OK here's an easy one! Had a craving for it this week, so I made it. Sooooo much better, and cheaper than the one's you can buy, and you add what you like so I just think it's great.
Ingredients-
1 avocado
1 small red onion (gotta be red, white are a bit strong)
1 clove of garlic (or more if you like)
olive oil
salt and pepper
juice of a half to one lime-to taste.
2-3 cherry tomatoes
Method:
1. Cut the avocado in half and take out the seed (really easy if you just chop the knife into it and pull it quickly out). The scoop out the flesh.
2. Dice the onion into very small chunks and mash the garlic, and chop the tomatoes into small chunks.
3. Put the avocado into a bowl and mash it with a fork...OR... you could be lazy like me and put it in a food processor (with the tomatoes roughly chopped, onions and garlic if you like) and make it smooth, either way about half way through slowly add the oil until it's as smooth as you like, or don't add it at all! I like it as it makes it very smooth.
4. When it's as smooth or chunky as you like then stir in everything else, to taste!
There you go, very easy, and looovely!
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Friday 11 February 2011
Homemade Spring Rolls
So, I had a Chinese take away the other night, over did it a bit, was amazing, lovely greasy food. It's needed every now and again I think! Anyway I thought everything was nice (as nice as deep fried crap can be) except for the spring rolls, they were soggy, and bland, and too fat, and just awful. Then the next morning I saw AWT making them on the telly, and it looked very easy, and I figured if I made them myself I could put what I want in them, and they would be fresh, and hot, and lovely. Not to mention bloody easy :)
Also, at the start of the week I made chili for my lunch, but I'm still not exactly happy with my chili, but when I am, I will post the recipe!
Ooh, and for dinners I've been having pork chops, which I marinated at the start of the week in various things, I use one of them in the spring rolls!
So less chat more recipe!
Ingredients(makes about 8 spring rolls)-
spring roll sheets (from Chinese food shops)
fish sauce
soy sauce
1 pork chop (marinated or not, I did mine in onion, garlic, oil, chili and paprika)
1 tin of beansprouts
1 carrot
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Cut the pork chop into strips leaving a little fat at the end of each strip, or take it off if you like.
2. Cut the carrot into longish strips too, not too long though, as it will get hard to deal with.
3. Put the above and everything else into a bowl and mix well.
4. Put a small amount of the mixture (up to you how much) at the top of the sheet and roll up the spring roll, keeping it tight the whole time. Make sure to tuck in the sides as you go, from the start, and at the end use a little bit of water and flour to seal it. Look up Daily Cook's Challenge from one day last week I think, to see AWT doing it.
5. Put the rolls gently in some hot oil-I did mine by putting about an inch of oil in my frying pan. Make sure they don't touch each other for about 30 seconds, and try not to touch them for about 30 seconds, or they will burst open, and become very greasy. Also make sure the oil is hot enough so they don't become oily, and not too hot that they burn before the pork is fully cooked.
6. Put them on some kitchen paper and I ate mine with sweet chili sauce mmmmmmh!
The spring roll sheets need to be soaked in water for a few seconds before use, and rolling takes some practice. I had these 2 days in a row, and the first day they all fell apart bar one, and the oil was cold so they were greasy. But even with that one practice day, the second time they were much better, can't wait to make them again!!!
Also, at the start of the week I made chili for my lunch, but I'm still not exactly happy with my chili, but when I am, I will post the recipe!
Ooh, and for dinners I've been having pork chops, which I marinated at the start of the week in various things, I use one of them in the spring rolls!
So less chat more recipe!
Ingredients(makes about 8 spring rolls)-
spring roll sheets (from Chinese food shops)
fish sauce
soy sauce
1 pork chop (marinated or not, I did mine in onion, garlic, oil, chili and paprika)
1 tin of beansprouts
1 carrot
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Cut the pork chop into strips leaving a little fat at the end of each strip, or take it off if you like.
2. Cut the carrot into longish strips too, not too long though, as it will get hard to deal with.
3. Put the above and everything else into a bowl and mix well.
4. Put a small amount of the mixture (up to you how much) at the top of the sheet and roll up the spring roll, keeping it tight the whole time. Make sure to tuck in the sides as you go, from the start, and at the end use a little bit of water and flour to seal it. Look up Daily Cook's Challenge from one day last week I think, to see AWT doing it.
5. Put the rolls gently in some hot oil-I did mine by putting about an inch of oil in my frying pan. Make sure they don't touch each other for about 30 seconds, and try not to touch them for about 30 seconds, or they will burst open, and become very greasy. Also make sure the oil is hot enough so they don't become oily, and not too hot that they burn before the pork is fully cooked.
6. Put them on some kitchen paper and I ate mine with sweet chili sauce mmmmmmh!
The spring roll sheets need to be soaked in water for a few seconds before use, and rolling takes some practice. I had these 2 days in a row, and the first day they all fell apart bar one, and the oil was cold so they were greasy. But even with that one practice day, the second time they were much better, can't wait to make them again!!!
Sunday 6 February 2011
Roasted Garlic Soup
If you want to get rid of vampires, or an over amorous co-worker (here's looking at you Tim!!) this is the soup for you. Well I guess if, like me, you just LOVE garlic you could make it too. I really love this soup, I found a recipe for it about 5 years ago, and forgot about it until this week, but I will be making it more often now that I remember how much I love it.
This is a very very simple dish, and I would encourage anyone who likes garlic to make it. I froze some of it too, and had it the day after, and it was just as good, if not better. It's also not too high in fat or calories. Some of the recipes I found have double cream, butter and other delicious but very bold things.
