The Omnivore's Hundred is an eclectic and entirely subjective list of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life.
He offered this list as the starting point for a game, along the following rules:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I can't work out how to cross out so I'll just write NEVER)
4. Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.
And of course, if you don't have a blog, you can still play along, with a good old pencil and some paper -- care to share your results? And/or items you think should be added to, or removed from that list?
I have to confess I haven't heard of quite a few of these things, but here goes! (Thanks Steph for this!)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (delicious)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (many years ago - my father grew up in the UK so we used to have this at home very occasionally, with big eggy breakfast)
7. Cheese fondue (but prefer the chocolate variety)
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (in New York city)
16. Epoisses (?)
17. Black truffle (had it in pasta in Italy...)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (NEVER)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (?)
27. Dulce de leche (the real thing from Argentina, or its French cousin called confiture de lait)
28. Oysters(mmmm)
29. Baklava(mmmm)
30. Bagna cauda (?)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (no, but have had sweet mango lassi)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (yuck, I don't smoke)
37. Clotted cream tea (no, but love clotted cream fudge!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (no but would love to)
40. Oxtail (only as the soup)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (NEVER)
43. Phaal (?)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46. Fugu (?)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (I think so...)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (not had one yet, but will one day)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (?)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (?)
60. Carob chips (ugh though)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (definitely an acquired taste)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (NEVER)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (?)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (?)
74. Gjetost, or brunost (?)
75. Roadkill (NEVER)
76. Baijiu (?)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (?)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (is this tea?)
80. Bellini (I thought he was an opera composer)
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict (mmmm)
83. Pocky (?)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (I wish!)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (NEVER)
90. Criollo chocolate (?)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano (is this chicken mole? If so, then yes I've eaten it)
96. Bagel and lox (mmmm)
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta (not a huge fan)
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (NEVER)
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Fish Pie
Thanks, Jamie Oliver. I love this recipe. Although it's a little fiddly, and involves cream - which I buy about twice a year - the results are well worth it. We are having this for dinner tonight, should be perfect for this cold, wet and snowy day.
You can actually cook the potatoes, spinach, eggs, and the carrot and onion in advance (before adding the cream), then assemble it all just before baking, as I do think this is best served straight from the oven. These days I find the arsenic hour can be calmed somewhat by having dinner almost-if-not-ready to go before heading out for school pick-up at 3pm.
Fantastic Fish Pie
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2 large handfuls spinach
2 free-range eggs
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
285ml double cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 large tsp English mustard
2 handfuls grated mature Cheddar or parmesan cheese
1 handful parsley, finely chopped
about 500-600g boneless skinless fish - tonight I'm using Blue Grenadier - cut into large strips and placed in an ovenproof baking dish
Preheat oven to 220C.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add potatoes and return to the boil. After 2 minutes, add the eggs (carefully), then boil for a further 8-10 mins until the potatoes are cooked and eggs are hardboiled. A minute before this, put the spinach in a colander or metal sieve above the pot and allow to wilt.
Remove the spinach and squeeze out excess water, cool the eggs under cold water, peel and quarter, set aside. Drain and mash the potatoes with a little milk, olive oil, s & p and nutmeg if you like.
In another pot, heat 1 tsp olive oil and cook the onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the cream, bring to the boil, then remove from heat and add lemon juice, mustard, cheese and parsley.
Put the creamy sauce and the spinach and the eggs over the fish. Top with mashed potatoes.
Bake in hot oven for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with extra greens.
You can actually cook the potatoes, spinach, eggs, and the carrot and onion in advance (before adding the cream), then assemble it all just before baking, as I do think this is best served straight from the oven. These days I find the arsenic hour can be calmed somewhat by having dinner almost-if-not-ready to go before heading out for school pick-up at 3pm.
Fantastic Fish Pie
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2 large handfuls spinach
2 free-range eggs
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
285ml double cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 large tsp English mustard
2 handfuls grated mature Cheddar or parmesan cheese
1 handful parsley, finely chopped
about 500-600g boneless skinless fish - tonight I'm using Blue Grenadier - cut into large strips and placed in an ovenproof baking dish
Preheat oven to 220C.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add potatoes and return to the boil. After 2 minutes, add the eggs (carefully), then boil for a further 8-10 mins until the potatoes are cooked and eggs are hardboiled. A minute before this, put the spinach in a colander or metal sieve above the pot and allow to wilt.
