Something very unusual has happened in my kitchen. The fridge is barren and the cupboards are bare...a highly unprecedented event! I'm a pretty organised shopper (thanks to years of training from my lovely Mum who has an entire second pantry designed to provide back-up supplies should the first line of food defence fall!) but somehow this week the groceries just haven't gotten done. As a result, we have no rice, no pasta, no potatoes and no onions...can you imagine?! These are the start of virtually every meal I might want to make - you must have starch (this is definitely NOT a no-carb household!) and there must be some kind of allum to start things off. If I'm honest, I should have made the effort to go to the shops tonight but it was wet and cold and I had to let some builders into the flat so, well, here we are. And while the temptation of take-out was very strong, I have resisted that urge and instead raided the freezer. The results are pretty hopeful!
Tucked in the back of my freezer I've found a container of frozen cooked rice (hurrah!) and - coup of coups - a bag of pork that I had wisely marinated a couple of weeks earlier (it had been frozen rather than used because I ran out of time before the due by date rocked along). I've also managed to find a sad, drooping half leek in the vege drawer and there's half a bag of baby spinach - the sole nod to greenery in the house. So, tonight we will be having Hoisin Honeyed Pork with Spinach and leek fried rice sprinkled with crispy garlic and ginger. Not too shabby for a house devoid of food!
Ah, my freezer, we'd be lost without you!
Thursday 25 February 2010
Monday 22 February 2010
Jack Frost returns...and he brings with him his trusty side-kick, Frosty the Snowman
Yep, that's right...just when we were starting to feel a glimmer of hope that winter might be fading away (it was down-right sunny on Saturday!), winter comes back to kick you in the arse with its frosty toes. It snowed pretty heavily all damn day yesterday and that meant comfort food was going to be very high on the agenda last night (although, if I'm honest, pretty much all food is comforting to me so I could have had a salad and potentially achieved a similar feeling of succor. Tis unlikely though, since, as that stalwart of cartoon comedy Homer Simpson has been known to chant, 'You don't win friends with salad'!). You do, however, win friends with my sausage casserole (as long as said friends aren't vegetarian. You could make this sauce with some pinto or navy beans though, and it would be pretty damned comforting). It's my own slightly modified version of an Alison Holst devilled sausage recipe and I've honed it to what I (modestly) think is perfection over the years. Here 'tis, in all its warming glory. Best served on giant piles of fluffy, garlicky, well-seasoned mashed potato, but also good on rice (which is how we had it because I'd used the last of the spuds making soup for lunch) and with a mandatory green vege on the side.
Sausage Casserole
6-8 proper sausages (we got ours at the Richmond market from this small independent producer and they were, as Rick Stein has been quoted as saying 'really very good'!)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic (it is winter after all!), chopped
1-2 apples (technically you should use cooking apples here, but I use whatever I have to hand and it always turns out well), chopped into 1cm cubes
1 heaped tsp ground cumin (although I was, shockingly, out of ground last night and had to use whole cumin seeds instead. This also worked rather well. Can't believe I was out of grd cumin though - it's easily my favourite spice! Quelle horreur!)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dijon (or other) mustard
1 and 1/4 cups water
salt/pepper
Heat a large casserole on the stove top and gently fry the onion, garlic and apple in some oil until softened and just starting to brown. Add sausages and cumin and fry for 30 secs or as long as it takes you to do the next step. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in the order listed (that will stop the cornflour going lumpy) and add to the casserole. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for an hour. Feel free to be fancy and toss through a handful of chopped parsley if you must, but this is by no means necessary.
If you don't have a stove-top casserole dish, you can make this in the oven simply by bunging all the ingredients together in an oven proof dish and cooking (covered) at 180degC for 1-1 1/2 hours.
If I'm feeling super lazy and want a meal that can be shovelled in one-handed, then I slice the sausages into bite-sized rounds - either before cooking or after (after is actually easier). Then you can do away with the knife and eat this while curled on the sofa watching something truly trashy on the box! Comfort with a capital C.
