Tuesday, 9 February 2010

TODAY LONDON NEXT WEEK PARIS

a.k.a. My Love Affair With the Macaron

So how many people have I told the same story to over and over

I'M GOING TO PARIS TO LE CORDON BLEU TO LEARN "THE SECRET OF MACARONS".

I was talking to Mum on the phone this morning asking her "What other kind of cake is hard and a bit fiddly that you have to practice loads to get perfect and even go to a class?" and she said "Profiteroles?" I told her I already made those and they were easy. Maybe not perfect, but successful enough on the first go to not feel challenged. Sponge cake - I have totally cracked it. I have struggled with cannellés and clafoutis - maybe that is the kind of thing - but nothing like a macaron. If you serve a macaron, people are amazed and always say "HOW DO YOU DO THIS? Is there a mould? Do you drop it into something hot? How do you get it so smooth?" etc etc etc. Anyway I have no clue as to what I will learn in Paris but I am getting HELLISHLY excited. And I feel a bit sick/nervous about it. The confirmation letter even tells you what you have to wear in the kitchen.

So - with this level of thrill in mind let me tell you first of all about Mrs K MEETING PIERRE HERME at the new Selfies consession where she had to photograph him for work. I had about 5 missed calls from her that day as she attempted to tell me "MOVE YOUR ASS HERE IMMEDIATELY" and as I said in my previous post about it [and apparently MISQUOTED and then got berated for it afterwards and I told her "Okay woah like fine but I will just blow it up all over the blog about how you yelled at me LOL brb gtg my nbff just logged on bye".

Oh Buddah where was I? Oh - about to eat this gift of personally selected macarons by Mrs K from Pierre Hermés own hand.





Here are a few views of the macarons at The Cardinals house. Please note the china. Also in bottom photo bottom left please note the sliver of marmite toast available for palate cleansing.



You may remember if you even care, these were the ones I had in Paris when I was there last from Pierre Hermé shortly after getting silly stringed by three pre teens on a skateboard outside the the Pierre and Marie Curé University mineral and gem museum.

So The Cardinal and I were in a gifted position to be able to truly assess the macarons in the privacy of her living room in front of an open fire, sipping Earl Grey Tea from china cups and a variety of cutlery to best perform the operations of peeling apart the layers.



Not the first time I have done this. Remember Nantes?



Sorry lost in a K-HOLE of macaron reminiscing and checking on the Danish cabbage in the kitchen.

Back to Pierre Hermé. There seems to be a whole divide between Pierre Hermé vs Ladurée and who's is better and whatever. I am going to say that on the whole, I prefer Ladurée. I like to know that what is labelled as Rose is going to taste like Rose. Admittedly I do admire the adventure of P.H.'s "collections" but I think the ratio there is too much filling to macaron and I am not a big fan of chocolate & fruit together at the best of times. I think they are both marvellous though. The only macarons I ever that that were awful were the ones in Nantes - the really tasted like lipstick, shampoo and shower gel.

With all this preamble, lets get ourselves to Sunday afternoon when I had a tea at The Crib with a selection of O.G.'s in attendance: Covvo, Alex T [the sub editor], Ella, Fi and the Cardinal. Hobart was also there but her presence was only felt when she scratched the Cardinal and singed her whiskers on a candle. For my guests I presented my take on cream cheese & radish and egg mayonaisse & quails egg sandwiches. Followed by a selection of macarons made in my own exclusive kitchen and two cakes. Oh and Champagne and tea.



These were Bailey's and Hazelnut. Total fail in my opinion but Alex T was more than happy to take the ones we didn't eat home with him at the end.



These were Campari and Blood orange on the left and Lavender on the right. Both lovely.



These were Basil, Pinenut & Honey with Lime. They totally cleaned up. Unfortunately they are a visual fail - see the brown bit? Slightly over done but did not affect taste.

The success of these makes me feel a bit less nervous about the class in Paris. I have to say, I had a very jolly afternoon after heinous weeks at work. The cookbook was planned. I will even be doing a chapter on Chinese food. It will be one page long.

"Don't fuck with it and leave it to the Chinese."

Although since then, I have been thinking about macaron recipes on that theme.

