Beer can/beer butt chicken - the most moist chicken ever.

Most moist chicken ever! Try saying that fast several times!

As the name suggests, you are cooking a chicken that is sitting on a can of beer. Or on beer can, with a little beer still in it. I have found that you only need it about 1/4 full so don't go wasting your beer! The idea being that the chicken is steaming from the inside whilst roasting on the outside, so it still gets really crispy but is extremely moist with all that liquid steaming inside it. Definitely worth trying at least once, and I guarantee it won't be your last!

The first ones I saw were always done on the bbq. In a throw away aluminium dish like the one in the picture above, on a can with some beer in it. The chicken had also either been covered in a bbq sauce or some kind of rub. I have since experimented a little and you can roast them plain, or lightly seasoned and they still taste great. You can also pretty much sit them on any can you have and pour a little beer or even apple cider or apple juice in it if you don't want to use beer, just something to give it a little flavour as it steams away. You could probably even use water if you really wanted to. You will also notice that the chicken cooks really fast this way too. In the absence of a bbq at one point and also when cold weather defeats even the bravest bbq-er, you can also cook them like this in a very hot oven just fine. I would put the oven at 450 or higher, trying to emulate the heat of the bbq. They are always done in less than an hr at this temperature and in this method, but do check before eating it, I don't want any responsibility in undercooked chicken!

This particular chicken was sitting on a coconut water can with some Creemore beer in it. The Creemore beer cans are tall and the chicken won't balance on a tall can. I also find that if you have a breast heavy chicken or even just a large chicken, they lean forwards and sometimes fall over, so if you bend one of it's legs back like in the picture you can balance it nicely. You also can't just sit the chicken on it daintily, you need to force it on quite firmly so it stays in place and sits up on it. The coconut water can is a heavy can, if it is a very light can having it fuller with beer might help the balancing part of it. And if it starts to char on the bbq, which normally happens with a marinated chicken, then wrap the outer parts in tin foil to protect them. This particular chicken was cooked in the oven, at 450, for less than an hr. It was -20 and dipping last night, so outside cooking wasn't an option! It also just had salt and pepper and some dried herbs on it. The messy/tricky part comes when you are trying to get the can back out of the chicken. Try jamming forks in either side of the top part and shaking it a little so the can drops out, but we careful, if you had a lot of liquid in the can there will still be some left and it will splash. Less liquid is good for that reason. Sometimes you will just need to grab it with a cloth and pull it out, usually a 2 person job. If the liquid in the tray is all cooked and and you didn't splash lots of beer into it at the end, you can pour it over the carved up bird for even more flavour. 

Men love making this. They get to drink the beer out of the can then plunk a chicken on it, drink more while they watch it cook, not do too much to it, in fact, nothing but watch it really, and then it's ready! Just an after thought here, all the chickens we have cooked on the bbq have been covered, propane bbqs, so for those in other countries who maybe use charcoal ones with no lids you will need to adjust your cooking times accordingly, or try the oven method if you aren't particular on using your bbq. Also, back in Zambia we called them braais not bbqs! Think it was an Afrikaans word that made it's way up from South Africa. Sounds so much more fun doesn't it!?

Mixed quinoa salad with grapefruit dressing.

Yesterday I realised that I hadn't made anything with quinoa in a while, my gusto that came with the new cook book had waned and it was time to dabble in the quinoa world once again. I had also been chatting to a friend in Moosonee who had bought the same book and was making spinach and pomegranate salad with quinoa from it, that was some inspiration indeed. I really liked the idea of something sweet in a salad so my brain was running though what we had here to use - grapefruit! My husband didn't like the idea of grapefruit pieces in the salad so I settled on a grapefruit dressing instead. 

I cut up a handful of grape tomatoes, in half, lengthways. Then peeled, halved and finely sliced about 3inches of cucumber. I cut a tiny bit of red onion, very finely so it wouldn't be over powering. On top of this went several handfuls of mixed leafy greens and them some parmesan shavings. Only when I was ready to dress the salad did I mix it together, this stops it going soggy ahead of time.  I toasted the pine nuts but kept them aside and sprinkled them on as we ate rather than putting them in the salad. 

The dressing was the juice of half a grapefruit, olive oil in a quantity less than that so the grapefruit juice is the main flavour, and some pepper and salt. In my head I knew that some grainy mustard would really work well here but I wasn't feeling it on the palate at the time, so, for another time I guess. Whisk it all together, taste, and if it is ready then dress the salad with it right before you eat or it will go soggy. 

The grapefruit was amazing. I am not sure where exactly in the States it came from but wow, it was the best one I have ever eaten, seriously. It was so sweet that I didn't want to add any sugar to it as a dressing, nor to the other half which I sliced into wedges and ate like an orange. Heaven. I am going to go and eat one for breakfast shortly in fact. Lovely, pinky, juicy, edge of tart but still sweet, citrus goodness!

Never mind, I am so enamoured with them that I went and cut one up to take pictures of this minute! Here you go. 

What a thing of beauty. It is so veering on the side of orange that I wonder if the grapefruit and orange trees did some intermingling and that is why it is so sweet aswell?

We ate the salad with a beer can chicken, or beer butt, whatever you like to call it, it is the most moist chicken ever. Which I going to write about in a separate entry. 

Bolognaise.

We had Bolognaise last night, with brown rice pasta, and it was wonderful. I used some mild Italian sausages, 5 in a pack so I used all 5, in the absence of ground pork. My corner convenience store didn't stretch that far, though it does carry a multitude of things! I would recommend lean ground pork instead of sausages if you are looking for ways to reduce the fat content of your meals. 

