G is for Gravy

Yes, you heard me, gravy.  There are certain dishes out there that are just not complete until you add this, the most wonderful and versatile of all sauces.

Sausage and mash. Pie and mash.  Actually, lets make that anything with mash.

A roast dinner (of any kind). Toad in the hole.

The americans even have a thick sausage gravy they eat at breakfast!

The great thing about gravy is that it can be made to match whatever you are eating and there is no firm rule about what goes in it. You can thicken it...or not. You can add onions...or not. Each batch is unique and in our family my dear husband is the king of gravy makers (and roast dinners). You can drench your dinner in it or (in the case of a certain friend) drink it straight from the jug.

You can try and dress it up and call it a jus but really it all boils down to the same thing (quite literally in fact.)

But for me, the most bizarre thing about gravy is that while I am now more than happy to wax lyrical about its many and marvellous uses... I used to despise it as a child. You make think that despise is rather a strong word but I couldn't stand to have any gravy pass my lips, any meal with said condiment would be rejected. Or very grudging picked at because I was generally a good child who did as they were told.

I am sure my mother must have despaired.

It sounds odd but I decided at about the age of 5 or 6 that I didn't like "wet food" and avoided it at all costs.  I have to add that I also liked to keep all the different foods separate on my plate but that is probably another story and one that I am sure some psychologist would have something to say about.  But back to the story in hand, I would refuse gravy on any and every meal, my especial fear was that it would turn my potatoes to mush.  This strong aversion of "wet food" extended to include brothy stews, custard and pouring cream....all things I now eat in abundance.

So lets give it up for gravy...I know I will be having a double helping next time it is on the menu.

'F' is for Fudge

And fudged fudge at that...well, my first attempt didn't exactly go to plan and set with the consistency of sorbet.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining and it tasted great and worked even better heated up poured over bananas for pudding. Or, in my dear husband's case, vanilla ice-cream and bananas.

By now some of you may be spotting common theme appearing in my blog...well that is all down to the fact that my dear husband has a taste for all things sweet and chocolatey and who I am to deny this? Instead, I get to be the wonderful wife that can cook and create things to indulge his sweet tooth and mine...because lets be honest here I like sweet stuff too.

So anyway, about two weeks ago I set about the task of making some fudge as a valentines gift for my dear husband. I found a great recipe for vanilla fudge with evaporated milk that was based on timings rather than temperature, which was a good thing as I don't have a sugar thermometer. 

Now I know that traditionally many people would have opted for the condensed milk over the evaporated milk but this wasn't a planned concoction rather I was being sponatneous and using what I had in my cupboard.  Should I ever revisit making fudge I will try it with condensed milk.

At this point a few of you are thinking, hang on, if it was for a valentines gift how can it have been spontaneous? My answer is simply this; I am a stay-at-home-mum on a budget and I didn't have time to knit him anything.

My first attempt was made with granulated sugar which, although part of the recipe, is where I think I went wrong. When I repeated the recipe later on in the week I changed this for caster sugar and got (as you can see) fantabulous results.  I know it tasted good as this box lasted less time than the aforementioned fudged fudge.

*Edit* this fudge does have a more toffee like consistency rather than one that melts in your mouth

'E' is for eggs

Eggs are just wonderful things. So yummy. Often quick to cook. And lets not forget...so good for you!

Robust enough in their own flavour that you can eat them alone in so many ways - it's amazing.  Just stop and think about it...boiled, fried, poached, scrambled. Then there are numerous dishes in which they can be used, I certainly get through boxes of them when baking...especially birthday cakes but that is another post entirely.

Now when it comes to The Two Monkeys (who are currently 2 and a half-ish years and nearly 1 years) then eggs do actually prove a bit problematic. They will devour eggy bread in minutes but give them a fried or boiled egg and its picked over or pushed aside or ignored. Their most favourite form of egg is an omelette or frittata which I fill with shredded veggies and cheese...just typing this is making me hungry!

And sizes, eggs come in all sorts of sizes. Now I have held (and stood on) an ostrich egg and it is really huge, an omelette made from one of those would be the equivalent of 22 chicken eggs.  On the other hand quails eggs are tiny, and while they are not my favourite to eat they are very pretty to look at. In fact we have a carved ostrich egg that we put a light inside of and use as our Christmas tree topper, and lets be honest painted eggs at Easter hanging on twisted hazel can be so beautiful... so yet another use for them, home decor!

I mostly buy chicken eggs but I know duck eggs are particularly good for baking with and I have made a point of using them to make things when cooking for a friend who cannot eat chicken eggs.

I cannot imagine a culinary world without the humble egg and so I would like to raise my glass to the most versatile of all cooking ingredients.

An ode to eggs

Not only are you curves beautiful
       as you lie there in your carton.
The hue of your shell is alluring;
       duck blue, white, brown but not tartan.

You are the epitome of yumminess
         and can be used in all sorts of ways.
When removed from the fridge for lunch,
         my stomach will never be dismayed.

