Author: Grant Stone

Sausages are a wonderful creation. For what is in essence a method of disguising, filling out and using up scraps of meat (or blood) that would otherwise be wasted it is amazing that the sausage is a staple of so many people.

Around the world countries all seem to have their own take on the sausage – from the meaty french toulouse, through the hearty south african Boerwors to the American Hotdog. The variety of sausages is vast and whilst the german boast a range of furters and wursts the biggest choice is for the great British banger which can be found in a wide selection of meats, flavours, styles and shapes.

Some of these are clearly copies or inspirations from afar. Chorizo and merguez styles being obvious. Others are classics such as the herby Linconshire or the wonderful peppery Cumberland.

One of my favorites though is to use a classic plain pork sausage and turn it into a classic italian sausage pasta sauce.

Italian Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

Traditional pork sausage

small onion chopped

tinned chopped tomatoes

garlic, crushed

dried chilli flakes

crushed fennel seeds

coarsely ground black pepper

taglietelle

method

Remove the suasage meat from the casings. mix in abowl with the chilli, fennel and pepper.

In a heavy casserole/Pan fry the onion in some oilive oil until soft and golden.

Pinch off small “meatballs” from the sausage meat. About 1-2cm diameter ideally. and fry meatballs until they brown.

Pour over the tomatoes and allow to bubble vigourously whils gently stirring to prevent anything sticking but not breaking up the sausage balls.

add a pich of sugar (optional but always good with tomatoe sauces)

Reduce down until sauce is rich and thick.

Cook the pasta (spaghetti or taglietelli is good although penne/rigatoni probably better)

when cooked (al dente) drain the pasta but retain a few table spoons of the pasta cooking water and stir into the sauce. This will loosen the sauce but also enrich it.

add the pasta to the sauce and stir in.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh grated parmesan

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by some limp celery I searched the freezer in search of  a half turkey breast smoked a month or so back.

I had vac packed it so it has frozen well. Now it has defrosted the textrure is solid. it slices like ham – it had been brined-  so little suprise.

I have a kielbasa in the fridge as well as half a green pepper.

This can only go one way – GUMBO.

Gumbo is a perfect mix up of whats available. The name has different etymological interpretations but in essence a gumbo is a dish based on a roux with a mix of ingredients that are locally available.

Having tried Gumbo in its native Louisiana it is pretty obvious there are many variations depending upon the region, the family, the restaurant, the seasons etc.

Its important to define we are talking authentic Cajun Gumbo here not Creole gumbo or “new orleans” gumbo. This is a rich dark thick soupy stew.

The roux is the key. Based on the techniques of classic french sauces this flour and fat combination provides a thickening and richness to the sauce. Exactly the same here althought the roux is cooked for longer and much darker to provide its own flavour.

Herein lies the art of the gumbo

The Gumbo at Cafe Vermillionville in Lafayette is the colour of dark coffee chocolate brown and just as rich.

My favorite combination is chicken and sausage and a great recipe is in Southern living

Recipe

For my personal take on gumbo i use my own smoked chicken or turkey and a smoked sausage – A soft Kielbasa is about as close as I can get to Andouille.

The holy trinity of celery, green bell pepper and white onionall chopped into fine dice.

Do this before making the roux – the roux is your focus here.

Get a heavy bottomed pot – a cast iron le Creuset type pot is ideal although a “black pot” is the authentic article.

Use a half cup of a bland oil – I use a light rapeseed but sunflower or vegatable oil is fine. use an equivalent amout opf plain flour.

Stir together into a uniform consistency. It should be almos liquid not a paste. add a bit more oil if you need to.

Heat on a medium heat and stir constantly.  As the oil cooks out the starch in the flour the colour will change. This requires patience and attention. if you burn the flour it is ruined and will taste bitter and horrible. You are looking for a dark roux and your effort will reward that but you may need nerves of steel to know when to stop the change.

As a guide the following sequence may help.

The colour goes through straw, to peanut butter to brick red to milk chocolate to dark chocolate.

I tend to stop it at milk chocolate colour as it turns darker when the trinity is added. A word of warning – the roux at this stage is extremely hot. It looks like a nice sauce but do not be tempted to taste it!!

When its reached the desired colour add the trinity and stir vigorously. The vegatables will cook in the roux and sweeten.

I add the spices here. Simple teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder and a pinch of oregano. a teaspoon or two of cajun spice pwder will also work ( I like original Slap ya mama) As they cook over a few minutes add small amouts of hot water or stock which will halt the roux cooking and also create a thick rich sauce.

The roux will take a lot of liquid and you will be cooking it down so you can make it thinner than you will want to end up with.

