Gastro Master

My perfect kitchen

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:03:05 +0000

Sadly neither my kitchen at home nor my kitchen at work is my perfect kitchen. The kitchen at work is not something I can change, but my kitchen at home is a work in progress.

It’s quite a small room, though as there are only two of us, that’s not a huge problem. The main problem is often storage. As someone who works in the food industry, I have a lot of kitchen equipment. And cook books. And what I consider to be kitchen essentials might not be everyone’s idea of kitchen essentials… My pantry is bursting at the seams!

We are gradually clawing our way to the perfect kitchen though. Just before Christmas we installed the king of all cookers. It’s duel fuel, has six (count ’em!) burners, and two ovens. It’s a thing of beauty. Naturally this was our first improvement, but we’ve got more coming up.

We’re installing a new double fridge (with a great environmentally friendly rating) as soon as we save up the cash, and investing in a chest freezer that will fit into our utility room.

Once we’re done with the appliances, it’ll be onto the bones of the kitchen: the cupboards. We’re planning it out already, as we wanted to make sure that the cooker and the (future!) fridge were in their optimal places. Our kitchen is currently in the standard ’galley'format that most modern kitchens take. We’re going to be moving to the ’island'format (as seen above) as often in galley kitchens the surfaces at the side end up just becoming storage areas for things like kettles and toasters. With our movable island unit (marble topped and on castors) we’re hoping to always have a space clear for food preparation. The shelves underneath will be perfect for pans and other cookware.

We’re going to take our cupboards right up to the ceiling (and obviously invest in a step!) to create as much storage space as possible, as well as leaving one wall of shelves open on which to store attractive boxes and tins of food.

I have to admit, I’m very excited to get started on this project! I know my partner is most looking forward to the time when our plastic windows are being replaced by timber window frames, but I’m just dreaming of a time when all my spatulas and frying pans have a place!

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Vegan Breakfast Smoothie: A Tasty Treat

admin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:33:03 +0000

Just the other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine from Surrey and he was telling me about a vegan breakfast smoothie that he has most days. It is so difficult to think of vegans consuming anything more than vegetables. When I think of smoothie I certainly do not envision vegan. I got the recipe from him and gave it a try. I am not vegan.

From what my friend told me, it seems easy to make a smoothie that a vegan will love. For anyone who is always making a non-vegan smoothie, basically what you will be doing is to use non-animal derived products instead of animal derived products. If you are into protein rich smoothies like my friend is while looking through his timber windows surrey, then you can use a vegan protein powder.

For a vegan breakfast smoothie keep in mind that there are believed to be both nutritious and filling. Begin by choosing a couple of your favourite fruits be it blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. You can buy then frozen or freeze them yourself, then put a serving in your blending. Next you put in a vegan protein powder and also add your source of vitamins such as a vitamin tablets.

To give the smoothie a bit more nutritional you could add omega oils, aloe vera juice, wheat germ, Echinacea, pomegranate juice, cocoa nibs, Maca, ginger root, wheat grass, nutritional yeast, yerba mate, turmeric, ginseng extract, or coconut oil.

Also if your smoothie is filled with a bit of powder then you may want to add a banana to help with the texture.

You need to add your liquid next. You can choose to use vegan milk or a juice. You can also opt for almond milk, rice milk, or Acai juice. Add some ice if you use fresh fruits but if the fruits are frozen no ice is needed.

Blend all the ingredients well and your smoothie is done.

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Black Beans As A Super Food

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:33:15 +0000

Most of us are oblivious to the amazing health benefits of black beans. This so called ‘Super-food'may be small in size, but they are extremely rich in anti-oxidants. These tiny dark shelled beans are a good source of fibres that help in reducing the cholesterol levels. Apart from this, these super-foods are good for limiting the increase of blood-sugar immediately after a meal. Therefore, these beans are ideal for diabetic patients, patients resistant to insulin and hypoglycaemic patients.

If these beans are combined with brown rice; then they provide a fat-free high protein diet. So you now have another good source of protein other than Whey protein. These black beans are also ideal for moving the food smoothly from the stomach to the large intestine.

Black beans have been found to contain eight different types of flavonoids and tremendously powerful anti-oxidants. The presence of a high degree of phytochemicals means that, as research has found, these wonderful beans can also help in fending off specific types of cancer, especially colon cancer.

They are also known to act as a super food to the nervous system. They are rich in amino acids and our nervous system relies heavily on these amino acids. These beans also help in increasing the absorption of iron, which helps our body to easily replenish the stores of iron.

It is advised that black beans be consumed at least once daily for the required benefits to be effective. A well balanced diet is also strongly advised.

