Egg Shaped Fred

Fred: "I can't believe how dirty your cooker is Dennis. To be honest, I'm surprised you don't mind people seeing a photo of it".

Dennis: "Excuse me, I think you'll find I've been really busy over the last week, doing band stuff, playing shows...really busy, so keep your comments to yourself".

Fred: "I was only saying".

x

Garlic Mushy Peas

Mushy Peas....I absolutely love them. I get chips and mushy peas from the chip shop quite frequently, maybe 2 or 3 times a month. Admittedly they're not the healthiest, but my word, aren't they good?

Tonight's dinner was just going to be salmon and peas; tasty, quick and easy, nothing to write home about. Once the peas were boiled though, I thought I may as well have a bit of a play around and I accidentally came up with something that I'm definitely going to do again.

My Garlic Mushy Peas:

Frozen Garden Peas (boiled and drained)
3 tbsp Good Balsamic Vinegar
1 Clove Garlic (finely chopped)
3 tbsp Double (heavy) Cream
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley
Salt

Method:

• Place the boiled peas in a saucepan and mash roughly with a potato masher (you could use a fork if you wanted), over a medium heat.
• Add the garlic and balsamic vinegar, stirring for 1 minute or so.
• Add the cream, allowing it to bubble for a further minute.
• Take off the heat and throw in some parsley and season to taste with salt.

Very simple but really very good indeed.

x


Archaeologists and historians have unearthed peas in ancient tombs and have found dated pictures and writings discussing the virtues of the pea. They think the garden pea originated in either China or Egypt.

The Chinese believed that their emperor, Shu Nung, discovered peas 5000 years ago. Called the Chinese Father of Agriculture, he is said to have wandered around the countryside observing and collecting plants, looking for those which might be suitable for food or medicine. Potential edibles were fed to a dog, then a servant and, if both survived, the emperor himself would taste the new food....read more.

Yorkshire Puddings - Revised

With this little blog 'o' mine, what tends to go on it actually reflects what I want/have to cook and eat each day. I generally let that which I actually want take priority, and so the blog follows. Obviously I occasionally choose something to make and go out and buy the ingredients, but for the most part, I go with what's in the fridge.
Inevitably what this means is that, at times, I cook the same things or I cook the most very basic of foods that really aren't worth writing about.
One of my first posts was for Yorkshire Puddings; something I really like to make and also something that can bit a bit hit-and-miss. I made some today, to the same recipe I always use, only with 2 differences:

• After the batter is chilled for 30 mins or so, I added 1 egg yolk and whisked, before sticking in the oven.
• At the end of cooking, I briefly turned each pudding over (cooking for a further 3 mins or so)

The first is taken from a Jamie Oliver tip that I saw on t.v and seems to help the bad boys rise up a bit more, as well as adding to the colour and improving the texture.

The second tip is one I saw recently done by Gordon Ramsay, on The F-Word. This little trick ensures that the bottom of each pud is fully cooked and crisp, instead of being a bit soggy sometimes.


I thought I might share these tips as well as taking the opportunity to actually post a pic, now that I have the means to do so.

x

Salmon Wellington

I like to call this Salmon Wellington. In reality it's probably called Salmon En Croute, but this way, it makes me feel as though it's a bit more unusual. I've not really made pastry before, tending to shy away from these things; believe it to be tricky. In reality of course, it's really not too difficult and just requires a bit of weighing and measuring.


Ingredients:

Short Crust Pastry:

1 1/2 Cups / 180g Plain Flour
1 cup / 100g Butter, straight from the fridge
Ice-Cold Water

Fresh Salmon Fillet (skin removed)
2 tbsp Butter (room temperature)
2 tbsp Fresh Sage (chopped)
4 tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped)
Salt & Black pepper
1 Egg (beaten)


Method:

