Oven Gloves for the Microwave
A friend brought these back from Hawaii.
Oven Gloves for the Microwave
They do actually help, and as there are two and they are small, they could fit anywhere on my work surface to move things that are either hot or in my case cold. Cold things like a pie from the freezer are just as painful.
Here’s one on my left hand.
A Glove on My Left Hand
Hopefully, they will help me use my left hand better, as often I use the right, as that works well with any normal temperature.
The fingers work as you can see, but the temperature sensors aren’t that reliable. Luckily, I haven’t burned the hand yet!
Cooking White Long-Grain Rice
I’ve always struggled with this until yesterday, when I tried this method from the BBC.
The method detailed on the page, which also links to some interesting recipes.
Many cooks favour the absorption method for cooking white long-grain rice. For this, measure the rice by volume in a measuring jug – not by weight – allowing about 65ml/2½fl oz per person if you’re cooking the rice as a side dish. Stir in about double the amount of liquid (such as water or stock) and simmer in a covered saucepan for about 15 minutes. Do not try to stir the rice while it is boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and place a clean tea towel under the lid – this will help absorb the steam and keep the grains separate. Set aside for five minutes. Fluff up the rice with a fork before serving.
My only problem was that I didn’t cook enough rice for four.
Arizona To Bring in a Fat Tax
This story caught my eye on the BBC’s web site.
I don’t care a fig, if Ariziona does bring in a Fat Tax, as I’m not fat and I don’t live anywhere near the State.
But I do think there are two main types of fat people; those who have a medical problem and those who are, as Hancock once remarked to Hattie Jaques, gannets. Gannets of course are on a seafood diet; they see food and eat it.
I would not be in favour of a direct fat tax or fine as Arizona propose for those who don’t stick to a dietary regime laid down by their doctor.
What is needed is indirect taxes, like :-
- Weight limits in airline seats. If you’re too heavy you have to buy two seats.
- Extra VAT on junk food.
- Extra taxes on alcohol.
In other words taxes that are avoidable by just saying no!
Asparagus Egg Dippers with Smoked Salmon
I’ve eaten in some very good restaurants in my time, although these days I tend to like to cook myself, as I like the thrill of creating something. But I’ve never eaten in Heston Blumenthal ‘s, Fat Duck, as I feel that his eclectic taste and ideas may not fit with being a coeliac.
So today, as I had some spare asparagus and I was going to Waitrose, I made sure that I had the basics for this recipe of Heston Blumenthal’s that the supermarket is promoting.
It was very simple and all it required was :-
- 250g of asparagus
- 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil – I’m not as posh as Heston thinks he is, so I used some good olive oil.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- 100g of smoked salmon – I used some from Pinney’s of Orford.
- 2 medium eggs although I think mine were large ones – Interestingly, I buy them in fours from Waitrose, which is a very sensible number for someone living alone.
The method is as follows.
- Remove the woody part of the asparagus stems by gently snapping off the ends (they should break naturally) – I’d never have thought of snapping them, so at least it saved a knife from the washing up.
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with the oil then add the asparagus, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cover with a lid. Place the pan over a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until the asparagus spears are cooked but still a vibrant green. Remove the pan from the heat and place the asparagus on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil – I actually tasted some after thy had been cooked and they were good.
- Cover a chopping board with a layer of clingfilm. Put the salmon slices on top in a single layer, then lay another layer of clingfilm over the top. Using a rolling pin, flatten the salmon so it becomes uniform in thickness. Remove the clingfilm, cut the salmon into strips and use to wrap each spear, leaving the top sticking out, and a few centimetres showing at the base – This was far too complicated and I can’t separate clingfilm with my hands, so I just separaed the smoked salmon and cut it into strips. It wasn’t too difficult and I’ll do it better next time.
- Using the smallest possible pan, just cover the eggs in cold water, and cover the pan. Bring to the boil quickly, over a high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat and leave to stand, still covered, for 6 minutes – I’d never have thought of boiling eggs in this way.
- After 6 minutes, remove the eggs from the pan and place them in egg cups. Crack the top of each egg with a spoon and remove the top. To serve, dip the salmon-wrapped asparagus spears into the soft egg yolk.
I actually opened the eggs as I always have by battering them with the bowl of a teaspoon and then peeling off the shell with the handle of the spoon.
I also put a hole in the bottom of the shell, so that witches can’t use them to sail away on the sea.
They were very good and a wonderful combination of three of my favourite foods; asparagus, eggs and smoked salmon.
They’re gluten-free too!
It gave me a lot of satisfaction to do this recipe. I also learned several simple techniques, that work well.
So perhaps the success of his cooking is lots of simple ideas, brilliantly executed.
Paying For What You Eat
This is a great concept from Brazil, where your restaurant bill depends on how much you eat.
Strangely, it might be good for gluten-free, as you could only choose the food you know was safe.
Why Do I Want To Win a Cake Stand?
I bought some very nice strawberries from Waitrose on Friday.
Strawberries From Waitrose
Why would I want to win a cake stand?
Dr. Rosemary Says It’s OK To Eat Eggs
Rosemary Leonard has just been recommending that we eat more eggs, saying that they have proteins that are good for your eyes and vitamins D and B12.
An interesting thing she said was that Mexicans eat the most eggs per person. Someone said, this was because Mexico is a poor country, but it would be interesting to know why.
For the Royal Wedding, a friend and his Mexican wife stayed. On knowing that I was a coeliac, she said that Mexicans don’t eat much bread. But they do eat maize-based tortillas.
Does anybody have any information on the numbers of coeliacs in Mexico and how they get on? I suppose that their diet will be ruined by their neighbour to the north.
Byron Hamburgers
I ate in Byron Hamburgers at Islington Green tonight. It was good and it made a nice change for me to have a real gluten-free hamburger and chips.
I also got to thinking about the similarities between my father and Lord Byron.
For a start they were both poets, although my father’s output wasn’t very large and was much less famous and was meant to be spoken with a Cockney accent. But then my father was probably a better printer than the noble Lord.
They both married women with the surname of Millbank, although Byron’s wife had a spelling of Milbanke.
And then just like I am a computer programmer, so was Lord Byron’s daughter; Ada, Countess of Lovelace.
But that’s as far as the links go.
Do Tinned Artichokes Make You Rich?
I’ve just looked up the richest women in the UK.
I was once in Waitrose in Newmarket and one of the top ten was buying lots of tinned artichokes.
Is there a connection?
I Don’t Like Polenta
If offered polenta cake, I’d usually say thanks but no thanks.
However, in Carluccio’s in Upper Street last week, because I had time to kill, I popped in for a coffee and asked if they had any gluten free snacks to go with it. The waiter, who knows I am a coeliac and am very particular, then showed me an enormous polenta cake, which he assured was safe for me. Although the slice was quite large, I decided to have one.
I didn’t regret it, as it was very good. It was about three pounds though, but it would have been big enough to share.
So that’s another thing off the list of things I won’t touch!
I did try to buy another slice in their caffe at St. Pancras but they didn’t have one. So if you want to try one, check before going.
The Anonymous Widower 