2010

Well today is the last day of the year,so i have been bought up to believe.

I have had no luck with my car hunting,people want ridiculous amounts for cars  would be embarrased to advertise.
& i am now officially fed up and not car hunting ...kinda.


But anyways,readers,that read this blog,wishing u a very happy and prosperous foodie 2010.
eat well :D
drink better :D
Sleep it all off and enjoy :)
Most of all,a hugeourmous thankyou!! for helping me :D and making my blog what it is :D


Bigarade.x

Easy Peasy Vegeterian friendly starter or snack

okay so today is boxing day and ive actually got a day off work!!

been so busy,snowed under by massess of beautiful snow,in and out of work like theres no tomorrow but now,i have time,and im here.

Dedicated little girl arent i.

i was meant to be doing a give away but i mislaid my prize in my loft some place whilst tidying decorations. im one of those people who tidies to the extent i can no longer find anything.

So here i sit with a tube of benedicts chocolate,The bitter orange with a hint of chilli,Delicious they are DELICIOUS!

So ive opened all my presents in a excitement fuelled frenzy,ive got cook books :D a filofax a few bags ,clothes vouchers, money...

and i come bearing a recipe for you,

its a bit festive,and late i know!

but ive been so busy.

Its a Cranberry and stilton pate.

It's lovely!!

You will need,

100g Stilton (or another blue cheese)

15 g fresh cranberries

100g cream cheese

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Good pinch coarse cracked black pepper

This is so simple!

All you do,is line  a mould with cling film.

cook your cranberry in a bit of water,only about a table spoon,until soft.

mix all your ingredients togeether and fill the mould

Chill and serve! i finished mine with a cranberry butter!!

you dont even have to put it into a mould! you could put it into little bowls or make little quenneles :D

Thai salmon cakes

mmmm.I love fish & sea food and one of my favourite fish dishes are Thai salmon fish cakes!
Theyre so simple and absolutley delicious.
They can be served with whatever you wish.
My fave way to serve them is with a nice salad matchstick potatoes and yummy yellow or red sweet chilli sauce.
*drools over her keyboard*

So i thought i would share this recipe with you.
As it is nearly christmas lol.


you will need,

60g Salmon
5g Root Ginger
1 Clove of Garlic
2 tspn Nam Pla (fish sauce)
1 tbspn of chopped corriander
1 chilli
1 stick of lemon grass (prepared by removing the skin and tip)
squeeze of halfa lime
enough vegetable oil to shallow fry.
Wedge of lime to serve.

 I scaled these cakes to 6g each,i got 10 portions out of this mix.
*dratz!  forgot to add slat nto my ingredients list,Salt to taste peoples!*
These can easily be made smaller for little bites at a xmas party maybe.

you know i told you this is simple,it really is.

gather ones ingredients,like so.

Thennn,grind them all up,i just stuck mine in my veg chopper because i quite like little chunky bits(no im not being lazy this time,i generally like texture lol)

I added my corriander right towards the end,looks greener!

Like so.

I then did the same with my salmon,pulsed it a few times until it was kinda minced

but still chunky because other wise it willgo to sloppy and you wont be able to work with it.

Make your cakes and fry on a medium heat,you dotn want to obliterate the yummy salmon.

(also some recipes say coat your salmon cakes in cornflour,you can do this but i prefer miner au naturale,il save the cornflour for something else 8-) maybe some turkish delight mmm)

Mmmmm

sorry incase you didnt read it b4, MMMMMMM. 

GAME

Between September and February the British menus are spewing brilliance,with seasonal dishes using locally caught game.
My family eat a lot of game,we've had a game keeper in the family for donkies years,so I don’t think I appreciate it as much as people who don’t eat it as much as me.
But it’s a beautiful thing!
Im extremely lucky,not only because of our game keeper,but because I live somewhere,where local,sustainable produce is available readily,for those who are willing to use it.
& nothing can beat game,it is in its own league of excellence,whether it be Duck or venison,Hare or rabbit,or maybe pigeon or pheasant.
Game has a very low fat content,probably because it is wild & able to run around happily.
It’s easy to cook,but can be expensive when bought oven ready,I think.
Your thinking,”shutttttttup”,sorry.
I was rambling but this rambling has meaning!
the other day ) at college we had a guy visit us from a local farmers market ( I hope that’s right)
And basically he bought us game to play with.
Ok,not play but he came to enlighten our minds.
We learnt about catching game,hanging it and then plucking and drawing the guts out of it.
Sounds awful doesn’t it, im sorry vegeterian readers,if you are a vegeterian or animal lover,id stop reading now,personally.

This is a Duck we plucked,
Im not all that heartless,I felt really bad 
It as sooo cute and fluffy.
But duck is tasty,so its all a really big mess!But I suppose it’s the same for other meat too!
But I don’t know why I actually enjoyed this,i love the whole catch it kill it eat it scenario.
Its like history and science and culinary delight all in one realm.
See there I go rambling again.
Buut seriously guys,next time your eating out,and you see game don’t give it a miss.
Try it,love it.obviously not you,vegetarian readers.


I may post a game recipe.


The end.

Colcannon potatoes

Colcannon potatoes are irish mashed potatoes,Theyre laced with leeks and scallions and cabbage,& just general yummyness,the kind of yummyness you appreciate when your frozen and starving.

Theyre great on their own or with a casserole.Lovely with sausages and gravy,we all love gravy now don’t we!

 This served 6 rather large portions!!

10g butter

Drizzle of veg oil ( just to stop the butter burning)

25g Leeks

10g Scallions

20g Shredded Savoy Cabbage

Mash

100g Potatoes

20g Butter

Cream or milk (your choice but creamy mash is lovley mash!)

Plenty of seasoning ( I used cracked black pepper & sea salt)

(My gorgeous orange knife!! <3 )

Blanch your savoy & set aside.

Peel & boil your potatoes,set aside.

Right,its best to use a wok,but I used a frying pan that was a little to small ( there goes my lazyness,getting the better of me again!).Add you 1 lot of your butter,& your oil.Alow to get hot, then add your blanched cabbage,after about a minute add your leeks and scallions.

Give it a good old mix.

Keep it going until you start to notice some parts going brown,Its all flavour I say!

When you feel happy with the look of your mix,set it aside.

Mash your potatoes,Give them a good old mash,Season,add your cream and butter!

Then mix in your cabbage mix.

Et voile.

Potatoes of the colcannon variety.