tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38532851024006085662024-02-07T05:02:02.234+00:00DemureChefThe challenge has been set - to try out at least 12 new recipes this year. Anything goes and recipe failures will be tolerated (or at least I hope they will be!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-6186061588311675772015-04-25T21:51:00.001+01:002015-04-27T13:59:39.559+01:00What's a saucepan? Can it be microwaved? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In days of yore, I set up this blog to learn to cook. As a 16 year old, it felt like a critical step - before stepping out into the big, bad world and flying the nest, it seemed pretty important to be able to cook. What a grand plan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now though, I'm sitting in my room, in a university residence, trying to decide whether I can be bothered to cook some instant noodles, or if I'd be better off just chucking some soup in the microwave. Truthfully, neither option is particularly appealing, That said, actually cooking is even less appealing. I live in a catered hall, so only have to fend myself for Saturday and Sunday evenings but by mid-afternoon on a Saturday the kitchen is an absolute state. Safe to say things aren't exactly as I envisaged before coming to uni.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In general, I wouldn't say that I'm the world's tidiest person - it would be closer to the truth to say that I would live in an absolute pigsty if I didn't <i>force</i> myself to keep on top of things. That's only in my own, private space though; there are 40 of us on my floor, with 1 kitchen between the lot of us. Frankly, I think that I owe it to the others to leave the place tidy, but so many others don't share this opinion. Mum used to despair at home because I would leave a trail behind me - I could follow the Hans-and-Gretel-esque trail of debris to find out where I'd come from. Helpful, really. Those days are behind me (<i>HONEST, mum!</i>) and now it's just my bedroom that is the occasional bomb site because <i>surprise, surprise </i>there are other people who use the rest of the house (/hall facilities) and it's not reasonable to expect them to put up with my mess. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mind blown. What an idea. Revolutionary. Ooft. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is this such a hard concept? Space in the kitchen here is pretty limited, considering how many people have to use it. Fridge space is at a premium, and even then, it's not guaranteed that your food will remain untouched, since some people see fit to steal, and then leave a mess behind themselves. It's not my proudest moment, but I genuinely cried last year when I discovered someone had opened and used up my food. Seems stupid now, but I'd just come back in from a Brownie meeting and was looking forward to a cheese sandwich. Haute cuisine, right?!? Some lovely person had opened my cheese, and eaten 3/4 of it. To add insult to injury, they left the bag open (in a fridge with goodness knows what else inside it), and someone else's milk spilled inside the bag. By the time I got to it, it was turning green and smelled absolutely rank. Needless to say, I was in a great mood that evening... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's funny how something so silly can have an effect on you though - a bit of common courtesy in places like this never goes amiss, especially when you have to spend months living with the same people. Yes, I used to protest when told to tidy up by mum, but she was just training me up, so that when I left home I didn't turn in to a thieving, deceitful pain-in-the-neck with no respect for other people. Instead, I've turned in to a slightly deranged ranter who would rather sit inside on a Saturday evening and complain about cooking [- better option??? Possibly not!] </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll definitely start cooking again at some point. But not here, with food stains and disgusting fridges. For now, I'll stick with my best pal, Mr Heinz, and his top quality tinned goods. </span></div>
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-2105430975883442842013-05-20T21:51:00.002+01:002013-05-20T22:35:48.295+01:00Job done<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I started out with this challenge as a New Year's resolution, I honestly didn't think that I would complete it. Not for want of trying, obviously, but January 2012 was half-way through my 5th year at school - the results of which would decide whether I would get into uni or not. <div>
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I'm sitting here now in May 2013 with a university place for September, and only 1 exam left at school. </div>
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ONE EXAM and that's IT!!! </div>
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While the idea of moving out in September is a somewhat horrific, yet exciting thought, I feel more prepared for life. That's not to say that I feel ready to leave [to that end, I had a nightmare the other night that my sister and parents came into my room and kicked me out of it in the middle of the night - mighty disorientating!] but I feel infinitely readier than I did a few months ago.</div>
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So, this food challenge is officially done. </div>
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A new one's just beginning. </div>
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P.S. I made Christmas dinner with my little sister, so at least I can rest assured that, in the future, I won't have to resort to pizza at Christmas...</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-34852631993516598992013-01-02T00:04:00.001+00:002013-01-02T19:36:01.905+00:00Guest post: Mr Thapa's Breakfast Noodles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy new year!!! 2012 has now officially been and gone, and the challenge of 12 for 2012 was met. Points to me for actually following through for once - wooooooo. To celebrate the new year and the end of the official challenge, I bring to you a present. It's like a late Christmas present or alternatively just a present to me, which says that I've done enough and it's high time to let someone else take a shot. Either way, today I would like to share with you my family's breakfast noodle extravaganza...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In late October, we had a Nepali gentleman staying with us for just under a week. Mr Thapa was over in Scotland participating in an 'educational exchange' between our school and his school in western Nepal. It really was the best week - we actually had breakfast around the table together (obviously attempting to cultivate the impression that we are civilised - that's a joke, but anyway...) and we left for school at a slightly more civilised time than normal. All good things!