Being generally attracted to all things of the purple variety has led to my adoration of the aubergine. However, rather than being able to recount my numerous dalliances with this versatile fruit to one and all, I have always felt in the minority with my love for this purple gem. My nearest and dearest all seem to have had an unpleasant encounter with the eggplant at some point in their lives, ranging from trying a piece raw to having delved into the pickled variety.
Considering the versatility of the aubergine, and how widely used it is across a range of cuisines, I have always found its unpopularity a little hard to bear. By masking it using a number of guises, I feel I have helped to create a small cohort who are now much more 'melanzane' friendly. I converted Rob through making a tomato based sauce, slow cooked and laced with aubergine. My concept of trickery seemed to work, and before I could utter the words, 'Yes it's an aubergine', I heard winning sounds of delighted taste buds. Hurrah, I had successfully reeled in my first convert, and was armed with more recipes, ready to entrance the rest. This took on the form of luring friends with slices of grilled aubergine, served alongside a range of antipasti. Had it not been containing a mixture of aubergine infused wonders, my jaw would have hit the floor when they asked for more.
Based on my recent research, I predict big things this year for the aubergine. Should anyone have any further ideas on how to appropriately treat my purple friend, all suggestions are welcome.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Demo and Dine
My obsession with food seems to know no bounds. In fact, if such a thing exists, I am in essence a bit of a back seat cook. I can never let anyone just be, always looking over their shoulder and making a nuisance of myself. There was no room for this sort of behaviour at a recent demo and dine session I attended at Cookingmania in Stockbridge, where I was concentrating so intently on not missing anything, that my usual home cook urges were laid to rest for the night.
We were welcomed into the plush surroundings with a lovely glass of Prosecco, and as I sat at the sturdy wooden demonstration bench, I couldn't help but admire the beautiful glossy red kitchen. As our chef for the evening, Graziella, introduced herself and talked about her wonderful culinary background, I was firmly put in my place. This was not someone I could poke with a wooden spoon, urging them to check their seasoning.
We were treated to the insider scoop on how to make the perfect chicken curry. Starting off with a demonstration of knife skills, we were guided through, step by step, on how to perfectly spice the dish, how to keep the chicken moist, and most importantly, those bewildering secrets on how to keep washing up to a minimum!
To accompany our chicken curry we made a glorious raita, which frankly if nobody had been watching, I would have devoured all on its own. This traditional Indian dip was served alongside a generous helping of the chicken curry and rice. The dish was as promised, delicious. With fluffy white rice, succulent, moist chicken and the perfect balance of spices, this was a truly excellent curry, accompanied by a wonderful experience.
Cookingmania offer a range of cookery courses, from demo and dine to a Sunday baking club and men only evenings. You can find all of this and more on their website http://www.cookingmania.co.uk/
We were treated to the insider scoop on how to make the perfect chicken curry. Starting off with a demonstration of knife skills, we were guided through, step by step, on how to perfectly spice the dish, how to keep the chicken moist, and most importantly, those bewildering secrets on how to keep washing up to a minimum!
To accompany our chicken curry we made a glorious raita, which frankly if nobody had been watching, I would have devoured all on its own. This traditional Indian dip was served alongside a generous helping of the chicken curry and rice. The dish was as promised, delicious. With fluffy white rice, succulent, moist chicken and the perfect balance of spices, this was a truly excellent curry, accompanied by a wonderful experience.
Cookingmania offer a range of cookery courses, from demo and dine to a Sunday baking club and men only evenings. You can find all of this and more on their website http://www.cookingmania.co.uk/
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
What, no microwave?
These were the words that literally flew out of my mouth upon starting my new job and discovering that there are no microwaves. To put this into perspective, I am generally the type of person who is happy to go with the flow. I'm not bound by the laws of habitude, or plagued by the necessity of routine. However there is one exception, and that is my over reliance on the work microwave. I love a hot lunch, and in a bid not to give fifty percent of my salary to Marks and Spencer, I regularly make huge pots of soup to suppress my hunger, whilst saving me a few pounds in the process. So the news that this lunch time habit would be no longer, has had me re-evaluating my current tried and tested regime.