• For the pastry: Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour, in a large mixing bowl, until what you have resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add very cold water 1 tbsp or so at a time, mixing with your hands to incorporate until a rollable dough is formed. (add the water in small amounts, so as to not over-wet the pastry). Cover and chill for 30 mins.
• Using approx. 1/2 the pastry, roll out to something like 1/4" thickness.
• Take the salmon fillet and season well with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Place the butter and chopped herbs into a bowl and work the ingredients together (the best way is by hand) to make a herb butter.
• Rub the herb butter all-over the salmon, on both sides.
• Place the salmon onto the pastry, something like 4 inches up from the bottom edge. Fold up the bottom edge over the top of the fish. Brush the top edge of the pastry with beaten egg and fold this over, to overlap and make a seal. Fold both sides in, using more beaten egg, trimming any excess pastry where necessary, to make a parcel. Brush the remaining beaten egg over the top of the parcel, further sealing the pastry by pinching it or crimping it with your index finger and thumb (improvise here - i'm no expert!).
• Grease and flour a baking sheet, place the parcel on top and bake at 160C/320F/Gas 3 for at least 30 mins and until golden brown (mine took nearer 45).

Serve with potatoes and green vegetables. I also made an easy instant gravy from granules because I just like gravy.

x

Creole Blackeyes and Rice

Here's the recipe that Laura made for us on New Year's Day. It's traditional in the U.S. (especially in the south) to eat Black Eyed Peas on this day, supposedly bringing good luck for the coming year. My luck was in after searching all around Derby, finding 2 big bags of dried peas at the indoor market!

Here it is:

This recipe employs dried blackeyed peas (as opposed to the canned variety). They should be soaked overnight. Before beginning the following steps, I preboiled the peas (which are actually lentils) in a full rolling boil for 10 minutes, then drained and set aside. This speeds up the cooking process.

Ingredients:

4 cups blackeyed peas, presoaked and preboiled
6 (or more) rashers of ham, chopped
8 pork sausages
1 ½ cups (or more) ready-to-eat tiger prawns, small
2 onions, chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, sliced
6 cups approx. veggie or chicken stock
smoked paprika (1 ½ tablespoons, or to taste)
cayenne pepper (1 ½ teaspoons, or to taste)
cracked black pepper
sea salt
hot cooked white rice

Method:

Add ham or bacon to peas; cover with stock. Bring to low boil/simmer. Meanwhile, brown sausages in oil quickly - only a few minutes each side, just for some color and to give the skins a nice texture. Remove from the pan - reserving the drippings - and cool so that they can be handled, then slice into 1/2" thick slices. Set aside.

In the sausage drippings, over a medium-low heat, lightly fry the onions and garlic until just soft, slightly brown. Add to peas and ham. Add chopped tomatoes, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, sausages. Simmer another 30-45 minutes, until peas reach a nice texture and sausage is cooked through. Add additional hot stock as needed as the mixture boils down. When you are happy with the texture, allow most of the liquid to boil off, add shrimps, and correct the seasoning - heavy on the pepper!

Pack a ½ cup measure with hot rice, turn upside down on a plate or in a large shallow bowl. Spoon your creole creation all around and enjoy!

x

ps. This is way better than The Blackeyed Peas on your radio.

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

My Dad made this soup over Christmas. I helped a bit and so I thought I might post it.
The good thing about making soup like this is that it maximizes on the flavour, gets the most nutrition out of the vegetables and tastes really good.....It's also very easy and we like that, don't we?


What's in it:

2 Red Peppers (deseeded and cut in half)
4 Tomatoes
10 Cloves Garlic (whole and with the skin intact)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Fresh or Dried Basil
Vegetable Stock





Method:

• Place the peppers, tomatoes and garlic in a roasting tin. Cover liberally in olive oil and season well with salt and pepper (If you're using dried basil, add some now). Roast in the oven set to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 30-40 mins (use your judgment).
• Heat 1 pint vegetable stock in a pan and maintain the temperature over a low heat.
• Place all the roasted vegetables including the garlic, along with 1 ladle stock into your blender. Blend thoroughly on a high setting.
• Strain into a new pan, adding more stock, according to how thick you want the soup. Stir over a medium heat.
• Finish with freshly torn basil and a little cream if you wish.
  

x

Happy New Year!

This is quite possibly the most coolest way for a rock star to time the boiling of an egg in the kitchen....What 'ya reckon?

Happy new year to everybody and anybody who may stray upon these meaningless pages 'o' mine.

Love and Honour

xxx