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.
So what was meant to be dinner on Saturday turned out to be Sunday lunch and my first 15 minute meal in September. And it was certainly an interesting one - squid blitzed up in the food processor along with coriander, ginger and chilli and formed into balls. Like meat balls, but squid. Other than that, it followed the general south east Asian formula - chicken broth, noodles and a huge pile of veg. I actually reduced the quantities because I was only cooking for two, but it still barely fit in my pan. I don't understand why some meals, like the chicken fajitas I made recently, are barely enough for two, while some would probably feed a small village.
Anyway, assuming your processor is working it is an easy one to cook. The only problem is that the squid balls started falling apart a bit as they cooked but with a bit of gentle coaxing you can kind of squeeze them back together in the pan. It's probably also worth noting that the dish is incredibly similar to a number of others that I have already done - particularly the Lucky Squid (only difference is that the squid is intact) and black bean beef burgers (only difference is that you use beef instead of squid). I can't decide whether I feel short changed by this, but at least it has given me an opportunity to play around with presentation, which you may remember has been troubling me with previous noodle dishes.
Lolz actually found the squid balls a bit dry - we both agreed that the Lucky Squid was much nicer. She gave the dish 7/10. Difficulty rating 3/10.
My best guess as to the inconsistancies of the quantity of food is the nutritional guidelines. Have to keep things under a certain calorie & fat limit, I'm sure. So some seem better suited to a light lunch than a dinner, if you divide them the way Jamie instructs you to. Of course, I don't always. ;)
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