Day 28 - Salads & Slow Cooker Experiments

Today I visited my good friend, Crummy Mummy and her new baby. Even though I saw her quite recently, the little girl is growing so quickly and she is still the cutest thing in the world. Since it was such lovely weather we took advantage and went for a lovely long walk by the canal before going home and fixing a feast for lunch.

Crummy Mummy actually picked out a recipe which I love and have made once before, great minds think alike it seems!  She actually put a nice twist on it though as the original is quite a summery salad, whereas she made it a more comforting winter warmer.  It was a Warm Lentil, Roasted Vegetable & Halloumi Salad.

First, we chopped up a selection of fresh vegetables to roast including; one aubergine, cubed, one onion, chopped into wedges, one red pepper, roughly cut, and several halved cherry tomatoes.  These went in the oven with a good splash of olive oil at around 225C for around 30mins.  If we'd had more time we could have left them for longer at a lower temperature but with the wonders of fan cooking they were nicely tender when we took them out. Meanwhile, we simmered the green lentils for around 20mins until tender.  Next she made a quick dressing from a couple of crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil and tossed the cubed halloumi in it, before giving it a quick sizzle in the frying pan until just soft.  Finally everything was assembled on the plate and served with a dollop of houmous to make it all slip down that little bit better. Perfect. No picture unfortunately as I practically inhaled it. Fresh air certainly gives me an appetite! It was a really lovely way to spend an afternoon, I love getting out of the city and nothing is better than whiling away the time with a good friend, who puts on awesome grub!

I planned out what to make for dinner that evening on the train home. I recently acquired myself a slow cooker and was very much looking forward to trying it out for the first time. I had left it a little late though, getting in at almost 5pm, so opted for something that I could still prepare in the slow cooker but required a shorter cooking time.  A risotto seemed like my best bet and since I'm not a big fan of the whole 'adding stock' process to stove prepared risottos (because it can be pretty laborious) I was keen to see if this method would work just as well.

I chose a simple green bean and pea risotto with the intention of serving with a pan fried salmon fillet.  The prep was pretty simple; 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp olive oil and one chopped onion went in a saucepan for a few minutes to soften. Then 200g arborio rice was added for 1 minute, followed by 2 litres of stock, bringing everything up to the boil.  Then it was just a case of pouring it all into the slow cooker and letting it do its thing for the next couple of hours on a low setting.  Once time was up I added 2 tsps of basil pesto and lay the frozen peas and green beans just on top of the rice.  This was then cooked for a further 15mins on a high setting.  It was served topped with the salmon fillet, which I'd pan fried for around 7 mins.

The end result? Well, maybe it was my ratio of water to rice, I didn't have quite enough rice for the amount of stock that I used but having read the slow cooker instructions it said to make sure the crock pot was at least half full, therefore I dutifully obeyed.  However, I think given its slightly mushy consistency there was too much liquid.  Also, although I'd added pesto and then another on serving it all tasted rather bland.  It wasn't really a patch on my normal risotto that I make on the stove.  Still lesson learnt and I will attempt another purely because I do love the fact I can sit back and let it do its thing while I busy myself with important duties such as TV watching. I think my slow cooker and I will become firm friends.

Green Bean & Pea Risotto

Day 26 - New Month...New Start?

I had my second interview today and it seemed to go well, despite initial nerves. I walked back over the Thames and despite the rain I enjoyed the walk. I returned home and whipped myself up a quick ratatouille with bacon, served with a small jacket potato.  It was yum and made use of all the leftover vegetables which were almost on the turn in the bottom of the fridge.

Ratatouille:

1oz white onion, chopped
1/2 courgette, finely sliced
1 small can of chopped tomatoes
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 red pepper, diced
1tsp mixed herbs
1 rasher of lean bacon, diced

I softened up the onions with garlic before adding in the courgette and pepper to cook through. This took around 10mins. I added the chopped tomatoes and herbs and simmered for around 5mins. In a separate pan I fried up the bacon until crispy, obviously if you were a vegetarian omit this stage!  For speed alone I used the microwave for the jacket potato.  I popped this in when I was simmering the ratatouille for 5mins. Then it was all served up.  It was warming, moreish and very low in calories!

