I haven't been cooking much lately - or at least very little of any interest. The main reason for this is that I've been busy preparing for a big job interview (and then celebrating getting that job!) but it's also been really hot here the past few days (I say really hot - what I mean is about 25 degrees which I'm aware is not at all 'really hot', but rather is a pleasant summer climate, but it is quite literally the hottest weather we've experienced since moving to the UK nearly 2 years ago. As a result, we've been wilting as our poor bodies have readjust to the sight and feel of sun!). I just don't fancy spending a lot of time in the kitchen when it's 'really' hot - and I'm fairly sure that if I lived in a genuinely hot climate I'd die of starvation because of my reluctance to get near the oven!
I made my Thai beef salad last night and it really did hit the spot - especially when eaten on the balcony, basking in the late evening sun and washed down with a nice cold lager. Bliss.
I've also started packing my kitchen. Almost everything in terms of pots and pans etc has been packed into boxes, with just my wok-style frypan and my largest pot remaining (and the dishes to eat from, obviously). This is going to pose some interesting culinary challenges over the coming few days, so there might yet be something interesting and kitchen-related to write about. I'll keep you posted.
And finally, my garden is quite literally growing before my eyes now that the sun has decided to show its face. It's really rather exciting and I can't wait to get down south and plant some beans in the ground!! My friend who is coming to visit this weekend is also bringing me another tomato seedling, a yellow courgette seedling and a pumpkin seedling (grown from seeds she rather deviously smuggled into the UK when she returned from her latest trip to NZ! Hurrah - proper pumpkins on the horizon perhaps?!). I'm also fairly sure that in a few weeks we will have our first harvest of potatoes. I've never seen something grow so quickly and they are starting to bud into flowers so expect to read about my first ever home-grown potato and herb salad soon! Yum yum yum.
And that, I'm afraid, is all I have today. I will willingly take your best recipe offerings for summer fare, as I am eternally optimistic that this year will be Britain's hottest summer on record (and I have no intention of starving when that happens!). Anything that doesn't involve shrimps/prawns/shellfish is welcomed....
Sunday 23 May 2010
Monday 17 May 2010
And so, the search for the perfect roll continues...
...although we might be pretty close to a winner. You'll remember my rant about the revolting stale state of bread affairs here in the UK? Well, I recently came across a recipe for onion seed hotdog rolls which came highly recommended and I thought I'd give it a bash...to see if they turned out as the rave review suggested they would. The review in question came from a wonderful Australian woman called Janie who has her own website called Masterchef Reject (which, by the way, is pure genius and well worth a visit! www.masterchefreject.com ) but the recipe itself belongs to a man by the name of Dan Lepard who writes for the Guardian as a baking expert (his website has the recipe, so I'm not going to reproduce it here).
Both Dan and Janie recommended these buns as brilliant carriers of sausages, so that's how I served them too. The buns were really fresh out of the oven (because I'd misread the instructions and didn't realise they had to rise for an extra hour longer than I'd planned. As such, they came out of the oven about 5 mins before we ate - piping hot! Mmm) and really quite delicious! You add quite a large quantity of sauteed onions to the dough and that gives them this gorgeous sweet oniony flavour. I only added the onion seeds on top, whereas Dan suggests putting them into the dough proper - up to you really. The seeds lend a Turkish/Middle Eastern vibe to the overall flavour I think. I will say, though, that next time I make these (and there will definitely be a next time) I'm only going to use white flour. I did as Dan recommended and added 1/5 wholemeal, but I just don't think it adds anything to them. They'd be much nicer soft and squishy and devoid of nutrients in true white bread style! Oh, and you probably shouldn't use red onions for this. I did, and while they tasted fine, they did add a rather purple tone to the buns which I don't think was the recipe inventor's intention! White flour and white onions all the way!