My lunch is ready now - braised fennel and Danish cabbage. I'm going to go eat it. You can be rest assured that I will be reporting back in detail from Paris all about how I go. PLUS I have been in touch with Goon already to discuss the restaurants we will be visiting! YERRRRRR.

xx Lektrogirl

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Wednesday, 27 January 2010

THE BOOYAH COOK: GODESS

One day I will bother explaining the ins and out of what it has been like living with Bipolar Mood Affective Disorder [aka Manic Depression that most people use - albeit incorrectly] but frankly it is a drag and a drain IRL so never really feel like blowing the trumpet online. But today as a absolute forced activity to get myself off the sofa I decided to work on my cake invention recipe and perfect it in the aim of sharing it with all of you. I can say categorically that cake eating Hayley at work has nominated this her favourite. She can elucidate her thoughts on every cake I every made and everything that goes into her mouth infinitum so truss, yeah. She knows.

So after today's success I feel confident to announce The Booyah Cook has achieved some earth bound status - NOW KNOW AS GODDESS!!



Since then I have been with Sean Combs on a jet ski in Miami, making it rain up and down the strip in LA, my life is like a movie but if it looks like I'm having more fun than you then sue me. ETC.

MY CAKE
In concept is my favourite bits from different kinds of cakes: super moist vanilla sponge, fresh fruit, clafoutis-esque, lasts a long time. I have tried both a cherry one and a blackberry one. I think it will work with anything like mulberries, figs, fresh apricots or peaches, nectarines - strawberries would taste good but they would look rank.


Cherry

1] Grease a 9 inch / 23 cm (ideal size for BDL's) circular cake tin and dust it with flour. It has to be a loose bottomed or spring loaded tin or when you get the cake out all the fruit is gonna mush up.

2] Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F

I would like to say "freestyle freestyle" but the science of silkience will not adjust [remember that ad or is it just Australian? Mrs G?] when it comes to baking cakes. If a recipe recommends a particular tin at certain temperature, and you change either of those things it will impact on your recipe. Maybe even instant fail you.

3] With electric beaters cream together 120g butter and 120g castor sugar.
If you never made a cake before, this means mix the two together until the colour changes to a lighter shade and smooths into a paste and isnt all crumbly sugar and icing any more. Can take anything between 5 - 8 minutes.

4] Add two eggs. Get on the beating again. Mix until the colour changes again. It will end up pretty pale. Takes about 5-6 mins after adding the egg.

5] Add 240 grams of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix it in with a spoon or spatula. Don't using the electric beaters now. The beaters will over work the flour and make it "tough" and you will end up with a loaf of flat bread. When you have mixed in all the flour, you will have a kind of doughy looking mixture though.

6] Mix in 6 drops of vanilla essence and 200 mls of creme fraiche with the spoon. It is still gonna be a doughy looking mixture. If you think it is too dry, add 10 mls of milk / water / alcohol whatever but not more.

7] Tip the mixture in the tin and spread it with the back of the spoon to the edges. Doesn't have to be smooth, just kind of level.

8] Cover the top with whatever fruit you want. You are going to bake your cake for a fairly long time. So don't put anything too small on it and the cake needs to rise underneath the weight of the fruit so make small slices of peaches or whatever. Try the blackberries first though. Awesome!

9]Put the cake in the oven for 40 minutes. It will most likely have to go in again. Everyone's oven is different so maybe 40 minutes will be enough. Test like this: Use a skewer and prick the cake right to the bottom in the centre of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, then the cake should be done. If there is any goo, put it in for another 15 minutes.

If the middle is gooey but the top has turned brown, turn your oven down 10-20 degrees before shoving the cake back in for the second go in the oven.

10] Leave the cake too cool a bit in the tin before turning it out. Then leave it on a rack to cook completely before you dust it with icing sugar you sprinkle on through a sieve.


Blackberry

The end.

Yum.



The icing sugar will eventually dissolve into the cake after a while with the moisture. It isn't even really important to put it on there. Whatever you want!

