Return to Glory!!

I have returned from my 3 week hiatus and made myself and mother a meal today of Teriyaki Beef.

Uhmmm it was a welcome back that my stomach was welcoming, I was supposed to have cooked last weekend, but having not had the chance to go shopping prior to the day, last Sunday's meal was a bit of a mish mash and I absolutely hated every piece of it. I couldn't quite see past the blandness of what I had created and my palate was craving for something more flavorful and deliciously unexpected.

Thankfully that weekend taught me that there's no going back, there is need for experimenting even when that experiment produces something unpalatable. If you like sweet peppers, soy sauce, and a sweet tasting meat then this is a recipe for you which requires only a few ingredients and is so easily made that even the most inexperienced cook should have no problems making it, this was served up with rice and vegetables.

For desert this week, I made another cake, my mother suggested making Carrot cake once more, however I quickly shut that idea down and advised her that the point was to try new things, not to repeat. I made an Orange Sponge cake, which tastes great, I totally enjoyed it and had it with a side helping of vanilla ice-cream.

On a different note today is my brother's birthday and he is now 31, the oldest of 3 children my mom has. It's weird, but although he's older, sometimes I feel closer to him than I do to my twin, the 3 of us have always had an extremely close bond. Whenever I want straight up opinion and advice I turn to him as even though I may not want to hear, he delivers it in a manner which allows me to see reason and accept. Happy Birthday B.O.Wood!!

A little Taste of India...

I have overcome the laziness that has overshadowed me for the last couple of weeks. On Wednesday of this week I decided that I was going to cook chicken as I hadn't ate chicken on the last few Sundays due to not being home and of course over the Easter period meat is frowned upon, particularly on Good Friday.

Shopping was done on Friday evening, and I was only able to purchase the chicken as I was still unsure what the meal would be.. my mom settled it for me. Having had a quick scan through a book of chicken recipes she requested either Fruity Chicken Curry or Chicken Tikka Masala. I settled on the Chicken Tikka Masala...




Desert was an easier decision, I was getting slightly bored with chilled deserts and of cream, I wanted cake.... looking at the varying recipes left me salivating, should I make a traditional West Indian cake with lots of fruit, Black Wine and Rum.... or venture out and make one that I've never attempted....I chose to venture out and decided on a Carrot Cake... I love carrot cake but couldn't quite fathom making one: as my brother quite eloquently phrased it 'he can't just eat anyone's carrot cake as not everyone can make it the way it's meant to be made' and honestly even though I wanted to make it I felt the same... what if it doesn't taste like the ones I've had before... (Eeek).



I got up reasonably early for a Sunday, showered then dashed to the Supermarket to pick up some more ingredients for my cake and chicken, honey, hazelnuts, walnuts, bicarbonate of Soda, baking powder, garam masala and fresh corriander.... On another note I must add that the costs of ingredients seems to be depleting as I have to buy less each time on account of previous meals. Yay!!!

Returning home I ate some breakfast (if it can be called that at 12.30), then promptly immersed myself in the kitchen from that point thereafter until 17:30...can you believe it...5 hours standing on my feet slaving away in the kitchen.. the cake looked hideous when mixed...but looks and tastes very much like carrot cake should, moist, not too sweet and nutty. Like the cake the Tikka Masala also looked a bit iffy until finished... I guess it will take a bit of getting used to this cooking with yogurt and cream, it was tasty, very much similar in taste to the coconut and chilli pork but without the coconut... I really do believe that my favorite fresh herb is Corriander... I love the tatse and smell of it.

All in all dinner was good and it's good to be back and cooking... I am enjoying Indian/ Asian cuisine I believe, perhaps because like West Indian cuisine lots of spices and herbs are used in the preparation of meals.

Recipes to follow...

Strawberry Ice-Cream

This weekend I didn't really cook again, we resorted to West Indian. I am lazy as of late and can't quite muster up the energy to cook. It seriously takes a lot out of you, more than you can imagine. How do mothers do this everyday, I mean seriously! But I promise I'll be back soon, next week.

The only thing I attempted this week was Strawberry Ice-cream and damn was I stressed by the end of it. It started like any other, me shopping for my ingredients coming home all eager and raving to go wanting to get on with things and produce my master piece. Sounds like a walk in the park until things started going pear shaped.