Ratatouille with Bacon

After lunch, I found out the interview *had* gone well and I was offered the job, which I accepted. It is a good thing, despite the fact it is still in TV. I always feel out of sorts being unemployed and it's working in nice offices and fingers crossed everyone will be friendly. Plus it will give me more money to check out the growing lists of restaurants I want to visit in London. I start on Monday.

I was home alone tonight so to have a mini celebration that I got the job I went to the gym with my sis - cool or what!  Then I came home, had a lovely glass of rose and rustled up a Malaysian beef curry. I followed a recipe over at a favourite site of mine, The Resourceful Cook and I have to say it turned out perfectly. I used rump steak instead though and sliced the beef slightly thinner to shorten cooking time. I also added some green beans and red pepper towards the end of cooking just to give it a little colour.  I steamed some jasmine rice to go with it.  Will definitely make again!

Malaysian Beef Curry with Jasmine Rice

Day 23 - Slow Start Saturday

I did indeed have a slow start today which may have resulted from my late night Wii action, in order to get my Day 17 workout in before the clock struck midnight.  This in turn meant I skipped breakfast and went straight to lunch and another sweet potato and salad special. It does seem to fill me up and is light on the whole calorie front.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon doing interview prep for Tuesday, although I suspect the bulk will be done tomorrow afternoon as I'm better under pressure.  I also looked through my fellow food bloggers postings and other recipe sites  to gain inspiration on what to cook that evening. Gerry was returning later after working a high profile talent show and would probably be quite hungry as it would have been a busy day.

I settled on a Vegetable Moussaka.  It was a tight call between that and scallops, which I absolutely adore but they were far away in the supermarket and the veggie ingredients were right near me in the fridge.  Plus Gerry is a fan and I thought it would be healthy option. I searched through quite a few recipes from various sites and they all had elements I wanted to incorporate so I went off piste to create my own. It was a bit of an experiment as to how it would turn out as although I've made moussaka many times this was my first all veggie alternative.

I used the following ingredients:

For the Filling:

• 1 small aubergine, sliced into 1cm rounds, salted and weighted down for 30mins before rinsing
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 courgette, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1 small tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 50g dried Puy lentils
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• Spray Olive Oil
• 200ml water

For the White Sauce:

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 1 tsp butter
• 25g grated cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch nutmeg

For the Aubergine Slices:

• I preheated the grill to 180C. I put the aubergine slices on a grill pan and sprayed with olive oil. These went under the grill until both sides were nicely browned and tender. I find this way healthier than frying as they absorb far less oil but it is slightly more time-consuming.

For the Tomato & Lentil Filling:

• Meanwhile, I softened the onion and garlic in the olive oil before adding the courgettes and pepper for 2-3mins until cooked. I then added the lentils, chopped tomatoes, herbs, spices, tomato puree and water.  I brought the whole thing to the boil before covering and simmering for around 30 mins or so until the lentils were cooked. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry. Finally I added seasoning to taste.  The filling is now done.

For the white cheesy sauce:

• I melted the butter in a small pan before adding flour, cooking for 1 min, stirring continuously and making a paste.  I then removed the pan from the heat. Next, I slowly added some of the milk but only as much as the paste could absorb, to make a slightly smoother paste. I repeated this step with a little more milk for a creamy consistency before gradually stirring in the remaining milk and returning the the heat. I brought this to the boil and stirred constantly until the sauce thickened. I then added the grated cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.

Time for layering up the entire thing. I intended on using individual dishes but I wasn't sure if it would all fit so went for one large dish in the end. I spooned half the tomato lentil mixture into the bottom of an ovenproof dish and laid half the aubergine slices on top.  I then repeated the process until all the mixture and aubergines were in the dish. I poured the cheese sauce over the top and popped it into the oven for around 25mins, then under the grill for 5mins to make sure the cheese was nice and crispy.

I took it out of the oven to rest for around 10mins because I know trying to eat something like this when it is boiling hot is near on impossible and burnt taste buds will ruin a meal for me. Leaving it to a eatable temperature will let the flavours mingle a little more and make for a much more enjoyable experience.  Served with a babyleaf salad.

