The kitchen in our new house is odd. Decent amount of counter space, though not as much as I would like, decent sized sink, huge fridge space, TINY PANTRY CUPBOARD. Its about a foot wide, and has nowhere near enough shelves to make good use of the available space. Fortunately, theres a lot of other cupboards in the kitchen. A LOT. so the oddly tall one in the middle of one of the counters has been designated pantry#2.
Hubby took the doors off for me a couple days ago. So now, I can work on the counter in front of it without constantly having to move everything to get stuff out. BIG YAY.
However, because its open, I had to do some reorganising. Only relatively 'nice looking' things are in it now - my cansiters and old coffee jars full of herbs and spices. And my recipe box.
Alos, whoever lived here before was very clever. The bottom shelf is fixed, unlike the rest, and is quite high up. Underneath it they've affixed some hooks, which allow me to hang my measuring cups&spoons, AND oven mits, so they're always handy and I don't have to go searching for them! WOOT! Easy access to utensils most likely to be used over there, and plenty of room underneath for my canisters.
My computer is still borked, and hubby's isn't accepting the memory card from the camera at the moment, but as soon as I get it sorted, rest assured, you WILL be bombarded with before and after shots of my food storage.
I still can't believe how excited I am about this.
Showing posts with label cooking and baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking and baking. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Friday, 5 December 2008
Saturday, 22 November 2008
stir fry
i made stir fry for dinner tonight, because its easy.
but as i was making it, i started wondering how easy it REALLY is.
but in my head its still easy. and theres not much washing up, which is good. 2 pans, 2 chopping boards, 2 knives, spatula.
i wonder what else is embedded in our heads as 'easy', even when it really isnt so much?
tereyaki stir fry (which really isnt, i guess, because i add so much water)
feeds my family of 3 with a serve or two left over. can easily feed more with the adition of more veg/more noodles. meat is really an accent in this dish, and has on occasion been left out. any veg is doable, and the noodles can easily be left out to serve with rice.
in an electric fry pan:
a good drizzle of olive oil
as much again of each: red wine; tereyaki sauce
teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder
teaspoon or so of ginger (fresh, powdered, or can of minced, any is fine)
turn heat to about half way, add about a cup of water
chop a head of broccoli and add to the fry pan
also 2 cans of baby corn
(keep adding water whenever it starts looking dry, and tereyaki if it starts looking pale)
in a separate fry pan on the stove, add same amounts of oil, wine, tereyaki, ginger, and cinnamon. NO WATER.
turn heat to half, and add meat (3 cheap boneless steaks from the butcher, cut up small).
when the corn and broccoli are starting to colour, and the meat needs to be turned, add one large carrot, and about as much mushroom to the electric fry pan, with more cinnamon, and more water/tereyaki if needed. and obviously, turn the meat over.
stir the veg every now and then to make sure all sides cook.
when the meat is well browned, add to electric fry pan, along will all juices. doesnt matter if its cooked through yet.
cook everything in the electric until there is minimal liquid left, then add hokkien noodles, stir until all mixed and all liquid is gone.
tada.
but as i was making it, i started wondering how easy it REALLY is.
- defrost the meat, get hubby to cut it up (i CANNOT handle raw meat/chicken unless its through a bag, and even then i get queasy. this is not a pregnancy thing, this is just me).
- cut up the veg
- add sauces and spices to the electric fry pan until it smells right, add some of the veg.
- add the same stuff to the normal fry pan, and cook the meat.
- add the rest of the veg to the electric.
- add the meat to the electric.
- add a bag of hokkien noodles to the electric.
- hope nothing burns.
but in my head its still easy. and theres not much washing up, which is good. 2 pans, 2 chopping boards, 2 knives, spatula.
i wonder what else is embedded in our heads as 'easy', even when it really isnt so much?
tereyaki stir fry (which really isnt, i guess, because i add so much water)
feeds my family of 3 with a serve or two left over. can easily feed more with the adition of more veg/more noodles. meat is really an accent in this dish, and has on occasion been left out. any veg is doable, and the noodles can easily be left out to serve with rice.
in an electric fry pan:
a good drizzle of olive oil
as much again of each: red wine; tereyaki sauce
teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder
teaspoon or so of ginger (fresh, powdered, or can of minced, any is fine)
turn heat to about half way, add about a cup of water
chop a head of broccoli and add to the fry pan
also 2 cans of baby corn
(keep adding water whenever it starts looking dry, and tereyaki if it starts looking pale)
in a separate fry pan on the stove, add same amounts of oil, wine, tereyaki, ginger, and cinnamon. NO WATER.
turn heat to half, and add meat (3 cheap boneless steaks from the butcher, cut up small).
when the corn and broccoli are starting to colour, and the meat needs to be turned, add one large carrot, and about as much mushroom to the electric fry pan, with more cinnamon, and more water/tereyaki if needed. and obviously, turn the meat over.
stir the veg every now and then to make sure all sides cook.
when the meat is well browned, add to electric fry pan, along will all juices. doesnt matter if its cooked through yet.
cook everything in the electric until there is minimal liquid left, then add hokkien noodles, stir until all mixed and all liquid is gone.
tada.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
bread addendum
so bread.. i lost my recipe card and jumped on here to get the recipe (KNEW there was a reaon for posting everything!) and realsie i messed up. i put the water on twice. fixed now.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
before i forget
lizzie gave me cravings for silverside, so i made mum show me how she does it when we were down there (no crockpot for us. giant pot on the stove it is), and now i can inflict the delicious-rainbow-sheen-pink-salty on my husband whenever i want to. but im writing the 'recipe' here as well as in my recipe box, because i will lose paper, and this is forever.
hunk of silverside in a large pot.
2 carrots cut into chunks, about 1 inch
2 celery 1 inch
1 onion in quarters
2-3 bayleaves
small handful of peppercorns - about 1 inch.
enough water to cover.
bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours, discard water and disintegrated vegies. (or you could eat them i guess... except YUCK.)
try not to eat the entire hunk of meat. your family will look at you as if you are insane.
hunk of silverside in a large pot.
2 carrots cut into chunks, about 1 inch
2 celery 1 inch
1 onion in quarters
2-3 bayleaves
small handful of peppercorns - about 1 inch.
enough water to cover.
bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours, discard water and disintegrated vegies. (or you could eat them i guess... except YUCK.)
try not to eat the entire hunk of meat. your family will look at you as if you are insane.
Friday, 7 November 2008
homemade musli bars
my wrists have been playing havoc today, probably because i slept in a truly odd position last night, and as a result, i havent got the courage to brave breadmaking. i am however in a very cooking mood, so i made musli bars.
and i even took pictures. well.. the kid took most of them. which is why there are so many.
also, please ignore the belly. its getting in the way of everything.
the measurements listed are what i use. the only really important ones are 4cups oats, and 1tin sweetened condensed milk. everything else is up to your own personal tastes. dont like apricots? leave them out. or use something else instead. want to go healthier? use more fruit instead of choc chips. want real indulgence? buy different types of choc chips and leave out the fruit. and of course you can add more or less as you want. sometimes i use more sunflower seeds, sometimes i use more sesame seeds. it all comes out just as well.
i have no idea how much these cost to make. not much. the choc chips are probably the main cost involved. ETA: ok so i was curious, and whipped out my handy spreadsheet.. this tray cost me $8.26 to make, but if i'd used coles choc-chips it would have been about $6.43 and the way i cut them, theres about 14-20 in the tray, making each musli bar 41-59c this time, or 32-46c if i use coles choc chips. not bad at all. and if i can get sweetened condensed milk on special, theyd be even a little bit cheaper.
so here we go. home-made musli-bars. YUM YUM YUM!!
oh look.. almost everything is actually in a packet for once!
put in a VERY LARGE BOWL:
4 cups quick oats - no-name brand are fine, just make sure theyre QUICK oats. (instant oats? the instructions should only list about a minute of cooking time.)