I separated my eggs, the yolks were placed in a bowl with the caster sugar and stirred until light in color, the milk was on the burner being heated, and as per the recipe the warm milk was added to the egg yolk mixture, then poured back into the pan... now here's where it got tricky.. I am supposed to stir until thick and the mixture coats the back of a spoon... but ensuring that it does not boil.. and this was fine with me, after all I've done it twice before when I made coconut and then vanilla ice-cream... but not this time I'm stirring and stirring trying to regulate the heat... what happens...... the egg started scrambling.. ARGH!!!

Well obviously I couldn't now use this, I had to pour it down my sink... I know a waste of food but it wasn't intention. I got some more eggs and proceeded to make my custard again... it started well... I proceeded to stir, patiently waiting for it to thicken, but thicken it would not, I stood there for 30 minutes stirring, swearing, getting tired but nothing, then a brain wave perhaps there's too much liquid and not enough yolk, so I added another egg yolk and continued stirring, wonders it startet to work... until it started to scramble again slightly........arrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh not again.. I felt like crying. I had no more eggs in the house after using 10 and the milk was near finish... brainwave, as it's only at the bottom of the pan... how about straining it... this I did... or tried doing, the strainer fell in twice and I had to strain and restrain... presto a result... it finally looked like it should without any lumps of clumps... relief.

I am not a patient person and throughout this process I was absolutely annoyed with my entire family.. my twin came and attempted to hug me and was nearly pushed straight accross the room... Don't touch me... just leave me alone... I don't like giving up and perseverance paid off, my ice-cream tastes great..... my mom can't get enough of it and it was worth the headache.

Beginning to rue the day I came up with the idea to start cooking...what the heck was I thinking.

Mother's Day!!

Today is Mother's Day in the UK and my family got together to enjoy the day together and to show our mother some love... and of course yours truly was nominated to be the chef of the day... now that I've shown them that I know my way around the kitchen, it's going to be hard to back out of it.... oh well the sacrifice I have to make. The deserts were made on Saturday as usual due to the time factor and everything else today. I got up early, made breakfast thensettled into getting my meal ready at around 13:00 pm, I commence my chopping, dicing, whisking and mixing of the required ingredients.

As I was unable to/forfeited cooking fish last week I decided that irrespective of the fact that my twin was going to be around that I would cook fish and I was not willing to compromise, he had to either eat it and enjoy or don't. I was not in the mood for more meat this week.

This week I went all out, after all Mother's day is only once a year, and she has been cooking for me for the last 26+ years, so it's about time I repay her right. I decided that as everyone was coming over and also being mother's day that it was an occasion to bring out the china and crystals and set the table for a change.

I made 2 starters and 2 deserts to accommodate the kids.





The starters for the kids, I made before but as they enjoyed it so much the last time I decided to treat them to it once more, after all it's not so often that they get to eat my cooking; they had cheesy sausage bites, whilst us adults had prawn tortillas, and my they were nice but spicy there was a certain kick to it which was unexpected and had everyone dashing towards the water dispenser... but they enjoyed it and did not let the spice stop them from eating it, even my nephew surprised his mother by eating one despite the heat.

Main course: Even though I strive to eat and cook different foods each week, it was somewhat more West Indian inspired as i try my best to accommodate the varying likes and dislikes of my family members, rice for my nieces, macaroni cheese pie for my twin and nephew and everything else everyone would have with no fuss. I saw this interesting recipe with Tuna Steaks but couldn't find any Tuna in the three shops I visited so I settled for some Jamaican Talapia. These were seasoned and left to marinate overnight prior to cooking, they were then lighlty covered in flour (seasoned with mixed herbs) then fried for roughly 2 minutes each on both sides, before being placed in the oven with onions and sweet peppers for another 10 minutes prior to serving, and it was delicious. Having fish was such a welcoming change and everyone complimented the meal and ate to their hearts content.





Deserts were: Stem Ginger and Pineapple Pavlova ( I know it's a repeat: but my nephew loved it so much and I promised him I would make it for him: I'm such a push over). I also made vanilla ice-cream, I have only had a small helping of the ice-cream but the feedback from those that had it including my mother was that it tastes very nice.

I do so love when others compliment and enjoy my culinary attempts.

