Cauliflower with Potato and Cumin

Cauliflower with Potato and Cumin

When I use to look at an Indian recipe I would usually go OMG 20 ingredients needed and do I have them all!!!

But I have come round to the fact that yes it is good to have all the ingredients if possible but it is not the end of the world if not.  You do loose elements and depth of the dish if more than one or two ingredients are missing but life is too short to worry if I don't have 1/2 a teaspoon of paprika to finish off a dish.

If you are going to cook Indian food on a regular basis the herbs and spices in this dish are the main staple ingredients to haveon your shelf .

Ingredients Serves 4

2 tbs sunflower oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garam masala

salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)

400g potatoes cubed small

500g cauliflower cut into small florets

100g broccolli cut ito small florets - optional (I had a bit left after a previous meal and added them rather than let them go to waste)
100ml water

1 tbs chopped fresh coriander

Pour the oil into a heavy base frying pan and when hot add the potatoes, gently fry until they start to soften slightly (about 5 minutes).  At the same time blanch the cauliflower and broccoli (if using) in boiling water for a couple of minutes and then drain.
Add the garlic to the potatoes and fry for a further minutes before adding the ginger, salt, turmeric, cumin, paprika and garam masala. Stir together then add the water, cauliflower and broccoli. Stir until all the vegetables are covered by the herbs and spices and cook for a further minute or until the water has evaporate.
The dish is now ready to serve with some chopped coriander to garnish.

Wet Morning in Wales

Wet Morning in Wales

Week 2 training for London to Paris and after doing 30 minutes on the spinning bike yesterday decided to go out on the road this morning.  6.39am start and surprise surprise wet start to the day in Wales.

Covered 13 miles around the Vale, from Llanrhaeadr to Llanbebr back to Llandyrnog then home. Feel as if I will get to now this route well over the next couple of months.

The weather improved as I went round and by the end the sun was out and in the distance I could see the glistening roofs of Denbigh.  Back home by 8.02am with bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Spicy Uzbeki Carrots with Cranberries, Goji Berries and Pistachios

Spicy Uzbeki Carrots with Cranberries, Goji Berries and Pistachios

(thanks to kevinscooking.com)

Spicy Uzbeki Carrots

I saw this dish on twitter only the other day and thought how great it looked and thought I would give it a try. I am so glad that I did as it turn out to be a fantastic side dish to the Indian meal I had prepared, Chicken Chettinad plus an extra side dish of Cauliflower, Potato with Cumin, (recipes to follow).

These carrots are infused with caramelized onions, a tomato base with spicy cumin, saffron and cinnamon. The taste buds are then exposed to the sweetness of the cranberry and goji berries with a kick from the chillies, finally you get the zing of mint and crunch of the pistachio nuts.

Ingredients

3 tbs sunflower oil
1 red onion
6 cloves of garlic chopped finely
3 dried chillies or two birds eye chillies (add more or less according to taste)
1 tbs cracked black pepper
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of salt
6 large carrots sliced
2 tbs cranberries or other dried fruit
2 tbs goji berries
1/4 tsp saffron
400ml water
1 tbs honey
2 tbs chopped mint
2 tbs pistachio nuts

Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and start to saute the onions until soft on a low to medium heat. Then add the garlic, chillies and black pepper.

Next add the tomato paste, cumin and cinnamon and stir then cook for a further minute for the spices to infuse with the onions and garlic.

Then add the carrots, cranberries, goji berries, saffron, honey, salt and water, stir and cook for about a minute on a medium heat until the liquid is bubbling.

Reduce the heat slightly and cook for a further 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender (add a bit more water if it gets too dry).  By now the carrots should have a slight glaze from the honey, spices and tomato paste.

This dish can be served immediately garnished with the chopped mint and pistachio nuts or can be cooked before hand, covered and then reheated when needed.

For an accompaniment, in case the heat from the chillies is too hot, why not have an additional side dish of natural yogurt with zest of lemon sprinkled on top.

