Eats/Reads

Quick challah bread

2011-12-14T09:10:00.002Z

From Cuisinart site.

1 package of active dry yeast
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose bread flour
2 eggs
4 heaping tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm (105-110°F) water
1 egg mixed with water for egg wash
handful of sesame or poppy seeds

Sprinkle yeast over water in a small bowl or cup, add sugar and watch it bubble, about five minutes.

Pour the above mixture into a food processor; add flour and then the rest of the ingredients. Mix and let it rise (It’s okay to cover and leave it in the food processor or remove it to a greased bowl and cover) for about an hour.

Punch down the dough (press pulse a few times) and let it rise again (about an hour).

Separate the dough into four pieces. Use three to make the main bread, and use the fourth piece to make a smaller braid that you’ll pinch into place on top of the main braid. Place the braided dough into a greased bread pan and cover. Let it rise another hour.

Paint with egg wash (egg and water whisked together). Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

Bake for 20-35 minutes in a 160 C fan oven.

Variations:
•For savory: Sauté’ finely chopped onion in olive oil. Roll onion in dough (No braiding with this version). Sprinkle some onion on top of egg wash (in place of sesame seeds) for an Onion Challah.
•For sweet:
Before separating into four pieces, knead about ½ cup raisins OR ½ cup chocolate chips into dough.

Sweet and sour chicken

2011-12-14T09:08:00.001Z

(From Weber’s Real Grilling, 200)

Marinade:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons hot chili garlic sauce

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 4 ounces each
1 plum tomato
4 large handfuls baby spinach leaves, about 12 ounces

1. To make the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients.

2. Place the thighs in a large, plastic resealable bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place the bag in a bowl, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, turning the bag occasionally.

3. Remove the thighs from the bag, reserving the marinade. Pour the marinade into a very large skillet and set is aside. Grill the thighs over Direct High heat until the meat is firm and the juices run clear, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. (I used our wok on high heat.)

4. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil over high heat and allow to boil for 1 full minute. Add the tomato and spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve the warm spinach mixture under the chicken.

Caramel popcorn

2011-08-09T10:36:00.001+01:00

Seriously more-ish

Popcorn
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/2 cup popping corn

Caramel
125g butter, chopped
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (optional)

Line a tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of popping corn. If corn slowly turns around in a circle then oil is hot enough.

Add remaining popping corn. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. When corn starts popping, shake saucepan gently. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a large bowl, discarding any unpopped corn.

Make caramel: Combine butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil. Boil, uncovered, without stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes or until light golden.

Remove from heat. Stir in pecans. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir until popcorn is coated. Spread over prepared tray. Set aside to cool. Break into pieces. Serve.

Baked Oatmeal

2011-08-09T10:35:00.001+01:00

Want to make this someday...

Serves: 6 generously, or 12 as part of a larger brunch spread

Ingredients
2 cups / 7 oz / 200 g rolled oats
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 60 g walnut pieces, toasted (see page 219) and chopped
1/3 cup / 2 oz / 60 g natural cane sugar or maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups / 475 ml milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch / 1cm pieces
11/2 cups / 6.5 oz / 185 g huckleberries, blueberries, or mixed berries

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375F / 190C with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch / 20cm square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the sugar, if using, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, if using, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining walnuts across the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top and serve. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.

Chocolate flapjacks

2011-08-09T10:33:00.002+01:00

Need to try making these with B, the local chocoholic.

350g Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp Golden Syrup
175g Light Soft Brown Sugar
175g Light Muscovado Sugar
450g Rolled or Porridge Oats
6 tbsps Green and Black's Cocoa Powder

Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas Mark 2. Use a 17 x 28cm baking tray or roasting tin.

Butter the baking tray.

Melt the butter, syrup and both sugars in the saucepan. Do not allow them to bubble. Mix in the oats and the cocoa.

Use a fork to press the mixture into the baking tray and bake for 18-20 minutes. The flapjack needs to cook to the centre but you don't want them to bubble, otherwise they will be too toffee-like. They should stay moist.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 20 minutes before slicing up. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tray.

Hint: these flapjacks are delicious with 2 tablespoons of dessicated coconut, or a handful of sultanas added with the oats. Equally tasty is 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, but you will also need a handful of extra oats because the seeds will make the flapjacks oily.

Banana Oat Muffins

2011-08-09T10:31:00.000+01:00

These were really good.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas

Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

Irish brown soda bread

2011-02-02T21:03:00.004Z

So fast and easy. Nice to serve fresh with soups. This makes 4 small loaves, so you can halve or quarter it, depending on how much you want to make.

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups buttermilk (or plain yogurt)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease two baking sheets.

In a large bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, white flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt. Gently mix in the buttermilk until a soft dough is formed. Knead very lightly. Divide dough into 4 pieces; form into rounded flat loaves. Mark each loaf with an 'X' and place on prepared baking sheets.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Potatoes au gratin

2011-02-02T21:00:00.004Z

This is an easy version of potatoes au gratin. I made them in a large cake pan so it was just a thin layer of potatoes and they were very crispy. Yum.

4 large potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, sliced into rings
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.

Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.

Katie Morag's porridgies

2011-02-02T20:55:00.006Z

This is a recipe from the Katie Morag books - I recently read all of them to my 3-year-old. This is a great recipe to make with kids as it's easy and not too messy, and no eggs so they can taste it all.

These are really yummy and more-ish - they are essentially flapjacks or chewy oatmeal squares. In the back of my mind I want to try to make a slightly healthier version... when I get the time.

100g / 4oz butter
75g / 3oz soft brown sugar
30ml / 2 tablespoons golden syrup (or light corn syrup)
200g / 8oz rolled oats (porridge oats)
pinch of salt

Melt butter in a large pan over a low heat. Add sugar and syrup and salt. Mix well.
Stir in rolled oats. Mix very well. Spread mixture evenly in tray with palette knife.
Bake at 160C fan for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown. Take out of oven. Let cool. Cut into squares and store in airtight container.

Fish pie

2011-02-02T20:47:00.005Z

My family got really sick of grilled trout so this is what I did with it last night. Yum. Easier than I thought fish pie would be. Can use onions or shallots instead of leeks, and garlic is always welcome in that mixture.

600g trout skinless and boneless
400ml milk
1 bay leaf
A few black peppercorns
3 leeks finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
5 large potatoes
Milk and butter for mashed potatoes
Flat leaf parsley
50g Butter
50g Flour
4 tbsp parmesan

1. Lightly poach 600g of skinless and boneless trout fillet in 400ml of milk (can add 1 bay leaf and some peppercorns, then strain before making sauce).

2. Meanwhile saute chopped leeks (or onion and/or garlic) in 1 tbsp of olive oil

3. Drain the trout and use the poaching milk to make a white sauce with 50g butter and 50g flour

4.Combine the flaked fish with the leeks, white sauce and 2 tbsp of chopped parsley and season

5. Place in an ovenproof dish and cover with potatoes, mashed with butter and milk.

6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cook in a hot oven (160C fan) for 20 minutes.

Oatmeal quick bread

2011-02-02T20:41:00.002Z

This is a nice moist loaf and healthy-ish too. I have never whizzed the oatmeal and it's turned out fine, but I should probably try that at least once for comparison.

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C/200C fan).

Grind oatmeal in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve honey in vegetable oil then stir in the milk. Combine both mixtures and stir until a soft dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. (Or place in an oiled loaf pan - but it will be a small loaf).

Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Broccoli mascarpone soup

2011-02-02T20:35:00.006Z

This is a great, simple recipe which can also serve as the basis for just about any veg soup - instead of broccoli, use cauliflower, or a mix of both, or even butternut squash.

I usually use Philly cream cheese instead of mascarpone cause that's what I have around. Also usually use onion instead of shallots, and sometimes garlic too. Cayenne pepper and chives also optional, or can use some italian seasonings (basil, thyme etc).

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced shallots (about 6 large)
1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese), divided
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add broccoli; sauté 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender; puree until smooth. Return to pot. Reserve 1/4 cup mascarpone in small bowl; cover and chill. Whisk 1 1/4 cups mascarpone and cayenne pepper into soup. Season with salt. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Heat soup over medium heat, stirring occasionally; do not boil.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with reserved mascarpone. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.

Cherry topping for cheesecake

2011-02-02T20:28:00.003Z

I recently made a Maida Heatter Longchamps' cheesecake (next time: less crust and cook for less time) but the topping was fab. Also really good over yogurt.

2/3 cup tawny port or other sweet red wine (can be replaced with a couple Tbsp water)
1/2 cup sugar
2 (10-ounce) bags frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
1 vanilla bean split in two (can be omitted or replaced with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons water

To prepare topping, combine port, 1/2 cup sugar, cherries, and vanilla bean halves in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until cherries are thawed and mixture is syrupy. Remove vanilla bean halves; discard.

Combine juice, cornstarch, and 4 teaspoons water, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Stir cornstarch mixture into cherry mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened and shiny. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill. Serve over cheesecake.

Knedliky

2010-10-05T10:21:00.005+01:00

These are spongy bread dumplings which are the perfect accompaniment to goulash.

I wasn't happy with my old recipe so on Sunday I tried this one, and it was really nice.

1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup warm milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp salt (use less if using salted butter)
About 2 or 2 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let rise about 10 minutes. Warm milk slightly on stove, add in butter. Remove from heat. Mix in egg and salt. Add the milk mixture to the yeast. Now add flour, kneading well with hands and adding more flour if necessary for a firm dough. Cover and let rise 1 hour in warm place.

Punch down dough and cut into six portions. Form a ball with each portion and place in a steamer. Let rise for about 20-30 minutes. Then steam for 15-20 minutes. Do not lift cover while steaming. Serve warm with gravy.

Meatloaf

2010-06-03T20:54:00.003+01:00

I used to make meatloaf often but not recently. I was surprised that I didn't have a recipe for it. Sort of winged it here but it ended up nice: tasty and moist. Really full of onions. Crispy outside.