Sausage Casserole
6-8 proper sausages (we got ours at the Richmond market from this small independent producer and they were, as Rick Stein has been quoted as saying 'really very good'!)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic (it is winter after all!), chopped
1-2 apples (technically you should use cooking apples here, but I use whatever I have to hand and it always turns out well), chopped into 1cm cubes
1 heaped tsp ground cumin (although I was, shockingly, out of ground last night and had to use whole cumin seeds instead. This also worked rather well. Can't believe I was out of grd cumin though - it's easily my favourite spice! Quelle horreur!)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dijon (or other) mustard
1 and 1/4 cups water
salt/pepper
Heat a large casserole on the stove top and gently fry the onion, garlic and apple in some oil until softened and just starting to brown. Add sausages and cumin and fry for 30 secs or as long as it takes you to do the next step. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in the order listed (that will stop the cornflour going lumpy) and add to the casserole. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for an hour. Feel free to be fancy and toss through a handful of chopped parsley if you must, but this is by no means necessary.
If you don't have a stove-top casserole dish, you can make this in the oven simply by bunging all the ingredients together in an oven proof dish and cooking (covered) at 180degC for 1-1 1/2 hours.
If I'm feeling super lazy and want a meal that can be shovelled in one-handed, then I slice the sausages into bite-sized rounds - either before cooking or after (after is actually easier). Then you can do away with the knife and eat this while curled on the sofa watching something truly trashy on the box! Comfort with a capital C.
Thursday 18 February 2010
Masterchef!!
Yay - it's back!
My god these bloody judges piss me off though...in every damn version of this show I've watched they've put through pretty women with less-than brilliant skills over men (or older and/or less attractive women) with much better skills. I almost feel tempted to take up that age-old British tradition of writing a stern letter of complaint to the BBC about it...
Ooh I'm hungry!
My god these bloody judges piss me off though...in every damn version of this show I've watched they've put through pretty women with less-than brilliant skills over men (or older and/or less attractive women) with much better skills. I almost feel tempted to take up that age-old British tradition of writing a stern letter of complaint to the BBC about it...
Ooh I'm hungry!
Just an ordinary day
The other day I made the NY Times' fried rice recipe, and I mentioned after doing so that I make my own version of fried rice quite a bit. I've since realised that I have never actually given my recipe for this dish. We have it fairly regularly and it's a great family meal and a great, easy thing to knock up after work. It's also (I think) infinitely nicer than the super-greasy fried rice dishes you're likely to get at the local Chinese takeaway.
For 2 people, you'll need between 1 1/2 and 2 cups of cold cooked rice - it must be cooked and it must have been done the day before. I prefer basmati, but whatever you have is fine. The cold aspect makes the grains separate properly. If you use freshly cooked rice it will turn into a giant fluffy/clumpy pile and that's not at all what we're looking for here.
You can make this as a vegetarian dish if you want, simply by only adding vege (and maybe some roast cashews for crunch and protein) but we typically have it with chicken. You need to marinate the chicken to achieve the best flavour so: chop 1 large (fresh range, organic or welfare approved) chicken breast into small slices/chunks. Mix in a small bowl with 1-2 cloves of garlic (depending on how anti-vampire you're feeling), about 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger, a good glug (that's about 2 tbsp for those who prefer precision in their cooking) sweet soy sauce*, 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp sherry or Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp sesame oil. I also sometimes add a chopped spring onion and/or some red chilli. Neither are essential, but both are nice. Now, I have used measurements there, but really, a marinade is a marinade and frankly I've never measured the making of one in my life and it always turns out well. If you want to measure do, but that takes some of the ease out of things - just eye-ball it and leave it in the hands of the cooking gods!
Then, chop a bunch of vege...whatever you've got. I always include more garlic, onion of some kind (spring, red, white) and then whatever vege is lurking around the bottom of the vege drawer in the fridge. Peppers work well, brocolli chopped small enough is good, green beans, carrot, corn (baby or regular) are all good. I usually add mushrooms but then have to pick them out of my lad's dish since he's anti-fungus. At a pinch you can make this successfully with nothing but some onion and frozen peas and corn. You want to chop the vege into small pieces - bite sized and I do mean small dainty bites. Makes it easier to shovel in one handed, but also speeds up the cooking process.
