Emma and I continue to cook together on a Monday. This week it was quiche, my mum’s recipe. We didn’t quite follow it; I think that we added an extra egg in because it looked a little bit too runny.
Usually Emma and I eat together after cooking but I had to rush off this time :(. I have it on good authority that it was yummy though!
Month: July 2016
Omelette.
I didn’t know that I could make omelette. In the Allcock family it is traditionally something that only my Dad makes, so when Emma requested it for her cooking lesson I have to admit that my heart sank a little. I wasn’t confident to make it up as I went along as I usually do so I dutifully scouted the internet for a recipe and came across one by Jamie Oliver – I reckoned that he probably knew what he was talking about so I went with using his basic recipe.
Emma and I added artichoke, bacon and olives to our omelettes which was delicious. The joy of this recipe is that you can add all sorts of things, and can do each one differently if you have picky people to cook for. It’s good for using up leftovers – I am quite tempted to make one with some leftover roast chicken tomorrow – and you can throw all sorts of store-cupboard bits at it to make it more interesting.
Basic Ingredients
For one person
- 2 large free-range eggs
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 small knob butter
- 1 small handful Cheddar cheese , grated
Method for a Basic omelette:
- Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Beat well with a fork.
- Put a small frying pan on a low heat and let it get hot. Add a small knob of butter. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, add your eggs and move the pan around to spread them out evenly. When the omelette begins to cook and firm up, but still has a little raw egg on top, sprinkle over the cheese.
- Using a spatula, ease around the edges of the omelette, then fold it over in half. When it starts to turn golden brown underneath, remove the pan from the heat and slide the omelette on to a plate.
Method using added yummy stuff:
Follow the recipe above; but prepare the extra bits (some may need cooking first) and then when you get to Stage 3 put them on top of the cheese before you fold it over.
Some examples of things you might like to add:
- Mushrooms
- Ham
- Tuna
- Sweetcorn
- Spinach
- Bacon
- Onion
- Cooked chicken
- Courgette
Some of these will need grilling or frying first, such as the bacon, courgette and onion.
Please do share with me your omelette creations – I would love to know what weird, wonderful & delicious combinations you use!
James Learns to Cook – Part 2
I have had a complaint recently that there have been no more ‘James Learns to Cook Posts’ – very remiss of me! I have just been looking through my phone at photographs and came across some from a cooking lesson that I had failed to write up – good old British Spag Bol – oh, hang on, pasta’s European isn’t it? Oh well (… and that’s about as political as I will ever get on this blog!).
I don’t have a photo of the finished product because I had deleted it before I remembered why I had taken it, it was rather delicious though.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- an onion
- a clove or two of garlic
- minced beef (about 150g per person is about right)
- a tin of tomatoes
- some fresh tomatoes (only because I happened to have some which needed using up)
- a squeeze of tomato puree
- a beef stock cube
- oregano
- black pepper
- spaghetti
- grated cheese
Method
I think that the pictures below are pretty clear, but in essence…
Chop the onion and garlic, as finely as you can comfortably do without crying uncontrollably, and then fry them in some olive oil along with the oregano and pepper.
When the onions are beginning to become ‘transparent’ add the minced beef and break it up with a spoon or spatula, adding more oil if it begins to stick. At this point I sometimes add a splash of red wine if I have some open; I don’t tend to bother opening a bottle just for this purpose (although it can be a good excuse). James only drinks Cava so that doesn’t help much.
When the mince is beginning to brown, crumble the stock cube into it and add the fresh tomatoes, tomato puree and tinned tomatoes. Allow this lovely mixture to simmer for about ten minutes, cover with a lid if you have one.
Grate some cheese and then cook the pasta, following the instructions on the packet. Taste the beef before serving and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Pop-tastic mate!
Tofu Veg Noodles
As you know, I have been cooking with the lovely Emma recently. She has been doing incredibly well and getting a lot more confident in the kitchen; I am also Really proud of her for starting a blog, which is about autism, cooking, her pets and ‘stuff’! Nice one Emma!
I made Tofu Vegetable Noodles today because I can not eat meats and hard things from having a tooth out and definitely not when the hole is infected. Thank you Katherine Allcock.
My next lesson on my blog will be learning how to make my picture’s small or big.
Kitty's Store-Cupboard 