A Rant & a Very Funny Thing!

Rant First ... scroll down for the Very Funny Thing!

It’s not the first time I have ranted about this; the eating habits of overweight “poor” people!

It was brought to my attention (again) by a picture on Facebook which has received, as I write, 158,939 comments. I haven’t read them all, of course, but I have scanned down for a few hundred and haven’t seen anyone supporting her. 

I thought it fair to look into the lady’s story further and it seems she may have been misquoted in the FB picture above because in an interview I read she says that her GP sent her to a gym but she just had a few sessions because she didn't have the willpower to stick to it and she was embarrassed.  I can sympathise, I’d be embarrassed too. On the other hand being slimmer and healthier would surely be worth the embarrassment.

She also said ...

"I tried swimming but it cost £22 a month and it 

meant I had to cut back on my favourite 

pizza and Chinese takeaways."

And I slightly sympathise with that too, £22 a month would certainly be a lot to me. Mind you in my thoroughness I looked up the price of takeaway Chinese meals in Wigan, her home town, and the average price of a main course for one seems to be about £5. Probably there'd side dishes too. I could cook a damn fine meal for that – and not just for one!

On the other hand Cristina (that’s her name) who gets more than £20,000 a year in benefits said in an interview ...

 "I need more benefits to eat healthily and exercise 

and it would be good if the government offered a cash incentive for me to lose weight. I’d like to get 

£1 for every pound I lose."

I don’t sympathise with that at all, at all – I think by the look of her that she has enough incentive to lose weight!

I have niece who was very overweight (caused initially by a health glitch) but in the past year or so she has worked absolute wonders. Yes she does go to the gym, every day at her own expense because she works hard to be able to afford it. She also eats only what she is allowed on her very strict diet despite belonging to a very foodie family. Even on special occasions she brings her own rice cakes or whatever instead of digging in with the rest of us. She has lost a phenomenal amount of weight looks absolutely beautiful and I am so proud of her. She has recently started writing a very honest blog Gym~Berry on her journey from overweight and unhealthy to the fine woman she is today!  I thoroughly recommend it and would do so even if I didn't know her!

She didn’t need government help, she didn't need any more incentive than her health and happiness being at stake and she had the intelligence and gumption to sort her own life out.

Having said all that I suppose that being a bit low in the IQ department is no more blame-worthy than being short sighted or hard of hearing – not sure about lazy or greedy though!

I so wish that people like this girl would learn to cook. It is said and I agree that more education is needed but information is as easy to get as logging on to online bingo so that’s not much of an excuse. On the other hand if someone hasn’t learned by the time they are grown up with kids they probably aren’t interested. What a shame, it’s mostly easy and can bring so much pleasure into your life and the lives of those you care about. 

It is to this end that I keep publishing my humble little ebooks – yes, I’d like to make some money but what I’d really like is for people to discover how easy cooking delicious food is and to have a go.  To this end my handy little ebook of hints and tips is free and includes a link for another free eBook. It's available in all sorts of formats including pdf so there is no excuse ~ get yours here now!  

And that’s enough ranting for now – it just this sort of thing really gets up my goat!!!

In Other News ...

I have completely revamped and updated my book on stress-free Christmas cooking. The contents have doubled and it now contains over 50 recipes and every helpful hint and tip I can think of.

I also changed the cover and have to say I am dead chuffed with my artwork!

And this leads me to ...

The Very Funny Thing

I was bemoaning to some friends that however hard I try, even sending out free copies, I never seem to get many reviews for my books (although those that I do are usually 4 or 5 stars). I was pretty boring so by way of changing the subject, and I don’t blame them, they asked if I had seen the reviews on Amazon for methylated spirits, Of course I looked immediately and was utterly delighted - see what you think!  

Melted Onion Panade - delicious!

And to friends in Padstow may I say Oss Oss!  I’m sad I can’t make it there this year.

To business ...

