Evolution November - Afghan dish and Honey and oat bread

This month the evolution recipe comes from Dougal and Soazig over in Stavanger, Norway. They have revisited the aubergines in this Afghan dish and made some very tasty breads too!

Afghan dish

4-5 aubergines
1 onion
tomato paste
bouquet garni
4-5 garlic
cumin
Yogurt
mint, parsley
Cardamon

Grill the aubergines in oil (or in the oven - I like the latter better). Sauce: Put oil, onion in a pan and let the onion turn golden. Add the tomato paste. Let it cook for a while and add some water and the bouquet garni and the cumin. Let it cook until you get a thicker tomato sauce. In a bowl mix the yogurt with the garlic and the mint . Add salt and pepper (lots). In a dish put 1 layer of aubergines, 1 layer of yogurt, 1 layer of tomato sauce and do it twice more. Put in the oven for 20-25 min at 180°C. Serve with rice that has been in the oven for 10 min to dry it a little bit. Add Cardamon seeds.


Honey and Oat Bread

65g (2.oz) jumbo porridge oats
450g (1lb) strong plain white flour
2.5ml (1 tsp) salt
7g sachet (1 tsp) fast action dried yeast
30ml (2 tbsp) honey
30ml (2 tbsp) golden syrup
50g (2oz) butter
120ml (4fl oz) milk
120ml (4fl oz) water
75g (3oz) dried cranberries / or raisins
40g (1 oz) chopped walnuts milk, for glazing jumbo porridge oats, for sprinkling

1. Mill the oats. Add the flour, salt and yeast.
2. Place the honey, golden syrup, butter and milk in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts. Stir in the water. The mix should now be just warm; if necessary leave to cool.
3. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix on minimum for 1 minute and 4 minutes on speed 1 to make a soft dough, which is smooth and elastic. Remove the Bowl with the dough inside, cover with oiled clear film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
4. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets. Gently knock back the dough. Mix in the cranberries and walnuts. Transfer to a lightly floured surface, divide in two and shape into plump rounds. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
5. Cover with oiled clear film and leave in a warm place to rise, for about 30-40 minutes, until they have doubled in size. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
6. Brush with milk, slash across the top of each loaf and sprinkle with oats. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Alicante

This week I am working at the University of Alicante, last night I hot footed it down to the city to climb up to the castle. I just amde it as the sun painted the horizon red. On the way down I joined Anke, Cristoph and Alejandro for tapas after we all got a little lost! This was all after having a traditional lunch with my host at the university, so am feeling very full but delighted by all the tasty food, and kindness of strangers, again.

Evolution October - Rosemary Mushrooms, Prawn and Apple Quiche, Limy lentils and Seared Tuna and Thai Green Curry

The latest in the evolution experiment is from Laughing Magpie on Chattering Chough, what a splendid selection of recipes! They include something for everyone, and one of my all time favourites Prawn and Apple Quiche, pictured above!

A walk around Belton House in Linconshire

Food Bloggers Connect

If you're a food blogger in the UK check out Mowielicious's Food bloggers Connect coming soon to London!

Glass fusing in Bristol

Just a few examples of the glass I made at the Creative Glass Guild last weekend on their slumping and fusing weekend course - absolutely brilliant, and great fun with Vicki, and joining the boys for dinner in the evenings!

Evolution September - Prawn and lentil curry

This month I have been inspired by Wampe's ingredients and a recipe we've been enjoying from the Siansbury's magazine, a light coconut milk based curry with prawns. I would have liked bigger ones, but couldn't lay me hands on any!

200g big prwans, raw
a little oil
a thumb of ginger, grated
1 red chilli,chopped, medium strength as the coconut milk will counteract quite a lot of the chilli
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon shrimp paste
200ml coconut milk, the lighter version works well too
1 400g tin cooked green lentils, drained and rinsed

In a wok heat the oil and then add the ginger, garlic, chilli and shrimp paste and fry for a couple of minutes without browning, add the prawns, lentils and coconut milk and simmer for about 5 min or until the prawns are cooked and everything is bubbling and hot. Then serve and enjoy! Very simple!!

Village Cafe

It was Charlie's birthday yesterday so we all met up in town for a wee trip to the Electric Cinema to see Away we go, splashing out and sitting on the sofas with a nice cup of tea or a bottle of beer! But first we went to the Village Cafe on Ladywell Walk opposite the Arcadian centre in Birmingham where they served me the best Mee Goreng I have had in years, the rest of the food was delicious too and such an authentic feeling place! Highly recommended!