I started, as most dishes I cook do, with frying a cut up onion, a large onion. I skinned the sausages and added the meat to the onions and went back to peeling and cutting up carrots and slicing celery. I use a spatula to break up the meat as it cooks, lots of stabbing motions really loosen large chunks into small bits very well. Once the meat had all turned slightly grey I added 3 cut up carrots ( cut into small cubes ) and 3 sticks of celery finely sliced and tossed it all around then left it to continue cooking. I also added a couple tbsps of garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and 3 bay leaves. The sausage meat had salt in it, if you are using sausage instead of ground pork maybe wait until the end to taste to see if it needs salt instead of adding it automatically as it cooks. I had a can of Hunt's Tomato sauce, which is very similar to crushed tomatoes in a can. Either will do. Or even some tomato paste and water. I actually made this a little more tomatoey than I would like but I couldn't face a small container of tomato sauce in the fridge begging to be used, so it all went into the dish! I then reduced the heat, covered it with a lid that was way to big but it did the trick, and let it cook for close to 2 hrs. You could always put it in a pot instead, with a lid, and let it simmer away in there if you don't have a cover for your pan. We have a large wok lid I used. You want to stir it from time to time to stop it sticking, but the longer it cooks the better. You cold technically eat this as soon as the meat was cooked and the veggies soft, but if you have the time to spare then do let it continue to simmer as it does make it better. Because the dish was at it's salt quota I served grated cheddar on it instead of parmesan as parmesan is very salty. 

I have made this dish in many, many different ways before. With ground beef, with half beef half pork, with mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, peppers, cream, wine, the list goes on. You can do whatever your produce situation allows, or whatever you feel like. Not being a fan of ground beef, or most beef other than good steak or prime rib roast, I definitely prefer the pork version. And I do think that less sauce is better so you can taste the carrots and celery more than overpowering tomato. 

Rice crackers with cucumber and tuna.

This was a great, light lunch! My wonderful, gluten free, rice crackers save the day when there is a cracker craving and I am avoiding wheat. I just peeled and sliced a cucumber and topped them with the left over tuna mayonnaise from my baked potato yesterday. 

These are a great way of making food exciting for kids too. I used to make different versions of these as a nanny, not necessarily with rice crackers. Any crackers will do. And you can top them with soft or hard cheese and a slice of vegetable like cucumber or zucchini or tomato, or a wedge of a grape tomato. I used to favour the sweeter version, where you can put peanut butter, or almond butter, or whichever butter and top it with a thin cross sectional slice of strawberry, or a smaller, whole berry like a raspberry or blueberry. The wonderful colour combinations you can do are really appealing both to young and older eaters!

Brown rice and vegetable soup.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I felt like eating, still not being quite right and all, but I knew I wanted carrots. Eventually the idea of soup formed and I pulled out some unused veggies from the fridge like turnip and cabbage and some cooked brown rice and just went with it. 

I started by frying a cut up onion in olive oil, and to this I added 3 large, peeled and sliced carrots ( I ate some on the way, and carrots vary in size, use whatever you want to really ) and about 3/4 cup cubed, peeled turnip ( this was all there was and it was getting used by hook or by crook, so again, use whatever you want to ). I let these cook a little while I sliced up some cabbage thinly, and I used probably 1-1 1/2 cups of cabbage ( I did have more to use but any more and it would have been drowning in cabbage ). I found my fresh thyme from the other day and nearly finished it in the soup, maybe a tsp of Italian seasoning, a couple shakes of dried rosemary and 2 bay leaves. To this I added 1 box of vegetable stock, which I think is 900ml, and a dry vegetable stock cube for more flavour. And some pepper and salt. I let this come to the boil and simmered it until the carrots and turnip were cooked. I was thinking that the soup should have some tomato in it, and I opted for a can of condensed tomato soup (Heinz), but I think adding cut up tomatoes or canned tomatoes would be a good idea too if you don't have the soup, just add until you are happy with the colour or ratio. I had a can of lentils, I know it is not as good, or financially efficient, as the dried kind but I rarely use them and had an impulse to buy a can when we did groceries the other day. So, I drained the lentils and rinsed them and put a cup of them into the soup and the rest into the fridge for some other day ( I hope I can think of a way to use them!? ).  I also added the rice at this stage, maybe up to 2 cups would work. I had to add some more water as the soup was so thick. If you have more veggies or rice adjust your liquid accordingly, or if there is less, use less liquid or let it reduce down. It doesn't matter how much you use so long as you keep tasting it to see if it tastes good and then add some more seasoning if needed or water it down if you over did the seasoning. Any herbs, fresh or dry would work here, and of course other veggies can go in it too. It is a great way to use up vegetables that you have hanging around. 

I loved the heartiness of the soup, it was so laden with goodies that you had to fish to the bottom for them all. The Winter vegetables were so sweet, and with the tomato addition it was wonderful. Having the brown rice in there made it even more filling. It felt so good eating it knowing it was packed full of good for you vegetables and herbs! You could add any left over bits of meat to this if you don't like the absence of meat, left over roast chicken or beef, or even quickly fry up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts and slice them into the soup. However you like. Soup is a great way of clearing out your fridge so go with it. 

Baked potato with tuna mayonnaise.

Still not feeling right. And in an attempt not to take photos of bowls of Cornflakes that are my favourite thing to eat right now, I had to write about the only other thing I ate, baked potato. 

In the UK, a baked spud is an entire meal. The potatoes/spuds are enormous and then they get stuffed to the gunnels with a filling and there you have all you need. One of the more popular varieties is tuna mayo and sweetcorn. I did not fancy sweet corn, so tuna it was. 

I love the taste of baked potato, simple, a little butter, crispy, tasty skin, such a king of humble foods! 

I have a vegetable and brown rice soup on the stove top right now, hopefully that comes out great and is a good writing piece for tomorrow.

Egg, chips and peas.

Ok, I've been a little off for a few days. I know no one wants details so there it ends. I am also pretty sure my body is welcoming a break from all the rich food I have been making and all the sweet things too. I have to admit, I wrote the last couple entries under this condition and it was really hard to describe how wonderful the Stroganoff really was when my stomach churns at the thought! Same goes for the chocolate chip cookies. But if you didn't see through that and thought they were wonderful then point for me!

