Yet again, my obsession with America and it’s food got the better of me last night and I just had to make Sloppy Joe’s. I’ll never forget once watching Adam Sandler’s “Billy Madison”, I was probably about 13 and I thought this movie was the funniest thing I had ever seen. One thing I’ll never forget was Billy and his primary school friends eating Sloppy Joe’s in the cafeteria. They didn’t look advertising at all and were served by a disturbing lunch lady, but I was intrigued. I begged my mom to allow me to make them. She reluctantly agreed but tried very hard to get me to add onions, carrots and…
Posts Tagged ‘Vegetables’
During the colder months, sometimes all you need to warm your tummy is a bowl of good soup and a chunk of crusty bread. There is no easier meal during the winter months than soup, even if it takes a while to cook. And if you have a slow-cooker, then you have even less excuse. When making soups, it’s very important to remember that the two main components that make up the soup, need to be of the best quality you can afford. In this case, the vegetables I chose are in season and organic. I do understand that buying organic isn’t cheap and I am definitely not going to…
I am really not a fan of Cottage Pie. You see, I like a bit of texture to my food. I like when there’s something I can bite into or something that adds a bit of crunch, and with Cottage Pie, well there just isn’t. It’s all a bit baby food-y to me. So when one of my readers asked me for an easy cottage pie recipe, I was a bit disappointed because I knew I would have to make it to see if it was really easy and really delicious. I started thinking of ways to amp up the flavour but keep the cooking time to a minimum and…
I am a huge fan of the whole “Meatless Monday” movement. My family (especially the men other than my husband) are not. They believe that “Meat is meat and a man must eat” and that chicken is a side dish. My dad has started to come around to the idea and my husband went on a bit of a Meat Strike when he was younger so he doesn’t mind too much either. But my uncles and cousins just don’t get why I’m even trying to do vegetarian meals. Phrases like “bunny food” and “hippie nonsense” are often heard when I talk about Meatless Mondays. Nevertheless, I will not stop with…
First of all, I’d like to congratulate Kiara Rossouw for winning Justin Bonello’s, Cooked Weekends Away. The book is on it’s way Kiara! If you didn’t win last week, don’t despair. This week we are giving away Antony Worrall Thompson’s GI Diet, thanx to Penguin Publishers. This really is a great book to have if you’re looking at eating healthier but not sure where to start. The book discusses the Low GI Diet in depths and gives a detailed list of low, medium and high GI foods. It also gives you loads of tips on how to make ordinary dishes low gi etc.The Recipes range from fabulous breakfast ideas like…
I always find it quite amusing how people start acting at the beginning of Spring. All of a sudden the gym’s are packed, the lines at the drive-thru’s are shorter and people are buying a whole truck load more fresh veg and fruit. Ok, the latter might be because the fruit and veg this time of year are just sublime. Fresh, crisp and green vegetables like sugar snap peas, asparagus and courgettes make it so easy to want to be healthy. That’s why I took full advantage of the seasonality of these vegetables (except for the Asparagus as I couldn’t find any..go figure), and use them in a wonderful warm…
As soup is a regular feature on our weekly menu’s, I find I struggle sometimes to come up with new ideas. Not that my favourites aren’t good enough, I just like trying new things. I try to do a soup a week and I alternate between smooth and chunky to keep things interesting. Last night I had NO idea what I was going to cook and I wasn’t feeling very inspired so I just used the carrots, potatoes and tiny bit of butternut I had in the fridge. I was trying to pull the creativity out of myself while it was cooking and it only came once I had puree’d…
As you might remember, I posted about the wonderful thing that is pastry last week. And I promised I would post my recipe for Chicken Pie. My first memories of Chicken Pie involves my gran, Sundays and a table buckling under the weight of the amazing spread she used to prepare for us. My gran’s chicken pie was always just the way it should be. Loads of filling with crisp and light pastry with a hint of cloves and nutmeg. Comfort is personified in my gran’s chicken pie. And although I don’t always follow her recipe, mine is not too shabby! I like to add different vegetables to my Chicken…
I know this looks like lasagna, but I assure you, it’s Canneloni. As you’ll recall, I love stuffing things. Poultry, vegetables and pasta are my favourites. And because I haven’t stuffed anything (other than my face) in the last few weeks, I thought it’s about time. I don’t like stuffing Canneloni with a bolognese type sauce, as I feel that really makes it too similar to lasagna and you might as well save yourself the time and do it that way. So I decided on doing another vegetarian meal and used my beloved butternut & Feta. So off I went roasting the butternut, mashing it with feta cheese and loads…
Coq au Vin, like Boeuf Bourguignon, has been one of those dishes that I’ve been dying to make. Just the name conjures up images of the beautiful French country side, a mother lovingly chopping, sauteing and cooking a big pot of stew for her family. The whole family coming together and dunking crusty pieces of Baguette into all the rich, wine-flavoured juices. Of course, the picture back at home is a little bit different. Not only don’t I stay in the beautiful French country side but I also don’t have time to marinade the chicken for at least 24 hours, then brown it before adding back the marinade, frying the…
