iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

@phaidonpress.bsky.social publishes great cookbooks, including Salma Hage’s The Lebanese Cookbook. The recipe for chicken and pomegranate is a weeknight winner - warming spices in a tangy & mildly acidic sauce (I pre-salted the chicken as there is not a marinating step). Effortless and delicious.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I love Su Li’s recipes (@nytimes.com Cooking) & her fab personality. Su Li’s lemony shrimp & bean stew is a breeze to make, comforting & savoury, which is what I need as I work late drafting an opinion. Highly recommend this recipe - it’s on the excellent NYT Cooking app & their YouTube channel. 🦐

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

For those interested…double-aloof (Capricorn sun, Aquarius rising, and born on the cusp of Capricorn and Aquarius) and a suitable colour palette.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

The turkey chilli in Josef Centeno & Betty Hallock’s #Amá is warming, flavourful & a breeze to make, even if you don’t have leftover roasted turkey meat (use a combo of minced turkey & beef). This cookbook is also the name of their Tex-Mex restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, which I 💖 & recommend.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

There have been many posts about @nigella.bsky.social’s chicken and orzo stew. In midwinter New Zealand I now attest to its warming and bolstering properties. It also freezes well. A great recipe.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Quince is my favourite fruit. Every autumn I either receive a windfall from friends or purchase them at a farmer’s market. Without fail, I make Maggie Beer’s pot-roasted quinces, which can be frozen with the syrup. An ambrosial fragrance wafts through the house during the low, slow cooking time.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Leah Koenig’s Portico is a great book on Roman Jewish food. Like many cities, Rome has had many migrant communities. This Libyan stew is an example of that - although I left out the zucchini. A stew of chicken, chickpeas potatoes and paprika. Comforting and fortifying on winter’s day.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

For a potluck with friends - the theme of which was “world peace” - I made Najmieh Batmanglij’s quince stew, served on saffron rice (chellow). Fragrant, deep flavours, and a sweet/sour complexity for those who enjoy such combinations. My friends were warmed from the inside and at peace. 🕊️

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

I 💖 Anna Del Conte’s grilled radicchio with chicory. The garlic, caper, anchovy & balsamic vinegar dressing is complex & palate-pleasing. If using chioggia, soak for 30mins to soften the bitterness (still deliciously bitter, though). I often make it without chicory but sometimes add blood oranges.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

I made a mini version of Samin Nosrat’s pane criminale as it was too tempting to pass, & I was impatient to wait for an occasion that called for a large loaf of bread. The addition of parmesan cheese to this garlic bread delivers a noticeable savoury edge. A breeze to make & a very good thing.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

First day of autumn in the southern hemisphere - whatever seasons mean anymore. Dove into Musa Dağdeviren’s lamb and bean casserole (kuru fasulye) from the epic & peerless The Turkish Cookbook. Some heat from chillis, dried chilli peppers & capsicum pepper paste. Canned cannellini beans work well. 🍽️

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

After breaking down a duck for the first time ever (more blood(?) than expected) to make the duck ragù recipe in the cookbook Via Carota (named for Rita Sodi’s & Jody Williams’ restaurant in Greenwich Village, NYC), I had a carcass left over, so I made stock. Future enrichment & nourishment.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

The real beauty of Jody Williams’ & Rita Sodi’s pisi all’anatra (pisi with duck ragù) is its texture - silky due to the slow-cooked & shredded duck & use of duck fat. I used busiate instead of homemade pisi, & it was a breeze to make. I recommend this ragù & the chefs’ cookbook Via Carota.