BOOYAH

xx Lektrogirl

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Friday, 18 September 2009

MY CAKE HERO



As I said to Philippa "This cake for Valeria is going to be like Phantom of the Opera crossed with the Olypmic Games opening ceremony and the first few chords of Teardrops"

Drum rolls til Sunday!

xx Lektrogirl

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Sunday, 6 September 2009

THE JOHN DAVIDSON FAN CLUB #25

From: John Davidson [mailto:XXCENSOREDXX@XXCENSOREDXX]
Sent: 06 September 2009 04:48
To: Emma Davidson
Subject: RE: the cardinal and i at the spatisserie at the dorchester


'ere's me, walked passed the Dorchester 4 million times in my earlier days, never put me foot inside the door. Never had the dosh, and me father would have kicked me arse for having thoughts above my station.
No wonder that Cardinal is a mate. Except for being slightly thinner faced she looks very much as you do. Long hair, brown?, good looking complexion, etc.etc. won't continue. YOU will only accuse me of being a 'dirty old man'
Anyhow, the tucker(can you call food of that standard 'tucker'?) It looks fabulous. Seems a good place to move out of the daily tribulations of earing a living. You ought to take Hobart with you? Don't be mean. slip him in yer carry bag/large purse and let him have a wander. Sorry HER. W.K.O.F. name is Hobart for a female?F.C.S.
Got an Email ex Sars today and she tells me there's a parcell in the post, which I'll prolly get to-morrow. She doesn't know I know it's seeds so I can plant things to remind me of you lot. I have planted cuttings of Roses, Iceberg and Bridal shower for your reminder. BIG Sharpish tasting radishes for me. Can't tell wot I'm putting in for the kids and Sars till I get the package tomorrow.. The prickles on the roses will be for Pussie!.
Look after yorself Kiddo. Winter's on it's way. Keep away from any fukka who has a runny nose or is sneezing. Swine Flu is a bastard. Bad for yer health.Cheers from yer old Dad. Since The Cardinal makes you happy, say hullo to her from me.

From: John Davidson [mailto:XXCENSOREDXX@XXCENSOREDXX]
Sent: 06 September 2009 04:55
To: Emma Davidson
Subject: RE: my cooking - macaroons


P.S. Your cooking you faggot? You nicked them from them from the Dorchester. You ought be doing Nigella Lawson's job on T/Vif that's really your cooking. Fark. They look delicious mate. Cheers again. Poppa.xxxx

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Friday, 4 September 2009

A SMALL VICTORY



Today I couldn't be bothered going to work on time cause I wanted to have a go at making these instead.

Campari and Orange Macaroons.
Grenadine and Fresh Blueberry Macaroons.

I can't decide which was better.

Not to self: when it comes to colouring them, you really cannot hold back on the colour. More is definitely less in this case - which doesn't often happen.

The girls at work were really impressed. When I crack the recipe I will Booyah Cook them.

Then we went for dinner at The Diner. When I got home, I stuck my fingers down my throat after champagne at work, a cocktail, a sailor jerrys with coke and fresh lime and a glass of horrid white wine. I feel a lot better now.

xx Lektrogirl

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Thursday, 9 July 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK IS BACK!!



So, to all my regulators out there: MOUNT UP!

I know it has been some time since I have given a full detailed report from my kitchen, but for those of you who follow my Flickr will have seen more developments in my kitchen in "my lost months". But y'all know me, still the same O.G., but I been low key and hated on by most these niggaz wit no cheese, no deals and no G's, no wheels and no keys, no boats no snowmobiles, and no ski's & mad at me cause I can finally afford to provide my family wit groceries.

TODAY THE BOOYAH COOK PRESENTS: CLAFOUTIS! Which just happens to be the easiest of posh desserts that you can make yourself and look truly incredible.

And I mean like you wanna run around talking bout guns like I ain't got none - what you think I sold 'em all cause I stay well off? Now all I get is hate mail all day saying that I fell off. What cause I been in the lab wit a pen and a pad
trying to get this clafoutis off?



If you don't trust my measurements which are still highly confidential and in levels of development stages depending on who's kitchen I'm cooking in, I suggest you try this one here by Jill Dupliex who also created the recipe for Mini Egg and Bacon Pies.

To describe Clafoutis - it is like a giant cherry custard pancake and an old school French dish.