The Finished Article

Day 21 - A Bit of Detective Work

I had an early morning meeting today, which was good as it meant I had to get up early and get on with the day. It really has turned bitterly cold here and even though I know this I still tend to dress as though its autumn. Foolish I am. Anyway, since it was so cold I didn't linger in town like I had planned but headed straight home for a hearty breakfast of porridge and honey.  I find it pretty filling and rather comforting, which is something that I need during the day at home when the temptation to nibble on fridge items is more than compelling. I skipped through the job sites and settled in to peruse what might be out there. Very little it would seem. In the background I managed to keep half an eye on the newest series of Monk.  It is the final series of Monk, one of my all-time favourite detective shows, only narrowly beaten out by Murder She Wrote.  No one can beat Jessica Fletcher! However, thus far I have been unimpressed with Series 8. Don't get me wrong Tony Shalhoub and Traylor Howard still do a fine job but the storylines have been far from engrossing.  Still we are only on episode 3 of 16 so there is room for improvement, plus we will finally see the wrap up of the murder of Monk's wife Trudy right back at the start.

Monk finished I scavenged in the cupboards for all things lunch. I decided I should use what I had rather than going to the shops, so I ended up with a favourite of Bacon and Avocado salad with a sweet potato. It was yum and filling. However, since I was fairly famished I chose to do the bacon in the microwave, purely for speed. I laid out two bacon rashers on paper town in a Pyrex dish.  Marco Pierre White apparently heralds this method as the best way to cook bacon but Marco I disagree.  Perhaps it was the bacon I used, back rather than streaky but it curled and didn't crisp up. It was tasty enough but I think I should have put more time into doing it on the grill.  Still lunch was a quick and painless affair which is always good news.

After an adequate amount of time had passed I completed Day 16 of the Wii Active Challenge. I think my leg muscles are certainly stronger, at least I will have achieved something in January!  I also took a trip out to discover and research my new local gym opened by The Gym Group. It's so cheap at only £15.99 a month, with no contract.  Perfect for me, who at the moment, can't commit to anything long-term. I went with my little sis as we both plan to join together. It was a good, open-plan gym, that was functional and clean with good light. A and I will be signing up and attending our first session on Saturday hopefully!

Gym sorted, I set about tracking down all the ingredients I needed for dinner. I was planning to use up some of the remaining miso paste I had from sushi Saturday and doing a new favourite in our house - Nasu Dengaku. I wasn't able to get Japanese aubergines so I had to go with a Spanish import instead.  Being slightly thicker in size than a Japanese aubergine it needed a stint in the oven as well as the grill to make it tender enough. I borrowed the recipe from Momofuku for 2 and it really does work very well. I implore you, if you have not tried it, to give it a go as it really is very simple.  I only used half the marinade for the aubergines and the rest will go in the fridge and probably get used tomorrow night.

The dish went down well with Gerry which was great.  I served it with some white rice topped with poppy seeds.  My only complaint - not enough!

Nasu Dengaku & Rice

Day 19 - Adventure Day

Gerry and I were off to the coast today. I'd decided that it would do us good to get out of the city and spend some time together, just the two of us.  The plan had been to go ice skating first but with a slightly later than planned start it was straight down to Brighton instead. We got there in good time, with the sun desperately trying to peak through the clouds, and headed straight for The Lanes and lunch. I'd booked at Terre a Terre.  It's a vegetarian restaurant and with Gerry having a penchant for this sort of thing and the fact I'd heard very good things about it, I couldn't wait to try it out. It also has a good deal on at the moment where a selection of tapas, chunky chips and a carafe of organic wine for 2 all weighed in at only £35.  I wish I'd remember to take a picture of the tapas when it came because it looked amazing. All of the tapas were beautifully presented with amazing colours and brimming with flavour. I can imagine that quite a few people might dismiss it as an option because it serves no meat or fish but I wholeheartedly encourage you to give it a try if you are ever in Brighton! I'm an avid meat eater but the adventurousness of the food meant I didn't miss it at all. Apparently many of the chefs who have worked here also go on to work at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant The Fat Duck.  I would list down what we had for our tapas platter but I think that the 'not knowing what's coming' was half of the delight. I will tell you though that we indulged in one of their puddings - The Big Lemon and Icy Mother's Ruin. A fantastic lemon tart with the crispest glaze, served with a gin and tonic infused sorbet and fresh raspberries. All washed down with a 500ml carafe of organic Chardonnay. Pure heaven!

