Good hot, cold in a wrap or bun with a salad, or on rice. I ate these with shredded cabbage, a light tahini dressing, a squeeze of lemon and some coriander yesterday. Yummy.
Spiced Lentil Cakes
Continue reading “The Red Folder”
A quick and simple guide to cooking and eating lentils
As a vegetarian, I am continually asked what I eat. Not in a, how do you get your protein way, literally most conversations go something like this:
Me: Oh… No thanks
Meat Eater: Sure, they’re tasty?
Me: Thank you, no.
Meat Eater: Go on, there’s plenty here.
Me: No thank you, sorry, I’m a vegetarian,
Meat eater: Do you eat chicken?
Me: No
Meat Eater: Fish?
Me: No, nothing with a face.
Meat Eater……..Oh….what do you eat then?
Me: Well a combination of nuts grains, vegetables, fruit, pulses……mostly.
Meat Eater and now usually with an on looker. Snigger, what’s a pulse?
Continue reading “The Green Folder”
This says it all
I remember this picture, I had been sunbathing and someone shouted smile. I jumped up and tried to cover myself. The shutter clicked, a second of my life, captured. I screamed and ran around the beach laughing trying to get my image back. There was no delete button then, it was done, I hid my camera. I must have been about 20, embarrassed by everything. I throw the picture back into the pile and rifle through the others, my past has paused my present.
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Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake – it’s addictiveThe best ever slice
I will not lie, this brownie makes a lot of washing up and requires that you grease and line the tin and grease it again. You also have to make a nerve racking call on when it is ready to come out of the oven, then wait patiently while is cools and sets. Normally this amount of work and effort would send this recipe to the archives. When I am making it, I huff and puff and wonder why. Then when it is done and the first slice is cut and tasted I remember why. Nearly everyone who bakes asks me for the recipe once they have eaten a piece. Trust me it is worth the effort and the steps are actually very easy.
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Is coconut oil good for you?
Kids, I am now writing this down. Eating a variety of foods, in suitable amounts, from all four food groups, that’s carbohydrates, dairy, protein, fruit and veg, will go a long way towards keeping you healthy. Just to be clear, a portion of fruit or veg is about the amount that you can hold in one hand, not a couple of peas and it’s two fruit, three vegetables. Theories change but apart from some nutritional changes this rule has stood the test of time.
Continue reading “The Advice Safe”
I recently had to produce dozens and dozens of meringues, which all had to look and eat the same. There are many variations but this is my go to recipe as it is stable and has never once failed me. It produces a meringue with a crisp shell and soft chewy center. Once made these meringues can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week. The variations are endless, dip them in melted chocolate, swirl a fruit puree through the mixture before spooning out. Stack them high, smash them for Eton Mess. You can top with a hazelnut spread and chopped nuts, colour them with freeze dried fruit powder. Pipe the mixture and sandwich together with curd of cream….as I said, endless.
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My husband is on the waiting list because death is not imminent and our medical insurance does not cover what ails him. I have just been to the doctors and paid $55 to be told the mole that has appeared on the back of my thigh is not going to end my life but marks the end of my youth. A full stop. Apparently, at my age these things start to appear, I do not have to worry about death, just the slow decline. Potentially this is depressing news.
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As you know by now a recipe only goes in the Red Folder when it has been tried and tested and asked for repeatedly. I recently supplied a little staff dinner for 35 and chose an aubergine and beef curry from my red bible. It’s a Malaysian dish, the food from Malaysia is a rich blend of Chinese, Indian and of course, Malay. Together these influences blend to make subtle and deep flavours which are not at once familiar. For this reason, I was worried about serving it. I nearly went for a clay pot chicken which I have marked with a big red star at some point.
Anything in pastry sells at the canteen, so parcels of yummy, regularly appear on the menu, they sell out fast. I alway use a triangle shape when using filo because it is easy, cooks well and has great plate appeal. I churn them out without thinking but people are always asking me how to do it. It seems so simple, I feel silly doing this but I guess unless you have been shown, you do not know. Here we go then. Kids make a batch of these, eat them hot, cold, dinner, lunch or picnic.
Continue reading “The Red Folder”
Crowded Mind 