But it does involve condiments....
A few years ago, there was a Mensa convention in San Francisco, and several members lunched at a local cafe.
While dining, they discovered that their salt shaker contained pepper and their pepper shaker was full of salt.
How could they swap the contents of the bottles without spilling, and using only the implements at hand? Clearly this was a job for Mensa!
The group debated and presented ideas, and finally came up with a brilliant solution involving a napkin, a straw and an empty saucer. They called the waitress over to dazzle her with their solution.
"Ma'am," they said, "we couldn't help but notice that the pepper shaker contains salt and the salt shaker ... "
"Oh," the waitress interrupted. "Sorry about that." She unscrewed the caps of both bottles and switched them.
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Fasoulia
NAME: _Fasoulia (Beans with Lamb)
(pictured here in early stages, just prior to simmering for several hours)
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1/2 kg lamb pieces (see notes)
1/2 kg green beans (see notes)
50g lamb suet (beef suet will do at a pinch, or olive oil)
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tbsp pomegranate syrup or molasses
1 tsp salt
1 large brown onion
2 garlic cloves
bunch fresh oregano or 1 tbsp dried
1 tsp black cumin seed
5 to 10 bay leaves
1 tin crushed tomatoes or 1/4 kg fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped
4 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
(optional) about 100g finely diced bacon
METHOD:
(See notes) Cut the lamb into small chop sized pieces, cut the onion into thin crescent slivers. finely chop the garlic and the fresh oregano. (See notes) Trim the beans but leave as long as possible.
Heat the suet and oil in a large heavy based pot, drop in the onion, and wait, tossing occasionally, until onion is glassy. Add garlic and the lamb pieces, allow to fry for at least another ten minutes so, turn the meat over every two to three minutes. Add salt, cumin seeds, bay leaf, and the oregano, fry for another five minutes to release flavours.
Add chopped tomato, tomato paste, pomegranate syrup or molasses, vinegar, and enough water to totally submerge the meat. Allow to come to a simmer and add the prepared beans and lemon juice, bring to a simmer again, and then leave on a low simmer for several hours, until meat is falling off bones and beans are very tender.
SERVING:Serve hot to warm, in bowls, and with crusty dense bread. May be served with a dollop of yoghurt, too - in which case, supply lemon wedges too.
Serve four hungry people, or eight less hungry ones with the bread...
NOTES:
Lamb: I find that offcut ribs and belly flap makes the best meat for this dish, as you're anyway simmering it for hours and it will be tender and flavourful.
Beans: While a French cassoulet used fava beans or other, this is a dish for green bean pods, be they stringless, string, round, or other. The main thing is to get very fresh beans for this, make sure they are firm and that they snap not bend. The very best beans will give the very best flavour.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
Because this dish contains both tomato paste and grape seed oil, and also pomegranate, it is suitable for the Body Friendly Zen Cookbook diet.
FATS: approximately one full allowance of fats per person if feeding four, or about 1/2 the daily allowance if serving 8.
CARB: Depends on the bread and how much.
Remember, Active ingredients are an approximate "average per meal" allowance for an average person, when served in the serving sizes suggested and are very rough guides only.
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Silver Beet and Gnocchi
NAME: _Silver Beet and Gnocchi
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 bunch silverbeet
1 tbsp flour
100g thin sliced rolled pancetta
1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic
50g tasty cheese
2 tsp olive oil
500g potato gnocchi
salt
1 vegetable stock cube
METHOD:
Wash the silverbeet carefully and shake off the water. Cut the silverbeet leaves from the stems, cut into 3cm strips, place in steamer basket and put on to steam. Meanwhile slice the onion, garlic, and pancetta thinly and fry over low heat in the 2 tsp of olive oil. Select several silver beet stems and slice thinly across, add to the pan and continue to cook over low heat.
Place four slices of pancetta between paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes or until crisp. Allow to cool and crumble up, serve in a bowl to sprinkle over each plate. Dice or grate the cheese and set aside.
When the silverbeet has steamed to limpness, lift it from the steamer and place aside, boil water for the gnocchi, and when boiling, add the gnocchi and boil until they rise to the surface, then about a minute more. Drain the gnocchi, refresh with cold water and set aside.
When the onion garlic pancetta and silverbeet stem mixture has softened, add the flour and stir well, allow to fry a minute or two longer, then add about 250ml of water, the cheese, and the vegetable stock cube. Stir until thickened, add water (or, if desired, milk) to make a rich creamy sauce, then add the steamed silverbeet and stir through well. Salt to taste.