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the last morning, Mr Thapa said that he would cook us breakfast - a typical meal that he would eat at home. I don't know what I was expecting, but noodles was most certainly not it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not a secret that I am not exactly a spice fiend. In fact, it's not a secret that I am a complete and utter spice wuss and cry 'uncle' at the first hint of peppery-ness, let alone the chilli powder that went into these noodles. Chilli powder, onion, and some kind of chicken seasoning at seven o'clock in the morning. Imagine my shock, and to a certain extent, abject horror!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not too different from the instant noodles that I would normally favour, but just a tad hotter. The flush staining my cheeks served only to amuse my parents as they watched the steam pour from my ears with every bite. That said, it was a surprisingly palatable treat for breakfast, and a far cry from the normal Weetabix mulch of school mornings.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-67723989458616555782012-10-18T22:18:00.001+01:002013-01-02T19:41:11.359+00:00Chilli con carne <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is yet another instalment of 'things I cooked ages ago and have yet to upload because I'm a fail at life.' During the summer, we met up with Klaus and Erika. Mum spent a summer with them in Germany 'many moons ago' (her words, not mine!) and since we were in the area, we popped in to see them. Erika made us the most delicious chilli con carne which was <i>so </i>tasty, even to my spice-phobic taste buds!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it came to attempting to replicate the pure loveliness, I was surprised at just how close my version came to the real deal! Unfortunately, rather than finding a normal strength chilli sauce, I could only find an extra hot version which personally, I think I put in too much of, but dad said that he really liked it (obviously he has a higher spice threshold!) Still, I will keep an eye out for a slightly milder version for next time but apart from that... I wouldn't change a thing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Klaus und Erika's chilli</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(serves 6 people)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">500g minced beef or pork or a mixture of both</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tbsps. of oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 medium onions chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 large or two small tins of red kidney beans (thoroughly drained)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 large green pepper de-seeded and chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½ red pepper de-seeded and chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 small tin of tomato</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">250ml chilli sauce</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about 300ml of hot water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">salt and pepper</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions gently for a few minutes. Turn the heat up, add the minced meat and brown it well, stirring just a tad. Add the kidney beans, chilli sauce, water, peppers and tinned tomatoes to the pot before letting everything simmer for about 20 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add the water to the pot (and you may also want to add some stock - I didn't.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serve with some French bread and enjoy!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREV1J2sSxFt0D41kcrROewx2Zva6ohkmfmnsSM8FqD4AVwyN9tJ5Yn1_LD-zOA0KiI2FRqo4MsQoVo9BCQ6mZBaMQms-RsATxYSuBL7s5KZ5T81uC6KomAxLRU51sZEJhWSCd3ywp_Bg/s1600/P1030235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREV1J2sSxFt0D41kcrROewx2Zva6ohkmfmnsSM8FqD4AVwyN9tJ5Yn1_LD-zOA0KiI2FRqo4MsQoVo9BCQ6mZBaMQms-RsATxYSuBL7s5KZ5T81uC6KomAxLRU51sZEJhWSCd3ywp_Bg/s400/P1030235.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-63940557790321788192012-10-13T17:46:00.004+01:002013-01-02T19:39:17.987+00:00Strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BBC Good Food... yas, man. I kid you not, sad as this may sound, I think that this is my favourite website!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCaXSlSrcJMULO8VhmtywcS58jumAE0ylfl_Cgo_YL-0pyd6WeHMi9LHXvMPjBSgvdmlPehiER9EASbab_4aJQTHhADXFJx3e-mlRx6Ws1N1_u58QqAMua4IY6UtmSSQRWVuZoCShmLk/s1600/P1030205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCaXSlSrcJMULO8VhmtywcS58jumAE0ylfl_Cgo_YL-0pyd6WeHMi9LHXvMPjBSgvdmlPehiER9EASbab_4aJQTHhADXFJx3e-mlRx6Ws1N1_u58QqAMua4IY6UtmSSQRWVuZoCShmLk/s400/P1030205.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNv3ZCMK_kp2kifMzD0DZyigBdZV_ZSau1KNjq9yWlqJTUXF0pOO95ssiAsli2d4QxgZQ2g79QaayIRKzU2_g_qs1udufhmNmcDS4B9Z5luAcw_ELONRVb3AcpbSIYgN84k0zSLpel_Q/s1600/P1030206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNv3ZCMK_kp2kifMzD0DZyigBdZV_ZSau1KNjq9yWlqJTUXF0pOO95ssiAsli2d4QxgZQ2g79QaayIRKzU2_g_qs1udufhmNmcDS4B9Z5luAcw_ELONRVb3AcpbSIYgN84k0zSLpel_Q/s400/P1030206.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps it's a sign of my skill level that this turned out well - no oven use necessary, just a bit of sneaky fridg-ing/freezer-ing. While the cheesecake didn't take all that long to prepare, it did require a good amount of setting time and due to time constraints, had to get chucked in our freezer. I took it out of the freezer about half an hour before serving and put it into the fridge for a final twenty-five minutes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWS5qgRf8n1aeieZzkBE8ehUfhbgH6agYpfkrk11kzALYTcdECQFnJaRgJXfENIVRh0QvhhxeuU0ans9Koy2Rov_tbUrrRFCk0GuyzkWDKtWrkNLoQjbYKCSuqWnBzg6PabRHLdlc70U/s1600/P1030208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWS5qgRf8n1aeieZzkBE8ehUfhbgH6agYpfkrk11kzALYTcdECQFnJaRgJXfENIVRh0QvhhxeuU0ans9Koy2Rov_tbUrrRFCk0GuyzkWDKtWrkNLoQjbYKCSuqWnBzg6PabRHLdlc70U/s400/P1030208.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwc6BH6ofYYMyhm4bxxUkx_Wkc5EyyGIFNBtmWrmo1vSaWlfBBnnfz13U4RskAbrTxedGDoctdZ5RnYCx9WA_D0nEcOIlefq9MSqHzTuWRwUpzlZe3vbXN5SPDTheU3u75fzoWiWl26zY/s1600/P1030210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwc6BH6ofYYMyhm4bxxUkx_Wkc5EyyGIFNBtmWrmo1vSaWlfBBnnfz13U4RskAbrTxedGDoctdZ5RnYCx9WA_D0nEcOIlefq9MSqHzTuWRwUpzlZe3vbXN5SPDTheU3u75fzoWiWl26zY/s400/P1030210.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although fairly sweet, its not <i>aaaah-my-teeth-are-going-to-fall-out</i> sweet so it worked well after dinner. The best thing is, though, you can put it back in the fridge after the meal if there is any left at all!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-szMnUn2inIspRxKRqGejMwr3-Rq6NR5Lzy_22ufIruo3fMc3VOvTQj6L6KOV0ZBXEYvr9JgH0y7haM6FApnu6huGaRP3Eit84yQTnujNa_FQXYlm-P0uvesmuTCd9WeVudldFGBcfQ/s1600/P1030212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-szMnUn2inIspRxKRqGejMwr3-Rq6NR5Lzy_22ufIruo3fMc3VOvTQj6L6KOV0ZBXEYvr9JgH0y7haM6FApnu6huGaRP3Eit84yQTnujNa_FQXYlm-P0uvesmuTCd9WeVudldFGBcfQ/s400/P1030212.