1 packet choc chips - about 250g (ish) or if you keep them in a canister or something, a little over a cup
1 cup sultanas (raisins)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
mix everything except the sweetened condensed milk together. you may find you need to stop occasionaly to break up clumps of apricot.. they tend to stick together until coated in oat powder.
add enough s.c.m for everything to stick together - probaly the whole tin, might be a little less. mix well.
it might look like there isnt enough s.c.m for a while, there will be a lot of dry oats in the bottom of the bowl. just keep mixing. it will all come together. sometimes helps if you turn the bowl around a bit as you go.
line a.. um.. large tin with a lid? with baking paper (the cheap stuff that doesnt work for baking is fine for this).
pour/scrape everything into the tin, trying not to break your wrist, or drop the 30yr old+ bowl you're currently holding, which isnt actually yours.
press down and smooth out. you may have to use your hands here.
cover with clingfilm, and put the lid on. (if your tray doesnt have a lid, the film WILL NOT STICK to the tray, so you'll have to wrap it ALL around, instead of just over the top.
stick it in the fridge to set. it doesnt matter where, just wherever theres room. which for us is usually the bottom shelf.
when the musli bars have set, which will take a couple hours at least, you can cut them up, and theyre ready to eat. i usually cut the whole thing lengthways down the middle, and then across to make the individual bars, as i want them.
and i even took pictures. well.. the kid took most of them. which is why there are so many.
also, please ignore the belly. its getting in the way of everything.
the measurements listed are what i use. the only really important ones are 4cups oats, and 1tin sweetened condensed milk. everything else is up to your own personal tastes. dont like apricots? leave them out. or use something else instead. want to go healthier? use more fruit instead of choc chips. want real indulgence? buy different types of choc chips and leave out the fruit. and of course you can add more or less as you want. sometimes i use more sunflower seeds, sometimes i use more sesame seeds. it all comes out just as well.
i have no idea how much these cost to make. not much. the choc chips are probably the main cost involved. ETA: ok so i was curious, and whipped out my handy spreadsheet.. this tray cost me $8.26 to make, but if i'd used coles choc-chips it would have been about $6.43 and the way i cut them, theres about 14-20 in the tray, making each musli bar 41-59c this time, or 32-46c if i use coles choc chips. not bad at all. and if i can get sweetened condensed milk on special, theyd be even a little bit cheaper.
so here we go. home-made musli-bars. YUM YUM YUM!!
oh look.. almost everything is actually in a packet for once!put in a VERY LARGE BOWL:
4 cups quick oats - no-name brand are fine, just make sure theyre QUICK oats. (instant oats? the instructions should only list about a minute of cooking time.)
1 packet choc chips - about 250g (ish) or if you keep them in a canister or something, a little over a cup
i usually dont use brand name. i like the taste of coles-brand, and i prefer the size.. cadburry's are too large. but we went to woolworths, not coles, and woolies choc-chips leave a horrid aftertaste. so cadbury's it was. and oh look! you can see my living room.
1 cup sultanas (raisins)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
i like to chop mine up about the same size as the sultanas, and i usually make sure the 1/2 cup is over-full, instead of flat. i like apricots.
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
this has got to be the only thing he DIDNT take a picture of. i have pictures of the clock, his sandal, the floor, the counter, the cat, my belly, but no tin of milk.
mix everything except the sweetened condensed milk together. you may find you need to stop occasionaly to break up clumps of apricot.. they tend to stick together until coated in oat powder.
add enough s.c.m for everything to stick together - probaly the whole tin, might be a little less. mix well.
it might look like there isnt enough s.c.m for a while, there will be a lot of dry oats in the bottom of the bowl. just keep mixing. it will all come together. sometimes helps if you turn the bowl around a bit as you go.
line a.. um.. large tin with a lid? with baking paper (the cheap stuff that doesnt work for baking is fine for this).
dont you just love my terribly attractive kitchen floor? 70s lino baby, oh yeah.
pour/scrape everything into the tin, trying not to break your wrist, or drop the 30yr old+ bowl you're currently holding, which isnt actually yours.
press down and smooth out. you may have to use your hands here.
yay. my belly.
cover with clingfilm, and put the lid on. (if your tray doesnt have a lid, the film WILL NOT STICK to the tray, so you'll have to wrap it ALL around, instead of just over the top.
stick it in the fridge to set. it doesnt matter where, just wherever theres room. which for us is usually the bottom shelf.
oh look.. my fridge is FULL!! YAY!!
when the musli bars have set, which will take a couple hours at least, you can cut them up, and theyre ready to eat. i usually cut the whole thing lengthways down the middle, and then across to make the individual bars, as i want them.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
bread stuffs, raisin and otherwise
NORMAL
2 Tbsp (40ml) oil
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10g dry yeast (3tsp)
2 tsp salt
3 cups plain flour
3 cups wholemeal flour
disolve brown sugar in water, add oil, salt, and yeast, leave to froth.
add plain flour, mix well. add enough wholemeal to turn into dough, knead on floured surface until smooth, cover in oiled bowl and rise to double.
punch down, knead again, divide in 2 and shape into loaves - either freeform or in loaf pans, rise to double again.
bake at 175C for 35min
WITH RAISINS
almost exactly the same:
add 2tsp cinnamon to yeast/sugar mix, add 1 cup sultanas (raisins) with flour. if they fall out while kneading, poke them back in.
in theory, you could add anything. havent tried it with other fruit yet. considering trying it with cheese and herbs.. but no fruit, of course.
2 Tbsp (40ml) oil
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10g dry yeast (3tsp)
2 tsp salt
3 cups plain flour
3 cups wholemeal flour
disolve brown sugar in water, add oil, salt, and yeast, leave to froth.
add plain flour, mix well. add enough wholemeal to turn into dough, knead on floured surface until smooth, cover in oiled bowl and rise to double.
punch down, knead again, divide in 2 and shape into loaves - either freeform or in loaf pans, rise to double again.
bake at 175C for 35min
WITH RAISINS
almost exactly the same:
add 2tsp cinnamon to yeast/sugar mix, add 1 cup sultanas (raisins) with flour. if they fall out while kneading, poke them back in.
in theory, you could add anything. havent tried it with other fruit yet. considering trying it with cheese and herbs.. but no fruit, of course.
chocolate pudding
so a couple of my lurkers, who refuse to comment, but send me emails instead (seriously guys, comment already), asked how we make chocolate pudding.
unfortunately i didnt get the emails till after i made it, so no pictures for you today, but ill take pictures next time i do it, 'k?
its not very hard to make, either. other than the bit involving bubbling lava, critter helped me all the way through. and hes only 4.
this is my mums recipe - exactly as she emailed it to me - and it only loosely corresponds to instructions on the custard powder packet (ingredients are the same other than the cocoa, but her method is rather different). i dont know where she got it from. i modify it a little.
