'Salmon Fish Cakes'

Hello! Okay so this was one of my favorite dishes so far but definitely was one of the trickiest. But it was very tasty and enjoyable to make! And shout out to Morgan for helping me prepare it ;)

~Ingredients: (makes 8 fish cakes)
salt and pepper, 1 and 1/4 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound of salmon fillets (scaled and bones removed), olive oil, a small bunch of fresh Italian parsley, 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and more for dusting, 1 large egg, 2 lemons, and you may want 4 tomatoes for grilling as a side, and peas

So I had to prepare it in the early afternoon and cook it in the evening due to my working schedule. First, I put the kettle on to boil. Then, I peeled the potatoes and cut them into even sized chunks. I just cut each potato into 4 quarters. Afterwards I cut the salmon into four equal pieces. I then rubbed each piece of the salmon with olive oil and sprinkled some salt and pepper over all of them. Afterwards, you wrap each individual piece in aluminum foil. Then you put the boiled water in the bottom pan of the steamer and place the potatoes in the water, and then in a pan above the bottom one you place the salmon wrapped in foil. Cook the potatoes and the salmon like this for 12 minutes, or until they are both cooked. This is where I stopped for now. I put the salmon in the fridge after picking out all of the bones and removing the skin, and then just drained the potatoes and left them in the saucepan.

After I came back from work, I mashed the potatoes in a glass bowl. Then I cut the parsley leaves into small pieces, removing the stalks, and placing the leaves in with the potatoes. Then I added the fish and a tablespoon of flour. I mixed all of this just with a normal metal spoon. Then I added the egg and a bit of salt and pepper. The salmon cake mixture is now ready. To make the cakes I smoothed out the mixture in the bowl, and then cut it into 8 equal sections (like slicing a pie). I then had a large board and put ALOT of flour over it. I then rolled a section into a ball and then squished it down until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. I then made sure it was fully coated in flour and then placed it on a plate until I was ready to cook them. I did this for each individual cake.

I then put some peas in a glass bowl with a bit of water and salt and cooked them in the microwave for five minutes with cling film on top with a few holes punched into it. I then also cut tomatoes horizontally in half and placed four halves on one enamel plate, and four on another. I then sprinkled some salt and pepper on each half and a dollop of butter on each. I then placed them in the oven (on the top shelf) and had the oven set to broil.

Now, I cooked the fishcakes. I put the olive oil in the largest frying pan I had. When the oil was extremely hot I placed the cakes in the pan. I cooked 2 at first and then 6 the second time. You place them in the saucepan and cook them for 3 minutes on each side. Have the gas set to a medium heat otherwise the cakes will burn. When they were ready I served them with peas, the grilled tomatoes, and slices of lemon. I highly suggest squeezing some lemon on the cakes, it really adds a nice flavor to it. And also add some more salt and pepper. They are very, very delicious.

'My Sweet & Sour Pork'

Hey everybody! I am so sorry for not posting in so long, I have been so busy, but here is another one of my meals :) Tonight I cooked the sweet and sour pork, which turned out really well and was one of my favorite dinners so far to both cook and eat. It says it serves 2, but I think it is definitely enough to serve 3 people!
~Ingredients: salt and ground pepper, 1 cup of basmati rice (I actually used half a cup and it was plenty), 1/2 pound of pork tenderloin, 1 small red onion, 1 red or yellow pepper (I used a red one), a thumb-sized piece of root ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 or 1 fresh red chile (I used a whole one), a small bunch of fresh cilantro, vegetable oil, 1 heaped teaspoon of five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 x 8oz can of pineapple chunks, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1 small heart of romaine, 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

Okay, so 1st I had to make the five-spice powder because they do not sell it here in America. So I found a recipe on the internet of how to make my own. So I mixed one teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground star anise, 1 & 1/4 teaspoons of ground fennel seeds, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper. I just mixed all of the spices into a ramekin and it was ready to be used!

