The Dinner For Two Project

Planning a Come Back

2011-02-24T20:06:00.000Z

Hey there again gastronauts!

Things are gradually sorting themselves out here and the kitchen is gearing up for a come back. First thing I need to do is review my goals and objectives and make sure I am keeping on topic. And that I like my topic in the first place!

I love cooking, cooking for two, and food geekery. And I love easy entertaining. It is time for entertaining to make a come back dammit!

Anyways you might see a few re-worked posts for the next little while as I go through my content and get back into the swing.

As well as cooking I have been doing some cross stitching and this cheeky little chart is for sale in my Etsy Shop. Full colour PDF. I have been posting my designs on flickr for several years now but after one proved very popular at Christmas I thought I might make a little mad money by trying to sell a few as well.

One of the reasons I have not had much time for writing is because my situation at work ain't great. It has been three years since anyone has had a cost of living adjustment and there isn't going to be one this year. With inflation and gas going up every day I am starting to feel it. Especially at the end of the month. So a little extra to cover emergencies would be great.

I don't know if I am very good at this whole e-shop thing. I must admit I have not really thought it through. Like marketing and all that. But I figure that one has to start some where!

Anyways, even while I am not blogging myself I sure do love catching up with all you every day. So inspiring!

A Brief(ish) Hiatus

2011-02-02T19:54:00.000Z

Believe it or not the kitchen is not actually closed. In fact I have been rather frustrated at not being able to post here for a while.

QUITE awhile.

December was not the best month. I was involved in a car accident (no one was hurt!) which meant I was without transport and that lead to quite a lot of stress in a lot of departments. Especially dealing with the insurance and mechanics.

We had Christmas at SD's which was lovely. Turkey and all sorts. Dim Sum for New Year.

End of December something came up that I have been waiting for a decision on. Or more precisely something that would finally allow me to make some decisions about my future. I have had to throw myself into my day job which has meant I have not had much energy at the end of the day for writing or cooking. Or any of the other things I enjoy.

Unfortunately the result of the this thing that has happened will mean that I won't have much free time for these things for another little while but it is important to my future, my and SD's future. And that relationship is what inspired this blog. Things can't go on like they have. I am just spinning my wheels where I am right now. The recognition of skills and hard work is just never going to happen. It's time to move on. I either fear that or embrace that. I figure that since it is inevitable I might as well embrace it and be happy.

SD is down this weekend and he is even staying over on Sunday. We are having chicken on Friday. Going to try doing it sort of dry and spicy. Not sure what to have with it though. Any ideas?

Gees I miss this and all you gastronauts. Hope we can get together again soon!

Super Easy Roast Dinner for Two: One Dish, Four Hands, Five Minutes

2010-11-23T13:04:00.002Z

This super simple roast dinner for two is so super simple and easy that you might have to find something, ahem, else to do with all the free time you will have while it is cooking. Being just chicken and veg it uses just a few simple ingredients (what ever you have around really), only one dish, and about five minutes of preparation. But it gives you that satisfying roast dinner experience when you don’t have the time or energy for all the roast dinner paraphernalia.

The best thing about this dinner is that it isn’t just dinner FOR two but it is also dinner BY two. This blog isn’t just about me being in the kitchen cooking for my man. I love cooking for someone for sure, but if we have both been out adventuring all day one of us doesn’t expect the other person to do all the work. We work together and that makes the meal twice as nice and the preparation twice as fast. I tend to over see the whole putting together part and SD is very handy with peeling and prepping vegetables or anything else that needs chopping.

Ingredients

1 small whole chicken
3-4 small potatoes
2 carrots
5-6 mushrooms
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1 medium red onion
1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt
Your favourite seasonings

If you want to make gravy you will need:
1 tbsp corn starch
½ cup milk or water

Essential Equipment
Large roasting or casserole dish

Step 1: Pre-heat oven and prepare ingredients
Put your oven on to pre-heat to 375
Peel the potatoes, carrots, and onion and cut them into quarters. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
If you are making gravy dissolve the corn starch with the milk/water in a serving jug
Cut your chicken in half length ways. IE down the back and breast bone so that each half has a leg, breast, and wing
Get out the seasonings you would like to use and the olive oil etc

Step 2: Put it together
Put a glug of olive oil (1-2 tbsp) and a sprinkle of sea salt in your casserole dish and spread it around
Pile is some of the veg so your chicken halves have a little bed to lie on
Put the chicken halves on top of the veg (skin side up) and rub the chicken with olive oil and salt and any other seasonings you like.
Pile the rest of the veg around the chicken and season
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over everything and pile the now juiced lemon halves in with the rest
Chuck it in the oven to roast for about 60 minutes. The chicken should be nice and brown and the potatoes cooked through

Step 3: Serve it up
Take your casserole out of the oven

If you aren’t bothered with making gravy:
You can serve this straight from the baking dish at the table. Remove the lemon halves before serving.

If you are making gravy:
Pile every thing on a big platter and put back in the warm oven (except the lemon halves)
In the baking dish should be lots of lovely juices
Pour these juices into your jug with the corn starch mixture and stir well
Put the jug in the microwave and nuke for 3-4 minutes until it is hot and thickening up
Take your platter out of the oven and serve at the table with your gravy

Results
Once again I have no photo except for the photo of the clean casserole dish. I cannot adequately describe how satisfying the whole experience was. From the stupidly easy prep to the almost non-existent clean up. The casserole didn’t even have to soak. This dish will take two people less than ten minutes to prepare and wash up. And it is so delicious to have a roast chicken dinner in less than an hour.

SD loved this. He has never tried roasting a whole bird before and if you are new to it this would be a good way to get started. You will soon be confident with it.

Recommendations
This is a great recipe not only because it is so easy but also because it is frugal. I can use what ever veg I happen to have in the fridge and maybe use up a few bits and pieces that would not pass muster raw but will add great texture and flavour when roasted. So you don’t have to have all the veg I listed in the ingredients. And you can throw in what ever you fancy.

And not only can you use up stuff that might otherwise go to waste but this meal produced no waste. We. Ate. Everything. Granted we had just walked 15 miles and were starving but we opted for the smallest bird and that was just enough to feed two. Nothing left over. Not even gravy!

I seasoned the bird with sea salt, garlic salt, and a little paprika. The lemon also adds great flavour but you don’t need it if you don’t have one to hand. You can use what ever seasonings you prefer. I would try this again with maybe a Cajun rub.

Don’t be afraid to man handle your chicken. If you have a good big sharp knife you should have no trouble halving the bird but don’t be timid. Give it a good whack! Being careful of fingers and other extremities of course. It isn’t has hard as you might think nor does it require much muscle. Just a little confidence.

Extra Double Plus Better Reccomentation
This works if your oven has an automatic shut off:When you put your chicken into the preheated oven put the timer on for 50 minutes and then go to the pub. When the oven shuts off the chicken keeps cooking for another 10-15 minutes while the oven cools down. When you get back from the pub an hour and fifteen minutes later the chicken is still hot in the oven and is just fall off the bone tender.

Minced Turkey and Lettuce Wraps: A Quick, Easy, and Healthy Week Night Dinner for Two

2010-11-19T12:55:00.007Z

This recipe for minced turkey and lettuce wraps is the prefect quick, easy, and healthy week night dinner for two. Tthey are light and packed with protein and veg and are low in fat, sugar, and carbs. And they are also SUPER tasty with a delicious contrast of flavours, temperatures, and textures.

Do you have a favouritie quick, easy, and healthy after work meal? Please share with us!

When SD is down during the week (like last night) it is nice to sort of just live like a normal working couple. This means that after work I go to the gym and SD goes for a walk and has a pint at our local. Then we meet up at home for a quick, economical, and easy dinner. And these minced turkey and lettuce wraps tick every box. Both SD and I are watching our pre-holiday weight and even without anything starchy or fattening this recipe is warm and satisfying. It is quick to prepare because you just put everything in the food processor for 20 seconds and all the prep is done.

Best of all, it is fun because you have to eat with your hands!

Alas I don't have a picture. I am a free styler in the kitchen and I have sort of lost the will to live with food photography. Two reasons why this blog will never land me a book deal.

I love reading cook books but really only for inspiration. And I would like everyone who visits here to gain the confidence to do likewise rather than following a recipe to the letter. I have decided it is going to be very difficult to sell a recipe book that doesn't have any recipes in it. Just recommendations, ideas, and inspiration.

Would you buy a "cook book" like that? Let me know!

And as for taking photos! First and foremost this blog is about SD and me and what we enjoy eating and cooking. I make the food and serve it. I don't make the food to test it and take pictures and then cook it again when we are together. It would never turn out twice the same anyway! That just seems silly to me as well as expensive.

Anyways... On to the, ahem, recipe

Ingredients

1lb (500 grams) turkey mince
3 small (or one large) carrot
½ medium red onion
3 spring onions (if you have them but you can do with out I was just cleaning out my fridge really)
1 can water chestnuts
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in a cup of water
1 tbsp (or to taste) Chinese 5 spice (if you don't have any check out a good substitute under the Recommendations)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 slurp of hot sweet chilli sauce (optional)
Several glugs of dark soy sauce (to your taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

To cook you will need a little vegetable or groundnut oil
To serve you will need the whole leaves from ½ a head iceberg lettuce.

Essential Equipment for This Recipe
Food processer/chopper
Large fry pan or wok

First: Get All Your Ingredients Ready

Cut the veg into chunks your food processor can handle. You won’t need to cut up the garlic or water chestnuts.
Mix the water and corn starch.
Measure your spices and seasonings.
Have the chilli and soy sauce out of the cupboard and ready to go beside your stove.

Second: Start Cooking
Put your wok/fry pan on a high heat and wait for it to get very hot

While waiting for the pan to heat up put all the veg, the garlic, and the water chestnuts into the food processor and blitz until you get small chunks. You want a diced texture and not a puree. Literally about 10-20 seconds will do.

Your pan should now be very hot

Put a little oil in the pan

Put the turkey in the pan to start to brown giving it a good stir around

After about three minutes browning throw in all the veg and mix

Add all the seasonings and mix well again

Add the corn starch and water and (you guessed it) mix well

Cover and cook for another 3-5 minutes

Check your seasoning and adjust if necessary and check that the veg are cooked. They should still be slightly crunchy.

If the veg need a little more time cover and cook another few minutes.

When everything is cooked and seasoned to your taste take the pan off the heat and keep covered

Third: Serve It Up
Pile the iceberg lettuce leaves on a plate.
Serve the mince on the table straight from the wok.
People can help themselves to lettuce leaves and mince.
Just put a spoon or two of mince on a leaf and eat like a soft taco!.

Results
We both really enjoyed these. They were warm and tasty and satisfying. The soft warm mixture is a wonderful contrast to the crisp cold lettuce. They are also quick to make. Probably 15-20 minutes from fridge to plate.

I was really trying to get the flavour of the wraps we have had eating out. Didn’t quite capture but they were still good. There are a couple of additions I would make for next time: cashews and cilantro

Recommendations
You can use any kind of mince. Not just turkey! But I find that dark meat turkey mince is very economical and tasty. It makes a lovely gravy when combined with the corn starch and seasonings.

Don’t worry if you don’t have “Chinese 5 Spice”. A good substitute is equal quantities of (all ground) cinnamon, cloves, fennel, sea salt, and black pepper. The flavouring is up to you really. TexMex, live for soft tacos, woud be just as good.

