of vanilla extract*

 *Luke and I didn't have vanilla extract and it tasted fine just the same

For the filling:

• 3 medium eggs
• 100 g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar
• 142ml carton double cream (that's heavy whipping cream)
• Finely zested rind and juice of 3 lemons
• 23 cm (9 in) fluted pie tin

Optional: Icing (Powder) sugar for dusting.

Method:

1. To make the pastry: Tip the flour and salt into a bowl, and add the butter, cut into chunks. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and then add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix to bind the ingredients together.
2. Tip the dough out onto a floured worktop and knead it very lightly to give a smooth surface, then roll it out and use it to line the pie tin. Chill the pastry case for at least 15 minutes. Set the oven to 190 C. Bake the pastry roughly 15 minutes, or until light golden. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180 C.
3. To make the filling: Beat the eggs, then add sugar, cream, lemon rind, and juice, and mix well. Pour mixture into the pastry case, filling it almost to the top.
4. Bake the tart in the centre of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the edges of the filling have set and it is just slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven, slide the pie tin on to a wire rack and leave the tart to cool in the tin for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely. Chill the tart well, and dust it with icing sugar just before serving.  
   

Erin x

Find the original recipe at Women's Weekly Recipes

Summer Wind

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Yesterday was the Fourth of July, marking the second Independence Day I have missed out on cheap beer, hot dogs, and fireworks. This time last year I was living my last few weeks in France and enjoying every minute of it. I know it is silly, but I miss celebrating the Fourth and as I see my friends posting statuses of Facebook I can't help but giving a little sigh that I'm not there with them. Oh well, I suppose missing the Fourth of July is a small price to pay for living my dream out in England.

As always, life is full of activity on this side of the pond. Last Tuesday I took part in a pub quiz down at the Radford (a town about 10 minutes away) pub called The White Lion. You'll notice that most of the pubs in England are almost all named after animals with a colour in front (usually red or white but I have also seen black (as in The Black Dog in Southam) and I think maybe even green once). I suppose it's because most of the pubs are hundreds of years old and therefore have had the titles for that long, but they are seriously unoriginal. Now enough of that, the pub quiz is a weekly tradition in a lot of pubs take part in around the country. Locals of young and old come down to the pub and answer series of questions read out by the pub master. It is very enjoyable, I've been taking part in The White Lion pub quiz since last summer. Usually my team doesn't do too bad, we placed second one time and I believe even first another (both of which mean cash prizes which are usually used to purchase the team's pints). However, this time we placed a humiliating 6 out of 10 teams. Simply disgraceful, but still a good laugh.

On Thursday Luke was in work for a 'trial day' - which means the company paid him to come in and work like he normally would while they see if he fits for their team and Luke can see if he enjoys the work. It is a practice I have not heard of in the States, and Luke tells me it is rare to see here. Since Lindsay and Ian were also both at work I decided to make dinner for everyone that night, including Luke's grandad whom I also invited. I made Asian Rainbow Trout, a really simple dish that tastes amazing. I've made it for my mum and Dan before and they both loved it. It was a hit again, although I personally don't think it turned out as well as it has before. I served it with Japanese Snow Peas and Udon noodles. (For those interested in trying the recipe I will place it at the bottom of this post)

Luke and I have been trying to find the time to do some fishing the past few days, we even purchased some maggots (ick!) for bait - which Luke then to my horror put in the fridge. They were covered and could not escape he assured me, but still! It was amusing when Lindsay returned home to find them, I was in the other room when I heard "Oh my God, that better not be what I think that is in my fridge!" and forced Luke to put them in the garage, which he complained heavily about. There has been no time to fish since we received them, and since Luke is also doing another trial day today and tomorrow I doubt there will be anytime until Wednesday. I just hope the bait survives until then.

On Saturday Luke's Auntie Julie (or AJ as he sometimes calls her) was down to visit for the day so much of the day was spent in Luke's grandad's back garden relaxing and basking in the afternoon sun. On this day I came to realize how much the English love the act of gardening. Lindsay, AJ, and Grandad would walk around the garden commenting on the different flowers "That's coming in nicely" or else making suggestions on the plants "Perhaps you should move the lavender away from there and closer to the front". And it is not just them, it is pretty much everyone middle age and above. There is an older gentleman a few roads down who without fail, should you pass him he will be out there trimming and pruning his garden. I imagine him out there with a leveler trimming the grass strand by strand with pruning shears making sure the grass is completely level. Maybe it is because I come from an arid climate but I have never seen such behaviour as this and while I follow the family around trying to understand the attraction of it I am still so far befuddled. Perhaps it is gene that lies dormant for years and I will one day wake up and suddenly have a compulsive interest in gardening.

As per my summer tradition, I am once again reading the Harry Potter series. Luke has named himself a Harry Potter Widower, he states that every 5 minutes I pick up the book. A slight exaggeration on his part considering I can easily finish any of the books in one day and have currently been reading the 5th book for the past two weeks. I am on the last three chapters of it and plan on finishing it today while he is out of the house. It is Lindsay's tradition to read every night before bed. While Luke and I were in Manchester, Lindsay finished her book and did not have anything left to read so decided to pick up my first Harry Potter and give it a try. She has never had any in Harry Potter, not even watching any of the films but now she is obsessed. She's half way through the second book now and now Harry Potter has creeped into her dreams. She told me this morning that last night she had a dream she went shopping in Diagon Alley. I love having a converted Harry Potter freak in the house. Since Luke has seen his mother enjoy them so much he has expressed an interest in reading them as well, something only a few months ago he told me would never happen. Great success!

Erin x

Asian Rainbow Trout

Ingredients:

I don't use measurements but have given some as rough guidelines,

my recommendation is to play around with it to suit your personal tastes.

• 2 fillets of Rainbow Trout (I recommend getting ones with the skin still on as it adds to the flavour and can always be easily taken off before serving)
• 2 tsp/10 ml Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp/4 g Brown Sugar
• Spring (Green) Onions (I usually use an entire little bushel that they come packed in)
• 1/2 tsp/1 g Minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp/1 g Mined ginger
• 1/2 tsp/3 ml Sesame oil (Olive oil will work fine if you don't have any Sesame, but I find Sesame just adds a little something extra)
• Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

1. In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper.
2. Rub the trout with the mixture.
3. On medium-high, heat the sesame oil and then add spring onions, garlic, and ginger; cook until golden brown.
4. Add trout and cook until browned and crispy (roughly 3 mins.) then turn over and cook until fish flakes easily with work, about 3 minutes more.

 

Serving Recommendations:

I recommend serving with either one or a combination of Japanese snow peas, sugar snap peas, Udon noodles, or steamed brown rice and placing the fish on top so the flavour seeps into the side. Also, if you use just a touch more soy sauce you can create more of a sauce which you can then put on the side of your choice.