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Potato Apple and Rocket Soup

February 1st 2010 02:52

Potato, Apple and Rocket Soup

Having written about my cooking game in the previous post, it got me thinking that I should give it another go. So my next few posts may have some unusual recipes in them...or not. That's the beauty of the game.

Anyway after picking two random numbers (the time on the digital clock) I landed on Potato, Apple and Rocket (Arugula for our US friends) Soup from my 'Whats Cooking Potatoes' recipe book.

Hubbie took one look at the recipe and opted out, so I decided it would be a lunchtime venture for one.

I diced my one potato and quartered half an onion (I cut the recipe for a serving of one thanks to my unadventurous family) then sauteed them gently in a frypan for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Thenn I added a splash of lemon juice, some chicken stock (add plenty as mine evaporated quite quicky), a diced apple and a pinch of ground allspice.

Once I brought it to the boil I reduced the heat and only simmered for 10 minutes. The recipe says 15 but that was with more quantities of ingredients. I then added the rocket and cooked a further 5 minutes until the potato was cooked through.

Testing the potato was interesting as I kept scooping out pieces of apple. They tended to look the same.

Then I transferred half the soup to my mini-blender and processed for a minute, returning to the pan and stirring in the remaining soup.

Anyone trying this can season to taste but I felt there was enough taste in it. While a bit tangy it was definitely warming to the tummy and I even managed to get my five year old to taste it. When I asked if he liked it he replied "No, not really!"

Oh well, maybe the next pick will be more family friendly.

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Posted By: Samantha Elley - Category: No Category

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My Cooking Game

January 21st 2010 11:28

My bookshelf groaning with cookbooks

I am just finishing the book Julie & Julia written by Julie Powell, that has recenlty been made into a movie starring Meryl Streep out at the cinema.

I gotta say, I so get Julie Powell. I get that she thought up the project. I get that she took a year to finish it. I get her love/hate relationship with cooking.

I could be totally wrong if I ever meet the woman, but the book was an enjoyable culinary experience where I was often laughing in shared sympathy or yelling out "Yes, I SO get that."

While I never had a project per say, I did have my own cooking game which was much easier to do when I was single and even married. Once kids came along, however, it was very hard to continue my cooking game due to its nature.

Let me explain.

In my bookcase I have one whole shelf dedicated to cook books. When looking for a dish to cook, it was often difficult to decide on a cookbook let alone a recipe. So I started my game.

It involved two numbers. The first number was the recipe book and the second was the page number.

If the number didn't coincide with a singular recipe I just kept picking numbers until it did. The numbers could be the next one I heard on TV, or asking my hubbie to pick them out of the air.

It made the game very random and exciting because whatever recipe the numbers landed on I had to cook, regardless.

Some recipes had me buying ingredients I wouldn't have looked twice at, or going to small chinese supermarkets to get certain items.

I made ponzu sauce, manhattan oysters, clafouti, main meals, entrees, desserts and nibbles. I had same amazing successes where I wrote the recipe down so that I wouldn't lose it on the shelf, as well as some amazing disasters that made me wonder how my husband agreed to always be my guinea pig.

When the kids came along, however, I abandoned my game as I wasn't going to be making multiple dishes for dinner, as I wouldn't expect children to be eating some of the dishes from the game.

Our meals are so much more pedestrian these days, but every now and then I breakout and find myself looking for two numbers.

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Posted By: Samantha Elley - Category: No Category

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Green Meatballs and Spaghetti

January 16th 2010 05:36

Spinach Meatballs with Spaghetti

I love simple recipes but I certainly don't mind them with a twist either.
I like the idea of spinach in meatballs because it gets the kids eating greens without them worrying too much about it.
According to my Table magazine this recipe is only $2.75 per serve as well.

Ingredients
2 thick slices Italian style bread crusts removed, torn into pieces
1/2 C milk
300g english spinach, stalks trimmed and rinsed.
1kg lean beef mince
1/3 C grated parmesan
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 C plain flour
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
spaghetti cooked and drained.

Sauce
can whole peeled tomatoes
splash of worcestershire sauce
oregano
basil

Method
1.Place bread in a bowl and cover with milk. Soak for 10 mins. Squeeze bread to remove milk and crumble into a mixing bowl.
2. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan on high and cook spinach for 5 mins until wilted. Drain and squeeze out any excess water. When cool enough to handle, chop coarsely. Cool completely.
3. Add spinach to bread and with beef, parmesan and egg. Mix well and season to taste. Shape into 12 balls. Dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan on medium. Cook meatballs, shaking frequently to turn, for 15 mins, until browned and cooked through.
5. Meanwhile heat sauce ingredients until boiling, then simmer until ready to serve.
6. Serve on spaghetti topped with the sauce.

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Posted By: Samantha Elley - Category: No Category

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Chicken Noodle Soup

January 5th 2010 09:31

Yummy chicken noodle soup

When you're feeling sick, need a cosy meal or just have a few leftovers to use up then this following recipe may be just what the doctor ordered.

Ingredients
[ Click here to read more ]

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Burnt Food Museum

December 29th 2009 01:07

The matching set of burnt pizza toast at the Burnt Food Museum

OK, hands up! Who has ever had a kitchen disaster where they've forgotten that pie in the oven...or screamed that ultimate anthem of disaster while on the phone 'OH MY GOODNESS, THE CHIPS!!"?

Who has ever had to peel some black conglomeration from the bottom of their pans

[ Click here to read more ]

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Interesting Facts about Food

December 17th 2009 23:44

There is so much to learn about the fuel we put in our bodies

Did you know that:

Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Samantha Elley - Category: No Category

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Food as an Art

December 10th 2009 23:42

Watermelon man

What whimsical ideas some people have...and the time they must also have access to to create such wonders.

Imagine seeing this in your lunchbox!

Here are a few of my favourites on my travels throughout the internet looking for quirky food snippets. A good source, if you are interested in seeing more is www.pjlighthouse.com. Worth a look

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Get Gourmet Food Fast

November 9th 2009 02:05

Whop Perguignon (Fancy Whopper & Steakhouse Burger)

I love doing research about food on the internet. The ideas that people come up with in relation to food is really quite phenomenal and creative.

Here's one of the more interesting food websites I've found

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A Kitchen (and that means house) Update!

October 5th 2009 03:51

Our new oven is an Omega

For the myriad of regular readers that I have (thanks mum for being there), I just wanted to give an update of our cullinary situation.

While the shop is going great guns, although we now realise to get any bigger we will have to move our premises OR open another shop. The kitchen is just tiny where we are

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Seat Stealer and Yuppie Hater

September 12th 2009 07:28

Cafe tables are at a premium in the summer period

One of the biggest problems we have with our al fresco area is when people who buy food from other shops sit in our seats.

Not such a big deal in the quieter times but a real issue when we are busy and our own customers are unable to sit down and enjoy a meal because all the tables are taken by non-customers

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February 2010

1 Posts

January 2010

3 Posts

December 2009

3 Posts