It is a delight and somewhat of a challenge that I never really know who is coming for Shabbat dinner now that Hannah is home and Ruthie is living with us.
This week could be anything from 4 to 9 and anything in between. So what to cook?
Simples Curries-Cheap easy and big pots.
So this week I will do
Challah-of course. But will I make home made spelt bread for the husband who managed 2 slices from last week's loaf. I do not think so.
Lemon rice-in the microwave
Dahl
Vege dahl curry-using a pack of frozen veges
Onion pakoras
Vege Samosas I used to make my own a long time ago
Tomato chickpea and spinach curry-all canned
Potato and egg plant curry
Yoghurt mint and cucumber
Looks great and is easy to make
Monday, 5 December 2011
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Sometimes it just works
For lunch we had...
small pieces of potato, sweet potato and red onion roasted with olive oil and paprika. People never underestimate the power of a little paprika.
This was served with a Thai Quorn 'chicken' pice salad made with green Thai curry paste, cabbage, lime juice and rind, pepper, tomato, oil, ginger (I use Very Lazy Ginger-I have my limits to how much effort I will put in), soya sauce, and mango (Tesco's frozen mango -I really do have my limits).
It really tasted great and was easy to prepare.
small pieces of potato, sweet potato and red onion roasted with olive oil and paprika. People never underestimate the power of a little paprika.
This was served with a Thai Quorn 'chicken' pice salad made with green Thai curry paste, cabbage, lime juice and rind, pepper, tomato, oil, ginger (I use Very Lazy Ginger-I have my limits to how much effort I will put in), soya sauce, and mango (Tesco's frozen mango -I really do have my limits).
It really tasted great and was easy to prepare.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Haloumi cheese
I really love haloumi cheese. It is like a vegetarian good quality steak-tasty quick and easy to prepare. I find myself buying it every week. The problem with our husband induced almost meat free diet is that vege food it more time consuming. This is when haloumi comes in. I also like quorn products but they are not really food, the fact that they are a product says a lot.
Haloumi in a tossed salad with roasted mixed vegetables is lovely and quick.
Things I have learnt this week.
1. I had to replace a composite kitchen top that had cracked. Composite tops are thicker and more long lasting than laminate but ultimately they are still a layer of stuff on top of ply wood. Sort of like quorn not the real thing. Last week I ended up driving around local builders merchants with a very patient builder looking at kitchen work tops. I was able to get solid wood for less than composite. I know it will stain and scratch but I think this is supposed to happen and is fine by me.
2. Splash a little balsamic vinegar on salmon fillets while they are cooking-wonderful.
Haloumi in a tossed salad with roasted mixed vegetables is lovely and quick.
Things I have learnt this week.
1. I had to replace a composite kitchen top that had cracked. Composite tops are thicker and more long lasting than laminate but ultimately they are still a layer of stuff on top of ply wood. Sort of like quorn not the real thing. Last week I ended up driving around local builders merchants with a very patient builder looking at kitchen work tops. I was able to get solid wood for less than composite. I know it will stain and scratch but I think this is supposed to happen and is fine by me.
2. Splash a little balsamic vinegar on salmon fillets while they are cooking-wonderful.
Monday, 7 November 2011
comfort food
My Mum died about a month ago and I have not been that organised in the food department but I am back on track and into life.
Last night my daughter and I were a little tired and a little lazy and had the perfect picky meal. It was fabulous and easy and eaten in front of an inane movie on the tele with the effortless gas fire burning in the background.
We had
chopped peppers and cucumber
hummus
pita-ia my daughter's time in Israel becoming obvious
stuffed vineleaves-why make when Waitrose does them so well
fried haloumi
home made sushi.
Sushi is much easier than people think. I do not have a roller there is really no need. I cook the rice by putting a cup of rice and 1 and 3/4 cups cold water in a covered dish in the microwave for 10 minutes.
When done add
2 tablespoons of sugar, sherry and white wine vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Stir and left cool. Easy.
Last night my daughter and I were a little tired and a little lazy and had the perfect picky meal. It was fabulous and easy and eaten in front of an inane movie on the tele with the effortless gas fire burning in the background.
