Stir Fry, Curries and Baking!

Hello all! I've tried out 3 new things this week that I want to share with you. They range from great all the way through to 'must try harder' (think this one is more me related than the recipe itself though!)

The week favourite is.....

Simple Goan Curry! 

For the marinade:

I love love love spices and curry as you all know by now. This dish uses some of my favourites such as cumin, tumeric and coriander. 

These spices are combined together in a dish with some lemon juice and water. I must admit I got a bit excited with the tumeric adding a teaspoon rather than half. Mixed together as a paste it looks like this

 To this mixture add the chicken and marinade for between 30 minutes and an hour.

For the pan:

Sorry about the bluriness! 

Its a can of coconut milk, mustard seeds, onions and garlic. The idea of adding a whole can of coconut milk was a bit much for me, so I ended up using just over half and this proved to produce enough sauce for me and josh. The downside to my limit on the coconut meant the dish turned out to be more spicy than it perhaps should have been.This doesn't bother me as I like a dish that makes me sweat (I probably should say sweat in a food blog but alas).

The recipe sees that you fry the mustard seeds before adding chopped garlic and onions - do beware, those seeds don't half jump. Fortunately my glasses acted as a protective shield to my eyes when checking this process out.

I added the chicken to the mustard seeds, onion and garlic and the smells from the spices were amazing, rich and delicious! I cooked this off for around 5 minutes before adding the coconut milk. If you're like me it may be worth adding about half and seeing what you think. 

It says to simmer for about 12 minutes and I left it for about 10, it did reduce and thicken slightly but I was happy with the amount of sauce available!

The flavours were rich and potent in this dish. For Josh it was a little on the hot side and this maybe that I went a bit spice happy and didn't want to add that extra coconut milk. For that me and Josh thought this recipe was 8.5/10!

 Here is my finished product....

The average one of the week:

Nigel Slater's quick, mildly spiced beef recipe. 

I originally got the recipe from the guardian website at the beginning of October  I went back to get the link but it has expired. Everywhere else I search seemed to take forever to load so I'll type it out for you.

You will need:

• Oil for frying
• 500g of cubed beef
• 2 onions sliced
• 3 garlic cloves chopped finely
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon of garam masala
• 500 ml of vegetable or beef stock  my hatred of watery dishes means I only used about half of this.
• 1 tablespoon of grain mustard
• 200 ml of double cream  As ever I removed this and used good old creme fraiche around 3 table spoons

 The recipe said it had enough for 4 but as ever it fed 3 of us providing 'normal' portions. One thing that myself and Wayne (a friend of mine and Josh's) said that it lacked was some form of veg. Josh of course thought more meat would have been the answer but there wasn't much bulk to the dish. Next time I think I would add some peppers for that extra bite.

The recipe says to season the beef and fry then remove from the pan. Although I can see that this may benefit in terms of adding extra flavours but I was cooking to a deadline so I firstly:

I added the onions, garlic and oil to my wok and fried until golden brown. I then added the cumin, coriander and garam masala for around 3 minutes. I then added my extra lean beef strips and cooked for a further 5 minutes, allowing the meat to mix in with the spices. I added my half measure of stock and left to boil for 10 minutes.

After this I added my mustard and the creme fraiche (mixing this in thoroughly) and let to simmer for a few minutes. The spice mixture for this dish  saved the day in all honest.  Yes it is quick and easy but it lacked that extra dimension that veg would have added. I'd say about 5 or 6 out of 10. I will try again one day and let you know how I go.

The needs more practice dish of the week:

As I mentioned when I started my blog, my forte and confidence lies in savoury dishes. My mom is allergic to eggs so pudding and pudding making always took a back seat in my cooking. I have been experimenting recently and my friend Jessie has been helping me with it. As an avid reader of the BBC food section I came across Marshmallow Brownies.

As I am so new to the world of baking, I always follow every instruction to a T and did so for the brownies. I must say I was shocked (and secretly excited) about the amount of sugar that went into these bad boys and as a result made them even more irresistible to me.

We didn't have any square tins so used circular ones. As we felt the mixture was a little on the thick side, we cooked for about half an hour rather than 20 minutes. We took it out the oven and chilled as advised. Whilst the outside was moist (shudder) and delish, the middle seemed to have remained gooey.

