The Apple of Our i

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is entitled The Apple of Our i and is dedicated to one man, whose visionary creations helped change the world forever Steve Jobs, who sadly lost his fight with cancer on October 5th. And in honour of Steve and his achievements all the featured recipes this week have apples as their main ingredient, they areSpiced Apple Samosas, Apple-Cobbler, and Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce.

I’ve decided to have a little change in direction with a feature of this blog. Instead of a featured herb or spice, I’m going to feature a much maligned and/or forgotten about ingredient. And this week’s much maligned ingredient is Broad Beans.

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American computer entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. He also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer.
In the late 1970s, Steve Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, he resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its CEO from 1997 until 2011. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney company in 2006. Consequently he became Disney's largest individual shareholder at 7 percent and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.

His aim to develop products that are both functional and elegant earned him a devoted following.

On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO. In his letter of resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Apple executive succession plan be followed and Tim Cook be named as his successor. Per his request, Jobs was appointed chairman of Apple's board of directors. On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that Jobs had died at the age of 56.

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My first recipe is Spiced Apple Samosas, courtesy of Good Food Channel website.

Makes 2, takes 30mins plus resting to prepare and takes 15mins to cook.

For the apple filling
A Knob of Butter
A Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
A Small Handful of Sultanas
4 x Bramley Apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

For the pastry x Self-Raising Flour, plus extra for dusting
100g x Butter
4tbsp x Water
Vegetable Oil, for deep-frying
Caster Sugar
A Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
A Pinch of Ground Allspice
Vanilla Ice Cream, to serve

For the apple filling: melt the butter in a pan, then add the cinnamon, sultanas and apples and slowly stew them. As they become soft, take off the heat and gently mash with a potato masher. Leave to cool.

For the pastry: tip the flour into a mixing bowl and with your fingers slowly rub the butter into it until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Moisten with the water and mix with a wooden spoon. Squeeze the mixture into a dough, adding more water if necessary but making sure it doesn't become sloppy. Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Flour your surface and gently roll the pastry with a rolling pin until very thin. Cut two circles in the pastry using a breakfast bowl. Cut each circle in half, then dip your finger in water and run it across the straight side of the semi-circle, fold over and seal the moistened edge. Carefully open the pastry in your hand to create a cone.

Spoon the cooled apple filling into each pastry cone, leaving enough space to fully seal the pastry. Using a wet finger, seal the edge of the cone and check all edges. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and allspice.

Carefully add the samosas to the hot oil and cook until puffed up and slightly coloured. Drain on kitchen towel, then toss in the spiced sugar. Place two samosas in a serving bowl and serve with a large scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

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My next recipe is Apple-Cobbler, courtesy of Landolakes.com.

Serves 12, takes 20mins to prepare and takes 40mins to cook.

2kgs x Tart Cooking Apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4-inch
220g x Sugar
3/4 tsp x Ground Cinnamon
450g x All-Purpose Flour
450g x Sugar
2 x Large Eggs
2tsp x Baking Powder
3/4tsp x salt
150g x Butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Place sliced apples in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan.
Stir together 220g of sugar and 1/2tsp of cinnamon in small bowl; sprinkle this over the apples.

Combine remaining cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake for 45 to 55 5minutes or until lightly browned and apples are tender. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

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Much Maligned ingredient of the week – Broad Beans
Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean (Fabaceae) native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. Broad beans have a long tradition of cultivation in Old World agriculture, being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC or earlier. They are still often grown as a cover crop to prevent erosion, because they can over-winter and because as a legume, they fix nitrogen in the soil. These commonly cultivated plants can be attacked by fungal diseases, such as rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) and chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae). It is also attacked by the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae).

The broad bean has high hardiness cvs. This means it can withstand rough climates, and in this case, cold ones. Unlike most legumes, the broad bean can be grown in soils with high salinity. However, it does prefer to grow in rich loams.

In much of the Anglophone world, the name broad bean is used for the large-seeded cultivars grown for human food, while horse bean and field bean refer to cultivars with smaller, harder seeds (more like the wild species) used for animal feed, though their stronger flavour is preferred in some human food recipes, such as falafel. The term fava bean (from the Italian fava, meaning "broad bean") is usually used in English speaking countries such as the US, however the term broad bean is the most common name in the UK.

Broad beans are eaten while still young and tender, enabling harvesting to begin as early as the middle of spring for plants started under glass or over-wintered in a protected location, but even the main crop sown in early spring will be ready from mid to late summer. Horse beans, left to mature fully, are usually harvested in the late autumn. The young leaves of the plant can also be eaten either raw or cooked like spinach.

