Food AND THE City

Bistec Encebollado – Steak & Onions

2011-10-05T11:48:00.000+01:00

This is a spectacularly easy to prepare and nourishing one pot recipe. Perfect for the autumn nights ahead of us. A beef and onion casserole is easily transformed into something far more exciting with a quick- Puerto Rican inspired - sprinkling of spices.
The main reason this is a 'keeper' though is the convenience factor. Combine the meat and marinade ingredients the night before cooking or in the morning before work and leave in the fridge. On returning home pour contents into a large heavy based pan, add the stock and cook. Simple.
The cut of steak used is entirely your choice. Though I prefer to use a cheaper cut for this dish such as a shoulder steak.
This recipe calls for 'Sazon' seasoning which is a Hispanic seasoned salt, not readily available in the UK, so I make up my own batch. It's good flavoursome stuff and I'm keeping the remainder for future use. The recipe for the seasoning comes first.

Sazon seasoning (alternative)
Ingredients-
1 tbs salt
1 tbs ground black pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs oregano
2/3 tbs bright red paprika
Combine all the ingredients and store in an air tight container.

Bistec Encebollado
Ingredients-
900g (2lbs) beef steak, sliced thinly across the grain
60ml olive oil
60ml distilled white vinegar
pinch of oregano
1 1/2 tsp of home made Sazon seasoning
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
2 large onions, sliced into rings
400ml beef (chicken or vegetable will do too) stock
1 bay leaf
Seasoning
1. Place the beef in a Tupperware box and drizzle over it the oil and vinegar. Next sprinkle in the oregano, Sazon seasoning, garlic and the onion rings. Cover and refrigerate over night or for at least 4 hours.
2. Heat a large casserole dish or heavy bottomed pan on a high flame. Add the beef and marinade to the pan, stir and cook for 4 minutes whilst making up the stock. Pour in the stock and add a bay leaf to the pan. Bring the stock to a boil then turn the heat right down and cover the pan. Cook for 50 minutes. Season to taste.
Serve with rice, lime wedges and a scattering of coriander leaves. Provide some 'hot sauce'.

So good- I started eating before I took the picture!

Kadhai Murgh

2011-08-15T14:04:00.002+01:00

This is 'Kadhai' (Kar-a-he) Chicken, which means its a curry made in a big cast-iron pan called a 'Kadhai', but you can use a well seasoned wok, or a large non-stick lidded pan.

Serves 4

Main ingredients

-1kg chicken breast or boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I prefer it with thigh meat)- cut into 1 inch pieces

-3 tablespoons oil

-1 medium onion - very finely chopped

-5 cloves of garlic - peeled and very finely chopped

- 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger - peeled and very finely chopped

- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-3/4 teaspoon turmeric

- 6 tablespoons natural yoghurt

- 8 tablespoons tomatoes- chopped finely

for the final flavouring:

-big hand full of fresh corriander leaves - chopped

-2-3 hot green chillies - either chopped if you like it hot, or just peirced a few times and left whole

- 1 teaspoon garam masala

- 7 table spoons fresh tomatoes chopped finely

Heat oil in your pan over a medium-high flame. When oil is hot put in onion, Garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.

Add the salt, Cayenne pepper and turmeric. Stir once or twice, then put in the chicken. Stir and fry until the chicken pieces turn opaque on the outside.

Add the Yoghurt and tomato. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the yoghurt mostly disappears.

Cover and cook on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stir now and then to avoid sticking.

Stir in the final flavouring ingredients, cover again and reduce the heat right down low and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Serve with boiled rice, chappaties or some nan.

2010-06-09T20:08:00.005+01:00

Salmon in a light, fragrant broth

Ingredients

•400ml/14fl oz chicken or vegetable stock

•3 Kaffir lime leaves

•1 small onion or 3 shallots, peeled, finely sliced

•1 mild red chili, finely sliced

•4 big Chestnut mushrooms or preferably 100g oyster or fresh shiitake, finely sliced

•Half a Red or Yellow Pepper, sliced

•1 tsp caster sugar

•vegetable oil for frying

•2 lightly smoked salmon fillets, With or without skin

•sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

•2/3 inches of cucumber chopped lengthwise into thick matchsticks or 100g/3½oz baby spinach leaves

•1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

•1 tbsp fresh lime juice

•sesame seed oil

•handful of chopped coriander

1.Pop the oven on full whack. Bring chicken stock to the boil in a saucepan, I used 1 chicken stock cube. Add the Kaffir lime leaves, the sliced onion, chili, mushrooms, pepper slices and sugar. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for ten minutes with the lid on. Add the cucumber/Spinach in the last few minutes.

2.In the meantime, heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the salmon fillets, skin-side down if they have skin on them, on a low heat for a total of about 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan and place on a baking tray brush the tops with a little of the oil from the pan and sprinkle with some rock salt and black pepper and stick in the pre-heated oven for ten minutes. Place required amount of plates in the oven for the last minute.

3.Stir fry easy cook Noodles in the pan that contained the Salmon, as per the pack
instructions (You could use boiled rice). Remove from the pan and place on one of the pre-heated plates. With a slotted spoon and arrange the vegetables from the broth pan over the Noodles/Rice. Place the salmon on top.

4.Add the fish sauce and lime juice to the broth, stir, and spoon it over and around the salmon. Serve after drizzling with a little sesame oil, seasoning and sprinkling with chopped coriander.

2010-03-30T17:29:00.003+01:00

Lobster with Lemon Risotto

I wont be leaving a recipe here, this was my first attempt at using lobster and as successful as I think it was I have no point of reference as the last time I had lobster in a restaurant was years ago (I've still not visited either Silver Darling or Bistro Verde). Also much to my shame it was a ready cooked lobster and not a live one. Next time I will definitely be using fresher produce! My risotto was good but that was a bit of a cheat as I used a company that have the flavorings added in the rice, in this case lemon peel , black pepper and a number of other herbs.

Here are some picture:

2010-03-20T09:15:00.000Z

Lemon Meringue Pie.

Ingredients:

125g soft salted butter, 6tsp water / 1tsp lemon juice mixed, 200g plain flour, Grated zest of 1 small orange

Juice of 2 good lemons + 350ml cold water, 3 eggs, 120g sugar, 45g corn flour, 200-250g caster sugar.

Method:

1. To make the pastry: beat the butter with an electric hand mixer. Beat in the lemon juice mixture (1 teaspoon at a time). Sift in all the flour and mix well. Bring together into a smooth lump of dough.

2. Roll the pastry out onto a floured surface and line a 22cm flan dish. Prick the base and bake blind at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 – 20 minutes till crisp but not too brown. When baked leave to cool for 30 minutes.

3. Place the lemon juice in a jug and make it up with water to 350ml.
4. Separate the egg whites and yolks, putting the yolks in a small bowl.
5. Add sugar and corn flour to egg yolks in bowl and blend in water/lemon juice. Make sure there are no lumps.

6. Pour into this mixture into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring until it has thickened.

7. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
8. Pour the lemon filling into the flan dish. Place in a cool place until the meringue is made.

9. Whisk the egg whites till firm peaks form. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of caster sugar till firm (2 to 5 minutes) then add a tablespoon at a time whisking for at least 1 minute after each addition.

10. Swirl or pipe the meringue on top of the lemon mixture. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and bake in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 120 degrees Celsius for a further 20 minutes until the meringue is crisp but not too brown.

11. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes (preferably 1-2 hrs), before serving.

2010-03-03T18:53:00.005Z

Make perfect rice

Say good bye to Uncle Ben, I'm sure he's a pleasant enough feller, but you really ought to be able to cook up a batch of boiled white rice by now! Its quick and more economical than buying packets of microwave rice and besides what do you do if your ever caught in a rice emergency and all you have are loose rice grains!?

Being a big rice eater and not and not being big on measuring (hence the lack of baked good on this blog) I can now perfect rice with my own approximations, but to help you out I have weighed and measured all the required amounts.

Plain Boiled Rice
Basmati rice (or other long grain white rice) 200g
Water 400ml
pinch of salt

1)Wash rice in the cooking pot (one with a tight fitting lid) with cold water a couple of times, until the water is noticeably less cloudy. Drain all the washing water.
2) Take the rice to the hob and add your measured water to the rice. I have found that your water should cover the rice and rise about a 1-2cm above your rice. 3)Bring the water to a boil on a medium to high heat this may take about 2-3 minutes give the rice a good stir to make sure it is not sticking to the pan. Don't stir too much or you will break up your rice and cause more starch to be released.
when the water is boiling quickly pop the pans lid on and immediately turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Leave the rice in the pot, lid unmoved for 12 minutes.
4) When the time is up turn the hob off and tilt the pan lid to let some steam out of the rice, you can also now gently separate the rive with a fork.
Done.
Note: This quantity of rice give me enough for two hungry people.
In Chinese the word for food is the same as their word for rice
Rice is the main food for half the population of the world
Rice is grown in over 100 countries and every continent except Antarctica
96% of the worlds rice is eaten in the area where it is grown

2008-12-15T18:16:00.002Z

My clever neice singing... well sort of!

2008-11-03T20:53:00.006Z

Halloween Cupcakes

There's been a bit of an explosion in the popularity of cupcakes at the moment. Walk past any bakery worth its salt and you will see the most immaculately decorated, minuscule, cakey, bakey delights in pride of place on display. There's nothing wrong with a cupcake so much so that hundreds of the little treats have been used by some to replace a traditional wedding cake! The best part about baking cupcakes is the decorating; I could go wild if let loose with a spatula and some icing so having a theme helped hone it in a little! though you might disagree! (Pumpkins! If only I had found that orange food dye)

CUPCAKES
Makes 12
4oz/115g butter, at room temperature
4oz/115g caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
half tsp vanilla extract
4oz/115g self-raising flour Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
In the food processor or a tabletop mixer, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
Turn off the motor and add the flour. With the pulse button, or brief bursts of the beater, mix the flour in, stopping as soon as it is blended.
Divide the mixture between the paper cases.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch.
(recipe from the Times)

2008-10-30T14:05:00.002Z

ITS BAKING MONTH!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Rolo Brownies
Cup cakes

Recipes to follow!