To further complicate matters, I'm not a huge fan of the classic sandwich. This dislike isn't rooted in childhood memories of boring ham sandwiches, but rather the opposite. Being brought up on an Italian diet, my lunchbox as a child was filled with cheese, parma ham and olives. These treats now go hand in hand with a glass of wine, which I'm pretty sure will be frowned upon in the staff room.
I have therefore been looking for creative ways to make cold lunches interesting. Now I'm sure that many a foodie will frown upon my lack of initial inspiration on this front, but as an advocate of the hot lunch, it was definitely something that needed thinking about. So as far as getting over the lack of facilities, I'm still working on that, but in terms of embracing a new way of midday dining, my mouth seems to be permanently watering. So far this week, I have indulged in a grilled aubergine and quinoa salad, bulgar wheat with coriander, chilli and beef and a slightly less inventive tuna salad.
If you have any suggestions for how to make my cold lunches more interesting, I'd love to hear them. And who knows, with your inspiration I may forever become a cold lunch convert.
To further complicate matters, I'm not a huge fan of the classic sandwich. This dislike isn't rooted in childhood memories of boring ham sandwiches, but rather the opposite. Being brought up on an Italian diet, my lunchbox as a child was filled with cheese, parma ham and olives. These treats now go hand in hand with a glass of wine, which I'm pretty sure will be frowned upon in the staff room.
I have therefore been looking for creative ways to make cold lunches interesting. Now I'm sure that many a foodie will frown upon my lack of initial inspiration on this front, but as an advocate of the hot lunch, it was definitely something that needed thinking about. So as far as getting over the lack of facilities, I'm still working on that, but in terms of embracing a new way of midday dining, my mouth seems to be permanently watering. So far this week, I have indulged in a grilled aubergine and quinoa salad, bulgar wheat with coriander, chilli and beef and a slightly less inventive tuna salad.
If you have any suggestions for how to make my cold lunches more interesting, I'd love to hear them. And who knows, with your inspiration I may forever become a cold lunch convert.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Progress?
I have been very naughty. I have not been updating my blog, and to be quite honest my excuses are fairly lame. Although this particular post should really have been completed at least a week ago, I thought rather than ignore it, I would just go ahead and publish it now.
My last post outlined a challenge I had set myself to only eat things I myself could realistically make. As well as being a food experiment, it doubled up as a financial one, as I didn't quite anticipate the positive effects it would have on my bank balance.
Initially, I was really excited by the challenge. Convenience went out the window, and I had to think much more carefully about what I was going to eat, and how long it was going to take to prepare. My purse certainly felt heavier in a week where grabbing a coffee and sandwich on the go suddenly became forbidden. If this experiment showed me anything, it is that I spend a worrying amount of money on coffee!
However, what I did find difficult was socialising. Sitting drinking an ice old cold glass of water, whilst everyone else is having tea was not my idea of fun. But since I can make tea, it was off the cards whilst I made progress towards drinking those recommended eight glasses a day of the clear stuff.
All in all, I enjoyed this challenge. On reflection I didn't save time, but I did save money. I had also engineered this to take place on a week where I wasn't working. I therefore intend to set myself this challenge again, on a week where I have to juggle work and sacrifice convenience. I wonder how I will feel about things then? Watch this space....
My last post outlined a challenge I had set myself to only eat things I myself could realistically make. As well as being a food experiment, it doubled up as a financial one, as I didn't quite anticipate the positive effects it would have on my bank balance.
Initially, I was really excited by the challenge. Convenience went out the window, and I had to think much more carefully about what I was going to eat, and how long it was going to take to prepare. My purse certainly felt heavier in a week where grabbing a coffee and sandwich on the go suddenly became forbidden. If this experiment showed me anything, it is that I spend a worrying amount of money on coffee!
