Sunday 26 February 2012

Bright Spring flowers and a Herby Spring Broth...



As we slumber towards a more hopefully lighter and warmer March, brightened up with cheerful Spring flowers, we occasionally get halted with a seasonal cold or, if you are a male, according to some I could mention...you could suffer from ‘Man Flu’...

The Spring flowers are giving of their beautiful best.


 
I was doing so well through these winter months and feeling rather virtuous when very unexpectedly I was struck down by a head cold and hacking cough...where I picked this up, I don’t know...

I could, though, still enjoy the cheerful flowering Spring bulbs and could manage a little light weeding...


 
Time then to retreat to the comfy sofa, drape myself with a fleecy throw in front of that warming fire in the grate and do absolutely nothing...

Well ok, I might stir myself to make some soup...

After all, who else would be making it...

 
A Herby Comforting Broth For Those With Flu-or for those just suspecting they may have it...


 
When you are feeling poorly, all you want is comfort food and, if, in addition, there appears to include ingredients that may help to alleviate the symptoms, then, so much the better...

My Curry Leaf plants are over wintering indoors and occasionally drop their leaves so I didn’t want to waste them plus I wanted to use my Basil Tofu produced by Talifun-a very tasty tofu infused with basil and other herbs-obtainable from Waitrose. Other supermarkets are available...

1 onion-finely sliced
1 large carrot-finely chopped into batons
1 tsp of finely chopped fresh thyme
1 Pak Choi- finely sliced
150g Purple Sprouting Broccoli-finely sliced
1 plump clove of garlic-crushed
1large plump chilli-chopped-seeds included.
150g of basil tofu-diced
1 small glass of white wine
4 litres of vegetable stock
150 g sweet corn
100g soya beans
1 inch of fresh ginger –grated
Zest and juice of 1 lime
6 curry leaves
3 tsp of miso paste
2 tbsp of fresh coriander finely chopped
A little extra virgin rape seed oil

In a large wok, heat the oil then add the sliced onion, garlic and batons of carrot. As they gently turn golden brown then toss in a small glass of white wine and burn off the alcohol. 

Add the miso pasta to the stock and ladle in, together with the curry leaves, chopped chilli and chopped thyme. Add the sweet corn and soya beans.

Gently simmer for 15 minutes then add the chopped purple sprouting broccoli and grated ginger and continue to simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Add the diced basil tofu, and chopped Pak Choi and warm for a couple of minutes and then ladle into individual bowls topped with the zest of the lime and the chopped fresh coriander.

This is a hot spicy chilli broth full of spring greens and very deep wholesome, miso infused aromatic flavours-guaranteed to clear the tubes!!


 
For those with ‘man flu’ I do indeed have some sympathy...

I would recommend two bowls of broth followed by some gentle exercise...i.e. some digging!!



Back now to contemplating those lovely spring flowers...

A woman’s work is never done...



Friday 24 February 2012

Caribbean Curacao and Cookery Courses...


 

A short stop over to Caribbean Food and a look at British Cookery Courses...

Thank you so much to everybody for your very encouraging comments on my last post. I am so very grateful to all those who take the time to post a comment on my fledgling blog and an extra thank you to those who sign up to be a ‘follower’ of my blog-to those-a very big thank you indeed!!
Thanks to you all and I will keep posting...


Following onto my last post, the next island we visited was the beautiful island of Curacao. 



This island is again, part of the Caribbean Lesser or Leeward Antilles islands just off the South American, Venezuelan coastline.
 

Very much Dutch influenced with delightful old tall Dutch colonial houses painted in gentle, pastel colours. 

 
I was excited to visit this pretty island not least because I had signed up in anticipation to participate on a cookery course actually run on the island itself...

 
I love Caribbean food with its mixture of vibrant colours and exotic flavours and was eager to learn more.

The Caribbean has so much to offer in terms of abundant food.
Curacao is a delightful island and full of colour with an abundance of fruit and vegetables...

There is a wonderful floating market with boats tied up at the key side and selling directly to the customers...



However, the cookery course was indeed a huge, huge disappointment to me... 

I’m not going to mention any details as to where it was, who ran it, etc and will just say these are my own personal thoughts...

When I sign up for a course I do expect it to be well run i.e. participants  are met in a timely and friendly and hospitable manner and not left to stand for an hour in the exposed sun whilst the people involved in the course argue as to who is to transport you...