Last night, having had no desire for food all day, bar Cornflakes for breakfast, I decided I wanted to eat egg and chips. This is comfort food for me. And I wanted the simple foods too, potato being one of them. My husband felt sorry for me so took dinner upon himself and I admit I had to pin myself on the couch so I didn't go and interfere, especially when he tried to pour frozen peas into a pot with one hand and they went on 100s of other journeys instead or as well as! 

I loved my dinner. Simple, plain, good, food. The oven fries crisp up well and don't taste oily at all. I find the thicker cut ones are better as there is less surface area for the oil to be in in the first place, in ratio to the whole chip. Loved dunking a chip into the yolk too. 

Tea and chocolate chip cookies/biscuits (depending where you are from).

I think it was the night of the lemon/herb chicken that I still had something left in me to make cookies! I was also sorely disappointed in a ready to use mix I had made a while ago. I froze the cookies in small bags so they wouldn't get eaten straight away, and every time I had them I knew they were not home made, I could taste the additives and preservatives or whatever it is, I could just taste it! Aaahhh! So I decided to throw together some of my own in order to see how much more hard work it was compared to using a mix, and it really adds about 5minutes to the process, tops! Go home made every time! And have room temperature butter at the ready because if you don't you have to wait a long time to make the cookies! And don't try melt it because it makes the cookies flat. 

375 degree oven.

Cream: 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar.

Beat in: 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift and stir in: 1 cup + 2tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Stir in: 1 cup chocolate chips.

Drop small spoonfuls onto the tray, generously spaced.

Bake 10mins. 

I greased my tray, you may not need to. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the tray then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Let the tray cool in between batches if you have more than one to do, if you put the dough onto a hot tray they will collapse too. 

Nothing like a fresh, home made cookie. With tea. I then freeze most of the batch for treats at a later date and leave a few out to eat fresh.

Stroganoff - a rare version.

I used to love Stroganoff growing up, I still do. We always ate in with rice, which seems to be rare for North America who favour eating it with noodles I find. I have reproduced it in many forms over the years and even managed to cure my husband of his dislike of the dish after his reserve training days where they were served some awful version of it no doubt! So, if I don't call it Stroganoff, he is pleased to eat it and thoroughly enjoys it. 

I read the Wikipedia description of Stroganoff and no wonder there are so many ideas on what it is. The addition of mushrooms and onions to it is a fairly new thing. Some countries use tomato paste in it too, this I have done and recommend it. However, I only do it if there is tomato paste in the fridge that needs using, I wouldn't go out to buy it just for this dish. I also gather that beef strips is a new version of beef chunks originally. 

I have always made it with strips of meat. If you dust them with cornflour/starch it can help to tenderise the meat if it isn't a particularly good cut. I now know that some South American countries make it out of beef tenderloin! No need to worry about tenderness there! You can cook the meat first then set it aside while you make the rest of the sauce in the same pan then add the meat back to it at the end. Then serve it with rice, in my opinion, and some kind of green vegetable to give some colour and goodness. 

This time, I had a sirloin steak out to use, and at the last minute I decided that I wasn't going to cut it up and fry it in strips, that I would just cook the steak, thinly slice it and serve it over the Stroganoff sauce instead. Hence the 'rare version' title to this entry. I made the sauce out of a finely sliced onion and a small box of crimini mushrooms thinly sliced too. I added a tbsp or 2 of garlic and some Worcestershire sauce (as always) and then the juice of half a lemon. Had I known this lemon was going to be so juicy I would have only used 1/4 of it! I had to counter balance it with half a tsp of sugar. Maybe tread with caution and add to taste at the end if you like tart flavours. I added 3 large scoops of sour cream ( still in the fridge, still needing to be used ) and stirred it in. I also added a little fresh cream (still in the fridge, still needing to be used) to thin it out. If you don't have sour cream I have used fresh cream and lemon juice and they work just fine. Let the cream reduce a little to thicken it if you do this instead of sour cream. And lastly, a tbsp of grainy mustard and some salt and pepper to taste. Once your sauce tastes good you would add the meat back in and mix it around a little then serve. In this version, the sauce was going over the top of the rice and sliced steak would join it. 

Stroganoff sauce.

My green vegetable side was brussle sprouts with horseradish. I thought the horseradish would go well with the Stroganoff. I peeled the sprouts of their outer, tattered leaves, cut the stem off and cut them in half lengthways. I then steamed them in a tiny bit of water until they were just done and drained the water. Into the pan I added a small amount of butter, enough to stop the sprouts from sticking, and tossed them around with about 1tbsp of horseradish and some pepper. You could taper the amount of horseradish according to your tastes. 

This is fairly fast dish to make. I had it ready by the time the bbq had heated up, the steak had been cooked and rested for under 10minutes. Very convenient! This would also be a nice meal without the steak for a vegetarian or just a lighter option. 

I found that we ate less steak when it was on the plate already sliced. There was enough left for a sandwich for my husband's lunch the next day. You need to butter the bread to create a barrier from the meat juices. I used brown bread, buttered, a tiny bit of mayonnaise on one side and grainy mustard on the other slice and then some salt and pepper on the meat. Very tasty so he said. With a side of pickles and a few salt chips/crisps!

Lemon and herb chicken, mushroom risotto, creamy apply gravy and sauteed zucchini fingers.

I returned to the kitchen with renewed gusto last night after having Sunday off from cooking. I was in a great mood and had lots of ideas for food. They involved the same ingredients but I just couldn't get it all to fall into place in my head for a while. I was going to use chicken thighs, mushrooms, onions, risotto rice, chicken stock, zucchini, apples, lemons and some fresh thyme I had treated myself to.

I created a zucchini risotto a few months ago and we both love it! I also make a mean mushroom risotto. I couldn't decide which would be in the risotto and which would make the side. I also didn't know if I was going to bake the chicken in apples and mushrooms and make a kind of gravy in the pan with it all, or go plain roasted chicken with apples on the side. You can see the simple things that tax a housewife?!?!?

