Tea Total

My girl accidentally picked up the wrong tea from Marks & Spencer earlier today. I don't blame her of course, she's American you know? She never seems to get her donuts mixed up, always recognises the right hamburger relish even if the labels are different. That kind of thing.
I'm joking of course, I don't even know why I'm writing it because if she sees it, she'll most likely fillet me with one of my own Globals'.
She returned from the shops with no less than 2 big boxes of loose tea. It was on offer, B.O.G.O.F. Ordinarily I would have agreed that was a smart move, but we don't have a tea-pot you see. My first thought was to get my ass on eBay and buy one. It's logical when you're an impulse buyer. Her first thought was to walk the 5 minutes back into town and exchange the tea.....Where's the fun in that?

You may be forgiven for thinking that this isn't going anywhere. You would be more or less right, except for 2 things that are pretty cool, one more so than the other. The first thing that springs to mind is I can make a second attempt at smoking my own fish with the tea and a few other ingredients (the only other time I tried to do this was a couple of years ago and involved a bamboo steamer lots of flames and the harming of innocent haddock fillets).

The other revelation I had is that this loose tea works fine in the coffee machine. I'm sure that's not much of a revelation to many people but it certainly is to silly old me. I never knew you could do that and it works really very well indeed. I've used 4 rounded teaspoons to successfully make a full jug of tea that sits neatly on it's hotplate downstairs as I write. That equates to lots of tea when I consider the size of the 2 boxes we have.

So there we have it: Loose tea in the coffee machine. What will I think of next? Maybe I'll boil an egg in the kettle or something.

x


Quick Guide On Smoking Food:

• Use a mixture of saw dust, wood chips (available from places that sell barbecue products) loose tea, rice and dry spices.
• Use a wok lined with tin foil and with a raised wire rack on the top.
• Place the fish or meat on the rack, cover the wok and place on a medium heat for the required time.

Disclaimer.

Please be very careful when smoking food at home. Only an idiot like me would try to use a bamboo steamer and I can't be held responsible for people burning loved-ones or houses to the ground.

Roasted Red Onion Rings With Smoked Paprika Coating....."Yeah, Whatever"

This is my second attempt in 2 days to make these onion rings. My thoughts were thus: I really like onion rings as do lots of people (this revelation came to me whilst watching Married To The Mob on Sunday). Problem is, they're unhealthy. Now I'm not averse to unhealthy things, not at all, but I don't even have a deep-fat-fryer...And that's a good thing!
So I was thinking about the idea of just baking them in a hot oven. Furthermore, since they have an inherent high water content, if I season some flour with a little salt and lots of smoked paprika, well then maybe it'll stick to the onion rings...Job done......

Oh how wrong can you be?

They came out burnt on the inside and just dusty with raw flour on the outside. Tasted really strange. Ryan agreed with me - under duress - that they're "..almost good". They weren't almost good, they were really bitter, just like I was after I made them.

Start Again.

Ok, so I started to write that nonsense above about a week or so ago. Today I decided to have another go at this idea and so I went down to the cupboard and found the new red onions I had bought for the job. My intention was to test out making a kind of batter with flour, salt, smoked paprika and fizzy water. I was then going to see how successfully I could coat these and cook them in the oven: a kind of in-between version that is battered but still not fried.....

Problem.

The onions were completely rotten - both of them. I swear they sat in the naturally cooled large open-plan cupboard/larder type thing for only a few days. What is it with vegetables? I seem to suffer this problem frequently; I never seem to get to grips with storing fresh vegetables very well. Those trays in the bottom of the fridge, designed for salad and what-not, with their special dials that can be rotated to open or close a vent, well they just do nothing. I do better using those compartments to hide chocolate and cakes in.

So anyway, I thought I might do a bit of a Google for tips on how to store these fruits of the earth (is that even a saying?).

This one is funny, of Jerusalem Artochokes:

As with other root crops, the simplest method of storage is to leave it in the ground. It keeps 1 month in a dark, cool place away from intense cold. Keeps well in boxes packed with peat moss.

I would leave them in the ground, only I have never been to the farm Sainsbury's get them from, let alone met the farmer and had a chance to ask him "...could you leave mine in the ground mate? - I'll come over a dig them up when I need them". Also I never realised Peat had changed his name to Kate'’s ya know?

And this one just isn't true:

Tomatoes will keep 2-4 weeks in the refrigerator although they tend to lose flavor over long periods. They can be pulped then bottled or processed into soups and sauces and frozen.

They never last that long for me.

What about this one:

Fresh asparagus will keep in the refrigerator 7-10 days after harvesting. Break off the rough ends and stand upright in 1 inch of water.

It’s the after harvesting bit I like. That'’s always been my problem: I mess around too long instead of heading straight home when I'’ve been out harvesting. What an idiot I am.

Ah well what ya gonna do eh?

I think I'’ll go out and buy some frozen onion rings.

x

Seared Tuna with Salsa Verde, Sauteed Spinach and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Seared tuna is something of a luxury for me. It is quite expensive compared to other fish, but remains a firm favourite of mine. I'm always very anxious not to over cook it; a wrong move can mean you end up with nothing more than a slab of fish that may as well be flaked, brined and canned. Get the timing right though and you end up with what is - to my mind - one of the tastiest and best looking foods to grace your plate in a while.

