Turmeric Chai Latte

by Diana

Trying to incorporate in our diet every single ingredient that claims to hold the magic key to longevity and overflow us with miraculous natural benefits can be an obsessive-compulsive triggering thing to do. Everybody knows there is not such thing as a formula for healthy lifestyle; it’s a combination of habits -and spice mix alike!

One element that most trendy ingredients and have in common is undoubtedly their aesthetic quality. Without its absinthe-like, psychedelic appearance it would be harder to have Matcha so imposed on us everywhere we go for example, nonetheless we would just spontaneously prefer it over our instantly gratifying vanilla latte, no matter whether its frenetic consumption would feed our longing of everlasting youth. Turmeric is another one of those ‘good-looking’ roots that promises to forever save us from all distress. The small captions that nobody ever reads explain that we need to ingest absurd quantities in order to begin to grasp its medicinal properties.

When it comes to food and taste there is something quite obvious that we can’t ignore. We are talking about senses and it’s hard to indulge the body and yet remain fully rational and pragmatic. We may not pick turmeric because it’s delicious, we want it because we are convinced is good for us, but ultimately, we go with it because is just stunning and, within its pigmenting beauty, we are essentially pleasing our senses, at least one of them. 

I’ll leave you with this recipe that I am confident won’t fulfil you with antioxidants but that for sure will successfully please your sight and taste.

© The Teaspoon 

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Parsley Pesto

by Diana 


I have a tendency to (sentimentally) preach about the importance of noticing beautiful things in daily life in order to overcome joy-consuming low mood and boredom. People blame my often annoying happy attitude on the ‘latinamericanism’ but everyone knows I have quite a mixed heritage so I wouldn’t be so sure.  Stopping and appreciating what would otherwise be insignificant, requires only our willingness to do so and can indeed contribute to some emotional tranquility, very much needed in the hecticness that overflows the city. Mindfulness is so trendy now and there is so much written nowadays about it and so many approaches,  resources, apps, support groups and self-help tools that makes finding out about it overwhelming in itself. My take on it is quite simple though: look up, stop, absorb, smile.

A couple of days per week I work in one of the most chaotic of London’s boroughs. It’s busy, noisy and with the ocasional stabbing. I like it though, despite the cannabis smell in the park, as there is a fruit and vegetable market in the high street every day and on my break I go for walks in search for cheap avocados and just to be as curious as a foodie can be. The other day, whilst looking up I found bowls of green tomatoes, which I’ve never seen before, perhaps for not noticing enough but possibly because they were simply out of season- if there is such thing as ‘unripe fruit season’. It may be quite basic but I was able to find my daily beauty dosis in the Autumn fallen green tomatoes. I doubt that staring at fruit bowls is at the heart of mindfulness practice yet it’s all about being able to get away from yourself, at least for a moment and to contemplate.. or cook! This is my attempt to preserve the instant. 

© The Teaspoon 

Raspberry & White Chocolate Cake

by Diana

If there is a non plus ultra to stepping out of one’s comfort zone then (for me) emigrating gets the golden prize. My parents are both quite careful and over-thoughtful about making decisions, particularly when it comes to uncertain outcomes. As a child I valued the safety and stability they provided us with and expectedly, as a teenager, I resented it. I sought challenges and found in art the best unpredictable journey, until I decided to restart my life in a new country, away from home, and from the new land, I unconsciously sought to reach stability and safety one more time. I learnt to value the commodity of knowing but as a therapist I had to learn how to appreciate the beauty of not knowing all over again. I now try not to label myself as I can certainly relate to both aspects which makes me feel somehow balanced. 

My beloved friend Carla sits comfortably on the stable side of my life in London. She is the personification of reliability and, like me, she both embraces and resents routine. We joked as she would always demand the same cake for dessert when invited over to ours for a meal, no matter the occasion. I admire her determination and her proud approach to security and stability. You need a friend like that when everything else continues to feel like an adventure. You need a friend like that in life, full stop. When Carla was offered the opportunity to challenge herself and re-emigrate to Italy to be part of an amazing project then our safety poles conglomerated to make an uncertain choice. A month or so after her departure I wanted to say ‘arrivederci’ with the recipe of the white chocolate and raspberry cake she so long adores, hoping that in the middle of the uneasiness, she’ll hold on to the stability of our friendship, found in the well-known flavours that the cake will always bring her for breakfast.