SERVING:
Serve immediately, spoon the silverbeet and sauce over each plateful of gnocchi and garnish with crumbled pancetta. Mild green olives are a nice side to this dish.
NOTES:
The whole meal takes about 15 minutes if you do things concurrently, and now in the spring is the time to find good fresh leafy greens for your diet. Light steaming preserves the taste and nutrients in the silverbeet, and the pancetta with a tasty cheddar cheese is a lovely counter to the slightly bitter taste of the silverbeet.
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 bunch silverbeet
1 tbsp flour
100g thin sliced rolled pancetta
1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic
50g tasty cheese
2 tsp olive oil
500g potato gnocchi
salt
1 vegetable stock cube
METHOD:
Wash the silverbeet carefully and shake off the water. Cut the silverbeet leaves from the stems, cut into 3cm strips, place in steamer basket and put on to steam. Meanwhile slice the onion, garlic, and pancetta thinly and fry over low heat in the 2 tsp of olive oil. Select several silver beet stems and slice thinly across, add to the pan and continue to cook over low heat.
Place four slices of pancetta between paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes or until crisp. Allow to cool and crumble up, serve in a bowl to sprinkle over each plate. Dice or grate the cheese and set aside.
When the silverbeet has steamed to limpness, lift it from the steamer and place aside, boil water for the gnocchi, and when boiling, add the gnocchi and boil until they rise to the surface, then about a minute more. Drain the gnocchi, refresh with cold water and set aside.
When the onion garlic pancetta and silverbeet stem mixture has softened, add the flour and stir well, allow to fry a minute or two longer, then add about 250ml of water, the cheese, and the vegetable stock cube. Stir until thickened, add water (or, if desired, milk) to make a rich creamy sauce, then add the steamed silverbeet and stir through well. Salt to taste.
SERVING:
Serve immediately, spoon the silverbeet and sauce over each plateful of gnocchi and garnish with crumbled pancetta. Mild green olives are a nice side to this dish.
NOTES:
The whole meal takes about 15 minutes if you do things concurrently, and now in the spring is the time to find good fresh leafy greens for your diet. Light steaming preserves the taste and nutrients in the silverbeet, and the pancetta with a tasty cheddar cheese is a lovely counter to the slightly bitter taste of the silverbeet.
Monday, 27 August 2007
Cute New Vegetables
Okay a quick post on nutritive and local. I posted a bit here on the subject but there's a few things that aren't covered by that brief post nor the article I linked to.
I've been buying local and to me that means within a few kilometres of Perth (and specifically me!) where possible. Things that are cool at the moment are kohlrabi, a turnip-like vegetable that's currently in season, and some cool black potatoes you can see in this picture, which are purple inside. Only place I've found those potatoes to date is at the Magic Apple continental supermarket on the corner of Nicholson Rd and Albany Highway, who aren't always local produce but at least they are always fresh and of reasonable value.
The more observant among you might recognise the shopping bag in the background as coming from the Yuang Chan Vegetable Market at Canning Vale Market City, it's another place that has veges that just rule. What they sell is always fresh and crisp.
Now to those black potatoes: I have no idea what they are (I found them next to the kipflers but the two are not alike at all) and due to the beautiful plum purple colour of the flesh I am concluding that these are potatoes that have antioxidant properties. Due to the soft nature of the flesh I am also concluding that these are actually a variant of sweet potato, which is fine with me to because the are beautiful drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled which chopped chives. No I didn't peel them, the skins are washed and fine, and it hasn't killed us...
Anyhow - the main thing is that both these places are within a few kilometres of me and both have extremely good fruit and vegetables at the moment - so I'll make an effort to provide a few recipes as I come up with them.
For your part, you have to make the effort and break out of the "ColesWorth Rut" and start buying your fruit and vegetables from markets where the produce is more likely to be fresh and local! And if you don't, I'll send Ghostie after you!
Well, not really, he wouldn't know how to say "ROWR!" but he does get distressed every time the Big Supermarkets take away another choice from us. And you should, too, and remember to ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FIRST...
I've been buying local and to me that means within a few kilometres of Perth (and specifically me!) where possible. Things that are cool at the moment are kohlrabi, a turnip-like vegetable that's currently in season, and some cool black potatoes you can see in this picture, which are purple inside. Only place I've found those potatoes to date is at the Magic Apple continental supermarket on the corner of Nicholson Rd and Albany Highway, who aren't always local produce but at least they are always fresh and of reasonable value.The more observant among you might recognise the shopping bag in the background as coming from the Yuang Chan Vegetable Market at Canning Vale Market City, it's another place that has veges that just rule. What they sell is always fresh and crisp.