Eventually my meal was conceived and I set to.  The first thing I did was get my thyme out ( no it's not, I turned the oven on to 400 first) and ready to use because it is the most fiddly herb to use in my opinion! And I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth from it so I got over half out of the packet to use. I find with fresh herbs that I buy them for something and then they sit in the fridge until they go bad and I throw them out - hence why I rarely buy them unless I know they will get used. Rinse the thyme. Then you want to hold the tip of a sprig between your thumb and forefinger and use the other thumb and forefinger to run down the stem from top to bottom pulling all the tiny leaves off as you go. If you run from bottom to top the leaves won't come off. And if you try and pick them all off individually you will go slowly nuts! Or use less thyme than you would like because you have lost interest. So, slide from top to bottom. Hopefully you are left with a bare twig and a final leaf cluster at the top that you were holding onto which you snap off and then discard the stem.  Who knew you could write so much about a herb!?

Once you've done all the stripping of leaves ( they look like this) then you take a large knife and cut them up as fine as you can using the tip of the knife as a pivot (if that makes sense?) or just however you can cut them. I now had lots of ready to use thyme which I set aside for when it was needed. And after all that it was d*m# well going in every dish!

The second thing to do is get the chicken ready. Into a bowl I poured a few tbsps of olive oil. Then added a couple of tbsps of thyme, couple tsps of chopped garlic, lots of freshly ground pepper, some salt, about a tsp of lemon zest and then I remembered some basil wilting/dying in the fridge (see what happens to fresh herbs!?) so I grabbed that, finely chopped it too and added it to the mix.

Then my marinade was born.

The aroma that comes off freshly cut herbs is amazing! To then see it all mixed together with other glorious, fresh, vibrant ingredients is a thing of beauty!

I pride myself in being a combination of practical and creative, in fact, some would say I am over practical, but I think that may extend out of the kitchen so no need to digress. Anyway. When I cook chicken it almost always sticks to the pan. I am staring at a bald lemon ( zest removed ) wondering what to do with it when the sticking to the pan issue crosses my mind. I decide to slice it up and rest each chicken thigh on a slice of lemon. Not only will this stop them sticking to the pan it will also mean that lemon flavour steams into the meat. Ingenius!? Apologies to all the smart readers who are steps ahead of me and have already thought of this!

I used a shallow baking sheet lined with foil. A lot of liquid comes off ( from the chicken and lots of the lemon juice too ) when cooking so either be very careful when manouvering the pan around or use a deeper dish. This then goes into a hot oven for 1hr or until ready.

While the chicken cooks the rest of the meal can be made. I start on the risotto, which is going to be mushroom. I used half an onion finely chopped, the other half went into the apple gravy so cut it all up. As the onion is cooking cut up the mushrooms into small pieces and add them to the pan, I used a small box of button mushrooms. Sprinkle in some of the thyme, some garlic, pepper and salt and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. I had just under a cup of risotto rice left so that was what I used. I would normally use a whole carton of stock for a risotto but I wanted some for the gravy so I saved the last cup of it for the gravy and substituted water into the risotto. You stop adding liquid when it is the right consistency for you, some people like it less cooked with some 'bite' still and others like it well cooked and soft. Add the stock in ladels and stir it occasionally to stop it sticking - which means you can get on with cutting up zucchini into very thin fingers and then peeling the 2 apples, coring them and cutting them up in between stirs. Do keep an eye on the risotto, it is needy and demands attention but if you are careful you can do both risotto and other prep at the same time. 

This is the risotto right when I added the rice to my onions and mushrooms and herbs etc.

The zucchini fingers sitting on a tbsp of butter waiting to be cooked at the last minute.

The apples were started in a tbsp of butter then I added some pepper, thyme and the cup of stock and covered them and let them stew. I would guess they took about 10minutes to be done and then I mashed them with a potato masher and added some cream and salt to taste. 

Right around the hr mark the chicken was ready. Half way through the cooking I did take them out of the oven to put some salt on them and I scooped off all the juice from the tray and added it to the risotto. The juice had been replenished by the time the chicken was done so I was able to drizzle a little over each piece as I served it. The juice made a huge difference to the risotto, adding a zesty lemony hint to the rice dish which was really quite delicious. 

This is the risotto ready. I like to make mine very soft. It was ready a little early so I just left the lid slightly ajar and it was still hot when I went to serve it ( it will hold it's heat for quite some time as it is so dense). Just give it a stir before stirring. If it has gone colder than you'd like, risotto does heat up well if you keep stirring it. 

Only cook the zucchini right when you are ready as they are done really fast. They sauteed in butter with the lid on in minutes. They win in terms of visual appeal, hands down, the colours are just phenomenal. Though I am the only one who can testify to how amazing the other dishes smelt, which made them all equals. 

This is the apple gravy/sauce made with chicken stock, thyme, garlic and a touch of cream. It added a welcomed sweet element to the meal which really contrasted with the tartness of the lemon chicken and the hint of lemon in the risotto. 

And thus, dinner was served. It went down a storm! We loved it, all of it. I will make this again, again and again and if you are in need of cooking inspiration make a reproduction of this, you won't be disappointed! I hope. 

Duck and green peppercorn pate.

I am on a roll with not making my food! Well, that maybe a little harsh. This was a store bought pate just from my local grocery store. I saw it on sale and decided it was worth it. I had it on hot toast the other day and it was good. 

My problem with pate is that I have a lifetime of eating my Mum's glorious chicken liver pate and nothing else compares. It is also not easy to find liver pates, and I really like that strength and depth of flavour in a pate.  We make it with sauteed chicken livers, garlic, butter, cream and sometimes some Sherry. That is another problem actually, it is very rich and full of things not good for you, so have it as a rare treat. And look for liver pates if you can find them, if you like liver. I also have a personal dislike of coarse pates, I find it very disconcerting having little rough bits in my pate, I never know what they are either. Also, I would try and buy the dearest varieties you can find, or the highest quality as some pates will be a lot worse for you than having butter and cream in them if you catch my drift! Who knows what is in it if it is all pureed up right? Do a quick glance of the ingredients or even better make it yourself and you know exactly what is in it. 

