It’s that time of the year again when us men develop a serious case of amnesia! That’s right, there’s a last minute dash to the local service station to pick up a bottle of wine that should have a Sarsons label on it, flowers that should have been included in potpourri a long time ago and chocolates with a cocoa percentage lower than that of the alcohol in the wine! That’s right – it’s Valentines Day!!

This week’s selection is as romantic as it get’s…in terms of wine anyhow – it’s a touch of bubbly! Whilst good champagne can be costly, we have included the recession busting Prosecco – a truly great bit of fizz at a very reasonable price given the quality on offer. Don’t let Valentine’s Day slip by without it!

San Guiseppe – Prosecco

Made famous through being the primary ingredient of the Harry’s Bar inspired cocktail, The Bellini, Prosecco is rapidly becoming one of the most fashionable wines out there. So fashionable in fact that Paris Hilton has recently been the face of a “Prosecco-in-a-can” called “Rich Prosecco.” Don’t be rushing out to buy this particular brand however, as any wine that comes in “flavours” such as original, passion fruit or strawberry, should be avoided at all costs! This drink has caused so much uproar amongst the genuine Prosecco producers that one has been quoted as saying “Hilton Hotels are a sign of quality; Paris Hilton is not!” Anyhow, back to the Prosecco in question! San Giuseppe has created one of the finest “Spumante” or “fully sparkling” versions around. It has that difficult to achieve benchmark of good bubbly of maintaining very small, fine bubbles (or mousse) that cheap producers just cannot match. The number of customers who have come in who are adamant that they do not like sparking wines have been converted by this very bottle is truly astonishing. They have discovered that sparkling wine does not have to be synonymous with foam in your mouth and a serious dose of heart burn! The flavours that develop from this wine are of ripe fruit such as pears, melon and apple. Truly wonderful and was my choice of fizz for my wedding – a fine recommendation!

Herve Mathelin – Champagne

Latino lover Ricky Martin may have belted out a few good tunes in his time (arguably), however one particular line is liable to drive me mad every time I catch it on the radio, namely; “She never drinks the water and makes you order French Champagne.” Those who know their wine will know exactly what I am on about here… namely you can only get Champagne from France! Just like you can’t get Parma Ham from anywhere other than Parma or Roquefort cheese anywhere other than Roquefort-Sur-Soulzon, bottles that bear the name “Champagne” must come from the Champagne region. Not that this necessarily guarantees quality (many, many Champagnes can be just as questionable as any other sparkling wines), however it does mean that you get a wine from a region that was tailor made to produce the right conditions for this wonderful celebratory drink. Sparkling wines require a high degree of acidity for the long ageing process necessary to make a fine wine. In order to achieve acidity, the grapes need to experience a long growing season in relatively cool conditions. Champagne’s location as the most Northerly growing region in France guarantees just this. What will you expect from this wine? Well, you are guaranteed a really crisp, refreshing champagne equivalent to one of at least twice the price. How is this achieved? Well, saving money by not having to support the huge marketing spend of the large Champagne Houses helps! Pay for the wine, not the advertising that goes on behind it!

Herve Mathelin – Rosé Champagne

Nothing says you love her more than a bottle of girly pink coloured Champagne! OK, I’m talking rubbish here obviously, but to be honest there’s something (in general terms) that females find a little more romantic about a Rosé Champagne! And maybe they have a point when you get to sample a good version of this fabulous fizz. The rose versions have the same weight as a white wine, but the added dimension of the red fruits on the palate (think strawberry and cherry). Differing from the white variety in the production method, Rosé Champagnes are made only from the red grape varieties and they get the pink tinge from a limited time of contact between the crushed juice and the grape skins during the maturation process (want to find our more about the maturation process ? You’ll just have to join our wine course)! Produced using the more costly “traditional method,” where the fizz is created in-bottle through a second fermentation process, this Champagne is again real value for money. Redcurrant and raspberries greet you on contact and the fine bubbles tickle your tongue into a Champagne heaven! When should this be opened during my romantic meal? Well, if you want to really impress this Valentine’s weekend, tell her that it is equally at home being  an Aperitif as it is a Digestif! What does that mean!? It goes either at the start or end of the proceedings!! Enjoy!

