Sausage & Bean casserole

The children are on school holiday for Easter/Spring break, a busy time for the parent. Here's an easy to prepare dish the children will love and it satisfy the most active of teenagers appetite.
One of the good things about this dish is that it can be cooked wholely in one pot. Great for your electric wok.

SAUSAGE BEAN CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

·       1 tbsp Olive oil

·       8 good-quality pork sausages

·       2 carrots , halved lengthways and sliced, I use the pre-washed and peeled small carrots. It saves time.

·       2 medium or 1 large onion, finely chopped

·       2 tbsp red wine vinegar

·       2 x 410g cans mixed beans in water, rinsed and drained

·       400ml chicken stock

·        A handful or two of frozen peas.

·       2 tbsp Dijon mustard

        METHOD 

1.    Heat the oil in a large pan. Sizzle the sausages for about 6 mins, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, then remove to a plate. Tip the carrots and onions into the pan, then cook for 8 mins, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft. Add the vinegar to the pan, then stir in the drained beans. Pour over the stock, nestle the sausages in with the beans, then simmer everything for 10 mins.

2.    Scatter in the frozen peas, cook for 2 mins more until heated through, then take off the heat and stir in the mustard. Season to taste. Serve scooped straight from the pan.

I serve with mash potato or pasta. A dark beer like "Fat Tyre" goes very well with this dish. For a wine a Petit Syrah or Merlot. A favourite of mine is an Argentinian Malbac.


here in Las Vegas I use the Colisimo brand of sausage to me they're the best you get here. Be careful when adding salt for seasoning. Even the Colisimo can be too salty. that's my opinion. wait till the sausages have cooked in the casserole before adding any salt

Meals in Minutes | With Gizzi Erskine

Meals in Minutes | With Gizzi Erskine

An Easy Recipe for the Weekend

Chicken with Potatoes, Garlic  &  Sherry

Ingredients

·       Olive oil

·       8 chicken thighs, skin on, or 1 whole chicken cut into             8 portions. Or as much as you need for your guests.

·       600g/1lb small potatoes.

        2 sticks of celery chopped into pieces

·       3 whole heads garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

    You can slightly crush the garlic with the flat side of a                    

     knife

·       8 sprigs thyme

·       125ml Amontillado sherry (I use any sherry I have)

·       White Wine.

 Method

1.    Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide ovenproof pan that can take the chicken in a single layer. Season the chicken well then brown on all sides in batches. You just want to get a good colour, not cook the chicken through. Remove to a warm plate.

2.    Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/340F/gas 5. Scatter the potatoes over the bottom of the pan while it's still on the hob. Add the garlic, thyme and seasoning and stir to coat everything in juices. Put the chicken on top, skin up, add the sherry and bring up a simmer. When it's simmering, put the pan in the oven, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through. Most of the sherry will be absorbed and the chicken crisp and golden.

Add the wine if you think the dish looks too dry. Check after about 30 minutes to make sure the dish is not burning. You could add more sherry, your preference.

John’s Tips: I use a large all metal Calphalon frying  pan to cook this dish. The handle comes in handy when taking from the oven.

Potatoes: Use potatoes you don’t have to peel, just wash’m. You can use bigger potatoes, just cut them into a uniform size so they don’t take too long to cook.

As a side dish asparagas cooked in a little olive oil and fresh ground pepper goes very well with this dish.

As a wine I serve a good Pino Grigio. I even serve Chianti if it’s preferred.

Beer, Beer and more Alcohol

Beer, Beer and more Alcohol.

As we now know alcohol in moderation is not too bad a thing to add to our cooking or drinking.

A good thing about beer isn’t that it’s just nice to drink, well to some of us; it can add a different dimension to your cooking. I put beer or especially wine into most things that I cook. Whether the recipe says to or not.

Here are a couple of recipes that definitely need alcohol.

They can both be cooked in a wok and your small oven/grill for the matchstick fries.

The steak recipe for a pepper steak might sound a bit fiddly for a steak but with the sauce you’ll be glad you bothered.