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPfs0kxupHNGocCVHaR9qbkmWiXQ-uWHeLPDs_pE9130gBjnUVKEK-i1Gzuj5z7vaWGqfVkOEw-DijiKWrb1WSsiiL574AISatcrd3by-7sa9Cr_bm52zV-UAfkHYRbvxbQf2StJZfAA/s1600/P1030213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPfs0kxupHNGocCVHaR9qbkmWiXQ-uWHeLPDs_pE9130gBjnUVKEK-i1Gzuj5z7vaWGqfVkOEw-DijiKWrb1WSsiiL574AISatcrd3by-7sa9Cr_bm52zV-UAfkHYRbvxbQf2StJZfAA/s400/P1030213.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">175g shortbread biscuits (digestives worked well)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">50g unsalted butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g melted white chocolate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">300g medium fat soft cream cheese (i.e. Philly <3 )</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g fromage frais</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">225g roughly chopped strawberries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Crush the shortbread biscuits until they resemble bread crumbs. Mix the biscuit crumbs together with the softened butter and press firmly onto the base and sides of a 20cm springform tin. Refrigerate until needed. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and set aside until needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Beat together the cream cheese and fromage frais until smooth and thick. Add the strawberries to the cheese mixture with the melted chocolate and mix. Spoon the cheesecake filling onto the biscuit base. Level the top and chill for about 4 hours until set. (With freezer use, 2.5 hours is just about long enough!)</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-91510469871361895192012-10-06T08:36:00.000+01:002013-01-02T19:39:39.620+00:00Orange cake (Meg's favourite, apparently!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't profess to be a proficient baker. Truth be told, I never stray much further than the occasional batch of cupcakes and a tray bake. Not this time though! Oh no, for the first time ever I made an actual cake. As in an actual three layer cake. (In spite of the fact that only two are visible here, I did bake three - the only problem was that I have but two cake tins.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwdM3VirYVWw3yC6ZKfzkExfrNG1fG6P6l8Ze4_6U4_Fhxh5ppiecR-x4i_dSUmjo0Efp6ZrgGLCIz3cxya1j5AYW6nABbYMFoNegELAl7Ee-sD2EpwcFnsV8tBtruWX8avOE3yX56ho/s1600/P1020882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwdM3VirYVWw3yC6ZKfzkExfrNG1fG6P6l8Ze4_6U4_Fhxh5ppiecR-x4i_dSUmjo0Efp6ZrgGLCIz3cxya1j5AYW6nABbYMFoNegELAl7Ee-sD2EpwcFnsV8tBtruWX8avOE3yX56ho/s400/P1020882.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4L5nQ6zawn42DaUoo6TKzyHq7efifFfiDTipo4nsJ8tCFZ1Iv4oCDBCVGAZGZKLxxr8lOuTIspoI18qmqC13_WW13E7eMnaT_InB5XjjuXcNVeQbfwlk3Mhu-1K8jRE1ymSjf1IyF0o/s1600/P1020883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4L5nQ6zawn42DaUoo6TKzyHq7efifFfiDTipo4nsJ8tCFZ1Iv4oCDBCVGAZGZKLxxr8lOuTIspoI18qmqC13_WW13E7eMnaT_InB5XjjuXcNVeQbfwlk3Mhu-1K8jRE1ymSjf1IyF0o/s400/P1020883.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste: good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presentation: shocking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My bad!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtEaNuN6AEaI4uROkobLcJkNHrTw807nF-MCYMlMdaXkOwX9SbuyyNoGnvOHQykggIUhrsgcrbaqF4NvEYUN9kLPx1GdU_4SrYgj5S-BIHZQFkgSX3cuUZK43zMy_q7JxpDYn0e4d7pw/s1600/P1020893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtEaNuN6AEaI4uROkobLcJkNHrTw807nF-MCYMlMdaXkOwX9SbuyyNoGnvOHQykggIUhrsgcrbaqF4NvEYUN9kLPx1GdU_4SrYgj5S-BIHZQFkgSX3cuUZK43zMy_q7JxpDYn0e4d7pw/s400/P1020893.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously, actually icing a cake is a skill that requires development and practice. Clearly I have yet to participate in such practice! I'm just thankful that lil sis had left her glasses upstairs when I put the cake on the table - no scathing comments for me!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzALNn26sRGrPxiPeHhxToKquzbBp1ozvLiSE0H_CtkSc9UzaicBeh_gVi4zWCv-rRROBlu5V4l7gA14jmTll4YrEBTjl7nmpaZEkk3esYJ3VgrM4WfjYQ8c-L0SYJIB3zExZAZttSdk/s1600/P1020900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzALNn26sRGrPxiPeHhxToKquzbBp1ozvLiSE0H_CtkSc9UzaicBeh_gVi4zWCv-rRROBlu5V4l7gA14jmTll4YrEBTjl7nmpaZEkk3esYJ3VgrM4WfjYQ8c-L0SYJIB3zExZAZttSdk/s400/P1020900.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This recipe comes from <a href="http://theredspoonblog.com/2011/08/megs-favorite-orange-cake/">http://theredspoonblog.com/2011/08/megs-favorite-orange-cake/</a> - definitely worth a look!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 2 1/2 cups of plain flour 1 stick butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 3/4 cups of sugar 680g cream cheese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/2 tsps bicarbonate of soda 1/4 cup fresh orange juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp baking powder 4 cups icing sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp salt</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup vegetable oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup fresh orange juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 large eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup sour cream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line 3 9-inch cake tins with baking parchment. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, bicarb, baking powder and salt before adding the oil, orange juice, eggs and sour cream. Beat at a medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into the cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden prick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing and letting them cool completely on wire racks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. In another large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese for the icing at medium speed until creamy. Add the orange juice, beating until combined and then gradually add the icing sugar, beating until smooth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. For assembly, check out <i>www.theredspoonblog.com/2011/08/megs-favorite-orange-cake </i>since I am evidently completely incapable of doing a good job! With a bit of skill, that I do not possess, this is how beautiful the cake can look! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-65325320586535391482012-06-26T20:10:00.002+01:002013-01-02T19:40:00.010+00:00Malteser tiffin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part two of the day when I made a monumental mess in the kitchen. This, however, was faff-less. Delicious, and properly edible. Perhaps that's because I actually followed the recipe for once, and bothered to do it the right way. In fact, perhaps that's something that I ought to be doing more often: try the recipe by following <i>all </i>of the instructions the first time and just changing things afterwards. A novel idea, I think, but to be honest, it's just too tempting to change things. Still, I'll keep working at it, and maybe my cooking will be better at the end of this year than it was in January. Maybe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another BBC good food recipe...