Recipe calls for 3 duck thighs. I broke down a duck & had 2 thighs (obvi). I used one of the breasts but rendering some of its fat before following the recipe & then applied the breast with the thighs as provided by the recipe.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

I’ve loved Claudia Roden’s cookbooks (loose term) for ~25 years. I am still cooking through many bookmarked recipes for the first time. Chicken in a spicy honey sauce from “Med” harkens to a Moroccan dish in her legendary “The [New] Book of Middle Eastern Food”. Warming, fragrant & nourishing.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

The fennel gratin in @nigella.bsky.social’s great work Cook, Eat, Repeat is pitch-perfect, inviting & glamorous. The book itself is replete with insight, guidance, candour, humour & generosity. The application of white vermouth is inspired as its herbal quality brings out the best in fennel. Repeat.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I followed the recipes for extra coconut cake and salty vanilla frosting by #alisonroman. Wonderful. I love the flavour of coconut, & this cake delivers on that, using flaked coconut in the moist, dense layer cakes & toasted coconut chips to adorn the frosting. The cake went down a treat at work. 🍰

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Diana Henry’s play on spaghetti with meatballs is cheeky & delicious. It’s made with a pork sausage filling (rolled into tiny meatballs), shortcut Italian American red sauce & amplified with fennel (in the sausage filling plus seeds, vegetable & fronds). I froze the leftover sauce & meatballs.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

@kitchenbee.bsky.social meant it when she said that, with the aid of a food processor, her pickled ginger lamb keema takes 45-mins to make from start to finish (mostly simmering). I substituted fresh ginger for pickled & eschewed the peas but otherwise stayed true. Beautifully aromatic & warming.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

I had never heard of charkhkis phkali until I read Diana Henry’s Roast Figs, Sugar Snow, which must have been 20 years ago now. I became obsessed with it, and the appetiser/dip of roasted beets, garlic, walnuts and fresh cilantro (coriander) has been a staple for gatherings at home & potlucks since.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Made with pigeon, squab & poussins, this Egyptian dish is rich in aroma & luxe in taste; a dialled-up roast chicken. This was the first Claudia Roden recipe - Hamam mahshi bil burghul - I cooked (in 2002!) & still cook. I was introduced to bulgur wheat & a world of recipes awaiting my discovery. 💖

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

I was put on to Anna Del Conte’s writing by way of @nigella.bsky.social many moons ago & have since been an avid reader & cook of her recipes. Vegetables all’Italiana is a font of vegetable-forward dishes, like this simple & comforting gratin made with chard stalks, cheese & breezy white sauce.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

After finally buying & moving into my new home & a few trying weeks of intense caseloads, I can carve out space & time to settle with (& eventually cook from) the long-awaited Green Mountains by the very brilliant and engaging @edentravels.bsky.social. The perfect respite for week-end & inspiration.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

#VonDiaz has a nurturing, soulful & weeknight-friendly recipe for asopao de pollo (chicken & rice stew) in her exquisite book #CoconutsandCollards. The sofrito base instantly charges the stew with a lingering heat. If you keep sofrito & stock on hand, this is a snap to make. Delicious & soothing.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

@domenicacooks.bsky.social is one of my favourite food writers, particularly of contemporary Italian cuisine. I’m either consulting her or Anna Del Conte for knowledge & inspiration. This fennel recipe that was published at www.themediterraneandish.com/roasted-fenn... is perfection. Trust Domenica.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Jeremy Salamon offers an alternative to the delicious Hungarian classic chicken paprikas: shrimp paprikas! A labour of love if made with unpeeled shrimp (as in my case). The buttery shrimp shell-based sauce pairs both hauntingly & naturally with paprika. Second Generation is filled with many gems.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

It was thrilling, moving & enchanting to hear @alisonmoyet.bsky.social & her band in Auckland tonight on her Key Tour. An amazing show with beautiful renditions of her own music over an impressive career. One of my favourite voices in the world - a privilege to hear her live & bask in her energy.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

I went to @bar_ama twice when I was recently in Southern California. Outstanding Tex-Mex food & drinks - thoughtful use of local ingredients. I had the sunchokes with mimosa twice & made broccolini torrada from the book when I returned home. Leftover torrada was also stirred into sauteed bok choy. 🙌