Add your meat at this stage. If you are using raw meat pre fry it.  Here I add the smoked turkey and the kielbasa.

Get it to a simmer and let it do its thing for a hour or so.

Keep an eye on it so it doesnt stick to the bottom and burn.

You should have a lovely mahogany brown gumbo ready for a small scoop of plain boiled white rice and a few finely chopped spring onion tops.

 

 

 

End of the 1st week. The sell by dates are all going out now.

Ate the last of my sourdough with some mushroom pate which was on the brink.

Overall the 1st week has been interesting. I’ve not had to shop and normally on a weekend I would be planning some inspired dish from a TV or book inspiration.

Instead I am looking at what I’ve got and where it will stretch out to.

My concerns of running out of fresh produce are not yet realised.

The bottom shelf of my fridge still looks fairly healthy. I have a decent onion stash left.

Carrots and Kale still looking ok. Few brussels left. A red cabbage. I had 1 1/2 celery bunches and one is looking very unhappy. I will have to use that today.

Freezer has hardly been touched and is still pretty full.

I’ve found a few cartons of UHT long life milk so tghat should tiude me over.

I am missing yogurt so may use one to make some.

Apart from that things are looking good for another week – will have to get creative with the veggies as they will start to deteriorate soon.

 

 

End of the week! As its dry January I will treat myself with some ginger Ale!

I have a few bottles of squash, juice, cans etc so holding up on the alternative drinks front.

So whats for dinner? (I had the remaining Pinto beans with some chopped ham and more pickled jalapenos – thats the end of the home pickled ones although I have a jar or two of store bought ones for Tacos).

Late in from work but I had defrosted some Cod from the freezer.

Its friday so fish seemed appropriate. This was Waitrose Cod Saltimbocca. looked interesting so I had bought it and put it staright in the freezer. Forgotten about it.

Defrosted it looked a littel boring so teamed it up with chopped stir fried Brussels sprouts with chorizo.

I put some Rapeseed oil on tyhe cod and it took on a golden colour in the oven.

The sprouts and chorizo are a fine match. sprouts should be available more of the year. I may try to grow some for next winter. the tops are good too.

 

Doing pretty good. Stores still look good. I dried out the vegetable drawer in the fridge and put in fresh newspaper every other day. The veggies are looking ok. A half bunch of celery is looking a bit droopy. Will need to think up a use for that.

I soaked a couple of cupfuls of dried Pinto beans for 24 hours. cahnged the water a few times.

Simply boiled them. No salt. No veggies. They took a while longer than I thought – probably 2 hours to soften. When they did I simmered them doen until they were a thickish beany sludge. about the consitency of mashed potatoes.  Salt and pepper and they are deliscious. Creamy and rich.

Had about half a smoked short rib left from the weekend. Took the fat off and sliced the meat into bit sized chunks.

I used the fat I had removed from the ribs and rendered it in a frying pan. Threw away the crispy fatty “scratchings” that were left (they are delicious but wont assits with the January weight loss …)

Fried up the rib pieces and served up on top of the beans. Scattered a chopped red jalapeno (still got a few on my plants), a few home pickled jalapenos and some finely chopped red onion.

A sprinkle of chilli salt and a great dish from very little.

(I reckon the calories are about 400kCal – boiled pinto beans are good!)

 

 

Busy working day – 16:8 then Sardines picante and a couple of Ryvita for lunch. Three tangerines.

Grilled chicken thigh, half a leek and sweet potato wedges. Apple to finish off with.

Trying to lose weight as well as making my rations last. (got a couple of cups of pinto beans soaking for tomorrow,…)

I do 16:8 intermittent fasting so not having breakfast. I’ve done 16:8 for a while. I’ve never been a big breakfast eater and usually just a cup of tea then get hungry mid-morning.

Interestingly with 16:8 as a discipline I tend not to start being aware of feeling hungry until it is getting close to 16 hours. Discipline and routine are pretty important. It interests me that in the comfortable western world where we have food at arm’s reach we get hungry, tired and grumpy within hours of eating yet much of the world works hard labour on maybe two meals a day if they are lucky.

Well its Sunday and one of my favourite things to do on a Sunday is to indulge in a bit of foodie creativity. Maybe get some cook books out. Come up with a plan. Create a culinary masterpiece or at least practice a new dish, cuisine or technique. This would involve heading to the shops and searching for some new or exotic ingredients.

Today I am in the mood for getting my Kamado Joe Smoker going and cooking up some beef short ribs.