You can also use any veg you have on hand. This is a great way to use up those one or two sort of sad looking crisper remnants.

Definitely try adding cashews or maybe even almonds. I had some almond slivers on hand but just totally forgot about them. And a handful of fresh chopped cilantro tossed in just before serving would give a bright crisp flavour to go with the lettuce.

Still Cooking!

2010-11-15T15:04:00.000Z

My fellow gastronauts! I have been out of action and the kitchen for over two weeks due to a very bad cold. Sounds a bit pathetic I know but seriously it is the worst one I have ever had! They had to give me techno drugs and everything. I have been totally non-functional.

On the mend now and planning my next kitchen campaign. I have a lot of commitments from now until the end of the year not least of which is getting healthy again. Being out of action for this long and not having my usual energy has meant I am behind in quite a few areas and need to spend the next month or so catching up and having a bit of a break.

If you don't get a post from me until next year don't be surprised but please stay tuned! The project is alive and well if only in my heart and mind for the time being. My health and family and work need to come first for the next little while. As much as I would like the project to have a higher priority there are more important things.

There will definitely be at least one holiday baking recipe before the end of the year but I cannot commit to more than that. Sigh!

If you would like to know what the project is up to and get some great recipe links and tips become a fan on facebook.I will be posting tidbits there more regularly. Bite sized chunks so to speak. Also you can subscribe to the feed so you will always be sure of getting the latest post.

Thank you all for your continued support, suggestions, and kind words. I miss being here and I hope to be back soon!

Easy Thai Sticky (Glutinous) Rice: In Which even-star Gets Steamed, MacGyvers Up

2010-11-02T16:47:00.000Z

I love Thai sticky rice but I used to think it was the exclusive purview of the Thai restaurant because it needed special equipment. How wrong I was! You can make Thai restaurant style sticky (glutinous) rice very easily at home with common kitchen utensils you are bound to have on hand. All you need for perfect sticky rice is a big pot with a lid, a sieve that can rest on the pot and be covered by the lid, and a stove.

Do you have a restaurant food that you would love to make at home? Have you tried? What was it and what were your results?

Sticky or Glutinous rice is an actual type of rice. You can't really substitute a regular long or short grain rice because, in spite of its name, glutinous does not actually have any gluten in it like other types of rice. It is steamed instead of boiled but you don't need to buy a bamboo steamer or rice cooker or even one of those crazy Thai rice steaming set ups with the pot and bamboo cone.

You can get sticky rice at an Asian grocery or super market or you can even order off the internet. I get my sticky rice from the Chinese cash-and-carry down the road from work. It is lovely with curries and also good with Chinese dishes that are very saucy because it is very easy to pick up with chopsticks.

When I first brought a bag of it home I was so excited that I could make one of my favourite foods at home but had no idea how to cook it. Initial searches for advice yielded ridiculous requirements like eight hours of soaking or the use of very specialist steaming equipment. However I stuck with it and came upon a great video tutorial. Why did I trust this tutorial more than all the other information I had found?

Do you have any favourite cooking tutorials or cooking tutorial sites? How did you find them and why were you searching?

Because it was done in a kitchen by a little Thai lady. She cooked it right there, with just regular equipment just about everyone has, and it came out perfect.

So to save you the trouble of hunting around for instructions like I did I will summarize an easy method for perfect Thai sticky rice every time.

How to Make Perfect Thai Sticky Rice

For two people you will need 1 1/2 to 2 cups glutinous rice. I go for 2 cups because I love it so much!

Soak the rice for at least 20 minutes in water. It turns out you can't really get away from the pre-soaking but you do not need to plan a day ahead as some people suggest. Eight hours? That is just silly. I like to soak mine for about an hour if possible. If you don't have that much time soak it in hot water.

Just bear in mind that the longer you soak it the less cooking time it will need.

Put your large pot on the stove and rest your sieve on top. Fill the pot with enough water to come about 6 inches from the bottom of the sieve. You don't want the water actually touching the rice.
Bring the water to a boil.

Drain the soaked rice and dump it in the sieve and cover with the pot lid.

Let it steam away for about ten minutes.

After ten minutes turn the rice over or give it a bit of a stir.

Let it steam with the lid on for another five minutes and check it.
If all the grains have gone translucent and it is all sticky then it is done.

Keep an eye on it so it doesn't cook too long. You want to turn the heat off as soon as you are sure all the grains are cooked.

Let is sit in the sieve over the hot water for another five minutes before serving or it will keep hot like this for a further hour or so.

Have you ever improvised when you didn't have a specialist piece of cooking equipment? What was it for and were you successful?

Here you can see my "steamer" set up. I have one of those long handle sieves that can rest on top of the pot with the basket part in the pot. I also use two lids sometimes. There is one that rests almost right on top of the rice and then the one that covers the whole lot. Be careful when steaming. Steam can burn you. Always use a pot holder or oven glove to remove the lids.

Results

When I served this up to SD, who had never had sticky rice until I took him to our local Thai place, concluded that it was waaaaay better than "that stuff we had at the restaurant". Most likely because it was fresh from the steamer.

Recommendations

Unlike other kinds of rice, sticky rice does not reheat all that well so it is better to make less than more. Plan on about 1/2 to 3/4 cup uncooked rice per person.

I did come across instructions for cooking sticky rice in the microwave. I wasn't convinced but I might give it a go when I am just making it for myself. I don't like to experiment when I have company. Because it can go very badly wrong. And then you have to call the pizza guy which means awkward questions because you're on first name basis... Trust me. You don't want to go there.

You can eat sticky rice with your fingers! Just serve a heap on a plate and let people roll balls to dip in sauces.

Sticky rice can also be used in desserts. I might try this out as many of the recipes call for coconut. One of my favourite flavours!

The Chef is Calling in Sick

2010-11-01T19:56:00.000Z

This unspeakable plague that has been doing the rounds finally decided to stop by and punch me in the face. Thanks unspeakable plague!

So no Sunday Best and probably no recipe neither which is a shame because I made this totally awesome fish curry for Friday night complete with real Thai sticky rice.

My dear gastronauts it is TRAGIC that I cannot share this with you right now! I will definitely be posting up a method for No Fail sticky rice. It is soooooo easy. You do not need that crazy pot bamboo steamer thing. I know this because a little Thai lady on the internet showed me!

Fish curry was actually going to be fish in white whine sauce with sauted potatoes on Wednesday night because SD was down for a meeting. I had everything ready to go at home in the fridge.

Unfortunately the after work traffic on Wednesday meant I didn't get home, or sane, until quite late. I had no energy to put on an elegant fish dinner. But I had to do something with the fish! It would not keep uncooked until Friday. And it was this new Vietnamese cat fish fish called Basa. And it was delicious.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out because I cook my curries for a long time which can turn some fish, like cod, into a very un-tasty mush. But the Basa? Mmmmm Mmmmm. Perfect!

There seems to be a lot of scare mongering out there about this fish. How it comes from Asia and is full of poisons but I found a few more reputable sources of information and they indicated that it was just that. Scare mongering. It is a lovely firm white fish. Better than cod. More like talapia or even monk fish.

Anyways this is turning into a post now so I am going to stop and take some symptom suppressors and slather myself with vicks and tie a red sock around my neck and go back to bed.

Stayed tuned gastronauts. SD is down again this weekend so there will more dinners for two shortly. Even if SD has to cook them and bring them to me in my sick bed!

Mise En Place for Everything and Everthing Mise En Place

2010-10-25T21:49:00.002+01:00

You may have noticed that I often recommend the use of mise en place in my recipes but I have never really gone into much detail about what mise en place is. Lacking a recipe today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on mise en place, what it is, and how best to practice it, and most important of all, why do it.

You have probably watched a cooking show on TV. Ever notice how most chefs never measure or rummage around for ingredients while they are cooking? Everything is all ready and measured out and they just add it as they go through the recipe. This is partly due to the fact that going through all the motions would make rather dull watching but it is also due to the fact that any professional chef worth his, uh, salt, uses mise en place.

Who is your favourite chef? Doesn't have to be a "celebrity". My favourite chef is my dad!

Simply put mise en place is a method of cooking that involves the chef (or her underlings should she be so lucky) getting out, measuring, and preparing all the ingredients for a recipe before they start cooking.

It is, even more simply, the best way to make your cooking painless, seamless, efficient, and fun.

When people tell me what disasters they are in the kitchen and how recipes never work and things are late and confused I often ask them if they use mise en place. And then I often get blank looks.

Are you a disaster in the kitchen? Or are you an iron chef?

Very simple example:

A recipe calls for a cup of chopped onion, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and two chicken breasts. In the method it says to brown the chicken and then add the onion and garlic salt.

The person above will literally do just that. They will start the chicken cooking and only then start chopping the onions before trying to find the garlic salt and then it turns out they don’t have any.

The result is the chicken gets over cooked, the onions are under cooked, and the whole thing is poorly seasoned because they didn’t have any garlic salt, didn’t know they didn’t have it, and therefore did not have a contingency plan.

It would have made things so much easier and fun if they had made sure they had all the ingredients on hand (and made suitable substitutes if not), prepared any ingredients that needed chopping or what ever, and measured everything out BEFORE they ever got out a frying pan.

I know this appears to be self evident but really 90% of the effort in putting on a wonderful, elegant, and easy entertaining meal, is good preparation. If you prepare well then you will eat well. And hopefully enjoy yourself into the bargain!

This is where mise en place helps soooooo much.

If you are new to the concept I am hoping that some of the tips below will get you up and running with this eminently respected standard and incredibly useful methodology.

Have you developed a personal methodology that helps you in your gastronautic adventures? What is it? And how did you come up with it?

Methodology
Mise en place is an example of a methodology. A recognised and documented way of doing something.

Usually a methodology has been developed in order to make a process or task more efficient and successful. And this is what mise en place does. It makes following and cooking a recipe easier, faster, and will give consistently good results in most cases.

Sometimes, even with all the best intentions and preparation in the world, it can still go quite wrong. I have found that in my case things go wrong because I am distracted (phone rings or whatever) or I am shorter on time than I would like to be and then rush things. Lack of concentration.

However, where I have practiced mise en place these distractions and stresses cause fewer problems because:

A) I don’t have to worry if I have all the ingredients
B) I don’t have to faff about getting measurements right
C)I have reviewed the recipe enough times that I don’t have to keep breaking off what I am doing to refer to it.

Be familiar with the recipe
Before you get anything out of the cupboard or reach for a grater, read the recipe. Read it all the way through. SEVERAL TIMES.

Take stock
Go through the list of ingredients. Do you have everything on hand? If not can you leave it out or substitute? Do you have the substitute on hand?

Get all your ingredients out on your counter. Bags of flour, cloves of garlic, jars of spices. Get it all out there so you can actually see what you have before you start to do anything with it.

Decide what you can prepare ahead of time
This includes anything that needs to be chopped, diced, sliced, browned, pre-cooked, or in any other way prepared before it can be used in the recipe.

If your tomatoes need to be blanched and peeled before you add them to a roux don’t make the roux and then try to prepare the tomatoes while keeping your roux from burning. What you decide to prepare ahead of time is not often made obvious in the recipe until you read through the method. Sometimes you can multi task. For example if you are making a cheese cake you can make your crumb crust and while it is baking you can get the rest of the recipe together instead of organising the crust and filling all at the same time.

Measure and weigh
As well as preparing ingredients ahead of time measure and weigh all the components of your recipe and have them all ready to add in when you need them.