After 25 years cooking both professionally as a home economist and for my own family I have a good idea of what’s essential in the kitchen.

I think for those beginning their kitchen it’s best keep the equipment to a minimum until you get a ‘feel’ for it. The more you enjoy cooking (or building a show kitchen!) the more gadgets you buy. These often become trophies, carrying dust on a shelf or filling up drawers. Believe me, I often had the remnants of age old fancy gadgets taking up space in my kitchen.

Ask yourself before you buy new equipment ‘is this going to add regular value to my life?‘. If not then don’t buy it. Tired kitchens usually have cupboards full of gadgets that aren’t used. There is only one rule to abide in this case. If you buy a new kitchen gadget make sure to discard one that hasn’t been used in the last 18 months.

Here is a list of what I consider to be essential cooking equipment. None of these should gather dust in your house.

Cookware

• 1 medium frying or sauté pan with lid
• 1 small saucepan with lid
• 1 milk pan (small pan with a pouring lip)
• 1 medium frying or sauté pan with lid
• 1 Wok
• 1 Steamer to fit large saucepan
• Roasting tin

Tools and utensils 

• Grater
• Sieve
• Whisk
• Measuring jug
• Ladle
• Potato masher
• Colander
• Slotted spoon
• Tongs
• Can opener

Knives/Cutlery Cutting Boards

• Large Cooks knife and or Serrated Bread Knife
• 20cm Kitchen Knife
• Paring/Vegetable Knife
• Vegetable peeler
• Palette Knife
• Fish Slice
• Kitchen Scissors
• 2 Tablespoons
• 6 Teaspoons
• 6 Dessert Spoons
• 6 Forks
• 6 Knives
• 3 Wooden Spoons
• Cutting Board (For meat)
• Cutting Board for Everything Else
• 1 Small cutting Board for Onions and Garlic

Bakeware

• 3 Mixing Bowls (different sizes)
• 1 Metal Mixing Bowl
• Pastry Board or Sheet
• Spatula
• Rolling Pin
• Pastry Brush
• Selection of Baking Tins and Sheets
• Weighing Scales
• Measuring Cups

Basic Electrical Equipment

• Stick Blender and / or Small Food Processor
• Hand Mixer
• Kettle
• Toaster

Food Storage Items

• Kilna Jars or glass jars with tight fitting lids.(Various Sizes)
• Airtight Plastic Containers with Lids (Various Sizes)
• One Portion Plastic And Foil Containers
• Freezer Labels
• Plastic Bags

Serving Dishes

• Selection side and dinner plates
• Cereal Bowls
• Serving Bowls

Miscellaneous

• Recipe Books / Digital Cookery Book
• Aprons
• Oven Gloves
• Dish Clothes
• Mop and Mop Bucket
• Portion Control Gadgets

Halloween – So Celtic and so now.

Halloween is thought to originate from the Celtic Samhain Festival which celebrated the end of the Summer and the beginning of the ‘dark side of the year’ – Winter. It was a time of taking stock of life, food  and  closing  the door on Summer, opening it to the ‘Other world’  Costumes at this time were worn to disguise themselves from evil spirits and trick and treat is thought to originate from the door to door collection of food for the Samhain Festival.

So whether you are taking stock of your food for the Winter or gearing up for a Halloween Party,  try out  my Halloween recipes to help you enjoy the day.

How to Carve a Pumpkin

http://blog.siansplan.com/2011/10/28/how-to-carve-a-halloween-pumpkin/

Halloween Pumpkin Soup

http://siansplan.com/site/recipepage.aspx?recipe=13&source=Siansplan

Halloween Devilled Sausages with Fire in The Mash

http://siansplan.com/site/recipepage.aspx?recipe=734&source=Siansplan

Halloween Chocolate and Beetroot Cake or in other words Death By Chocolate.

http://siansplan.com/site/recipepage.aspx?recipe=733&source=Siansplan

“I couldn’t agree more, my body is a temple too!” - the classic Irish TV ad of children portrayed as adults talking in the kitchen, which for the life of me I cannot remember who the ad is for of could I find it on youtube. So if you remember the ad and can find I love if you could pass it on.