With the sweet potato matchsticks, green salad and the steak this is quite a good high protein low carbohydrate meal.

Afraid I can’t say that about the mussels in Guinness though. Being close to St. Patrick’s Day, you maybe wondering what do with the left over Guinness besides drinking it.

Pepper Steak

Ingredients

2 tbsp each of black and green peppercorns

2 tbsp green peppercorns in brine (drained)

for the sauce.

2 tbsp coriander seeds

200g Good quality steaks per person filet or sirloin about an inch thick.

If the steak is a bit thick, cover in cling film (plastic wrap) and give it a battering with your meat mallet, rolling pin or empty wine bottle, be careful though.

Sea salt

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

250g roughly chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves finely sliced

(sliced garlic leaves less of a smell on your breath, supposedly.)

80ml port                        80ml brandy            (rough measures)

250ml white wine

250ml beef stock

3tbsp non-fat sour cream (if you like).

Method

Grind the peppercorns and coriander in a mortar and pestle or a food processor. (Not the drained peppercorns, they’re for later).

Wash the steak under cold water and pat dry with a clean cloth or kitchen roll. Time to flatten the steak now if needed. When dry sprinkle both sides with the salt and rub in the ground peppercorns and coriander evenly on both sides of the steak. Set aside for 15 minutes.

It’s best to cook steak in a griddle pan; you know the pan with the ridges to help keep the steak out of the cooked fat. Though I have cooked pepper steak and other steaks in my wok and they have turned out fine.

When using an electric wok, swirl hot oil around the wok sides where you'll place the steak(s).

Heat the oil in the pan. Once the oil is heated to spitting point, quite hot, drop in the steaks and lower the heat from high to medium. Cook for about 7 minutes 4 minutes on the first side then 3 on the other, this should give you a medium rare steak.

Remove the steak to warm plate and cover tightly with foil.

Now for the sauce:

Pour away most of the fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tbsp. Throw in the chopped shallots and sliced garlic, cook for 2 minutes on a medium heat, should be turning golden brown.

Pour in the drained green peppercorns, white wine, port and brandy and stir well, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock and mix in well, let it bubble away for 5 to 7 minutes to reduce to the thickness you like. Remove from the heat.

If you’re adding the sour cream now whisk in the sour cream- then pour over your steak. Eat well.

A great way to cook a steak and impress anyone.

A good wine to serve with this dish is a spicy tanniny fruity red Zinfandel.

You could just serve a side of salad with the steak but for something a little more wholesome. You can serve a plate of matchstick fries either ordinary potato or sweet potato.

What you’ll need:

2 large baking potatoes or 2 sweet potatoes peel the sweet potatoes but just wash the baking potato, leave unpeeled.

Egg white from 2 large eggs, better still get a carton of egg white and guess how much you need. It’ll come in handy for other things. Like a lower fat omelette or scrambled egg.

Tsp chilli powder                        salt and ground pepper to taste.

What to Do:

Preheat your oven to 200°C or equivalent about 420°F

Coat a baking dish/sheet with canola oil with a brush or the yucky spray stuff.

Slice the potatoes length ways into chips about as thick as your little finger, being careful not cut your finger while checking. Cut them in half and half again to make matchstick style chips.

Put the egg white and chilli powder in to a bowl add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until the mixture is lightly frothed. Add the matchstick chips coating them all well before placing into the baking dish.

Cook on the bottom shelf for 40-45 minutes checking and turning every 7-8 minutes or so to ensure cooking to a golden brown all round.

While these were cooking you could have been sorting out the steak.

A John’s Tip: Read through the recipe first and get all the ingredients out on your work top. The number of times I’ve cooked something and forgotten a vital ingredients. How about Chicken cooked with Honey and fresh lemon……….without the Honey.

Mussels cooked in Guinness:

You'll need a large saucepan or even better your wok.

Ingredients you’ll need:

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

2 stalks of celery, chopped.

1 large onion, chopped.

2 cloves of garlic, sliced.

2 to 3 lbs of fresh mussels.

