The Salmon of Knowledge

During the working week it's sometimes convenient to get an instant meal or something else that's quick to make because is largely pre-prepared. Often the knock on effect of this is that you get yourself tired at work as you've got no energy through not eating anything with any energy or protein.

It's easy to forget though that you can cook a lot of fresh food and things with plenty of protein in double-quick time. The recent mid-week meal of Salmon Steaks with Shallot and Tarragon Scrambled Egg was a case in point.

The Salmon Steaks were easy enough to prepare as preparation involved grilling them on a medium heat for around twenty minutes, turning it once half-way through cooking.

The Scrambled Egg was achieved by beating two eggs and then melting three ounces of Margarine in a sauce pan. This was then followed by lightly cooking two thinly sliced Shallots and tablespoon of dried Tarragon for five minutes in the melted Margarine on a medium heat.

After that I added the beaten Eggs and a quarter of a pint of Soya Milk which I mixed in with the Shallots,Tarragon and melted Margarine and cooked on the hob while stirring constantly for another five minutes. The end product were some thick and flavoursome Scrambled Eggs.

I served these with the Salmon and the luxury of having a meal involving fish and some other fresh ingredients gave me the energy to work non-stop the next day to achieve a lot in a short space of time.

Fish is brain food: these Salmon Steaks certainly were.

Port in Pizza Night

A heatwave arrived early on in the second Saturday in April. That meant after an early trip to the local Greengrocer a ten mile walk with a semi-willing terrier was in order. When it's sunny all day  like it was on this day I like just to go off and spend all day outside. I first found that mindset in the summer of 1999 after I'd finished my GCSES when on a hot day I'd take off with my cricket bat, some tennis balls, my golf club and golf balls and hit them about in the fields behind my parents' house until teatime. In those days though my world was a lot smaller and less interesting than it is today.

On my return home from the warm walk, I decided on something that is deceptively quick to make but also fairly light on account of the warm weather we were experiencing. I realised I'd not made much Pizza of late and so settled on a Pizza Recipe that used a colourful and flavoursome new cheese I'd found in the local deli.

First I made the dough which comprised of:

Fifteen ounces of Wholemeal Bread Flour.
Four teaspoons of Yeast.
Three teaspoons Caster Sugar.
Seven fluid ounces of Water.
Four teaspoons Oregano.
Four teaspoons Italian Herbs (Sage, Rosemary and Thyme).

I mixed together all the ingredients above and when I had turned into something resembling a piece of dough I kneaded the dough hard. The motivation for the kneading was  easily found by thinking of a frustrating situation I'd experienced not too long ago.

After an intense kneading session I left the dough in my South facing conservatory to rise while I did the garden.

An hour and a half later the dough had expanded fully and I made the topping which comprised of:

One sliced Tomato.
One diced Spring Onion.
Two diced cloves of Garlic.
Sprinkling of Oregano.
Sprinkling of Italian Herbs.

I fried the above ingredients in the Le Cresceut with Sunflower Oil for ten minutes on a low heat and then put them to one side.

In the meanwhile did the rest of the topping by laying out on top of the dough evenly three seven by seven slices of Port Wine Derby Cheese and three slices of Prosciutto that was torn into strips.

At this time I was listening to James Taylor's eclectic Flag album on which includes two covers; a sloppy but fun "Daytripper" (I don't need to tell who wrote than one do I?) and a sentimental but thoroughly likeable cover of the Drifters "Up On The Roof". There is also a look back to Taylor's own past with a re-recording of his early classic "Rainy Day Man". Balanced against these looks back are some excellent new songs in the form of the sardonic "Company Man", the parochial but haunting folk masterpiece "Millworker" and the unsettling "Sleep Come Free Me" which shows the darker side of Taylor that sometimes lurks behind his sweet voice. These three songs plus the former three glances into the past more than compensate for the workmanlike songs that make up the balance of the album.

Once I'd laid the Cheese and Prosciutto over the dough I then added evenly the contents, including the Sunflower Oil, of the Le Cresceut onto the top of the dough and spread them evenly.