2008-09-11T19:15:00.004+01:00

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks with Home made Baby Potato Cajun Wedges!

What you need for the chicken:
Drumsticks
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Mix together the wet ingredients till you get a nice thick sauce. Make 2-3 slashes on each of the drumsticks and then pour the marinade over the chicken. Coat thoroughly and then leave to marinade for 30 minutes or overnight (in the fridge).

When ready to cook preheat the oven to 200c and place the chicken into a roasting tray and cook for 35 minutes turning occasionally.
Thats the chicken, feel free to add some cloves of garlic around the roasting chicken if you like or some ginger syrup into the marinade.

For the Cajun wedges:

Baby potatoes

Pinch salt
Cajun spice mix 2 table spoons

2 Tbs olive oil (or garlic oil)

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. Boil the potatos for 10-15 minutes until tender and then drain. On a clean board cut the potatoes in to halves length ways. Put potatoes back into empty pot and pour over the oil, cover the pan and shake lighlty until all the potatos are coated then remove lid and sprinkle over the Cajun spice mix. Topple wedges on to a backing tray and bake in the oven at 200c for 30-40 minutes. Check midway between cooking and give them a light shake about.

2008-09-01T20:23:00.002+01:00

Another family visitor; that's five down and two to go! This time I had my youngest sister (Mina) over, shes been to Aberdeen before but this time she was here for a little longer. We ate out in Aberdeen a couple of times Yatai is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants and I highly recommend it: http://www.yatai.co.uk/Yatai_-_Aberdeens_Japanese_Restaurant/Home.html

We also had lunch at Soul (333 Union Street, Aberdeen) a former church with original stain glass windows is a good lunch spot, thought the staff aren't great!
One night we got fish and chips from the 'famous' Hilton chipper. I dont make it a habbit to get my tea from a chipper, but if the mood ever does occour this one is the BEST!
"Hilton Road chipper just down fae the six roads is one of the best chippers around mmmmmm....fine"
"The rosehill chipper in its hey-day was suuuuperb, but the back hilton chipper gets my vote..."

"Hilton Road Chipper [was my favurite] when I used to live in Aberdeen, top stuff there"
Just some views on Chip shops from the unofficial Dons Website!

But my favourite part of the visit was our day trip to Glasgow.

We made a real crappy video diary of the day, so have a watch!

2008-08-06T20:29:00.017+01:00

What do you do with a few left over strawberries and a ripe banana?

Strawberry's. Banana chopped. Brown sugar. Double cream. Milk. Whizz. Vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry milkshake done!

2008-08-05T19:29:00.005+01:00

Pan fried chicken pasta with feta

I wasn't even going to put this recipe on the blog but have just put my fork down and reconsidered!

Its really good, perfect combination and so simple. Though I reckon you could play about with it a little; I might add juicy sun-blush to this next time.

for 1-2

cooking oil

2 garlic cloves

chicken breast

butter

rosemary

rock salt

salad onion x2

red chili chopped

good hand full mange-tout (or runner beans)

hand full of salad leaves (rocket and water cress)

whole grain Mezze Maniche pasta (big penne)

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

cubed feta cheese

olives marinated in parsley oil (optional)

Cook pasta according to pack instructions.

Heat some cooking oil in a pan on a medium-low heat and infuse the garlic in the oil for a few minutes. Season the chicken breast lightly and then fry for 5-6 minutes then turn over and cook on the other side for 5-6 minutes. You can make a slit through the breast if it is very thick to check for pinkness. Towards the end of the cooking time add a few nobs of butter to the pan, basting the meat with the oil and butter. Remove from the pan when golden in colour.

Adding a little more butter to the pan if needed fry they salad onions the chopped chili rosemary and mange-tout. Stir fry quickly on a medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the beans are tender.

Drain the pasta and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and then add to the pan with the beans. Season with a little rock salt and pepper. Cut the chicken into little pieces and add them to the pan as well. Toss and combine together before carefully mixing in the salad leaves. Turning the heat right down cover the pan for about 3-4 minutes letting the salad wilt a little.

Remove the covering and toss-in the feta cheese and olives if using. Serve in warm bowls.

2008-08-04T21:22:00.008+01:00

Nasi Goreng

What's the different between prawns and shrimps? There's apparently an international debate on this point: http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about1016.html

What ever you want to call them I brought a pack of our curly pink friends, a big pack of the small variety not normally known to produce as spectacular a result as their much bigger full-bodied cousines/friends/brothers/sisters? But they were perfect for this very quick and no-fuss recipe.

This Indonesian meal is traditionally eaten at breakfast in the far east. I wont be giving up my Cheerios just yet; I love to eat this dish served with some pickled beet root and a variety of chilly sauces!
Edit *Nasi Goreng paste of a good standard is available in most regular supermarkets now. Substitute it with the red Thai curry paste if you like and then also miss out the Oyster sauce using 2 teaspoons of fish sauce instead.*

cooking oil

2 eggs (whisked)

2 salad onions chopped

2 cloves garlic
1 chicken breast sliced thinly

small courgette -chopped into fingers

pepper chopped

small pack -mange tout

half Cucumber chopped into 1 inch pieces

red Thai curry paste 2-4 table spoons (brought or your own)

small cooked prawns 200-250g

juice from half lime + wedges to serve

2/3 table spoons fresh coriander

Left over boiled rice (I cooked my rice with peas)

2 table spoons soy sauce

1 table spoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1) Heat some oil in a large non stick pan and add the whisked egg. swirl around the pan so you get a thin layer of the egg, cook until just set then flip over for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan roll up and chop into ribbons.

2) Add a little more oil to the pan and when hot fry the chicken until just sealed. Add the chopped spring onions and garlic, after a few minutes of frying on a medium high heat add the curry paste, frying for a few seconds before adding the courgette and pepper pieces. Stir fry on a medium high heat until the vegetables are just nearly cooked (4-5 min) then add the mange tout, the prawns and the rice to the pan; shake and stir the pan until everything in mixed.

3) Pour in the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame seed oil and squeeze in the lime juice. Scatter on the coriander and cucumber pieces.
Serve in big bowls with the ribbons of omelet strewn on top and a slice of lime.

2008-07-02T22:26:00.003+01:00

Peppered Tuna stake with Mash and Oriental vegetables.
I really enjoy tuna steaks, firm, meaty and very easy to cook. A very sensible choice for the rushed cook, tune steaks cook well on a griddle or simply fry in a pan with a little oil just searing the outside so that you don't dry the fish out.
For this recipe:
First drop two large, skinned and chopped potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook until soft (12-15 minuted).
Grind pepper corns on to a plate until it is lightly covered, then place the tuna steaks (brushed with a little light olive oil), on to the ground pepper until they are covered also sprinkle over a pinch of ground salt. Place a pan with a little oil in it on a medium high flame and add the steaks when the oil is heated. Cook this way for 2-3 minutes each side until the pink flesh has just disappeared.

Prepare the mash; Drain the potatoes when soft, snip into the pan two spring onions and some salt and pepper. Next add about 25g of butter and a little milk. Mash.
I made a little oriental style dressing to drip over the asparagus that I served with the tuna (you could use broccoli or green beans instead), by stirring together a little soy sauce, oyster sauce and garlic olive oil.

2008-06-24T21:56:00.004+01:00

Super Salad

2008-06-09T21:49:00.007+01:00

Taking Control
Dinner today was a delicious salad - made at break neck speed and with very little thought required.
After coming home exhausted from work I switched the 'Telly box' on and fell onto a couch. “A taste of my life” was on BBC2 with Sue Johnston who's comfort food of choice is a fish finger sandwich, the thought of this childhood favourite (doused liberally in mayo and tomato ketchup) really got me hungry. I knew then that if I wasn't quickly inspired by something else the chances were that I would be having fish fingers for my tea - not something I would usually advocate. No, I'm not against the occasional drop in standards in favour of an 'easier options' or in this case a 'comfort food' or treat but I don't like the idea of this becoming the norm.
Yes, little self control goes a long way, but when lacking and hungry I'm saved by the fact that I know that I can have something equally as tasty easily on hand in a matter of minutes.
I don't know if too many other people share my sentiment on this matter and in fact I am now forewarned by some of my work colleagues to "turn away now, Ballal" when discussing their dinner plans; "Chips AGAIN!??!?".
Ah yes, there are a few people that I would love to make a good salad for - A save from yet another ready meal/takeaway/general stodge - I could wear a green cape with the Letter S on my chest - but I'm beginning to think that if I acted on this nutritional mission I would probably be feeding half the office and lots of my friends. That's a lot of lettuce.
But you don't need super powers to make a 'super salad'; so do it yourself (you know who you are).

I cooked a small chicken (breast) on a griddle pan after brushing it with a little olive oil and rubbing on a Moroccan herb mix (go which ever way you like with flavour - but try and be consistent - unlike me).
The meat is very quickly done this way. I chopped it up and dropped it into a big bowl where your other ingredients will follow.
Your protein element could be prawns (ready cooked so even quicker) or squid or any other fish or meat.
I griddled some pepper strips and they too went in. Now all the 'cooking' part is over, anything remotely salad like can be thrown in. I used a can of mixed beans, pickled beetroot, sweetcorn, handful of cress leaves and stalk, cubed feta and bread croutons (instead of bread try grilling Pitta bread that has been slit in half (to get two full sized thin pieces) and when crisp, breaking into shards and adding to your salad). You could also use boiled baby potatoes for your 'carbs' .
Because my salad looked moist I didn't go to the effort of making a vinaigrette and instead just gave it a good glug of garlic olive oil over the top, a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of Harissa paste as well as a good sprinkle of coarsely ground salt and pepper.
This is about the most effort needed for a winning work day salad. So next time you're doing your weekly shop plan for a couple of salads and finally rid your world of those villainous cravings and bad eating habits.

