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Tag: food

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #14: Piri Piri Chicken

    This is our 14th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. We chose Piri Piri Chicken, Dressed Potatoes, Rocket Salad, and Quick Portugese Tarts. We’d been looking forward to this one for a long time, because who doesn’t like Portuguese custard tarts? Nobody.

    Piri Piri Chicken

    Substitutions: We couldn’t find yellow peppers/capsicum anywhere (must be out of season), so we just used a single red one. We used just white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar. And the sugar for the tarts was just plain rather than “golden caster”. Other than that, everything was as-written.

    Quick verdict: This is the first recipe where I think the time is an outright cheat. We were both working flat-out the whole time and we didn’t come anywhere close to the deadline. Our time was 39:50. (Sure, having everything memorised would save you a couple minutes, but not many.) Also, we found a mistake in the recipe! That was annoying. In terms of flavour, I thought the potatoes were the highlight. I’d never had sweet potatoes done in that way before, and I can see myself repeating it in the future. (The Snook thought it had too much lemon, but he also thinks Jamie tends to go overboard on lemon everywhere anyway.) The chicken was very good, and the tarts turned out surprisingly well (with a couple caveats). The Snook rated the meal overall as 8/10, while I gave it 8.5/10.

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  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #13: Wonky Summer Pasta

    This is our 13th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. We went with “Wonky Summer Pasta, Herby Salad, and Pear Drop Tartlets.” We picked this recipe because we had tart cases left over from the Frangipane Tarts, and because I was carb-loading in preparation for a really long run. We hadn’t seen this particular episode, but upon Googling I found a dodgy site that let us watch it online. We felt like we had a good chance of bringing this one in under 30 minutes!

    Wonky Summer Pasta, Herby Salad, and Pear Drop Tartlets

    Substitutions: We used smoky bacon instead of pancetta, simply because it was easier to find. I bought a fancy bag of mixed salad greens at the Farmer’s Market rather than go for the watercress/rocket he used. We used strawberry jam instead of raspberry in the tarts. Other than that, everything else was as-written.

    Quick verdict: Pretty nice! This is one of the easiest and quickest meals in the book. The pasta and the tarts didn’t turn out 100% fantastic, but we suspect those flaws were in our preparation rather than the recipe. (More on that in a minute.) The salad was a highlight for me, definitely one of the best in the book so far. Our elapsed time was 33:26 (fastest one yet!), and I think we could easily get this one down under 30 with practice. In terms of score, it’s hard to say. If we had done everything perfectly, it probably would have been an 8.5 or a 9 out of 10. Our actual preparation probably only merited a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 though.

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  • Zucchini Bread

    Zucchini BreadWe’re coming to the end of zucchini season, I think, but we’re still getting a couple big ones in each weekly veggie box from Food Connect Sydney. Last weekend as a special treat I made them into the Snook’s favourite: Zucchini Bread. It’s actually not that well known in Australia, which is odd because it’s similar to Banana Bread and they love that here. Anyway, I thought I’d document the recipe since everyone who tastes it ends up asking for it! Here it is:

    1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
    1 t. ground cinnamon
    1/2 t. baking soda
    1/4 t. baking powder
    1/4 t. salt
    1/4 t. ground nutmeg
    1 c. sugar
    1 c. finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
    1/4 c. cooking oil
    1 egg
    1/4 t. finely shredded lemon peel
    1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

    1. Butter the bottom and halfway up the sides of your loaf tin. (If you butter all the way up the sides, your bread will sink down when you take it out of the oven.) In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (the first six on the list) together. I never bother to sift; I just stir it really well.

    2. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, zucchini, egg, lemon) together. Add the dry ingredients to this bowl and stir just until everything’s moistened. (It’ll be lumpy. That’s good.) Fold in the nuts if you’re using them.

    3. Dump into your loaf pan. Bake in a 350F/180C oven for 50-55 minutes or til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then take it out of the pan and cool as long as you can bear not to eat it.

    Makes one loaf. (My photo shows two because I doubled it.) I like it warm with butter on top. You can even toast it, if you’re weird like the Snook.

    Ingredients for the zucchini bread.

    Zucchini Bread ingredients

    The dry ingredients, all mixed together.

    Dry ingredients

    The wet ingredients. (If you’ve got a food processor with a grating attachment, use that. Saves heaps of time!)

    Wet ingredients

    Mixing it all up together.

    Mixing it up

    Into the loaf pans, ready for baking!

    Ready for baking

    Freshly baked zucchini bread.

    Zucchini Bread

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #12: Liver & Bacon

    This is our 12th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. I knew the lucky streak had to end at some point! This was was a DUD. I was feeling cocky so we decided to go for another “challenging” meal: Liver & Bacon, Onion Gravy, Smashed Potato, Dressed Greens, and Berry & Custard Ripple. Unfortunately we ran into a lot of problems. We didn’t have the matching TV episode (as far as I can tell, it hasn’t aired yet anywhere), so we were working from just the recipe. It wasn’t til after we bought all the ingredients that we realised it was going to require FOUR stove burners… and we only have three. So we had to get creative. I’d like to say it was all worth it in the end, but to be honest, I found this one pretty underwhelming.