Then I chopped the pork, I bought a pound of pork, so I cut in half and used one half and froze the rest. I chopped the pork into 3/4 inch cubes and put in a bowl to use later. I didn't cook it until I had all of the vegetables chopped. I chopped the red onion, red pepper, cilantro stalks (save the leaves for later), garlic, and the root ginger and saved it in a bowl for later. Then I put the wok on the stove and put it on a high heat until it looked hot. (When I put the wok on I also put the rice on). Then I put in a good lug of vegetable oil. Afterwards I put in the pork and the five-spice powder and gave it a good stir. When the pork looks brown, use a slotted spoon to remove the pork and put it in a bowl. Then add another lug of oil, and throw the vegetables in the wok. You should cook all of this for at least 2 minutes, or until you think it looks ready and give it a good stir. After two minutes throw the pork back in, the cornstarch, and the soy sauce. Then after another minute add the pineapple chunks and the balsamic vinegar. Leave it cooking for quite a while, when you think it is tasting right and you have added some salt and pepper it is ready to eat. If the rice hasn't finished yet, you can have the pork cooking on a low heat. But when the rice is done, feel free to eat the pork :). It tasted really tasty and it was truly one of my favorites to cook! I served it with lettuce and the cilantro, and you can also put some sesame seeds on top of it as well.

'Chicken Tikka Masala'

Hello! Okay so I had originally planned to cook both the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Vegetable Bhajis, but things did not go to plan, but I will explain that later. However, I did end up making a really tasty Chicken Tikka Masala!

Chicken Tikka Masala: (serves 6)
~Ingredients: 4 skinless chicken breasts, 2 medium onions, 1 red chile, a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, a small bunch of fresh cilantro, vegetable oil, a pat of butter, 1/2 cup of tikka masala or mild curry paste, salt and pepper, 1 x 14oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 x 14oz can of coconut milk

Okay, so I started off with the chicken. I chopped off all the 'white bits' off of the chicken and then continued to cut them into slices, preferably 3/4 inch thick strips. I then left the chicken to the side on a plate, the chicken cutting took a bit of time, and it stinks! I then proceeded with the cutting of the vegetables. I peel and halved the onions, and then finely sliced the onions. I then threw the onions into a large saucepan (but didn't cook them yet). I then cut the chile in half, took out the seeds, and then finely sliced the chile. I then peeled the ginger, and finely sliced it. I threw the chile and ginger into the saucepan with the onion (still not cooking). I then picked the cilantro leaves and put them in a bowl to the side, but cut up the stalks and put them in the saucepan. Now you start cooking the vegetables. You add two big lugs of oil and some butter, and then leave it cook on a medium to high heat for ten minutes with the lid on, or until the onions are nice and brown. Then you stir and season, and add the tomatoes and coconut milk. (Be careful the coconut milk splashes literally everywhere). After giving it a stir add the curry paste and the chickens. Now, Jamie says to add a can of water, but I would suggest not to. I added the water, and my sauce was very liquidy. I would have preferred it to be thicker, and I think not adding the water would have made that happen. After it is boiling, bring the heat down a bit and let it simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Start cooking the rice, and soon the curry will be good to go. you can then serve the curry with some cilantro leaves on top, and maybe with some natural yogurt and some sliced almonds, or even a pinch of lemon. I just served mine with white rice and some cilantro leaves.

Now, I will explain what happened with the vegetable bhajis. So, you need a deep fat fryer (which I realized just before I did not have) or you need a quart of vegetable oil to cook them in a large saucepan (and I realized I did not have a quart of vegetable oil either). So I had made the mixture and wasn't able to cook it. The curry was also ready to eat, so it was to late to drive down to Safeway to grab some more oil. So it was disappointing, but I will still tell you how to make them!