© The Teaspoon 

The Teaspoon Relaunch

by Diana

Lots of things have happened since my last post about four years ago, including loosing the web’s domain to a family-owned lunch spot in Texas! We wish them good luck though and welcome our new British identity as theteaspoon.co.uk

The Teaspoon began in 2012 as a platform to celebrate our family’s ever-changing migratory identity, and to narrate multiple stories shared with homemade flavours and cuisine. In 2014 the blog was somehow used to protest about the socio-political situation back home in Venezuela. I would have loved to relaunch with a hopeful and comic post of a tasty recipe but I can’t do that knowing that the country’s economy has crashed, the hyperinflation is expected to reach one million per cent by the end of 2018, that crime continues fragmenting families, that Venezuela is the focus of an unprecedented Latin-American exodus about to reach humanitarian crisis levels and that everyone that’s left in the country is starving. It’s estimated that 64% of Venezuelans have lost 11kg (about 1.7st) of body weight last year, including my dad, due to the crisis. It’s not a secret that families are stretching their supplies and skipping meals in order to survive.

I couldn’t think of any recipes to post here which ingredients could be currently accessible for the average Venezuelan household. Food shortages mixed with hyperinflation make it impossible for people to cook themselves a treat. I am not hoping the empty set below will make a difference or have an impact but it’s just a coping mechanism I am using to transform the sadness and frustration into something more meaningful that helps promote awareness.

The Teaspoon will continue embracing multiculturalism in the kitchen, whilst tracing back our ancestor’s journeys in time and combine them with our own, but not today.

© The Teaspoon

Caraway Seed 'Half-Pound' Cake

by Diana

When I am not cooking, thinking about recipes or addictively buying ingredients to cook new dishes, and most importantly, to photograph them, I work in museums. Yes, disappointingly as it might sound for some of you, starting with my own brother, art is my real and true passion. The thing is that it can be really difficult to combine museum practice with the love of cooking, unless a weird contemporary hybrid is discovered, something absurd and ridiculous like museum-cooking-therapy, which I am sure already exists somewhere. 

However, by pure and wonderful coincidence, about two weeks ago I was trying to explain to some children who William Kent was, so they could get going and design their own garden and I surprised myself reading the briefing and affirming with loud conviction that he was a 'famous 18th century designer of houses and gardens and a lover of good food'. I stopped all of a sudden and rewinded fearfully, wondering if that last phrase was about William Kent or just about me. So I double checked that my unconscious didn't betrayed me, secretly using visitors to promote my blog again and so I discovered that this 18th century fellow was in deed a promoter of good eating in Georgian times. What I heard from kind volunteers is that William Kent was the first one to incorporate the dining room to interior design and that's when a dedicated space to eat in the house was firstly created in England about 300 years ago, impacting the traditions of the time and refining food taste forever.

So after this pleasant discovery I thought that the best way to celebrate was by posting a genuine recipe from the Regency period: Caraway Seed Pound Cake. So here it is for you all, simple, tasty and full of history. Please notice that a pound cake was going to be too much, even for my husband, so I took the liberty to reduce it by half and to make just half a pound.

Finally, if you want to get all your senses involved, not only try out the recipe but save a piece of cake to enjoy it after visiting the William Kent exhibition at the V&A. 

I hope you like it!

© The Teaspoon

Shuku-Shuku -Nigerian Coconut Biscuits

by Diana

A few weeks ago we published a recipe for Matooke, Uganda's national dish, in support of Malaria Mission fundraising campaign. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Malaria affects half of the world’s population in 106 countries and territories. Since Malaria Mission campaign's deadline is now looming and they have reached over 60% of their target, we thought it could be a good idea to keep encouraging them with another tasty treat, this time from the worst malaria-affected region worldwide: Nigeria. 

