Food and wine and cooking are among my favourite things, I love cooking delicious meals for those I love, no matter how simple (the meals, that is, not the people ... I think). I find cooking to be most therapeutic, a great stress-reliever - especially with LOUD music pumping in the background, raucous singing, lots of slurping of wine, and dancing spastically about the kitchen (as one does).
Most of these recipes are dead easy -- but can be impressive if you're entertaining best-beloveds, out-laws or your bestest friends. Serve lots of good wine (if liked), keep it simple and you really can't go wrong. Oh, and guaranteed all gluten free for any other Coeliacs out there, also yummy and healthy not-boring eating with lots and lots of veggies.
A few little notes:
· I love garlic. Lots of it. Ditto chillies. My recipes and style of cooking reflect this. However recipes can be adapted - toned down, if you must (wuss!) - to your own tastes without detriment. One thing about garlic ... more
· I don't like onions much though, so they don't appear very often. An onion can be included in many of the slow-cooked recipes, melted down with the olive oil at the very beginning of cooking, until translucent. If using both onion and garlic, cook the onion too the soft melt-y stage first, then add the garlic - garlic cooks much faster than onion and frizzles, and tastes truly disgusting burnt.
· I am an unrepentant omnivore. Apart from the gluten-free aspect, I eat pretty much absolutely everything, though honestly I do eat a lot more non-meat dishes than you'd think given this selection (I love my veggies!). There are a number of vegetable and vegetarian dishes here though, plus many recipes can be adapted for the veggie-only crowd.
· Types of cook-tops and ovens vary greatly and this naturally affects cooking times and results. I use a gas cook-top and an electric fan-forced oven (prefer a gas oven and grill, though), so cooking times, particularly on the cook-top, are much faster and more "energetic" than say, on an electric hob. Trial and testing will show where your cooker's facilities differ from mine.
· I love food. Love cooking. Love feeding people. My leading philosophy in the kitchen is most decidedly of the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) variety. Makes life, and the joy of cooking and eating, so much more enjoyable than stressing out over fiddly bits and pieces.
Please contact me - jules@otterkat.net - for any requests, tips, suggestions, distress calls ... I'd love to hear from you.
In the Kitchen (batterie de cuisine) (er ... cookware, gadgets, cutlery and crockery)
"What the Hell is This Bouquet Thing Anyway?" And other mysteries ...
Ideas for Leftovers and those "Oh God there's nothing in the fridge" moments
Basics and Miscellaneous Items
Home-made Stocks (Chicken, Fish, Beef and Roasted Vegetable)
Mayonnaise NEW
Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise) NEW
Pesto
Cheese Sauce (or, Bechamel Sauce and variations)
Thai Red and Green Curry Pastes NEW
Coriander and Pepper Paste NEW
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Gluten Free Pasta
Eggs (Boiled, Poached, Fried, Scrambled, Frenchified, Omelettes ... )
Starters and Snacks
Hummus
Baba Ghanoush (Roasted Aubergine Dip)
Falafel
Polpettone (mini Italian meatballs)
Sang Choy Bao (Chinese Lettuce Rolls) NEW
Tod Nam Pla (Thai Fish Cakes)
Thai Steamed Prawn or Pork or Chicken Dumplings
Fresh Spring Rolls
Soups
Potage Parmentier/Potage Bonne Femme (Leek and Potato Soups)
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Minestrone
Chunky Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
Tom Yum Goong (Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup)
Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup)
Creamy Fish Chowder
Salads and Vegetables
Vinaigrettes, Miscellaneous Salad Dressings etc
Caesar Salad
Salade Niçoise
Tomato and Onion Salad with Mint
Basic Vegetables
Tortilla de Patates (Spanish Potato Omelette)
Gratin Dauphinois (French Layered Potato Gratin)
Champ (Famous Irish Potato Specialty)
Frittata NEW
Roasted Vegetables (see Roast Chicken with Roasted Vegetables)
Middle Eastern Stuffed Vegetables (with a variety of meat and non-meat fillings) NEW
Ratatouille
Braised Leeks with Blue Cheese
Petit Pois a la Française (Frenchified Green Peas)
Honey Glazed Carrots
Rice, Pasta and Noodles
Risotto Milanese
Mushroom Risotto
Thai Chilli and Basil Fried Rice
Chicken Congee (Rice Porridge)
Teriyaki Chicken Domburi (Japanese Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl) NEW
Oyaki Domburi (Japanese "Parent and Child" Rice Bowl)
Classic Ragu (Bolognese Sauce)
Chicken, Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce
Carbonara Sauce
Smoked Salmon and Cream Sauce
Cannelloni
Ravioli; Agnolotti; other filled pasta
Laksa Lemak (Spicy Coconut Milk Soup with Seafood and Noodles) NEW
Thai Style Chicken Noodle Soup
Singapore Fried Noodles
Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Fried Fresh Rice Noodles) NEW
Pad Thai Noodles
Spicy Pork with Noodles
Mee Goreng
Hokkien Mee
Main Dishes (Meat, Poultry and Fish)
Hachis Parmentier (aka Posh Shepherds Pie)
Lamb Shish Kebabs with Spicy Pilau Rice
Moussaka NEW
Roast Lamb and Vegetables (Greek Style)
Lamb and Aubergine Stew
Lamb Biriani
Stir Fried Beef and Peppers or Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
French Roast Chicken in Butter
Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
Stir Fried Chicken and Vegetables
Kaeng Khiew Wan Gai (Thai Green Chicken Curry - with variations) NEW
Kaeng Phed Gai Tua (Thai Red Chicken and Peanut Curry)
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (or Beef, Lamb, or Fish Satay)
Tandoori Chicken
Western Australian Bouillabaise NEW
Classic Fish and Chips
Sautéed Atlantic Salmon Cutlets with Saffron Mash
Grilled or Fried Fish Wraps with Salsa
Fish Pie
Desserts
Chocolate Mousse
Sinner's Cake (Date Choc Torte)
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Chocolate and Walnut Brownies (aka Crack Brownies) NEW
Toffee Topped Rice Pudding
The Great Aussie Pavlova (with variations)
Baked Apples (not boarding school style!)
Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with Crème Anglaise
Bailey's Ice Cream
Coconut Ice Cream with Mangoes
Strawberry and Cointreau Sorbet
Coeliac City
As all you Coeliacs out there know, shopping is one helluva pain in the nether regions (literally, if one gets it wrong), what with requiring a PhD in Reading Labels and all. Anyway, here's a few things that might help.
Eating Out and Travelling