Now to those black potatoes: I have no idea what they are (I found them next to the kipflers but the two are not alike at all) and due to the beautiful plum purple colour of the flesh I am concluding that these are potatoes that have antioxidant properties. Due to the soft nature of the flesh I am also concluding that these are actually a variant of sweet potato, which is fine with me to because the are beautiful drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled which chopped chives. No I didn't peel them, the skins are washed and fine, and it hasn't killed us...
Anyhow - the main thing is that both these places are within a few kilometres of me and both have extremely good fruit and vegetables at the moment - so I'll make an effort to provide a few recipes as I come up with them. For your part, you have to make the effort and break out of the "ColesWorth Rut" and start buying your fruit and vegetables from markets where the produce is more likely to be fresh and local! And if you don't, I'll send Ghostie after you!
Well, not really, he wouldn't know how to say "ROWR!" but he does get distressed every time the Big Supermarkets take away another choice from us. And you should, too, and remember to ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FIRST...
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Cannelloni Tricolore
NAME: _Cannelloni Tricolore
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
12 cannelloni tubes
150g finely minced pork
150g fine white fish
100g spinach leaves
100g ricotta cheese
white flour
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp gound fennel seeds
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 tbsp tomato paste
150g butter
1 tsp salt
half a medium brown onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 litre milk
2 chicken stock cubes plus two cups water or
2 cups strong chicken stock
METHOD:
Chop the onion really finely, divide into half, divide one half into three. Chop/mince the garlic with the salt, divide into four parts.
Mix tomato paste, the pork mince, one of the sixths of onion, two portions of garlic, half of the fenugreek and fennel, and all the Italian herbs to a paste consistency, use this to fill four of the cannelloni tubes.
Chop the fish, mix with the remaining fennel and fenugreek, one part of garlic, one sixth of onion, a tablespoon of flour, and enough water to form a paste. Fill four cannelloni tubes with this mixture.
Chop the spinach leaves quite finely, mix with the ricotta cheese, the last part of garlic, one sixth of onion, mix together, and use to fill the last four tubes. With that you have the three colours of the flag, so now arrange the tubes in a baking dish two layers deep.
I make a "cheat bechamel" sauce because I don't mess about scalding milk nor with tradition, here's the cheat way:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the 1/2 of chopped onion that somehow ended up laying there on the cutting board looking forlorn, and lightly fry until the onions are transparent. Add about five to seven tablespoons of flour (you will need to make enough bechamel to completely cover the tubes, and it's better to have more flour as you can thin the bechamel easier than thickening it), and stir well. Gradually mix in the milk in a thin stream, making sure lumps are pressed out at this stage, then add the chicken stock or water and two chicken cubes. Stir until it begins to thicken, then keep stirring until it doesn't thicken any more. Adjust the consistency with extra water to a thick creamy consistency.
Pour the bechamel over the cannelloni ensuring it gets in between and under the tubes, and covers them, then cover the baking dish and place in an oven at 170 degrees for an hour.
SERVING:
One tube of each colour, covered with a bit of the bechamel, is a pretty filling serving. Don't serve grated cheese with this, it has fish. Fine chopped parsley makes a nice garnish. You can serve a salad or something - but not necessary, this will happily stand on its own.
NOTES:
Have to admit I prefer the spinach/ricotta and the pork mince cannelloni, but the fish is pretty excellent too. These are all pretty untraditional ways to fill the little suckers too, but then I prefer it that way. Tradition is good, good robust flavour is better.
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
12 cannelloni tubes
150g finely minced pork
150g fine white fish
100g spinach leaves
100g ricotta cheese
white flour
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp gound fennel seeds
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 tbsp tomato paste
150g butter
1 tsp salt
half a medium brown onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 litre milk
2 chicken stock cubes plus two cups water or
2 cups strong chicken stock
METHOD:
Chop the onion really finely, divide into half, divide one half into three. Chop/mince the garlic with the salt, divide into four parts.
Mix tomato paste, the pork mince, one of the sixths of onion, two portions of garlic, half of the fenugreek and fennel, and all the Italian herbs to a paste consistency, use this to fill four of the cannelloni tubes.
Chop the fish, mix with the remaining fennel and fenugreek, one part of garlic, one sixth of onion, a tablespoon of flour, and enough water to form a paste. Fill four cannelloni tubes with this mixture.
Chop the spinach leaves quite finely, mix with the ricotta cheese, the last part of garlic, one sixth of onion, mix together, and use to fill the last four tubes. With that you have the three colours of the flag, so now arrange the tubes in a baking dish two layers deep.
