Saturday, December 31, 2005
Nachos Recipe
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001636nachos.php
copied here in case link dies...
Tortilla chips - extra thick - 1 14-oz bag
Refried beans - 2-3 cups
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2 lb, grated, about 3 cups
Pickled jalapeno peppers - 4 peppers, sliced
Optional, but highly recommended
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour cream
Cilantro, chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange a layer of tortilla chips along the bottom of a wide, shallow baking pan. It will make things easier if this baking pan also can be used as a serving pan, such as the ceramic platter shown in the photo above. The layer of tortilla chips can be a couple chips thick. Spread the refried beans over the chips (this is why you need extra thick chips, so they don't break when encountering the beans). Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of chips and beans. Sprinkle slices of jalapeño peppers over the cheese. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 5 minutes in a convection oven.
2 Serve with dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole, with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
copied here in case link dies...
Tortilla chips - extra thick - 1 14-oz bag
Refried beans - 2-3 cups
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2 lb, grated, about 3 cups
Pickled jalapeno peppers - 4 peppers, sliced
Optional, but highly recommended
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour cream
Cilantro, chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange a layer of tortilla chips along the bottom of a wide, shallow baking pan. It will make things easier if this baking pan also can be used as a serving pan, such as the ceramic platter shown in the photo above. The layer of tortilla chips can be a couple chips thick. Spread the refried beans over the chips (this is why you need extra thick chips, so they don't break when encountering the beans). Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of chips and beans. Sprinkle slices of jalapeño peppers over the cheese. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 5 minutes in a convection oven.
2 Serve with dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole, with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
Veggie Mince Pies
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/experts/roseelliot/story/0,16748,1652670,00.html
Copied here in case link dies...
Mincemeat without the meat
Rose Elliot
Saturday November 26, 2005
The Guardian
Mince pies
When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.
Article continues
The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.
125g currants
125g raisins
125g sultanas
50g unsweetened cooking dates, chopped
50g candied peel, chopped
50g natural glace cherries, sliced
50g flaked almonds
half a tsp each ground ginger, grated nutmeg and mixed spice
1 ripe banana, mashed
4 tbsp brandy, whisky or rum
375g shortcrust pastry (or pastry made from 250g flour and 125g fat)
Mix all the ingredients except the pastry in a large bowl. Thinly roll out the pastry, cut out rounds to fit your tartlet tins, fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat, cover with a smaller pastry disc and prick. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, then bake the pies for about 10 minutes.
Copied here in case link dies...
Mincemeat without the meat
Rose Elliot
Saturday November 26, 2005
The Guardian
Mince pies
When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.
Article continues
The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.
125g currants
125g raisins
125g sultanas
50g unsweetened cooking dates, chopped
50g candied peel, chopped
50g natural glace cherries, sliced
50g flaked almonds
half a tsp each ground ginger, grated nutmeg and mixed spice
1 ripe banana, mashed
4 tbsp brandy, whisky or rum
375g shortcrust pastry (or pastry made from 250g flour and 125g fat)
Mix all the ingredients except the pastry in a large bowl. Thinly roll out the pastry, cut out rounds to fit your tartlet tins, fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat, cover with a smaller pastry disc and prick. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, then bake the pies for about 10 minutes.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Mushroom sauce for pasta
Mushroom sauce for pasta
http://www.lunched.co.uk/Pasta/mush_sauce.html
http://www.lunched.co.uk/Pasta/mush_sauce.html
You need:
A good few handfuls of any mushroom sliced thinly.
25g (about 1heaped tbsp) flour or cornflour
1/2 pint of milk
15g butter
olive oil
salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a pan with some olive oil to stop it from burning. Sauté the mushrooms until soft and coloured remove from the pan and set aside. Turn off the heat under the pan. Add the milk and flour and whisk. Turn the heat back on but onto a very low flame. Whisk the sauce frequently but not too vigorously and it will thicken up right before your eyes. It needs to cook for about 10 mins to cook out the flour taste. This is a basic white sauce.
A nice little variation is to bung in a tsp of mustard (english is best), it gives the sauce a certain something. Some torn basil is great too.
Once you are happy with it, return the mushrooms to the pan, allow to heat through, season to taste . Serve over freshly boiled conchigle (pasta shells) as they hold large amounts of sauce. No burnt bits, no lumps, no fuss.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Green beans recipe
A recipe for green beans in tomato sauce, with boiled potatoes in white wine vinegar + cheese:
You need...
* 1 onion chopped finely
* Chopped garlic
* Olive oil
* Green beans, lots of, with ends cut off and washed
* 'Baby' potatoes, bag of (these usually are sold washed)
* White wine vinegar
* Feta cheese diced (or something like Cheshire if you hate Feta!)
* Tin chopped tomatoes
* Brown sugar (only a tad - maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon)
How to prepare...
1. Before anything, steam the beans to soften them up, then drain
2. Boil the potatoes
--when the spuds are about ready to eat go to step 3--
3. In another pan, sautee the onions and garlic until onion goes golden
4. Throw in the beans and stir about a bit
5. Pour in some of the tomato - you decide, but don't drown the onions completely. About 50-50 is ok
6. Toss in the brown sugar and heat it all up
7. Drain the now cooked spuds, then drizzle them in white wine vinegar (but don't go too mad!) and throw in the cheese chunks. Stir.
8. Dish it all out and eat
You need...
* 1 onion chopped finely
* Chopped garlic
* Olive oil
* Green beans, lots of, with ends cut off and washed
* 'Baby' potatoes, bag of (these usually are sold washed)
* White wine vinegar
* Feta cheese diced (or something like Cheshire if you hate Feta!)