Shuku Shuku is a Nigerian sweet delicacy, we could say that it is the equivalent to our well-known Western truffle, but of course somehow less pretentious. Although they may look a bit humble in appearance, they are deliciously soft inside, with a contained coconut explosion, awaiting for your bite. I can guarantee that they will cheer up the rainiest and most miserable of days. We also heard that it is a favourite snack among children in Nigeria and my experience tells me that they know more about these matters that we adults do.

For the record, Malaria is a risk for 97% of Nigeria’s population and 86% of these cases are unfortunately our little experts. 

If this worries you as much as it worries us, there is something you can do about it. Please give your contribution to Malaria Mission and show some support to the world.

We hope you enjoy this one!

© The Teaspoon

Apricot Muffins

by Diana 

My father is a bit peculiar when it comes to routine. He likes to have things under control, like for example the grocery shopping which he does every 2 weeks at the same time and place for as long as I can remember, with or without food shortages in the country. Part of his routine is his diet, that for many factors, including a vast amount of genetic disasters, tends to be very limited and strict. Inside his fridge you will always find apricots, as he has 2 every day as part of his breakfast and it's worth saying that the amount of apricots he buys in the supermarket is of course premeditated and carefully planned. He loves his routine though and my brother and I always enjoy trying to break it just to spite him. On his defence, he always alleges that he is too busy working -even on Saturdays- to do things differently, but the true is that it gives him peace and a sense of security which is paramount to his life and comfort. 

Last week, 4 men with guns broke into his home in Caracas, they robbed, threatened, vandalised and tied everyone up, including my 64 year-old dad. This disgraceful event was obviously disturbing for the family and I can't but feel impotent after the invasion and deprivation of freedom that for two hours the people that I love the most had to unfortunately experience because of the sad socio-economic and political conditions of the country that we call home. What frustrated me the most, for what it symbolises it is the fact that my father told me disheartened that these men shamelessly ate the apricots from the fridge during the assault to his property, topping up their vandalism with humiliation. 

This is the misfortune that not only my dad faced, but everyone else in the country does, where nowhere is safe anymore, not even your own home and you just have to unjustly accept that everything you build everyday with effort and honest work, can be snatched overnight, including your own life. And I don't know about you but I think this is completely unacceptable.

What I admire the most about my father is that in less than a week he has fixed all the damages, used his good sense of humour to cheer up everyone around him, including me on the other side of the Atlantic, and left that ugly robbery chapter behind. He also went back to the supermarket and stocked up his fridge with apricots. There is no other choice but to move on he says. This recipe is of course for him. 

Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon

Matooke with Chicken Stew and Sautéed Vegetables

by Diana and Julie

It is not a novelty to say that African, Latin-American and Asian food traditions have many ingredients in common because, after all, we share the same imaginary equator line. Our gorgeous and frequently envied -by the British- climate allows crops like plantain, corn and cassaba to grow in abundance, becoming the 'daily bread' in the dining table of millions of families across many countries. Although food and good weather are of course exotic elements to share intercontinentally, we also have one plague in common that is capable of destroying the lives of thousands of people every year in those countries. Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on the planet and malaria is one of their many unfortunate legacies.  

This week's post is a courtesy from my dear friend Faith Wilkinson (née Kimuli), who has suffered and luckily survived malaria in more than a few occasions when she lived in the kingdom of Bunyoro in Western Uganda. Uganda is the country with the worldwide highest incidence of malaria and one of its typical dishes is Matooke accompanying beef/chicken/fish stew, served with vegetables or rice.

We are sharing this recipe today to support the fundraising campaign of Malaria Mission and their creation of an innovative way to fight this plague, reduce the impact of this disease and potentially save millions of lives. Their idea is targeting the malaria mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the disease. And let’s be honest, we all hate mosquitoes, don’t we? 

