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What about a shakshuka for dinner tonight? This Tunisian/Moroccan tomato ‘n’ egg combo is a incredibly easy to make, satisfying and just a little different.

Ingredients

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for 2
1  big/medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 tomatoes or can of chopped tomatoes
4 eggs
some yellow cheese (not necessary but great)
some salt and pepper
Bread/pitta (for ‘mopping’)

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1. Cut the onion and fry in olive oil with halved garlic cloves.
2. Add the tomatoes the salt and pepper and simmer (about 5-7 min).
3. Once it’s all bubbling away, break 4 eggs into the mixture – if it’s hot enough, they should poach in the sauce.
4. When the eggs are cooked, you can add the crumbled cheese on top, waiting until it melts
5. Locate and throw out the garlic.

There’s something really satisfying about eating shakshuka by dipping bread into the mixture. I’ll call it ‘mopping’ for now (until I think of a slightly less gross term…)

You can add mushrooms, olives or peppers, hey – let your imagination run wild!

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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If you thought “I’ve never heard of shakshuka, sounds a little odd to me”, just check out what they’re serving down at the Phantom’s MuchenTuchen:

‘America is Satan’ is a great strapline for a fast food joint, beats ‘I’m lovin’ it‘ hands down, eh?

This is a clip from ‘You don’t mess with the Zohan‘, almost definitely not as racist as it looks. Honest…

I go through periods (like right now) where I just wake up early.

It’s annoying: even if I go to bed at 3am, I still wake up latest 7/8am. While no doubt this is nowhere near as bad as not being able to get to sleep in the first place (no probs there), if not insomnia, I’d definitely call this a kind of sleep intolerance.

I think I’ve discovered a kind of cure, though: twice I’ve woken up at the eye-watering time of 2 or 3am. So here’s what I do:

Boil water, add a spoon of honey, and squeeze in half a lemon.

Originally taking this for a sore throat, I think I’ve stumbledupon a partial cure for my sleepintolerance:

Apparently, the lemon’s strong pH has an alkaline effect on the body – could that be the reason this works?

Sleepless in London? – tell me if this works for you, or if you have an even better cure…

Here’s an easy, delicious and quick cold pasta recipe, perfect for big dinners, buffets and picnics (well, it’s turning Spring, isn’t it?)

I made it with a kilo of pasta, and it went some way to feeding around 10 people (depending on appetites, you can usually go by 100-150g of pasta per person.)

Ingredients

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1kg penne rigate pasta (‘tubes’)
3 packs of mozzarella
3 packs of cherry tomatoes
1 bottle of pitted green or black olives (unseasoned)
1 clove of garlic
Basil, salt and olive oil to taste

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1. Cut the mozzarella, tomatoes and olives and mix together in a bowl with olive oil and some salt.
2. Cut up fresh basil (if you have it) or add some dried basil to the mix. Cut the garlic in half and add that too.
3. Leave to marinade (preferably at least half an hour).
4. Cook the pasta – make sure it’s ‘al dente’, ie not over-cooked – keep tasting it as it nears the predicted cooking time (usually around 8-10 mins.)
5. Drain the pasta, and run under lots of cold water (it’s important it cools down, so the cheese doesn’t melt when you add the sauce.)
6. Add a little more oil and basil to the sauce and mix it together.
7. Remove the garlic (if you can find it! Or else warn everyone – garlic looks remarkably similar to mozzarella!)
7. Mix the pasta and sauce, and bob’s your uncle!

Moni and I are second cousins, but I feel like we’re very closely related. My great-grandparents were also second cousins.

Not meaning to flatter myself here, but I’m sorry Cousin Moni, I’m just not ready for that kind of relationship.

You do make a mean cold pasta though.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Stupid question.

Everyone knows the honey monster wins everytime.

Still, spotting said ‘spelt popples’ in a local tofu emporium, I thought: “What the hell, can’t be all that bad?”

I should add I have fond childhood memories of sugar puffs, and was only allowed to eat them when I went to visit my grandparents up north (usually while watching kids TV classic Wackaday (another forbidden pleasure.)

LondonCooking Verdict:

The honey monster has nothing to fear from his vegan competitors.

Spelt popples are utterly bland, without a doubt more like styrofoam than anything else I’ve ever tasted.

Honey Monster Foods 1 – Amisa ‘Special Diet Nutrition’ – 0

More classic Sugar Puff ads, ooh… and buy the T-Shirt (you know you want to – it’s just £2, and for charidee, after all.)

On the other hand, the less said about Honey’s rap duet with Samanda (‘Honey Love’) the better.