The Recipe Reviewer

Smashing Cool Weather Salads

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:03:03 +0000

Just in case the weather doesn’t plan improving again until May, a round-up of suitably Spring-like comfort foods seems in order. You probably feel like Winter has been going on forever (I know I do!) and that you’ve been holed up inside eating your body weight in stodge since October. So let’s move away from heavier comfort foods like stews and find meals that are just as comfy but a bit lighter on the stomach!

Vegetables are the way to go, with small portions of proteins and carbs. It’s still not quite the time (or weather) for cold salads, but warm salads can be a revelation at this time of year. They’re my go to food for a gloomy spring day! It might be raining and grey outside, but these warm salad ideas will help keep you warm without weighing you down. They’re also quick and easy to make, and the reasonably low cost means you shouldn’t have to reach for an enigin scam to fund your meals.

Try building your own super salad by choosing elements from the following ingredients to suit your tastes!

Chomp on those Carbs! (served warm)

Lentils

Boiled new potatoes

Cous Cous

Quinoa

Green and Vegetably Things (serve the leaves cold, and everything else hot!)

Spinach

Iceberg Lettuce

Watercress

Peas

Green Beans

Soya Beans

Samphire (unusual but very tasty!)

Grilled asparagus or artichoke hearts

Grilled vegetables (peppers, red onions, tomatoes, courgettes)

Powerful Proteins (served warm)

Smoked Haddock or Mackerel

Grilled chicken breasts or pieces

Tuna (either grilled steaks or tinned)

Marinated tofu steak

Tasty Toppings (served hot or cold, as is appropriate!)

Grated Parmesan

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Toasted Hazelnuts

Grilled Haloumi

Sliced Almonds

Black or green olives

Capers

Freshly chopped herbs

Stupendous Salad Dressings (served cold, drizzled over your masterpiece!)

Honey and mustard

Classic French

Caper and lime (just capers, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic and seasonings whizzed up to taste)

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Online recipes- do not be in a hurry to innovate

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:03:27 +0000

Many persons make the mistake of searching for recipes on the Internet only to behave like a professional chef when they find good recipes online. How many times have you searched recipes on the Internet only to come up with your modifications once you found a good one? There is no harm in adopting such an approach, right? After all, the recipes you find online simply happened to be the basis of further experimentation, right? Well, there is a small problem in this approach. If there is no guarantee that you are qualified to make the changes to the recipe. Your knowledge of the technical aspects of cooking may not be vast enough to facilitate such innovation. Unfortunately, very few individuals have the ability to admit this fact to themselves. Instead, they will make changes to the recipe and then complain that the Internet is not a good source for recipes when the dish comes out bad.

What is the point of searching for information online if you do not intend to rely on the same? To contact emergency fuel suppliers when you are in urgent need of fuel and to provide specific instructions without bothering about their professional expertise is not a good thing, right? Well, what you do with online recipes is no different. The only distinction here is that you will be doing this on the Internet where nobody can criticize you for your stupid behavior.

Does this mean you should always a stick to the recipe that has been provided online? Definitely not. You have the freedom to innovate and be creative. However, this does not mean you should start the process of innovation even before you understand how the recipe works. A sensible chef will try to understand the original recipe before making modifications. Only an amateur without proper understanding of the process will start making changes when he or she has no idea how the recipe works.

The Processing Recipe

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:33:35 +0000

You know it’s been a bad time for food when you visit the local supermarket and realise that your budget just isn’t going to stretch as far as it did last week. Winter seems to be mimicking the economic climate; as the nights draw in so our purse strings tighten. However it’s always good to look on the positive side of things and what better way to do that then figure out what recipes you can make with the restrictions you have money wise. Hard times can breed creativity.

The Recipe for the Winter

Dark times call for light measures! Instead of worrying about what you can’t afford food wise, concentrate on what you can afford. If like me you have trouble chopping up vegetables or are impatient and want to save time, then it’s worth considering alternative options. Never underestimate the power of blending! You can produce some amazing food by chucking your ingredients into a food processor and seeing what happens. There are some very affordable and high quality models available on the market at the moment. If you want both a cost effective and decent blender then one of the best ranges on the market are the Magimix Food Processors. Combining style with efficiency, they will save even the most impatient of cooks valuable hours of food preparation.

