Breaded Mushrooms

Apart from freezing Jerusalem Artichokes yesterday - while waiting for access token to expire (got that working... auto-refresh of SalesForce oauth credentials when there's been no activity for 3 hours and a request has been made!) I decided to use up the mushrooms we had in the fridge. I'm a bit odd when it comes to mushrooms as I can't stand the texture when they've been cooked in some ways so I did a wee search on Google and found this recipe: Breaded Mushrooms (the trial).

I baked a crust that we had in the freezer and crushed the resulting toast-like bread with some grated and dried parmigiana. Then I washed the mushroom, patted them dry, dipped them in self-raising flour (the only flour I could find in the cupboard), rolled them in beaten egg and then covered them all over in the breadcrumb stuff. About 10 minutes in the air-fryer with a shake half way through and they were done... and very nice too!

Frozen Jerusalem Artichokes

We were given some lovely Jerusalem Artichokes by Daniela so this morning, while waiting for a SalesForce access token to expire, I decided to prepare them according to the instructions here. Above you can see the result... now I just need to figure out what to do with them. They're pretty all the same and the process reminded me of freezing freshly picked fruit when I was a sprog with my Ma.

Instead of following the instructions to the letter - when I'd peeled, blanched and cooled them - I laid them individually out on a tray for freezing so that they wouldn't all stick together in a mass, but would be frozen separately so we'd not have to use them all up at once. That way we can take out only what we need.

Any ideas for recipes?

Ash's Cheese Cake

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Testing a new action I created, this should auto-post to Tumblr

King Prawn Curry, Egg-Fried Rice And A Portion Of Chips, Please.

So the first time I ever had a Chinese takeaway, I'm pretty sure it was in Birkenhead, I had the above. Pretty much every time I've had one since I've had the same. Generally speaking if I have an Indian takeaway I'll have King Prawn Korma, Egg-Fried Rice and a Garlic Narn. I'll start with putting the Narn bread on the plate and then put the rice and curry on the Narn. That way the Narn soaks up everything and I'm left with a clean plate after eating the Narn after the curry. The Chinese just gets mixed all up in a big bowl and eaten as quick as.

What's this got to do with anything, I hear you ask in between shaking your head in wonderment, not a great deal except to illustrate that I, like a true Yorkshireman, know what I like and like what I know.

This is except when other people are involved: The Chinese was on a recommendation from the lass I was then courting as I didn't know what to order (I'm sure that there were Chinese takeaways in Huddersfield but there weren't any in the villages where I grew up - and even if there were there'd be no chance of having one, not when there was food to be cooked at home!). I'm not sure where the Indian came from but I'm nigh on positive it was either down to a lass or something I'd read or heard on the wireless.

You'll perhaps be shocked to hear that I have no firm favourites in restaurants or takeaways of other nationalities, except that I do have a penchant for anchovies on my pizzas.

I guess the reason I'm thinking about this just now is that within the 30 seconds prior to putting finger to screen I caught sight of a jar of silver-skin pickled onions that 'er indoors bought for #3 son and a packet of Marmite chocolate.

The onions were bought because #3 really likes pickled onions but really, really likes silver-skin pickled onions - preferably the cheaper the better. I'm pretty sure that that's down to him having eczema, I'm not sure what it is about kids in my family with eczema and pickled onions but there seems to be a distinct correlation between the diagnosis of one and the almost pathological desire for the other... The thing is that the jar is a fancy one, with onions pickled in balsamic vinegar bought in a sale, the thing also is the #3 is not in the least bit keen. Not cheap enough I guess?

I love Marmite and I love chocolate and when 'er indoors said that she'd heard of chocolate with Marmite I was more than keen to try some. Now I wish I hadn't as, while the idea is pretty good, the reality is not so much, not to my mind anyway!

Devilishly good!