However, what I did find difficult was socialising. Sitting drinking an ice old cold glass of water, whilst everyone else is having tea was not my idea of fun. But since I can make tea, it was off the cards whilst I made progress towards drinking those recommended eight glasses a day of the clear stuff.
All in all, I enjoyed this challenge. On reflection I didn't save time, but I did save money. I had also engineered this to take place on a week where I wasn't working. I therefore intend to set myself this challenge again, on a week where I have to juggle work and sacrifice convenience. I wonder how I will feel about things then? Watch this space....
Monday, 10 January 2011
Things to make and do
Although it pains me to admit it, I have fallen foul of the January cliché. I have joined a gym, vowed to lose the festive bulge, and have become rather neurotic concerning my Wii fit stats. However, if the previous 26 years have taught me anything, this is a fad. A fad that plagues me throughout the year, namely in January after the Christmas and New Year splurge, in summer when the thought of exposing any skin gives me the fear, and around November time, when I seem to think its acceptable to lose weight only so I can feel better about putting it back on again over Christmas. I am forever destined to fail.
1) If I can make it I can't buy it. No more sandwiches from the Broughton Street Deli, no more soya lattes from Artisan Roast. I will have to make my own bread, and brew my own coffee.
In an attempt to actually succeed at something other than drinking copious amounts of coffee, I have set myself another challenge, where I am hoping to come through the other side victorious. My aptly titled 'Things to make and do' challenge is a minor foodie experiment, where I am not allowing myself to eat anything that I havent made myself for one whole week. To ensure there is absolutely no cheating, (I promise), here are the rules I will be following:
1) If I can make it I can't buy it. No more sandwiches from the Broughton Street Deli, no more soya lattes from Artisan Roast. I will have to make my own bread, and brew my own coffee.
2) My morning smoothie courtesy of Innocent will have to either be home made or replaced with an alternative breakfast, of course made by my own fair hands.
3) A trusty user of all forms of ready made stock, this will also be off the cards this week, and will be replaced with homemade alternatives.
In a bid not to fall at the first hurdle, I roasted a chicken for dinner on Sunday. This trusty bird has so far provided us with a lovely roast chicken dinner, a homemade chicken curry, a chicken salad and two litres of stock. Tomorrow the last of it will be put to good use in chicken fried rice, yummy! Taking this approach has so far made the challenge a little easier. The hard part is going to come tomorrow, when I'm out and about and can't just pick up a coffee to perk me up, or grab a cereal bar when I get a little peckish. Fingers crossed I don't fall off the wagon. To be honest, I'm worried I do it without even noticing. That would add yet another cliché fail to my list!
Monday, 6 December 2010
Broccoli and taleggio soup
But alas, I feel now is the time to encourage my negativity to thaw out, and what better to help melt my mood than a piping hot bowl of soup. This recipe was born of a lack of stilton, and an abundance of taleggio cheese. I adore the versatility of taleggio cheese, and always have some in my fridge to accompany my other diet staples, wine and olives.
Broccoli and taleggio cheese are two ingredients that when put together produce a vibrant green winter warmer, guaranteed to lift a snow induced mood.
So here we have it, broccoli and taleggio soup. To get started you need:
600g of broccoli
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
200g of taleggio cheese
1.5l of chicken or vegetable stock
Olive oil
Now lets make some soup!
1. Chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté with a good glug of olive oil until the vegetables have softened (this should take around 10-15mins).
2. Chop the broccoli and add to the pan with the stock. Boil for around 10 minutes, until the broccoli is cooked and soft enough to blend. Whilst the broccoli is cooking, add the cheese to a clean bowl, and melt over a pan of boiling water until lovely and oozy.
