Thames Barges, Weekend Cooking,

Something I saw or read made me think of my early days. After the war, that's World War II, my father who was always boat mad, discovered a place on the river Medway that was converting Thames Barges into livable accommodation  but retaining the basic sailing abilities of the vessels. My father was immediately captivated and ended up buying one and selling the very lovely Georgian house we lived in. Thames Barges were originally designed to carry all kinds of goods such as bricks or straw, up and down the rivers of England and along the coasts. The black and white picture is that of our barge, Iota. The coloured one shows a barge fully rigged.

They had a very shallow draft (i.e. didn't need much water) and could be handled by a man and a boy. They were quite majestic to see sailing the coasts and rivers and it is, to me, so sad to see them rotting on the shores these days. Including the one we lived on. I was sent a photo of her which I can't find. My father decided to take her, Iota, to France, Belgium and Holland even though they were not built to cross the Channel or North Sea. He also had part of the keel removed, it was partly inside the boat and in some barges who's owners had left it, you had to step over it to move about the living areas. Very awkward. My dad was told that Iota would break her back, she certainly didn't, despite the odd predicaments he landed her in. One time he got caught by an ebbing tide and ended up with the bow on one mudbank and the stern on the other with nothing supporting her in the middle. I think my father was a tad nervous but she survived it for close on 6 hours before the tide came back. He also entered Iota in some of the Thames Barge races which took place in those days. Barges were originally black, but some of the barge owner competitors had painted them white and they looked quite fantastic taking part. I see the races are still happening so I guess not all barges are rotting on the beach.

For Saturday at dinner I cooked the Apricot Glazed Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin which I prepared on Christmas Day. This time I made a better job of it and it was really good. Christmas time the bacon I had was a bit too thick but I hadn't bought it specially because I hadn't anticipated cooking on Christmas Day!! If you are looking for a special dish for an occasion I can highly recommend it. However, I have decided I cannot make Chocolate Volcanoes. Mine definitely do not work properly. So, screw it, I will buy the ones from my grocery store which are very good. I don't know why they don't work for me, I use the same recipe Matt used and they worked fine for him. Mine are kind of OK but don't turn out of the pots very well. We ended up eating from their pots with a dollop of cream on top.

I thought this looks good for a cold winter's night. If you live in Australia you will have to wait a few months I guess.

Slow Cooker Thai Beef Curry

The challenge: The flavors are always too bland.

Our solution: It’s true that the long, slow cooking period mellows flavors. But bold spices, in bold amounts, will hold their own over time. Here, we start with big flavor from a good amount of curry

paste and fish sauce, and we finish with fresh touches of cilantro and lime juice that amplify the taste of everything. Serve over a bed of brown rice or brown rice noodles to catch all the sauce.

1 Tbs canola oil
2 lbs beef stew meat
1/2 cup unsalted beef stock
1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs light brown sugar
1 (10-oz.) yellow onion, sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup well-shaken canned full-fat coconut milk
8 oz haricots verts (French green beans), halved crosswise
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
9 oz fresh spinach (about 9 cups)
3 Tbs fresh lime juice
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add beef, and cook in 2 batches, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Place browned beef in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add stock to skillet, stirring and scraping to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet; transfer mixture to slow cooker. Add curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, and onion; stir to loosely combine. Cover, and cook on low until beef is very tender, about 8 hours.

2. Add coconut milk and haricots verts to slow cooker. Increase heat to high; cook until haricots verts are tender, about 12 minutes. Turn off heat; add cilantro leaves, spinach, and lime juice. Stir gently until spinach starts to wilt. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired

Servings: 8

Author: Ann Taylor Pittman
Source: Cooking Light

Have a great day
 

Christmas, Wine, Christmas Devil, Baking Risotto,

Saturday afternoon, just sitting quietly reading when we heard a knock on the door. It was a neighbour who had been cooking with her three grandsons making Christmas cookies and decided to share them with everyone. They had them all set out on a pretty tray which one of the boys was carrying. I thought it was such a nice gesture. I took one for Matt, told them my hips didn't like cookies (or words to that effect). Maybe I should have just taken a couple and shut up.

