Hi everyone
Our vigilent 'what's coming up on TV' scrutineer, Mr Langton foretells some good foodie programmes coming this week..
Gok Cooks Chinese over several Mondays Channel 4  8.30pm.
Great British Menu every Wednesday BBC2 7.30pm
Thursday 24th BBC2 9pm.  this week The fish market - inside Billingsgate - new 3 part series featuring the 3 main London fishmarkets.
On More4 at the weekends there is quite a lot of food stuff - looks like it's all day long.
There are some more of my recipes at the bottom of the page. Do have a look and maybe try one or two out on your family.
I had an ingenious answer to one of the questions put to my Year 7,s this week.
Q  Why are gas hobs better than electric when frying pancakes?
I had told them before that it is because the heat is instantly controllable.
This particular response was, 'if you splill pancake mixture on the hob it burns off faster!' ?????
He got a mark for trying!
I have managed to save some budget money this year, so with luck will be ordering some new aprons, and for my one big item I plan to buy a new Kenwood Mixer - we use my old one a lot and it really has seen better days.


See if you can answer these quiz questions with your knowledge of nutrition..

Read the following statements and circle the correct answer in each case….

1.      The nutrients that are needed for growth and tissue repair are called    MINERALS/ PROTEINS

2.      Carbohydrates include sugars, starch and

 FIBRE/ VITAMINS

3.      It is recommended that we drink at least

4 – 6 / 6 – 8 ‘cups’ of fluid each day.

4.      The recommended daily intake of FIBRE is  15g / 18g

5.      The Eatwell Plate is divided into   5 /  7 segments

6.      Guidelines for healthy eating state that we should try to cut down on our intake of sugar, fats and CARBOHYDRATES/ SALT

7.      A shortage of Vitamin C / Vitamin D in the diet can result in the illness known as Scurvy.

8.      The mineral Iron is needed in our diet. It is one of the

     MACRONUTRIENTS / MICRONUTRIENTS

9.      The function of Calcium in our bodies is to help form

          healthy  BLOOD / BONES AND TEETH

10.    The role of fats in the body includes keeping us warm, protection of vital organs and fats are a concentrated  source of ENERGY / VITAMINS

Answers are at the bottom of the page:

  

QUICK TIRAMISU

150 ml strong black coffee  

2 tbsp rum/brandy/cream liqueur (stirred into the coffee)        

2 tbsp caster sugar – dissolved in the coffee

8 trifle sponges, cut into thick fingers  or  18 sponge fingers

½ pint double cream, whipped       

1 small tub mascarpone cheese        1 can/carton custard

2 oz grated chocolate

Arrange half the sponges in a shallow serving dish.  Pour over half the liquid.   

Mix together the custard, whipped cream and cheese.

Spread half this mixture over the sponges.  Top with the remaining sponges and drizzle over the rest of the coffee mixture.  Spread over the rest of the custard mixture.  Sprinkle with grated chocolate and chill.

FRUITY TIRAMISU

Recipe as above but also  

200g raspberries + 2 nectarines, stoned and chopped.

Put half the fruit on top of the first sponge layer, and the other half on to the second layer of sponges.

Can use cocoa powder dredged on top instead of grated chocolate or a mixture of both.

CHICKEN/TURKEY  AND VEGETABLE CRUMBLE

Can do a veggie verswion by omitting the meat

Some chicken breast (or turkey breast/thigh meat)

A selection of vegetables eg. onion, carrot, leek, courgette, celery,

                                                          peppers)

oil for frying

can of chopped tomatoes      1 spoonful of red/green pesto

seasoning eg. Salt/pepper/soy or Worcester sauce/curry powder

dried herbs/stock/chilli sauce/garlic etc.

topping: breadcrumbs,

grated cheese or slices of mozzarella , dried herbs, 

optional – fresh coriander, chopped

Prepare all the veg – cut into slices or small dice

Slice the chicken/ turkey

Fry off all the veg. in hot oil until glossy.

Remove from the pan and fry the chicken/turkey.

Return the veg to the pan, add the chopped tomatoes, some stock  and your choice of seasoning.

Cook for about 10-15 mins to thoroughly cook the meat and reduce the sauce until it thickens.

Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle over the coriander.

Mix the cheese, breadcrumbs and dried herbs and spread over the meat and veg. mixture.

Bake for about 20 mins in a hot oven until the topping is golden and crisp.

Tortellini bake   A ‘Jane Phillips’ invention!

1 pack fresh tortellini -there are always a choice of fillings

1 can chopped tomatoes

Optional – garlic, chilli flakes

A variety of vegetables eg. Red/brown onion, spring onion,

Peppers, celery, mushrooms, all chopped

Oil for frying – can use olive oil here

If the tortellini is veg and cheese, can add other leftover meat to the veg mix.  Eg ham, chorizo, chicken

Grated cheese of choice - even Parmesan!

Choice of seasonings eg. Soy, Worcester sauce, dried herbs,

METHOD

Boil the tortellini according to instructions.

Rinse off starch and set aside.

Fry off all the chopped veg for 5-10 mins, then add other meat if using.   Stir in the chopped tomatoes and add seasonings to taste.   Add the pasta to the created sauce, and spoon into one or more ovenproof containers.

Top with grated cheese.   Can chill or freeze at this stage.

When required, bake for 15-20 mins at gas 5, 190 C.

Nice with salads, garlic bread.

 Answers to quiz:

1. Proteins

2. Fibre

3, 6-8

4. 18g

5.  5

6.  salt

7.  Vit C

8.  micro nutrients

9.  bones and teeth

10. energy