Delicious Potato Recipes

Here are five recipes for potatoes which make them a delicious vegetable instead of the rather boring, white, dull objects most people think they are!

Boiled Potatoes

The best way to boil potatoes is in their skins. It is not necessary to peel them, just scrub them and remove all blemishes. Place them in cold water and boil water with salt added. When dry, leave them to dry in an oven dish in a warm oven for about 10 minutes - this will improve the flavour. Serve with butter or a sour cream spread.

Roast Potatoes

The best option is also to roast them in their skins, but also scrub them first and remove all blemishes. Roast them in the oven, either alone in an oven dish, sprinkled with olive oil and salt or roast them round the fat of your Sunday roast.

Baked Potatoes

You will need

• 10 potatoes

• 4 cups full cream milk (fat free milk will suffice)

• Salt and pepper

• Garlic

Scrub the potatoes and slice thinly. Rinse with cold water and dry in a paper towel. Rub an ovenproof dish with garlic and then butter. Fill with potatoes, seasoning each layer. Pour the milk over the potatoes so that they are just covered, and dot with butter. Bake at 325⁰F for about one hour, or until cooked and browned. 

Potato Casserole

You will need

• 10 potatoes

• 5 onions

• Salt and pepper

• Prepared Cheese sauce

• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Slice the onions. Fill a greased casserole dish with the potatoes and onions in layers, finish with potato. Season. Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables and sprinkle the grated cheese over. Bake in oven at 200⁰F for one hour or until the dish is cooked.

Pan Fried Potatoes

You will need

• 8 potatoes

• 4 onions

• 4 tomatoes

• 1 cup diced bacon, cooked

• 1 Tbsp. cooking fat

• 1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese

• Salt and pepper

Scrub the potatoes and cut into thin slices. Slice the onions and tomatoes. Heat the fat in a frying pan and put in layers of potato, onion, tomato, bacon, cheese and seasoning. Finish with potato. Cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes. Brown the top under the grill and serve.

Please Visit Our Store!

How to press your own tofu

Many vegetarians rely on tofu for its high protein content and praise it for its versatility, pleasant consistent and mild creamy flavor. 

By itself, tofu has no taste. Usually it is used with vegetables or soups. It is also versatile enough to be used in salads, with eggs, in omelets, or as a stuffing for celery stalks, tomatoes or green peppers.

Tofu is not only a rich source of protein but provides vitamin E, calcium and phosphorous. It contains no saturated fat. 

Traditionally tofu can be prepared in three different ways – by blanching, stir-frying or deep-frying.

Blanching: This method improves the flavor and texture of tofu and the method is mostly used to prepare it for serving cold. The slices are placed in a large strainer and then lowered into boiling water for about thirty seconds. It is then drained and cooled. The slices can be added to a salad or a mixture consisting of soy sauce and safflower oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, can be poured over the slices and be enjoyed.

Stir-frying: Cut three blocks of tofu into cubes and stir-fry with spring onion pieces in a little bit of safflower oil. When the tofu is hot, season with soy sauce and serve immediately.

Deep-frying: Cut three blocks into cubes and deep-fry in hot safflower oil until it is puffy, crisp and golden.

Tofu, also sometimes called soy bean curd, is made by soaking minced soy beans and then pressing it to obtain a milky fluid. This milky fluid is then treated with a coagulant to form it into blocks. In this case the coagulant can be vinegar, or lemon juice or calcium chloride. It is then sold fresh.

Without adding any coagulant, the curd can also be allowed to ferment naturally in a warm place. The curd, or tofu, is hung in cheesecloth to dry. It is then washed in water to wash away the extra acid. After draining it can be packed tightly in a dampened mould. It should be firm enough to be cut into slices. 

Those who have trouble handling tofu due to its fragile texture, or those who want a less custardy, more chewable product might want to press the tofu before using it in any of the three preparation methods. Here is what to do:

1. Wrap each tofu block separately in cheesecloth.

2. Place the wrapped blocks next to one another between two boards – cutting boards will do the trick.

3. Put them on the drain portion of the kitchen counter and put some weight on the top board with something heavy.

4. Leave for six hours or until sufficient moisture has run out and the cakes feel firm when touched.

5. The tofu is now firmly pressed and can be cubed or sliced without falling apart.

Love,

Engela

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

You will need:

·         1 onion

·         60 g (2 oz.) bacon or ham

·         120 g (4 oz.) Mushrooms

·         Margarine or oil

·         1 cup cooked brown rice

·         Salt and pepper

·         4 large peppers

Method

Cook the chopped onion, bacon, and mushrooms gently in margarine or oil for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice and season. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. Fill the peppers with the stuffing, replace the tops, and put into a baking dish with a little water. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until soft at 375⁰ F (190⁰ C.