The Salsa Verde is a perfect accompaniment; clean and fresh like a salad dressing, not too overpowering. I realise this sauce or dressing varies and mine is no exception to that rule. I tend to not use anchovies since many people don't like them. I however love the salty little things and could eat them almost everyday.
I am a big advocate of simplicity and so I like to have things like garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach on the side. There's something very pleasing about the contrasts of colour in the finished dish; the greenery with the white of the potato, the deep red streak through the middle of the tuna. Above all else though, it needs to taste good and this does.

What You Need:

2 x Tuna Steaks (about 6oz each is good)
Olive Oil
Salt & Black Pepper

For The Salsa Verde:

Large Bunch Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley
Juice and Zest of 1 Large Lemon
2 tsp Capers
Good Lug Olive Oil
Salt & Black Pepper

For The Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Use my recipe for mashed potatoes, only add 3 cloves peeled garlic to boil with the pots, mashing in the same way at the end of boiling time.

For The Sautéed Spinach:

Large Bunch Spinach (about 125g)
Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (finely sliced)
Salt & Black Pepper

Method:

• Place the spinach in a large pan of boiling water, cook until wilted for around 5 mins. Drain and remove excess water with kitchen paper, set to one side.

• Whisk to combine all ingredients for the salsa Verde, seasoning to taste with salt and black pepper.

• Rub the tuna steaks in a little olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper, set to one side.

• Make the mashed potatoes according to my recipe, and according to my notes above. Cover and set to one side.

• Sautee the spinach over a med/high heat in olive oil, with the sliced garlic. Sautee until the water evaporates from the spinach, being careful not to burn the garlic. Cover the pan and take off the heat.

• Heat a dry pan to med/high, place the tuna steaks in and sear on both sides for around 1- 1 ½ mins each side. You need to use your judgment here; it will vary according to the thickness of the steaks and the type of pan you use. If you watch the side edges of the tuna, you will notice the change in colour rising upwards. You need to try and leave a good pinky/red line along the centre. Also it is worth remembering that the fish will continue to cook when removed from the heat – less is more in other words.

• Place the tuna on your plate. Briefly re-whisk the salsa and spoon over the steak. Serve the mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach on the side.

x

Cheese On Toast For Very Slightly Posh People.

This was pretty tasty at around midnight last night. Again one of those "let's see what we have in the fridge". I'm a bit addicted to tapenade at the moment although I must confess that I buy it in jars from the supermarket. It's really tasty, quite salty and almost fruity somehow. I equally love roasted peppers but do also mostly buy them in jars because I'm lazy. For those of you less lazy, Here's how to make them, courtesy of Rachael at Fresh Approach Cooking.


What I Used:

2 Slices Wholemeal Bread
Mature Cheddar Cheese
Tapenade (a generous slathering)
Mixed Roasted Peppers (finely chopped)

Pretty Easy:

• Stick the bread under the grill to toast on 1 side.
• remove from the grill, turn over to the un-toasted side and spread a good layer of tapenade on top. Layer up plenty of sliced mature cheddar.
• Finely chop the mixed roasted pepper and spread evenly over the cheese. Grind some black pepper over the top.
• Return to the grill until the cheese is bubbling and nicely melted.

I also really like Worcester Sauce on top of the cheese but we didn't have any, so I didn't add any. You could do though!

x

Carrot & Coriander Soup

Finally some time at home and an opportunity to nip down to the shops and buy a few things of a nourishing persuasion. A sore throat and runny nose dictates I eat only that which is smooth, warming and a bit healthy. Oddly, this soup wasn't available back-stage at any of the venues we visited over the past week. Somehow I think it will probably never be on the menu.

It's simple, healthy and above all else, really tasty.

Ingredients:

Carrots (about 6 good sized)
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Pint / 2 Cups Water
1 tbsp Fresh Coriander, Finely Chopped
Salt & Black Pepper To Taste

To Make It:

• Top and tail the carrots with a sharp knife. Wash under cold running water using a new scouring pad. Cut into equal sized pieces, about the size of your thumb.
• Peel 3 cloves garlic, cutting each in 1/2 length-ways.
• Steam the carrots and garlic with a little black pepper until soft (about 25 mins or so).
• Heat water to just under boiling point with 3 or 4 whole black pepper corns added. Remove from the heat, discard the pepper corns and cover the pan.
  
• Blend the carrots, garlic and coriander along with about 1/2 the water, until completely smooth.
  
• Return to the pan containing remaining water, heat and stir, seasoning to taste.

