Street party cuisine

As I am aware that many people will be preparing for a street party, I would like to take the opportunity to share some of my ideas for tasty street party cuisine.

Try making a simple mozzarella and tomato salad by arranging slices of creamy mozzarella cheese and slices of intense beef tomatoes on a blue plate, and topping it with extra virgin olive oil and chopped basil.

You will have to go back to basics to make some great party food. Simple cucumber sandwiches as they are her majesty's favourite; sausage rolls (vegetarian options, of-course).

Thai ratatouille

If you want some spice in your life, have a bowl of this with nothing, or rice!

Step1)Fry 2 chopped onions and a diced aubergine until the aubergine just starts to go mushy. It will also have a slightly bruised look.

Step2)Add some spices: 1 teaspoon of paprika; 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin; 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and 1 teaspoon of turmeric. Mix well.

Step3)Add 2 diced peppers and two diced courgettes/zucchini and continue to fry the vegetables for a few minutes until they soften, but not mushy.

Step4)Add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes and simmer until you want to serve it. The longer you leave it, the better the flavours will develop. Taste it regularly in case you feel it needs more salt or seasoning.

Step5)Serve warm with rice and some chopped, fresh coriander!

Matzo

Matzo is a Jewish unlivened bread (it has no yeast or raising agents) that is traditionally eaten at Jewish passover. It has a cracker-like texture and not much taste. However, this is good because it will not overpower what you're serving it with!

This is not the absoloutely correct way of making matzo, but I find regular flour makes the only difference of a very slightly softer matzo!

Step1)Combine one part water, to three part bread flour in a large bowl.

Step2)The moment you add the water to the flour, you will need to work quickly as the natural yeast in the air can activate within 18 minutes.

Step3)Knead the dough until smooth and then roll until as thin as possible. Because there is no fat in the dough and the gluten strengthens it, the dough should roll very thin without breaking.

Step4)Place the dough on a clean, baking papered baking sheet/cookie sheet and prick the dough with a fork.

Step5)Bake for 8-10 minutes, until browned and crispy! Finally, allow to cool and serve!

Your favourite tropical fruit

The sweet, different tropical fruits of the world went head-to-head to have the opportunity of being your favourite tropical fruit.

The nominations then battled through blogs and fought across pageviews until the winner was selected. However, they had a draw. So, congratulations to the banana and the passion fruit!

The unique blog award!

I have been nominated for the unique blog award! Thank you to our favourite bamboo-munching superhero, Pandagirl for nominating me! (pandagirlsrandomblog.blogspot.com). Also, congratulations to any other nominees- you should feel very proud.


Anyway, here are my five facts and my five nominations:


Fact1) I make falafel with kidney beans, not chickpeas.


Fact2)My favourite mustard is wholegrain.


Fact3) I have a budgie called Bert.


Fact4)I LOVE rhubarb.


Fact 5)My favourite soap opera is Coronation Street.


Pandagirlsrandomblog.blogspot.com


mbob445.blogspot.com


comicsandcartoonsworld.blogspot.com


hellobloggerhi.blogspot.com


veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

Pumpkin seed and broccoli pasta salad

The title has a lot of words in it doesn't it! However, this pasta salad is simple, tasty and healthy!

Step1) Cook 150g of your favourite pasta to package directions and then drain under cold water.

Step 2) Mix 2 tablespoons of mayonaise with a splash of milk; 1 teaspoon of white wine or rice vinegar; some salt; 1 teaspoon of mustard and thyme. Any of your own personal flavours will be good.

Step3)Stir in the pasta, some chopped carrot; some chopped celery; some chopped orange pepper; some cooked broccoli; some cubed cheese and a handful of pumpkin seeds.

P.S: Don't worry about the lack of measurements because everything is to taste!

Wild Rice Risotto

Risotto is my favourite way of eating rice. It is so creamy, versatile and delicous. The addition of Wild rice in my risotto gives a nice colour contrast and a vague, nutty flavour. Also, baked risotto is so much easier to do than the traditional method.

Step 1)Fry one diced onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, a little chopped rosemary and a tablespoon or so of butter in a flame-proof casserole dish until they have softened.

Step 2)Stir in 7 ounces of risotto rice (it must be risotto or arborio) until the grains are coated in fat.

Step 3)Add 1 1/2 pints of chicken stock and 1 ounce of wild rice that has been cooked in boiling water for 40-45 minutes.

Step 4)Bake in a 130 degrees Celsius oven, for 20 minutes.

Step 5)Stir in some grated parmesan cheese and more butter into the rissotto and serve warm!

'Suspended in rock' writing challenge

Every civilization moves on. Everyone changes, for the best, or the worse. However, one civilization never moved on. In fact, it was suspended in rock...

The city of Pompeii was constantly under threat of an unpredictable volcano-Mount Vesuvias. One day, it spewed a huge cloud of deadly ash and rock that set over every body and every life.

Your challenge is to write (in 120 words or under) a story from one of two perspectives. Either write as a person viewing a body covered in rock, describing it. Or a person writing a note about how the ash cloud loooked before they died. Good sentence structure and punctuation will stand out to me along with: a great use of vocabulary and  paragraphs.

Leave your story in the comments by the end of May 2012 and my favourite will be published as a post. Good luck!

Homemade cereal

Store-bought cereal such as muesli always have something you don't like. Whether it is almonds, raisins or those chewy oats that hide behind the bran flakes! However, making your own cereal is an easy way to have everything you like in one bowl.

One of my favourites is apricot and seed crumble:

Step 1)Combine oats and seeds with golden syrup until you have a sticky and very thick consinstency.

Step 2)Add apricots and bake for 10-15 minutes until the oats form clusters.

Mix up things like branflakes, dried fruit and rice puffs or oats to make a simple and unique breakfast!

Zingy cannellini hummus

This recipe was inspired by a mistake in a cookery book. It said cannellini bean hummus in the description, but then had chickpeas in the recipe!

The great thing about this hummus is that it is very versatile and my flavours can be varied to whatever takes your fancy! I just picked these flavours because I enjoy them greatly. Enjoy!

Step 1) Drain a can of cannellini beans, and mash to a coarse puree.

Step 2)This step is optional, but I microwave this mash to remove any toxins that may be lurking in the beans.

Step 3)Allow the mash to cool before combining it with: 1 teaspoon of salt; 2 cloves of crushed garlic; 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 4 tablespoons of good extra-virgin olive oil.

Step 4)Swirl in some tomato puree gently and serve with vegetable crudites or pitta bread!

Welcome to my blog!

Prawns and hummus are two of my favourite foods- the tasty chickpea dip and versatile seafood. The majority of my blog posts will be recipes but I will post writing challenges; book reviews or anything you will recommend (in the comments). Enjoy! :)