Mia's Makings

We watch a lot of hunting programmes on TV and many episodes feature a cooking session. That's the part of the show that I enjoy the most. A little while ago we watched an American series called Dearmeat for dinner and just as the title explained, the hunted... lobsters. Strangely enough, they didn't cook lobsters, but venison. They served the meat with ice cube potatoes. I know, it sounds crazy and we were watching intently, thinking it may be something that we want to try. They cooked their potato parcel on the bbq, so it may be worth remembering when summer finally knocks on the door. Because it is only spring now and still rather cold, I decided to make an attempt to cook these strange-sounding potatoes in the oven. They said they should take 25-30 minutes, but mine took 50 minutes at 220 degrees. Were they as amazing as promised on TV? No, they were not, but they had potential. When watching the show, I paid attention to how much seasoning they added and watch

Without a doubt I have mentioned my love for Asian food before. For years Chinese was my number one take away, the clear winner of all others and the one I would always pick if I was the one making the choice. Because I cook practically every day, my birthday treat is a break from the kitchen and that means a take away or a restaurant meal. A take away is normally more practical. Come to think of it, saying that I always pick Chinese for a take away isn't strictly true. I want to be well enough to enjoy it, so if we are ordering in because I'm too unwell to cook, I prefer a pizza because it is something I can take or leave. A couple of months ago I was thinking back to when we last had a Chinese take away and came to a startling realisation. It was over a year ago. Yes, that means we didn't even have it for my birthday last year. Why? I can't remember. How come we haven't had it since then though? This is going to sound a bit big headed and I apologise

Pizza, pizza, glorious pizza! Such a yummy meal, but oh so bad for you. I try hard not to order pizza take aways or make proper ones at home. I can make a nice pizza and I have tried all sorts of bread bases. I think my favourite one so far is a thin naan base that can be baked and frozen, then topped and finished off when you fancy a treat. However, all that beautiful bread is too easy to eat too much of and that's the bad part. No, I'm not gluten intolerant or even sensitive to wheat. I'm simply greedy and I love bread. That's a combo that means eating too much. To deal with that issue I tend to reduce the occasions and thoroughly enjoy them when they finally happen. Meanwhile, I make non-bread based pizza. There are loads of different recipes for vegetable bases and all of them (at least the ones I have seen) tells you to cook the vegetable rice first. That's exactly why I didn't do that this time, to see it if was necessary. Far too often I do s

Tortilla wrap, such a versatile food item. Wrap stuff up and eat it straight away, wrap and cook, brush it with oil and seasoning, cut into strips, bake and have with dip, add a cheese mixture, fold and fry until the cheese melts... Use a flat wrap as a pizza base, layer them with filling and make a taco cake, press them in to a bowl, bake and fill with goodies... The list is endless and I do not attempt to share all my tries, only one this time. Chicken enchiladas are simple to make, but if you try to stuff them while the filling is still boiling hot, they may end up as ugly as mine. Another trick to make them look like something the cat dragged in is to over-stuff them, leaving too little wrap to use for wrapping. In my defence, I only wanted to eat one and I wanted as much filling as I could possibly get. Greed isn't pretty. As in most of my recipes, I use what I happen to have at home and even a basic meal turns out different every time. This time I used: onion