If you do just love fish finger sandwiches join the Facebook group :) http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44884550346&v=info

2008-06-09T21:42:00.004+01:00

This draw needs emptying...

2008-05-24T23:37:00.014+01:00

Inverness
I mentioned that I would be cooking for some friends a while back, well it was a great success. I made my curry recipe that I posted a while back, every one said it was good, I served it with chapatis, yogurt mint rita, mango pickle and saffron rice. Mhairi had also brought some home made brochette which whilst feeling quite unsure about how my curry would turn out I felt quite reassured was there!
The trip was great fun, Martin and Linseys holiday home was amazing, I only wish I had more time to explore the surrounding country. I did take the opportunity to visit Loch Ness, which was absolutely beautiful in the spring time sun.
My kitchen for the weekend:
View from the house, notice the snow still on the surrounding mountains, apparently it was a good skiing year in Scotland:

Loch Ness visitors centre: (not much going on here...)

And if you like that sort of thing you'll probably like (Brave Heart):

There is a ridiculous entry fee to see the Urquhart castle ruin but the unrestricted views of Loch Ness are definitely worth it. The visitors centre also has very interesting displays and facts about the castle (which dates back to the year 1230 or further) as well as the mandatory, extortionate gift shop and cafe:

There's a poor guy in a prison (as if being a ginger wasn't bad enough!):

View of Loch:
Castle, Loch...

...and loo:

The weather began to look a little moody so we didn't stay too long, but I would recommend a visit here:

2008-05-18T00:10:00.000+01:00

King scallops, fresh muscles, fish, in a warm spicy coconut milk sauce... You cant really go wrong with ingredients like that, can you?

This is something I made when I had a surplus of good seafood in the fridge that needed to be used fast. (there arnt many quantities in this recipe-sorry)

First of all boil some noodles and then set them aside, in a large pot heat some oil and then fry half a chopped onion or a few shallots, on a low heat until soft then add some crushed garlic. when the pan is very hot chuck in the mussels and a little liquid (stock) cover the pan with a lid and cook the mussels for about 4 minutes, when done remove the mussels from the pan and discard any that failed to open. Add half a can of crushed tomatoes and as much of the juice as possible also add fish stock about 400ml and half a can of coconut milk(250ml). To this mixture I added 1 tbs of red Thai curry paste 1 tbs of white wine vinegar, 2 tbs fish sauce, juice of 1 lime, and 1/2 tbs of sugar. Mix the soup so all ingredients are combined then place some white fish fillets into the broth bring to the boil over medium-high heat. lift some of th efish out to check for done-ness, and when its nearly ready add the scallops and prawns (and calamari if using) to the pot. Cook for a further two minutes. Season, then garnish with some chopped corriander squeez a little more lime juice in if needed. Divide noodles among however many bowls, and top with broth and seafood.

2008-05-08T20:40:00.002+01:00

Thirsty?

(This is an energy drink...)

2008-04-24T21:19:00.005+01:00

I've been meaning to write this entry for a while now; let me introduce you to my niece, Nusaiba (Nu, Nu Nu, Say say, See see, Baa Baa)! She's ace! Sadly though I don't get to see her as often as I would like, but this is a picture of her from when I was in London last: Cute right? But actually this was the worst trip to the park that you can imagine, she was NOT happy! I think me and my brother-in-law disturbed her during 'nap time' hoping she would amuse us at the park. But she was sleepy:Two beautiful people captivated by the mirror:UMMM good choice cookie monster:

2008-04-22T22:03:00.004+01:00

Butter Chicken This is a pretty good recipe, probably not the healthiest but the good ones rarely are! The cooking method used in this recipe creates an almost roasted flavour without the need of heating up an oven! I used 6 drumsticks for this recipe.
RECIPE:
Heat a large, heavy-based lidded pan over a moderate heat. Add some olive oil and about 25g of butter. Generously season drumsticks with salt and pepper and when the butter is foaming, drop in the drumsticks, and fry until lightly browned all over.Cover the pan with a lid and leave the drumsticks to fry gently for 20-25 minutes, turning or shaking the pan regularly. At the end of the cooking time remove the lid and add a further 15/20g of butter, along with some minced garlic (2-3 cloves), a handful of chopped parsley and the juice of half a large lemon. Take the casserole off the heat and leave the flavours to infuse for a few minutes before serving.
I serve these drumsticks with sweet potato mash or couscous using the juices from the pan to top either.

2008-04-18T20:09:00.006+01:00

PAELLA
This is the first time I'm making paella, though Ive ordered it many times at restaurants. I was at the fish counter in my local supermarkets this afternoon, I thought I would get some Squid, but unfortunately the lady before me brought the last lot, but this didn't put me off making my paella I got a few king scallop pieces, some live mussels and some interesting looking Tilapia fillets, unlike the scallops these were incredibly cheap I brought two sizable fillets for under a pound! (perfect for my trial paella) http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/5077/consumers-get-hooked-on-tilapia
The other ingredients that I purchased were a box of prawns (medium sized- but the bigger you get the better), an onion, yellow or red pepper, one lemon, bunch flat leaf parsley, paella rice, saffron,
You should also have seasoning, butter, olive oil, sweet paprika, 4x garlic cloves, fish stock, white wine vinegar, 2x tomatoes, frozen peas,

Chop the onion finely and the pepper in strips fry in some olive oil till soft but not darkened (about 10 minutes).

You can prepare your mussels whilst the onions are cooking by washing and cleaning them and discarding any that remain open after a light tap. Heat some butter or oil in a pan with a lid and fry one of the garlic cloves, add one table spoon of white wine vinegar and then the mussels and finlay about 75ml of hot stock. Bring to the boil and cook on high heat for about 4 minutes shaking the pan often to make sure every thing is cooked evenly. When the cooking time is over check the mussels and discard any that have failed to open. Drain and reserve the cooking juices and keep the cooked muscles in the pan covered.

Try not to eat them all before the Paella is ready!

When the onions and peppers have been cooking for 10 minutes or so, add the remaining garlic (chopped finely) and the tomato's. Fry for a further minute and then add the paella rice 80g per person (you will need double the volume of rice used for the stock), mix the rice in well and fry for a few minutes. Pour in the fish stock (about 800g also add the reserved cooking juices from the mussels) and a good pinch of saffron, the stock should completely cover the rice, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat so you have a gentle simmer.Now add one teaspoon of salt and a good pinch of pepper to the pan, next add one table level tablespoon of sweet paprika and gently mix into the rice. I used one of my fish fillets and chopped it into small (1 inch) pieces and pushed them into the rice I also halved a couple of my scallops and added them in to the pan as well. Simmer the paella for up to 30 minutes, don't be afraid to add a little more stock if you feel it is being absorbed too quickly, also don't be tempted to stir the rice too much, instead move your pan slightly about the fire to make sure you have an even cook.
20 minutes or so into the cooking time you can add some peas to your paella, I also covered my rice with the prawns and gently pushed them down a little. Unfortunately I only had small prawns (though they were quite plum and meaty) but use large shelled prawns if available.

When the cooking time is over cover the paella with some baking paper and then lay a lid on top, until you are ready to serve, and when you do be sure to squeeze plenty of lemon over the dish and a handful of chopped parsley. I also gave my rice a good drizzle of olive oil and served with the 'garlicky' muscles on top.

2008-04-15T21:41:00.003+01:00

Red SaladOh no! I went and brought a Delia cheat ingredient, but without knowing it, of course I shouldn't have (we're only encouraging her on this new path).
I had wanted to make a chicken salad last night, just something very quick after a very large lunch. So I made a quick trip to Sainsbury's for a bag of salad, my new found and much loved marinated baby beetroot and a jar of roasted whole peppers (the latter was the incriminating item- complete with an unnoticed "Delia Cheats" sticker).

It was when I returned home from the supermarket that I realised - not only had I indirectly advocated frozen mash but that also I only had Beef mince in the fridge and not the chicken breast I needed!
Determined to atone for my mistakes (and to find a better home for the 'Delia Cheat' ingredient than it had anticipated) I persisted with creating a salad and it turned out great!

I mixed into the mince (about 400g) one egg salt and pepper about a table spoon each of cumin and coriander powder and a teaspoon of bright red smoked paprika. With wet hands I made about 27 little meatballs. After heating up some olive oil I placed the meat balls into the pan to fry, turning occasionally for about 10-15 minutes. In the mean time I assembled the salad in a large bowl; cherry tomatoes halved, chopped red onions and the little beetroot balls, the the whole roasted peppers chopped into large chunks and lastly the leaves. I also made some croutons rubbed with garlic and herbs. When the meatballs were cooked through I picked them from the pan and let them cool on a plate before adding them to the bowl of salad too. To the remaining juices in the pan I added some lemon juice, salt and pepper a little rose Harrisa and a teaspoon of chopped capers. I then drizzled this over the salad and garnished with some coriander leaves. A great 'meaty' salad, served alone or with some home made wedges and dip.

No canned mince allowed!

2008-04-09T21:56:00.018+01:00

At least I had the Maa Days

A small pictorial tribute to a day during my sisters visit:

Me and Maa outside Haddo House

The house

The Dead Dogs

Robin Climbs a tree

Maa climbs a tree

How many people in the trees

Me and Ma on the leaning tree... which was leaning over the pond before Maarya got on it!

