At home with Kermee

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2011-12-28T17:29:00.000Z

Dear Readers,

Before I get started, let me tell you how chuffed I am to see a clear increase in the visits to my blog; Twitter has evidently become a catalyst for this mini-explosion, so thank you Twitter, and everyone who visits, from the bottom of my heart... Please keep ckecking it out!!

I hope that you all had a great Yuletide, spent with your loved ones in a sea of booze, turkey and chocolates. Not that I am trying to attract any sympathy by telling sob stories, but mine was spent at work from the 24th up to the 27th inclusive (are you feeling sorry for me yet?).

For this reason, my Christmas took place on the 18th. I must say that it is an experience to cook a 12lb turkey after a night shift and three hours sleep! Despite forgetting two vital ingredients to the chestnut stuffing - eggs and salt, various dodgy manipulations corrected the problem.
Ensued days of turkey-with-everything heaven/hell (delete as appropriate)... with bubble and squeak, in a sarnie, in a soup and in a curry. No one dared complain either!

As for the real Christmas, Kirsty treated us to some bambi Wellington with all the trimmings, with a very gooey choccy pud for dessert! Heavenly!

The Heston Blumenthal's rocking horse poo aka Hidden Clementine Christmas Pud is still in my kitchen waiting for the right time to be consumed. Probably New Year's eve! For anyone not having a clue of what I am talking about read this: http://www.hot-dinners.com/Gastroblog/Latest-news/heston-follows-up-xmas-hit-with-hidden-clementine-christmas-pudding
They are still very hot and expensive on Ebay by the way!

It really speaks for itself

2011-12-13T16:32:00.006Z

Dear reader(s),

I took some time this afternoon to do some research on how over-population and excessive meat consumption impacts on both our health and our environment.

I came across this article, from a very reliable source:

Walker, P.,Rhubart-Berg, P., McKenzie, S.,Kelling,K., Lawrence, R.S. 'Invited Paper: Public Health Implications on Meat Production and Consumption' Public Health Nutrition, 8(4), pp.348-356.[Online]
Available at: http://journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=631320

Happy reading!!!

Earthlings...and other stuff!

2011-12-12T16:41:00.005Z

Dear reader(s),

Has any of you seen that disturbing documentary called Earthlings? If not, go and watch it now.

This film is about what our stupidly over-populated species is doing to creatures other than humans. The background voice of Joaquin Phoenix (no less!)takes us through those horrors: the images are shocking. In fact, it was so unbearable I cried.

I do not purchase fur, I do not buy cheap leather, I only eat sustainable fish and indeed I do not have meat everyday. When I do I can assure you it is damn good stuff, and this is the reason for this blog entry.

I am not calling for everyone to become vegetarian or vegan, but consider this for a moment: I can find you a multitude of articles from nutrition journals advocating the benefits from a meat and dairy-free diet. Plus, if you are eating flesh from a stressed and highly medicated animal, can it do any good to your health? Just a thought.

If you are still a meat-eater, worry not! Our farmers need us!! Our local shops need us!!

So let's use them before they become a thing of the past. Then all we'll ever eat will be cheaply-imported junk and meat from animals reared in concentration camps. Then I shall be eating made-in-China tofu (made from OGM soya of course)...

It's over to you, chef!

2011-10-13T21:01:00.006+01:00

Hey I am back!
So much has been happening since I last posted a blog here!

First, I am pleased to announce that I am now officially a student again since I recently started a part-time FD degree in Paramedic Science. Out of 600 applicants, only 25 of us made it on this cohort alone, so I suppose it is in itself some sort of achievement. I am enjoying every minute of it, and what's more, I can now bombard Keith with questions full of big words he doesn't even understand himself sometimes!

Second, my friend Julie finally left her Notting Hill studio flat for the luxury of our suburban two-bedroom maisonette . Both Rob and myself are very pleased with this since we now know she is safe, loved, fed and cuddled! I think that fateful day the bathroom ceiling decided to rain on her became a tad too much.
The only problem is that Jon has not been able to to come over for dinner because' his' bedroom has a full-time lodger. I spoke to him many times, insisting that nothing could stop him from visiting for lunch and get the bus home if he wanted to drink alcohol ( it is a direct bus route). I miss him and wish he came to see us more often, even if it's only for a quick cuppa. What can you do? The grumpy old bugger does not improve with age!

Also, as from next week, Julie's partner Kirsty is moving in too! Apart from being a very sensible and caring young woman, Kirsty is a chef. Not any type of chef since she has worked in very reputable places in the capital. We recently had a sample of her savoir-faire when Julie's folks came over and I must say, despite being an acceptable cook myself, she is a pro and I can't compete with this!

How can life get any better after so many good stuff happening in the space of a few months? It can! Did tell you I took everyone by surprise by winning a showing class on my favourite pony recently?Little Winnie really won the judges' hearts in the Working Hunter Pony class: all we had to do was to demonstrate some controlled gear changes at speed and jump a couple of fences in the process. Next year's objective will be to jump her at the Wimbledon Fair, where another show takes place. It is somewhat lucky that this mare is only 14hh as she has a tendency to be a bit difficult to control. We, however, have been doing very well lately. I was even told that we formed a great partnership..... So great in fact that I was offered to take her on loan . Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the money. Maybe when I graduate in two years' time?

Until then....

Hurray!!!! I can see the the bottom of my freezer

2010-10-07T23:18:00.005+01:00

My new challenge, Holly

Hello my dear reader(s),

I hope you missed me as much as I missed you. I am not sure whether I am back for good but I thought "Hey, since I ran out of Nytol and am therefore unable to find sleep, let's leave this silly academic essay I have been attempting to put together for the past three days (I have been shortlisted for a Foundation Degree in Paramedic Science)and move on to the blog, which is, to be truthful, far more exciting than selling the virtues and the cost-effectiveness of Paramedic skills..."