I then cooked the Pizza for twenty minutes in the oven on Gas Mark Six.  After that I sliced it and served it on a bed of lettuce.

The initial taste verdict was that the rich Port and Wine Derby Cheese threatened to overpower everything else at first. However the soft dough and Prosciutto stopped this being a reality. The taste of the Cheese and the Prosciutto also ensured that the Garlic and Spring Onion were tasteful rather than potent in this innovative pizza dish.

Tomatoes on a beach of purple in this melted Port Wine Derby Cheese.

Beety McBeety Face

It was Thursday, it was the end of March, the sun was now shining and it was the first non-working day I'd allowed myself to take as holiday from the day job since the second day in January. Having enjoyed a warm and wet morning walk in a quiet village near the Derbyshire Dales, which evoked strong memories of a formative job in my past, and late Mother's Day Coffee; thoughts turned to what I was going to do with the bunch of Beetroot lying on my chopping board.

Although it is tricky to prepare fresh Beetroot, largely because it stains everything that it touches a deep purple, it's much better for you than buying the pre-prepared version and fresh Beetroot is considered something of a superfood. You can do a few things with Beetroot ranging from using it as an adjunct to a salad, blending with lots of other fresh ingredients in a juicer, making delicious and colourful soup, to having it as a filling to a tart.

One other option, which is the one I chose to follow, is to make a risotto with it. The ingredients were as follows:

4 Beetroot- topped, tailed, peeled and cubed.
4 Shallots- thinly sliced.
2 Garlic Cloves- finely sliced.
5 Ounces of Walnuts.
1 tablespoon of dried Thyme, Oregano, Sage and Rosemary.
1 tube of Goat's Cheese.
1/3 of a pint of water.
1/3 of a pint of Red Wine.
10 ounces of Risotto Rice.

For some reason it had been a day of memories of previous roles and the interesting and eclectic individuals I'd met in them. This informed the music that I chose to listen to as I chose Camel's superb 1996 concept album Harbour of Tears the story of which concentrates on guitarist, and de facto owner of the Camel name, Andy Latimer's Irish and American ancestry. Despite the personal theme the record is constantly rewarding with Latimer and lyricist Susan Hoover showing the ability to tell an interesting story while making engaging music. Highlights include the folk/prog-rock "Watching the Bobbins" and the wistful "Send Home the Slates". The album was one an old colleague of mine enjoyed after I'd introduced it to him shortly before I stopped working with him.

The first job of preparing the Beetroot had been done earlier in the day as after I'd cubed it I'd boiled it for around forty minutes to make it soft enough for use in the Risotto.

Then taking my Le Cresceut I added some Sunflower Oil to the bottom of it and fried the Garlic and Shallots on a medium heat for twenty minutes. Then I added the Rice and Walnuts and stirred them for two minutes.

Next I added the Red Wine and continued to stir the ingredients until most of the Red Wine had been absorbed by them. This took about eighteen minutes For this Risotto I used a Sauvignon Blanc that did the job well. I also took the opportunity to add the Thyme, Oregano, Sage and Rosemary.

After that I poured in the Beetroot pieces and the 1/3 of a pint of water I'd earlier boiled them in. Now came the trickiest task in making the Risotto; keeping stirring in the water while ensuring the Risotto didn't dry up but wasn't too runny either. I managed this by stirring it on a medium heat for about forty minutes.

After forty minutes I thought enough water had been absorbed to add all but one slice the Goat's Cheese. Once this had fully melted and been stirred in I served the Risotto and topped my helping with the spare slice of Goat's Cheese and a Walnut.

The Red Wine gave this dish a very rich taste which was accentuated by the Goat's Cheese. However the nutritious and earthy tasting Beetroot ensured it wasn't too sickly a dish and the overall taste reminded me why it is important to have fresh Beetroot in a healthy diet.

Shades of deep purple were offset against a slice of Goats Cheese and lone Walnut when this was served.

