Dear LPG readers,

I have chosen the very beginning of July to showcase what I can do this month, and perhaps it was the result of the truly hot and sunny weather we have been experiencing lately, but I found a recipe that I couldn't get wrong.  This is how confident I was in my ability to get this one right.  The instructions for this recipe could not have been more precise, and with only three ingredients to worry about, I was convinced this would be a complete success.

I must say that this was one of those recipes that would make an excellent addition to any vegetarian diet, although I know all my taste testers to be the sort of people who would seriously miss the taste of a bit of protein.   

As I keep emphasising, and I am not trying to brag here, I have never so far managed to follow any one of my recipes with absolute accuracy and, despite this one’s minimal number of ingredients and straightforward method instructions, I did not manage to break the habit of my Independence Day attempt-history on this occasion either.  

I have to admit that, firstly, after tasting it myself, I cheated a little by deliberately dropping a packet of those mini barbequed chicken wings into the air fryer so that I could pop a couple onto each plate before serving (you will notice how I skilfully missed that detail from my picture). I have to be honest and tell you that I took my eye off the ball for a few minutes, which could have had near-disastrous results for the beans.  They were in the soak for a bit longer than prescribed, too, but apart from that, I got away with it.

And so to August,  and I thought it might be a good idea to give myself as much preparation time as possible for this one.  On August 31st, I plan to introduce my hopefully authentic version of a Malaysian dish called Nasi Lemak.  I look forward to having another go at attaining international Independence Day perfection (well as near to it as I can muster)…

CB, Lewisham.

CB has found some Malaysian instructions for those who want to cook along in August…

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