A couple of notes:

• Optionally add a little cream to richen the soup.
• Be aware that fresh coriander is strong in flavour, you may want to add less than I do.
• Coriander is called Cilantro in the U.S.

x

More Shows & Free Clothes

Sadly nothing of a culinary ilk to report yet again. Played the 100 Club on Oxford St. London last night. Twas very hot and busy. Lots of fun but tiring.
Went to get free clothes today for a photoshoot, we can actually keep them too, which is unusual to say the least. Playing 2 shows tomorrow night, the 1st being at Lincoln University, 10.30pm, the 2nd in Nottingham at 12.30pm. Should be a challenge, something we haven't done before. It can be done though I'm sure. Back down to London on Friday, to play the buffalo Bar in Islington. Should be a lot of fun.
I shall however be free at the weekend and I'm actually going to do some cooking! I need some healthy food, my body is crying out for nourishment.

That is all.

x

Home Sweet Home

Ahhh. Being back home, in the warmth and comfort. Is there really anything better? I say no. Played an absolutely insane show last night, in a very small, very hot club with too many people inside it. Kids going nuts for the hits of the day.....

Now then, so how was the fish and chips? What could be better than battered plaice, chips and mushy peas, on a plate, with a knife and fork, salt and pepper, ketchup, bread and butter and a mug of tea.....All for the princely sum of £4.05. That is seriously cheap, I'm tellin' ya. That lot (if you could even get it all to take-away in Derby) would be at least £5.00, wrapped up in paper, requiring your own plate and cutlery and without a nice lady to take your plate away and get it all clean again.


I also ate some pretty good Sushi from Tesco on the journey down to Southend. I rarely go to Tesco, there isn't one near why I live and Mum never went there when i was a kid. This stuff is cheap; 99p gets you 3 pieces of the usual stuff like Smoked Salmon Maki and egg-topped Nigri wrapped in seaweed. Comes with a miniature bottle of soy too. It's really not the adventurous stuff, but it's certainly much better than the usual Tuna, Sweetcorn and Mayo sandwiches we buy. I think I'll get it a bit more often.

Busy Busy Busy.....
Off to Leeds tomorrow morning, to spend 1 day recording a track for a compilation cd, coming out near to christmas. Should be a challenge! Not used to recording so quickly.

I will endeavour to post tomorrow from the studio, if i get the opportunity.

x

Tonight, Tomorrow...The Next Day

More shows, more shows.

Playing Nottingham tonight at The Tone Club. Should be a whole 'lotta fun indeed. Rumour has it, we should expect our full rider to actually be in the dressing room when we arrive....Oh joy is me!

Southend-On-Sea tomorrow night. I'm thinking fish 'n' chips (well it would be rude not to at the seaside wouldn't it?).

So...not a lot of cooking for me over the weekend. No partaking in the creation of "new kitchen calamities" - sounds like the name of a band to me.

x

Leek and Potato Soup

It really is getting very cold here for us poor boys needing to use our fingers and hands with precision, crafting the most perfect pop-noir gems in the studio. Trying to play the bass at the moment reminds me of being in the school playground in winter and not being able to button my duffel coat because my fingers are too numb.
This makes me think of foods like meat and potato pie, chicken casserole and soup. All the comfort foods. The stuff that reminds you of years gone by. The tea and 2 slice that is the very fibre of your being, that which shaped you into the person you are today.
I put this soup together last night, in a bit of a hurry. It always tastes great and never fails to warm me up when I'm feeling cold. Unfortunately it doesn't actually improve bass playing. It does make getting out of bed and braving the cold a little easier though....(just a little).

What I Used:

2 small leeks
3 small potatoes (any that you like really)
1 shallot
frozen peas (a handful)
vegetable stock (or water)
olive oil
salt & pepper
parmesan shavings (optional to finish the soup)

What I Did:

• finely slice the leeks and shallots, adding them to sweat gently in a pan with a little olive oil for around 5 mins.
  
• wash the potatoes and cut them into something like 1/8 pieces, leaving the skins on. Add them to the same pan. Sweat down gently for a further 3 or so mins.
  
• Add the fresh vegetable stock, stock cube mixed with water or just water, to the pan (ensuring that all the vegetables are covered by about an inch of liquid).
• gently simmer for about 20 mins, adding the peas in the last 8 or so mins. Cook until the potatoes are soft to the point of a knife. Be ready to add more stock or water as you go, given that some of the liquid will cook away.
  
• set aside to cool for about 10 mins.
• using a slotted spoon, remove around 3/4 of the vegetables and put them into a blender, with about 1/2 the liquid. Blend until smooth.
  
• Return to the pan on a medium heat and stir, seasoning to taste.
  
• Spoon into bowls, optionally adding a few parmesan shavings and some cracked black pepper.

Notes:

Retaining some of the vegetables whole gives a nice combination of a smooth, thick consistency with the occasional chunk of potato to bite into.

When chopping leeks you should keep the green tops very fine and chop the white part a bit chunkier. This is based on the fact that the tops are tougher since they have been above ground and seen more weather, whereas the white parts have grown underground and are more delicate and soft.

Adding things like Parmesan shavings or a little cream will give a slight variation in the flavour but mostly adds to the presentation of the finished soup.

Soups like this freeze well so it pays to make a big batch. It's better to have some in the freezer rather than the raw veg hanging around in the fridge rotting away.