the serving spoons she's talking about.. i really have no idea what they correspond to. possibly about a tablespoon?
ok i just went and measured it.. theyre 20ml. so thats 1tablespoon if you use australian measures, or 4teaspoons (1Tbsp, + 1tsp) if you use US measures. (why are they different? messes up my recipes something awful why is an american Tbsp=3tsp but australian Tbsp=4tsp.. grrrrrrrrr.)
ok.. so thats my mums recipe. i made it like that ast week, and while it was nice, it wasnt quite what i wanted. so today i made it just a teensy bit differently, and it was exactly right. very slightly sweeter, and a little less dense.
here we go!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp (VERY heaped) custard powder
1 Tbsp (heaped) cocoa powder
2 Tbsp (slightly heaped) + 1tsp sugar
1 pint + 1/2 cup milk
METHOD
mix custard powder and cocoa together in a large bowl, and add the 1/2 cup milk. stir until well combined - try for no lumps. it might still feel stiff, this is fine, as long as it looks like a liquid.
put the sugar and 1pint milk in a saucepan, and heat till warm, NOT HOT, and the sugar is disolved.
add about 1/4 - 1/3 cup milk/sugar mixture to the custard mixture, and stir until well mixed and smooth.
poor contents of bowl back into saucepan, and bring to boil, slowly, stirring continually, all the way to the bottom of the pan.
once mix is thick and smooth, pour into individual dishes.
NOTE:
hmm. should i eat one hot, or wait till they cool down and have it after dinner?
kids in bed.. im going for hot.
you cant have any. go make your own.
unfortunately i didnt get the emails till after i made it, so no pictures for you today, but ill take pictures next time i do it, 'k?
its not very hard to make, either. other than the bit involving bubbling lava, critter helped me all the way through. and hes only 4.
this is my mums recipe - exactly as she emailed it to me - and it only loosely corresponds to instructions on the custard powder packet (ingredients are the same other than the cocoa, but her method is rather different). i dont know where she got it from. i modify it a little.
2 well rounded tablespoons (those big silver serving spoons) of custard powder
2 slightly rounded tablespoons (serving spoons again) of sugar
1 heaped tablespoon (once again the serving spoons) of cocoa
1 pint (about 600 ml I think) milk. The Pyrex jug has a pint measure on it, I think
Put custard powder and cocoa in a pudding basin. Mix to a paste with a little of the milk - about 1/2 a cup or so. It feels really strange at this stage. Looks liquid but feels rather stiff.
Put the rest of the milk and the sugar in a saucepan and heat slightly (to about blood temperature) until the sugar is melted. Stir to make sure the sugar is disolved
Pour a bit of the warm milk into the custard powder and stir so that it is well mixed.
Pour the mixture back into the milk in the saucepan and heat gradually until it boils (it will look like lava bubbling up). Make sure to do this gently so that it doesn't burn on the bottom and stir continually so that it doesn't go lumpy. It needs to bubble so that it is thoroughly cooked as this is what thickens it.
then I pour it into individual dishes (or on top of the trifle!!) to cool.
the serving spoons she's talking about.. i really have no idea what they correspond to. possibly about a tablespoon?
ok i just went and measured it.. theyre 20ml. so thats 1tablespoon if you use australian measures, or 4teaspoons (1Tbsp, + 1tsp) if you use US measures. (why are they different? messes up my recipes something awful why is an american Tbsp=3tsp but australian Tbsp=4tsp.. grrrrrrrrr.)
ok.. so thats my mums recipe. i made it like that ast week, and while it was nice, it wasnt quite what i wanted. so today i made it just a teensy bit differently, and it was exactly right. very slightly sweeter, and a little less dense.
here we go!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp (VERY heaped) custard powder
1 Tbsp (heaped) cocoa powder
2 Tbsp (slightly heaped) + 1tsp sugar
1 pint + 1/2 cup milk
METHOD
mix custard powder and cocoa together in a large bowl, and add the 1/2 cup milk. stir until well combined - try for no lumps. it might still feel stiff, this is fine, as long as it looks like a liquid.
put the sugar and 1pint milk in a saucepan, and heat till warm, NOT HOT, and the sugar is disolved.
add about 1/4 - 1/3 cup milk/sugar mixture to the custard mixture, and stir until well mixed and smooth.
poor contents of bowl back into saucepan, and bring to boil, slowly, stirring continually, all the way to the bottom of the pan.
once mix is thick and smooth, pour into individual dishes.
NOTE:
- warm milk - blood temperature. got kids? drop some on your wrist the same way you would with a bath or a bottle. thats about right. you dont want it hot yet, but the warm helps it mix with the custard mixture.
- my mum mentioned about it getting lumpy. no matter how much i stir, IT GOES LUMPY. this is fine. it smooths out if you keep mixing. i near panicked the first time, trying to figure out what id done wrong. then it stopped being lumpy, very suddenly.
- it really does look like lava when it boils. it doesnt boil rapidly the way milk or water does, it swells slowly then bursts, and only 3-4 at a time.
- pouring it out of the saucepan can be tricky. i find it much easier to use some sort of scoop. ive been separating my pudding into 6 slightly-larger-than-a-ramikin sized dishes, which is about 2-3 scoops in each one, using my trusty silver serving spoon. a ladle or measuring cup would probably work just as well.. just be careful not to urn your fingers if you use a measuring cup.
- the extra teaspoon of sugar makes a WORLD of difference, as does the extra little bit of milk. maybe you like it less sweet, dont add the extra sugar. mum thinks its too sweet with more sugar, but maybe she heaps her spoons to a different degree than i do.
- there will probably be a very dark bubbly-looking layer on the bottom of the pan once youve got all the pudding out. this is what teaspoons are for. probably youve shared the dregs with the chiildren, but now, tell the kids its no good because its burnt, make them play in another room and SCRAPE OFF AND EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BEFORE THEY REALISE YOU'RE LYING. it looks burnt, but tastes like heaven.
hmm. should i eat one hot, or wait till they cool down and have it after dinner?
kids in bed.. im going for hot.
you cant have any. go make your own.
Friday, 30 November 2007
i have discovered something amazing
i like cheesecake.
i didnt think i would.
it seems too.... non-floury.
but hubby loves it.
and there was a recipe on better homes and gardens that was in the magazine and easy to follow.
white chocolate cheesecake, with dark chocolate sauce.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. chocolate.
and some very dear friends came over on tuesday night. (i will have known them for 25 years in jan/feb. i turned 25 in august. they are as close as family.)
and i wanted dinner to be really nice.
so i made the cheesecake.
and managed not to ruin it.
and i tried it.
even though it contains EIGHT EGGS.
and it was yummy.
oh was it ever yummy.
and i am now a convert.
and my friends loved it.
and hubby loved it.
and mum loved it.
and i want to make another one for hubby.
with raspberry sauce.
because he said it would be good.
and i love him so much it hurts.
i didnt think i would.
it seems too.... non-floury.
but hubby loves it.
and there was a recipe on better homes and gardens that was in the magazine and easy to follow.
white chocolate cheesecake, with dark chocolate sauce.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. chocolate.
and some very dear friends came over on tuesday night. (i will have known them for 25 years in jan/feb. i turned 25 in august. they are as close as family.)
and i wanted dinner to be really nice.
so i made the cheesecake.
and managed not to ruin it.
and i tried it.
even though it contains EIGHT EGGS.
and it was yummy.