Tips for Cooking Vegetables

1. Always boil water before adding the vegetables. If you put vegetables into cold water and then bring to the boil, it does more harm to the nutrients than does quick boiling. Use the smallest amount of water possible, and then use this for sauces, soups, and stocks. Do not throw vegetable water away as it contains valuable minerals and vitamins and keeps well in the refrigerator.

2. Don’t overcook. Fruit and vegetables are much nicer if slightly undercooked. ‘Bubbling cauldrons’ of food, especially fruit and vegetables, are not compatible with healthy cooking and must destroy the fibre to some extent.

3. Whenever possible eat fruit and vegetables raw.

4. Don’t add chemicals to your cooking. If you want to keep green vegetables from going white, add a few drops of lemon juice to the water. Do not use salt when cooking. Add the salt at the table if necessary. When spinach is cooked in salted water, it loses nearly 50 per cent of its iron content as compared with a 19 per cent loss when cooled without salt.

5. Eat in their skins whenever possible. Wash fruit and vegetables properly first but do this quickly and without prolonged soaking. If you have to peel fruit and vegetables do not use a knife - you lose too much of the skin and often of the vegetable itself. Use a peeler that takes just the surface off. Remember –every time you peel a fruit or vegetable you are refining it and throwing away some of the valuable fibre which you have paid for.

There is little point baking wholemeal bread or buying bran if you throw away other fibre you have already bought. Potatoes should be scrubbed to remove the soil and dirt, the eyes removed. Then cook them in their skins and eat everything. You have probably never thought of eating a potato raw. Try it. Add some thin crispy slices to a green salad.

6. Cook to retain the natural flavours and aromas of the food. Steam, pressure cook, sauté, or grill. Do it quickly and with the minimum of water of other additives. Do not reheat fruit and vegetables repeatedly as this only compounds the felony of nutricide and further mutilates the natural fibre content.

7. Make large quantities of vegetables like bean pot, soups or apple puree and store in a refrigerator. These all keep well and save time and fuel later when you need them.

Three Tips To Be Irresistible For Men

Tips For Winter Wellness

Spring Stew

Ingredients

·         1 kg middle neck of lamb, cut into slices

·         2 potatoes

·         2 onions

·         1 tin of tomatoes

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         ½ tsp. cinnamon powder

·         1 tbsp. yellow sugar

·         1 cup chicken stock

Preparation

1.       Clean the meat and place it in a casserole dish.

2.       Peel and roughly chop the potatoes and onions and add it to the meat.

3.       Mix together the salt, pepper, yellow sugar and cinnamon powder and sprinkle them over the meat and vegetables.

4.       Pour over the tomatoes with the juice and the stock.

5.       Cover the dish and cook for about 3 hours at 325⁰ F (180⁰ C)

Serve with creamed potatoes, sliced carrots and garden peas.

How to make excellent apple dumplings

Table Mountain South Africa

Roast Vegetable Dish

Ingredients

·         4 large onions

·         2 small butternut squashes

·         1 large sweet potato

·         1 tbsp. lemon juice

·         2 red sweet peppers

·         5 medium carrots

·         3 courgettes

·         Fresh origanum, thyme and rosemary

·         6 whole cloves garlic

·         Salt

·         Olive oil

Preparation

1.       Preheat oven to 200⁰ c.

2.       Grease an ovenproof dish.

3.       Peel onions, scrub remaining vegetables and cut into rough pieces and slices.

4.       Sprinkle sweet potato potato with lemon juice to prevent discloration.

5.       Place all the ingredients in the dish and sprinkle with salt and olive oil.

6.       Bake for 2 hours or until vegetables are tender but still crisp.

My Beautiful World

Mutton Hodgepodge

BRAAIS, BEERS AND BIKES

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp. cooking oil

·         500 g breast of mutton, cubed

·         500 g beef, cubed

·         2 medium onions, chopped

·         2 cloves garlic, crushed

·         1 tbsp. salt

·         ½ tsp. black pepper

·         ½ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

·         ½ tsp. chopped fresh thyme

·         1 bay leaf

·         1 x 410 g tin of chopped tomatoes

·         500 g potatoes, peeled

·         5 pickled onions, peeled

·         5 medium carrots, cubed

Preparation

1.       Heat oil in a pot, add meat and brown.

2.       Add onions and garlic and fry until soft.

3.       Add herbs and spices and fry forr 2 minutes.

4.       Add tomatoes, cover and simmer for two hours.

5.       Add remaining vegetables and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Serve with rice and side-salad.

My beautiful world