240ml (1/2 pint) Guinness , a can will do, and drink what’s left over.

Bunch of parsley

Some nice country crusty bread, French or Italian style.

What to do:

Chop the celery into 1inch pieces, chop the onions, slice the garlic.

Clean and de-beard the mussels, they die when you de-beard them, best to do this as close to cooking as possible.

Heat the oil in your wok or saucepan, add the onions, garlic and celery, cook until onions starting to soften 3 to 5 minutes, don’t let them burn.

Turn down the heat and slowly add (it can froth up you pour in too quickly) the Guinness, increase the heat and bring to a simmer, add the mussels, cover and cook till the mussels have opened about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle over a handful of chopped parsley.

Serve immediately.

Either serve in large bowls or communally straight from the cooking pot. With chunks of the crusty bread to mop up the Guinness and mussel juices.

To be extra healthy serve with a green salad with watercress.

To drink, well why not a Guinness or two. For the ladies a glass or 3 of Sauvignon blanc or a good Rosé. Goes with most things when you’re not sure what to serve.

Beers good for us.

I saw this on the South Beach Diet website earlier today. I'm sure they won't mind me sharing with you.

I'm still trying hard to keep to the diet. It's not easy when your social life livens up. But I'm keeping the weight off and dropped a few inches. I can tie my shoes now without having to prop up my leg.

For us beer lovers this article is good news. Just don't over indulge.

Tap Into Beer's Health Benefits

Red wine isn't the only good-for-you booze. Say cheers to these five ways beer boosts your brain, heart, bones, and more.

St. Patrick's Day revelers take note: Your favorite pint may be healthier than you realize. When it comes to good-for-you happy hour beverages, we tend to think mainly of red wine and its heart-friendly antioxidants. Recent research, however, reveals that beer may also help what ales you, from reducing the risk of osteoporosis to beating brain fog.

But before you go on a beer binge, remember that moderation is key to reap its health perks. That means no more than two 12-ounce beers a day for men and one for women. "If you overdo it, alcohol can take a toll on your health, contributing to liver damage, certain cancers, heart problems, and more," says Andrea Giancoli, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. People with certain health conditions — including gout, high triglycerides, or breast cancer, for example — should avoid drinking beer or other alcohol because it can exacerbate those health problems, according to Joy Bauer, RD, nutrition and health expert for Everyday Health and The Today Show.

Too much alcohol can also cause weight gain. After multiple rounds, calories can add up quickly (a 12-ounce regular beer can pack up to 150 calories, while a light beer has around 100).

But for most of us, here are five healthy reasons to toast your next beer:

Beer Boost No. 1: A Stronger Skeleton

Make no bones about it: Beer in moderation may protect bone health thanks to its high silicon content. Participants who sipped one or two beers a day had greater bone mineral density than those who drank more or fewer beers, found a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. "Silicon helps stimulate bone-building cells, and the estrogenic effect of alcohol also has a protective quality for bones," says study author Katherine Tucker, PhD, professor of nutritional epidemiology at Northeastern University in Boston. Which brew boasts the most silicon? Try an India Pale Ale. A 2010 University of California Davis study found that IPAs had the highest levels of the mineral.

Beer Boost No. 2: A More Powerful Ticker

A beer a day may keep heart disease away. "Alcohol raises levels of ‘good' HDL cholesterol," says Arthur Klatsky, MD, senior consultant in cardiology at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. "It also has anti-clotting effects, which keeps blood vessels clear and healthy." In fact, Israeli researchers found that people who drank one beer daily had lower levels of fibrinogen, a protein that helps promote blood clotting, than those who abstained from drinking. (Blood clots can cause heart attack and stroke.) Study participants drank Maccabee beer, but researchers believe that any type of beer could have similar heart-healthy effects.

Beer Boost No. 3: Healthier Kidneys

Finnish researchers found that men who drank beer had a 40 percent lower risk of kidney stones compared to those who drank other types of alcohol. The benefit may be due to beer's high water content. Dehydration can increase the risk of kidney stones, which are little deposits of salt and minerals such as calcium that can form in your kidneys. Beer's hops (a kind of flower that gives beer its bitter flavor and acts as a preservative) may also help prevent kidney stones by slowing the release of calcium from bones.

