SouthseaScene

I love my cupboard curry, which often comes out after seeing a lot of leftover potatoes or wilting spinach that needs eating. Ingredients 1 medium onions chopped 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin, ground 1 tsp coriander seed, ground Spinach Potatoes, cubed 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 can of chickpeas Fry the onion with the cumin and coriander for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the potatoes and chickpeas, garlic and curry powder, mix. Add the spinach and let it all wilt. If the mixture is too dry, add half a glass of water, or 150ml. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste and serve with fluffly white rice.

A new curry house, A Pinch of Spice, proves to be an exciting new restaurant to try. My friends, Karen and Dom, introduced me to the place. Last Friday night I had the most delicious Mumbai Mango King Prawn. The mango sauce was so divine! Another dish I like there is the Handi Gosht made with the most tender lamb. It's not a cheap curry place, my dish and lemon rice, plus a couple of beers cost me about £20. But it's a nice change from the usual. Next Friday night, try it.

So on 30th April, next week, Portsmouth will submit a bid to be the UK City of Culture 2017. This is a joint bid with Southampton. The writers of the bid, poet Sam Cox and writer Sarah Cheverton, have been busy asking various people about what they think culture is and how we can make 2017 a fantastic 'year of the culture' in Portsmouth. I think in the last couple of years Portsmouth has been gaining momentum in asserting itself to be a big player in the UK when it comes to tourism. Portsmouth, and with this I do mean Southsea and its wider surrounding area, has been slowly putting itself on the map of culture. For a number of years Portsmouth has hosted the hugely successful Portsmouth Festivities and Music in the Round, an international chamber music series. Portsmouth people have also been busy celebrating our literary heritage. From Dickens to Conan-Doyle, Kippling and countless others. We have a lively literary community in Portsmouth and last World Book Night saw a

Hello, After a long sojourn, I'm back with some new recipes which I have tried and tested on a few people. The Easter holidays offered a respite after a very busy few months after Christmas. So lunch was relaxed and one afternoon I made this soup because we have been eating a lot of spinach lately and there is a pack languishing in the fridge. I happened to read an article in the Telegraph Magazine about the production of Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese and this recipe was on it. I made some modification to make it for 2 people instead of 6 on the recipe and here's my version: Spinach and Parmesan Soup for 2 people: 5g butter half an onion thinly sliced 300 grams spinach 50 grams grated Parmiggiano Reggiano a pinch of salt 1 medium potato thinly sliced 200 ml water Parmesan shavings to garnish balsamic vinegar Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sweat the onion until translucent (about 3 minutes) then add the spinach and stir until it's wilted