1st week on the diet.

Cor. What a week. I literally walked my ass off. The pedometer was an excellent tool of investment. I was taking the long route to get more steps! That and the really healthy eating and sometimes feeling hungry and cranky led to a loss this week of......7.5lbs! very chuffed I am.


 
Anyway....I'm gonna keep up with the fat motivational pictures,might even stick some around my kitchen...

WoW!

The time is nigh....I am taking a big fat step to fat club. That's right, I'm joining Weight Watchers. I've simply got too fat for my liking. So things will probably look a bit different around here! Scary stuff but it has to be done.

I've got a free sign up + free first week coupon worth £15, im gonna get a pedometer and get fit and healthy, just in time  for...christmas probably! haha! I got asked if i was pregnant one too many times!

I dont want to get to this point! >>>>>


I've hung dresses I used to fit around my walls as motivation and I plan to reward myself with new clothes for every stone I lose! Wish me luck! I'm gonna be craving such favourites as...hot muffins and custard...full fat coke...kinder buenos....fatty meaty pork chops....sugary cereals....eating anything and not caring basically, i wonder why i got fat!  HA!

Stocking up! *grin*

I just made stock for the first time! considering I budget cook a lot that's quite weird, no? I'm telling you, if you learn to cook from books and not your mum, there are some basics it takes a while to get around to learning, because no one thinks to put it into the cookbooks! So, I'm gonna treat this entry as a recipe, for all those whose mums were too busy to teach us to cook (no offence mum, you are brill)

*interesting facts*

 - Chicken stock should be cooked for 3-4 hours, but fish stock should be cooked only for 30-45 minutes, cooking any longer spoils the flavour.

 - Mirepoix (Meer-pwah) is the french term for the combintation of onions, carrots and celery which are often used to make stock. Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany also have a word for this 'holy trinity' in Creole cooking.

 - the flavour of stock comes from the cartilage and connective tissues in the bones. Connective tissue has collagen in it, which gets converted into gelatin that thickens the liquid.

 Chicken Stock

I've taken a bit from here, bit from there to concoct this 'recipe'. I've used some basic principles of stock making, but just take what you can from this basically, apparently it's not rocket science! Remember all the veg you add will be thrown away, so don't add the choicest parts, carrot peel is fine!

INGREDIENTS;

1 chicken carcass leftover from a roast (plus meat, jelly) or more than one carcass if you have a big enough pot! Also raw bones are better to use than cooked ones, I just never seem to have any!

2 onions quartered

2 carrots ore one big one

1 celery stick cut into chunks

A few fresh herb sprigs tied in cotton or a bouquet garni you can make one with 1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs thyme, 3 stalks and leaves of parsley, if you use dried herbs, tie them up in a cloth bundle so they can be removed. I've got the Schwartz tea bags style bouquet garni

2-4 garlic cloves i'm one of those people who thinks you cant over-do garlic.

peppercorns no salt - stock is a base for a food, add the salt when cooking the food

6 pints of cold water

TOOLS;

 - a big pot (or a really big pot if you're doubling up) with a lid

 - a good strong knife and chopping board

 - wooden spoon

 - a colander

 - Tupperware or a freezer bag for storing the finished stock

METHOD;

step 1 - stick the carcass*, any meat, gravy or jelly into your big pot and pour over the cold water. By starting with cold water you promote the extraction of collagen. Bring to simmer, not boil as the stock will go cloudy (not the end of the world!) Now scum will start to form on the surface of the stock, skim it off with a spoon, repeat till all the scum is gone (or the worst of it at least)

*removing any jelly or skin will make a healthier stock.

step 2 - Chop roughly and add the veg, herbs and seasoning. Cover* and simmer for 2-3 hours, bones (rather than meaty bits) need longer, such as 4 hours.

*leave it uncovered if you want a richer stock, but the quantity will be less.

step 3 - Now remove the bouquet garni and pour the stock through a colander into a dish/bag/pot. Throw away all the chunky veg, you should be left with a clear (maybe cloudy) liquid. Leave it to cool. Cover the surface with cling film.

step 4 -Now you can refrigerate, freeze or use straight away to make a delicious stew, soup, broth or sauce. 

* the fat will separate from the stock when chilled, you can remove it then, or remove later, before cooking, or keep it together, it's tasty!

SEXY BUTTERNUT SOUP

This is another of silvana franco's recipes, i served it at my first ever dinner party, and my son's 3rd birthday party (although i admit i didn't make it that time, the bf did) ! it's ridiculously delicious considering how easy it is to make! i have given out this recipe countless times, and have eaten it at family and friends houses. it's not hard, give it a try, easy to feed a crowd with, and you can even freeze it. it's one of those recipes that actually tastes batter the next day, when the flavours have had a chance to develop.

*interesting facts*

 - butternut squash is known as 'butternut pumpkin' in Australia and New Zealand.