Beer Boost No. 4: Better Brain Power

While excessive alcohol intake can cause irreparable brain damage, moderate daily consumption actually safeguards a sharp mind, research shows. One classic New England Journal of Medicine study, which analyzed the drinking habits of about 11,000 women over more than 15 years, found that those who had up to one drink a day had a 20 percent lower risk of brain function decline (as measured by memory and other cognition tests) than nondrinkers. Alcohol intake may protect blood vessels in the brain and also lower stroke risk, say researchers.

Beer Boost No. 5: Lower Cancer Risk

Beer's health benefits aren't limited to those who drink it: Marinating steak in your favorite brew could eliminate up to 88 percent of the carcinogens that form as a result of pan-frying meat, according to a Portuguese study. Cooking meat at high temperatures creates cancer-causing compounds known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Researchers think that the sugars in beer help prevent HCA formation.

© John A Bromley All rights reserved

Losing an Hour of Our Lives

I got out of bed at 6am today Saturday 12 March. There was time for a cup of tea and watch some of the English FA Cup soccer before taking my dog, Barney, for his morning walk. He’ll drive me crazy if he doesn’t get out in the morning.

I don’t really mind, the exercise does me good, and at that time of the morning the weather here in Las Vegas is unbeatable. It’s still a bit parky that time of the day, that’s chilly to our English speaking American friends. The sun was just rising over the houses warming one side of my face. The other side my ear can testify it was still cold. It’s okay it will warm up on the way back.

Tomorrow, Sunday the 13^th will be a different story. Our clocks leap forward one whole hour. Robbing us of an hour of our lives. It still beats me why Governments insist on this ridiculous time change.

It doesn’t matter what the time is, we still have same number of hours between sunrise;

and sunset.

In fact tomorrow will be at little longer than today.

I wonder how many people will miss appointments, flights, trains or other means of travel in the next few days. Or if not miss them, get there an hour early.

How about the programme “24 Hours”, if they did this programme the day the clocks leapt forward.

Keifer Sutherland wouldn’t have time to avert an impending disaster befalling New York. It is New York isn’t it? And even worse if they did the programme the day the clocks fell back we’d have an extra hour of boring advertisements.

I know the farmers and such will groan about the daylight hours. Get a life and adjust your timings. The bird’s dawn chorus is still at dawn. My dog still wants me up with the sunrise.

How about these facts from South Beach Diet:

You’ve got good reason to dread turning your clocks ahead this weekend, and it’s not just because you’ll wake up a littler groggier.

Research shows that losing an hour of sleep during the spring Daylight Saving Time change (time skips ahead one hour at 2 AM this Sunday, March 13) is a bigger deal than you might think. A 2008 New England Journal of Medicine study found that the incidence of heart attacks significantly increased in the three workdays following the switch. (Conversely, heart attack rates dipped in the fall when we gained an hour of sleep). According to the researchers, disruption in the body’s circadian rhythm may have taken a toll on heart health.

Further, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns that drowsy driving leads to nearly 17 percent of fatal crashes and 25 percent of car-accident-related deaths occur in low-light environments. If you’ve gotten used to a sunny morning commute, driving in a dimmer setting can compromise your alertness and safety.

How about this for a fact about the number “23”, tomorrow has 23 hours.

The 23 enigma refers to the belief that most incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23, or some modification of the number 23, or a number related to the number 23.

This is, impending disasters, check it out on Wikipedia.

Sunday I still have to be up at 6am to take the dog out so I can be back to watch another English FA cup soccer game.

The UK doesn’t change until 27 March, when it’s officially European summertime. I hope someone reminds the UK weather.

To think all this bother was caused by the invention of the steam engine and train travel. Yep, so they could sort out train timetables. Before then every town and village in England chose their own time.

You could get on your horse and cart, trip along for a couple of miles to a different village and be in a different time. Just like Doctor Who.