We had
chopped peppers and cucumber
hummus
pita-ia my daughter's time in Israel becoming obvious
stuffed vineleaves-why make when Waitrose does them so well
fried haloumi
home made sushi.
Sushi is much easier than people think. I do not have a roller there is really no need. I cook the rice by putting a cup of rice and 1 and 3/4 cups cold water in a covered dish in the microwave for 10 minutes.
When done add
2 tablespoons of sugar, sherry and white wine vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Stir and left cool. Easy.
Monday, 10 October 2011
What I am cooking this week????
Cooking? What cooking?
I am off to Ireland for 10 days and I will be kitchenless.
I will update you all on what I have learned when I return
Monday, 3 October 2011
What I learned from Rosh Hashannah Cooking
1. I really admire professional cooks. I am not a professional cook.
2. Every moment I spent planning was incredibly worthwhile.
3. I got Tesco to deliver the night before I began to cook giving me time to go and buy the all so essential ingredients Tesco failed to deliver.
4.I really believe we are programmed to like stodge. I made a Risotto pie from the Cranks cookbook that went down really well and was so simple. In fact good simple food goes down really well. Three simple recipes that go down really well include:
Hannah's tomatoes.
My daughter halves baby plum tomatoes and mixed with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. She then roasts them at about 120 for an hour or so. Really nice. Apologies for those who like exact amounts in recipes. my daughter does not do exact amounts.
Herby sweet potatoes
This is one of mine. I attempt to grow food in pots in a small London back yard. The beans were great, the peas failed completely and London did not provide the sun to turn my tomatoes red. But I have found the herbs in pots very useful I am not a great gardener but I do know that herbs need a big pot. Forget those cutesy pots specially designed for herbs they are basically herb killers.
Anyway roast hunks of sweet potato in olive oil with fresh sage and rosemary for around 40 minutes at 200. I guess I am as enthusiastic about exact measurements as my daughter
Cranks Spinach Risotto Pie
from The New Cranks Cookbook-interestingly they define this as a starter.
25g bouillion powder
1 litre boiling water
50 ml olive oil
250g onions
3 cloves garlic-crushed
pinch nutmeg
500g Arborio rice
500g spinach
100g Parmesan cheese-grated
6 eggs
1-2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 200
Make a stock with bouillon powder and keep warm. Heat the oil and add the onion, garlic and nutmeg. Fry until transparent. Now add the rice and also fry till transparent, stirring all the time. Add the stock gradually stirring continuously, until it is all absorbed and the grains are creamy but still intact. Add the spinach and stir until it is wilted. Finally add the Parmesan and beaten eggs.
Oil an oven proof dish and line with tomato slices and season. (I left the tomatoes out and served this with Hannah's tomatoes.) Add the rice mixture and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes
2. Every moment I spent planning was incredibly worthwhile.
3. I got Tesco to deliver the night before I began to cook giving me time to go and buy the all so essential ingredients Tesco failed to deliver.
4.I really believe we are programmed to like stodge. I made a Risotto pie from the Cranks cookbook that went down really well and was so simple. In fact good simple food goes down really well. Three simple recipes that go down really well include:
Hannah's tomatoes.
My daughter halves baby plum tomatoes and mixed with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. She then roasts them at about 120 for an hour or so. Really nice. Apologies for those who like exact amounts in recipes. my daughter does not do exact amounts.
Herby sweet potatoes
This is one of mine. I attempt to grow food in pots in a small London back yard. The beans were great, the peas failed completely and London did not provide the sun to turn my tomatoes red. But I have found the herbs in pots very useful I am not a great gardener but I do know that herbs need a big pot. Forget those cutesy pots specially designed for herbs they are basically herb killers.
Anyway roast hunks of sweet potato in olive oil with fresh sage and rosemary for around 40 minutes at 200. I guess I am as enthusiastic about exact measurements as my daughter
Cranks Spinach Risotto Pie
from The New Cranks Cookbook-interestingly they define this as a starter.