More tree.. ahh the tree time!

Looking for sheep MA

MAAA

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The front of the house

Maarya in the kitchen...

Curry 1

2008-04-09T18:11:00.070+01:00

Curry! #1

I've been roped into make curry for a bunch of friends and I'm a little worried. After one of them raved about my cooking a while ago, I'm now group chef. The truth is I'm not that experienced in making currys ( I plan on remedying this though). The curries that I do make are not the overly spicy, creamy fare that you get from most restaurants, but a more simple and quite likely more authentic curry that's based on what "me mum" makes. The stuff that Asians, (Pakistanis) eat day to day... the equivalent to the British hot-pot or casserole. This isn't a bad thing, not for me anyway and I hope my guests agree with me! Of course I could use my 'Asian credentials' and tell them that this is Indian haute cuisine, but unfortunately for me, curry being the nations favourite food, my guests may be more educated on the subject then me!
This is a little altered every time I make it because I have never written it down.
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbs oil
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
nob of Ginger, skinned and minced
2tsp salt
¼ tsp turmeric
½ - 1 tsp chili powder
4 cloves
6 whole black pepper corns
1 star anise
1 large black clove
2 tomatoes chopped or half a can
Water
Chicken whole chopped into small pieces
1tbs of cumin powder
1 tbs of coriander powder
Hand full baby potatoes
Garam masala
rice or chapattis to serve

fresh coriander
serves 3-4

First I fry some whole spices in a clean pan, 1 tsp of cumin and about the same quantity of coriander seeds. When they start to give off a lovely aroma take off the heat and set aside. Heat 2 tbs of cooking oil in the pan and fry the onion until golden, add the garlic and ginger. Fry on a low heat for about 5 minutes more then add the salt, turmeric and chili powder depending on how much heat you like. This is the humble beginnings of many a curry. Add the remaining whole spices (cloves, pepper corns etc) and fry for a couple of minutes. Adding a splash of water to stop the spices sticking to the pan. Throw in two diced tomatoes or half a can of tomatoes, if using. Fry on a medium high heat. When the spices begin to come together and the oil begins to separate from the mixture, drop the meat into the pan and mix and coat it into the 'masala'. Fry this way for a few minutes until the meat is sealed and then add 1 tbs of coriander powder and another of cumin powder (sometimes I use whole, freshly crushed garam masala instead). Fry for further 5 minutes adding a little more water if the meat begins to stick or looks dry. Then add enough water to cover the chicken and give you plenty of gravy in the finished dish. Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes on a low heat. After this point I like to add some quartered large potatoes or whole baby potatoes to the pan, cover again and cook for a further 15 minute or until the potatoes and meat are tender, towards the end of this time add a tea spoon of gram masala. When the cooking time is over sprinkle the curry with chopped coriander.

The curry is this picture is one where I did not add potatoes and didn't make it too saucy. Use a taller pan if making more gravy.

2008-04-07T22:24:00.002+01:00

Tree Cat

Its spring and Scoobies gone mental (Men-all), he went running from the window over the fence and up the tree. How come on T.V. cats are always shown getting stuck up trees? Scobbie just hopped back down easy! Wonder how many 'presents' I'm going to get this year! -Anyone know a good sparrow recipe?

2008-04-06T02:22:00.011+01:00

Pizza

I went to the gym today after only having a bowl of soup for lunch. Bad idea; 'The Pussy Cat Dolls' playing on the big screen whilst I was rowing became dancing slices of pizza... Yummy. I decided that that's what I would make when I got home (yeah I think about food even whilst exercising), I could use some of my new cheese that way too!

I brought a ready mix pack for the pizza dough because I was too tired to think about yeast amounts and stuff... this is basically flour, yeast, salt and oil, in a sachet ready for mixing with water. Although I would normally make my own base from scratch I must say this wasn't bad, also it definitely beats buying a pre-made pizza base because you can decide on the thickness and size you want. Once the dough was ready I rolled it out and it needed to be left for 10 min, so I moved on to my home made pesto. For this I used: parsley (curly leaf) roughly about 40g cut off as much of the thick stalks as you can be bothered to, pine nuts 1-2 tbs, olive oil (lots, so don't use your best stuff) 2 cloves of garlic, rock salt and pepper and half a lemon (juice only). All this goes in your blender until a tasty green pesto is created. You WILL need to adjust the quantities until it looks (and tastes) good.

Once the pesto was made I prepared all the other toppings. I sliced, not too thinly two tomatoes, I also washed some asparagus ready to be chucked on. I had some very nice mixed mushrooms that I also wanted on my pizza, packs of these are sold in Sainsbury's and they contain Shitaki, Hon-Shimeji and Yellow Oyster, I gave these delicate fungi a quick wipe with a wet cloth.

Now to load up your pizza! I put a thin layer of grated Cheddar on the base of mine then the vegetables. I gave the pizza a really good drizzle of garlic extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of rock salt and ground pepper. Yeah there's no tomato puree base, but that's why I made the pesto, which needs to go on the pizza around the toppings towards the end of the cooking time. Finally I topped my pizza with some of my blue Harbourne cheese and popped it in to the oven for the recommended time on the pizza dough.

I tossed a bag of salad into a ball and some really tasty marinated beetroot along with some some boiled quail eggs that I brought from the International Market on Belmont street on Saturday.

2008-04-06T00:15:00.005+01:00

Fridge-full cheesing.

Today one of the guys who works in Sainsbury's took a look at my trolley as I was unloading onto the checkout and said “you cant need that much stuff when your in here every day!”. What does that mean!? Am I some kind of crazy, who hangs about supermarkets? or (more likely, I hope) am I a little 'food shop' obsessed? I do a very thorough shop at the weekend, but for some reason there's always an excuses to go back for something...every day.... You must do that same thing, right?
Any way I hope it's not becoming a problem, so this week I'm only going to use what I have in the house and no food shopping trips at all! Except for to the butchers...
Before I made this decision I was wise enough to 'go for coffee' at RockSalt&Snails, where after demolishing a banoffee muffin... and half a mint slice, I couldn't resist but to go downstairs to the deli... Ahh sweet gourmet heaven. This trip was actually somewhat premeditated; some weeks ago I brought some cheese from here, that I really (really) liked, unfortunately I cant remember what its called at the moment, but that's a moot point now because on asking for some, I was told that the lady who made the cheese has left Aberdeen for Germany, but the the cheese is still available... from Harrods, useful! I think the huge amount of disappointment I was feeling was quite obvious (and in hindsight probably a little worrying) so, the manager who I was interrogating about my cheese helped my pick a suitable replacement (replacement, yes the world of cheese is fickle). And find a replacement we did! Harbourne Blue, its a blue goats cheese. It really is very good, apparently there aren't many blue goats cheeses, this one is sharp in flavour and quite soft, with LOTS of blue blooms.

“Awarded several accolades over the past few years, Harbourne Blue has become very popular amongst cheese connoisseurs. The goat's milk tends to give it a characteristically white pâte and crumbly texture, and also means that it matures more quickly than a cow's milk cheese The resulting flavour is usually more powerful and the fact that this cheese is blue veined enhances the flavour even further to give a cheese that is best tasted at the end of a cheeseboard.”

On tasting this cheese you know instantly that its going to be really useful in terms of how much cooking you can do with it, pasta sauces, creamy cheesy chicken and pizzas. I'm planning a pizza for tonight! If you like blue cheese, see if you can find this one at your local deli, though apparently its in quite short supply in early spring.

2008-04-02T22:46:00.004+01:00

Whats the Delia-yo?....
This is an article of much much funniness! Poor Delia, where did she go so wrong? And yes, I was reading the Times again... Sorry!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/caitlin_moran/article3640927.ece

2008-04-02T22:44:00.001+01:00

MAA Meatballs bring all the...
I'm the only Mirza left in the country! Oww Maarya left today, and I'm feeling quite sad. I had an awesome time whilst she was here and I hope that she did too! I'm going to badger her on the phone to write a (brief) synopsis of her visit for the blog, although to be honest we mostly just ate and watched T.V. (I would use the 'sheepish' emoticon here if I had one)
I did very little cooking when my sister was around, we ate out or got take-away most nights, and Ma footed the bill most nights too, so to keep up the poor student façade and for any reading this I'm going to make Jamie Oliver's 'feed your family for a fiver' recipe for meatballs and spaghetti and tell you if you should!
Don't...
Well you could, but don't be hesitant in adding a little more flavour, firstly with the tomato sauce a longer slower cooking time is recommendable a teaspoon of sugar will also help take away some of the sharpness of the sauce and don't limit your self to oregano a little dried basil is good too.
To the meatballs I added some spices! I couldn't help it, they were crying out for something. Some paprika (a teaspoon) and cumin about the same quantity and a some turmeric (half teaspoon). I also couldn't help but add a minced clove of garlic. This isn't the most authentic 'meatball and spaghetti' recipe, but its meatballs and spaghetti... so it doesn't have to be!
http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/family/tasty+ideas/feed_family_for_a_fiver/meal_ideas/Meatballs+n+more.htm
What would you do? click on the linl to see the original recipe.