If you are making a sponge cake it is better to have the flour weighed before you start creaming the butter and eggs so that when the time comes to add it you don’t have to keep starting and stopping your mixer. I find it very beneficial for baking because if I measure while I am mixing or doing something else I am apt to forget how much I have put in or I might even forget to add something! If you have your sugar measured and ready to go in a bowl it is right there on the counter where you can’t miss it.

Put it in order
When you prep or measure something put it into its own dish or bowl. And then go through the recipe and see in what order the ingredients will be added and cooked.

Line up all your little dishes in this order and group things that will be going in together. When I measure spices I don’t put each spice in a separate but rather just put them all in one bowl because they are going to be added all at once. Sometimes though ingredients need to be added at different times because some things cook faster than others or putting some ingredients together will create a chemical reaction that you don’t want to happen until just before you bake. This is why it is important to get the order right.

Read the recipe (AGAIN)
Now if you are like me and you like to have things made up as much ahead of time as possible there might be a gap between some or all of your prep and your actual execution of the recipe. But even if there isn’t a gap it is a good idea to go through your recipe one last time, look at all your ingredients set out on the counter, and make double sure you have not forgotten anything and that the amounts look right and they are in the right order.

This is the cooking equivalent of Measure Twice Cut Once. It also helps just to go through the method one last time.

Execute the plan
By this time you may be familiar enough with the recipe that you will not need to refer to it much. And that makes cooking much easier as well. Go through the method and just add your perfectly prepared and measured ingredients when called for.

I wanted to have focaccia fresh out of the oven one evening for SD. That meant having absolutely everything ready to go the minute I got home from work. All I had to do then was follow the method for the recipe. It made it so easy!

Implementation
At its simplest level mise en place can be put into practice for a single recipe. But where it REALLY shines is for entire multi-course multi-dish meals.

Planning and preparation are critical and you can pull off something amazing with minimal effort. For a whole menu you can have your ingredients prepped and ready to go not just in order for one recipe but interlinked to make the execution of the entire meal as efficient and integrated as possible.

Implementing mise en place at that level takes a lot of planning and practice. To see where the cooking and preparation of dishes over lap and coincide in order to have everything come out right at the right time is something it can take a life time to master. I am certainly still working on it.

But practice makes perfect and lots of practice means lots of easy, sexy, delicious, and fun dinners for two!

Have you ever used mise en place? Share your successes and tips with us!

Easy As Pie: Sweet, Simple, and Decadent Apple Dessert

2010-10-18T20:38:00.000+01:00

This sweet simple apple pudding, which can be made lovely and rich with a dash of cream, combines two of my favourite flavours: apple and almond. It is a baked dessert that is a snap to make ahead and pop in the oven while you are having your main course. Then you can serve it up lovely and warm when you are ready. Perfect for easy entertaining!

Do you have a favourite flavour? What is it and what recipes do you incorporate it in? Is is sweet or savoury? Or both?!

One of challenges of cooking for two that I enjoy meeting is making do with what I have on hand. That is why I like this dessert. I always have the ingredients on hand. So even if I didn't plan for dessert, or am just plain stumped for dessert inspiration, I can whip this baby up in minutes and I know people will love it.

What are some of the challanges you meet with your cooking? What do you always have on hand and what amazing things can you do with it?

Like the mushroom appetizer this pie-less apple pie needs no formal sort of recipe.

To serve 2 people you will need one apple, some marzipan (almond paste) and brown sugar, and some whipping or heavy cream. You can even forgo the cream and marzipan if you don't have any on hand. If you have good quality apples they don't need a lot of dressing up.

Slice the apple and arrange the pieces in a shallow baking dish. If you are making this ahead toss the slices in a little lemon juice so they don't discolour. Dot with the marzipan. I like marzipan so I use maybe two or three tablespoons but it is up to you. Sprinkle with brown sugar to your taste. Pour over maybe three or four tablespoons of cream. Not enough to cover the slices.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 350-375.

I like to do this dessert if I am baking something for the main course. I take the main course out, put the timer back to 20 minutes and just pop this in. The oven turns off after 20 minutes but keeps warm so it is ok if it stays in there longer.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream or even a thick almond custard.

This is what we had to finish off our Thanks Giving dinner. It was lucious and festive, rich and seasonal. Easy, sexy, delicious, and fun!

Unfortuately I don't have a picture that does it justice. I get frustrated with my food photography efforts. For something that tastes so yummy I have to admit that I just could not get it to look pretty. Romantic candle light does not always make for good photos!

Sunday Best: Starters for Ten (or Forty)

2010-10-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

There are so many great comments on the project that I compile the week's best every Sunday and post them up with links to the contributors.

If you would like to be included in Sunday Best leave me a comment on any post sharing your own dinner for two experiences, cooking tips, easy entertaining tricks, questions, or feedback on the project. Make sure you let me know your web page as well so I can include a link!

Finally back to normal here with Sunday Best. SD is working this weekend and we could not be together. Which means I have not been in the kitchen much. Sigh.

You all have been busier than ever though!

In my only post this week I wanted to know about your traditional feasts and I was wondering if an appetiser was appropriate for a holiday meal like Christmas or Thanks Giving Dinner.

Christy sees no problem with a starter

We always have some sort of appetizer - but there are usually 40 people at my mom's and we never eat on time! Love the mushrooms - I will be adding cream next time I make them! thanks for sharing with us at the hearth and soul hop!

FORTY?! Away with ye! That's amazing!

I am partial to Butterpoweredbike's favourite Thanks Giving dinner appetiser: the skin off the turkey when it comes out of the oven!

Sue from Couscous and Consciousness stopped by all the way from New Zealand! I like the sound of a holiday feast that includes the beach and a BBQ and BACON. In PIE. That is so awesome.

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in New Zealand, and other than Christmas we don't much do traditional feasts here. We do however have New Zealand day, which is a holiday, and as this is in the height of the summer people usually head for the beach and have picnics or barbeques - in New Zealand bacon & egg pie is a very classic picnic item.

Boy, does my kitchen have some limitations - I don't have a proper oven - in fact my cooking equipment consists of a small kind of "toaster oven", a single hotplate, an electric Breville grill, a crockpot, and a microwave. How do I overcome these difficulties? - I am very good at what I call my "one-pot" wonders :-)

BTW your mushrooms look as though they would make a great appetiser.

Check out Sue's blog for some of her "one pot wonders" and other recipes. Goes to show that equipment ain't everything. She does amazing stuff with a hot plate and toaster oven.

Alex from A Moderate Life is a regular visitor and stopped by to say Happy Thanks Giving. It is a holiday (in its American incarnation) that means a lot to her and her familiy.

Even-star! First, happy thanksgiving to you and your family! I am from the states and first generation american and when my parents came from europe, the thanksgiving was the first holiday they wrapped themselves around whole heartedly. It has become my favorite and I get to cook this year so I am very excited! The joy of mushrooms and cream are so decadent and the secret is they really are easy to prepare but only YOU and other foodies know that! What a lovely starter and thanks again for sharing it with us at the hearth and soul hop!

I hope you share some of your holiday cooking with us Alex!

That is all for this week dear gastronauts and as always I would like to say that I appreciate how precious your time is and it is amazing that you chose to spend some of that time sharing with me here.

This weekend coming up I shall be travelling north to see the bear but I will try to get a recipe up. I made a trip to the charity shop today and came away with a glorious vintage cook book. Oh man is there some weird and wonderful stuff in there! I might have to start a new feature: WTF Wednesday.

What the heck is a toheroa?

Super Easy Succulent Mushroom Appetizer

2010-10-11T13:59:00.001+01:00

Good day gastronauts and for some of you (the Canadian ones) it is Thanks Giving Day today. That means a wonderful feast! We had our feast of Saturday and started with this wonderful, warm and savoury sauteed mushroom appetizer.

Do you start your Thanks Giving dinner with an appetizer or do you just have at it!?

I no longer live in Canada but it is important to me to keep up with my Canadian traditions. This was SD's first Thanks Giving and I wanted to make it special for us. It was a joint effort which was as much fun to prepare, especially in my tiny little kitchen, as it was to eat!

Do you have a particular national holiday that has a tradition feast? What it is and what does it mean to you?

One of SD's favourite things is mushrooms and seeing as they are quite appropriate to the time of year I wanted to incorporate them some how into our meal. I couldn't do stuffed mushrooms because my oven was full to the gills with turkey meatloaf and stuffing so I opted for my other favourite way of doing mushrooms which is even easier.

Does your kitchen have any limitations? What are some of the ways you over come them?

I also didn't want up to fill up on an appetizer. I do like having a starter. It provides the opportunity to adjust to the dining experience. Sit down, have a sip of wine, and get in a relaxed mood. It gets the digestion going and the conversation flowing. It should leave you that little bit hungrier than when you sat down.

This recipe is so easy I won't even bother with the usual ingredients/tools/method.

Do you have a super easy and adaptable starter recipe? Share it with the project on facebook!

All you need is about one cup of sliced fresh mushrooms per person, olive oil, butter, cream, white wine, and what ever seasonings you like best. I opted for anchovy and garlic.

Put your frying pan on a high heat and melt some butter. Add a slug of olive oil. Throw in the mushrooms and seasonings and saute until the mushrooms are tender and have reduced in size. About 5 minutes.

Add a glug of white wine and a dash of cream and let it all simmer and reduce for another couple of minutes. If you want it saucier add more cream for extra richness. I did. I have no regrets!

Pile a serving of mushrooms and sauce on each plate and serve with three slices each of a very fresh baguette.

Not only is this starter easy to prepare, it is endlessly adaptable. Try it with chili oil or red wine or coconut milk instead.

Mise en place is essential for this recipe. Get all your ingredients at the ready before you heat your pan as it goes fairly quickly.

You can prepare this dish before your guests arrive and just keep it warm in the pan on a low heat or in the oven. Then all you need do is plate up and serve!

The goal for this starter was to have just a little something to whet the appetite for the main event and this was just enough. In future I might serve it with focaccia chips to make it that little bit lighter and less filling.

In case you had not heard Two For Tuesday's at the Girl Chef is now:

Check it out for some great food writing, ideas and recipes. Every Tuesday!

It's Good to Have Goals: The Project Takes Stock. Briefly.

2010-10-08T15:33:00.000+01:00

Stock. See what I did there? Stock? Like soup? Get it?

Ahhh well it's my blog and I can amuse myself if I want to.

As posted earlier in the week, my little break from blogging provided an excellent opportunity to review the goals of the project. I started The Dinner For Two Project with a set of particular things that I wanted to achieve, or thought I wanted to achieve, but sometimes life takes us in new directions that we don’t entirely plan on and that can be just as exciting and fulfilling.

It is also a good time to take stock (tee hee!) because SD and I are coming up on our first year anniversary as a couple. Which means the project is going to be one year old as well!

So I will recap my original goals and see how I have got on in the past year. Have I met these goals to my own satisfaction? Has the project gone in an unexpected direction that I would rather explore?

Let’s see shall we?

Does your blog have goals? Or do you use your blog to keep on track with your life goals? Do you find it helpful? How often do you review?

Goal #1

To present easy recipes and menu plans where things can be made up as much in advance as possible or can be made up very quickly on the day/night.

This is one goal that I cannot really change because it is, after all, what the whole project is about! And I am having lots of fun with it. But am I meeting this goal adequately?

Well I think I am half way there. I am doing ok with recipes that are easy and make ahead but have not done as many full menu plans as I would like. I did a few back at the beginning but have not done one recently. Menu planning and coordination are an essential skill for easy and elegant entertaining. I do the planning and coordination but I have been lax at sharing it with you.