The other day I cooked and ate a strange and marvellous thing; a panade which is generally deemed to be part of the soup family but also, I think, is related to the bread and butter pudding clan, a bit strata-ish if you are an American. 

Melted Onion Panade – for 4

Please use good (leftover) bread for this; I like sourdough,  because it goes well with the onions (and I make my own sourdough) but any good rustic substantial sort of bread will do.

Pin it - don't forget it!

3 large onions

3 tbsp olive oil

350g good bread – thickly sliced

About 500ml good beef stock (or other if you prefer) – hot

200g grated cheese

~   Melt the onions in the olive oil and when utterly tender turn up the heat and stir till starting to caramelise.

~   Preheat the oven to 350°F/180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4.

~   Lay the sliced bread on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for a few minutes till dried out but not taking any colour.

~   Butter a shallow ovenproof dish and lay a third of the bread slices in it. Break them if necessary to fit in neatly.

~   Spread with half the onions and sprinkle with a third of the cheese.

~   Repeat these layers, using up all the onions.

~   Top with the final third of bread and sprinkle with the last of the cheese.

~   Pour over the stock, adding just enough to lift the top layer of bread so it starts to float. Do this gently so the cheese stays in place!

~   Cover the dish with a sheet of foil and bake for 45 minutes then remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or so till the cheese is golden and delicious looking.

The result was a thick, warm, comforting (and cheap) sort of French Onion Porridge (OK, I admit it, I did add a tad of brandy to the stock).  Really delicious and I won’t be at all surprised if I make it again quite soon.  I wish I'd tried this before and put it in Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers although that does already contain at least 18 great ways to use up leftover bread.

Speaking of which, obviously this dish lends itself to the addition of any leftovers you have that need using up; wilted chard is traditional and kale fashionable but leftover cooked vegetables, meats, beans etc. will all work well.

In Other News ...

Great review for Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine – it’s as if she knows me

“I love ice cream but am allergic to an ingredient added to most commercial brands (propylene glycol). I have tried machines but they never worked well and most recipes required cooking first. So I was overjoyed to find this book! These are recipes anyone could do at home. I also loved the entertaining style the author writes with. She made it fun to just read the recipes. I could imagine her standing in the kitchen, sneaking sips of brandy and pieces of chocolate while whipping up ice cream. That is truly a difficult task with cookbooks, so kudos for a great concept, recipe, and writing style.”

And here is an entirely onion-appropriate photo I took on a recent trip to France, I've been waiting for a chance to post it!

Please Click Here to Tweet this post ~ thank you.

Do Yourself a Favour ~ Learn to Cook!

I've been eating very well recently or, more accurately, I've been eating very well for years and years and years and it’s all thanks to my Mummy!

When I was little I had no interest in food or cooking so never bothered to learn anything from her. Then I got engaged and had real asleep-at-night nightmares of my new husband starving to death as I couldn't feed him. Mummy bought me an "Supercook ~ an Encyclopedia of World Cooking" which was published in 112 parts. I read it on the way to work and very rapidly became hooked. 

Once married Ray (that’s his name – we’re divorced but I’m still glad I didn't starve him to death!) and I made a rule that once a week we had a meal entirely made of things or dishes we had never tried before. This was in the 70s and all sorts of interesting ingredients were being “discovered”– aubergines, avocados, chilli peppers and so on – and I loved experimenting. This quickly led to us selling our house and buying a rundown hotel in Cornwall in partnership with my sister.  We opened a restaurant, and then another one and that’s how my cooking career started. Well done Mummy!

So I can cook and it has not only given me a wonderful career all over the world, because it is something you can do anywhere, but it also means that I can cook whatever I fancy, often at the drop of a proverbial hat, out of leftovers.

As an example here are details of my last few meals. I’m not showing off, the point I am trying to make (probably not to readers of this blog though!) is that cooking is easy and can really make life better!

Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Soup

Serves 1

I had an ulterior motive for making this; I have just finished writing the third book in my "Genius Recipes” series, which is Soup: (almost) the Only Recipe You'll Ever Need and it needed a final photo before uploading it to kindle. 

1 small onion – thinly sliced
½ tbsp olive oil

1 medium floury potato – peeled and thinly sliced
about 250ml chicken or vegetable stock

2 – 3 cloves of roasted garlic
1 tbsp grated Parmesan + a bit for garnishing
30ml double cream

~   Heat the oil, stir in the onions, cover directly with a piece of foil or greaseproof or a butter paper, put the lid on the pan, turn the heat right down and cook gently till utterly tender.
~   Add the potato and just cover with stock, put on the lid and simmer till very tender.
~   Squeeze the soft roasted garlic from its skins into the soup and purée until smooth.
~   Return to the heat and stir in the cream and Parmesan.
~   Bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasoning again.
~   Serve hot with croutons and more Parmesan.

Peppered Steak Salad

We often buy a fillet steak off-cut or two from the bargain bit of Tesco. The piece I used for this and the stir fry below (I divided it in two) cost £2.21 so not very extravagant.  This salad has been a menu favourite of mine for many years and was one of those dishes that, once tasted, regulars would order again even it wasn't on the menu that day! For Peppered Steak Salad recipe see here. 

Beef & Cashew Stir Fry

I marinated the second half of the steak in a mixture of Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (a store cupboard staple) and Soy Sauce (another one!) and stir fried it together with vegies and cashews.

Mushrooms in Black Garlic Alfredo

Such a gorgeous mix of flavours. I've written about this before, see here.

This time I used 1½ mushrooms (as I only had 3 and this way I can eat this again!) and a splash of Whipped Cream which cost 16p for 300ml because it was at the end of its tether! It is now 6 days out of date and perfectly fine. I suppose this whole meal together with the toasted ciabatta can’t have cost me more than 50p.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I do like to keep either a sweet potato or a butternut squash around the place; they are delicious, versatile and keep very well.  Salmon for dinner last night so I decided to have the leftovers for lunch today and to try, for the first time making sweet potato fries in the oven. Easy peasy as it turns out – also quite fast so I recommend this.

~   Heat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC/200ºC fan/gas 7.

~   Put a baking tray in the oven.
~   Peel a sweet potato per person and cut into chips.
~   Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and some seasoning; salt and pepper plus cayenne if you fancy it.

~   When the oven is hot spread the sweet potato chips on the hot tray with space around each chip. If you need more space heat another tray.
~   Bake for about 20-25 minutes depending on how thick they are. They are ready when golden and crisp and tender.

I wish people would realise that it’s not difficult to eat food you love every day of your life without spending much time or money. What a boon!  

I have cooked professionally for so long and really wish I could pass on what I know which is why the I blog and write cookbooks.  

Incidentally I do feed my real man too but his eating requirements are somewhat different to mine, he eats like this …

... but I can do that too.

Please Tweet links below and encourage people to cook!

~   Make yourself happy ~ learn to cook!
~   Learn to cook and eat EXACTLY what you want every day!
~   Key recipes ~ the idea is that you will go on to start creating you own dishes
~   Want to eat healthy, cheap, delicious food?  Learn to cook!

21 Ways Chorizo can Enhance your Life!

Cooking and eating is more fun if you always keep in stock, as I do, a few long keeping ingredients that you love and which can used to add deliciousness to your spontaneous (or routine) creations.

I often turn to chorizo, actually a recent addition to my stores which is turning out to be invaluable. A pack of about 30 slices from Tesco costs £1.20 and the pack I bought a couple of weeks ago, at least, is dated “use by 6^th April” so that’s about 5 weeks shelf life. Mostly I only use 2 or 3 slices at a time to enhance my dishes so that’s about 10 meals for lucky old me (my real man being so conservative in his tastes).

