logorrhoea.net » pepper

Thai red curry – 4th January 2010

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:28:14 +0000

Dinner tonight was a Thai red curry made simply with some red curry paste fried briefly in the wok before a tin of coconut milk and a splash of stock was added. A sliced red chilli (I didn’t bother taking the seeds out), a sliced red pepper and mange tout was then added and the curry reduced for about 10 minutes before uncooked sliced chicken breast was added. The curry was then reduced for another 10 minutes. Just before serving with rice, I mixed some thinly sliced spring onion and coriander into the curry to give it a little lift.

The ‘apple-a-day’ resolution remains unbroken, with one eaten after dinner.

Beef stir fry – 2nd January 2010

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:20:47 +0000

Dinner tonight: beef stir fry.

No real recipe, just thinly sliced beef rump steak marinated in sesame oil, soy sauce and honey, seasoned with a little freshly ground black pepper – I’d have used white pepper ideally, but since it’s not something we ever have in the house, that was difficult – which was then thrown into a wickedly hot wok, along with some sliced red pepper, mange tout, bean sprouts, spring onions and noodles. A bit of extra soy sauce and toasted sesame oil was added as final seasoning.

Day 2 of the ‘apple a day’ experiment saw me eat two apples – one for breakfast and one after dinner. Lunch was leek and potato soup.

Back in the kitchen

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:06:24 +0000

Cooked for the wife for the first time in, ooh, about 6 months last night. She’s been on a diet that’s basically meant her not eating any real food, which has meant fending for myself. This isn’t really a problem – I don’t struggle to feed myself – but I’ve missed the social aspect of eating a meal together. I’ve also missed the nurturing feeling you get from cooking for someone else.

P’s decision to come off the diet came rather suddenly so I didn’t really have time to plan any great ‘first meal’ for her but I was able to rustle up something from the ingredients in the fridge.

Given the nature of P’s diet, I kept the meal very simple to avoid shocking her system. A couple of tomatoes and a chopped red pepper were tossed in a bowl with some olive oil and seasoning before being put into a medium oven for 30-40 minutes and then mixed in the bowl again with some balsamic vinegar and fresh basil leaves. The meat component involved massaging a couple of chicken breasts with a little olive oil before grilling it on the Creuset grillet. The meal was completed by some steamed fine beans.

Bill of fare for Monday, 17th March

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:24:11 +0000

Breakfast:

Oh my god, this is getting so predictable: two slices of toast and marmite, washed down with green tea.

Lunch:

Unexpectedly ended up having to travel across to the other side of London for a meeting in the afternoon, so grabbed a ham and mustard sandwich from M&S, along with a packet of Skips (except it wasn’t just any prawn cocktail flavoured melty crisp snack, it’s an M&S Skips rip-off).

Dinner:

Schoolnight, so P cooked dinner. One of my favourites, from a book called One Pot Meals (I think) that I bought when I was in San Jose last autumn: can’t remember the title of the recipe, but it’s essentially a casserole dish filled with minced beef, green peppers, macaroni, a tin of tomatoes and a cup of water. Whacked in a medium oven for, ooh, 20 minutes or so until the macaroni has absorbed the water. Lovely.