The beans can be fried, causing the skin to split open, and then salted and/or spiced to produce a savory crunchy snack. These are popular in China, Colombia, Peru (habas saladas), Mexico (habas con chile) and Thailand (where their name means "open-mouth nut"). Broad bean purée with wild chicory is a typical Puglian dish in Italy.

In the Sichuan cuisine of China, broad beans are combined with soybeans and chili peppers to produce a spicy fermented bean paste called doubanjiang. In most Arab countries, the fava bean is used for a breakfast dish called ful medames.

Fava beans are common in Latin American cuisines as well. In central Mexico, mashed fava beans are a common filling for many corn flour-based antojito snacks such as tlacoyos. In Colombia they are most often used whole in vegetable soups. Dried and salted fava beans are a popular snack in many Latin countries.

In Portugal, a fava bean (usually referred to as fava in Portuguese) is included in the bolo-rei (king cake), a Christmas cake. Traditionally, the person who gets fava has to buy the cake the following year.

In the Netherlands, they are traditionally eaten with fresh savory and some melted butter. When rubbed the velvet insides of the pods are a folk remedy against warts. Broad beans are widely cultivated in the Kech and Panjgur districts of Balochistan Province in Pakistan, and in the eastern province of Iran. In the Balochi language, they are called bakalaink, and baghalee in Persian.

Broad beans are rich in tyramine, and thus should be avoided by those taking monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Raw broad beans contain the alkaloids vicine, isouramil and convicine, which can induce hemolytic anemia in patients with the hereditary condition glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This potentially fatal condition is called "favism" after the fava bean. Broad beans are rich in L-dopa, a substance used medically in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. L-dopa is also a natriuretic agent, which might help in controlling hypertension.

Areas of origin of the bean correspond to malarial areas. There are epidemiological and in vitro studies which suggest that the hemolysis resulting from favism acts as protection from malaria, because certain species of malarial protozoa such as Plasmodium falcipacrum are very sensitive to oxidative damage due to deficiency of the glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme, which would otherwise protect from oxidative damage via production of glutathione reductase. The seed testas contain condensed tannins of the proanthocyanidins type that could have an inhibitory activity on enzymes.

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My final recipe is Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce, courtesy of simplyrecipes.com.

Serves 4, takes 5mins to prepare and takes 25mins to cook.

125ml x Cider
1 1/2 tsp x Cornflour
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1tbsp x Honey
2tbsp x Dijon mustard
100ml x Flour, for dredging
500g x Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2tbsp x Olive Oil
2 x Small Unpeeled Apples, cored and cut into eighths (use Golden delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Pippin, or McIntosh apples, good cooking apples)
125ml x Chicken Stock
Fresh parsley for garnish

Whisk the cider, cornflour, mustard, honey, salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl. Set aside. Salt the chicken well and dust in flour. Shake off the excess. In a large non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the chicken breasts. Cook over medium heat until golden brown on one side, approx. 3-4 minutes. Turn the chicken, add the apples, and cook until browned on the other side.
Add chicken stock and cider mixture and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and simmer until chicken is tender, approx. 15 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove chicken and apples to serving plates. Spoon sauce over the chicken and apples and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with rice or noodles.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

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The Comedy King and The Fresh Prince

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is entitled The Comedy King and The Fresh Prince and is dedicated to two iconic members of comedy royalty who’s birthdays are celebrated and remembered this week Ronnie Barker and Will Smith. The featured recipes this week are Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup, Classic North Indian Chicken Curry and Apple and Plum Crumble.

I’ve decided to have a little change in direction with a feature of this blog. Instead of a featured herb or spice, I’m going to feature a much maligned and/or forgotten about ingredient. And this week’s much maligned ingredient is Chickpeas.

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman. He was known for his roles in various British comedy television series, such as The Frost Report, Porridge, The Two Ronnies and Open All Hours.

He began his acting career in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to performing comic roles. Barker gained his first acting successes at the Oxford Playhouse and later in various roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound. During this period, he became a cast member on BBC radio and television comedy programmes such as The Navy Lark. Barker got his television break with the satirical sketch series The Frost Report in 1966 where he met future collaborator Ronnie Corbett. He joined David Frost's production company and was to star in a number ITV shows including a short film during this period.

After rejoining the BBC Barker found fame with the sketch show The Two Ronnies (1971—1986) with Ronnie Corbett. After the series of pilots called Seven of One, he gained starring roles in the sitcoms Porridge, its sequel Going Straight and Open All Hours. Apart from being a performer, he was noted as a comedy writer both under his own name and the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, which Barker adopted to avoid pre-judgements of his talent. Barker won the BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Performance four times, amongst other awards, and received an OBE in 1978.