So this post got a little delayed, who is to blame? Simple, I blame the Italian Sun, wine and lifestyle, as I took some time off to ‘enjoy’ my time in Italy, from visiting the Last Supper in Milan, to taking a dip in the Mediterranean, can you blame me?

It is that time of year Mam and Dads, dig out your scissors and sellotape, it’s book covering time. Back to school is a stressful time for parents and the young’uns a like, parents have to fork out shed loads on books, uniforms etc, while lets face it the kids have it worse. They are being ripped away from the early morning cartoons, their freedom and all that they have known for the past 2 months, which lets face it feels like 2 years for them.

Well fear not, Captain Slow is here, with some quick tips on the best way to make sure that their lunchboxes are packed with good food. Who knows maybe Captain Slow can be the deciding factor on them choosing an apple or a chocolate bar. “You are what you eat” the famous word’s of Channel 4’s Gillian McKeith, if you don’t know who she is, she is the one who looks at ‘stools’ for a living, and no I don’t mean the kind you sit on. You wouldn’t shove your kids with E numbers and chemicals if they were in tablet form (or at least I hope not), so why in the form of sweets, juices and fizzy drinks?

Here is a few quick and easy steps to keeping your little ones in tip top shape, happy and most importantly, keeping their little tummy’s full.

Step 1: The Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a whole night of fasting, it is very important that they get some good food to kickstart their day. Sugar coated cereals, a slice of brennans sliced pan dropped in the toaster and plastered with butter, is not a good breakfast. They need slow burning foods that will keep them going until lunch and studies have been shown that eating a healthy breakfast, reduces ‘snacking’, and in turn reduces risk of obesity.

What I would recommend is simple;

1)    For those cold mornings, some nice fresh Porridge, and I don’t mean ‘Ready brek’, I mean real oats, drizzled with some honey, and a hand full of dried fruits or berries

2)    Some Natural yoghurt with oats/museli and chopped fruit like banana

3)    Poached egg on some homemade brown bread

What you need to be thinking is how many ingredients went into this product, and how many are natural, if you choose natural foods with little ingredients, your little monsters will be in great health.

Step 2: The Lunchbox

The lunch box, a big tool for kids in school, from having the latest superhero on the box, to having the best lunch and offering trades, (just shows they are little entrepreneurs). A lot hinges of ‘the lunchbox’ and it can make or break your child’s popularity, so first tip is make sure they have the latest ‘cool’ lunch box. I still remember many of mine, Postman Pat, Fireman Sam, Power Rangers, Arsenal, Superman and Pokemon, just some of the lunchboxes I boasted, but sadly it didn’t help my popularity.

Lunchbox tips;

1)    Everybody remembers them little lunch box sized packs of raisins. You know the one, the red matchbox, with the woman and sun behind here, sun-maid raisins I believe they are called. A great lunch box snack.

2)    Fruit is always a winner, from your apples, your tricky oranges that can be a nightmare for the little ones to peel, to the lunchboxes nemesis ‘the banana’. Chopped or whole, it doesnt matter fruit will provide your kids with pleny of vitamins to thrive throughout the day.

3)    Cheese, oozing with calcium, cheese is a must, and I do not mean ‘cheesestrings’ I am sure but they have to be made from recycled tyres or something, they are not real cheese. I mean some nice cheeses like Comte, Red Leicester, just take a trip to Sheridan’s Cheesemongers and bring the kids along, they will look after you and it will give the little ones a chance to taste the cheese and pick their favourite. And of course seeing all the cheeses in their true glory will surely encourage the kids to opt for real cheese over ‘recycled tyres’. But, be careful as of course cheese is also high in fat, so keep it in moderation.

4)    Fruit juices and water, avoid sugary, concentrated juices. Again look at the ingredients a fruit juice should have no more than 100% fruit and maybe Vitamin C, an antioxident in their ingredients. Say no to sugar and E numbers.

5)    Homemade bread is the best! Batch loaf, sliced pan, while they make sandwich making quick and easy, they are full of sugar, salt and god knows what else. You can’t beat a good old ham and cheese on freshly baked brown bread, this leads me to the ham. Processed foods are the devil, pumped with chemicals and salt, you should instead opt to buy some ham from your local butcher or delicatessen.