Cherry is the traditional but I even I saw some YouTube video of some New York Jewish Chef where he used Clementines. [Didn't like the look of it but he was into it.] You could use any fruit though - see my suggestions in the secret recipe below.

INGREDIENTS
500g fresh dark ripe cherries. Don't take the stones out - they are better left in!
3 tablespoons of icing sugar
1/2 cup caster or icing sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup cows milk [not soya - sorry.]
6 drops Vanilla essence or extract
Pinch of salt

VARIATION ON A THEME
The recipe above is the basic. You could also:
Soak the cherries in kirsch, amaretto or rum for an hour before starting.
Use apricots and nougat cut into chunks
Try figs
Pear and chocolate
Basically - you see it can be a fruit freestyle.
Use as much of whatever to cover the bottom of the dish you are using.

METHOD
1] Turn on the oven to 175 degrees C.
2] Grease the dish you want to use with butter and then sprinkle a bit of your 3 tbs icing sugar over the buttered dish.
3] Put the cherries [pre-soaked in booze or not] in a bowl with the rest of the 3tbs sugar and roll them round til they are coated.
4] Cover the bottom of your dish with the cherries [or other fruit.]



5] Use a hand whisk if you have one and a big bowl and mix the eggs and sugar together. A spoon will do but you do look more OG with a whisk.
6] Add the milk, vanilla and salt and mix again.
7] Add the flour but don't mix it too much. Over beating it will make the final thing come out doughy and not custardy. The mixture should be quite runny and not like a thick-shake. If it is, add a little bit more milk.
8] Tip the batter over the fruit.
9] Put it in the oven for 40 minutes. It should be all puffy and golden going a bit crisp right round the edges.
10] Leave it to sit for a little while and it will sink on itself a bit - but don't leave it too long, it is better eaten warm!



This recipe is so Booyah I am considering this as the dessert for the next time I have a Lady Gang dinner at my house with the apricots and nougat.

If you make one, please send me a picture!

xx Lektrogirl

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Saturday, 23 May 2009

BLAH BLAH

I have been in batten down the hatches meltdown mode this week and throwing myself into my work and totally switching off when I get home. Which made it so amazing to see the Lady Gang last night Philippa's house for the dinner get together we do every so often. I did not take any pictures - came straight from work and had left my camera at home charging. Madame was there in one of Grandfather Lady's old rubber skirts cut off to secretary length, The Cardinal had on a stunning black dress that was so ladylike she couldn't reach up to get the canelle tin out of the cupboard, Mrs Kipling is undergoing a skin transformation - she was GLOWING and Mrs G was wearing RIPPED JEANS with the best vintage polka dot scarf from here to eternity. So amazing. Bette was also there and she was being super cute trying to avoid everyone. The drink of choice - Aperol & Prosecco / Cava whatever was opened. CHEESECAKE for dessert [The Cardinal's is legendary you know.]

Today I woke up at 1.30 wishing for some more Vietnamese Salad that Cards had prepared next to a slice of Spinach quiche. I lay in bed and tried to positively think it into my life but every time I peeked over the covers a side plate had not appeared on the windowsill... So I got up and decided to cook my own quiche with stuff I had in the fridge and freezer.



So it was a bit random - smoked salmon, braised fennel, spring onion and tarragon but at the same time it was a good combination and I was quite pleased with the results for my first ever quiche. Not as good as Philippa's but not bad for a beginner.

In other news, osl.lameatnames.com is going really well - in fact the visits are blowing up so much so that valeria and I are sharing the hosting of files around three or four different sites trying to scrabble up some space. Oh shit - that reminds me I wanted to tell Pippa something about hosting videos. Brain ache now but I will do it tomorrow or later.

Oh yeah - Pippa and I had to have THAT conversation. The one that had been brewing for a while. We had kind of seen it coming but we never actually said anything to each other about it until last night. VINCENT D'ONOFRIO IS FAT!! I said I would still blow him, but as Pippa said "He has turned into a real man mountain." Anyone else checked him out in series 8 of Law and Order: Criminal Intent? He always had a lot of screen presence - now he totally hogs the camera! [OJ LOL]

Anyway

I'm gonna go catch some episodes. Meltdown is manageable. Not the best time at the moment, but the Lady Gang is always a wicked treat.

xx Lektrogirl

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Monday, 23 March 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK: Sweet Basil Pesto



Yeah sorry for the wardrobe malfunction there, a bit NSFW but since getting put on the Flickr watch list, but yerrr, care less etc.