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUquzx59qj3gNtIpLXFbRFpuhKK73yz7Qwd1jvvWJrdzuB_CshQodcQ-tr4tt0KdfFoXXa1HXRF3Yi0sS_RBPYaO-zHkoaBl4oRM3kGbgsldiKPLgJ4jo0JIuhjoBIVcR32hY9ZkV4ZNk/s1600/P1020898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUquzx59qj3gNtIpLXFbRFpuhKK73yz7Qwd1jvvWJrdzuB_CshQodcQ-tr4tt0KdfFoXXa1HXRF3Yi0sS_RBPYaO-zHkoaBl4oRM3kGbgsldiKPLgJ4jo0JIuhjoBIVcR32hY9ZkV4ZNk/s400/P1020898.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g milk chocolate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">100g unsalted butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2tbsp golden syrup</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">125g digestive biscuits</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">135g Maltesers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the topping:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g milk chocolate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">25g unsalted butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1tsp golden syrup</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Line a 20cm baking tray with baking parchment. Place the 200g of chocolate, butter and syrup in a heat proof bowl and melt over boiling water or microwave. (I now know that it is necessary to stir chocolate periodically when microwaving it, lest it burn to a crisp - I'm just chuffed that I bought extra chocolate, just in case!) Once almost melted, remove from the heat and gently stir until any tiny bits of chocolate have melted. Allow to cool a little.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Place the biscuits and 35g of the maltesers in a sandwich/freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin, until it's mainly crumbs, but a few chunks won't do any harm!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix the crushed mixture and the whole maltesers in with the melted chocolate and stir it in until everything is coated. Press into the prepared tin and then make up the topping.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter as before for the topping, and spread it over the biscuit base.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have a bit of white chocolate, you can just melt a bit over the top for that little something extra.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover the tin with cling film or tin foil and fridge for an hour or two before cutting into squares. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-64174735004521092262012-06-25T23:18:00.005+01:002013-01-02T19:34:13.234+00:00Fresh pasta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, that's right... I made pasta! With my own fair hands!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGxRmA7iAdd_648TzLo8DUI6xjuehCm37CanKzzqWu8HY81YcmWZSQ4oilx54pISEXOYf7EKtYiFJUMshcAfW1YFHZiIebZwHWVJ8RB8Eo_i4qsZ54IgcmKOJ6Z8SAUNSHrEUnFMGhqk/s1600/P1020884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGxRmA7iAdd_648TzLo8DUI6xjuehCm37CanKzzqWu8HY81YcmWZSQ4oilx54pISEXOYf7EKtYiFJUMshcAfW1YFHZiIebZwHWVJ8RB8Eo_i4qsZ54IgcmKOJ6Z8SAUNSHrEUnFMGhqk/s400/P1020884.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With mum out of the country and a few days off post-exams (highers ma lyf!) what else was I to do! Admittedly, it may not have been the best idea as by the time I was finished, flour was covering every single surface and I was heading out the door straight after dinner, leaving dad to clean up. (Mwahahahaha - simple pleasures, people, simple pleasures!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DGCyGwt7380G6NrfL6_1z_zpEx0SLNwxiskHnpd5zuwIsSWi9ey-Yknd-hXkp6R_d2jljSnOf__CJrZ4pbX1q6R_mK3hBue6my49_-Y9Nm-Jnb-EMQ7vAVE-dAME1UnBEiyHmQ1oOEE/s1600/P1020885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DGCyGwt7380G6NrfL6_1z_zpEx0SLNwxiskHnpd5zuwIsSWi9ey-Yknd-hXkp6R_d2jljSnOf__CJrZ4pbX1q6R_mK3hBue6my49_-Y9Nm-Jnb-EMQ7vAVE-dAME1UnBEiyHmQ1oOEE/s400/P1020885.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One slight problem that I didn't take into account. That expanding pasta thing. The recipe said that a pasta roller was necessary. Naturally, I decided that a simple rolling pin would do a good enough job, but alas, that was not the case! When they cooked, the majority turned into chewy, starchy doughballs, while there were a few which although initially appearing too thin, were actually pretty nice!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJK8eZSwm-MdQkhf7nYD9-pTJIlgTkAEV1Y_ZIj-y51GTJiBbpTGvYyJGOt0ol4UPXhntCq_Udl785TjuiaDmTgCmHilDEK-OOySCF6pVisndnnpOlYM_D87-eiud50SH0w0xzYs0R6c/s1600/P1020894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJK8eZSwm-MdQkhf7nYD9-pTJIlgTkAEV1Y_ZIj-y51GTJiBbpTGvYyJGOt0ol4UPXhntCq_Udl785TjuiaDmTgCmHilDEK-OOySCF6pVisndnnpOlYM_D87-eiud50SH0w0xzYs0R6c/s400/P1020894.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taken straight from bbc food, apart from the lack of pasta roller (oops)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">300g plain flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tbsp olive oil</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Place the flour, eggs and oil in a food processor and pulse until combined.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Cut the dough aside in half and set one piece aside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roll out one piece until 1cm thick and then feed it through a pasta machine. Start on the thickest setting, passing the sheet through several times and lowering the setting until it reaches the thinnest setting. Slice the pasta sheet into ribbons 1cm wide. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather than cutting into strips, I used a flower cookie cutter instead, to try and make some kind of a shell shape, which didn't quite work, but it wasn't completely awful!<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cook until, well, cooked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UPDATE - I got a pasta roller for Christmas. Attempt 2 to follow!! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-45744077402223583952012-04-09T22:28:00.003+01:002013-01-02T19:35:43.355+00:00Leek and potato soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a month and a half after the event... School succeeded in stealing every single second of free time that I might have had since mid-February. Still, it'll be worth it in the end. At least, it had better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it comes to soup, there are two types that I would go for, if given the chance. The first is home-made leek and potato, and the second is Heinz cream of chicken. Simple as they both seemed upon initial inspection, I figured that I could give some home made soup a bash.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGArfKpe-nTyPgTtwbFoEv0lLiYZ8X3hSNUlSiM91Hin89R-sZQ-NhlSmPTBOxaqktgKKwapB7ezGceuwDnG876pK6WYe1eg0PsYELgtAfbVpIaDfBgCRWcQ6ZJ52SMxZBleD1KHQEbtw/s1600/P1020650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGArfKpe-nTyPgTtwbFoEv0lLiYZ8X3hSNUlSiM91Hin89R-sZQ-NhlSmPTBOxaqktgKKwapB7ezGceuwDnG876pK6WYe1eg0PsYELgtAfbVpIaDfBgCRWcQ6ZJ52SMxZBleD1KHQEbtw/s400/P1020650.