I am bone tired but it was worth it: I love you Mom!!


I know I have yet to post a few recipes on here, I have been slacking of late.... updates to follow throughout this week...sorry all.

The wonderful world of me!

I haven’t written anything in a while and I am feeling decidedly guilty for not doing so.

I have had a very busy weekend, spent with family and friends and cooking on Sunday with hardly any time in between to breathe or relax properly. The outcome is that I am now feeling shattered and I’m only 2 days into my 5 day working week.

Friday evening I went out to dinner with my work colleagues and it was interesting. It’s always a nice atmosphere getting together with current and past employees, catching up on what they have been doing in their lives and respective jobs. The food was Asian and my choice of Chicken Korma was not well received, I really did not enjoy it, it has a sweet coconut taste that was not appealing to my taste buds.

On a different note a brother of one of my colleague’s whose employers works alongside us was there and actually left me stupefied and rendered temporarily speechless. Here’s what happened in brief;

So I have a small stature, I am 5”7” and weigh 120lbs roughly (I haven’t weighed myself in a while), my outfit for the night… black leggings, black patent rounded tipped heels, and a pink knitted fitted top which extended just below my rear… my hair pinned up, silver tear drop earrings with a pink coloured stone and a black clutch bag.

So I am there calmly minding my business mixing and mingling and conversing with others. I stood up and approached someone and said something of which I can’t quite recall what exactly, heading back to my chair I am stopped by the sound of my name being yelled across the room…

Him: Danielle!..... Danielle!...

Me: Yes…

Him; You’ve got a Wicked Physique… (Shouted loudly over the din of people)

Me: What?! (Said in shock and a gaping mouth)

Him: You’ve got a Wicked Physique (he said this so loudly that all other conversations around the table were promptly halted)

Me; Ahmm… Thanks...he then proceeded to tell me that perhaps he should take me home to his wife and tell her that this is what she needs to look like…

Lol… I have been told this a few times but I guess where others see a slim build, long legs and proportioned curves... I see barely there hips and drumstick legs… I should listen to my boyfriend more often then.

So that was the evening in a nutshell I got in just before 1:00am and went straight to bed as I had an early morning wake up call for my first drivng lessons…look out all…Danielle’s going to be on the roads.

On Sunday I committed a cardinal sin; I cooked a meal which I have already made, since my new experiment commenced, this is something I did not want to happen. My aim was to do something different every week and I have failed… though technically since I changed the meat used I can perhaps delude myself into thinking that I haven’t completely failed myself and after all no ones scoring me right… only myself. This week’s meal was a duplicate of last weeks however the desert was different, it tasted great and for my brother’s girlfriend she really relished it and even inquired about the recipe. I made Chicken with chili and coconut. I desperately wanted to cook fish but had unexpected guest (my twin and his girlfriend) my twin brother apart from myself has to be the most fussy eater I know of and though he east fish he has steadfastly refused to eat too much of it since moving to this country and I didn’t want him wasting my meal.

For desert I made a Coconut Cream Pie… if you are not a fan of coconut then this would not be for you… it was okay but again like the Key Lime Pie it was nothing to scream and shout about… though admittedly the Key Lime Pie tasted better on the Monday than it did no the Sunday it was made… the up coming Sunday is mother’s day here and I have yet to plan my meal… must think hard about what to make…I have built up the anticipation that much that it’s getting harder and harder to live up to the expectations of all… on that note a work colleague after reading my blog made a request today for me to make her a Tropical Fruit cheesecake… hmmm don’t know if I can keep up with this.

Back on Track

My desire to cook different mains (other than West Indian) and deserts continue, though I fear I may be putting on weight and that is a bit scary to contemplate for someone who has ranged between the 119-126 from the age of 15... I must ask my friends whether I am or not.

Then again maybe I need new glasses...

Today's meal was Pork with Chili and Coconut, served with Angel Hair pasta... it was decidedly different and offered a new taste to the palate. I enjoyed it quite a lot and after last weeks meal it was a definite thumbs up. My taste buds were screaming in ecstasy and my tummy was rejoicing at receiving something that tasted well together. I am beginning to realize that the more I cook the easier it seems weekly and the less time required to complete each meal... then again maybe it's the meals I chose to make. Today's main course took about an hour to make and required minimum effort... who knew you could serve up such a delicious meal so easily and quickly, let's just say that had I known I would have started cooking before the age of 27.

