The Food Monologues

Ingredients (Serves 4 for Starter or 2 very hungry people for lunch)
1 Small Onion (finely chopped)
3 Small Pototoes (cubed)
3 Small Carrots (cubed)
3 Small Parsnips (cubed)
50 g Butter
1 litre Vegetable Stock
250 ml Milk
1 Tablespoon Parsley (finely chopped)
Salt & Pepper to season

Method
Chop onion finely and cook in butter under a gentle heat until softened. Add the vegetables that have been cut into small cubes. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the stock. Bring to the boil and then allow to simmer until the vegetables have softened. Then pour the mixture into a blender and add the milk and parsley. Blend until smooth and then return the soup to the pan and reheat until just boiling. Season to taste and serve with lots of warm crusty bread.

Labels: Recipe

On a shopping expedition today, I came across a waffle iron that was reasonably price so naturally I had to buy it and of course make waffles. And so started an epic waffle making session. I didn't realise just how many waffles could be made with the recipe, but in the end, I made 18, though I think I could have made two more as I overfilled the waffle iron a couple of times. So there were plenty of waffles to go around, hence after feeding Timmy some, we took some round to his family and I took some to my family.

Waffle Batter Recipe (Makes 20)
250g Butter
200g Sugar
500g Plain Flour
500ml Milk
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Cream the butter and sugar, add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Use waffle iron to make lots and lots of waffles. Serve sprinkled with sugar and powdered cinnamon, whipped cream or ice cream.

My parents wanted me to drive them to the local high street this morning to do some shopping. My dad wanted to buy some more frozen duck from Farm Stores as they were on offer at two for £5.00. However, they had sold out - so there might be another trip next week to search for ducks. They plan to make wind dried duck, which is quite tasty and quite expensive. Wind dried duck is a whole duck that is flattened, and dried with salt and hung in cool air to cure for about a week. Then a portion of dried duck can be cooked in a pot of boiled rice and this gives the rice a fragant duck aroma. The cooked duck is then cut into small pieces and served with the rice. My mum told me how when she was a child, my grandfather who farmed ducks would preserve ducks for the leaner winter months by this method. My dad told me that a family's prosperity was measured in the number of dried ducks and sausages were hanging in the home.

Today, whilst we were in Bullring looking for Christmas presents, Tim stopped off to buy a bottle of water. After taking downing half a bottle in go, he noticed that the bottle smelt really bad and it truely was vile smelling and Tim spent the next few hours worrying if there was something nasty in the water. But once its drunk, there is nothing you can do about it. It is possibly nothing, but Tim's keeping the bottle for evidence just in case. It makes you think before you take a drink - smell it first.

Both my older sisters are in the catering trade and tonight, both of them came round to visit. Well one of them came to collect her child, who was being looked after by my mum, and the other one came just to see my niece after she closed early because her extractor fan had broken down again. As I was dozing off in the corner, my sisters started to talk shop. When the discussion came to the price of potatoes - chips to be precise, it brought a smile to my face. Especially when my eldest sister started reviewing the qualities of various supermarket brand of frozen chips. Apparently, Tesco frozen chips are not very good - they take too long to cook and their texture isn't right. Iceland have good chips - though they are on the thin side. Her husband prefers the steak cut chips. The there are Kwik Save chips which, though on the thin side, fry to a golden colour, have a nice texture and are reasonably priced. Then the conversation moved onto the quality of long grain rice, and apparently though Costco rice is very reasonably priced, it apparently needs more water to cook - so does that mean that you get more rice for your money?

Christmas is coming and Starbucks have started promoting their range of festive drinks. There is the mint chocolate bliss, the egg nog latte and the the gingerbread latte. Tim and I decided to try the last of the selection and it was foolish of us to contemplate sharing a venti size mug between us. The drink was covered in a thick layer of cream and underneath was a warm milky, very sweet but strong coffee with very little taste of gingerbread. There was a faint aroma of spice, but not enough for it to flavour the drink. Tim and I struggled to even drink the whole of the mug between us. Since we have both been drinking less coffee than we had in the past (for various reasons) the amount of caffeine in that drink was enough to make us queasy - or perhaps it was the high suger content?

Ingredients (makes 8 large muffins)

4 oz Butter
4 oz Sugar
3 oz Self Raising Flour
3 oz Dessicated Coconut
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs
2 Tablespoons of Milk
4 oz Glace Cherries (chopped)

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (180 Degrees C). Line muffin tin with eight paper cups.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and milk to the mixture. Fold in the coconut, baking powder and flour. Add half the cherries to the mixture and spoon into eight muffin cups. Sprinkle the rest of the cherries on top of the mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the muffins have risen and are golden brown. Cool on a baking rack before eating.

Labels: Recipe

On TV last night, we watched a program called Autumn Hairy Crab - a typical food program on the Chinese satellite channel. You got it, an entire television show devoted to this crustacean - how to cook it and eat it. Now this crab sells for about £20 in London restaurants and is a high delicacy, imported from China. Compared to the brown crabs caught off the coast of Britain - they are much smaller and have hairy legs and claws. The program proceeded to show how you can identify a good crab, how to eat it and the many ways in which dishes can be made from it. All mouthwatering stuff and at that price, I should hope it tastes nice too!