I have fenced myself dramatically into a corner! I'm currently involved in a study montage to the Rocky theme tune. It is taxing, but uplifting. Just joking. It's unadulterated hell. I have three major essays to research and write by Friday. So, I didn't post a recipe last Saturday. It's still coming! I'm pretending these two things are linked, but really I just forgot about the recipe. (I think I just blew my own pretense.)
How I came to be in this academic mire, I refuse to say. But it involved dragons.
Now, pluggage! Have you heard of The Ruby Pear? It's Rachael's beautiful new boutique up in Launceston. She had an interview in The Examiner last Saturday. She was kind enough to ask to stock a few of my products, which I'm naturally very happy about! I sent up a few scarves and bits of jewellery, and am furiously working on more. She has so much stuff from such talented designers there, I'm pleased as punch to be included. There are lovely photos to browse on her blog, with examples of all her wares. So, if you're in Launnie, check it out in Wellington Street!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ah, university...
you kill me with your books.
I unearthed a small stash of old vlogs of mine. Judging by the study matter, this one's about 10 months old. But the sentiment is TIMELESS. It is ETERNAL.
I don't actually lisp and stutter every time I say 'chess.' It was a freak accident.
I unearthed a small stash of old vlogs of mine. Judging by the study matter, this one's about 10 months old. But the sentiment is TIMELESS. It is ETERNAL.
I don't actually lisp and stutter every time I say 'chess.' It was a freak accident.
FOODZOR - Bean Tacos
Yesterday was Mother's Day - I think she had a lovely day, except that I had been captured by pirates on Saturday, and only made my daring escape today. Which is, incidentally, why my Saturday recipe is two days late.
So! Tacos! With beans in them.
You will need:
750g can of kidney beans
1 onion
1 small capsicum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of chilli powder
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
taco shells
avocado
cheese
tomato
lettuce
I'm getting fancy with the pictures...
OK, so dice the onion (ow my eyes) and crush the garlic, and fry together in a splash of olive oil for two or so minutes. Dice the capsicum, and add it. Add the seasonings now, let them fry together for a bit. When the capsicum's beginning to give up (and wouldn't you?), stir in the tomato paste. Drain the beans, and add them. Splash water in if it's getting too dry. Stir it all thoroughly and let the beans warm their toes. When they're hot, mash them roughly. Mwa ha! Vent the day's frustrations. Most cathartic. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. This should be frankly savoury and delicious, and is also very good for nachos.
Man, I love easy food. The pirates adored how quickly I whipped this up for them. Even with my hands bound with strips of grisly old rags. And with the toppings, it's very good for keeping scurvy at bay! Heat the taco shells in the oven according to the directions on the packet (unless you make your own - if anyone does, I'd love to hear how it's done..). Grate the cheese, dice the avocado and tomato. Shred the lettuce, or not.
Bob's your uncle, as they say. (Why? Also: who is Larry and why is he so happy?)
And this is me and the kitchen reflected in the window, with town lights in the distance. And a tree. Deep!
So! Tacos! With beans in them.
You will need:
750g can of kidney beans
1 onion
1 small capsicum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of chilli powder
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
taco shells
avocado
cheese
tomato
lettuce
I'm getting fancy with the pictures...
OK, so dice the onion (ow my eyes) and crush the garlic, and fry together in a splash of olive oil for two or so minutes. Dice the capsicum, and add it. Add the seasonings now, let them fry together for a bit. When the capsicum's beginning to give up (and wouldn't you?), stir in the tomato paste. Drain the beans, and add them. Splash water in if it's getting too dry. Stir it all thoroughly and let the beans warm their toes. When they're hot, mash them roughly. Mwa ha! Vent the day's frustrations. Most cathartic. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. This should be frankly savoury and delicious, and is also very good for nachos.
Man, I love easy food. The pirates adored how quickly I whipped this up for them. Even with my hands bound with strips of grisly old rags. And with the toppings, it's very good for keeping scurvy at bay! Heat the taco shells in the oven according to the directions on the packet (unless you make your own - if anyone does, I'd love to hear how it's done..). Grate the cheese, dice the avocado and tomato. Shred the lettuce, or not.