I make a "cheat bechamel" sauce because I don't mess about scalding milk nor with tradition, here's the cheat way:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the 1/2 of chopped onion that somehow ended up laying there on the cutting board looking forlorn, and lightly fry until the onions are transparent. Add about five to seven tablespoons of flour (you will need to make enough bechamel to completely cover the tubes, and it's better to have more flour as you can thin the bechamel easier than thickening it), and stir well. Gradually mix in the milk in a thin stream, making sure lumps are pressed out at this stage, then add the chicken stock or water and two chicken cubes. Stir until it begins to thicken, then keep stirring until it doesn't thicken any more. Adjust the consistency with extra water to a thick creamy consistency.
Pour the bechamel over the cannelloni ensuring it gets in between and under the tubes, and covers them, then cover the baking dish and place in an oven at 170 degrees for an hour.
SERVING:
One tube of each colour, covered with a bit of the bechamel, is a pretty filling serving. Don't serve grated cheese with this, it has fish. Fine chopped parsley makes a nice garnish. You can serve a salad or something - but not necessary, this will happily stand on its own.
NOTES:
Have to admit I prefer the spinach/ricotta and the pork mince cannelloni, but the fish is pretty excellent too. These are all pretty untraditional ways to fill the little suckers too, but then I prefer it that way. Tradition is good, good robust flavour is better.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Zucchini/Eggplant bake
NAME: _Zucchini/Eggplant bake
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
500g - 1kg Zucchini (or eggplant)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh spearmint
1 tbsp zartar or dried thyme
salt and a pinch of cumin to taste
1/2 cup grated yellow cheese (optional)
1/2 cup crumbled fetta, hamoumi, or similar cheese (optional)
2 very ripe tomatoes (optional)
METHOD:
Slice the zucchini or eggplant into 1cm thick slices. (If using eggplant, sprinkle generously with salt and leave to draw out the liquid for an hour. Rinse, squeeze dry. Test and if stil bitter, repeat. I find one good salting/rinsing gets most of the bitter liquid out.)
Mash or blend the spearmint and add the oils and tomato paste and mix together well. You can add a teaspoon of raw sugar or grape molasses if the tomato paste is a particularly acid one, mixing in well. You may wish to adjust the thickness with the 1/2 cup of water.
Brush the baking dish with EVOO and lay the sliced vegetable in a layer at a time. (I cut slices in half so they will fit all the way out to the edge, your choice.) Sprinkle the zartar or thyme over at each layer, and add some of the tomato paste, then when all vegetable has been laid in the dish, pour in the remaining tomato mixture.
At this stage you can either bake it as it is, or else add the sliced tomato in a layer, then the grated and crumbled cheeses.
Bake in a medium (180) oven for about 30 - 60 minutes, until the cheese is brown.
SERVING:
A side dish - or you can make it a main, served with rice or bourghul and some meat kofta or something.
NOTES:
Eggplant is the right vegetable for this dish but because of its flavour you may prefer zucchini. I've made both and I prefer the eggplant.
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
500g - 1kg Zucchini (or eggplant)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh spearmint
1 tbsp zartar or dried thyme
salt and a pinch of cumin to taste
1/2 cup grated yellow cheese (optional)
1/2 cup crumbled fetta, hamoumi, or similar cheese (optional)
2 very ripe tomatoes (optional)
METHOD:
Slice the zucchini or eggplant into 1cm thick slices. (If using eggplant, sprinkle generously with salt and leave to draw out the liquid for an hour. Rinse, squeeze dry. Test and if stil bitter, repeat. I find one good salting/rinsing gets most of the bitter liquid out.)
Mash or blend the spearmint and add the oils and tomato paste and mix together well. You can add a teaspoon of raw sugar or grape molasses if the tomato paste is a particularly acid one, mixing in well. You may wish to adjust the thickness with the 1/2 cup of water.
Brush the baking dish with EVOO and lay the sliced vegetable in a layer at a time. (I cut slices in half so they will fit all the way out to the edge, your choice.) Sprinkle the zartar or thyme over at each layer, and add some of the tomato paste, then when all vegetable has been laid in the dish, pour in the remaining tomato mixture.
At this stage you can either bake it as it is, or else add the sliced tomato in a layer, then the grated and crumbled cheeses.
Bake in a medium (180) oven for about 30 - 60 minutes, until the cheese is brown.
SERVING:
A side dish - or you can make it a main, served with rice or bourghul and some meat kofta or something.
NOTES:
Eggplant is the right vegetable for this dish but because of its flavour you may prefer zucchini. I've made both and I prefer the eggplant.
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