food

I have always loved animals, sometimes more so than people honestly. If you compare the behavior of some individuals to that of your pet, you can't help but feel that animals can be much kinder than some humans.

I know I'm not the only person who feels this way; bearing that in mind, it seemed very strange to me that given the circumstances, some animal-lovers, while very kind to animals, looked at them in two completely different ways. The first: kind, cute, harmless ANIMALS. The second: delicious, juicy, medium-rare DISH OF THE DAY. Basically, they have the ability to transform according to their surroundings, in this case, a Restaurant or a Petting Zoo.

Why do some people who adore animals, feel completely fine with eating them?

1. Disassociation

The horsemeat scandal has been making the headlines for some time now and has been on everyone's mind. At first glance, I couldn't fully grasp the extent of the problem; I thought it was being blown way out of proportion. I'm an (on/off) vegetarian so to me personally, eating horsemeat is no different than eating beef, same principal really.

Accordingly, my focus was on the manipulative intent behind the whole issue rather than the product "ingredients". As I read more on the issue, I started to understand the different aspects related to this whole situation. Obviously there is an overall negative reaction to this issue; however it is fueled by different motivations and concerns.

As I see it:

- Main Parties involved: - Consumer
                                             - Businesses
                                             - Food Standards Agency (FSA)

For food lovers, today is one of the best celebrations of the year- Pancake Day. Historically known as Shrove Tuesday, the second Tuesday of February has traditionally been used as a final day to gorge on food before the restraint and fasting of lent begins.

However, these days few people in the UK still fast during lent and today has instead become simply the perfect excuse to eat so many pancakes that you can hardly stand up.

British pancakes are not quite like any other country's. They are much larger and thinner than American pancakes, but slightly thicker than French crêpes. Below you can find a really simple recipe to make perfect British pancakes.

Step 1: Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the two eggs. Add a little of the milk/water mix and start whisking the mixture with a fork or balloon whisk. 

Lizzi Burrows is a chef with experience in Michelin-starred kitchens. In this new series of posts she will be giving recipe ideas perfect for students. First up, pea and ham risotto:

People shy away from risotto, thinking it's a difficult dish to make, but it's really not complicated and it's an ideal meal for students- healthy, cheap and super tasty! The trick is a good base of flavour to the risotto and carefully chosen main elements. This pea and ham risotto is one of my favourites and is perfectly finished off with a kick of mint and a rich soft poached egg.

As part of India Week, we are trying a different Indian dish for lunch every day this week. Each day we will be eating something from the menu at Masala Zone and will be reviewing it for you. Today's dish is Bhel Puri.

And so we reach the final day of our adventure through Indian lunches. After four days of different spices, meats, vegetables, rices and sauces, we have unfortunately reached Day Five. For this final hurrah, Bhel Puri was on the menu. It had been described as a ‘crunchy salad' to us, and so we walked in expecting large, crisp leaves of lettuce and some crunchy curried veg. What we got, was very different.

We were met by piles of what looked almost like Rice Krispies. It was in fact puffed rice, mixed with sev, tamarind chutney, peanuts, tomato, onion, cucumber and mint. It was served cold, but the spices in the dish made it one of the hottest meals of the week. Usually eaten as a starter or a snack, the whole thing came to £4.05.