The Ginger Tingle

Hello friends and welcome to a precursor episode to next week’s Dining with The Dame.  We will be focussing on Evil Under The Sun in both weeks. This week is just me.  But, next week’s post will feature a very special collab with a very special person!  More about that at the end of the post.  Today we are drinking with the Dame with the delightfully named Ginger Tingle. The recipe comes from The Australian Hostess Cookbook (1969).

Ginger Tingle1

Arlena Marshall

As soon as I read the name, I knew I wanted to dedicate The Ginger Tingle to Arlena Marshall from Evil Under The Sun.  Arlena – is a gorgeous redhead (hence the ginger) and full of sex appeal (hence the tingle). I”m nothing if not subtle! 😜

Here is Arlena’s entrance into the story:

Her arrival had all the importance of a stage entrance.  

Moreover, she walked as though she knew it.  There was no self-consciousness apparent.  It would seem that she was too used to the invariable effect her presence produced.

She was tall and slender.  She wore a simple backless white bathing dress and every inch of her exposed body was tanned a beautiful even shade of bronze.  She was as perfect as a statue.  Her hair was a rich flaming auburn, curling richly and intimately into her neck…the whole effect of her was one of youth, of superb and triumphant vitality” 

Arlena Stuart Marshall as played by Diana Rigg
Arlena Marshall as played by Diana Rigg

 I intentionally left out a bit of that quote that said “Her face had that slight hardness which is seen when thirty years have come and gone” .  On behalf of women of a certain age, everywhere, none of us need that! Or, in the words of another lovely redhead:

 

I also wanted to feature Arlena because she is treated incredibly harshly in the novel.  She is not only the murder victim but she is also resoundingly and almost universally slut-shamed throughout the book:

“Now to my mind, that woman’s a personification of evil.  She’s a bad lot through and through”

“Such women are a menace – a menace to — “

“There’s a type of woman who likes smashing up homes”

“She’s the world’s first gold digger.  And a man-eater as well.  If anything personable in trousers comes within a hundred yards of her, it’s fresh sport for Arlena.  She’s that kind.”

Even the police inspecting her murder have noting good to say about her:

“Ï should say that a lady like her would -well, would make some pretty bad enemies”

Arlena reminded me of another misunderstood readhead.

One of the remarkable things about Evil Under The Sun is that we mostly hear about Arlena.  We rarely hear from her. Arlena’s own motivations are intentionally omitted (I believe) to build a picture of her as seen through the eyes of other people.   Only the more astute guests at Jolly Roger Hotel see her for what she truly is – a victim – of an unscrupulous murderer, gossip from other guests, and ultimately, her own foolishness. Christie does this with an absolutely deft touch that reveals a writer at the top of her game!

The Recipe – Ginger Tingle

Ginger Tingle recipe1

Now if you wanted to add a little splash of gin or vodka into the mix, be my guest!  The Ginger Tingle however a lovely refreshing soft drink and would be perfect to sip under the sun as is. Either way let’s raise a toast to Arlena!  

Ginger Tingle2

Next Week’s Dining The Dame

I am absolutely delighted that next week’s post will be a collaboration with Jenny from the fabulous blog Silver Screen Suppers.  Why  not grab a copy of Evil Under The Sun or watch the Poirot episode based on the book and join us for some fun (and evil) under the sun! 

The Zombie’s Secret

Hello friends and welcome to a spooky edition of Retro Food for Modern Times. Today, via Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972) we will be discovering The Zombie’s Secret. And also learning that some things are better left undiscovered. But we will get to that! So what is The Zombie’s Secret? 

 

So, if not brains, then what is The Zombie’s Secret?  What if I were to drop you a clue that this recipe comes from the Caribbean chapter of GHWC?  Oh…I hear you say.  It’s a cocktail.  I bet it has lots of rum and is so potent it will turn you into the walking dead!  No, but the cocktail in the link looks and sounds delish!!! 

This is the Zombie’s Secret:

The Zombie's Secret1

Turns out, The Zombie’s Secret is a weird fruit salad with a coffee cream topping.  I’ll be honest here,  I didn’t love this.  I’m not a great lover of bananas and this was all a bit same-same in terms of texture.  Bananas are kind of mushy as are avocados, as is cream cheese which also felt like it didn’t belong when I was adding it.  It did, however, give the dish a cheesecakey vibe which was one of the nicest things about it.  I toasted my coconut which added some much-needed crunch. Maybe the soft texture of banana, avocado, cream cheese, and cream is the texture of brains?  Maybe this is the secret for vegetarian zombies?  Maybe all the vitamins and minerals contained in bananas and avocados give our brain-hungry friends their beautiful hair and skin? Who knew discovering this secret would learn to so many questions?