I have also been very lucky to find myself on annual leave this week. I managed to employ the other half to defrost what looked like a glacier in the North Pole, I mean the freezer of course! Oh my, we found a lot of interesting stuff! I am however very disappointed not to have dug the Ice Man out of the snow. Maybe next time if I leave it for another five years of so...

Anyway... life has been very exciting lately, in fact so exciting I never found time to blog this excitement. Lots of dog walking, mainly with Aimee and Mr Bojangles. I shall introduce them to you at a later date. My social life has been, well, very social... Many delights were eaten and drunk. No change then.

The big news is that my dear friend Julie has finally left good ole Oireland for England! She landed a top job in the City of London and resides in Notting Hill no less!! Good luck to the girl, she deserves the best life can offer.

On the horsey front, my instructor Jen recently introduced me to a new mare called Holly. She is a (scrawny, through lack of muscle and young age!) black five year old 15hh Cob. From schoolmaster Guinness to a youngster!!

What a refreshing change to school such a novice horse! We are still working on encouraging her to take the rein contact (we're getting there...) and I am supposed to take her on a dressage competition next week. Not that I expect to win but the feedback from the judges will be incredibly helpful for future sessions! Oh! I nearly forgot: Jen nominated me this month as "Rider of the Month". Maybe I have actually impressed the lady after all, who knows?

Last but not least, do not forget to sponsor me and my horsey!!!!!

Lots of love,
Kermit x

Kermit is fundraising for Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign

2010-09-18T07:53:00.000+01:00

Time has come for me to raise some money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. Donations can be made via the link below.

Sandra Ramirez is fundraising for Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign

Many thanks for helping and see you soon!!

Kermit x

The death of good old restaurant food

2010-01-25T11:47:00.011Z

Living in suburban London has its advantages: the quiet streets, easy commuting to the Capital, friendlier and more helpful neighbours (not always though!), lots of horses and sheep in the surrounding fields, and of course, farm shops.

There is one thing however that I find pretty questionable: restaurant food. Not all restaurants, mind; but are you, like myself disappointed with the lack of good service and quality grub in your town?

Well, of course we have the likes of Prezzo's, Pizza Express, Slurps, Nando's etc. The food in those places tastes just about edible, in a bland sort of way. Pizzas laced with sugar, salad dressings which calorific content defy magination, ready meals served in posh plates... To me, those places fare as low as fast-food joints, and I ignore them the best I can (No one's immune to the odd work do!) We all know however that they are the Frankeinstein fruits of ruthless executives who disregard the welfare of the animals that comes in the food they sell, their staff, their suppliers even, and their customers.

No, what makes my blood boil are the small businesses that thrive on mediocrity when they should be making every attempt to put those diabolical restaurants mentioned above to shame!
Now that we are seeing more and more people willing to increase their food budget in order to eat better quality stuff, restaurant and food business owners in middle-class towns never had it so good.

Maybe I am just a naive little French girl but I am very puzzled indeed...

London being one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, it is no surprise to find such an eclectic choise of cuisines, and I would not have it any other way. So why the need for employing people that are not only foreign to the type of food they are cooking, but also could not care less if your pasta was cold or your wine corked?

A few months ago, I decided to take my friend Lucy to my favourite Italian restaurant. Off we went to Ewell village for an indulgent meal at "Aroma". Disappointment set in quickly when I realised that the Italian had turned "Spanish". Sadly, the recession had had the better of them and their business was no more. After some debating on the pavement, we decided to give it a whirl.

We were shown to our table by what I think was the landlady. I took my coat off and handed it over to her, only to be told, as she pointed with her index finger towards a corner of the room: "you can hang it there". Not a good start.

Our order was taken by a Polish girl. The food was just about average. Neither of us felt pampered, and ordering anything extra, such as wine and dessert was a mission in itself! We almost felt sorry for bothering them!
It was Saturday night and the restaurant was empty. The only thing that was vaguely Spanish in that place was myself. Now I am not saying that employing staff of the same nationality as the food being served will guarantee success - and who am I to claim this! - but as a customer, I like to be served by someone who knows what they are talking about. Plus I like the feeling of cultural immersion. Would you like a white person to serve you in a curry house? So why do they do it in Spanish/French/ Italian/ Greek restaurants? Is it because very few of us can actually differenciate between a Pole and a French person? An Italian and a Greek?

Let's now talk about what goes on behind the scenes. Are we seeing the end of good foreign cuisine now that unqualified people - who dare calling themselves chefs - come cheaper than the real McCoy? Because, all it seems to take now is a person on the minimum wage to open a packet and stick it in the microwave. If they are really adventurous, they'll even use the grill. I am not just stipulating here. I spent a couple of years labouring (that is the word) in the catering and hospitality sectors. Pubs are the worst culprits, but restaurants just seem to thrive on over-pretentious "cheffy" food that looks ridiculous on a plate and tastes like sh**. Remember the infamous Pierre Victoire chains?

Restaurants like these still thrive because we are too happy to put up with the cheap and mediocre. Should we keep on accepting those poor standards, there will be many more "Aromas" to go bankrupt and we will be condemned to eat ready meals, lovingly "cooked" by a minumum wager and served by a stroppy waitress. As for myself, I'll go for a Chinese at the Mandarin.

Raw milk is back!

2010-01-14T07:43:00.011Z

As I was reading through the monthly magazine Country Kitchen, I came across an article that triggered some sweet childhood memories...

Here I was, taking a walk in the heart of the Pyrenees, with my parents, grandparents, older brother and a few family friends. I must have been no older than seven. That day, I discovered what a buzzard was, and I also found out that milk was meant to taste fabulous, very much unlike the sterilised and tasteless stuff I was more accustomed to, purchased in packs of twelve from the supermarket (U.H.T milk).