A Typical Day in Kitchen Heaven

This is the kind of stuff that goes in my mind whilst I'm sleeping, only for me to rudely awaken, realising it simply isn't real.
Picture a kitchen (it's gonna have to be a big one) heavily laden with only the best top-of-the-line gadgets and equipment money can buy. Think also of a bank balance (it's also gonna have to be a big one). Picture your days leisurely spent self-indulgently preparing and creating your favourite foods with the kind of contraptions at your disposal that would quite frankly make your grandmother feel.....Well,....Disturbed.
There are many examples of which I speak, widely available on the market, each boasting "you simply have to have one of these" or "...makes slicing, chopping, blending, roasting and hang-gliding so simple, you'll wonder how you made do without one".
So what if you could buy all the gadgets and machines available? That'd be pretty cool wouldn't it?

Here are a few things I've been looking at:

Breakfast:

Coffee
Toast
Orange Juice
Asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon with
Poached eggs in Hollandaise sauce

Ok, so you gonna need to grind your coffee and actually make it. The Jura Impressa F90, with it's Cup Illumination and Internet Connectivity (gives users unique online help in the event of questions or uncertainties) is surely the only machine fit for the job. It's also got an integrated rinse, cleaning and decalcifation programme built in, which, let's be honest, is going to save a lot of time. Time better spent squeezing oranges to make the perfect juice accompaniment, as I'm sure you'll agree. Check out the Remida Automatic Citrus Juicer, it's "within the grasp of the discerning domestic user who is looking for the best" - Yep, that's me alright.
Toast, I love toast, that's an easy one. I just need a toaster. The Dualit 60144 Polished Stainless Steel Toaster will churn out 195 slices per hour.
Next I would really like some asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon, with a poached egg in hollandaise sauce. I'm not going to start smoking my own salmon every morning; that's just ridiculous. No, I'm going to buy smoked salmon, after all, I'm not a frivolous person. I do really need a knife though and I won't settle for anything less than Global G10 Flexible Ham or Salmon Knife, it cuts extra thin slices and that's just how I like it. I like my asparagus steamed because it's healthier and helps to retain the vivid colour of the luxurious green vegetable. I'll opt for the Grunwerg Asparagus Steamer, with it's large capacity basket and stylish stainless steel finish. I love hollandaise sauce, especially over poached eggs. The only trouble is, I'm not very good at making it. If only I could find a machine that would make it for me, that would be just dandy. How about Froth Au Lait's Froth 'n Sauce Maker. It's good for hollandaise as well as sweet sauces and topping for cappucinos. And for the eggs? This simple egg poacher pan by Clearview is great, with it's clear lid. Holds up to 6 eggs.

Total Cost of Breakfast:
£1572.08
$2737.00


Lunch:

Tuna Nicoise Salad

Something light for lunch and one of my favourites. Nice and salty from the anchovies and olives. To pit the olives, why not try this. It's inexpensive, but hey, we don't want to waste money do we? For the eggs, how about the Princess Egg Boiler. And to slice them, the Kitchenware Egg Slicer Deluxe will do the job well.
I'm thinking salad spinner and I'm thinking, I want a battery powered one because I'm lazy when it comes to these things. This one from Salter should do the trick. How about this handmade French Herb Chopper. I's made of oak. Ideal for adding a bit of chervil to the salad. This Oil Drizzler would be great for olive oil and salad dressings.


Total Cost of Lunch:
£163.88
$285.46





Dinner:

Spaghetti Bolognese
Vanilla Ice Cream with Praline sprinkles

I feel like something easy going. A bit of comfort food if you will, a winter warmer. An old favourite. Home-made spaghetti and freshly ground beef with a spicy tomato sauce. Maybe some garlic bread to go with it? The easiest and best way to make pasta and grind the beef from steak is gonna be to buy the Kitchenaid Mixer and add the attachments to it. That's going to mean you've got one unit that is multi-functional and great quality to boot. You can even use the mixer itself for lots of other things too. Who knows, maybe you'll be making meringues tomorrow right? The Pasta Maker is going to roll your thin sheets of lasagne as well as cut your linguini. The Food Grinder is simple enough and is going to work for mincing just about anything (hopefully not fingers though). Fancy a bottle of red to go with that? I personally really like Rioja. I don't go in for all this wine snobbery, don't know a great deal about it, but i know what i like the taste of and i know a little bit about what-goes-with-what, but I really don't think that matters. The main thing is, how good is your corkscrew? This Screwpull Elegance is great and will un-cork just about anything with ease.
How about following that little lot with some home-made ice cream topped with some praline (remind me to add my recipe for that, it's great). The perfect dessert to compliment the sheer simplicity of the main course. The Gaggia Gelatiera ice cream maker is what you need, with it's self-refrigerating bowl and easy cleaning. And what about the Magimix Mini Chopper for the praline sprinkles. It's going to come in handy for myriad of other uses too.

Total Cost of Dinner:
£842.84
$1461.43

Ok, so that's a nice little lot of gadgets to be going on with for now. The burning question is though, Who's doing the washing up eh? I only really selected a few items to look at here but if you wanted to, you could buy some device or other for almost everything. It's something that's always intrigued / irritated me - this idea that you need a blender for soups and then a smoothie maker for smoothies, when we all know that you only really need one or the other. I'm sure there are in fact lots of people who go in for all these different bits of kit, and if I'm honest, I'm a bit jealous really because I can't afford to do the same! I'm sticking with my original claim though - most of it is a waste of money.