Friday we went to our LCBO (liquor store) to replace some wine and some bubbly. There was a taste testing taking place with two wines. One of which they recommended for cellaring for 10 years - you're joking, us cellar something for 10 years!! We hesitate to buy green bananas. However the second wine was Tenuta Frescobaldi di Castiglione which we both liked. The woman running the tasting assured us the wine had been drunk by Henry VIII. (Before or after he beheaded his wives). In fact, on the bottle it says it was supplied to the Papal Court and Henry VIII's court in the 1500s. That doesn't say Henry himself drank it, he might have, but who knows. It does say that this particular vineyard has been going for a year or two, or three. We bought a bottle and enjoyed it but Matt has decided it wasn't THAT special nor was it THAT expensive. Oh well.  I didn't see him leave any. I would recommend it as a very pleasant wine to have for dinner. We ate Korean Bulgogi with it, it seemed to match fairly well.

Have you heard of the Christmas Devil or Krampus? I never had, but there is a video provided by

National Geographic showing a parade with Krampus taking part. I understand he originated in the Teutonic areas of Europe and is supposed to deal with kids who are "naughty" and don't deserve a visit from Santa. He visits them on December 5th - do watch the video. From the video seems a pretty frightening character to me. National Geographic say he is also popular in America!!!

We have had quite a bit more snow this weekend but as yet not enough to completely cover the grass or in our case mud. I assume there will be people in to landscape the grounds in the spring. I hope so anyway.

I have just discovered, from Viveka of My Guilty Pleasures, that you can cook risotto in the oven, so much easier than standing and stirring. As Viveka is, herself, a professional chef, her word on cooking is good.  She has posted a recipe for Risotto with spicy sausage. I have all the ingredients so will be trying it later this week.

Meanwhile I have resurrected a recipe for Chocolate Volcanoes which I love. Matt used to make them but he doesn't do much cooking any more and I have been buying them at the local grocery store.  I decided that is probably a bit of an expensive way to go hence finding the recipe. They were labelled as Warm Chocolate Cake so it took a bit to find it LOL.

Chocolate Volcanoes

6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/3 cup all purpose (plain) flour

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). In heavy pot on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly.

2. Beat together sugar and egg yolks with electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 4 mins.

3. Pour in chocolate mixture and beat together for 5 mins.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about three mins. Fold into mixture along with flour.

5. Pour into 6 nonstick buttered moulds or non-stick muffin tins (we use cocottes or ramekins). Bake for 5 to 7 mins or until edges are just cooked and centre is still liquid. Cool for 5 mins in cooking dish. Carefully remove to serving dishes. Serve with lightly whipped cream

6. Freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Take ramekins out of freezer and remove plastic wrap. Bake volcanoes for 18 minutes - no longer! Cool on rack for 5 minutes. The outsides will be crusty and the centers will be gooey - sort of like your average volcano

Servings: 6

Source: Food & Drink

Have a great day
 

Hip, Chocolate Volcanoes, A to Z, National Geographic Photo,

Now isn't that interesting, having been to the doctor, been told to go see the orthopaedic surgeon, I went to exercises on Friday and mostly had no problems and then I spent the whole of Saturday hardly using my cane at all. It seems highly possible to me that the surgeon will say still too early, unless the pain comes back to what it was. I think the inflammation has finally subsided so that my hip is getting back to what it was before my fall. Fingers crossed anyway. I do take anti-inflammatories so this may have done the trick.

Saturday dinner I tried another "packet" recipe. My peers will be ashamed of me, however, in Zehrs, our local grocery store, I came across Chocolate Volcanoes in a box and couldn't resist trying them which we finally did last night. They were very good. We had one problem, you know that cream I froze? Well I added a dollop on each cake but despite being told that they would, they didn't defrost. Odd because they defrosted on the mincemeat pie a week ago. Anyway, I guess I should have taken them out of the freezer in advance. This store does a Decadent Chocolate cookie too which is to die for. They really get their chocolate right. This is a dessert I will be keeping on hand for the future, mind you the calorie count is pretty high, 390 for one cake.

Oh, by the way, if you didn't catch it anywhere, this year's A to Z Challenge sign up starts on January 25th. I am still dithering. It's fun but it's also a lot of work. Not, for me, so much the writing as the visiting which is essential during this period. It is a great way to meet new blogging friends and to discover new and interesting blogs, but it does take up a lot of time.

I had an email from the National Geographic today showing some of their prize winning photographs. Their photographers are brilliant, but this picture particularly caught my attention.

The photo is by Stephen Wilkes and he took a series of photographs at different times during the day and then "stitched" them together to make Day to Night - Serengeti. I now have this as my wallpaper.

To be honest, I cannot imagine making these, but I couldn't resist sharing the recipe, they sound so delicious. They would be so impressive at a dinner party


Blood Orange Soufflés

Pastry chef Jen Yee of NYC's Lafayette Grand Cafe and Bakery uses blood oranges at the height of their season to make her tangy warm souffles in orange cups.

