Hi Did you miss me? Spinal surgery, flat pie and rice pudding!

      Well it's been a long time, various reasons for that.

                 Mostly health and I am sorry for not being here to keep you up to date.

          Most recent was spinal surgery in June 2015, on the lumbar 2/3 joint, a decompression with a bone graft to hold it apart. The joint had collapsed completely and was causing agony as it pressed down heavily on a nerve. Most strange was the pain felt as if it was largely in my legs because that is where that nerve carried messages from. It felt like a constant electric shock which got worse if I moved at all.
           
                      Please excuse these pictures if they are not to your taste
                                         (food pictures lower down the page)

 

 Of course because I live in a first floor apartment (second floor in the US) and wouldn't part with Tich, life became an agonising ordeal, 5 times a day taking her over the road to the park. This was from winter solstice 2014 run up until the surgery in June.

 


 I unfortunately did not record the surgery or my hospital stay and these are the only photos I have. These were taken when I went for the staples out, some 6 weeks later.

      Taken on my new phone, a Moto E which I have very recently upgraded to Android 5.1, a considerable improvement on earlier OS Many thanks to my daughters who gave it to me as a Christmas prezzie last year. The old nokia had been knacked for ages and I was reduced to a very old school nokia that was only any good for phone and text. Many thanks to them also for the help they have given me this year, when I have been broken and in pain, at my most helpless and vulnerable. 

                    They each know what they have done for me.
 



      
                     Surgery was in Ipswich hospital, Suffolk and my surgeon Mr Lovell did an excellent job. I cannot thank him enough.
     Also the anesthetist, the nurses and all the medical staff that looked after me so well during my stay and since.

            Unfortunately because of my previous cardiac problems I was high risk and he would only keep me under long enough to deal with the one joint. It was faraway the worst but unfortunately not the only problem joint. 

   I have had spinal problems for years and these were all exacerbated at the same time as I overdid things in the run up to the holiday season last year.
         This year I am taking it very easy, not only because I am still in a lot of pain and on very heavy painkillers, as well as using sticks to get about. I can feel that at least a couple more joints are only one foolish movement away from collapsing completely like the 2/3 did.

       I definitely am not risking that again


        Food wise I can't really remember what I have been making. I did get an ice cream maker earlier in the year and got the hang enough to make some cracking ice cream before the pain got too bad.
     Lemon and ginger was my favourite.
                   Unfortunately I don't remember if I took photos or wrote the recipe down, pain and painkillers will do that to your memory.


I have got myself down to a bit of a food routine now, to minimise the difficulty of cooking and associated pain. At the moment I am living on flat pie for dinner with a rice pudding for afters.
                                                   
 

                         Flat Pie

This is flat pie, my veggie version of 
cottage pie for people who live in flats. Minimum preparation because the veg are all frozen or tinned. I took these photos today, although I cooked the pie yesterday, so it isn't looking it's best.  

 Simple recipe, whatever you have available varying around pulses and veg. This has red kidney beans, chickpeas, washed dry green lentils, carrots, green beans, peas, diced onion. All into the dish, mixed up and leveled out. 

     In a measuring jug, to 2 tins of chopped tomatoes add 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric, good shake of chili flakes (vary to your taste) mix well. Pour across the top of the veg and spread out level with the back of a fork.

       For the top, rinse 2 large tins of potatoes and put in large jug, add some milk then with a hand blender turn into creamed potato. Stir in some grated cheese             
         Spread out flat across the top of the pie and sprinkle liberally with more grated cheese before putting in the oven. About 40 minutes on a low shelf at 200C, keeping an eye on it. I put it in underneath the rice pudding and cook both together.

           For this pie I tried 2 top layers, one using 1 tin of potatoes, the other with some shop bought pre-prepared carrot and swede mash. Turned out nicely.

             Makes 6 good portions although I haven't yet divided it into storage tubs and put into the fridge freezer. Reheat thoroughly before eating. I find it goes well served up with baked beans.



           Coconut Rice Pudding. 

I prepare this and serve up with the dish on the oven shelf to avoid having to lift heavy weights


  300g arborio  risotto rice, 70g sugar, good shake of nutmeg to taste. 1.5 litres of semi-skimmed milk, 0.5 litres of coconut cream/milk I am using solid block creamed coconut which is mixed up with boiling water

Put all the ingredients in the dish and mix thoroughly. Put the lid on and put in the oven on an upper mid shelf at 200C for about 30 minutes or until the milk is starting to simmer. Take the lid off, stir thoroughly again and shake more nutmeg across the top to taste. Cook for another 40 minutes. Serve hot and still milky, with fruit if you like it.

    Replace top of dish and return to the cooling oven. You will find it like this when it is cold which gives you a variety of serving options. Add milk and mix the serve hot and cold, reheat with the portion of pie and reserve for desert (saves power) or just cut a slice and eat like cake.  
   A few test runs will get it just the way you like it.

