Food (or lack of) in the News...Orthorexia TV Package

In contrast to the usual gorge-yourself-until-it-hurts ethic of this blog, I produced this TV package, revolving around eating disorders; and orthorexia in particular.
In spite of the subject recently being given a lot of press attention, being the curious little beaver that I am, I decided to delve a little deeper into the subject and in turn, share my knowledge and wisdom and all that jazz with you...
Eitherway, after many an hour spent locked away in an editing suite, this is the final spangly product....be kind please.

On the menu...Saturday 12th

Rump Steak with New Potatoes and Maddy's Special Cauliflower Cheese

I bet I know what you're thinking.

STEAK! Mmm...

POTATOES! Mmm...

Mush on the side...WHAT'S THAT!?

This shall be revealed later in a separate post. Ooo, a sense of food related mystery...(and by that I mean the good kind, not the "when exactly did this go out of date?!" kind, often resulting in an unpleasant spot of food poisoning).

Anyway...

Feeling infinitely proud of my ability to feed up my fella, reeling off the sense of smugness from my previous night's achievements, I decided stepping up my game was the only way forward. And, stereotypically, in my opinion, where this is involved, steak must be involved. (Especially considering it almost coincided with a particular...*ahem*...alternative date on the foodie calendar...)

Let's get this straight. If you're going to cook a steak, for heavens sake cook it right! A well done steak in my humble opinion a crime against meat, a cow's death in vain...But no pressure.

A few cheeky tips for cooking the perfect steak!

1. Season. Salt and pepper is an essential. 

2. Oil the meat, not the pan. Not only does it save on waste and mess, but ensures that the entire surface area of the meat is protected before cooking.

3. Massage your meat. Yes, I am aware of how perverse this sounds, and no, this isn't a trick to make you appear as though you have some kind of meat fetish. By giving your steak a thorough rubbing with oil, it tenderizes it, making it juicier and easier to chew when cooked.

4. Ensure your pain is sizzling hot. You'll know it's ready when steam starts rising from it. Hello Mr convector-fan, it's time for a workout...

Griddle power

5. Don't play with your meat. Another unintentional innuendo. To elaborate, once you've placed your steak in the griddle pan, don't mess it about, flipping it over every 10 seconds. We're all guilty of it. But be patient! Blackened griddle marks are a positive sign.

6. Depending on the thickness of the steak and your cooking preference this will obviously differ, but for a medium-rare steak (my preference!) allow the meat to cook on each side until it has visibly cooked (the outside colour will turn from red to pale brown), and no signs of redness can be seen from any side or angle. Then allow a minute or so's extra cooking time on top of this. If, like me, you've heard the old "if it feels like the left side of your palm its well done, or under your thumb its rare" -type mythical nonsense, IGNORE IT! You'll only confuse yourself, and in the process of navigating around your own hand, massacre your steak.

As snug as a bug in a rug...or a steak in
some tin-foil. Practically the same thing.

7. Once you're happy, remove it from the pan and seal in a layer of tin-foil for a few minutes. Don't worry, it won't go cold! This allows the steak to soak back up it's own juices making it, you guessed it, uber juicy!

8. Plate up with your favourite accompaniment...my own cauliflower cheese recipe is a definite winner...

9. Eat it you fool!

On the menu...Friday 11th

Gnocchi with Choritzo, Mushrooms and Spinach in a Tomato and Garlic Sauce

"This is the best thing you've ever cooked me"

- Ben Bishop, 2011

Nothing quite like the innocent words of your Boyfriend to transport you back to a 50's stylee regime of domesticity.

Either I should take such critical "acclaim" as a sincere compliment, an ode to my impromptu culinary abilities...or take it as a subtle hint that the vast majority of the time I feed him garbage. I prefer to think that it isn't the latter.

Admittedly, this heaped mess does somewhat resemble a Dog's dinner. But looks can be deceiving, and take my word, this little beaut of a concoction is just as comforting and delicious as it is easy to prepare.

Some of you may be unaware of gnocchi, what it is, how to make it, how even to eat it! (-Well I don't know how Kitchen-smart you are!) For those of you who this applies to, expand your culinary horizons!

Ultimately comforting and wholesome, gnocchi consists of part mashed potato and pasta mix. A combination of 2 of these wonderfully starchy, carbohydrate-packed ingredients, it's surprisingly filling. 

Homemade gnocchi is relatively simple and cheap- there are plenty of recipes out there. My flatmate made a large batch of it, which took her around an hour, however she is part Italian which immediately roused my suspicion as to how much easier she'd find preparing it though! So for the rest of us simpletons, unless you really have nothing better to do (assignments, anyone?!) I'd suggest just buying a pack. I went for an Asda 'Extra Special' version -I'd love to say my reasons for this were that I was feeling a little more extravagant than usual,but alas, I just couldn't find the cheap version and I REALLY wanted gnocchi! Que sera sera.

