Category Archives: Marinading

I won’t be impressed with technology until I can download FOOD!

20 Replies

I had so many positive comments on the above title and I really like it…so I have decided that when I do recipes that will be the title….

I do a mix of recipes that I have gathered over the years and in my time here but if there is anything you would like me to do… then please ask….I don’t bite and if I don’t know what it is I am happy to research and give it whirl…. so please ask…and I might learn some new recipes myself in the process so it will be a  win, win all round.

Now all does not always go to plan in my kitchen…and when disaster strikes…. it strikes and this time it was my Mango Chutney….I burnt it!SAM_7112   Take Two!

Mango Chutney.

Ingredients:

4 Green under ripe Mangoes.

3cm Fresh ginger finely diced.

3 cloves garlic finely diced.

500 gm sugar.

1tsp salt.

1/2 tsp dried chilli.

1tsp cumin seeds.

2 cardamom plus 4 cardamom seeds.

7cm cinnamon stick.

5 whole cloves.

250 ml vinegar I use Apple cider but have used white vinegar and malt.

5 black peppercorns crushed.

Method:

Peel mangoes and cut in small strips.

Place mangoes in large pot Crush diced ginger and garlic in pestle and mortar and stir into mangoes.SAM_7105 SAM_7107 SAM_7108 SAM_7109

Stir in sugar,salt,chilli,cumin,cardamom,cinnamon and cloves.Stir to blend. Cover and leave overnight at room temp. N.B. We are prone to ants here so put water into a shallow tray and put bowl in centre the ants won’t swim the moat..ha ha

Next day place mangoes in heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.Cook stirring occasionally until mix starts to thicken about 30-45 mins.Stir in vinegar and crushed peppercorns and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Put into warm sterilised jars. Once cooled I keep in fridge where if you live in cooler climes a cool larder will be fine. This makes 3 medium-sized jars.SAM_7128     Enjoy !  It goes well with  my Indian curry recipes.

It was my increasing of years day on Thursday…..Birthday…. so my son cooked me Jerk Fish. It was the best fish I had tasted , very well cooked , spicy, spicy skin but the fish, sweet and lovely.

Jerk Fish:

Ingredients:

3 medium size Perch.

I tbsp All spice berries or ground all spice.

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 bay leaves.

1 large pinch ground cloves.

1/2 tbsp muscovite sugar.

Few sprigs Thyme picked and chopped.

Few sprigs fresh coriander chopped.

3-6 birds eye chillies finely chopped.

2 clove garlic finely chopped.

3cm fresh ginger.

2 spring onions.

zest of 1 lime.

1 tbsp olive oil

11/2 tbsp honey.

2 tbsp golden rum ( optional)

Slash fish 3 times across diagonally and put in oven proof dish and put on one side.

Pound all spice, pepper corns and bay leaves together. Mix in cloves, sugar and honey. Add herbs, chillies, garlic, ginger and bash together.

Tip into jug and add chopped tops of spring onions, lime zest, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt and the rum if using. Mix well.

Pour marinade over the fish and massage well in both sides( it’s a good idea to wear gloves for this )SAM_7116

Leave in fridge to Marinade for at least one hour.

Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees or gas 7. Cook for 20-30 minutes until slightly charred and cooked.

SAM_7119   Serve with Lime slices, Salsa and rice or new potatoes. This marinade can be used with Chicken or Pork.

That’s all for now I hope you enjoy…..  for you pie and custard lovers it will be treacle tart next time.SAM_7123xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…Love you all have a lovely evening, be happy and laugh a lot ..

 

 

 

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” by Oscar Wilde.

3 Replies

Yesterday was our monthly Phuket Writers meeting it was also the 1st anniversary of the coup in Thailand and;

The Dragon Boat Festival, also often known as the Tuen Ng or Duanwu Festival, is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China.

The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional lunar calendar, the source of its alternative name, the Double Fifth Festival. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date varies from year to year on the Gregorian Calendar.  The focus of most celebrations involves eating Zongzi (sticky rice treats with chopped dates wrapped in bamboo leaves) and Dim Sum both made by one of our newest members Lian who is from China and married to the illustrious Paul who is one of us writers. Both dishes were amazing and Lian explained to us the background to the festival which was lovely and is one of the lovely parts of living here among such a diverse community because we get to share and learn and partake in some culinary gems so  to celebrate we also had a pot luck, the rest of the dishes were from around the world and pretty damn good! So a good time and feast were had by us all.

