Food sayings

There are numerous quotes about food, some wise, some witty, but one of my favourites comes from Bill Bryson ~

“And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven’t yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food?”

Pork with Tomato and Potato Bake

Ingredients
4 pork chops
6 large potatoes peeled and thickly sliced
6 large tomatoes sliced thickly
2 cloves garlic chopped
Rosemary (6 sprigs fresh or 1 Tblspn dried)
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Brown chops in a little oil until browned.
3. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until soft (about 8 minutes)
4. Drizzle olive oil over base of dish and layer potatoes and tomatoes adding salt and pepper between layers. Add garlic and half the rosemary.
5. Drizzle oil over top and bake in oven 15 minutes
6. Place pork chops over vegetables, add seasoning and remaining rosemary and cook a further 30-45 minutes or until potatoes and chops are tender.

Serves 2 To serve four use 8 chops. This can be served by itself with a tossed salad, but if you serve with mixed green vegetables such as beans and broccoli, it will go further.

Bolognaise Sauce

Ingredients:
500 g each beef mince and pork mince
4 rashers bacon, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped fine
2 celery sticks, chopped
Cooked sausage (optional)
1 cup red wine
600 ml tin crushed tomatoes
140 - 180 ml tomato paste

Method:

1. Brown 1/2kg beef mince and 1/kg minced pork in a dutch oven. Remove the meat and set aside
2. Saute some chopped bacon(3-4 strips), salt pork,pancetta whatever you have on hand.
3. When that is rendered add a mixture of chopped carrots, onions and celery. No garlic, when softened return mince to pan. At this point add some cooked sausage (optional)
4. Add red wine, tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook several hours or longer.

Note: You can use either a Dutch oven or a or large frypan with tight fitting lid.

Very nice served with papadelle.

Southwestern Turkey Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (see Tip, below)
1 tbsp (15 mL) chili powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cracked black peppercorns
1 lb (500 g) skinless boneless turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes
2 tbsp (25 mL) whole wheat flour
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juice
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) reduced-sodium chicken stock
2 cups (500 mL) sliced green beans



Dumplings
3/4 cup (175 mL) stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup (125 mL) whole wheat flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil


Method
1. In a skillet or frypan, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring, until celery softens, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalape?o and chipotle peppers, chili powder and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add turkey and cook, stirring, until surface whitens, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Stir in green beans.

2. Dumplings: In a bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center. In a measuring cup, combine buttermilk and oil, mixing well. Pour into well and stir just until mixture is evenly moistened. Ensure stew is at a simmer and drop dough by heaping tablespoons (15 mL) onto simmering liquid. Cover tightly and steam until dumplings are puffed and tender, about 20 minutes.


Tip
Chipotle peppers are dried smoked jalapeno peppers. When reconstituted and cooked in adobo sauce, they carry a lot of heat, so if you're heat averse, use only half of one.

(From The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook: 150 Recipes for Healthy Living by Judith Finlayson)

Quick Lamb and Potato Pot

Ingredients
450.0g potatoes , unpeeled
600.0g diced lamb
1 large onion , sliced
leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary , chopped
500.0g pot fresh lamb or beef gravy


Method
1. Slice the potatoes to about the thickness of a magazine (half a cm).
Cook in boiling water for 8-10 mins until tender. Meanwhile, heat an ovenproof frying pan
or shallow casserole on a high heat. Dry-fry the lamb for 5 mins until browned, letting the
meat release itself from the base before you turn it. Heat the grill to medium.

2. Tip the onion and most of the rosemary into the pan and fry for 3 mins until the onion is
slightly softened and takes on some of the colour from the lamb. Stir in the gravy, then season
with black pepper.

3. Drain the potato slices and lay over the meat, each one overlapping slightly,
then grill for about 5 mins, until the potatoes are golden.

Per serving
463 kcalories, protein 34.0g, carbohydrate 29.0g, fat 24.0 g, saturated fat 12.0g,
fibre 2.0g, salt 1.0 g