We visited a dairy farm and bought some milk there. We later settled in a refuge so we could have a little rest. My mother sat us down, warmed the milk and served it to us. The taste was comforting, and the memory of it is still vivid in my head!

Here are some interesting facts about raw milk.
Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurised. The latter process was introduced in 1864 to eradicate the health issues surrounding its consumption, such as tuberculosis, brucellosis and salmonella.

Ever wondered why lactose can be so difficult to digest? Well, this is because the heating process during pasteurisation not only eliminates the bad stuff, but it also strips the milk off its beneficial bacteria, proteins, vitamins, enzymes... and lactase. Unfortunately, one needs the lactase to digest the lactose. Are you following me? (Source: Country Kitchen)

It is also believed that raw milk may be beneficial to asthma, eczema, allergies, hay fever and skin complaints, as well as lowering cholesterol and helping to fight infections. (Source: Old wives' tales)

Now, on a legal point of view, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducts very rigourous tests on the herd and its milk to ensure safety to its consumers. The milking parlour has to be spotlessly clean, and it is also good practice to hand strip the cows' teats before milking, in order to remove the fore-milk, which may have been exposed to bacteria and dirt.

Raw milk is gaining on popularity thanks to increasing public awareness... The Great British public is certainly becoming more discerning, thanks mainly to folks like Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, a man who truly believes in what he does. No cheffy gimmick, just the celebration of what this earth is offering us. Good on ya. More details on the man here www.rivercottage.net/Page~59/Hugh.aspx

One of these raw milk producers, Steve Hook, is located in Sussex. You can either go straight to the farm, or order on-line.
The website offers a great deal of information!!

Hook & Son
Longleys Farm
Harebeating Lane
Hailsham
Sussex
BN27 1ER
Tel: 01323 449 494
www.hookandson.co.uk

Something to cheer you up

2010-01-13T22:12:00.007Z

Hope it made you smile....

New year, New decade... same crap, but Happy New Year anyway

2010-01-05T10:27:00.004Z

I hope my dear reader(s)(?) have had a fabulous Christmas and a very drunken but happy New Year's eve.

I am afraid to report that neither were good for me... * violins in background*

It was not through lack of trying mind you; I fought with, and later cooked the reluctant lobsters( but who could blame them?), made the beef Wellington, ensured that the house was nice and ready by the time our guest Jon turned up, and there I was at seven in the evening, a tray of smoked salmon and cream cheese canapes in my hand, following Rob and Jon's every movement so that they never lacked anything! By half past ten, I had fallen asleep on the sofa, and by three in the morning, I was vomiting in the toilet (closely precluded by Jon).

Oh, did I mention what Jon told us as he was pathetically trying to eat the lobster?

"I DON'T LIKE LOBSTER."

You WHAT?????
Ensued a series of expletives along with an urge to throttle the, erm, man.

Now you need to know that Christmas dinner had been agreed between us three a long time ago, to make sure we were all happy with our (very expensive) dinner.

Did I mention that I spent £60 on shellfish? Did I?

Anyway, were was I?

Christmas day was spent in bed, eating porridge and feeling green at the gills. I blamed the beef wellington for this, but Rob never got ill. Maybe Jon and myself should have been much less greedy when it came to that memorable Christmas pud....

From then, it took me days to look at a Christmas pud in the eye without feeling the urge to throw up...

Of course I went to work on Boxing day. My crewmate and I spent two and a half hours stranded on the motorway outside in the cold, waiting for the recovery truck to arrive. We played a jolly good game of "spot the yellow car" whilst dancing on the spot in order to fight the onset of hypothermia. We also tried the "I spy" but being on the motorway, we quickly ran out of words...

I spy with my little eye, something starting with a C...

I started to feel sick again on New Year's eve as soon as the Ambulance Service's most lovable bastard, namely Keith, took over the wheel, but then that's nothing new. Bless his little cotton socks.

During what must have been the most unpleasant night shift ever done so far (two days ago), I forgot my woolly hat at base, without a single chance of recovering it, well, not until I came back an hour and a half late from our last job. It was a freezing cold night. I am pleased however to report that Keith (who was on the single responder car) made extremely good use of it during that time... How do I know it? He told me via text message! He is a little sweet thing, isn't he?

Happy New Year, Bah Humbug and see you around my friends for some more rubbish very soon!!

Christmas is coming!!!

2009-12-05T11:57:00.002Z

It has been such a long time since I last wrote on this blog; apologies to those who actually bother to read me, but the past few months have been extremely busy!
The hard work eventually paid off, and I am pleased to inform you that I am now a fully qualified Emergency Medical Technician, after passing a series of written exams as well as practical assessments only a few days ago. There is a catch, however. New responsibilities are coming with this promotion, such as the pleasure to work alongside - and be accountable for - Emergency Care Support workers, Trainee Technicians and Student Paramedics. Keith will still be around to share his wisdom (scary thought for those who know him!), and hopefully I shall still be ...er... around.

Christmas is coming soon, and the lucky thing that I am is not even working on the day!
Jon will come and pick me up a few days prior to this and take me to the brand new Waitrose in Banstead for our food and booze shopping.

After much debating with the boys, our menu for Christmas eve is the following:

Lobster with mayonnaise (bought live from an outstanding fishmonger in Wimbledon Village called Loch Finne)
Beef Wellington (fillet from my local butcher)
Chrismas Pudding (Duchy Originals)
Homemade mince pies
.... and of course,
Lots of fine wine, Champagne and Cognac

On Christmas day, it is only Rob and myself, probably a bit hungover and queasy,hence the simplicity (sort of):

Oysters
Foie Gras
Canapes
Christmas Pudding
Champagne and wine.

Not sure whether oysters and foie gras work well on the morning after a feast, but hey it's Christmas!

I can't wait!!!!

Busy!