So here we go- Roasted Garlic Soup (4 servings-ish)
Ingredients-
4 medium to large bulbs of garlic
a small onion
olive oil
whatever herbs you like dried or fresh (I used dried rosemary and thyme)
3-4 tbs of flour
1L of water, chicken or veg stock (it's a little nicer with the stock)
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Cut the bulbs of garlic in half and leave them for a few minutes.
2. Put about a half cm of olive oil in a small ish baking tray, and place the bulbs cut side down, put into a preheated oven at about 150°C for an hour or so.
3. Fry the onions in a pot big enough to contain the litre of liquid you will be putting in,
4. When they are done squeeze the cloves out of the bulbs, and put them in the pot with the fried onion.
5. Mop up the oil in the baking tray with the flour and put it into the pot too.
6. Mash the mixture with a potato masher until it becomes a smooth paste, with a medium heat still under the pot so the mixture keeps cooking a bit.
7. Put in the stock and herbs and simmer for about 20 minutes. I also blended it after that to mix up the skin that formed, and smooth it out a bit.
8. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
So there you go garlic soup-with some toasted cheesey bread!
Surprisingly filling too so it is, like seriously, I was stuffed, and that usually takes quite a bit.
More lovely recipes to come soon!
This is a very very simple dish, and I would encourage anyone who likes garlic to make it. I froze some of it too, and had it the day after, and it was just as good, if not better. It's also not too high in fat or calories. Some of the recipes I found have double cream, butter and other delicious but very bold things.
So here we go- Roasted Garlic Soup (4 servings-ish)
Ingredients-
4 medium to large bulbs of garlic
a small onion
olive oil
whatever herbs you like dried or fresh (I used dried rosemary and thyme)
3-4 tbs of flour
1L of water, chicken or veg stock (it's a little nicer with the stock)
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Cut the bulbs of garlic in half and leave them for a few minutes.
2. Put about a half cm of olive oil in a small ish baking tray, and place the bulbs cut side down, put into a preheated oven at about 150°C for an hour or so.
3. Fry the onions in a pot big enough to contain the litre of liquid you will be putting in,
4. When they are done squeeze the cloves out of the bulbs, and put them in the pot with the fried onion.
5. Mop up the oil in the baking tray with the flour and put it into the pot too.
6. Mash the mixture with a potato masher until it becomes a smooth paste, with a medium heat still under the pot so the mixture keeps cooking a bit.
7. Put in the stock and herbs and simmer for about 20 minutes. I also blended it after that to mix up the skin that formed, and smooth it out a bit.
8. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
So there you go garlic soup-with some toasted cheesey bread!
Surprisingly filling too so it is, like seriously, I was stuffed, and that usually takes quite a bit.
More lovely recipes to come soon!
Wednesday 2 February 2011
Poached eggs
Alright, so since my last post I haven't been doing any major cooking, well any worth speaking of anyway, I had my soup for a week, then I went to London for the weekend, and tonight I cooked jerk pork for my lunches for the week. So in short nothing new really.
However I have been doing a lot of poaching of eggs these days! My god I love a poached egg, but for years I had a lot of trouble doing this. I've tried 4 or 5 different methods of doing it, and I couldn't find one that had a high enough success rate-bearing in mind I don't poach eggs often enough to get really good at it!
Recently, however, I came across a great method from a certain couple of bikers, with beards! It's simple, doesn't take much practice, and works (for me) about 5 out of 6 times!
Ingredients-
1 egg
a dash of white vinegar
Method:
1. Boil a pot of water with the vinegar and put your whole egg into it gently for exactly 25 seconds if it's straight from the fridge or 20 seconds if it's at room temperature.
2. Take the egg out and let all of the water run off, it shouldn't be too hot, when you can touch it crack the egg and gently put it on a side plate so it stays together-ish.
3. Then make sure the water is boiling, give it a good swirl and slide the egg gently into it, then just cook to taste!
A few points on this one:
-if the egg cracks when it goes into the water I find it doesn't work, also if you don't let all the water and egg mix on the plate (so make sure ALL of the water runs off before cracking). Also it's less likely to crack if it starts at room temperature.
-if you are doing one after another, then if there is bits of white left in the water it will boil like crazy, so fish them out or change the water.
-you can use any vinegar, but if has colour in it the white will take on some if the colour
-be exact with the boiling time
So that's it, a poached egg. Look up the Hairy Bikers doing it, it's dead easy!
However I have been doing a lot of poaching of eggs these days! My god I love a poached egg, but for years I had a lot of trouble doing this. I've tried 4 or 5 different methods of doing it, and I couldn't find one that had a high enough success rate-bearing in mind I don't poach eggs often enough to get really good at it!
Recently, however, I came across a great method from a certain couple of bikers, with beards! It's simple, doesn't take much practice, and works (for me) about 5 out of 6 times!
Ingredients-
1 egg
a dash of white vinegar
Method:
1. Boil a pot of water with the vinegar and put your whole egg into it gently for exactly 25 seconds if it's straight from the fridge or 20 seconds if it's at room temperature.
2. Take the egg out and let all of the water run off, it shouldn't be too hot, when you can touch it crack the egg and gently put it on a side plate so it stays together-ish.
3. Then make sure the water is boiling, give it a good swirl and slide the egg gently into it, then just cook to taste!
A few points on this one:
-if the egg cracks when it goes into the water I find it doesn't work, also if you don't let all the water and egg mix on the plate (so make sure ALL of the water runs off before cracking). Also it's less likely to crack if it starts at room temperature.
-if you are doing one after another, then if there is bits of white left in the water it will boil like crazy, so fish them out or change the water.
-you can use any vinegar, but if has colour in it the white will take on some if the colour
-be exact with the boiling time
So that's it, a poached egg. Look up the Hairy Bikers doing it, it's dead easy!
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