Saturday, January 15, 2011

Chameleon Cookies

There's one invention that's just begging to be invented to save our homes from unnecessary strife. Chameleon Cookies - cookies that camoflage themselves. In every family household, the moment comes when you're looking for cookies and discover that someone else ate them. If only the cookies could have hidden themselves away! Think of the nasty family fights you could avoid if only you had self-hiding cookies.

There. That's a winning concept, don't you think? How can this be done? Beats me. I'm just the idea man. You guys take it and run with it. We'll split the profits 50-50.

Cheezburger of the Day

I should be a Cookery Book Editor

Look up the index and it says that you will find Griddled Turkey Breast Fillets with Sage, Lemon & Pine Nut Pesto on Page 91 but you won't - its actually on Page 89 - spooky!  But thats not the last spooky thing about this recipie.  No matter how many times I read it it just didn't make sense.  The Salsa and the Pesto intructions were all muddled up and you were supposed to leave something in the fridge overnight but it doesn't say what.  I have a feeling someone somewhere may be getting their wrists slapped!

So I emailed the peeps and Giraffe and they emailed me right back "Please don’t lose confidence.  I will make sure I get you the correct recipe and I will be taking these issues up with the publishers first thing tomorrow as this is obviously a huge miss print on their behalves. I will definately get back to you in the next few days, and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that this mishap has caused you."

Next day they get back to me with the correct recipie and the offer of a Gift Voucher for the resturant - RESULT!

But here's the real result...


Not to sure about it tbh  Definately the least special of the dishes I've cooked so far.  The Pesto was way too strong and overpowered by the garlic.  Don't think I'll be cooking it again - but if you like the sound of it here are the proper instructions... meanwhile I have a £20 Giraffe voucher to spend!

Step 1 complete as specified in the book
Step 2  finely chop or crush the garlic using some salt and the flat blade of a knife, then combine lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley and coriander . mix the marinade well and then add the turkey fillets rolling in the marinade, cover with cling film  and leave for 20mins or overnight. 
Step 3 preheat the grill or a fry pan and cook each fillet for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through
Step 4 place the turkey fillets on the plate leaning against some  mash or rice and spoon over a good dollop of the fresh pine nut pesto, serve with a wedge or lemon ( flavour hint, add the lemon wedge cut side down and cook till golden, then serve with cooked turkey )

Level 1 at Erasmus Taalcentrum


yaaay!
I got 'A' means EXCELLENT on my level one exam! wuhhuuuuu.
i cant wait for level two at January 22th 2011.
Thanks for mev.Dini and mev.Ririet!

FAQs

We know that we are not normal. In fact....we are about as abnormal as you can get. In the best sense of the word, of course.

We know that we generate a lot of curiosity. Goodness...we're curious about ourselves. So this post is devoted to lessening the mystery surrounding Sisters Four. Enjoy...


How old are you?
Older than ever before...and younger than we will ever be again. We are older than we look...and act. We are just the right age. Perfect age. We love being 25.

Why are you not married?
Our husbands all died before we met them.

Are you allowed to be married?
We all believe this is the most ridiculous question ever. Of course we are not allowed to be married. Who would do the dishes if we left?

What do you do with your time?
Elves aren't real. We are real.

Are you ever going to leave home?
We do. Frequently.

Will you be single for the rest of your lives?
We do believe that God has raised people from the dead before.

Do you get along?
Always. Perfectly. Kindly. Lovingly. Like angels....cat and dog angels.


Have paint fumes affected your brains?
Not in the least. Color is a psychology study all on it's own. We do not generally paint polka dots. Elephants look good in polka dots.

Are you angels?
Yes.

So, we hope this has cleared up any misconceptions. Do you feel enlightened? We do.
If you have any other questions (or any better answers) please leave a comment below and we will get back to you soon.

Love,
The Sisters Four

Yet more Salmon & Wasabi

I love them both so the third recipie is a bit like the first - well not really - but they both have salmon & wasabi in them (oh and brown rice) but that could well be where the similarity ends. So tonight I made Miso-lime salmon with Wasabi Rice and Green Onions - Page 119 

The recipie makes LOADS of the marinade for the salmon - next time I'd half the quantity as it just went to waste - sorry to the lime and miso that were unnecessarily sacrificed in the making of this dish.  I just used Salmon fillets - have no idea what darnes are and there were none in Sainsburys.  In the photo in the book it definately looks like there is spinach through the rice but there's none in the recipie so either they sneakily put it in and forgot to mention it or they used mutant coriander that looks like spinach - you decide.


Now it looks rather grey and uninspiring in my photo - but thats my poor photography - nowt to do with the recipie! (anyone want to brighten it up with photoshop for me?) I added edamame soya beans to the mix but would also add the mystery spinach next time.  And there will be a next time as it was lush.  Even girl ate most of it.

Cous Cous Cakes by any other name

So what to make next?  I'm a bit cheesy in many ways so really liked the idea of these cous cous cakes made with Halloumi Cheese.  They are infact Spinach & Halloumi Cakes (with Spiced Tomato and Currant Chutney) - Page 43  I was way too lazy to make the accompanying chutney :-o  A slight error in composing my shopping list meant I only bought a pack of cheese weighing 225g so didn't have the 400g specified for the recipie - doh!  So I did half quantities and it turned out pretty darn good.