Beat an egg then fry into a thin omelette using a little bit of oil. Remove from pan and slice into shreds. Heat some more oil and stirfry vege till cooked but still crisp. Remove from pan. Heat a tiny bit more oil and add chicken (draining from marinade) - stirfry until browned on all sides (doesn't matter if it's not 100% cooked at this point - it'll finish as the rice warms through). Add the cold rice and stir through the chicken so it picks up all the flavoured bits on the bottom of your pan/wok. Return vege to pan with the leftover marinade and stirfry to combine. Turn heat down a bit and stir occasionally until rice is piping hot. Taste and add a glug or two more sweet and/or regular soy sauce. Throw egg strips back in and voila! You're done.
You can add what you like to this, which is one of its best features. Last night I had some mung beans and coriander lurking in the fridge, so they went in with the egg, but it really is just as tasty when there's very little left to eat. Filling, healthy, tasty - what more could you want from a week-night standby?
* Sweet soy sauce can seldom be bought in supermarkets in the UK, at least as far as I can find, so you'll have to go to your local Asian grocery. It's sometimes known as Kecap Manis. If you can't get it, just add a bit more normal soy and a healthy tbsp of brown sugar or honey. This is just as nice.
For 2 people, you'll need between 1 1/2 and 2 cups of cold cooked rice - it must be cooked and it must have been done the day before. I prefer basmati, but whatever you have is fine. The cold aspect makes the grains separate properly. If you use freshly cooked rice it will turn into a giant fluffy/clumpy pile and that's not at all what we're looking for here.
You can make this as a vegetarian dish if you want, simply by only adding vege (and maybe some roast cashews for crunch and protein) but we typically have it with chicken. You need to marinate the chicken to achieve the best flavour so: chop 1 large (fresh range, organic or welfare approved) chicken breast into small slices/chunks. Mix in a small bowl with 1-2 cloves of garlic (depending on how anti-vampire you're feeling), about 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger, a good glug (that's about 2 tbsp for those who prefer precision in their cooking) sweet soy sauce*, 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp sherry or Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp sesame oil. I also sometimes add a chopped spring onion and/or some red chilli. Neither are essential, but both are nice. Now, I have used measurements there, but really, a marinade is a marinade and frankly I've never measured the making of one in my life and it always turns out well. If you want to measure do, but that takes some of the ease out of things - just eye-ball it and leave it in the hands of the cooking gods!
Then, chop a bunch of vege...whatever you've got. I always include more garlic, onion of some kind (spring, red, white) and then whatever vege is lurking around the bottom of the vege drawer in the fridge. Peppers work well, brocolli chopped small enough is good, green beans, carrot, corn (baby or regular) are all good. I usually add mushrooms but then have to pick them out of my lad's dish since he's anti-fungus. At a pinch you can make this successfully with nothing but some onion and frozen peas and corn. You want to chop the vege into small pieces - bite sized and I do mean small dainty bites. Makes it easier to shovel in one handed, but also speeds up the cooking process.
Beat an egg then fry into a thin omelette using a little bit of oil. Remove from pan and slice into shreds. Heat some more oil and stirfry vege till cooked but still crisp. Remove from pan. Heat a tiny bit more oil and add chicken (draining from marinade) - stirfry until browned on all sides (doesn't matter if it's not 100% cooked at this point - it'll finish as the rice warms through). Add the cold rice and stir through the chicken so it picks up all the flavoured bits on the bottom of your pan/wok. Return vege to pan with the leftover marinade and stirfry to combine. Turn heat down a bit and stir occasionally until rice is piping hot. Taste and add a glug or two more sweet and/or regular soy sauce. Throw egg strips back in and voila! You're done.
You can add what you like to this, which is one of its best features. Last night I had some mung beans and coriander lurking in the fridge, so they went in with the egg, but it really is just as tasty when there's very little left to eat. Filling, healthy, tasty - what more could you want from a week-night standby?
* Sweet soy sauce can seldom be bought in supermarkets in the UK, at least as far as I can find, so you'll have to go to your local Asian grocery. It's sometimes known as Kecap Manis. If you can't get it, just add a bit more normal soy and a healthy tbsp of brown sugar or honey. This is just as nice.
