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angharad_gam Yet another space of months passes without posting, I haven't been super amazingly busy (well, I was for a few weeks around the end of June), just not terribly inspired to come in here and write. In July I went to a couple of fairs with dirtygreatknife - a craft fair and a book fair. Much yarn and many books were acquired. Erin also went off to the UK for most of this month, where she had a great time meeting various extended family members and traipsing round all kinds of historic sites. August is usually the month of getting colds and 'urgh, isn't winter finished yet?'. I did indeed get an unpleasant virus that really knocked me out for a couple of weeks. September has so far been the month of things breaking. The pump on the rainwater tank, and the car have broken. The pump was replaced relatively painlessly (except for the part where we discovered it was installed in such a way that was against building code and doing far more than any pump that size is meant to, but that's another story). The car's transmission (the gears) was basically completely wrecked and that has not been painless to replace, not to mention the additional pain of being without a car for nearly two weeks. Fingers crossed we are done with that for a while.
In pleasanter news, the garden is bursting out in Spring at the moment. We are swimming in broccoli, and will shortly be swimming in peas, and last night we ate the first of the spontaneous potatoes. They were really yummy. Next month I am going to the Great Southern Gathering (an SCA event focused on the less martial arts) where I am teaching three classes - two on cooking and one on fibre arts. I am also looking forward to the ABC plant fair.
I have been cooking rice dishes around the world a bit lately. Here are some recipes - Hoppin' John is a traditional southern US dish, and Paella is, well, paella. I made a really amazing paella with prawns once, but Andy is not a big fan of seafood, so this is a purely meaty one.
Paella
2 chorizo sausages cut into 1/2 cm slices
500 gms chicken, diced
300 gms (about 1.5 cups) arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 400 gm tin diced tomatoes
1 red onion, roughly diced
1 red capsicum, roughly diced
3/4 cup peas
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tsps paprika
pinch saffron
2-3 tblsps fresh parsley finely chopped
Put the stock and saffron in a small saucepan and heat until it reaches a low simmer. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large, lidded frying pan (you will need the lid later, not right now), and fry the chorizo slices until they are starting to get crispy. Add the onion, and when that is beginning to soften, add the garlic and then the capsicum. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and cook until it is browned all over. Stir in the paprika, then the rice. Add the hot stock, bring to a boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer. Put the lid on the frying pan and allow to cook for ten minutes. Add the peas, stir well, replace the lid and continue to cook for another ten minutes or until the rice is completely soft. You may need to stir a bit during this last part to stop it sticking and to ensure the rice evenly absorbs the liquid. You may also need to add a bit of extra stock or hot water if it's getting a bit dry. Many recipes for paella (or risotto) state that the rice cooking part will take 15 minutes, but I have never met any arborio rice that will cook properly this quickly. Maybe I always get the tough batches.
Hoppin' John
1.25 cups black eyed beans
300 gms bacon sliced into strips
2 sticks celery, finely sliced
1 onion, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced (or 1/2 red, 1/2 green)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tsps paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup long grain rice
About 2-3 hours before cooking, place the beans in a bowl and cover with hot water. Add more if the beans swell above the water level.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan with a lid, or a large heavy-based saucepan, and fry the bacon until it is starting to crisp. Add the onion, capsicum and celery and fry until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Stir in the paprika and cayenne pepper, and then add the drained beans. Stir well to combine everything, then add the stock, the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, then cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the rice, and simmer for another thirty minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves and thyme stems, and eat.