Bodnant Welsh Food Centre

Bodnant Welsh Food Centre

This is somewhere I go on a regular basis to buy Welsh speciality food and can highly recommend a visit.  I have also been on their cookery courses a few times and have enjoyed them immensely. 

Bodnant Welsh Food Centre handed industry Oscar for conservation work

http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/148646/bodnant-welsh-food-centre-handed-industry-oscar-for-conservation-work.aspx

www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk/

A WELSH centre of excellence has been handed an industry Oscar for its conservation work at an historic Conwy farm.

The panel of judges in the prestigious RICS awards praised Bodnant Welsh Food Centre for breathing new life into the 250-year-old Furnace Farm complex at Tal y Cafn.

Calling the £6m project “an exemplar of sensitive conservation that is truly sustainable,” the judges also commended Bodnant for creating viable jobs and apprenticeships and promoting local food and drink.

The annual contest celebrates inspirational initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors. The awards were handed out at an event in Cardiff, hosted by ITV News presenter Andrea Byrne and attended by more than 220 property professionals.

Bodnant, which picked up the Welsh Building Conservation Award, now goes through to the national RICS Awards, where it will compete against other projects from across the UK later this year.

Based in a restored building dating from the 18th century, the food centre includes a farm shop, tea room, restaurant, wine cellar, cookery school and farmhouse accommodation.

Chris Morton, managing director of Bodnant Welsh Food Centre, said: “We are proud of the work carried out here in preserving the old buildings and giving them new life.

"It would have been easy to replace them with a modern construction. However the choice was made to rehabilitate them to create a project of which the area can be proud.”

Week 1 Training Done London to Paris

Week 1 Training Done London to Paris

Bodfari on route

It was a wet and windy morning at 7.11am when I start my 22 mile bike ride this morning and the clouds were masking the Clwydian Range.

Clwydian Range covered in cloud

Took the back road from Llanrhaeadr to Rhewl via Llanynys and then cut up to LLanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd.  The route up until then is reasonably flat but heading back from Llanbedr to Llandyrnog via Llangynhafal proved slightly more of a challenge with a few more climbs.  Once I turned from Llandyrnog towards Bodfari the route levels out again.  It was then onto the main road heading towards Denbigh with legs tiring slightly but once I hit the road towards home my paced increased again and I arrived back in the house at 9.06am.  

I have no intention of breaking any records (except personal ones) but was glad to finish this morning under two hours.  

This week I have done 5 bike rides, 2 with the family, 2 on the spinning bike and this morning ride, totaling around 58 miles, Not bad for the first week, Only another 13 weeks to go!!!!

London to Paris Bike Ride

London to Paris Bike Ride

In my 30's I use to be reasonably fit (completed 24 hour 15 peak Snowdonia challenge and UK highest 3 peak challenge) but then children came along. Don't get me wrong, love them dearly and would not change a thing but by giving my all to the kids things like long walks, out on the hills, went out of the window.  I became a proud modern father and because both of us worked full time I helped with the cooking, taking the children to clubs, tidying the house, taking the children to school, ironing, taking the children to parties, helping with cleaning, taking the children swimming, well you get the idea not much time for excising.

Then the weight started to pile on, the alcohol consumption started to creep up before I knew it 30's have gone, 40's has disappeared in a flash and suddenly 50's is here with the children grown up and not needing me so much. My fitness levels has more or less disappeared with a walk round the block starting to become an effort.

Then a Facebook message pops up from my niece saying that she is doing a cycle ride from London to Paris (260 miles). I had a mad moment (probably the bottle of wine did not help) thinking, I can do that (whatever possessed me as the furthest I have ever been on a bike is probably 20 miles), and sent a message back saying if she could cope with an older (note I do not regard myself as old by a long shot) person tagging along I would like to join her.

She immediately replied before I could change my mind GREAT but you will have to train and then promptly sent me some links with training schedules http://london2paris.co.uk/

I am now committed having also promised to raise money for a couple of local charities, CADMHAS http://www.cadmhas.co.uk/ that advocates for those with mental health issues and Ty Gobaith (Welsh for Hope House) http://www.hopehouse.org.uk a local children's hospice.

