Food innovation merges my love of science with my love (more like obsession) with food.
So I absolutely love it. I first began food blogging last year when I started up my baking blog (sophielikescake.blogspot.co.nz) so I could share my best baking recipes with my friends.
I learned to cook and bake from my mum and so from about the age of 13 I was in the kitchen (now she is trying to get my younger brother to take my place!).
Most of the recipes I share with you here are from her, so the exact origins are a mystery to everyone. The recipes I share are also quite flexible, but I'll try to convert my dollop of this and a splash of that into actual measurements.
Since I am a student, our flat doesn't exactly have money to throw around on lashings of pesto, gratings of exotic cheeses and premium cuts of meat.
So the goal of this blog is to help fellow students escape the miserable mince rut and try something new that won't break the flat budget.
I also believe that you absolutely need a decent spice drawer/rack/shelf (in my case) as spices are really cheap and can turn something ordinary into something quite special. I use a fair amount in my recipes, so start collecting!
In my free time I love to construct cakes, make cakes for people, blog about my cakes, go to the gym (to work off the cake) and um, well . . . perv at other people's baking blogs and cakes online. Flip, what do I do that isn't cake related? Ah, I love watching Game of Thrones.
That's enough about me, let's get started shall we?
Ah, vege casserole. This is the dinner that Dad requests every birthday and Father's Day. It's his favourite. "Why?" you ask? Because it's delicious of course! My 17-year-old brother grumbles every time we have it at home, complaining that he needs meat to build his massive muscles. We ignore him.
At home, we have a big oven-proof casserole dish so we usually cook this for an hour in the oven. We don't have something suitable for the oven here at the flat but we do have a very cool slow-cooker. So this first post of mine is going to be semi-experimental as I try this out for the first time in our crockpot. I'll include both cooking methods below.
This dish is perfect for winter when root vegetables are in season, and because everything is in season it is really cheap to make.
It does, however, require a cup and a-half of red wine. Scarfies, before you drink the whole bottle on Saturday night, put away a cup and a-half and leave it for when you next make this. It doesn't have to be a flash bottle.
I think the one we used here was $7 (classy stuff right there). Or what you could do is buy a cask (aka a goon) and leave it in the kitchen for cooking. We do that with white wine for our risottos here. They cost around $20 but will last many, many meals.
This is best served with slices of fresh crusty baguette smeared with butter to mop the sauce up.
Right where was I? Ah, ingredients:
Sophie's mum's vege casserole
(Serves 5 - add more or less vegetables and more or less equal parts of the liquids if serving more or fewer people)
1 very large potato (or 2 smaller ones), peeled and chopped into big cubes
1 very large kumara (red is best I think), peeled and chopped into big cubes
4-5 carrots, peeled and chopped into pieces approximately 3cm long
2 brown onions, sliced into chunky wedges
10 button mushrooms, sliced
20g butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp plain flour
1 small tin (140g) of tomato paste (or a few good large dollops will do)
1½ cups beef stock
1½ cups red wine
150g Edam cheese, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large, deep frying pan on a medium heat, melt the butter and lightly fry the onions, potato, kumara and carrots. Sprinkle over the brown sugar and give everything a quick mix to coat. Now add your mushrooms, leave to cook for a few minutes.
Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir to make sure everything is coated. Add the tomato paste and stir again to coat everything. Then add the beef stock and wine.
More can be added of each in equal parts if you feel there isn't enough liquid to cover most of the vegetables. Bring to the boil for a few minutes then transfer into an ovenproof casserole dish or a slow-cooker.
Slow-cooker method:
Cook on low for nine hours or high for four and a-half. When there is about 20 minutes to go, add the cubes of cheese, stir in and then leave to cook for the remaining time. The cheese should be melted through the casserole.
Depending on the size of your vegetable pieces the cooking time will vary. If you like your veges a bit more mushy than the average Joe, cut them into smaller pieces. This way they will cook faster.
Oven method:
Pop the lid on the casserole dish and place in a 190degC oven for an hour. Check to see if the vegetables are soft (if they are still too firm, put back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes). Add the cubes of cheese then place in the oven for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
Serve in a large bowl with those slices of crusty baguette mentioned above and you are good to go!
I hope you give this a go and love it as much as I do.