No average cheeseburger

Not much time for cooking today so we ended up with what is our standard cheeseburger. Most of the ingredients are as you would expect them to be with the exception of raw carrots. This is how it's put together:

Layers working upwards from bottom:

4 Hamburger breads
Ketchup / chili sauce
4 burgers
2 finely grated raw carrots
Cheese

Now they should look something like this:

Now it's time to put it under the grill for 10 - 15 mins (or until the cheese is done to your liking).

Once it's out of the oven, add lettuce, top piece of hamburger bread and that's it.

Sliced through:


The carrots might seem like a strange addition, but they add sweetness and increasing the amount of vegetables in anything is always a good idea. But, please note - they must be finely grated otherwise it's best to leave them out.

Enjoy

An addiction

obsession or just one of the major food groups...? ;-) If you haven't guessed already, it's chocolate! Gorgeous, wonderful, aromatic, smooth, delicious (ok, stop now!) chocolate... And in this case in the form of chocolate mousse. In fact, this recipe is a simple one that mainly involves whipping egg whites on one hand and melting chocolate on the other.. There's no whipped cream or gelatin or any of that, just a simple mix that'll be ready for consumption after a brief rest in the refrigerator. Ok, time to quit wasting time and get to the point.

100 g dark chocolate (46 % in this case)
5 tablespoons cream (any variety)
25 g butter
2 egg whites, whipped stiff

Optional: 1 tablespoon demerara sugar (the standard white stuff will also do nicely), this is simply in order to make it a little more child and family friendly. If however you prefer darker and richer omit the sugar and go for a 60 or 70% chocolate instead of the 46% used in this recipe). In fact, even the cream can be omitted for a darker richer mousse but if you omit the cream use 50 g butter instead of 25.

Over a low heat melt everything except the eggwhites and whisk until blended together and sugar is melted, should look something like this:

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Take the chocolate mix off the heat and let it cool down, making sure to stir regularly to keep it soft. Take a couple of spoonfulls of egg white and mix gently into the chocolate mix first to make it softer (this way the chocolate mix will be easier to fold into the egg whites). Next, the chocolate mix should be folded gently into the egg whites. Transfer to serving dish or individual cups, bowls or whatever and leave to set in refrigerator for as long as you're able to wait (which in this household means an hour or two).

(click pic for larger size)

If any of you are wondering why there isn't any whipped cream or gelatin in this recipe it's for the simple fact that I want as little interference with the taste of the chocolate as possible and whipped egg whites seem to accomplish that much better than either whipped cream or gelatin.

Enjoy

Cookiemonster and the Major and how the good for nothing lazy K. Aid got kicked out

The Major is a very hardworking member of this family that never refuses or objects to any job no matter how boring or whatever time it might be. His predecessor K. Aid didnt exhibit quite the same stamina and was therefore replaced by the Major after only a few months. K. Aid was much more fashionable and stylish then the Major will ever be, but there isn't much point in looking the part if you're unable to perform your duties properly and K. Aid didn't have anywhere near the power, capacity, capabilities or drive that I had been misled to believe. So, refusing to put up with K. Aid's laziness for a moment longer he was kicked out and the Major promptly took over all the duties of K. Aid and so far has performed every one of them to a standard that is above and beyond the call of duty.

The Major:

And here, posted as a warning is the lazy, good for nothing K. Aid:






















And, here is Cookiemonster - trying to sneak off in order to avoid getting her pic taken, almost succeeded but she wasn't quite fast enough so here she is for all to see:

Appearances can be deceiving

is the thought that struck me as I was preparing todays dinner, spicy meatballs with cream sauce, rice and a side salad. Basically, frying the meatballs nicely golden they look pretty much as you'd expect, but once they're covered by the cream they lose their golden and highly appetising appearance. When it comes to taste though there are few things that can beat them.


















(click pic for large size)

2 packages (800 g) minced beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 dl milk
2 tablespoons starch (potato or corn etc)
1 heaped teaspoon baharat
1 egg
Oil/margarine for frying
3 - 4 dl cooking cream (or whichever type you prefer)

You can do this by hand if you want - I prefer the Major's help. Mix beef and salt well, then add milk, starch, baharat and egg. Mix well.

Next you need to get a frying pan ready and also a heavy bottomed casserole. Frying pan should be on max heat, dont forget to add the oil/margarine to it and add the cream to the casserole and keep the casserole on low heat.

Once the frying pan is hot, get a tablespoon and drop spoonfuls of the meat mix into the pan. Meatballs should not be cooked through, they should only be fried until they are nicely golden on both sides. As soon as they are golden on the outside, transfer them to the waiting casserole (to which you should already have added the cream). When all meatballs are in the casserole cover with tightfitting lid and leave for 10 mins to cook through (still on low heat).