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Re-reading Really Saying Something: Sara & Keren - Our Story by Keren Woodward and Sara Dillon (#Bananarama). So many nuggets of memories, generous wisdom and good humour. A laugh-out-loud funny and insightful memoir by 2 women who lived, breathed and evolved beyond the 80s music scene.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

I’ve been cooking from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by #ClaudiaRoden for 20+ years, picked up from @nigella.bsky.social’s bibliography in How to Eat. Great blueprints for stuffed vegetables - incl. here: lamb, carnaroli rice, warm spices, fresh & dried herbs, dried fruit & pine nuts. Comfort.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

The home-style tofu (jiachang doufu) in @fuchsiadunlop.bsky.social’s informative & generous The Food of Sichuan is a textural delight. This dish proves tofu’s versatility (amazing how it holds its shape after being fried & then cooked further in liquid) & the heady fragrance of Sichuanese cooking.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

I 💖 Andy Baraghani’s take on kufteh tabrizi (large Persian-style meatballs), which he unconventionally cooks in a mildly-spiced tomato sauce. I have found it best to cook the sauce first & longer than the recipe says to concentrate the sauce before adding the meatballs. Now one of my staples.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Turning 47 next month. My body is akin to Dutch oven for long braises - thicc bottom & sturdy sides. Currently resetting my metabolism while the courts are closed - by the end of the year I hope to be a sleek Danish-designed enameled pot: reliable, less thickness in both sides & bottom. 😵‍💫😜

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

My top 10 cookbooks of 2024 (not ranked): Bahari, Dina Macki Islas, Von Diaz Sebze, Özlem Warren Le Sud, Rebekah Peppler Vegetables, Mark Diacono Sunlight & Breadcrumbs, Renee Erickson Bayou, Melissa M. Martin Taboon, Hisham Assad Kismet, Sara Kramer & Sarah Hymanson Flavorama, Arielle Johnson

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Nice to shake things up. A leg of lamb is great, but try Lior Lev Sercarz’s leg of lamb with warm spices, beets & pomegranate juice (for basting). I also made his salad of red grapes, goat cheese & camaremlised walnuts - a refreshing keeper. Delicious delights on my holiday table this year.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

With more turkey leftovers I followed the method of @nigella.bsky.social’s former agent, Ed Victor, and his turkey hash. Granted I diverted from his recipe massively - aubergine, celery, carrot, chilli crisp oil, spices - but the method is sound. More leftover for breakfast tomorrow.

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Reposted by Shaun M

Nigella Lawson @nigella.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

It’s gone all Christmassy on nigella.com! Recipes, ideas and the launch of this year’s Christmas Pudding Hunt on this link: www.nigella.com/latest/seaso...

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Thanksgiving leftovers are a treat, & I love @nigella.bsky.social’s application of turkey in a Vietnamese-style salad. I opted for celery instead of sugar-snap peas & bean sprouts, not caring much for either. It was still fresh, savoury, crisp, spicy & bright. Recipe in her great work: “Feast”.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Thanks to a heads up at @nigella.bsky.social’s Cookbook Corner, I’ve been looking for Hisham Assad’s Taboon. I love & cook from his 1st book, Bayrut. Great work like this centres food & culture & also fosters the understanding that we have more in common with each other than divisive voices shout.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

I love KCRW’s Good Food with @evankleiman.bsky.social’s broadcast/podcast & recommend the recent Thanksgiving episode. Arielle Johnson’s pumpkin pie spice with grains of paradise & cardamom reminds me of @markdiacono.bsky.social’s creative applications of spices in his excellent book Spice.

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Shaun M @kitchenaglow.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

I had the pleasure of dining at Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans in January. Chef Melissa Martin’s new book, Bayou, contains one of the dishes I ate there & have been thinking about since: pickled shrimp. Clear instructions, bright flavours, beautiful texture. Magnificent restaurant & cookbooks.

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