~Ingredients: 2 large carrots, a 4-inch piece of fresh root ginger, 2 medium red onions, 2-3 red chiles (based on how spicy you want it), a large bunch of fresh cilantro, 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 cup of self-rising flour, 1 quart vegetable oil, a piece of potato
So to start, you just cut all the vegetables and put them in a large bowl. So I grated the carrots, sliced them into tiny pieces and put them in the bowl. And then I did the same for the ginger and the red onions. This was a very long and tedious process. Then you cut the chiles into halves, remove the seeds, and then finely slice them and put them in the bowl as well. You then chop the cilantro leaves AND the stalks and put them in the bowl. Now add the mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin seeds, and salt. Then add the flour and 1/2 cup of cold water and start scrunching the mixture together until it is nice and thick. In your hands it should feel somewhat like thick cake batter. Now is the time to cook them, which I didn't get to do :(. You can cook them in a deep fat fryer (very simple) or cook them in a large pan on medium to high heat. So to do the latter process, add the quart of oil into the large saucepan. Now drop in a piece of potato, and when it floats to the surface and begins to sizzle, that is the perfect temperature to cook the bhajis. Remove the potato using a slotted spoon. Pick up a tablespoon of bhaji mixture and place it into the oil gently, you can have several cooking at the same time. After 5 minutes, or until it is golden and crispy you can remove it and put it on a paper towel to drain. You can now eat them straight away by serving it with a bit of salt and lemon. You can just keep cooking the bhajis until you have used all your mixture!
I will show you some photos of the mixture itself.

'A Cracking Burger' and the 'Evolution Tomato Salad'

Hello everyone! Today I made burgers with a tomato salad and fries to accompany it. It showed me how homemade burgers are so delicious and simple to make!

A Cracking Burger: (serves six)
~Ingredients: 12 plain crackers, 8 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 large egg, salt and pepper, olive oil, 1 romaine lettuce, 3 tomatoes, 1 red onion, 3 or 4 pickles, 6 burger buns, 6 slices of cheddar
So to started off I wrapped the crackers in a tea towel and started to grind them until they were all tiny crumbs. I just bought the Safeway brand crackers, and since they are smaller than crackers in England, I used 14 instead of 12. I ground them and then threw them into a large bowl. In the large bowl I crushed them again until they were fully in crumb mode. Then I chopped the parsley up with a pair of scissors (scissors used for food) and mixed it in with the crumbs by stirring with a wooden spoon. After that I added the mustard and ground beef and then mixed it altogether with my hands. Continue to mush together until all the ingredients are one, and make sure to add some salt and pepper and to crack the egg into it. I then divided the burgers into six equal sections and made them flat. I then put them on a plate, drizzled some oil over them and then put them into the fridge until they were needed :) When we were ready to eat, I cooked them on the barbecue, 4 minutes on each side (8 minutes total).

Evolution Tomato Salad:
Okay, for this salad I switched it up a lot from the recipe. I just made a simple salad by chopping up tomatoes into wedges, and mixing it with mozzarella pieces, cherry tomatoes, and basil (left over from when I made the pasta). I then just sprinkled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top of it, and it turned out really well. Jamie Oliver suggests maybe serving it with olives and tuna included, but I wanted to keep it simple.

I also had in mind to serve the burgers with some frozen fries that I bought, but I forgot about them, so we ended up having the fries as our dessert. And with the burgers I gave the option of having slices of tomato, slices of lettuce, slices of pickle, relish, ketchup and mustard as toppers. Overall, it was one of my favorite meals so far! I cooked them for 3 of my friends, and my parents.

My Apologies

Hello Bloggies! I am really sorry but I had to take the night off tonight from cooking because I volunteered at Seattle Children's Hospital. I had so much fun there, but was unable to make time to cook a meal. There will be another meal tomorrow, I will be making 'a cracking burger' and the 'evolution tomato salad' :) I am very excited!

'Good Old Chili Con Carne'

Hello everybody! Today marked my second day of cooking, and I chose to make a dinner of chili con carne. It turned out really well and I was so happy with the results!

~Ingredients: 2 medium onions, 2 cloves of garlic (which I actually forgot to put in :)), 2 medium carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 red bell peppers, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of: chili powder, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, salt and pepper, 1 x 15oz can of gabanzo beans, 1 x 15oz can of red kidney beans, 2 x 14oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 small bunch of cilantro, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 cups of basmati rice, natural yogurt, guacamole, and lime