Commander Limes

It was a wet Sunday in February, the dog woke me up before 8am in her usual way involves pawing me in the side until I come round. After some tactical cereal, that tasted like a mix of sawdust and raspberry ripple, we pushed our way through wet snow and I talked to an aged farmer's widow as we took in a morning a walk.

On our return to the house I decided to make some comfort food and specifically a cake that used some stray limes I had left over from a recent trip to the local shop.

On the player as I made the sponge mixture was Frank Zappa's excellent and eclectic Sheik Yerbouti album which comprises of great song writing, comedic moments and scorching guitar solos.

The sponge mixture ingredients comprised of:

180g/ 6oz Self-Raising Flour
180g/6oz Caster Sugar

60g/2oz Ground Almonds

120g/4oz Margarine

2 Medium Eggs

Juice of half a Lemon and half of a  Lime.

Teaspoon of Almond Essence.

First I creamed together the Margarine and Sugar to make it fluffy before I gradually added the Eggs, which I'd already beaten thoroughly, and then the Flour and Ground Almonds. After that I added the Lemon and Lime Juice and the Almond Essence.

Next I stirred all these ingredients together with a wooden spoon to create a thick mixture that I then folded into a greased cake tin and then cooked for 30 minutes on Gas Mark 6. Once this was cooked I left it to cool on one side and later turned the sponge out onto a cold baking tray.

Later I made the icing which comprised of the following ingredients:

Juice of half a Lime and half a Lemon.

75g/3oz sieved Icing Sugar

125g/4oz Margarine (at room temperature)

I first creamed together the Icing Sugar and the Margarine to make a rather runny icing mixture. Then I added the Lemon and Lime and juice and stirred it into the Icing Sugar and Margarine. It was then spread over the top of the sponge and allowed to run down the sides of it.

To finish the job I sliced up another Lime widthways and used the slices to decorate the top of the cake. The end result was a cake that was light tasting and with the Lemon and Lime evoked thoughts of hot summer days and parties in people's back gardens with an option Gin and Tonic.

The Limes have it: plenty of citrus fruit in this recipe gave the cake a taste of summer in dark midwinter.

Saturday Scallops

There's something about the second weekend in February that in the past I've found challenging. Sometimes it's been the weekend when the snow arrives and brings with it ice, such as the type that once made me fly up in the air and bang badly the back of my head back in February 2009. On other occasions it's been the unrelenting February rain. Normally it's been a weekend where I've had quiet night in and an early night.

This time round the second weekend in February had some claustrophobic grey cloud and wet snow.

This weekend though had one important difference as I was heading out to see one of the few people who can tempt me out of the confines of my warm house on a mid-February Saturday night like this.

To fortify myself for the forthcoming bus journey and couple of delicious pints I decided to cook some Scallops with Avocado Pear Salsa and a side of Broccoli.

On the player was the second instalment of Frank Zappa's memorable six part "You Can't Do that on Stage Anymore" collection. This two-disc second volume covers an entire concert that he and his band delivered in Helsinki in 1974. It is an enjoyable and typical example of the high quality of Zappa's concerts during this period; as it's interspersed with great melodies, soaring guitar solos, Zappa's unique comic timing, dance-offs involving audience members and great playing.

I filled up the bottom of the steamer with water and then cut up the broccoli into small heads and put it in the steamer to steam for twenty minutes until it was soft but not so overcooked as to lose its flavour.

In the meantime I prepared the salsa. The key ingredient was the avocado pear which, according to the label at the local fruit and vegetable shop, was imported all the way from Israel. I cut the wooden stem off the pear and peeled the skin from it to find the flesh was just like that of a standard Avocado. I separated the flesh from the stone and then cubed it. I also sliced up three Spring Onions to add to the mixture. I took a tablespoon of Dried Coriander and mixed it with the Avocado flesh, Spring Onions and the juice of one Lime to create the Salsa, which I left to one side in a bowl while I dealt with the Scallops.