Total Money Spent Today:
£2578.80
$4470.68

x

An Interesting / Bizarre Day....

I bumped into a friend of mine today, by the name of Jyoti Mishra, of White Town fame. To be accurate, he came up behind me when I was looking in the window of Jessops at the digital cameras. I was hatching a no-brainer of a plan, thinking about if I could steal one because there's no way I'm going to afford the one I really want. I must admit that I find myself feeling guilty. What ensued was a very interesting conversation re:digital photography with regards to photographing food...We walked and talked and met up with another friend who gave good advice too. "It sounds to us as though you would need an xxxx rather than a yyyy, that would be great for what you need". "Ah that sounds great to me...". "That would also be great for when you're on tour, capturing the kinds of low-light shots that present themselves, in the dressing room or on the tourbus".
So then I thought to myself, "..yeah I'm actually supposed to be in a band really, and not writing about food on a blog". I guess it's addictive, to the point of being dangerous! So anyway, I'm borrowing a camera tomorrow, to see how I get on. It'll be good to get back into doing some serious photography - combined with one of my main passions in life (food).
I made a sort of a salad last night (about 3am). I couldn't sleep - that's normal for me with my schedule - and was thinking about the 1/2 onion and dwarf beans in the fridge. It could've all gone so wrong....but it worked well in the end! Anyway, I'm going to make it again, along with another idea with onions - hopefully tomorrow - and take some pics too.

ps. How can the Blogger spell checker not recognise the word blog?
What's that all about? We shouldn't have to click "learn" for words like "blog" surely?

pps. Is the act of adding a "borrowed" image of a digital camera onto a post about not having a camera and needing to not "borrow" images all the time, an example of irony? I never know with things like that...

x

The Whole Band Thing

So.....

Just back from London, after playing 2 shows (Thursday & Friday), both in the somewhat run-down side that is the east part of the capital. It occurs to me that my whole food blogging thing is gonna suffer when I'm called away to these battles with my comrades.....

...But then I thought, well I have to eat whilst I'm away and admittedly, the food provided by most venues is B.A.D....(yes, all 3 letters capitalised and punctuated)...Basic And Dire......Bereft of All dietary fibre?....I could go on....

What happens when you're in a band is that you have a Rider; a list of required food stuffs and liquid for consumption in the dressing-room area of the venue. Take note of the fact that it is thee artistes that foot the bill, paying for such commodities as coffee and wine out of the proceeds for playing the show, which goes some way to explaining why we don't have smoked salmon and chardonnay most nights....

This is what we have on our Rider:

Wholemeal Pitta Breads
hummus
Cheese
Butter
1 bottle Red Wine (for myself)
24 Cans of Lager (for the others, although I end up having some)
Selection of Fruit
12 Bottles of Mineral Water
Some Chocolate (that was probably my idea I think)

This is what we get for the most part:

24 cans of Lager
Potato Crisps
Chocolate (sometimes)
Water (sometimes)

It seems to me that the people responsible for buying in these things for which we ask, are both very lazy and also, seem to not be well-versed in the notion that people may actually want fruit and wholemeal bread-stuffs...This may seem rather trivial and neither here-nor-there, but then take into consideration that boys (and girls) like us, often spend 28 days out of 30 doing these silly shows for kids the length and breadth of this little island....It starts to get more serious; you begin to entertain the paranoid thoughts that you really are involved in some kind of Morgan Spurlock 'esq experiment to see whether you can completely ruin your health from the inside out (and that's not the bit you're getting paid for!)

Alternatively, a venue may not provide a Rider, instead giving each member of the band and crew a "buy-out", that is to say, money up-front, in advance of the playing that night, to be used for purchase of food. This then inevitably brings into play thee Pub-Chain-Meal-Deal. Boasting such fare as "2 meals for the price of 1, between 2pm & 7pm (does not include Burgers, Scampi or the Chilli)". These establishments are horrible, serving just the right balance of fat, salt and more fat. Exactly what kids need in order to maintain the necessary energy levels, a kind of pre-requisite when playing everyday for a month.

So anyway, what with a new digital camera coming my way (i hope) and, what with my friend and mentor Rachael pointing out to me "you can't keep stealing images from the internet", i thought i might try and keep a log of the kind of crap me and mine end up putting in our bellies whilst out-and-about. (Something to shows the kids - if I've a fertile fibre left within my skinny, malnourished body that is).

For the record, last night i mostly ate wholemeal bread with processed ham and cheese, washed down with free pints of lager.



Read it and weep suckers.


x

Fish Pie

As is often the case with me, i like to foolishly try and make things
from memory, that i have seen on t.v or in some Sunday-supplement
magazine. I realise this is pretty foolish and leads to disaster. It
also sometimes works really well and somehow it almost seems more real
maybe.... Who knows?
The thing i most like doing is to adapt a recipe according to what i
have in the kitchen cupboard at the time. This certainly is
fundamentally more realistic; you're hungry, you want to eat
something, you remember an idea you saw somewhere else and want to
create it. You've completely run out of quail's eggs and you wouldn't
recognise a Chiffonade from a Chiffon Scarf.