The website training session is for 18 weeks but as we are going in September I am already 4 weeks behind.  I am therefore having to already push myself a bit harder but first week so far so good with 30 miles done and a longish bike ride to come over the weekend.

Will be cheating slightly as I will be using the spinning bike we have during the week but getting out on the road during the weekend.

What you might ask has a food blog got to do with a bike ride. The only caveat I have put in place for doing this ride is that we will be looking out for excellent food stops on the way to PARIS.  I will then post them on this site, if anybody out there has any suggestions please let me know.

Tomorrow morning out early for a 20 mile bike ride!!!

Thai Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Thai Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

(Excellent mid-week supper which is quick and easy to prepare)

This recipe is based on one of the dishes that  that we cooked whilst attending the excellent Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School  www.asiascenic.com in Chang Mai (you will find the original recipe by following the link). We were over there last November and this school came highly recommended to us by our guide on a 2 day trek we did in the Thai hills around Chang Mai.

Having attended other Thai cooking schools on previous trips I was a bit wary of going especially as we were attending as a family, including my 13 and 9 year all daughters.  But it turn out to be a great success, the teacher's English was excellent, the ingredients were all fresh from a local market which we also visited and all of us were able to prepare the meals from scratch.  The best part, which goes without saying, was eating the meals hot straight from the wok.  Having said that I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat thinking of the large knifes and wok of boiling oil my 9 year old daughter used to cook her meals but she thought it was great.

The ingredients I have used here are nor exactly the same as what we had in the cookery school but that is the beauty of this dish is that you can improvise with what you have in the fridge.  The main thing about this dish is to get everything chopped and ready before hand because once you start cooking it comes together quickly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

For this dish you want your ingredients to be similar in size as demonstrated in the picture above.

500g chicken thighs cut into 5 or 6 slices (you don't want them too thick or they won't cook all the way through)

120g cashew nuts

1 onion cut in half then into slices

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 carrot pealed and sliced

1/2 red pepper sliced

1 pak-choi rip leaves to even size

1 spring onion diced

5 red dry chillies

2tbs cooking oil

3tbs oyster sauce

2tbs fish sauce

1tbs brown sugar

Using a frying pan place it on a medium heat and add the cashew nuts. Occasional toss the nuts until they have turned a golden brown then remove from the heat and allow to rest.

Place the oil in a wok on high heat and when it starts to bubble add the onions, stir gently for a couple of minutes then add the garlic and dried chillies (turn the heat down slightly or they will burn)

Add the carrots and keep stirring for another minute

Add the chicken and cook for a minute but keep stirring

Add the peppers and pak-choi, after a minute turn up the heat to full and add the oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Keeping stirring gently for a further 3 to 4 minutes and when the chicken has cooked through add the cashew nuts and spring onions to garnish and serve with boiled rice.

Sweet Duchess Potatoes

Sweet Duchess Potatoes

(Posh Mash)

If you want a dish to give a little bit of wow factor to your meals here's one, basically posh mash.

You can make these plenty of time before hand, place in the fridge and when ready to cook place them in the oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes.

Ingredients

Serves 6

800g white potatoes diced
800g sweet potatoes diced but make sure they are nearly twice the size of the white potatoes otherwise your sweet potatoes will cook to quickly and turn to mush.
80g butter
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Place the potatoes in water and bring to the boil.  When you are able to cut the potatoes with only a very gentle pressure from a knife they are ready.  Pour away the water and allow the potatoes to stand for about 8 to 10 minutes, you need to get rid of any moisture.

Use a potato ricer to mash your potatoes.  If you don't have a ricer use a potato masher but be careful not to over mash otherwise the potatoes becomes gluttonous.

Add the three egg yokes, butter and nutmeg and with a fork mix in to the mash.

Place the mix into a piping bag, be careful not to overfill, with a large star tube. Pipe into Duchesses shapes, need to make small rotary moves.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C until edges turn slightly brown