I defrosted ten ounces of Scallops by putting them in a colander and rinsing them thoroughly in water. Then I took two ounces of Margarine and melted them in a frying pan before adding the Scallops and frying them for eight minutes. I turned them regularly as I fried them and when they were ready I poured them onto a plate with the melted Margarine, Salsa and Broccoli.

The fresh taste of the Broccoli coupled with the rich protein of the Scallops and exotic taste of the Salsa was just what was needed to give me the energy for the trip to the pub. This was definitely a dish laced with superfoods to push away late winter lethargy It was then followed by a lovely trip to the pub with great company- those mid-February weekends are not so tough after all.

Health Food that looks good and tastes even better.

Grilling on the Peaches

Part two of my Saturday Dinner for my guests needed to be a little lighter as although the Mock Duck Stir Fry contained a lot of fresh ingredients it was quite heavy in its own way. That said we needed something lighter for our pudding.

Keeping with the exotic theme of the mains I had picked up some out of season Peaches at the local supermarket. I prepared them with difficulty by halving them and de-stoning them; this took plenty of brute force and a very sharp knife.

Next I mixed together in a jug the juice of one Lime, a tablespoon of Cinnamon and a tablespoon of Madagascan Vanilla and left the mixture to one  side.

I then grilled the Peaches on a medium heat for eight minutes turning them occasionally. After that I took the Peaches off the grill and served them topped with the Lime, Cinnamon and Madagascan Vanilla.

They proved a light and quite tasty snack for us with the Vanilla taking the rough edge off the Lime as we sat in the conservatory watching the rain roll in off the hills.

Walking on the Peaches- freshly grilled and topped with the sauce.

Fake Shredded Duck

The last weekend in January included a top notch curry in one of the town's premier restaurants, a trip to two local pubs and a winter walk in park that was important for both of us. It also featured me hosting some friends from my university days and cooking them an Oriental themed dinner. One of my friends lived in China for a few years and his better half is from the Philippines originally;so tough crowd...

So what were the ingredients of this innovative dish? Well they were as follows:

Fresh Onion
Fresh Ginger.
Tablespoon of Chinese 5 spice.
Tablespoon of Dried Basil
Tablespoon of Dark Soy Sauce.
Three of Cloves Garlic.
Eight ounces Sugar Snap Peas
Four steamed Pak Choi
One Steamed Broccoli.
Fifteen Ounces of Mock Shredded Duck.
A can of Sweetcorn.
A can of Beansprouts.
Forty Ounces of Noodles.

I started by cleaning out the Le Cresceut and putting sunflower oil in the bottom of the dish. Then I diced a White Onion and peeled and chopped finely some fresh Ginger. I added these to the Le Cresceut dish with a tablespoon of Chinese 5 Spice, a tablespoon of dried Basil, a tablespoon of Dark Soy Sauce and three cloves of sliced Garlic. I sweated them on a medium heat for around twenty five minutes while stirring them occasionally to stop them sticking to the bottom of the dish and burning up.

After twenty-five minutes I added some mock shredded Duck, which is essentially a quorn-type version of traditional shredded Duck and just as delicious, and Sugar Snap Peas to the dish and stirred them in. At the same time I cut up some Broccoli and cut the bottom off some Pak Choi and put it and the Broccoli in a steamer and steamed it for a further twenty minutes.

After adding the Mock Duck and Sugar Snap Peas I continued to stir the contents of the Le Cresceut dish and once the Pak Choi and Broccoli were cooked I added them to the Le Cresceut dish with a can of Sweetcorn and a can of Beansprouts.

While I had been cooking these ingredients I'd taken the opportunity to boil up forty ounces of Noodles and once they'd been cooked for the length of time required on the packet I served these evenly on each of the plates set aside for my guests. I then added some of the mock duck stir fry to the plates and served them for everyone.

The dish certainly passed the acid test as my friends with the Chinese and Philippine connections showed their appreciation of it and it went down well with everyone too.

Noodles, Broccoli, Sugar Snap Peas, Sweetcorn and Mock Duck amongst other things combine in this delicious dish full of fresh flavours.