The modern day wife Vs Mrs Beetons idea of a wife

I don’t know about you, but I pride myself on being a modern woman, always have done. I was a full time working mother by the time my daughter was just over a year old. I’ll admit that I struggled though, with keeping the balance right, my job at work was physically taxing and at times emotionally too. I was working long hours and coming home was never any fun, in fact I would go so far as to saying I hated going home, because it felt as though it was my job to do everything there too. Put the kids to bed, do all the cooking and cleaning make sure their father had an ironed shirt for the next day at work, etc. etc. eventually I just gave up trying, I was depressed, miserable and exhausted all the time and I never got to have any fun. Switching off and shutting down was the only way I could get through each day alive. That might sound melodramatic and perhaps you’d be right for thinking that, but I thought I was dying, I wanted to at times, I didn’t feel like I had anything to live for. I felt as though my daughter was being taken away from me, her grandmother had on occasion referred to her as being her daughter. As for Alex he has no respect for me, and treated me as such, he had been taught that it’s a woman’s job to go out and work full time, but because I’m a woman it wasn’t a proper job, only men have proper jobs. Then I had to come home and essentially start all over again doing everything there too. When his father was dating, I heard Alex say “My Dad’s new girlfriend is way better than my Mum, she does all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and she buys us treats like a proper Mum does” Those words will stay with me forever, but not for the reason you most likely think, I should have felt jealous maybe that MY son thought another woman was better than me, but in truth the comment just washed over me and for the first time since I left instead of guilt, I felt relief. It was at that moment I knew I had done what was best for me, because I would never have been free of that chauvinistic attitude.

How does any of that have to do with recipes and food? Well I purchased Mrs Beeton’s, The book of home management. It was first published 152 years ago and I was curious I guess to see how far we have come, or haven’t as the case maybe? Mrs Beeton wrote the book throughout her early 20s and saw it published at the age of 25. Mrs Beeton was of the opinion that husbands frequented, clubs, taverns and dining houses because of housewives ‘household mismanagement,’ badly cooked meals and untidy ways. The objective of her book was to help wives get their house in order, to keep a comfortable home as well as being able to cook a good meal. Mrs Beeton talks at great length about how a mistress should run her household, what friends she should keep, how to behave in public, how she should treat her children, even what time to ‘retire to bed in order to rise early.’ Only when you get to chapter four does it even get to cookery. Where does that leave us though in today’s society? After all women are going out to work and supposed to have equal rights. My children’s father treats women as though we are still living 152 years in the past, only he frequents a more modern source of ‘entertainment.’ And it seems as though my son is going down the same path. I’m certain that I wasn’t isolated in the way I was treated, now that my life has changed for the better, I wonder how that divide is split, and whether or not we can go from one extreme to the other?

Glen is what I would call a meet me in the middle man. He does most of the laundry, he vacuums daily, always pushes the shopping cart or carries the basket, he carries all the shopping bags, opens doors, assists me with my seat, fills my car with petrol, always does the ironing and anything else that I may need help with. In return I do all the meals, empty and load the dishwasher, and any other chores that need doing such as wiping, moping, dusting, cleaning and polishing. Whatever else needs doing, basically. We work because we have a mutual respect for each other. Where does cooking come into it? Well I cook meals that we both enjoy, I go into the kitchen and produce a good meal, made with love and an eagerness to please my husband, and right there is the crux of what I am talking about. I am a modern day woman, open to equal opportunities, I work, I clean and I cook, I am eager to keep my man happy and interested in me, so what is different this time around? I enjoy it because I know if I come home from work tired, with sore knees and back, Glen is going to get things done, he’ll run me a bath, bring me a cup of coffee, and rub whatever pain-relieving ointment I may have in my medicine cabinet, into my ailment. That’s what’s different today. Do I live my life by Mrs Beeton’s philosophy? Absolutely to a certain extent, would I want to change that for a more modern way of life? Not on your life, I like domesticated me, I like being barefoot and in the kitchen, I like that my husband’s role is that of the protector,  I like being the housewife, because what I do is appreciated and not indicative of being the ‘little woman.’ Besides my role in the kitchen is where I get all my ideas for my blog.

