Cooking is one of those "things". And since we all need to eat occasionally, I decided long ago that cooking should be one of the skills every man should have.
Now I'm not saying that I'm a great chef by any stretch of the imagination (though I do know personally and have worked with several great chefs, some in the Seattle area!) but no one has been poisoned by my cooking either.
Let's get started, shall we?
Lunch:
So yesterday I prepared a simple lunch for us that was really a late breakfast. Eggs, back-bacon (the bacon over here is a different cut than we Americans are used too, but it's still bacon. B-A-C-O-N! I just love it in almost anything. Ahhh.) Sooo, and hash-browns. With purple carrots and a yellow onion. It's what was in our ice-box. I would have added celery but alas, we had none.
I have found a great way to make hash-browns that involves slicing and cutting the spuds into small chunks and boiling them first so they are tender inside, then they are crispy and crunchy outside after the frying pan.
Well that was a great "lunch"! Later though, once again feeling the pangs of hunger I decided I would just head to kitchen and see what I could rustle up. It's easy to plan a meal if you already have the main ingredients for it. And since it was Thursday and our Abel & Cole order shows up on Wednesday, I was prepared!
Dinner:
Our shipment included Swiss Chard. Now what am I going to do with these giant, thick, rubbery, green, beautiful, leafy things? I'll tell you.
Fry a slice of bacon in a frying pan. Add crushed garlic, an onion, and a chili. (American spelling). Next, add stock or water if you haven't any stock. The bacon should be cooked and sliced into small bits. Then when it starts to boil, toss in the greens. They will shrink down to almost nothing faster than you can mix your next martini. Done. Everything tastes better with bacon. It's that simple.
I also prepared Partridge breasts for us in a simple saute of olive oil and spices and herbs. Easy stuff.
Dessert:
Now for the best part.
While dinner was almost ready I started on dessert. Clever me. This blew us away! Totally!
So here it is:
Baked Bramleys:
Prep: 10 mins
Bake: 30-45 mins
Serves 4
Bramleys are delicious with dried fruit, nuts and a bit of chocolate and spice. Here is a great stuffing mix but feel free to experiment with what you have.
One note: Bramleys are not to be eaten raw. They need to be cooked. They literally become applesauce.
Here you go:
- 4 Bramley apples
- 6 dates, stoned and finely chopped (a reminder of my carefree youth)
- 20g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 4-6 tbsp almonds, toasted and finely chopped
- A pinch of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp brandy or orange juice
- Cream or vanilla (or butterscotch!) yogurt, to serve
Core the apple. Make a shallow cut (no deeper than 1cm) around the middle (circumference) of the apple - this lets it expand without exploding.
Mix the remaining ingredients. In a roasting dish, pack the mix into the cores of the apples - be generous!
Bake for 30-45 mins, till the apples are tender and plump. Serve with yogurt or cream.
Now I halved this recipe, we had only two of these apples left. I used the other two in a Braised Red Cabbage with Apple recipe that I may one day share with you too! But I still used the 20 grams of chocolate!
This was easily the best dessert we've enjoyed in many moons! And it was so bloody easy to make!
I will be headed to our local market today as I need some chicken stock for tonights Dial-a-Cabbage-Wedges! The recipe looks good so if it's a hit you can read about it here!
If you ask me, I might just tell you about the night we were hunted down by Zombies just south of London Bridge.
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