Here are 21 of the many ways I have enjoyed chorizo  …

1.   When sautéing potatoes crispen a little chopped or shredded chorizo in the oil first then set it aside whist cooking the potatoes and stir back in towards the end

2.   Add to pizza, this is one I ate earlier topped with roasted butternut squash  (incidentally, the charred bits are on purpose!) and chorizo.

3.   Add to pasta dishes, obviously, either by cooking it into the sauce or adding to a bake. Ditto for gnocchi.

4.   Mix finely chopped chorizo into breadcrumbs to top a gratin.

5.   Chorizo Croutons 

Tear bread into pieces (better than dicing as you get lots of crispy points and edges), toss with a little shredded chorizo, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in a hot oven for a few minutes till crisp.  Good with both soups and salads. See here for lots of useful tips when making croutons.

6.   Many egg dishes benefit from a smoky spicy addition, add a little to omelettes, frittatas or scrambled eggs, baked eggs  and, of course, Spanish Omelette.

7.   White Fish with Beans and Chorizo

Finely chop a small red onion and soften in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add come coarsely chopped chorizo and continue to cook till they have exuded some pretty red oil.  Now toss in diced white fish (cod or haddock or even monkfish if you are that lucky) and turn in the oil to colour. Add a few spoons of cannellini beans, a splash of white wine and 2 or 3 tablespoons of chopped tinned tomatoes (with chilli are good). Simmer all together till the fish is tender.  I love this topped with roasted garlic mayonnaise (something else I always have in stock, sometimes homemade, sometimes bought in).

This recipe is the meal I alluded to when interviewed by The Independent (I’m very slightly almost coming up to might be a bit famous one day!) 

8.   Baked Chicken with Chorizo and Tomatoes

~    Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC/180C fan/gas 6
~    Toss together chicken pieces (eg. thighs, drumsticks, quarters etc.), diced red onion, garlic, a little olive oil, salt, pepper and coarsely chopped chorizo. 
~   Roast till the chicken is tender and brown. 

    Tomatoes are also good in this so maybe add few cherry tomatoes for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

9.   I used to make a fabulous pork burger (basically just minced raw pork seasoned and formed into a burger) into which I munged a lot of crispy bits of bacon. I recently discovered that this is just as good with crisp bits of chorizo!

10. When making Bubble and Squeak or other hash gently fry some chorizo in a little oil to start the dish, it will release some delicious red oil.  Set the chorizo aside, make the hash in the pan and add the crispy set aside bits of chorizo at the end.  Try sweet potato and chorizo hash with salmon (for instance)!

11.  Chorizo Butter

Mix finely chopped chorizo and red onion into soft butter together flavourings of your choice (for instance garlic, orange zest, black pepper, paprika) and see here for lots of info on making and using flavoured butters. Depending on what else you have included try serving pan fried chicken or fish with a couple of slices of chorizo butter melting over it. Mash into jacket potatoes or use the butter to sauté prawns or scallops. Another idea is to make chorizo bread, like garlic bread only different!

12.   With cheese I am partial to sliced tomatoes and a little red onion drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, dribble of balsamic vinegar – that sort of thing.  This is extra special with a slice or two of chorizo chopped into it.

13.  Add some to stuffing for chicken etc.

14.   I think in Britain we tend to think of chorizo as Spanish which, of course it is and should be pronounced tchoreetho (and maybe accompanied by a glass of sherry!). It is also, however, a major player in South American food so add it to nachos, tacos, burritos, quesadillas etc. according to your will and pronounce it tchoreezo.

15.  Add chorizo to bread dough – fry a small red onion, diced, and a few slices of chorizo, shredded, in a dry pan. This is because chorizo is oily and you don’t want to add too my fat to the dough.  When the onion is soft cool a little and then knead into the dough.  Continue with your bread.

16.  Use in paella, of course, and risottos (risotti?).

17.  Chorizo Puffs

       These are a great way use for puff pastry scraps (for more ideas for passtry scraps see here.) 