2009-08-14T09:54:00.005+01:00

Julie demonstrating what a Trou normand is

No I have not given up on this blog just yet; as it happens, both time and inspiration have been in serious shortage.

The cooking has been pretty uneventful too; controlling the calorie intake after noticing a slight weight gain makes cooking fancy stuff a bit out of place!

Unfortunately, when I thought I had done well, my friend Julie came down to London for a weekend. Good old Rob took us to the Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant in North Cheam that specialises in Schezuan cuisine. For the discerning people that we are, this is the place to pig out...

They do a "leave it to the chef" meal, which consists in a series of starters (green beans in batter, scallops, monkfish, lamb chops, chicken satay....), then some Peking duck with pancakes, a selection of main courses (beef in black bean sauce, spicy prawns, cripsy pork, beef fillet in tomato sauce,....), and to finish, a refreshing mix of melon, orange, accompanied by apple and banana fritters. Coffee and Brandy to finish, and you are ready to be rolled home!!!

We often cut through (or, in my case, stagger through) Nonsuch Park to aid digestion, which is about an hour away from home.

It was another wonderful night out erm, dining, and I am sure Julie will tell everyone in Dublin how nice the food was!

Now I am trying to get back to sensible eating and exercising. It is very hard to do when you spend three whole days stuffing your face!
Take yesterday for example. I woke up at 04.15am to get ready for my 06.00 shift. Had a small bowl of corn flakes, a banana and the mandatory bucket of coffee. Our morning was unusually quiet, which made it even more difficult not to notice the stomach rumbling. My lunch - 800ckals of pasta salad - was subsequently devoured by 07.30. It is never a good start when you know that you have until at least 19.30 before you can obtain a well-earned dinner at home.
I was however lucky to work with the lovely Tina, who made spam sarnies (more calories...) for everyone at base, thus keeping me going for a while longer!!!

As for the exercise, I managed the other day an hour flatwork lesson on giant horse Casper (Irish Draft x Thoroughbred, I think?), but things are not going as well as they used to. The fact that my feet just barely go beneath the saddle doesn't seem to bother anyone; it is no surprise that his big movement makes me feel so rubbish everytime I attempt to sit to his trot, or just sit still for that matter. Needless to say, this did absolutely no good to my self-confidence and I doubt that things will get any better...

Honestly, do I need this? All I want is to have a happy horse that is suitable both in size and personality and enjoy my time with this animal!

Still, I have the gym to keep me going. Boring, unsociable, time-consuming. Great.

Because I am also reaching towards the end of my "trainee" year at work, the final exams are lurking round the corner and the revisions have well and truly started.

I still had time to pick a few blackberries though....

Oh, and the shooting season has started!!!!!!

A wine to match

2009-07-18T11:54:00.002+01:00

Jon bought this bottle the other day. He thought it was hilarious.

We are trying it tonight and shall find out if the man still laughs when he wakes up with a throbbing headache tomorrow....

Lapin!!!

2009-07-10T20:45:00.003+01:00

Ah, I am cooking a French rabbit and shall have it in a pie tomorrow!!!

A taste of Summer

2009-06-29T14:13:00.002+01:00

Who wants to eat in this really hot weather? Well, I do. I can eat food, rain or shine, in illness or in health, something that shall never cease to baffle many people since I look so... well... small!

The secret is in the food itself; as you probably all know thanks to the constant mediatic exposure of our local chubbies, in order to be thin, one must eat regular balanced meals everyday. Oh and exercise. Lots. That and stay away from evil alcoholic beverages. Forget about cake. In fact, do not have fun ever again. Capisce?

On a serious note, whether we like it or not there is a lot of truth in the above paragraph. The good news is, healthy stuff needn't be dull, so forget Gillian McKeith and other witch doctors because she hasn't got a scooby. I grew up eating good stuff and never ever found it boring. Sometimes it even contains saturated fats, refined carbohydrates and I must confess I like to drink a bit of wine with my meals. Whatever happened to good old common sense and being responsible for your own actions?

Now Summer has well and truly arrived, it is our chance to enjoy what it has to offer.
Fruit such as gooseberries are indeed on the forefront, closely followed by blackberries, which shall be harvested by my lovely assistant Rob in a few weeks time! He told me how excited he was at the prospect of having his skin ripped to pieces by the thorns again! Bramley apples from his mother's garden will be just right too to start making some lovely crumbles.

I watched with great interest one of the latest River Cottage episode (see www.channel4.com/food) as Hugh made a wonderful goat cheese cheesecake accompanied by gooseberry compote. It looked so heavenly that I had no choice but try the recipe.

Leftover bread that had gone stale became an essential ingredient to the pud below, whilst the crusts were turned into crumbs for some later use.

Last but not least, I have been raiding my local fruiterer Michael for doughnut peaches, which are far superior in flavour and texture than the bog standard stuff. They are also - as the name suggests - shaped like doughnuts. Doughnuts? With only a few calories? That's right!!

Longhorns....

2009-06-23T15:03:00.005+01:00

We celebrated Rob's birthday last Sunday. This year however, although no Amazonian ants or buffalo chilli con carne were to be seen at our table, the food was certainly no less worth of a mention in this blog!

Pricey but worth every penny for its unique taste and texture - we put ours on the barbie with a coating of steak spices, served with Sally's (Rob's mum) potato wedges and a salad - I find Longhorn beef even nicer than the best Aberdeen Angus I ave ever eaten.
The cold lager here is worth mentioning, and as you know, particularly exquisite on a hot summer day. I was told that well-bred ladies like myself should never touch the thing, so I laughed my loudest laugh before I opened that can of Foster's and poured it in a (posh) glass.

For more information on this amazing breed of cattle, have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_longhorn_(cattle)

A change from Moby Dick

2009-06-21T09:13:00.008+01:00

I am such a lucky girl! Not only do I have the most loving and supportive boyfriend in the world, but I also have great work colleagues; one being particularly special to me because I owe him so much that I ought to pay the tribute he deserves.