Later television sitcoms such as The Magnificent Evans and Clarence were less successful and he decided to retire in 1987. After his retirement, he opened an antiques shop with his wife, Joy. After 1997, he appeared in a number of smaller, non-comic roles in films. Barker died of heart failure on 3 October 2005, aged 76.

Will Smith Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.

Fourteen of the 19 fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and four took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. As of 2011, his films have grossed $5.7 billion in global box office. His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, The Pursuit of Happiness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happiness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.

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My first recipe is Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup. Recipe by Jamie Oliver, courtesy of Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food.

Makes 6-8, takes 20mins to prep, and takes 25mins to cook.

2 x Carrots, roughly sliced
2 x Celery Sticks, sliced
2 x Medium Onions, roughly chopped
2 x Garlic Cloves, sliced
800g x Sweet Potato, chopped into small even cubes
200g x Chorizo Sausage, sliced
A Small bunch of Parsley, finely chopped
Olive Oil
1 tbsp x Curry Powder (heaped)
2 x Organic Chicken or Vegetable Stock Cubes
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 x Fresh Red Chilli, finely chopped
1.8 ltrs x Boiling Water

Add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil to a large saucepan add all the chopped and sliced ingredients with the curry powder and mix together with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 10 to 15 mins with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden. Put the stock cubes into a jug or pan and pour in the boiling water from the kettle. Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved, then add to the vegetables. Give the soup a good stir and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10mins, until the sweet potato is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Using a hand blender or liquidizer, pulse the soup until smooth and scatter over a little finely chopped chilli. Divide between your serving bowls and tuck in.

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My next recipe is Classic North Indian Chicken Curry. Recipe by Anjum Anand, courtesy of Good Food Channel website.

Serves 4, takes 25mins to prepare, 55mins to cook.

4tbsp x Oil
2 x Cloves
1 x Cinnamon Sticks
2 x Green Cardamom Pods
1 tsp x Cumin Seeds
1 x Medium Onion, chopped 
1½ tbsp x Ginger, ginger
6 x Garlic Cloves, chopped 
½ tsp x Ground Turmeric
1 tbsp x Ground Coriander
½ tsp x Chilli Powder
2 x Tomatoes, puréed 
1 x 450g Small Chicken, or Poussin, bone-in, skinned and jointed
½ tsp x Garam Masala
A Handful of Coriander Leaves

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods and cumin seeds and fry for about 20 seconds until aromatic. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring often. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook stirring for 40 seconds before adding a pinch of salt and the ground spices, and stir for 15 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the liquid in the pan has dried off and the oil leaves the sides of the dry masala around 10 minutes.

Add the chicken and brown over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add enough water to almost cover the chicken (about 350ml), bring to the boil and then cook over a low heat until the chicken is cooked through. The slower it cooks the better it tastes. This takes about 15 minutes for small joints and up to 25-30 minutes for larger ones. Check with a fork; once it is tender it is done. Add the garam masala and coriander leaves and serve with rice or Indian flatbreads and raita or any vegetable dish.

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Much Maligned ingredient of the week – Chickpeas
The Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) (also ceci bean, garbanzo bean, chana (north India), Indian pea, Bengal gram) is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables; 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.

Domesticated chickpeas have been found in the aceramic levels of Jericho along with Cayonu in Turkey and in Neolithic pottery at Hacilar, Turkey. They are found in the late Neolithic (about 3500 BCE) at Thessaly, Kastanas, Lerna and Dimini. In southern France Mesolithic layers in a cave at L'Abeurador, Aude have yielded wild chickpeas carbon dated to 6790 BCE.

By the Bronze Age, chickpeas were known in Italy and Greece. In classical Greece, they were called erébinthos and eaten as a staple, a dessert, or consumed raw when young. The Romans knew several varieties such as venus, ram, and punic chickpeas. They were both cooked down into a broth and roasted as a snack. The Roman gourmet Apicius gives several recipes for chickpeas. Carbonized chickpeas have been found at the Roman legion fort at Neuss (Novaesium), Germany in layers from the first century CE, along with rice.

Chickpeas are mentioned in Charlemagne's Capitulare de villis (about 800 CE) as cicer italicum, as grown in each imperial demesne. Albertus Magnus mentions red, white and black varieties. Nicholas Culpeper noted "chick-pease or cicers" are less "windy" than peas and more nourishing. Ancient people also associated chickpeas with Venus because they were said to offer medical uses such as increasing sperm and milk, provoking menstruation and urine and helping to treat kidney stones. Wild cicers were thought to be especially strong and helpful. In 1793, ground-roast chickpeas were noted by a German writer as a coffee substitute in Europe and in the First World War, they were grown for this in some areas of Germany. Chickpeas are still sometimes brewed instead of coffee.

Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as chickpea flour and besan and used primarily in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, fermented to make an alcoholic drink similar to sake,[citation needed] stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack (such as leblebi). Some varieties of chickpeas can even be popped and eaten like popcorn. Chick peas and Bengal grams are used to make curries and are one of the most popular vegetarian foods in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK. On the Indian subcontinent, green chickpeas are called Harbharaa in Marathi, while other varieties are known as kadale kaalu in Kannada, chana in Hindi and other Indic languages, Chhola in Bengali and konda kadalai in Tamil, where they are a major source of protein in a mostly vegetarian culture. Typically Chana in Hindi and Punjabi might refer to both varieties, as might chhole, but the former is more the green hard small variety while the latter is the large creamy softer one and also the more popular dish served around the region at home and at celebrations.
Many popular dishes in Indian cuisine are made with chickpea flour, such as mirchi bajji and mirapakaya bajji telugu. In India, as well as in the Levant, unripe chickpeas are often picked out of the pod and eaten as a raw snack and the leaves are eaten as a green vegetable in salads. Chickpea flour is also used to make "Burmese tofu" which was first known among the Shan people of Burma. The flour is used as a batter to coat various vegetables and meats before frying, such as with panelle, a chickpea fritter from Sicily.[10] Chickpea flour is also used to make the mediterranean flatbread socca.

In the Philippines, garbanzo beans preserved in syrup are eaten as sweets and in desserts such as halo-halo. Ashkenazi Jews traditionally serve whole chickpeas at a Shalom Zachar celebration for baby boys. Dried chickpeas need a long cooking time (1–2 hours) but will easily fall apart when cooked longer. If soaked for 12–24 hours before use, cooking time can be shortened by around 30 minutes. Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) do not cause lathyrism. Similarly named "chickling peas" (Lathyrus sativus) and other plants of the genus Lathyrus contain the toxins associated with lathyrism.

Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fibre and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes.[citation needed] Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. Nutrient profile of desi chana (the smaller variety) is different, especially the fibre content which is much higher than the light coloured variety. One hundred grams of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only 0.27 grams is saturated), 7.6 grams of dietary fibre and 8.9 grams of protein. Chickpeas also provide dietary phosphorus (49–53mg/100g), with some sources citing the garbanzo's content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk.

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My final recipe is Apple and Plum Crumble. Recipe by Jane Wiseman and Kathy Finkin, courtesy of Good Food Channel website.

Serves 6-8, takes 25mins to prepare, cook 40mins to cook.

For the filling
675g x Bramley Apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
675g x Cox's Apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
12 x Plums, stones removed, quartered
25g x Light Muscovado sugar
1 tsp x Ground Cinnamon
2 tbsp x Water

For the crumble
280g x Self-Raising Flour
140g x Butter, plus extra for greasing
140g x Demerara Sugar
70g x Porridge Oats

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and grease a 28 x 20 x 5cm baking dish with butter. For the filling: put the apples and plums in the baking dish. Sprinkle over the sugar, cinnamon and water and toss together. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the fruits soften and their juices run. Remove the baking dish from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200C/gas 6.

For the crumble: put the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and blitz to combine. Remove the bowl from the processor and stir in the oats by hand as they need to remain coarse. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit and bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with cream, ice cream or custard.

”It’s Goodnight from me, and It’s Goodnight from him.”

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

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Summery Soup and Salads

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is dedicated to May Day and Queen’s Day in the Netherlands. This week’s recipes have a summer feel about them, they are Parsnip and Apple Soup, Orchard Fruit Salad, Easy Asian Chicken Salad and the spice of the week is Curry Leaves.

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by unions, communists, anarchists, socialists, and activist groups. May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures.
May Day can refer to various labour celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or Labour Day. The idea for a "workers holiday" began in Australia in 1856; after a Stonemason's victory, April 22nd was "Eight-Hour Day", a public holiday. With the idea having spread around the world, the choice of May 1st became a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair. The Haymarket affair occurred during the course of a three-day general strike in Chicago, Illinois, United States that involved common labourers, artisans, merchants, and immigrants. Following an incident in which police opened fire and killed four strikers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant, a rally was called for the following day at Haymarket Square. Towards the end of the rally, as police moved in to disperse the event and opened fire on the unarmed crowd on the plea that an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd of police. The bomb and resulting police riot left at least a dozen people dead, including one policeman. A sensational show trial ensued in which eight defendants were openly tried for their political beliefs, and not necessarily for any involvement in the bombing. The trial led to the eventual public hanging of four anarchists. The Haymarket incident was a source of outrage from people around the globe. In the following years, memory of the "Haymarket martyrs" was remembered with various May Day job actions and demonstrations.
May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. Although the commemoration of May Day as International Workers' Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's perceived appropriation by the Soviet Union. Alternatively, Labour Day traditionally occurs on the first Monday in September in the United States. People often use May Day as a day for political protest, such as the million people who demonstrated against far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in France, or as a day for protest against government actions, such as rallies in support of undocumented workers across the United States.
May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half of a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the unfarmable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. Various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on May the 1st. The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps.

Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Netherlands and the kingdom's other constituent countries, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, on the 30th April (or on the 29th if the 30th is a Sunday). Queen's Day celebrates the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands and is supposed to be a day of national unity and "togetherness". The tradition started on 31 August 1885, on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Since 1949, after the accession of Queen Juliana, Queen's Day is Queen Juliana's birthday on 30 April. Although Queen Beatrix's birthday is on 31January, she officially celebrates her birthday on 30 April.
Queen's Day is known for its "freemarket" all over the country, where everybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Other activities during Queen's Day are children's games, individual musical performances, and music concerts. The night before Queen's Day is celebrated too in most cities, and this is called Queen's Night. The largest celebration of Queen's Day is in Amsterdam, Queen's Night in The Hague and Queen's Dance in Rotterdam. During the celebrations as reference to the colours of the House of Orange-Nassau, people dress in the colour orange, which is sometimes called "orange craze".
The present-day celebration of Queen's Day was originally intended by the Liberal Union to be a day of national unity in the Netherlands. It started with the celebration of the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina on 31 August 1885. From 1885 to 1890 the celebration was therefore called Prinsessedag or Princess' Day, until the Coronation of Wilhelmina in 1890. Since 31 August 1891, the celebration was called Koninginnedag or Queen's Day. The day was not only the birthday of the Queen, but also the last day of the summer vacation, which made the celebrations popular with children. Unlike her successors, Queen Wilhelmina almost never attended festivities on Queen's Day.
In September 1948 Queen Juliana ascended to the Dutch throne and from 1949 onwards Queen's Day was on her birthday on 30 April. When 30 April is a Sunday, Queen's Day is celebrated on 29 April. On this day, Queen Juliana received a flower tribute at Soestdijk Palace, where she lived. The Queen and her family would stand on a dais and a long line of citizens would walk past, congratulating her and presenting her gifts and flowers.[citation needed] The parade was broadcast on national television from the 1950s. When more and more people received a day off from their work, Queen's Day became a national holiday of togetherness.
When Queen Beatrix succeeded her mother Queen Juliana on 30 April 1980, she decided to keep the holiday on 30 April as a tribute to her mother. Furthermore for practical reasons, the weather on her own birthday in the winter on 31 January tends to prohibit the traditional outdoor festivities, while 30 April normally has better weather. In contrast to her mother, Juliana, Beatrix decided to go into the country to meet the people, rather than receiving people at her residence. Since her ascension to the throne, Queen Beatrix and her family visit one, two, or sometimes three places on Queen's day, where she is shown regional versions of traditional Dutch dances and demonstrations of old crafts. In 2001, the Queen's Day visits of the Royal Family were cancelled as there was worry about maintaining the quarantine measures to control an ongoing outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Queen Beatrix has visited the following cities over the years on Queen's Day.
During the preceding 'koninginnenacht' (Queen's Night) many bars and clubs throughout the Netherlands (particularly in Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague) hold special events catering to revelers that last all night long. This tradition started in the early nineties when pre-Koninginnedag riots were an increasing problem in The Hague. The idea of convincing the rioters that a celebration is a much better way to spend Queen’s Night, proved successful. The event draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.

My first recipe is Parsnip and Apple Soup, courtesy of Slimming World website.

Serves 1, takes 10mins to prepare and approx. 25mins to cook.

500ml x Organic Vegetable Stock
140g x Parsnip - chopped
1 x Apple - peel, cored and chopped
113g x Potato – peeled and chopped
A pinch of Salt
1tsp x Curry Powder

Place all the ingredients except the fromage frais into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Transfer the soup into a blender and puree. Return to the saucepan and heat through. Pour into a bowl and serve immediately.

My next recipe is Orchard Fruit Salad, courtesy of Jamie Magazine January 2011.