Saturday 6 February 2010
Nigella would be proud...
Well, it's another grey, miserable Saturday here, and I've spent almost the entire day watching Gilmore Girls on DVD (well, that and helping Andrew change the rear suspension springs on our car but, to be fair, my assistance in that regard was limited to cranking the various jacks up and down). Late in the afternoon I got a yen to bake and the results are possibly the least healthy banana muffins ever. They started out as Nigella's butterscotch banana muffins, but half-way through the mixing process, a tiny voice in my head thought 'why limit myself to just adding chunks of butterscotch fudge'? I blame Gilmore Girls - all my bad food decisions stem from watching that show.
So, what I've ended up with are banana, butterscotch, white chocolate and marshmallow muffins. They're practically a coronary in a bun, but I think Nigella (with her love of all foodie things kitschy and tacky) would be seriously proud!
So, what I've ended up with are banana, butterscotch, white chocolate and marshmallow muffins. They're practically a coronary in a bun, but I think Nigella (with her love of all foodie things kitschy and tacky) would be seriously proud!
Friday 5 February 2010
One for the carnivores
Last night's dinner was, if I do say so myself, a rather spectacular success. It's such a great feeling when things go really well in the kitchen, isn't it?! Such great pay-off...delicious food, full tummies and a general feeling of contentment!
I'd bought a small shoulder of lamb (bone in - New Zealand lamb. I have no qualms buying NZ lamb because A. All NZ sheep are entirely free-range and pasture fed, and B. I know for a fact that the food miles argument is inherently flawed when it comes to NZ food produce. So it was a happy discovery to find NZ lamb on special at Sainsbury's this week!) and wasn't sure what to do with it. I've never bought lamb shoulder before, but I fancied a challenge.
After a chat with mum, I decided slow-cooking was the best path to take. I made a spice paste (garlic, ginger, chilli, oil, toasted whole coriander and cumin seeds, smoked paprika, garam masala, tomato puree and salt), massaged the meat with it, threw it in my large Le Creuset with about 1 tbsp water and stuck it in the oven at 150degC for 3 and a half hours. It was, quite simply, wonderful. Meltingly tender and soft, with just the right amount of spice. I served it with some cooked vege and homemade naan breads and that was it - sort of a vaguely Indian-take on Mexican fajitas I suppose. Really delish.
And the extra bonus is that, today (after teaching decidedly apathetic undergrads for 6 hours) I can turn the rest of the lamb into a Thai massuman curry in about 5 mins flat! All I need now to make tonight perfect is a nice cold beer...bliss.
Oh, and hey - Happy Waitangi Day (NZ national day) on Saturday!
I'd bought a small shoulder of lamb (bone in - New Zealand lamb. I have no qualms buying NZ lamb because A. All NZ sheep are entirely free-range and pasture fed, and B. I know for a fact that the food miles argument is inherently flawed when it comes to NZ food produce. So it was a happy discovery to find NZ lamb on special at Sainsbury's this week!) and wasn't sure what to do with it. I've never bought lamb shoulder before, but I fancied a challenge.
After a chat with mum, I decided slow-cooking was the best path to take. I made a spice paste (garlic, ginger, chilli, oil, toasted whole coriander and cumin seeds, smoked paprika, garam masala, tomato puree and salt), massaged the meat with it, threw it in my large Le Creuset with about 1 tbsp water and stuck it in the oven at 150degC for 3 and a half hours. It was, quite simply, wonderful. Meltingly tender and soft, with just the right amount of spice. I served it with some cooked vege and homemade naan breads and that was it - sort of a vaguely Indian-take on Mexican fajitas I suppose. Really delish.
And the extra bonus is that, today (after teaching decidedly apathetic undergrads for 6 hours) I can turn the rest of the lamb into a Thai massuman curry in about 5 mins flat! All I need now to make tonight perfect is a nice cold beer...bliss.
Oh, and hey - Happy Waitangi Day (NZ national day) on Saturday!