For the past six months or so, Keith has been teaching me the job by encouraging the use of good old common sense. At first his working habits and methods felt far too illogical and confusing for my little Trainee head. It seems nevertheless that, as the months went by, this old school Paramedic/Clinical Team Leader started to get the results he wanted from his belligerent French pupil. I must say, we have been quite blunt with one another at times, getting on each other's nerves on a regular basis. Is it what made it work so well at the end? Hell knows!

With a strange affinity with dog dirt, besides amusing tendencies to drive with the handbrake on, sing badly, and trip over various objects without even frowning, Keith has an amazing entertainment value and a very placid temperament, which makes him one of the most sought-after crewmates in our area.
At home, he is a devout father to his three grown-up children and hard-working husband to his wife Bernie. Actually, his family looks so perfect I could not help being reminded of those American sitcoms I liked to watch as a child. I am in awe, all the more as his health suffered; a consequence from constant worrying and one too many overtime shifts.

From the day we met, he has always shown a keen interest in my cooking and eating habits, something that I reckon almost every patient we visited knows about.

Keith loves fishing in his spare time, and lo and behold (one of his favourite catchphrases) I was the lucky person to end up with a sink full of cod, mackerel and seabass - a superb bounty that was to be shared between us both.

The only drawback to this was that the delivery turned up very late in the evening (just before Midnight) and that all that lovely fish had to be processed and put away at once.

Despite making a horrid mess in the kitchen, the efforts were really worth it! The skinned fillets of cod made a delightful meal coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and now I am really looking forward to trying the seabass!!!
I followed my friend Elisabet's recommendations for the breadcrumb recipe, which won an unanimous vote from both Rob and Keith.
All you need is:

- Breadcrumbs (or wheatgerm)
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt

You can also add crushed garlic, grated Parmesan and a bit of flour to make it stick more. The combinations are endless!!

Mix all the ingrediends in a plate and beat an egg in a separate bowl. Dip the fish in the egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs mixture. Fry in a knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes on each side. Serve with a slice of lemon and tartare sauce.

There is also a great recipe - amongst others - for Pollack in beer batter on www.channel4.com/food.

I am blessed knowing such lovely people!!

The English summer is here!

2009-06-02T18:44:00.003+01:00

At last, after a freezing winter and a miserable start of Spring - well I suppose this is how it's supposed to be! - the first heatwave has arrived! People are out late in the evening, they socialise more, drink more, laugh more, are more encline to call the Emergency Services (tell me about it!), are more impatient on the road, mow the lawn all day everyday, burn themselves silly in the park, call for more ambulances (oops, have I said that already?), organise impromptu barbies and are generally far happier than only six months ago. Worry not people, because the rain is on its way back from tomorrow onwards. I hope you enjoyed Summer. I care not, since I am back at work on Thursday and - call me old fashioned - would rather work on a patient at the back of the vehicle without dripping buckets of sweat!

Luckily though, I have been resting since last weekend following a string of eventful night shifts. No lobster look for me (the perk of being Mediterranean!). Just a lovely t-shirt tan from the few times I actually dragged myself out of bed to go horse-riding in Wimbledon Common. Life is hard.

Apart from organising a good old barbie with some friends (I have no friends, therefore no barbie), what could one have to eat in this lovely weather?

I have to be honest, our meals have pretty much been revolving around the carcass of Sunday's roast chicken. The butcher only had brontosaurus on offer, despite Rob asking for the smallest bird in the shop! Brontosaurus it is then. A very tasty one, mind.

I made a rice salad with some of the leftover meat, combined with sweetcorn, hard boiled eggs, green olives, red onion, yellow pepper and tomato, seasoned with French mustard mayonnaise.

Jon came over at the weekend and enjoyed a gorgeous rib eye steak with chips, followed by a simple fruit salad, which went down very well with a few glasses of Vintage Veuve Clicquot.

When I found out yesterday that the recent makrout/ chocolate/ wine/ cheese orgies had started to inflate those love handles again, I decided to try and be less greedy, as well as punish myself at the gym.

Healthy food needen't be boring though.
This is what I had tonight, some brain food (grilled Mackerel) combined with a few veg.

I still enjoyed a couple of small glasses of Fleurie and a small portion of my very own summer pud, served with a dash of double cream!

Mr Preskovic and his specialities

2009-05-23T09:45:00.003+01:00

Preskovic: "It's kloug! It has been stuck together wth schposis...."
Chemist: "But... what the hell this is material? But...but... that's shit!"
Preskovic: "No, it's kloug."

When I introduce - proper - French food to some of my English counterparts, I sometimes feel a bit like Mr Preskovic, the Bulgarian neighbour in cult French film "Le Pere Noel est une ordure" (Father Christmas is a bastard).

New flavours and mistrust of foreigners (we Frogs are known to like raw meat and have little respect for hygiene, or so I am told) sometimes take people by surprise. I hope however that my food doesn't taste anything like Kloug or Dubitchu (which is rolled under the armpits you know!).

Below is a short excerpt of the film. No subtitles but you'll get the gist!

Le Père Noël est une ordure-Le gateau
Uploaded by stoinstoin. - See more comedy videos.

Kermee on Facebook

2009-05-22T20:46:00.003+01:00

Just a quick note to say that I am also on Facebook, should you wish to discuss any food matters and of course give me any feedback in order to make this blog one of your favourites!!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106967722177&ref=ts

Would you like me to try a recipe and put it to the test?
What sort of cooking would you like to see?
Have you got a recipe you'd like to share?
Any hints and tips for the kitchen?

Tell me!!!

How to cook Moby Dick

2009-05-19T11:10:00.005+01:00

I mentioned in an earlier entry about Jon's love for trout fishing. He certainly does, but unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on who you are - he is not keen on eating it. Neither is Rob.