SERVINGS: 8

INGREDIENTS
8 medium blood oranges
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon blood orange marmalade
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting


HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut a very thin slice off the bottom of each orange so it stands upright; be careful not to pierce the pith. Slice 1 inch off the tops to expose the fruit. Using a superfine citrus zester, such as a Microplane, grate 1/2 teaspoon of zest from the tops and reserve; discard the remaining tops.

Using a sharp paring knife or grapefruit spoon, scoop out the fruit into a medium bowl. Hollow out the oranges, being careful not to pierce through the skin and collecting all the juice in the bowl. Arrange the orange shells on the prepared baking sheet.

Squeeze the juice from the fruit and strain into a bowl. Transfer 1/2 cup of the juice to a medium saucepan; reserve the rest for another use. Add 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over moderate heat; cook until the sugar is dissolved.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and the cornstarch until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the hot orange juice. Add the mixture to the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened to a pudding consistency, about 1 minute. Whisk in the reserved 1/2 teaspoon of grated zest and the marmalade. Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl and let cool until lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold the whites into the cooled orange mixture until well blended. Spoon the filling into the orange shells, leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Run the tip of a sharp paring knife just around the inner rim of the oranges to help the soufflés rise evenly.
Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until the soufflés are risen and golden on top. Transfer to serving plates, dust 
with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.


MAKE AHEAD

The souffles can be prepared through Step 6 and kept at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

Have a great day
 

Dinner Party, Russian Boy, Upgrading.

I’m pleased to say our dinner party went off very well on Saturday evening and our company was great. A very nice younger couple. I particularly like our male friend as he is a computer expert and very interesting to talk to, for me anyway, Matt of course, is not interested in such things. However conversation didn’t only revolve around computers but was pretty far ranging. I mentioned the pork roast we were doing, but we served a shrimp cocktail first although our female guest doesn’t eat shrimp so she had asparagus pesto. For dessert we ate Chocolate Volcanoes which are amongst my favourites. I wonder why??? I have actually given the recipe here but maybe I will again in case you don’t remember it.

On Saturday I mentioned the case of the 7 yr. old Russian boy, Artyom Savelyev, who was sent back on his own by his adopted mother. The people on the flight said he seemed a normal little boy, psychologists in Russia have said the same thing. The Russians have stopped allowing adoptions for the moment – apparently 16 children who have been adopted from Russia have been badly abused by their American adoptive parents leading to the death of these children. I am not surprised the Russians are angry. As I said I didn’t understand why Americans were adopting Russian kids anyway. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, who is in Russia in Obama’s train, spoke about it on the weekend version of GMA and it was from him we heard the psychological evaluations. According to the article in the Star http://tinyurl.com/y89xbec the mother said the child had threatened to torch their home amongst other things. Obviously I don’t know, but I wonder if the psychologists can actually find out what is or is not wrong in a short evaluation. However they are saying there is signs of scarring on his shins and hands which is not very old. The mother and grandmother appear to live in some kind of compound and the press have not been able to get to them, but the FBI and the local sheriff are investigating.

I spent the major portion of Sunday upgrading my laptop to Windows 7. I had to reload all my programmes as the version of Vista I had was not compatible with the version of 7. However, I seem to be almost back to normal – but it does take a while – I am pleased that the backup of the movies I had purchased on iTunes worked OK – they said it would, but until you have actually tried it!!! My cookery book programme key wouldn’t work although I had a careful record and in fact discovered I had the right one, so now I am awaiting a new one from Living Cookbook.

Here is the recipe for the chocolate volcanoes which Matt made on Saturday. We had two guests which meant there were two left over for us on Sunday. I tend to almost prefer them cold.

Warm Chocolate Cake (Volcanoes)

Source Food and Drink

Serves 6

6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate 2/3 cup unsalted butter 1/3 cup sugar 6 egg yolks 3 egg whites 1/3 cup all purpose (plain) flour

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). In heavy pot on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly.

2. Beat together sugar and egg yolks with electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 4 mins.

3. Pour in chocolate mixture and beat together for 5 mins.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about three mins. Fold into mixture along with flour.

5. Pour into 6 nonstick buttered moulds or non-stick muffin tins (we use cocottes or ramekins). Bake for 5 to 7 mins or until edges are just cooked and centre is still liquid. Cool for 5 mins in cooking dish. Carefully remove to serving dishes. Serve with lightly whipped cream

Have a great day.