I need to commit to posting one full menu plan per month!

Goal #2

For the meal to be an experience. Something to make your relatively rare QUALITY time together memorable. Food is such an important element in human interaction and relationships. When we celebrate anything we do it with a feast. I want what I prepare to become part of a positive and sensuous experience that can be recalled with a scent or taste or texture.

This goal is more personal. How you create an experience that YOU will find memorable and sensual is completely subjective. I know that I share results of certain recipes and that sort of covers experience but this goal is a bit too general and subjective and I need to re-think it to make it more helpful to other people.

I have gone in a bit of a different direction with this one by focusing more on the “important element in human interaction and relationships”. I love food history and food in social, cultural, and historic context. I want to inspire others to find their own experiences by sharing what different cultures at different times in history considered feast foods and aphrodisiacs. And also what has been considered easy entertaining!

I may split this goal into two new goals. The first being the food history and culture element and then the experience element which will focus less on food and more on scene setting. How to create a relaxed and romantic atmosphere in which to enjoy your meal.

Goal #3

To record and pass on some of the amazing things that my Mom and Dad have taught me about food and cooking and the art of entertaining.

I suppose the only person who knows if I am meeting this goal is me and trust me I think I am doing well with this one! The great thing is that every time I see them or speak to them I learn something new that I can share with you. I might not always say that it was them but really almost ALL of what I know comes from them. There would be no Dinner For Two Project with out them!

One place where I have been a bit lax is with the basics. Like with the menu planning I have done a few but none recently. I need to make this a goal in itself. This will help me to learn new skills and techniques and give me a refresher course on those ones I use day to day.

Is there anything you would like to see more of? Or even LESS of?! Leave a comment or come and join in on facebook.

Bonjour! Bonjour! Ca Va? Ca Va! Food Adventures in France

2010-10-04T15:52:00.002+01:00

Back from the south of France. It was a great break but HOW I have missed all you gastronauts. It is going to be such fun to catch up with you all on Google Reader this week.

Just wanted to do a quick post today to let folks know that I have not swapped life in the fast lane for goat farming and wine making in the Languadoc. More's the pity!

I love trying new foods and learning about food culture every where I go and this trip was no exception. We especially loved the endless variety of dried sausages. I am not a big dried meat fan but there were so many kinds and they were GORgeous with a glass of wine and a bit of cheese in the afternoon. Particular to that area is a dried sausage called Fuet.

Where was your last holiday? Did you discover a new food that you loved? What was it?

Also of note was the loooooong Catalan cooked type sausage. There was about three feet of it! And very succulent it was too. Even though we were in France many of the people of that region still consider themselves Catalonian and there is a definite Spanish influence on the food. There was paella in abundance as well as sangria.

What is the food culture in your area? Is there a dominant theme or a delightful fusion?

I know it is a wee bit sad but I do love going to the grocery store when I am travelling. Just to see what people eat day to day and what foods are staples or special treats. Just all the different things! Desserts and snack foods especially can be very diverse.

For example the favourite cookie (or biscuit if you are English) of choice is a sandwich cookie that consists of two round scalloped rich tea type biscuits about two inches across with a chocolate icing in the middle. All different brands of them but all essentially the same thing. This is compared to the English biscuit staple: The Digestive. Or in North America the chocolate chip cookie.

Do you like browsing the grocery store when you are in a new place? What have been some of your discoveries?

Of course, being France, about thousand croissants and several hundred baguettes were had over the course of two weeks and the daily ritual of getting up and going to the boulangerie for breakfast things is lovely when you are on holiday.

It is also interesting to see what foods are cheaper and which ones are more expensive than at home. The cost of living in the area we were staying was quite high but figs, wine, sausage, bread, and cheese were to be had at bargain prices. And really what more do you need?

Wine was great. We just took our litre bottles down to the local bodega and filled them up for 1.50 euros a piece. And very drinkable it was too! Compared to £5 a go for a half way decent bottle of wine at home. Most of which is taxes and duty and ill advised attempts to get people to stop drinking by making alcohol more expensive.

All four of us took turns cooking (we were there with my 'rents) in a tiny silly kitchenette. My pasta bake went down a storm and we had SD's delicious chili garlic prawns and pasta twice because the green prawns were very reasonable and it was so delicious that my mum and dad insisted on it.

Do you eat in or out when you are on holiday?

Honey was mysteriously expensive. Even just the every day use stuff. We could not figure it out.

In complete opposition to Portugal, where my parents live, it is very expensive to eat out in France. Even in the non-touristy places. We could not really figure this out either as food in general is not expensive. Drinks out were an outrageous price every where. Again we didn't really understand why as buying it at the store was fairly cheap.

What are some of the food mysteries you have unearthed on your travels? Is celery strangely expensive in Texas? Are chicken wings to be had at knock down prices in Tuscany?

So we ate in most of the time and enjoyed each other's efforts enormously.

So what is on the agenda now that I have had a bit of a break?

I think it is time to review some of the project goals and see if it is on track or if it has gone off track a bit and if it has is the new track going in a better direction?

For more cooking tips from the weird and wonderful web follow the project on facebook. I will be trying to post more regularly on the page there.

A bientot grastronauts. More great stuff coming soon.

Sunday Best: It's All About Trying New Things!

2010-09-13T12:39:00.000+01:00

There are so many great comments on the project that I compile the week's best every Sunday and post them up with links to the contributors.

Goodness I am behind my time today but I have a good reason this week in that SD stayed over Sunday as well as Saturday. It was nice to have a sort of normal weekend together. We could actually DO something on Sunday.

We are off on vacation for TWO WHOLE WEEKS on Friday. I was going to try to post a recipe or two this week before we go but I have to make blackberry jam, plan the route, pack, make check lists, put together picnic dinner for Friday night for the train, do laundry, and go to this stupid email marketing technology seminar on Thursday night.

I love blogging but sometimes there are other priorities. You may not hear from me until October. There is internet access where we are going so if I have a spare minute on a rainy evening I might post up something about the food where we are staying but really I think it is a good opportunity to have a vacation from EVERYTHING. Including the blog! I definitely will be back at the beginning of next month

Before I move on to this week's best visitors I would like to say again that I appreciate how valuable your time is and that it means a lot to me that you spend some of that time here instead of somewhere else.

Everyone has so many great things to share!

It was all about the gelatine this week!

As I have had negative food associations with jello (until now!) I wanted to know about yours. Alex stopped by from Two For Tuesdays to share hers

Even star! This is another amazing instructional post filled with information! Very cool! I am a bit tickled here, as I am the daughter of an English lady who loved to make aspic and jellies. If I have a negative food association, it would be my granny cooking gristles! yah...I am going to share this on my thoughts on Friday link love because it is such great information! Please stop by and say hi! Thanks for sharing on the two for Tuesday recipe blog hop!

Oooooh… W. T. F. are gristles Alex? I am afraid to even google it! My dad is English and even though my mom never went near gelatin as an ingredient my dad would do the occasional savoury jelly thing. Brawn I remember from one New Year’s brunch. Can’t say as it ever appealed.

As I was trying something new I also wanted to know what new things you guys were trying and Christy is trying BEETS

Super interesting! I have never used unflavored gelatin to make my own jello- I guess it is not as scary or foreign as I thought - my mom never used gelatin either. It is funny what we take from our childhood.

Oh, and my new food for the week is beets! I'll bet there is a beet and jello recipe out there somewhere but I think I'll pass! Great Two for Tues post!

Christy, you know what? I think that beet jello would taste really good! A really lovely summer appetizer with a slice of smoked haddock or salmon and horseraddish sauce. I hope your beet adventure is as much fun as my gelatin adventure. And that you will let us know what you have been making. I love beets.

Kimberly reported back on the mini potato quiche recipe. She is a great menu planner and I hope you will visit this post on the potato quiches and more!

Glad they worked for you and your family Kimberly. I was a little nervous!

So that is it for possibly two or three weeks from me. Stay tuned gastronauts for more adventures coming in October!

A New Adventure: Cooking With Gelatin Tips and the Science of Jello

2010-09-07T12:01:00.004+01:00

Gelatin. What is it? Where does it come from? How does it work? These are questions that I am going to address today because until today I didn't know! There is tons of info out there on cooking with gelatin and I have come up with a handy little list of gelatin tips and facts that I hope will help me to avoid some of the common pitfalls of using gelatin in the kitchen.

Cooking with gelatin is not something my mom ever did much. It is one of those gaps in my domestic science education that is there because she had personal preferences. So I have determined to fill in the gaps myself.

What are some of the gaps in your kitchen education? What gaps have you filled and how?

Because my mom didn't like cooking with gelatin I became a bit of a gelatin snob. If you can't make what ever you are making gel with out the help of this ubiquitous gelling agent then you don't know what you are doing.

This of course is not true. My mom simply didn't like jellied foods. And since the only jellied food we had in our house was jello (or jelly as they call it here in the UK and don't even get me started on that) and we only had it when we were ill it does not have the best associations.

Do you have any negatively associated foods in your past? Why is the association negative? Have you ever over come a bad food association?

Gelatin however is a very common ingredient in a lot of British cooking for both sweet and savoury dishes and it is time I learned what all the fuss is about and perhaps add a truly useful ingredient to my pantry.

What previously unknown ingredient have you tried that turned out to be really useful?

I may give it a try this weekend in a dessert for SD and me on Saturday. I am thinking panna cotta. Lemon perhaps. Or lavender as I still have shedloads of it! I don't want it to be too rich because I think we might have Stroganoff something for a main course. If you remember this post about menu planning you will understand the balance I am trying to achieve. Stroganoff is very rich and filling. I would like dessert to be light and fluffy.

And in typical even-star fashion I don't want to embark on this little adventure with out a bit of a road map.

What is gelatin? How does it work? If I know how it works then it will be easier to get it to work for me.

Regular old non veggie friendly gelatin is made from the collagen and connective tissues and bones of animals. These materials are exposed to highly acidic conditions which break up all the protein molecules and the resulting bits of collagen are dried to make a powder. Gelatin does not exist as such in nature. It is the product of a process.

There are all sorts of other kinds of gelling agents that are suitable for all sorts of dietary restrictions and some that behave in different ways that can be used to achieve an affect. For example ordinary gelatin after it is gelled melts in your mouth whereas there are kinds derived from sea weed that don't.

That, as grim as it sounds, is what gelatin IS.

But how does it work? How does it make something gel?

Well just about any gelling or thickening agent works by trapping water or other liquid molecules. They just do it in different ways.

Gelatin works by being exposed to heat in a liquid and then cooling. That is why when you are making jello you have to use hot water. The heat excites the collagen particles and separates them from each other. When the liquid starts to cool the particles start to relax and come back together forming an organized structure trapping liquid between them. And thus creating a gel.

But is it as simple as that? I have dug around the interwebs and found some very useful and surprising information on cooking with gelatin.

Did you know that adding pineapple, kiwi fruit, fresh figs, ginger root, guava, or papaya will stop your jello from gelling? I didn't! All these fruits contain an enzyme called bromelain that keeps the gelatin in a broken down state and prevents it from forming the structure that traps liquid to form a gel.

Do you know any amazing food facts that you wish you had known before you tried something?

Before I add anything to my gelatin I will need to look up bromelain content!