Should we have cooked for even longer and risked burning the outisde or have I missed something? Answers appreciated!

hmmm a little rough around the edges

Despite the hiccups the taste was great and the mashmallows were amazing next to the brownie. I even had to remove it from my house so i didn't try and eat the goo. I think that speaks volumes!

And the final one of the week is the 'trusted classic'. 

 Pork, Green bean and oyster stir fry.

When Josh and I moved into our house a friend bought me a recipe file and I stuffed it full of dishes I wanted to try. This one sat in there for a while and is now one of our favourites.

The ingredients I used are just here. As I didn't have any pork in the house (it is much more fattening) I used turkey steaks that i sliced into strips. 




Others are:

• Lime juice - 1 Tbsp needed
• Chilli sauce - 1 Tbsp needed (I add 2/3)
• Oyster Sauce - 75ml needed
• Soy sauce - 1 tsp needed (I use about 3 table spoons)
• Garlic cloves - 2 needed, finely chopped
• Onion - 1 needed cut into chunky pieces. The recipe actually calls for red onion but this doesnt agree with me so I use standard cooking onions
• Green beans - 140g halves (I use frozen green beans and just cook them for slightly longer)
• Noodles to serve

I know that me ADDING more moisture is rare but when I tried this for the first time I found that the sauce wasn't substantial enough to coat the chicken, beans and noodles so I added more.

Step 1 -

Mix the lime, chilli sauce, oyster sauce and half the soy in a bowl.

Step 2 -

Coat the meat in a dash of soy, salt and pepper. Once this is thoroughly mixed, heat the oil in the wok and toss in the meat. (Start to boil the water for your noodles)

Step 3 - 


Add the garlic onion and beans and cook for around 4 minutes.(If your beans are fresh the recipe recommends around 2 minutes) Add your noodles to the boiling water and cook according to packet instructions.




Step 4-

 Add the sauce to the wok and simmer for 2 minutes, it should thicken slightly.

Step 5 - 

Drain your noodles and add to the mixture, toss in until mixed together.

My finished product

The recipe offers a unique flavour, almost sour and salty with the oyster sauce and the lime. Extra tang offered in by the garlic. I often add a glug or 2 extra of the chilli sauce for that extra kick or even some freshly chopped red chilli depending on my mood. This recipe will serve 3 hungry people or 2 people with extra for a lunch time portion! All in all takes around 25 minutes including prep time!

I am on half term this week and I am travelling out and about! I'm sure I will do some cooking but I have a feeling next weeks blog with contain some restaurant reviews! 

Have a great week.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

H x

My week in food 15/10

Right, we are getting on track and I have finally caught up with my tales of yesteryear and food. 

Last week was fairly busy so I only have a couple of recipes to share with you. One is a trusted classic and a Josh favourite and one was a new find.

The Trusted Classic....

A good friend of mine Lucy introduced me to the Good Food Magazine books and I invested in the 101 Veggie Dishes which has a couple of good recipes in it. Josh being a strong carnivore couldn't understand the concept of eating a meal without meat so I amended the recipe to include diced turkey

Thai Satay Noodles

you will need:

• 3 Tbsps of crunchy peanut butter (I like to use the whole nut version as it gives the flavours a different element).
• 3 Tbsps of Sweet Chilli Sauce 
• 100mls of coconut milk (light option all the way for me)
• 100mls of Chicken Stock 
• 2 Tbsps of Soy Sauce
• 2 inches of ginger, grated
• 140g of broccoli florets
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 85g of baby corn, sliced in half length ways
• 50g Mangetout, sliced in half length ways
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced finely
• 2 nests of wholewheat noodles
• Olive oil

To start you need to mix the peanut butter, sweet chilli sauce (I usually add another tablespoon or so as I like it spicy), coconut milk, chicken stock and soy sauce. Mix them together until the peanut butter mix becomes smooth. One thing I forget to do regularly is to stir the coconut milk before adding. It makes the difference. It may not seem the most appealing in sight or smell but give it a taste here as I often add extra soy sauce.

