Happy New Year, Everyone.
Most of us tend to feel podgy after Christmas, but I say embrace that fat as a learning opportunity! Because in January you can look forward to cooking
something different but equally satisfying to help shed the weight.
My Cornish veg supplier said (despite the weather!) that celeriac and cauliflower are going well right now and are full of much needed vitamins. Celeriac is ideal if you’re having a potato-free month, and have brown instead of white rice if you’re conscious of your GI. But can I remind you that there’s nothing wrong with pasta! People get scared of it, but it’s down to portion control rather than the pasta itself. Pasta is good. Snacking is where the big pitfalls really come in. Making your own pasta is
great fun and tastes better too. Give it a go. You can always try our Italian cookery course to help things along.
If the January weather is not too crazy fishermen are bringing in huge hauls of mackerel and bass, so fishmongers will be doing a good price on fish at the moment. Mackerel in any way, shape or form is amazing, cost effective, delivers a lot and is so versatile. Nothing beats a January mackerel sandwich with horseradish and mayonnaise for lunch. And bass is good for ceviche, which will feature in our Street Food courses this February and April. Fresh herbs are brilliant.
Their presence on your plate instantly makes you feel cleaner, healthier and happier. Try basil, chives, rosemary, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme and dill. Whether you’ve got a garden or not, get planting in 2020! Once you’re used to chucking a handful of parsley over your omelettes, rosemary on your roasts and oregano into your pasta dishes, your meals will feel bare without them.
If you need a big wicked kick to look forward to try Nigella Lawson’s prune & chocolate cake recipe. It’s ridiculously delicious but I feel justifies the
indulgence because it’s got prunes in… However our Patisserie Masterclass on 25th January should satisfy those with a sweet tooth and give an excuse to be wicked for a day as the whole class revolves around world-class chocolate.
But if you are tightening your belt then having a good base of essentials in your larder will make food go a long way. Our ‘New Year New Food’ Course is about efficiency: mastering store cupboard essentials, planning how to use left overs, hereby eliminating waste. Plans for a week’s worth of meals often backfire because of leftovers from the initial meals. So we teach how to plan for the first 3 days and then how to create your variations from there. You can save a lot of money each month just by thinking ahead.
If going vegan is one of your new year’s resolutions then ‘Vegan Cooking With The Kitchen Table’ is for current and would-be vegans. The Vegan course teaches how to implement a plant-based diet into daily life without compromising taste or quality.
For those who like getting out and about on the Cornish food scene I’m thrilled to announce that KOBER is my new pop-up restaurant in Hayle. The first night on the 7th Feb 2020 is already sold out so watch here/SIGN UP for more dates.
More next time but for now let me just remind you not to avoid food this month. Cook! Eat! Get into a kitchen, make mistakes, have fun and learn. And maybe reward yourself with a course to get excited about at
Looking forward to seeing you soon, and wishing you all a happy 2020,
Cheers Rupert