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19/11/08 : You couldn't make it up!

I think I'm too late to enter the image challenge but I thought I'd have a go at it anyway, so here is my Daily Mail front cover.

I think I've covered everything! I couldn't find the right font for the headline, but I don't think it's too bad for my first attempt at this sort of thing (I'm not exactly a Photoshop expert).

16/11/08 : Tagliatelle with pancetta, leek and mushrooms

Sorry, two recipes in a row . . . this was an improvisation that worked well so I thought I'd post it before I forgot it. All measurements approximate.

olive oil
100g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, diced
a large leek, shredded
handful of mushrooms, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
tbsp brandy
level tbsp flour
200ml veg stock
100ml double cream
chopped fresh parsley
plenty freshly ground black pepper

Basically, cook everything in the order above. Put a pan over a medium heat, add a good glug of oil and fry the bacon until starting to brown. Add the leek and cook for a few minutes until softened, then the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, then the garlic, then the brandy. Add the flour and gradually stir in the stock. Bring to the boil then add the cream, parsley and pepper and turn the heat down. Let it simmer gently whilst you cook the tagliatelle. When the pasta is almost done, drain and add to the sauce. Mix everything thoroughly whilst the pasta finishes cooking.

11/11/08 : Slow cooked chilli

My 'ickle sis asked for this, which is basically Sarah's version of an Anglicised version of an Americanised version of a Mexican dish. Or something like that. It's nice though, and I haven't posted a recipe for ages so here goes.

You will need:

Frying pan
Slow cooker or casserole dish

500g minced beef
an onion, chopped
couple cloves garlic, crushed
a green pepper, de-seeded and chopped small
400g chopped tomatoes (standard tin)
200g cooked kidney beans (small tin)
200ml beef stock (an oxo cube is fine)
a rounded tbsp hot chilli powder
a level tsp cumin
a level tsp paprika
a good grinding black pepper

Put the frying pan over a med-high heat and cook the beef for a few minutes until thoroughly browned. Push to the side of the pan so you can spoon off the excess fat then tip the beef into the casserole dish / slow cooker pot along with the green pepper, black pepper and kidney beans (rinsed and drained).

Put the pan back onto the heat (turn down a little) and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and after a few minutes all the spices. NOTE: for more or less heat, adjust the amount of the chilli powder, not the other spices.

Fry the spices for a short while before adding the stock and tomatoes. NOTE: if using a slow cooker, you need less liquid so concentrate the stock slightly (if using a cube, add only half the amount of water).

Chuck it all in the pot and mix thoroughly. It'll take about six hours on the higher setting of a slow cooker, or (I'd guess) a couple of hours in the oven on a low temperature (about 150°, gas mark 2).

Serve with rice - makes enough for 4 peeps (you can freeze any that's leftover).

06/11/08 : Following the U.S. elections

Phew!

- - - - -

(That's almost up to the standard of the post I wrote following the last US elections!)

I think I was more worried not just that McCain would win, but that he would win and then pop his clogs, leaving the job to a woman who seems to embody all the worst things about America (and I still don't understand how "right-wing" and "Christian" go together as I'm pretty sure Mr. J. H. Christ was a socialist).