What is wrong with a nice piece of rainbow trout? Oh yes, would that be the prospect of eating the whole of the three giant creatures he's just brought in that puts my other half off? Some people - i.e me - simply rejoice at the thought of a nice trout roast; it's tasty, it's healthy and... it's free! Oh but not my Rob. All he can think about is (to me) "Not another piece of that f***** Moby Dick again!!". "Can't you get us some friggin' pigeons or even some proper fish instead, you crafty old b******?" (to Jon). Bless.

I thought I'd share a very simple way of cooking Moby.

This is for one individual piece, but of course you can adapt it to make it bigger, whether or not you have giant rainbow trout fans in your household!!

- 3 tomatoes
- a slice of lemon
- Thyme
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste

First, season the bottom of the roasting tin with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
Then place your Moby inside, put a slice of lemon inside, along with a small bunch of thyme.
On the top, and around, put your sliced tomatoes (cherry in a bunch work best. In this case you can leave them whole) and season them with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the lot with a little olive oil and place in the oven at 180 degrees centigrade for about 25 - 30 mins for a small portion (a small rainbow trout).

Serve with some wild rice and use the cooking juices to season it.

Bon appetit!!!

I was going to show you my best Nigella impression...

2009-05-18T20:03:00.008+01:00

... Unfortunately, after several hours attempting to capture the best of the action (Yes, I spent most of the afternoon talking to myself), my camcorder accidentally fell off the dinner table and did something that I can only call an act of God. I was reaching for yet another piece of Makrout. Serves me right. It will also save me from making an idiot of myself on the net...

Anyway. I wanted to tell you about Makrouts. I woke up this morning and I just wanted some.

Here's the recipe as given by Augustine. This one saves a few calories by not deep frying them nor adding any sugar or honey:
It is still 75 calories a Mak, and they are, well, really, really, really, really moreish.

- 1kg semolina
- 250g unsalted butter
- Warm water
- 750g dates
- Cinnamon
- A pinch of salt

-Steam the previously stoned dates for ten minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and salt with the semolina to make a crumbly texture.
- Add some warm water to make it sticky (be careful not to add too much either or the grainy texture will disappear!).
- In a food processor, liquidise the dates until it makes a paste. Add some cinnamon to taste.
- Leave it to cool, then with wet hands, manipulate the paste so it has the shape of a long sausage.
- Divide the semolina dough , roll it like a very thick plasticine snake. flatten it and dip a middle line so the date filling fits inside neatly.
- Strech the sides to the top so that the filling is no longer visible, shape the semolina into a sausage and flatten it again slightly.
- Now cut the dough diagonally into bite size pieces.
- Leave in the oven gas mark 7 until it is cooked but not golden.

This is where the film came handy so you could actually see what I was doing!!!

However... not all is lost. Below is the link to a video that you may find handy. The recipe has a few variations (corn meal, blossom water, addition of more sugar), and the makrouts are also fried and dipped in honey. The principles are the same though. Why not make your own mind up and decide which recipe you like most?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63TQP70cXss

Personally, I do prefer my gran's, for the simple reason that hers are neither sickly nor overly sweet. Nevertheless, if you do prefer the classic Oriental sweet style, then I shan't be able to convert you I am afraid.

You're not going to eat my dog, are you San?

2009-05-16T16:22:00.005+01:00

This is my crewmate's dog. His name is Barclay.

As the three of us gently strolled in the local park the other morning, we came back - for the upteenth time - to the topic of my "uncanny" eating habits, which is something that shall never cease to amuse and fascinate him. Bloody Frogs eh, they'll eat anything!

He reckons that when I look at his cute canine pet, I actually visualise some sort of dish.

So here's to you Keith. Given his old age (the dog I meant of course), the recipe below sounds ideal.

Save the spit roast for the puppies would be my advice.

http://food.sulekha.com/forums/recipe-for-suyuk-boiled-dog-meat-3751.htm

Recipe for Suyuk(boiled dog meat)

Suyuk is eaten with specific ingredients or salt. Add heat to the meat by boilingwater or steam for prevention from cooling down. Ingredients are to be made ofthe mixture of soy bean paste with perilla, and one can eat the dog meat with theaddition of salt or these ingredients and wrapping it with perilla and lettuce.Eating it with mildly-boiled leek is common. When eating Suyuk, Soju(liquor) isusually accompanied by for its taste.
The standard amount of ingredients for one portion.
(1) Ingredients
200g of boiled dog meat, 50g of gravy, 1g of salt, 1g of garlic, a little amountof pepper, leek, perilla leaves
(2) Sauce
It can be enjoyed at one's taste with the addition of mixture of soy beanpaste, sesame oil, perilla oil, or with salt on it.
(3) Cooking instructions
Put dog meat and gravy and ingredients into pan, and steam it with a weakfire, eat with sauce. One can eat with boiled-leek. Perilla powder, perilla oil,mustard, vinegar are to be added to the sauce. Recipe for Suyuk(boiled dog meat)

Note: Whilst I do not oppose eating dog meat as such, I would like to be clear about one thing. I - like many of you - have been horrified witnessing how the animals are being treated and slaughtered for human consumption; therefore I am against the dog meat trade. Same goes for intensively farmed chicken and live-imported horses.

Eat ot die!

2009-05-10T11:22:00.004+01:00

This is my nan Augustine's catchphrase (see left, with her best smile). No, not really. I am twisting this a little; the actual words were "Eat up, because if you don't you shall die". Clear?

I know what you are thinking dear reader; with a nan looking as threatening as this, you'd eat up your food wouldn't you? Quite right.

Actually, despite appearances, this lady is as sweet as pie - if you excuse the pun.

Mémé Gateaux (nana cakes) was the nickname my best friend Céline gave her, because all she remembers from her regular visits was the insane amount of cakes and other desserts she'd produce.

Funny enough, as a child, you just take it for granted. They would drive the three hundred kilometre distance from Perpignan to Aubagne for every school holiday, and turn up with bags and bags of goodies. Confectionery a go go, pies, cakes, biscuits, but also cooked meals kept in a giant cool box, half a cow, a few giant prawns and a dozen wildebeest. All this packed in such a tiny car (a peugeot 104 and later a 205). I reckon she believed we ate ice all year round and that she would come and save us from starvation periodically.

I got so fed up with all that food that I'll never forget the day I said "I am sick of eating this. Why can't we eat ready meals just like everone else does?". Suprisingly, I am still alive to tell the tale.

I was sick of eating expensive fish and seafood for Christmas, because it was not Christmassy enough to my taste.

Every single day, she would ask - after dinner - if you wanted another slice of her cake. Maybe a Makrout then? Some brioche maybe? How about a bit of Buche (swiss roll)? Chocolate? Sweets? Wafer thin mint?

To her shock and horror, my brother once replied that he was not an eating machine. Her face was a picture.

With all those people starving in the world, two spoiled brats called Gregory and Sandra never realised how lucky they were to have such a nan. Most of the food was home-made, and because it was good stuff, we never got fat either! In fact, I grew so sick of sweet food that I only started to develop a taste for it in my late twenties.

Many years ago , I took my piercing-ridden and heavily tattoed friends to Spain, so we could sell a few vinyls at Calella's Psychobilly festival. Since Perpignan was on the way, it would have been rude not to stop for lunch. The boys tucked into the starter thinking this was it; can you imaging their surprise when more food turned up, as well as generous amounts of wine - white, rose and red. It was pretty amusing to watch one of them topping up my grandfather's glass out of politeness ("More wine Mr Palumbo?), only to get him pretty tipsy by the time we had finished eating - about three hours later.

Of course, no trip to Mémé and Pépé would be complete without the mandatory takeaway cakes and aniseed bread rolls. The boys really believed they had landed in Heaven and of course, thought that my grandparents were the best thing since sliced bread.

To make Augustine tick, it is very simple. Eat her food. Rob sussed her out straight away, and as soon as he asked for a second helping of that rabbit pie, I knew the old lady had fallen in love with him.

Her trademark dish is the Couscous garni, the Algerian way. Even the grain itself is rolled by hand from semolina, and worry not, I shall share the recipe with you soon. I must warn you however, that no matter how hard you try, it will never taste the same as hers!

Nice buns!

2009-04-28T17:44:00.007+01:00

I have been having a stab at breadmaking over the past few months. It all started with a book on English Country style cooking, but unsurprisingly, the skills of our local baker had won the vote, until I found this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bread-River-Cottage-Handbook-No/dp/074759533X

Yep, another marvel from the River Cottage HQ, home of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.

This manual will tell you all you need to know about baking, from the basic loaf to the more sophisticated sourdough and ciabatta, to name only but a few. You you can even find recipes for non yeasted breads and many types of buns, chelsea buns, hot cross buns, croissants, cakes, shortbreads, oatcakes, bread and butter pudding, brioche etc etc....

What I found out very quickly is that you cannot cut corners. However, worry not my friends, as all the basics can be learned from this very book indeed.

I tend to use my "sleep" days (the first rest day following a series of nights ) to bake a big batch. Since the lack of sleep renders me almost completely useless, I may as well stay at home slaving over a hot stove!

I use three quarters of the dough to make rolls, and one or two bigger bits to manufacture bigger loaves.
Most of it ends in a large freezer bag, ready to use whenever needed! To refresh the loaf, all I have to do is pop the previously thawed bread for a few minutes in the oven.

In a nutshell - and this is a very concise method! - to make a couple of big loaves, you will need:
- 1kg strong flour (I tend to do half white and half wholemeal)
- 10g powdered yeast
- 20g of salt
- 600ml warm water
- a slug of oil
- A ladleful of sourdough if you have it (I do)

Knead it for fifteen minutes, then leave to rest for an hour. Deflate the dough, knead it again for five minutes and rest it one more time.

After another hour or so, deflate it, shape it into loaves (this is where the book comes handy to learn how to do this and get the best results) and rest them again whilst you preheat the oven to its maximum setting.

When the loaves have doubled in size, slash them with a serrated knife, moisten them, boil some water to leave at the bottom of the oven (it mimics what bakers' ovens do), open the door quickly and put the bread in!

When the loaves sound hollow, they are done. Easy peasy eh?

Happy baking!!

But...I only wanted a sandwich!

2009-04-26T18:04:00.001+01:00

My love of cooking originated about five years ago, when employed full-time as a Trainee Meat Specialist for Waitrose*. This was following an earlier shambolic attempt at Management (Assitant Section Manager that was) with ended up in tears. Actually it even started in tears, but this is another story... Anyway, I know this for a fact, I am not cut out for retail. Strangely though, I found it a very inspiring place when it comes to food; not only because the people who work there are really passionate about what they do, but they also make things happen in matters of professionalism. There was Mark the Meat Specialist that customers called "The Butcher" and lovely Dot the Fish Specialist, who made outstanding displays and had created recipes for every budget and occasion. That was for me the start of a wonderful culinary adventure. My Manager thought I had lost the plot the day I asked to be "demoted" to a rank and file role at the counters, in order to train as a Specialist myself, but there you go!

Around the same period of time, Rob introduced me to his old friend Jon. They have known each other for the past twenty-seven years, and share a common interest for game shooting as well as good dining. A former police officer for the Met - who back in the days sported a lovely Village People style moustache - Jon was also a very talented child who starred in various films and even appeared once on the front page of Vogue Magazine, holding hands with a model in Trafalgar Square. A Salesman by trade, he also worked for the Bin Ladens in Saudi Arabia, ran his own Telecom businesses and thrice married stunning ladies.