If, like myself, despite that you have given advance notice that you don’t cook or eat meat that you are not then made out to look awkward and difficult by the host in front of the others...

You are not then ‘told’ to cook certain dishes without any consideration of your own personal preferences or desires...

 The actual, so called recipes, involve readymade pastry, tinned fish and meat and shop brought spice mixes...

Very little is actually taught and you don’t come away with any sense of having learnt more about Caribbean cooking...

The whole event was being filmed to promote the person running the course...When I saw the rushes following the course it was ‘amazing’  how all mine and the other participants who were equally unhappy and had made adverse comments, had miraculously disappeared...

I did write a detailed letter of complaint, however, just received the standard letter of receipt back and nothing more...

Oh well, you live and learn...

Next time I visit, I will explore more of this colourful and picturesque island.



And now on the more positive and upbeat side, I am very much looking forward to attending various cookery courses here in Britain this year.

These include,

The Vegetarian Cookery Course at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir,  Cookery School http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/le_manoir.jsp

The Summer Preserves and Liquor Making at The Artisan School of Food.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage- Veg at the River Cottage

And finally a chocolate making course with the charismatic Jules James at the wonderful Black Mountain Gold in Wales.
 
I will, of course, let you all know how each one goes...


Here’s hoping for a positive and enjoyable experience at each...

Saturday 18 February 2012

The Sunny Caribbean and a Very Wet Wales...



This time last year I was in the sunny Caribbean...and today I am in a very wet Wales...
Guess where I would like to be at the moment...

I was lucky enough to visit a number of Islands, and one of which was the little known island of Bonaire which was originally part of the Netherlands Antilles. Lying just off the coast of Venezuela, it is part of both the Caribbean and South America.  

Bonaire is famous for its flamingos which are a wonderful pink in colour due to their diet of crustaceans and who haunt the quiet salt flats and lush mangroves of the island.

 
The salt works are still working, with each lake slowly evaporating the moisture from the sea salt until it is able to be harvested and collected.




 
Unfortunately the past history of Bonaire included the prolific and dreadful use of slaves to work the salt. Their sad history can still be seen in the now derelict and abandoned slave huts along the beaches.


 
Each were built deliberately low so everybody had to stoop and housed many slaves with little in the way of amenities.

Along the coastline now flies the occasional, solitary, stately pelican.


 
And then there is the exciting and volatile geysers that rumbles underground and then suddenly pop out of the rocks just to liven things up!!



 
And just when you thought it was quiet-up it goes again!


 
Scary but absolutely fantastic!!

Continuing on the salt theme, I would just like to say how important I think it is to use salt with a good provenance in your cooking. Salt should not be taken for granted...It is a precious resource. Great care needs to be taken to harvest it and good salts will be distinctive and add so much to a dish.

 I always try to use a salt from a given place/source and whose production techniques are ethical and sound. Here in the UK, my three top salts are Maldon from Essex (www.maldonsalt.co.uk ), Anglesey (Halen Mon ) from Wales (halenmon.com) and Cornish (www.cornishseasalt.co.uk).

So onto today’s recipe...

I’m still going through the freezers and using up last year’s produce-so here is one I prepared earlier!!

I defrosted some for our lunch today and really enjoyed the bright colours in this bleak, rainy day.

Comforting  And Creamy  Coconut Vegetarian Laksa Lemak.


  The Welsh version accompanied by of course our Welsh national flower, the ever cheerful daffodil!


Laksa is defined as a spicy, aromatic noodle soup with a wonderful tasty coconut base. Its origins are probably down to a delicious mix of Chinese and Malay influences but there are many, many variations and it is quite rightly, hugely popular worldwide! 

Recipes for Laksa Lemak all seems to have in common, coconut, lemon grass, chilli and noodles. How you put them together, though, relies on your own personal preference!

Some permutations will use seafood i.e. prawns and others meat, i.e. chicken. My version here is vegetarian. Now before all you carnivores start panicking-it is really rather wonderful and full of complex flavours and textures-and just well...sublime...