~     Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC/180C fan/gas 6.
~     Roll out puff pastry and cut into rounds. 
~     Mix together about equal parts of coarsely chopped chorizo an grated cheese (strong cheddar is good).
~    Put a spoonful of this on each pastry round, brush the edge with egg, fold and seal into crescents.

17.  Cheese & Chorizo Bread Pud aka Strata - serves 4

150g stale bread, torn into pieces
4 slices chorizo – shredded
120g grated mature cheddar + a little more
(or other cheese of your choice)
salt and pepper
200ml milk
100ml double cream
3 eggs

~   Put the bread, 120g cheese and chorizo into a greased shallow ovenproof dish, season and toss all together.
~   Whisk together the eggs, milk and cream and pour over the bread mixture pushing the bread under the surface to soak thoroughly.
~   Set aside for half an hour or more (quite a lot more will be fine, even overnight in the fridge).
~   Preheat the oven to 350°F/180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4
~   Sprinkle the strata thingy with the rest of the grated cheese and bake for 40 minutes until risen, golden and wobbly when nudged.

18.  A little chorizo adds a lovely smokiness to chilli of any persuasion; bean, beef, chicken or turkey.

19.  Salad of course – chorizo is good with cheese, tomatoes, avocado, beans and more so see what you’ve got and take it from there.

Pin for easy reference!

20.  Chorizo Oil

lll
1 small red onion – finely chopped
1 crushed clove of garlic
3 slices of chorizo – coarsely chopped
100ml olive oil

~   Gently fry the onion, garlic and chorizo in a tablespoon of the oil till the onion is softening.
~   Stir in the remaining oil and allow to warm through.
~   Cover the pan and set aside to cool and take flavour.
~   Drizzle (with or without the lumps!) on things such as this fine bean soup which I just had for my sudden lunch.

21.  Mussels and Chorizo in Saffron Garlic Broth – serves 4

a pinch of saffron threads
1 medium onion – finely chopped
2 finely minced garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
100g shredded chorizo
120ml chopped tomatoes – the ones with chilli are good here
(tinned or from a carton)
1 kg fresh mussels

~   Firstly toast the saffron threads for a few seconds in a dry pan, this helps it yield more of its expensive flavour and colour.
~   Set the saffron aside, add the olive oil to the pan and soften the onion and garlic in this.
~   Stir in the chorizo and cook a couple of minutes then crumble in the saffron and add 250ml water (or fish stock if you have some) and the tomatoes.
~   Bring to a boil and add the mussels. 
~   Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes by which time the mussels should have opened.  Any that haven’t should be discarded.

Serve with crusty bread, a glass of wine and a grin.

Preparing Mussels

This post is long enough so if you need to know how to prepare mussels go here and the lovely people from Waitrose will explain it to you. 

The Sheer Sausaginess of Glamorgan Sausages!

Today I had something I haven’t eaten for years – Glamorgan Sausages. Despite the fact that back in the day we put them on the menu quite frequently I was surprised at the sheer sausaginess of them.  Although made almost entirely of just cheese and bread the texture is decidedly meatesque.  So here’s the cheap, quick, easy and sausagy recipe.

Glamorgan Sausages - for 2

120g fresh breadcrumbs

100g grated Cheddar

2 spring onions – finely chopped

1 egg yolk

a pinch of mustard power

salt and pepper

another egg - beaten

more breadcrumbs or, even better, panko crumbs

~   Mix everything together and munge into 6 small sausages.

~   Dip in the beaten egg, coat in the crumbs and shallow fry till hot, crisp and golden.

I ate them with a goodly dollop of my favourite tomato and chilli pasta sauce which I use for a myriad of things.

And then I had lunch pudding.  I bought a cheap bag of salty popcorn in the supermarket the other day so just melted butter, brown sugar and tad of vanilla essence together, tossed in the popcorn to coat and ate the result with a cup of coffee.

See here for a gorgeous thing to do with popcorn plus some appropriate

music to listen to while making it!