The “Suure Mocke” is marinating well, so I will post a pic after Tuesday when it will be cooked.( And of course) eaten!

My very first attempt at caramel for the Creme Caramel turned out ok…..my grandson was on the stop clock as this requires NO stirring just a little swirl of the pan every 30 seconds for 5 mins. It worked folks! Didn’t burn it, just a lovely golden colour..yehhh we are a good team.

I would like also to wish all the daddies out there a great ” Fathers Day ” and to everyone like me who Dad’s are no longer with us a little verse.

Dad… I won’t immortalize you in the stars, because they fade away. I won’t remember you with a poem, for it will be forgotten one day. I will just keep you safe in my heart so that you are with me in every way. I miss you.

I miss my dad, he was a strict and unaffectionate dad when we were growing up but as he got older and I got older we rediscovered each other and I loved my dad and miss him.

So all of you who maybe don’t see eye to eye with your dad’s just remember we only get one dad and life is too short so maybe say sorry..someone has to…and start again you may be surprised like I was.

That’s it for today…I am still full to the brim from Sunday Lunch…also had a few vino’s so I am going to retire with my book…

Until next time love you all xxx

 

If you want to be happy, be. Leo Tolstoy

1 Reply

The theme of my blogging this week has been happiness and I am sure that we all define happiness in so many different ways.

Children get wet when it rains, they don’t just walk in the rain, they run, jump, find the biggest puddles and have fun and are happy…the cost ? nought, nil, zero.

Maybe if we are not happy as adults we should find a puddle and jump. Splash in it and be happy. Who will do that? Can the puddle be likened to an opportunity? I think it can. What about you?

Does money bring happiness? Well stops the worry about bills etc but if I had lots of money and no family or friends would I be happy…..NO.

The upshot of all this is we make our own happiness whether it’s through writing ,cooking, walking, running, reading, playing games, making things with wood or wool, praying to god.  The list is endless but the rewards can be enormous in the respect of our satisfaction which in turn brings happiness.

What makes you happy?

Me… I’m a simple soul..I love my family, cooking, writing, reading, soon it will be Aqua Zumba because I really need to exercise and I don’t like jumping about like a maniac and getting all sweaty it’s hot enough here already so this Aqua Zumba sounds just the thing for me.Will I be posting pics..mmmm I think not!

But I suppose what I am trying to say to all of you who think, I have no friends or I am in a new place , just moved here…I won’t tell you it happens overnight like magic, I won’t tell you that you don’t have to do anything…but think and do what you like to do and the friends will follow and they will.

I have made many here which means lots of lovely recipes from around the world and authentic..yehhhh so I am a happy bunny!

Today it’s ” Suure Mocke” courtesy of my Swiss friend Marianne. It was her fathers favorite dish which her mother used to cook for him on a Sunday.

So here it is it’s in two parts so today I have marinated the meat and on Tuesday I will cook it.

Tip: 1dl equals 100ml.

Sauerbraten ( Suure Moche) is popular in many regions of Switzerland, but the taste is always unique because it is marinated in the local wine. Those that do not have their own wine add vinegar to the marinade and bind the sauce with sour cream.
 
1kg (2,2 lbs) beef chuck, eg. shoulder, 1/2 celery root,1 leek, 2 carrots, 1 garlic clove, 1 clove, 6 juniper berries, 4 cardamom seeds, 4 coriander seeds, 12 pepper corns, thyme 1, Liter (1 gt) wine, 2dl (3/4 C) liquid instant gravy, 3 Tbs butter, 1 Tbs flour, salt, pepper, 2 Tbs sour cream, 1 piece dark bread (end piece)
 
Dice half of the vegetables and cut half of the herbs into fine strips. Bring to boil in 7 dl (2 3/4 C)wine. Place the meat in a deep bowl and pour over the hot marinade. Let stand in a cool place for 5 days. Be sure that the meat is always completely covered with wine.SAM_6938
 