 I have used Basil Tofu- Taifun Organic Basil Tofu- a wonderful, extremely tasty and succulent Tofu which I can purchase easily from Waitrose. I have also made it using Paneer Cheese; I use Clawson Paneer Cheese-again widely available in the UK, including Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Though of course you can make your own homemade Paneer Cheese...recipes at a later date from my Blog...

What I have found from making it numerous times, it that it hugely benefits from being made in two parts, with the first part being left for several hours-at least four to six hours, though longer if you can, to allow the flavours to thoroughly meet and introduce themselves to each other.

You can also vary which type of noodles to use depending on personal preference-here I have used the thin vermicelli which seems to go beautifully with the succulent shape and texture of the rest of the ingredients.

Cutting the Basil Tofu or the Paneer into thin matchstick pieces also seems to add the taste experience somehow... 

The flavours are amazing with layer upon layer to tease the taste buds. The texture is also sublime with the contrasting, comforting soft noodles and the crunchy water chestnuts linked together with the creamy, spicy, succulent soup...

It also freezes beautifully, ready to be savoured and enjoyed another day...

Do please give this a try!

For those chilli fanatics amongst you, you can spice it up yet further with a spoonful of extra zing of Chilli Sambal on top on the day!

And now to the recipe...

First, make sure you have prepared all the ingredients before you start cooking...it is a bit of a faff but well worth it!!

For The Initial Spice Mix...

Two inches of fresh ginger-peeled and roughly chopped
Two generous fat cloves of garlic from my garden-again peeled and roughly chopped
2 red chillies-deseeded, membranes removed and thinly sliced-if you want extra heat then include the seeds!
1 stalk of lemon grass finally chopped
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp sea salt (I’m using Maldon Sea salt at the moment for its wonderful taste)

For The Beginning Of The Soup

1 tbsp Cold Pressed Extra Virgin British Rapeseed Oil (I’m using Hill Farm)
2 fat shallots from my garden or you could use a medium sized onion-finally chopped
1 red pepper-deseeded and thinly sliced
1 tin of coconut milk or a small tin of coconut cream made up to 400ml with water
750 ml of milk
4 lime leaves
4 curry leaves
2 Pak Choi thinly sliced
1 tbsp Tamari or light Soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
Grated rind and juice of one lime

For The Grand Finale Of The Topping Of The Soup

285 g Basil Tofu or Paneer Cheese-cut into thin matchsticks-I find the particular cut of the tofu greatly influences the mouth feel and overall enjoyment of the dish
4 spring onions from the garden, roughly chopped
1 tin of water chestnuts cut into half or a bag of bean sprouts again chopped in half
200g rice vermicelli
1 bunch of coriander roughly chopped 
Your favourite Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Part one

Blend the spices except for the turmeric and salt to a smooth paste in a pestle with a little oil.
In a large wok, heat a little oil and gently fry the chopped shallots/onions until just golden brown –be careful not to overcook.
Add the spice paste and gently cook for another couple of minutes to release all the flavours-there should now be a warming spicy aroma in the kitchen...
Add the red pepper and stir fry for a further couple of minutes then add the coconut and water, turmeric, lime and curry leaves.
Bring slowly to the boil and then gently simmer. If possible turn off the heat and leave for 4-6 hours to allow the flavours to mature.

Part Two

Bring back gently to the boil and add the Pak Choi, tamari, sugar and simmer for a few minutes. Add the rice vermicelli and lime zest and juice.
Cook for a further couple of minutes then add the coriander, Tofu or Paneer, spring onions, water chestnuts/bean sprouts and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Taste and adjust for seasoning with your preferred salt and pepper.
Serve in warmed bowls- perhaps accompanied with steamed purple sprouting broccoli and warmed homemade bread to dunk in that truly succulent and unctuous aromatic soup...





 
So on this dull and rainy day in Wales, I can, just about remember back to a year ago, in the sunny Caribbean with its beautiful blue coloured seas and pink flamingos...


Tuesday 14 February 2012

A Bundle of Burmese Kittens...


So what do you call a litter of Burmese kittens...apart from trouble!




 
Blue Belle’s kittens are just four weeks now and have given up being good, nicely behaved kittens, happy to remain in their kitten box...they now want to explore!!

Blue Belle is the perfect mum...



 
So laidback and gentle and very attentive to her brood...



 
But these little ones are keen to start exploring the big wide world...first, though, a quick play with mum’s foot and tail...



 
Next step-world domination!!