Serves 6

2 x Shallots – finely sliced
2 tbsp x Red Wine Vinegar
50g x Hazelnuts – lightly crushed
2 heaped tbsp x Sunflower Seeds
1 x Apple – cored, sliced into thin wedges
1 x Pear – cored, sliced into thin wedges
2 x Large Handfuls of Baby Spinach
2 x Red Chicory Heads, leaves separated
200g x Feta, crumbled
1 tsp x Wholegrain Mustard
6 tbsp x Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Place the shallots in a small bowl with the vinegar and set aside. In a dry pan, toast the nuts and sunflowers seeds until golden, then set aside to cool. combine the apple, pear, spinach and chicory in a large bowl. Add the hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and feta. Stir the mustard into the vinegar mix, then whisk in the oil and season. Toss through the salad. Serve straight away.

Spice of the week – Curry Leaves (Murraya Koenigii)
Curry Leaves The curry tree is a tropical to sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae, which is native to India. The name itself in Tamil is pronounced as 'kariveppilai' ( kari-curry, veppu- neem and ilai-leaf ) which is the literal translation of curry leaves. The Tamilname means "leaf that is used to make curry" and it is present in almost all the dishes of Tamil nadu (a state in south India) in addition to coriander leaves. Often used in curries, the leaves generally go by the name "curry leaves", though they are also called "sweet neem leaves." It is an unavoidable content of curries in South India, where without curry leaves, curry seems to be tasteless. The Kannada name means "black neem", since the appearance of the leaves is similar to the unrelated bitter neem tree. Same way in Gujarati it is known as "limdo" or "meetho leemdo" (means Sweet neem).Curry leaves are also entirely unrelated to bay leaves and basil leaves, which are aromatic leaves from the Mediterranean.
It is a small tree, growing 4-6 m tall, with a trunk up to 40cm diameter. The leaves are pinnate, with 11-21 leaflets, each leaflet 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm broad. They are highly aromatic. The flowers are small, white, and fragrant. The small black shiny berries are edible, but their seeds are poisonous.

The leaves are highly valued as seasoning in southern and west-coast Indian cooking, and Sri Lankan cooking, much like bay leaves, and especially in curries, usually fried along with the chopped onion in the first stage of the preparation. They are also used to make thoran, vada, rasam and kadhi. In their fresh form, they have a short shelf life, and they don't keep well in the refrigerator. They are also available dried, though the aroma is largely inferior.
Curry leaves possess the qualities of a herbal tonic. They strengthen the functions of the stomach and promote its functions. They are also used as a mild laxative. The leaves may be taken mixed with other mild tasting herbs. The juice extracted from 15 grams of leaves may be taken with buttermilk. Fresh juice of curry leaves, with lime juice and sugar, is an effective medicine in the treatment of morning sickness, nausea and vomiting due to indigestion and excessive use of fats. One or two teaspoons of juice of these leaves mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice may be taken in these conditions. The curry leaves, ground to a fine paste and mixed with buttermilk, can also be taken on an empty stomach with beneficial results in case of stomach upsets.

Tender curry leaves are useful in diarrhoea, dysentery and piles. They should be taken, mixed with honey. The bark of the tree is also useful to cure bilious vomiting. Eating 10 fresh fully grown curry leaves every morning for three months is said to prevent diabetes due to heredity factors. It also cures diabetes due to obesity, as the leaves have weight reducing properties. As the weight drops, the diabetic patients stop passing sugar in urine.
Curry leaves can be effectively used to treat burns, bruises and skin eruptions. They should be applied as a poultice over the affected areas. Fresh juice of curry leaves suffused in the eyes makes them look bright. It also prevents the early development of cataract. Fruits of the tree, which are berries, are edible. They are green when raw, but purple when ripe. Juice of these berries, mixed with equal proportion of lime juice, is an effective fluid for external application in insect stings and bites of poisonous creatures.

My final recipe is Easy Asian Chicken Salad, courtesy of Jamie Magazine Sep/Oct 2010.

Serves 4

2 x Small Red Chillies – chopped
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
450g x Cooked Chicken – shredded
½ x Cucumber – chopped
6 x Spring Onions – chopped
3 tbsp x Soy Sauce
3 tbsp x Coriander Leaves
Juice of ½ Lime
1 x Baby Cos Lettuce – leave separated
1 x Baby Cos Lettuce – chopped

Combine the chilli and oil in a bowl. Mix in all the remaining ingredients, except the whole cos leaves. To serve, place a couple of leaves on each plate, put some chicken mixture on the leaves and serve immediately.

Happy Koninginnedag

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

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Tastes From The Far East

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s is dedicated to the Japanese holiday, National Foundation Day, which is celebrated annually on February 11th. On this day, Japanese celebrate the founding of the nation and the imperial line by its legendary first emperor, Jimmu, who established his capital in Yamato. The origin of National Foundation Day is New Year's Day in the traditional lunisolar calendar. On that day, the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu was celebrated based on Nihonshoki, which states that Emperor Jimmu ascended to the throne on the first day of the first month.