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there were a number of things that I didn't factor in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) my inability to chop up anything like onions, leeks, spring onions etc without turning into a sobbing wreck (apparently crying over leeks isn't normal...) and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) the slight inaccuracies/options given in the recipe - with even the <i>slightest</i> bit of skill, anyone would be able to decide whether or not to put in 8 or 10 leeks, as <i>evidently </i>it depends on the size of them. Regrettably, I am not in possession of the slightest bit of skill and so didn't adjust the water content accordingly.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VsNEKl6jtl34x1j6nH5FCg2FRSEAcPwwPLMeSu7HWbG9Nvq8c3jg71Id9dMYFTlrCMJxf5Wg8DwoiLb5awT9VJcuYzJ2Yxk8YZlRe1vG1cSpXXn1NmMIaqKVqegwEpBq2IA1_le5Zko/s1600/P1020651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VsNEKl6jtl34x1j6nH5FCg2FRSEAcPwwPLMeSu7HWbG9Nvq8c3jg71Id9dMYFTlrCMJxf5Wg8DwoiLb5awT9VJcuYzJ2Yxk8YZlRe1vG1cSpXXn1NmMIaqKVqegwEpBq2IA1_le5Zko/s400/P1020651.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In spite of the 'soup' ending up as more of a stew (affectionately termed a stoup, by the fam) and the mildly disturbing lack of green-ness, as the life seemed to bleed out of it, it did taste nice, and was the perfect winter warmer for those frosty February days.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLQrhO1MdLiGCAKhvaZKhyphenhyphenwBbiEwTpSNQpXTxXfGMw9CB2JsLEfXbZq1P0wgemh4C9p_wJS8yGCsbjhqBIEQ0VBDIltTzTqetlrxAsvUHWKY5PUq52ruBDGmOTmHt8K9cjcA2F_JPD28/s1600/P1020652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLQrhO1MdLiGCAKhvaZKhyphenhyphenwBbiEwTpSNQpXTxXfGMw9CB2JsLEfXbZq1P0wgemh4C9p_wJS8yGCsbjhqBIEQ0VBDIltTzTqetlrxAsvUHWKY5PUq52ruBDGmOTmHt8K9cjcA2F_JPD28/s400/P1020652.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8-10 leeks, finely sliced (roughly 1cm rounds)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8-10 potatoes, diced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 chicken stock cubes in 1 litre of boiling water</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Sauté leeks and potatoes in butter in large saucepan until almost soft, for approx 15-20 mins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Add chicken stock, cover and simmer, for roughly 45 mins. Note: I think that this stage may have been what caused the brown-ness - I <strike>may have </strike> definitely burnt some of the veg by having the heat too high, and not stirring it every so often, to stop it from sticking to the bottom. My bad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Mash or liquidise (prime opportunity for splash back burns...) and season to taste.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alternatively, leave it super bland and just put some salt and pepper on the table - a safer option if you're anything like me and tend to lose control of your hand every single time you try to shake salt and/or pepper into food.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-12410545454109893732012-02-12T22:52:00.001+00:002015-03-19T17:18:44.660+00:00Blueberry muffins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does food ever seem to just stare at you every time you look in the fridge? There have been blueberries in the fridge for the last week or so, and after seeing them for one day too many, these muffins finally ended up in the oven.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHY6CSFPhgJP2-0VakA01Uq7WTMkmnTzPf8RE6vVbr-Nf1fXxE6LYbb62C5iNaIm64oZOC9TIrHXLIxcb17j0GBPd84q8h_zQYSfpGIjpcYIsbZk7kYYzExhtuRZMEmmnlqqZHL5Qiswc/s1600/P1020624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHY6CSFPhgJP2-0VakA01Uq7WTMkmnTzPf8RE6vVbr-Nf1fXxE6LYbb62C5iNaIm64oZOC9TIrHXLIxcb17j0GBPd84q8h_zQYSfpGIjpcYIsbZk7kYYzExhtuRZMEmmnlqqZHL5Qiswc/s400/P1020624.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGu02TEi9yhI_IiVIjj5PMdbeWyQxut5Ng9p-zNKeVLyjUR1yH8rylT5Q47pk3nps8XmjgZE6bpYIJwiypzQvWVNao5b9wIRsDsJiVT_fZGPSuabMPp4mlCbthwOzDdMV5ebIi7Oi-vJQ/s1600/P1020625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGu02TEi9yhI_IiVIjj5PMdbeWyQxut5Ng9p-zNKeVLyjUR1yH8rylT5Q47pk3nps8XmjgZE6bpYIJwiypzQvWVNao5b9wIRsDsJiVT_fZGPSuabMPp4mlCbthwOzDdMV5ebIi7Oi-vJQ/s400/P1020625.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the fact that they are not terribly uniform, due to my less-than-exemplary spooning-into-cases skills, the bake was actually pretty reasonable, the rise was good and the blueberry flavour came through well.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-Qdt3GtYpQh6aA0JUUo7_Ml4YXwL4MC8pizx_aRd3S5wG-SZxCiYZEtF7Jl7Z-fwaFgIlYWzCm4jLEX1iRftMUY6_MIF_tIxiwyn2ZQNaYAuntoF2uzUBMhHvfAyPNOKCbvKqzkR5Fw/s1600/P1020628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-Qdt3GtYpQh6aA0JUUo7_Ml4YXwL4MC8pizx_aRd3S5wG-SZxCiYZEtF7Jl7Z-fwaFgIlYWzCm4jLEX1iRftMUY6_MIF_tIxiwyn2ZQNaYAuntoF2uzUBMhHvfAyPNOKCbvKqzkR5Fw/s400/P1020628.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1X70eKSl-zi-3NCLM0BgSJ-pSOJenMMLwmX8wc-yh8Sxjwkq_C1IRDNlJwV9-86V7uVMQzqOepxskGiBd9KfB9gpMVpOLRtvF3ujPbJbjd2moxB-MS38sxkOwLQDEIQ995BbKMiJGrGY/s1600/P1020630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1X70eKSl-zi-3NCLM0BgSJ-pSOJenMMLwmX8wc-yh8Sxjwkq_C1IRDNlJwV9-86V7uVMQzqOepxskGiBd9KfB9gpMVpOLRtvF3ujPbJbjd2moxB-MS38sxkOwLQDEIQ995BbKMiJGrGY/s400/P1020630.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I think that they could have done with more sugar, and perhaps the extra sweetness would make them a bit nicer. To be fair though, when they first came out of the oven, they were very nice, if a little tart, but the next day they were more like rocks than airy muffins.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcc1Kdce__vmfXyWfFjhg2Db10RccMof6pnGSPZh9SJ-yvW1uVEsqwRJI45FoOjjKAgGTyDeOwSLOAt7iAgzEwU2lW1spDXsHLfwADUIDTrRH6RrL2nuHn_FuMQLN7akloplnNgeyQs0/s1600/P1020634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcc1Kdce__vmfXyWfFjhg2Db10RccMof6pnGSPZh9SJ-yvW1uVEsqwRJI45FoOjjKAgGTyDeOwSLOAt7iAgzEwU2lW1spDXsHLfwADUIDTrRH6RrL2nuHn_FuMQLN7akloplnNgeyQs0/s400/P1020634.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWrQOAKOeRH1O742HEIPoNi3Hy_fvGlQefs1junsmLyfF-3trX0F9mKssv06wav4Ih5iPSG3nNUhcktHc_SmbGkeaIpOomTUz-iZ76XZe0rQsj5Uk1EfAMuQrHRSgaFp8vBcBMl0YiiE/s1600/P1020637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWrQOAKOeRH1O742HEIPoNi3Hy_fvGlQefs1junsmLyfF-3trX0F9mKssv06wav4Ih5iPSG3nNUhcktHc_SmbGkeaIpOomTUz-iZ76XZe0rQsj5Uk1EfAMuQrHRSgaFp8vBcBMl0YiiE/s400/P1020637.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On another note, the batter seemed to go on <i>forever</i> and I had enough to make some little ones (but they really were like pellets and/or bullets!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the crazy wee cupcake calendar thing which provides lovely pictures that are nothing like what mine ended up like...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup caster sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tbsp grated lemon zest (took roughly the zest of 1 lemon to get that much for me)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/2 cups plain flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tbsp baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 lightly beaten eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 stick unsalted butter, melted</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups fresh/thawed blueberries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Preheat the oven to 200.C and line a cupcake pan with cases.