2008-03-29T19:37:00.003Z

Eljos
Yesterday dinner was tapas, at a relatively new place in Aberdeen that I'm now a returning customer to. This is Eljos of course, on Langstane Place. I really like the food and limiting myself to only vegetable and fish dishes there was still plenty of choice. I really like the chickpeas in the spicy tomato sauce, and the prawns were more succulent and juicy than I've had in a long time. There are directions on the website and it might be an idea to reserve a table as it can get busy.
http://www.eljos.co.uk/index.html
01224 572898

2008-03-27T23:06:00.003Z

Ma in Scotland!
My sister Maarya is visiting me from London at the moment! Yey! Were going to have all the fun that Aberdeen has to offer! I wont go on about it because I think Ma will let ya'll know how it was on Monday!
Anyway one thing we did today (not very cultural) was go to the cinema. We walked the considerable distance from the art-house cinema on Belmont street, where nothing was showing for a long while and the Vue cinema on Union street. Guess what we decided to watch.... 'Step Up 2 The streets'. Wow this is a bad film! But for some reason the trailers make you want to watch it. well they apparently did me and Ma! One character on finding a dead fish in his house says "Oh that's what that funky smell is", -NO- that smell is the movie your in!!! ahhh I could go on... I wouldn't say don't watch it though... Its very funny (in an ironic way) but don't laugh too loud at the 'intimate' moments and piss off the chaves in the row in front... maybe this ones a wait till its out on DVD number anyway!

2008-03-27T22:32:00.005Z

Bunny
Easter rocks! Just like at Christmas I get sooo many chocolates! (Every one thinks I'm crazy about chocolate...)
At Easter the chocolate comes in little bunny shaped packaging and doesn't last long!

This little bunny tried to get away, but it wasn't quick enough...

2008-03-26T20:46:00.004Z

Cheese
Today I went to a new delicatessen that I'd spotted on Great Western Rd and before I knew it I was buying cheese! Two new cheeses, both Scottish; Criffel and Bonnett. I've been eating some ripe blue, French Roquford with crackers and grapes after dinner recently, and felt like getting something a little less intense for lunch time. These two are great cheeses, Criffel is prepared from organic unpasteurized cows milk and vegetarian rennet. Its semi soft, creamy with a rich flavour. Its not dis-smiler to a firmer brie. Bonnet is a Scottish cheese made form the milk of Sannen goats. Its a well matured white cheese, crumbly like Wensleydale. Its named after locals who worked in the bonnet industry (that's bonnet as in head wear!).
Lunch fit for a king!

2008-03-22T17:46:00.004Z

In Memory of a grey cat.
I'm feeling a little sick, I saw a cat get run over today, a cute, fluffy, grey, ALIVE cat.
It was like the cat in the Sheba adverts. I was in the passenger seat of my friends car just going round a roundabout when it happened. It was almost in slow motion. The cat came running from the pavement on the left hand side of the roundabout and sprinted towards the grassy bit in the middle, only it didn't make it, and ran right under the wheels of the car in front of us. The driver 'hit and ran'. We stopped there in the middle of a somewhat busy roundabout, me sinking down lower in my seat not looking at the scene and shouting at my friend to get out and do something (yeah I'm great in difficult situations) and my friend, the driver, transfixed with the poor casualty (I wont go into detail) repeating over and over “I don't have my phone on me”, later I enquired as to what he was hoping to do with his phone, (praying in the back of my mind he didn't say “to video it for YouTube” -sorry, but you never know) and he said “to call the RSPCA or something”, I didn't have the heart to explain that they wouldn't have fast response teams with local kitty ambulances. In the end we couldn't stay blocking the way on the roundabout and drove on. That's what is making me feel the worst, why didn't we move the cat off the road or... what would you do? You see road-kill sometimes, but apart from seeing the actual accident, I think this was worse because it was clearly a pet and not a wild animal. I know there will be someone at home tonight waiting for their cat to come home... and it wont. That sucks!
I'm a little angry at as well! At the driver who hit the cat and drove away and at the owners who had a cat on such a busy road. When I got home I gave Scoobie (my cat) three treats. He wasn't allowed out either (it was snowing).

Scoobie gives me a hug!

2008-03-21T17:05:00.007Z

Tools and carbs!
Its been snowing on and off for the last two days, the snows not sitting though. Its just really really cold and windy. I went to mosque today, a long over due trip, but feel all the (spiritually) better for it, and bumping into some old faces near the University campus was nice too. But the walk to and from were horrific, there's not even any public transport routes for this journey, its times like this I miss London so much! By the time I'd battered my way back to my street, nearly blinded by hail stones, flying horizontally at gale force speed, I decided I'd get a quick lunch from Sainsbury's. This is most definitely a 'carb' overload day if ever there was one. I got a tub of risotto a baguette... some crisps oh and some Frü carrot cake...
'Covent Garden Food Co' don't just do soups:

I made a garlic baguette to go with my brought risotto, this is actually some what an of an advert for my new garlic press, before it came along I was using a knife to chop garlic (shock!), and getting big bits of garlic in every thing. Get one, you need it!!

Also I used my 'handy' baguette holder/slice spacer contraption... which is good but not very necessary, as you could probably manage the job without it if your Primary Motor Cortex is even partially functioning. Yeah yeah I know I still used mine, but this was a bad day!

And there you have it! Potato, rice and bread; three carb groups on one plate, cravings rock!

(Oh and the Frü carrot cake was perfect with a cup of tea! You get eight individually wrapped pieces... I had three and then cried for a while)

2008-03-19T22:41:00.004Z

POP
I'm probably the only person who could manage to eat whilst watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. As he poked about in a rotten pepper and lifted the seal of a fridge to reveal cockroaches, my stomach rumbled. Snack time! And what do I have in my snack cupboard today? Popcorn. Make some, its quick easy and...fun... well it is for me.
Remember that Disney Land advert with that brat; “Magical”? Well you will find yourself agreeing with her sentiment... just not about Disney... watch the video!

200g apparently makes 3 litres so change quantity accordingly.
Pour oil (2 tbs) into a pan with a lid, place over a high heat and add the popcorn (un-popped...)
Cover the pan with lid and watch amazed.
When the popping party finishes turn the heat off and chuck in some butter to melt over the popcorn, you could also add some salt... or sugar or cinnamon or spices etc etc.
(Dont open the lid of your pan like the jackass in the video...)

2008-03-18T22:58:00.007Z

Fun and Dim Sum. (Title just for Maarya)
This Saturday I woke up with the sun on my face. What a lovely day, luckily we've had a few good ones this winter. I woke up thinking for some reason, about one of my college friends in London, Debbie. After trying unsuccessfully to get a hold of her on the phone, for a chat, I decided to have a sort of Debbie and Ballal tribute day. The Debbie and Ballal day involved my being dragged through hundreds of shops down the length of Oxford street with a stop at almost every Starbucks along the way and then my favourite part of the day DINNER (if only because I got to put down all her bags!); and because we would usually end up in the arcades in China Town, Chinese would usually be on the menu.
I forwent our traditional Starbucks coffee stop and grabbed my Americano from 'Books and Beans',- http://www.booksandbeans.co.uk/index.html -this is a great workday lunch stop with fresh home made soups every day. It was also Aberdeen's first independent Fair Trade coffee shop. The addition of over a thousand second hand books means you can often spend a little longer then intended in here, so I got my coffee to go! Caffeine steaming through me I was ready to hit the shops, it had been months since I'd brought any new cloths and even longer since I'd brought non-work cloths. Deviating from the obvious Union street shopping route, I came across a place that I had been walking past, to and from work, but never been in; Retro Rebels- http://www.retrorebels.co.uk/ -I ended up getting two new T-shirts and because even this was making me feel a little guilty (end of the month) I decided that was all the clothes shopping I could take (afford).

Taking my new top out for a flight.
Lunch time fast approaching and being alone, I decided to go past the Chinese Super Market - http://www.matthewsfoods.co.uk/ -and grab something to take home. Boy was I happy I checked this place out! All the oriental ingredients I could ever need under one (massive) corrugated roof. And priced much better then my regular supermarket. Spoilt for choice, I eventually picked up some Dim Sum. I LOVE Dim Sum. I went for some Leek Dumplings (Ha Cao He) Shrimp dumplings (Har Gow) and Lotus paste buns. Ahhh my tummies still smiling. I couldnt resist buying the little steamer/serving things in the picture!

Regulars (mum) might recognise my little ceramic Kulfi pot, I now use it to hold Soy Sauce!

2008-03-15T03:03:00.003Z

Scots Foodie
A very popular foodie event in the North East is 'Taste Grampian', I've not been to one yet but going this year, its on Saturday 7th June 2008 at the Thainstone Centre near Aberdeen. Here's the web site for the event; http://www.tasteofgrampian.co.uk/home/index.cfm?id=1
One place that I hope has a stall is a great delicatessen that I recently found. Its in Aberdeen city and its called 'RockSalt and Snails'. Seems like it is a bit of a secret treasure as most people don't know it exists. The delicatessen is downstairs from the 'RockSalt and Snails' coffee shop; which is nice but normally has a few too many mothers and toddlers on a Saturday morning to be relaxing. But go down the stairs at the back and your in specialist food stuff heaven! What really stands out is the amount of local and British produce, sure there's Italian Olive oils and Brazilian coffee beans, but I recently brought some of the best cheese I've tasted here, and it was made in Aberdeenshire.
This is the site, but I would recommend a visit to the shop to stock up your store cupboards!
http://www.rocksaltandsnails.co.uk/index.html

2008-03-13T20:42:00.002Z

57
I have a dirty secret! I quite ashamed but its bad and I think it requires confession and the anonymity of the internet seems the ideal place to unburden myself of my guilt. I use Heinz sandwich spread in my sandwiches for work! There I said it. The 'tangy crunchy spread' to be precise. Unfortunately there's more to come and its worse; I quite like it! (gasp).
I know I could make smoked trout pate with some crusty bread or a sandwich with some great local cheddar and pickle or when there's no time for a packed lunch some sushi from Markies should do, but no, I reach for the little glass jar with the luminous 'Guar Gum' pieces and Xanthan. Do you know any other food stuffs that have ingredients beginning with X? Any way this is taking an awful long time to write, with one hand... I went to the fridge! I might go have a wash now.

