jamesclay, Author at Time for a coffee

January 26, 2008June 30, 2020

Waffling

This morning I decided against toast as we were running out of butter and decided to make some waffles.

Waffle Iron

I use an electric waffle iron as it is very convenient, quick, easy and simple to clean.

As for my batter recipe, well I don’t measure, I know I should, but I just put some flour with a little sugar in a bowl, add an egg and then add enough milk until the batter flows, but is thick enough to coat the back of the fork (or spoon).

Into the waffle iron for a five minutes and serve with maple syrup (the real stuff).

Simple and delicious.

Photo source.

January 24, 2008

628 Calories

You know that Grande Mocha you bought from Starbucks this morning.

628 calories.

That’s right a huge chunk of your recommended daily intake of calories.

Oh you had a muffin as well, a skinny one?

Well that’s okay then isn’t it!

Thanks The Register.

January 20, 2008September 20, 2020

Wife of Bath

Sometimes when I get a cheese I like it, and sometimes I don’t. I seem to blog more often about cheeses I don’t like though or cooking with cheese, must change that and start to blog about the cheeses I do like.

Well this is a cheese I think is okay, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy again.

I was at a farm shop and they had a nice looking cheese called Wife of Bath, it looked and sounded interesting and was sold on that. I should have asked to taste some first but I thought it looked really nice.

Well.

I got home and to be honest it was quite bland and lacked substance. It reminded me of Doux De Montagne and if you recall my views on that I said:

To be honest I didn’t think that much of it. The flavour was too mild for me, though I did like the texture. If you like Edam or Port Salut then you will probably enjoy this cheese, though expect the flavour to be quite mild in comparison.

With the Wife of Bath cheese, my views are almost the same.

This is a harder cheese but still lacks “oomph”. It might make an interesting addition to a cheeseboard, but otherwise nothing to go out and try and find.

January 19, 2008

Mango Chutney

Watching Saturday Kitchen this morning and really liked the mango chutney which James Martin made.

A very simple recipe which sounded really easy and looked tasty.

January 17, 2008September 20, 2020

Pork Medallions with Apple

This dish went down very well with the family and is quite quick and simple to make.

Pork Medallions with Apple

Take some pork medallions (slice some pork tenderloin in 1″ slices or ask your butcher) in a hot frying pan, panfry on both side and then let rest.

As you cook the pork, soften half a diced onion with some pancetta in another pan.

Once you have removed the pork, add some butter to the pan and cook some apple slices, until they are soft and brown.

Remove the apple.

Turn the heat up, add some sliced mushrooms, once they are cooked, add the cooked onions and pancetta.

Add some spoonfuls of creme frache and freshly chopped parsley to make a sauce.

Slice the pork, add to a plate with the apple.

Add the sauce and serve with rice.

January 15, 2008December 13, 2020

Starbucks Chocolate

So there I was buying a tall americano and I thought I know I fancy a bar of chocolate, oh look there’s a bar of fairtrade milk chocolate.

Well it was okay, nothing special.

Starbucks Chocolate

But I did finish the bar and I guess that says it all.

January 14, 2008

Amazing Food Pictures

Wow these pictures are amazing and all made from food!

Amazing food pictures

Incredibly, everything you see in this image can be found in the kitchen. Photographer Carl Warner has painstakingly captured all kinds of food in a series of still lifes.

Check out all the pictures on the BBC News website.

January 14, 2008

Book Choice – The River Cottage Fish Book

My book choice this week is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s excellent River Cottage fish book.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s excellent River Cottage fish book

The Spectator said:

Simply the best and most comprehensive work on the subject I have read… a well-illustrated compendium to British fish, it is a great reference book and a good read.

It’s the book which accompanies the television series.

Certainly if you are looking for a fish book which covers some non-traditional more sustainable fish then this is the book for you.

Buy the book from Amazon.

January 13, 2008

Green beans and carrots

One side dish I have been eating a lot recently is a very simple dish of steamed green beans and carrots.

carrots and green beans

Sometimes I add some olive oil, other times butter, usually though I leave them as is. I find that organic is the most tasty.

January 12, 2008

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall calls them “little beauties”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall calls them “little beauties”, what is he talking about?

Oats

Oats!

If ever there were a humble grain, it would be the oat. Derided by the ancient Greeks as a diseased type of wheat, it was dismissed in many cultures as food for the poor, or for animals, and to this day is often undervalued. It still retains an association with dusty health food shops and sloppy institutional breakfasts. Porridge will never be glamorous. Oatcakes are unlikely to become the new blini.