Now this post has nothing at all to do with Wargaming but is rather about my other minor passion - Cookery. Yes actually making meals for myself and Carole that don't come out of a packet and have never seen a bloody microwave- won't have one in the house ! Awful things.
Now don't get me wrong I'm not really a total Foodie but probably a bit of one (and yes every possibly punning connotation intended) with a limited repertoire yet !!
But I've never killed anyone I've fed- nor even given them as much as a tummy ache- unless it was from stuffing down seconds.
Of the world cuisines I've tried a few Anglo - Indian Anglo- Chinese and American- Chinese- somewhat different.
Greek , French , Dutch- Indonesian, American, German, Belgian, Thai , Tex-Mex, Italian and Spanish and of course English Scottish ,Irish and Welsh.(Welsh Cakes and Irish Soda bread- done properly are truly splendid and I don't object to a decent Colcannon either. Ayrshire round may just be the best bacon on the planet and a good Scotch pie- though perhaps an acquired taste can be superb.
There was a time when British food was incredibly boring and indeed at times still is though for different reasons. Top of my tedious list is the "classic" British Roast Dinner or Sunday Dinner. When done well it can be quite acceptable and even good but as a home cook it is a hell of a faff for not very much in the way of style or flavour- the now old fashioned British aversion to anything resembling herbs or spices(except yellow curry powder) is still in evidence in pubs doing "Sunday Lunch" Beef you can sole your boots with boiled veg that- if you are lucky, still has some vestige of flavour. Often at these pubs you get out of a packet Yorkshire Puddings (God Damn Aunt bloody Bessie) that make reasonable shrapnel shells when stabbed. Obviously for some culinary variety is not the spice of life.- or this kind of stuff would not be so popular- likewise such dangerous dross as Macdonalds or KFC- "A coronary in a bucket please with extra salt and sugar ! "
So far myself and Carole we tend to have gone quite Mediterranean in our diet- especially as my current favourite cuisines are Spanish and Italian. Good Tapas and chilled Fino sherry are a combination made in Heaven and I've just acquired a book on Tuscan cookery and now love Garmugia amongst other dishes.
In case you all think I've gone metal there is of course still room for the indispensable Bacon Buttie- at shows and a TWATS meeting simply would not wash without Landlady Jean's excellent Beef Butties and chips.
I'm one of this dudes who dislikes cooking, but likes what he cooks. When I think back to the boiled veg my mother used to cook, I can excuse it I think, for the dreadful technology of the time: hot plate that took a year and a day to get to cooking temperature, and only one decent element. I think.
ReplyDeleteI still boil veg, but not cauliflower (inedible boiled, and none too pleasant steamed, neither), which is better in a stir fry or even raw (tiny florettes in with crisp-fried-and-smashed bacon in a species of salad). I have my own special way of doing cabbage. Torn leaves thrown into a hot saucepan with butter, where it is allowed to fry for maybe a minute after the butter has melted, toss in half a cap of vinegar, clap on the saucepan lid and turn off the heat. By the time you come to serve it, it has retained some of its crispness, and is very tasty. I used to shove in sultanas or raisins, but that is an indulgence - quite unnecessary.
Goes well with my steak and chips...
Ion Never tried the vinegar cabbage- unless it was a dash of balsamic as the steeamed veg goes into the wok. Caulifloower in any form never my favouite- though a restaurant chef we used to know battered and deep fried his which sound awful but somehow wasn't.
DeletePower to your elbow Andy.I enjoy cooking too but you are missing a trick with the microwave it's great to steam and soften food in and for reheating all the great food left over for the next day.I am crap at portion sizes so cook for ten when there are four of us!
ReplyDeleteCooking is A life skill sadly disappearing but not in our house!
Dave I've had microwaves in the past and mostly ended up under using them because I didn't like what it did to the food. Good rice and a few other things not really being enough.
DeleteFor steaming I use a steamer or even a bain marie.
Take your point about portion sizes though. This is something I do my best to control- not always successfully.