I served my outdoor reared pork sausages with sage and garlic in the rolls with a super quick tomato chutney (made at the last minute when I realised we were out of ketchup/tom sauce. Actually the chutney was much nicer. I cooked 1/2 a red onion with 1 tsp sugar, added 4 quartered ripe tomatoes and a clove of garlic, a pinch of ground all spice, 2 tbsp or so more sugar, a splash of red wine vinegar and some salt. It was really good!). I've included a photo, but really, it doesn't do justice to the buns or the meal itself. There's just no glamorous way of photographing a sausage (and you can take whatever dodgy sounding double entendre from that you like!)!! :-P
Both Dan and Janie recommended these buns as brilliant carriers of sausages, so that's how I served them too. The buns were really fresh out of the oven (because I'd misread the instructions and didn't realise they had to rise for an extra hour longer than I'd planned. As such, they came out of the oven about 5 mins before we ate - piping hot! Mmm) and really quite delicious! You add quite a large quantity of sauteed onions to the dough and that gives them this gorgeous sweet oniony flavour. I only added the onion seeds on top, whereas Dan suggests putting them into the dough proper - up to you really. The seeds lend a Turkish/Middle Eastern vibe to the overall flavour I think. I will say, though, that next time I make these (and there will definitely be a next time) I'm only going to use white flour. I did as Dan recommended and added 1/5 wholemeal, but I just don't think it adds anything to them. They'd be much nicer soft and squishy and devoid of nutrients in true white bread style! Oh, and you probably shouldn't use red onions for this. I did, and while they tasted fine, they did add a rather purple tone to the buns which I don't think was the recipe inventor's intention! White flour and white onions all the way!
I served my outdoor reared pork sausages with sage and garlic in the rolls with a super quick tomato chutney (made at the last minute when I realised we were out of ketchup/tom sauce. Actually the chutney was much nicer. I cooked 1/2 a red onion with 1 tsp sugar, added 4 quartered ripe tomatoes and a clove of garlic, a pinch of ground all spice, 2 tbsp or so more sugar, a splash of red wine vinegar and some salt. It was really good!). I've included a photo, but really, it doesn't do justice to the buns or the meal itself. There's just no glamorous way of photographing a sausage (and you can take whatever dodgy sounding double entendre from that you like!)!! :-P
Thursday 13 May 2010
And another...it's been a ranting kind of day. I think I'm tired..
FYI, university students of North-East England, "A scene shows her sat in a chair" is not grammatically correct. At all. It's not even close. And just because you all choose to speak that way doesn't make it grammatically correct. It certainly doesn't give you licence to bring that appalling use of language into your damn essay writing! "A scene shows her sitting in a chair", dammit. SITTING!!!!
I mean for christ's sake. This is primary school shit isn't it?!
Arrrghhh!
I need a drink. You might find me "sat here" with a beer in my hand very soon.
I mean for christ's sake. This is primary school shit isn't it?!
Arrrghhh!
I need a drink. You might find me "sat here" with a beer in my hand very soon.
Sharing a Rant...
Dear Good Food Magazine:
Let me just start by saying, I'm a subscriber and I really enjoy your magazine every month. It has lovely, easy-to-follow recipes as well as providing inspiration in the kitchen, so I'm a big fan.
However, I was really disappointed when I came across an article on your website called '20 ways to live a greener life". The first entry on that list claimed that apples from New Zealand (among other imports) add huge emissions to the global carbon footprint as a result of their 'food miles'.
As a New Zealander (who does care passionately about eating seasonably and sustainably) reading off-hand comments like that in a publication as popular as yours really troubles me. If your staff had done some research into the food miles debate, they would have found that there have been studies showing that food exported from New Zealand around the world in fact has a lower carbon footprint than a lot of things produced in the UK and in Europe. New Zealand is a country which is fortunate enough to have a climate well suited to all manner of livestock and produce production and as a result, our agricultural practices are highly efficient and low in carbon consumption. Here - by all means read a summary of one such report if you don't believe me: http://www.ruralenterprisesolutions.co.uk/content/industryreports/viewitem.aspx?artID=4624
I'm sure if you wrote to Caroline Sauders she'd be happy to provide you with a copy of the original article.
The truth is that the food miles debate has become an outdated myth to a large degree (even your own government has accepted that it got the issue wrong based on more current research) and there are much more effective ways of centring the discussion around sustainability without unjustifiably bagging an entire nation's agricultural industry. New Zealand farmers don't receive subsidies for their efficiently grown produce, and in an awful lot of sectors of that industry, they grow it more sustainably than their counterparts on this side of the world.
It's important that you remember what an influence a publication like yours can have on consumer patterns and I would urge you to remember that sometimes research is needed into issues like food miles, rather than just a constant (rather ignorant) rehashing and of tired, out of date arguments. The issue of global sustainability is really important, so we do need to be aware of these issues, but perpetuating an out of date myth only clouds the issue and prevents us from taking the time to calmly and objectively debate the very real, ongoing problems we face. In fact, the intensive farming practices of producing livestock for meat in the States and in Europe contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of global transport combined (see: Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, among many others) - in the UK we should be more concerned about the fact that certain dairy companies want to replicate the American system here and establish giant, highly intensive, indoor dairy farms. These will do more damage to the UK's 'carbon footprint' than all the apples from New Zealand ever could.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth. I just wanted to bring this to your attention.