3. Leave the cheese to one side and blend the rest of the soup until you have a smooth consistency. Once the soup has been blended, stir in the melted taleggio. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
The ingredients above should give you 4-6 servings. I would love to hear how people think this compares to the classic broccoli and stilton, so if you have any thoughts, please let me know.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Crunch crunch
Winter is definitely here and although I hate the cold, especially the ice and the unfortunate doggy paddle inspired dance I do when trying to stay on my feet, there are aspects of winter that I love, especially when it comes to food and drink.
As odd as this sounds, I love arriving home to an empty, cold flat. I'm sure you're questioning my reasoning here, but I have an ulterior motive; heating on, candles lit, a boiling hot cup of coffee, and of course, no cup of coffee is complete without some biscotti. Although these amazingly crunchy biscuits can literally be suicide for your teeth, there is nothing better to dunk in coffee. Their robust texture allows them to be dunked in your hot beverage for much longer than other biscuits, whilst avoiding that annoying 'half my biscuit has fallen in my coffee' moment.
They are really easy to make as your about to see. This time I made almond biscotti, but once you know the recipe, the options are endless! Keep your eyes peeled for the cranberry and hazelnut biscotti recipe, which I will be uploading here soon. In the mean time, here's my recipe for almond biscotti. This mixture makes 20-25 biscuits.
Almond biscotti
200g of flour, plus extra for dusting
200g of caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
200g of blanched almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 180° and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. Chop the almonds, leaving some whole. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Now add the almonds and stir.
3. To your beaten eggs, add the vanilla extract. This can now be added to the flour mixture. Mix the ingredients together to form a firm dough.
4. Lightly flour your work surface, so that you can knead the dough lightly without it sticking. Divide the dough in two, and shape each piece into a long thick log, roughly 4-5cm wide. Now transfer the dough to the baking sheets, and sprinkle each log with 1 teaspoon of sugar, and bake in the oven for 20-25mins. You will know they are ready when they are brown and firm.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes, before transferring to a chopping board to cut. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°, and cut the log into 1cm thick slices. Place the biscuits cut-side down back onto the baking trays. Bake in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, or until dry and crisp. Allow to cool on a wire rack before munching.
As odd as this sounds, I love arriving home to an empty, cold flat. I'm sure you're questioning my reasoning here, but I have an ulterior motive; heating on, candles lit, a boiling hot cup of coffee, and of course, no cup of coffee is complete without some biscotti. Although these amazingly crunchy biscuits can literally be suicide for your teeth, there is nothing better to dunk in coffee. Their robust texture allows them to be dunked in your hot beverage for much longer than other biscuits, whilst avoiding that annoying 'half my biscuit has fallen in my coffee' moment.
They are really easy to make as your about to see. This time I made almond biscotti, but once you know the recipe, the options are endless! Keep your eyes peeled for the cranberry and hazelnut biscotti recipe, which I will be uploading here soon. In the mean time, here's my recipe for almond biscotti. This mixture makes 20-25 biscuits.
Almond biscotti
200g of flour, plus extra for dusting
200g of caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
200g of blanched almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 180° and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. Chop the almonds, leaving some whole. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Now add the almonds and stir.
3. To your beaten eggs, add the vanilla extract. This can now be added to the flour mixture. Mix the ingredients together to form a firm dough.
4. Lightly flour your work surface, so that you can knead the dough lightly without it sticking. Divide the dough in two, and shape each piece into a long thick log, roughly 4-5cm wide. Now transfer the dough to the baking sheets, and sprinkle each log with 1 teaspoon of sugar, and bake in the oven for 20-25mins. You will know they are ready when they are brown and firm.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes, before transferring to a chopping board to cut. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°, and cut the log into 1cm thick slices. Place the biscuits cut-side down back onto the baking trays. Bake in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, or until dry and crisp. Allow to cool on a wire rack before munching.
Happy biscotti making! If anyone has any other biscotti combinations, I would love to hear them.
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