We rolled out of there a couple of hours later and went to check in at Hotel Una. It is a total gem and consistently voted the number one hotel in Brighton on Trip Advisor. We went for the Gaula room, despite being offered an upgrade, because we preferred the colours and light in the room. The staff are wonderful here, helpful without being intrusive. We collapsed in our room and relaxed letting lunch settle. Note to self here though, don't feed Gerry wine at lunchtime, her hangover kicked in a little more than 20 minutes after we'd left the restaurant!

For dinner we decided to take a rain check until later, choosing instead to hit a few bars. I had a mini lesbian pub crawl all worked out but as we walked past the first couple of pubs we chose to keep going. Brighton is obviously well-known for its gay bars and clubs but honestly from the ladies point of view it's a little disappointing. I'm sure if it wasn't a rainy Tuesday night in January it might have been a little more lively but even then I think it still leaves a little to be desired. We ended up at R Bar and kicked back with 2 very reasonable drinks. The place did start to fill up, it appeared to be Accoustic Karaoke night and a young lady was having her birthday party there too. It all seemed quite good fun, albeit it with lots of what appeared to be Skins extras, making us feel a little aged. Luckily we were reassured by a very friendly and chatty Italian girl, Lorena, who at the tender age of 23 told us that we didn't look a day over 26. Gerry still thinks we could have got away with 25.  I'd go back to the bar because as far as bars go it was pretty good. An eclectic mix of people and I hear on a Thursday night it can get quite wild...

We watched various talented and talentless individuals hit the stage for karaoke before we bid it adieu at midnight.  The plan was to go round the corner to Revenge, the club part of R Bar, but we were reliably informed by those in the know that it would be a little empty and not worth the entry fee so instead we chose to head down the road for fish and chips.  Now, they were no means the best fish and chips I've ever had but after a few drinks they tasted brilliant.  There is something so satisfying about using a little wooden fork to eat chips!  Night over we hit the sack.

It was a good evening for the most part, however, I think that our sociability precluded what Gerry and I needed to do most which was talk to *each other*.  This was kind of the reason I wanted to get away from the city in the first place. I hoped it would give us the time to focus on just us. However, even if one of you wants this it doesn't automatically track that the other will too. Maybe next time I need to be more explicit, although often other people and iphones can scupper the best made intentions. Plus, second note to self, don't let Gerry swap to cider after spirits, it can make the end of an evening come up a little short!

Day 7 - Chickpea Delight!

I'm still on a drive to use all my store cupboard ingredients to create meals before I hit the shops.  So far so good, although I almost thought I'd hit a roadblock today when the fishcakes I'd planned were scuppered by the tin of salmon being over 11 months out of date. New plan was required and sitting pretty next to the tin of salmon was a luckily in date can of chickpeas. Plan B therefore became falafel burgers and homemade salsa.

Pretty simple affair, I just whizzed the chickpeas up with cumin, coriander, fresh parsley, garlic, plain flour, light mayonnaise (to bind it all together) and some harissa paste (I will use the entire jar damnit!).  I shaped them into patties and popped them into the fridge to firm up for around an hour or so. For the salsa it wasn't my best effort but I added together tomatoes, garlic, onion, lime juice, sugar, salt and green chilli with a splash of tabasco and gave it a quick pulse in the food processor.  It looked a little anemic because I think I over blended but after 30mins of sitting to let the flavours mingle it was pretty moreish.

Once Gerry arrived home I fried the burgers for around 3 - 4 minutes each side in some groundnut oil and served with a couscous, cucmber and mint concoction and the salsa.  Gerry added a couple of cheddar slice to hers and if I'd had it hallomi would have been on top of mine!  Was delicious and dead simple to make - my kind of recipe.

Falafel, Couscous & Salsa