On the downside, it was cracked on the top and sort of fell apart when served hot - but not sure if that's really a problem. Might be the sacrifice to make for it to be so moist. Or maybe add some more bread crumbs/oats?

I served it with some leftover tomato sauce, mash and creamed spinach and onion. Yum.

500g beef (organic, 20 per cent fat)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c plain yogurt
1/2 cup quick porridge oats (or bread crumbs)
1 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp chicken stock

Mix all ingredients together with hands, until just combined. Put in baking dish and shape into loaf. Bake at 375F/170C fan for 1 hour.

Spinach cheddar muffins

2010-04-26T09:18:00.003+01:00

Found this recipe and tried it. Tasty! A nice savoury muffin, delicious with butter, cheese or jam.

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup chopped green onion/scallions
1 cup cooked spinach, well-drained
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together milk, yogurt, brown sugar, egg, and oil until well blended. In medium-sized bowl, sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and thyme. Gradually add flour mixture to yogurt mix until well blended. Fold in green onion, spinach, and cheddar.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each cup three-quarters full. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack at least 5 minutes more before serving. Makes about 12 muffins.

Chicken with leek and mushroom

2010-04-06T21:04:00.006+01:00

I was sick of baked chicken and we didn't have the ingredients for steamed foil chicken, so I came up with this, based on what we had around the house. Very tasty!

2 Tbsp oil
About 2-3 Tbsp flour
4 chicken thighs
1 leek, diced
About 4 oz dried shitake mushrooms, sliced (could use fresh)
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
2/3 cup stock
1/3 cup mushroom juice (could use stock)
1/2 cup milk
About 1 cup peas
Salt and pepper

Eat oil in skillet with fitted top. Dip chicken in flour, and then brown in oil, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Add leek and mushrooms to skillet and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle veg with about 1 Tbsp of flour and mix in. Add sherry or wine and scrape up any carmelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Add stock and mushroom juice. Bring to simmer. Return chicken to pan. Cover and let chicken cook for about 15-20 mins, flipping the chicken over once and stirring occasionally. When chicken is done, remove from pan. Add peas and milk and cook for about 5 mins, until peas are done. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to pan and serve over rice or noodles.

Easter bread

2010-04-03T15:02:00.006+01:00

This was nice - not super sweet but felt special and Easter-y. If I'd had an orange or lemon in the house, I would have grated in the zest for more citrus-ness.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup warm milk (120-130°F)
2 tbsp. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup candied citrus peel, chopped
1/4 cup raisins

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk and softened butter. Beat with whisk for a couple minutes.

Stir in 2 eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and 1/2 cup flour. Beat 2 minutes. Stir in dried peel and fruit; mix well.

Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (you do not need to add it all).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a bowl greased with oil; turn once so that dough is lightly coated in oil.

Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Divide in three. Roll out each piece into a long, thin rope and braid them on a greased pan.

Pinch rope ends together. Tuck in any dried fruit which is sticking out, so it doesn't burn. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350°F/160C fan for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan. Brush top of bread with melted butter.

Squash/carrot soup

2010-03-23T09:11:00.006Z

This is a Gordon Ramsey recipe which I altered slightly. Was looking for something to use up the carrot and squash from the farmer's market - it was delicious!

The original recipe called for one red chili. I left that out because I thought the 2-year-old wouldn't go for it. Instead the adults added sriracha at the table.

Also, when eating the leftovers, I added one thigh of chicken, shredded, because I wanted something more meaty at that meal.

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and deseeded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
(optional: 1 fresh chili, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 tsp dried crushed chillies)
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
75g dried spaghetti or small pasta shells
250 ml milk
Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft. Chop the carrots and butternut squash into small cubes and add to the pan. Season and cook for another 6-7 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

Stir in the thyme (and the fresh or dried chilli if you're using it), then pour in the stock. Stir and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the carrots and squash are soft and beginning to break down.

Break the spaghetti into small pieces into the soup or add the pasta shells. Stir well and return to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the soup has thickened slightly. Add the milk. Return to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Blueberry oatmeal muffins

2010-03-15T09:18:00.009Z

I made these for a friend who just had a baby - wanted something with oatmeal (supposed to be good for breastfeeding) and substantial but also tasty. These were great!

1 cup oatmeal/porridge oats
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Combine oatmeal and buttermilk/yogurt in small bowl. Let stand.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in another small bowl.

Reserve one tablespoon of flour mixture and, in yet another small bowl, add to blueberries. Stir lightly to cover blueberries in flour (this helps to prevent the blueberries bleeding into the batter.)

In medium bowl, beat egg. Mix in butter/oil, then sugar and mix well. Add oat mixture and mix. Then add dry ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are just moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

Grease muffin tins and add batter, until about 3/4 full. Bake at 400F/200C/180C fan for about 20-25 minutes. Makes about 9 large muffins.

Carrot parsnip soup

2010-03-15T09:17:00.004Z

I found this recipe online to use up the carrots and parsnips from the farmers' market. Thought the husband would think it too sweet and want to add chili sauce while the daughter would love it. Turned out the husband loved it (without chili sauce) and the daughter was not too keen. Ah well.

The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp (instead of 1 tsp) curry powder but I cut down to accommodate the toddler - fat lot of good that did me.

In any case, it was easy and tasty (I recommend serving with sriracha) and used up the root veg perfectly.

2 Tbsp oil, chopped in chunks
1 onion
450g parsnips, peeled and chopped in chunks
225 g carrots, peeled and chopped in chunks
350 ml vegetable stock
300 ml milk
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Stir and cook for a few mins until they start to soften. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for a min. Stir in the stock & milk. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15-20 mins until vegetables are soft. Allow to cool a little, then puree in a food processor/blender until smooth. Return to soup pot. If it's too thick add more stock and/or milk. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat but do not boil - and serve.

Goulash

2010-02-21T14:39:00.007Z

I'm really proud of this recipe. I created it for my husband's birthday in 2003. I was trying to recreate the goulashes we'd eaten in Prague in the early 1990's. I read through loads of recipes. There are so many types of goulash: Hungarian, Austrian, Czach, German. Some are like beef stew with chunks of carrots and potatoes, some simple and meaty. I knew I wanted a meaty one, with lots of gravy-like sauce.

This is it!

I've made it so many times, so many different ways. I've used lamb or venison instead of beef. I've used white wine or port instead of red wine (for port, use only half a cup and then the rest water). I've left out the lemon.

This goulash is best served with knedliky (steamed bread dumplings) but also good with noodles, rice, potatoes, even bread.

3 Tbsp oil
2 lbs beef, cubed
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry red wine
1 Tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 c water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbp flour
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

Heat about 2 T oil in a large dutch oven. Add meat and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove meat and any juices from pan. Set aside on plate. If there's not much oil left, add an extra T. Add onions and saute until soft, about 5 mins. Add garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin and marjoram. Cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Stir in red wine and vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan for carmelised meat bits. Return meat to pan. Add bay leaf and enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until meat is very tender, about 2-2.5 hours.

When meat is tender, create route in a separate saucepan: melt butter and add flour. Cook for 1-2 mins. Stir roue into goulash. Cook for about 5 minutes, until sauce thickens up. Add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Oat bar II

2010-02-20T14:34:00.007Z

These were better than my first attempt - but also very different.

SWCC described them as "baklava-esque". Indeed it is an apt comparison - very chewy, sweet and crunchy. More like dessert than a breakfast bar; also good for a sweet but sustaining snack.

1/3 c oil
1/3 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp Lyle's golden syrup (could probably substitute honey or maple syrup)
2 Tbps orange juice

130 g/1.25 cups porridge oats (or 1 c oats and 1/2 c raisin bran)
100g dried fruit (1/3 c sultanas; 6 dried apricots chopped)
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, chopped
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, chopped
2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together oil, brown sugar, gold syrup and orange juice. Mix in all the dry ingredients. Bake in a buttered pan (8-inch square or 7x11) at 160C (fan) for 18-20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Oat bars

2010-02-13T15:28:00.009Z

I've been meaning to come up with a tasty, healthy-ish oat bar recipe for just about my entire adult life. Here we go - first try...

Result: Not very good. Wouldn't repeat this. Too dense. Not quite flavourful enough - neither sweet nor savoury. But it's a start.

1 cup flour (half white/wholewheat)
2 cups porridge oats
4 Tbsp ground seeds
1 egg
1/3 c oil
1/2 c maple syrup
2/3 c orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c raisins

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. Add dry to wet. Stir in raisins. Put in greased 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. Bake at 160C (fan) for 35-40 mins.

Red velvet cake

2010-01-18T09:45:00.007Z

My grandmother's birthday was on Valentine's Day and we ate this cake with her every year - often made in the shape of a heart. I hear it has now gotten quite trendy. They even eat it over this side of the pond.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. red food color
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans. Cut two circles of wax paper and set one in bottom of each pan. Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Add vanilla. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa into a paste and blend into to butter/sugar/egg mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt. Alternating between the two, add the buttermilk and the flour/salt mixture to the batter a little bit at a time. Quickly mix together baking soda and vinegar and gently fold into the batter with economic strokes. Pour batter into pans. Bake 30 minutes at 350F. (For standard cupcakes: 20-25 minutes; for mini cupcakes: approx. 10 minutes)

Cool cake. Frost with whipped cream frosting.

Whipped cream frosting

2 tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Cook flour and milk over medium heat (stirring constantly with a wire whisk) until it turns thick like pudding. Cool. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy (about 8-10 minutes). Cream in flour and milk mixture. Beat until sugar is not grainy.

Simple white bread

2010-01-14T15:46:00.008Z

I've been playing around with a very simple white bread recipe which I mix and knead (mostly) in the food processor. It's so easy I've actually made it several times in the past two weeks.

Next: Play around with adding wholemeal, wholegrain and rye flours, and with using quick-rise yeast.

300 ml warm water
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar

1 lb flour (strong white bread flour is best)
2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp butter (or vegetable oil)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let stand for 15 minutes, until bubbly and frothy.

Meanwhile mix flour, salt and butter in food processor, until butter is crumbly. Once the yeast is ready, put food processor on low speed, and pour the yeast mixture through the funnel. Let it go until the dough clumps up into a big ball.