2008-03-13T19:54:00.004Z

Better then Bessie's
Home made usually means more work and sometimes for the amount of time and effort exerted, the results aren't great. But there are some things that shouldn't ever be store brought, it would just be wrong. Yorkshire puddings fall under the latter cooking category, they're so simple that there are no excuses AND they're better then any cardboard tasting, frozen version. Make them!
Ingredients:
-125g plain flour or Preferably strong plain flour
-½ tsp salt
-2 eggs, beaten
-300 ml milk or for a lighter batter I would

recommend using a mixture of equal parts milk

and water to make 300ml
-vegetable fat
Preheat the oven to 220ºC
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the center, add the beaten eggs
gradually mix in the flour from the sides and slowly add the milk/water mixture to make a smooth batter. For a very smooth batter work all the ingredients together with an electric whisk for a minute.
If you still have lumps you can sieve the batter through a fine-meshed sieve.
Cover and let the batter rest for 30 minutes or over night.
When ready to use (once your roast is cooked?) put ½ tsp of the vegetable fat (you could also use some sort of animal fat (lard) or cooking oil) in each cup of the Yorkshire pudding tin and heat at 220°C until very hot and almost smoking. This is important the fat has to be very hot or the Yorkshires will not rise! Quickly remove the tin from the oven and fill each cup half way with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, but don't be tempted to open the oven in the first 5-10 minutes.

2008-03-10T21:03:00.003Z

Sky, Chicken and Dogs.
I've not written for a while because recently my evenings have been incredibly busy... Its Crufts! Ahh happy days, two hours of pure doggie fun! Its so exciting to know that all the strange and wonderful breeds I have only yet read about, are actually out there, owned by little old ladies in 'twin sets' and pearls, in this very country; Portuguese water dogs, Chow chows, Neapolitan Mastiffs, all living breathing and pooping! Gives me hope that I will be able to find an Italian Greyhound breeder, -when the time is right of course! (Italian Greyhounds didn't get picked for best of group! So no more of them in the series). This week held one of those increasingly rare occasion in which I was invited out, with people, to make with the fun. Socialising, is what they called it, anyway it meant I missed my pooch show, so I caught up on Fridays Crufts, today whilst I made the best ever roast chicken, there'll be more on that in a minute (this blogg's about food?). I was able to do this (the watching of Crufts, not the roasting of chicken) with my amazing new Sky plus. It can Record, Pause and Rewind live T.V! I say 'new' Sky Plus, but I've had the thing for months now, (and paid for months) but have only just got it working. (Warning: I'm going to moan now) So... I used to get broadband from B.T. Until one day in a crazy spontaneous break from my groceries shopping, I stopped to talk to a man promoting Sky from a little stand. He told me I could have Sky broadband, telephone and T.V. for the price of B.T. broadband, the lure of new electric goods proved too much and I signed up there and then.
I waited a week feverishly, eager for the installation person to come over with my new set top box of delights and when it finally arrived, in all its minimalist, white façade-ed glory, my fingers were twitching at my side like a cowboy at a duel, geared up to pause my first channel. There was one compromise that I had to make, the installation man used an unused satellite dish that was already connected to my flat, but who's wires went through a top floor neighbours basement. And because these 'neighbours' are never in their flat we weren't able to attach the second feed to the dish that is required for recording multiple channels simultaneously. Any way to cut an increasingly long and possibly not very interesting story short, not only am I missing functionality but one week after installation the Sky starts playing up and loses its signal completely. Numerous hours of calls to Sky later I managed to get an engineer to come and fix it, only he couldn't, because the dish was too high and went through another persons property. But finally this weekend the 'Heights Team' – not better qualified or more experienced engineers, but in fact cowboys, externally sourced from Sky willing to hang from dangerous ledges- got the thing working again. I'm glad they got it done, but really, the two men who came over, not a brain cell between them! They got me a new Sky dish, with two feeds (so far so good), they attached the dish to the garden fence. They also left the feed cables stretched along the longest part of the lawn to my flat, with not enough flex left to tac the cable around the garden. I promptly started my Saturday morning off by digging a 4 meter trench (with an axe!) in the rain to bury the cable. Pictures to follow!
Back to the best ever roast chicken. I got the recipe from Jamie Oliver's website, which I feel like I shouldn't be promoting (because clearly he's the only thing standing between me and culinary fame). You can get it here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/2008/01/11/fantastic_roasted_chicken
I did make a few changes:
Firstly I left out the ham, I blitzed the peeled and de-seeded lemon in a blender with an onion, garlic and the herbs and enough olive oil to make a good mushy stuffing, I then mixed this with the softened butter and stuffed it under the skin. I rubbed butter all over the bird and some leftover stuffing. I boiled the potatoes as instructed but left out the celeriac, when boiled I drained the water, chucked in some flour and gave them a quick shake (with the lid on the pan). I dropped a heap of vegetable fat in to the roasting pan containing the chicken and when this was hot and sizzling I scattered the potatoes around the bird and placed a sprig of rosemary on top. O.K. so its quite different from his (better) but use his timings.
Apart from my roast chicken the other great success of the night were my home made Yorkshire puddings, so much better then the store brought kind and so VERY easy to make!
Well I've had Delia's new T.V. show on pause for quite as long as I can take so 'Yorkies' recipes to come later! (There, 'old dogs' new food show, paused on Sky, it was all connected!!!)

2008-03-04T22:10:00.009Z

FOOD: Where's the CITY?
Or more precisely the country, as this weekend I went on two of my favourite out of town walks. When you live so close to some of the most beautiful rural locations in the country its criminal not to have, at the very least, a brief look in. Now that the weathers improving I find there's even more reason to leave the neon glow of the gym, grab my wellies and go for a good long walk. Walking isn't everyone's idea of a great time, but with some of the finest eateries in the north east actually outside the cities the promise of a good lunch convinces most of my friends.

Haddo House and estate, heres the guff: http://www.ntseducation.org.uk/teachers/properties/haddo-house.html
Lady Aberdeen still lives in Haddo house, you can sometimes see her in the conservatory cursing inheritance tax laws and the National trust. Sometimes she knits, well she is a 'Lady'!

The planed walks range from short 15 minute walks to the longest which takes about 1h 30minutes at a good pace. There is an enclosed dog run (I spy from the bushes!) and a child run (play area). The gift shop sells 'stander national trust guff' as my friends describe it and the tea shop has a good selection of locally produced cakes and a very well priced sandwich and soup option for lunch. Ask the tea ladies about the 'hole-ie' plates on the walls!

Haddo also has a very big tree!
The sign says 'This is the largest tree in Haddo, perhaps the largest in the North East Scotland as you can see its not especially tall (about 27 Meters) – but the spread of the branches (about 35 meters) is exceptional.'

There's also something about a giant toadstool eating away at the tree making it very unsafe but you'll have to visit to find out more!

Drum Castle, was my second walk, this place has an enormous tower! There's some information on the castle on this site: http://www.britainsfinest.co.uk/historichouses/historichouses.cfm/searchazref/80001700DRUA
The walk at Haddo offers spectacular views of the surrounding country side and hills, where as this walk is mostly forest. This is nice just now but will be even more enjoyable during the summer months. The woodland has amongst its wild inhabitants Great Spotted Woodpeckers, red squirrel and tons of bugs. The information at the start of the forest walk mentions that the dead trees are left alone, rather than moved, to encourage biodiversity, the fact that you notice the dead trees goes to show just how 'managed' so many other 'natural' areas are.

2008-03-03T18:14:00.003Z

Whack The Haggis Game

avoid hitting the good haggis (with the tartan hats) during this pop up hunt and splat: You might need: Shockwave Player Download Center
Click on the square below to start playing whack the haggis game.

2008-03-02T11:53:00.001Z

Okra AKA Lady fingers
Not many people have had Lady fingers (the vegetable, silly), they don't seem to have garnered the same interest amongst the British public as other exotic vegetables. Not many people even know what they are, here's what I'm talking about:
Sainsbury's have sold Lady fingers, but if I recall the packs contained about 5 pieces , OK to add to your stir fry but not enough for a meal on its own, which is what I recommend you try and make! Asians almost always know the deal about Okra, we make Okra curries (surprise, surprise) in the far east Okra is used in tempura, Americans (south) are pretty big into the Okra as well, there they coat it in corn meal and shallow fry it.
Generally quick stir frying is the way to go to burn off the characteristic goo released when Okra is cooked, or on the other hand Okra can be used to thicken food as with Gumbo.
Here are a few simple recipes:

This is 'o`hitashi', which is basically any boiled vegetable, served with a dip,
You need about a pound of Okra and for the dipping sauce dark soy sauce and an inch of ginger.
In a pan of boiling water drop in the Okra and boil for 3-5 minutes. Drain the pan and rinse the Okra under cold water and then leave to dry as you make your soy sauce by grating the ginger finely in to a dish followed by the soy.

Southern fried Okra:
• Oil for shallow frying, an inch in depth.
• Okra
•Milk or cream• flour• cornmeal (yellow or white, I use yellow)
Make the coating for the okra by mixing the cornmeal and the flour which should be 1 part flour to two parts cornmeal. Season with some salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Chop the cleaned Okra in to 1cm rounds and get the oil heated in a pan.
Add a splash of milk to the Okra and stir it, it will start to get sticky with the juices of the Okra being released. Add milk slowly and continue to stir until the Okra is coated lightly in milk. Now drop the Okra into the coating mix and coat all the pieces. Test the oil with one piece of Okra and if it sizzles drop in the rest covering the pan with a shallow layer. Don't be tempted to turn the little pieces too soon as they will just lose their coating. Test a little bit and if golden turn the lot with a spatula. Drain all the pieces on a paper towel. Enjoy with diced tomato relish.

