Here's one I read earlier …

Is there anyone out there who likes a spot of culinary history – if there is then you might like to know about Alexis Soyer. There's a book called “Relish” The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer Victorian Celebrity Chef by Ruth Cowen.

This chap was seriously brilliant. If you ever wondered where your fancy dancin' modern ovens, ranges, et al, sprang from – Mr. Soyer.

His list of accomplishments is legendary – he was appointed Chef de Cuisine at The Reform Club in 1837 at 27 years old. The Reform Club – still in existence today – is a private members club in Pall Mall, London which opened in 1841 although construction began in 1837.

Apart from being a Celebrity Chef he designed the kitchens in the Club and, among other innovations, he installed gas stoves. His designs also produced one of the earliest domestic gas cookers.

Anyone heard of the brand name “Crosse & Blackwell” - Mr. Soyer helped create the sauces and relishes that made them famous.

During the Irish potato famine – 1845-1852 – he masterminded soup kitchens.

We then move to the Crimea where his work with army catering saved many lives. Contrary to popular belief far more soldiers died from lack of food than on the battle field. He invented the “Soyer Stove” & “Soyer's Magic Stove”. During his time at the Crimea Florence Nightingale caught Crimean Fever – she survived but was very ill – Mr. Soyer helped her regain her strength by preparing food for her and thus aiding her recovery.

He was a very busy guy, publishing many books – in 1849 came his ground breaking The Modern Housewife or Ménagere - the “Shilling Cookery for the People” came in 1854, which was designed to educate the poor in basic cookery using inexpensive ingredients, readily available. There are others!

These are just tiny nuggets – if you are interested in food or social history or both you'll really enjoy this book.

As for his recipes – we'll save those for another day ….

Post script!

I made the “Hurried Curry” for supper with friends the following evening after the Class. I used the prawns and then served it topped with small pieces of chicken fillet. This recipe is practical – you can make it veggie or pescatarian or neither! The beauty is that you can make your base curry sauce and add ingredients to suit. As mentioned in “What the Ladies said” - “what a change to have the cubed potato and not rice”.

What I also wanted to achieve – knowing of old that curries always require sufficient sauce in which to dip your garlic bread! Another very good reason, I think, for serving this curry in bowls.

So, what I did was to double the amount of the sauce – like so :

1 medium onion, finely diced

glug of vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsp of garlic paste

4 tsps mild curry powder

2 tsp star anise powder or one star anise

*6 tsps of of dark soft brown sugar

*2 tbsp Kecap manis

*2 tbsp dark soy sauce

*2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

*2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 x 160ml coconut cream

I only used one onion and the same weight of prawns, potatoes and peas. I poached small pieces of chicken fillet – they don't take long - 6/7 minutes and then left in the hot stock. You decide how many pieces you want to serve to each person.

There is no doubt that I'll be making this again and, by the sound of it, so will the Ladies from Class – my work here is done!

Pps. This will serve 4 large bowls or six smaller versions. For the supper mentioned I served 4 large bowls with a side of garlic bread. There was a small bowlful left – mine – cook's privilege!

What the Ladies said

The Ladies were very kind, here are their comments :

Paté

“Loved both versions, especially the black olive – a perfect canapé, one that I'll definitely use”

“Both lovely – tasted different but liked the consistency of the plain version. I like paté not cream cheese normally – was surprised how posh and expensive it looked and tasted”

“Delicious – love the texture”

“Was lovely but I preferred the added olives and chives”

“So simple and yet so tasty – didn't want to stop eating it!”

Hurried Curry

“For someone who is not really overly keen on spicy food it was, again, delicious – will definitely be doing this one!”

“Enjoyed the simplicity of the dish with such rich flavours”

“Taste is so rich and proper. Will try alternatives to the peas though – cauliflower is a great idea. Good with potato rather than rice”

“One that will be a firm favourite as is so simple to prepare”

“Absolutely delicious – loved the slightly sweeter taste and the different textures”

White Christmas – now known as Rubble

“A perfect treat”

“Easy to eat and add to other things i.e. ice cream. Great and nutty – not too sweet”

“Wicked!!! Requires willpower to stop eating – love the fact that it is not too chocolatey – has a lovely texture”

“Looked like a lot of chocolate but once all the healthy fruit and nuts were added, it was scrumptious!”