25g bouillion powder
1 litre boiling water
50 ml olive oil
250g onions
3 cloves garlic-crushed
pinch nutmeg
500g Arborio rice
500g spinach
100g Parmesan cheese-grated
6 eggs
1-2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 200
Make a stock with bouillon powder and keep warm. Heat the oil and add the onion, garlic and nutmeg. Fry until transparent. Now add the rice and also fry till transparent, stirring all the time. Add the stock gradually stirring continuously, until it is all absorbed and the grains are creamy but still intact. Add the spinach and stir until it is wilted. Finally add the Parmesan and beaten eggs.
Oil an oven proof dish and line with tomato slices and season. (I left the tomatoes out and served this with Hannah's tomatoes.) Add the rice mixture and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Rosh Hashannah and Food Planning
It's that time of year. Jewish life becomes very intense, the meals planned and eaten numerous. The risk is that you can cook and cook and overwhelm people with way too much food they do not really want.
Planning this coming week was not was not easy but it all feels so much more do-able now I know what I am doing. So with no further ado...
Rosh Hashannah First Night
Vegetable Soup-Chop and boil and make enough for 2 nights-simples.
Spelt Challah-for the delicate stomachs in my family
Eggplant casserole-An old favourite that my daughter thinks tastes great but looks like vomit.
Red cabbage coleslaw-The cranberries make this
Mixed roast vegetables
Courgettes and tomatoes
Rosh Hashannah Second Night
Vegetable Soup
Spelt Challah
Spinach Risotto Pie
Grilled Baby Vegetables
Avocado with pesto and mixed leaves
Shabbat
Challah-back to wheat flour!
Tomato and roast pepper soup
Spinach Lasagne
Feta with sundried tomatoes and rocket
Sweet potato roasted with sage and rosemary-I cannot stress enough how glad I am that I have grown herbs
Lemon Meringue Pie-easy easy NZ recipe
The rest of the week
Quorn sausage pie-with baked beans. Slob comfort food
Baked mixed vegetable casserole
Risotto wit peas and basil.
Planning this coming week was not was not easy but it all feels so much more do-able now I know what I am doing. So with no further ado...
Rosh Hashannah First Night
Vegetable Soup-Chop and boil and make enough for 2 nights-simples.
Spelt Challah-for the delicate stomachs in my family
Eggplant casserole-An old favourite that my daughter thinks tastes great but looks like vomit.
Red cabbage coleslaw-The cranberries make this
Mixed roast vegetables
Courgettes and tomatoes
Rosh Hashannah Second Night
Vegetable Soup
Spelt Challah
Spinach Risotto Pie
Grilled Baby Vegetables
Avocado with pesto and mixed leaves
Shabbat
Challah-back to wheat flour!
Tomato and roast pepper soup
Spinach Lasagne
Feta with sundried tomatoes and rocket
Sweet potato roasted with sage and rosemary-I cannot stress enough how glad I am that I have grown herbs
Lemon Meringue Pie-easy easy NZ recipe
The rest of the week
Quorn sausage pie-with baked beans. Slob comfort food
Baked mixed vegetable casserole
Risotto wit peas and basil.
Monday, 19 September 2011
We do Vegan!
My daughter and I are very cynical about food intolerances and even more so food allergies. Only now she has found that her health is so much better when she does not eat dairy or wheat. My husband does not do meat and in this Jewish home this means we have a minimal and hardly used meaty set of dishes. I guess meat cooking does not come into our conciousness.
This means the vegan menu.
1. Sushi- ironically the easiest and nicest recipe comes from a 1980's Alison Holst cookbook. Who is Alison Holst you ask? Only the Goddess of NZ cooking She uses basic ingredients and the recipes are easy. Check her out on Amazon.
2. Risotto with courgettes and suundried tomato
3. Aubergine and tahini served with roasted veges and salad
4. Mushroom, green bean and chilli stir fry.
Shabbat
Challah
Spelt Bread
Lemon Couscous cake
Tomato Pepper soup
Potato Tortino
Mushrooms stuffed with spinach
Sweet and sour cabbage with kidney beans
Roast carrots with cabbage and sage
Hint of the week: Buy a new cookbook every now and again.