Carrot Soup with Phil

In 2009 when I first started to properly live with my husband, we bought tuna steaks, before that to be honest the closest I got to tuna was out of a can. So I bought these steaks and had no idea how to cook them, so I googled how to cook tuna, which brought me to the Allrecipes website and I became addicted straight away, no surprises there, I loved that it was made of ordinary cooks and chefs putting up their recipes and I loved the blogs section too, I think what I loved most in the beginning was the friendships formed with like minded people, sharing a love of food. It was rather unfortunate when in mid 2010 things got a little ugly. Probably partly due to my own doing, but I wasn’t the only one being bullied, anyway I found it necessary to leave the AR world, although not entirely because I do have the AR full version App on my iPad, I don’t blog over there anymore and there is no communication abilities, I can only access and save recipes. I didn’t however give up on my new friends and we moved over to Facebook. One of those friendships is with a man called Phil and we met face to face last year for lunch. He came baring gifts, of the best kind books.. The fun part is that he also has the same book, so we hatched a plan to cook some of the same dishes and compare notes, this is definitely a fun way to cook. That I would recommend to anyone, I am not suggesting you must go out and buy the same cookbooks as your friend, but maybe you could choose a recipe from the internet and print enough copies for you and your friends.. You might even choose to make a game of it, of sorts. With enough people involved you could each choose a recipe every month and set out to cook each one during the month, either have a schedule to stick by and report back regularly or just work through them in your own time during the month, maybe making a recipe evening of it at the end of each month, a few drinks and some nibbles, giggles and stories over how the recipes went, even more interestingly would be to see how you each altered the same recipe to suit your own tastes! This would also be a good time to select the new recipes.

Carrot Soup

2 carrots

2 medium potatoes

1 ½ turnips

1 litre cold water (extra possibly if needed)

Salt and pepper to taste

3 shallots

75ml white wine

70g butter (from the fridge)

Croutons for serving

1. Peel the carrots, potatoes and turnips, chopping them up into little pieces. Put them into a large saucepan and cover them with the cold water, the litre should be enough but add a little extra if your veggies aren’t covered, season with the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then gently simmer for a half an hour. Top tip for simmering if you have one of those electric hobs, bring the water to a boil on the medium to high heat (or the one you usually use) then set another ring to a lower heat for simmering, I find the electric hobs take far too long to cool down. I’ve burnt stuff plenty of times because the hobs are still pushing out too much heat.
2. In the meantime, peel and finely dice the shallots, pour the wine into a small frying pan adding the shallots and reduce to about a 1/3 over a moderate heat. You could use the first hob you used to bring the veggies to a boil.
3. Cut the butter into cubes about an 1” in size, and all at the same time add the butter cubes to the shallots. Use a whisk to beat the mixture. Then using a wooden spoon stir continuously over a gentle heat until pale and thickened.
4. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth and then return to the saucepan, I realise not everyone will have one, but I do prefer to use my handheld blender, it can prove to be a bit more laborious if you want a perfectly smooth soup but it does mean less mess and less faff. I think if I was having a posh dinner party and using this recipe I would probably use the food processor, but for just two of you a few lumps aren’t going to hurt…. If you did use the food processor, return the soup to the pan.
5. Gradually stir in your butter and shallot mixture and cook for another 20 minutes over a gentle heat, season again with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with homemade croutons….
    
   I have halved this mixture and I found it worked well, for my tastes the only two ingredients I didn’t half exactly were the shallots, original recipe calls for 5 and the butter which is 125g. Everything else was split right down the middle.

