Yo Yotam

Now that the weather's warmed up, its swim time.

I thought I'd stop being annoyed at the ubiquity of Yotam Ottolenghi long enough to try one of his recipes. It was just my cup of tea so I am now a convert. Here's what turned me.

Yolam Ottolenghi's Indian-spiced potato and pea salad
500 g new potatoes, quartered
1 red onion, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
0.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g fresh podded or defrosted frozen peas
3 spring onions, sliced
1 green chilli, sliced
handful of coriander leaves.

Cook potatoes until tender. Drain. Put onion in a bowl and squeeze over lemon juice. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, over medium heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds and cook until mustard seeds start to pop. Add turmeric and garlic and cook for extra 30 secs, stirring constantly.
Tip in cooked potatoes and fry for 5 mins, turning often. Add peas, spring onions and chilli. Season with salt and toss. Leave to cool for a few mins then toss through onion and coriander leaves. Serve warm or at room temp.

Have been enjoying Mother Jones lately. I'm loving their hipster-dissing series. And this story on weight loss and the microbial community in the gut

I'm so spoiled for fresh produce where I live - heaps of small, local growers and outlets specialising in locally grown produce. Here's one of my favourite - the produce train - a repurposed red rattler that sells local veggies, herbs, honey and fruit.