oh was it ever yummy.
and i am now a convert.
and my friends loved it.
and hubby loved it.
and mum loved it.
and i want to make another one for hubby.
with raspberry sauce.
because he said it would be good.
and i love him so much it hurts.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
the difference between baking and cooking
because one of my mates who REFUSES TO COMMENT HERE and emails me instead, asked.
for me, baking involves precise measurements. you MUST use 2 cups of flour, or it wont work. you MUST use no more than 1/2 cup milk or it will glug. you MUST use lukewarm water, or the yeast will do nothing.
cooking is more of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along thing. having stir-fry? throw in whatever you feel like. roast dinner? check it every now and then until its cooked.
everytime i COOK, i do something a little different. and sometimes, this means the exact same dish turns out differently than it did last time. when i BAKE i follow the recipe precisely, because im just not that good yet.
also, i cook by instinct.. i guess. i really couldnt tell you why some days i use more ginger in my stirfry and some days i use more cinnamon. or why sometimes the roast has more oil than others. or why sometimes i use twice as much butter in my mashed potatoes, and sometimes i use a lot more milk. i just throw stuff at my food until it feels right.
and thats the difference between cooking and baking.
for me, baking involves precise measurements. you MUST use 2 cups of flour, or it wont work. you MUST use no more than 1/2 cup milk or it will glug. you MUST use lukewarm water, or the yeast will do nothing.
cooking is more of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along thing. having stir-fry? throw in whatever you feel like. roast dinner? check it every now and then until its cooked.
everytime i COOK, i do something a little different. and sometimes, this means the exact same dish turns out differently than it did last time. when i BAKE i follow the recipe precisely, because im just not that good yet.
also, i cook by instinct.. i guess. i really couldnt tell you why some days i use more ginger in my stirfry and some days i use more cinnamon. or why sometimes the roast has more oil than others. or why sometimes i use twice as much butter in my mashed potatoes, and sometimes i use a lot more milk. i just throw stuff at my food until it feels right.
and thats the difference between cooking and baking.
Thursday, 25 October 2007
i want to bake.
i want to bake, i want to bake, i want to bake.
problem is, every recipe i look at, considering if this is what i want to bake, answer is no.
i want to bake, i just dont know what i want to bake. nothing seems appealing.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
problem is, every recipe i look at, considering if this is what i want to bake, answer is no.
i want to bake, i just dont know what i want to bake. nothing seems appealing.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
losing weight
my throat has been so sore lately. partly is this horrible cold-thing we all have, partly its paint fumes. but its got me thinking a lot about all sorts of stuff.
when i was a teenager, i was bony. ive seen pictures. i cant believe i was worried that i was fat back then. then again, i was training for ballet, and most of the others were practically skeletal, so maybe its not such a shock that i thought i was fat. by the time i was 13 my hips were already too big to fit into a dress my mother made for herself in her 30s. and my legs build up muscle like anything. its a little scary. but honestly, compared to the 25 year old me, 15 year old me was a stick.
the easiest way to lose weight is to simply not eat. i did this once, when i was about 19. i lost 5kg (about 11lb) in a week. ONE WEEK. i could be down to my ideal weight in about a month. how great would that be?
but i wont.
when this happened to me before, it was because i was sick. i now think i might have had viral tonsillitis. (why do i think it was viral tonsillitis? well for one, the pain. for two, antibiotics didnt do a single thing. for three, when i was about 2 or 3, i had viral tonsillitis. i had a fever of 105 fahrenheit, and my parents put me in a bathtub full of ice to get the temperature down, because i was vomiting constantly, and 'cold' water from the tap where we lived was warm. i didnt have my tonsils out.) all i knew then was that my throat hurt. a lot. all the time. to the point that during that week all i ate was about 4 serves of macaroni and cheese. all week. and i drank maybe 2 litres of apple juice. all week. because everything hurt. if saliva built up in my mouth, i couldnt swallow it. i had to find a sink and spit it out. i was in constant pain. but i lost 5kg.
last year i started the CSIRO total wellbeing diet, because, quite frankly, i was fat. i had always been slim, until i moved to america. i stopped doing ballet 11+ hours a week at age 16, and i put on a bit of weight then, but it wasnt until i moved to america and started eating junk all the time that i got fat. then i got pregnant, and despite the fact that i could hardly eat anything (the only things that didnt make me want to throw up were chicken nuggets from mcdonalds, cheerios, and turkey/olive/swisscheese sandwiches on white bread. i forced myself to eat other foods, because that would have been a horribly unhealthy diet for myself and the baby, but i didnt eat an awful lot of anything), i gained SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much weight. i dont even know how much it was, but i lost 11kg during the week after my son was born. and he weighed less than 4kg. i think most of that extra weight was retained water, but i still had a lot of extra weight hanging around.
then last year, after coming back from a holiday in the states, i decided to do something about it. my sister was on the CSIRO diet, so i decided to give it a go. lost 15kg (about 33lb) in 3 months. and then it stopped. no matter what i did, i could not lose more weight. i ate less, i ate more, i exercised more, nothing worked. so i gave up. and luckily, i didnt put on any weight when i stopped.
then this april i lost a baby. and i have been on the edge of depression* ever since. and eating far too much sugar. chocolate helps with everything. i have gained 4kg in the last 4-5 months. i need to lose it. and more. my husband should probably lose some weight too. my son... well if he lost any weight he'd look like a skeleton. lucky thing.
so tomorrow im starting the CSIRO diet again. as best i can. im not going to cook separate food for me than for my family, so if they occasionally eat something made for me, or i eat something a bit 'bad', thats just how its going to be. but i lost weight before, and i can do it again.
*i know the difference between 'down' and 'depressed'. i was on medication for about 4 years. and for a year or so after my son was born. this is not quite to the medication needing stage, and most of the time, now, i'm fine. but there are some very bad days. im not just 'sad'. if i didnt already have a gorgeous child to look after, and a husband who loves me so much, and a God who takes my pain... i dont even like to think where i'd be right now.
when i was a teenager, i was bony. ive seen pictures. i cant believe i was worried that i was fat back then. then again, i was training for ballet, and most of the others were practically skeletal, so maybe its not such a shock that i thought i was fat. by the time i was 13 my hips were already too big to fit into a dress my mother made for herself in her 30s. and my legs build up muscle like anything. its a little scary. but honestly, compared to the 25 year old me, 15 year old me was a stick.
the easiest way to lose weight is to simply not eat. i did this once, when i was about 19. i lost 5kg (about 11lb) in a week. ONE WEEK. i could be down to my ideal weight in about a month. how great would that be?
but i wont.
when this happened to me before, it was because i was sick. i now think i might have had viral tonsillitis. (why do i think it was viral tonsillitis? well for one, the pain. for two, antibiotics didnt do a single thing. for three, when i was about 2 or 3, i had viral tonsillitis. i had a fever of 105 fahrenheit, and my parents put me in a bathtub full of ice to get the temperature down, because i was vomiting constantly, and 'cold' water from the tap where we lived was warm. i didnt have my tonsils out.) all i knew then was that my throat hurt. a lot. all the time. to the point that during that week all i ate was about 4 serves of macaroni and cheese. all week. and i drank maybe 2 litres of apple juice. all week. because everything hurt. if saliva built up in my mouth, i couldnt swallow it. i had to find a sink and spit it out. i was in constant pain. but i lost 5kg.