 

 

 

Duck with a mushroom sauce

Ever since I was a child, duck has always been one of my favourite meats to eat. Especially crispy duck at the Chinese restaurants, unfortunately or fortunately depending on how we look at things, I’ve not managed to replicate it….. YET…… although I suspect that if I was able to recreate the crispy duck recipe, I would probably make it all the time if I could. Then I would get as sick of it, like I got sick of pork (although pork has never been a favourite of mine) and it makes me sick for whole set of different reasons. This recipe though ticks all the boxes and is well worth a try in my book, which is vast now, I just keep growing which is something I am very proud of.

Duck with a Mushroom Sauce

2tbsp olive oil

4 spring onions/scallions

175g button mushrooms

1tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp sun-dried tomato puree

1tsp cornflour

300ml chicken stock

Chopped parsley, plus extra to garnish

Salt and black pepper

4 duck breasts

2-3tbsp vermouth

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based skillet, fry the spring onions and mushrooms over a low heat, for a few minutes until softened, mix in the lemon juice and sun-dried tomato puree.
2. Mix the cornflour with a little of the stock, until it’s completely blended. Then in a saucepan bring the remaining stock to a boil, add the cornflour mixture and stir continuously, make sure you stir over all areas of your pan, the cornflour will gather at the bottom of the saucepan and become a gloopy thick paste, which is quite difficult to blend in, this will leave lumps… eww! Add the chopped parsley and season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Set to one side but keep warm.
3. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of your duck breasts, in a criss cross pattern. Heat a griddle pan if you have one, otherwise a heavy based skillet will work, over a medium heat cook your duck breasts to your liking. My personal preference is about medium, I like it pink but not bloody.
4. Put your duck breasts on a plate and place to one side, covering with tin foil so that they stay warm. Pour of the grease from the griddle and then pour the vermouth into the bottom of the pan, cooking for a few minutes and then gently scrape the pan, so you don’t ruin it. This process will incorporate any of the cooking juices and sediment, add it to your stock to infuse the flavour a little.
5. Serve the duck with the sauce spooned over the top.

Burritos

I ate my first burrito in America, from Taco Bell, well where else would you have one? That’s rhetorical, I can think of plenty of places, like errrm Taco Bell – Oh wait, I said that one already….. I jest. I’m not really sure how I feel about Burritos to be honest, they’re ok I guess, but they don’t scream eat me, eat me now! They just are what they are! This recipe is ok, I can’t say that I was super enthused by them but that probably has way more to do with the fact that I’m not a burrito fan. All the same I cooked it so here’s the recipe.

Chicken and rice burritos

90g white rice

1tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion roughly chopped

½ tsp ground cloves

1tsp dried oregano

200g can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice

2 skinless chicken breasts

150g cheddar cheese (or Monterey Jack, not seen it here in the U.K)

4tbsp soured cream

8 fresh wheat tortillas

Salt

Oregano

1. Cook the rice for about 5 minutes in boiling water.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onion, cloves and oregano, fry for a few minutes, then stir in the rice and tomatoes and cook over a low heat until the tomato juice has been absorbed, set the pan aside.
3. Put the breasts in a large pan and cover the chicken with just enough water, bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, remove the chicken and set to one side so it can cool a little.
4. Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F. Shred the chicken then along with the cheese and sour cream, stir it into the rice.
5. Warm the tortillas, however suits you, then spoon the rice and chicken mixture onto the middle of the tortilla, folding them into squares securing with toothpicks.
6. Put the burritos into a shallow oven proof dish and place in the oven until you are ready to serve.

Mexican Meatballs

One thing I have noticed since starting this project is that most countries have their own spin on a dish, this next one is a perfect example of what I mean. Meatballs are made the world over in various ways with different types of meat, fish or both.

Danish = Chicken with meatballs (pork)

Albania = Mint meatballs

North America and Sweden = Swedish meatballs

Spain = Cuttlefish with meatballs (shrimp)

Italian = spaghetti and meatballs

Germany = Frikkadella meatballs

And Mexico Albondigas, you can’t really go wrong with meatballs.