So I have to admit this isn't even a real recipe but an attempt at freestyling something that Valeria and I ate at Dehesa the other night. We had it with baked figs and marscapone there, but there were no figs in M&S so we decided strawberries and creme fraiche would be just as good to accompany the BOOYAH recipe of the day which is SWEET BASIL PESTO.



Et voilà! Les fraises dans la tasse. Miam miam! Très joli!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups basil leaves loose not all packed just sitting in a friendly manner in the cup measure [don't stress about it being exact]
half a handful of pine nuts
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
castor sugar / icing sugar to taste

You need a food processor or blender for this. Mush everything together and every so often, stop and taste the mixture to see if it tastes velvety [the basil] and sweet [the honey]. You could possibly make the mixture a little runnier than I did but my oil wasn't the best - kind of heavy.

Cut up the strawberries into little bowls and then add some creme fraiche or marscapone. Yerr. Then eat like a pig and stuff yourself and feel sad that you have finished when you get to the bottom of the bowl.

Anyway - the pesto should look like this when you have finished mixing it:



And so far it has kept very well in the fridge under a layer of oil.

I reckon you could serve it as a "relish" with a hard Spanish cheese or really crumbly chedder for a little canape or part of a cheese platter. And if this is not a stamp of approval I don't know what is: The Cardinal said "If I hadn't already had my FunDineWithMe I would make this for dessert! It's really good!"

We ate it after a toad in the hole from the Waitrose recipe & ideas free magazine that The Frenchman cooked for Valeria as an English experience.



Banging! [OJ LOL]

Anyway bed... though the action is NEARLY finished...

xx Lektrogirl

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Sunday, 15 February 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK: DRINKS / CANAPÉS

Fucking OMG I have just had a total time warp weekend starting on Friday where I feel like months have passed since I was last on planet Earth. I really need to behave like this more often - having dinner parties, not answering the phone, shirking responsibilities, making men dress in Babycham pyjamas etc. But now I am back my beauties with a report and recipes from THE FRIDAY THE 13TH DINNER PARTY.



I am a total leisure slut and would rather spend hours watching CSI than anything else. But, to allude to an air of sophistication about me other than being the main Thug Misses that I am, the first thing I set my mind to for dinner was WHAT TO DRINK? In the last two years, thanks to the indoctrination of the Cardinal I am now a "bubbly fun" convert so top of my list for drinks is always Prosecco or Cava with a little splash of something in the bottom. On Friday 13th I offered either Elderflower Cordial, Lingonberry Cordial, Larks Distillery Apple Liqueur or Clementine juice in a champagne glass filled up with £4.80 Cava from Sainbury's.

Here you can see Pippa Brooks in self portrait looking as though she is about to give the glass a blow job in a very sexual aura kind of way. Credit to a very fine lady.



Then with the booze as an issue out of the way, the second thing in my mind was: HOW DO I START THIS FEAST? Et voila:



This is actually a salad recipe of The Cardinals that I feel a bit of a cheater ripping off and flipping back at her. Out of respect I can't tell you the recipe other than it is dairy and chilli. Miam!

And here is the other one that I will tell you the recipe for! It is kind of one of those no quantity recipes and good for free-styling.

Hummus is yesterday's news so welcome Minty Pea and Pecorino


Ingredients
2 big man handfuls or 3 little lady handfuls of fresh peas
1 handful of fresh mint leaves [of either sized hand depending on how much you like mint]
1 handful of grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Juice from half a lemon
Salt and Pepper
Crackers [something crunchy]

If you have a hand blender, a food processor or a mortar and pestle moosh the peas and mint together til they become like a chunky paste. You could even in desperation put the peas in plastic bag, hold it closed and hit it with a wooden spoon then turn the bag out into a mixing bowl for the next step. Then mix the rest of the stuff in. Taste it. It should be tangy [lemon and cheese], minty [mint] and fresh [peas]. Twirk it til you like the balance. Then I think actually putting it on the biscuit part doesn't warrant description. Booyah.