Remove the spinach and squeeze out excess water, cool the eggs under cold water, peel and quarter, set aside. Drain and mash the potatoes with a little milk, olive oil, s & p and nutmeg if you like.
In another pot, heat 1 tsp olive oil and cook the onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the cream, bring to the boil, then remove from heat and add lemon juice, mustard, cheese and parsley.
Put the creamy sauce and the spinach and the eggs over the fish. Top with mashed potatoes.
Bake in hot oven for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with extra greens.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Fast food
Variations of this dish have become a bit of a hit in our house. It's even quicker than stir-fry because you don't have to cook any rice. Even Lillian gets stuck into the noodles, slurping them up with gusto, flinging them around the high chair, sucking on the chicken, chewing her bowl... you get the idea.
Hokkien Noodles with Chicken (or Prawns...)
For two adults, one child and one baby: 2 chicken thighs or 1 large chicken breast (or 200g green prawns for a change), cut into strips
Vegetables: I use 1 onion sliced into wedges; 1 clove garlic, sliced; and usually about 3-4 other types of vegetables, sliced. Tonight I used 1 carrot, 3 mushrooms (shiitake mushrooms are delicious), 1 head of pak choy, 1/2 green capsicum.
Dashes of: Ketcap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce to taste.
Noodles: 1 packet of Hokkien noodles, to be found in the fridge section of the supermarket.
Heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok. When hot, stir-fry the chicken until cooked and golden, adding some ketcap manis. Remove chicken to a bowl. Then stir-fry the vegetables starting with the garlic and onion, then the harder vegetables first until all are tender crisp. While you're cooking the vegetables, put the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes, then toss with tongs to separate. Return the chicken to the pan, or if you're using prawns add them now and cook till they turn pink, along with the sauces to taste, and finally the drained noodles making sure everything is mixed nicely. You can also add a handful of bean sprouts at this point. Tuck in!
Hokkien Noodles with Chicken (or Prawns...)
For two adults, one child and one baby: 2 chicken thighs or 1 large chicken breast (or 200g green prawns for a change), cut into strips
Vegetables: I use 1 onion sliced into wedges; 1 clove garlic, sliced; and usually about 3-4 other types of vegetables, sliced. Tonight I used 1 carrot, 3 mushrooms (shiitake mushrooms are delicious), 1 head of pak choy, 1/2 green capsicum.
Dashes of: Ketcap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce to taste.
Noodles: 1 packet of Hokkien noodles, to be found in the fridge section of the supermarket.
Heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok. When hot, stir-fry the chicken until cooked and golden, adding some ketcap manis. Remove chicken to a bowl. Then stir-fry the vegetables starting with the garlic and onion, then the harder vegetables first until all are tender crisp. While you're cooking the vegetables, put the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes, then toss with tongs to separate. Return the chicken to the pan, or if you're using prawns add them now and cook till they turn pink, along with the sauces to taste, and finally the drained noodles making sure everything is mixed nicely. You can also add a handful of bean sprouts at this point. Tuck in!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Pear and Almond Teacake
I made this for dessert last night based on an Apple Teacake recipe I've made before. It took about 5-10 minutes to prepare.
Pears are beautiful at the moment, I have been buying 2kg bags of beurre bosc pears for $3.50. Yum.
Pear and Almond Teacake
100g self-raising flour
50g polenta
1/4 cup ground almonds - alternatively you could use walnuts - I keep raw almonds in the pantry for snacks and just whizzed them in a food processor
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 or 2 pears, peeled and sliced
1 tsp sugar, a sprinkling of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 200C. Grease an 8" springform cake tin or use a ring tin (nice).
Mix flour, polenta, almonds, sugar in a bowl. Add egg, cooled melted butter and milk and mix together.
Pour into the prepared tin and arrange pear slices on top, sprinkle with cinnamon and a tsp of sugar.
Bake 30 minutes.