Now... the recipie says it will make 8 cakes.  I made half a quantity and got 10 cakes - go figure!  For any fish cakes/burgers etc I always use my trusty Burger Maker from Lakeland - wouldn't be without it. It really squashes the ingreedients up and keeps them in shape so they aren't falling to pieces in the pan.

Girl refused to eat it - but she refuses most things that aren't sweeties.  The rest of us loved them and I had two leftover ones for brekkie!  Now that is cheesy...

The first nibble...

So I like many others got The Giraffe Family Cookbook for Christmas - thanks Mum! It was on my Wish List so I would have been as angry as a Giraffe with a sore throat if it hadn't turned up in my stocking.

If you weren't as lucky as me you can get it on Amazon (other good booksellers are available...)


The first recipie I decided to cook from it is one that is a favourite of mine at the Resturant so I was so glad to see it in the book - Sushi Brown Rice Salad with Smoked Salmon - Page 60. Unfortunately I had to miss out one of the ingreedients - Mouli (white radish) as I couldn't get it from Tesco's or Sainsburys - any ideas where to track it down?  My cucumbers were crescents as opposed to the specified diamonds - couldn't work out how to make a diamond from a deseeded cucumber! I reckon the result was pretty much spot on to what I've been served in the resturant.  I give you my version...


A big thumbs up all round - although Mr & Boy reckoned it needed more salmon or the addition of some prawns to fill them up - greedy pigs!  I especially liked the black onion seeds - not an ingreedient that I'd ever used before.  Lovely flavour and fab colour contrast.  Can definately see me using them again alongside sesame seeds (famous last words - they'll probably end up going out of date alongside all the other strange things in my spice rack bought for one specific recipie!)

Meat vs. Fur

I've got a simple question.

Why is this OK,


but this isn't?

Beef, Garlic and Bell Pepper Stew


The number of people I have spoken to this week who have been suffering from the common cold has been staggering. Determined not to succumb myself, I decided to take some serious preventive action. No, I did not visit the local chemist's shop/drugstore, I turned to Mother Nature herself for assistance...

Garlic. The oft labelled, "Stinking Rose." The health benefits of garlic are many and profound. The problem is that some of them can be destroyed/affected by cooking, especially if the scourge of healthy eating - a microwave oven - is used. You can find a very informative article on the subject by Dr Kristie Leong by clicking here.

This dish is based upon one which I remember tasting in the beautiful, medieval town of Prachatice in the Czech Republic. On that occasion, if memory serves me correctly, the beef and garlic stew had a name indicating the fact that there were no fewer than forty cloves of garlic in it. This recipe has but seven cloves per serving but it should be noted that the garlic cloves are mostly cooked whole. This gives them a sweet, milder flavour than most people associate with garlic. What I also did, though, was keep one clove back until near the end, to ensure the principal health benefits were obtained to at least some extent.

Ingredients per Portion

6oz shin of beef
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
7 cloves of garlic
1 small white onion
2 pints of fresh beef stock
Salt and pepper


Method

The shin of beef should be cut in to bite sized pieces. Do not discard any of the fat. The beef should then be added to a large pot and quickly browned and sealed over a high heat. There is no need for fat or oil. The beef stock should be brought up to a simmer in a separate pot.


When the beef is browned, the onion should be peeled and quartered, the green pepper only deseeded and sliced in to 1/2" strips and six of the garlic cloves peeled. These ingredients should be added to the pot and stirred around in the beef before the stock is oiured in. The stock should be brought to a simmer and the stew left to simmer for an hour and a half. It should be stirred occasionally and the liquid level checked. The stock can be topped up with a little boiling water if necessary.

The garlic, onion and the green bell pepper will largely break down and thicken the stew during this time, so adding the red bell pepper (deseeded and sliced) after an hour and a half will reintroduce some body and bite to the mix. A further half hour's simmering should see the beef deliciously tender. The final garlic clove should be grated in to the stew five minutes before it is ready. The stew should be tasted and seasoned prior to being served.

This stew could be served with potatoes, or a number of different vegetable accompaniments. I have in this instance, however, served it simply with some crusty bread. The bread can be served as is or you may like to put a little extra spin on it.


Slice the bread to about a thickness of 1". Grate/shred some cheddar cheese and mix it with a little dried sage and black pepper. Spread the cheese on the bread and toast under a hot, overhead grill until the cheese melts and begins to bubble.

Met a hero!


hello blogreaders!
Wow im so happy be able to update this blog again!
How are you everybody? Im so good!
Its weekend, hopefully it become a wonderful weekend.

Today, i wanna write about a hero. Well, its a real hero.
This is mr.Sugimanto L. one of soldiers in 1945, when Indonesia was fighting to get our freedom.
I met him in independence day on Indonesia in 2009, at Monumen Proklamasi Central Jakarta.
He told me alot at that moment, he gave me a wisdom smile.
Hopefully, someday i can upload the video when he told his story in war.

Now, his age isnt young anymore, he cant fight and carrying gun anymore.
But really, it is very nice to see a person from history.
I could imagine what if im being his grandchild, everyday he telling me about his time in the past.

Well, even he just an ordinary soldier at that time, he is still a hero for Indonesia.

*really i dont know what to tell, but im trying. and its cheesy. hahahaha. sorry guys!*