Saturday Dinner, Elizabeth Moon

Well our dinner party on Saturday was very successful. One of the guests took pictures but judging by past performance, if I ever see them, I shall be surprised. Because my friend has eating problems these days, we did Goat Cheese Potato Purée which just slides down and is always popular. Our Romanian guest was very pleased with them too. It is a Bobby Flay recipe from way back which we have been using off and on for years. Everyone was delighted with the Chocolate Volcano dessert too. In fact, everyone liked everything which is always very pleasing to host and hostess.

Last night we had leftovers including one chocolate volcano which we split. When cold they turn into a fudgey consistency which is absolutely delicious. They are a real chocolate hit if you are a chocoholic like me. I serve them with a dollop of Double Devon Cream which just adds to the beauty of the flavours. Unfortunately, Chocolate Volcanoes are not a dieter's delight and contain a lot of calories, as does the potato dish of course.

I have just finished another Elizabeth Moon book Trading in Danger which I thoroughly enjoyed and have already started the next story, Marque and Reprisal. They are the start of a series called Vatta Wars about the daughter of a space trading company and I can highly recommend them to the spec. fic. buffs out there. I didn't realise I had read Elizabeth Moon before, but I actually own a book called Sassinak in which she collaborated with Ann McCaffery who is one of my favourites. Her blog is fascinating to read too.

Having talked about the Goat Cheese Purée I had better pass on the recipe - it is, as I mentioned, one we got from a Bobby Flay programme a few years back. I used to like his programme then, however, he has switched over to practially all barbecue which doesn't interest me nearly as much. I have quite a few recipes from his older programme.

Goat Cheese Potato Purée
Serves: 4

1 1/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces soft goat cheese
6 potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced and kept warm
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place goat cheese in a small food processor with 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and process until smooth. Rice potatoes into a large bowl. Mix in the butter and 1 cup of the heavy cream. Fold in the goat cheese mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste

I actually mash the potatoes and then whisk in the butter, cheese and finally cream. Either way, it has to be very soft, too many people try and make it like a mash, it isn't, its a purée and should be slightly runny.

Have a great day.

Charlton Heston, Dining Tables and Chocolate Volcanoes

Did you hear that Charlton Heston died at the weekend. The passing of another great icon. Not that he was the greatest actor in the world, but his movies were frequently blockbusters. I loved the movies where he played Moses and Ben Hur for instance. In fact, having it brought to mind, I watched Ben Hur on Sunday night. I had taped it years ago. Matt has always disliked Charlton Heston, his comment about Ben Hur was the best actors were the horses. I was once again thrilled to watch the chariot race and wish we had such races today.

Of course he was also very unpopular with his views as President of the National Rifle Association. I have seen some very nasty comments about this on line in the last couple of days. People cannot disassociate the actor and his work from his personal life. I was going to say private life, but it wasn't very private.

Yesterday, after bowling, we decided to go to a local furniture store to buy Matt a new chair. We have been looking for a while now. He has been sitting on a love seat for the last 7 years and has totally ruined the fabric, it had a kind of velvet finish; not any more. Matt has fidgeted the nap right off it. It looks terrible. So, we found him a leather lounger which, I hope, will fit in with the sofa and chair we still have and last him a bit longer. Someone is actually taking the love seat to recover for their own use, not something I am capable of doing; I did think of having it re-covered, not the cheapest proposition.

I saw a dining table I liked, it would seat 8 which I would would be great. Matt swears there isn't room for it, I'm not so sure. Every so often it would be nice to be able to seat that many people and if I found a suitable table with a leaf in it I could extend it when I need it. We will see how that little discussion proceeds. This is our current table which will seat 6 fairly comfortably.

Because I have been discussing chocolate desserts with my cooking friends lately, I thought I would pass on a recipe I got from Food and Drink which is a quarterly magazine put out by the LCBO or Liquor Control Board of Ontario. They have lots of wonderful recipes, including one for the best carrot cake I have ever come across. However, this time it is Warm Chocolate Cakes which some people refer to as volcanoes.

Warm Chocolate Cake
Serves: 6

6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
2/3 C unsalted butter
1/3 C sugar
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/3 C all purpose (plain) flour


Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). In heavy pot on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly.

Beat together sugar and egg yolks with electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 4 mins.

Pour in chocolate mixture and beat together for 5 mins.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about three mins. Fold into mixture along with flour.

Pour into 6 nonstick buttered moulds or non-stick muffin tins (we use cocottes or ramekins). Bake for 5 to 7 mins or until edges are just cooked and centre is still liquid. Cool for 5 mins in cooking dish. Carefully remove to serving dishes. Serve with lightly whipped cream. Do NOT look at the calories *g*.

Have a great day.