In the Meiji period, the Japanese government designated the day as a national holiday. This coincided with the switch from the lunisolar calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1873. In 1872, when the holiday was originally proclaimed, it was January 29 of the Gregorian calendar, which corresponded to Lunar New Year of 1873. Contrary to the government's expectation, this led people to see the day as just Lunar New Year, instead of National Foundation Day. In response, the government moved the holiday to February 11 of the Gregorian calendar in 1873. The government stated that it corresponded to Emperor Jimmu’s reignal day but did not publish the exact method of computation.
In its original form, the holiday was named Empire Day (Kigensetsu). It is thought that the Meiji Emperor may have wanted to establish this holiday to bolster the legitimacy of the imperial family following the abolition of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The national holiday was supported by those who believed that focusing national attention on the emperor would serve a unifying purpose. Publicly linking his rule with the mythical first emperor, Jimmu, and thus Amaterasu, the Meiji Emperor declared himself the one, true ruler of Japan.

With large parades and festivals, in its time, Kigensetsu was considered one of the four major holidays of Japan. Given its reliance on Shinto mythology and its reinforcement of the Japanese nobility, Kigensetsu was abolished following World War II. Ironically, February 11th was also the day when General MacArthur approved the draft version of the model Constitution in 1946. The commemorative holiday was re-established as National Foundation Day in 1966. Though stripped of most of its overt references to the Emperor, National Foundation Day was still a day for expressing patriotism and love of the nation in the 1950s.In contrast with the events associated with earlier Kigensetsu, celebrations for National Foundation Day are relatively muted. Customs include the raising of Japanese flags and reflection on the meaning of Japanese citizenship. The holiday is still relatively controversial however, and very overt expressions of nationalism or even patriotism are rare.

So this week one of my recipes have a Japanese theme to it to commemorate this day, the recipes this week are Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Sesame Rice, Camembert and Roasted Garlic, Saketini and Grapple. The herb of the week is Wasabi.

My first recipe is Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Sesame Rice, recipe courtesy of Olive Magazine March 2011.

This recipe serves 2, takes 10mins to prepare plus marinating timeapprox.20mins to cook.

2 tbsp x Soy Sauce
2 tbsp x Mirin
1 tbsp x Brown Sugar
2 x Skinless Salmon Fillets
100g x Brown Basmati Rice
75g x Edamame (soy) Beans
75g x Mangetout, halved lengthways
Sesame Oil
1 x Red Chilli, shredded
4 x Spring Onions, shredded

Stir the soy, mirin and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Put the salmon in a freezer bag or bowl, add the marinade and leave for 1omins. Cook the basmati rice following the packet instructions, adding the edamame and Mangetout for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Grill the salmon for 5mins, spooning over any leftover marinade until glazed and just cooked through. Drain the rice and veg then toss with 2 tbsp of sesame oil, another splash of soy and the spring onion and chill. Serve with the salmon and a dipping sauce.

My next recipe is a cocktail to toast Japan’s National Foundation day, traditional Sake is drunk to commemorate the day. Saketini, recipe courtesy of www.barnonedrinks.com.

It is rumoured that the saketini came into being when chef Matsuda San, arriving in Queens for the World's Fair in 1964, unveiled a primitive version of the cocktail. The original recipe for this drink was lost until later Matsuda resurfaced at Clodagh Design Showroom in the early 90s to serve the world of design his original saketini.Preceding the resurgence in popularity of the martini in the early 2000s, people began using sake as a mixer in cocktails. Many modern twists on the traditional martini recipe have been made including the introduction of vodka to replace gin as the main ingredient, flavoured martinis such as the appletini, the cosmopolitan and the saketini.

This recipe serves 1, takes mins to prepare.

60ml x Gin
1.5 tsp. x Sake
1 x Cocktail Olive

In shaker half filled with ice cubes, combine gin with sake, stir well, strain and serve in chilled martini glass. Garnish with olive.

Herb of the week – Wasabi
Wasabi is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Known as "Japanese horseradish", its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavour. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chilli pepper, producing vapours that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. There are also other species used, such as W. Koreana, and W. tetsuigi. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', but there are many others. Wasabi is generally sold either in the form of a root which is very finely grated before use, or as a ready-to-use paste (either real wasabi or a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and food colouring), usually in tubes approximately the size and shape of travel toothpaste tubes. In some restaurants the paste is usually prepared as needed by the customer using the root and a grater directly; once the paste is prepared, it will lose flavour within 15 minutes. In sushi preparation, covering wasabi until served preserves flavour, and for this reason, sushi chefs usually put the wasabi between the fish and the rice. Fresh leaves of wasabi can also be eaten and have some of the hot flavour of wasabi roots.