 

The Zombie’s Secret – Recipe

 

The Zombie's Secret2

 

The Zombie's Secret Recipe

The flavours in this were surprisingly good, it was really the lack of texture that let it down.  I think someone (not me because ewww bananas) could use these ingredients and make a lovely cheesecake.  Coconut crumb base, avocado, and cream cheese filling, topped with some bananas and the coffee spiked cream maybe with a little of Caribbean rum thrown in! 

Now that sounds like a secret worth sharing!  

Have a great week!  

 

The Italian Cuisine I Love Redux

Buongiorno Amici!  Today we are taking another look at The Italian Cuisine I Love by Jules J Bond.  We last looked at this book all the way back in 2012 where I developed quite a crush on the author…Bond…Jules J Bond.  And who wouldn’t crush on this bon vivant and possible spy!  I spent quite a while with Jules J last time and his tuna stuffed tomatoes are still a favourite summer lunch for me!  Today, however, will be a flying visit, albeit a delizioso one!

The introduction to The Italian Cuisine I Love says

Italy is a country where the joy of eating is one of the many joys of life”

The Italian Cusine I Love

And today, wherever in the world we find ourselves, we will be trying to capture some of la dolce vita with some fried anchovy bread and Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce.  Sorry carb phobes, this one is not for you!

Fried Anchovy Bread

Bear with me for uno momento haters of anchovies……just take a moment to look at this…

Fried Anchovy Bread

Yes, I thought that might change your mind.  But if you really, really hate anchovies, leave them out.  Add some salami or prosciutto or olives just have it with the cheese!  If you also don’t like cheese, then I have nothing for you.

Fried Anchovy Bread2

Now that’s the Italian Cuisine I Love!

Fried Anchovy Bread – The Recipe

Fried Anchovy Bread recipe

As delicious as the anchovy bread was, it was just the begining!

Spaghetti In Garlic Sauce

As the fried anchovy bread was quite rich, I thought I would keep the second course quite light.  I wanted to have pasta because last time I didn’t make any of the pasta dishes.  I chose a Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce.  This is a version of a Spaghetti Aglio e Olio and was super yummy!

Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce 1

Spaghetti In Garlic Sauce Recipe

Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce Recipe (1)

Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce 2

It was so nice to step back into the worldof The Italian Cuisine I Love. I now own a few more in the Cuisines I Love series so hopefully it will not be another eleven years before we step back into the world of Jules J Bond!

June 2003 – Gluten-Free

Hello, retro food lovers! Today we are taking a trip back to June 2003 for a gluten-free meal brought to us by Donna Hay Magazine, issue #x. Was gluten-free a thing back then? I know obviously people with Coeliacs and other conditions would have needed to be gluten-free but I am not sure it was as popular as it is now. However, before we see whether or not we could prepare a decent meal from a magazine in 2003, let’s see what was making headlines!

  • Europe launched it’s first mission to Mars

  • J.K Rowling released book 5 in the Harry Potter series, Happy Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.

  • Glastonbury was headlined by Radiohead, Moby and R.E.M

  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl premiered at Disneyland

Sugar Cane Prawns2

So, a pretty good month for pop culture!  And space exploration.  But was it as good a month if you had gluten free guests arriving and all you had for inspiration was the latest edition of Donna Hay Magazine?

The Menu – June 2003

 

Grapefruit Bianco

This was refreshing and quite savoury.  I used a bit less sugar than the recipe and I loved the combination of the slight bitterness from the grapefruit and the herby/citrussy Cinzano.  This really helped to set the tone for the rest of the meal!

Grapefruit Bianco

Grapefruit Bianco Recipé:

Grapefruit Bianco  Recipe

 

Sugar Cane Prawns

I loved these!  I didn’t use the rice paper as per the recipe but added some lettuce leaves to use as wraps.  Any leftover sticks are great the following day in a baguette with some more lettuce, some herbs, chilli and pickles, banh mi style!

Sugar Cane Prawns

 

Sugar Cane Prawns Recipe

Sugar Cane Prawns recipe

 

Pad Thai

Who knew this take-out favourite was so easy to make at home?  This was so tasty it had the fussiest eater in the world commenting on how good the tofu was!

 

pad thai

Pad Thai Recipé:

Pad Thai Recipe

Grown Up Spider

Just to explain for my non-Australian readers.  We are not about to eat arachnids.  We call a mix of soft drink and ice cream a spider.  This one mixes sorbet and Moscato into an adults-only version which was a lovely refreshing end to this meal.   I used mango sorbet in my Spider and it worked really well. 