Panang curry and veggie stir fry from Coco Rice.

There were 2 things very wrong with Sunday. One was that it was -20, -33 with the wind chill! Enough to lay a Zambian low for the day! The other was that I didn't want to cook, didn't have any inspiration for food at all. The more I tried to think about what to cook the more it became obvious that we were going to have to eat out because it wasn't going to happen at home! Actually, there were 3 things wrong with Sunday, the third being the walk in the -33 to get the take out food! 

Luckily our local Thai restuarant is only about 2minutes away so we could get there and back fast. Also lucky for us, it does amazing food. So amazing that we had our wedding reception there ( we had a very small, low key wedding, and this was just perfect for it!). We ordered a Beef Panang Curry and a Chinese Broccoli, Shitake Mushroom and Red Pepper in Chilli and Garlic. Great choices. We have had this combination before and loved it. While the Panang is my favourite curry there are no vegetables in it, so having a 2nd dish of vegetables really helps. Panang curry is beautifully thick, rich with coconut milk, peanutty and super hot from chillis. You can see the red flecks of chilli throughout it, heaven! What a way to warm up on a cold day! I am not hugely fussed with the meat in it, I prefer chicken to beef, but at a push I would be happy with just sauce on rice. The broccoli is more stalks than leaves which is fine because they are cut so finely, and cooked just right, with crunch still. The little bits of mushroom and red pepper add lovely flashes of colour. It is also spicy, we are lovers of hot food! I would not recommend these choices for people with a less tolerant palate but there are plenty of other wonderful dishes to chose from. I made rice at home to go with it, and then didn't feel so bad ordering some shrimp chips to go with it too. They come with a similar peanutty/spicy dipping sauce and are very yummy. 

We loved our meal, I was glad for the break from cooking and to be eating something that I couldn't make myself anyway, well not nearly as well!

Shrimp chips.

Spicy dipping sauce.

Crepes with lemon juice and sugar or Nutella.

I decided on trying crepes for breakfast today instead of pancakes, brunch rather. It is pretty much the same ingredients with no raising agent. I quickly found a recipe on line and set to. I think the batter was a little thick as they didn't spread out as much as I would have liked, or maybe my pan was too hot and they were cooking before they had time to spread out. Either way, they weren't as thin as your traditional crepes but they tasted great. 

You can see swirl like markings in this crepe, which was where I had ladled in the batter and when it wouldn't spread properly when I tipped the pan I had to ladle more in to fill the gaps! No harm done at all. 

We used to eat these growing up on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) and I remember my Dad trying to flip them in the air and catch them again. The tradition continued when I moved to the UK to live with my Grandparents, I am sure this was where the tradition started for my Mum. We would always eat them with lemon juice and sugar, rolled up and cut into sections so everyone could eat them as they were being made. 

The lemon juice and sugar version is really light and fresh, and lets the flavour and texture of the crepe really come through as it is all a gentle balance of flavours. I tried one with a thin spreading of Nutella and it was delicious, but anything with chocolate is. In this version I didn't taste the crepe per say more just the Nutella, which is why I prefer the lemon and sugar one. My husband ate one with maple syrup, but he poured some syrup onto the plate and dipped a rolled up crepe into it rather than covering it in it. He noticed that he ate much less syrup this way and that is a good reason to opt for these over pancakes. They also didn't taste very oily as little was needed in the cooking process, a smattering initially then none from then on. It felt like a lighter version of a weekend breakfast.

In this picture you can see how thick they were. And how pretty they are when you roll them up and cut them into bite size pieces. In no way did their thickness take away from them being tasty. I may try to thin out the batter a bit next time to see how it goes just out of curiosity. I remember the ones we ate used to be a lot larger, filling a frying pan, so this will be my goal next time. 

Recipe used:

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, melted. 

Mix flour and egg. Slowly add liquids, stirring as you go. Add salt and butter and beat till smooth. Cook in 1/4 cup size portions of batter. Flip when golden, remove when 2nd side golden. 

Crispy, fried rice cakes.

This has got to be one of may favourite childhood meals, and adult ones for that matter. When I entered the 'Western world' over 10years ago ( after a childhood in Zambia ) I was shocked to find that rice cakes exist and that they are not what I thought they were! 'Their' version of rice cakes are puffed rice, cracker type things, I was sorely disappointed to say the least. Herein comes the Sophie version of rice cakes, read and love ( I hope)! Or at least be curious...

This is a picture of the lovely rice cakes! Golden and crispy and crunchy. If you love rice you will love these, I can't imagine why you wouldn't. 

I think they were traditionally a camping food in our family, a way of using up rice from the night before for breakfast, however we did eat them at home too. Since I grew up I have eaten them for any meal rather than just breakfast, whenever the calling comes. They are fried in a lot of oil so it is a good thing that the calling only comes maybe once in 3months or more. Phew! They are also a great vessel for marmite, so all marmite and rice lovers, this is for you. If you hate marmite, no fear, you can eat them with ketchup (which I do as well as with marmite) or even with syrup (which some of my cousins used to do when we were younger). Or however you want, plain with salt and pepper, but that is so boring!

So, if you have some left over rice you are in for a treat. Or you can make some and be in for a treat. You really want to use the cheapest white rice you can find as this will make stodgy rice which will help make great rice cakes. This was the only version of rice available growing up. When it is cool enough to handle, you kind of want to mash it or squish it a bit in the bowl, then pick up a small hand full and press it tightly into a flat cake shape in your palms. Your hands are going to get covered in rice at this point, it will be everywhere, no worries. Sometimes a few drops of water on your hands helps but don't over wet them or your rice cake will slide around in your hands. Do the best you can at squeezing the rice into these flat cake shapes at any rate. Then you want to shallow fry them in hot oil. I have made rice cakes after dinner with left over rice and kept them in the fridge to cook the next day, it does take a lot longer if you are heating up cold rice cakes. If you make them from freshly cooked rice you can handle them before the rice gets too cold and the cooking process is a little faster. You want a medium heat and just let them cook until they go golden then turn and let the other side cook the same. You need a couple of mm of oil at least, bear in mind however high up the rice cake the oil comes is how much will turn golden and crispy. I once had a very flat cake which went entirely crunchy and was very crumbly when I ate it. You could get them entirely crisped but gently so and then it would all be crunchy with no soft rice left. Lots of room for experimenting. I find the level of crispiness can sometimes depend on how hungry you are and how much time and patience you have to wait while they cook. When they are done you need to drain them on lots of paper towel to get some of the oil out before eating them. Well I do, you don't have to. Just helps make them less oily. 