Add a small amount of olive oil to a wok or large frying pan and add the turkey and cook through then add ginger, broccoli, peppers and corn for 3 minutes. I always tend to cook this for a little longer as I find that the broccoli can be underdone and too crunchy for my taste. Take your own taste after 3 minutes and see what you think. At this point boil the water for your noodles and cook as per packet instructions.

Add mangetout and garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add peanut mix and stir into vegetables and allow to boil for a couple of minutes. Once the noodles are cooked add to the mixture, stir and serve.

When I first made the recipe I wasn't too sure about it, especially the first phase, however it mixes well with the ginger and garlic to give a unique flavour. One thing that does often gripe me is the ability to mix the noodles in to the vegetables enough that they are spread evenly. You may benefit from plating the noodles first and then adding the sauce mixture. the recipe will take about 30 minutes to cook and prepare when you are in full flow and this should serve around 3 hungry mouths. I have had to sub in petit pois and normal sweetcorn at a push and it still works well.

I tried to find the link for this on the bbc good food website but no joy. If you want to buy the book this is what is looks like:

I got mine from W H Smiths but is available online too!

The new find...

So as you will know by now I have a love of curry. And I'm a fan of vegetables. I made this one and managed to persuade Josh to have this without meat! 

Quick Vegetable Curry

Now I'm not sure about you but quick to me is around half an hour but this recipe with all of its faffing would take at least an hour. As I was tired and impatient I must admit I cut a few corners and amended it to my taste 

*bad harriet*

 As you know this goes against my ethos of try the recipe first then mix it afterwards. If you have a read through the recipe I'm hoping you will let me off about this one.

The recipe says you will need the following. (Though I have crossed out the things I didn't use)

• 2 large aubergines, cut into quarters, thickly sliced
• salt
• good glug groundnut oil
• 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 large, juicy garlic cloves, peeled, chopped
• finger-length piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into fine shreds
• 6-8 cardamom pods
• 1-2 good pinches dried chilli flakes
• 1-2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1-2 tsp cumin seeds
• 6-8 tomatoes, roughly chopped    I used passata here
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• few good dollops natural yoghurt I omitted this as I felt it would be too creamy
• dollop crème fraîche
• small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• small handful fresh mint leaves   I ommitted this as I didn't feel it would be to my taste.

• 
  
  I also added to this 2 potatoes (cut into quarters and boiled for 20 minutes) and 2 carrots (Sliced thinly and boiled for 15 minutes) and a can of cannellini beans to add some more texture and to bulk it out for my man

So for this recipe I changed a lot. Firstly it said to :

1. Place the aubergine slices into a colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture from the aubergine. - No Thanks, I want to get this ball rolling!
2. Meanwhile, to a large pan over a high heat add the groundnut oil with the onions, garlic and ginger. Cover with a lid, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or so, until the onions have softened. I once again feel that this was too long to cook them for so cut this down dramatically.
   
   
   The next stage it says is:
   Crush the cardamom pods, extract the black seeds and lightly crush them in a mortar with a pestle (I don't have one of these at the moment as I broke mine so used a spoon to crush and extract the pods.) - a gold star so far.
   Add them to the same pan, along with the chilli flakes, turmeric and cumin seeds, and stir to lightly toast the spices (discard the empty cardamom pods) - once again this was fine.
   
   
   Next it says to add the Aubergines which you have to griddle cook first until brown which is fine. At this point I added my other vegetables and the passata. I also added a little water to the mixture to loosen it up slightly. I left it to boil for about 15 minutes. 
   
   
   
   

   The chilli was quite strong against the onions so at this point I added the creme fraiche to cool it a little. The portion fed 3 of us and I had enough left over. As there is a lot of veg in my version there wasn't really the need for rice but I can't fault having a Naan to mop it up. I didn't find the aubergine needed to have the moisture drained out and found that the veg worked together well.

Tomorrow Night I am embarking on some baking with my friend Jessie so I'll take lots of pictures and let you know how we get on.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry.

H x

The Cornwall Restaurant adventures - North and South.

The restaurant edition....

The South...







During 'The Fish Saga' that took us to Porthleven we had passed this place. When we returned on our first trip it was shut so when we went back in August, this was on our hit list. This place was also recommended by the park we were staying on. As with Black Rock restaurant, Kota offers a set menu but this time it was available all evening.