We all need a boost in our kitchen especially when our dietary needs (or those of the people we live with) change and a well written cook book can really help.
Vegan Italiano has really helped me to do the vegan thing. Though I must admit it was not bought but borrowed from a friend. Your friend has a battered grubby cookbook? Study it carefully there is probably a good reason it is used so much. My friend Rose described her Grandmother's battered old Good Housekeeping Cookbook that when dropped automatically opened up on the chocolate cake page.
This means the vegan menu.
1. Sushi- ironically the easiest and nicest recipe comes from a 1980's Alison Holst cookbook. Who is Alison Holst you ask? Only the Goddess of NZ cooking She uses basic ingredients and the recipes are easy. Check her out on Amazon.
2. Risotto with courgettes and suundried tomato
3. Aubergine and tahini served with roasted veges and salad
4. Mushroom, green bean and chilli stir fry.
Shabbat
Challah
Spelt Bread
Lemon Couscous cake
Tomato Pepper soup
Potato Tortino
Mushrooms stuffed with spinach
Sweet and sour cabbage with kidney beans
Roast carrots with cabbage and sage
Hint of the week: Buy a new cookbook every now and again.
We all need a boost in our kitchen especially when our dietary needs (or those of the people we live with) change and a well written cook book can really help.
Vegan Italiano has really helped me to do the vegan thing. Though I must admit it was not bought but borrowed from a friend. Your friend has a battered grubby cookbook? Study it carefully there is probably a good reason it is used so much. My friend Rose described her Grandmother's battered old Good Housekeeping Cookbook that when dropped automatically opened up on the chocolate cake page.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Welcome to my new food blog.
As a nation we love to watch cooking shows but so many people (O.K lets be honest here women) I know find cooking stressful, a chore and a bore.
I love to cook for people. I love the dishes of food on the table and everyone tucking in. I love it when the conversation flows and people who normally would not eat together enjoy each other's company, the surreptitious third servings people help themselves too and the sense of having done a good thing when they all go home.
But I am no kitchen martyr. I do have other things in my life and after 22 years of marriage I feel I have got this cooking thing sorted.
I plan my meals. 4 weekday meals and a Shabbat meal. You can all count what happens the other 2 you ask. Motzei Shabbat is left overs or whatever. Wednesday I clean my house and then go to my knitting group-whoever is at home fend for themselves.
I want to make you understand what a good idea meal planning is.
You save a lot of money as you buy what you need.
You go to cook and yes you do have a lime and a fresh red chilli.
So each week I will post my menus and a little about why and my handy hint of the week.
So ...
Sue's Handy Hint of the Week
This is an incredibly useful kitchen tool. I had piles of recipes in a cupboard that never got used as it was all too much of a faff to go through them all. I spent a obsessive Sunday putting them all in this index card box and to this day I am glad I did so.These recipes come from everywhere from New Zealand supermarkets to Lubavitch Lunch and Learn sessions. Old cookbooks that I only kept for one or two useful recipes have been ditched and replaced with cards in the file. I consider this an important part of my children's legacy
This week's cooking.
Linguine with eggplant and peppers This is from a vegan Italian cookbook. The book is American-I really cannot imagine any Italian I have met being a vegan. But it is quick and easy and my daughter who bases her diet on pasta is at home.
Quorn balls with cheese sauce People the £3.00 I spent on the Quorn cookbook was worth every penny the recipes are easy and quick. It required bar codes from special Quorn packets and Tesco in their wisdom failed to deliver the right packets. I ended up in Waitrose taking down the appropriate bar code numbers. The staff politely ignored me.
Stir fry-Frozen stir fry veges, a quick omlete with soya sauce, rice cooked in the microwave and some cashews and a little fresh garden herbs. What's not to like.
