Chicken and Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables

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Gochugaru Girl co-leads a women’s Fellowship Group. In some countries, this is called a Cell Group. For anyone unfamiliar with these terms, it is not what you think. No one is obsessed with The Ring or is My Precious. Neither has it anything to do with Biology or imprisonment.

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Our group meets weekly to study certain passages from the Bible and to pray for each other. Once a term, we have an extended session ending with lunch. The only way to manage the catering without getting hysterical is to do some of the preparation ahead of time.

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Chicken Congee

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Gochugaru Girl is going to the airport this afternoon to receive her parents, who are travelling in from the Far East. For their light supper, after a long flight, she has prepared the one dish that sends chills down the spine of Mr Gochugaru, who did not grow up eating it.

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I am, of course, referring to porridge or congee. This is very unlike the porridge you get from oats, rather it is made with rice. It is the one dish we Orientals instinctively turn to when under the weather. Indeed, congee is so easy to digest that it is ideal for everyone from toddlers to the elderly.

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Strawberries dipped in Chocolate

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Gochugaru Girl has guests tonight and the pressure is on because they are French, and they know and love their food. Since she does not like to repeat menus she has to think extra hard.

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I have a strategy, though, sitting in the refrigerator, in the form of champagne and some Montagny from Burgundy. If the whole show gets off to a good start, then the conversation and laughter will flow.

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Carrot and Orange Soup

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Gochugaru Girl is not much of a gardener. This is because there is not much of a garden where she lives, close to the centre of London. About the only thing which can be accommodated in the tiny patio is a large tub of herbs. Even then she has to worry about voracious insects that attack the tender leaves with impunity.

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If God had put me in the Garden of Eden with the task of working it and keeping it, I wonder if I would have risen to the challenge. I suspect I would have said to Adam that, actually, God had asked him to manage the horticultural side of things. Remember, I am merely his helper*.

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Banana, Walnut and Cardamom Cake

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Gochugaru Girl loves baking cakes, but the nature of city life means that there is often not enough time to fuss about with complicated recipes. Neither does she want to give in to instant but inferior-tasting cake mixes.

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One of my favourite cakes is banana cake, owing to its accommodating nature. It is possible to make a plain banana cake, or to add one or several complementing ingredients into the batter before baking. An additional advantage is that all the overripe bananas hanging around the fruit bowl, attracting interest only from fruit flies, can be put to good use.
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Honey Citron Mini Bundts

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Gochugaru Girl is always on the lookout for marmalade, as this is Mr Gochugaru’s favourite thing to spread on toast. It is almost certain that he rates how civilized a country is simply by its ability to produce jam made with oranges.

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The World Cup starts today I am wondering which team to support. Since I am not a football fan, I might as well choose on the basis of a jam tasting. At the moment we have three types of marmalade on the go – from Korea, France and England, although one is technically a tea.

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Red Velvet Birthday Cake

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Gochugaru Girl is not easily frightened by cakes. An exception is the Red Velvet Cupcake, which she and Mr Gochugaru first came across whilst shopping for plates in Notting Hill. The shop assistant, taking a quick break, bit into the reddest cake we have ever seen.

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This kind of cake poses many questions.

How does a cake get to be so red?

Does it taste of cake?

If I eat it, will my tongue be stained?

Worse, would my wee look red?

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Maltesers and Minstrels Chocolate Cake

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Gochugaru Girl has to switch to Über-woman mode in June, as there are three family birthdays to celebrate, as well as Father’s Day on the third Sunday of the month. Then the extended family arrive from the Far East for their annual summer vacation.

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When I find myself short of time but in desperate need to impress, I turn to the recipes that never fail.

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Get out of Jail Free

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Gochugaru Girl has a glass jar filled with samples from renowned beauty brands. Each time she passes a stand in a department stall offering a free sample, she pops it into her handbag and retrieves it for a one application use at a later date.

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This afternoon, after exchanging my deceased Alessi kettle for a new one, I had to walk along Brook and South Molton Streets in order catch my train at Bond Street tube station. You need an iron will to walk ahead towards your goal. Like Monopoly, if you pick the wrong Chance card, the consequences are severe: ‘Go to Jail – Move directly to Jail – Do not pass “Go” – Do not collect £200’.

In this case, the jail is a financial jail.

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