Friday 5 April 2013

Food diary of a greedy foodie mother - Thursday 4th and Friday 5th

Ahh the end of the week! I have done loads of walks this week and I can fit into my pre pregnancy jeans. Woohoo! I love Friday even though I am on maternity leave. There is a sense of 'let's party' feel to it, although this is further from the truth given I am sat here listening to my monster crying as she refuses to sleep!! I have sent my husband up there to deal with the stubborn child while I have to do something to take my mind off the lovely aroma coming from the kitchen. I am having a glass of wine!

I have stuck to my week's menu although I am usually known to deviate from the plan somewhat. So here is the rest of this week's recipes.

Thursday - Steamed pork with shitake and wood ear mushrooms with ginger, stir fry vegetables

1/3 pork loin, sliced thinly (I sliced the other 2/3 and freeze them for future meals) marinated with below:

1 knob of ginger, sliced thinly then julienned
1 tablespoon of cornflour
1 1/2 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tsp of sugar
4/5 pieces of small wood ear mushrooms and a handful of shitake mushrooms soaked in water for at least an hour, boiled in water for 1/2 hour to soften, drained and left to cool
Rice
Selection of snow peas, green beans and asparagus
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

Pork
Add the mushrooms to the pork and marinate at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour in a shallow dish. The meat and mushrooms take on more of the flavour of the marinate if left at room temperature. When you are ready steam the pork for 20 minutes.

Vegetables
A way of ensuring the vegetables are stir fry evenly and the chefs in Chinese restaurants do it. Boil some water and add the vegetables in order of how long they take to cook (i.e. the hardest ones first). You only have to use one pan. So in this case, put green beans into the water for 3 minutes, then add snow peas for 1 minute then asparagus for another 1 minute. Some chef on TV called it vegetables 5,4,3,2,1; I call it common sense. Drain the vegetables and set aside. Put rice on. Heat the wok with some oil, add garlic and fry for 30 seconds, tip the vegetables in the wok and add oyster sauce, toss for 1 minute to heat through. Voila, perfect stir fried vegetables everytime.

Serve pork and vegetables with rice. The pork, rice and vegetables can all be done in advance.

Friday - Smoked haddock risotto with asparagus and poached egg
I have to admit I didn't cook this as my husband Andrew is the risotto expert. I was busy being milked by my daughter.



1 undyed smoked haddock fillet
Milk
1 bay leaf
200g risotto rice
1 1/2 litre chicken/veg or fish stock
1 onion, diced
1/2 glass of white wine
Bunch of asparagus, sliced diagonally
A handful of peas
Olive oil + a knob of butter
Wedges of lemon (optional)
2 eggs (optional)

Cover the haddock with milk, add a bay leaf and poach in a pan for about 10 minutes. I did it the day before. Wait for the fish to cool slightly and flake it. Discard the skin and retain the milk. Fry onions in a pan with some olive oil and butter until translucent, add rice and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Stir often to avoid rice sticking to the pan. Pour the wine in, stir for a minute and then gradually add the stock and some of the flavoured milk till the rice is al dente. Stir in asparagus, peas and haddock. Make sure the asparagus and peas are cooked which take only 1 minute or two and the haddock warmed through. If the rice is too dry, add more stock to loosen it. Keep warm while you poach the eggs. Just before you eat, squeeze a wedge of lemon onto the risotto.

Happy cooking and have a lovely weekend x



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