 - it grows on a vine!

 - it is a good source of fibre, vitamin c, vitamin a & vitamin e.

 RECIPE

The only thing i'll say you must, must use is marigold veggie (not vegan) boullion to make the stock. the vegan one tastes like mushrooms and grosses me out personally. also the absolute best serving suggestion is most definitely cheese and chive toasties, they are mandatory in silvana franco's 

INGREDIENTS;

1.5kg butternut squash (unpeeled weight) or 1 big one. I tend to adjust the ingredients to how much squash i have, as you often have to guess at the market.

2-4 onions (as many as you like)

200ml creme fraiche when you add this the whole texture of the soup changes, it';s amazing!

4 thyme sprigs i have used dried thyme before, but nothing beats the real thing, i get a bunch of about 15 sprigs from the market for 50p! makes all the difference.

1 litre stock you can make it anyway you like, you can use homemade stock, generally keep it veggie, and for best results in my opinion, use bouillon.

2-4 garlic cloves i'm one of those people who thinks you cant over-do garlic.

olive oil

salt and pepper

TOOLS;

 - a big pot (or a really big pot if you're doubling up) with a lid

 - a good strong knife and chopping board

 - wooden spoon

 - a handheld blender or a food processor

 - a good peeler

METHOD;

step 1 - peel your butternut squash, it can be very tough if you don't have a good peeler! if you want you can chop it up then peel the pieces, but it's quicker just to do it in one. chop it up and scoop out the seeds and the wet hairy stuff*. you should now have about 1kg of squash at the least, more than that is fine. set to the side. chop up your onions quite fine, and squash your garlic cloves and chop them up too. 

step 2 - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the big pot and set it over a medium-low heat. bung in the garlic and onions, put the squash ontop, then put the lid on. let them sweat and soften, give it a stir now and again and check nothings burning. lower the heat if you need to.

step 3 - after about 10 mins, add the stock and the thyme. stir it up. cover and simmer for 30 mins.

step 4 - take the soup off the heat, pull out the thyme stalks (pull the leaves off and put back into the soup if you wish, but they generally fall off the stalks anyway). then blend the soup with the handheld blender. you can pour it through a colander if you like to check for lumps you might have missed.

step 5 - either stir in the creme fraiche now and reheat over the hob really slowly, don't boil! or serve the soup with the creme fraiche on the side for people to swirl in themselves. done.

serving suggestions: either bread rolls, buttered toast or the best is cheese and chive toasties on white bread! mmmmm!

* if you hate wasting bits of vegetables, you can try washing the seeds and grilling them lightly in a bit of oil and some parmesan, makes a tasty treat or you can sprinkle it over the soup?

other ideas to try; 

 - you could try roasting the butternut squash to soften it, instead of boiling.

- make it using pumpkin instead, they're very easily interchangeable.

- add other vegetables to the soup. make it plain the first time, then think of what you could add while you eat it.

Salad is..........amazing!

Me and my friends were discussing what to have for dinner and one of us 'joked' that we should make salad. Then we did, and it was amazing and so easy, i forgot how much fun summer cooking is! we laid down a table cloth then covered the table with dishes, loads of different stuff. It's great having a sort of buffet sort of meze spread of food to pick at rather than one dish. 

We had potato mustard salad with spring onions, carrot and raisin and walnut salad with apple and mayonnaise, a leafy salad with red peppers, tomatoes and cucumber.

We had it with grilled lemony chicken, coleslaw, boiled eggs, mozzarella and cottage cheese. And some rose!

Pile it high! yummy yummy! Guilt free food!

And then...Ev did the washing up! Sweeeet! :)

Silvana Franco's "Family Food"

i know nothing of silvana franco's life outside of cooking, and own only two of her books, so for a better introduction of her background and what's she's done look here. But essentially she's from an italian background, raised in derby (england) and is fantastic at cooking 'real' good food. 

i was first introduced to Silvana Franco's recipes four years ago when my friend bought me her cookbook "Family Food", she hadn't had time to shop for the 'perfect present' and had bought it quickly, it was a total surprise to her how much i loved the book and have continued to love it, it was a perfect present!

why i love this book;

• there are loads of photos in this book and pictures make me want to cook, everything looks so delicious! 
• she compiles recipes in such a way that it makes it easy to buy one or two new things you haven't tried before to add to a bunch of everyday ingredients to get something special!
• i've used it loads and been really messy with it and it's still very much in one piece!
• this book was originally written for sainsbury's, i love shopping in sainsbury's, and you can find all of the ingredients there

why it's not the only book on my shelf;

• Silvana loves aubergines, i don't, really don't, they are rank.
• While i love her recipes and her amazing skill with flavours through the ingredients she uses, the ingredients don't make it a cheap everyday book for me.
• She may have started me off, but there are loads of books out there full of fabulous recipes.

my favourite recipes in this book that you must try;

• butternut chowder with cheese toasties
• grilled mackerel with lemon mint drizzle
• chorizo and cannellini bean soup
• cheese and tomato macaroni
• chicken palm pies
• spicy omlette chapatti
• moroccan chicken pastina bake
• soggy belly chocolate fudge cake
• oaty ginger pear crumble
• lemon custard tarts
• blueberry pancakes

i learnt the basics of making soup, pancakes, crumble, and using meat from reading and using this book. it was the start of my love of cooking and i thank silvana for that. mwah.