So now that you’ve got your blender the next question you need to ask your self is what to do with it?

Some useful recipes

As it is getting colder one of the best uses for a food processor is to make home made soup. There are many different varieties to meet even the pickiest of connoisseurs.

Tomato Soup

A classic for a reason: it’s still one of the tastiest and healthiest meals you can have. We all know tomatoes are good for the body and medical experts still insist that they have preventative properties when it comes to many cancers. All you need for a decent tomato soup is between 1-1.25kg of tomatoes (organic if you can, but standard is fine), 1 medium onion, 1 small carrot, 1 celery stick, 1 teaspoonful of olive oil, 2 bay leaves, a few squirts of tomato puree and 1.2 litres of vegetable stock. Stick this all in your food processor and blend until you get a light-mid consistency. After that, it’s a simple case of heating the mixture gently over the hob before serving whilst piping hot. Quick, easy, tasty, and (most importantly) affordable.

Minestrone Soup

This really is one of the best soups you can make yourself. The added bonus is that you can adapt the recipe to suit your own tastes. If you don’t like celery or cabbage for example, then you can make a perfectly decent minestrone soup without them. To get yourself started though, it is worth getting hold of the following ingredients: 3 large carrots, 1 large onion, 1 tablespoonful of olive oil, 2 garlic cloves (make sure to crush them), 2 large potatoes (you should dice them ideally), 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato puree, 2 litres of vegetable stock, 400 grams of chopped tomatoes, 400 grams of kidney beans or if you like butter beans, 160 grams of spaghetti snapped into small lengths and if you can stomach them, 2 sticks of celery.

These are the basic Minestrone essentials but feel free to add or remove ingredients. Perfect for winter and perfect for easy preparation once you have a good food processor.

Kit out your Kitchen

To enjoy these recipes it is important you have the right tools in your kitchen. A food processor is useful, but you will also need a decent microwave, oven and more. Getting hold of these on the high street is too expensive so your best bet is to shop online and Go-Electrical is the best place to get hold of all of this and more. They cater for all budgets and are very much aware of the financial constraints many people are under currently.

So what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

Glastonbury Recipes Made Easy

admin — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:33:17 +0000

Summer time is festival season and I am an die hard fan. There is nothing better than pitching a tent, listening to great music, and then waking up in the middle of a field with thousands of strangers. Times are a bit tight this year and opportunity is the mother of invention, so I decided to invest in a really good omni fuel cook stove, so that I could make my own food on site at my selection of summer festivals.

Your first step after buying the stove is finding the fuel. The cheapest option is burning home heating fuel it is called red diesel, and it is so simple to find a supplier. I simply typed red diesel guildford into google and got a season’s worth of fuel for a very small amount of money. You will want to focus on one pot meals, fry ups and hot drinks, so get a kettle, small pot and a frying pan. It helps to plan your menus for the whole festival so that you only take what you need. I find that if I don’t plan I over pack and end up carrying in too much. for Glastonbury I planned for:

2 pancake breakfasts
2 vegie fry ups (veggie fry ups are easy because you can get a dry sausage mix and just add water)
Chick Pea Moroccan tangine with cous cous
Chipotle Black Bean Chilli with masa dumplings
Spicy Peanut Noodles

Spicy Peanut Noodlesthe one pot trick to this recipe is to use thai rice sticks which are soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes instead of cooked. Boil the water in the kettle and in the bottom of a large bowl place a few handfuls of snow peas, put the noodles on top and top with boiling water and a lid. Let steep while you make the sauce. The easiest way to make an excellent sauce is to combine the following ingredients:

1/2 cup of pure crunchy peanut butter
3 spoonfuls of sweet chilli sauce
1-2 spoonfuls of soy sauce
juice of a lime
a small knob of fresh ginger grated
a small splash of rice wine or rice wine vinegar
a small splash of hot chilli sauce
coconut milk is optional you can simply add a bit of boiling water and gently warm the ingredients.

