Gourmet on a Grant!

Guess who's back...?

2009-10-27T01:06:00.002Z

Currently listening to: LBC

I have be disgraced into starting blogging again after I found a forum recommending my site even though I'd stopped. Anyway, a lot has happened since my last blog on 22nd April 2009. I've finished in Cardiff and am no longer a student :( and also not working fulltime as a composer - double :(

On the up side I am working as a freelance yacht skipper and also doing composing work on the side whenever someone has a mad moment and forgets about the current financial crisis!

I promise to continue blogging my frugal ways of cooking, and hopefully with my job I might be blogging from all 4 corners of the world...

Hope you're all well

Mike

Longtime no speak!

2009-04-22T15:42:00.008+01:00

Currently listening to: The light chatter of people in the SU coffee shop!

Firstly I want to apologise for not blogging for ages but I was very busy writing my dissertation before Easter (very boring... I wont go into it) and then over the Easter break I was working in the med delivering a yacht. However working on the yacht gave me the inspiration for this blog...

Cooking on a budget on a yacht!

My most recent yacht trip involved me delivering a yacht from Antibes (South France) to Nidri (Greece). After a week of waiting for the boat builders to finish there work we were ready to set off, however due to some accounting errors our prevision budget was tiny... To cut a long story short we ended up with a budget of €150 to feed 3 crew for 5 days. Now this would normally be fine, but Antibes is a millionaires playground where you need a mortgage to buy a lettuce!

With this stupidly small budget my skills as a student came to the fore and we lived off a diet mainly consisting of pasta, rice and simple sauces. One more thing you have to consider on a yacht is you normally only have 2 hobs and no grill (like a lot of student flats) so all the food had to use a maximum of 2 pans.

Anyway, I'll post some of the dishes I made over the next week or so... in the mean time I need to get back to some work.

See you all soon

Reduced counter challenge.

2009-03-19T12:09:00.004Z

Currently listening to: "Falling Down" by Oasis

Whilst slightly tipsy thanks to an afternoon of St. Paddys day drinking a mate bet that I couldn't make a decent meal from what is on the reduced counter at our local Tesco Express. Unfortunately the counter was rather bare (literally all there was were some chicken breasts, a pack of broccoli and some bacon) so the meal is a bit boring... however I'm planning to do this regularly so hopefully it'll turn out some more interesting combinations!

Chicken in a Cheddar and Bacon Sauce with Broccoli and Sweetcorn.

I just poached the chicken then made the cheese sauce my usual way and added small pieces of fried bacon... EASY!

Sorry the pic is a bit rubbish, my friend has borrowed my SLR so had to use my phone!

New flavors on toast!

2009-03-11T16:30:00.007Z

Currently listening to: "Children of Sanchez" by Chuck Mangione

I recently got my hands on some new jams and curds from Cottage Delight (the parent company of my much raved about Spanks) and decided to do a taste test with my now self proclaimed "Jam and Curb Connoisseur" housemate (below).

Firstly, Blackcurrant Curd

I was most excited about this one being a big fan of lemon curd I was keen to try it, and believe me it didn't disappoint.

The texture is everything you'd expect from a curd, however this one is one has bits of blackcurrant in it. The initial taste is a hint of buttery lemon then a subtle taste of blackcurrant takes over your mouth. We tried this on both brown and white toast, but I have plans to put it as a filling for a cake... YUM!

Next, Red Gooseberry Jam

Now I do like jams but I find quite a few (especially strawberry jam) a bit too sweet and the acute bitterness of some marmalades too sharp. However this jam lies somewhere between the two. Although strictly not a marmalade as it doesn't contain citrus zest the Red Gooseberries give aslight bitter twist. I really enjoyed this jam much more then I thought I would and will definitelybe buying some more to put on my toast in the morning.

Whilst on the topic of cottage industry retail, I was informed about a website (Local Food Advisor) aimed at promoting local food suppliers.

Anyway, better get ready to go out. Going for a Chinese with the sailing team after a no wind training session :(

Back in the Kitchen...

2009-03-06T01:20:00.007Z

Currently Listening to "Soul with a Capital S" by Tower of Power

After all of my recent eatting out I got back in the kitchen to cook up a meal for a mate so I went back to my good old friend "Easy Mushroom Pasta" which I featured over a year ago now (with a couple of alterations).

This time I sliced and baked the mushrooms at 200c for 4-mins, and added strips of chicken into the sauce. As I've already shown you how to do the sauce I'll blog about prepairing the chicken as I alway have mates asking me how to do it. Now I learnt this wat whilst working in a gastro pub so I know none of the technical words for bits of the chicken so please bare with me...!

How to butterfly and cook a chicken breast!

Take your breast and flip it over
Chop off the flappy bit of meat as shown below

Slice the breast open (as shown below again) and open up

Coat in crack pepper (or what ever you want to put on it)
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 200c for 15-20mins

My knife is a bit blunt so it really hashed up cutting it into strips!

Anyway this was the finished product

Got to get to bed though have a lot of portfolio work to get through in the morning!

P.S - I forgot to mention in my last blog GBK have a buy one get one free offer at the mo (mon to thurs - runs out the end of the month) click here to print the voucher.

Birthday Food

2009-02-26T15:49:00.013Z

Currently Listening to: "Maybe I Will" by Julia Nunes

Last week was a very long week, I had to juggle composing my opera with celebrating my twenty-something birthday... I know, it's a hard life! With it being so chaotic I didn't have time to cook even one meal, so spent most meal times in either a pub, restaurant or greasy spoon cafe. So I thought, rather then write a blog about what "I" cooked, I'll do one about what I didn't cook.

