Sunday 31 August 2014
Red Eggs
I got the
idea for these Red Eggs from Michael
Ruhlman but he referred to them as Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce. I don't think they fit the criteria of having
been poached since not all the egg was under the sauce. But they're not fried either… So I just
called mine Red Eggs.
First I
created a homemade tomato/beef sauce to use to cook the eggs in.
This had
the following ingredients;
Tin of
crushed Italian tomatoes
A cup of
Passata
Some fresh
rosemary, finely chopped (don't use very much, it's powerful)
½ a red
chilli, finely chopped
Some garlic
infused olive oil
A couple of
tsp of grated ginger
2 anchovy
fillets – chopped
Chopped up
leftover cooked steak
I seasoned
this with salt, pepper, a touch of maple syrup and lemon juice.
When you
have simmered your sauce for 20 minutes or so and are happy with its flavour,
just break the eggs into the pan gently.
When they are almost cooked (which will take about 20 minutes or so)
then sprinkle a little parmesan on top and serve on toast.
Saturday 30 August 2014
Is this just a food myth?
The theory: An apple stored with your potatoes will stop
them sprouting.
Apparently
this is the opposite of true. I do
believe in storing potatoes quite separately from your onions and/or garlic
since I think both will keep better as a result.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Friday 29 August 2014
Food on Friday: Fish & Seafood
ON
The first
time Food on Friday had the theme Fish
and Seafood was way back in April 2012!
That collection had over 90 links in it.
So I thought it was time to do it again.
I'm sure you have lots of fab fish/seafood dishes to share.
To add your
fish or seafood dish, just put the name of the dish together with your blog
name/name into the first Mr Linky box you will find below. Then paste the url for your post about it
into the second box.
I'll be
pinning the links to this
Pinboard (which is the one I pinned the 2012 dishes to)– this is a
quick way for you to scan the dishes and choose which ones you want to check
out in more detail.
Have lots
of 'fishy' fun!
Thursday 28 August 2014
Need Some Inspiration? Try Italian Food!
Shrimp Pesto |
I have
selected a few of the dishes to inspire you with today. To see all of the dishes, head on over to this
Pinboard.
Victoria from ABC Creative Learning
brought us this delicious Easy One
Pot Spaghetti.
I do love Michelle's Risotto
Stuffed Tomatoes. Way to go Ms En Place!
James & Everett brought us this
stunning Torta
di Rigatoni in Piedi
Tara from Tara's Multicultural Table
brought over lots of lovely dishes. This
Sicilian
Watermelon Pudding was a standout for me.
I must learn how to use polenta –
particularly after seeing this Easy
Grilled Polenta with Fresh Mozarella and Balsamic Tomatoes by Two
Healthy Kitchens.
I bet these Sausage
Stuffed Peppers tasted good. Fab
work by Denise of Soup Spice Everything Nice
And I leave you with
something sweet and delectable – Castagnole by Palachinka –
not diet food but what the heck!
Wednesday 27 August 2014
Nostalgia Alert!
I once had a girl
Or should I say she once had me
She showed me her room
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?
Or should I say she once had me
She showed me her room
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?
She asked me to
stay
And she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around
And I noticed there wasn't a chair
And she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around
And I noticed there wasn't a chair
I sat on the rug
biding my time
Drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
"It's time for bed"
Drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
"It's time for bed"
She told me she
worked
In the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't
And crawled off to sleep in the bath
In the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't
And crawled off to sleep in the bath
And when I awoke I
was alone
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?
I just
loved this Beatles song from the Rubber Soul album - Norwegian Wood. This brings
back 1965 for sure!
To remind yourself, head on
over to this YouTube clip.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
I advise
you to read this book! Don't look into
what it's about – that almost put me off reading it! But thanks to the recommendations linked to Books You Loved, I did get it from the library.
This book
is witty, wise, heart-warming and a quick read
This book
is not maudlin.
This book
is a bit intense right at the end – have a tissue ready – but up till then not
so much.
Some of the
blurb on the back of this book seemed completely wrong – maybe they were
comments about another novel?
I'm glad I
read it. The only slight criticism I
have is that some of the changes in point of view are a bit clumsy and you can
end up wondering whose mind you are in.
But this is just a tiny thing in what is a very good book.
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Salmon with a Maple/Soy/Ginger glaze
The maple/soy/ginger glaze
helped to make this salmon special. To make
the glaze, simmer the following in a pot and then pour it over the salmon when
serving:
Sweet soy
sauce (kecap manis) – if you don't have kecap manis just use soy sauce and
maple sauce
A knob of
freshly grated ginger
Chilli
powder
Fish sauce
For how I
cook salmon, please head over to this
post.
This is a Low FODMAP dish.
Monday 25 August 2014
Capital City of the Week – Skopje
Skopje (which I think is pronounced 'scope + yay') is a medium sized city.
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
I knew of Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel but
when I saw a book about it in the library I got it out because I realised that
my knowledge about it was so superficial as to be almost useless.
What I
found was so interesting that I thought I would share some of it with you. I have chosen pics which don't involve nudes
(so that limited the choices a bit since the work is chock full of them).
Michelangelo
(with a few assistants) completed the painting of the Sistine Chapel over 500
years ago. Needless to say there has had
to be extensive restoration work over the years. The Sistine Chapel is where the cardinals
meet to elect new popes.
This became
Michelangelo's most famous work (with a couple of other masterpieces as close
seconds). The irony is that Michelangelo
didn't want to do it – he refused numerous times until the Pope insisted he do
it. He saw himself as a sculptor rather
than a painter first and foremost. His
great sculptures include The Pieta
and David.