To that end, here is my recipe for a fish pie. It's one of the ones
that worked and so i thought i might share it with anybody who feels
inclined to read about it and/or make it.


What's in it:

A Large Fillet of Cod (Skin removed, cut into mouth-sized pieces)
Cooked Prawns (a good handful)
Potatoes (6 good-sized ones)
Spinach (a good handful, steamed and with excess liquid squeezed out
through a clean tea towel)
Frozen Broad Beans (handful)
2 Shallots
1 Clove of Garlic
Dry White Wine (about 2/3 glass or so)
Parsley (good Handful, chopped)
Plain Flour
Butter
Single Cream
Vegetable oil
Salt & Pepper
Grated Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese










What you need to do: The mashed potato.

• Peel the potatoes and cut them each into 3. Add to boiling, salted water for around 20 mins or until completely soft to the point of a knife.
• Drain the potatoes, retaining the water in a bowl. Add the broadbeans to the liquid, put to one side.
• Mash the potatoes adding a little cream and/or milk, salt and pepper. You can decide to mash to a stage with no lumps at all, or roughly mash not so fully - either is good and to personal taste really. Cover and put to one side.

For the parsley buttery sauce (and fish)

• First you need to make a light roux (don't worry it's not too difficult). Melt a piece of butter (about the size of your thumb) in a pan set on a low/med heat. Add approx 1 tbsp flour and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the butter and flour. Add flour and stir in the same way until what you have resembles a kind of dough or biscuit crumb. Remove from the pan and compact into a ball, put to one side.
• Clean out the pan, add some vegetable oil and put over a medium heat.
• Thinly slice the shallots and finely chop the garlic, adding the shallots and sweating gently for 2 mins before adding the garlic for a further min.
• Turn the heat up and add the wine. Reduce the heat back to low/med when the alcohol has cooked away (you no longer smell it)
• Crumble small pieces of the roux into the pan, whisking all the time until no lumps and the sauce starts to get quite thick.
  
• Add cream and enough water to thin down a bit. Add the fish and simmer for 1 min or so. Add the beans, prawns, fresh parsley, stir and take off the heat.

Assembling the dish:

• Set the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3
• Take an oven proof dish and spread the fish, prawns and sauce evenly over the base.
• Arrange the spinach in an even layer on top.
• Spoon the mashed potato on the top, being careful to spread it evenly and not disturb the other layers too much.
• Grate a good layer of cheddar and parmesan cheese on the top. Place on a high shelf in the oven for 25-30 mins, until the cheese becomes dark, golden in colour. (don't let it burn) .

Great comfort food and it stays hot out the oven for ages, since the potato helps to hold in the heat underneath.


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Easy Noodle Soup

I really like this very quick noodle soup. It's hot, sour, sweet and salty. Really kick-starts the taste buds. It's also pretty healthy, with no oil, only water.


What You Need:

1 1/2 pints water (3 cups)
1 block of any dry noodles (usually come in packs of 2 blocks, 150g each)
frozen peas (handful)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp - 1tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce (add according to how hot you like it)
1tsp nam-pla (fish sauce)
fresh cooked prawns (handful)

What You Do:

• Get the water boiling in a saucepan
• add all ingredients, apart from the cooked prawns
• gently boil until the noodles are done, usually this is around 4-5 mins.
• remove from the heat and add the prawns

And that really is it! Obviously this is a pretty un-developed recipe, solely designed to be quick, easy and pretty healthy. There are endless ways you could tweak it. Other things you could add include:

• Finely sliced garlic
• sliced spring onions
• sweetcorn
• shitaki mushrooms
• oyster sauce
  

Or anything that you like the taste of and that can be boiled in 5 or so minutes. What i find with recipes like this is that it really does not matter if you put things in that don't traditionally go together. If you've got it in the freezer or cupboard and you like the taste of it, then experiment a bit.

Laura's Carrot Cake

Here is a recipe for my girlfriend Laura's carrot cake. This is very popular in our house, so much so, she has made it 3 times over the last 2 months. It's rich, very big, very moist and tastes fantastic. She takes the recipe from her mum back home in College Station, Texas. I hardly need say that when a mum recipe shows up, it should be seized with both hands. What is it with mums' and their recipes? They're always too rich, too filling and too good.

What you will need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts

3 cups grated carrots

The Cake:

Combine all ingredients, except the last two, blending thoroughly. Fold in the carrots and pecans. Pour into three round cake pans that have been greased and floured. The cake pans won't look very full (maybe at 1/3 to 1/2 depth) but don't worry! Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 Celsius) for 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out of center clean. Err on the side of MOIST. Let cool completely (while still in the cake pans) before removing or frosting!!