Remove dough from food processor bowl and put in a largeish bowl with about 1 Tablespoon of flour. Knead for a few minutes. Lift dough and oil bowl, spreading oil on both sides of the dough. Cover bowl with cling film and let rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about an hour.

Grease a standard loaf pan. Punch down dough. Knead lightly and roll into an oblong shape. Place in loaf pan. Cover with cling film and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Bake at 200C (fan oven) for 25 minutes. Remove from loaf pan. Let cool on wire rack.

Pork loin

2010-01-08T16:59:00.005Z

We've switched to a Delia recipe for crispier crackling and moister meat. Here are the basics...

pork loin joint
onion
sea salt
pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 240C/475F. Score the skin of the pork. Peel and cut onion in half. Now place the pork in a tin, skin-side up, and wedge onion underneath it. Take about 1 tbsp of crushed salt crystals and sprinkle it evenly over the skin, pressing it in as much as you can.

Place the pork on a high shelf in the oven and roast it for 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 190C/375F, and calculate the total cooking time allowing 35 minutes to the pound.

The way to tell if the meat is cooked is to insert a skewer in the thickest part and the juices that run out should be absolutely clear without any trace of pinkness.

When the pork is cooked remove it from the oven and give it at least 30 minutes resting time before carving.

Now you can make a gravy with the charred onion and fat left in the pan.

Whole wheat bread I

2010-01-08T09:31:00.007Z

I've become dissatisfied with the price and quality of bread in our neighborhood, so am trying to come up with a quick, easy, good bread recipe which I might actually have time to make a few times a week. The first mistake I've made (sort of) is to by active dry yeast - quick or ready bake yeasts tend to be, well, quicker.

This one was nice - moist, slightly sweet, not too dense.

Next up: using the food processor to knead.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tablespoon honey
1 2/3 cups white flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
need in another 2/3 to 1 1/3 cup tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons butter, melted

Mix warm water with yeast, 2 T honey and 1 2/3 cup white flour. Wait 30 mins, until big and bubbly. Mix in oil, 2 T honey and salt. Mix in 2/3 cup whole wheat flour. Then start mixing/kneading in another 2/3 to 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour. Knead for a while, until the dough is soft and elastic. Put in greased bowl, cover with cling film. Let rise overnight in fridge. Punch down in morning. Put in greased 9x5 bread pan. Let rise about 1 hour in tin, until it rises over the top of the pan. Bake for about 30 mins at 160C (fan oven).

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

2010-01-08T09:30:00.004Z

Another pleasurable read by Ms Pym. Gobbled it up in two days. Saw one more at the library - can't wait!

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

2009-12-31T15:09:00.002Z

Not as moving or sophisticated as his second effort but still pretty impressive for a 21-year-old.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2009-12-08T12:43:00.003Z

I had no idea this had won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction until I saw it written on the cover. I chose it because I completely adored Strout's first novel, Amy and Isabelle (I remember finishing it, and then turning right back to the beginning because I didn't want it to be over!), and enjoyed the more recent Abide with Me.

Olive Kitteridge is truly Strout at the top of her game. The connected stories - all involving, though sometimes tangentially, the title character - are beautifully written and emotionally intense. Vivid and powerful.

The New England setting made me so homesick.

There was a sadness to it - the hardship in the character's lives. Cold, dark Maine. And me reading it in chilly, dark London.

But I will come back to this, I know. I haven't felt so moved to re-read since discovering Alice Munro many moons ago.

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

2009-11-28T15:57:00.004Z

Couldn't stop myself - had to go for another Barbara Pym. This was a darker, sadder topic than Jane and Prudence - four lonely older people in London in the 1970s - but done with such a light touch, so delicately as to avoid being emotionally manipulative. And thankfully there was plenty of hope at the end. Phew.

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym

2009-11-17T12:16:00.002Z

Sooo lovely. Just what I was wanting. A sweet comedy of manners and romance set in 1950's Britain - both village life and London life covered. Some hilarious scenes about geography students which would be brilliant on film. Something like a Miss Marple without the murder.

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson

2009-10-23T11:06:00.003+01:00

This isn't a book you read all the way through - it's a reference book - but I thought I'd note that I read the intro and it's really changed my whole attitude about housework. I've cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets (wiping the shelves as well as reorganising pots and pans etc), hired someone to clean the windows and have plans to move the furniture and clean the floors beneath! This book has generally helped me come to terms with what it means to 'keep house' - it's not as bad as I thought.

Reading for Writers, The Kenyon Review

2009-10-23T10:57:00.003+01:00

I was really disappointed with the quality of much of the writing in this collection. I guess it is a periodical so a) can't be as picky as with books/have to fill pages and b) don't always have time to edit and rewrite. Best story was from V. S. Naipaul (of course).

Also enjoyed Brian Doyle's 'No'.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

2009-10-16T19:36:00.003+01:00

Don't usually read much science fiction but enjoyed Atwood's approach, which has some fine writing and real enough characters for me to relate. Thought some of her character motivation/plot elements were hard to buy - perhaps she was dealing more with 'ideas'. Guess it can be hard to balance both. My book clubbers liked the prequel to this - Oryx and Crake - better. Might try that too, soon.

Half books

2009-10-16T19:30:00.002+01:00

To make myself feel better I'm going to record two books I've only read half of - one (Probable Future) because I got tired of it, the other (A Mercy) because I was reading it at a friend's house in California, and I had to come home.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay

2009-08-18T12:35:00.001+01:00

Nice, breezy summer read. Hate the ad copy on the cover but if you get over that, a nice story of the development of an artist.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

2009-08-10T12:42:00.004+01:00

Didn't enjoy John Ames as a narrator quite as much as Glory in Home but it had many of the same things to recommend it: good writing; fine, quiet details; interesting theological discussions. I'm so intrigued by the sad Jack Boughton.

Home by Marilynne Robinson

2009-07-21T11:32:00.004+01:00

Quiet. Subtle. Sad (but not manipulative). Plain, lovable characters. Such fine writing. So good.

Raisin muffins

2009-07-19T16:23:00.010+01:00

This is loosely based on a Maida Heatter recipe but adapted for what I had in the kitchen.

Result: Fairly dense but flavourful and moist. Fresh out of the oven they were sooo yummy - crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Next day they liked being grilled with butter. I would use fewer raisins next time but otherwise utterly repeatable.

2 1/4 c flour (1 1/4 whole wheat; 1 white)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp ground seeds (flax/sunflower/pumpkin)
1 Tbsp whole oats
1 1/2 c sour milk
5/8 c brown sugar
6 oz/1 1/4 cup raisins

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix milk and sugar in a small bowl. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients - don't overmix. Add raisins. Put in greased muffin tins (filled 10 of mine). Bake at 160C fan (180C/350F oven) for about 35 mins, turning pan front to back halfway through.

Your One-Year-Old by Ames, Ilg and Haber

2009-07-14T12:27:00.007+01:00

As parenting books go, this was a good one. I liked that it wasn't a 'how to' book but more observational.

I particularly liked the first chapter, which summarises how many children behave at this age (based on research by qualified individuals). This is good when you've never had kids before, nor been around kids of this age very much (or recently). It answers all those, "Is this normal for this age? Should I be expecting something different?" questions which are often instigated by shouting/throwing food/kicking etc.

It talked some about developmental milestones and 'techniques' which tend to work best at this age but none of it was too preachy and instead focussed on getting through the difficult stuff with minimal damage to all.

I love the Q&As at the end which had to do with sleep - an issue which tormented me for the first year or so of my dear daughter's life (now I see how unnecessary this was, the torment anyway) - which basically said, "Sorry your kid's not sleeping! If you're not getting enough sleep, get some help for yourself."

I have already bought "Your Two-Year-Old" - it's sitting on the bookshelf, waiting.

Pan-fried sardines

2009-07-12T19:46:00.005+01:00

I got some sardines at the farmer's market because they were cheap and looked nice and fresh. SWC said he'd never had sardines he liked so I took it as a challenge to make these really tasty.

Result: I thought they were amazing: moist, flavourful and crispy. SWC agreed on the taste but had a hard time with the bones, which I barely noticed.

The original recipe called for cumin in the flour but I was hoping the toddler might eat these too so I left that out. She didn't go for them in the end - might try spicing up the flour next time.

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped fine
4-6 garlic cloves, chopped fine
6 sardines, prepared
Half a lemon
About 1/2 cup plain flour
Vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Chop the parsley and garlic and mix together in a bowl. Then spread the mixture all over the sardines - inside and out. Lay the fish out on a plate, squeeze some lemon juice over them, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about two hours.

Place the flour, salt and pepper on a large plate. Mix. Roll the sardines in the flour, taking care to coat each fish thoroughly.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan until very hot. Fry the fish for a few minutes on each side, until brown and crispy. Place on paper towels to drain any grease (there shouldn't be much if your oil's hot enough) and serve warm.

Zucchini muffins

2009-07-12T17:36:00.011+01:00

It's called courgette in the UK but when making muffins - such an American item - I call it zucchini.

These were delicious - moist and fluffy inside, with crunchy tops. AND they used up both zucchini (cheap at the farmer's market these days) AND sour milk.

I grated the zucchini in the food processor and it took about two seconds. I could have spiced them up more with some nutmeg or ginger (not that they needed it) - might try that next time if I'm in the mood for something spicier.

3 cups flour (one whole wheat, two white)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 pound zucchini, grated fine
2 eggs
1.5 cups white sugar
4 Tbsp oil
1 cup sour milk/buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients: eggs, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla. Combone wet and dry ingredients. Stir in courgette. Pour batter into oiled muffin tins (makes 12, if you fill them up to the top). Bake at 160C fan (350F/180C) about 35 mins, turning the pan front to back halfway through.

Vanilla pudding II

2009-07-11T15:25:00.009+01:00

Here's another vanilla pudding recipe I tried, as part of my ongoing effort to use up milk. It had more steps than 'vanilla pudding I' and the texture wasn't as good: it was a lot runnier, it was only slightly thicker than milk. I think I didn't cook it long enough at the end - with pudding I, cooking an extra five minutes is what thickened it up. I may try this again, and cook it longer, and see how it turns out.

