Meal 80 - September 28th - Blackened Chicken, San Fran Quinoa Salad
In a moment of potentially disastrous judgement, several months ago Lolz and I signed up to the Ealing Half Marathon, either forgetting or ignoring the fact that it would be happening just days after my sister's wedding. In a typical week prior to a half marathon, I would ensure I was well hydrated by drinking lots of water, I'd ease off the alcohol, go for a couple of short, easy runs, and do a bit of carb loading in the few days prior to the race. Unfortunately this tried an tested regime was abandoned in favour of lots of meat, booze, dancing and general unhealthiness. Lolz had conveniently sustained an injury forcing her to pull out of the race by this point but, I, being much more hard core, would be seeing it through. After getting home from the pub on Saturday afternoon, I decided it was time for a healthy pre-race meal. I opted for this salad, full of quinoa, spinach, lean chicken and other energy-boosting goodness.
25 Sept 2013
Moroccan Bream, Couscous, Pomegranate and Harissa
Meal 79 - September 25th - Moroccan Bream, Couscous, Pomegranate and Harissa
A weekend away forced a brief hiatus on my 15 minute meal challenge but it was nonetheless a weekend with several noteworthy events of the culinary kind. We were headed down to Cornwall for my sister's wedding and being a journey of several hundred miles, we stopped en route several times. The first stop was at a service station in a town called Wincanton, for petrol. We popped into the adjoining Morrison's for a bit of liquid refreshment and I couldn't believe what I saw. Let me just explain first of all that Wincanton is a small town with a population of about four thousand. According to the Wikitravel website, it's third most popular attraction is the A303 bypass. Morrison's, meanwhile, is generally regarded a fairly downmarket chain of supermarket. And yet in this Morrison's in sleepy Wincanton I was greeted by an array of fresh fruit and veg to rival even the finest supermarket we came across in the Loire Valley a couple of months ago. It even had a little sprinkler system to keep the produce refreshed.
17 Sept 2013
Green Tea Salmon, Coconut Rice and Miso Greens
Meal 78 - September 17th - Green Tea Salmon, Coconut Rice and Miso Greens
I don't often venture east on my holidays but a few years ago I went to Japan where I got to experience all the culinary weird-and-wonderful-ness that they have to offer. My staple diet on that trip, like that of most Japanese people, was rice, noodles and soup. There were however two paticular things that stick out in my mind. One is staying at a ryokan in Kyoto where the proprietor (who was also the chef) insisted on cooking us a "Western" style breakfast every morning. His interpretation of a Western style breakfast would be, for example, a boiled egg with some chopped tomato and a side of sliced apple. Individually, all the elements would be quite typical "western" foods, but they would be things that you would never typically put together. Despite all the amazing, fresh, cheap sushi I ate, those breakfasts were probably the culinary highlight of the trip. The other is that everything seemed to be available in green tea flavour.
I don't often venture east on my holidays but a few years ago I went to Japan where I got to experience all the culinary weird-and-wonderful-ness that they have to offer. My staple diet on that trip, like that of most Japanese people, was rice, noodles and soup. There were however two paticular things that stick out in my mind. One is staying at a ryokan in Kyoto where the proprietor (who was also the chef) insisted on cooking us a "Western" style breakfast every morning. His interpretation of a Western style breakfast would be, for example, a boiled egg with some chopped tomato and a side of sliced apple. Individually, all the elements would be quite typical "western" foods, but they would be things that you would never typically put together. Despite all the amazing, fresh, cheap sushi I ate, those breakfasts were probably the culinary highlight of the trip. The other is that everything seemed to be available in green tea flavour.
14 Sept 2013
Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach and Naan Salad
Meal 77 - September 14th - Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach and Naan Salad
To be honest I'm not sure whether my cooking has really improved over the course of this year but I have certainly learned a few things. One is to cook the "Jamie Oliver way": multitasking, battling the clock, showing a little flamboyance but complete disregard for whoever will be doing the washing up. I have also become very well acquainted with my local supermarket - things like tikka paste, lentils, cashew nuts - I can find them with my eyes closed. If only Supermarket Sweep hadn't ended back in 2007 - I'd have been nailed on for the jackpot. Although that would have meant interacting with Dale Winton.
To be honest I'm not sure whether my cooking has really improved over the course of this year but I have certainly learned a few things. One is to cook the "Jamie Oliver way": multitasking, battling the clock, showing a little flamboyance but complete disregard for whoever will be doing the washing up. I have also become very well acquainted with my local supermarket - things like tikka paste, lentils, cashew nuts - I can find them with my eyes closed. If only Supermarket Sweep hadn't ended back in 2007 - I'd have been nailed on for the jackpot. Although that would have meant interacting with Dale Winton.