If you want to avoid clumps mix your gelatin powder with a little COLD water before adding hot. Like when you make gravy and dissolve your flour in cold water before adding it to the rest of the sauce. This also applies to pectin.

Don't let your gelatin/liquid mix boil as it will break down the gelatin too much and it won't gel. BUT after gelling you can melt it gently and re-gel several times before it loses its ability to set. Why you would do this I am not sure but I am sure there must be a recipe out there that calls for it.

The more sugar you use the softer the set. This one I find interesting because it is the opposite of how pectin works. I would like to know why. Perhaps the crystal structure of the sugar prevents the collagen particles from forming their liquid trapping structure?

Do you know why sugar prevents gelatin from gelling?

If you are adding solids to your jello then do not add more than the amount of jello you have. For example if you have four cups of jello don't put more than four cups of solids in it. Common sense that one really. Also it will also take longer to set if you put solids in.

It is funny but once I knew how gelatin works a lot of the tips I found on the internet were simple common sense. It was no longer a mystical alchemical additive whose behaviour was arbitrary and capricious.

For example for a softer set use more water for a harder set use less. Common sense for any gelling agent.

Wait until the gelatin is semi-set before suspending your solids. Like anything liquid solids would just sink or float before the jello set.

One good thing to know is your gelatin to liquid ratio for a standard set. The consensus seems to be one tablespoon (1 tbsp, 1/4 ounce, 1 envelope) to two cups liquid. However I have also seen recommendations that if you double a recipe you should use slightly less liquid than the ratio calls for. I have the opposite problem however in that I would like to HALVE a recipe. Logically in that case I would use slightly more liquid.

Have you ever had to halve a recipe? What was it for? Did you encounter any difficulties and how did you over come them?

There are lots of other great gelatin facts. There should be as it has been used for more than 400 years!

I challenge all of you to try something new this week! Pick an ingredient you have never worked with before and find out all you can about it. And then use it in something. Join me on my little gelatin adventure!

Sunday Best: New Faces, Great Tips, and Lavender Love

2010-09-05T20:40:00.002+01:00

There are so many great comments on the project that I compile the week's best every Sunday and post them up with links to the contributors.

And as promised it is a double whammy Sunday best! I so enjoyed reading all of your comments and visiting your blogs. I am always amazed at all the great stories out there. And I am always amazed that you take the time to visit me. You have so much to share.

And there were so many great comments from the last two weeks that I just didn't know how to choose. Please don't be offended if you visited but your comment doesn't appear here this week. Even if I don't post about them all (there are just too many!) I read each and every comment and I do so appreciate everything that you share with us and also your feedback on the project.

Basically you are awesome.

I don't really know where to start this week so it might be a bit disorganized.

Regular reader Kimberly stopped by a couple of times. On the last Sunday Best she tantalised us with BACON and PEANUT BUTTER appetisers. I asked her to share her recipe and she has!

Read about it on her blog and also at Food Dot Com. Bacon and peanut butter. Together. My head asplode.

She also made me very nervous because she is going to try out the mini tuna quiches on her folks. Like TOMORROW! She is even going to post about it. I can’t bear to look!

New reader Hope gave me an AWARD! The A Blog With Substance award.

Hey! I wanted to let you know I gave you an award on my blog for a blog with substance! I love your blog - It's so helpful to me as only my hubby and I are eating "real" food! :) I am always excited to see what recipes are next! :)

Her comment about eating real food there is what this blog is all about. Real food to enhance real experiences and real relationships. Hope has given me a lot to think about as I now have to pick my own blogs with substance. Check out Hope's blog as it definitely has substance.

The Lavender Jelly post had a great response from people. I love it when I can help people to think about food in different ways and also maybe expand their ideas of what can be food or flavouring.

Alex has been experimenting with lavender as well

Evenstar! Thanks so much for sharing the story of the tenacious lavender plant and your first try at jelly made from it! It is wonderful! I never thought to use lavender as a flavoring until I tried some lavender shortbread cookies in the spring and they were awesome! I am going to have to go to my moms and get some heads to make some of this and surprise her in the winter as she is a huge lavender fan. Awesome that you linked this to the Two for Tuesday recipe blog hop

Such a wonderful gift Alex. I would also love to know your recipe for shortbread. I still have shedloads of lavender left!

I found this comment from Christy really interesting. It highlights how much significance is attached to what we eat and how we eat socio-culturally.

My mom never canned a thing - to her poor people canned (she grew up super poor in the deep south)so canning is a whole new thing for me. I have never heard of lavender jelly and can't quite wrap my mind around it. Thanks for linking your jelly journey to Two for Tuesdays!

In some places a woman of any economic status is not worth her salt if she can’t can or make jam or jelly. But I can understand where Christy's mom may be coming from. Here in the UK people are STILL experiencing a backlash from the austerities and rationing of the second world war and post war years. Growing and preserving food has negative connotations because that is what you did to survive during the war. The post war generation passed this attitude on to the next generation and then it went on to the next. It really is a shame because I think people’s lives and health have suffered as a result.

Bonnie is one lady definitely worth her salt in the jelly department:

I just bottled 14 quarts of Plum juice from my backyard plum tree for making jelly later in the fall when it is not so hot. I love the tartness of plum jelly. Good luck on your batch. I too have lavender in my yard but I have never used it in my cooking (just made lavender wands). I need to get more adventurous and try your jelly.

Bonnie you have much to teach us. My plum jelly adventure was a bit of a disaster but I learned a lot and I did end up with jelly. I hope you post up details on yours! Also what are lavender wands? After I am through making shortbreads from Alex's recipe I am still going to have tons of lavender left over. Need to know what else I cna do with it.

Traci had a question about keeping lavender after you pick it:

I've never even tasted lavender jelly, that I know of, but since I have about a bazillion lavender plants in the front of my house, maybe I ought to try this. I kind of enjoy canning, though not so much in the middle of the heat of summer. Can you freeze the lavender flower heads to preserve them to make jelly later or do you just dry them out?

Until I made it myself Traci neither had I! I have to admit I do not know if lavender will freeze well having never tried. I can only go by my experiences with other herbs. I freeze other herbs so they can be processed later. Like basil or marjoram or rosemary. And they work well.

I think that if you wrap the heads up in a paper bag they will be ok for a few weeks but much longer than that and you might find they have less flavour. Freezing would probably preserve the flavour better for longer.Tell you what, give it a go and share your results with us. One batch frozen and one batch dried.

Just one word of warning for anyone wanting to pick and keep lavender heads: DO NOT keep them in a plastic bag! They will go moldy. I learned this the hard way the first year I harvested my lavender. Even though it was really dry there was so much oil in it that it still went off.

As you may know I participate in Two For Tuesdays. A great real food blog hop. Butterpoweredbike does a best of post every week and the lavender jelly made the cut! Even if you don’t have a recipe to link up I would encourage you visit Two For Tuesdays because of the amazing quality of food and writing that you will find there.

Mub had a question about the thin crust pizza dough that had me scratching my head but also inspiring me to try something different.

Because I'm about as mature as a 6 year old, I'm giggling about yeast farts *L*

Have you tried this with whole wheat flour by chance? I'm on the quest to make a good crust with WW flour but they always come out a little too bready.

I have not tried it with whole wheat flour Mub. And I am wondering why it would come out too bready. Perhaps check the gluten content of your flour to make sure that it is bread flour. I am intrigued now and I might just whip up a quick pizza this week with the whole wheat and see how it turns out. One suggestion I would make is to halve the recipe but stretch the dough out so that it is just a big as it would be for a single recipe.

(he he he yeast FARTS)

Pretty Pink Crododile had a variation suggestion for the Skip and Go Naked:

I LOVE love love lemon but not gin. So I might mess with it. Sub in vodka. But the rest looks delish!

I KNOW I recommended against messing with it but vodka would be an acceptable substitute for gin. A very dry white vermouth might also work. So I forgive you Pink. Drink up I say what ever your preference!

I kind of cheated last week by revamping biscuit basics and reposting it. But it is one of those basics things that even I need a refresher in now and then so I thought that people would be interested.

Christy definitely was!

THANK YOU!! I was just complaining the other day to my husband that I cannot master the art of bisquits. Rolls I can do, but bisquits - nope. I will be referring to your tips next time I give it a try! Thanks for a great link up to Two for Tuesdays!

Christy, by FAR rolls are the trickier customer. For me at least. Maybe we can do a culinary exchange here? Tell us your bread making secrets!

Alex shared some great biscuit making tips. It is fantastic that you guys are sharing so much great knowledge with the project. I have learned so much since I started it.

even star! This is such a great tutorial on making biscuits! I also learned that using lard if you can get it will make these even more fluffy! I want to share this post on my blog hop highlights on Thoughts on Friday link love this week, so pop over then and check it out. Thanks for sharing on the two for Tuesday recipe blog hop

I will definitely try lard the next time I do biscuits. Which might be this week. I love biscuits. Ooooh I am in the highlights! Or rather the biscuits are. Share the wealth I say and spread the word of good biscuit making everywhere. Thanks Alex!

Wow now that was a marathon Sunday Best.

And as always I want to say that I know your time is precious and it really means so much to me that you spend some of that time here reading and especially sharing instead of somewhere else.

Well now... What is in store this week? You know I am really not sure. And that is always exciting. SD is down on Friday night and I think we are going to have a quiet weekend.

Something light and lovely on Friday night and I think I will do something dark and decadent for Saturday.

We have had two rather jam packed weekends in a row and the weekend after next we are off on holiday for two weeks. Our first holiday together. In fact it will be the longest period of time we will have spent in each other's company since we have been together. Plus he is meeting the 'rents for the first time.

A bit of a test for both of us so I would like this coming weekend to be relaxed and sensual and comfortable.

And of course easy, sexy, delicious, and fun!

So What Can You Do With a Can of Tuna Fish? Easy Mini Potato Quiches and Fresh Herb Salad

2010-09-01T07:29:00.003+01:00

This recipe for a potato quiche is really more like a fritata but I call it a quiche because it is baked instead of cooked in a skillet. It is a lovely easy work day dinner for two. It has all the quiche-y ingredients but for one: the crust. Which is why I call it easy quiche instead of difficult fritata. Which I admit is a bit of a cheat.

Just about everyone has a can of tuna in the cupboard. It is relatively inexpensive, tasty, and nutritious protein. And it ain't just for sammiches or pasta bakes! You can use it as an ingredient in all manner of pretty impressive dishes.

Do you have an always-on-hand go to ingredient that you can whip up into something amazing? Please share!

I made this last week for when SD was down on a Wednesday night and we were both working. I like having SD down during the week. It is like we get to try out how it would be if we were actually living a regular life in the same house. Because of this I try to keep work night meals simple and balanced and also easy.

What are your work day meals like? Are they different when you are on your own than when you are together?

These little bundles of flavour can be made a least of few days ahead. They keep brilliantly in a Tupperware in the fridge and they reheat wonderfully in the microwave with no loss of flavour or texture.

They were also a bit of an experiment for me. I had seen a recipe that used potato for a similar dish that was like a mini fritata because it was fried. It had fairly Mexican flavours but it was the use of potato that inspired me.

What are some of your cooking experiments?

Where do you find inspiration?

Do you always follow the recipe or do you adjust to taste or what you have around?

Long story short: I had ended up with tons of potatoes and needed to use them up. But didn't just want to boil them or whatever for a side dish.

So I took the idea of the mini fritata and used what ever I had around that I wanted to use up.