3 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a large stainless steel (or heatproof) bowl whisk together 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, eggs, and egg yolk. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk. Set aside while you heat the rest of the milk and sugar. Have ready a fine medium-sized strainer and bowl as you will need to strain the pudding after it is cooked.

First, rinse a medium-sized heavy saucepan with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Then pour the remaining 3 cups of milk, along with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, into the saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth.

Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean, large heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. If necessary, pour through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking.

Pour the pudding into six or eight serving dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled, about two hours.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Vanilla pudding I

2009-07-11T15:25:00.004+01:00

In an effort to use up milk, I began searching for a good vanilla pudding recipe (in the American sense of that word). This one was nice, if a little sweet. And it was pretty runny - nice served over fruit or with cake but not gelatinous enough to be served on its own.

3 cups milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Scald 2 2/3 cups of the milk. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch, sugar and salt; stir in remaining 1/3 cup milk. Add the milk/cornstarch mixture to scalded milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Continue cooking vanilla pudding for about 5 minutes to thoroughly cook cornstarch. Serve warm or cool. It will thicken more as it cools.

Corn muffins

2009-07-05T15:27:00.004+01:00

We got behind on drinking our delivered milk, so I had to come up with some recipes to use the sour milk. These were super easy and pretty good - great texture, could have been either sweeter or saltier. As they were, best served as side dish or with butter and jam or honey.

1 cup corn-meal
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup thick sour milk
1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients: corn meal, flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg then add sugar, melted butter or oil and milk. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Bake in greased muffin tins for about 25 mins at 160C fan (350F/180C).

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

2009-07-03T09:16:00.002+01:00

Finished! (more later)

Leftovers carbonara

2009-07-01T18:56:00.003+01:00

We often make Marcella Hazen's carbonara recipe, but tonight we had an odd collection of leftovers. Nevertheless, a carbonara-esque meal materialised, and it was delicious.

500 g linguine (normally spaghetti, but we had none)
1 courgette
2 sausages (grilled yesterday)
1 head of fresh garlic
A little sun-dried tomato
1 egg
Parmesan
Olive oil
1 tbsp sherry (or dry white wine)

Chop up the entire head of fresh garlic. Fresh garlic is milder and sweeter than the regular stuff. Saute it in the olive oil for a minute, then add thin sliced courgette, sausage and sun-dried tomato. We use a mandolin to get 0.5 mm thick courgette slices. Saute until the courgette is slightly browned, then add the sherry and deglaze.

Mix the egg (raw) with enough grated parmesan cheese to make a thick paste. Grate black pepper into the paste. Add the cooked pasta and toss until it's evenly coated. Add the sauce and toss again.

Aunt Imme's German potato salad

2009-06-30T19:52:00.003+01:00

This is my aunt's German potato salad which I'm recording here for posterity.

I ate this dish several times a year - always at Christmas and Easter - while I was growing up. As an adult I've tried to recreate it several times - with mixed success. I could never get the dressing right. Then six months ago I found out she used the pickle juice!

This would be easier to make in the US than the UK (where we live) because it's hard to get real dill pickles here - and even hard to find really good sweet pickles. Ah well. At least the bacon here is good!

5 lb bag of potatoes
1 lb of bacon
1 jar of sweet (bread & butter) pickles
1 jar of Kosher dill pickles
1 apple

Boil potatoes until they burst - don't overboil. Pour off water. Cut pickles into tiny cubes. Save water from pickles. Fry bacon. Peal potatoes, slice into pieces the size of little finger. Mix pickles into potatoes. Add one-half jar of pickle water. Add one-third of the bacon fat. Taste and add fat and pickle water until it tastes good. Chop apple and add to potatoes. Serve hot or cold.

Our German potato salad

2009-06-30T19:23:00.008+01:00

We didn't have the right pickles to make Aunt Imme's German potato salad so we came up with this version, which we had all the ingredients for.

It was great! We used sausage instead of the usual bacon (cause that's what we had on hand). It would have been great with bacon too (duh). Would also be nice served with fresh parsley. We served it with fresh lettuce - a great warm weather meal! I'm sure it would be possible to do a veggie version too - with no meat, just cooking the onions in oil.

[The toddler ate some plain sausage, boiled potatoes with butter, and as much chopped up pickle as we would allow her.]

1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
About 1 lb potatoes
2 small sweet and sour pickles
3 small, organic gluten-free pork sausages
About 1/2 a head of lettuce

Boil potatoes until soft. Set aside. Cook sausages on medium heat in a cast-iron skillet, turning frequently until they're firm and cooked through. Remove sausages from pan. Keep on medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar to pan and scrape like a madman to remove all the tasty sausage goodness. Add oil and onions to pan. Saute until onions are soft. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Cut potatoes into chunks and put in bowl. Add dressing from skillet to potatoes. Chop up sausages and add to potatoes. Mix well. Season to taste. Wash lettuce, rip it up and dress it with some olive oil. Place lettuce on plate, then scoop some potato salad over it.

Tuna casserole

2009-06-28T16:49:00.008+01:00

We thought we had absolutely nothing to eat in the house - and then we realised we had the ingredients for tuna casserole. Not exactly the most sophisticated dish but this is a tasty version - with, notably, no canned cream of mushroom soup (which about 99.9 per cent of the recipes we found online called for).

The toddler was a bit suspicious of it but in the end ate several pieces of fusilli and a couple handfuls of the meat and sauce, once we separated them for her.

If you don't have kids, add some dry white wine or sherry in the sauce and double or triple the garlic. Next time we'll try putting bread crumbs on top, under the grated cheese.

1 pound fusilli

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
300 g tinned tuna
1 cup frozen peas

6 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1/4 pound grated cheddar cheese

Cheddar
Parmesan

Melt the butter, then stir in the flour. Slowly add the 6 cups milk on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. You'll end up with a nice, thick sauce. Add the grated cheese and stir until it's melted in, then remove from the heat.

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the mushrooms. Add the tuna. Add the sauce. Add the fusilli. Add the peas. Put the resulting mix in a buttered baking pan and grate some cheddar and parmesan over the top. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes.

Pork and veggie stew

2009-06-21T15:25:00.008+01:00

I was totally winging it with this one and it came out very tasty!

I wanted to stew some meat because it makes for great family meals - very easy to eat for the family member who still doesn't have all her teeth. The rest was just a mix of what I remember from making other stews and Marcella Hazan tomato sauces (ie, LOTS of olive oil!).

We ate it with pasta but it could also have been served over rice, with potatoes - or even with potatoes cooked in it.

2T veg oil
800g pork

1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced thin
1/2 courgette, sliced thin
About 1/4-1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 head garlic, chopped
2 splashes dry sherry
1 tsp oregano
1 enormous bay leaf
3 400ml/14 ox tins tomato
250ml/1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp flour
(Would have added dried basil if I'd had it. Instead, chopped up some fresh basil and cilantro and used that as a garnish before serving)

Heat veg oil in Dutch oven until very hot. Add cubed meat and brown on all sides. Set aside.

Add olive oil to Dutch oven. Add onion and carrot and saute for a few minutes. Add courgette, mushroom and garlic and cook until veg starts to get soft. Add spices, stir. Add sherry, scraping bottom of pan to remove tasty meat bits. Add tomato and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer, put the top and let it cook for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.

When the meat is very soft, remove the lid. Remove about a cup of liquid, and disolve flour in it. Then return flour/broth mixture to the soup. Stir and let cook for a few minutes with the top off, to thicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

2009-04-26T21:12:00.003+01:00

This was great. Super writing - quiet, reserved, very Scandinavian. Made me want to visit Norway - those cold, running rivers, those thick forests. Left so many things unanswered at the end, but nicely.

Darwin's Origin of Species by Janet Browne

2009-04-17T12:44:00.005+01:00

This is a brief biography of Darwin's Origin of Species - its significance within Victorian England, how it came about, who Darwin was and the ramifications his work has had up to present day. Great for someone who's forgotten most of what she learned about this in university.

What really got me was not the evolutionary science - though highly relevant politically today, the science of it is pretty much taken for granted - but the story of how great works happen.

Darwin was mostly unaware of the significance of what he was writing.

Many friends/colleagues helped him develop his ideas, gave encouragement etc - and especially gave council around when he had to publish. It was not created in isolation.

Then there's the reminder that the current reaction to a work has little relevance to its long-term significance (though 'Origin of Species' made a splash, it was not nearly as popular as some other, now unknown writings on evolution at the time - and then there's Mendel, who is mentioned in the book, whose work was only used much later).

Paprika/chili chicken

2009-04-12T19:46:00.006+01:00

Paprika chicken is a longtime favourite in our home. It's a tasty, quick, warm meal when you don't have a ton of ingredients on hand. This recipe is based on a dish I saw on Food TV ages ago.

Just today I made the mistake of putting in chili powder instead of paprika - and it was yummy - so now thanks to this happy mistake it's also our chili chicken recipe.

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1-6 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how garlicy you want it)
2 Tbsp paprika or chili powder
1 28oz/800ml tin of chopped tomato
4 chicken breasts, thighs or legs, skin on and bone in
1/2 cup broth or water
1 1/2 tsp flour
2-3 Tbsp yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

In large frying pan with lid, saute onion in oil at medium heat until tender. Add garlic and saute a minute or two. Add paprika/chili powder and stir for one minute. Add tomato and broth/water and bring to a simmer. Add chicken, meat side down, and return to simmer. The meat should be fully submerged in the sauce. Cover and cook for 10 mins. Remove cover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

Remove chicken from sauce and take off the skins (they are not nice to eat when boiled, but cooking the chicken with skin on keeps the meat moist).

Mix flour and water in a small bowl, then add to the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes, until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add the yogurt/sour cream/creme fraiche and stir.

Return chicken to sauce to warm it up a bit. Serve over rice or pasta with an extra dollop of yogurt/sour cream/creme fraiche, and fresh chopped parsley.