The rice cakes can be cooked longer than these ones if you want them even crispier and crunchier. You can then slice them open in half, with a golden part on each side and at this point the marmite would get spread on them! Or you can just eat them however. I am not a big breakfast person but this would be my perfect cooked breakfast!

Rice cakes, fried eggs and fried tomatoes, yum! I admit I am also not a big egg person, and runny yolk is definitely a rarely eaten thing for me, but from time to time I do have a hankering for it and especially with rice cakes. 

Take this perfect, bite size bit of heaven right here. Crunchy rice cake, salty marmite, sweet and tangy ketchup and rich egg yolk, you couldn't ask for a better combination! In my opinion. Right now. 

Cheese and grainy mustard potatoes.

This dish was a creation inspired by all the things that I had left over in the fridge or on the windowsill that needed using. My potatoes were starting to get little growths on them or going green in places, so I peeled and cut out all the bad stuff and got them cooking in the microwave as the oven heated up to crisp them. In the meantime I was looking for what to go in them. I still had some sour cream hanging around from last weekend and a few ends of cheeses; mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. So I made a mixture of a few scoops of sour cream, about half a cup of mixed cheeses grated, some Worcestershire sauce and about 2tsps of grainy mustard, and salt and pepper. Once the potatoes were cooked I took the filling out and mixed it with sour cream mix and then refilled the skins and put them back into the oven to finish off. When they were hot I put them under the broiler to brown them for a faster result. The mustard and cheese were a great combination. If you are trying to be cautious with calories etc don't eat these, well, do, in moderation. Also, you could opt for fat free sour cream or yoghurt and low fat cheeses and that would help!

I ate these with a zucchini salad with feta and lemon juice and olive oil.

A lovely, light meal. You could add anything to it to make it a more substantial meal; meat, or fish, or tuna mayonnaise, or stuffed mushrooms, whatever you like really.  

Banana and custard.

Another food from my childhood, and an easy one at that. I use good old Bird's Eye Custard Powder for the custard and always follow microwave instructions because a glass dish is way easier to clean than a sticky pot! Milk catches so easily on the bottom of pots and then you are left with a mess to clean up, definitely take the cleaner, easier, faster option. Just take it out of the microwave and whisk it every so often to keep it a good consistency. I never add as much sugar as they say too, but taste it to see what you like. Then serve with sliced bananas. Oh joy!

This is a great option for kids, just make sure it has cooled down a little before giving it to them as custard can hold a lot of heat. Enjoy!

P.S. I am pretty sure you could add cocoa powder to this to make it chocolate custard, I shall maybe experiment with that. 

Nshima and relish.

This post is for the Zambian friends really, or anyone with food curiosities. From time to time I get a craving for the food that I grew up eating; cassava root nshima and relish of any form i.e. stew or vegetables. I wrote about cassava nshima quite extensively in a previous blog so I won't repeat myself (if you are interested it is in a blog entry about Beef Stew quite a while back, possibly even last year ) again, I just wanted to put up some photos and share the joy!

This is what the nshima looks like. You break off bite size pieces at a time from the main pile. I am not the best at 'hondering'/making nshima but I try, if I were more efficient there wouldn't be any tiny white bits left to see as the flour would have been incorporated properly. Showing my short comings is worth sharing a new food. 

I chose to make cabbage with peanuts and tomatoes and onions this time. It is rather difficult finding authentic leaves etc to cook but these were some things I ate a lot of back home. We also ate a lot of wild mushrooms, none that you even hear of in the 'Western world'. I suppose I would cook some oyster mushrooms as a comparison purely for their 'slimy' texture. In Zambia some mushrooms grew so big that small children could literally use them as an umbrella, insane! (Infact, having just done it out of curiosity, if you Google 'Zambian girl holding a giant mushroom' you will see an image as proof of these large fungi, and the one in the picture is a lot smaller than some I have seen!).

Anyway, cabbage and peanuts. You start with frying some onion then you add to that finely sliced cabbage and a small bit of water to allow it to steam/boil, instead of using more oil and letting it all fry. Once it is part way cooked you are ready to add the peanuts. Back in Zambia we would have pounded some ground nuts up to use but here I just use crunchy peanut butter, you get the flavour and also some peanut pieces. So for about 1/3-1/2 of a cabbage I used 2 scoops of peanut butter, scoops with a dessert/cereal spoon. Mix it into the water and all through the cabbage and let it cook down. The dish can take a good cooking, over half an hr, to get it nice and soft. You don't want much excess liquid so be careful with how much you add, just enough to keep it cooking and from burning. Keep the lid on the pan whilst cooking too. At the same time I made the tomato and onions. You can easily peel tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for a few minutes. Then making a small incision in the skin. Grab hold of the peel and it should just tear away in your hands. Fry up some finely chopped onion then add chopped, peeled tomatoes (I used vine tomatoes because they were on sale and they tasted amazing!) and let it all cook down together. Add some course salt and a touch of water if it gets too thick and again this dish can be cooked for a while too. And my meal was ready. Nshima with relish. A taste of nostalgia! Very happy me!

Brownies.

