A real spanish Paella

Dear Foodies,
It has been quite a while since I last posted but the short break has been for a very good reason. I am lucky enough to have a friend with a holiday home near Alicante in Spain. As my friend knows the area really well we were able to go to all the best restaurants and the best had to be one near the fish market right by the marina. You can tell a good fish restaurant by the number of fishermen inside and this restaurant was jam packed full of them. My two friends  and I shared a beautiful seafood Paella which was full of beautiful meltingly tender clams, prawns and assorted white fish and the whole dish was beautifully complimented with the fresh tang of lemon. While I was unfortunately unable to stretch my spanish far enough to gain acceptance into the kitchen and acquire the recipe, I will share with you the recipe I use when making a fish Paella. Further food highlights of the trip included the fresh ham and cheese croissants we indulged on for breakfast and a plate of fresh as a daisy prawns which were lightly seasoned leaving the meaty sweet flesh of the prawn to do the talking. While food abroad is often greatly enhanced by the heat and the beautiful view across a crisp blue sea here is a recipe which may help bring that romantic beach side feeling into your home.

Ingredients: 

1 small onion, finely chopped 2 medium-sized tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped  
200g prawns 
200g small clams
200g squid
350g rice (traditionally short grain rice is used but I prefer to use long grain)
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
a pinch of saffron strands
a sprig of parsley, finely chopped
olive oil
about 800ml water or for more flavour fish stock 

To Make:

1. Fry the Onion until soft
2. Add the squid, carrot and tomato to the pan and cook for 10 mins
3. Add the rice and stir until coated  
4. Add the water/fish stock, clams, garlic, saffron and parsely
5. Season and bring to the boil
6. Turn heat down and place lid on top leaving for 15/20 mins
7. You can cook this dish for another 10 mins, just add a little more water to stop it drying out - by cooking it longer you increase the intensity of the flavours

A proper Spanish Paella

I hope that this recipe allows you to close your eyes and imagine yourself on a beach in sunny Spain.

Hasta Luego xx

The view when I woke up in Spain

Spaghetti with Rocket and Quails' Eggs

Dear Foodies,
Here is a really delicious recipe that requires next to no preparation so is very easy to do for dinner. We had it for dinner tonight with garlic bread as pasta is very good for my brother who will be rowing tomorrow. Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 500g Spaghetti
• 12 asparagus spears
• 12 Quail's Eggs
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 tbsp Creme Fraiche
• 100g Rocket

How to make

1. Cook the Spaghetti according to the packet instructions
2. Steam your asparagus until soft (roughly 5-8 mins) 
3. Cook the quails' eggs for a minute and then leave in the water for 30 seconds before draining and peeling
4. Drain the Spaghetti and put back in the pan with the creme fraiche and crushed garlic cloves
5. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch long pieces and stir in
6. Serve the spaghetti with a handful of rocket, parmesan and the Quail's eggs

Enjoy xxx

Crystallised Rose Petals

Dear Foodies,
     When I was 11 I brought a rose in an attempt to create a beautiful cottage garden area and prove to the world (although mainly my parents) that I was capable of keeping something alive - while I could have got a pet for this purpose also I didn't have enough faith in myslelf that the outcome would be favourable. True to form the garden has subsequently died, however my beautiful peachy orange climbing rose lives on battling through the weeds that remain. And so in an effort to create something from this train wreck of a garden I decided to crystallise some of the petals in order to preserve the beauty of my rose. These petals should last for 4 - 5 months in a sealed container and are beautiful on anything from cupcakes to a salad that needs that added sweetness.

The Ingredients

• 40 rose petals
• Caster Sugar on a plate (roughly 100g)
• A solution of sugar dissolved in water

The Method:

1. Pick your rose petals from the flower ensuring that they are not damaged - please do not use roses which have been exposed to chemicals or road pollution
2.  Lay out the rose petals and leave until completely dry



3. Brush (using a pastry brush or a sterilised paint brush) a petal with the sugar liquid solution and then dip in sugar

4. Place on baking paper and after repeating for all of the petals leave to dry for 3-4 hours

Enjoy ... xxx

Simple Stir Fry

Dear Foodies,
To compliment the dumplings I made yesterday I thought I would whip up a quick stir fry today. And while I think you can probably all make stir fry I thought I would put up my own little twist on it to maybe inspire you to change from your normal combination

Ingredients

• 2 leeks
• 2 peppers
• 3 carrots
• 1 head of broccolli
• 3 spring onions
• 200g egg noodles
• 100g bean sprouts