Thanks again for an otherwise excellent magazine.
Jessica Bain
Let me just start by saying, I'm a subscriber and I really enjoy your magazine every month. It has lovely, easy-to-follow recipes as well as providing inspiration in the kitchen, so I'm a big fan.
However, I was really disappointed when I came across an article on your website called '20 ways to live a greener life". The first entry on that list claimed that apples from New Zealand (among other imports) add huge emissions to the global carbon footprint as a result of their 'food miles'.
As a New Zealander (who does care passionately about eating seasonably and sustainably) reading off-hand comments like that in a publication as popular as yours really troubles me. If your staff had done some research into the food miles debate, they would have found that there have been studies showing that food exported from New Zealand around the world in fact has a lower carbon footprint than a lot of things produced in the UK and in Europe. New Zealand is a country which is fortunate enough to have a climate well suited to all manner of livestock and produce production and as a result, our agricultural practices are highly efficient and low in carbon consumption. Here - by all means read a summary of one such report if you don't believe me: http://www.ruralenterprisesolutions.co.uk/content/industryreports/viewitem.aspx?artID=4624
I'm sure if you wrote to Caroline Sauders she'd be happy to provide you with a copy of the original article.
The truth is that the food miles debate has become an outdated myth to a large degree (even your own government has accepted that it got the issue wrong based on more current research) and there are much more effective ways of centring the discussion around sustainability without unjustifiably bagging an entire nation's agricultural industry. New Zealand farmers don't receive subsidies for their efficiently grown produce, and in an awful lot of sectors of that industry, they grow it more sustainably than their counterparts on this side of the world.
It's important that you remember what an influence a publication like yours can have on consumer patterns and I would urge you to remember that sometimes research is needed into issues like food miles, rather than just a constant (rather ignorant) rehashing and of tired, out of date arguments. The issue of global sustainability is really important, so we do need to be aware of these issues, but perpetuating an out of date myth only clouds the issue and prevents us from taking the time to calmly and objectively debate the very real, ongoing problems we face. In fact, the intensive farming practices of producing livestock for meat in the States and in Europe contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of global transport combined (see: Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, among many others) - in the UK we should be more concerned about the fact that certain dairy companies want to replicate the American system here and establish giant, highly intensive, indoor dairy farms. These will do more damage to the UK's 'carbon footprint' than all the apples from New Zealand ever could.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth. I just wanted to bring this to your attention.
Thanks again for an otherwise excellent magazine.
Jessica Bain
Wednesday 12 May 2010
And also
I'm feeling incredibly smug about my balcony garden success at the moment. My salad potatoes (I think the variety was Swift?) are nearly flowering and look so healthy! I have absolutely no bloody idea whether healthy foliage in a potato plant correlates to the actual production of tubers, but I remain ever-hopeful!
The other plants (aside from my magic beans which remain magic...I expect to find a giant at the top any day now) are all looking a bit sad and disgruntled but frankly I'm looking much the same. We had SNOW flurries here yesterday, folks. SNOW. Not much, and granted it didn't stick around, but it is still cold enough in mid-May for freaking snow. My wee botanic babies can't wait to move south to Toaster (and nor can I!).
The other plants (aside from my magic beans which remain magic...I expect to find a giant at the top any day now) are all looking a bit sad and disgruntled but frankly I'm looking much the same. We had SNOW flurries here yesterday, folks. SNOW. Not much, and granted it didn't stick around, but it is still cold enough in mid-May for freaking snow. My wee botanic babies can't wait to move south to Toaster (and nor can I!).
Reformed Risotto Haters
I meant to make a spring vege and chicken soup with fresh bread for dinner tonight, but I got distracted marking essays (hard to believe really!) and forgot to make the bread, so I had to revise that decision. Instead I decided to go with a risotto - partly because I've got risotto rice that I bought ages ago and never used and I'm trying to empty the pantry, and partly because I've been meaning to give risotto another bash. To be perfectly honest, I've never really been a huge fan of risotto. I find it pretty uninspired and texturally unappealing, but part of me feels as though I should like it. Everyone else seems to love risotto, so what's wrong with me that I don't?! Anyway, in an effort to cull my pantry supplies (because I don't want to shift more stuff than I absolutely must) I decided tonight was the night.