I had four in the freezer and took two out yesterday. On a normal weekend I might have gone and bought some other meat and “saved” these for a bigger BBQ with guests. These are nice ribs. Bought them at the wonderful farmshop on the Gloucester services on the M5. If you’ve not been try either Gloucester or its sister Tebay high up the m6. Great local produce.

So how should I do these ribs?

I have traditionally smoked slow and low. Simple. i will write this as I go along.

Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

Beef short ribs

Salt (I use Maldon)

Black pepper or a dry rub of your choice (I use Salt Lick’s rub from Texas)

Method

Liberally salt the ribs all over on a plate  in the fridge let your meat get some air.

This is important to allow the meat /salt interaction that will subsequently become magic with the smoke and heat.

Get the smoker to around 250-275degF. I set up with 2 ceramic heat guards and the grills as standard. I use three probes with the EasyBBQ thermometer.

Thats kind of it for a bit. if the Kamado is set up properly it should hold at 250-275F. the meat will gradually heat up and then stall.

As expected the meat hit a stall at about 2-3 hours in. temp about 168degrees F. Sat through it and an hour and a half later crosses the 170 mark and heads to 180degF.

I wrapped and added some beef stock to the foil package.

Gave it another hour and then rested about 40mins (it was getting late).

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Could have ripped of the bone caveman style but trying to stretch things out so served sliced on a sandwich with mustard, pickles and a leaf of baby gem lettuce.

Starting the first weekend in January. The 5^th  is the day that the decorations should come down and a great day to start.

I’ve done Dry January from the 1^stand feel better for it. Managed a couple of weeks last year so should be interesting. Today I threw away an open box of mince pies and have a couple of boxes of chocolates and biscuits that I will give to the food bank.

I haven’t done a stock take of my cupboards yet as I think that will be required later.

I know I have pasta and a variety of cans, jars, packets and boxes of non-perishable stuff.

My freezer is full to the point of drawers hardly closing.

I think the focus is on the perishable side of things.  I also don’t want to waste anything. I am intrigued how long I can survive on this stuff that I have.

Recipe today is going to be easy and healthy.

 

Chicken breast with kale, bacon and brussels sprouts

Ingredients

1 defrosted skinless chicken breasts

Handful kale

5-10 brussels’s sprouts roughly chopped

3-4 rashers of bacon chopped into small strips

Method

Grill or Pan-fry the chicken (I use a rapeseed oil).

Steam the kale.

When chicken cooked set aside and then pan fry the bacon and then add the chopped sprouts.

Toss in the drained steamed kale.

Serve in a bowl with the chicken sliced on top.

(can add other stuff you have in store: top the chicken with spice mix, put chestnuts into the sprouts, chilli sauce on the chicken etc)

(I did a quick calc and this is about 600kCal if you are counting).

I live alone so this may be somewhat unique and less applicable to the demands of those that have non-compliant children (although it may be a learning experience) or family members with illness but for couples and single living people the rest is excuses.

As a food enthusiast I may also have more in my stores but I have a small kitchen with a stand-up fridge freezer so I don’t think I am that much an outlier!

There will be rules but these are just mine. I think this can be adapted in many ways.

I will eat out at times. This will be as I would normally and not to string out the challenge. I am in a busy job and also trying to lose some weight with this (starting weight is 210lbs/95.2kg]. I will try to cover all meals from this but occasions may require something to be bought for lunch etc where taking food from home is not practical.

What about beg, borrow and stealing?

I don’t recommend it but its your experience. If you were really in this situation would you turn down offers of help?

Apart from all that I am wondering how long I can go without shopping – 2 weeks? A month? Longer? I doubt it will be more than a month.

I suspect it won’t be long until I am needing or wanting something.

I have looked through what I have and it looks exciting. I have not stocked up beyond what I had in routinely and what was left over from the holidays.

As for fresh stuff I have a vegetable drawer with some basics – a few potatoes, carrots, a leek and some celery. I have onions and apples. A bag of sweet potatoes which are a few weeks old now.

I’ve got half a loaf of bread and few bits of cheese and charcuterie in the fridge.

The freezer is a voyage of discovery. There is lots in there. I use a vac packer so most is identifiable but there are some Tupperware tubs of unlabelled stuff, some bags and boxes of other stuff. I am sure these will become important in the next few weeks!

My cupboards harbour all sorts of non perishables. Cereals, flours, pasta, grains, sauces, pickles and chutneys.

I could plan the whole things and have a scientific method but this is not my usual way. I am a semi-impulsive cook. I cook what I have a taste for. sometimes I have a taste for things days in advance. Sometimes it is simply what I fancy when I get home and a improvised dish comes from the ingredients at hand.

I wonder what the next few weeks will brings about…

I will journal my meals with brief recipes, comments and reflections.