Pitt Rivers Museum

A fleeting trip, on Thom's first birthday, to see the eclectic Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, full of so many treasures, and even a cleft stick, though it wasn't on show, I found it in the catalogue! The wart medicine was fantastic - first find a black slug, then secretly rub it on your warts and then impale the slug on a thorn! Everything had gorgeous labels, another visit is a definite thing

A trip on the Metro

I took the Metro for the first time, up to Wolverhampton to the Art Museum to see their exhibit on Andy Warhol, which turned out to be not as interesting as the exhibits on Works on Paper and The Northern Ireland collection. On the way back I got off at Bilston to visit the Craft Gallery, which was brilliant. The travelling Playing with Fire contemporary exhibition was fabulous. Then to round things off I popped into the RBSA to see the Friends Autumn exhibition!

Tissington Trail

A quick blast along the Tissington Trail from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne and back, splendid countryside! Whilst having my lunch on a bench just outside Ashbourne Bet stopped for a chat, admiring my independent spirit, as she seemed to be staring into the face of an imminent loss of her partner at 73, we talked for a while and parted with a hug, I hope all goes well for her.

Lab Olympics Medal Shortbreads

Hadrian's Wall

Over the bank holiday weekend I dragged Nick off to the north of England to cycle Hadrian's cycleway route 72. Starting off from Ravenglass, on the coast of Cumbria, we first visited Glennaventa roman baths and then cycled to our first campsite, battling the wind but enjoying dinner in Seascale. Then off north, along the coast past Sellafield, I had no idea it was such a big complex, and the BNFL owned their own trains. Onwards we came through Whitehaven, past the coast to coast marker and along the Solway Coast to Silloth, stopping at a Roman museum along the way. After our second night of camping we came to the start of the wall at Bowness on Solway, making it to Carlisle and hitting 100miles, but peddling on to Haltwhistle, in the rain, for our final camping spot, and a fine dinner in Rowfoot. The last leg took us across the Northumerland National Park and via Vindolanda roman fort and acheaological site, before peaking at 225m, followed by a glorious 7mile downhill run. Finally we cycled in to Newcastle under a threatening sky, and celebrated with a wee drinkie by the river before the train home, after a mere 195miles.

Dougal Pu me on to mapmy ride - and here is the approximate elevation for our trip!

Evolution August - Sajor Curry of Terrong & Sambal Goreng of shrimps with petebeans

This month the evolution recipe comes from Wampe in Zutphen Holland:

"Here's my contribution to the food evolution...It's indonesian, I hope people will like it.

1) Sajor Curry of Terrong (aubergine) (Cooking time 30 min - 4 pers.)
Ingr.:
- 6 small or 2 large aubergine
- 6 potatoes (in small pieces)
- beef stock (1/4 liter)
- Coconut milk (100 ml)
- 1 piece of lemongrass
- 2 limeleaves

Grind the following spices together:
- Grind 10 small onions / 3 large ones
- + 3 garlic + Terassi Powder (1 teaspoon)
- Brown sugar (Tsp), Tamarind (Tsp)
- Piece of Ginger, Kurkuma/Koenjit (Tsp)
- Coriander seeds (2 Tsp)
- Cumin (1 Tsp) + Salt

Peel potatoes & cut in pieces, boil for 10 min. in beefstock + ground lemongrass + limeleaves
Put on the water for the rice
In a wok fry the ground spices, till oil separates. Add this mixture to the stock + potatoes
Meanwhile, peal the aubergine (not necessary is optional) & slice in small pieces. Add to stock mixture.
Add coconut milk and cook till aubergine is ready (never put lid on pan when coconut is added)
After this you start with the next dish.

2) Sambal Goreng of shrimps with petebeans (4 pers.)
Ingr:
- 400 gr. Prawns medium sized
- 2 or 3 red chili's
- 1 slice galingale
- Tamarind juise (concentrated) (1/2 Tsp)
- Same amound of Terassi/Trassi (Shrimp paste)
- Concentrated coconut milk (100 ml)
- about 15 petebeans
- 6 small onions

Grind & mix all the spices together (except the Petebeans), add bit of brown sugar
Heat some oil in wok, fry mixture till oil separates (about 8 min.)
Add Coconut milk + prawns. Add bit of water
Cut Petebeans in pieces and add in mixture
Let the sauce thicken & stir every now and than
The sauce is ready when it is reddish

I hope people will like this. Some ingredients will be hard to get hold of in England, but there are still a lot you can use for the next month."

Hanbury Hall

We had a lovely trip out the this National Trust property near the Jinny Ring.

Lampwork bead making

At the weekend I drove up to Enderby and attended Diana East's Introduction to Bead making course - what a lot of fun! I learnt many techniques and made about 20 beads! This picture is just a few of them made into a bracelet.