xx Lektrogirl

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Sunday, 8 February 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK: RASPBERRY VINEGAR



Ladies and Gentlemen: This Friday some lady friends are coming to dinner and I have been scavenging through cook books, trawling eBay for the right tableware and china, criss-crossing the West End looking for utensils and ingredients - and I was only to happy to have a time out at Milkbar yesterday. I haven't decided entirely 100% what I will be making for the dinner - I mean what do you do for a group of ladies with a series of predilections like non fish eater but eats shellfish, no cauliflower, no chickpeas, no lobsters, no pork, no beef, semi vegetarian, no egg white unless it is scrambled and no dairy? I am semi-sure about a few bits and pieces though. Hence this mysterious Booyah Cook post with half recipes for odd things.

Which lead me to Gerry's on Old Compton Street to buy this:



Danish Taffel Akvavit. I cannot even begin to describe what this tastes like because the first thing I thought of when I sipped it was 'alcoholic chalk'. Scandinavians apparently drink Aquavit [various names] to burn a hole through what they ate to aid digestion. I am going to be using it in a roasting recipe to marinade meat I think. At £24 a bottle I wouldn't recommend getting the whole thing just for a taste but they do sell it by the shot at the Nordic Bakery on Golden Square. I reckon this has potential as a splash in a glass of Prosecco.

I do have a proper recipe for you now though. Raspberry Vinegar! Sometimes it is nice to make your own potion for a special recipe from scratch particularly when it is easy. It is details like this that make you totally Booyah in the kitchen. And when I say easy, I mean easy.



You need:
A 350ml bottle of WHITE WINE vinegar [important you get the right kind - it's common]
About 20 washed raspberries

Tip all the vinegar out of the bottle into a jug. Soak the bottle in a sink of hot water to get the label off. Should only take about 15 minutes.

Then shove the raspberries into the bottle. Fill it back up with the vinegar. Screw the lid back on leave it to stand for about 3-4 days.



By which time the vinegar will have gone an amazing pink colour and be infused with the raspberry flavour. You need to get rid of the raspberries now by tipping out the vinegar and raspberries into a jug, throwing the berries away and pouring just the vinegar back into the bottle. Then you can make your own cool label for it and make lesbo names like "From The Big Dykes Raspberry Cavern" or something more appetising... Up to you. You can use the vinegar in exactly the same way as you would balsamic or something - salads, fish etc. Personally I would choose light kind of vibes, use with virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper - nothing more. Something about this keeps making me think of cheese. Dressing for the side salad on a Ploughman's or something. Now I do have a particular recipe to use this on which I cannot reveal today. But I promise all will be reported back after the dinner of Friday 13th in the case of this vinegar AND the Akvavit.

Oh God and if you live in Tasmania and you are lucky enough to live close enough to visit you could always go to the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm and buy some of their special Raspberry Vinegar dressing!



Those were the days!

xx Lektrogirl

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Friday, 30 January 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK: BROAD BEAN RISONI



Many years ago God created earth, humans, rocks, animals, houses and Google. When He put everything here, we were all the same. Then suddenly some people starting thinking for themselves. God said "Don't Eat The Apple" but Eve made Adam eat the apple. God cast them out of the Garden of Eden for being Vegetarians. Fast-forward to the year 2009 and like the rest of us, even God has chilled out and reconsidered some of his first ideas. Vegetarians live peacefully amongst us thinking up one thousand and one things to do with tofu. Sometimes as cooks, we have to come up with nice dishes that don't look they came out of some Earth Mother's armpit that both regular people and Vegetarians can all "break bread" with one another and feast at the same table. This is why today I am presenting in The Booyah Cook series "Minted Broad Bean Risoni" that can be an accompaniment to something like roast lamb or chicken [yum!] or on it's one in a smorgasbord of salads. Or if you are a student, have it just on it's own but substitute all the green stuff for broccoli and the risoni for rice as per usual.