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Stir the sugar, lemon zest and baking powder with a spoon, in a medium bowl. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, which takes about a minute. Add the dry ingredients to the <i>eggs and stuff </i>(technical term!) and stir until the blueberries are just combined.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Spoon the batter into the cases.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Serve immediately (as they <i>really really really </i>don't keep that well).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the recipe, you can store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months, but I would take that little nugget of information with a pinch of salt ...</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-43960750363563752702012-02-04T16:09:00.001+00:002013-01-02T19:35:31.253+00:00Haggis with a camembert sauce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, I know. It sounds completely bizarre and potentially disgusting but this is <i>the </i>best way to have haggis. With a bit of distance between now and Burns' Night (25.01), there's even the possibility that the haggis will be on offer in the supermarket!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F26PSrL0q44Q3h8lC7Y9DJ-lvmg1sLhHWBDcHEEZEmExc9ELcudVAshIZuEUKYAo8FhgRkz_i-tUVAkIDsiV8sJ9qjeLYoNff6OUoQxYFft8whtMoae2l2W1M_ZB43RS9eaqmIdQLLs/s1600/P1020622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F26PSrL0q44Q3h8lC7Y9DJ-lvmg1sLhHWBDcHEEZEmExc9ELcudVAshIZuEUKYAo8FhgRkz_i-tUVAkIDsiV8sJ9qjeLYoNff6OUoQxYFft8whtMoae2l2W1M_ZB43RS9eaqmIdQLLs/s400/P1020622.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the one and only way that I actually like haggis - the sauce is creamy and cheesy and mild enough to take the spicy bite out of the meat.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJCVoQTUgIxobUi_docxtMX_MvY_uVxGkIwyGBJYv0-AcCQFDdb4zYGFTo5IyNuGsmP6tq3XWnw0rglcncnTmfWvR3fMF6Nj17SBJ8RiTTQpeB-0pCcgtYIRBoeGK3BnDwR4RNnjfnW4/s1600/P1020621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJCVoQTUgIxobUi_docxtMX_MvY_uVxGkIwyGBJYv0-AcCQFDdb4zYGFTo5IyNuGsmP6tq3XWnw0rglcncnTmfWvR3fMF6Nj17SBJ8RiTTQpeB-0pCcgtYIRBoeGK3BnDwR4RNnjfnW4/s400/P1020621.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was trying to think of what else to add to this but, actually, my cold-riddled brain is struggling to string two words together. I didn't even manage to follow the soppy romance that I attempted to watch earlier, so with that show of complete and utter incompetence: over and out!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kS7fa8Vuhg678KbrRnMT7DbEg2fb6HCEy3jllhY2HE8vWynsr8-3uN5A5l0C3Oe2k7feJkS2MGTSChkMe3lpNTL-uh10OFGiqWSJvVvCjGKOgcNmb8FLvlWc2BhT7Fpo7cPx7XwN3M0/s1600/P1020623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kS7fa8Vuhg678KbrRnMT7DbEg2fb6HCEy3jllhY2HE8vWynsr8-3uN5A5l0C3Oe2k7feJkS2MGTSChkMe3lpNTL-uh10OFGiqWSJvVvCjGKOgcNmb8FLvlWc2BhT7Fpo7cPx7XwN3M0/s400/P1020623.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">enough couscous for however many people you're feeding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 round camembert</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">500ml single cream</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 haggis (should probably be enough for 4ish)</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, pop the haggis in the microwave (sophisticated, I know) - it took about three and a half minutes in ours - cooking it until it's warmed right through. Cook the couscous (plain, with none of that vegetable nonsense) and leave to sit. Scrape the rind <i>stuff</i> off the camembert, chop up into chunks and melt in a pan along with the cream. When the sauce is ready, it should be hot and mainly melted down, but there may be some little lumps of cheese left - really, it's up to you how long you can bear to wait! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simple but effective, that's what this is! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-3303217044982957942012-01-26T22:27:00.002+00:002013-01-02T19:37:11.899+00:00Ruth's Jumanji chicken (or delicious chicken and broccoli bake)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a time when you just think enough is enough. Amazingly, it is only possible to work for so long before your tear ducts dry up from the sobbing that accompanies quotation learning, and formulae memorising, and your fingers begin to go into spasm from the death grip you had on your pen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That time came last Saturday evening, and this meal was the result. The recipe had been sitting on my desk for at least two weeks, and the ingredients in the fridge for a couple of days before I finally pulled my finger out and got in the kitchen. As a result of the extremely slow speed at which I work, this took an hour to get from chopping board to table. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as an aside, I think that my photography skills are somewhat lacking but hopefully with practice ... </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTLplg05s0FC179RVvB8HUwZUAypa38Ty577EV1X1p8vrFcrnJTaC9XYUBE_X05OR6__4S-PEaagKvYP6VNU9QGPQLoRolHV2He-jqfK-HdQdVVOW8iCOd-rluOcsMOvugjMvvB9snfY/s1600/P1020605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTLplg05s0FC179RVvB8HUwZUAypa38Ty577EV1X1p8vrFcrnJTaC9XYUBE_X05OR6__4S-PEaagKvYP6VNU9QGPQLoRolHV2He-jqfK-HdQdVVOW8iCOd-rluOcsMOvugjMvvB9snfY/s400/P1020605.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2hiGpNq0ztqvzUHQphKmACMGpX3AM1J0DcVKF3E6vK5I4POog3Blo8o_6_WE_BqS7y1JaJ7NXTM5QqK_Y63-IZBisfUVD9LFpQIIBC6lTwrgvb9BvTgAJ1P4wyfP0bjW-4T9pbTlKtE/s1600/P1020613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2hiGpNq0ztqvzUHQphKmACMGpX3AM1J0DcVKF3E6vK5I4POog3Blo8o_6_WE_BqS7y1JaJ7NXTM5QqK_Y63-IZBisfUVD9LFpQIIBC6lTwrgvb9BvTgAJ1P4wyfP0bjW-4T9pbTlKtE/s400/P1020613.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46its0JLJAxLvbnI0_KPsSdSLRKKIO9JWVhJFM0tZ7UopMmnL9dL0gw3PIArjkmtiI2YV1AygnRao58XAsLW06vuvkLeTncFprJKfOsbPOe2JtDblHKO7gDIGlK3WrsM59d6sNiGItFQ/s1600/P1020615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46its0JLJAxLvbnI0_KPsSdSLRKKIO9JWVhJFM0tZ7UopMmnL9dL0gw3PIArjkmtiI2YV1AygnRao58XAsLW06vuvkLeTncFprJKfOsbPOe2JtDblHKO7gDIGlK3WrsM59d6sNiGItFQ/s400/P1020615.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXSFvFO5QfawLq3B63Ib-HMVCTfhZJ1tEBWFTExlw11bp1YFZ1f8zM-boU4uWSbiIJESE96ZnjWdMJmCqW4GgaBpVv6uhiULkXiZ2kfyVG5JOSGSS1oa7sWU5YB_xxYHFDuHljy5X7lY/s1600/P1020616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXSFvFO5QfawLq3B63Ib-HMVCTfhZJ1tEBWFTExlw11bp1YFZ1f8zM-boU4uWSbiIJESE96ZnjWdMJmCqW4GgaBpVv6uhiULkXiZ2kfyVG5JOSGSS1oa7sWU5YB_xxYHFDuHljy5X7lY/s400/P1020616.