So, I started off by chopping the onions, carrots, celery, and peppers..., and the garlic (if I hadn't have forgotten about it). This was the longest part of the process of the preparation, I realized that I am terrible at chopping. You want to chop them into relatively small pieces. After chopping them throw them into the largest saucepan you have, and add 2 big gollops of olive oil. Then I pulled a bowlful of leaves off of the cilantro and kept the leaves in the fridge until later, and chopped the stalks up and threw them into the saucepan as well. After a good mix, I added the spices (3 total) into the saucepan and gave it a good stir. Make sure to add a bit of salt and pepper in as well, for an extra bit of flavor. I then left it for seven minutes but stirred it every so often. Make sure to leave it on a medium-high heat of gas. After 7 minutes I added the 2 types of beans and the tomatoes. Make sure to fully drain the beans before you add them into chili. I just left them draining during the time I was chopping. Also add a can of tap water. Then add the meat and you don't want any large chunks of meat, so break it down with your wooden spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar and add some more salt and pepper. Then leave it on a simmer for an hour, but definitely stir it every so often. Now with the rice, I was lucky and borrowed a rice cooker from my neighbors. I just started cooking the rice, when the chili had been cooking for half an hour. After the rice was cooking for 30 minutes it was ready to be served!
I then served the chili on top of the rice and placed a few cilantro leaves on top of the chili. I put the guacamole, natural yogurt, and lime pieces in their own bowls to have as optional sides to compliment the chili. I think the chili turned out really well!
And sorry, I did not do a dessert for this meal (my neighbors don't eat desserts :)) so I just scooped some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for those who wanted it. I hope you try out this recipe and find it just as scrumptious as I did!

'Classic Tomato Spaghetti' and 'Mega Chocolate Fudge Cake'

I had so much fun cooking my first meal today. I chose a simple spaghetti dish to start off with, accompanied by a salad and a chocolate fudge cake for dessert.

Classic Tomato Spaghetti:
~Ingredients - 2 cloves of garlic, 1 fresh red chile, a small bunch of fresh basil, salt and black pepper, 1 pound dried spaghetti, olive oil, 1 x 14oz can of diced tomatoes, parmesan cheese

I started off by making the sauce first. First I cut the chile and 2 cloves of garlic into very small pieces. Cut the chile in half and remove the seeds, and then continue to cut it into smaller pieces. After doing that I picked a handful of basil leaves, picking off the stalks and putting them to the side (the stalks will be used for later). Jamie Oliver instructed to only use a handful of basil leaves, but I actually would suggest grabbing 2 handfuls, there was hardly any basil in my dish! Then I chopped the basil stalks into tiny pieces, and put them in a bowl with the chile and cloves of garlic. In a medium saucepan I threw in 2 big dollops of olive oil, the cloves of garlic, the chile, and the basil stalks. After the oil has started boiling and the garlic starts to brown, throw in the diced tomatoes and the basil. Then I just left it on a low heat until the spaghetti had finished boiling.

The spaghetti with the sauce turned out really well, and was enjoyed by all! It was scrumptious.

To accompany the pasta, I made a simple salad. I threw in cherry tomatoes, cucumber, salami, and just chopped iceberg lettuce with an olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Mega Chocolate Fudge Cake:
~Ingredients: 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup of butter (and extra to grease pan with), 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 2/3 cup of skinned almonds, 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, 4 large eggs, 1 1/3 cups self-rising flour, 1/4 pound of soft fudge, 10x10 baking pan

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. I started off by mixing the butter, almonds, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powered, and the salt. It said to mix in a food processor, but I found an electric whisk to be fine. Then one at a time add the eggs, and then the flour gradually, to stop it from spraying everywhere. Keep mixing until it is smooth. Then butter the baking pan sufficiently, you are told to use a 10x10 pan but a 10x8 pan works just fine. After spreading the butter, coat it with the other tablespoon of cocoa powder. Then spread the cake mix evenly throughout the pan. It then says to put pieces of fudge on top of the cake mix, but I was unable to find that. I improvised by using Smucker's hot fudge sauce, which worked out deliciously. I also used Gharadelli's chocolate chips and baking powder, which made it rich but made it perfectly tasty. I also served it with either vanilla icecream, whipping cream, or both! It was one of the best cakes I have ever made!

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello everyone! I am Hannah. For my senior project I am cooking a new meal every day from Jamie Oliver's cookbook 'Jamie's Food Revolution'. This is my first time truly cooking, so I am very new at this! I am having fun learning the basics of cooking and blogging. Hopefully you enjoy reading about what I am cooking, and maybe will even want to try out a few of the recipes. Thank you for checking out my blog, and more to come :)