Here is the list of ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
500 grams of broad beans
3/4 cup of risoni
4 green onions / spring onions whatever you call them, sliced thinly
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons lemon juice - use fresh not squeezy lemon. IMPORTANT.

Initial tips:
All this stuff you can buy at Marks and Spencer or Waitrose more readily that other places. See this recipe already smells of quality.
Risoni is a small rice shaped pasta. It is also available in Turkish shops. [i.e cheap]



First things first, get your broad beans, put them in a heavy saucepan or a ceramic bowl that you can cover with a dinner plate, and tip boiling water straight from the kettle on them. Cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Drain them and wait for them to cool down. After that is done, you have to peel the greyish outer shell from the bean. Anticipating that this was going to be fucking boring, I decided to use a mixture of baby garden peas and broad beans so that I only had to peel 250 grams worth. Not just a pretty face.

Cook the risoni like the side of the risoni packet tells you. Rinse under cold water when you drain it.

Then get your favourite saucepan. [Mine is still my Le Creuset one even though I nearly killed it with a freestyle Lamb and Honey Moroccan stew I made the other day that burned almost dry. But that is another story.]

Put the oil and the onions on a low heat and wait till the bit of onion go a bit soft. Add the cold risoni and the beans / peas / sugar snap peas / whatever [NOT LENTILS] til everything warms up together again. Add all the herbs [these don't have to be exact measurement BTW. A big handful of parsley and a slightly smaller one of mint would be accurate enough] and lemon juice.

Eat. Or leave it and eat it cold.



Here it is.

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Sunday, 25 January 2009

THE BOOYAH COOK: ANZACS



So as I described in my previous post, we are having a party at work and I needed to make some Anzac Biscuits. I thought I would take the opportunity to use it as my first in my other new blog item "The Booyah Cook". This segment will focus on easy recipes which are pretty booyah.

So, here is the recipe*:

Anzac Biscuits Recipe

My sister and I grew up with this particular recipe. It never made 48. We would also sometimes use muesli instead of oats cause we liked sultana and dried apricot in it. It is a pretty freestyle kind of thing. Probably chopped blanched almonds would be good.



There are no eggs or milk in the recipe just a hunk of butter and a gang of golden syrup. Golden Syrup - SO GOOD. These biscuits would have to last in tins from Australia and NZ to the soldiers in the trenches. I don't know how they survived the journey but they did. If anyone knows the chemistry on that please let me know. BUT melting the butter and the golden syrup is the only 'fancy' thing to do.

[In a side note, Grissom left the CSI lab for good, only to trek off into the forest in Costa Rica to sneak up on Sarah Sidle and they have a huge big romantic pash. Not only is it gross because he is all beardy weirdy with a sweaty paunch, but it is also funny cause she is a lesbian in real life. Obviously this highlights her as a great actor though because she can also play 'straight'.]



Basically for Anzac biscuits you get all the ingredients and moosh them together into this and put it out on trays. Then you shove them in the oven for about 12 minutes and they come out a bit like this:



My oven was running a little hot but it is so tricksy I can't turn it down without it turning itself off. Even so the end result??!!

BOOYAH!!

xx Lektrogirl

* Please note: this recipe uses AUSTRALIAN measures. Fuck knows how it is that UK, US and AU measure can all be different but they all are.

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Sunday, 2 November 2008

MINE



There are some things that I just can't tell because they are all mine things and I don't want to share them with you. But take Bryan Adams instead. It's a banger.

I'm stupidly tired and I can want to sleep and be alone with my dreams.

Tomorrow, I will worry about lameatnames.com - I have been approached by many different people - even a company who wants to assist because they think I can help them with amateur porn on the iPhone. Yeah big business.

I have two friends with a crisis each and I must assist them - one can't cook and the other one can't fuck someone cause she love him too much [a generalisation].

xx Lektrogirl

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Saturday, 16 August 2008

HERE'S TO SWEET DREAMS


with love from the countryside, originally uploaded by favoriet.

One one hand my fingers smell of garlic and the other fresh ginger [already preparing for tomorrow! Shit if I get blown out...] and I will go to bed in a minute and try and get bored to sleep. Why I don't cook more often I don't know. I absolutely love it. But it really is a grind cooking for just me.

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