Loving by Henry Green

2009-03-22T21:43:00.003Z

Read this for the great dialogue - as recommended by 'Reading Like a Writer' - and was not disappointed. Lovely storytelling, unconventional ending and nice to read something older and so not so cinematic in its scope.

Root veg soup

2009-03-22T21:42:00.005Z

In the quest to consume root veg, I tried this soup recipe and was pleased by the results.

I added more ginger and garlic than it called for, and it could have had even more. But it was nice, especially with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 lbs root veg, chopped (I used 1 lb beets, 1/2 lb carrots, 1/2 lb swede)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups stock (I used chicken)
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
About 1 teaspoon salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Sour cream or yogurt

In large soup pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beets and other root veg and water or stock. Simmer the soup, covered, for 50 minutes. Add orange rind, and stir well.

Puree the soup in batches (I used blender). Then season with salt and pepper. Garnish with dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Korma curry recipes

2009-03-16T12:45:00.013Z

Wild Boar Korma Curry

Notes: This was good but next time, more fresh garlic and ginger. The paste isn't that zesty. And add chilis or chili sauce at the table (didn't add chilis because sharing with toddler).

2 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp korma paste
1/2 c yogurt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water
400 g wild boar
4 dried apricots, chopped
1 cup peas
About half a ripe mango, chopped.

Saute onion and mushroom in oil until soft. Add korma paste and cook for 1 minute. Add milk, yogurt and water. Add boar and apricots. Bring to simmer, cover and cook about 1 to 1.5 hours, until boar is soft. Mix in peas and mango. Cook about 5 minutes until peas are done. Serve with rice or noodles.

--

15/2/10: Finally got this right! Yummy Fish Korma Curry.

1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
3 Tbsp korma paste
3 mushroom, sliced
1 tin coconut milk
1/4 c plain yogurt
One large fillet pollock, cut into large chunks (10-12 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh mango, diced
1 cup frozen peas

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion for a few minutes, until soft. Add garlic, ginger and mushrooms, and cook for a minute or two. Add the curry paste and cook 1 minute, then stir in the coconut milk and yogurt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer. Add the fish and mango. Return to simmer, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until fish is nearly done. Add frozen peas. Cook 5 minutes until peas and fish are cooked. Serve with steamed rice and hot mango pickle.

---

Did this with lamb too and it was good...

1 onion, chopped
2Tbsp oil
3Tbsp korma paste
400 ml coconut milk
4 dried apricots, chopped
600g lamb, chopped
1 cup frozen peas

----

This is based on a kids' food recipe from Annabel Karmel - but while the baby didn't go for it, the adults did. And it was super easy. So I got thinking about how to make it more adult-friendly.

Next time: Add ginger and garlic after sauteing onion. Use more korma paste and fewer apricots. Perhaps add a fresh chili.

This is what I made which was tasty but a little sweet and bland:

2 Tbsp oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 Tbsp korma paste
800ml/28 oz coconut milk (2 tins)
200g dried apricots, cut into strips
4 boneless skinless chicken things, cut into cubes
1 cup frozen green peas

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion for a few minutes, until soft. Add the curry paste and cook 1 minute, then stir in the coconut milk and apricots. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the apricots start to soften. Add the chicken, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the frozen peas. Cook another 10 minutes or so until the chicken and apricots are both tender and the peas are cooked. Add a tablespoon of water if the sauce becomes too thick. Serve with steamed rice.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2009-03-16T12:35:00.003Z

Only cracked the cover on this one because the book club is reading it (despite my protests). Just managed to get through the intro without exploding with hatred at the shallowness. Then tried to push through the first section (so I'd have something to say at the club) but got so bored at her talking about finding an apartment, eating, making cool arty friends, I had to put it down. It makes me angry just writing this blurb, just thinking about the book. Blech.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami

2009-03-11T19:36:00.004Z

Finally finished this a couple weeks ago. Got distracted by many things, and then lost the book. It was great. Perfect example of the book that would be hard to 'pitch' or workshop but is oh so worthwhile. Melds the everyday world with an extraordinary one effortlessly - and without unnecessary explanation. You are led and you follow.

Asian-ish salmon salad

2009-02-25T19:03:00.004Z

This was the result of banging together what we happened to have in the fridge, rather than buying ingredients on purpose. The result was quite tasty.

Notes: It was a little light on sauce, and the sauce might have been better with some lime juice. Also next time, dress the lettuce lightly too.

400g grilled salmon, flaked
2 small carrots, grated
4 scallions, chopped
Fresh basil and mint, chopped
About 1/4 mango, in small cubes
1 head of lettuce

sauce:
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 chili, minced

Thai jasmine rice

Mix the salad ingredients together. Mix the sauce ingredients together. Then mix the sauce with the salad. Make a bed of lettuce on a plate, put the hot rice on top, then put the salad on top of the rice.

Beef enchiladas

2009-02-21T12:00:00.004Z

We finally broke down and made Mexican food at home. Our nice Aunt Sarah had sent us some enchilada sauce (tasty - thanks!) so all we had to do was make tortillas and the filling.

Result: Very tasty! Need to work on making tortillas softer. It could also have been spicier (maybe add more chili to beef?). If we get this recipe down, we're really never returning to the States!

The tortillas:

If you live in the sort of glorious locale where good tortillas (i.e. no additives and very tasty) are available at the store, by all means skip this step and just buy a pack.

250g plain white flour
150ml water
5g (about 1 tsp) salt

Knead ingredients together until smooth. Let sit for about 30 mins. Divide into eight. Roll each portion into a ball. Roll until 2-3mm thick. Place frying pan on medium height. Cook for about 1 minute on each side. Wrap in tea towel to steam. [Note: Mine were a little tough. Not sure if they were too thick, or needed to be kneaded more/less. Will investigate purchase of tortilla press.]

The filling:

1 3/4 lb ground beef
2 small onions, diced
Half a head of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 cup enchilada sauce
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil in a large frying pan. Add the beef and spices and saute until browned. Add the enchilada sauce and simmer for 30 minutes.

The assembly:

3 cups enchilada sauce
8 tortillas
1 1/2 cups grated cheese, we used a mild cheddar

Put a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking pan. Using a plate with raised sides, place some enchilada sauce on the plate then put a tortilla in, flipping it to cover both sides lightly in sauce. Distribute the meat and 1 cup of cheese amongst the tortillas, folding them and placing them seam down in the baking pan. Once they're all in the pan, cover them with the remaining enchilada sauce, then cover them with the remaining cheese. Bake the result at 200C/400F until the cheese is bubbly and maybe a little crispy, about 20 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole and chopped green onions.

Yam neua yaang (Thai beef salad)

2009-02-15T16:03:00.004Z

A friend sent us this recipe, and it was fantastic.

400g beef sirloin, lightly grilled and thinly sliced
200g cucumber, peeled and shredded
50g onion, sliced thin
Fresh herbs, chopped
Whole lettuce

2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 hot chili, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

We can't grill in our flat, so we pan fried the steak the way Best Recipe recommended: heat an iron skillet for 10 minutes, add a little oil, salt and pepper the steak, and cook it for 5 minutes on the first side, 3 minutes on the second. This was supposed to give us rare steak, but I would call the result medium or medium-well. Still tasty, but next time I'll cook it less.

We used coriander (cilantro), mint and basil for the herbs, because we happened to have all three. Any nice collection of fresh herbs will likely do nicely.

Mix the sauce ingredients vigourously. Mix everything else besides the lettuce. Add the sauce. Serve over the lettuce. Simple and delicious.

Seared tuna

2009-02-12T18:22:00.004Z

This is basically a Jamie Oliver recipe, from his first cookbook, "The Naked Chef" - long before he was so terribly overexposed. I didn't have the coriander seeds he called for and I used a lot more garlic. Also I used fresh chili not dried.

It was tasty!

Next time: See if I can create a crispier crust by heating up the pan more.

1 clove garlic
1/4 fresh red chili
3-4 large fresh basil leaves
small handful fresh cilantro
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper
8 oz tuna steak

Chop up the first four ingredients until they're very fine (or mash them in a mortar and pestle). Add the lemon, mix, then season to taste.

Heat up an iron skillet or grill pan until it's very, very hot. Put in just a bit of oil and spread it thin. Heat more.

Spread the herbs and spices on both sides of the tuna steak. Throw the fish into the hot pan. Cook one minute on each side. Remove from pan, slice into thin pieces.

We served it over leek/tomato fried rice, and with a side of creamed spinach.

Chinese steamed chicken

2009-02-07T18:30:00.007Z

Tender, delicious and remarkably easy to make.

4 chicken thighs
1 1/2 tbsp sake
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" fresh ginger, minced
1 chili, seeded and minced

Combine everything but the chicken in a bowl and mix. Place each thigh on a piece of aluminum foil with 1/4 of the sauce, wrapping it tightly. Steam in a bamboo steamer for 45 minutes.

We had this with leek fried rice. It was delicious. Next time, I'll make more sauce per piece of chicken, and, as usual, it could be spicier. Even SMCC said it could be spicier.

Pork katsu with cabbage

2009-02-05T19:21:00.006Z

The chicken katsu was so good, we decided to try pork katsu.

4 thin pork shoulder steaks, about 500g total
Everything else the same as the chicken katsu

I trimmed the fat from the pork steaks and whacked them thin with the flat of a big knife. The pork was perfect at 4 minutes a side. We doubled the hot chilis in the tonkatsu sauce, and SMCC thought it was spicy enough, but I could have had it much spicier.

We did red cabbage as a side dish. We sliced a whole cabbage thin, steamed it until it was soft, tossed it in a little toasted sesame oil and served it with a little light soy sauce. Quite nice.

Hot toddy

2009-02-04T21:27:00.002Z

Being sick is a great excuse to booze up.

1 1/2 oz Jameson's
3/4 oz lemon juice
4 oz boiling water
Cinnamon
Ground cloves
Grated ginger
Cayenne pepper
Honey

Smooth.