Now sixty-one, retired and a Bachelor, the man fills his days doing absolutely nothing but whatever takes his fancy. Pheasant shooting, trout fishing, sleeping, eating, boozing, using his Freedom bus pass, go bargain hunting and fill his house with rubbish, to name a few. He likes to come over to ours and experience the wonders of that capital sin called Gluttony. With a good wine followed by a fine Cognac bien sur (Hine Antique XO anyone?)...

I have known Jon for about five years now and we've been through a good range of culinary delights, such as:

- Roasted pheasants and chips (obviously!). Always juicy.

- Rabbit Pie - recipe from my nan

- Hare Pie

- Seven bird roast. Took me days.

- "Perfectly" cooked joint of roast beef with all the trimmings. That always amazes him.

- Thick end of pork belly, roasted. Cholesterol heaven. Worth dying for.

- Buffalo Chilli con Carne.

The list goes on and on...

When training to become an adequate Meat saleswoman, for portfolio purposes of course, I used the man as my Guinea Pig when trying new recipes. It goes without saying, Waitrose does not sell buffalo. However, cooking a simple piece of meat is a skill, and making it memorable is another. Besides, you just cannot expect any intensively farmed animal to equate free-range, correctly fed and free of stress livestock. This is what I insist upon, because to me, meat is to be treated with respect, and as much as we possibly can in urban settings, she should endeavour to use every possible part of the carcass. I think we owe this to them.

Pests such as wild rabbit and grey squirrels are also fantastic stuff for the pot. It is such a shame that the average townie has no idea of the damage they cause to the ecosystem as well as our farmers' crops. We really should eat more of these and do nature a favour.

I am talking a lot about meat on this entry, because it is the centrepiece of our meals everytime Jon comes over. I do however eat a fair amout of fish and even cook tofu on occasions. I also make use of my local hedgerows, especially blackberries. I loathe the idea of eating meat every day of the week because, in my own subjective opinion, this is not what us Homo Sapiens are made to do. On one hand, too much meat is bad for you, on the other, because I am fully aware that a living thing was slaughtered to end in my pot, I do not wish to consume them unnecessarily.

Call me a hypocrit if you so desire...

* Waitrose is a smallish top end of the market supermarket chain.

Welcome readers, let me introduce myself

2009-04-24T21:30:00.001+01:00

I am not new to blogging. In fact, I have been blogging for over three years somewhere else, about my life.
One day, I came to realise what a random exposure of my private life it had become, and apart from my friends and regular readers, no one was interested. Sounds familiar?

Don't get me wrong, my existence is - I think - full enough of excitement and things to say. I am a full-time Emergency Medical Technician for a living. Ambulance Aid is a job however, just like any other. We do what we got trained up for, and yes, this is, in my opinion a worthwile choice of career. Now if people want to describe in detail what they do for a living on a blog, good on them. I will not.

My name is Sandra, I live in Southern England with my partner Rob . We have no kids, nor do we have any desire to have any. We'd like a dog, and I'd like a big horse to feed my dressage addiction.

I was born in the Southern town of Aubagne in Provence (where Jean de Florette takes place) some thirty odd years ago. My father is the son of a French country girl and an upper-class Spanish political refugee. My mother is what we call "Pied-Noir", meaning that she was born in North Africa (Algeria) of an Italian father and a Maltese mother. Cooking has always been my mom's mom strentgh - let's call her Augustine which is her real name.

When I was a teenager, feminist ideology was the thing to follow. Trust me I did with gusto. One of my friends used to call me MLF (Movement for Women's Liberation.). I even took on a man who threatened to kill me once. He was also three times my size. His crime? Hitting my boyfriend. I also remember the time I was asked by my boss to wear skirts for work because "I looked more feminine" - something that sent me up the roof, or the time some idiot thought I did not have the brains to market Oasis' last album (which of course I did, rather successfully if memory serves). His two year old son could do better, or so he said.

Provence being a pretty backwards part of France, it is no suprise that men behave like Neanderthals. Too much rebellion however proved bad for me in the long term, especially when I realised that there was a breed further North called the Brits that let their women free to do the job they wanted and behave outrageously. Wow.

Since I was a very good pupil in English language, I did pursue my studies in Aix University. Then I fell in lurve. With an Englishman! From then on, it went sort of downhill...

I was in a relationship at the time and really wasn't sure how to deal with this. Sure enough, the Englishman ran away when he realised I was nowhere near crossing the Channel and I was left suffering the harsh reality in which the state of things was not going to change unless I made things happen. So I did, on antidepressants, after a bout of shingles and all-over-the-body eczema.

It has been ten years now since I made this decisive move to England and I must say that this indeed turned my life around.
I consider myself to be more English than most English people, thanks to my own Doolittle (the Pygmalion Doolittle, not the man who talks to animals!), Rob. Nevertherless, having lived the "ladette" way of life for far too long and put on two stones - thankfully lost now through hard work and balanced nutrition - my French roots feel stronger than ever before. I just need to take a look at my beautiful mother to realise that, at the age of fifty-six, she can still turn heads, which includes Rob's, who thinks she is one hell of a sexy French woman!

My nan, in her own old fashioned wisdom keeps telling me that the only way to keep a man is to feed him right and look after him. A bit dated you may say, but it is an art that too many so-called liberated women forget, and certainly something that I had denied myself for so long, believing it was some sort of self-degradation . If you want to keep your man, look after him, make him feel at home and he will give it back to you - unless he is a worthless twat of course. Those you must avoid at all price, it goes without saying.

Let me tell you: there is no shame in wanting to pamper your other half with a good meal! I do this almost everyday! Make food an important part of your life and you will gain the rewards, as well as lose weight.

My main sources of inspiration are wonderful people such as Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Clarissa Dickson-Wright and... well, my nan. Augustine.

Hope you enjoy!!