After the 5 days have passed, remove the meat and pour out the marinade. Dab the meat dry with paper towelling. Sauté on all sides in 2 Tbs butter. Add the remaining chopped vegetables, herbs and bread. Let steam briefly, then pour in 3 dl (1 1/4 C) wine and simmer slowly for 2 hours. Add the dissolved instant gravy and reduce slightly. Knead the flour with the rest of the butter and stir into the sauce.
Season with salt and pepper and enhance with sour cream. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Wow looks like more rain is a coming so best get the washing in.
Enjoy the rest of your day and until my next blog stay safe, be happy xxxxx

We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box. ~Robert Fulghum

15 Replies

Crayons! They caused a few comments and who would have thought but I suppose life is like a box of crayons and we all certainly have to learn to live together in that same box…don’t we? Well, ideal world and all that but if we all work towards that then maybe this old world would be a much better place for us and our children and grand children.

You can just tell I’m maudlin, can’t you? Been a busy week ..lots of writing and cooking and thoughtfulness at life in general. Read some great blogs and some not so great but all thought-provoking in their own way so keep on blogging guys.This week I have been experimenting once again and marinaded some fish in Garlic, Olive Oil, and Vinegar but they came out great and got the thumbs up from our Polish visitor yesterday who went home with his goody bag of fish and pickled cucumber. Very easy once you have filleted the little fish.

Ingredients: For boquerones ( as they are called in Spain) 

  • 2Ib.( 1 kilo) Anchovies or other small fish.
  • 250-500ml White Vinegar.
  • 4-5 cloves Garlic.
  • 25ml.Virgin Olive Oil.
  • 4 Sprigs Italian Parsley.
  • Salt to taste.

SAM_6906

Let’s Cook!:

Remove heads. Using your thumb remove innards and spine.

Rinse. Lay flat in a glass dish and freeze for 3 hrs. (Freezing the anchovies to -20C or -4F can prevent illness from parasites found in raw fish.)

Remove from the freezer pour in vinegar to cover.

Finely chop garlic add parsley. Sprinkle over fish.

Pour Olive Oil in dish and salt if required.

Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

They are now ready to eat.

I will now ( hopefully) treat you to another of my short stories and not a dark one as one of my friends and critics commented on some of mine. She said ” for such a sunny, happy lady  you sure have some dark thoughts and she thought this one was much better..haha

Attending a writers retreat we were taken to this shop and given a set time to pen a story all I will say is that it shows how my brain goes off on a tangent at times 🙂

The Junk Shop.

Off we set, some in the Tuk ,Tuk, one fulfilling the dream by hanging off the back and the remainder of our intrepid little band of writers elected for shank’s pony.

“Rather you than me in this heat,” I thought.

We set off down the hill, around the corner and within minutes pulled up outside this virtual Aladdin’s Cave. Yippee!  Who knows what goodies and treasures lurk within?

The little wizened Thai man sitting somewhere in the middle like a jewel in a crown looked somewhat amused at all these farangs who were coming from all directions. I wandered along those dusty isles looking, searching for that special find.

Suddenly, clumsy klutz that I am tripped and went flying through the gap that had appeared before me. Landing on my butt the freezing wet, cold snow hit me!

Looking around all I could see was snow. Snow!  Must have hit my head I thought. I know I was sweating buckets and wished I was cooler. But This!

I gingerly stood and looked around in amazement all I could see was white, white and more white.

snow covered treesI must be dreaming. But No. Here I was standing in the snow in my flip flops. Noticing a beautiful white flower. I bent to smell it, the perfume wafting upwards invading my senses, conjuring up pictures of pine trees and Christmas.  Plucking one of the flowers I straightened up.

This was eerie.

“Hello?” “Anyone there?”

Silence. I began to panic. Then the blackness engulfed me.

“Carol, Carol are you ok?” Someone was slapping the side of my face. I opened my eyes to see Anne looking down at me.  A worried expression on her face. I gingerly moved my legs, my arms; everything seemed to be in working order.

I was back.

Anne and Jason helped me to my feet and walked me slowly to the waiting Tuk Tuk. I must have been dreaming. Feeling something in my hand I slowly opened it and my eyes widened.

Nestled in the palm of my hand was a beautiful white flower.

I hope you enjoy the  fish recipe and my scribblings until next time stay safe and enjoy life xx