last year i started the CSIRO total wellbeing diet, because, quite frankly, i was fat. i had always been slim, until i moved to america. i stopped doing ballet 11+ hours a week at age 16, and i put on a bit of weight then, but it wasnt until i moved to america and started eating junk all the time that i got fat. then i got pregnant, and despite the fact that i could hardly eat anything (the only things that didnt make me want to throw up were chicken nuggets from mcdonalds, cheerios, and turkey/olive/swisscheese sandwiches on white bread. i forced myself to eat other foods, because that would have been a horribly unhealthy diet for myself and the baby, but i didnt eat an awful lot of anything), i gained SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much weight. i dont even know how much it was, but i lost 11kg during the week after my son was born. and he weighed less than 4kg. i think most of that extra weight was retained water, but i still had a lot of extra weight hanging around.
then last year, after coming back from a holiday in the states, i decided to do something about it. my sister was on the CSIRO diet, so i decided to give it a go. lost 15kg (about 33lb) in 3 months. and then it stopped. no matter what i did, i could not lose more weight. i ate less, i ate more, i exercised more, nothing worked. so i gave up. and luckily, i didnt put on any weight when i stopped.
then this april i lost a baby. and i have been on the edge of depression* ever since. and eating far too much sugar. chocolate helps with everything. i have gained 4kg in the last 4-5 months. i need to lose it. and more. my husband should probably lose some weight too. my son... well if he lost any weight he'd look like a skeleton. lucky thing.
so tomorrow im starting the CSIRO diet again. as best i can. im not going to cook separate food for me than for my family, so if they occasionally eat something made for me, or i eat something a bit 'bad', thats just how its going to be. but i lost weight before, and i can do it again.
*i know the difference between 'down' and 'depressed'. i was on medication for about 4 years. and for a year or so after my son was born. this is not quite to the medication needing stage, and most of the time, now, i'm fine. but there are some very bad days. im not just 'sad'. if i didnt already have a gorgeous child to look after, and a husband who loves me so much, and a God who takes my pain... i dont even like to think where i'd be right now.
Saturday, 8 September 2007
delicious roast dinner
tonight, we had a roast dinner for the first time in ages. like, really. ages. 2+ months. so i decided to go all out and make yorkshire pudding as well. and then hubby said what a pity you dont know how to make gravy, so i decided to give gravy a try too. REAL gravy. as in add flour to the meat-cooking-fat and heat it on the stove kind of gravy. none of this JUST ADD WATER! powdered nonsense in MY house thankyou. (no offense to anyone who DOES use that stuff. im sure its a whole lot easier than making gravy from scratch. but i'm a little obsessive about making things from scratch, and try not to use pre-made ingredients whenever i can - unless theyre TRULY BREATHTAKINGLY DELICIOUS, like the tomato-rosemary roasts from coles - which is why we have tins and tins of tomatoes in the cupboard, and go through mixed herbs like anything, instead of just buying pasta sauce. anyway, back to cooking.)
if anything sounds good, theres instructions at the very end.
we only had a plain roast, since the pre-flavoured ones in woolies taste like... not nice, and we havent been to coles for months, so i sliced up 2 cloves of garlic and shoved the pieces into slits in the roast, then covered it in mixed herbs (usually i use rosemary, but no-one told me we were out of rosemary.. just shows how long its been since weve had a roast), doused it in a little olive oil and popped it in the oven, at about 4pm. then quartered (aprox. some were 6thed, some where 3rded, depending on the size and shape of the potato) 5 large potatoes, boiled them for 7 min, and tossed them in the pan with the meat.
i dug out fanny farmer, looked up yorkshire pudding, and gravy, decided i could probably do that. hopefully. if the no-egg actually works this time. last time my mum made yorkshire, we used the no-egg, and the silly things wouldnt cook. just wouldnt do it. so hubby suggested i make some with no-egg, and some WITH egg, just in case. good idea that man! so i will make 2 half-batches. the eggless will go in a square pan, the egged in the muffin tray, so i can easily differentiate. dont want kidlet eating the egg ones. he wont explode, thankfully, but the rashes are still not nice.
so about 5:30, i pulled the roast out, spooned some of the now-meat-flavoured-oil from the pan into the dish i was going to use for the pudding, and put them both back in the oven. the oil has to stay nice and hot for the pudding to go in. mix the no-egg (one tsp no-egg, 2 tbsp water), 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup flour, pinch salt, and beat with a fork till smooth. add a little more milk cause its CHUNKY and GLUGGY. and then take the square pan out of the oven, burning my wrist in the process, and pour in the yorkshire glug. for some reason, the oil decided to.... roll up over the batter. interesting. back in the oven for 25 minutes!
string the beans! fun job. it was far too quiet in the kitchen, since one boy was asleep, and the other was de-nailing the freshly de-carpeted floor, so i put on my princess bride soundtrack. it is so strange to think that the same guy who composed that - mark knopfler - is also behind dire straits. so very very different. anyway, time to get the pudding out, and silly me forgot that the oven has to be at 230 for the pudding, and only 180 for the roast (both celsius), so it stayed in there for a while longer. but i did take out the roast, and transferred the meat and the potatoes onto a plate, which i then covered in foil and set aside. spooned more of the oil into the muffin tray, made up another batch of pudding batter with 1 egg instead of the no-egg, and popped that into the oven, which i turned up. it was about 6pm by now.
put the beans on the boil, put the roasting pan on a hot plate, and added 2 tbsp of flour, and a little more oil. boy does that flour SIZZLE in the hot oil! i probably should have waited a while before making the gravy, cause that flour was sizzling away, and i still had 5 minutes to wait before the beans were done and i could put the water in the pan for the gravy! so i quickly found a ladle and stole a little bean water for the gravy, and also turned down the heat. that helped. a bit. take the eggless pudding out of the oven, and although it hasnt risen up all bubbly like it should, its cooked, and good. YAY!
i ended up turning the beans off after 3.5min instead of 5 (good move - they were perfect) and strained them, catching the water in the small mixing bowl. i added it, slowly, to the gravy pan, continuing to stir it, trying to break up the large chunks of flour that had congealed in the hot oil. add a little salt, four twists of pepper, and a dash of red wine. and keep stirring. at some point it turned into a nice liquid, instead of water with chunks of oiled flour in it. but quite thin. so i gave it a good stirring to make sure it was all mixed together and then ignored it in the hopes some water would evaporate and it would thicken up.
i checked on my egged puddings. rising nicely. much better than the no-egg one. maybe i should try no-egg puddings with self raising flour instead of plain? it still tastes good, but it definitely doesnt have the same effect when its all flat. the gravy was starting to bubble a bit, so went to check on hubby's progress in the room, and asked him to come taste the gravy (i dont eat gravy, so i dont know what it should taste like). which he did. and said it was very yummy. yay! at this point my wrist started really hurting so i went and got some aloe vera gel for it.
when i got back, the gravy appeared to be done, and the puddings were quite browned, so i turned everything off, poured the gravy into a jug (with hubby's help. i have bad wrists), and took the yorkshire out of the oven. hubby carved the meat, the kidlet started begging, and then we all sat down and ate. the kid ate nearly everything he was given (which is good since hes been a bit off his food the past couple days), nad actually seemed to enjoy the yorkshire. hubby used 2/3 of the gravy BY HIMSELF, so i guess it was a success. he also went back for 2nds of the potatoes and seemed to enjoy the yorkshires. YAY. i myself ate too much.. particularly the yorkshire. it doesnt keep, so anything left just gets thrown away.. so i ate most of it. naughty. i'll have to make less next time. i tried the gravy too. the idea still makes me nauseous, but it really did taste good. ill have to try and get over the idea thing.