Delicious with yoghurt or ice-cream, or just on its own. The nuts and polenta add a nice texture.
If you don't have polenta or almonds, or don't want to add them, use 150g flour instead of 100g.
Pears are beautiful at the moment, I have been buying 2kg bags of beurre bosc pears for $3.50. Yum.
Pear and Almond Teacake
100g self-raising flour
50g polenta
1/4 cup ground almonds - alternatively you could use walnuts - I keep raw almonds in the pantry for snacks and just whizzed them in a food processor
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 or 2 pears, peeled and sliced
1 tsp sugar, a sprinkling of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 200C. Grease an 8" springform cake tin or use a ring tin (nice).
Mix flour, polenta, almonds, sugar in a bowl. Add egg, cooled melted butter and milk and mix together.
Pour into the prepared tin and arrange pear slices on top, sprinkle with cinnamon and a tsp of sugar.
Bake 30 minutes.
Delicious with yoghurt or ice-cream, or just on its own. The nuts and polenta add a nice texture.
If you don't have polenta or almonds, or don't want to add them, use 150g flour instead of 100g.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Toasted Muesli
I love muesli. It fills me up so much more than el blando wheat cereals, and I just like the taste of all the bits and pieces in it. I'm currently addicted to Tropical Muesli from my local wholefoods shop but it's sometimes hard to navigate the tiny aisles and "go-on-put-your-hand-in-I'm-yummy" bins with a pram and 4 yr old at the same time.
So since I had ingredients at home, and some time, I made this today based on an Edmonds recipe. Toasted muesli is higher in fat and sugar than natural muesli, but I was after a bit of a change. Since testing it, I think it's a bit too sweet so next time I'll leave out the sugar and put in more oats and dried papaya. That's for Alexander, he adores papaya.
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raw almonds, whizzed in a food processor - you could use any kind of nuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sultanas and 1/4 cup chopped dried papaya - but you can use whatever dried fruit you fancy
Heat the oil, sugar and honey in a pot or microwave and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Mix all the other ingredients together except the fruit, then pour the honey mixture over it and mix well.
Put into a roasting pan and bake in oven at 140C for 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring a couple of times. Set the timer and don't forget it. This stuff burns easily.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Then break up, toss the fruit through it and store in an airtight container.
So since I had ingredients at home, and some time, I made this today based on an Edmonds recipe. Toasted muesli is higher in fat and sugar than natural muesli, but I was after a bit of a change. Since testing it, I think it's a bit too sweet so next time I'll leave out the sugar and put in more oats and dried papaya. That's for Alexander, he adores papaya.
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raw almonds, whizzed in a food processor - you could use any kind of nuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sultanas and 1/4 cup chopped dried papaya - but you can use whatever dried fruit you fancy
Heat the oil, sugar and honey in a pot or microwave and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Mix all the other ingredients together except the fruit, then pour the honey mixture over it and mix well.
Put into a roasting pan and bake in oven at 140C for 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring a couple of times. Set the timer and don't forget it. This stuff burns easily.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Then break up, toss the fruit through it and store in an airtight container.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Mmm, cookies
I just made some biscuits from a recipe in the Edmonds Cookbook, a NZ staple. I love this book. The baking recipes are fantastic, and so are the jam, chutney, preserves etc. The book gives you basic techniques and simple old-fashioned recipes that always work and aren't too trendy. I really want to learn how to make jam properly and have another go at chutney and relish. My first and only attempt at jam was singularly unsuccessful. One of my projects for next summer, if not before.
I added 1 Tbsp cocoa so they are really Double Chocolate Chip Biscuits. Mmm.
Chocolate Chip Biscuits
(makes about 24)
125g butter
1/4 cup sugar
a few drops vanilla essence
3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk (but I didn't have any, so used a bit of normal milk to bind the mixture)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(optional: 1 Tbsp cocoa)
Preheat oven to 180 C, grease two oven trays.
Cream butter, sugar, condensed milk and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, cocoa if using, and mix together with the chocolate chips and a little milk if the mixture is too crumbly.
Roll into walnut-sized balls, place on oven trays and flatten slightly with a fork.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, then cool on wire racks.