MACARONI CHEESE

Well really it had to start like this, this had to be the first recipe i posted as it was the first recipe I ever perfected to the point that I could invite people round (sometimes even lure them) simply to eat it! and it's from my first ever cookbook I owned. okay so this recipe is based on an original recipe by Silvana Franco and is from her amazing book 'Family Food'..... i have just realised i have so much to say for her cooking that i'm just going to have to review her and her books rather than go well off point in this post which is meant to be about the awesome soul comfort food that is....the good old macaroni cheese!

*interesting facts*

 - macaroni cheese is called 'mac 'n' cheese' in the u.s.a and 'macaroni pie' in the caribbean.
- this amazing cheese and pasta dish has been found in italian medieval history and has been popular in the u.k since the victorian era.

 RECIPE

this recipe is a 'cheat' version of macaroni because the classic cheese sauce is substituted for a tub of marscapone. this version is extra special because it has roasted cherry tomatoes baked into it. i have altered the recipe to my own tastes and needs (eg. feeding a crowd) but is based on Silvana Franco's 'Macaroni Cheese'. if you are making it ahead to cook later turn off the oven at step 3.


INGREDIENTS;
500g bag of macaroni pasta (Sainsbury's and Tesco own brand is great - don't get the skinny cook in three minutes stuff)
200-400g cherry tomatoes (as many as you like)
250g tub of marscapone cheese (it's a creamy cheese, quite thick and rich, delicious! i have substituted a leaner ricotta in the past and it has worked well)
300-400g cheddar cheese (Silvana recommends gouda but that is annoying to find and expensive, so i've always used cheddar. I have used the ready-grated bags before which make it cheaper to make and easier! less washing up is always a bonus for me!)#
2-3 tablespoons dijon mustard (mustard does amazing things when mixed with cheese, just wait and see! Silvana says use dijon and i agree, but english mustard has been used before and some people actually preferred that, so go with your favourite mustard)
olive oil
salt and pepper


TOOLS;
 - a big dish (ceramic or glass)
 - a big saucepan
 - wooden spoon
 - grater
 - a colander
 - a tablespoon


METHOD;
step 1 - okay so first you're going to roast the cherry tomatoes. start by pre-heating the oven to 220''/fan 200''. wash the tomatoes and tip them into a roasting dish (glass or ceramic), drizzle lightly with oil, grind some pepper and salt into the dish and rub the seasoning and oil over the tomatoes. bung the dish in the oven (they will stay in there till their skins are starting to split, 10-15 mins)


step 2 - boil a kettle and pour it into a big pot, add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil. add the macaroni pasta and stir a bit. (macaroni in my experience can get clumped together if not stirred well.) grate your cheese.


step 3 - check the tomatoes, their skins should have begun to split by now. i like to catch them at the stage just before they split. if they are ready take them out of the oven and set the dish down. if you are preparing this for cooking later turn off the oven, if you are planning on eating asap keep it on.


step 4 - when the macaroni is cooked to 'al dente' (which means firm to the bite - not soggy!) drain it with the colander. tip half the macaroni back into the pot then add the grated cheese, marscapone and mustard, tip the rest of the pasta on top. this act of sandwiching the cheeses between the hot pasta makes them easier to stir up. leave it about 10 seconds then stir with the wooden spoon till everything is mixed up nicely, all creamy and nice-smelling and squelchy-sounding. this is the point where everyone can smell what you're cooking!


step 5 - now we're going to mix the tomatoes with the cheesy pasta. if there is excess oil in the bottom of the dish you may want to drain a bit off, but it's not necessary. tip the cheesy pasta mix into the dish of tomatoes, stir around lightly so you don't squish the totmatoes to pulp, then bung the dish back in the oven for a further 30-40 mins or until the cheese bubbles! then my dears, enjoy! :)


serving suggestions: no idea! i never know what to serve this with! i treat this as a main dish but it's traditionally a side dish, any ideas of serving suggestions, let me know!


other ideas to try; 
 - adding a few garlic cloves to the cherry tomatoes before roasting, skins on or off.
- replacing the roasted tomatoes for leeks and onions cooked in a little butter
- for the really rich, special version that was the original recipe use gouda cheese and 375g pasta instead of 500g.