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Meeting my match……

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:33:05 +0000

Being a self proclaimed food junkie I have had the opportunity to taste and make foods from all corners of the world. I think myself lucky that I have been blessed with a palate that enjoys not only the flavor of exotic dishes but also those that are typical fun fare. Every once in a while it’s nice to take a break from the world of fancy foods to just kick back, relax and enjoy some of these types of foods. One particular favorite of mine is the classic hot wing. There is nothing more fun than eating foods that (1) go great with a nice cold pint of ale (2) you can eat with your fingers (3) getting messy is part of the experience.
Recently I went out at a local pub after returning from an international food exhibition. I was looking to just unwind from an overload of sights, smells and of course fancy cuisine. I had made arrangements to meet a couple of friends there to do some catching up, have some pints and maybe watch a game of soccer on the big screen. When I arrived food was the furthest thing from my mind, but as we all know after a couple of cold ones the munchies start to set in. We decided to order some traditional bar foods including an order of chicken wings. As anyone who has ever had wings at a pub most places boast their own special sauce in lieu of the typical hot, medium or mild. This particular establishment had a wing that could only be described as “death by hot wing”. Feeling that we had nothing to lose we ordered 6 of the house wings and a dozen mild, just by chance the hot ones were really hot.
Let me start by saying that I enjoy spicy food as much as the next guy, but this was a hot even I had never encountered. After the second wing my forehead was sweating, my tongue felt as though it was swollen and no amount of beer was helping. Admitting defeat by way of leaving the remaining 4 wings on the plate I asked our server what exactly went into the sauce of death. She laughed and told me all she knew was that there was cayenne pepper, jalapeno, fireball whisky and barbeque sauce the other ingredients were a well guarded secret.
We polished off the plate of mild wings and some stuffed potato appetizers finished off a few more pints and only by that time was the burn beginning to subside. I have had many a hot and spicy dish in my day but nothing quite compared and nothing has since. I have returned to that establishment on a few occasions and have to laugh anytime some unsuspecting patron (usually male) orders the wings of death. Maybe because I was that guy once, or maybe it’s because I know what’s to come, either way my experience was something I will not forget anytime soon nor do I wish to revisit at least not in the near future.

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Food for British Summer

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:03:04 +0000

The great thing about Gastro Master is that with a blog I can instantly update information, with printed media, summer recipes always look like summer recipes. Today it is cold and windy, a typical British summer day and I am urgently looking for red diesel suppliers because I am tempted to put my heating back on. What you want to eat on a day like today is something warming, but not exactly heavy. It is not a day for salads or sandwiches. This is my absolute favourite recipe for a cold and rainy summer day.

Garden Soup

Start with a pan full of good stock. Bring it to a rolling bowl. Place a steaming basket over the boiling soup and add in what ever is the freshest thing you can find in your garden or at the market. For me, I am using peas, broad beans, and sprouting broccoli. Take a handful of rice sticks, ramen noodles or bean threads, for rice stick and bean threads allow them to soak in a separate bowl covered in broth. If you are using ramen drop them right into the boiling stock. Take one egg per person and scramble it. Dump it into the boiling stock and place a lid on the top. As soon as the egg has set, tip in the vegetables and the noodles. Enhance the broth according to your taste with soy sauce, Thai Tom Yam paste, sweet chilli sauce, hot sauce or enrich with a sesame paste like tahini. Add fresh chopped herbs just before serving.

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The Malabar

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:50:23 +0000

So many of my cooking adventures are inspired by the produce and ingredients that I have at hand. I was having tea at a friend’s house and I walked by the most lovely little international grocery store. My friend lives near our local university and the shop catered to students from around the world. I wandered in and was met by a host of ingredients which I would have to pay five times the price in my local gourmet shop. The shop was called the Malabar, which is a region is southern India, so I grabbed a couple of typical ingredients from the region and went home to look for some online recipes. I put my own gastro twist on it of course and made this delicious Fried Paneer with Malabar Coconut Sauce:

Take a package of paneer cut into cubes and cook until lightly brown in ghee or vegetable oil.
Crush together in a spice grinder; 2 cardamom pods; a cinnamon stick; a knob of ginger, 2 cloves garlic, a pinch of peppercorns, and a green chilli.
In a food processor pulse the spice mixture with 300 grams fresh frozen coconut meat, until it makes a consistent paste.
A one tablespoon of rice flour to the coconut mixture and pulse again.
Tip the mixture into the pan with the paneer cubes and cook over a medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens. If you prefer a saucier consistency add in 200 ml of coconut milk. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with rice.

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The Country Cooker

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:03:06 +0000

There is nothing that embodies the English country home, more than an Aga and there is nothing that embodies the kitchen talk of a country home, more than the debate about the energy efficiency of the Aga. Agas can run on gas, electric or oil and if you have never used heating oil before, it can be confusing. You can find out all you need to know by searching for red diesel Middlesbrough on the internet and you will locate a domestic dealer in your part of the country. The Aga is slow to heat up and can be inconsistent in terms of its ability to control the temperature. It does, however, reflect something that hides inside some Gastro Masters. The desire for a slow cooking, self regulating meal whose result in entirely gourmet, may be something that sprung up from a harried mother wanting to put dinner on during nap time and then not think about it during a busy afternoon. A great place to start is doing your own version of a French Cassoulet. It is a rich bean stew that is cooked with a variety of different meats according to your taste and different local customs. The basic procedure is:

Soak some small white beans over night. Measure according to your pot that you will be using, fill the pot one quarter full of beans and the rest with water.
Change the water and put it into your Aga with a ham or beef bone.
After two hours remove the bone, and introduce a variety of stewing vegetables, sausages, herbs, tomatoes, wine, and spices to taste.
Cook until it is dinner time, or an additional hour, whichever comes first.