instructions if anyone is interested:
roast beef
cooking time: about 20-30min per 500g, at 180C, depending how well done you like it
beef
if you have a plain roast, cut numerous slits about 1inch deep, and put a slice of garlic in each slit. sprinkle generously with rosemary (other herbs will work nicely too).
pour on enough oil to coat the meat, and nearly cover the bottom of the pan. put it in the oven while you boil the potatoes. you want the oil to be hot so the potatoes dont soak too much of it up, but start cooking straight off.
when the roast is nearly done, remove it and the potatoes to a plate, and cover with foil. let rest at least 15min before carving. nearly done, because it will continue to cook for a little while under the foil
potatoes
about one med-large potato per person. more if the potatoes are smaller, or if you want leftovers.
boil about 7 mins. when done, use a strain-spoon to transfer the potatoes to the roasting pan. keep the water in the pot to boil vegetables later.
either turn the potatoes over once, or baste them, then put the pan back in the oven.
sweet potatoes
no boiling! just cut into chunks and put straight in the roasting pan with the meat. if there isnt enough room, spoon some of the meated-oil into a second pan so the sweet potatoes get some flavour, add some garlic if you wish, ad add enough fresh oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. make sure the sweet potatoes are coated in the oil or they will dry out.
if your oil isnt meated yet, dont worry, just use fresh oil, and add some of the meat juice later.
vegetables
cooking time: 3-10 minutes
really, whatever you want is good. i prefer green beans (the long one) or broccoli. if you are making gravy, strain into a bowl instead of straight down the sink. the water will be used in the gravy.
green beans
rinse. string (cut off the ends, cut lengthways discarding the outer edge. much much easier if you have a bean stringer), or chop into 2inch lengths. boil in the water you saved from your potatoes earlier, about 3.5 minutes. strain, serve. best with a very little salt.
broccoli
RINSE WELL. make sure any little bug are out. sometimes they hide. or maybe youre not that fussy. either way. cut into florets. should be fairly obvious where is good place to cut. when you get down to the middle, just cut it into chunks about the same size as the florets. if you like the stalk (my son will eat the stalk to the exclusion of anything else, including chocolate), cut off the very bottom - about 1/4 inch - and 'peel' it: cut off only the very outside, as little as you can manage. cut in half lengthways and crossways. boil in the water you saved from your potatoes earlier, about 3-6 minutes, depending on how well done you like it. 3 minutes is still quite crisp, 6 minutes it will fall apart a good bit when you strain it. strain, serve.
yorkshire pudding
cooking time: 25-30min at 230C
when your roast is out of the oven, take enough oil from the pan to just cover the bottom of a 9x9 or 7x11 pan, and put it in the oven - turned up to 230 - to keep hot.
beat together 2 eggs, 1cup flour, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 - 1 tsp salt (to taste) until smooth. you may find you need to add more milk. i seem to.
pour the batter into the pan and bake. when it is done it will be lightly browned, and should have large puffs. also, it will probably have separated from the edges of the pan.
DONT PANIC if the edges or bottom are quite dark. it is probably not burned, just very flavoured.
cut into equal portions per person. good alone, or covered in gravy.
gravy
cooking time: 20minutes?
put your roasting pan on the stove top, over a low-med heat, to heat up the oil from the roast, and with a metal spoon, try to scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.
add 2tbsp plain flour. IT WILL SIZZLE LIKE MAD. DO NOT PANIC. stir it up as best you can, spreading the flour through as much oil as possible. keep stirring and spreading. add a little more oil if theres not much there, or a little (1tbsp - 1/4cup) water if your just not sure. add seasonings to taste. salt, pepper, red wine, extra herbs, go wild with it.
after about 5-10 minutes, or you begin panicking, SLOWLY add your vegetable water, about a ladleful at a time, and KEEP MIXING. the flour will begin to dissolve, and everything will come together. add water to about 1/2 inch deep. KEEP MIXING. stir back and forth, slowly, spreading out the flour, and scraping up anything on the bottom of the pan. if its ever too thick, add a little more water. if it gets too thin, leave it to simmer for a minute or two - but only if it is well mixed together. DO NOT LEAVE IT if its still very separated.
when its done (subjective. you might like it runnier than my husband, or perhaps thicker), CAREFULLY pour into a gravy boat or pitcher of some sort, turn off the stove, and put the pan back on the hotplate with some water in it - this will make cleaning it later SO MUCH easier, but be careful carrying it. you dont want to clean up a roasting pan's worth of water from your floor.
if anything sounds good, theres instructions at the very end.
we only had a plain roast, since the pre-flavoured ones in woolies taste like... not nice, and we havent been to coles for months, so i sliced up 2 cloves of garlic and shoved the pieces into slits in the roast, then covered it in mixed herbs (usually i use rosemary, but no-one told me we were out of rosemary.. just shows how long its been since weve had a roast), doused it in a little olive oil and popped it in the oven, at about 4pm. then quartered (aprox. some were 6thed, some where 3rded, depending on the size and shape of the potato) 5 large potatoes, boiled them for 7 min, and tossed them in the pan with the meat.
i dug out fanny farmer, looked up yorkshire pudding, and gravy, decided i could probably do that. hopefully. if the no-egg actually works this time. last time my mum made yorkshire, we used the no-egg, and the silly things wouldnt cook. just wouldnt do it. so hubby suggested i make some with no-egg, and some WITH egg, just in case. good idea that man! so i will make 2 half-batches. the eggless will go in a square pan, the egged in the muffin tray, so i can easily differentiate. dont want kidlet eating the egg ones. he wont explode, thankfully, but the rashes are still not nice.
so about 5:30, i pulled the roast out, spooned some of the now-meat-flavoured-oil from the pan into the dish i was going to use for the pudding, and put them both back in the oven. the oil has to stay nice and hot for the pudding to go in. mix the no-egg (one tsp no-egg, 2 tbsp water), 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup flour, pinch salt, and beat with a fork till smooth. add a little more milk cause its CHUNKY and GLUGGY. and then take the square pan out of the oven, burning my wrist in the process, and pour in the yorkshire glug. for some reason, the oil decided to.... roll up over the batter. interesting. back in the oven for 25 minutes!
string the beans! fun job. it was far too quiet in the kitchen, since one boy was asleep, and the other was de-nailing the freshly de-carpeted floor, so i put on my princess bride soundtrack. it is so strange to think that the same guy who composed that - mark knopfler - is also behind dire straits. so very very different. anyway, time to get the pudding out, and silly me forgot that the oven has to be at 230 for the pudding, and only 180 for the roast (both celsius), so it stayed in there for a while longer. but i did take out the roast, and transferred the meat and the potatoes onto a plate, which i then covered in foil and set aside. spooned more of the oil into the muffin tray, made up another batch of pudding batter with 1 egg instead of the no-egg, and popped that into the oven, which i turned up. it was about 6pm by now.