This made 12 mini quiches and we ate two each the night SD was here. I know I know. Dinner for TWO you say but I had intended for there to be left overs. These feed me for the rest of the week.

The Ingredients

1 regular sized can of tuna fish, drained
4 medium to large potatoes grated, soaked, and rinsed
3 spring onions (or scallions as they are called in other parts) finely chopped
2 anchovy fillets minced
1/2 cup feta or soft salad cheese
1/2 cheddar or similar cheese grated
4 medium eggs
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp mayo
Sea salt or other seasoning to taste

The Tools

The usual stuff plus a 12 compartment muffin tin and a pallet knife for getting your quiches out

The Method

Preheat the oven to about 350 (gas mark 7ish)
Oil your muffin tin
Grate your potatoes and rinse thoroughly in a strainer until the water runs clear. You want to get all the starch out
Grate and chop everything else
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well
Distribute the mixture evenly amongst your muffin tin compartments
Bake 40-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and firm to the touch
Remove from oven and let rest five minutes
Remove quiches from tin carefully with your pallet knife and cool on a rack

The Plan

Up to Three Days Ahead
Make your quiches up completely. These do keep very well.

You can make your sauce ahead too but I just prefer it fresh on the night.

Ten minutes before dinner
Whip up a batch of easy white sauce and flavour it with cheese or what ever you fancy. I went to cheese and green chilies and hint of nutmeg

While you are making the sauce get your sexy man to make a fresh herb salad (or what ever your favourite salad is)

Warm up your quiches in the microwave

Place two on a plate with a good helping of salad and serve with the sauce

The Result

I will be the first to admit that it isn't too pretty but SD and I both really liked these. They were tasty and warm and the peppery herb salad balanced out the richness of the sauce. And they tasted just as good the next day!

Recommendations

As I said these were a bit of an experiment and there are things I would adjust for next time. All in all though they came out fairly close to what I predicted.

Three eggs would probably have been enough and I would try less cheese and more of something substantial like mushrooms or onions. Tomatoes would be too watery I think. Peppers would be good but I am allergic to them.

I would also try some different seasonings. Paprika or a masala of some kind.

Another thing I would recommend is actually tasting before you bake. Now I know that some people are squeamish about raw egg and it's all in the news like you shouldn't do that you will get food poisoning, but raw egg is actually fairly safe if your eggs have been stored properly. And also if you know where your eggs come from. I only use free range and farm eggs are even better.

It's like SD says: "They tell you that a swan can break your arm but have you ever known or heard of anyone having their arm broken by a swan?"

I have never known or heard of anyone who has gotten sick from eating raw eggs and definitely not in the minute amounts for testing seasoning. If you can get past it you will know before it is too late if things are going to taste good or bad or even worse: indifferent!

Now it is YOUR turn! What can YOU do with a can of tuna fish? Or try out this recipe and let me know what upgrades you make. I still have LOTS of potatoes left!

Long Weekend Catch Up, An Award, And Two For Tuesdays

2010-08-31T12:03:00.000+01:00

'Twas a long weekend here in the UK and SD and I had a wonderful time up at his place.

I want to thank everyone who has been visiting as I came home to so many fantastic comments and new subscribers. I absolutely cannot wait to do my double whammy Sunday Best for this coming Sunday. And will try to actually post it on Sunday and all.

It was especially special to be named a Blog With Substance by Hope Ford. Thank you Hope! I will be posting more about this when I have time.

Don't forget it is Two For Tuesdays at Girl Chef so link up those fantastic real food recipes folks!

A Basic Biscuit Dough: Easy Baking Powder Biscuits for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert!

2010-08-31T09:01:00.002+01:00

This quick and easy baking powder biscuit recipe is the first thing I ever learned to bake. Basic baking powder biscuits are a great item to have in your cooking arsenal. They are the breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and Sunday brunch of champions!

Biscuits are easy to make and require only a few simple ingredients that almost everyone has on hand. They can accompany dinner if you are short on potatoes or just fancy something different. They can be whipped up for a quick and comforting dessert simply served with butter and jam.

The biscuit dough can be used to cover a caserole for supper (like this lucious beef stew) or be used to top a fruit cobbler. A savoury biscuit is the perfect partner for a light lunch of salad or soup.

You can, of course, enjoy these light and fluffy pastries on their own fresh from the oven.

This is an especially versatile quick bread that can be made savoury or sweet in quite short order.

It is a quick dough to make because the rising agent used is baking powder and not yeast.

Once you know the basic recipe there are any number of wonderful things you can make with it for any meal of the day.

The Ingredients

2 cups plain white flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup chilled butter or baking margarine or shortening

1/8 cup milk plus a little extra
1 egg

The Tools
1. something to mix the dough in
2. something to mix the milk and egg together in
3. a pastry cutteror a cheese grater or a couple of sharp knives
4. a baking sheet
5. an oven
6. your hands
7. something to beat the milk and egg together (fork is good)

The Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to about 350
2. Sift together the flour , baking powder, and sugar
3. Cut in the fat. You can do this with a pastry cutter or you can grate the fat into the bowl or simply use two sharp knives
4. Rub mixture in your fingers until it is bread crumby
5. Beat together the milk and egg
6. Add the wet to the dry until just combined in a soft dough. You might need to add a little more milk so it all sticks together.
7. Get it all into a ball and put onto a floured surface.
8. Knead it three times. And three times only
9. Roll it out to about a ½ inch - inch thickness (depends how big you want your biscuits)
10. Cut out with biscuit or cookie cutters and place on a greased baking sheet
11. Bake 20-30 minutes. They should be lightly golden and a toothpick inserted should come out clean.

The Science
The trick to getting light fluffy flaky baking powder biscuits is to remember one very important thing:

They use a chemical reaction to rise.

This is what the baking powder does. Baking powder is simply baking soda (a base) mixed with cream of tartar (an acid) when it gets wet the acid and base mix together they produce a gas (carbon dioxide in this case). It is this gas that gets trapped in the layers of flour as the fat melts and leaves little pockets.

Why is it important to remember this?

Three reasons

Reason One:
If you don’t have enough chemicals for the amount of filler (flour) you are not going to have enough gas to get them to rise

Reason Two:
Chemical reactions burn out as the chemicals concerned are consumed. If you over mix before putting it in the oven the gas will escape into the air instead of being trapped in those lovely little pockets made by the melting fat.

Reason Three:
The more pockets in your mix the more places for the gas to get trapped and make the biscuits fluffy. This is why you sift the flour. You put air in it and it makes lighter and the gas will find it easier to push the flour particles around.

Trouble Shooting

Below are all things that have happened to me over the years and with the help of my domestic scientist mom I have been able to learn from my disasters.

As much as there is a science involved here I find that so much of baking is a bit of a black art. You get a feel for things. You know when the dough is mixed just enough but it is difficult to pass that on to someone else.

The more you do it the easier it gets.

The Problem
The biscuits did not rise or did not rise much

The Solution
Classic symptom of over mixing and over kneading. Unfortunately once your biscuits are baked there isn’t much you can do about this except to slather them with butter and clotted cream and jam.

The Problem
The biscuits did rise but are quite heavy and/or hard.

The Solution
This is also a common symptom of over mixing.

Mix and kneading activate the gluten in the flour. Gluten is a protein and while it is important for a yeast dough too much gluten will make your biscuits chewy and heavy. Just like a yeast bread can be!

Again after the biscuits are baked there isn’t much you can do but you can pre-empt disaster by using cake flour.

What is cake flour? It is a flour that has a low gluten content. You can make your own substitute cake flour by taking out a tablespoon of each cup of flour in the recipe and replacing it with cornstarch.

This is also one of the occasions where sifting does pay off. To be honest I just can’t be bothered and it does make a difference.

The Problem
The biscuits are brown on the outside but still uncooked in the middle after being in the oven for over half and hour

The Solution
Lower the temperature. Everyone’s equipment works differently. The temperature I have given here is approximate. You know how your oven works so adjust accordingly.

The Next Step
The recipe given above is for a basic sweet dough biscuit. But it can be savoury as well. You don't even have to roll it out after you have mixed the dough. Just drop balls of it on the baking sheet and away you go.

That is how I used to make them for my Gramps. He called them Wonder Buns.

I have used various other renditions of this recipe for cinnamon buns, pizza bases, casserole toppings, fruit crumble toppings, cheese buns, and savoury roll ups.

For the cinnamon buns or a savoury roll up roll your dough out to a ¼ inch, spread on your filling (sugar and butter or salmon and cheese), roll up and then cut into 1 inch sections. Bake these in a greased cake pan.

For the pizza base roll out on a floured baking sheet and simply add your sauce and topping. Of course forego the sugar in the recipe above for this one. But by all means add oregano or parmesan cheese!

If you stick to the measurements and pay attention to the science you will find it hard to go wrong.

Recommendations

If you are going to make up anything with this quick bread recipe bear in mind that it does not keep very well.

You will need to bake it at once and eat what ever you have baked in the next 24 hours.

I would be surprised if anything keeps more than five days. It isn’t that it goes bad, it just goes stale. In this day and age of microwaves you can probably get away with two or three days with out anyone noticing.

That being said any baked final product does freeze quite well. Just thaw out and zap and it will taste pretty fresh.

If you are making something savoury and would like to use a whole wheat or whole meal flour be careful with the gluten content. I find that if I use half plain or cake flour and then half whole wheat the results are quite good.

Skip and Go Naked: It's Good Advice as Well as the Best Cocktail on Earth

2010-08-27T09:38:00.001+01:00

Just a quick one today folks! This is quite possibly the best cocktail on earth. And if I was ever to have a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster this is what I would hope it would taste like. The Skip and Go Naked is a brilliant summer drink and even though it looks like November where I am hopefully some where it is summer for some of you.

I am off to SD's this weekend so the kitchen is on hiatus and because it is a long weekend here (or "Bank Holiday" as they say) there will be no Sunday Best this week. Not to worry though! I am saving up all your amazing comments, and there have been TONS this week, for a double whammy Sunday Best special edition next Sunday.

As it is a long weekend here and Labour Day next week I thought it was time for to put the feet up and enjoy a long tall cool glass of sumpthin' sumpthin'.

I am not sure where this recipe originally came from but it was one of the recipes my mum was going to include in her cook book.

Unfortunately, due to the average size of the average British home the average British kitchen does not generally have much room for what someone from North America would call a freezer.

Because of this socio-cultural situation frozen juice concentrate never has been a big item here and frozen juice concentrate is an essential ingredient in the Skip and Go Naked. Which means I do not have a photo for you.

Fear not though I have thoroughly tested this drink and can vouch for its deliciousness!

This yields four cocktails. So two each. Yummy!

The Ingredients

1 can (6 1/4 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate
1 can gin (after you have put the frozen lemonade in a blender)
1 can water
4 ice cubes
1 bottle cold lager type beer (like Stella or Labbats or whatever. If you are feeling decadent use Peroni)

The Tools

A blender
Champaign or Pilsner Glasses or any tall thin glass will do

The Method

Pu the juice concentrate still frozen, the water, the gin, and the ice in a blender and mix 'er up
Fill two glasses 3/4 full of the mixture
Top up gently with the cold beer
Drink!

Recommendations

Do NOT mess with this recipe. It is perfect the way it is!

OK, you can mess with it if you want but seriously. I cannot think of what I would do to improve it or adjust it to be more to my taste.

This is a lovely summer drink and because you get two each the only thing I WOULD recommend is that you each have one BEFORE and then one AFTER.