For the Frosting:

2 parts cream cheese
1 part unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Lots of icing sugar (sifted so you don't get clumps)


There are many recipes for cream cheese icing out there. Whichever one you use, I recommend doubling it so you have LOTS of the good stuff to lather up your cake (and you'll inevitably want to lick up lots - as will anyone else in the house). Generally you'll need a large block of butter and two large packs of cream cheese. Set out these the previous night so they're nice and soft, then cream together thoroughly and add vanilla. (Almond extract also adds a nice touch at this point - play with it if you wish.) Have a couple of large boxes (or bags) of the icing sugar, then mix in with the cheese/butter mixture until the right consistency is reached. Remember, you want it nice and creamy, but JUST thick enough so it will stick to the sides of the cake without dripping down. When you slather it on, BE GENEROUS. Optionally, garnish the finished cake with walnuts/pecans/etc.


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A Sandwich

I'm having a few html problems today...trying to post a recipe for a fish pie that i've made. Anyway, i've taken a break and made myself a quick sandwich:

What you need:

Wholemeal Bread (2 slices)
Butter
Cream Cheese
Parma Ham
Sliced Black Olives
Black Pepper
A Knife
No Plate (absolutely not)


Assembling the dish:

• Butter the slices of wholemeal bread with the knife. Take your time here, you want to achieve an even layer, without tearing through the bread.
• spread out 2 slices of parma ham evenly on 1 of the pieces you just buttered.
• spread a generous layer of cream cheese on the other piece of bread, which will be either the left piece (if you're left-handed) or the right piece (right handed).
  
• Add sliced olives from a tin, on top of the cream cheese layer.
• Grind black pepper onto either or both pieces of bread.
• Put one piece of bread on top of the other (i recommend placing the slice with olives onto the parma ham-topped slice, since the olives are now captivated by the cheese and will not roll onto the floor when manipulated).

Cook's Tip:

1. If you notice that your hands are covered in olives, cream cheese and parma ham, this is likely to be because you put the sandwich together with the filling on the outside - watch out for this - I did this the first few times, but don't worry; practice makes perfect. Soon you will be making sandwiches just like mine.

here's an example of a variation using sliced cheese and Dijon mustard. It's a bit fancy for my liking. Probably more suited to the intermediate-level cook or serious enthusiast.

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Product Review - Peugeot Paris Pepper Mill

So...This is my first product review. I was lucky enough to get one of these phallic beauties for my birthday back in September and so i thought i might tell people about it.

I've been used to using those disposable single-use grinders from the supermarket, which end up being expensive when you use as much pepper as i do, or, when you have a house-mate that likes to grind a small mountain of the spicy stuff all-over just about anything, from sandwiches to crackers to toast and probably chocolate. Not only that, they are restrictive and just tend to grind the pepper quite finely, with no option for adjustment.
Furthermore, do they look like the one in the picture?...no they don't.

So what do i think of it?

In short, it's great. Touted as one of, if not the best on the market....and you thought Peugeot just made these.
It's tall, ro-bust and beautifully finished in red lacquer.
The mechanics of it are simple; un-screw the chrome cap on the top,
lift the head from the threaded spindle and pour in the pepper corns. Replace the head and screw the cap on. Turn the cap clock-wise (tighter) for finer grinding, anti-clockwise (looser) for coarsely ground pepper. Lifting the whole thing up and looking underneath, reveals the heavy-duty components that do all the work. The whole thing has an overall look about it that says it will last for years without ever letting you down.

Here are a couple of sites i've found where you can buy one:

• chefsresource.com

• pots-and-pans.co.uk

I would highly recommend a pepper grinder like this one; an essential item in the kitchen.

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Roast Potatoes

I absolutely love roast potatoes. Ideally you wanna be eating them with roast beef and yorkshire puddings (see recipe in archives) but i also like making them with pretty much anything that doesn't really "go". They're good with fish fingers, sausages or just on their own.

I like them to come out all crispy, but with the insides really soft, almost like mashed potatoes. Of course, you need the right spud for the job, something floury like a King Edward or Maris Piper.
I'm sure my recipe is much like many out there, but i thought i would post it up anyway.

What you will need:

Potatoes
Vegetable Stock Cube
3 Cloves of Garlic
Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper


This is what i do:

1. Get a pan of water boiling with a vegetable stock cube in it. Turn the oven on to around 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.
   
2. Peel your desired amount of potatoes. I like to peel mine pretty roughly, leaving some of the skin on here-and-there. The bits with skin on won't crisp up as much but the overall look and taste is more favourable in my opinion. Try and keep them all roughly the same size, cutting the bigger in 1/2 and keeping the smaller ones whole.
3. Add them to the boiling water for around 8 or 9 mins.
4. Take your roasting tray and add a small amount of vegetable oil, just a thin layer covering the bottom of the pan, with some sea salt, coarsely ground black pepper and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic that are cut in half, still with the skin on.
5. Drain the potatoes and return them to the same pan you just boiled them in. Stick the lid on and give them a good old shake to fluff up the outsides.
6. Take your tray out of the oven, discard the garlic and carefully tip the spuds in, turn them over with a slotted spoon and add more salt and pepper. Put them in the oven, on a high shelf.
   
7. Take them out after 30 mins and turn them over, return to the oven for another 20 or so mins (use your judgement and take them out when you like the look of them).

They normally turn out nice and crisp this way, however, if they don't then i find using less oil helps. Be willing to experiment a little to get them coming out the way you want. As always, cookers do vary a bit.

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Croutons and Parsley Breadcrumbs

I always feel very happy with myself whenever i make use of those odd bits-and-bobs in the cupboard or the fridge. Its obviously a good thing not to waste food, although we are all sometimes guilty of it.
So anyway, when white sliced bread is going a bit stale, simply cut the crusts off with a knife, tear the bread up a bit and put it in the blender with some parsley. Makes good breadcrumbs with lots of flavour and the colour is amazing. For an example of how to make use of these, try drying out fresh white fish (like cod or coley fillets) with kitchen towels. Next rub with olive oil and a little salt and pepper....coat in the herby breadcrumbs and bake in a hot oven for about 8-10mins.

There's more. Don't throw the bread crusts away. Cut those into croutons, spread out on a baking sheet lightly coated in olive oil. Add a bit of garlic salt and black pepper and bake in a hot oven until they are golden and crisp....great to put in the soup you make as a starter before you eat the herb encrusted white fish.

Genius.
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Mostly Chocolate

I must admit that i do really like eating chocolate. Normally i have something like 3 bars a day, or lately, i've taken to having those large bars from sainsbury's. I like this and also this.
The place where i rehearse with my band is directly next to a Spar and so inevitably we all get stuff like chocolate and cans of coke and anything else that's really unhealthy.
I did have a few vegetables done simply in my steamer today, but i also had this, 1 of these, 1 of these and 1 of these.

for those of you who share my interest, not only in eating chocolate, but also in naming and remembering those bars we had as kids and that are no longer available, this (U.S) is cool. I cant seem to find a U.K site with actual images of old chocolate bars. I was at least expecting to find an image of a marathon. This site is pretty cool though and does talk about the old sweets we used to have.

This site here is very funny. I can't believe the attention-to-detail somebody would go to. Somebody is actually paying to have this on the net. Good work! Here is another site with a detailed archive of current and existing chocolate bar wrappers, again Why? springs to mind.

For those of you who don't share my enthusiam however, you might want to see this. (in all seriousness it is a bit worrying and contradictory to say the least).

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A Bit About.....Oil

I've done this a few times now. Simply, whenever you buy olives from the deli counter or those jars of peppers in olive oil, keep the oil in the jar and you can add anything to it like cloves of garlic, black pepper corns or a few chilli flakes. You can use it to sweat off onions in a pasta sauce or whisked up with some lemon juice for an easy salad dressing. It keeps for ages and you can top it up with fresh olive oil and garlic as and when you need to.

That is all.

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Breakfast Pizza

I tried to tell my friends that i invented this. I almost convinced myself of it too. If i'm honest, i was inspired by Jamie's one-pan-midnight-fry-up. Anyway, this is my twist on the idea and it works well.

Whats in it:

Pizza base
Baked beans
Sausages
Bacon
Eggs
Grated cheese (cheddar or the like)

How it all comes together:

Take a pizza base (i have a bread machine, so i make my own) and spread a good layer of baked beans on it. arrange chopped sausages on top (its best if you lightly fry them in a pan first, just to colour the outsides). Add bacon, torn-up into bite-size pieces.

Put pizza straight on the middle shelf of the oven, pre-heated to its highest setting.

After around 4 minutes, take the pizza out. Carefully break 2 eggs over the top, season with a little salt and cracked black pepper, grate the cheese over the top and return to the oven for a further 4 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the eggs are done.

This is ideal when completely drunk, at around 4am. It feeds 4 people pretty well and they will certainly thank you for it (if they can remember eating it).

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Pretty Quick Seafood Spaghetti

I made this tonight, for me and the mrs. It turned out better than i thought it would.


Wholemeal Spaghetti
2 Shallots
1 Clove Garlic
Bit of White Wine
Bit of Olive Oil
1 Pack of that Ready-To-Eat Mixed Seafood (inc. mussels, squid rings and prawns)
Touch of Single Cream
A Bit of Parsley

"So how did you make it"?

Get a large pan of water boiling and with a pich of salt. Put in the pasta (takes about 10mins). Stick a pan on with a touch of olive oil in it to heat up. Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Add the shallots and sweat them off gently for a minute or so. Add the garlic for a further minute or so (try not to colour it too much). Turn up the heat and chuck in about 1/2 glass or so of wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, add a touch of cream and turn the heat low. Stick a bit of parsley in. I use Schwartz chopped parsley with seasoning in a tube, because its good and im lazy. Next add a couple of spoons of the liquor that the pasta is cooking in. Stir and take off the heat. Drain the seafood and add to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add. Mix the whole lot up with tongs or whatever. Put on a plate, crack some black pepper over. Eat too much of it too fast...let your girl have a bit too...(or boy).


A couple of notes

Just as they occur to me:

• adding some of the cooking liquor from pasta, to the final sauce, seems to make the finished thing emulsify well.
• add garlic last when pan frying because it turns dark and burns quickly.
• always season-to-taste, as you go, with salt and black pepper.
• always be ready to turn the heat up/down, or take off the heat whenever needs must.

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