On the menu...Wednesday 9th

Poached Smoked Cod with New Potatoes, a Garlic Mushroom and Broccoli

So, in spite of my best efforts to justify my calorific meals with any excuse possible (the classic "I'M A STUDENT" appearing most frequently) I had quite horrendously fallen off the healthy eating Bandwagon. Well and truly. In fact, not only did I fall, I tumbled heftily before landing with a earth-shaking shudder and rolling on down the road. A feat not entirely impossible considering the spherical shape of my rotund tum. 

So, along came this svelte little creation. Looking as though it should appear among the pages of a Weight Watchers Manual, I can feel myself slipping back into those size 8 jeans which until now had remained hidden with embarrassment at the back of my wardrobe.

The preparation of this plate was pretty standard...boil your potatoes, then your broccoli, fry off some garlic, add it to the mushroom then oven bake...nothing too accomplished. My only lazy attempt at providing a handy tip would be poaching the fish in milk as opposed to water- It gives it a meatier, richer texture. Although, as you can see from my efforts above, this won't save it from a crumbly fate when removing from the plan. Oh, and be wary of over-boiling your brocolli into a mushy oblivion- I made this fatal mistake; and can safely say that as trendy as purées may be on Masterchef, accidental broccoli purée-ing in the average student kitchen isn't half as apealling.

Nevermind, it all ends up in the same place anyway- and I'm guessing you won't be posting pictures of your dinnertime accomplishments on the World Wide Web as I am. Weirdo.

On the menu...Thursday 3rd

Mexican Night!

Sombreros, piñatas and tequila at the ready....well, perhaps forget the tequila on grounds of liver abuse...

Themed meal nights are a great way of getting in the mood to go out, celebrating someone's birthday, or simply just to save money on food by sharing the costs with your flatmates!

Yes, enchiladas and quesadillas covered in oozing cheese may not be the most artery-kind choice, but to critics, I say: We had salad on the side so NERRR.

It's unlikey that authentic Mexican cuisine would be prepared in this way, just as I'm almost certain that the Chinese don't eat crispy duck pancakes and drown everything in toxically gelatinous sweet and sour sauce 24/7. But to us blissfully unaware Brits, the basis of most Mexican based dishes consist of pretty similar ingredients, so if you're contemplating a Mexican feast then you'll definitely need:

In case you ever wondered...THIS is what 
an entire block's worth of cheese in grated
 form looks like!

 Flour tortilla wraps

Chicken

Spice mix/marinade

Peppers

Sweetcorn

Onion

Tomato relish/purée

Cheese...and plenty of it!

Fry all raw ingredients off in a wok

A spot of fancy handwork is about the trickiest skill required, so any origami pro's may wish to take this opportunity to boast their skills. Enchiladas need to be filled and rolled in the same style as a fajita would be, however placed in a baking dish, covered in sauce and cheese, then further reheated. Quesadilla's can be folded, flattened then fried in a pan on the stove, almost like a festive equivalent of the humble old toastie. Arriba!

On the Menu...Tuesday 1st

Unidentifiable meat product with Ratatouille

So, first things first: Immediate apologies for my significant lack of posts over the last week. 

Unfortunately for my waistline ever-hopeful of shrinking, reasons for this were not that I simply did not eat; nor could I claim to have been bogged down by Uni work (-well, Radio package and Online journalism essay aside, however that was due to my poor organisational skills)

My excuse? Quite simply, I have been eating filth. Utter GRIME. Until now I have been too ashamed to divulge this onto the general public. And as I'm pretty certain nobody wants to look at pictures of empty gin/vodka/cider/wine bottles (shudder) and various foodstuff's covered in pastry, I deemed this decision as just on the grounds of THE GREATER GOOD. It was only a matter of time until I (quite magnificently) fell off the healthy bandwagon.

So, in attempts to coax my stomach into accepting normality once more, this meal appeared a friendly compromise. 

For now, please turn a blind eye to the revolting slab of what I can only presume was in a previous life, a burger, and focus on the slightly more virtuous side of the plate.

Sadly, I take just as much satisfaction I being able to spell ratatouille as I do eating it, however, this ruby red side-dish shouldn't be sniffed at.

Traditionally made by frying onions, garlic, courgettes, aubergines and peppers together then combining with tomatoes, this can be easily be adapted depending on what random extra items of veg you have lurking at the bottom of your fridge. Courgettes are an essential base however.

In my case, this was mushrooms and cauliflower. Lightly fry the vegetables together in a large pan or wok, then when soft, bung in a can of chopped tomatoes, allow to simmer, and season with Italian herbs. If the sauce is a little bitter, add a spoonful of sugar or cheat with a cheeky dollop of ketchup. I always did believe ketchup was a necessity to the best of meals!