My curry recipe (well mine and the rest of South Asia)
You need:
1 onion chopped
oil for frying 1tbs
Brown mustard seeds 1tsp
Okra about ½ kg chopped into 1cm peices
salt
red chilli powder 1tsp
coriander powder 1tbs
2 small tomatoes chopped or half a can of chopped tomatoes
2tbs chopped coriander

Fry the chopped onion in a heavy based pan until light brown add the mustard seeds and fry for a further minute. Then add the Okra to the onions and stir add a splash of water so that they become tender keep stirring. When the okra darkens (5 minutes) add the spices and tomatoes. Cook on a low heat, covered for about 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with buttered chapatties.

2008-03-02T11:48:00.002Z

Moisturise
It'll come as no great surprise when I tell you that I moisturise, yeah... some men do, that's just the crazy world we live in now. Well, on stepping out of the shower today I realised that I had run out of the stuff I'd been using recently, I went to a local store (all the while feeling dry and stiff, of course) to restock. I noticed whilst there the vast amount of products directly targeted at men. In fact a whole isle of tonics and balms and salves. Normally I use generic, unisex brands but today I thought I'd have a look at some of these products 'scientifically rendered to deal with the demands of a male body' and hopefully get something with 'fighting ingredients for when things heat up', things are always heating up for me.
Yes, the language on these things is every 'A-level English' students wet dream (ahh, gender and language!), and its not just what they say its what's missed out; one product I looked at, in essence a tinted moisturiser, was full of information about harmful UVA rays and amino proteins but failed to mention that you'd be colouring your face...The statement 'just like foundation' would have sufficed. So we are now buying more and more cosmetic/beauty products, but we're still in denial? We know what we're doing (make-up, shh!), but we're not quite comfortable enough to have details written down on a bottle and stare at us from the vanity cupboard as we shave?...or pluck, tone, etc.
Well I AM comfortable hydrating my skin with the 'latest in male grooming technology', I do though object to the price (we reach our point). All the products I looked at were twice the price of their unisex cousins. I doubt that this is because men are now so eager to achieve a flawless complexion that money is no barrier, but more because targeting one sex is cutting your market down by at least 50% which means selling less products overall and this has to equal higher prices. How can we over come this? Well men, be kinder to your skin (and my wallet), and remember the packaging wont even give away your secret!

2008-02-28T21:00:00.004Z

Today's blog is brought to you by the letter G!
Adam works part time at the courts with me, well I say 'works' but mostly his time is spent browsing through Face Book and making strange noises (not all of them with his mouth). There should be an entire blog devoted to the little gems of wisdom that Adam comes out with throughout the day, and they generally get weirder as the day goes on. Yesterday Adam told me that I remind him of Grover from Sesame Street. I was intrigued and also a little worried that he was able to reference from Sesame Street.
'Grover, Sesame Street's gregarious blue monster, continues his new role as "Global Grover" in Season 37. In this segment, Grover introduces children to the world around them, and teaches them to be sensitive and respectful of our differences. He brings back, in the form of short films, something he has learned about cultures from around the world. In Season 37, Grover travels to such places as Germany where he learns about thatched roofs, he learns how to make imprint paintings in Bangladesh, and he learns about Puffins from Iceland. Needless to say, Grover accomplishes this with the childlike exuberance that has been making young viewers laugh (and occasionally cringe) for more than three decades. He is excitable, caring and compulsive—a combination that proves particularly volatile when he rushes into situations without analyzing the consequences. Children connect with Grover when he is confounded by adult logic, and share his fantasy of competence and control when he becomes "Super Grover," a problem-solving super hero who can do no wrong.'
Well of course you want to know which Sesame Street character your most like, well here's a link, you can then e-mail it to 20 people or what ever.
http://www.brainfall.com/test23_1.php

2008-02-28T20:09:00.001Z

Cauliflowers...Again?
Just a quick entry to let you know that Jamie Oliver has an entire episode devoted to the Brassica family. Excited?
This weekend Jamie's cauliflower and broccoli cannelloni will most certainly be on the menu.
Also whilst on the topic of Jamie Oliver I'm going to buy his book next month because I've enjoyed his Jamie at Home series, think its definitely one for the summer months though.
Series 2, Jamie at Home Episode 13 - Summer brassicas
Channel Four Thursday 28th February@20:00.

2008-02-26T00:04:00.000Z

Remember the chocolate biscuit Club? “If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit join our club”, -well there isn't a club, but if there were and if say the chain of command was decided upon by the sheer amount of Club bars you could eat, then the fatty at the top had better watch out for me!
I'm not the only one who enjoys the odd Club:
Dear Jacob's BakeryI am writing to you in my official capacity as secretary of the New Mills Invalids Club. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the club, and we mean to celebrate the occasion in some style, whilst at the same time giving club funds a much needed boost. To achieve this we intend to manufacture and sell to the general public a chocolate biscuit. We are confident that we have the expertise to accomplish this as four of our members used to work for the local sweet and confectionery factory - in fact it was because they worked at the local sweet and confectionery factory that they became invalids, having caught various parts of their anatomy in the machinery, but that's another matter.
Read on its great: http://www.razza.fsnet.co.uk/dearcocacola/jacobs4april.htm

2008-02-25T23:34:00.003Z

Mince and Tatties
You don't get more Scottish than this. This is what you want to eat when its raining and cold, which is why its hardly surprising to find that practically every one in Scotland was brought up partly on mince and tatties. Yes Scotland has a rich and varied food culture, but as with so many thing its the most basic recipes that we love most; Mince = Good, Mash = Good!
Makes enough for 2 loons or 3 lasses.
225g mince (my butcher was out of beef stake so I had to use lamb mince)
1 tbs cooking oil
1 onion chopped finely
carrot chopped, small pieces (optional)
350ml Stock (preferably beef, and more or less depending on how watery you like your mince!)
2 cloves Garlic (leave out if your looking for 100% authenticity)
freshly ground salt and pepper
Tatties (potatoes, medium sized with skin on)
Butter
2/3 tbs milk
Peas
Mint sauce
To a pan of boiling water add a pinch of salt and your potatoes and boil till soft about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the crushed garlic and the diced onion, fry until lightly coloured. Add the mince and brown, mixing and breaking up the mince as it colours. Add the chopped carrot if using. Continue to fry the mince for 8 minutes then slowly add the stock to the pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until cooked. Throughout the cooking time you can add a little more stock if you think its not looking moist enough. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are boiled drain the water from the pan and drop in a large nob of butter and a splash of milk. With a potato masher give the potatoes a good pounding, I prefer mine left quite chunky, but smothered in butter and black pepper.

Serve with boiled peas mixed with a teaspoon of mint sauce.

-Remember, this is absolutely not prescriptive cooking add to and subtract from it as you see fit, some people like to add a splash of good old Worcestershire sauce and I personally cant resist a sprinkle of cumin mixed into this, but I do try and hold back and I feel its my duty to inform you that the more sparse I have been with ingredients the better this turns out! Just remember this is simple Scottish fare so no tomatoes or Mediterranean herbs, or you'll have a bolognese sauce!

2008-02-21T23:02:00.005Z

My local Asian green grocer 'The Spice Shop' http://www.ukspiceshop.com/ (Yes they're on-line... and Yea I carry their card in my wallet) well they have started to stock Kulfi, this is a south Asian Ice cream. Its great especially after a spicy meal, the ingredients include milk, sugar, almonds, pistachios and cardamom.

Oh and its in a pot!
Mataka Kulfi
http://www.tubzee.co.uk/

2008-02-21T22:14:00.006Z

Thai curry

Make this when your short on time but still want something substantial. There's something remarkably comforting about this green curry; it ticks all the boxes in terms of comfort, its sweetened with coconut milk, warm and spicy, quick to make and the crunch of the green beans reminds you its healthy!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2/3 spring onions shoots, chopped

1 tbsp mild green curry paste, (I use 'Thai Taste -Gang Keow Wan' http://www.thaitaste.co.uk/)

1 chicken breasts, boneless and skinned chopped into small pieces (sometimes I use chicken wings 5/6 pieces per person or boneless thigh meat, I prefer this more tender meat)

250ml coconut milk
100ml chicken stock

2 tsp Thai fish sauce
1 tsp sugar

Fine green beans or mange tout (as many as you like, and any other vegetables such as peppers cut into strips)

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (sometimes I substitute basil with coriander- If thats what I have in the fridge!)

Heat the oil in a wok or pan and chuck in chopped spring onion and garlic if using. Add the curry past and then throw in the chicken pieces, mix until all the chicken in coated in the paste. Stir fry the chicken for a few minutes until sealed and then add the coconut milk and a little of the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer. If the sauce seems to be drying just a splash of stock. Add the fish sauce and the sugar. Continue simmering the curry for a further 6 minutes or until cooked.Add the basil and serve with boiled white rice.

2008-02-18T19:42:00.004Z

This is Arida's recipe, she works with me. Arida is very nice and is from the Baltic states but people keep asking her if she is Polish which annoys her a little.
Chop a cauliflower in to small pieces and boil until tender. Melt some butter in a pan about 30g and chuck in a diced onion. Once the onions are crisp and golden drop the cooked cauliflower into the pan as well. Mix everything together until the cauliflower is coated in the butter, add some more butter if needed. Sprinkle with lots of fresh ground Pepper! I'm thinking some cheese would go well on this, something to complement the strong flavour of the cauliflower and not compete with it! any ideas?
Enjoy topped on to some seriously toasted, crispy ciabatta!
Did you know?
-It's high in vitamin C (100g of cauliflower provides over 70% of the recommended adult intake!) and is also a good source of vitamin B6 and folate (vitamin B9).
-The stinky smell often associated with cauliflower is from the sulphur released during cooking. Want less stink? Cook it less!
I'm going to make a cauliflower curry some time soon!

