Be Your Own MasterChef
I enjoy cooking and making food to eat that will not only give me that warm loving feeling but also whoever might be eating my food that i've prepared.
But as a Aspergers person there is some sort of fear about going into the kitchen and preparing food for themselves, maybe it's the basic fear of hurting yourself with either a knife or burning yourself or it's just the confusion of what to eat. You don't have to a Top Chef or even a good cook all you need is the confidence in the kitchen.
Over the years I've watched numerous cooking programmes with some of my favourite Chefs cooking meals that were complicated and seem impossible!
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Most of the food I now cook can be classed as vegetarian or even in most cases Vegan/plant based diet! Also they are Wheat and Gluten Free and even Lactose Free!
But sometimes I still want something yummy and comforting!
When I was younger I baked a lot in the week and more in the school holidays... I was around 4 or 5 years old in the kitchen with my grandfather or my mum making cakes, scones and of course a young person's staple cake based treat FAIRY CAKES! We didn't click onto the Cup Cake or Muffin in the UK until coffee chains sprung up on our high streets.. but our super sized american cousins of a cake was a step up from what we were already baking.
I felt like I was an magician in a way.... because when you do put this chocolate liquid in a tin and then place it in the oven you don't really think something so delicious and tasty is going to come out of the oven! You think it's not going to work and when it does it's a joy to see and smell what you have made.
I instantly fell in love with the whole process of weighing ingredients, putting them in a bowl and mixing them together and then putting them in the oven and magically after 25 -30 minutes a beautiful, yummy tasty treat would come out of the oven, warm and smelling so incredible!
It wasn't until I was older that I got interested in making my own breakfast, lunches and dinner myself from fresh food that didn't take that long instead of take aways and even pre-prepared stuff.
What really kicked it off was having my gallbladder removed as it was dying from a student diet of long hours and eating horrid fatty foods from fast food restaurants or even ordering a take away because I was so tired and couldn't be bothered to make my own food from a long day at University.
So once i'd had my operation foods that I used to love seemed not to really get on well with my stomach and I was in a lot of pain and actually really ill. It goodbye to fried food including my favourite in whole world to eat when I'm ill which is the humble Fry Up!!! I actually still weep because even if I have a fried egg and bacon sandwich it goes through me and gets rejected due to the fat content! I had to also think about allergies as I did develop and undergoing investigation for a wheat and gluten allergy as well as an already known lactose allergy. So with this in mind I thought about changing the way I eat but replacing certain ingredients.
So with the christmas presents of cook books packed full of healthy and some cheats to get that take away taste without the price of the fat content I tried a few recipes from them and gave them a little unique twist!
1) Southern Fried Chicken with Cumin Crusted Veg (Hairy Bikers Inspired):
Yummy, filling and has that KFC/Nando's vibe to it. And before you ask i'm not explaining the cheeky Nando's thing as even I don't know what it is. I will however answer a Beans on Toast related Question if one arises!
But The Cumin Crusted Veg is a Hairy Biker's Recipe (Hairy Dieter's Book 1) and I have made it before but it needs to go with something! So brainwave hit me... get a chicken breast and cover it with Southern Fried Seasoning (Oh on Sweet Potato fries it's also delicious!) and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees with the veg. I'd put the chicken on a separate tray and on baking paper below the veg.. just incase of cross contamination if you live with a veggie or vegan! I then made a simple salad of spinach leaves, tomatoes (baby plum) with chopped up green beans (french is better - Nando's taught me that one) and Cucumber! Simple and yummy!!!
2) Simple Salad with Goats Cheese and Parma Ham, Roasted Med Vegetables and Grated Carrot:
This is a naughty but nice recipe. The Nice coming from the Med Veg, Grated Carrot and the Salad. The Naughty from the creamy and slightly sour goats cheese and the Salty but sweet parma ham!!
It is filling and healthy and I love it in the summer.
The veg again you'll have to cook in the oven for around 30 minutes at 200 degrees with Thyme and Oregano herbs as well as Salt and Pepper and if you want drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar! The veg will be sticky and slightly sweet!!!
With the Salad feel free to get some figs and cut them into quarters and place on top of the parma ham. It is amazing or alternatively hard boil eggs for 5 minutes to have another texture and flavour!!!
3)Wheat, Gluten and Lactose Free Mac and Cheese (inspired by TakeAway Secrets):
This is comfort food in a bowl! All ingredients for this are W/GF and Lactose Free. I use Soya Free Vegan Cheese that you can get from Health Food Shops and online. The sauce is W/GF Flour, Dairy Free Butter and of course Lactose Free Milk (not Soya). Look out for Lactofree in the supermarkets, They also do Cheese and yogurt!