Note: you can add more cayenne, if you like spicy. You don't need to soak the beans before hand, but the first part of cooking will need to be at least half an hour longer, maybe more and you will need more liquid. Traditionally Hoppin' John is served over rice, not with the rice mixed in, but I overestimated the liquid needed to cook the beans and my rice cooker was dirty, so i threw it in with the beans. If you cook the rice on the side you will probably only need 3 cups of stock.
dirtygreatknife - a craft fair and a book fair. Much yarn and many books were acquired. Erin also went off to the UK for most of this month, where she had a great time meeting various extended family members and traipsing round all kinds of historic sites. August is usually the month of getting colds and 'urgh, isn't winter finished yet?'. I did indeed get an unpleasant virus that really knocked me out for a couple of weeks. September has so far been the month of things breaking. The pump on the rainwater tank, and the car have broken. The pump was replaced relatively painlessly (except for the part where we discovered it was installed in such a way that was against building code and doing far more than any pump that size is meant to, but that's another story). The car's transmission (the gears) was basically completely wrecked and that has not been painless to replace, not to mention the additional pain of being without a car for nearly two weeks. Fingers crossed we are done with that for a while. In pleasanter news, the garden is bursting out in Spring at the moment. We are swimming in broccoli, and will shortly be swimming in peas, and last night we ate the first of the spontaneous potatoes. They were really yummy. Next month I am going to the Great Southern Gathering (an SCA event focused on the less martial arts) where I am teaching three classes - two on cooking and one on fibre arts. I am also looking forward to the ABC plant fair.
I have been cooking rice dishes around the world a bit lately. Here are some recipes - Hoppin' John is a traditional southern US dish, and Paella is, well, paella. I made a really amazing paella with prawns once, but Andy is not a big fan of seafood, so this is a purely meaty one.
Paella
2 chorizo sausages cut into 1/2 cm slices
500 gms chicken, diced
300 gms (about 1.5 cups) arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 400 gm tin diced tomatoes
1 red onion, roughly diced
1 red capsicum, roughly diced
3/4 cup peas
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tsps paprika
pinch saffron
2-3 tblsps fresh parsley finely chopped
Put the stock and saffron in a small saucepan and heat until it reaches a low simmer. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large, lidded frying pan (you will need the lid later, not right now), and fry the chorizo slices until they are starting to get crispy. Add the onion, and when that is beginning to soften, add the garlic and then the capsicum. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and cook until it is browned all over. Stir in the paprika, then the rice. Add the hot stock, bring to a boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer. Put the lid on the frying pan and allow to cook for ten minutes. Add the peas, stir well, replace the lid and continue to cook for another ten minutes or until the rice is completely soft. You may need to stir a bit during this last part to stop it sticking and to ensure the rice evenly absorbs the liquid. You may also need to add a bit of extra stock or hot water if it's getting a bit dry. Many recipes for paella (or risotto) state that the rice cooking part will take 15 minutes, but I have never met any arborio rice that will cook properly this quickly. Maybe I always get the tough batches.
Hoppin' John
1.25 cups black eyed beans
300 gms bacon sliced into strips
2 sticks celery, finely sliced
1 onion, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced (or 1/2 red, 1/2 green)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tsps paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup long grain rice
About 2-3 hours before cooking, place the beans in a bowl and cover with hot water. Add more if the beans swell above the water level.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan with a lid, or a large heavy-based saucepan, and fry the bacon until it is starting to crisp. Add the onion, capsicum and celery and fry until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Stir in the paprika and cayenne pepper, and then add the drained beans. Stir well to combine everything, then add the stock, the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, then cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the rice, and simmer for another thirty minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves and thyme stems, and eat.
Note: you can add more cayenne, if you like spicy. You don't need to soak the beans before hand, but the first part of cooking will need to be at least half an hour longer, maybe more and you will need more liquid. Traditionally Hoppin' John is served over rice, not with the rice mixed in, but I overestimated the liquid needed to cook the beans and my rice cooker was dirty, so i threw it in with the beans. If you cook the rice on the side you will probably only need 3 cups of stock.
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Date: 2019-09-21 06:48 am (UTC)Ready for the garden market? I need to find someone to come and mow and weed my garden too, argh!
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Date: 2019-09-22 11:23 pm (UTC)But yes, looking forward to the plant fair.
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Date: 2019-09-26 10:13 am (UTC)It's warming up quite quickly now too. That I'm not looking forward to!