Vegetables

Cold Oil French Fries (Chips) Absorb Less Oil

February 4, 2012
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I saw this method of chip making (French fries if you’re American) this week on  America’s Test Kitchen  and couldn’t wait to try it because it just seemed so easy and anything that’s easy if you have kids is a done deal for me.  The other reason and most convincing was the topsy-turvy notion that starting [...]

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Aduki / Azuki Bean Salad

January 23, 2012
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I made this salad for my lunch today.  I was reminded yesterday reading Carl’s post on his vegetarian haggis how good aduki beans are, they’re the puy lentil of the bean world for me.  They’re flavoursome, the taste reminds me of black-eye beans/peas and being so small they give you a lovely texture and if [...]

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Some Spicing Tips

November 9, 2011
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I’ve written the post on Don’t Dry Roast Spices here, and wanted to do a quick one on a couple of tips.  A week or so ago I was asked by Carl if I had any tips for a Goan curry he was making, to which I answered no, but I said I do have [...]

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Don’t Dry Roast Spices

November 8, 2011
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Want to be controversial in the foodie world here, tell them not to dry roast spices before making a masala mix.  If I hear or read one more chef, cookery writer stating, “you should dry roast spices for masala because it enhances them, giving a better flavour..”  I might just scream…quietly inside. It was a year [...]

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Carrot top “pataniscas”

August 23, 2011
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I had bought a bunch of pretty yellow and red carrots at the farmers’ market and decided to use them in salads to best show off their colour.  The tops were still vibrant and fresh looking and rather than doing the normal of throwing them in the bin I remembered Carl had twittered his recipe [...]

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Lentil Curry, Spinach Curry with Fresh Apricots

August 21, 2011
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I have to make a note of these curries I quickly made last night otherwise they will be forgotten never to be made again which according to my oldest daughter is a habit of mine.  When I make it again I will take better photos and post those.  It was one of those full days, [...]

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Farmers’ Markets Are So Expensive

August 21, 2011
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The market is a familiar place for me.  I was brought up the first 10 years of my life by my Gran, who would often take me to our local town market on a Friday to sell her small bag of home grown beans and a couple of rabbits or hens, live and kicking.  Once [...]

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Roasted Potato & Rosemary Bread

August 11, 2011
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My first attempt at a potato sourdough was using boiled potato with some of its cooking water in the dough to a disastrous effect.  You can see the photos below, destroyed the gluten development and like the post I wrote on over-proving dough, I had a lifeless dough in my hands.  I tried it twice, [...]

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Courgette (Zucchini) Summer Soup

July 6, 2011
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This soup originally came from the first River Café Cookbook, the blue one which I loved when it came out.  I wasn’t keen on their second book, the yellow, it seemed full of recipes for their wood-fired oven and generally less substantial.  I’ve been making this soup for as long as I’ve had my oldest [...]

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Aubergine (Eggplant), Fennel & Tomato with Pomegranate Syrup

May 30, 2011
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I was roasting a leg of lamb yesterday and this was what I wanted with it.  I make quite often the Italian aubergine dish caponata which I will vary, may have olives or capers or pinenuts and vary the herbs but always with the sweet/sour combination of sugar and vinegar.  I wanted that here and [...]

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Cheese & Onion Tart with Cheese Pastry

May 2, 2011
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What makes this cheese & onion tart stand out from just any cheese & onion tart is having both the cheese topping and the cheese pastry giving a crumbly cheese contrast sandwiching the soft  sweet filling of the onions.  I had a slice of it and the rest was passed on to the oldest daughter [...]

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Potato Dauphinoise

February 13, 2011
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By nature I’m a lazy cook, meaning I’ll short-cut a method wherever I can…only have to look at my no-knead bread efforts to get that but here I do the opposite, I’ll add an extra step.  I see lots of recipes for potato dauphinoise where the potato is layered in the serving dish and the [...]

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Parsley – Curly or Flat Leaf (Italian Parsley)

February 11, 2011
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There are few days in the year where I find myself without fresh parsley in the house, primarily because years ago I read in my little old book on nutritional value of foods that it is abundant with vitamin C, exceptionally more than any other food.  According to wikipedia’s nutritional breakdown 50 grms of raw [...]

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Red Cabbage, Beetroot & Pear

February 6, 2011
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I saw Rick Stein in one of his programs cook red cabbage and pears spiced with some cinnamon and I think nutmeg.  Here’s my version, with beetroot, because I just happen to have some in the fridge along with a small cabbage and as it happens it turned out to be a great combination.  It [...]

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Quick Creamy Curry

January 29, 2011
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I make a curry every week usually on a Friday or Saturday night and most of the time just for Bikerboy and I, but if the older girls are around with their friends then I’ll make a big pot of this curry, it’s quick to put together and easily adjustable to suit mild tastebuds. When [...]

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