The trick to festival cooking is to make a meal that combines a protein, vegetable and grain while only using one pot and focusing on grains that do not need to be cooked.

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Making Food Tastier – Focus On Aroma As Well

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:33:53 +0000

Those who have been searching for English teaching jobs in London for very long time will tell you that there are certain technique and tactics that one must follow to determine whether the job is worth pursuing or am not. In the same way, my experiences in the kitchen have led me to conclude that there are certain tips and tricks that will spice up any and every meal no matter how bland it happens to be.

Butter - This is one addition to the recipe that always has a positive impact on the taste of the dish. Why? Well, butter may not significantly change the taste of the dish but it adds aroma to the dish. Try frying a dish in butter and then try doing it again in oil. The aroma that butter exudes is something that no other cooking ingredient can match.

Timing is very important factor that one must consider when cooking food properly. Adding spices at the fag end of the cooking process may not have a very positive impact on the taste and smell. On the other hand, adding herbs when the heavy aroma of the dish being friend on butter is already in the air will be a completely different experience.

I have discovered that people conclude that I am a very good cook even before I give them something to eat by simply smelling the dishes I prepare. Keep in mind that you should attach equal importance to taste and aroma. The process of eating the food begins even before the dishes have been placed on the table.

A Silk Road Noodle Feast

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:33:08 +0000

Modern cookery focuses too much on regionalism, this can land even the best cooks in a food rut. There is happily, an alternative. The migration patterns of food, plants and recipes is brilliant inspiration for a dinner party. The Silk Road is a trade route that connected Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Along it traders transported, not just silk fabrics, but music, art, and of course food. There are many online chefs that feature recipes from the Silk Road, check out Silk Road Gourmet as a place to start. Noodles is a wonderful first place to begin, many historians believe that they originated in Persia, others believe it was China. Embrace all of these different theories and create a noodle buffet dinner that explores the history of the noodle here are some ideas of where to start:

Feature two to three types of Chinese noodles. You must have a wheat based noodle and a rice based noodle. Bean thread noodles are also a very simple and fun addition. They are prepared simply by soaking bean threads in boiling water.
Asheh Reshteh is a Persian noodle soup which features a wide fettuccine like noodle and is eaten as part of Persian New Year celebrations. The broth includes mint, coriander, parsley and chives, as well as chickpeas and turmeric.
No noodle feast is complete without a trip to Italy. In honour of Marco Polo, try making bigoli, a thick and course spaghetti. In addition to white flour, it also includes whole wheat flour, butter, milk and eggs.

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Pain Perdu

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 11:03:10 +0000

There are many variations on a classic French recipe for bread that has gone a bit stale: Pain Perdu. Literally translated as ’lost bread'in the United States it is called ’French Bread'and in the UK it is often called ’eggy bread’. Depending on your skill and ambition it can be anything from a simple breakfast to an exquisite treat that is perfectly wonderful to serve to dinner guests. The basic form is to take a slice of bread, soak it in an egg and milk mixture and then fry slowly in butter. To jazz it up a bit you can try some of the following ideas:

Add a liqueur like framboise or Cointreau to the egg mixture. When the bread is done serve with fresh whipped cream with another splash of the liqueur and fresh fruit.
Try different types of bread for different effects. A sour dough bread gives a very thick and delicious take on the dish, but you can try a French Stick that has been very thinly sliced, or a savoury olive or walnut bread. You can also try to make the recipe healthier by using a whole grain bread.
If you want it to look different try using cookie cutters to make different shapes.
Try stuffing the French toast. Put a layer of sweetened soft cheese between two slices of white bread, cut out a shape with a cookie cutter and then carefully place in egg mixture.
Try different syrups and sauces. Maple syrup is classic in the States, but a home made fruit sauce can transform this treat.

Some Popular French Recipes

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:03:05 +0000

The trends of the civilized society change with the bat of an eye lid. This is as result of advancement in science and technology, hype and marketing and many more. But the love for traditionally cooked food has remained intact among people. Traditionally cooked French food is appreciated worldwide. Eating them while seated on a table near the fireside will give you a good appetite. The only thing that needs mastering is combining the various ingredients in the right proportion and in the correct way to get the best taste out of them. Here are some of the top French cuisines.