Life was so easy then.

© John A. Bromley all rights reserved

Interesting and Scary

I saw this article on a very good healthy eating website by George Matelian, http://whfood.org.

I don't find it easy here in Las Vegas to find a decent potato. One of the best times of the year in the U.K. is when the new potato is in season. Usually a smallish yellowy fleshed potato that you just wash and cook whole. Keeping most of the goodness in the potato. To be strictly honest the best new potatoes in the UK come from the Channel islands Jersey and Guernsey.

You don't seem to get a potato like that here in the the west side of the USA.

The best potatoes I've found are from the small island of Cyprus. Cyprus is more well known for it's sunshine and wine. They also grow great oranges and lemons. The potato grown there, in a rich reddish brown soil, are quite like the UK new potato, but a lot larger.

THE INTERESTING ARTICLE:

Healthy Food Tip

Are colored potatoes healthier than white potatoes?

The differences in color between varieties of potatoes are basically differences in carotenoid and flavonoid content. Virtually all types of potatoes provide significant amounts of approximately seven to ten nutrients. While Americans are accustomed to potatoes with a white inside, potatoes in other parts of the world more commonly have starchy yellow insides. In the U.S. we call potatoes with yellow insides "specialty potatoes." However, worldwide they are the norm rather than the exception.

All colorful potatoes provide carotenoids (and some also provide flavonoids) that white potatoes do not. Carotenoids and flavonoids are pigments, and according to nutritional research, they provide us with many health benefits, including cancer protection. For example, the darker the starchy yellow flesh of a yellow potato, the greater quantity of carotenoids, including beta-carotene (and, in some cases, lutein) that is present. The blue in blue potatoes comes from their flavonoid content. Both the flavonoids found in blue potatoes and the carotenoids found in yellow potatoes help promote good health!

Some carotenoid- and flavonoid-rich potatoes currently available in different regions of the U.S. include: Yukon Gold (currently the best-selling yellow potato in the U.S. marketplace), Michigold, Donna, All Blue (also called "Purple Marker"), Purple Viking, Saginaw Gold, Red Gold, Rose Gold, and Ruby Crescent.

The presence of carotenoids and flavonoids, however, does not affect the carbohydrate content of potatoes. Potatoes all contain about one gram of carbohydrate for every four calories—they're basically all-carbohydrate when it comes to calorie content.

Technically, you'll get more fiber and minerals per bite from smaller potatoes of any kind, since they have more surface area (skin) per amount of starchy inside (total volume). The three to seven grams of fiber contained in a medium-sized potato are mostly in the skin, so consider enjoying it as well as the potato's insides the next time you cook some spuds. Of course, unless your potato is an organically grown one, you'll be getting most of the pesticide residue here—in the skin—as well, which is one of the reasons I am a big advocate for purchasing potatoes (and other foods) that are organically grown. Although there are some differences among potatoes, if you are seriously looking to lower carbohydrate intake, you need to switch to a different category of vegetable, like the leafy green vegetables.

THE SCARY ARTICLE:

This is an article I saw on yahoo.co.uk. The Ten Most Toxic Foods.

I often wonder if some of the stuff you find on the internet is not unlike listening to guys in the pub after a few pints. How much truth is there in these articles?

Rice:


It is impossible to dispute that rice has many great health benefits. However, like with most things, it may be best eaten in moderation due to its reportedly unsafe levels of arsenic. One study has suggested that one in five packs of American long-grain rice contain potentially harmful levels of the toxic substance, while others have reported concern for the levels of arsenic in rice milk and baby rice. While there is relatively little risk of the odd bowl of rice causing any long lasting harm, the consumption of high levels of arsenic has been linked to cancer.

Question is, where is the arsenic coming from? The water supply! How much should we drink a day? Fortunately the water from the tap here in Vegas taste as though it's straight from the swimming pool, with all it's additives. Probably a conspiracy by the bottled water companies.

I wonder if Agatha Christy knew this, she could have been killing people at dinner in her stories.