Oh The Excitement...
I decided to invest in a roasting tray and for the first time in my life try roasting some vegetables.
I was tempted by watching a popular TV cook one evening who was showing how to prepare Lemon Chicken. I misunderstood what I saw and went onto to look around the Internet and found some links that explained things further and I decided that I needed a roasting tray of some kind.
Unfortunately, having prepared the ingredients I discovered that my tray had slight crack in the glass. This only left me a very small casserole dish to put the ingredients into and was not sure the meal would work. Thankfully, it did. The result was delicious and I will be doing it or something similar again.
This is an adaptation of the meal as I did it.
I cut into large chunks some celery, onion, and some pre-cooked new potatoes. I added some garlic cloves. Separately, I cooked some turnip and carrots(there was no room for these to be included in the small casserole dish)and roasted some parsnips. Everything was drizzled in olive oil. And I sprinkled some mixed herbs on the vegetables being roasted. I roasted my vegetables for approx 1 hour at a reasonably high temperature. Half an hour with loose foil over the top, the last half without. You need to alter the amount you cook to suit how many will be eating the meal.
Previously, instead of following the instructions with the chicken breast fillets that say cook on a baking tray for half an hour, I squeezed fresh lemon over them after placing them in a small casserole dish and actually cooked them for an hour. The collected juice added moisture whilst cooking and they came out cooked but moist and plumper than usual and not as dry. I prefer my chicken cold and it is easier to slice so I allowed it to cool down and left in the fridge overnight.
After cooking the meal I decided to add some gravy. It was very tasty.
The original recipe for lemon chicken concentrates on using a whole chicken with vegetables roasted together and also eating the lemon too.
The second recipe for the roasting of vegetables which I used did not include the chicken. It is a very easy one to follow and I doubt anyone could fail.
As for the cracked roasting tray the local supermarket exchanged it so that's now sorted.
And today I found a big casserole dish in another shop which at the supermarket would have cost around £7(US $12.40/Euros 8.85)being sold at half price £3.50(US $6.20/Euros 4.42)so I am happy that I held off from buying it. This casserole dish was half the price of the roasting tray.
I also was in a local branch of a charity shop in town and found two hardback books by another popular and respected TV cook who has been cooking for decades and purchased both for £5(US $8.85/Euros 6.32)and saved approx £27($47.84 US/Euros 34.17)so all in all quite a good week for bargains.
Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken
One-tray roasted vegetables recipe
As far as I can see, you can follow a recipe in every detail or there are basic rules and you decide what to do and really if you like the result it's all that matters.
I'm thinking of christening my new casserole dish with a sausage casserole tonight but there are so many ideas.
You could make one from onions, peppers, mushrooms and add some kind of stock or mix.
But then you can make it very vegetable based and put in the usual suspects like celery, turnip, potato, leek, onions etc...
Or you could add different types of beans, garlic, herbs,wine, tinned tomatoes.
Every time it can be different.
Decisions, decisions...well, it will give me something to think about. It's good wholesome food and so easy to prepare and cook.
I've just watched a programme on TV where a famous TV cook(there are so many)is trying to get a town in the North of England to do some basic cooking instead of depending on low quality food and/or takeaways.
It's frightening how many(though the TV programme will look for such people to get a reaction from the audience)how many know so little basic cookery.
One person did not know that water bubbles when it boils in a pan and she asked if "that was supposed to happen!"
Another male, a pensioner(84)admitted that he has never ever chopped or peeled a vegetable in his life, though the difference in that statement is not that he did not know how to cook(just that perhaps he has never had to)and I did not hear whether he is a widower, has family or is sharing his home with a partner.
Jamie's Ministry Of Food
I have rarely watched any of Jamie Oliver's programmes and often found some of what he does as publicity for books etc...but have taken a bit more of an interest in this series probably because of my return to cooking and starting from scratch. On the same site you can find many more TV cooks offering recipes so you'll have quite a lot to look over.
In posting this entry and promising to put some links up for sites offering recipes I have found so many good websites there are too many to choose from. So I'll slip some in from time to time over the coming months.
Considering the amount of articles in newspapers and magazines, programmes on TV and radio, buy a recipe book, go to the library...I'm not sure that there is any excuse.
No one has taught me but I would not starve...I've seen meals cooked by my Mum, it's a bit of common sense and many prepared dishes have instructions printed on the packet and/or the cover. And if you are unsure once you've learnt how to cook a prepared meal all you do is transfer what you know to the food you buy frozen or fresh and copy what you you've done previously.
Recently, I've had help I have to say from friends online who are willing to share their skills and ideas and that also has helped but this is because I am getting more adventurous but having said that many of the dishes I make need little time to prepare and are so basic but offer so much variety.
I have to make up for the many years I have stuck to a good diet but eaten very similar meals.
How will my sausage casserole turn out? I'll let you know ;-)
And Finally...here's a recipe that is quick and easy...
One mug of flour, one mug of milk and one egg.
Empty them into a bowl and whisk until all the lumps disappear and you have a basic batter mixture that you can then use in a variety of recipes or...put a little oil in the centre of a frying pan, heat until the pan is hot enough, ladle some of the mixture into the frying pan and move the mixture around so the pan is covered and cook.
Use a spatula and turn the mixture over.
Cook that side as well and slide onto a plate and you have a basic pancake just waiting for you to add whatever filling or topping you wish to add.
I was tempted by watching a popular TV cook one evening who was showing how to prepare Lemon Chicken. I misunderstood what I saw and went onto to look around the Internet and found some links that explained things further and I decided that I needed a roasting tray of some kind.
