QUICK EXIT/ENTRY SEARCH
Down load 36 teams into the middle of the area and each of the team run at full speed at 36 angles to reach the Safe Zone for the EXIT.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Cheese
Mountains and cheese go together, and ewes’ milk cheeses are found all over Europe’s most mountainous country. Goats’ milk cheeses are made in the wetter north can one find cheese from cows’ milk. Most cheeses are still unpasteurized.The most famous cheese, and the only one exported in any quantity, is Manchego. It is best known in a black rind. Spanish cheeses vary more widely in the course of ageing than the cheddars we know, and Manchego may be mild and quite soft, or strong and hard. Because it is made of ewes’ milk it is expensive – more so than Parmesan, which makes the best substitute. Manchego-style cheeses stored in olive oil are a good buy, as they age without drying.
The most famous blue cheese is Cabrales, and the similar Picon, from the Picos de Europa where it is made. Creamy, blue-veined and sold wrapped in leaves, it is the Spanish Roquefort: a gourmet treat.
Fresh cheeses are made round the country, like queso de Burgos, widely available in Spain and eaten as a dessert with honey. From Galicia the creamy tetilla is famous for the name ‘titty’, and its gentle breast shape.
Smoked cheeses include one from Roncal, with tiny holes, and the shiny, amber-colored San Simon, which looks like a ripe near.
Soft cheeses are eaten with fruit or honey as a dessert, but firm and hard ones are most popular plain, with bread, at either end of a meal. Cooking with cheese is not a Spanish habit, though the spread of Italian pasta dishes in the 19th century introduced cheese sauces. Cheese is grated over baked vegetables like aubergines and egged-and-crumbed fried cheese, queso frito, is a popular tapa.
Friday, March 7, 2008
5. Fruit, Cream and Cheese
Fresh fruit with a complementary cheese is, from the cook’s point of view, one of the easiest ways of ending a meal. Soft fruits with a soft cheese are idea.
CREAM-CROWDIE (Cranachan)
Unique Scottish flavours – whisky, heather honey and oatmeal combine with cream and soft fruits in this versatile tradition.
The best way to eat and make this is in the traditional way; mixing your own, to your own taste as you sit round a table with family or friends. The toasted oatmeal doesn’t lose its ‘bite’ when mixed and eaten immediately, though some to prefer it softened, as it is when the mixture is made up some time in advance.
The ritual eating was originally a celebration of ‘harvest home’ when brambles and blueberries would most likely have been used. (For origins (see tag245))
Set on the table the following
A bowl of Cream and Crowdie – 2 parts crowdie to 1 part freshly whipped double cream (this was the traditional mixture but obviously may be varied according to taste with sourced cream and natural yogurt used if preferred).
A bowl of pinhead (coarse) oatmeal which has been toasted slowly and gently in the oven. This drives off excess moisture, concentrates, and greatly improves the flavour.
[ A bowl of fresh soft fruit – either a single fruit, or combination, but must be soft and fresh. Picking fruit is traditionally done by children and they are sent out to collect a bowlful.
Jar of Heather honey to sweeten, though sugar may also be used.
Bottle of whisky.
Give each person a bowl and spoon (in old Scots households the bowls would have been wooden and the spoons made of horn). The ingredients are then passed round the table and each person creates their own mixture, lubricating it with a generous tot of whisky. ]
CREAM-CROWDIE (Cranachan)
Unique Scottish flavours – whisky, heather honey and oatmeal combine with cream and soft fruits in this versatile tradition.
The best way to eat and make this is in the traditional way; mixing your own, to your own taste as you sit round a table with family or friends. The toasted oatmeal doesn’t lose its ‘bite’ when mixed and eaten immediately, though some to prefer it softened, as it is when the mixture is made up some time in advance.
The ritual eating was originally a celebration of ‘harvest home’ when brambles and blueberries would most likely have been used. (For origins (see tag245))
Set on the table the following
A bowl of Cream and Crowdie – 2 parts crowdie to 1 part freshly whipped double cream (this was the traditional mixture but obviously may be varied according to taste with sourced cream and natural yogurt used if preferred).
A bowl of pinhead (coarse) oatmeal which has been toasted slowly and gently in the oven. This drives off excess moisture, concentrates, and greatly improves the flavour.
[ A bowl of fresh soft fruit – either a single fruit, or combination, but must be soft and fresh. Picking fruit is traditionally done by children and they are sent out to collect a bowlful.
Jar of Heather honey to sweeten, though sugar may also be used.
Bottle of whisky.
Give each person a bowl and spoon (in old Scots households the bowls would have been wooden and the spoons made of horn). The ingredients are then passed round the table and each person creates their own mixture, lubricating it with a generous tot of whisky. ]
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
CROWDIE
(tag245)
[ CROWDIE – Made with low fat milk
Traditional crowdie was a cottage cheese and originated as a staple food for the crofter. It was hand-skimmed on the croft when a little of the cream was left, making it, in modern jargon, a ‘low fat’ rather than a ‘skimmed milk’ cheese.
