Cooking and eating

On a day to day regime cooking and eating is a must so here is a list of everyday store cupboard ingredients to have to hand.

In my larder:

Seeds and Spices: Chinese 5 spices, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black onion seeds, caraway seeds, whole cloves, paprika, all spice, cinnamon(ground and sticks), star anise, vanilla pods, medium curry powder, cardamom pods

Oils: Olive oil, rapeseed oils, toasted sesame oil, stir-fry oil

Vinegar: Red wine, white wine, balsamic, cider, malt

Flour: Plain, self-raising, wholemeal, pasta

mustard: Dijon, wholegrain, English

Sauce etc: Soy sauce, oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, maple syrup

Dried food: wholemeal pasta sheets, spaghetti, couscous, egg noodles, porridge oats, stock cubes

Sea salt

Black peppercorns

Basic bread recipe:

TO MAKE ONE LOAF:

500g strong white flour

good pinch of sea salt

1 sachet of dried yeast

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons of sugar or honey

300ml luke warm water

Method:

Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl.

In a measuring jug pour in the warm water and add the oil and sugar/honey and give it a stir. Pour the water into the bowl and with a wooden spoon work it into a sticky dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth and bouncy... at least 10 mins.

Form it into a neat ball and set back into bowl and cover with a damp tea towel, set in warm place to rise.

Allow to rise for at least an hour or until it has doubled in size.
At this stage 'punch' out your dough, remove from the bowl and knead it for a min or 2.
Place in a bread tin or a lightly oiled baking tray and allow to rise again for a half hour.
During this time preheat the oven to max.

Place the bread into the oven and after 10 mins turn heat down to 200c
After another ten mins remove and tap the under side. if it sounds hollow its ready.

Basic pizza base:

TIP: The dough will last for up to a week in the fridge.

Makes up to 6 pizzas:

500g strong flour

300ml skimmed milk

1 sachet of bakers yeast

Pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat milk gently in a saucepan, add the yeast and stir until dissolved.

Sift flour and salt into mixing bowl. Make a well in middle and add the milk with dissolved yeast.

Mix together using a spoon, it should be quite sticky. Empty out onto a lightly floured work surface, kneed it for 10 mins and bop back into bowl and cover with Clingfilm for 20 mins.

Punch out the air, it can be used right away or wrap in Clingfilm and keep in fridge.

When using pull off a ball smaller than a tennis ball and roll it out as thinly as possible, don’t worry about perfect circles.

Pop it onto a oiled pizza tray and lightly spoon on some pasta sauce, grate over some cheese of your choice (I just use low fat cheddar), and add the toppings of your choice.

15-20 mins in a HOT oven will make a lovely crispy pizza.

How to fillet and pin-bone a fish:

Cut into the fish behind the gills and fin cutting at an angle until you reach the back bone:

Starting just behind the head, cut the fish down the length of its back just along the side of the back bone

Work down again from the head keeping the knife flat and running it over the top of the bones pulling the fillet back as you go.

Now cut the fillet free and turn the fish over and repeat the process but start from the tail up to the head

Now with both fillets free you can start by pin boning them using tweezers. Run your finger over the fillet and you will feel the line of bones, simply pull each one out. a good tip is have a small bowl beside you with water in it to get rid of the bones.

How to Prepare Prawns:

Pull the head of the prawn and peel the shell off along with the legs and tail.

Run a small knife carefully along the back of the prawn to expose the dark vein(this is the prawns intestinal tube). Remove it with the tip of the knife or your fingers.

Rinse the prawn under the cold tap and pat dry.