TAKING A BREAK - COOK, EAT & BOND

"Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food. Cooking at home shows such affection. In a bad economy, it's more important to make yourself feel good." -Ina Garten 

Working in Harmony - Save Time & Achieve Efficieny
Each night for 5 nights, one cook and one assistant cook a 3 course dinner,  from the *NT Recipe Book, comprising a soup, main course and a desert.  Then, two others would do the dishes and cleaning.   Working on a rooster, whether cooking, cleaning, organizing or eating dinner, teamwork is important to making everything in the kitchen go smoothly. If one person does everything, the job can become tedious. With co-operation and working in harmony with those available to help in the household, you will achieve efficiency and save time. 

So give your mother/wife/domestic helper a break this Mother's Day. Gather your children/siblings to serve her breakfast in bed and do the chores for Her on this day.  

You need not be a professional cook, it need not be a 8-course dinner - the most indispensable ingredient is love & sincerity.  

So here's some ideas and simple recipes from my NT Working Holiday at Dinefwr, for a great bonding time  :-

Our 1st Dinner - Stiw Cig Oen Cymreig (*Welsh Lamb Casserole) is a traditional Welsh (Cymric) recipe for a classic stew of lamb shoulder with potatoes, leeks, swedes, Savoy cabbage and carrots cooked in lamb stock with herbs.

Ingredients

1 kg Welsh lamb

2 large leeks

2 large carrots

2 onions

2 tables of pearl barley

2.27 litres of lamb stock

1 tablespoon of thyme

Method

1. Fry off the lamb, onions and leeks in a little oil;

2, Bring to the boil and add thyme;

3. Simmer for approximately 1 hour;

4. Add the pearl barley and simmer for a further 20-30min

Simple.  It's a great traditional dish that will feed the whole family.

Dessert : Crymbl Mwyar Duon (Welsh Blackberry Crumble)

Ingredients: 450g blackberries, washed and dried; 75g brown sugar; 150g self-raising flour;75g butter; a little water

Combine the blackberries, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before taking off the heat. In the meantime sift the flour into a bowl and rub the flour into this until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Transfer the blackberry mixture to an oven-proof dish and spoon the crumble mixture over the top. Place the crumble in an oven pre-heated to 175°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top of the crumble is golden brown. Serve hot with custard.

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is  talking about eating while you are eating with friends. - Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking

Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale."Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian designer (1890-1973) 

COOKING UP A STORM - Singapore Curry Chicken

Being the only Asian in the team, I voluntarily cook our local favorite curry chicken using our "Prima Taste Singapore Curry Sauce Kit" with it's simple and easy-to-follow instructions.  Finger-licking Gooood.." applauds from my NT co-volunteers.  

To cook:

1. Pour 400ml water and Singapore Curry Paste into a pot.  Stir well and bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Add chicken meat (720g) and potatoes (3 nos cut into chunk).  Stir well and bring  to boil.  Cover pot and lower heat.  Simmer for 10 mins on medium heat.

3. In a separate bowl, stir Singapore Curry Premix into 260 ml water.  Mix well and add to pot.  Simmer for 7 mins on low heat.  Do not cover the pot.  Stir occasionally and ensure that the gravy does not boil.

To serve: 1. Serve Singapore Curry hot with rice or crusty French loaf "Cooking is about passion, so it may look slightly tempermental in a way it's too assertive to the naked eye." - Gordon Ramsay

To All Mothers:

Coming soon ...Don't miss the Finale 
        of "Ms Yn wir at Dinefwr"