'D' is for "Doh!"

In the immortal words of Homer, who loves doughnuts more than any other (and my dear husband's favorite character)... 'D' is for "doh" as this post was orginally published, quite mistakely, in the wrong order but this has now been corrected.

But 'D' was meant to be about doughnuts...the glazed ring of deliciousness or a jam filled ball of delight.  Not that I have ever had a go at making these myself, I just like to eat them  :)

Now there are the super sticky ones covered in icing and sprinkles that The Two monkeys love to buy from the baker at the Monday Market we have discovered in our new town. Or there are the melt in your mouth smoothly glazed Krispy Kreme ones that are out of this world and are finished far too soon and if you have more than about 3 you'll be sick. And then there are the super fresh ones you find by the seaside.  I have vivid memories as a teenager of going to Brighton Pier and the smell of the hot dough would make your mouth water and it was futile to do anything but buy one...or two...or a bag.  For sharing of course!                                           

'C' is for...

....lots of yummy things such as carrots and courgettes and chocolate and cake or even chocolate cake.

But for today, 'C' is for creativity.

And no, being creative does not mean you have to be good at arts and crafts...I am talking about being creative in the kitchen.

Research carried out a few years ago showed that whilst we have a great interest in food and umpteen cookery shows on telly...the majority of us stick to making nine different dishes with 1 in 4 families cooking the same meal on the same day of the week!

I could not believe it.

But then I sat down and worked out what I had cooked over the past two weeks and realised that they were right! Shock!  Horror!

So I made a vow to try out a new dish each month (I thought each week could be pushing it) and to really do my best to not fall into a routine of cooking the same dishes week in and week out. 

But where to start?

Other research also showed that most families have about seven cookbooks stashed somewhere in their house - most of which are christmas presents. Taking this one step further, if the average cookbook has about 100 recipes (many have more) thats at least 700 different dishes that are just waiting to be tasted.

Yet many of these books sit in a corner or on a shelf and are barely ever opened.

I know I can sometimes be guilty of doing exactly that. I have at least six general recipe books with a further three dedicated to cakes.  Despite this I tend to stick to the same recipes that I have always done but no more...my new method to try and cook new things is to give the book to my dear husband and ask him to pick something for me to cook - the first one he picked was a Grasshopper cake which turned out alright but certainly nothing like the picture!

I have actually just been giving a belated birthday present of  the Hairy Bikers book "Perfect Pies" as my family know that I enjoy making pastry yet it is something I am still fairly new too and it has really given me the courage to try some very new things.

And this leads me on to one final point...cookbooks have three 'i's, two of which are great and one which must be ignored

• information - I love my Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook as it has step by step photo-guides on how to prepare different cuts of meat which I find REALLY helpful when trying new things
• inspiration - whilst recipes are great they may not result in a dish that is perfectly to your liking...so add your own twist and make it yours.
• intimidation - the pictures of the immaculately presented finished dish can be very daunting, especially if you are using a new cut of meat or fish. Best thing is to use them as a guideline but don't panic if your dish is not an exact match....it's more important that it tastes good!

EDIT: Two years on from originally writing this in 2012, and I have to confess that I am very guilty of doing this. And I have had at least 3 more cookbooks given to me since this was posted (all Christmas gifts) and I think I have maybe used one recipe from each of them. Admittedly when I do find the time to trial a new recipe it may make it into my repertoire for a few weeks before being replaced by something else as I don't want to make it or have gotten bored with eating it. That said, I am trying to introduce a wider range of foods into our diet and therefore that is forcing me to try out new recipes. I have also decided to edit and repost my original posts D to J and put them into the context of my life as it now stands.

'B' is for blender

I love this blender....'tis a thing of beauty.

Okay, so beauty may be a bit of a strong description but it is proving to be a wonderful kitchen companion.  Not just for The Bug's pureed meals but I find that I am using it for grown-up meals too.

For instance, yesterday I blitzed up some bread, cheese and garlic to stuff in some mushrooms for dinner. 

Today's blender bonanza was a fish pâté made from fresh sprats. I say it was pâté but I really just chucked the pan fried fish, sour cream, lemon juice, and a pinch of hot paprika in the blender and hit go. Just perfect for an afternoon snack, served on Krisprolls with some chili and lime sauce.

And it doesn't stop there, it also can convert into a hand blender...excellent for soups, especially when you don't want to decant the food out of the pan. Tonight was a fine example of that when I used it to make a very creamy mustard mash.

Just bootiful.

'A' is for apple

Stewed apple to be more precise.

With the thermometer dropping below zero it is all about good hot and hearty food. So today, with a few braburns that had been sitting on the windowsill for a week I went about peeling and chopping in with the intention of using said stewed fruit to mix in with The Bug's morning porridge for the next week.

However, it smelled so good that not all of the puree made it into the portion pots.  Some may have just fallen out of the pan and got mixed up with some cinnamon and in a bowl with some greek yoghurt.

Oppps.

Still, there was enough left over for three for four breakfasts