You know what I mean... heh? heh? you know? Giggity giggity? Hmm?

Enjoy!

Lavender Jelly: A Recipe With Room For Improvement

2010-08-24T13:07:00.002+01:00

Herb jellies are a wonderful way of capturing and preserving those wonderful summer flavours. Imagine on a grey and freezing December day experiencing a burst of mint or lavender or sage fresh from the garden. And herb jellies are one of the easier kinds of jelly to make. You don't have the chore of boiling and extracting juice like you have to do for a fruit jelly. It is more like making tea.

This post does have a recipe for lavender jelly. But it is a recipe I mean to improve on. I wanted to share this little adventure with you to demonstrate that cooking really can be so much alchemy and that no matter how long you have been doing it there is always something to learn.

It is also a demonstration of how a fear of failure lead me to ignore my better instincts when listening to them may have ended up in something better. Sometimes the recipe book is wrong and the more you know about food and how it works the more inspiring a recipe book can be. Instead of being a set of instructions it can be a guide that shows you a path you may not have taken before but you make the decisions about how you get to the destination.

I love lavender. The blossoms, the fragrance, the lovely fat bees it attracts. I have a tiny bit of side walk with a tiny bit of gravel border by my house. I got sick of pulling weeds out of it all the time and decided to plant something there to keep them under control.

I decided on lavender. Why? Because lavender will grow any where. It will grow almost with out soil. As long as it has something for its roots to cling on to and it is well drained it will thrive. And thrive it has for the last three years. Out of a batch of eight baby plants five went into the border and the ones left over went into the back yard. The back yard ones that get dirt and fertalizer and water are spindly and small while the no dirt six inches of gravel never been watered plants are huge and teaming with flowers.

Last year the harvest was so good that I am still making lavender bags. These make lovely gifts. Just simple little muslin or linen bags filled with the dried flower heads.

This year I wanted to use it up some other how. Mum used to make mint jelly when I was little so I though lavender jelly can't be that far removed. And what a great way to capture that beautiful scent of summer to enjoy in the winter months.

There are memories from childhood of steamy Saturday afternoons in the kitchen watcing my Mum at this alchemical process. From a family of fruit growers and shippers she was an old hand even then at preserves. And we had a big garden with lots of produce to put up.

But she gave it up later in life. By the time I was a teenager she rarely made jams and jellies. She had other things she wanted to do. When I told her what I was up to she thought I had taken leave of my senses!

Did your family put up food? What was the favourite preserve? Did you carry on with the tradition? What are some your "secret" recipes?

I have started rather late. This is my first time making jelly on my own. And although it did not turn out as well as I wanted it was an amazingly satisfying experience from growing the lavender to spreading the finished product on a breakfast bagel. And in fact I was surprised at how easy it was to obtain an adequate product.

Are you new to preserving like me? What are some of the things you have been learning and experimenting with?

Or are you an old hand? Please share your wisdom with the newbies!

If you have a rummage 'round teh 'nets there are tons of jelly recipes. The first time you try one do not stray too much from the path. The balance of sugar/acid/pectin is very important when making a jelly in order to get it to set. But you might find, like I did, that the recipe did not give you the consistency and sweetness you wanted and there is a little bit of wiggle room for experimentation.

The Ingredients

1 cup lavender flower heads
3 1/2 cups water
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
39 grams powder pectin

The Tools

A large pot is essential.

A strainer or jelly bag is also essential. You can get by with a very fine strainer but for an ultra clear jelly a jelly bag or simply a piece of muslin lining the strainer works the best.

Some extra spoons or saucers and a freezer for testing the set are handy.

Jars of course to put your jelly in. This recipe ended up making four and bit 1/2 pint jars. I just recycle any of the vacuum pop top jars I have collected. You can use the ring screw top masons or the rubber seal kilners as well. NOT the plastic seal kilners. Make sure the jars actually say they are suitable for preserves.

The Method

Make sure your jars and lids are clean
Put your jars (sans lids) in a roasting pan and put them in a medium hot oven
Place your lids in a bowl and pour over boiling water and let them sit in the hot water until you are ready to pot up
Place a couple of saucers or spoons in the freezer
Place the lavender flowers in a bowl
Boil the water and pour over the flowers and let steep for 20 minutes
Strain this mixture into a large deep pot. Like the biggest one you have. The one you use for spaghetti. You can use a regular strainer or a jelly bag would be better
Discard the steeped flowers
If necessary top up the liquid with some extra water so you have 3 1/2 cups liquid
Add the pectin and lemon juice to the liquid and stir over a high heat until the pectin has disolved
Bring to a rolling boil
Add the sugar and stir to disolve
While you are waiting for it to come back to the boil take your spoons/saucers out of the freezer and have them ready and take your jars out of the oven
When the liquid returns to a hard boil keep it there for four minutes (set your timer!)
After four minutes take a small spoonful of the boiling mixture and throw it on your cold spoon or saucer.
If the mixture gels in less than 20 seconds then your jelly has found its set. If not boil for another minute and test again.
When it has found its set take off the heat immediately
Pour into your jars coming to no less than 3mm of the rim
Put on the dried lids and tighten as hard as you can
Leave to cool and listen for the POP.

The Result

I am not displeased with the flavour. It is in fact very yummy. I can't wait to use this as a glaze for ham or duck. I was a little bit afraid that the lemon juice would overwhelm the lavender but the comination is heavenly.

I would like it to be a bit less sweet though.

It is the set I am not happy with. When I read the recipe I was skeptical about the huge amount of pectin it called for. But I did not want to mess with it first time out. Lavender does not have any natural pectin in it to help the set.

I was also a bit paranoid about it not setting at all so I boiled for the amount of time the recipe said would give me a medium gel.

The result is unfortunately a rather tough jelly that does not spread very well. I was looking forward to having this with fresh scones and cream but it is far too hard to spread on something that soft. It is not really a medium set at all.

Recommendations

Fortunately I have tons of lavender left to experiment with so I am going to try a couple of variations to see how they turn out. At worst I will end up with some lovley aromatic lavender syrup.

I would cut down on the amount of pectin and also the amount of sugar. This will make a softer and less sweet jelly where the flavour of the lavender really comes through. Hopefully anyway!

Pectin (well, regular old run o' the mill pectin anyway) needs sugar to work. It uses the sugar and acid (which is why you add lemon juice) to create molecular chains that trap the liquid at a molecular level and this is what creates the gel. Less sugar and less pectin will mean fewer chains and a softer jelly.

Some jellies do not need added pectin because most fruit has enough natural pectin in it to set.This is where the pectin you buy actually comes from. It is processed from apples.

I will probably test the set sooner as well. As soon as it comes back to the boil.

SD asked how I knew it would set when it went in the jars and basically if it sets on the spoon or saucer then the whole she-bang is at the stage where it will gel in whatever quantity. It is only the heat at that point that is keeping it liquid.

Be careful not to be as paranoid as I was and let it boil too long either. It will actually get to the point where the pectin is destroyed by the heat and that will result in a failure to set.

If that happens you can let it all cool, stir in more pectin and bring it back to the boil.

This is also why you don't heat the liquid gardually. The longer it cooks the more the pectin deteriorates. Once you have everything in the pot together the key is to boil it as quickly as you can, get the set, and take it off the heat ASAP.

I am so keen to try again and get it just right. I am also in the process of making wild plum jelly. I have the jelly bag hanging up right now and the juice from the plums is an amazing deep ruby red. I am hope the jelly will keep that colour!

Sunday Best: Regulars, Inspiration, and a Wired Woman!

2010-08-23T10:26:00.002+01:00

There are so many great comments on the project that I compile the week's best every Sunday and post them up with links to the contributors.

Yeah I know what you are thinking. Sunday Best is a bit of a joke if it only turns up on Monday morning. SD and I had a great weekend and were both plum tuckered out by Sunday afternoon. My brain was not in great shape for blogging and I did cross stitch instead.

Still I wanted to get the word out on some great bloggers and thank everyone once again for stopping by.

Kimberly is a regular visitor and commentor here and she always has great stuff to share

wow. I NEVER in a million years would have thought there was a recipe out there that included anchovies that would strike my fancy! I can't believe you have me seriously considering making these with the fish I have been scared of my entire life! :) I love that they are that adaptable, though, just in case I can't handle it...

This reminds a little bit of the bacon wrapped peanut butter appetizer I made a while ago. I was super skeptical, but went out on a limb and they were GREAT! That used the same kind of method.

Ok Kimberly. Give up the goods on the bacon and peanut butter. Two of my favourite things TO-GETH-ER!

PLUS, another anchovy convert in the making. I am telling you I never thought I would be chowing down on these salty oily little devils but now I love 'em. Let me know how you make out with them Kimberly.

Jane from See Jane In The Kitchen stopped by to say hello. I wanted to give her blog a mention here because it is amazing. Especially in the area of food photography. I have much to learn Jane. Can you share some of your secrets with us? Oh yes and her FOOD! Delicious recipes.

I almost squee'ed out loud when I read this comment from CJ at Pink Tea

I saw your comment and had to come over to visit, largely out of a fascination with your use of the word biscuit. What a fun phrase. Anyways, I love the concept behind your blog. With two small children, anything that can help my husband feel special and loved is a welcome addition to our lives. I can't wait to see what else you have to share.

Also, I love that you are an IT Systems Architect. I'm a former web developer turned Project Manager, and I love the chance in my personal life to cook, design, and create as a counter to my professional life.

There are not many of us wired women around that's for sure and it is great to meet one. Even if it is virtually. Thanks for stopping by CJ. I love it when someone comes by and doesn't just take away a recipe or tip but also gets the concept and feels it will help to improve their life.

Just one more. There were so many this week!

Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker shared some thoughts on vintage cooking

I love old recipes. My favorite era is the 1930s. It was just about the last decade when people were making real food from scratch.

Stop by her blog today for the most delicious home made pizza roll recipe!

I would also like to thank the Girl Chef and everone else who hosts and stopped by from Two For Tuesday.

This is a great blog hop for anyone interested in cooking, entertaining, recipes, or just working up an appetite.

Thank you again to everyone who visited and subscribed and commented. As always I appreciate any time you spend with me here. I know your time is valuable and the fact that you visit, read, and comment here, instead of somewhere else, means a lot!

Toasted Anchovy Roll Ups: Another Easy, Sexy, Delicious, and Fun Cocktail Snack

2010-08-19T10:29:00.006+01:00

Today I have a quick and easy use what you have on hand recipe for a super tasty cocktail snack. Impromptu drinks party? No time to run out to the store for water crackers and caviar? This toasted anchovy roll recipe can be endlessly adapted to suit your own tastes and use what you happen to have around. It doesn’t even require anchovies!

What is your best Go To short notice entertaining recipe?

SD is down this evening instead of Friday so what we have tonight will be a little more work-a-day than our usual weekend kick off celebration. It will be cream of potato and mushroom soup. But as always I like to do something a little bit different and a little bit special. And because I am watching the budget this month I want to do it with what I have around.

Have you put together a feast on a budget? What are your frugal entertaining standbys? And did anyone notice!?

A light and toasty snack will be just thing the thing to go with a creamy soup. They little anchovy rolls use very simple ingredients and are a snap to prepare. I made them up a day ahead and they are in my fridge ready to be baked when SD gets in.

And they pack quite a punch into a light supper. There are some carbs for energy but there is also Zinc and selenium. Anchovies are packed with these minerals that are vital for a healthy and active libido. Especially in men.