    Liver & Bacon

    Substitutions and changes: We used the potatoes we had on hand, rather than the red-skinned called for in the recipe. We couldn’t find calves’ liver and had to settle for lambs’ liver. For the “seasonal greens,” we went with silverbeet. Our fresh berries were raspberries, and the tinned fruit was peaches.

    Quick verdict: Meh. It was liver. I haven’t had it very often, and I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan. We tried to cook it to specification but it was still a bit tough and dry. (The Snook thinks it was overcooked.) The mash, greens, and gravy were all fine, if a bit ordinary. The dessert was kind of a mess. There wasn’t really a good photo in the book, so we had to just follow the instructions. Total elapsed time was 46:11, but given our cooktop limitations, you can’t really go by that. I rated it a 7 out of 10, while the Snook gave it an 8.

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  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #11: Grilled Sardines

    This is our 11th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. This week’s meal was “Grilled Sardines, Crispy Halloumi, Watercress Salad & Figs, Thick Chocolate Mousse.” Frankly, this is the recipe in the book that scared me the most. I was a “pescaphobe” for most of my life, and it’s only in the last five years or so that I’ve come to enjoy seafood. Whole fish with bones and heads are basically my Everest. I knew we’d have to get to this one eventually though, so I thought it was time to meet my fears head on. Luckily it was easy to make and DELICIOUS! I ate every bit. (I’m as shocked as you are!)

    Grilled Sardines, Crispy Halloumi, Watercress Salad & Figs, Thick Chocolate Mousse

    Substitutions and changes: We were able to get everything. We even went with the suggested chilled rosé as an accompaniment! The only change was making a half recipe each of the sardines and the mousse, just because it was only the two of us eating it.

    Quick verdict: As a meal, this all went together extremely well and the flavours of the components all complemented each other. (Better so than many of the other recipes.) The sardines were brilliant and the strong aromatics with them masked any potential “fishiness.” Elapsed time was 39:29, but that included about 5 annoying minutes of faffing about with pomegranates. This was a pretty quick one! We’re both rating it as our first official 10/10. If you make this meal for someone, they will be impressed!

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  • Momentous Weekend

    Man, does April Fools’ Day suck or what? It used to be amusing, but now it’s just 85 of my Facebook friends all linking to the same Google prank. It was funnier when you actually had to work to figure out which news stories were true and which were fake.

    But of course, Friday had another significance in our house. On that day, eleven years ago, the Snook and I first kissed in London. We’ve been practically (and literally) married ever since. (Him: “I don’t think other people celebrate Hook-up Anniversaries.” Me: “SHUSH. We do.”) In honour of the day, we went out for dinner at Porteño in Surry Hills. I’ve wanted to go there ever since the official SMH review called the lamb “f–king amazing.” It did not disappoint. We had the lamb, the blood sausage, and the brussels sprouts. SO GOOD. The place also has a serious retro vibe going on, so it was fortunate that I got frocked up for the occasion. (The hostess actually asked me if it was a Yoshi Jones dress. I told her it was from Heartbreaker.) The only downside to the meal is that we were both totally suffering from over-indulgence all day Saturday. I was in a lamb fat coma for like 24 hours straight…

    The second momentous occurrence from the weekend was that I finally finished my entry for the Easter Show knitting competition. I made a Hipster Cardigan for the Snook. I don’t have any photos of the completed garment yet though. The shoulders came out weirdly pointy from my blocking, and it looked kind of odd when he modelled it. (I think it’ll be fine for the show since they’ll just hang it on fishing line anyway.) But I think I’ll need to give it a proper wash once it’s home before we do a photo shoot. I was also meant to have a toy and some mittens to go with it… but yeah, that didn’t happen. Totally overambitious this year. Note to self: You can’t train for a marathon AND knit three Show entries.

    Marathon training provided the third momentous achievement of the weekend: I ran TWENTY MILES today! That’s 32K. (Well, actually I did 33K.) It took me nearly five hours, but I did it. The amazing thing is that I felt totally great the whole run and actually enjoyed myself! I think I’ve finally hit the magic combination of run/walk intervals (1:1), nutrition (Hammer Gels in apple/cinnamon are SO GOOD), and hydration (Hammer Endurolytes meant no cramps at all!). I wrote a long run report over at dailymile that I’ll reproduce here below. Like I said, MOMENTOUS WEEKEND!

    Run Report:

    I am just in awe of how great this run went. I had been apprehensive beforehand, since my stomach had been bothering me all Saturday. I was well-prepared though. I was trying out the Endurolytes that Eoin O. recommended, so I took two of them before the run. I had a mix of Endura and Hammer gels. I had my water belt filled and ready to go. I taped my right foot and ran on my orthotics in my new Mizunos. I had my new Mophie Juice Pack to double my iPhone battery life. And once I got out there, it just all came together perfectly!