As if ribs, rice and peas aren't enough, I had to complete the package with some brownies. I chose the easiest, fastest recipe I could find in my recipe box and got some pecans and chocolate chips out to throw into them as an extra. Because it was Mum's recipe I second guessed it (not second guessed her, just the flour factor as different countries have different norms!) and whether the flour was self-raising as it can usually be, so at the last minute I threw some baking powder into the mix incase it meant self raising. I don't think it did mean self raising, the brownies were a little lighter than normal. I also buttered the pan but forgot to flour it so they stuck to the bottom. You know how 'unhappy' I can be when things don't turn out as I had hoped. Anyway, they tasted (but didn't look) fine in a pile of crumbs in a bowl last night! Today they had had a chance to pull their socks up and were much better. I dug them out the pan just fine, they were fudgey in the middle and more cakey around the edge, the top was kind of chewy, and then there were little pecan and chocolate chip surprises here and there. Verdict is, good brownies come to those who let them sit overnight and gather themselves together and to those who follow recipes exactly instead of second guessing and who prepare pans properly. I do have a recipe for a much more decadent brownie that is swimming in butter and eggs and sugar and cocoa, all on overdose, those would never be crumbly or dry, not a chance in hell, but the lesser guilt on a healthier option was worth it this time. 

P.S. My husband is less enthusiastic about sharing baked goods.
P.P.S. We need to get a dishwasher soon or I might go off the deep end! Luckily it isn't as lively in the kitchen all the time, this was an exception.

Ribs and Fried Rice.

My husband and I thought it would be nice for him to take a meal into work for the guys so they could all eat the same thing, together. There in ends my husband's involvement in the idea. Not that I am complaining, because I'm not, I like cooking and I like feeding people. Ribs and rice seemed like a good, bulk food idea and so it was. Bear in mind that I was making this for lots of people, you could easily halve the rice quantities for 4 or less people. 

I love making fried rice, it is such a versatile dish, you can use anything and everything in it, whatever needs using up, whatever is on sale, you get the idea, veg, dried fruit, nuts, literally whatever floats your boat. I find that making the rice ahead of time and letting it cool works the best, if you try to use fresh, hot rice it tends to go very sticky. While the rice cooks and cools you can make the other half, or in my case, the rest of it is always greater in volume than the actual rice. I find it a heck of a lot easier to have all my ingredients cut up and ready in advance of cooking, so, dice up everything and open all cans etc.

This is my wok with all my veggies etc in before I added the rice. The other big part of my fried rice dish is that there is NOT a lot of oil in it, if any. So there! If you are using bacon in it, which I did this time (to finish off the bacon from the twice baked potatoes and I used some in the stuffing too) then you don't need any oil at all. If you are not using bacon in it, then you will need a small amount of oil to cook the onion and that is it. So, in the bacon version, you trim and finely cut up the bacon then start to cook it in the wok, you will get enough oil from the bacon fat (I think I had about 5 slices of bacon to use). In the other version, add a small amount of oil to the wok and start to cook your onions. From there on in you add ingredients according to how long they will take to cook, so your peppers, celery etc will take longer than mushrooms and frozen peas, and then anything from a can only needs heating up so goes in at the end. (This particular dish had 1 onion, 2 red peppers, 1 small box mushrooms, 1 large can of corn, about 1 cup of frozen peas, 1 can of black beans, 1 can of water chestnuts and 2 cups on uncooked rice. There is no wrong though, so just use what you have around and go with it). I only use one pan so everything must end up in there at some point in time. Put the lid on your wok and allow things to STEAM, and you won't need lots of oil. Into the mix I then add things like fresh ginger, garlic, seasonings of all varieties, ketchup, soy sauce, anything else your hand come upon that seems like a good idea, go for it! You can't really go wrong as there is no right version and it will be different every time. Once the veggies etc are just done it is time to add the rice. You don't want to over cook them as you will lose your vibrant colours, I always aim to have something in every colour if possible. By the way, if you use any canned bean do rinse them first! You then incorporate your rice and get it all mixed in. Once it has heated through with the added rice it is ready to serve.

I made so much that I had to divide my veggies into 2 dishes before adding the rice. If you are looking for a leaner version then don't add things like ketchup or other sauces. Your rice may not look a 'dirty' colour as such but never mind, make it how you want it! The beauty with this dish is that is can be eaten so many ways and so many times. You can have it as a cold salad the next day, or reheat it with some hot sauce. I like to keep my rib sauce and drizzle some of that onto the rice. You can also cook other meats on other days to go with it if you make a huge batch. It is also a great meal in itself. Rice done, now for the ribs. 

Again there are so many ways to make ribs and everyone has their own method and no one is wrong and no one is right. I have tried many methods. Here is what I have observed. Boiling ribs in water before hand makes sure they are cooked and means you get falling apart ribs, it means you can make ribs fast if you are pushed for time as they are already cooked but it also means that you have boiled the flavour out into the water which you then through away. Boiling ribs in a huge vat of sauce with lots of liquid like beer or coke  means you boil the flavours into the sauce which you can keep to use for basting. However, I prefer to cook them in sauce like mix rather than a liquid one, one that will reduce and I can serve it with the ribs and all the flavour has been maintained. There is also no right or wrong method in terms of length of time, I have cooked ribs very high and fast and they were great and also very low and slow and they were great. The fast method was with ribs that had been marinading for 12hrs in a marinade that had sugar and vinegar in it which will have been breaking down the meat and aiding in the cooking process. There is also no right or wrong in whether you want to dry rub marinade them before hand or marinade at all. I have made dry rubs and had ribs in them overnight, also had them in liquid marinades , also I have put them straight into a sauce and cooked them with no marinading at all. It all depends on how much time you have, what ingredients you have and what you feel like doing. I have found that dry rubs can sometimes leave a gritty feeling on the meat as the powders cling to it. Obviously smaller ribs with less meat will cook faster than big ribs, ribs with tonnes of meat can sometimes dry out the way pork would if it had been overcooked, so just pay attention. The good thing with ribs is that they have fat in them, which you need to keep the ribs moist. So, no specific pointers from me here, though this batch of ribs had no prior marinading, I put them in a huge dish, covered them in sauce, covered them and cooked them on 350 degree for somewhere over 2hrs but less than 3hrs. I then uncovered them and put them on a tray and drizzled sauce on them and put them back in the oven to caramelise. Had the batch been smaller and the sauce less and the dish shallower I would have just taken the lid off and let them caramelise where they were but there were so many they were overlapping this time. You can also put them on the bbq to give them a bit of burn too. Because I didn't have a massive vat of sauce left behind I put it into a pot and boiled it down a little then added a cornstarch/water paste to thicken it and you have a rib gravy to serve with your ribs and over your rice. 