But - and this is a big but, dear reader(s) - I'm also rather lazy and had no desire to stand around gently stirring or massaging the damn rice in whatever poncy ridiculous fashion you're meant to (I don't, for the record, find such activity soothing or a time to unwind or whatever. It's a pain in the arse and let's just call a spade a spade!). So I gave an 'oven baked risotto' a bash. It was chicken, broad beans, pea, asparagus and tomato risotto and I have to say, I really rather enjoyed it! You basically saute onion (and in my case garlic - clearly I've demonstrated a strong addiction to garlic over the past months. I worry that I must smell like garlic sometimes because I use it in virtually everything. That's normal though, right? Everyone uses garlic all the time??) in oil and butter, add the rice and then some hot stock and whatever flavours you are using, bung the lid on and stick the whole thing in a 200degC oven for 18 minutes (yep, you do actually have to time it) and when you bring it out, voila! Risotto of a sort.
I'm sure the Italians would string me up for such a dish, but I say bugger it!
Ooh, and here's a little teaser for the weekend. I'm going to make (wait for it) Whoopie Pies! Could there be a more delightful sounding thing?? I happened across them in my weird web wanderings and was just tickled by the name. And the concept sounds just disgustingly American enough to be good - you make soft cakey biscuits and then sandwich them together with marshmallow butter cream. Oh. My. God. It's sure to be a sticky sugary mess!
But - and this is a big but, dear reader(s) - I'm also rather lazy and had no desire to stand around gently stirring or massaging the damn rice in whatever poncy ridiculous fashion you're meant to (I don't, for the record, find such activity soothing or a time to unwind or whatever. It's a pain in the arse and let's just call a spade a spade!). So I gave an 'oven baked risotto' a bash. It was chicken, broad beans, pea, asparagus and tomato risotto and I have to say, I really rather enjoyed it! You basically saute onion (and in my case garlic - clearly I've demonstrated a strong addiction to garlic over the past months. I worry that I must smell like garlic sometimes because I use it in virtually everything. That's normal though, right? Everyone uses garlic all the time??) in oil and butter, add the rice and then some hot stock and whatever flavours you are using, bung the lid on and stick the whole thing in a 200degC oven for 18 minutes (yep, you do actually have to time it) and when you bring it out, voila! Risotto of a sort.
I'm sure the Italians would string me up for such a dish, but I say bugger it!
Ooh, and here's a little teaser for the weekend. I'm going to make (wait for it) Whoopie Pies! Could there be a more delightful sounding thing?? I happened across them in my weird web wanderings and was just tickled by the name. And the concept sounds just disgustingly American enough to be good - you make soft cakey biscuits and then sandwich them together with marshmallow butter cream. Oh. My. God. It's sure to be a sticky sugary mess!
Sunday 9 May 2010
'Hello, my name is Jessica and I'm an addict...'
I'm not sure Andrew knew what he was starting with my beautiful Christmas present but it seems to have set off an addiction to rather expensive kitchen ware! We were out and about today and happened across a Le Creuset shop...and, well, you can guess what happened. I got a salt pig (hurrah), sugar bowl, tea pot, milk jug and mixing bowl - and they're calling me on Wednesday to let me know if the cast iron shallow 26cm casserole in teal that I want has come in. I really shouldn't have, but it's all so pretty and lovely and there is something wonderful about having beautiful well-made kitchen ware to cook with.
I now have my eye on a Denby dinner set. And then a new good quality cutlery set. And then...
Pictures of my new acquisitions to come.
I now have my eye on a Denby dinner set. And then a new good quality cutlery set. And then...
Pictures of my new acquisitions to come.
Friday 7 May 2010
Fail
I cooked nothing today. No, actually, that's not true - I never cook nothing (double negative? I always cook something?). I made lunch and then for dinner I made homemade garlic-crumbed pieces of chicken with homemade lemony mayo, fries and a sort of vege dish which was really a bastardised ratatouille. But none of that counts as blog-worthy activity since it is normal Friday night dinner fare...it would be like me blogging about making sandwiches for lunch - not precisely world rocking!
I did, however, paint my nails a fabulously tarty red colour to cheer myself up. This isn't precisely blog-worthy either, but I felt I should write something today. I think my bearings must be a bit off though, because I now look like I've been attacked by a rather lopsided knife-wielding villain - I have splashes of shiny blood-redness all over my hands and instead of looking tarty and vampish, I instead look rather gory. Fail...
I did, however, paint my nails a fabulously tarty red colour to cheer myself up. This isn't precisely blog-worthy either, but I felt I should write something today. I think my bearings must be a bit off though, because I now look like I've been attacked by a rather lopsided knife-wielding villain - I have splashes of shiny blood-redness all over my hands and instead of looking tarty and vampish, I instead look rather gory. Fail...