‘The unusual thing about Crowdie is that it is semi-cooked. The fresh milk is soured naturally beside the stove and then “scrambled” over the heat and hung up to drip in a muslin cloth. This ancient cheese is unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and as far as we know was made nowhere in Europe … it has special qualities. Firstly, because of the natural curding (12 hours) if has a lovely citric flavour. Rennet (forbidden by both Vegetarians and Orthodox Jew) was not traditionally used to speed the souring. We use no rennet on our large scale, lactic cultures, and stick rigidly to the old recipe and method. Secondly this semi-cooked cheese (believed to go back to Viking and possibly Pictish times) is very slow in certain elements that are bad for kidney patients. Among them potassium and sodium.’ Lactic or acid curd crowdie has a more refreshing sharper flavour than rennet-started crowdie.
Origin of the name
When the Scots mixed meal and water together in the 18th century they called this ‘crowdie’ and, because it was such a staple item of diet, the name for the dish became transferred to the meal itself. People talked about Crowdie-time as the time to eat and because it took on this much broader meaning, it seems that all kinds of dishes had the word Crowdie added to them.
Crowdie-Moudie was a kind of steamed porridge made with milk; Cream-Crowdie or Cranachan was a special dish of harvest plenty when cream and oatmeal were mixed with fruits; Ale Crowdie was a mixture of ale oatmeal, treacle and whisky, also a harvest dish, while Crowdie Butter was curds with butter mixed through. Today the name is applied to the drained curd.
CROWDIE can be used in all recipes which use low or semi-fat soft cheeses (i.e. Quark, Philadelphia etc.): it is usually cheaper.
Basic crowdies
HIGHLAND CROWDIE (Highland Fine, Tain) A low-fat traditional crowdie with a moist texture and refreshing flavour. It is rennet free. (5.5 oz tubs/6 lb tubs)
CLAYMORE CROWDIE (North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board Creamery, Kirkwall, Orkney) Low-fat, traditional crowdie made with unpasteurised milk. (5 oz cartons) Also sold in tubs mixed with other ingredients.
Crowdie variations
CROWDIE AND CREAM (Highland Fine, Tain) Two-thirds crowdie to one-third double cream. (5.5 oz tubs/ 6 lb tub)
GRU DHU (Highland Fine, Tain) A crowdie and cream cheese mixture rolled in crushed peppercorns, giving it a unique flavour. (5 oz tubs/2 lb ball)
HRAMSA (Highland Fine, Tain) Crowdie mixed with chopped wild garlic lighter in flavour than continental garlic. ‘Hramsa’ is the Gaelic for wild garlic – the ‘all healing herb’.
HOWGATE CROWDIE AND CREAM (5 oz tubs)
PEAT SMOKED SOFT CHEESE (Howgate Cheeses, Penicuik) A soft cheese, the curds are ladled into open ended moulds sitting on straw mats, giving characteristic marks, and turned once, gently smoked over peat. A fine delicate flavour. (5 oz packs)
GOAT CHEESE – Soft farmhouse goats’ milk cheese is being made in small quantities mostly for local sale only. Worth keeping an eye open for in specialist cheese shops who track down supplies or may be able to give you further information. ]
Traditional crowdie was a cottage cheese and originated as a staple food for the crofter. It was hand-skimmed on the croft when a little of the cream was left, making it, in modern jargon, a ‘low fat’ rather than a ‘skimmed milk’ cheese.
‘The unusual thing about Crowdie is that it is semi-cooked. The fresh milk is soured naturally beside the stove and then “scrambled” over the heat and hung up to drip in a muslin cloth. This ancient cheese is unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and as far as we know was made nowhere in Europe … it has special qualities. Firstly, because of the natural curding (12 hours) if has a lovely citric flavour. Rennet (forbidden by both Vegetarians and Orthodox Jew) was not traditionally used to speed the souring. We use no rennet on our large scale, lactic cultures, and stick rigidly to the old recipe and method. Secondly this semi-cooked cheese (believed to go back to Viking and possibly Pictish times) is very slow in certain elements that are bad for kidney patients. Among them potassium and sodium.’ Lactic or acid curd crowdie has a more refreshing sharper flavour than rennet-started crowdie.
Origin of the name
When the Scots mixed meal and water together in the 18th century they called this ‘crowdie’ and, because it was such a staple item of diet, the name for the dish became transferred to the meal itself. People talked about Crowdie-time as the time to eat and because it took on this much broader meaning, it seems that all kinds of dishes had the word Crowdie added to them.
Crowdie-Moudie was a kind of steamed porridge made with milk; Cream-Crowdie or Cranachan was a special dish of harvest plenty when cream and oatmeal were mixed with fruits; Ale Crowdie was a mixture of ale oatmeal, treacle and whisky, also a harvest dish, while Crowdie Butter was curds with butter mixed through. Today the name is applied to the drained curd.
CROWDIE can be used in all recipes which use low or semi-fat soft cheeses (i.e. Quark, Philadelphia etc.): it is usually cheaper.