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">chicken breasts (roughly one per person) - diced or cut up into strips</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">broccoli (chopped up roughly) - enough to lay the bottom of casserole dish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cream of chicken soup (depends on size of dish - took two cans for mine - needs to be enough to cover broccoli and chicken once it's layered in the dish)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tbsp mayonnaise - never changes</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - 2 tbsp curry powder </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp lemon juice (optional)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ready salted crisps - enough for crispy topping</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">grated cheddar cheese - also for topping</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 crushed garlic clove and butter for greasing</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px;" />Doesn't even take ten steps! Success!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Stir fry chicken.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Steam/cook broccoli - 3 and 1/2 minutes in the microwave did the job for me</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Rub garlic and butter round your dish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Layer broccoli and chicken in dish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Mix soup, curry powder, mayonnaise (and lemon juice) together</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Crush crisps to form a top crust over mixture and top with grated cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Cook in the oven at about 180.C - 200.C until the cheese is melted and brown and topping is crunchy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. Leave to sit for a couple of minutes and then serve. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, it's delish! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-27484893094915373342012-01-21T22:49:00.003+00:002013-01-02T19:37:33.333+00:00Meaty cheesy pasta bake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to the
time-constraining effects of prelim revision, this quick and easy dish was
feasted on by us last week but is only<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>now<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>finding its rightful place on the
blog. According to the official Delia recipe it is technically supposed to have
bacon and leeks but as it was a last minute decision, there was a serious lack
of wintery vegetation in the fridge. As a result, this two meat pasta was
created. Yes, that’s right – <i>two types of
meat</i>!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r9g0-UlyT_xnt-TKm7Smea01YasPUapviiPVNGYiS_CFR1mu21vBwDmsUCSTfMKYGhBLzz16YJhtRMytiXTt7udCd-k4xP6xn9y3rEMqHur6kghB1KDrOpQON71Sk_w5bamz-CcElks/s1600/P1020596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r9g0-UlyT_xnt-TKm7Smea01YasPUapviiPVNGYiS_CFR1mu21vBwDmsUCSTfMKYGhBLzz16YJhtRMytiXTt7udCd-k4xP6xn9y3rEMqHur6kghB1KDrOpQON71Sk_w5bamz-CcElks/s400/P1020596.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE39lY7uyYHajnkoO8gRwdvR9H5JJ1P3scdELWwvjmsQW69SdE3h_lshrUJN8uBT99ZY28CHJb6KQZSKvQ2E1L8IY1CpZzre9-d2IzP5Cex9UAlJKJR7_uxtVkzvwBUnSYCwq5vVJdcs/s1600/P1020602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE39lY7uyYHajnkoO8gRwdvR9H5JJ1P3scdELWwvjmsQW69SdE3h_lshrUJN8uBT99ZY28CHJb6KQZSKvQ2E1L8IY1CpZzre9-d2IzP5Cex9UAlJKJR7_uxtVkzvwBUnSYCwq5vVJdcs/s400/P1020602.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On another note, napkin folding may soon become a new hobby...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi612NQhO73Vb-Ev4HPDvx2HE5apKkApQxM4LNUkMQuwEajgIBJUYilOnMlHPWH5txf61iy51IMYjp2ENQcX55NhhqtQzhzXSJRV0Aikl7jrnp0KM7YEby6AXU5dqz7fjXQFF6kLTU_Onk/s1600/P1020594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi612NQhO73Vb-Ev4HPDvx2HE5apKkApQxM4LNUkMQuwEajgIBJUYilOnMlHPWH5txf61iy51IMYjp2ENQcX55NhhqtQzhzXSJRV0Aikl7jrnp0KM7YEby6AXU5dqz7fjXQFF6kLTU_Onk/s400/P1020594.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally from
one of the many Delia books in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serves 8 (or 4
for 2 nights – handy!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">500g pasta
(personally I like using penne, but other pastas like macaroni or fusili would
would just as well)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 or 8 slices of
bacon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 smoked sausage
(cabanossi from Lidl works really well) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">50g butter
(either unsalted or salted will do, but I used unsalted due to the saltiness
added by the sausage) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">50g plain flour <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g cheddar
cheese with extra for topping <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">850ml milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 tbsp double
cream <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some nutmeg
(which I didn’t bother with) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">roughly 50g ready
salted crisps <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt the butter
in a pan, and mix in the flour. Add the milk to this mixture gradually until
the sauce thickens. Then add the cheese, grated, to the sauce until it’s melted
through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the sauce
is thickening, cut up the bacon and chop the sausage and fry them together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boil the pasta
for 10 minutes and then put it straight in the dish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix the meat
through and pour the sauce over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, add the
smashed-up crisps and sprinkle cheese over the top and pop it in the oven at
approximately 180.C – it should take about half an hour to forty-five minutes
until the cheese is crispy on top (should really be a bit darker than in the photo, but we were running to a deadline...) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-2735157891728985942012-01-03T23:31:00.000+00:002013-01-02T19:40:23.836+00:00Vanilla cupcakes with orange<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a result of a multi-family cupcake baking contest, tonight's task was created. The initial plan was for lemon cupcakes, but that plan was dismissed before it had fully formed due to two things: 1) there were no lemons in the house and 2) there wasn't even enough lemon juice in the squeezy bottle to make a difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fall-black plan was to use the afore-mentioned pitiful amount of squeezy lemon juice to make some lemon icing but once again, there was simply not enough.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_IBzl7VQXeMG8QbFdYI8qg8rvhXsV9_A5kzpr1L4TOO0EPG9ZzmjP6OutwliHRjU5mI8cwjMdDoojDjhQiK3EGtiAkmDemlkyY43sjiH61n_Ka6sRpM6qXJA-DHW5c0a92avlLYnD6g/s1600/blog+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_IBzl7VQXeMG8QbFdYI8qg8rvhXsV9_A5kzpr1L4TOO0EPG9ZzmjP6OutwliHRjU5mI8cwjMdDoojDjhQiK3EGtiAkmDemlkyY43sjiH61n_Ka6sRpM6qXJA-DHW5c0a92avlLYnD6g/s400/blog+008.