Chicken katsu

2009-01-31T17:20:00.006Z

Tokyo diner food, at home.

katsu:
2 chicken fillets
1 egg
flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 slice white bread

sauce:
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2" fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp dry red pepper flakes

Start by making panko bread crumbs (panko is a japanese brand for white bread crumbs). Don't buy them, they're pointlessly expensive. Whiz the bread in a food processor until it's small crumbs, then bake in a dish at 150C for about 10 minutes.

Beat the egg. Roll the chicken fillets in flour, coat them in egg, then press them into the bread crumbs until they're covered all over. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side at medium heat. I used high heat and they were done on the outside before the inside; we rescued them by baking at 150C for 10 minutes (which worked fine).

Meanwhile, make a tonkatsu sauce, which is a hilarious mixture of ingredients but tasty. Slap all the ingredients into a pan, cook at medium heat, stirring constantly until it suddenly transforms from an odd goo into a nice sauce. It could have been a bit spicier; might try doubling the red pepper flakes next time.

Serve with steamed rice and a veg side dish.

Coffee cake

2009-01-25T21:52:00.009Z

SWC wanted coffee cake for his birthday so I cracked open the wonderful, 'Classic Home Desserts' by Richard Sax cookbook and made the Quintessential Coffee Cake.

It's not what I think of as coffee cake - I think of a white, fluffy, moist cake with thick brown streusel on top. This cake was made with brown sugar so was more molasses-y. And I messed up the streusel by putting the sugar-butter-flour mixture in the food processor, so when I put it on the cake, instead of nice little buttery-sugary chunks, it was like dusting the cake with flour. Yuck! I saved it by applying copious quantities of butter and sugar to the top of the cake about 5 mins before it was done baking.

So the result was nice. A very moist, soft cake. The topping was crunchy and sweet enough, with no flour chunks - a decent save.

But next time: do the butter cutting with knives and make sure the streusel is chunky before applying to cake. Also may want to investigate other coffee cake recipes in order to achieve My Perfect Coffee Cake. Or maybe just try this recipe with white sugar, not brown?

3/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt thinned with milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F/180C (160C fan). Butter a 13-by-9-inch dish or two 8-inch squares.Cut butter into brown sugar and flour with pastry blender or knives until crumbly. Save 1 cup for topping.

Beat baking soda into buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients. Add egg, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth. Scrape batter into pan, smooth on top. Sprinkle crumbs over the top.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 mins. Cool on wire rack. Cut and serve.

Beef stew with parsnips and carrots

2009-01-24T20:54:00.008Z

This was an attempt to cook all of the parsnips and carrots we've been hoarding from our veg box - we had nearly three weeks' worth on hand! On that count, it succeeded. On the tasty count, it was pretty good. The gravy/broth was nice but there wasn't enough of it. And it was a little too sweet for my tastebuds.

So... next time add more water as it cooks. And use fewer parsnips and carrots, and instead add some potatoes, and some frozen peas at the end for greenness. Might try substituting beer for wine to make it less sweet. As for all those parsnips and carrots, next time they stack up, try to make a dedicated soup for them which can handle their sweetness (I'm imagining ginger and curry spices will be needed).

Also: The meat was good but I'm not convinced we need to dust it with flour before cooking - doing away with that step might make this recipe even easier.

All our parsnips
All our carrots
4 small onions, quartered
650g stew beef
Olive oil
Butter
Thyme
Oregano
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 bottle red wine
500 ml beef stock
1 can tomatoes

Preheat oven to 160C. Sautee the onions in the olive oil and butter with the thyme and oregano. Dust the meat with the flour and add it, browning only very briefly. Add the parsnips, carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine and stock. Cook in the oven for 2 hours.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

2009-01-22T20:56:00.003Z

Just finished this last night. Still ruminating on it. It had a sympathetic narrator, a strong first-person voice, some good storytelling. I was heartbroken by the unfairness to the main character, and liked how the way it was told - with two competing explanations for past events - made me think about the validity of memories.

I was slow to invest, though the writing at the beginning was sharp, but by halfway through I was caught up. Then - the ending. Too much clean wrapping up of the mysteries the story held. A coincidence which seems more and more lame the longer I think about it. I was hoping for some solid hints at what *really* happened but more of it left open and unclear. I have this suspicion that an editor asked for more to be resolved at the end, or the author wasn't sure how to accomplish a more mysterious ending. I dunno. Still thinking about it, eager for the book group discussion next week.

Sausage stir fry

2009-01-22T18:03:00.005Z

Another variation on the simple Thai-esque stir fry.

1 lb sausages
2 eggs
2 large leeks
2 tomatoes, cut in 8 wedges each
2" fresh garlic, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, sliced thin
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Prepare the sauce in a bowl by mixing together the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and sesame oil.

Cut the sausages into pieces such that each piece is about as long as it is wide. Any sort of nice sausage will do; I've used sweet chili pork, Cumberland, venison, anything good. Heat the oil in a wok and add the sausage. Stir occasionally, cook until the sausage is firm and brown on all sides.

Beat the 2 eggs with a little water in a bowl, as if you were making an omelette. Move the sausage all to one side of the wok and pour the egg mixture in. Move the sausage into the egg mixture and let it cook until the egg starts to firm, then stir. The result should be egg-coated sausage bits.

Remove the sausage and egg, leaving as much oil behind as possible. You may need to add a little extra oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir fry for about a minute, then add the leeks. Stir fry until soft. Turn off the heat, return the sausage and egg to the wok, add the tomato, and pour the sauce over everything. Stir until nicely mixed.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Sliced duck with mushrooms and leeks over crispy noodles

2009-01-09T08:26:00.005Z

4 duck breast fillets
2 leeks
1/2 lb mushrooms (we used chestnut mushrooms)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of fresh ginger, minced
Thin Chinese egg noodles

Put 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok, and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir fry for about one minute. Add the mushrooms and stir fry until soft. Add the leeks and continue to stir fry until they're wilted and soft. Store the result in a convenient bowl.

Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut the meat underneath, but cutting all the way through the skin. Score the entire breast, with lines about 1/2" apart. Salt and pepper the duck, using a bit more salt than you think, and rub the result into the skin. Heat a skillet until it's very hot (normally we would use an iron skillet, but we used an All Clad instead because we needed the extra space, and it worked fine - we added a drizzle of vegetable oil to the All Clad, which we wouldn't have done in the iron skillet). Place the duck skin side down, and fry for about 12 minutes. All of the fat should render out from under the skin, and the skin should be extremely crispy. Turn and fry for another 6 minutes, then remove and let stand for about 5 minutes.

Prepare the Chinese egg noodles however the package directs. Usually this involves boiling them for about 3-5 minutes. It's easiest to separate them with chopsticks after putting them in the water, and always rinse them thoroughly with cold water when they're done to prevent them from cooking any further in their own heat and becoming mushy.

To make the crispy noodles: Put 4 tbsp oil in the wok and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the noodles, and spread them out into a disk about 1" thick. If you have more noodles than will fit, do them in batches - if the noodles are too thick in the wok, they don't come out right. Fry them for 3 minutes, then flip the pancake-esque result and fry them for another 3 minutes on the other side. The resulting crispy noodle disc should slide easily out of the wok (unlike the flipping part, which is always a bit tricky).

Serve a portion of crispy noodle covered in leeks and mushrooms, with sliced duck breast arranged in a line on top. Hoi sin sauce goes nicely with the duck, but I just slather mine with sriracha.

Little Women

2009-01-06T15:54:00.006Z

Just finishing up Little Women. Got this at the library because I'd somehow never read it and was looking for something light and fun for the trip to the States. Must have forgotten I was travelling with a toddler and thus didn't crack the book the whole time I was away.

Cute and classic - very readable for something written in the 1860's. Quite moralistic but that's par for the course for girls' stories esp of that era. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Wasn't swept away by the characters and story.

For a girls' classic my money is on 'Anne of Green Gables'.

Christmas meatballs

2009-01-02T20:01:00.003Z

In a quest to add Even More Meat to an already delightful spread on Christmas Eve, I made a triple portion of these meatballs using a mix of the Cook's Illustrated recipe and the Marcella Hazan recipe. The real key to these is to get your 13-year-old niece to do all the work. Don't use veal, as it's too bland.

2 slices decent white bread (we used Pepperidge Farms potato bread)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (we used Asiago because it was purchased by accident, worked fine)
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
ground nutmeg
ground black pepper

Tear up the bread and combine it with the buttermilk in a large bowl. Mash it with a fork until it's a fairly even paste. Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and mix with a fork at first, and then with your hands, until evenly combined. Use a light touch, as too much pressure will create hockey pucks instead of meatballs.

Shape the meatballs from the mix, using roughly 3 Tbsp of mix for a 1 1/2-inch meatball. Too small and they will be crunchy all the way through; too large and they will be gooey on the inside. Handle them too much at this stage, and you will again get hockey pucks.

Fry the meatballs in a skillet in about a 1/4 inch of nearly smoking hot vegetable oil, leaving space between the meatballs. Turn regularly to get them brown and crunchy on all sides. It takes about 6 minutes per batch.

Fast egg nog

2008-12-31T17:35:00.007Z

We were jetlagged and in need of some tasty but quick and simple egg nog to celebrate New Year's Eve. This recipe fit the bill! Basically, you drink uncooked French toast mixture. But in a good way.

Maybe sometime when we're less exhausted and confused about which continent we're on, we'll try one of those egg nog recipes which has you separate the eggs and beat the yolks and whites separately.

Also all the recipes we found said you should chill the egg nog before serving but I always think of egg nog as a warm drink. Plus, the flat was freezing. So we warmed the nog in a pan before drinking, making sure it didn't get too hot (so as not to cook the eggs).

Happy New Year! (glug, glug)

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 oz bourbon (or rum)

Beat eggs with wire whisk. Add milk and sugar. Beat some more. Add vanilla, nutmeg and booze. Beat a bit more. Chill and serve cold, or heat gently in a pan and serve warm-ish.

Molasses crinkles

2008-12-22T08:56:00.011Z

It's Christmastime and though I haven't had much time to bake, I did find a few minutes after decorating the tree to make a batch of these molasses crinkles.