Day 1 (my twenty-something Birthday)

It has become somewhat of a birthday tradition with my mates for us to head to our local greasy spoon called Daiquiri's (now I know a place named after an alcoholic drink is never a good place for breakfast but stay with me...) for breakfast.

This place is truly amazing, in the morning it's a quality breakfast joint, as the day wares on it become an even better Mexican bar/restaurant. The food here is 2nd to none for the price range, with a full English (and half pint of orange juice) cooked to perfection for £4.50 how can you go wrong?! The thick bacon is grilled not fried, the beans are Heinz not some cheapo make and the sausages and pretty damn good too.

In the evening I went out for a meal with my housemates & co. and after a bit of faffing about ended up in one of Cardiff's two new "Wagamama's". Now I was quite excited because several mate have been raving about this chain. When I got there I was somewhat confused as I didn't really fancy soup... was kinda stuck! Anyway after trying to workout what everything was I settled for the "Salmon Ramen" - noodles in a pork and chicken spiced miso soup topped with a grilled fillet of salon, seasonal greens, menma, spring onions, wakame and carrots. garnished with mixed sesame seeds. Now I must say I really like the flavours of this dish, but because it is just one HUGE bowl of it and nothing else I felt it became a bit sameish. For desert I shared (now that is showing my age) the White Chocolate and Ginger Cheese Cake... YUMMY!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it and will be going back sometime, I just don't rave about it!

The whole day was washed down with some sublime cocktails in local bar Milgi. I had - from what I remember:

Fruit Salad Martini - taste just like the sweets!

Espresso & Vanilla Daiquiris - the sophisticated vodka red bull. The Sailor Jerry's gives a great Vanilla twist whilst the three coffee beans placed on top really finish off the presentation.

Organic Milgo Mojito - which is: Muddled organic basil, lime, gin, lychee liqueur & elderflower sugar. Sounds random but is sooooo refreshing.

Day 2 (the day of the offical birthday party)

One of my sisters came down for the party so we went out for a meal before hand. Unfortunately Pizza Express was rather busy so we headed up to the new GBK (Gormet Burger Kitchen - right next to Wagamama) which was another first for me. As per neither I nor my sister could decided on what to have, luckily we were both torn between the same two burgers:

Pesterella - 100% Aberdeen Angus Scotch Beef Burger, pesto, mozzarella, salad and relish.

Chicken, Camembert and Cranberry

So we ordered both between the two of us and shared. I loved them both and really couldn't pick a favourite. Now this is a place I certainly am gonna rave about!

Day 3 (the morning after)

After waking up rather hungry and dry mouthed we headed to our local new Varsity Bar for some grub. Now I never expected to say this but I had one of the best pizza's I've ever had... I ordered a Breakfast Pizza (which is literally a full English on a pizza) and it was amazing. The base was stone baked with seemingly freshly made dough served on a wooden chopping board. Now I wouldn't normally fork out £6.95 on a pizza from a pub but this was worth it.

Anyway, all that talk about eating out just makes me want to get back in the kitchen!

Expect a flourish of home baked food soon...

Great Balls of Fire!

2009-02-19T22:12:00.005Z

Currently Listening to: "String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110 - Largo" - Dmitri Shostakovich

In an attempt to finish off my fresh pasta before I go training up north this weekend so went to a recipie I learnt when working in a gastro pub.

Meatballs in Tomato and Chilli Sauce and Pasta

I used my usual Tomato and Chilli Sauce and cooked the pasta as I always do, but the meatballs is a first for this blog!

Serves 2 (6-8 meatballs)

120g lean beef mince
120g pork mince
2 tablespoons of fine bread crumbs
1/2 small onion,finely chopped
1 medium egg
2 table spoons of water
1 pinch of salt
2 pinches of black pepper

Method

Mix all indgredients together and form in balls about 2" in diameter
Place on grill pan and grill on high for about 12-15min turning regularly
Put in pan with sauce and warm through
Serve with pasta

Anyway, got to keep this short as I have a lot of work still to do... oh the joys of being a student :(

"Tiny salmon swimming in a stream..."

2009-02-18T22:19:00.005Z

Currently Listening to: "Don't Worry Be Happy" - Bob Marley

I had two fillets of salmon in the fridge that needed to be eaten and I didn't want to do my usual Canjan Salmon Salad and I had no potatoes in to do Salmon and mash so I put my thinking cap on...

Salmon & Broccoli Pasta with a Tomato, Basil and Mascarpone Sauce

The Sauce (serves 2 - I've chilled the 2nd portion for my lunch tomorrow!)

3 large tomatoes
a large pinch of freshly chopped basil
2 Tablespoons of Mascarpone Cheese
a small pinch of salt

Blend the tomatoes
stir in the basil and salt
Melt the Mascarpone on a low heat
Add the tomato and simmer for 3-mins

The rest of the dish...

Fresh Pasta
A hand full broccoli broken into small sprigs
2 Salmon fillets

Put the salmon in the microwave (I know I'm usually anit-micro waving, but it really does cook salmon very well) for about 2mins 30sec (750watts)
Whilst the salmon is cooking cook the pasta (with a pinch of salt and a drip of cooking oil) and broccoli in the same pan. If you use fresh pasta this should work out just the right amount of time to keep the broccoli nice crunchy and full of flavor. If you're not using fresh pasta add the broccoli for the final 1 min.
Once the salmon is finished break into chunks, mix with sauce and warm through slowly.

This really is one of my favourite pasta dishes. The chef at my local Italian take away has promised to teach me how to make "the best" fresh pasta, can't wait!

Quick Cake to share MKII

2009-02-18T00:41:00.008Z

Currently Listening to: "America" by Razorlight

After a short stint in the pub we decided to use up the rest of the half dozen eggs, but with Tesco now closed our imagination limited to what I had in stock to make more Quick Cakes!

Firstly we went back to the Raisin mix we did, however this time we added a blob of jam. We didn't mix it in, just let it sink so it'd stay together like in a doughnut...

This worked really well and I prefered it to the original version.

Next (after a quick game of Pro Evo) a mate had the genius idea of doing Chocolate Orange, so with a few heaped tea spoons of Belgium Hot Chocolate powder mixed with ca. 50ml of bitty orange juice.

The orange flavour was good, but we need to think about increasing the chocolate flavour...!

Finally we made one by mixing in golden syrup... need I say anymore!

Quick Cake to share!

2009-02-17T21:17:00.009Z

Currently Listening to: "My Friends - Sweeney Todd" by Stephen Sondheim

Well it's been a very long time I last blogged and I really do miss it so I decided to kick things off again and keep my blog alive!

Dissertation boredom and final project insanity is starting to kick in so today I decided to try something I've seen on a few blogs recently - "5 min Cake". Much to my disgust my local Tesco doesn't sell "Cocoa Powder" so I've adapted the recipe and tried out a few flavours. We've experimented and adapted the method to come up with what we think is a rather good formula:

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons of normal flour
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
4 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 Pinches of Salt
1 Egg
4 Tablespoons of Milk
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
Flavour of your choice!

Method:

Mix Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar, Salt and you chosen flavour in a large mug.
Add the egg and lightly mix.
Pour in the Milk and Oil, and mix well.
Put in Microwave at full power (750watts) for 3mins.
Let stand for 30secs.
Empty onto plate and eat straight away!

We have so far tried three flavours: Coffee, Vanilla & Raisin and Chocolate. A wee warning, for the flavours to work well you need to make it quite strong... we don't know why but it takes a lot to get the flavours come through.

Coffee

Our first attempt was coffee, so to make the flavour we used two heaped tea spoons of instant coffee mixed with two table spoons of boiling water.

This cake was nuked for 4mins which was too long as the texture was rather rubbery, and we only put in half a tea spoon of baking powder making it rather heavy.

Vanilla & Raisin

By now we'd learnt out lesson about over nuking and using too little baking powder. For the vanilla and Raisin we put in some vanilla extract and raisins into the mix. This made a beautiful texture and flavour.

Chocolate

Our local Tesco is rather lame and doesn't stock Cocoa Powder so to make this flavour we took a large lump of Nutella and mixed it with a little bit of boiling water before adding to the mix.

In retrospect we should of used more nutella as the taste wasn't strong enough...

These cakes are great quick and easy to make, I can see them becoming a drunken munchies snack in my house!

Watch this space for more flavours and the continuation of my blog!

Hunters Chicken

2008-09-09T16:36:00.007+01:00

Currently listening to: "Chop Suey" by Richard Cheese

How rubbish has the weather been this summer?! I can't remember the last day we had the resembled anything like summer but today dreadful, I daren't leave the house as I risk coming home looking like a drowned rat due to a sharp shower. I offered to cook for the family this week which gave me an excuse to use my new Spanks products.

Hunters Chicken

Serves 4

This is a pub classic dish which is so easy to make, but what makes this dish is the choice of ingredients.

4 Free range Chicken Breasts
2 Balls of fresh white mozzarella (sliced)
4 slices of Waitrose Palmer Ham (really spelt Parma Ham)
Spanks 'Gents Sauce'

Preheat oven to 200c. Once the oven is heated, place a slice of Palmer Ham (Parma Ham) on top of each chicken breast and put in oven for 30mins. Take out of oven and lightly over the ham in Gents Sauce. Cover each breast with the sliced mozzarella and grill 'till it has melted covering the whole breast.

Serve with seasonal veg.

Although the directions on the bottle of gents sauce says it goes well with strong cheese when used lightly in this dish it really helps bring out some awesome flavours.

For afters we had various cheeses with water biscuits and crackers. I used this opertunity to get out my other new spanks product "Apple, Raisin & Walnut Chutney". I'm not normally a big fan of chutney, nor am I a fan of cooked apple but this version really did take me by suprise. So much so we nearly finished off the whole jar in one night.

Anyway, I've also gone through a bottle of Spanks Tangy Tomato Ketchup in the past week but that's a story for another post!

P.S The Gents Sauce is a great hangover cure with grilled cheese on toast!

Chicken and Chilli Tomarto Pasta

2008-08-18T11:46:00.006+01:00

Currently Watching: The British sailors clearing up at the Beijing Olympics!

It's been a frantic couple of weeks with me going on holiday then my computer quite literally blowing up! Anyway, I'm back now and loving following the Olympics.

I made this a few weeks ago using what I could find in the fridge...

Chicken and Chili Tomato Pasta

I made the sauce with cherry tomatoes as I love the sweet flavour of them in a sauce. Basically, boil 300g of cherry tomatoes per portion needed. I know it's a lot but they really do reduce quite a lot. Once the skins start to come loose drain and mash! Keep simmering...

Fry off chopped onion, chili, garlic and pepper then add to tomato sauce. Fry your desired meat (in my case Chicken) and add to sauce. Add spinach for the final 30secs of cooking. Season to taste and serve with pasta.

This is a very simple dish but full of flavour.

I've just taken delivery of lots of new Spanks products so expect some exotic recipes very soon!

Just thought I'd share this photo I took down Crosby beach of Anthony Gormley's "Another Place"

Mike

P.S Oh, please can everyone watch "Last Choir Standing" and vote for "Only Men Aloud"... I'm close mates with about half of the lads, and I feel they really do deserve to win!

International Inspiration!

2008-07-11T13:13:00.004+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Shosholoza" - Black Umfolozi

Whilst looking at my visitor stats earlier I noticed an huge increase in international readers for my blog. As I looked at all the different nations I thought "What is the national dish of New Zealand?!" This gave me the idea to once a week attempt a different national dish, but I need your help!

Please can everyone leave a comment (or send me an e-mail) saying:

1) What country you come from

2) What you consider to be your national dish.

I will then work my way through this list week by week.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

Mike

Not quite what I promised...

2008-07-10T20:28:00.007+01:00

Currently watching: "Master Chef!"

As promised I am writing my 2nd blog of the day. However after deciding what to make for the starter circumstances changed and I was told to fend for myself on the condition I only used food in the fridge, rather then opting for the easy way out and heading straight for the freezer.

After looking at a nearly empty fridge for about 10mins I made one of my healthy favourites:

Cajun Salmon Caesar Salad (without anchovies because there weren't any in the fridge...!)

Caesar Sauce

Double Cream
Pinch of salt
a squirt of lemon juice
half a teaspoon of parmesan cheese
some crack pepper
2 teaspoon cottage cheese (this is my own personal twist, some people don't like this!)

This is a simple way to whip up a quick Caesar sauce:

Whip the Cream, salt and lemon juice together. One the mixture thickens a little mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Job Done!

The Rest of the Dish

Pre-oven to 200C, take a Salmon Fillet and dust with Cajun seasoning and place in pre-heated oven for 15-20mins (depending on size). Whilst the Salmon is in the oven make your salad...

I used half a baby gem lettuce, peppers, cucumber and baby tomatoes. With the baby gem Lettuce I tossed in a drip of Farrington's "Blackberry and Vinegar Dressing". I was introduced to this dressing by my sister sometime ago but haven't been able to buy it as it was only sold local to her. However much to my delight, last week my local Waitrose started selling it along side there other new British produce. Yet another success story for real British cottage industry food mixing it with the big boys!

Anyway back to the dish in question... make salad on a baby gem base and add sauce. Sit down and enjoy!

I'll blog again very soon - promise.

...and the worst food and drink gadget award goes to...

2008-07-10T17:03:00.005+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Bernstien: Westside Story Suite" - Joshua Bell

I was browsing the newly redesigned Tastespotting.com and I spotted a post about the following invention:

Ladies and Gentleman I am proud to present the "Gourmet on a Grant Worst Food and Drink Gadget 2008 Award" to -

Wine Glass Holder Necklace

from wineenthusiast.com

Now I can sort of see the point if you're speed-wine tasting (like speed-dating but with wine. I'm sure they must do it in a America, if not I'm claiming the idea) and walking from table to table with the same glass whilst trying to write in your note pad. However the website is trying to sell it as a dinner party accessorise?!

"Keep your hands free at parties by keeping your wine close at heart! This clever little clip with adjustable strap holds a regular-size stemmed glass to your chest, giving you the freedom to snack and socialize as you sip!" wineenthusiast.com

No prizes for guessing in what country the website is based that is trying to sell this gadget to make stuffing your face with free canapés easier!

Also, isn't this invention particularly a bad idea for all you white wine drinkers out there? The glass will have more contact with your body, therefore warming your previously perfectly chilled measure of wine...

Anyway, must dash as I have the night off work tonight so I told Mum that I'd make a starter (which I will blog, honest) to go with the salmon that she's cooking for dinner tonight. Haven't even thought of what to make... Good job our Tesco is 24hrs!

Mike

New Job!

2008-07-04T00:43:00.003+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Il Postino (main theme)" - Luis Enríquez Bacalov

Firstly I better start off with a HUGE apology as I haven't blogged for over a month... It's been a stupidly busy time for me recently, and because I'm living at home I don't cook as much as I do when I'm at uni.

Anyway, today I started a new part time job in a little restaurant called "Michael's". I initially applied for a job as waiting staff but they noticed on my CV that I had some kitchen experience so they offered me a job as Sous Chef. I obviously bit their hand off as the Chef -Patron (Michael Wichmann - it gets a bit confusing as myself the other assistant chef and the the chef-patron are called Mike) has worked at some of the worlds leading restaurants and has a couple of Michelin stars under his belt.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed my first shift and is by far the best kitchen I've worked in to date, all the food is prepared from fresh produce and there isn't a freezer in sight! I only took a picture of my first copy cat creation (Michael's signature desert) Chocolate Moose. Basically homemade white and milk chocolate mouse stacked and sandwiched between thin wafers of dark chocolate with a few raspberries thrown in for good measure. My decoration could do with a bit of work but I was generally pleased with this first attempt...

If anyone is up in Birkdale in the coming weeks for the British Golf Open it's well worth booking a seat in this great little place for some fantastic food (I know I'm a wee bit bias but hey!).

Speak soon

Mike

White fish?!

2008-05-27T16:07:00.004+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Folk Song Suite" - by R. Vaughan Williams

Firstly I need to say a HUGE sorry for not posting of a while, but I've been über busy over the past month and haven't had the chance to cook anything new or exciting besides the odd BBQ!

Well, last night a mate invited me around to his house again and yet again he couldn't be bothered cooking so I had free range of his kitchen and ingredients. Unfortunately the only meat I could find was a Tesco bag of frozen fish quite ominously labelled "White Fish" and of which the ingredients were "White fish, water".

Now we're no sure what the fish was but it was quite nice considering...

Considering the lack of meat the cupboards were stocked quite well for veg so I ended up doing some roasted Med Veg with an orange and dill sauce. Now I know orange is never normally served with fish but it really did work well.

Cooking the fish

Especially when cooking from frozen I find the best way to fillets of fish is to blast them in the microwave for 1min 30s each side with a knob of butter and seasoning onto (obviously the timing is dependant on what power microwave you have and the sixe of the fillet) then I seal the pieces off by very quickly pan frying them.

The Med Veg

Med Veg is really very simple. Simple dice your veg (I usually use red & white onions, peppers, cherry tomatoes, courgettes, carrots and button mushrooms) in to big pieces and put into a deep roasting tray. Chop some tarragon and sprinkle over the veg, and then cover in olive oil. Put into a pre-heated oven at 200c and leave to roast for 20-25mins stirring at regular intervals.

Don't worry about making too much as it is always nice to eat the next day cold, and especially in a ciabatta roll with green pesto.

The Sauce

For the sauce I thought I'd experiment a bit by blending olive oil, with a bit of orange juice, Bols Orange Liqueur and some Dill and heating slowly in a pan. This was the most simple and impromptu sauce I've ever done but it really tasted great!

Yet again my mates were please with the ready steady cook style meal I cooked for them, I think it helped the meal was washed down with a nice bottle of Wolf Blass.

That's it for now; I promise to post again soon

Mike

More Charity...

2008-05-21T00:21:00.003+01:00

Currently Listening to: "You can't always get what you want" - Rusted Root
As well as doing the Cardiff Half Marathon in October I'm also doing a Jailbreak next month...

This is how it works:
In a team of 3, we have to get as far away from RAF Woodvale (nr Liverpool) and back again in 60hrs without spending a single penny!

We get points for every mile travelled, task completed and pound donated. So, the further we get and more we rasie for "Cash for Kids" the better the chance we have of beating the 9 other competing teams!

So please visit our online donation page to help us on our way. Also if anyone has any contacts in the commercial aviation field as we are trying to blag a flight out of the country...

You can also follow our progress on our Jailbreak blog.

I promise to blog some food again soon :p

Mike

Sorry!

2008-05-19T09:34:00.002+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Drive" - Incubus

Just a quick blog to say sorry! I've been stupidly busy with composing and a part time job and seriously haven't had the time to cook anything blog worthy...
Although evenone at work keeps commenting on how adventurous my lunchboxes are!

Hope everyone is ok

Mike

Pre-run food: The ugly duckling of the food world!

2008-04-29T13:08:00.003+01:00

Currently listening to: "Against all the Odds" - Phil Collins

As mentioned in previous blogs I'm doing a half marathon in October. Well training is in full swing now and I can comfortably run longer distances, all I need to do is bring the pace up to race speed... I'm at my parents this week so I have nothing to do so I'm going to have a go at a 9 mile run. When I was younger I was a member in the GBR Youth Sailing Squads and this taught me all I need to know about pre-event nutrition so I'm applying the same rules to my running, so for my lunch today I made a high slow release carb meal with a bit of saturated fat to help.

The theory is if I have this meal about 90-mins before I go on the run the carbs will start releasing energy shortly after I start and will keep releasing them throughout the run. I'll also take some bananas with me as a source of quick release carb.

Anyway enough of the nutrition babble...

Bacon, Mushroom, Chilli & Tomato Pasta

Now it doesn't take a genius to workout how i made this one!

Fry all together whilst the pasta is cooking!

Anyway, my 90-mins is up. Better go on this run :(

Naked Bolognese

2008-04-22T11:19:00.004+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Queen Symphony - Mvnt 3" - Tolga Kashif

I woke up really early this morning (not like me) so my body clock is all messed up and I ended up having lunch at 11.20! Today I made a classic that I haven't made for ages Penne Bolognese, my housemates always comment on how it's the best Bolognese ever. Considering half of one of my housemate’s family is Italian and she spends most of her holidays in Southern Italy I think it's quite a compliment. Anyway enough bigging myself up...!

Today I made my "Naked Bolognese" which is my simplest yet most loved version of my recipe.

Normally I'd make my own sauce with fresh tomatoes but I hadn't got enough in to make a sauce so I went for second best, Tomato Passata.

Fry some very finely chopped (I used a blender to get them very fine) onions and one crushed clove of garlic.
One the onions and garlic are just about cooked add the whole carton of passata and break up an oxo cube into the mix.
Add a large pinch of oregano and chopped coriander, then leave to simmer for 5 mins.
Whilst the Sauce is simmering fry your mince with a splash of Worchester Sauce at the being and once the mince is starting to brown add the smallest splash of ruby port.
Mix the sauce and mince together then serve on any pasta.

The thing I've learnt recently with this recipe that less really is more, don't drown your mince in sauce, just use enough to cover the mince.

Enjoy

Rocky Roadkill

2008-04-20T21:22:00.002+01:00

Currently listening to: A choral piece I started working on today! Don't normally listen to my stuff after I've stopped composing for the day but one little bit is nagging me so i need to listen to it over and over to try and solve it! Anyway I've uploaded an extract of some of the piece, sorry about the high pitch buzz, windows movie maker is playing up. Please click here

Anyway; I've been using a lot of creative juices today whilst composing so I needed a HUGE sugar boost. Also we're my house is watching the BAFTA awards tonight (looking out for ex-college people in Cranford and Gavin & Stacey) so I wanted to make a snack for us to dip into all night...

Rocky Roadkill

My rocky roadkill is a variation on a rocky road cake; just replace the cherries and raisins with Jelly Babies! This makes it full of sugar so I also omit the the syrup that I normally use to make it more sticky.

700g Milk Chocolate
4 small bags of Malteasers
1 large bag of chopped Marshmallows
2 bags of Jelly Babies

Melt all the chocolate (I use the microwave, stirring frequently)
Cover deep baking tray with foil and pour 1/3 of the melted chocolate to cover the base.
Scatter the Malteasers, Marshmallows and Jelly Babies over the coated base and cover with the remaining chocolate.
Pop in the fridge for about 90-mins
Enjoy!

Due to omitting the syrup the result is more like a Rock Road slab then a rocky road cake, still a great snack. In the past I've used chopped nuts instead of Malteasers and chopped fruit instead of Jelly Babies.

Hope you are all well.

Mike

Sweet Jazz

2008-04-17T23:36:00.005+01:00

Currently listening to: "Clocks" Coldplay & Buena Vista Social Club

It was my turn to cook for friends again tonight as we were going to a Buena Vista Social Club gig tonight and as all my mates were in work/lectures 'till late I made food so we could eat and get to the gig in time. If you've not heard the Buena Vista Social Club, you haven't lived!

Anyway, I thought I'd mess with some flavours today and for once it did work!

Honey, Stilton and Chilli Chicken

Now I know you're thinking I've lost the plot but this meal was really nice.

Firstly, roll some diced chicken in a tiny bit of tandoori spice mix, don't use much as you'll be adding more spices later. Then fry it off. When the chicken is nearly cooked, add two finely chopped chillis, garlic and the juice from a whole lime.

Once all of this is cook turn the heat to low and add a table spoon of honey. Mix well.

Now cover in stilton cheese sauce using my 'easy cheese sauce' recipe.

For extra flavour add a few dried apricots.

Enjoy

Australian style Thick-shake

2008-04-17T16:35:00.005+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Hide & Seek" - Imogen Heap

It has been beautiful weather the past few days, so I've been working out in my "garden" on the laptop, whilst trying to catch some rays! I've been writing library music for the Welsh version of Songs of Praise this week - quite ironic considering I'm an agnostic non-welsh speaker!

Halfway through the afternoon today I really needed a sugar boost that was also nice and cold so I made a Thick-Shake. I picked up the "chilling thickening" idea whilst travelling Australia a couple of summers ago and decided to give it a go again.

Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana and Nutmeg Thick-Shake

Put 4 healthy scoops of vanilla ice-cream (I used Tesco Cornish ice-cream as it's gorgeous and cheap...), one large roughly chopped banana, enough chocolate milkshake powder (I use Milka powder, unfortunately you can only get it on the continent so i have to my Austrian friend to bring some over every time she flies home) and 1 pint of milk into a blender and blast repeatedly.

Pour into tall glasses and grate dark chocolate (Lidl do amazing 70% stuff) and nutmeg on top to taste.

Serve immediately

That really sorted me out for the afternoon.

Right, got to get back to my composing...

Mike

Ready steady cook stylie!

2008-04-15T17:29:00.005+01:00

Currently listening to: "Somewhere - Westside Story" - Leonard Bernstien

I was invited for dinner round to a mates house last night on the condition I cooked from ingredients that they had in their cupboards. As ever I was in a pasta mood and made chicken, bacon and leek in four-cheese sauce.

I used this recipe that my Mum taught me, it's so easy and works better then more complicated recipes.

Easy Cheese Sauce

I table spoon of Corn Flour
½ pint Milk
Any cheese, and as much cheese as you want!
Crack pepper (to taste)

Add corn flour to milk, and bring to boil stirring continually
Add cheese, pepper and turn heat right down, keep stirring.
Stir ‘till all the lumps have gone and serve

I just butterflied the chicken and chopped it into strips to fry off. Then finely chopped the bacon, leek and garlic to add to the pan at the last minute.
Take off the heat and stir in the cheese sauce.

After the meal, one of my mates commented on how if he had that meal at a good Italian restaurant he would be sure to go back again!

Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me so I couldn't take a pic :( so instead I've uploaded one of my random travel photos from Australia!

Mike

Getting better

2008-04-09T13:24:00.006+01:00

Currently listening to: "Fratres- for Violin & Piano" (this clip is only the opening section of the piece)- Arvo Pärt

I'm finally getting better - YEAY! I've been to the doctor and I know it's nothing serious...

Also my appitite returned today - the last time I lost my appitite was when I was about 2 years old when on holiday in Gran Canaria, but thats another story. When I got home from the doctors I made myself a sort of carbonara. I used the cabonara bit of the resipie from a this BBC food page, however I used ham instead of pancetta and I also added garlic and sweetcorn.

Anyway, not really got much else to talk about after yesterday's rather lengthy blog!

Mike

too ill...

2008-04-08T12:03:00.007+01:00

Currently listening to: "Cloudburst" - Eric Whitacre - I'm now addong hyperlinks of youtube videos of the more unusual pieces I listen to, as people keep asking me where they can hear some of the pieces I blog.

I've been ill for a few days now, since my housemate "cooked" a chicken curry... I used the word cooked in the loosest sense of the word! I normally have a strong stomach but for some reason this time something really isn't making me feel too well. My housemate seems to be fine, so it might just be a bug.

Fortunately his coffee making skills are a lot better then his curry! This week I got some more of that azorieblue coffee, Starbucks and Cafe Nero will never taste the same... I've been drinking it black Americana style (I usually have just a small dash of milk with any other brand of coffee bean) and it really is the most amazing thing since sliced bread, can't get enough of its natural smooth taste. Even my other housemate (the one who didn't try and poison me with bad chicken), who doesn't normally like coffee, drinks azorieblue. He's never liked the bitterness of coffee but he likes this stuff as there is still a slight bitter taste but also an unimaginable smoothness to it. It's beyond me how a company can make a coffee the appeals to both coffee addicts like myself, and coffee newbies like my other housemate. This is a sign of a truely great coffee.

When I’m better and feeling upto it, I’ll blog my Espresso Martini – it’s the sophisticated way to get a Vodka Redbull kick with out the horrid taste of red bull!

I haven't found azorieblue in any shops in Cardiff yet, but you order through their website which is gonna turn into a lifeline for me when work loads start to build.

Anyway, time to make my lunch of rice, sweetcorn, pineapple and tomato ketchup. Sound's horrid, but it normally makes me feel better when I'm ill and tastes just like rice with sweet and sour sauce.

Sorry no original picture today... didn't think you'd want a picture of me lying in bed, so I nicked one off the azorieblue website.

Thanks for reading, and a big thank you to all of you who have so kindly donated to Sail4Cancer, they really are a great charity. Unfortunatly training for the half marathon has been off the adgenda for the past few days due to illness - such a shame!

Mike

Please help me raise money for a great cause...

2008-04-02T01:53:00.005+01:00

Currently Listening to: "Chariots of Fire" - Vanglais

I lost a bet and as a forfiet I have to run the next Cardiff Half Marathon on 19th October 2008.As have to do it I may as well make it for a good cause so I'm running to raise money for the charity Sail4Cancer

To donate online please click here.

Sail4Cancer - As its name suggests, Sail 4 Cancer aims to raise significant funds for cancer treatment and research through the organisation of high profile sailing events. Sail 4 Cancer also provides sailing opportunities for cancer patients and their families, in the hope that their quality of life may be improved.

On another note, my eldest sister sent me a ration pack with a sample of Azurieblue coffee. Just want to say, I am a complete coffee freak but I think I've found my favourite blend, mmm...

Anyway, well done to everyone who spotted my April Fool post!

Mike

Disaster...

2008-04-01T10:38:00.003+01:00

Currently Listening to: "This Fire" Franz Ferdinand

I think the picture speaks for itself:

My landlord is not amused.

Mike

Yachting...

2008-03-23T00:20:00.007Z

Currently Listening too: "Hamish" - Screaming Citizens (check 'em out click on the name!)

Well I'm back from yachting and still alive, although I came close to running us aground over a pretty famous sandbank! On-board we had a mother watch system which means one crew member is "mother" for 24hrs, duties include making sure the crew are all well fed.

For my main meal I cooked a variation on a dish I used to do in a bar I used to work in:

Chorizo, Spinach and Tomato Pasta

Sorry the pic is a bit dark!

This dish is really simple, just fry off slices of Chorizo Sausage, chopped onion, crush garlic (to taste). Once these are cooked, cover with a tin of chopped tomatoes and add fresh chopped coriander and a bit of black pepper.

Heat through then add a huge helping of spinach, stir in for 30 seconds, take off heat and serve. As you can probably see from the photo I forgot to add the spinach before serving the sauce so I parched it in a pan with water and served as a garnish!

As I do with everything, add a little gratted cheese...

I'm back home again for Easter weekend, but I return to my student digs on Tuesday so expect some more blogging towards the end of the week! HAPPY EASTER...

This isn't tapas?!

2008-03-13T01:02:00.003Z

Currently listening to: "So What" - Miles Davis

I was en-route to my weekly uni sailing club social when a mate calls to say its a tapas social - this is where someone hosts a house party and we all bring one tapas dish. Total disaster, at these types of socials I normally pull out all the stops and spend all day preping a couple of good dishes. However with so little warning I had to run home and rustle my dish up out of what I had in the cupboard.

Now I know it’s not tapas but it's all I had a lot of as it had to be for like 20+ people...

Like most students my cupboards were full of pasta and not much else, so I cooked off some pasta and made a quick Chilli, red pesto and tomato sauce to mix in. The result was pretty good to be fair and most people commented on how simple but nice it was.

I wish I'd taken my camera to the party as some of the food was rather special, I managed to get most of the recipes (the majority from various Jamie O books) so I hope to try some of them out soon.

This could be my last blog for a while as I'm going away yachting for a week and I won’t be near a computer, but I will return with lots of photos of what we cooked on-board. Cooking on board a yacht is usual quite fun (especially with the current wind and sea conditions), the hob and oven is on a gyro so it rocks with the waves and the cook has to be strapped on the kitchen (or "galley" if we're using nautical terms) to stop him/her falling over and burning ones self!

Anyway, speak soon...

Giant Jelly Tots!

2008-03-12T18:37:00.006Z

Currently listening to: "School of Rock" - from School of Rock the film

Need a sugar rush?! Was a bit bored of work so ended up browsing the recently renamed "pimpthatsnack.com" to look at what crazy stuff people were making. I came across a "9-year old chimney sweep called Oliver...!" who had made Giant Jelly Tots. Realising I had all two of the ingredients in the cupboard I went about making these delights (unfortunately I only had strawberry jelly) :(

Tip: don't eat more then two straight after each other or you will be bouncing off the walls due to the amount of E numbers in the jelly!

Bangers & Mash

2008-03-11T23:41:00.003Z

Currently Listening to: "Pick up the Pieces" - Buddy Rich Big Band

How windy is it outside? Allsorts of random stuff flying down the street (including my house mates James and Hugh). Hope the wind is still up in the morning so I can go for a good kitesurf!

Anyway, cooked a house meal tonight so thought I'd blog it...

I'm sure we can all cook bangers and mash so I wont bang-on (bad pun, I know) with a patronising recipe, so all I'm gonna talk about is the mash.

I used to work in a sort of Bistro bar as a Chef (why they employed me with no official qualification I'll never know) and this is where I learnt to make amazing mash in many interesting flavours. Since then, mash has become one of my signatures but tonight’s was simple:

Firstly, I always leave the skins on give the mash texture. To make the mash creamy I added a splash of double cream and a knob of butter to add some flavour. Then I "seasoned to taste" with bit of salt, a lot of pepper and too much garlic... Mixed in some Llanboidy mature cheddar, job done!

Post-pub food

2008-03-11T01:46:00.007Z

Currently listening to: "Jeu du rapt" - Igor Stravinsky

I was walking back from the pub and much to my horror the local chippy had shut early, and because of the current extreme weather conditions I didn't want to walk the 400mtr round trip to the next fine takeaway establishment, so I briskly walked home praying I still had some food in the cupboard! Luckily I had some raw chicken left over after my previous "Spanks" dish, so I went about using some more presents from my eldest sister.

This time I used some of the "Thai Curry Paste" made by Cottage Delight (which is the parent company of Spanks) that my sister gave me for Christmas.

As per usual I didn't read the label or "recipe suggestion" and went about it my own way to make a curry sauce to accompany my poached diced chicken and rice. I simply, add a healthy dollop of paste into a hot pan followed by as much double cream as it takes to make a substantial sauce. Add more paste if needed…

Yet again this paste is full of great flavours and I can see an increasing amount of my loan being spent buying different products from both of these companies!

SPANKS...

2008-03-10T16:43:00.006Z

Currently listening to: "Nothing Else Matters - S&M Live Album" Metallica

OMG, this is my 2nd post today!

I had to post after having such a great lunch; my eldest sister gave me a bottle of Spanks Lime, Chilli & Herb Marinade as Christmas present. Well today I finally got round to trying it and it was amazing, so full of flavour.

The bottle recommends use with fish or lamb, but being a student all I had in was chicken, veg and pasta. It worked fantastically as a Chicken, Mediterranean style roast veg, and pasta dish...

Their website has a compendium of marinades, dipping sauces, dressings and many other great looking products. I'm going to order some seasonings and see what they're like... watch this space!

Crème Brûlée for pyrophobics!

2008-03-10T12:40:00.010Z

Currently listening to: "Rotterdam" - Beautiful South

Sorry I haven't blogged for a long while... just have been really busy and living at home with my parents so didn't have the chance to cook much! However I'm now back in my student diggs so expect an avalanche of culinary delights over the next few weeks!

Anyway, it was Mothering Sunday a week ago so me and my sisters decided to put on a three course meal for the family. By the time my sisters had decided to tell me what they were planning they had already shot-gunned the best courses so I got lumbered with desert... This would normally be easy but my mum doesn't really do chocolate!

For full details of the whole meal see my sisters blog.

With the chocolate ban in place I set out to find a light quick and easy dessert as I knew the kitchen would be chaotic!

I ended up making Strawberry and Lemon Gratin, which looks Crème Brûlée and tastes like cheesecake. I found the recipe in the Sarah Raven Garden Cookbook which I can strongly recommend for quick and easy dishes.

Strawberry and Lemon Gratin

Serves 6

300ml double cream
300ml natural yoghurt
225g strawberries
grated zest of 1 lemon
caster sugar, to taste
lemon juice, to taste
115g demerara sugar

Whip the double cream to soft peaks (use an electric whisk, unless you want to do it by hand for a couple of hours!) and fold in the yoghurt, a few of the strawberries, and the lemon zest, with enough caster sugar and lemon juice to taste.
Fill the bottom of 6 ramekin dishes with the remaining strawberries and cover with the cream mixture.
Over this carefully spread the demerara sugar, smoothing it with the back of a spoon.
Put into the fridge for at least 2 hours to form a crust.
Enjoy...

I'm not normally a fan of light deserts but this dish was perfect considering the heavy main course.

More blogs to follow very soon...

Easy Mushroom Pasta

2008-02-17T13:35:00.015Z

Currently listening to: "At the River" - Groove Armada

It's Sunday, my cupboards are nearly empty and the corner shop is shut. So I routed around the kitchen to she what I could put together to make a decent lunch.

This dish is really easy and pretty quick to make as it needs nearly no preparation.

Ingredients

100g Pasta
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
A handful of chopped mushroom
A small bit of garlic (any form is ok, paste, roasted flake or fresh cloves)
Two splashes of white wine
Mixed herbs
As much or as little cheese as you want

How to make it

1. Start cooking your pasta which ever way you prefer; I usual cook on the hob with (obviously) boiling water, a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

2. Fry the mushrooms and add garlic once they start to brown.

3. Once all the mushrooms are brown lower the heat and stir in the condensed soup. DON’T NOT FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE TIN TELLING YOU TO ADD WATER!

4. Add your white wine and herb and continue stirring until the sauce looses all the lumps.

5. Drain pasta, and top with sauce, cheese and another sprinkle of herbs.

6. If you’re lucky enough to have ham or bacon in your fridge you can always add it to give your meal some more flavour.

Introductions and student kitchen etiquette!

2008-02-15T22:53:00.013Z

Currently Listening to: "Heartbeats" - José Gonzáles

Firstly, I thought I better introduce myself on my first ever blog! Well, I'm a student Classical Composer and I have a passion for food and drink. Apparantly composers make good chefs, so I hope I don't disprove the theory by putting my culinary skills up in such a public domain!

As for drinking, I'm a typical student... only drinking on days that end in "Y", however I do have a taste for the less studenty tipple! As well as being a member of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) I really enjoy drinking Port, Tanqueray Gin and Pussers Rum.

Student Kitchen Etiquette

Any food put on your shelf of the fridge is rightfully yours, even it was put there by an other flatmate by mistake.
One bottle of washing-up liquid has to last the whole flat one academic year, only use in emergencies.
Fire blankets make great tea-towels.
Cleaning rotas never work; if you let the pile of washing up grow someone will eventually crack and wash it all up.
If it's cheap then it's good, even chicken!
Best before dates lie, the food has at least 10 days of life left once the 'best before' date has expired.
All pots, pans and utensils are public property, sharing is good!