Because the burning sensations of wasabi are not oil-based, they are short-lived compared to the effects of chilli peppers, and are easily washed away with another bite of food or liquid. The sensation is felt primarily in the nasal passage and can be quite painful depending on amount taken. Inhaling or sniffing wasabi vapour has an effect like smelling salts, and this property has been exploited by researchers attempting to create a smoke alarm for the deaf. One deaf subject participating in a test of the prototype awoke within 10 seconds of wasabi vapour being sprayed into his sleeping chamber. Wasabi is often served with sushi or sashimi, usually accompanied with soy sauce. The two are sometimes mixed to form a single dipping sauce known as Wasabi-joyu. Due to the expense and difficulty of cultivating wasabi, a very widely used substitute (imitation wasabi) is a mixture of (western) horseradish, mustard, and green food colouring; in American sushi restaurants this is generally referred to as "wasabi", while genuine wasabi, which is rarely available, is referred to as "fresh wasabi". Similarly, when wasabi is sold in tubes, the contents may be genuine wasabi, or it may be horseradish, mustard, and green food colouring, or it may be a mixture of the two. In Japan, horseradish is referred to as seiyō wasabi "western wasabi".

As a member of the cruciferous family, wasabi contains the same cancer-fighting isothiocynates as its cabbage cousins. The American National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have studied cruciferous vegetables extensively for years. They recommend that everyone eat several servings from this vegetable family each week to dramatically lower risk of all types of cancer. Researchers believe that one way the substances in cruciferous vegetables help prevent cancer is by helping the body eliminate excess hormones such as oestrogen, thus reducing the risk of hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer. Wasabi contains a considerable amount of potassium and fair amounts of calcium and vitamin C. However, since it is typically used as a condiment in small amounts, wasabi does not qualify as a significant source of these nutrients. Medicinally, the most important feature of Wasabi is that it contains compounds effective against cancer. Extracts from Wasabi have been shown repeatedly to be effective against stomach cancer cells. Other types of cancer, including breast, for stomach and colon, may also be treated by compounds known to exist in Wasabi but these have not yet been studied.
Compounds found in Wasabi are also effective when used in other medical situations. The isothiocyanates of Wasabi inhibit platelet aggregation which works as an effective anticoagulant. These anticoagulant properties could be used in the treatment of the elderly and during surgery where preventing platelet aggregation is vital. Recently, it was shown that Wasabi contained compounds (not determined which ones) that may be effective against diarrhoea. And lastly, some secondary metabolites found in Wasabi may be effective anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory agents.

My next recipe is Camembert and Roasted Garlic, recipe by Lorraine Pascale, courtesy of “Baking Made Easy” &www.bbc.co.uk/food.

This recipe serves 2, takes 10mins to prepare and takes approx.40-45 mins to cook .

2 x Jumbo Garlic Bulbs, unpeeled with the tops sliced off
40g x Butter, cut into two blocks
80ml x Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
A Large Pinch of Sea Salt
A Couple of Twists of Black Pepper
1 x Large Squeeze of Honey
2 x Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
3 x Bay Leaves
200-250g x Camembert, plastic wrapping and lid removed but still in its wooden box, at room temperature
1 x French baguette, ripped into 10cm/4in pieces and sliced horizontally

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place the garlic cut-side down in a large roasting tin. Add the butter, oil, a pinch of salt, a couple of twists of black pepper, the honey, rosemary and bay leaves and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes. After 30–35 minutes put a large cross in the top of the Camembert and add it to the oven. Add the French baguette to warm it up too. Once the garlic is soft, the bread is extra crunchy and the cheese is all soft and gooey, remove from the oven. Serve everything on a big sharing plate. Break off a piece of crusty bread, squeeze out the tender flesh of the garlic along with a healthy dose of cheese and smear it liberally over the bread.

My last recipe is a non-alcoholic cocktail for those who prefer a lighter tipple, Grapple, recipe by Jim, courtesy ofwww.drunkdrinks.com.

This recipe serves 1, takes mins to prepare.

260ml x Grape Juice
260ml x Apple Juice
1 tsp x Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp x Cinnamon

Place all ingredients in the blender jar - cover and whiz on medium speed until well blended. Pour in one tall, 2 medium or 3 small glasses and drink up.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

http://chefgarfy.blogspot.com/
http://chefgarfy.blog.co.uk/
http://www.chefgarfy.com