put the beans on the boil, put the roasting pan on a hot plate, and added 2 tbsp of flour, and a little more oil. boy does that flour SIZZLE in the hot oil! i probably should have waited a while before making the gravy, cause that flour was sizzling away, and i still had 5 minutes to wait before the beans were done and i could put the water in the pan for the gravy! so i quickly found a ladle and stole a little bean water for the gravy, and also turned down the heat. that helped. a bit. take the eggless pudding out of the oven, and although it hasnt risen up all bubbly like it should, its cooked, and good. YAY!
i ended up turning the beans off after 3.5min instead of 5 (good move - they were perfect) and strained them, catching the water in the small mixing bowl. i added it, slowly, to the gravy pan, continuing to stir it, trying to break up the large chunks of flour that had congealed in the hot oil. add a little salt, four twists of pepper, and a dash of red wine. and keep stirring. at some point it turned into a nice liquid, instead of water with chunks of oiled flour in it. but quite thin. so i gave it a good stirring to make sure it was all mixed together and then ignored it in the hopes some water would evaporate and it would thicken up.
i checked on my egged puddings. rising nicely. much better than the no-egg one. maybe i should try no-egg puddings with self raising flour instead of plain? it still tastes good, but it definitely doesnt have the same effect when its all flat. the gravy was starting to bubble a bit, so went to check on hubby's progress in the room, and asked him to come taste the gravy (i dont eat gravy, so i dont know what it should taste like). which he did. and said it was very yummy. yay! at this point my wrist started really hurting so i went and got some aloe vera gel for it.
when i got back, the gravy appeared to be done, and the puddings were quite browned, so i turned everything off, poured the gravy into a jug (with hubby's help. i have bad wrists), and took the yorkshire out of the oven. hubby carved the meat, the kidlet started begging, and then we all sat down and ate. the kid ate nearly everything he was given (which is good since hes been a bit off his food the past couple days), nad actually seemed to enjoy the yorkshire. hubby used 2/3 of the gravy BY HIMSELF, so i guess it was a success. he also went back for 2nds of the potatoes and seemed to enjoy the yorkshires. YAY. i myself ate too much.. particularly the yorkshire. it doesnt keep, so anything left just gets thrown away.. so i ate most of it. naughty. i'll have to make less next time. i tried the gravy too. the idea still makes me nauseous, but it really did taste good. ill have to try and get over the idea thing.
instructions if anyone is interested:
roast beef
cooking time: about 20-30min per 500g, at 180C, depending how well done you like it
beef
if you have a plain roast, cut numerous slits about 1inch deep, and put a slice of garlic in each slit. sprinkle generously with rosemary (other herbs will work nicely too).
pour on enough oil to coat the meat, and nearly cover the bottom of the pan. put it in the oven while you boil the potatoes. you want the oil to be hot so the potatoes dont soak too much of it up, but start cooking straight off.
when the roast is nearly done, remove it and the potatoes to a plate, and cover with foil. let rest at least 15min before carving. nearly done, because it will continue to cook for a little while under the foil
potatoes
about one med-large potato per person. more if the potatoes are smaller, or if you want leftovers.
bring to the boil enough water to just cover the potatoes.
peel the potatoes, and cut into aprox. 1.5 inch chunks. usually the potatoes can just be quartered.boil about 7 mins. when done, use a strain-spoon to transfer the potatoes to the roasting pan. keep the water in the pot to boil vegetables later.
either turn the potatoes over once, or baste them, then put the pan back in the oven.
sweet potatoes
no boiling! just cut into chunks and put straight in the roasting pan with the meat. if there isnt enough room, spoon some of the meated-oil into a second pan so the sweet potatoes get some flavour, add some garlic if you wish, ad add enough fresh oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. make sure the sweet potatoes are coated in the oil or they will dry out.
if your oil isnt meated yet, dont worry, just use fresh oil, and add some of the meat juice later.
vegetables
cooking time: 3-10 minutes
really, whatever you want is good. i prefer green beans (the long one) or broccoli. if you are making gravy, strain into a bowl instead of straight down the sink. the water will be used in the gravy.
green beans
rinse. string (cut off the ends, cut lengthways discarding the outer edge. much much easier if you have a bean stringer), or chop into 2inch lengths. boil in the water you saved from your potatoes earlier, about 3.5 minutes. strain, serve. best with a very little salt.
broccoli
RINSE WELL. make sure any little bug are out. sometimes they hide. or maybe youre not that fussy. either way. cut into florets. should be fairly obvious where is good place to cut. when you get down to the middle, just cut it into chunks about the same size as the florets. if you like the stalk (my son will eat the stalk to the exclusion of anything else, including chocolate), cut off the very bottom - about 1/4 inch - and 'peel' it: cut off only the very outside, as little as you can manage. cut in half lengthways and crossways. boil in the water you saved from your potatoes earlier, about 3-6 minutes, depending on how well done you like it. 3 minutes is still quite crisp, 6 minutes it will fall apart a good bit when you strain it. strain, serve.
yorkshire pudding
cooking time: 25-30min at 230C
when your roast is out of the oven, take enough oil from the pan to just cover the bottom of a 9x9 or 7x11 pan, and put it in the oven - turned up to 230 - to keep hot.
beat together 2 eggs, 1cup flour, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 - 1 tsp salt (to taste) until smooth. you may find you need to add more milk. i seem to.
pour the batter into the pan and bake. when it is done it will be lightly browned, and should have large puffs. also, it will probably have separated from the edges of the pan.
DONT PANIC if the edges or bottom are quite dark. it is probably not burned, just very flavoured.
cut into equal portions per person. good alone, or covered in gravy.
gravy
cooking time: 20minutes?
put your roasting pan on the stove top, over a low-med heat, to heat up the oil from the roast, and with a metal spoon, try to scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.
add 2tbsp plain flour. IT WILL SIZZLE LIKE MAD. DO NOT PANIC. stir it up as best you can, spreading the flour through as much oil as possible. keep stirring and spreading. add a little more oil if theres not much there, or a little (1tbsp - 1/4cup) water if your just not sure. add seasonings to taste. salt, pepper, red wine, extra herbs, go wild with it.
after about 5-10 minutes, or you begin panicking, SLOWLY add your vegetable water, about a ladleful at a time, and KEEP MIXING. the flour will begin to dissolve, and everything will come together. add water to about 1/2 inch deep. KEEP MIXING. stir back and forth, slowly, spreading out the flour, and scraping up anything on the bottom of the pan. if its ever too thick, add a little more water. if it gets too thin, leave it to simmer for a minute or two - but only if it is well mixed together. DO NOT LEAVE IT if its still very separated.
when its done (subjective. you might like it runnier than my husband, or perhaps thicker), CAREFULLY pour into a gravy boat or pitcher of some sort, turn off the stove, and put the pan back on the hotplate with some water in it - this will make cleaning it later SO MUCH easier, but be careful carrying it. you dont want to clean up a roasting pan's worth of water from your floor.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
blueberry muffins
when we went shopping yesterday, i noticed that there were punnets of blueberries in aldi. havent noticed them in there before.
"do you like blueberries love?"
"i like blueberry muffins, yes."