Desert this week was Key Lime Pie... my pastry wasn't the best I've made but the pie was nice, cooked to near perfection and tasted well... though it's nothing in comparison to the Pavlova I made previously.



All in all... the main I would make again... the desert... it is nice but not nice enough to inspire me to make it a second time... it was just not my thing really.... guess my Sister-in-law will be happy though as she claims that Key lime pie is one of her favorite deserts so I shall send her a huge portion tomorrow.

Hmmm... What should I cook next week??? In the last few weeks my mains have been casserole dishes... I'm feeling the need for something baked/vegetarian/fish. Will have to think hard about this and decide what I most desire. Looks like I'll be making Mother's day meal for everyone... my mom has started hinting along with my sister-in-law and another family friend... hmm the challenge of it all... Imagine they are putting their faith and stomachs into the hands of a culinary novice.

Recipes to follow....

It is not as EASY as it seems!

Very early this week I decided that I wanted to cook lamb... I settled on a dish of Moroccan Lamb Tagine served with vegetable cous cous and honey glazed carrots.... followed by a desert of Orange and Passion Fruit Sorbet. It all seemed relatively easy and complimented each other well and I figured it will be fine to do it all on the day as opposed to making the desert the day before.

It was not a great start: first of all I read the recipe for the sorbet slightly wrong and assumed that I would easily be able to make it on the day... not so... luckily on second glance last night I realized that the juice mixture needed to freeze for at least 2 hours prior to mixing in the whisked egg whites. I decided that to ensure that it was made properly that I would need to wake up for 9:00 to get things started. I complicated matters further by going to bed at 2:30 am and felt absolutely shattered by the time my alarm went off signaling that it was time to get up... I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for a morning in the kitchen. I prepared the juice mixture fine.. then thought perfect time to chop and season my meat prior to cooking.

Having done my shopping on Friday evening after work and picked up what I thought was a nice cut of Lamb Shoulder... again I was wrong as what looked like 3lbs of meat turned out to be 1 1/2 lbs meat and 1 1/2 lbs of fat... (yuck) . I spent almost an hour cutting, chopping and getting rid of excess fat then seasoning, another 15-30 minutes was spent chopping up and getting the other ingredients ready. By the time I was finished I was shattered.. just enough time to shower and relax for a short period prior to attacking the desert again.

I whisked the egg whites then added this to the juice mixture trying to fold in the eggs into the juice... as the recipe stated it would not fold for the life of me... It looked like juice with egg whites floating on top. I whisked, beat, all to no avail... finally I had a wise idea how about leaving it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so and see what happens... well what happened... nothing... it started freezing the way it went in... juice with a floating egg white island.

Another brain wave... What about blending it??? I took out my blender and proceeded to blend the mixture together... It finally worked.... finally I had a mixture that was one consistent color... YAY...

Back to my meat I proceeded as per the recipe ensuring all ingredients were halved, as I had less meat than anticipated. It turned out presumably how it should. In all honesty I have never had lamb Tagine but I figured I can try making it because you really can't knock something until you try it right.

After doing so... I am very unsure as to whether I would actually ever attempt this meal in the future. Somehow it did not quite appeal to my pallet. My twin and his girlfriend came by.. and I guess we're two peas in a pod as he didn't like it either. My mom she said she enjoyed it better than the curry so I guess that's saying something about it... as on any given day I would have the curry over the Tagine, and my twins girlfriend liked it to an extent I think.

The desert was the only part of the meal I liked... thankfully something I liked.



But hey please don't let my review stop you from trying it yourself....

Thai Red Beef Curry...

After many hours of perusing the cook book, deliberating and lamenting on whether or not the varying dishes I looked at would appeal to my palate I have finally settled on making a curry.

Yes I know it's not a Chinese meal but hey it's close sort of... it's Thai... It sounds good and I fancy beef this week, the last 2 weeks were Chicken dishes and one can only eat so much chicken before fancying something different... though I think I will still have to do some chicken as the curry may just be a tad too spicy for my niece's and nephew. My brother has volunteered himself and family to be my guinea pigs again this week.