Bob's your uncle, as they say. (Why? Also: who is Larry and why is he so happy?)
And this is me and the kitchen reflected in the window, with town lights in the distance. And a tree. Deep!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
FOODLULZ - Satay Stir Fry, and Do Oysters Feel Pain?
Yesterday was Saturday. A mild, clement day. The gentle autumnal breeze tenderly ran its fingers through the falling leaves. Suddenly, the rustling quietness of the day was pierced by a fell cry. It was like the crash of an ant's knees on the ground as it throws itself down to beg for mercy from the giant with the magnifying glass over its head. That, mixed with the voice of Fran Drescher. The gremlins were attacking.
They tied me up me with a boa constrictor and carried me to their grim fortress in the mountain. There they held me hostage, offering me nothing but brioche and lattes for sustenance. My cat had to make out a cheque for $46.90 to get me back. She assured me it wouldn't bounce, but she's quite bad at money-related dealings. I don't know what I'll do if it bounces. Do gremlins tend to accept PayPal for ransoms?
Anyway, that is why my Saturday recipe is a day late.
STIR-FRY! YUM! With three hidden controversies, and a tangent validating peanut butter.
You will need:
Various vegetables - my favourites to use are
Carrot
Mushrooms
Snow peas
Broccoli (this presents the first controversy. Broccoli is an unloved vegetable, but in this recipe, it absorbs the sauce in its bushy head and becomes very tasty indeed.)
Spring onion
Capsicum
Cabbage
Ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Widely available here, don't know about elsewhere.)
Sweet chilli sauce (controversy two - one L or two?)
Peanut butter (preferably the freshly ground stuff you get at health food shops, but from the shelf is fine)
Oyster sauce (controversy three - to be explored below.)
Garlic - two cloves
Cashews
Rice or dried noodles
Tofu cut into small cubes and fried is also nice. Add it with the mushrooms if you use it.
Slice all your vegetables. In a frying pan or wok, heat a little canola oil. Crush the garlic and fry briefly. Add the hard vegetables - carrot, capsicum, broccoli etc. Anything that takes a bit longer to cook. Splash in some water, and simmer for a few minutes. Add a large spoonful of peanut butter.
(Note on the peanut butter, because I'm aware it may seem strange: this dish is Indonesian inspired. Ground peanuts are frequently used in Indonesian cookery - gado gado springs to mind. When ground, the peanuts form a smooth paste. Our peanut butter is simply made of this paste combined with oil, salt and sugar, which is why peanut butter makes a perfectly functional alternative to ground peanuts.)
With the peanut butter, add several tablespoons of ketjap manis and a splash each of sweet chilli and oyster sauce.
This bring me to controversy three. Oyster sauce for a vegetarian! I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons: basically, I don't want to eat something that may have suffered, I don't want to support an industry which may cause suffering, and I don't want to support an industry which is so damaging to the environment (Google this if you're interested in the environmental aspect, which is not as often explored as the cruelty aspect, or read some people's thoughts here or here).
So - do oysters feel pain? I have researched this somewhat, and opinion seems to be divided. The most convincing argument I read is that while oysters do have a pain reflex, they lack the consciousness with which to experience pain. Therefore, no, they don't. So I use oyster sauce (which has a fractional amount of actual oyster in it, anyway) when cooking for others as well as for me, but not when it's just me. I am always interested in opinions on this, though, to help me expand my own.
Dun dun! Add the rest of the vegetables, and more water if necessary. Turn the heat to very low and add the cashews, stirring briskly so they don't catch. Cover and let it simmer, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken and reduce. Taste it. Adjust the sauces and peanut butter - it should be very savoury. Is it lush? It should be, by now.
In the meantime, cook the rice according to the directions. If you're using noodles, they usually only take a few moments, so wait til the stir fry (wait - is this a new controversy? Should stir-fry have a hyphen or not?) is ready before cooking them.
I used rice, which takes a while. So, as you do, I made an apple house!
I wanted to make a little person out of apple peel and put it inside, but the door fell off. :(
And the food!