These are the best cookies - chewy, sweet, gingery. I've made them for cookie exchanges, for colleagues, for friends, for Friday night poker games - and they are always a hit. I get asked for the recipe more often than anything else I bake or cook.

It's an old family recipe, adapted here by sister Liz (baker and chef extraordinaire). The original called for Crisco (ewww) and less ginger, revealing its Midwestern roots.

If you like ginger, you can add some diced-up crystallised ginger (mix it in with the wet ingredients right before you add the flour). But for first-timers I suggest you enjoy them in their 'classic' state.

5 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp molasses (I use blackstrap)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Extra white sugar

Preheat oven to 350F/175C/160C fan.

Soften butter to room temperature (or melt and freeze in a bowl for 10 mins). Mix in oil. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg. Mix well. Mix in molasses.

In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices.

Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients. The dough will be fairly stiff.

Grease cookie sheets. Roll dough into small balls - about 2 inches in diameter - and roll them in white sugar before placing them on the cookie sheets. Allow plenty of space between the cookie balls as the cookies will flatten as they cook.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Make sure they are fully cooked.) Remove from oven. Cool on pan for a couple minutes, then move to a wire rack. Let cool completely - then enjoy!

Makes aboout two dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them.

Pak choy with garlic sauce

2008-12-20T19:48:00.008Z

We finally made a sojourn to Chinatown to visit our favourite Chinese market today.

We sorely miss the Chinese food in San Francisco, so we've been forced to make it at home. We've found a couple adequate Chinese restaurants here but nothing like in SF. You have to be careful what you order here, or you might end up with doughy, deep-fried meat covered in jam (their version of 'sweet and sour'). Yuck. Or sweetcorn in your mu shu. Double yuck.

At the market today, along with some sauces, frozen dumplings (yum) and noodles, we bought fresh pak choy (or bak choi, or however you misspell it). This is a quick sauce we tried out for the greens. It came out OK but was a little too thin and watery, and the pak choi could have been cooked less. This is our amended recipe, which we hope will fix that.

We served this with pan fried pot stickers. I heart Chinese food!!

2 Tbsp veg oil
6 or so cloves of garlic
1/3 c chicken broth
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 to 2 lbs pak choy

Stir fry garlic in hot oil. Add pak choy and stir fry for a minute or two. Before it starts to wilt, pour sauce over it. Let simmer for about 2-5 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken and pak choi is wilty. Serve warm.

Reading like a writer

2008-12-16T15:13:00.007Z

Finally – something about reads not eats.

Just finished 'Reading Like a Writer: A guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them' by Francine Prose.

This is a good read, even if you don’t want to be a writer. As opposed to the usual prescriptive and preachy ‘how to write fiction’ books, it draws heavily on examples of fine writing as a way of illustrating aspects of the craft.

Then at the end Prose devotes a chapter to how Chekhov taught her just about every bit of advice she has given writing students is wrong. So think for yourself.

The strength of the book is the high quality of the sample texts. I was pleased to read good bits from authors I know and to be introduced to writers I hadn’t heard of and now want to read.

The explanatory sections in between the samples were by and large interesting and instructive, though I admit I skimmed several parts that were explaining why a great excerpt was great because, well, I already got why by reading it!

Best of all, this book reminded me to slow down when I read and take closer notice of the language – the words, sentences, paragraphs, details. It's made me get more out of my reading.

And the final chapter, 'Reading for courage,' aptly reminds us it's not excessive tutelage but something greater which the best authors possess.

Thai meat balls and cabbage

2008-12-14T19:38:00.022Z

We had ground beef and cabbage that needed to be eaten. So we thought: Thai meat balls! We had all the sauces but didn't have the fresh mint and basil, which really would have been better and more Thai than parsley in the meatballs. Still this was tasty for a quick meal that used up an odd assortment of ingredients in the fridge.

Next time: Get those fresh herbs. Try other veg besides cabbage, which was fine but something else might be better. Not sure what yet.

Our Thai friend recommends the following brands for sauces: Squid brand fish sauce, Healthy Boy brand soy sauce and Healthy Boy brand sweet chili sauce (called 'chicken sauce' by Thais, though it's used on a number of dishes). We found them at a local Chinese market.

These are the sauces we use, and they are great. When we can't find Healthy Boy soy sauce, we use Pearl River, which is also nice. Also: we always use light soy sauce - dark soy sauce should only be used for colour, not flavour.

Meatballs:
625g ground beef
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 head garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 c fresh parsley (much better to use fresh mint and basil)
ground black pepper
3 Tbsp veg oil

Mix those ingredients (except veg oil) together in a bowl. Form balls. Heat oil in wok or skillet. Fry meatballs for about 6 minutes, stirring so they are brown and crispy on all sides.

Cabbage:
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp rice wine
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 fresh tomatoes, cut in wedges

Remove meatballs from wok. Fry cabbage in all that's left in wok - oil, meat juice, ginger and garlic bits. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Taste it. If it's not tender, add 1 or 2 Tbsp water, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender.

When cabbage is done, toss meatballs with cabbage in wok to warm them. Then add the fresh tomatoes, and toss so they get warm. Serve with soy sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, and rice or noodles.

Pasta with red sauce and tuna

2008-12-14T11:39:00.012Z

This recipe is nothing fancy but it's tasty and flexible, depending on what you have on hand.

It is inspired by an Annabel Karmel recipe for kids but altered a bit. It can be fed to toddlers (my daughter loves it) or to adults. It served as the basis for our first 'family meal' - where all three of us ate the same dish. Imagine!

If you don't have courgette (zucchini to you Americans) or celery, you can substitute another type of squash, or potato, or just use more carrot and onion. You could add a clove or two of garlic if your toddler is willing.

If you don't have tuna, you can use ground beef, or make it veggie, or add some grated cheese before serving for extra protein and fat. You could probably also use flaked salmon or trout, or perhaps even chicken, but I haven't tried those yet. Let me know how it goes if you do!

6 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small or medium carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 small courgette, chopped
2 400g/14 oz tins chopped tomato
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sugar
150g of tinned tuna (or cooked ground beef, chopped fine)
1 Tbsp cream cheese

250g pasta (I use small star pastas for my daughter, and penne for adults)

Heat up olive oil in saucepan. Saute onion, carrot and celery (and optional garlic) until soft, about 5 mins. Add courgette (or optional squash or potato). Saute another 5 mins. Add tomato, oregano, basil, bay leaf and sugar. Bring to boil. Turn down and simmer with top on for about 15 mins.

Cook and drain pasta.

When tomato sauce is done cooking, drain tinned tuna (or cook and chop ground beef) and mix in. Then stir in cream cheese. Mix with pasta and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta carbonara plus veg

2008-12-13T19:12:00.013Z

My husband (aka SWC, aka my co-cooker and co-blogger) adores noodles. When asked once which single cuisine he could eat for the rest of his life, he said, "Chinese or Italian." I said: "You just like noodles!" He agreed.

This (and probably most of the pasta I'll write about) is his creation. It's based on Marcella Hazan's pasta carbonara recipe (we love her cookbook), plus some veg we had lying around from our weekly box. It turned out quite tasty.

It was also great the next day, heated up in a skillet with a bit of extra oil. Yum.

3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 head of garlic, pressed
1/2 lb back bacon, cut into thin strips
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup white wine
one bunch scallions
4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
2 eggs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
fresh black pepper
1 lb spaghetti

Saute garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add bacon. Cook until it's crispy. Add wine. Deglaze pan. Add mushrooms. Saute until they start to soften. Add scallions. Saute until wilty. Remove from heat. Add sundried tomatoes.

Place eggs, parmesan, parsley and a few turns of grated black pepper into a large serving bowl. Beat with fork.

Cook spaghetti and drain. Place in bowl with egg mixture. Toss until egg mixture coats spaghetti. (Convince yourself this process actually cooks the egg, so you won't die of salmonella.)

Dump contents of saute pan over spaghetti. Mix well. Serve with fresh black pepper and grated parmesan.

Veggie quick ass quiche

2008-12-12T12:46:00.010Z

We needed a vegetarian version of the quick ass quiche today for a party, so I made the same thing with two changes:

1. I replaced the bacon with 7 whole sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced, placing them on top of the leeks.

2. I added about a tablespoon of white wine to the leeks while sauteing, to add a little extra flavour in the absence of bacon drippings.

The rest of the recipe is exactly the same.

Result: Tasty! The sundried tomatoes were just the right amount of savoury and rich to replace the bacon.

Cabbage, pork and potato stew

2008-12-10T19:30:00.005Z

We had cabbage and potatoes in our veg box, and some pork shoulder chops from the supermarket, so I thought, 'hey, I'll make cabbage, potato and pork stew.' Creative, I know.

I trolled the web and found this recipe which sounded pretty good, with the vinegar (I love pickled things) and the mustard. Made it last night and it was a major disappointment: too vinegary (even for me), too bland, not substantial enough. We added some creamy yogurt to see if that helped, and it did a little. It wasn't disgusting - we ate it. But really nothing to recommend it. No idea what we'll do with the dutch oven full of it sitting in the fridge.

I would not try that recipe again. Not even sure how I'd change it to improve it.

Hachis parmentier

2008-12-09T18:56:00.015Z

Tonight is a leftovers night, so I am featuring a brilliant recipe from my friend Patrick. He came up with this recipe for hachis parmentier - a fancy French version of cottage or shepherd's pie - with the hopes of recreating a wonderful version of the dish he, my husband and I have all eaten at a little cafe in the Marais district of Paris called Le Barometre (which we've loved and recommended to all our friends but which Patrick now tells us has changed chefs and gone downhill a bit - so if you try it and it's not so great, well, sorry).

My husband and I have made the dish at home a few times and it's been wooonderful. Last time we made it in our huge Le Creuset dutch oven and picked at it all week, so all we had to cook was a vegetable dish - great for when you can't/don't want to cook every night.

So over to Patrick:

"this is actually perfect timing, since i just made this for the first time in a while 2 nights ago, and i settled on the main balance proportions, which i always get wrong.