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately a new plan quickly took shape - simple but delicious vanilla cupcakes with orange flavoured (and potentially also coloured) icing. Furthermore, in order to allow for the varying degrees of 'icing acceptance' in my family, I used both normal icing and buttercream. Sometimes it's better to just put up with the extra faff than to try to field the disappointment later! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvEoYBWNCtLAwwwIc2f8LKeLNGBg5T29RjLfpjQQtZL48lq_z6JfUQ9NgXJnPEJHeXLq4k1GpiGm3TjCOfSdXI6OqScybqc8T2rID58ZMb6sOFvKv6CGl1Y3YMpYPh0R_oOyJnfJ-8IWU/s1600/blog+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvEoYBWNCtLAwwwIc2f8LKeLNGBg5T29RjLfpjQQtZL48lq_z6JfUQ9NgXJnPEJHeXLq4k1GpiGm3TjCOfSdXI6OqScybqc8T2rID58ZMb6sOFvKv6CGl1Y3YMpYPh0R_oOyJnfJ-8IWU/s400/blog+004.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These were taken from Kate Shirazi's cupcake book, "Cupcake Magic"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make 12 cupcakes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">110g (4oz)self-raising flour, sifted</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">110g (4oz)caster sugar, sifted</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">110g (4oz) margarine - I used butter instead</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 large eggs - I used 3 medium eggs, but I think that it might have been a little too eggy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 160.C (or 325.F) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simply mix all of the ingredients until the mixture is light and fluffy. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pop heaped teaspoons of the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once out of the oven, place on a wire rack to cool.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the buttercream, (for 12 cupcakes) combine 225g of icing sugar with 100g of (unsalted) butter, until it's light and fluffy. Then just add orange extract (or orange juice and zest, if you want to be really fancy) and combine. At this point, I always like to add some food colouring (too much yellow turns it orange, funnily enough!) as you can't go wrong with a bit of colour! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If buttercream is not your thing then just go for some normal icing - adding orange extract to taste, and a liberal amount of food colouring, although too much has the potential for some garish, wholly hideous, eye-assaulting excitement - suit yourself basically! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-22295266510508064232012-01-01T21:54:00.000+00:002013-01-02T19:38:05.997+00:00South Carolina style pulled pork<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much for starting out as I mean to go on - this recipe had a lot of promise, I thought, but on this, the 1st January 2012, it failed epically. Or rather I failed epically, and it didn't go quite as smoothly as I had perhaps hoped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite calling on my dad at 9:30 this morning to as just how much ketchup constitutes "a large quantity" and whether the string around the pork shoulder should be left on and which way up the pork should actually be put in. In fairness, it was the first time that I had actually dealt with any real cut of meat other than mince or bacon - pathetic I know, but 'tis the way of it - although that does not allow for how poorly it actually turned out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It went in the oven this morning, at 10:15 and didn't resurface until 7:30 but when it came out of the oven, some of the meat was still really pink - not raw but far too pink for my liking - and it didn't really seem to want to <i>pull. </i>Before bringing it out of the oven, I turned up the temperature for about an hour, when I didn't think that it was cooking right through. However, served with soft, warm finger rolls, which on their own were nice, it was half-way decent. At least I hope it was!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, I think that pulled pork is set for another attempt in the future - but not quite yet!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh6U8iCr2GiV_fAeWaRG1KhaENxE4FScYtlscQnn2zEAyehvPIs1czDz48dYD8KCn5s7oI2g67-SGhKbsKuEeGcXOtfshG0PvoddJPiHEpuLW5U-nk6ClE5ZzTXzH1NTYZjc7nMMi7Fk/s1600/blog+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh6U8iCr2GiV_fAeWaRG1KhaENxE4FScYtlscQnn2zEAyehvPIs1czDz48dYD8KCn5s7oI2g67-SGhKbsKuEeGcXOtfshG0PvoddJPiHEpuLW5U-nk6ClE5ZzTXzH1NTYZjc7nMMi7Fk/s400/blog+009.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ke_Hp8mZWBO4QYZzG91vZQe1dHt-GcVAZ8h3EJqofyjjkEnLmME5lOPQpM8BUoNp7FPC5kZPRShDrMyUj4iB4baFvdmNfxZ4D-t4B2FkAkIxsYHToHZz7T6VKknAv9fAiAbjuYsHHeE/s1600/blog+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ke_Hp8mZWBO4QYZzG91vZQe1dHt-GcVAZ8h3EJqofyjjkEnLmME5lOPQpM8BUoNp7FPC5kZPRShDrMyUj4iB4baFvdmNfxZ4D-t4B2FkAkIxsYHToHZz7T6VKknAv9fAiAbjuYsHHeE/s400/blog+012.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Note: <i>another</i> two and a half hours in the oven at about 80.C and it is actually pulling! Perhaps a <i>slightly</i> higher temperature for the duration ...?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's what I was working from courtesy of Uncle D - it'd surely work for anyone who is less inept than me:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get some pork shoulder and either put it in a smoker or a casserole dish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put in a large quantity of tomato ketchup, some American mustard and a spoonful of brown sugar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour in beer or cider until covered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, either smoke it low or put it in the over at its very lowest setting (around 70.C) and leave for as long as possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would be nice served with a split roll or on some ciabatta.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com1Scotland, UK56.4906712 -4.202645852.001809200000004 -14.310067799999999 60.9795332 5.9047762tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853285102400608566.post-38898694294156245962012-01-01T15:30:00.000+00:002013-01-02T00:10:34.190+00:00And so it begins ... (12 for 2012) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first day of the year and a challenge has been set. In order to expand my somewhat limited experience of cooking, I am to make at least <u>12</u> new recipes this year (although admittedly, I am aiming for at least a few more than that!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are no specific rules, although my norm of spaghetti carbonara is not allowed - it may end up being featured on here at some point in the future, in spite of the rules! - and anything is fair game. In order to start off as I mean to go on, today's adventure is South Carolina style pulled pork, courtesy of uncle D. Wish me luck ...</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035053666634976476noreply@blogger.com1