For some reason, we had apple pie for dessert! Just peel about seven small cooking apples and simmer them in a splash of water and a few teaspoons of sugar. When they go soft, remove from the heat and drain the liquid off. Line a pie tin with a sheet of puff pastry, pile the apples in and seal them in with another sheet of pastry. Bake at 220 degrees celsius for about half an hour. Serve with runny cream and icing sugar. Totally vile. And by vile I mean really delicious. Superfluously delicious!
They tied me up me with a boa constrictor and carried me to their grim fortress in the mountain. There they held me hostage, offering me nothing but brioche and lattes for sustenance. My cat had to make out a cheque for $46.90 to get me back. She assured me it wouldn't bounce, but she's quite bad at money-related dealings. I don't know what I'll do if it bounces. Do gremlins tend to accept PayPal for ransoms?
Anyway, that is why my Saturday recipe is a day late.
STIR-FRY! YUM! With three hidden controversies, and a tangent validating peanut butter.
You will need:
Various vegetables - my favourites to use are
Carrot
Mushrooms
Snow peas
Broccoli (this presents the first controversy. Broccoli is an unloved vegetable, but in this recipe, it absorbs the sauce in its bushy head and becomes very tasty indeed.)
Spring onion
Capsicum
Cabbage
Ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Widely available here, don't know about elsewhere.)
Sweet chilli sauce (controversy two - one L or two?)
Peanut butter (preferably the freshly ground stuff you get at health food shops, but from the shelf is fine)
Oyster sauce (controversy three - to be explored below.)
Garlic - two cloves
Cashews
Rice or dried noodles
Tofu cut into small cubes and fried is also nice. Add it with the mushrooms if you use it.
Slice all your vegetables. In a frying pan or wok, heat a little canola oil. Crush the garlic and fry briefly. Add the hard vegetables - carrot, capsicum, broccoli etc. Anything that takes a bit longer to cook. Splash in some water, and simmer for a few minutes. Add a large spoonful of peanut butter.
(Note on the peanut butter, because I'm aware it may seem strange: this dish is Indonesian inspired. Ground peanuts are frequently used in Indonesian cookery - gado gado springs to mind. When ground, the peanuts form a smooth paste. Our peanut butter is simply made of this paste combined with oil, salt and sugar, which is why peanut butter makes a perfectly functional alternative to ground peanuts.)
With the peanut butter, add several tablespoons of ketjap manis and a splash each of sweet chilli and oyster sauce.
This bring me to controversy three. Oyster sauce for a vegetarian! I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons: basically, I don't want to eat something that may have suffered, I don't want to support an industry which may cause suffering, and I don't want to support an industry which is so damaging to the environment (Google this if you're interested in the environmental aspect, which is not as often explored as the cruelty aspect, or read some people's thoughts here or here).
So - do oysters feel pain? I have researched this somewhat, and opinion seems to be divided. The most convincing argument I read is that while oysters do have a pain reflex, they lack the consciousness with which to experience pain. Therefore, no, they don't. So I use oyster sauce (which has a fractional amount of actual oyster in it, anyway) when cooking for others as well as for me, but not when it's just me. I am always interested in opinions on this, though, to help me expand my own.
Dun dun! Add the rest of the vegetables, and more water if necessary. Turn the heat to very low and add the cashews, stirring briskly so they don't catch. Cover and let it simmer, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken and reduce. Taste it. Adjust the sauces and peanut butter - it should be very savoury. Is it lush? It should be, by now.
In the meantime, cook the rice according to the directions. If you're using noodles, they usually only take a few moments, so wait til the stir fry (wait - is this a new controversy? Should stir-fry have a hyphen or not?) is ready before cooking them.
I used rice, which takes a while. So, as you do, I made an apple house!
I wanted to make a little person out of apple peel and put it inside, but the door fell off. :(
And the food!
For some reason, we had apple pie for dessert! Just peel about seven small cooking apples and simmer them in a splash of water and a few teaspoons of sugar. When they go soft, remove from the heat and drain the liquid off. Line a pie tin with a sheet of puff pastry, pile the apples in and seal them in with another sheet of pastry. Bake at 220 degrees celsius for about half an hour. Serve with runny cream and icing sugar. Totally vile. And by vile I mean really delicious. Superfluously delicious!
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