“Must be healthy with all the nuts and fruit – forget the white chocolate – no calories!!”

And finally :

All dishes 11/10!!!

Thank you for all the compliments I get for your hard work.

Can I come again?

Thank you Ladies – it's a pleasure!

It's that time again – the Class!

The menu was :

Cream cheese and cashew nut paté

Hurried Curry

White Christmas

I made two versions of the paté – one with olives and chives and the other as the standard recipe. I wanted the Ladies to be able to compare the two. There are many variations to suit your own taste – add chopped capers or finely chopped salad onions. I served them with gluten free cheese oatcakes. I'd venture to suggest you make the basic paté and see what you think.

The Hurried Curry deviated slightly from the original recipe given in the blog, in that I poached small pieces of chicken fillet ahead, instead of adding prawns.

Have a look at the photos below showing the different stages of progress.

 

 

I set out to produce a curry that you could make from ingredients in your store cupboard and I'm pleased with the result – more to the point it delivers on flavour too!

I hope you'll agree the finished dish looks appealing!

As for White Christmas, which, by the way, is changing its name and henceforth will be known as “Rubble”. I've been asked for this sweet treat so often now that the original title doesn't quite fit! Check out the photos below – and the completed tray bake.

with all the additional fruit and nuts etc., there's not a huge amount of chocolate per square – approximately 2x2 cms ish.

You can imagine the glum faces as I completed the Rubble when, as per the recipe, it tells you to “fridge” for two hours – “TWO HOURS! WE DON'T GET TO TASTE?!!” Panic not – taster boxes on the table and a box each to take home – all's right with the world.

Tweak week 3: Recipe Help

Your MTM...

… and recipe help

Your MTM this week is quite light compared to the previous two.

First up your Pulled Chicken – prep and leave it to do its magic in the slow cooker.

Pulled Chicken

4 large chicken breasts

2 tbsp Worcester sauce

½ tsp chilli

pinch of cayenne

250ml tomato ketchup

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsps lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed or 1 tsp garlic paste

125ml maple syrup

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker – low setting. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended.

Pour over the chicken and cook for 6 hours. Shred with two forks and cook for a further 30 minutes.

A healthy accompaniment would be rice – try and steer clear of bread but if you must indulge have a warmed pitta, split and filled with the chicken, the raw slaw base and use some of the remaining marinade drizzled over the slaw. Reserve the remaining marinade and “fridge”.

As usual pop your jacket potatoes into the oven to bake – bearing in mind that you'll need extra to cover your Spie this week.

Whatever vegetables you've on your shopping list don't forget to include extra for your stir fry. The marinade from the pulled chicken is great flavour to toss through it for 2/3 minutes just before serving. Don't forget that if you want noodles, use the nests that are quick and easy. A great store cupboard addition for a stir fry is a can of water chestnuts - crunch and texture both.

Couscous is very easy to prepare – select the required weight, add boiling water, mix well, cover and allow the water to be absorbed for 5 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and it's ready – how plain and tasteless is that! Couscous is durum wheat semolina and, like any staple, rice, potatoes blah, blah, it's what you put with the staple that gives it its flavour. I would use stock instead of water – a great base and you can tailor it to suit vegetarians or meat eaters.

If you've got a surfeit of fresh herbs that need using up here's the perfect vehicle, along with any leftover roasted vegetables.

Use Middle Eastern spices like a pinch of cinnamon or a larger pinch of cumin. Try sumac or ras el hanout which is a blend of spices - fried with a drop of rapeseed oil to release their flavour and then add onions, garlic and sliced mushrooms too. Add to your fluffed up couscous.

Add a preserved lemon for extra zing. Rinse the lemon, scoop out and discard the pulp and finely slice it.

Add a can of chick peas along with some roasted pine nuts.

If you are a fruit lover throw in a handful of pomegranate seeds, chop some ready to eat dried apricots and/or a handful of sultanas.