We went to Kota early on in the evening and were only the second table in. Despite this the atmosphere was welcoming with strong dark wood all around for that extra cosy and intimate feel. One thing that's big for me on the atmosphere is the space between the tables, nothing worse than sitting on another diners lap. I am happy to say that this wasn't a problem here!

The restaurant offered an extensive wine and cocktail list and just for my blog I sampled one from each (wink wink). I started with a champagne cocktail and if my memory is correct it was a Kota Champagne cocktail which had cucumber vodka in. It came with a curl of cucumber in the bottom and a fantastically fancy champagne flute - a great way to start off your meal.

Josh decided to opt for the Set Menu for £17.50, dessert was added on and was well worth the money! With some set menus you get smaller portions but I can say that it matched mine in both size and quality.

To Start Josh had:
Tomato, chilli, coconut & seafood soup

I'm not usually a soup advocate, especially when we go out for dinner but Josh chose this dish and it made me re-think my stance. The soup came in a beautiful bowl (yes it makes all the difference) and wasn't stingy on the fish which made Josh happy. The bowl was littered with big chunks of cod and salmon with a thick soup which was well seasoned. The hint of chill complimented the whole thing. Josh even said he felt full after the starter and those of you who know Josh will understand the gravity of this.

For Main Josh had:

Pan fried hake fillet with saffron & seaweed risotto, shellfish & lemongrass bisque
Josh never used to like rice based dishes and had started to warm to it before Cornwall but this dish cemented his willingness to try. Once again the portion size was massive with a good portion of Hake. Crispy skin and well cooked meat made it extra tasty. Risotto was a little on the soft side for my taste but Josh found it tasty and worked well with the texture of the fish. Well seasoned and comes well recommended.
I was a pain as ever and decided that I wanted to eat a la carte! 

To Start I had:
Heirloom tomatoes, garlic custard, olive caramel, avocado puree & courgette flower (which was £7.50). 

The presentation was amazing - colours were bright and vibrant (different varieties of tomatoes featured) and the puree was scraped across the plate which made it even better! Flavour combinations were spot on too. Although I thought the portion was small at the time, when I had eaten my main and pudding I realised they did no wrong. Who knew tomatoes could taste so good!! ( I obviously did as I used to eat a punnet to myself when I was younger and go red!)

For Main I had:

John Dory with crab & ginger ravioli, cabbage, peas, globe artichokes & lemongrass (which was £17.50)

The first thing that struck me was the smells - the ginger and lemongrass. As you will probably pick up throughout the course of my ramblings, I adore spice and strong flavours and this did not disappoint. The John Dory fillet held its own well and was cooked perfectly offering a great texture to the ravioli. In my head when I ordered I imagined lots of little ravioli but it came as one big offering. I am probably being greedy as I am a carb fiend but I felt that I could have eaten more of it, especially as it was my carb helping of the course. The vegetables were fresh and al dente which made the dish even better.

Me and Josh share our pudding. We were both full but couldn't pass up the opportunity based on what we had already eaten.

For Pudding we had:

Malted chocolate fondant with popcorn ice cream, salted caramel and malted tuille. (which was £7.50)

Well well well. This was the loveliest end to a meal I have had in a very long time. The presentation was playful and made you feel as if you were embarking on a mini adventure to eat it. Different segments meant that you did know where to start.  Josh jumped straight into the fondant which oozed out some silky and delicious goo so naturally I stole the bit he had broken into. I think my favourite bit was the popcorn ice-cream. Oh so creamy and popcorny! The caramel played nicely against the creamy ice cream and the fondant! - below is the pic!

Go on check on the rest of the menu!

The restaurant comes highly recommended.When it got busier we still received attentive service and the vibe was relaxed and fun. Booking your table comes highly recommended! Definitely a place you can have a romantic meal with your other half. 

The North...

In September I went on holiday with some of the girls from University. Louise found some gorgeous wood cabins near Bude called Ivyleaf Combe. Before jumping onto the food, the accommodation was so good I want to give it a mention. Located in some fantastic countryside, you really couldn't ask for better for some time with friends. Each lodge has a hot tub on the deck which was very well used for relaxing times and catch ups with the girls.

The standard of cleanliness was fantastic and we were greeted onto the park by one of the owners who gave us a tour of the lodge before allowing us to settle in. The small things really do make a difference and the apple juice and biscuits laid out for us won us 4 over straight away.

Although most things are a drive away it was nice to come back and be in utter silence

So I banged on about this one restaurant for some time.....

We booked around 6 months in advance and availability was still tight. As Padstow is around 45 minutes from Bude we opted for the early bird special at 6.30pm. What I have learnt is that it can be somewhat of a rush to get ready for this time when you have been out all day as well as feeling slightly odd leaving the lodge dressed to the nines when it is light out.

In saying that my reservations left me as soon as we pulled up outside the restaurant and I began to get that excitement in the pit of my stomach.

As we walked up to the door in our heels, the door was opened for us which always puts me in a good mood. We were swiftly accompanied to our table by the same man and seated. All the excitement went to our head as we committed to the recommended sparking rose wine which we later discovered was £50 for the bottle. In saying that we had planned champagne and if we had had 2 glasses each it would have been more than this. Louise even got her posh on and tried the bubbly before it was poured to us all. I do like a bit of posh! With the bubbly poured we were greeted by the amuse bouche - some breaded cheese! These guys were smooth, too smooth perhaps.

I cant help but think that our experience here was ultimately made better by our waitress. She was friendly, attentive and made us feel completely at ease to ask questions. She even came over to ask if we needed help making our decision and spent time with us explaining what it was like and whats even better being honest.

If you are a fish lover, you NEED to look at the full menu. Only then will you fully understand how hard it was to make a decision. Be prepared to be amazed!

So after much deliberating and ensuring that no one else on the table was having the same thing, I opted for the following (drum roll please...)

Starter

Sashimi of Scallops, John Dory, Salmon and Seabass. 

That's right I went raw. I figured that if I was going to do it, Rick Stein wouldn't let me down. The plate came to me with a clean appearance and a good amount of each. I was so pleased that I got chopsticks but not so pleased I couldn't separate them (thanks to Louise for doing it). I had eaten some raw fish but this was another level, you could taste the freshness and the quality in each mouthful, My favourite of the selection was definitely the Scallops that literally melted in my mouth. Simple and beautiful. Worth every penny (£15.00)

Main

Braised Fillet of Brill with black truffle, slivers of potato, mushrooms and truffle oil.

This stood out to me straight away and what got my eye? The truffle. Together with the fish and the mushrooms it struck my palette as somewhat sweet and fragrant. The fish melted away in my mouth and was cooked to perfection. The slivers of potato did what they said but were cooked well. As I mentioned before I am a carb fiend so I would have happily eaten more! (£29.50)

Pudding

Passion fruit Souffle with white chocolate ice cream

I had so many tastes in my mouth all of which were amazing but opted for passion fruit as a light and refreshing flavour. The souffle was lovely and the passion fruit was there in abundance and gave me a zing which brought me out of my food coma. As with all other ice cream I had when I went to Cornwall it was velvety in texture and rich in flavour.

Overall -

The seafood restaurant is somewhere you should go, especially if you love fish and enjoy a bit of pomp and ceremony. All in the meal cost £75 each. This included the champagne, 2 glasses of pinot grigo wine, coffee and 4 three course meal. It is on the pricey side but sometimes you really do pay for the whole experience and the quality of what you eat.

This picture shows you my emotion about the food we ate:

Wow that was more writing than I planned!

Hope it was worth it and you guys enjoy!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

H x

My year in Cornwall. Part 1, the south

Ahhh life in Cornwall...

So, for those of you that don't know, my boyfriend's parents recently bought a chalet come caravan near Penzance, Cornwall. To be more specific its right here...

Praa sands is a beautiful little village near a gorgeous beach on the south coast of Cornwall  This has meant that this year I have had 2 holidays in the area. As you can imagine this has meant that I have had some amazing food and want to share it all with you.

Cornwall Food and Drink Festival at Trereife House

This country house is beautiful and is around 10 minutes from the centre of Penzance. They have events on all year round and is well worth a visit. The car parks are placed in the surrounding fields so if its a wetish day DO NOT opt for gladiator sandals like me! The car parks are also a walk away from the main house on a road with potholes prone to puddles. Note again DO NOT wear gladiator sandals if its a wet day.

My love of curry continues...

Whilst there we found this little gem- Ruby Junes Curry Sauces - This stall impressed me so much. Freshly made Bhajis both onion and butternut squash! I bought 1 of each and ever since wish I bought more. So much flavour in both with a good kick of chilli which didn't over power and it was obvious love and care was put into them. If you ever see this grab me some and let me know ASAP.

 I also got one of their Tikka Masala sauces. Although this flavour wouldn't be my first choice, after one taste I was hooked. Fragrant, Spicy and moreish it was an instant hit. Despite the fact I was on holiday I wanted to cook it! I even went to Tesco in Penzance to get the milk. From my last post you'll know that adding excesses of milk-like substances is not my favourite thing in the world. The sauces all come as a thickish paste and June recommends 1/4 pint of milk in her sauces

Have a look at her sauces here - Yummy Curry!

No need for bland food...

Another stall that got our purchase was Nature Kitchen. My friends say that it is easy to sell things to me and they could be right, especially when samples are involved! We were welcomed to the stall by the waft of a delicious mix of smells. 

We tried a few samples including Lemon Pepper and Ras-el-hanout which were lovely but the highlight for us was the Thai Lemon Fish Spice  as shown below.

The great thing about these spices is that they are so versatile - you can add them to roast potatoes  your roasting joint or the fish that the title so suggests. When you smell this intoxicating blend you are instantly met by the lemon quickly followed by the warmth of cumin and mint.

Nature Kitchen have been so kind as to put their suggestions on their website which is worth a look - Sprinkle me, use me!

As with the curry sauces you can order online. As the mixes are so fragrant you don't need to use much to achieve a great flavour - a little pot goes a long way!

Restaurants...

This restaurant was something we stumbled upon after our trip to the Tate at St Ives - they offer an A la Carte Menu but between 6pm - 7pm there is an express menu that you can sample. Prices are two courses £15.50, three courses £17.95. Most people see the express menus and think uber small. Trust me the portions kept me and Josh truly happy so don't worry!

When you walk into the restaurant you are first hit by the art work that is emblazoned on the walls. I later found out that this is all work by local artists. Now I'm no art critic but the variety in the work on display really added to the atmosphere and gave it something extra. 

My mother and some of my friends (Magrath and maybe Alex) would have been put off by the plastic chairs but the menu was enough to deter me from even caring.

When we first visited in June at 6pm on a weeknight you were not surrounded by people. However, the friendly waiting on staff made the place seem friendly and warm.

I started by having a prosecco with elder flower syrup and what a taste sensation this was. This was quickly followed up by home made breads (still warm!!!) and real butter with a teeny tiny pile of salt. I was sold already.

• To Start I had Mussels steamed with chorizo, white wine and coriander. Predictably I asked for more bread! Probably should have resisted as the bowl was so big and brimming with tasty Mussels

For Main I had Cider baked belly pork with crackling, pickled apples, celeriac dauphinoise and seasonal greens. Belly Pork is my absolute favourite meat and this was cooked to perfection. Flavourful and moist (yes i said it) and totally melt in the mouth. Complimented excellently by the dauphinoise and the apples. I even devoured the crackling. The portion size wasn't as big as the stater but the quality, presentation and flavours meant it did its job - left you wanting more. I'm big on restaurant etiquette but i totally wanted to wipe the plate with my finger!

I was that full by pudding I shared. We had Homemade ice creams and biscuits . If you have never had Cornish ice cream you are missing out! So thick and creamy and the flavours were amazing - the caramel honeycomb was def my fave! It was accompanied by Vanilla and a Whiskey Ice cream and the biscuits were divine. Great way to finish off a meal

Just to give you and idea of how good it was, we went back twice in a week and took some friends that had joined us. I can see why they have these recommendations:

The Fish and Chip Saga

Now I don't know about you but fish and chips and are synonymous with Cornwall. Me and Josh first went down in June for the Queens Jubilee and had a hankering for the lovely yet fattening seaside treat. 

At 7.45pm we left Praa Sands and drove to Porthleven which takes about 10 minutes. We found a parking spot the walked down to a chip shop only to find they were shutting up! So we trundled round Porthleven to find not one single chip shop was open past 8pm. We got back in the car and spent about half and hour driving to Penzance passing 5 or more chip shops all shut.

Lesson learned. In June, past 8pm you have to go to Penzance. We found 1 little saviour down a back street called Captains Fish Bar.

(62 Daniel Place, Penzance, TR18 4DU 01736 330333) that is open till 9pm!

We had a couple of fish a large chips and some mushy peas for the mister.

If my memory serves me correctly it came to about £10 for the lot. Once again

they were not shy on the portion size.  Batter was light and the fish was cooked

in front of you.

This Fish Bar had the option to take away or eat in and offered cute little gifts in the window! 

Out of season holiday-ers. You are welcome. ‎

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

H x

National Curry Week 2012

The story continues here... 

So in celebration of National Curry Week I cooked 3 Curries and 2 Misc dishes!

First off was Beef Massaman using the paste supplied by R and G Pastes.

The dish took around an hour in total to cook and I was pleased with the finished product.

I was taken aback with the sheer amount of milk and coconut milk that was added. The recipe recommends 1 full tin of coconut milk followed by a pint of milk. As someone that doesn't cope well with too much dairy i did feel the effects of this amount. I cant help but think that the creaminess of this combination somewhat took away from the beautiful flavours that the package promised. I personally added a chilli to give it an extra boost as well as some veg (baby sweetcorn, mangetout and runner beans) to give the dish some more texture.

I bought a sachet of the Penang paste as well. The instructions are the same as above but I will not be using as much milk product and may add extra liquid through water and see how I get on and keep you posted.



The curry company Thai Yellow Curry was the next one. I had this sauce before and really enjoyed the delicate and fragrant tastes so thought why not?! This time instead of using my go-to chicken I decided to use fish. As I am a fish fiend i felt that using a generic fish pie mix would satisfy my palette  The mix included cod, salmon and smoked haddock. I did have some reservations about whether the smoked fish would work but I'm glad i did it! Really mixed in well with the flavour of the curry!

All the curry pots I have had from here have always been to a good standard and are ideal if you want to have good curry fairly quick - I often have a hankering for them in the week and this range definetley solves the time problem. I think i'd look to add some vegetables next time, especially if opting for chicken to make the texture more interesting (and for me to feel better about the fact im eating a curry whilst on a diet).

Prices for this seem to range from place to place. At the Stone Food and Drink Festival these pots were 3 for £10 for 475g of sauce. There are good sell by dates and you have the option of freezing too!


Homemade Thai Turkey Burgers was my boyfriends highlight of the week!

This amount will make you about 4 large burgers!

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of turkey mince (Tesco's healthy living is 380g)
• Thumb sized wedge of ginger, chopped finely
• 1 red chilli, chopped finely
• A handful of coriander, chopped finely (This portion is very generous as I love coriander)
• 2 cloves of garlic (you can do 1 cloves, especially if you're at work the next day)
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 1 egg yolk to bind
• 1 glug of Mr Vikkis' sweet jalapeno sauce ( get some here!) 
• 4 wholemeal buns

(My boyfriend, josh, loves these served with home made potato wedges - but that is up to you!)

Get a large bowl and put turkey, ginger, chilli, coriander, garlic, spring onions and egg yolk in. Get your hands messy by mixing the ingredients together and form into your chosen patty size. (i love the word patty)

I opted to griddle fry mine for about 6 minutes each side so they have the authentic burger marks. This cooking time will need changing if you have opted for smaller/larger burgers and I would always recommend checking that the middle is fully cooked and piping hot.

Cut your bun in half and add the cooked and fragrant burger. Have a good old mouthful of your burger to see if you like the balance of flavours then add Mr Vikki's to taste!

I have seen this recipe with pork mince which would be delish but turkey is cheaper and more healthy!

If you have a go let me know what you think!

My next blog will look at my year of Cornwall holidays and the delights I have stumbled across :)

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

H x