Unfortunately, having prepared the ingredients I discovered that my tray had slight crack in the glass. This only left me a very small casserole dish to put the ingredients into and was not sure the meal would work. Thankfully, it did. The result was delicious and I will be doing it or something similar again.
This is an adaptation of the meal as I did it.
I cut into large chunks some celery, onion, and some pre-cooked new potatoes. I added some garlic cloves. Separately, I cooked some turnip and carrots(there was no room for these to be included in the small casserole dish)and roasted some parsnips. Everything was drizzled in olive oil. And I sprinkled some mixed herbs on the vegetables being roasted. I roasted my vegetables for approx 1 hour at a reasonably high temperature. Half an hour with loose foil over the top, the last half without. You need to alter the amount you cook to suit how many will be eating the meal.
Previously, instead of following the instructions with the chicken breast fillets that say cook on a baking tray for half an hour, I squeezed fresh lemon over them after placing them in a small casserole dish and actually cooked them for an hour. The collected juice added moisture whilst cooking and they came out cooked but moist and plumper than usual and not as dry. I prefer my chicken cold and it is easier to slice so I allowed it to cool down and left in the fridge overnight.
After cooking the meal I decided to add some gravy. It was very tasty.
The original recipe for lemon chicken concentrates on using a whole chicken with vegetables roasted together and also eating the lemon too.
The second recipe for the roasting of vegetables which I used did not include the chicken. It is a very easy one to follow and I doubt anyone could fail.
As for the cracked roasting tray the local supermarket exchanged it so that's now sorted.
And today I found a big casserole dish in another shop which at the supermarket would have cost around £7(US $12.40/Euros 8.85)being sold at half price £3.50(US $6.20/Euros 4.42)so I am happy that I held off from buying it. This casserole dish was half the price of the roasting tray.
I also was in a local branch of a charity shop in town and found two hardback books by another popular and respected TV cook who has been cooking for decades and purchased both for £5(US $8.85/Euros 6.32)and saved approx £27($47.84 US/Euros 34.17)so all in all quite a good week for bargains.
Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken
One-tray roasted vegetables recipe
As far as I can see, you can follow a recipe in every detail or there are basic rules and you decide what to do and really if you like the result it's all that matters.
I'm thinking of christening my new casserole dish with a sausage casserole tonight but there are so many ideas.
You could make one from onions, peppers, mushrooms and add some kind of stock or mix.
But then you can make it very vegetable based and put in the usual suspects like celery, turnip, potato, leek, onions etc...
Or you could add different types of beans, garlic, herbs,wine, tinned tomatoes.
Every time it can be different.
Decisions, decisions...well, it will give me something to think about. It's good wholesome food and so easy to prepare and cook.
I've just watched a programme on TV where a famous TV cook(there are so many)is trying to get a town in the North of England to do some basic cooking instead of depending on low quality food and/or takeaways.
It's frightening how many(though the TV programme will look for such people to get a reaction from the audience)how many know so little basic cookery.
One person did not know that water bubbles when it boils in a pan and she asked if "that was supposed to happen!"
Another male, a pensioner(84)admitted that he has never ever chopped or peeled a vegetable in his life, though the difference in that statement is not that he did not know how to cook(just that perhaps he has never had to)and I did not hear whether he is a widower, has family or is sharing his home with a partner.
Jamie's Ministry Of Food
I have rarely watched any of Jamie Oliver's programmes and often found some of what he does as publicity for books etc...but have taken a bit more of an interest in this series probably because of my return to cooking and starting from scratch. On the same site you can find many more TV cooks offering recipes so you'll have quite a lot to look over.
In posting this entry and promising to put some links up for sites offering recipes I have found so many good websites there are too many to choose from. So I'll slip some in from time to time over the coming months.
Considering the amount of articles in newspapers and magazines, programmes on TV and radio, buy a recipe book, go to the library...I'm not sure that there is any excuse.
No one has taught me but I would not starve...I've seen meals cooked by my Mum, it's a bit of common sense and many prepared dishes have instructions printed on the packet and/or the cover. And if you are unsure once you've learnt how to cook a prepared meal all you do is transfer what you know to the food you buy frozen or fresh and copy what you you've done previously.
Recently, I've had help I have to say from friends online who are willing to share their skills and ideas and that also has helped but this is because I am getting more adventurous but having said that many of the dishes I make need little time to prepare and are so basic but offer so much variety.
I have to make up for the many years I have stuck to a good diet but eaten very similar meals.
How will my sausage casserole turn out? I'll let you know ;-)
And Finally...here's a recipe that is quick and easy...
One mug of flour, one mug of milk and one egg.
Empty them into a bowl and whisk until all the lumps disappear and you have a basic batter mixture that you can then use in a variety of recipes or...put a little oil in the centre of a frying pan, heat until the pan is hot enough, ladle some of the mixture into the frying pan and move the mixture around so the pan is covered and cook.
Use a spatula and turn the mixture over.
Cook that side as well and slide onto a plate and you have a basic pancake just waiting for you to add whatever filling or topping you wish to add.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 7:04 pm
2 Comments:
Blimey Gildy! I'll be expecting you to have your own TV show soon!
Great Gildersleeve's Gastronomic Gambols (not gambles!)
Yes indeed!
My secret store of food(and bits and bobs)is reducing so I'll have to build that up again...especially as we head towards Christmas.
And I may think of buying a new set of basic kitchenware seeing I am interested in cooking again...I see Jamie has a list of basic ingredients that he suggests should always be in the pantry.
So I may have a look at that list.
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