        This also makes 6 good portions which should be divided and stored in the fridge or freezer, although you can see that my first portion of rice pudding was considerably larger than my first portion of flat pie. It is very moreish. I find the risotto rice makes a creamier pudding than plain pudding rice. They are both round, short grained rice and the recipe works just as well with pudding rice but timings may need to vary

     Well there you have it. 2 simple recipes that will feed you for most of the week. They both cook at the same temperature and can be cooked together. I get the rice pudding in for the first cooking stage then prep the flat pie. Move onto stage 2 cooking and slide the flat pie in beneath it. When the pie is ready, the pudding can be taken out at the same time, and kept out while the oven cools if you like. It all depends how thick you like it.



 

Pa’s Home Baked Rustique Banana Loaf

Hi welcome back to Pa’s pages.

        Today I will show you how

to make some delicious

gluten-free banana loaf

        Even the ingredients are smiling.
Then as part of a great British fry-up for breakfast this morning, I incorporated a couple of buttered slices.

        DELIGHTFUL      So join me please for another baking adventure

Pa’s Power Breakfast–Fruity and Fun

Good morning world I have a busy day ahead so I have had a power breakfast special and I thought I would share it with you. Loads of fruit with cinnamon and mint. Simple and tasty which is how I like my food. Healthy and packed full goodness which is how I need it.

Pa’s Pae-otto Rice with Leaf Salad

Hi welcome to my easy rice recipe. I call it pae-otto  because I cook it like a paella or risotto, though I use a wholegrain brown rice and flavourings of my choice.    
       Pae-otto is simply cooking your 
   rice in a flavoured stock, with 
   added vegetables etc. The trick is
   cooking the rice until it has soaked
   up all the stock and is dry and
   cooked but not burnt. 
    Now in Valencia they will tell you that the crust on the paella pan is the best part and I like it if not burnt. If you are serving this up to friends and family and you don’t have the credibility of the Valencia paella makers, then you might be best keeping the crust for yourself or leaving it in the pan.

Risotto of course is not cooked as dry as paella and is easier to manage without a crust on the base. It really depends on how you are intending to serve it. I like it dry for serving with salad and it is easier to put on the table for a self serve buffet like this. For an evening dinner I tend more to a moist risotto consistency.

 Ingredients

  for the stock:-       

4 tbsp dried mint               

1/2 tsp turmeric                

1/2 tsp ground ginger        

2 tsp dried thyme               

3 star anise                         

 2 bulbs of garlic                 
1 large onion                   
    1 tin chopped tomatoes                    for the rice:-                    

                                               400g wholegrain brown rice

                                                   565g frozen peas and carrots

                     

for the salad:-

400g sweet peppers      

275g cherry tomatoes   

100g fresh watercress   

120g fresh coriander      

Method

First for their invaluable help with vegetable chopping and other preparation my wrists cannot handle, grazie a mia figlia occupato l'utile Breeze e, naturalmente, il mio piccolo ninja cibo, la bella Modeleine .

    So let’s make a simple stock. Into a heatproof measuring jug first put the herbs and spices, then the pressed garlic and chopped onion and cover with the tin of tomatoes. Stir well. Top up to 1 litre with boiling water from the kettle. Stir well and leave to stand.

    Weigh and wash the rice and put in a large saucepan. Pour the stock over the top and stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. As the heat builds up in the rice as well as the stock the heat can turned down further.

     After 15 – 20 minutes add the peas and carrots, stir in gently  and turn up the heat again until simmering, then reduce as low as possible while maintaining a simmer. As the liquid is absorbed into the rice, test it. If too al dente add a little more boiling water, 100 ml maximum. Depending on whether you are going for a risotto or paella finish depends when you take it out. Wet for risotto or take the cover off and leave to dry on very low heat for my salad pae-otto. When ready torn out into a serving dish.

    

While the rice is cooking prepare the salad.

Cut the sweet peppers into strips.  Roughly chop the watercress and coriander and throw it all into a large bowl with the tomatoes.

Mix well. You can, of course, add the dressing of your choice, myself I like it naked or with just a light dusting of sea salt or spice, cinnamon perhaps? to preserve it’s modesty .

   Now for a buffet or party just put the bowls on the food table and let your guests help themselves. For a smaller gathering serve it up yourself.  Remember to remove the star anise before serving

                                                        

         And there you have it my friends, simple paella style rice that has soaked up the flavours and colours of the spices and herbs that you use. You can of course try your own combinations, the turmeric gives even brown rice a nice golden colour. Paprika will make it red and give it some heat. Try different rices if you like but remember the amount of liquid as well as cooking time will vary. Variations on which vegetables you add is easy, just remember to allow adequate cooking time is left for them before the rice is ready.

These quantities serve around 6 - 8, depending on appetite.

    This rice can be served hot or cold, it’s easy and tasty and infinitely variable to suit your own tastes. Definitely a recipe worthy of your collection in my humble opinion.

    The salad of course can also be changed, using different leafs depending on season, different peppers for sweetness or heat, different tomatoes for juiciness and different seasonings. Try not to overcomplicate and remember, if you are trying to eat healthily it’s the dressings that contain the baddies mostly.

Have fun with your cooking, play with your food, enjoy what you make and eat what you enjoy.

Love , leaf and life

from Pa