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Risotto

admin — Sat, 14 May 2011 10:03:05 +0000

I have to confess that I was at a friends house and while they were in the other room, I had a peak at their cook book selection. There were only five on the shelf (I personally need a storage unit to house my collection) and I was instantly drawn to the one that featured hundreds of dishes made with only 3 or 4 ingredients. I realize that I get too caught up sometimes in over complicated dishes and decided that I would turn over a new leaf and look at cooking recipes that featured a single, excellent ingredient instead of a lot of fussing and faffing over too many. Risotto is a great way to start as it takes humble rice, flavours it and then features some luxurious ingredients. I popped into the shop and was struck by the pea shoots and the pancetta. This recipe has a few more than 4 ingredients, but it is a simple and elegant dinner for family or friends.

1 litre stock
400 grams rice
2 glasses of white wine
butter or oil
savoury vegetables (including onion, garlic, celery)
additional delicious bits (these are the pricey additions and include pancetta and pea shoots for my dish, but it can be sea food, wild mushrooms, the original usually contains some very fine Italian cheese like parmigiana)

Sauté the vegetables in the butter or oil as they soften add the rice and cook until it is transparent, quickly tip in the wine and stir until it is absorbed, then add the hot stock one ladle at a time until it is all absorbed and the rice is al dente.

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Some Popular Spanish Desserts

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:33:16 +0000

In most nations of the world, desserts are eaten after the meal. But in Spain, people usually have cakes and pastries with coffee. Spain sees a bounty of fruits throughout the year. People also have fruits simply for desserts. Besides they also have variety of desserts that are made of fruits rice pudding, cream-filled sponge rolls, bread, crema catalana, and pears poached in red wine. Desserts made of egg and milk are very popular in Spain. These were the desserts made by the Spanish nuns who sold them to maintain their convents. They got eggs for free from the local wine maker who just needed the white part to clarify their sherry and wine. Let us take a look at some delicious Spanish desserts.

The Spanish desserts underwent change in taste and flavor from time to time due to the influence of the Arabs, Romans and many more. For instance Turron is a very famous Spanish dessert with Arabic origin. It is basically an almond candy that comes in various textures and flavors. It is generally made during Christmas.

Membrillo is a jello-like dessert which widely eaten in Spain. It has a close resemblance to Mexican guava paste or French quince paste. This dessert is particularly popular with children. Adults can also eat it along with a glass of sherry and some tangy cheese.

Spanish Sangria Jello is a very popular Spanish dessert that is made with only five ingredients. It contains cherries and walnuts that bestow the dessert with a fruity, nutty and rich flavor. Let us see the method to make this dessert. You will need 2 small packs cherry jello, 1 can pitted cherries in juice, 1 cup shelled walnuts chopped, 1 cup sangria and whipped cream to garnish.

You can begin by pouring the juice from the can of cherries in a bowl and bring it to boil. Add the jello powder to it. Take it out of the heat and add the sangria. Chill it until the mixture is thick. Stir the nuts and cheese in it. Pour it in jello mold and chill it overnight. Use whipped cream while serving.

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Relish Grilled Salmon at home

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:06:14 +0000

Seafood dishes are appreciated by many people, whether its fish, shrimps or salmon. While salmon can be cooked in different ways, grilled salmon can be enjoyed as part of a lavish dinner. First of all you need to choose the salmon carefully. If you’re using salmon fillets, make sure they are flawless with a good texture. If opting for packed fillets, always make sure they are sealed well. The spices to be used along with the grilled salmon are very important. You should use freshly ground pepper with salt in some olive oil and add some thyme or rosemary. Secondly you should cook the salmon at a medium temperature. When grilling, 2 minutes on each side is best, turning the fish from one side to the other when it’s opaque.

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets about 1 inch thick

1 mango chopped into 1 cm pieces

1 cup chickpeas boiled and drained

6 cups Mesclun or lettuce chopped into pieces

1 Avocado diced

2 teaspoon coriander powder

2 teaspoon paprika

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Mix paprika and coriander in a bowl. Take 2 teaspoonfuls and sprinkle and rub well over salmon pieces. Put it over the grill. Take the spice mix and add mango, chickpeas, avocado, lemon peel, lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. If you are using whole salmon, make slits in between to speed up cooking. Cook the salmon for not more than 15 minutes and pour the sauce. Sprinkle salt over it after cooking to retain the juices. Try not to turn around the salmon too often. Serve on sliced lettuce. Another option to use as sauce is white wine with garlic cream cheese.

Grilled salmon has the advantage of being cooked very quickly and retaining all the flavors of the spices, at the same time you do not have to be scared about it being grease traps.

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