Creole Jambalaya This is from of all things a Slimming World book. Again easy recipes and healthy as well
Shabbat
Challah I make Challah. I use a breadmaker. Even if the only thing I ever made was Challah at £1.25 a loaf it is worth buying a breadmaker for and home made bread really does make Friday night even more special
Lemon Cake This is fat free made with sweetener and couscous. It means we have something filling and sweet to munch on without the guilt
Orange and Carrot Soup This week this comes from the freezer. I made double of this when I had loads of carrots. I do feel the freezer is often an under utilised time management tool.
Salmon Nicose This week for the first time in ages Friday night will be me and my husband and we both love this somewhat luxurious salad which is an all in one meal. Somehow I only ever make this when it just we two (my kids fish intake is limited to tinned tuna) and it makes it all the more special
Mustard carrots Pop mustard seeds in some oil add sliced carrot and lemon peel. Don't rudh let them cook on a medium heat for a while easy and really nice.
Oriental Mushrooms I have no idea where this came from but I really love this one
Cook 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp ginger and a finely chopped carrot in 2 thsp oil for a minute. Add 450gm sliced chestnut mushrooms and cook for a further 4 minutes. Add 2 spring onions diagonally sliced and a finely sliced green pepper add 1 tbsp sesame oil and a tbsp soya sauce.
People use your oven timer and make sure that 4 minutes is four minutes.
Back next week
Sue
I love to cook for people. I love the dishes of food on the table and everyone tucking in. I love it when the conversation flows and people who normally would not eat together enjoy each other's company, the surreptitious third servings people help themselves too and the sense of having done a good thing when they all go home.
But I am no kitchen martyr. I do have other things in my life and after 22 years of marriage I feel I have got this cooking thing sorted.
I plan my meals. 4 weekday meals and a Shabbat meal. You can all count what happens the other 2 you ask. Motzei Shabbat is left overs or whatever. Wednesday I clean my house and then go to my knitting group-whoever is at home fend for themselves.
I want to make you understand what a good idea meal planning is.
You save a lot of money as you buy what you need.
You go to cook and yes you do have a lime and a fresh red chilli.
So each week I will post my menus and a little about why and my handy hint of the week.
So ...
Sue's Handy Hint of the Week
This week's cooking.
Linguine with eggplant and peppers This is from a vegan Italian cookbook. The book is American-I really cannot imagine any Italian I have met being a vegan. But it is quick and easy and my daughter who bases her diet on pasta is at home.
Quorn balls with cheese sauce People the £3.00 I spent on the Quorn cookbook was worth every penny the recipes are easy and quick. It required bar codes from special Quorn packets and Tesco in their wisdom failed to deliver the right packets. I ended up in Waitrose taking down the appropriate bar code numbers. The staff politely ignored me.
Stir fry-Frozen stir fry veges, a quick omlete with soya sauce, rice cooked in the microwave and some cashews and a little fresh garden herbs. What's not to like.
Creole Jambalaya This is from of all things a Slimming World book. Again easy recipes and healthy as well
Shabbat
Challah I make Challah. I use a breadmaker. Even if the only thing I ever made was Challah at £1.25 a loaf it is worth buying a breadmaker for and home made bread really does make Friday night even more special
Lemon Cake This is fat free made with sweetener and couscous. It means we have something filling and sweet to munch on without the guilt
Orange and Carrot Soup This week this comes from the freezer. I made double of this when I had loads of carrots. I do feel the freezer is often an under utilised time management tool.
Salmon Nicose This week for the first time in ages Friday night will be me and my husband and we both love this somewhat luxurious salad which is an all in one meal. Somehow I only ever make this when it just we two (my kids fish intake is limited to tinned tuna) and it makes it all the more special
Mustard carrots Pop mustard seeds in some oil add sliced carrot and lemon peel. Don't rudh let them cook on a medium heat for a while easy and really nice.
Oriental Mushrooms I have no idea where this came from but I really love this one
Cook 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp ginger and a finely chopped carrot in 2 thsp oil for a minute. Add 450gm sliced chestnut mushrooms and cook for a further 4 minutes. Add 2 spring onions diagonally sliced and a finely sliced green pepper add 1 tbsp sesame oil and a tbsp soya sauce.
People use your oven timer and make sure that 4 minutes is four minutes.
Back next week
Sue
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