I cook ribs in a rack if it is just one rack, or in 2-3rib chunks if it is more. It helps keep them moist. Because these were going to be eaten at work I divided them into individual ribs once they were cooked but before the caramelising happened, for ease of eating. 

This particular batch of sauce had things like ketchup, brown sugar, chilli, Tequila, jam and ginger in it. You do need the sweet, the sour, the salty, something to make it sticky, a little heat, some spices and you are good. Bottles of bbq sauce are very convenient and a good option of you don't like the idea of making your own sauce, you could thin them out a bit with some beer, apple cider or coke to make it more saucy and give you some room to allow evaporation in the cooking process without burning happening. 

I sent him off to work with big containers of rice, ribs and sauce and some freshly steamed mange tout/snow peas for a crunchy, green side. And some brownies. I hope they get enough down time to enjoy them, I hope they enjoy them full stop, I hate not being there to watch people eat the food, you are left wondering....

(P.S. This is an afterthought about a week later - my wok is non stick, if yours isn't and things start to stick when you are trying to make them steam then you will need to add some oil).

Quinoa stuffed Chicken.

My husband has been asking for stuffed chicken for a long time, he is fan of stuffing, and wanted it again even though Christmas is so recently behind us (I have actually made stuffing since, my first attempt at quinoa stuffing, we just didn't have a bird to stuff). I have had a hankering for a stuffed chicken since I was chatting with my Moosonee father of 3 friend about a recipe for quinoa stuffing from my new book Quinoa 365. Today was the day we all got what we wanted! I have actually lent my recipe book to my neighbour for some browsing so I was on my own with the quinoa stuffing, that being said I already knew I wanted to make it my own anyway so I wasn't too concerned. 

This stuffing had bacon in it (left over from the twice baked potatoes), crimini mushrooms and leeks and then the usual herbs, and quinoa. I added the quinoa to the ingredients after they had been sauteed and then added stock and let it all cook together until the quinoa was ready. I actually made this the day before so it was ready to go into the chicken today when I was pushed for time. I also had a bowl of stuffing separate in the oven for use if I wasn't too confident in the stuff that was stuffed into the bird. With a chicken not taking that long to cook I was worried that perhaps there would be some blood still in the carcass that would make the stuffing risky to eat. However, if that happens, a quick trip in the microwave should cure any problems. The chicken was so moist and the skin so crunchy! It was perfect! The stuffing was a great accompaniment too, with the bit of smoky flavour from the bacon and the leeks were a great substitute for onions for a change. 

I served this with plain rice and steamed cauliflower and green beans and gravy. 

We are both raving about the quinoa stuffing. You really can make it however you want to, with whatever you want to, and stuff it into anything - chicken thighs, chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, portobello mushrooms, peppers etc. Or have it as a side to any dish either. I actually remember making a really tasty stuffed portobello mushroom over the Summer that had quinoa, blue cheese, shallot and spinach in it! The options are endless. 

Fried tomatoes.

I had a tomato on the windowsill that was in need of eating, it was feeling a little softer to the touch than it should have! I have always been a fan of cooked tomatoes, there is something about the way they catch and slightly burn that makes them taste so good! You can either grill or fry them, I find my frying pan easier to clean than my grill so I went with the easiest washing option, as usual. You don't need much oil, but you do need some or the tomato will stick to the pan and tear apart when you turn it. Cut the tomato into 3 or 4 pieces depending on how big it is, start by slicing off the side and work your way through it, like you are making large slices, and they need to be thick to maintain their shape as they cook, at least 1cm thick or more. Fry them for a couple of minutes a side, until it has some nice blackened patches and you can smell them, then they are ready. I eat them on toast, and being a fan of marmite, the toast has marmite on it too! I understand there is a love hate relationship with marmite, so if you like it, try it with tomatoes, or any version of marmite for that matter, vegemite, bovril etc. If you are not a fan, plain buttered toast will do, or not buttered if you are being careful with the fat intake. I find a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper do the tomato a world of good. You can keep the tomatoes in pieces as you eat it or you can mush it all up on the toast and make it go a bit soggy. I believe when I was a child and had the mumps this was all I would eat because it would go really soggy if you left it long enough and then didn't hurt when I ate it. Seems the relationship was more than a convenience because I still love them to this day!

I know you can fry green tomatoes but that is something I have never done before, and I think they may have a batter on them or maybe flour..? Something to go and research and think about trying me thinks!

Fresh blueberries for a pie.

Another great find at Costco, a huge box of blueberries for $4.50. Another thing I couldn't resist. We had home made pie for dinner last night. 

I really noticed a difference in pie made from frozen berries and one made from fresh berries. I did my usual internet search for recipes to get a rough idea of things and then got to it. Very simple, especially if you have pie shells that you just bought from the store and don't have to make pastry. A few cut corners I will admit. Anyway, it was as easy as tossing the berries with some sugar and a tiny bit of cornstarch to help it thicken as it cooked. Being a fan of lemon I followed the idea of one recipe that used about 1tbsp of lemon zest and I think it called for 1tsp of lemon juice but I used more. I also used less sugar than most recipes call for, and you could really taste the berries instead of just a sweet flavour. There was the tartness of the berries and the lemon tang which worked really well together. I didn't like the way the cornstarch made 'glupey' bundles in the pie, I think I will try using flour instead next time and see if makes a difference. The berries held their shape fairly well too, so it wasn't a berry mush. I normally insist on plain whipped cream with most desserts because you don't really need more sweet with your sweet, but because the pie was so tart we put a little brown sugar and vanilla into the cream and it really enhanced the dish.