2008-02-17T13:14:00.002Z

Today's Sunday paper was the Times:

Smugglers cash in on handbag dog fad
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3382351.ece
I blame Paris Hilton!

Delia Smith changes the way we eat in new book
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3382189.ece
Delia does a 'cheat' cook book... surprise, surprise, every one else has. I think these books are supposed to be encouraging for hesitant cooks, but when the first ingredient for lobster soup is canned lobster soup... is this cookery or assembly.

'Premium' foods are less healthy than budget brands.
-I must admit I'm a fool for Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' or Tesco's 'Finest' range, and will generally try a supermarket 'premium' brand when its released. Today we read that they are in fact much unhealthier than the regular brands. I don't think that this should be new to anybody, of course they are; 'our creamiest ever' 'our sweetest ever', generally means unhealthy... But oh so good.

How did Aberdeen get in such a pickle?
This article starts: 'Everyone agrees that the Granite City has an alcohol problem...'
I did think in the back of my mind, but didn't know it was national knowledge! To summarise there's lots of money in Aberdeen and not much to do, all the bars are concentrated on a short stretch of Union street meaning that a lot of people with money are around the non moneyed, (ghastly) leading to crime and violence fuelled by alcohol. Ha, apparently we need an east end for the poor to socialise and... batter each other.

2008-02-17T11:40:00.006Z

Chicken Pie (Ballal's trick pie)
Ingredients:
boneless chicken meat 400g (I used thigh)
2x celery sticks chopped in to 3cm pieces
bouquet garni (or table spoon dried herbs)
salt
bay leaf
tbs cooking oil
1 large onion chopped finely
4 cloves of garlic minced
mushrooms (button, chestnut etc.) sliced
1 stick of celery chopped
½ carrot diced (optional)
25-30g butter
2-3 tbs flour
300ml stock (strained water the chicken was cooked in)
1tsp each dried herbs (parsley and thyme)
Flour 1tbs
1 egg beaten
puff pastry 250g
Serves 3/4
Preheat the oven to 220ºc.
Cut meat in to small pieces of about 2cm and put in to a pan of boiling water along with the the celery, bouquet garni (or herbs), salt and bay leaf. Use plenty of water as this will be used as the stock later. Keep the water bubbling and the pan partially covered, the chicken will need to be cooked in this way and will take between 15 to 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a pan and when hot add the onions and garlic fry them but do not let them burn or darken too much. Once the onions have softened add the remaining vegetables (if using) and gently fry until soft then remove pan from the fire and empty the onion/vegetable mix on to a plate and set aside.
Make your rue:
Pour the cooking water from the now cooked chicken pot through a sieve into a jug ready for use in the rue. Give the bouquet garni a good squeeze catching the flavoursome juices in the jug. Also discard the celery and bay leaf from amongst the chicken pieces.
Melt the butter in your pan and then add the flour and mix into the melting butter, you can now slowly add your stock to the pan whilst constantly stirring, keeping the heat very low. The trick with the rue / white sauce is that you can adjust the quantities as you wish in order to get the perfect consistency. It needs to be neither too thick nor to thin.
To you rue you may now add the cooked chopped chicken and the plate of softened sliced onions and vegetables, stir in so that every thing is coated.

Now comes the hard bit; trying not to eat this subtly fragranced, warming and delicious mixture, which now needs to be poured into a pie dish ready for the puff pastry covering.
Cover a clean cooking surface with the flour and roll out the puff pastry to a size that will cover your pie dish and a thickness of about ½cm. Place it over the dish and cut off the access edges. Push down the edges covering all the filling. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and pierce with fork to let out some of the steam.
Place your pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crispy.
Serve:
I had my pie with some minted peas and boiled potatoes;
cook frozen peas as per pack instructions pop into a bowl and stir in a knob of butter and a teaspoon of mint sauce.
Boil potatoes drain when cooked and drizzle with a little garlic oil, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2008-02-16T01:44:00.005Z

I love this salad, I could eat it every day and it goes down particularly well in the summer, when the ingredients are especially fresh. I was going to call it Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil salad but a little research reveals that its actually called Insalta caprese and its from the Italian island of Capri!

There's a bit of debate about the exact make up of the salad particularly regarding the addition of vinegar. I use it. I believe that the Italians do not use it because they use firm, slightly green tomato's that are tart in themselves. I on the other hand use large, fully ripe and gloriously red tomato's whose sweet flavour go wonderfully with the sharp yet warm tang of balsamic.
You will need mozzarella as well, as fresh as possible; the type that comes in water is what you want and not the tough stuff that is usually used on pizza. I find that the poorer quality mozzarella is tougher and less milky than the good stuff! Also make sure that mozzarella is brought to room temperature before use, which will make sure the cheese is flavoursome.
I usually have a potted basil plant on the go so have plenty of basil at hand, I like to use whole leaves but you can also chop them.
Use the best extra virgin olive oil that you can get! The only other ingredients you will need are a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Arrange:
Slice the tomato and mozzarella to a reasonable thickness (¼ inch) and layer on your serving plate, pick the basil leaves and scatter over the plate, or alternatively place leaves between the tomato and mozzarella slices. Carefully pour over the extra virgin olive oil, I like a good glug drizzled all over use your thumb to make sure it does not overflow.
I like plenty of black pepper ground over my Insalta caprese and just a pinch of salt.
Now you can decide whether you will use vinegar or not, if you do I advice you ONLY use aged balsamic vinegar. The sweetness will really complement this salad but remember not to use too much.
There you go, that's Insalta caprese, there are no rules to making it but fresh, good quality ingredients are definitely worth using.

2008-02-14T21:34:00.005Z

Fish and chips for grown ups!
Coated herb salmon with home made chips

2x lightly smoked Salmon fillets
2 tbs oil for shallow frying
For the fish coating you need:
4 tbs bread crumbs
1 tsp dried basil
1tsp dried thyme
½ tsp curry powder (mild)
seasoning
For the chips:
2 large white potatoes
salt
2 tbs vegetable fat
3-4 garlic cloves
seasoned plain flour

-The potatoes need to be chipped thickly, then put in a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt
boil for 10 minutes. Make sure that the potatoes do not over cook and become to soft.
-Meanwhile make the coating for the fish. Combine all the coating ingredients in a large mortar and grind till quite fine. Brush the fish with some oil and pat on the dry coating.
-Heat the oil in a pan until hot and then carefully place the fish in without shaking off too much of the coating. The salmon fillets will need approximately 8-12 minutes frying time with a turn halfway through. Keep the heat medium to low.
-Once the potato chips are boiled drain the water from the pan and drop in the vegetable fat, pop the lid back onto the pan and let the fat melt and coat the chips. Once coated sprinkle the flour over the chips. Give them a quick swirl in the pan to make sure they are all covered.
Spread the chips evenly on a greased baking try and spread the whole garlic cloves amongst them.
Put under a hot grill until crisp and golden, about 10-12 minutes. I also drizzled a teaspoon of garlic oil over my chips.
-Serve your fish and chips with a wedge of lemon and a crispy salad with a tart dressing. I also made a quick sauce requiring:
Two table spoons of mayonnaise, a good squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of water to thin it out a little and three finely diced baby gherkins (or spring onions), mix all the ingredients together plus some freshly ground black pepper.
Mushy peas are also a favourite with fish and chips! (Get them out of a can)

2008-02-13T19:49:00.003Z

Have I mentioned that I want a dog? I've wanted one for years? I'm not yet able to have one because I rent my flat, so animals are not allowed (although I have a cat! shhh). Realistically I wont have one for a few more years, I know this, but I'm still a little obsessed; I have Italian Greyhound books on the coffee table, Weimarana pictures as my desktop background and Dachshund slippers! So needles to say that on my daily walk home from work, when I pass my local vet surgery I have a little peek through the window, just to see what's sniffing about. Anyway today as I left work the beautiful winter sunshine of the morning was gone, instead the thick Scottish harr (sea fog to you and me) was making it difficult to see 10 yards ahead, so, as I'd walked past the vet's I noticed that the door was just being opened, of course I immediately spun around AND continued to walk backwards, wondering what sort of hound would come bounding out. But instead of seeing anything I hit my heel against a mini bollard and proceeded to fall on may back! This in front of an audience of queued cars and on top of my humiliation, disappointment; as I see a man leave the vet practice with a hamster cage!
When I got home I made Fish and Chips!

2008-02-12T23:10:00.000Z

I'm a 22 year old part time student part time worker living in Aberdeen which is the 3rd largest city in Scotland. It has amongst other accolades the title of 'Oil capitol of Europe' this is why some have come to know Aberdeen as being the Dallas of UK...!
Ok, you want to know more about this crazy city! So, Aberdeen is also The Granite City! This is because... many of the buildings are made with granite. This is great during the Summer months (the pluralisation of 'month' might be stretching the truth a bit), because the buildings shine like silver, but during winter, (most of the time) Aberdeen just looks incredibly grey! Bring your own S.A.D light.
Food wise I'm just beginning to explore Aberdeen, there are a number of great restaurants as you would expect from any largish city, but being on the coast and with its fishing history there are many wonderful fish markets for fresh fish. Head inland for numerous little farmers markets dotted around the outskirts of the city and throughout Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen is also a Fair Trade City (We've got signs on the side of the road at least).
I love to cook! So that's what this blogg is mostly going to be about; the recipes that I try, the books they come from, where I get ingredients, experiments and mistakes! As well as cooking I like eating at restaurants ('just wait till your metabolism slows down' they say!?), so I'll also be giving my verdict on as many as possible hopefully!
I'll also mull over some other interesting stuff...
-The fun: Scot's Speak, T.V. shows, Books, Dog talk!!!
-The not so fun: Humdrum of my dead end job (which of course I'm only doing until I realise the funds for my own café!!)
-The imagined: My own café :( My Dogs :(

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad!