Today I Cooked...

[Si Hunt]

Got the vegetable count up to 7 in last nights meal.Is it a record? Here's how it was done, in case any of you want to try it.

Fry up some garlic (ONE!) with some mushrooms (TWO!) and then when browned, add four chopped ripe tomatoes (THREE!) and stir around until pulpy. Add a pint of vegetable stock, and 200g of risotto rice. Pop in some chopped broccolli (FOUR!) and green beans (FIVE!) and cover/leave to simmer for ten minutes. The risotto rice has now absorbed most of the water. Add some finely chopped courgettes (SIX!) and throw some spinach (SEVEN!) and simmer for five more minutes until the spinach has wilted down and been mixed in.

Done! Serve! Eat! Enjoy!

Tonight I'm going to try a potato and salmon bake! We're turning vegetarian!

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

Who'll be first to mention that a mushroom isn't a vegetable? Not me that's for certain, mum's the word.




Well done Si. I really should pop round for dinner sometime.

[Si Hunt]

Don't speak too soon! The salmon bake was a bit of a disaster. Boney old tinned salmon, it didn't really gel with the potatoes and there wasn't enough cheese. Even the veg were a little undercooked.

It's the downside of experimenting! Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Si.

[Simon R]

Let us never speak of it again.

[SiHart]

Fresh salmon is always advisable.

[Si Hunt]

Last nights experiment was home-made pasta bake which was a medium success. Certainly the peppers and leeks made for an interesting meal, but oven-cooked pasta somehow seems a little... tasteless. Maybe I have knackered my taste buds, or I should start eating curries? I never quite seem to feel as much flavour from things as perhaps I should. It all just seemed to taste a bit of nothing, despite all the cheese. And the milk and egg 'wash' solidified, which was not unpleasant but wholly unexpected. Worth trying again, but maybe not soon.

It's interesting that in the pursuit of healthy eating I am finding myself slowly and accidentally turning into a vegetarian without even trying. Vegetable risotto on Sunday, pasta bake last night, omelette and chips tonight and salmon pasta tomorrow makes almost a week of non-meat (aside from a little ham in the omelette) and wholly accidentally!

I don't think I could ever let chicken go though, and want to do soy chicken and noodles again before the weekend.

Si.

[Nyder]

I don't think I could be a vegetarian as I detest peppers & mushrooms.

[Si Hunt]

There's plenty of other vegetables! I only really use mushrooms so much because we don't eat onions and it's a handy replacement in most meals.

Incidentally, this is a big news story today. A MAJOR study has warned against processed and red meat causing cancer if eaten too frequently:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17345967

A diet high in red meat can shorten life expectancy, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School.

The study of more than 120,000 people suggested red meat increased the risk of death from cancer and heart problems.

Substituting red meat with fish, chicken or nuts lowered the risks, the authors said.

The British Heart Foundation said red meat could still be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

The researchers analysed data from 37,698 men between 1986 and 2008 and 83,644 women between 1980 and 2008.

They said adding an extra portion of unprocessed red meat to someone's daily diet would increase the risk of death by 13%, of fatal cardiovascular disease by 18% and of cancer mortality by 10%. The figures for processed meat were higher, 20% for overall mortality, 21% for death from heart problems and 16% for cancer mortality.

The study said: "We found that a higher intake of red meat was associated with a significantly elevated risk of total, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

This bit is interesting:

The researchers suggested that saturated fat from red meat may be behind the increased heart risk and the sodium used in processed meats may "increase cardiovascular disease risk through its effect on blood pressure".

I don't especially "trust" processed meat, but it seems the only reason it is bad for you is added salt. Which is a very valid reason, but just saying.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

They said adding an extra portion of unprocessed red meat to someone's daily diet would increase the risk of death by 13%, of fatal cardiovascular disease by 18% and of cancer mortality by 10%.

It's quite far from 'Eat Red Meat And Die'. There's an increased risk if you eat lots and lots of red meat, but even then it's not an overwhelming percentage. You could eat red meat every day and not get any of these conditions.

[SiHart]

It's the "high in red and processed meat" that's the clue... As I'm always saying, everything in balance is fine- if you want steak or beef or lamb once a week then that's not going to do you any harm. It's once you start having it more than that that is going to cause you problems. Of course, this was all buried in the coverage of it on TV this morning.

[Si Hunt]

That's exactly right Si. To be fair, it was made clear on BBC Breakfast when they got their resident GP to speak and she said exactly that - once a week is fine (red meat is a good source of iron) but don't have bacon every day.

Steve, I think I WOULD worry it would kill me if I ate it every day. As Si says, everything in moderation. I mean, it might not - some lifelong smokers live til 100, but I wouldn't want to chance being the exception.

Also of course these things are deeper than "will I die or not". You don't always keel over and expire with cancer or heart disease. You're talking the risk of a miserable degeneration, years of a dehabiliating disease or unpleasant hospital treatment. Worth taking notice of reports like this and keeping red meat to a healthy minimum, in my opinion.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

I have a bit of Philadephia at home, I'm thinking I could add milk and heat it and make a bit of a sauce to liven up some salmon. Thoughts? Should I add anything else? Butter?

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Butter, salt, pepper and parsley (if you've got it). Perhaps a teasp of cornflour to thicken it all up?

[SiHart]

I did a fabulous Victoria Sponge today!

[Nyder]

I love a nice Vicky Sponge! Every time I walk along the train platform on the way home there's a VS on display at the coffee shop. Some days my willpower just evaporates!

[SiHart]

Pop over- there's plenty to share, especially with Steve off to the UAE for a couple of days today!

[Nyder]

Thank you - it's a tempting offer :-) But I need to work on my presentation for my interview on Thursday :-/ The theme is "what do you hope to achieve in the first 3 months and how would you measure that achievement?". My brain's hurting already!

[Jeff]

So I saw THIS http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/ultimate-p...-sandwich.html on youtube Panini sandwich video last week and was inspired to try and make my own. However, I could find no prosciutto so I substituted hard salami. The sun dried tomatoes were from a package and probably more dry than his, and my pesto came from a jar. I used a George Foreman Grill instead of a Panini maker.

It was okay, but not great. I was told I used too much hard salami on the sandwich and I agree with that. I should have substituted pepperoni instead maybe.... Also I made much more of a mess than he did. Really, pouring olive oil on top of a sandwich and then trying to handle it and get into a grill. Not the cleanest or easiest thing.

[Stephen Morgan]

...I should have substituted pepperoni instead maybe.....

Sliced chorizo even, would have made it really nice.

I've taken to chorizo big time in recent months, in an omelette with some sliced cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.

[Jeff]

I don't think chorizo would be any easier to find in my Wal Mart Supercenter than prosciutto.

[SiHart]

You'll have to excuse me, I'm off to make a Rhubarb Crumble.

[Stephen Morgan]

I'm off work due to a bereavement, one of Viv's sisters has died so I'm allowed some time off.
At a loss for something to do I decided I'd cook lunch so I looked for some Spam recipes Viv had downloaded and found a lovely looking winter warmer pie.
One tin Spam (in this case a tin of Aldi's pork and ham)
2 fresh leeks
1/4 pint chicken stock (or veg)
75 gr cream cheese
Salt and Black pepper for seasoning (optional)


wash and trim the leeks, cook for five minutes in oil or butter (your preference) (at that point I added a chopped Chorizo, this was my idea and totally optional)
Add two tablespoons plain flour stirring all the time, simmer for two minutes, add the cream cheese which melts in, keep stirring adding more water if a bit thick (sauce should be nice and creamy), then add the tinned meat. Put all into a pie dish and leave aside to cool while preparing your pastry, which I found in the freezer and just placed on top of the mixture.
I used puff pastry, but the recipe says filo made up into about 3 or 4 layers which should be quite good too. cook in a moderate oven for about 30 to 35 minutes until golden There was enough mixture for two small pies, I cooked both together, one of them I'll freeze later.

With the left over puff pastry I cut some peeled and cored apples into rings, a few knobs of over the top along with a dribble of honey, two tablespoons caster sugar and some vanilla essence (or cinnamon) All this is placed on top of the pastry, no need to seal it in, place this in the oven with the pies, saves energy cooking it all together.

VIv said I can stay home from work all the time.

The pomegrantes were used to make wine, that'll take a bit longer than the half hour cooking the pies. The J cloth came in when I had to clean up all the mess.

[SiHart]

I'm currently making a vat of Leek and Potato soup.