6)    Why not introduce your children to Hummus and Pesto?

Step 3: The Dinner

After a long day in school, the little ones will no doubt be exhausted and ready to eat all around them. First tip is do not let them junk snack; junk snacking is a major cause of people becoming over weight. Instead offer them an apple, banana, something healthy, if dinner will be awhile. The importance of a good healthy dinner cannot be stressed enough and if you are reading this, you will agree with me of course, especially visiting such a wonderful site like Siansplan.

With Siansplan, there are no excuses anymore, Sian and Vincent have made meal planning seem like ‘child’s play’. So get planning. They have plenty of tips, but I will give you some quick ones that come to mind instantly.

Dinner Tip’s

1)    Eat Less Meat, Eat Greener! We consume way too much meat, often not good quality meat and more often processed. Not only does this have ill effects on you and children, but it is also destroying the Earth. Did you know “You save more water not eating 1 pound of beef, than you do not showering for 6 months”. Substitute meat, with beans and lentils, add them to pasta, stews, casseroles they are versatile little things.

2)    One man’s trash, is another mans treasure. Use Leftovers, stop food waste. Remember 4 ‘Red’ days, 2 ‘Orange’ and one ‘Green’ (See Sianplan’s meal planning in colour).

3)    Choose fresh fruit and vegetables, vegetables were not meant to be sold in a bag. Fresh is best! Why not instead take the advice of Oprah, and chop all your vegetables for the week at once to save you time? If there is any leftover vegetables, you can surprise the little ones with a nice bowl of soup.

4)    Cut out fizzy drinks at dinner, opt for fresh juices, water, or a glass of skimmed milk. As a child, being notoriously difficult at the dinner table, playing with my food, and filling up with drinks, I will never forget my uncles rule, “1 drink, 1 dinner”. Don’t fill them with drinks, fill them with nutritional goodness.

5)    I may have a superheroes name, but all you home cooks are the true heroes. So why not use your culinary powers and weapons of ‘mass deliciousness’, to feed them little ones with fresh, artisan, local, healthy and Homemade.

6)    Reward them every now and again, bring back Friday as chip day, when I was little, Friday was always chip day, the only day I was allowed homemade chips. Why not reward them with homemade Potato Wedges on a Friday? A healthy option to the saturated French fry. Another nice treat is homemade chicken goujons, all you need is some chicken breasts, the stale leftover homemade loaf (crumbed in food mixer), some flour, and beaten eggs. Simple!

7)    Oh…And don’t forget your 5-6 a day!

Step 4: The Supper

Ok so not the last supper, but why can’t every supper be as significant as the infamous last?

My favourite supper was always a warm glass of milk and some lightly toasted homemade brown seeded bread, with butter. But there are lots of healthy options to fill their little bellies before they go to sleep.

Supper tips

1) Make sure they have there little bedtime snack at least 30 minutes – 1 hour before closing their eyes for the night. This gives plenty of time for their little bellies to settle, and of course time to brush them little milk teeth.

2) Think Protein and Carbs, these help keep them fuller for longer.

3) Rotate breakfast and supper ideas. Porridge is a great breakfast and supper dish, but the last thing we want is them losing interest in porridge, so shake things up rotate.

4) Avoid biscuits, cakes, and other sugary, fatty items. I hope I have drilled this into your heads by now, but we all know these are not good choices, so this goes without saying.

5) Sandwiches, Whole grain cereal and milk, cheese and crackers, boiled egg, homemade granola bars, just some ideas.

6) One last tip, get them fed and bedded as quick as you can, giving you plenty of them to spend time with that bottle of wine in the frigde.

On that note, I think I will open that bottle of wine in the fridge and relax some more. Happy cooking.

Peas and Love,

Captain Slow.

Feature photo obtained here

Siansplan.com pit their wits against some of the world’s finest food tech companies and universities

We are extremely proud to announce that amongst the vast range of internationally recognised, and successfully funded digital food technology companies at the 5th International Computer Cooking  Competition, our self-funded Mother and Son start-up from Donegal, Ireland called Siansplan.com will present our food solution to a world class jury of experts in the digital and food sector.