"well shall we get some blueberries and i can make you some muffins?"
i spent some time yesterday looking for recipes for lemonade, lemon sorbet, and blueberry muffins. fannie farmer has a recipe for lemon jelly, so that might come in handy.. found a lot of the same lemonade recipe online, and a lemon sorbet recipe thats basically frozen lemonade, so that should be good. blueberry muffins were a little harder. half the recipes looked odd, containing things like sour cream or unsweetened yoghurt, and the other half called for more blueberries than i had. i found a couple that looked ok, then i thought to look in fannie farmer. why didnt i look there to begin with? silly sarah.
the hardest thing to do was flouring the muffin tray. (i know from experience that greasing is not enough, and we dont have any patty-pans.) they cooked a little longer than the recipe suggested, because they just werent quite cooked. but they came out of the tray easily, and they smell fantastic. took one to hubby, who is painting the trim in the room now (hes so fantastic), and he said theyre delicious.
odd as it may sound, i have never eaten a blueberry before. im a very picky eater, and its not all to do with taste. some things i cant eat because of they way they feel. doesnt matter how good it tastes, if it feels weird in my mouth, i just cant eat it. (i love orange juice. cant eat oranges.) and blueberries look like they would feel very strange indeed. i was also suspicious of the taste. i cant stand strawberries, mangoes, raspberries, pears, pineapple, a lot of 'sweet' fruit actually. but hubby asked me to try it, so i cut a muffin in half, gave the remainder to the boy, and cautiously took a bite.
man, those things are JUICY! and not very evenly distributed in the batter. one half of the muffin was plain, the other half was 80%blueberry, with a little muffin around the edges. but they do in fact taste quite nice.
im slowly getting better about trying new foods. especially since i dont want my boy to be picky like me. he has enough trouble with things he CAN'T eat due to allergies, he doesnt need any more things he WON'T eat, just because. theres still a lot of stuff i wont eat, but im trying so hard to be good.
"do you like blueberries love?"
"i like blueberry muffins, yes."
"well shall we get some blueberries and i can make you some muffins?"
i spent some time yesterday looking for recipes for lemonade, lemon sorbet, and blueberry muffins. fannie farmer has a recipe for lemon jelly, so that might come in handy.. found a lot of the same lemonade recipe online, and a lemon sorbet recipe thats basically frozen lemonade, so that should be good. blueberry muffins were a little harder. half the recipes looked odd, containing things like sour cream or unsweetened yoghurt, and the other half called for more blueberries than i had. i found a couple that looked ok, then i thought to look in fannie farmer. why didnt i look there to begin with? silly sarah.
the hardest thing to do was flouring the muffin tray. (i know from experience that greasing is not enough, and we dont have any patty-pans.) they cooked a little longer than the recipe suggested, because they just werent quite cooked. but they came out of the tray easily, and they smell fantastic. took one to hubby, who is painting the trim in the room now (hes so fantastic), and he said theyre delicious.odd as it may sound, i have never eaten a blueberry before. im a very picky eater, and its not all to do with taste. some things i cant eat because of they way they feel. doesnt matter how good it tastes, if it feels weird in my mouth, i just cant eat it. (i love orange juice. cant eat oranges.) and blueberries look like they would feel very strange indeed. i was also suspicious of the taste. i cant stand strawberries, mangoes, raspberries, pears, pineapple, a lot of 'sweet' fruit actually. but hubby asked me to try it, so i cut a muffin in half, gave the remainder to the boy, and cautiously took a bite.
man, those things are JUICY! and not very evenly distributed in the batter. one half of the muffin was plain, the other half was 80%blueberry, with a little muffin around the edges. but they do in fact taste quite nice.
im slowly getting better about trying new foods. especially since i dont want my boy to be picky like me. he has enough trouble with things he CAN'T eat due to allergies, he doesnt need any more things he WON'T eat, just because. theres still a lot of stuff i wont eat, but im trying so hard to be good.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
cookies galore!
pia came over yesterday. we baked. we made choc chip cookies (note: next time, use more flour. maybe that way they wont flatten quite so much), and choc chip macaroons (note: this oven is actually as hot as it says it is. turn it down a little next time. too crunchy), and had BBQ chicken for lunch. it was a good day.
but now, with the applesauce raisin oatmeal cookies and cheese bread i made on tuesday, we have LOTS of baked stuff lying around. (anyone want some? either it will take some time to eat it all, or im going to get fat again.)
but this all got me thinking about the pantry. it is SO important to make sure the pantry is stocked properly. particularly for baking stuff. if im making dinner, and find i have no garlic, well.. ok.. lets use onions instead. no broccoli? ok, we'll have green beans instead. no red wine? use a little more spice! no tereyaki sauce? change tack, and make honey-soy instead. plan on making tacos, only to find we're out of tacos, and the mince is already cooking? chuck in a couple cans of crushed tomatoes, some italian herbs and some read wine, and boil some pasta. tada! dinner saved!
not so easy with baking.
this is what happened:
lets make cookies!! ok.. cream the butter and sugar, check. add flour. um. flour is full of weevils, because someone didnt put the lid on tight enough. um.. use wholemeal instead!!! yes! that works! baking powder... check. whats next.. vanilla. ok.. wheres the vanilla? red food dye.. blue food dye.. strawberry essence? browning? right.. no vanilla in these cookies then.. um.. maybe if i add some more sugar and some cocoa and they can be double chocolate? whats next.. choc chips! excellent.. that'll do. and into the oven.
they didnt turn out very well. wholemeal flour is good for bread, and pancakes, and even cakes. but not cookies. and guessing at how much cocoa to put in does not work when the recipe says "vanilla".
there are some things that work though. use ginger instead of cinnamon. use half honey (or golden syrup), half brown sugar instead of molasses. use lime, lemon and orange interchangably.
i make a point now of making sure i have more than enough of everything i could possibly want to bake with. and since flour and sugar only cost about 80c/kg, i can cook lots! hence why we have so many cookies. maybe i should take some to my dad today? oh wait.. they probably arent kosher. there goes that idea.
but now, with the applesauce raisin oatmeal cookies and cheese bread i made on tuesday, we have LOTS of baked stuff lying around. (anyone want some? either it will take some time to eat it all, or im going to get fat again.)
but this all got me thinking about the pantry. it is SO important to make sure the pantry is stocked properly. particularly for baking stuff. if im making dinner, and find i have no garlic, well.. ok.. lets use onions instead. no broccoli? ok, we'll have green beans instead. no red wine? use a little more spice! no tereyaki sauce? change tack, and make honey-soy instead. plan on making tacos, only to find we're out of tacos, and the mince is already cooking? chuck in a couple cans of crushed tomatoes, some italian herbs and some read wine, and boil some pasta. tada! dinner saved!
not so easy with baking.
this is what happened:
lets make cookies!! ok.. cream the butter and sugar, check. add flour. um. flour is full of weevils, because someone didnt put the lid on tight enough. um.. use wholemeal instead!!! yes! that works! baking powder... check. whats next.. vanilla. ok.. wheres the vanilla? red food dye.. blue food dye.. strawberry essence? browning? right.. no vanilla in these cookies then.. um.. maybe if i add some more sugar and some cocoa and they can be double chocolate? whats next.. choc chips! excellent.. that'll do. and into the oven.
they didnt turn out very well. wholemeal flour is good for bread, and pancakes, and even cakes. but not cookies. and guessing at how much cocoa to put in does not work when the recipe says "vanilla".
there are some things that work though. use ginger instead of cinnamon. use half honey (or golden syrup), half brown sugar instead of molasses. use lime, lemon and orange interchangably.
i make a point now of making sure i have more than enough of everything i could possibly want to bake with. and since flour and sugar only cost about 80c/kg, i can cook lots! hence why we have so many cookies. maybe i should take some to my dad today? oh wait.. they probably arent kosher. there goes that idea.
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