Put the kettle on, make a cup of tea, and then the cookies can be eaten while slightly warm and fudgy in the middle.
Store in an airtight container but seriously, they won't last long.
I added 1 Tbsp cocoa so they are really Double Chocolate Chip Biscuits. Mmm.
Chocolate Chip Biscuits
(makes about 24)
125g butter
1/4 cup sugar
a few drops vanilla essence
3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk (but I didn't have any, so used a bit of normal milk to bind the mixture)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(optional: 1 Tbsp cocoa)
Preheat oven to 180 C, grease two oven trays.
Cream butter, sugar, condensed milk and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, cocoa if using, and mix together with the chocolate chips and a little milk if the mixture is too crumbly.
Roll into walnut-sized balls, place on oven trays and flatten slightly with a fork.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, then cool on wire racks.
Put the kettle on, make a cup of tea, and then the cookies can be eaten while slightly warm and fudgy in the middle.
Store in an airtight container but seriously, they won't last long.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Food for thought
After an extremely productive day, this evening I decided to go all out and cook North African Lamb with Chilli, Ginger, Chick Peas and Couscous - thank you Jamie Oliver. The result was delicious and the best part is that there's enough for two more dinners, hooray! Not having to come up with tasty nutritious meals night after night certainly makes late afternoons easier in a house with a small baby, tired kindergarten boy, tireder husband and trying-hard-to-do-everything composer masquerading as a mother/housewife.
If you want to see spectacular meal planning though, have a peek at Dani's website. Dani is a great cook and what always strikes me about her food obsession is the imagination that goes into all her recipes.
I love to cook and I love to eat. At the wedding on Saturday there was a choice of roast beef or Jamie Oliver's fish pie, with three salads and some gorgeous crusty bread rolls. I have to say I'm a big Jamie fan. His recipes always work and they're delicious. The chef on Saturday agreed with me.
There are times in life, though, when you just lose your food mojo because there is so much life going on around you and you can't keep up. Fortunately I don't feel like that at the moment, I'm just trying to clear the decks in the evenings so I can write. But when you have small children in tow it's difficult to make many stops on a food-shopping outing to get exactly what you want at a variety of different shops. So creating meals becomes fairly predictable and unimaginative, using ingredients that you can get hold of on one quick trip.
What did I do today? Alexander was back at school and Lillian slept for enough time for me to get back into the piece and I'm reaching the end of the first poem (of three poems). There's a nice bubbling motive going on and while part of the poem is a little puzzling -- "Ice light of the aurora veils Canopus" -- I quite like what I've done with it, some quartal harmony and a mournful oboe obbligato which will morph into a flute line and back to the oboe. It's nice to be thinking clearly about my work again when those moments allow me. And also to feel like I'm getting a bit done in the day so I can make something nice for dinner!
If you want to see spectacular meal planning though, have a peek at Dani's website. Dani is a great cook and what always strikes me about her food obsession is the imagination that goes into all her recipes.
I love to cook and I love to eat. At the wedding on Saturday there was a choice of roast beef or Jamie Oliver's fish pie, with three salads and some gorgeous crusty bread rolls. I have to say I'm a big Jamie fan. His recipes always work and they're delicious. The chef on Saturday agreed with me.
There are times in life, though, when you just lose your food mojo because there is so much life going on around you and you can't keep up. Fortunately I don't feel like that at the moment, I'm just trying to clear the decks in the evenings so I can write. But when you have small children in tow it's difficult to make many stops on a food-shopping outing to get exactly what you want at a variety of different shops. So creating meals becomes fairly predictable and unimaginative, using ingredients that you can get hold of on one quick trip.
What did I do today? Alexander was back at school and Lillian slept for enough time for me to get back into the piece and I'm reaching the end of the first poem (of three poems). There's a nice bubbling motive going on and while part of the poem is a little puzzling -- "Ice light of the aurora veils Canopus" -- I quite like what I've done with it, some quartal harmony and a mournful oboe obbligato which will morph into a flute line and back to the oboe. It's nice to be thinking clearly about my work again when those moments allow me. And also to feel like I'm getting a bit done in the day so I can make something nice for dinner!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Take the Quiz here!