This recipe is adapted from one found in the Supercook Complete Encyclopaedia of Cooking Volume 1, which is unfortunately the only volume I have at the moment. The earliest date for publication I have is 1974 but there could very well be earlier ones. It not only has little gems of recipes like this one but also tons of fantastic food facts. And that is only the As and Bs!

I will do a post in the near future about my collection and love of vintage recipe books. Books from the early/mid 20th century to the mid 1980’s. These are a wealth of information not only about food but also about entertaining.

Do you have a favourtie food era? What is it and why?

That was the golden age of domestic entertaining. The age of the dinner party, the cocktail party, the coffee morning, Sunday brunch. Into the 90’s there is a paradigm shift. Books start to focus more and more on quick and easy after work meals. The assumption is that people eat out on the weekend. The day of the dinner party, of the gracious host and hostess, is done.

Or is it? One of the things I would like to achieve with this project is to revive the interest in and art of domestic entertaining.

Super chefs on TV make us feel inadequate with ever more complicated dishes incorporating ever more esoteric and difficult ingredients and techniques. But what does a chef, celebrity or otherwise, know about entertaining? Their domain is the kitchen where as the domain of the hostess/host is the living room.

The Ingredients

Slices of white bread (day old or more is fine): it is one per roll up so how ever many roll ups you need

Cured Anchovy fillets (like from a jar or can, not fresh ones): One per slice of bread

Butter or olive oil or pesto: enough to cover each slice generously

Parmesan or other hard cheese grated: enough to cover each slice generously

The Tools

A loaf pan and a rolling pin would be very handy. You might need some toothpicks. A pastry brush would help if you are using olive oil

The Method

Take a slice of bread and remove the crusts on all four sides. Save these for making croutons or breadcrumbs!
Give the slice a quick once over with your rolling pin to flatten it a bit
Spread the slice with butter or olive oil or pesto or whatever you are using
Sprinkle with cheese
Put one anchovy fillet on the edge of the slice closest to you and carefully roll up
If necessary secure the roll with a cocktail stick
Trim the roll so it fits nicely in your loaf pan
Repeat as many times as necessary
Just before baking brush with a little bit of olive oil
Bake in a medium to hot oven (about 350) until just golden on top
Remove and cut in half and serve hot hot hot

The Result

I tried this out with just one slice to see how it would go and it was quite yummy!

Will post a pic and let you know what SD thinks tomorrow

**Update! 20/08/2010**

SD says: "These are soooo good! They woooork."

So I will be making these again.

Recommendations

The actual recipe in the book calls for butter and mustard to be spread on the bread but I didn’t fancy this. I needed to use up my pesto so I would have a good excuse to make more.

I will admit that anchovies are not for everyone but I am seriously an anchovy convert. I would never have thought of making this salty oily little miracle a regular ingredient in my cooking if I had not met SD. He eats them like candy.

But you don’t have to use anchovies. You can use sundried tomatoes or olives or feta cheese or salami.

You get the idea.

It is up to YOU. And that is such a fantastic thing! To put your love and passion and taste into something you share with the people you love.

That is what this blog is all about really.

Sharing.

Sharing your home, your table, yourself. And by sharing you create a shared and meaningful experience for the two of you.

Easy Basic Thin Crust Pizza Dough and a Few Yeast Bread Facts

2010-08-16T21:17:00.003+01:00

Yay! Recipe time!

I wanted to share this great basic thin crust pizza dough recipe with you. It is a great basic cooking skill to have in your repertoire because it is so versatile. It is a simple yeast dough and it is easy to make because it does not involve the rising and proofing that most other yeast breads require.

Just mix it up and roll it out and bake. It is lovely and light but also very satisfying. It can also be frozen successfully so you can make a batch or two ahead and then just thaw over night in the fridge when you need it.

I prefer a thin crust pizza like the recipe below because it is less filling and the tasty toppings can take centre stage.

When I cook for SD there are a particular set up circumstances that tend to dictate what goes on the menu.

SD usually turns up quite late on a Friday night. About 9:30.

Because he gets in so late and he is tired and it is Friday and Friday food should be fun I try to keep things light and relaxed. Firstly because it is not pleasant to sleep to a full stomach of rich heavy food and second because there a few things we would like to get down to before sleeping that are also not as good after a big meal. Yes I mean sex there. This blog is, in part, about sex and using food to enhance intimate experiences.

A good tip, if you are planning a special night in with your someone special, is to keep the food light, high in protein, and incorporate some carbohydrates for energy. Small portions and lots of courses. Sex is actually very good exercise and people who exercise regularly need protein and good carbohydrates to keep them going!

If I cook for us on Saturday night then the meal does tend to be bigger and richer and a little more formal because we can eat earlier and take our time. I have tried the three course meal on a Friday night and it is just too late. By the time we are finished we are too tired for anything!

So pizza is perfect for a Friday night. I put it in the oven when he gets in, he gets changed and has a beer, and then all I need to do is take it out of the oven and slice it up. Easy, sexy, delicious, and fun!

This makes two very thin 12 inch pizza bases or one thicker 12 inch base. I like the very thin option and will freeze half the dough for later.

The Ingredients

1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup hot (not boiling) water
2- 2 ½ cups strong white (bread) flour
1 generous pinch course sea salt

The Tools

Nothing out of the ordinary. You hands and a rolling pin are quite important. If you have a proper pizza pan or stone then YAY! But a regular baking sheet will do

The Method

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for about 10 minutes. It should be frothy.
In a separate bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of the flour and salt
If you are going to be making up the pizza right away now it the time to turn on your oven to its highest setting to pre-heat
Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well
Add flour until it becomes easy to handle and turn out on to a floured work surface
Knead for about 2 minutes (set your timer!) adding enough flour as you go so that the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
For the two base version divide the dough in half and roll into balls
Let the dough rest for a couple minutes but no more that that or it will start to rise which you don’t really want
Take one ball and flour your work surface again and roll out into a circle
The dough is quite resilient so it will take some stretching to get it to 11-12 inches and stay there. It will be about half a centimetre thick (sorry I just can’t think in inches when things are that thin but that is maybe about 1/8 inch?)
Place the base on your ungreased sheet and slather with what ever toppings you choose
Bake in a very hot oven until the toppings are bubbling and the edges are golden brown
Remove, slice, and eat immediately!

The Result

Ready to go in the oven this one was topped with tomato paste, zathar, mozzarella, basil, and onion. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take a picture after baking. We were too hungry!

I have done pizza a couple of times and SD really enjoyed it. Depending on what toppings you have it is totally different each time.

Recommendations

This pizza base recipe is great because it is strong enough to really load up but tasty enough to almost stand on its own.

You can go for the traditional tomato sauce and mozzarella or if you want to try something a bit different go naked. That is forgo the tomato sauce and brush with pesto and top that with a little bit of basil or rocket, Gorgonzola and prosciutto.

Other interesting toppings to try are caramelized onion, olive oil and zathar, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes, cooked baby shrimp, roast garlic, and just about any cheese you can name.

You are not limited to the 12 inch crust here either. Roll out smaller portions for delicious little cocktail pizzas.

There is also the option of baking the crust, letting it cool and topping it with cold toppings. For your mini cocktail pizzas picture cream cheese and caviar or smoked salmon!

This dough freezes very well. Wrap it up in a freezer bag allowing a little room for expansion and the dough will rise a bit before it freezes. When you need it let it thaw in the fridge and give it a bit of a knead before rolling out.

The Science

For the geekier among my readership I thought I would include some domestic science facts about yeast breads that may encourage you to experiment with coming up with your own yeast dough. There are a few things, if you know them, that will help you make better decisions in formulating your yeasty recipes.

Yeast breads use carbon dioxide to rise and this carbon dioxide is produced by the yeast. Yeast is a living thing and like all living things it needs to warmth, food, and water into order to survive. If it doesn’t have enough to eat or if it gets too cold or too hot it will die.

All bread dough recipes will have some sort of sugar in them. Even if it is just a pinch. It could be regular white sugar or brown or even honey. In the end it is all sugar of some kind. The yeast consumes the sugar and water and excretes carbon dioxide.

To put it bluntly: yeast farts make your bread rise.

If the yeast is dead your dough won’t rise. This is why it is important to mix the yeast and sugar before adding the flour. If the sugar/water mix goes frothy then you know the yeast is working.

Flour contains a protein called gluten and the more it is worked the stretchier it becomes. The stretchier your gluten the easier it is for the gas made by the yeast to push the dough up. You make your gluten stretchy by kneading it. Kneading also takes the gas out of your bread dough. Yes this is confusing until you look at the process of making different kinds of breads.

Dough is allowed to rise twice in most cases. You mix the dough and knead it to start activating the gluten and then let it rest to rise. After rising you knead it again, shape it, and then let it rise a second time before baking.

In the context of the thin crust pizza it makes sense. You only knead for about two minutes so the gluten does not get worked much and that makes it more difficult for the dough to rise. This is what helps keep it thin. You also bake it immediately after mixing and kneading. It doesn’t get a chance to rise much before you kill off the gas producing yeast in a very hot oven.

Sunday Best: It's ALLLLL About the Hummus

2010-08-16T08:57:00.000+01:00

There are so many great comments on the project that I compile the week's best every Sunday and post them up with links to the contributors.

Well even with just the one post last week people had a lot to share with us! And yes I am a wee bit late with the Sunday part. SD and I had such a busy weekend that by the time I got home yesterday all I could do was flop on the couch and stare at the wall!

If you ever happen to be near Chelford in Cheshire (England) in the middle of August I would encourage you to go to the Astle Park Traction Engine Rally.

Katie commented that she wants to try incorporating more raw foods into her family's diet and was keen to try making hummus. Hummus is a tasty and relativley healthy food. Lots of fiber and other good stuff. Just go easy on the olive oil and serve with veg instead of bread.

Judy from Cranberry Morning stopped by again.

Your hummus looks and sounds wonderful! I love that stuff. On the rare occasion that I eat out (mostly because of food sensitivities and the fact that I'm too cheap to spend money on food that doesn't taste as good as that I make at home)... I will try to replicate a recipe. I came home inspired by Good Earth Restaurant and made a gluten-free version of their Greek pizza. Pretty good! :-)

Last Friday's Cranberry Morning post shows what an Anglophile brings home from shopping. :-)

Thanks for your comment on my Red Phone Box post. :-)

I need to go dig out a can of garbanzos.

We rarely eat out and for mostly the same reasons! Thankfully we don't have any allergies or sensitivities. Meals out are usually ethnic food, which we both love, and which we simply could not cook at home for lack of ingredients and knowledge. There is no way we could reproduce the variety of dishes we get down at our favourite Chinese place!

Alex from Ma What's 4 Dinner shared a great food memory with us after reading about how I was introduced to hummus (everyone seemed to love the hummus this week!)

Mmm, this is just like my recipe. I love homemade hummus. And it's so easy to make! I used to go to a greek restaurant in Los Angeles with all my girlfriends where they sang and danced and broke plates. Their tzatziki was sooooooo good. Oh oh oh, and their chicken lemon soup??? Only the girls went though. Never a hubs restaurant. Loved it!

I love Greek food. We had a brilliant Greek place just down the road from us in Vancouver where we often went Friday nights for beer and tapas.

As always I want to thank everyone who stopped by and subscribed, commented, or just had a read. I know how valuable time is and it does mean a lot to me that you spend your valuable time here instead of somewhere else.

SD is down at mine this week so the kitchen will be back on line shortly.