Unlike many
other famous artists Michelangelo became famous and wealthy in his own
lifetime.
So what was
the subject of the painting on the ceiling?
It is huge in scope covering almost all of the Old Testament including
Adam & Eve, Noah etc. In fact a
depiction of Eve is right at the dead centre of the ceiling. He also painted heaps of prophets and sibyls.
I saw this
great work as a child but now I know a bit more about it – it would be great to
see it in the flesh again.
Sunday 24 August 2014
Tips about cooking with water
Some simple tips about using water sourced from Ruhlman'sTwenty which I posted about yesterday.
He says
that cooks commonly don't use big enough pots or enough water when they are
cooking pasta or vegetables. He is of
the view that you need a sufficiently large quantity of water so that it
doesn't go off the boil when you put the pasta or veges in. Then they will cook much more quickly and
better too.
Another suggestion he had
was to cook meatloaf in a water bath in the oven rather than with direct
heat. I am certainly going to try this
out.
Saturday 23 August 2014
Ruhlman's Twenty
Today's book is a book about cooking which also includes some recipes – many of which have pictorial illustrations of the techniques. The book is called Ruhlman's Twenty. The author, Michael Ruhlman has written a number of books. He also co-authored some famous cookbooks such as The French Laundry Cookbook. He has been a judge on Iron Chef America.
The book is
divided into 20 chapters – hence the title – which he calls the basic
techniques of cooking – and most of them have some recipes that utilise the
technique. I found most chapters not
only interesting but the source of little tips to improve your cooking that I
wouldn't have thought of.
The
chapters include:
Salt
Water
Onion
Acid
Egg
Butter
Saute
Roast
Braise
Poach
Grill
Fry
Chill
Friday 22 August 2014
Food on Friday: Salads
ON
Well, it's
time to re-visit the theme of salads. In
the first Food
on Friday: Salads we ended up with a fabulous source of inspiration and
I'm sure that there are lots more ideas out there in the two years that have
passed since then!
To add your
salads, just put the name of the dish together with your blog name/name into
the first Mr Linky box you will find below.
Then paste the url for your post about it into the second box.
I'll be
pinning the links to this Pinboard
– this is a quick way for you to scan the dishes and choose which ones you want
to check out in more detail.
Thanking
you in advance for the amazing 'salad bar'.
Cheers
Thursday 21 August 2014
Need Some Inspiration? Try Sage & Thyme!
Casarecce with Gorgonzola and Walnuts |
Food
on Friday: Sage & Thyme was
a lovely collection of dishes using Sage and/or Thyme. Today I have selected a few of them for you
that particularly caught my eye. To see
the many other great dishes you could pop over to this
Pinboard.
The first
pic is of Gerlinde from Cooking Weekends Casarecce
with Gorgonzola and Walnuts
Grapefruit,
Thyme & Lillet Cocktail by
Will Cook for Friends
Delicata
Squash with Sage and a Maple Glaze by A Frenchtown Kitchen
Chicken
& Sage Dumplings by
In My World
Artichoke
Stuffed Mushrooms by Cooking on a Budget
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Nostalgia Alert!
This land is your land
This
land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.
Now, I know
that this song is about the USA – which is not my land – but we did sing it at
school in my young days so it is nostalgic to me too!
The song
was written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 – and, no, I didn't hear it when it was
released in 1945!
It has been
recorded by many artists including – Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary. If you would like to hear the song again, hop
on over to this YouTube clip.
(It has Bob Dylan and Pete Seegar leading the song)
The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch
Before
telling you what I thought of The
Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch let me first admit something. The author is a New Zealander so it is
possible I am a bit biased. But actually
I got the idea to read this from it being linked up with Books You Loved.
And I did
enjoy the book. This is not
intellectual, difficult reading. It is a
happy little story set in the US that involves loss, love, bees and some quirky
characters.
For a quick
uplifting read, I do recommend this book to you.
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Cognac Chicken
This Cognac Chicken is adapted from a Dorie
Greenspan recipe. It is easy to do –
particularly since once the casserole is in the oven you have to leave it
undisturbed for over an hour.
You need a
casserole dish which can snugly fit a whole chicken plus some vegetables around
it. This meant that I bought a smaller
chicken than usual.
Preheat
your oven to pretty much full whack.
While it is
heating, truss up your chicken and rub it with salt and white pepper.
Put your
casserole dish onto the hob and put a thin layer of oil on the bottom – I used
olive oil with a teeny bit of garlic infused olive oil.
Toss your
vegetables around in the oil to coat them.
For the vegetables I had 6 or so little potatoes (skin on), 2 small
onions (shallots) and a carrot which I sliced on the diagonal. Add salt and pepper.
Stir in
your herbs – fresh thyme, rosemary and a bay leaf.
Push your
vegetables towards the sides and pop your chicken in the middle.
Pour ½ cup
of cognac (or brandy) around the
chicken. Leave it on the hob for a
minute so the cognac warms up.
Put the lid
on your casserole – make sure it is tight fitting or add a layer of foil.
Leave it in
the oven for a minimum of an hour. I had
mine in for 1 hour 20 and feel that it could even have benefitted from another
10 minutes or so.
When you
are satisfied that the chicken is cooked, put it and the vegetables into a warm
bowl covered with foil while you finish the sauce.
The sauce
is not thickened at all. You just skim
the fat off the top – or at least as much of it as you can be bothered. Add a cup of water and boil it away while
stirring now and again until it has reduced a bit. And that's it.
Monday 18 August 2014
Capital City of the Week – Rome
Another
super well known capital this week!
Rome has the River Tiber running through it.
Rome is
unusual in that the city contains another city within it. And that city is defended by the Swiss Guard.
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