Thursday 4 February 2010
New York Times Fried Rice
I spotted this recipe yesterday on my daily wanderings through the internet's foodie pages ( http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/dining/27mini.html?ref=dining ) and thought it sounded like just the thing for a working-from-home lunch. I've just finished scoffing the my attempt and it really was pretty damn delicious!
What you do is this: Fry about 1 tbsp freshly chopped ginger and a couple of cloves of chopped garlic in some oil until they get all crispy (do this over a medium heat so they brown slowly rather than burning to a singe instantly). Remove and drain on a paper towel while you gently cook about half a chopped leek in the (now flavoured) oil. Once the leek is soft, add about 1 1/2 cups of cold, cooked rice (I used basmati because I had that in the fridge. I always, deliberately, cook too much rice) and stir-fry until piping hot (about 4 mins? You need it HOT. Rice is considered to be one of the major perpetrators of food poisoning, so cook it good folks!) Now, at this stage I suspect I should have added some salt to the rice and leeks. I didn't, and I do think it needed it. Up to you whether you want to do this...
Remove the rice and leeks to a warmed plate/bowl, add a splash of oil to the pan and fry an egg so that it stays slightly soft in the middle (not a huge fan of uber runny eggs, so mine was probably slightly more over-cooked than the original recipe called for, but you might as well eat what you like, right?). Serve the egg a-top the lovely pile of leeks and rice, sprinkle with your reserved crispy bits of garlic and ginger. Then drizzle a couple of tsp of soy around the edge, and 1 tsp sesame oil to finish. Yum yum yum. So simple, but also actually a really well-balanced lunch (carb, protein, a nod to vege...).
I like that this is so simple. I make fried rice a lot, but usually turn the egg into an omelette which I then chop and stir through at the end, and I add a lot more vege. Here the rice is the star and it really is worthy of centre-stage (though it would be nothing without its crispy back-up singers!). Oops, enough waxing lyrical about the wonders of rice...it really wouldn't do to start poetically waffling in a Nigella-like fashion! But do give this a shot, and let me know what you think!
What you do is this: Fry about 1 tbsp freshly chopped ginger and a couple of cloves of chopped garlic in some oil until they get all crispy (do this over a medium heat so they brown slowly rather than burning to a singe instantly). Remove and drain on a paper towel while you gently cook about half a chopped leek in the (now flavoured) oil. Once the leek is soft, add about 1 1/2 cups of cold, cooked rice (I used basmati because I had that in the fridge. I always, deliberately, cook too much rice) and stir-fry until piping hot (about 4 mins? You need it HOT. Rice is considered to be one of the major perpetrators of food poisoning, so cook it good folks!) Now, at this stage I suspect I should have added some salt to the rice and leeks. I didn't, and I do think it needed it. Up to you whether you want to do this...
Remove the rice and leeks to a warmed plate/bowl, add a splash of oil to the pan and fry an egg so that it stays slightly soft in the middle (not a huge fan of uber runny eggs, so mine was probably slightly more over-cooked than the original recipe called for, but you might as well eat what you like, right?). Serve the egg a-top the lovely pile of leeks and rice, sprinkle with your reserved crispy bits of garlic and ginger. Then drizzle a couple of tsp of soy around the edge, and 1 tsp sesame oil to finish. Yum yum yum. So simple, but also actually a really well-balanced lunch (carb, protein, a nod to vege...).
I like that this is so simple. I make fried rice a lot, but usually turn the egg into an omelette which I then chop and stir through at the end, and I add a lot more vege. Here the rice is the star and it really is worthy of centre-stage (though it would be nothing without its crispy back-up singers!). Oops, enough waxing lyrical about the wonders of rice...it really wouldn't do to start poetically waffling in a Nigella-like fashion! But do give this a shot, and let me know what you think!
Tuesday 2 February 2010
My food Everest...
I've decided on a new, immediate food goal...or rather, I'm adding this goal to the ever-growing list!
One thing I love, but have never successfully made, is spaghetti carbonara. I have never once managed to make it in such a way that the eggy, cheesy, creamy sauce becomes thick and unctuous and coats the pasta lovingly. Instead I almost always end up with bacon and scrambled eggs mixed through pasta. Not appetising and frankly, just not right!
