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A Modern Rose

Light Meals and Weekend Treats from an English Woman in Berlin

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Seafood Chowder

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This Seafood Chowder is the perfect recipe to rustle up for St. Patrick’s Day! I am a big fan of a chowder although I am aware that I typically make mine more New England style. Even though my husband is half Irish and I should be supporting his Irish roots, I can’t help but be a little fonder of the American rival – a delicious New England Clam Chowder. I love the taste of the clams with some added sweetcorn for that little sweet touch. Yet an Irish style chowder is delicious and different in it’s own way. I like to use a mix of different fish but you can easily make this with a selection…

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Lemon and Parsley Crispy Baked Cod

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For me midweek meals have to be all about convenience yet something nourishing. I always admire those who have weekly meal plans scheduled for breakfast, lunch and dinner and while we stick to one big shop a week with a shopping list and a meal plan we don’t have it planned out for the entire week. Our working week can often result in us being out at events or away with work a lot. In fact the last couple of weeks my husband and I have rarely been at home together on a week night with some weeks resulting in both of us using…

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Spaghetti Vongole

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When it comes to food, autumn has to be my favourite time of the year! From the start of the root veg creeping into the supermarkets, juicy pumpkins lined up ready to be turned into a delicious soup or sweet yet nutty butternut squash to make the perfect warming salad , to the run up to Thanksgiving, this time of the year is about celebrating good food and making the most of those cosy evenings. While I do not actually celebrate Thanksgiving I am each year inspired by American food bloggers. It is a time to sit down with family and friends over good food and make the most of the autumn’s produce….

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Salmon and Cod Fishcakes with a Tartare Sauce

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I once took a couple of leftover fishcakes to work for lunch the next day. Once cooked in their breadcrumbs they don’t really freeze that well but do keep their shape and taste by popping them in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. I take a pot of Tartare Sauce and a simple salad to serve with them, heating the fishcakes in the microwave for just a couple of minutes. It was when a colleague asked me what I was having for lunch that I realised the term fishcakes is something slightly odd to anyone not accustomed to this very British dish! As soon as I muttered the word ‘fishcake’ …

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Squid Ink Risotto with Prawns, Scallops and Squid

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Squid ink always remind me of a holiday. We spent our honeymoon in the Amalfi Coast where I enjoyed a beautiful dish of squid ink spaghetti with mussels and clams. One of my favourite memories of eating this silky, black ink is from a trip to Dubrovnik where it was simply smeared onto the plate under a pile of grilled and tender octopus. For our first wedding anniversary dinner in Madrid last year I had a wonderful dish of squid risotto with a load of squid ink drizzled on top….

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Smoked Mackerel Pâté

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I am fully embracing the festive season! This is my favourite time of the year and I love the idea of bringing everyone together around the table with good food. It is one of the reasons why I admire America’s Thanksgiving, especially the way that they embrace all the autumnal seasonal produce to create a big feast with family and friends. Christmas is our time to do the same and it really is a special occasion. My husband and I always head back to the UK over Christmas but we still make the effort to have special dinners and nice treats at home in Berlin in the lead up to Christmas….

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Classic Fish Pie

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I think after the news this week, we could all do with a little comfort food this weekend. I had one guy tweet me this week saying that he wishes more women were at home baking treats like myself, that a woman’s place is in the kitchen (I assume that he means the kitchen at home seeing as the top leading chefs in the world are mostly men and women are of small numbers in their kitchens…). I would like to point out that actually I have a full time career in digital marketing…

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Irish Chowder

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! After getting married last year I decided to double-barrel my name to Silford-McLoughlin and today I have already had quite a few skype messages and emails being signed off with ‘Happy St. Patrick’s Day!’. This has never happened before. But seeing as I am now a bit Irish by marriage I might aswell use this as an excuse to join in with the celebrations tonight after work! …

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