Got this for an early Xmas present and used it yesterday with #3 son. We only had cheese and veggie ham with some veggie worcester sauce (what’s going on with the spelling there, I thought it was Worcestershire – it is!) or cheese and prosciutto with some baked beans and coleslaw - but it was lovely. One of the things I miss about living on dry-land is the lack of mains electricity, no Microwaves, toasters or sandwich toasters (or TVs for that matter) but this makes it all okay as I can still have toasted sandwiches! Yay!

It comes with a leaflet full of recipe ideas but I can’t bring myself to do the sweet recipes… toasted sandwiches should be savoury and not sweet! As should, thinking about it, French toast – though Wikipedia doesn’t agree. I find there is little better in life that French toast covered in Ketchup or Brown Sauce. I’ve a theory about the age of children and their taste in French toast condiments: when they’re young they invariably choose Ketchup but you can chart their maturity by the propensity to opt for HP. I’d be interested in your opinion of this theory as I’ve a limited dataset with which to work.

Also finished Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth yesterday. A lot like the Professor Layton DS games but with somewhat easier puzzles, which is why it only took me a couple of days to complete it. Didn’t like the Sliding Puzzles though managed them, more than likely due to brute force attacks rather than any strategy.

Flapjack

• 8oz Porridge Oats (cheaper the better),
• 4oz Marg,
• 4oz Sugar,
• 4oz Golden Syrup.

Melt marg, sugar and syrup together. put in Oats and Oven at 150 degree C for 20-30 minutes.

Gill Myers recipe for same.

Food and Sex Data Visualisation

Two articles took my fancy this week:

• 10 Foods for a Better Sex Life
• Diet Dos and Don'ts For Better Sex

So I thought I'd do some messing around and see how well the agreed with each other:

Ratatouille... made from 100% pure rats

1 huge aubergine
3 huge courgettes
4 ripe tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 big red onion
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Mixed herbs
Tomato puree

1. Sprinkle salt on sliced aubergine and leave to stand for half an hour (This takes the bitterness away... apparently )

2. Wash salt off and fry with the rest of the vegetables in a big wok until things look like they're "getting there".

3. Add everything else and a bit of water, cover and simmer for 20 mins.

4. Scoff the lot right quick!

Cake Time

Orange and White Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 250g (9ox) golden caster sugar
• 150g (6oz) each of self-raising flour and ground almonds
• Grated Zest of 2 oranges

For the syrup

• 100g (3.5oz) golden granulated sugar
• 225ml (8fl oz) sweet white wine
• Juice of 3 oranges

For the white chocolate ganache

• 225g (8oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 568ml carton double cream
• 350g (12oz) strawberries, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Grease a deep 23cm (9in) round cake tin. Line base with greaseproof paper. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan oven) mark 4.
2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in 50g (2oz) sugar. Whisk until the mixture stands in stiff peaks and looks glossy.
3. Put the egg yolks and remaining sugar in another bowl. Whisk until soft and moussey. Carefully stir in the flour to make a paste.
4. Using a clean, metal spoon, add a third of the egg white to the paste and fold in carefully. Put the remaining egg white, ground almonds and orange zest in the bowl and fold in, taking care not to knock too much volume out of the egg whites. You should end up with a smooth batter.
5. Spoon into the tin and bake for 35min or until a skewer run through the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10min, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Put the syrup ingredients in a small pan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and bubble for 5min or until syrupy. Cool and set aside.
7. To make the ganache, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl with half the cream. Set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, leave until the chocolate is melted, then stir. (Don't stir the chocolate until it has completely melted.) Cool until beginning to thicken, then beat with a wooden spoon until cold and thick. Put the remaining double cream into a bowl and whip lightly. Beat a large spoon of the whipped cream into the chocolate cream to loosen it, then fold in the remainder. Cover and chill for 2hr.
8. Cut the cake in half horizontally, pierce all over with a skewer and put it, cut sides up, on an edged tray or baking sheet. Spoon over the syrup and leave to soak in.
9. Spread a quarter of the ganache over the base cake and scatter with 225g (8oz) strawberries. Cover with the top half of the cake and press down lightly. Using a palette knife, smooth remaining ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Cover loosely and chill for up to 4hr. Decorate with remaining strawberries and serve.