Now, I realise this is far from being my problem alone - in fact, I'm sure there are many support groups and message boards out there in the world wide web, offering a place to cry with similarly incapable cooks who have just wasted £4 worth of organic smoked bacon and £3 worth of Parmesan. But it's a problem I've decided I simply must overcome. I will, therefore, be putting my waist and sanity on the line and will try as many different variations of carbonara until I find one that works every time.
I will conquer you spaghetti carbonara...as god as my witness, I'll never eat scrambled egg pasta again!
One thing I love, but have never successfully made, is spaghetti carbonara. I have never once managed to make it in such a way that the eggy, cheesy, creamy sauce becomes thick and unctuous and coats the pasta lovingly. Instead I almost always end up with bacon and scrambled eggs mixed through pasta. Not appetising and frankly, just not right!
Now, I realise this is far from being my problem alone - in fact, I'm sure there are many support groups and message boards out there in the world wide web, offering a place to cry with similarly incapable cooks who have just wasted £4 worth of organic smoked bacon and £3 worth of Parmesan. But it's a problem I've decided I simply must overcome. I will, therefore, be putting my waist and sanity on the line and will try as many different variations of carbonara until I find one that works every time.
I will conquer you spaghetti carbonara...as god as my witness, I'll never eat scrambled egg pasta again!
Monday 1 February 2010
Recipe #3...a sweetly spiced success!
Hurrah! Victory! One of the recipes for this week has been a success, yay! Contender no. 3 was the spiced parnsip soup and I have to say, I'm definitely happy with the results. Parnsips make a creamy, silky soup which just flirts with the edge of 'too sweet', but which has a really interesting earthy flavour - a revelation!
This soup is pretty easy so give it a go next time you have an abundance of parsnips...
Sweat 1 lge onion and 2 cloves garlic in a generous bit of butter (and a wee splash of oil to stop the butter burning). Once they're soft but not brown, add about a tsp of freshly chopped ginger, 1 tsp coriander seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds (both whole. You could probably use ground spices, but I personally like the texture of the wee bits of spice seed. Plus the whole spices are much more intense), 1 tbsp garam masala and 6 peeled and chopped parnsips. Fry off for a minute or so to get the spices going, then cover with about a litre of stock (vege was what the original recipe called for, but I had just made fresh chicken stock - after Saturday's gastro-pub meal extravaganza - so I used that. Use what you have and when in doubt, water with some salt!). Simmer for about half an hour or until the parnsip is soft. Puree entirely so it is smooth, return to pot and add as much cream as you feel you can without feeling guilty (the original recipe was for 150ml...I'd used most of my wee pot of cream in the previous night's meal, so I only had half the amount though I threw in some creme fraiche to make up the difference). Season and serve sprinkled with chopped coriander, chopped red chillis and some toasted whole cumin seeds.
I think this is a great alternative to pumpkin soup which is of course a winter favourite. The parnsip is perhaps a tiny bit sweeter, so you do need all the spices to sort of even that out I think, but it's really very good. Hope you try it and like it! (Oh, and this makes loads, but I think it freezes well...although you might not want to add the cream until you serve if you plan to freeze it because reheating will very likely split the cream). If you were having an indian themed dinner party, this would be a nice soup to start I think...
So, not a bad few days of new recipes. I shall hunt out another couple to try this week...I'm determined to find some more new favourites!
Oh, and the whole pot-roasted chicken with potatoes boulangere etc etc meal the other night...? Very delicious. It smelt amazing while it was cooking and after one small bite of chicken, Andrew turned and exclaimed on its deliciousness, so that's really the best compliment, isn't it?! The potatoes weren't terribly successful (I always always always split the sauce when making any sort of potato bake...tips on how to avoid this?!?) but they tasted better than they looked and were a delicious way to mop up the creamy sauce. The meal was completed by the destruction of a pottle of Haagen Daas Dulce De Leche icecream...bliss. I really need to get on the exercycle....! :-P
I tried to get all fancy with the photo taking, and attempted to mimic the picture in the magazine. Unfortunately my chillis started to sink before the pic was taken, and the olive oil wasn't extra virgin so it just looks like I dribbled vegetable oil over the soup (not pretty). Ah well.
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