The 5th International Computer Cooking Competition which this year takes place in Lyon, France on 3rd September pits against each other, the world’s finest food tech companies and universities from the US, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Belgium and we are there amongst the best as one of the 13 finalists. The competition is all about using innovative digital platforms to help home cooks. We couldn’t have fitted in any better!

Vincent and myself are now preparing our pitch to present to a panel of computer scientists and chefs at this prestigious competition. The thirteen finalists have already impressed the judges with their problem solving technology, as the standard of entry this year was extremely high. We are delighted that our  technology has now been rated as one of the best in the world,  for solving home cooking challenges.

We thank you for your continued support and guidance. We couldn’t do it without you and look forward to working together with you in developing our platform further. We couldn’t do it without your help

Visit  Siansplan.com for further information or to sign up for free membership, we can make your life easier.

Details on competition – http://computercookingcontest.net/details.html

Sian

“Clowns to the left of me, Joker’s to the right, Here I am Stuck in the middle with you” 

Clowns is right, we are stuck in the middle of a world where; not the producers, not the chefs, not the consumers, but clowns, hold the power (like what I did there? I am such a joker). Jokes aside, this problem has reached an all new level, not only do “1 in 4” of us chow down to a fast food meal everyday, (which is supossedly cheap) but now we are witnessing the “Super-fat watching the Super-fit”, as McDonalds operate as one of the main sponsors of this years Olympic Games, in London.

Opening the largest McDonalds in the world, with an estimate of serving 1,200 patrons an hour and taking an estimated £3 million out of the pockets of hungry spectators, it is funny how McDonalds are making so much money off of the Super-fit. Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, even ate chicken nuggets before setting the world record back at the 2008 edition. How have we got this far that our super-fit, endorse this unhealthy food? Two words; Power and Money, ok that is three, but you get what I mean.

..I give you, the City of McDonalds..

The shear amount of power that we have allowed companies like McDonalds absorb will be clearly defined in my next sentence. “McDonalds have monopolised the Olympic chip market, with their chips being the only allowed to be sold within Olympic park”. But just to show how nice they are, they are allowing chips to be sold as part of a Fish’n’chip deal at other companies. Power and Money wins.  We need to change this. In my last two posts I have said this, but, we need to vote with our forks!

145 million people eat McDonalds worldwide, PER DAY – That is why they have so much power and money

“The history of the twentieth century was dominated by the struggle against totalitarian systems of state power. The twenty-first will no doubt be marked by a struggle to curtail excessive corporate power.” ― Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation

..I know how you feel..

“Fast Food is cheaper”, the age old response to the Fast vs Slow Food argument. But, you have been fed the wrong McInfomation, just ask your accountant. While the lure of not having to cook, and as a particularly laid back person (nice way of putting I am Lazy), I can see the appeal, but your doctor and accountant certainly wont.  Talking of not having to cook for your kids after work, I am reminded of the hit U.S. TV series The Middle, where Frankie, a working mother comes home from work with ‘dinner’ in her hand, opens the front door and shouts, “dinner’s ready”. The lure of feeding your kids without breaking a sweat, after a long days work, is always a temptation, but we need to say NO! If you won’t listen to me, well then please listen to your doctor and accountant.

For this post, forget animal welfare, forget ethics, food hygiene, biodiversity, where your food comes from, the 101 reasons why not to choose Fast Food and focus on one, Money, your accountant. We all know of the health risks and the relationship of Fast Food and Obesity, like those two lovesick teenagers head-over heels in summer love from your guilty pleasure that is, Grease. Good old John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

From the beautiful infograph below courtesy of The New York Times, it is clear that Fast Food is more expensive.  Lets break it down financially;

Cost per Portion (4) 

Savings

Now if I told you that I could save you 67% of the money you spend, you would jump at the chance. Well then jump! €8,289.15, that is the figure that you would spend if you were to eat Fast Food everyday for one year. €5,553.73 is the amount you would save eating beans and rice, that would pay for one nice holiday.