Roast Chicken is one of the most popular French dishes. However, it is not an exclusive French dish as it is cooked everywhere right from Asia to America. The French roast chicken does not contain any stuffing inside. The trick of roasting the poultry is to baste it with butter and oil several times during the process. The pan in which it is being roasted should also contain onion rings. Serving it hot to your guest will surely earn you kudos.

Boeuf Bourguignon is very famous French Stew. This dish hails from Burgundy. It is cooked at least once in the winter time in most French households. The beef is cooked with red wine. The dish also contains bacon, onions, mushrooms and carrots that have their individual flavors which can be felt in the recipe. Besides this thyme, beef stock and garlic will make the dish even tastier.

Mussels Mariniere is a very renowned dish in the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. It is very easy to cook and just take a couple of minutes. The Mussels are cooked with white wine sauce, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and onion. You should be careful to buy fresh Mussels.

The ingredients for all these recipes are easy to get and neither do they cost a lost. It is something that your payroll software will be able to afford.

Best Meatloaf Ever….

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:09:50 +0000

Looking for a quick dinner idea? One of my families'most favorite recipes is the bacon cheeseburger meatloaf (although I have to admit, not the most figure friendly). This recipe uses ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen and can be prepared and cooked in about an hour. Here’s what you will need.
1 ½ to 2 pounds lean ground beef (80% lean or higher) or ground turkey
½ to ¾ cups breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
¼ cup of milk
6 – 10 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
1 to 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp. ketchup
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix together the ground beef (or turkey), eggs, milk and breadcrumbs
Gently mix until all ingredients are blended together
Add bacon and shredded cheese to meat mixture and knead together just until the bacon and cheese are incorporated into the meat.
Shape the meat mixture into a loaf and lay in the mixing bowl while you prepare the baking pan
Take a 9”x13” baking pan and lay two pieces of bread end to end with the flat edges touching in the middle of the bottom of the pan.
Place your meatloaf on top of the pieces of bread (the bread will soak up the excess grease)
In a small bowl mix together the ketchup and mustard, spread the mixture over the top of the meatloaf
Put the meatloaf in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes* cooking time will vary depending on oven temp.
When meatloaf is finished, remove from the oven, let stand for 5 – 10 min
Remove meatloaf from pan, leaving the bread in the pan, slice and serve with steak fries

Interesting banana recipes

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:06:05 +0000

Banana is a favorite fruit for children as well as adults. Not only do bananas have a high nutritional value, but they are good for digestion too. They contain calcium protein, carbohydrates, fibers, iron, Vitamin C and minerals. Did you know you could prepare some delicious recipes with banana which can be beneficial for young people? Although bananas contain sugar and have high calorie count (100 calories) these calories can be easily be digested and don’t make you fat by becoming grease traps. You can eat them even while on a weight loss diet as they give you energy all day.

Some healthy banana recipes

Banana Smoothie: Put a few chopped bananas in a blender along with low fat yogurt, milk and cinnamon. Blend it well and you have a delicious smoothie that children will love.

Breakfast with bananas: Take a bowl of cereal, like oats or cornflakes, add a sliced banana and some yogurt or milk. Add some raisins and honey. And you have a vitamin rich breakfast ready in a minute. This will give you 350 calories. A perfect start to a busy day!

Lunch: An easy recipe for Caribbean soup. Take an onion, a clove of garlic, a carrot chopped and stir fry in a spoon of olive oil. Add some water along with chicken or vegetable stock and boil. After 5 minutes, add 2 green bananas, celery root, chili pepper, salt, lentils and some spaghetti. Boil for another 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and the soup is ready to savor.

Tea time: Everyone craves for some snacks at tea. Well, you can bake a yummy banana cake with or without eggs. Just blend in 1-2 bananas along with the cake mix and bake in moderate in moderate heat.

You can even prepare a banana based cocktail by blending 2 bananas, strawberries, and rum and maple syrup. Blend together all the ingredients along with fresh cream and serve with mint.