The Pasta is W/GF as well and can be bought again form any supermarket.
I recommend if you love Take Out food to get the book as it's amazing!!!
4) Vegan Spagetti Bolognese:
This is one of my mum's favourites as well as mine.
You'll need:
1x Large Red/White Onion
1x Large Aubergine (eggplant)
2x Courgettes
2x Carrots
1x Packet of Chestnut Mushrooms (if you want them)
1x Can of Mixed Beans
1x Bolognese Sauce (preferred brand Lloyd Grossman)
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Sweat down the onion and the chopped vegetables in a large pan with some oil and herbs (oregano, Thyme, Italian Herbs) and strain the Mixed Beans and add to the pan. Stir the veg and Mixed Beans and add the Bolognese sauce and simmer on a low to medium heat for around 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Whilst this is going on, get a deep casserole dish and prepare oven shelves so that the casserole dish fits- please wear oven gloves!!!
After 15 minutes the Bolognese is ready to transferred into the casserole dish. Fill and place lid on top and place in the middle of the oven and set timer for an hour. Half way through Check and stir and place back in the oven. The Longer you leave the Bolognese the more the sauce will reduce and intensify in flavour. 20 minutes near the end boil kettle and boil pasta of choice!
Serve like the picture above with parmesan cheese grated on top.
5) Pork in Oyster Sauce Stir-fry:
This is my favourite Chinese Take Away meal and although I can still eat Chinese food I still enjoy making my own at home!!
So for this you will need:
1x Pork or Chicken if you prefer (cut into strips)
1x Pack of fresh stir fry vegetables
1x Pack of Oyster Sauce (Blue Dragon best brand)
1x bag of Boil in the Bag rice (Sorry Jamie Oliver and Gok Wan!)
Get a pan and fill it with boiled water and a touch of salt and place bag of rice into the water, cover with lid and boil for 20 minutes on a high heat.
Then get a Wok or frying pan and put a little bit of oil in, heat it up and put the pork in and brown off. With White Meat it's important that the meat is cooked all the way through so get a knife and a plate, cut into the pork and check that inside the pork is white! Get the veg and place into the pan and fry for up to 5 minutes until tender, stir in the sauce until it comes to the boil. Check your rice and serve and enjoy!!!!
Now I've shared my recipes it's time for the all important tips for stress free cooking!!!
Cooking is stressful for any AS person as there are so many factors we can't control so before you go into a meltdown and grab the phone or run to the freezer here are some little tips.1) Know what you need and plan your meals:
It is annoying when you don't know what to eat, let alone how to cook it. If you fancy a certain dish look online for a recipe or even dust off those cook books! Plan the meal from start to finish from what you will need to physically cook it and mentally put yourself in the mind set. It may require a shopping list and a keen eye for deals before coming home. Set up the kitchen and make sure you have all the pans, oven on , oven trays out and ready as well as ingredients to hand. Also if you don't have a timer on the oven or in the kitchen then use your phone!!
Planning a week's worth of meals can save a lot of time and hassle and also can help when it comes to your food shopping!!!
2) Get your Timings down:
One of the many problems that I find in the kitchen is that I have to time everything to the dot. Any over or under cooking can lead to a spoilt meal. So if you know that a certain item of your meal takes longer to cook or prepare do it first and time everything else around it. Large joints of Meat will come with instructions to work out how long you need to roast it for. If unsure ring someone to ask for help. Always Pre-heat the oven at the set temperature so that it is ready to cook straight away. Timers are also important as you can set them and they'll let you know when things are ready.
3) Follow the Recipe!:
Don't miss out any steps, take your time to read through every stage of the recipe from prep to cooking. It'll save you alot of hassle in the long term. Also don't be afraid to keep the recipe where you can see it to check where you are.
4) Relax and don't rush yourself:
I like to cook with music on in the back ground , but for some people working with noise isn't the best idea. If it comes all to much stop and take a deep breath. This is important if you are using sharp knifes or anything that applies heat. You're not in a kitchen with a chef breathing down your neck- you're at home ... take your time and if the meal takes longer than an hour at first to make but tastes fantastic you know it's all because you've done it at your own pace!
5) Clean up as you go along:
One you know everything is ticking away, now is the time to clean up anything you don't need and also wash down surfaces and boards. It will save time at the other end when you know you have to wash up! So it's better to do the cleaning up in stages. That way you don't have to panic about the mountain of pots and pans all over the kitchen.
6) Enjoy your meal!
Whether you instagram it and share it amongst your family and friends before you tuck in, before you settle down and taste the fruits of your labour!!! It will taste even more amazing because you've made it yourself and anyone else who eats it will enjoy it to!!!!
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