Let's help these culinary traditions to be preserved, not in a book or a blog like this written by strangers, but mouth to mouth, from parents to children who don't need to become survivors of their own living conditions.

© The Teaspoon

Baked Plantains with Mozzarella

by Diana

Another common ingredient in the Venezuelan kitchen is plantain. We use it in all its forms and colours, either fallen or pulled from the plant. As I have a sweet tooth, I am going to give you a recipe using ripe plantains. I must say that the use of mozzarella cheese is just an attempt to recreate the white fresh cheese we use back home, but the taste is very similar and equally delicious. Plantains can be found everywhere in London and again in the same places where PAN flour is available, usually Afro-Caribbean markets and the random grocery shop in the middle of nowhere. 

I hope you try it at home. If you are new to plantains please don't be scared, they are just like bananas, only bigger, more versatile and better structured. 

Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon

Torta de Pan or Bread Cake

by Diana

One of my favorite Venezuelan cakes is called Torta de Pan or ‘Bread Cake’. A dessert which main ingredient is nothing more than leftover bread, yes, that one that sits on the kitchen for a while and becomes all hard and dry. We want the unwanted bread! You only need a few basic ingredients to bring that poor old bread back to life and a shot of rum to spice it up. The truth is though that without sugar and milk, the result is nothing less than useless breadcrumbs forgotten in the kitchen’s cupboard.

The reason why I am sharing this recipe today is because it beautifully reflects that we are a hard working culture characterized for making the most out of what we have. Unfortunately, when the resources run out it can be very difficult to take advantage of things and to create new unexpected dishes like Torta de Pan. As milk and sugar are very hard, if not impossible, to find at the moment, most people cannot afford to waste a bite of bread. This is sadly, another traditional Venezuelan recipe impossible to make for Venezuelans at home. 

© The Teaspoon

Arepas

By Diana

I couldn't just start posting again without highlighting that in the last 6 weeks and until now over 40 people have been killed during street protests in Venezuela. Why are they protesting? People are tired of living with fear, of being censored and brutally silenced. Venezuela is one of the most violent places on Earth, with one of the highest records of kidnappings, carjackings and murders. Most recently and with great shame for the fifth largest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuelan people are facing chronic basic goods shortages, of everyday products such as soap, tooth paste, dippers, toilet paper and medicines. In terms of food, there is a lack of flour, sugar and milk. People have to queue for long hours to carry out their grocery shopping but must supermarket shelves remain empty. 

This is why I have decided to post a recipe of one of our most popular national dishes. Arepas are traditional patties, flat cakes or soft breads (pick your own definition) made with a special precooked corn flour or cornmeal commonly known as P.A.N. flour or Harina P.A.N. We usually eat them for breakfast and stuff them with something savory, typically white fresh cheese, scramble eggs or meat. In London this flour can be found in Latin-American shops, most common at Elephant and Castle, but also in places like Tooting market, Brixton and even Portobello market. I get mine from an Arabic grocery store in Morden, weirdly enough. Unfortunately my own mum in Caracas hasn't been able to find any P.A.N. flour lately.

This dish is suitable for gluten-free and nut-free diets. 

 

© The Teaspoon

Polvorosas

By Diana

One of my favourite biscuits are a Venezuelan delight called Polvorosas. If you go to any 'kiosko' - equivalent to British 'off licences'- you will be able to find 101 versions of these sweet cookies. But like any traditional dish, everyone has their own style when it comes to recipes. However, believe it or not, it was my Syrian grandma the only one that for me made the best Venezuelan Polvorosas. Her version was a biscuit as hard as a rock, almost a threat to your teeth but so delicious that I could have just skipped lunch and jump straight to dessert, everytime she spoiled me with my preferred treat.

The following recipe is not more than just another attempt to bring back childhood memories. Although they are not quite the same I used to steal from her cupboard, these ones are equally good. This is a super easy recipe, you can add orange peel, almond essence, vanilla from the pod or any other tiny little pinch of spice that you consider convenient. If in doubt just leave a comment!  I hope you like them!

© Diana Chaccour