Basic crowdies
HIGHLAND CROWDIE (Highland Fine, Tain) A low-fat traditional crowdie with a moist texture and refreshing flavour. It is rennet free. (5.5 oz tubs/6 lb tubs)
CLAYMORE CROWDIE (North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board Creamery, Kirkwall, Orkney) Low-fat, traditional crowdie made with unpasteurised milk. (5 oz cartons) Also sold in tubs mixed with other ingredients.
Crowdie variations
CROWDIE AND CREAM (Highland Fine, Tain) Two-thirds crowdie to one-third double cream. (5.5 oz tubs/ 6 lb tub)
GRU DHU (Highland Fine, Tain) A crowdie and cream cheese mixture rolled in crushed peppercorns, giving it a unique flavour. (5 oz tubs/2 lb ball)
HRAMSA (Highland Fine, Tain) Crowdie mixed with chopped wild garlic lighter in flavour than continental garlic. ‘Hramsa’ is the Gaelic for wild garlic – the ‘all healing herb’.
HOWGATE CROWDIE AND CREAM (5 oz tubs)
PEAT SMOKED SOFT CHEESE (Howgate Cheeses, Penicuik) A soft cheese, the curds are ladled into open ended moulds sitting on straw mats, giving characteristic marks, and turned once, gently smoked over peat. A fine delicate flavour. (5 oz packs)
GOAT CHEESE – Soft farmhouse goats’ milk cheese is being made in small quantities mostly for local sale only. Worth keeping an eye open for in specialist cheese shops who track down supplies or may be able to give you further information. ]
BACALAO IN SPICY TOMATO WITH POTATOES
SALT COD IS A POPULAR INGREDENT IN SPAIN, NOT JUST A LENTEN NECESSITY. IT IS THE SALT THAT MAKES THE FISH SO CHARACTERFUL, SO DON’T OVERSOAK IT FOR THIS TRADITIONAL BASQUE RECIPE. LOOK OUT FOR A LOIN PIECE, WHICH HAS VERY LITTLE WASTE; IF YOU CAN’T FIND ONE, BUY A LARGER PIECE TO ENSURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH ONCE ANY VERY DRY BITS HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
SERVES FOUR
INGREDIENTS
- 400g/14oz salt cod loin, soaked in cold water for 24 hours
- 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1.5 green (bell) peppers, seeded and chopped
- 500g/1.25lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or a 400g/14oz can tomatoes
- 15ml/1 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
- 15ml/1 tbsp clear honey
- 1.5ml/0.25 tsp dried thyme
- 2.5ml/0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- juice of 0.5 lemon (optional)
- 2 potatoes
- 45ml/3 tbsp stale breadcrumbs
- 30ml/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- salt and ground black pepper
1. Drain the salt cod and place in a pan. Pour over water to cover generously and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the water boils, then set aside until cold.
2. Heat the oil in a medium pan. Fry the onion, and add the garlic after 5 minutes. Add the chopped peppers and tomatoes, and cook gently to form a sauce. Stir in the tomato puree, honey, dried thyme, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt. Taste for seasoning: a little lemon juice will make it tangier.
3. Halve the potatoes lengthways and cut them into slices just thicker than a coin. Drain the fish, reserving the cooking water.
4. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium with a shelf 15cm/6in below it. Bring the reserved fish cooking water to the boil and cook the potatoes for about 8 minutes. Do not add extra salt.
5. Remove the skin and bones from the cod, and pull it into small natural flakes. Spoon one-third of the tomato sauce into a flameproof casserole, top with the potatoes, fish and remaining sauce. Combine the breadcrumbs and parsley and sprinkle over. Heat the dish through under a grill for 10 minutes.
SERVES FOUR
INGREDIENTS
- 400g/14oz salt cod loin, soaked in cold water for 24 hours
- 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1.5 green (bell) peppers, seeded and chopped
- 500g/1.25lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or a 400g/14oz can tomatoes
- 15ml/1 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
- 15ml/1 tbsp clear honey
- 1.5ml/0.25 tsp dried thyme
- 2.5ml/0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- juice of 0.5 lemon (optional)
- 2 potatoes
- 45ml/3 tbsp stale breadcrumbs
- 30ml/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- salt and ground black pepper
1. Drain the salt cod and place in a pan. Pour over water to cover generously and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the water boils, then set aside until cold.
2. Heat the oil in a medium pan. Fry the onion, and add the garlic after 5 minutes. Add the chopped peppers and tomatoes, and cook gently to form a sauce. Stir in the tomato puree, honey, dried thyme, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt. Taste for seasoning: a little lemon juice will make it tangier.
3. Halve the potatoes lengthways and cut them into slices just thicker than a coin. Drain the fish, reserving the cooking water.
4. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium with a shelf 15cm/6in below it. Bring the reserved fish cooking water to the boil and cook the potatoes for about 8 minutes. Do not add extra salt.
5. Remove the skin and bones from the cod, and pull it into small natural flakes. Spoon one-third of the tomato sauce into a flameproof casserole, top with the potatoes, fish and remaining sauce. Combine the breadcrumbs and parsley and sprinkle over. Heat the dish through under a grill for 10 minutes.
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