Making the Thai Red Beef Curry will be a challenge as it's very different from how us West Indian's normally make our curry dishes.However I'm not going to be daunted as you won't know if you can do something until you try so I shall continue trying... as long as I stick to the recipe then surely I can't go wrong. Right??

I shall update you on the outcome and the feedback received from my guinea pigs of the week.

Starters...not very Thai/Chinese inspired will be Cheese and Olive bites (some will be substituted with sausages for the kids) ... it is literally olives covered by a cheesy pastry.

For desert: A frozen Lemon Flummery, as usual desert will be made on Saturday as it requires a minimum of 14 hours prior to serving. My audience will prefer Pavlova as my nephew and sister-in-law really enjoyed it last week after I sent them some, but I intend to stick to my plans of trying something different every week for the time being.

And so I shall say... Watch this Space for an update on the meal of the week.

Yeahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Slice of Heaven...Awaits...

Work today was better than yesterday my grouchy mood somehow disipated and I spent my lunch hour booking my flight to "Sunny SVG" in August, I can't wait to go.... that alone has ensured that a smile/ or maybe I should say that I maintained a better mood throughout the day.

With thoughts of going home in my head nothing could put a dampener on my day, not even when I had to try and communicate in English to two Brazilians who clearly had no great understanding of the English language and the UK's Government and Benefit system, even after nearly an hour and a half of gesticulating and rephrasing and a headache, I was still upbeat.... only one thought in my head..home, awaiting... my own little slice of heaven tucked away where only I can access.... willing the months to roll on by.


On the cooking front....

I'm still trying to figure out what to make on Sunday, I'm sure I'll get some sort of inspiration soon, but for now different recipes look appealing but not quite appealing... can't quite explain.

I seem to have encouraged some little monsters as well, my older brother has somehow heard through the grapevine (his wife) that I intend to cook a different meal every Sunday and has kindly volunteered himself and family to be my guinea pigs once again this week, not sure if this is a good thing, with only 2 of us in my household we normally have the left-over on a Monday. The last time I invited him around on Sunday he came back on the Monday and ate my dinner and had the cheek to send me a text saying thanks for dinner on both nights... lol... Brothers!! You really have to love them right.... mines they're annoying but I love them dearly...

Cannelloni Al Forno...

Well my second week in and my bid to try different foods and cook them continues....

I cooked for myself and family again...well only my mom and twin who decided to pop by...

I made a dish of Cannelloni Al Forno....sounds complicated right... honestly I can't even pronounce the name, but it looked and sounded like it would be an incredibly tasty dish and once again I was glad that I chose to make it.

I feel absolutely drained now, my cooking and preparation for today's meal started yesterday as I couldn't quite see myself making 2 desserts and a main course all at the same time.

Yesterday on Valentine's Day I got up reasonably early (for me anyways) at 11:00am, I cleaned, ate breakfast then prepared myself for what was ahead. I was daunted and was not quite sure where to begin, but once the process started I realized that making ice-cream of any sort is not actually as hard as it may seem.

It is a matter of ensuring that the recipe is followed and that in the completion stages that the ice-cream is looked after i.e. taking it out of the freezer after 3 hours or there about and mashing it to get rid of any ice crystals then refreezing and doing the same again after another couple of hours.

All in all it was a success in my opinion; My guinea pig ALS did not enjoy it as much as she doesn't like ice-cream with bits, however my other guinea pig Gokhan seemed to have enjoyed it and said so, I have barely tasted it myself, only a small spoonful but I was happy with the taste and the consistency.



The Pavlova was a greater success I made 2 small meringues for mom and myself as tasters and had these with Vanilla Ice-cream, whipped cream and a splash of Baileys, I felt like I was in desert heaven. The Pavlova was left for today's dinner, and it was great the taste of the pineapple and ginger combined with the whipped cream and meringue base was just as heavenly as the combination had on Valentine's Day but more refreshingly so.


The main course: Cannelloni Al Forno is as tiring to make as its name is to pronounce, I commenced my preparation at 15:30pm today and was not able to eat until 18:40pm, and it took nearly 3 hours (Arrrrrrrrggggghhh). I did not realized it would take as long as it did and I ambitiously said to my hungry mother 'don't worry dinner should be ready by 17:30pm as per normal' was I ever so wrong. I guess I under estimated the length of time it would take to blend and mix everything; but it was worth the time, we had this with vegetables and a small helping of sweet potatoes. My mother's words after tasting it; "It tastes like something you will eat in a restaurant". Though having said that she was hungry and we all know that a lot of things taste better when you're hungry but hey whatever I now know how to make it and can do so again unaided and I enjoyed it.