The next time that you are tempted by the Fast Food Devil, think of your suntan and think of what your accountant and doctor would say. There are always other means to make good food fast, Pasta takes 5-6 mins to cook, try making dinners in bulk and freezing some for a rainy day. Where there is a will, there is a way.

PLANNING A MCDONALDS, IS NOT MEAL PLANNING

Photos: Money Burger ; Clowns to the left ; crying clown ; mcdonald’s olympic park ; Fast Food Infograph

“When we run an item passed the supermarket scanner, we are voting, for local, or not, for Organic, or not” – Food Inc. (movie)

Do It, Buy It, Cook It, Eat It, Grow It; the million-dollar question is; what is missing from this sequence though?                                                                   YOU!

You are the most important person in the world, you can help change our flawed food system, you can cast your vote every time you enter a supermarket, you can support local, you can change the minds of the corporate bodies who have a tight grasp around our food system, you can do a lot for one person.

We reside in a “free, democratic” world, yet we are constantly having our food choices made for us by those with power. From being told we cannot drink Raw Milk, to being force fed Fast Food through means of mass advertisement, we need to stand up and VOTE. We need to vote with our forks!

"Vote With Your Fork"

In the words of JFK, “One person can make a difference and everyone should try”.

Supermarket shelves are packed full of E-numbers, sugar, fats, salt and god knows what else. Take a jar of pesto, I say pesto because spending time here in Italy, you really appreciate the difference from homemade and store bought pesto, nothing can beat the real thing. Mincing freshly picked basil, the joy of undressing a clove of garlic, grating a mountain of Parmesan, crushing a handful of freshly toasted pine nuts, and finally uniting it all with the drizzling of some extra virgin olive oil, what can beat that? Homemade pesto is simple, and can be made in a matter of minutes, below is a great video on how to make homemade pesto quick and easy, brought to you by people at Kinfolk.

This concept of DIY is simple; produce good, clean and fair food for you family, instead of filling them with chemical cocktails. Remember your body is a temple, so start honouring it with the food it deserves. From Jam making, homemade pesto, burgers, chicken goujons, to healthy granola bars for the little ones lunch boxes, make cooking fun again and involve the little chefs too. Why not make a years supply of jam one Sunday as a fun activity, or take some free range chicken fillets, slice them into strips and breadcrumb them, let the little creatures get their hands dirty and the end product will be good, clean and fair goujons that can be cooked just as easy as their frozen chemically intoxicated cousins, that fill the freezer. And why not make a big batch and freeze them. DIY food is fun, tasty, cheaper, and healthier.

We need to bring our children, the future of food, back in touch with the food they eat. To me, when children cannot associate flour with wheat, milk with cows, eggs with hens, there is something wrong.  We need to educate our youth, and there are plenty of fun ways in doing so, from appointing them as your sidekick in the kitchen, passing your culinary superpowers on to them, showing them how to do it themselves, let them cover themselves in flour, but most of all, showing them food is fun and not just a necessity for survival.  Let them take a Herb Challenge, give them a small piece of a herb and send them to the garden to find that herb, let them use their senses. Make food fun! 

I will leave you with the wise words of none other than Dr. Seuss

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.” – The Lorax

Can you name all 8 vegetables in the picture  taken in Borough Market London on my last visit in June 2012?

Be the first to list as many as you can and don’t worry if you only know one or two, I had to do some research myself. Congratulations if you know them all. Don’t forget to show off and let our community know that you know. Now all that is left to do is try them all out. Answers in my next blog.

Are you reluctant to purchase cut herbs because they don’t last very long. The alternative is to buy  potted herbs which cost more or grow your own, unfortunately not all of us are inclined to have green fingers. With careful storing herbs can stay fresh for least an extra week or two depending on the type of herb. Woody type herbs such as thyme  stay fresh this way for weeks, whilst dill, parsley and coriander, will last about 10 days, if stored properly.

Dampen 2 sheets of kitchen paper, place on a flat surface. Place herbs onto paper.

Wrap the damp kitchen paper around the bunch of herbs

Repeat with all selected herbs

Place the wrapped herbs in an air tight plastic box

Cover herbs with a lid. Store in a fridge, use as required to flavour and add extra nutrients to your meals without worrying about wasting money.