Raspberry pavlova

I was making ice cream today and given that the last pack of 6 eggs we bought cost £2.80 (!!!) I didn’t want to throw away the whites.  I’ve never made pavlova before and wow, what a showstopper!  It certainly won’t be the last one I make.  The recipe was in Mary Berry’s Baking Bible.

Banh xeo with peanut dipping sauce

When I was in Vietnam a few years ago I became obsessed with Banh Xeo in Hue, where they serve them with a peanut sauce.  I ate them at least once every day, nearly crying when it was time to move on from Hue to Hoi An.  Every time I go to a Vietnamese restaurant if it’s on the menu this is what I have but none have ever been up to Hue standards.  As we have a lot of time on our hands at the moment due to lockdown (😫) I thought I’d give Rick Stein’s version
From Far Eastern Odyssey a go.  I’ve not been immediately transported back to Hue, I’ll admit, and they aren’t the crispy loveliness they need to be because Rick added eggs to the recipe, but they were nice and fresh tasting and I’m glad I gave them a go.  My dipping sauce was good too - a recipe from the internet.  I might make these again.

Smoky chipotle black bean chilli

Anither from my uber reliable slow cooker cookbook and made exclusively for the vegetarian boyf for when me and his son are eating a delicious meat chilli.  It looks good to me!

Pho Bo

It’s boyf’s son’s 24th birthday today and due to Coronavirus we are stuck in and with limited take away options.  The birthday boy asked for pho bo - I’m not sure why, but to be fair I thought this was a proper challenge for me.  I rose to this challenge after consulting Rick Stein’s ‘Far Eastern Odyssey’.  The boy’s son was incredibly appreciative,  telling me it was exactly what he wanted.  It’s just not my thing though really and so I probably won’t make this again.