Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum

"I'm thinking of going vegetarian, even vegan". Both my wife and I looked at each other incredulously. My daughter was also surprised. What my son had just said was as shocking as Donald Trump saying that he's been a closeted fan of Andrea Dworkin all his life. My son, vegetarian? Vegan???!!! This is the skinny lad who was wolfing down steaks with his mate less than two weeks ago. "Well, if it were down to me, I would have turned the whole family vegan long time ago." It was my wife's response now that made me laugh.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love vegetarian and vegan food. That is why I'm an omnivore. I get to experience the best of both worlds. But I like my meat. I can't hide it. Tonight, however, I am making an exception in order to post a recipe I came across whilst reading The Voice the other night. It sounds so yummy that I had to share it with you. This is the sort of fare I like tucking in and which I will be making at some point in the near future.

Baked Chickpea Burgers

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 8 burgers

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil (or canola oil)
8oz or 225g onions (finely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp ground cumin
2oz or 50g carrot (finely chopped or shredded)
7oz or200 g canned or cooked chickpeas (drained)
1 tbsp tahini (or peanut butter)
2 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
1oz or 25g chickpea flour (white)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
2tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Spray oil

Preparation

1. Sauté the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they soften.
2. Add the garlic, cumin and carrot and continue cooking for two more minutes.
3. Transfer to large bowl or food processor and add the chickpeas.
4. Mash or process until ingredients are combined.
5. Stir in tahini and parsley and lemon juice.
6. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in the small bowl, and stir into chickpeas.
7. Add flour to the bean mixture.
8. Flour your hands, shape mixture into four patties and dust them with flour. Fry in 1 tbsp
oil over medium-low heat for 1 minute, until just beginning to brown or spray with cooking
spray and cook that way for fewer calories.
9. Bake in a medium oven for 20-2 5 minutes or until golden brown.

The music to go with this groovy recipe must be equally groove-inspiring. That is why my first offer comes from Gorillaz, the animated invention of ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Still love this song after all these years.



Next up an oldie for those who are into reggae. I've always had a soft spot for Tosh's music. I still find it more radical than the more radio-friendly Bob Marley (no disrespect to Bob, by the way, but once you become a legend, your hard edges are softened to accommodate new tastes and audiences). This is foot-tapping music with a message.



The Unthanks get heavy play chez moi. As the clip below shows, there are many reasons: the harmonies, the arrangements, the risk-taking approach, It all adds layers of delicious musicianship to be enjoyed, preferably, with baked chickpeas burgers.



Last clip comes from my neck of the woods. I have followed William Vivanco's musical career closely for some years now. I'm glad he has carried on pushing boundaries and making it hard for others to pigeonhole him. I am sure that tonight's recipe has done a similar thing: vegan food has its own groove. That's why I'm an omnivore, remember?



Next Post: "Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On", to be published on Saturday 21st May at 6pm (GMT)

Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum

I haven't posted about avocado for a while. Four years to be more exact. So, I thought that with the mild temperatures we have been having in London and that early feeling of summer, what better food to have than a light lunch with avocado in the lead role? The recipe and photo were taken from The Guardian Cook supplement and they took it from the blog What Should I Have for Breakfast Today.

Avocado baked with an egg and chorizo

1 avocado
2 eggs
1 chorizo sausage, roughly chopped
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 slices of bread, preferably multiseed
2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop a little extra of the flesh out, so you can fit more egg into it. Break the first egg into a bowl. Using a spoon, place yolk in one half of the avocado, then carefully start to add white (you may not manage to add all the white). Season with salt and pepper, then repeat with the other egg and half of avocado. Place the avocado halves in a small baking dish that fits them snugly, so they won't tilt and the egg will not spill out – scrunched-up foil in the base of the dish helps to hold them level. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the white is opaque and the yolk is done to your liking. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the chorizo sausage pieces until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. Fry the slices of bread in the same pan, adding a little more oil if you need it. Serve the avocado on a plate with the sausage, seasoned with salt and pepper and a scattering of herbs, with toast on the side

The music to accompany this tasty recipe has to be equally savoury. My first offer is The Unthanks with a beautiful and enchanting melody, King of Rome. The arrangements are superb just like the combination of avocado and chorizo.



Magic is at the centre of cooking and magic is what makes music good music. Tiganá Santana came recently to my attention via Songlines magazine. Elizabeth Noon is one of those tracks that leave you licking your lips just like our recipe tonight.



There was a time when, if someone asked me who my favourite classic composers were,  I would say straight away: Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Chopin, Handel, Brahms and the others would follow closely after but it was mainly the first three that did it for me. Not anymore. Whilst I continue to love Beethoven and Mozart's oeuvre, it is into Bach's music that I have delved more over the years (especially after reading two biographies on his life and work) and which I find spellbinding and filling. Like avocado, which to me it's filling. The Prelude in C Minor is my way of explaining why Bach's music makes feel this way.



I live in Londontown and Bellowhead sing about London Town. So, it follows that if I want to sign off tonight with an uptempo number I should go for this band made of members of whom only one is from... Londontown. Enjoy.



Next Post: "Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music", to be published on Sunday 11th May at 10am (GMT)