10 Sept 2013
Winter Squash Penne, Mint & Avocado Chopped Salad
Meal 76 - September 10th - Winter Squash Penne, Mint & Avocado Chopped Salad
It's not quite winter admittedly but I've taken to donning a jacket when I go to work and I make the rules so decided to have a bash at this wintery pasta recipe. We'd also received what was apparently a "pattipan squash" in our veg box and I thought I could substitute that in for the butternut squash. Upon further investigation, the pattipan variety is actually quite different to the butternut equivalent and is in fact more like a courgette, but I'm beyond worrying about such details so decided to press on regardless. To be fair this was another of the notorious "book exclusives" so god only knows how it might turn out.
It's not quite winter admittedly but I've taken to donning a jacket when I go to work and I make the rules so decided to have a bash at this wintery pasta recipe. We'd also received what was apparently a "pattipan squash" in our veg box and I thought I could substitute that in for the butternut squash. Upon further investigation, the pattipan variety is actually quite different to the butternut equivalent and is in fact more like a courgette, but I'm beyond worrying about such details so decided to press on regardless. To be fair this was another of the notorious "book exclusives" so god only knows how it might turn out.
5 Sept 2013
Jerk Pork, Grilled Corn and Crunch Tortilla Salad
Meal 75 - September 5th - Jerk Pork, Grilled Corn and Crunch Tortilla Salad
Other than dousing my chips in reggae reggae sauce, I couldn't really say that my cooking up to now has ventured much into the realm of the Caribbean. It's not that I don't like it - Jamie's Jerk Chicken recipe was one of my favourites in the 30 minute meals book - it just doesn't really get a lot of coverage over here. So I was quite excited to try out this 15 minute meal version and see whether it would really cut the mustard - or cut the scotch bonnet if you like.
Other than dousing my chips in reggae reggae sauce, I couldn't really say that my cooking up to now has ventured much into the realm of the Caribbean. It's not that I don't like it - Jamie's Jerk Chicken recipe was one of my favourites in the 30 minute meals book - it just doesn't really get a lot of coverage over here. So I was quite excited to try out this 15 minute meal version and see whether it would really cut the mustard - or cut the scotch bonnet if you like.
2 Sept 2013
Simple Spaghetti, Tomato, Basil and Creamy Curd Salad
Meal 74 - September 2nd - Simple Spaghetti, Tomato, Basil and Creamy Curd Salad
I'm a big fan of simplicity, in both a culinary sense and as a life choice. Unfortunately though, as a result of technicalities such as having to earn a living, pay taxes, plan for the future etc etc the latter is rarely possible. In the kitchen though, it's a different matter - anyone, regardless of emotional, mental or psychological clutter, can achieve culinary simplicity by using good quality, fresh ingredients and cooking them in the least complex way possible. This seemed to be the thinking behind this latest pasta meal I would be cooking.
I'm a big fan of simplicity, in both a culinary sense and as a life choice. Unfortunately though, as a result of technicalities such as having to earn a living, pay taxes, plan for the future etc etc the latter is rarely possible. In the kitchen though, it's a different matter - anyone, regardless of emotional, mental or psychological clutter, can achieve culinary simplicity by using good quality, fresh ingredients and cooking them in the least complex way possible. This seemed to be the thinking behind this latest pasta meal I would be cooking.
1 Sept 2013
Sticky Squid Balls, Grilled Prawns and Noodle Broth
Meal 73 - September 1st - Sticky Squid Balls, Grilled Prawns and Noodle Broth
September for me has always been a bit of a watershed month. It signifies the end of the summer holidays. The weather gets cooler, the days shorter. The countdown to Christmas begins. It's normally around this time I start to think (cue the miniature violins) of all my unfulfilled new years resolutions and what I still want to do before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. Today, I am particularly thinking of the 47 15 minute meals I still need to cook, at the rate of almost 12 per month. Given that I have never cooked more than 10 in a month, things are not looking promising. I was actually hoping to squeeze one more 15 minute meal into August in order to beat this record but unfortunately, my plan was scuppered by a night of semi-impromptu drinking, which ended with a trip to the chippie and a chicken shish kebab.
September for me has always been a bit of a watershed month. It signifies the end of the summer holidays. The weather gets cooler, the days shorter. The countdown to Christmas begins. It's normally around this time I start to think (cue the miniature violins) of all my unfulfilled new years resolutions and what I still want to do before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. Today, I am particularly thinking of the 47 15 minute meals I still need to cook, at the rate of almost 12 per month. Given that I have never cooked more than 10 in a month, things are not looking promising. I was actually hoping to squeeze one more 15 minute meal into August in order to beat this record but unfortunately, my plan was scuppered by a night of semi-impromptu drinking, which ended with a trip to the chippie and a chicken shish kebab.
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