I did not make any starters this week and I am absolutely glad that I didn't as I am now completely stuffed and extremely tired... cooking is tiring... but you know what it is worth absolutely every minute of time spent on it especially if it turns out well and others enjoy it.... there is then more pleasure to be gained for having tried.


Whilst it may seem that I'm commenting on the tastiness of each course with a biased view, I am honestly a very picky eater and have been known to comment on the taste of food good or bad whether I am the cook or not.

Please feel free to ask for any of the recipes that take your fancy and give it a whirl.

An update of a pic with the ice-cream to follow....

Now what should I make next Sunday?? Any Suggestions? I'm thinking perhaps something Chinese!

Flying Solo....

In my bid to try new things in life and to explore the wonderful world of food I have decided to try something different at least every week and that includes main course and desert which for me involves unfortunately a lot of whisking, blending, and beating among other things and is costing me a sizable sum since making each meal seems to come at a cost of $20 (no pound sign). What exactly is motivating me you might ask... in all honesty I have no idea; it is actually a combination of things.... I am currently fed up of eating West Indian, every Sunday I know what I am going to eat and I have had enough for the moment... another is the fear that my husband whoever that may be will desert me for not being able to cook properly.... or maybe it is a fear that when I do venture out on my own I will suddenly balloon out because I don't know how to and can't cook for myself and will have to resort to fast food which I don't particularly like. However, we all know that whilst I may dislike fast food desperate times will call for desperate measures... I intend to not get desperate so...

I Danielle Samuel at the ripe old age of 27 has decided that I need to finally learn to cook.

Since making this decision I now find myself perusing the cook book like it is a gripping and thrilling novel... mesmerized by and salivating at the sight of the pictures shown of the finished meal... reading up on the ingredients required and trying to familiarize myself with and improve my knowledge of foreign ingredients....

Last week I decided to treat my immediate family to a meal prepared by yours truly. Based on past experiences I'm actually surprised that they all came. And there began my efforts to cook for others besides myself.

I saw this lovely recipe for crispy stuffed chicken breast…sounds good right? In my opinion and that of my ever so critical family it was good, I must admit I cheated and didn't make the stuffing myself, instead I used a packet of Paxo Sage and Onion stuffing. I eagerly went shopping and purchased myself a container of chicken breasts, parmesan cheese, parmaham and bread crumbs, the only missing ingredients.

The chicken was fairly easy to cook and proved to be worth the extra effort. I firstly washed and seasoned my meat and left it to marinate for a bit, I then coated it with butter, added my stuffing and pinned it with cocktail sticks to ensure my stuffing stayed in place and coated each breast with a topping of parmesan, bread crumbs and finely chopped and fried parmaham (can substitute for bacon rashes). This was then baked in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

To compliment this I made a starter of stuffed potatoes with humus and spring onion, (a lot of stuffed food I know) this recipe I found by off chance and have now made my own by adding soft cheese and a sprinkling of parmesan. For the ever picky and fussy twin brother it was a hit, a self confessed hater of humus, he actually relished it.

As an adage and particularly to please my twin brother and nephew I made a Macaroni cheese pie, and this certainly went down well, my brother declared it to be the best pie he has had in a while and even complimented me further today by asking his girlfriend to call me and find out what I had put in my pie, which for all intents and purposes was nothing extra. I made a small helping of Basmati Rice for my nieces who both seem to adore white rice and roasted vegetables; we mustn’t forget our helping of greens.



They were all then treated to a desert of Tropical fruit cheesecake, and I must say that for my first attempt at a cheesecake whilst it wasn't perfect it was reasonably tasty.


I think these culinary skills are here to stay and so with that “Roll On” Sunday where I will attempt to make Cannelloni Al Forno and a desert of Pineapple and Stem Ginger Pavlova and homemade Coconut Ice-Cream... must have that weekly splash of Caribbean if only by the use of one ingredient.

Updates to follow...