Serve with rice and any salad. Shown on pic is plain basmati, salad is just tomatoes, cucumbers and koriander (cilantro), dressed with limejuice, oil, salt and black pepper.

Enjoy

Baharat

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A spice blend whose composition differs from country to country. Tess Mallos' The Complete Middle East Cookbook has an excellent recipe:

1/2 cup black peppercorns
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cassia bark
1/4 cup cloves
1/3 cup cumin
2 teaspoons cardamom seeds
4 whole nutmegs
1/2 cup ground paprika

Grind whole spices, make sure everything is well mixed and store in airtight jar and use as needed.

Big fat Udon noodles

Yet another simple meal, simple boiled udon noodles and sauteed vegetables, omelette and Japanese pickles.

















(click on pic for large size)

Approx 300 g Ishimaru thick Udon noodles
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks or grate with lemon zester
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, boiled
1 omelette (made from 3 eggs), sliced finely
Leek, green part finely sliced
Japanese Shittake Konbu pickles (mushroom & kelp)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons neutral oil

Boil noodes in salted water together with frozen peas, drain. Saute carrot in oil (sesame + neutral) until it softens slightly, then add leek, cook for another minute or so, then add omelette, keep stirring just long enough to let the omelette get heated.

Add the noodles and peas to the rest of the vegetables and also add a tablespoon of the pickles, mix well to get the pickles evenly distributed throughout. Should serve 2.

Enjoy

Something fishy

Somewhat inspired by both onigiri and stuffed rice balls rolled in sesame salt, the result was this:




















(click pic for large size)

Rice/fish mixture:

Cooked cold rice (2.5 dl uncooked basmati)
10 sliced smoked salmon, finely chopped
125 g cream cheese, black pepper type
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
5 tablespoons cream (any kind, or creme fraice or sour cream etc)


Sesame salt for coating:

8 parts sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 part salt (I used maldon)
Breadcrumbs, freshly toasted

Sesame seeds and salt shold be given a quick whiz in a spice grinder, keeping in mind that you dont want powder but a coarse mix. In a bowl mix 1 part ground sesame seed/salt mix with 3 parts fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, mayo, cream and stir until smooth. Add salmon and mix well again. Add boiled rice and mix well (depending on how dry the mix turns out you might not want to use all the rice). The mix should make about 16 balls or so, using oiled hands to form the mix into balls will make it easier. After shaping, roll in sesame salt and you're done.

Fast food aka noodles

To everyone whose only experience with noodles are those awful cardboard noodles (otherwise known as instant noodles), you have my deepest sympathy. They might work well as a stomach filler which is what they were designed for in any case, but noodles are so much more than those. The variety of noodles is almost endless, unfortunately I live in a part of the world where there isn't a lot of variety in this area which is where Internet shopping comes in. Most of the noodles consumed in this household are delivered by mail from Japan Centre, we also use some amount of chinese noodles (mostly egg noodles and rice noodles), but they are easily available here.

Time to get to the point maybe? Ok, the only condition for todays dinner was maximum amount of flavour in minimum amount of time and that's where the noodle entered the picture.

Took about 5 mins to get the vegetables chopped, noodles and seasonings ready.


















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For two:

200 grammes of Soba Noodles with Yam Extract
2 carrots, sliced into fat matchstick shapes
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
Leek, green part (about 10 cm)
Chinese cabbage, 3 large leaves (stem removed, green part sliced finely)
Thai fish sauce (just shy of 2 teaspoons)
Oyster sauce, 4 tablespoons
Water, 6 tablespoons

Boil noodles in salted water. As soon as you've put the noodles in boiling water, start sauteeing the carrots in the oil (sesame + neutral) over high heat. When they start to soften slightly add the leeks and saute for another minute. Add the chinese cabbage, keep stirring for another minute. Then pull the casserole off the heat, add water, fish sauce and oyster sauce, mix well.

Drain noodles. Put noodles on deep plates for serving, add the vegetable mix to the noodles and take care that all the liquid from the vegetables is also added to the plates and everything is mixed well. Enjoy.


















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Warm potato salad

This was actually the first attempt at making something new with my recently arrived Nanami Togarashi, the combination of this with potatoes and vegetables turned out to be an excellent one and can be varied depending on whatever you might have available in the fridge. This was lunch on a day when I wanted something tasty in a hurry:


















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Feeds 2:

1 avocado
3 large potatoes, sliced approx 1 cm thick
2 tomatoes
small package of sweetpeas, each cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1 red onion sliced into wedges
3 different types of lettuce (rocket, lollo rosso and gem lettuce)
oil/butter (or margarine)
Salt
Pepper
Nanami Togarashi

Saute potatoes in the oil/butter mix until they start getting tender, take care that they do not brown. Add about a cup of water (which will keep them from browning/sticking as well). At this point I usually add salt to taste, freshly gound black pepper and the Nanami Togarashi. Once potatoes are done, add red onions. Continue sauteing whilst stirring carefully until onions start turning transparent then add sweetpeas. A couple of minutes more and it's done. Distribute on two plates, add 1/2 avocado on each plate + lettuce and tomates. Enjoy.