* Tin chopped tomatoes
* Brown sugar (only a tad - maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon)
How to prepare...
1. Before anything, steam the beans to soften them up, then drain
2. Boil the potatoes
--when the spuds are about ready to eat go to step 3--
3. In another pan, sautee the onions and garlic until onion goes golden
4. Throw in the beans and stir about a bit
5. Pour in some of the tomato - you decide, but don't drown the onions completely. About 50-50 is ok
6. Toss in the brown sugar and heat it all up
7. Drain the now cooked spuds, then drizzle them in white wine vinegar (but don't go too mad!) and throw in the cheese chunks. Stir.
8. Dish it all out and eat
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Blueprints
My grandad Joe worked at an engineering works in Middleton, Leeds. He used to bring home big wads of blueprints so that I could draw on the reverse. These had a strong musty, metallic, and inky smell.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Thorpe: Man bricks dog
What I (vaguely) remember:
I was somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. We were living in a terraced house in one of the couple of small streets that made up a no-man's land called Thorpe, somewhere in between Leeds and Wakefield. Thorpe is one of those nothingly places you drive through to get to somewhere real. This was emphasized on a daily basis by the noise of the nearby M62. There were no shops (that I recall). The only thing of interest was the Chlorine plant directly across the road. There was literally nothing to do there, except walk the dog.
Now, the bit I should remember about this but can't be sure is the name of the dog in this tale of woe. We definitely had a very stupid red setter called Bonnie when we lived here, but he/she was taken away again at some stage by the original owner because we basically couldn't handle the constant cleaning up of sick, nicking food off the table and general insanity. On the other hand, it might have been my auntie's dog. Let's just call it "the dog" for the sake of argument.
Anyway, I was walking the dog, not on a lead or anything. I got to the end of our street and the dog ran into the very small yard in front of the last house. It probably started having a dump, can't exactly remember - it may have just been nosing around. The owner came out, picked up a bit stone that was next to the door. As I was shouting "No!!!" he threw it at the dog and hit one of its legs. The dog started screaming in pain. Don't remember much what happened next but it involved me crying and swearing at him a lot.
My mum took him to court over it. I had to get up in the witness box and tell the story. When I got to the swearing bit I said something like "then I said some rude things", which made some people in the court laugh. We won the case.
I was somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. We were living in a terraced house in one of the couple of small streets that made up a no-man's land called Thorpe, somewhere in between Leeds and Wakefield. Thorpe is one of those nothingly places you drive through to get to somewhere real. This was emphasized on a daily basis by the noise of the nearby M62. There were no shops (that I recall). The only thing of interest was the Chlorine plant directly across the road. There was literally nothing to do there, except walk the dog.
Now, the bit I should remember about this but can't be sure is the name of the dog in this tale of woe. We definitely had a very stupid red setter called Bonnie when we lived here, but he/she was taken away again at some stage by the original owner because we basically couldn't handle the constant cleaning up of sick, nicking food off the table and general insanity. On the other hand, it might have been my auntie's dog. Let's just call it "the dog" for the sake of argument.
Anyway, I was walking the dog, not on a lead or anything. I got to the end of our street and the dog ran into the very small yard in front of the last house. It probably started having a dump, can't exactly remember - it may have just been nosing around. The owner came out, picked up a bit stone that was next to the door. As I was shouting "No!!!" he threw it at the dog and hit one of its legs. The dog started screaming in pain. Don't remember much what happened next but it involved me crying and swearing at him a lot.
My mum took him to court over it. I had to get up in the witness box and tell the story. When I got to the swearing bit I said something like "then I said some rude things", which made some people in the court laugh. We won the case.
The ice cream men
We had 2 main ice cream vans (70s/early 80s - Belle Isle, Leeds)
1. Walls
The ice cream man was refered to as Wallsy, although this probably came from the brand of ice cream (?)
If I remember rightly he was a grumpy old man and had a really obvious wig that was the target of much piss-taking.
Typical ice cream van shape and product.
2. Basils
Weirder shaped van, sort of pointed and car shaped at the front, with a curvy overhanging bit on the roof. Lots of pink paint. Bit like a rocket lolly.
Don't remember the driver at all. 'Basil' used to sell those screwball things - a plastic inverted cone full of ice cream with an edible bubble gum ball in the bottom.
1. Walls
The ice cream man was refered to as Wallsy, although this probably came from the brand of ice cream (?)
If I remember rightly he was a grumpy old man and had a really obvious wig that was the target of much piss-taking.
Typical ice cream van shape and product.
2. Basils
Weirder shaped van, sort of pointed and car shaped at the front, with a curvy overhanging bit on the roof. Lots of pink paint. Bit like a rocket lolly.
Don't remember the driver at all. 'Basil' used to sell those screwball things - a plastic inverted cone full of ice cream with an edible bubble gum ball in the bottom.
Billy Wells
He was the 'telly man'. Whenever it needed a new tube putting in (before tvs got cheap and disposable) Billy Wells would turn up. This almost certainly wasn't his real name because he had a foreign accent (Polish I think) and my grandad had supposedly vouched for him so that he could become a British citizen after the war. Apparently we got our telly fixed for free because of this.
He always seemed to be very tanned, so he must have made a bit of money out of it.
Black curly hair. Dazzling white teeth.
I always used to sit on the nearest armchair and watch him take the telly apart, fascinated. Wonder if this put him off?
Seemed like a really friendly guy anyway.
He always seemed to be very tanned, so he must have made a bit of money out of it.
Black curly hair. Dazzling white teeth.
I always used to sit on the nearest armchair and watch him take the telly apart, fascinated. Wonder if this put him off?
Seemed like a really friendly guy anyway.
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