    It was sunny today, but I was out there early enough (6:30am) that it didn’t get too hot. I did 1:1 run/walk the whole way. First I did the 5K from Chippo to the start of the Bay Run. Nice and easy. My right hip/hamstring started to make itself known, but I’d slathered it with Voltaren so I knew it wouldn’t get too bad. I addressed it with my mind: “Hamstring! I acknowledge you. I know you’re not happy. But if we get through this together, you’ll have another three weeks to rest up.” It seemed to help.

    I had my first new Hammer “apple cinnamon” gel at the 45 minute mark. YUM! Ohmygosh, these taste just like the inside of a McDonald’s apple pie! Best gel ever. There were a lot of people out doing the Bay Run today. Lovely breeze over the water too. I was feeling good. I refilled my bottles and headed back towards the city over ANZAC Bridge.

    I was having a gel every 45 minutes, and 2 Endurolyte capsules every hour. That seemed to be a perfect ratio. My stomach felt absolutely fine. On my last run I was mixing gels, gummy bears, and sports drink, and it was just TOO MUCH. With just the gels, I was able to manage exactly how much sugar was going into my stomach.

    I reached the halfway point back at the house, feeling great with a big smile on my face. I changed my shirt, used the toilet, and slathered some more Voltaren on my hip. The Snook refilled all my water and food supplies. Then I was off again towards Centennial Park.

    I had planned to meet up with my friend Kristin at the start of the park loop, but I didn’t spot her. I stopped for 5 minutes to send her an SMS and refill my water, but she wasn’t there. So I headed off on my own. I was 3/4 of the way around the big 5K loop when she rang me. She’d been within 100m of me the whole time, but somehow didn’t get my SMS! I caught up to her and we did the second small loop together. Running with a friend is the BEST part of these long runs. I just don’t feel tired or sore at all when I’m running/chatting with another person.

    By that point, I was well and truly beyond my previous barrier of 27km. And I felt GREAT. I just couldn’t believe it. Yeah, my hamstring was sore, and my feet were pretty tired. But I had zero cramping, my back was fine, and my stomach felt good. I said goodbye to Kristin and headed back up Cleveland Street for home.

    I soon met the Snook, who gave me a massive double-high-five when he reached me. We ran the last 3K home together. It was so great. I was smiling and feeling good. I feel like I could’ve done another 10K to finish out the marathon! Isn’t there supposed to be a wall somewhere? I didn’t feel any walls! This just felt too easy. The Snook was like, “Are you sure you didn’t miss a bit???” That’s what it was like. I felt like I’d done 10K, not 32K.

    So hooray! Another milestone reached and another goal exceeded. Super huge thanks to Eoin for his advice on the Endurolytes. I think those were a massive help to me today. And of course thanks to Kristin and to the Snook for running a bit with me. Three weeks to rest up before the next long one!

  • Shared today on Google Reader

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #10: Beef Hash

    This is our 10th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. Hey, we’re 20% of the way through! We picked this particular recipe because we had the TV episode recorded and because we had several of the ingredients in the pantry already. The hash itself also seemed fairly low-carb and we knew it would freeze well for lunches. Lucky for us, it turned out to be tasty too!

    Super-Fast Beef Hash, Jacket Potatoes, Goddess Salad, and Lovely Butter Beans & Bacon

    Substitutions and changes: We decided to make a DOUBLE batch of the hash since we had a kilo of mince in the freezer. We couldn’t find any watercress in the shops, so we left that out of the salad. Other than that, no changes at all!

    Quick verdict: Such a filling and warming dish! Simple and hearty and perfect for a chilly night. We were both surprised how great the potatoes turned out given the unorthodox “microwave + grill” method of cooking. Elapsed cooking time was 42:55, but we did do a double batch of the hash so that used some extra time. I rated it 9.5, and the Snook rated it 9 (out of 10). Honestly, the salad and beans are a bit extraneous. If I were going to make this one on a work night, I’d just do the hash and potatoes.

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  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #9: Green Curry

    This is our 9th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. We picked this recipe for a few reasons: We had the episode saved on our DVR. (It’s always nice to watch him prepare it rather than rely on the book solely.) This one doesn’t have a dessert, and it also looked like one that could be fairly low-carb, as long as you didn’t eat the noodles. (I indulged a fair bit at my birthday last week, so I’m trying to make up for it.) And also, we LOVE green curry. 🙂

    Green Curry, Crispy Chicken, Kimchee Slaw, Rice Noodles

    Substitutions: Not a single one. However, we didn’t bother with the “garnishes” of prawn crackers, chili sauce, and a cos lettuce. That just seemed like overkill for two people!

    Quick verdict: Pretty good! The chicken was very good and the skin crisped up nicely. Snook thought overall the flavours of the meal were very tasty. We both liked the curry a lot, but we felt the kimchee slaw probably had a bit too much chili. We both felt it rated between 8.5-9/10. Not a homerun, but pretty darn good. Elapsed time was 39:09, but I can’t think of many ways to speed it up (beyond having the recipe memorised). There are just a LOT of ingredients to handle with this one!

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  • Shared today on Google Reader