Cooks Online Oh Let Us Unite

Thanks to Masterchef and the recession (the one that has given Australia a little shake and smack on the bum while making most other economies in the world bedridden), cooking at home and writing about food, cooks etc seems to have become the new national past time. One that has captured not just the regulars i.e. Gourmet and Delicious magazine subscribers and Beanscene readers, but the professional chefs (cheves?) and OK magazine readers have all gotten on board (hi there Fi)

As a result, I have found that articles discussing food and food shows outside the usual media have increased. For example, now we are concerned about the origins of the Australian Masterchef show which is quite different from its UK parent. Then we are concerned about what Masterchef has turned us into. Now we even think that particular foods can prevent us from catching Disease-Of-The-Day like the Swine Flu (oh ye much maligned porky, how I pity your name being dragged in mud):

Swine flu? Try kimchi
THE Korea Tourism Organisation has found the silver lining in the swine flu cloud, using it as an excuse to spruik the benefits of kimchi, the incendiary national dish of fermented cabbage. The "kimchi cure" was first noticed during the avian flu outbreak, when Koreans suffered low infection rates compared with neighbouring countries; subsequent tests by Korean scientists established that kimchi fed to chickens has an inhibitive effect on the virus, probably due to the ingredients of ginger, green onions and garlic. The scientists also found that the more fermented (and sour) the kimchi, the more effective it was. It's certainly tastier than Tamiflu, anyway.

- Espresso, Epicure 23 June 2009

Now I have just found out that chefs are going online and becoming Twits (oh jeez - do you call them Twits or a group of cooking Twat, as Good News Weekend guests wondered?) to share their cooking challenges, triumphs, failures, expeditions and techniques of the day. Restaurant critics have too joined the game, along with a growing crowd of eaters talking to Gourmet Traveller via @gourmettweets.

As a blogger not a Twitter (or a Twit, or a Twat) , I find the idea of constantly updating your status in no more than 140 characters challenging. Even a waste of time if not for it being used as a mode of serious communication to the world at the moment (think Hudson River plane landing, Indian hotel attack, Iran protests etc). If, among other things, it helps with people becoming better cooks and appreciating the fact that chefs, even the ones who look good on TV, are just mere mortal beings, then I cannot dispute that it has some merit (darn).

For an example to illustrate the inadequacy of 140 characters, I tried a new recipe from the new little chunky 'Vegie Food' book this week and thought it worked very well:

Heat 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp unsalted butter together, then add 2 tsp black/brown mustard seeds, and cook until seeds start to pop. Add 2 thinly sliced leeks and cook gently for 5-8 minutes or until softened. Stir in 500g thinly shredded cabbage (most abundant in winter; I used Savoy as I prefer its flavour to other types of cabbage) and cook over low heat for 4 minutes or until it wilts and softens. Season cabbage well, add 1 tbsp lemon juice (again, abundant in winter; make sure you microwave lemon for 30 seconds and then roll it about a bit with your hands before you cut & squeeze the lemon to get maximum amount of juice) and 5 tbsp creme fraiche , and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in 2 tbsp chopped parsley (which has loads of iron and necessary taste-wise to complete this dish) and serve immediately. Serves 4 - 6 as a side.