For the sauce:

• 1 tsp Garlic
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 1 tsp Lemon Grass
• 1 tsp Thai Fish Sauce
• 2 tsp Tamarind Paste
• Soy Sauce to taste

How to make

chopped veg

• Chop the leeks, peppers and carrots into fine strips
• Chop the broccolli into small florrets and par-cook in the steamer
•  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in your wok before adding the carrots and leeks - cook for 2 mins or until they begin to soften
• Add the broccolli and peppers and cook for another 2 minutes
• Add the noodles and the sauce - make sure you stir vigorously - cook for 3 mins
• Add the bean sprouts and cook for a final minute
• Garnish with some finely chopped spring onion and serve

a yummy stir fry

Happy Eating xxx

Prawn and Leek Dumplings

Dear Foodies,
Inspired by the campest man ever to have attempted a cookery programme (Gok Wan himself) I decided to make my own version of a dumpling which I first tasted on a family holiday to Vietnam. I had always thought of dumplings being a heavy pastry laden and almost spongy ingredient served up in a lumpy English stew by my well meaning Gran, that was until I tasted these deliciously light morsels, their crispy fried outsides giving way to a delicious creamy middle with that slight tang of spring onion and the salty aftertaste from the soy sauce which is an obligatory dipping accompaniment. These dumplings are said to have originated in Korea in the 14th Century and travelled throughout Asia via the Silk Road. While Gravenhurst may be some way away from the exotic delights of Asia the Chinese Supermarket on the A1 provides a road to the exotic. So here goes my version of Asian Dumplings with a prawn and leek filling.

Ingredients
400g Prawns minced
1 leek - finely diced
2 spring onions - also diced
1 teaspoon of ginger paste
4 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of Shaoixing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
1 egg
1 packet of white wonton wrappers

How to Make

• Combine prawn, leek, spring onions, ginger, sesame oil and rice wine with the egg white to create your dumpling filling - do not throw the egg yolk away

dumpling filling

Wonton Wrappers - this packet was 85p

• On a lightly floured board lay out your wonton wrappers. Place a small teaspoon of the filling. Brush egg yolk around the edges and fold to create half moons. Press down on the edges of dumling and crimp with a fork

place a small teaspoon in the centre of each wonton case

make sure your dumplings have as little air as possible in them

• Steam dumplings for 5-8 mins - for those on a health spree they are now ready to eat
• For a final luxurious touch fry on each side for 1-2 mins to add a crunchy finish

Happy Eating
Lots of Love from a food enthusiast
xxx

Banana, Chocolate and Oatmeal Tea Bread

Dear Foodie,
We had some left over bananas in the fruit bowl which were begining to go black and so i decided to make this recipe. It is a recipe that I found in the waitrose food magazine although i doubled it and added my own embellishments. These were using ginger chocolate to give some extra zing, adding more bananas and putting slices of banana and scattering granola in the bottom of the tin to give a sort of upside down pineapple cake effect. I was also forced to leave out the bicarbonate of soda as we had none in the fridge but this hasnt effected the rise, taste or texture of the cake.
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 large egg
75ml Vegetable Oil
125g Caster Sugar
3 bananas
30g rolled oats
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
40g Dark Chocolate

The Cooking

• preheat the oven to 180/gas mark 4
• butter and line a loaf tin (roughly 1 litre)
• whisk eggs, oil and sugar until thick and creamy (like mayo)
• slice and mash the bananas and whisk into the mixture - it will now look gloopy and be quite runny
• add the rest of the ingredients and stir until all are combined
• pour into the tin
• bake for 30-40 mins

 Here are some photos of my finished product:

At roughly 300kcal per big serving you can afford to share this with friends and family. I would love feedback on how yours went or what you think of mine.
Love from a food enthusiast
xxx

Why?

Dear Foodie,
I am a 17 year old who adores cooking, be it simply chopping an onion or whisking eggs with milk I think there is nothing more relaxing than creating a beautiful sum from all the individually fantastic parts. I finished my International Baccaleaureate exams on May 14th and so I now have time to truly explore my passion for food. I am currently hoping to study English at university but a niggling feeling at the back of my mind keeps screaming chef at me and so this blog will serve to show me whether I should pursue a career in the food industry. My aim is to share with you what I cook and I hope that you will enjoy following me on the journey between what I hope to create and the end product.

So here goes ............

Love from a food enthusiast
xxx