Thursday 6 May 2010
Watching the clock - Part II
I have been told I will have to watch the clock another day yet. Sigh. On the upside, it's been a long time since my kitchen cupboard looked this tidy. Wait, I'll take a picture...see?
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I guess there are some benefits to sitting around waiting! Sorry about the pic quality...couldn't muster the energy to get the camera so I used my phone.
Tune in tomorrow and see what else has been cleaned whilst I wait...
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I guess there are some benefits to sitting around waiting! Sorry about the pic quality...couldn't muster the energy to get the camera so I used my phone.
Tune in tomorrow and see what else has been cleaned whilst I wait...
Watching the clock...
Today I am waiting. Tick tock tick tock. I loathe waiting for things. Not that I'm the kind of person that wants everything, like, 'Right Now', but I just hate waiting for the inevitable, like the phone call after a job interview. You know it's coming - whatever the result - and you can do nothing but wait until it does. Sigh.
Normally I would bake or play in the kitchen to distract me, but I'm out of most baking supplies. And so I watch the clock (and my cellphone) and wait...
My lunch today is going to be a sort-of vietnamese noodle salad: rice noodles, shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, mint and coriander, lemon juice and fish sauce and sugar and some avocado and cashew nuts. Food to soothe the worried soul...
Normally I would bake or play in the kitchen to distract me, but I'm out of most baking supplies. And so I watch the clock (and my cellphone) and wait...
My lunch today is going to be a sort-of vietnamese noodle salad: rice noodles, shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, mint and coriander, lemon juice and fish sauce and sugar and some avocado and cashew nuts. Food to soothe the worried soul...
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Mighty Beef Fajitas
Ok, I'm supposed to be prepping for the World's Biggest Interview tomorrow (I have been working on the presumption that it finishes at 2 which makes it 5.5 hours long, but have just realised that if I am last on the list then I will be at the interview day for 7 hours! 7 freaking hours?! Bloody hell. I am going to need a serious drink of something tomorrow night. Probably several drink of something, truth be told...)
Anyway. I have a schedule of terrifying organisation for today (Andrew couldn't stop laughing when I made it and proudly pinned it to the wall last night. Pah. I'll show him - I can be organised. Although, the fact that I currently have my email open, Facebook open and am writing a blog post might indicate he was right to snort...hm.) but I finished task 1 (practice my 'teaching demonstration presentation') early, so thought I'd engage in a little blogtivity until 10am (when task 2 - practice 'module presentation to staff' - is scheduled to begin). That gives me 8 minutes so I'd better type quickly.
This is my recipe for beef fajitas. You can make it with chicken instead. I don't know that you could make it vegetarian. Mexican recipes do often have fish tacos (soft, not crispy tacos) though, so potentially you could reinvent it for a fish fajita? I'm just not on board with tofu, so perhaps this will have to be left as a carnivores dish. It does, though, like all my meals, make a little meat go a reasonable distance. It's also super quick and easy and healthy so there's no downside as far as I can see. Again, I claim no authenticity for this recipe...it's just what I do and it works.
Beef Fajitas (serves 2)
300g lean beef (I usually use rump because it's cheaper than posh cuts, but use what you like)
1 small onion (red or white)
1 clove garlic
2-3 coloured peppers (I try to use a mixture of green, red and yellow, but that's purely for aesthetic reasons. Use what you have and it will be fine. Although, I do think the red and yellow are nicer taste-wise, because they are sweeter. Your call though)
1 generous tsp ground cumin
1 generous tsp hot smoked paprika (if you don't have this, use 1/2 tsp chilli and 1 tsp regular paprika. The smoked stuff just gives a nice smokey vibe but chilli and regular paprika is also fine)
1 tsp ground coriander
To garnish/serve:
flour tortillas
avocado slices
sour cream or creme fraiche
roughly chopped fresh coriander (optional - ie. if you have it in the house, great, if not, leave it out. No biggy).
Slice beef very thinly (super thin - you want it to cook in about 3 mins otherwise it starts stewing). Slice onions similarly thinly, crush the garlic and chop peppers into long strips.
Heat oil in fry pan until hot. Cook the vegetables until onions are soft and peppers are starting to soften. Remove vegetables from pan.