Grown up Spider

Grown-Up Spider Recipe:

Grown Up Spider recipe

My Nigella Moment  – Crispy Skin Chicken

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was one of the most appetising things in the mag!

There were a few contenders for my Nigella moment in this magazine.  There were some macarons…but hold fire as we will be making them next week.  If they work out!  Then there was a four-cheese toasted sandwich which sounded divine.  Cheese is my love language after all!  But a sandwich seemed a little contrary to the gluten-freeness of this post.    So, I went with this Crispy Skin Chicken because just looking at it makes my mouth water!

Crispy Skin Chicken Collage

 

I didn’t make the crispy skin chicken because:

1) I couldn’t find spatchcocks 

2) Deep frying is such a faff and,

3) I very doubt I could make something that looked that good!

I think the June 2003 Donna Hay Magazine gave me some fabulous inspiration for my gluten-free meal!  And it made someone enjoy tofu!!!  10/10 for this one! 

Have a great week!


 

 

Broken Hill CheeseSlaw

G’Day Food Lovers! People say that necessity is the mother of invention.  In my case, it was the mother of trying out a bizarre little recipe called Broken Hill CheeseSlaw.  Let me show you the finished dish before we get to the hows and whys!

Let’s start at the very beginning.  One of my favourite sandwiches is chicken schnitzel and coleslaw.  Or, as we in Australia call it, a chicken schnitty.  Now, we don’t eat schnitty’s all that often because the fussiest eater in the world does not like crumbed food.  🙄

However, we did have schnitzel…well to be utterly honest it was Donna Hay’s Chicken Katsu the other night ( and lo and behold he actually enjoyed it).  And there was a little bit of chicken leftover…actually no.  I specifically katsu’ed an extra bit of chicken so I could have a schnitty and slaw sanger the next day!

Now, you may notice a distinct lack of sandwich in the above photo.

Here’s why

Frankie

This is Frankie. We were dogsitting Frankie on Katsu night and Frankie was not happy about being dogsat. She howled the whole of the first night she was with us.  And most of the second (which was katsu night).  The only way I could get Frankie to stop howling was to pet her and cuddle her.

So, on day three which was the day I wanted my schnitty sandwich, I realised I had no bread in the house.  And I wasn’t going out to buy any.  My neighbours were already sleep deprived, as was I. from the nighttime howling.  I felt that if there was also daytime howling interrupting people’s work we would become public enemies #1.  It was already lunchtime and I was hungry!  There was no time to wait for a delivery.

“I’ll make a bowl.”  I thought.  “Then I won’t need bread”.  About then I realised I also had no cabbage for the slaw.  Enter Broken Hill Cheeseslaw!

Broken Hill CheeseSlaw

Broken Hill CheeseSlaw (more than a food, it’s a way of life) is a mix of grated carrots, mayo and cheese which has been on the menu in Broken Hill (aka The Silver City) since the 1930’s. How or why the good people of Broken Hill decided to ditch the cabbage and embrace the cheese in their slaw is lost to time.  Although there is a viable theory here.  However, it is still very much still a thing and even got its own dictionary entry in 2019!

Broken hill CheeseSlaw3

Broken Hill CheeseSlaw – Tasting Notes

The cheeseslaw was somewhat surprisingly not terrible.  Many times if you buy a schnitty and coleslaw sandwich you get the option of some cheese to be melted on top.  And you know, one of my mottoes in life is if you ever get the option of cheese melted on top of anything, take it!  I did feel like the cheeseslaw missed a little bit of bang – some spring onion, some pickled jalapeno etc would have cut through some of the fattiness of the cheese and mayo combo which the carrot did not do.  I added some pickled onions I had in the fridge and some edamame from the freezer to my bowl to bring in that bite and also some greenery.

As a whole, my schnitty / katsu cheeseslaw bowl was totally delish!  And something I will intentionally make again!!!

Broken hill CheeseSlaw2

Broken Hill CheeseSlaw – The Golden Grater

So friends, there is an annual contest in Broken Hill for the best cheeseslaw – both traditional and contemporary.  I’m already thinking – a Philly Cheesesteak / Cheeseslaw combo might be awesome!

If you have an idea for cheeseslaw, (and here are some things that others have tried), let me know and I will make the 820 km drive to represent you and me (and Frankie) in the competition for this year’s Golden Grater!

The Recipe – Broken Hill CheeseSlaw

Australia - Broken Hill Slaw (3)

Have a great week!

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