Hay-on-Wye

Cheesy Chicken Schnitzel by Patrik

A little while ago I was contacted by Ronja from Pitaya Media to review their newest application for the iPhone, so with iPhone in hand I downloaded Parik's Easy Cooking. Brwsing thorugh the recipes I saw that they were divided into various catergories and levles of cooking skill (easy to advanced). They sll looked like they were quite quick too, so I pottered off to the supermarket and bought the ingredients for Cheesy Chicken Schnitzel - chicken, eggs, parmesan cheese, butter, oil and tomato sauce. It was easy to butterfly the chicken breasts and dregde them in a cheese egg mixture, but not so much stuck to my chicken, so I had a cheesy omlete too, by frying everything off in the oild and butter. The tomato sauce warmed in a separate pan and soon it was time to serve. We had made a potato salad with chives, pepper and celery to go with the chicken. It was tasty and easy to cook, and there are plenty more to try, though I'm not too sure about chocolate noodles, but hey, why not try it!

Evolution July - Turkey Herder pie

This month Helen makes Turkey herder pie:

'I promised Mel I’d do the foovolution (sounds like a kylie song!) in July and after trying very hard to come up with something exciting I failed and went for a variation on ‘Sheppard’s pie’ as that is what the ingredients screamed at me. (Can’t help it I’m just not good at savoury, cake I can do but savoury usually get a ‘well it’s edible’ response from he who does the shopping). So ‘Turkey herder pie was made on Saturday with the help (and I use this in the loosest sense of the word) of boy and girl. Mince featured in March and April and made a come back in the form of turkey mince influenced by the fact that I don’t eat mammals (it’s a dissection room thing!). So while the kids ‘cooked’ pasta for mummy’s dinner (e.g. chucked half a pack of dried pasta around the floor with diggers!) I proceeded to create tea. I think most things used have appeared before but this time they have ‘de-volved’ into a simpler form.

• New potatoes (bigish one bort by mistake by he who does the shopping) were cut up and put on to boil in their skins. (I could claim some sort of added fibre benefit but I just couldn’t be bothered to do any peeling!)
• Olive oil put in a pan and diced onion added to soften.
• 1 clove chopped garlic added
• Sliced carrot, courgette and diced yellow pepper and aubergine added. (Boy said yuk to every thing but the carrot and returned to his pasta)
• Pinch or 3 of mixed herbs added (Athenian mix)
• When all veges soft (ish) they were transferred to a waiting dish.
• More olive oil added to pan
• Minced turkey put in pan with 2-3 teaspoons of bisto best chicken. (paper from the bottom of the turkey mince also added as girl was wedging herself between my legs at the time.)
• Paper removed!
• When turkey cooked the veges were returned to the pan
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of smooth peanut butter were added.
• This was mixed well and put into an oven proof dish.
• When the potatoes were cooked they were drained and mashed with milk and a knob of butter.
• The potatoes were then put on top of the turkey and vege mixture using an ice-cream scoop. (boy will only eat mashed potatoes if they are in ‘scoops’.
• This was covered in cheddar (the mildest and most bland white cheddar available to mankind – boy will only eat this sort!)
• They whole thing was put in the oven (~200 degrees) till the top went brown and it was bubbling
• Served with cranberry ‘red’ jelly.

He who does the shopping said it was quite nice (which is praise indeed). The kids were less impressed, but then anything that isn’t chocolate or spaghetti hoops usually fails to impress them. Girl tried it but started to fling turkey chunks around the room. Boy did eat the cheese covered potato and red jelly. He tried a carrot but pulled the ‘yuk’ face, at least he tried it! I though it was fine. And so on to the next person………'

The Tower of Time

This afternoon we popped down to Perrott's Folly, near Edgbaston Reservoir. Its the last day of Yukio Fujimoto's Offsite installation for the Ikon gallery. He has installed 1111 clocks within the tower (which may be one of the towers that Tolkien used as inspiration for his Lord of the Rings trilogy). On the first floor just one clock sits on the floor ticking very quietly away, then up the circular stairs again and there are ten in a row, and you can hear them quite well, then up another revolution and there are one hundred in a square and there is a rhythm to the ticking. Finally on the last floor there are one thousand clocks. There's a holding room on the floor below as there's only space for a couple of people to stand in the room with the clocks now, and as you come out of the holding room and start up the stairs it sounds like its raining quite hard upstairs. This last room is also the most beautiful room, with decaying splendor and plaster reliefs on the ceiling. The clocks cover every surface and form a 'white noise', its harder to decipher any rhythm too. Great stuff, I recommend you go and see it, but they shut at 5, so you have about two and a half hours!