Heat a small amount of oil until smoking, add beef. You don't want to move it around too much for 30 secs - let it seal first. Then stir fry it a bit. Once it is starting to look like most of it has changed colour (it's ok for this to be rare - I prefer it that way), add all your spices plus 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine and cook about 30 secs. Add the vege. Stir and you're done.
Serve in warmed tortillas with the various additions. From fridge to table in literally under 10 minutes (even for a novice cook who wasn't that keen on being asked to help out last night!)
Ooh, and I'm 1 min over my time allocation so I'd better skedattle.
Anyway. I have a schedule of terrifying organisation for today (Andrew couldn't stop laughing when I made it and proudly pinned it to the wall last night. Pah. I'll show him - I can be organised. Although, the fact that I currently have my email open, Facebook open and am writing a blog post might indicate he was right to snort...hm.) but I finished task 1 (practice my 'teaching demonstration presentation') early, so thought I'd engage in a little blogtivity until 10am (when task 2 - practice 'module presentation to staff' - is scheduled to begin). That gives me 8 minutes so I'd better type quickly.
This is my recipe for beef fajitas. You can make it with chicken instead. I don't know that you could make it vegetarian. Mexican recipes do often have fish tacos (soft, not crispy tacos) though, so potentially you could reinvent it for a fish fajita? I'm just not on board with tofu, so perhaps this will have to be left as a carnivores dish. It does, though, like all my meals, make a little meat go a reasonable distance. It's also super quick and easy and healthy so there's no downside as far as I can see. Again, I claim no authenticity for this recipe...it's just what I do and it works.
Beef Fajitas (serves 2)
300g lean beef (I usually use rump because it's cheaper than posh cuts, but use what you like)
1 small onion (red or white)
1 clove garlic
2-3 coloured peppers (I try to use a mixture of green, red and yellow, but that's purely for aesthetic reasons. Use what you have and it will be fine. Although, I do think the red and yellow are nicer taste-wise, because they are sweeter. Your call though)
1 generous tsp ground cumin
1 generous tsp hot smoked paprika (if you don't have this, use 1/2 tsp chilli and 1 tsp regular paprika. The smoked stuff just gives a nice smokey vibe but chilli and regular paprika is also fine)
1 tsp ground coriander
To garnish/serve:
flour tortillas
avocado slices
sour cream or creme fraiche
roughly chopped fresh coriander (optional - ie. if you have it in the house, great, if not, leave it out. No biggy).
Slice beef very thinly (super thin - you want it to cook in about 3 mins otherwise it starts stewing). Slice onions similarly thinly, crush the garlic and chop peppers into long strips.
Heat oil in fry pan until hot. Cook the vegetables until onions are soft and peppers are starting to soften. Remove vegetables from pan.
Heat a small amount of oil until smoking, add beef. You don't want to move it around too much for 30 secs - let it seal first. Then stir fry it a bit. Once it is starting to look like most of it has changed colour (it's ok for this to be rare - I prefer it that way), add all your spices plus 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine and cook about 30 secs. Add the vege. Stir and you're done.
Serve in warmed tortillas with the various additions. From fridge to table in literally under 10 minutes (even for a novice cook who wasn't that keen on being asked to help out last night!)
Ooh, and I'm 1 min over my time allocation so I'd better skedattle.
Monday 3 May 2010
Cooking classes continue
We had our second cooking class experiment on Saturday. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure that the lad is as excited or interested in the process as I am, but he's playing along and seems to be happy enough to take up the kitchen reigns now and then. This time we cooked the meal that I'm pretty sure was the first thing my Mum taught me to cook all by myself: Spaghetti Bolognaise. Now, obviously, this is the Anglicised version at which (posh chefs tell us) genuine Bologna nonnas would have a heart attack, but we like it and it is an excellent dish for people who are learning the cooking basics. It's also good for someone like my lad who (perhaps - next week's job interview depending) might have to fare for themselves throughout the week. You can make one big batch and eat it on spaghetti, on rice (with the addition of a bit of chilli and some beans), on toasted rolls with cheese, on baked potatoes, in wraps...
Anyway, he did very well and so far has had no disasters. I'm going to make beef fajitas tonight and I think that I'll get him to cook them. Another easy meal - no more than about 5 mins of actual cooking, and not much more of chopping. Perfect food for the non-cook!
Hope your weekends have been sunny and food-filled!
Anyway, he did very well and so far has had no disasters. I'm going to make beef fajitas tonight and I think that I'll get him to cook them. Another easy meal - no more than about 5 mins of actual cooking, and not much more of chopping. Perfect food for the non-cook!
Hope your weekends have been sunny and food-filled!
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