If you don't want wholly vegetarian, you could add a baked salmon fillet.

Just a few ideas for you!

Your Spie base is quick and easy – prep in a frying pan on the hob. When the base is ready, tip it into your trusty foil tray – you could do individual portions or a whole – individual portions would be less faffing around – Thursday lunch is then ready to go.

Oh and just in case you thought I'd forgotten – if you are really committed to tweaking you will of course be omitting the butter and grated cheese topping from the Spie – nice try!

The filling for your baked jacket potato is :

Sumac-roasted Tomatoes

6 ripe tomatoes

salt and black pepper

light sprinkling of molasses sugar

olive oil

1 tbsp sumac

sprigs of thyme, leaves only

Pre-heat oven 140 fan/160c/gas mark 2.

Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking try. Season with salt and pepper, add a light sprinkling of sugar. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with the sumac and thyme leaves.

Slow-roast the tomatoes until soft and beginning to caramelise, about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with crumbled feta cheese.

I take no credit for this recipe – it came from Laura Santtini's book Flash Cooking (Fit Fast Flavours for Busy People) – a great addition to your bookshelf.

Waxing lyrical on ratatouille – have a look at the following post.

Respect the Ratatouille!

There are definitely different schools of thought on how to cook a ratatouille. There is the “chuck it all in approach” which I think is where I must have gotten my first impression of the dish – as a bowl of unappetising mush – or – you can take some care and respect the ratatouille.

Cook the onions, garlic and peppers and then add the tomatoes to make your base sauce. Cook the aubergines and the courgettes separately so that each retains its own flavour.

This dish originates from the Provence region in France and quite simply is a vegetarian stew.

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

3 large red peppers, de-seeded and chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed or 3 tsps garlic paste

450g courgettes chopped into even pieces

450g aubergines chopped into even pieces

700g chopped tomatoes

salt and black pepper

miso paste – optional

dash of Worcestershire sauce

Large pinch of Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence are an absolute must and so called because they are a mixture of herbs typical of the region, i.e. savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme or oregano.

For added flavour try miso paste – as a guide 1 tsp of paste to 8fl oz/225ml of liquid.

Monday supper suggests an omelette with your ratatouille – might sound a little unusual – give it a go – lovely stuff and versatile too.

The E word

Two weeks in to our tweaking – now I have to break it to you that you'll feel even better if you include some exercise in your new routine.

I can hear your howling protests. Give me a chance - I'm not recommending you sign up for a marathon!

I'm sure you think that exercise has nothing to do with a food blog – totally beyond the remit. Erm, there is a connection and I would be remiss if I didn't plant a few ideas – the tweaking and the E word are a great combination if you can find the right recipe for you – sorry!

It's the same principle mentioned in Lets begin .... Choose an activity that you'll enjoy and suits your timetable.

Stating the obvious I know, but wherever possible during your day, walk when you can (briskly) and as often as you can. If you normally take a lift take the stairs – obviously if your office is on the 10^th floor or higher don't do it – but you could walk up a couple of floors.

Walk the dog further – if you don't have a dog you could always borrow one! Every effort counts, no matter how small.

Make sure you're wearing the right kit for the job. Your best stilettos aren't advisable for a brisk walk.

If you are considering taking exercise in the way of a class there are all sorts to choose from that don't involve an expensive gym membership.

Check out a Pilates class – the best ever for posture and creaking bits and pieces and the least impact. 20 years on and I would never give it up.

Dancing – whatever sort – if you love music and dancing why not. It's also possible these days to do a class like Zumba, which includes both. If you think you can't do a dance class because you need a partner – wrong – try line dancing.

However it's no good signing up for any class if you can't fit it in to your daily schedule relatively easily, so think about what time of day suits you and proximity to work or home – you'll be more likely to stick with it if it's convenient and doesn't involve, for example, a round trip of an hour or more travelling time to get to and from said class.

Make it easy on yourself – to quote that brilliant song from 1965.

P.s. It goes without saying that if you have any health issues or concerns you should check with your Health Care Professional that you are able to embark on any exercise programme.