Albondigas

500g half and half mince, beef and pork

1 onion, finely chopped

50g fresh breadcrumbs

1tsp oregano

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 beaten egg

Oil for frying

Fresh oregano

For sauce

1 chipolte chilli, seeded

1tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

2 crushed garlic cloves

175ml/ ¾ cup beef stock

400g can chopped tomatoes

105ml passata

1. If not already done mix together the beef and pork mince. Add the onion and the breadcrumbs, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and the eggs. Using your hands, because I still stand by the it’s way more fun rule. Squish and knead the mixture until really well combined. (I should probably point out ‘clean hands’ to squish and knead the meat, however you really should already have clean hands you’re cooking after all)
2. Roll the mixture into 4cm balls and chill while you make the sauce.
3. Soak the chilli for 15 minutes in a covered dish of hot water. Meanwhile heat the oil in a heavy based skillet and fry the onion and garlic until soft but not browned.
4. Remove the chilli from the water, because you want to reserve the water anyway, chop it up and add it to the onion and for a further minute or so keep frying. Stir in the stock, tomatoes and passata with the soaking water, add salt and pepper to taste, bring to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to a simmer stirring every now and then.
5. In another skillet, brown the meatballs in batches for about 5 minutes, put the meatballs on kitchen roll to drain the oil. Transfer the meatballs to a casserole dish, cover with the sauce and simmer for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally so that the meatballs are coated but don’t fall apart. Serve with rice and garnish with oregano.
    
   Top tip = this recipe is great for next day leftovers as meatball subs, just half the meatballs and slather them and the tomato sauce over the sub and sprinkle with grated cheese, heat in the oven or under the grill/broiler.

Lamb with Spinach

My husband, Glen and I really enjoy lamb, if it’s cooked right it can be really outstanding. My mother would cook it when I was a child occasionally. Then when I got married the first time, we never had it again, I wasn’t even allowed to buy it for myself or order it in a restaurant because apparently just the smell of it made him sick. So when Glen made me a lamb steak on the George Foreman, with nothing but salt and pepper, I really thought I had died and gone to heaven. Lamb is one of my favourite ingredients to cook with, although, mint, despite being the traditional pairing, I much prefer thyme and rosemary as my seasoning of choice, every now and again a nice big dollop of mint sauce with your lamb is just what the doctor ordered. The good thing about this recipe is that for certain you will get tender lamb because of the way it is cooked.

Lamb with Spinach

675g boneless lamb, cubed

½ tsp dried thyme

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1tbsp tomato puree

Red chilli flakes, according to taste (I only use about an 1/8 tsp but you could use more)

600ml lamb stock or water

4 portions frozen spinach, thawed and water squished out

Salt and ground black pepper according to taste

1. Place the lamb in a bowl, season with thyme, salt and pepper. Mix to coat and place in the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Now add the lamb, with the tomato puree and chilli, cook over a moderate heat for about five minutes, stirring often, then add the stock or water. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the lamb is tender.
4. Stir in the spinach and simmer until cooked through.

 

How to Make an Icebowl

How to make an Ice Bowl

1. Place ice cubes over the bottom of a 2 ½ or 3 quart bowl, centre a 1 ½ or 1 quart bowl on top of the ice cubes, it won’t stay in place so you’ll need to weigh it down and use something to hold it in place to begin with, either freezer tape or equal lengths of cardboard, folded over to make wedges.  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
2. Using a wooden skewer, tuck your decorations inside, whether that be citrus slices, cucumber, herbs or edible flowers, between the ice cubes.
    
    
3. Pour water between the two bowls until the water is about 2” deep, then freeze, then add your second layer this time only add an inch of water, and if desired use this opportunity to add or reposition your decorations, keep repeating this process until you are about ½ “ from the rim of the bowls
4. Remove the tape or cardboard and whatever it was you used to weigh the bowls down, fill the small bowl with warm water and carefully remove it, then do the same with the big bowl on dip it in warm water and remove it from the ice bowl.