"i had 700 grams of beef the other night, which would have been perfect for the 4 people eating, but then i made mash with 2 kgs of potatoes, which was the perfect amount for the big dish i had (which would be more like 6-8 people), but too much for the small dish i intended to use and the amount of meat. so - i think 1 kg of potatoes for 700 grams to 1 kg of beef. i think 1 kg might end up *really* beefy, but some people (especially us americans) might like it that way.

"remember the british vs. american sandwich theory? in america, a sandwich is stuff with a bit of bread around it so you can hold it up; in britain, a sandwich is a lot of bread with a bit of stuff just to add some flavor. i think the same could be applied to american vs. french hachis proportions...

"so, for 4 people:

1 kg potatoes
700 grams lean ground beef
a mountain of butter
a gazillion onions
3-50 big cloves garlic
cornflour or other thickener
creme fraiche or equivalent (optional)
herbs de provence
nutmeg
milk
sugar
cheese for topping

"(i use a mix of grated emmental and grated parmesan, mixed with black pepper. traditionally is would just be emmental, which melts really nicely, but it's really bland, so i add parmesan and pepper to give it flavor. if you just use parmesan it just goes hard, so the emmental makes a good base. in england i'm sure you could also substitute some other tasty smooth-melting cheese, or add a bit of cheddar instead of parmesan.)

"so: start with the onions. slice up as many onions as you can stand. for my 700 grams of beef i used something like 6; my pan was overflowing with onions. you'll end up with something like 1/10th of the volume you start with, so don't be afraid. sautee them briefly in *a lot* of butter, just til they separate, then sprinkle on some sugar and cover to caramelize over a low heat. they should be sizzling but not browning. leave them covered for a million years, stirring every 10 or 20.

"for the mash: peel and cut up any larger potatoes (so all your pieces are roughly the same size), and boil or steam until just soft. don't cook too long or the mash comes out watery. drain and rough-mash them, then leave them hot in the pot for a while to let some of the water evaporate out.

"when they're cool enough to manipulate add the other half of your butter mountain, some milk, salt, nutmeg, and creme fraiche if you're using it (i used only 2 tbsps or so for 2 kgs of potatoes this time. probably don't need it at all). you want a rich, smooth, creamy but firm mash. the nutmeg is the secret. use not very much, but more than you think. add just enough so that you can identify its presence when you taste the mash on it's own. once it's been in the oven and is coupled with the beef, it will be unidentifiable, but key.

"when the onions have more or less melted and uber-caramelised (could take 45 minutes to an hour) take the lid off and turn the heat up a little, stirring for several minutes to cook out excess water. taste them - when they make your eyes roll up into the back of your head in onion glory they're done. crush in your garlic (we discussed this - i think just a bit of garlic - 3 or 4 cloves - in order to let the sweetness of the onions dominate, but it's at your discretion) and stir in for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the beef (and a little more butter if needed) lots of herbs de provence (way more than you think. really a lot.) and salt.

"keep stirring until the beef has all separated. i've toyed with trying to keep the beef raw so that it cooks in the oven, but i gave up on that. i think it's nicer when it's cooked in the butter. when it's all nice and glazed through, add a bit of thickener (optional) to hold the beef together a bit. i use a teaspoon or so or cornflour. taste it. it should be rich (but not *too* buttery, or the whole thing with the creamy mash will just be cloying), sweet (from the onions) and *super* perfumey (from the herbs).

"butter an appropriate baking dish (deep), and layer half your potato in the bottom. then layer all your beef, and top with the other half of the potato. pyrex is nice cuz then you can see the layers through the side. top with your cheese and black pepper mixture. i only put pepper in the cheese topping (quite a lot), but you could also but it anywhere else if you wanted (i'd say the beef sooner then the potato). put it in a hot preheated over (i do 210*) for 20 minutes or so, just to heat it through and settle it, then a blast of grill just to brown and crisp up the cheese. and voila! artery death!"

Thanks Patrick! And here are some more of his photos:

Pasta with spinach cream sauce

2008-12-08T19:34:00.006Z

This was intended as a dish for my 14-month-old daughter. But alas, she turned her nose up at it. She took one bite then started chanting, "Milk! Cheese! Bread!" (Her favourite foods, along with lentils.)

Luckily it's also pretty tasty for adults. Next time, though, if I make it for adults, I will add more onion, some garlic, and maybe some dried or fresh chili, to make it a little more exciting.

This can be eaten as is, or meat eaters can add some grilled and flaked/shredded fish or chicken. Or you can have a poached egg on top.

Here's the simple version I made for the baby. Anyone with toddlers can try it on their kids, just leave out the salt and pepper (unless your kids like pepper!).

Some olive oil
Half an onion
About 500g frozen spinach (we buy this organic frozen spinach which comes in 80g cubes)
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Hunk of cheese, grated fine
1 lb pasta
Salt and pepper

Saute onion in olive oil. Thaw spinach in fridge ahead of time, or cook lightly in a saucepan with a little water. Mix spinach with onion. Steam carrots. Wiz onion, spinach and carrot in food processor. In saucepan, melt butter. Add flour to create roue. Let cook a minute or two. Slowly add milk, mixing all the while so there are no lumps. When all the milk is added, cook on low heat until it thickens. Remove from heat. Add grated cheese. Mix the cream sauce with the onion/spinach/carrot mixture. Add flaked/shreded fish/chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook pasta. Stir sauce into pasta. Serve with grated paramesan on top, if you have it.

Leek & egg fried rice

2008-12-08T17:31:00.008Z

The fridge was a bit bare today, so I made a quick fried rice. Tasty and easy, although I usually add a little leftover meat or fish of some kind when we have it.

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 medium leek, cut into thin rounds
About 2-3 cups leftover cooked white rice
2 eggs
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Start by heating the oil in the wok. Add the ginger and cook for about a minute, until the ginger is fragrant. Add the leek and stir fry until wilted. Add the rice, preferably at least one day old and refrigerated to get the right texture, breaking up the rice and stir frying until the rice is no longer clumped together. Beat the eggs in a bowl with a little cold water, then pour the result over the mixture in the wok. Stir constantly until the egg is fully cooked. Add the cherry tomatoes, season to taste with light soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and chili sauce.

Curried parsnip chips

2008-12-08T08:05:00.002Z

We get an organic veg box and around this time of year we always end up with a fridge drawer full of parsnips. So last night we made curried parsnip chips.

How: Washed, peeled and chopped them into chip-size sticks. Mixed them with olive oil and a tsp or so of curry powder. Baked at 200C (fan oven) for 30 mins. Made dipping sauce with yogurt, curry powder and lemon.

Result: Tasty chips but some burnt. Dipping sauce OK but left something to be desired.

Next time: Cut chips into more even sizes, or watch more closely for little ones burning and remove from oven. Do some recipe research for ideas on how to make dipping sauce better (we did this recipe before, following a recipe online, and the results were much better).

Quick ass quiche

2008-12-07T06:09:00.008Z

This is not the richest, most custard-y quiche you will ever eat. For that, you need cream (not milk), more egg yolk and less egg white, and probably more cheese. But we like this - still creamy and smooth but not so heavy you feel like you've eaten a ton o' bricks. Also we hate to waste egg whites and never have cream in the house (we use whole milk).

This features a "cheater's crust", as SWC calls it. It's just bread. You can of course make a real pie crust and that would be yummy too. I'm sure that will happen in our home... one of these days...

(Plus: here's the veggie version.)

1 leek, cut into thin rounds
4 rashers back bacon
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
Ground black pepper
4 ounces goats cheese
About 3 cups dryish bread, chopped up in quarter-inch cubes (this is for a 9-inch pie plate. If you're using another size dish, make sure the bread covers the bottom and provides a nice thick layer.)

Preheat oven to 160C (fan oven) or 375F/180C (conventional oven).

Saute the bacon until brownish. Add the leeks.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the milk. Beat some more. Add salt, basil and pepper.

Put the bread chunks in the dish. Distribute goat cheese over the bread in small chunks. Pile the leek and bacon on top of the cheese. Pour egg mixture over all the other stuff in the dish.

Bake for 35 mins.

Recent reads

2008-12-05T21:01:00.011Z

Books I've read recently (this is to help me remember):

Out of Breath, The Story of You and Something Might Happen by Julie Myerson
[The first one was for my book group and then I got the others cause I liked her writing. And I needed some easy, addictive reads during my baby's first year. Very readable, not overly challenging, page turners, yet more unusual than that description sounds. My fave was Out of Breath - nice sharp dialogue and great kid characters, especially five-year-old Mouse.]

Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
[So disappointing. The first two pages are full of energy and mystery - what happened to the rest of the novel? My book group spent the whole time talking about all the things we hated - cliche dialogue, characters who annoyed us, tedious plot, too many local references etc etc. Can't believe this was a NY Times bestseller. I guess people really do buy novels based on first two pages. Hey - I did!]

Divisadero by Michael Ondatje
[A great writer but not at his best here. It felt like he was trying something new, trying to break the rules about how you tell a story. Some great writing - soft and poetic without being showy or too lyrical to have impact. I stuck with it through the twists and turns, the changes of time, place and character. Could have been helped by better editing, though perhaps that's hard to get when you're famous.]

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
[A quirky 9/11 novel but fear not - it's good. All sorts of cleverness in his storytelling but he gets away with it. Brilliant child's voice for narrator. In the end, touching and sweet.]

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout
[Not as good as Strout's debut novel, Amy and Isabelle, which I loved but this one has many of the same traits. Stark New England setting. Simple, clear, sharp writing. Full, sympathetic characters. It's the story of a minister in rural Maine and his out-of-place Boston wife. Reminded me of my grandfather, a minister in rural Vermont and his out-of-place Boston wife. Of those tiny communities and what my grandfather used to say of those towns: "Everyone knows your business better than you do."]

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
[Don't remember it very well, except for the feeling I didn't like it. A 9/11 novel. Lots of self-obsessed, whiny, sleazy New Yorker characters who annoyed me. Too bad - I read one of Messud's early short stories in Granta and looooved it. That's why I got the novel.]