Category: stuff

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Remember to thaw out the puff pastry…

Just a tip really, when cooking boeuf en croute (beef in puff pastry) remember to get the frozen puff pastry out in plenty of time!

Trying to thaw out puff pastry quickly basically doesn’t work, it will either break into lots of pieces, or go funny in the microwave.

Even if you manage to overcome those problems, it cooks okay, but not perfectly.

So tip of the day, go out and buy fresh puff pastry, make your own, or if you are using frozen puff pastry get it out of the freezer in plenty of time and not thirty minutes before you want to start cooking.

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Ugh

Have just been watching Rick Stein on BBC Two and to be honest nothing I saw was remotely appetising!

Maybe it was where he was, but most of the dishes I saw I didn’t like the look of, so much so I turned it off!

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Bizarre!

There are some good food programmes on television, there are some really good programmes, there are some poor offerings and then there is the downright bizarre!

In the Ready, Steady, Cook slot is a bizarre programme called Food Poker!

Food Poker

Basically chefs play a weird kind of poker to pitch a dish from ingredients that are on their cards.

As a result you get weird dishes like oriental haggis!

It is just bizarre.

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I know, but they taste so nice…

I am generally very much as fan of fresh produce, organic tasty home cooked food and a proponent of home baking.

So why do I enjoy Mr Kipling’s Bakewell Slices so much?

They taste so nice!

I know I could cook a “better” bakewell tart, one which contains a lot less sugars, additives and probably a lot more taste (and more natural almond taste).

There is something I guess nostalgic for me about these slices and it is that memory I am enjoying again through the slices rather than the actual taste.

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Sweet Potato

I have really got back into sweet potato.

sweet potato

I use to eat it a lot and as with anything you eat too much of, got kind of bored of it. Recently I have got back into it. My preference is simple to cut into slices and roast in the oven with a splash of olive oil. They then have a natural sweetness which really adds to a meal.

I do also quite like them mashed, but roasted slices will always be my first choice.

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Mussels

Do you know I can’t remember if I should only be eating mussels when there is an ‘r’ in the month, or when there isn’t!

Mussels

I use to really enjoy mussels, both fresh and those large New Zealand green ones, but recently seem to have gone off them. As with any food, too much of a good thing can result in one no longer enjoying it as much as one did.

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Munchkin Pumpkin

Small, yet perfectly formed.

The Munchkin Pumpkin is as you would expect from the name, a miniature pumpkin.

Today I cut the one I had bought into wedges and roasted in the oven for about thirty minutes with a splash of olive oil and some honey.

The end result, looked quite nice, but there wasn’t much flavour. The parsnips and sweet potato I had done alongside were much nicer and with a really nice natural sweet flavour (no honey on them).

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Border Biscuits

I originally had these biscuits when I would make business visits to Scotland, so am always pleased when I can find them south of the border.

These are some of my favourite biscuits, they are perfectly cooked, extremely buttery and melt in the mouth like they ought to

Border Biscuits.

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How much salt?

Blinding obvious comes to mind when I read on the BBC about the CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) report on salt in fast food.

The daily recommended intake of salt for an adult is just 6g.

According to the Cash survey, a family of four sharing a Pizza Hut meal deal – consisting of one Cheesy Bites Meat Feast, one medium Super Supreme, a portion of garlic bread, a portion of potato wedges, chicken wings, and a cheesecake dessert – could eat 12.3g of salt each.

Most fast food “meals” contain about the daily recommended amount of salt. That’s a lot of salt, and remember some people then add extra salt to their salted food as well.

salt

Most people eat way too much salt, it’s not difficult to cut down, but people forget that herbs and spices can add a huge amount of flavour to a dish without needing to resort to salt.

However it can be difficult if you are going out to eat. It’s surprising how many chefs think that just because they haven’t added salt it’s not salty. I have been offered as salt-free dishes, a salad with olives, cured loin of pork (like gammon) and even ham sandwiches.

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