Muffins

These are made from a basic recipe given to me by someone else, it's an excellent recipe that can be varied almost indefinitely. And for those of you that like them plain they're equally delicious plain. The ones on the below picture were made by adding chopped walnuts and apricots to the basic recipe:


















(click on pic for large size)

Basic recipe

500g sugar
500g butter
10 eggs
500g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder

Cream sugar and butter and add eggs one by one. Mix baking powder and flour together and then add to the rest of the mix little by little.

Fill the moulds about 3/4 full.


















(click on pic for large size).

Bake at 200 degrees C for approx 15 mins (or until done).

My variation this time: 250 g chopped walnuts + 250 g chopped apricots were added after the flour/baking powder.

Whether using original recipe or any variation (yours or mine), enjoy!

Almonds...

Has to be one of Gods most perfect foods, equally suitable for spicy dishes as well as for the most wonderful sweets, not to mention just eating them as they are whether fresh from the tree while the outer shell is still soft or dried as more commonly found. Add some sugar and orange to the almonds and it doesnt get much better than this:


















(click on pic for large size)

1 kg ground almonds (no need to remove the skins)
850 g sugar (as fine as possible)
500 g powdered sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
grated peel of 2 - 3 oranges (3 will give more intense flavour, 2 more subtle)
8 egg whites
4 teaspoons essence of almonds

Mix almonds with sugar, 350 g powdered sugar, baking powder and orange peel. Beat egg whites with almond essence until soft peak stage, stir egg whites into the almond mixture (this will be heavy, the mix will be quite firm).

Form oval or torpedo shapes about 5 cm long, roll in the remaining powedered sugar, flatten slightly and place on lined baking sheet. Dont place them too close to each other as they will spread slightly.

Whatever powdered sugar is remaining should be sifted over the top of the cookies. You can leave them to dry for 2 - 3 hours before baking at 150 deg C for 30 mins. This will give a cookie that is crisp on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside.

Cool completely and store airtight.

Note: This recipe makes quite a few (too many for most normal families at least), but they can be frozen before baking. Just shape and roll them in powdered sugar and then freeze them. Whenever needed, thaw and bake according to directions.

Potatoes and lamb

I love potatoes in just about every shape and form except boiled - starting point for this dish was a couple of potatoes, some sweetpeas and lamb, this was the result:

















(click on pic for full size)

2 large Potatoes, sliced to approx 1 cm or little less
Oil + butter (or margarine)
1 Red onion, sliced as orange wedges
1 small package sweet peas each one cut in two or three pieces
1 sweet red pepper, thickly sliced
4 different types of lettuce (radicchio rosso sliced, mache leaves separated and lollo rosso and frisee torn)
Salt
Pepper
Nanami Togarashi

Lamb, 3 - 400 g, thinly sliced
2 - 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 - 3 tablespoons sesame seed oil (dark brown, roasted)
2 - 3 tablespoons neutral oil (corn, sunflower etc)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
More cooking oil for frying
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

First, prepare the meat which should be marinated for at least a couple of hours before cooking. Mix soy sauce and oils well, add bicarbonate of soda and mix well again and immediately add thinly sliced lamb. Mix everything well and leave for a couple of hours. The bic. might sound strange but it tenderizes the meat more efficiently than anything you might buy at your local supermarket (and it's cheaper and works equally well for all types of meat and poultry).

While the meat is marinading, prepare/slice vegetables and wash lettuce.

Saute potatoes in oil/butter mix until they start getting tender, take care that they do not brown. Add about a cup of water (which will keep them from browning/sticking as well). At this point I usually add salt to taste, freshly gound black pepper and the Nanami Togarashi. Once potatoes are done, add red onions. Continue sauteing whilst stirring carefully until onions start turning transparent, then add sweet red peppers and sweetpeas. A couple of minutes and this part is done - pull the potato/vegetable mix aside.

Now, add a little oil to a heavy frying pan, fry the lamb (over high heat) until it nicely golden/browned. Turn down the heat, add a couple of tablespoons of sesame seeds, mix well and fry for a couple more minutes. Pull aside.

Take the already cleaned lettuce and mix with the now slightly cooled potato/vegetable mix, distribute on two plates, put equal amounts of the lamb on top and enjoy!

From Geocities to blogger....

I admit it, my old webpage was an embarrassment. The decision to remove it from the web and re-do every single calorie in this format is the best one ever made. Although I admit to maybe having been just a tad optimistic, it is taking forever. So, for the sake of at least being up and running again I'm just going to get the food started and everything from the old page will be here when it gets here (but dont hold your breath).