Elrie's Smashed butternut

Butternut Puree

Winter is finally here, and as you all know we need a little something effortless to keep us warm. Here is a simple little recipe I came up with while experimenting in my kitchen. It is quick and easy to prepare. it only takes 20 to 30 minutes All you will need is:

1 Whole Butternut (Large)

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 Teaspoon hot chocolate

Half teaspoon of nutmeg

Water

Sugar for taste 

Half a cup of heavy cream or full cream milk

• Peel and dice the butternut into small cubes. 
• Place it into a saucepan and add water and sugar and bring to boil.
• Keep checking if the butternut is soft enough to be mashed and turned into a puree. 
• Mash it up and ensure that there are no lumps and that it is smooth. 
• Then add the butter and stair until it has completely melted. cover for 2 minutes. 
• Add the hot chocolate, the nutmeg and the milk or cream and stair till all the ingredients have mixed well together. Cover for 2 to 3 minutes till ready. 

You can add any garnish of choice.You can enjoy this dish with toast or any type of bread of your choice. Remember; your kitchen, your rules!

You can even double the ingredients and make enough to take with to work. All you will need is a microwave. 

STAY WARM!

A quick bite

Here is a recipe of some juicy chicken livers

These chicken livers go well with mashed potatoes.

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Serves 6

You will need

750 g (3 x 250 g tubes) chicken livers

30 ml (2 tbsp) chicken spice

freshly ground pepper 

80 ml (1/3 cup) flour

45 ml (3 tbsp) oil

2 onions, sliced into thin rings

2 cloves garlic, chopped

410 g (1 can) cherry tomatoes

30 ml (tbsp) brown sugar

60 ml (1/4 cup) chopped basil leaves

Method

• clean the chicken livers and pat dry. cut in halve and set aside. Mix the spice, pepper, and flour together.
• Dust the chicken livers in the flour mix and set aside
• heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken livers in batches. Set aside. add the sliced onions and garlic and saute' for 4 minutes until soft but not brown- you can add a little water to soften the onions, cooking until the water has evaporated.
• Stir in the canned tomatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Add the sugar and stir- adding a little water if the mixture is too thick
• Add the basil leaves and the cooked chicken livers. stir and cook foe few minutes until well combined. serve hot with herbed mashed potatoes.

ENJOY!!!

Food for thought. Would you care for a Thai bite?

It is a fact that the food industry will never go out of market.The way some of us love food so much, we even take it as far as travelling the world just to taste different kinds of food  from various cultures.  When I went to Thailand at the beginning of July I noticed how restaurants there marketed themselves. They put their customers and their needs first, which is a great strategy and public relations. They sell all types of food for everyone from different cultures to feel comfortable since Thailand is a tourist destinations. They have fried chicken and chips, burgers, and so much more, but they never forget their steamed Thai rice touched with a hint of butter.  They even had drinks I have never heard of: screw driver, pink lady and so on.

Thai noddles with beef and vegetables and Thai rice with vegetables

 Here is a recipe of a saffron coconut rice, prepared in just 20 minutes!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes        

Total Time: 25 minutes

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white Thai jasmine rice
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 1+3/4 cups good-tasting chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 +1/2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut, unsweetened (baking type)
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• optional: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. saffron threads (a nice addition if you have it)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce, OR soy sauce if vegetarian
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili (available in the spice aisle)
• 2 green onions OR a few chives, sliced (for garnish)

Preparation:

1. Place stock in a pot and set over high heat. Add the turmeric, saffron threads (if using), garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, cumin, and chili. Stir well and bring to a boil.
2. Add the rice, shredded coconut, plus coconut milk. Stir continuously (to keep rice from sticking to the bottom) while you bring liquid back to a gentle boil.
3. When liquid is gently bubbling, reduce heat to low (just above minimum) and stop stirring. Cover pot tightly with a lid and cook about 15 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed (use a fork to pull rice back so you can see to the bottom of the pot).
4. Turn off heat, but leave the pot on the burner (covered) to steam for another 5-10 minutes, or until you're ready to eat. Rice will stay hot in this way for an hour or more (great if you're having company!).
5. Before serving, fluff rice with a fork and taste-test for salt. If not salty enough (this will depend on the saltiness of your stock), add a little more fish sauce OR a sprinkling of salt if vegetarian. If too salty, add another squeeze of lemon juice.
6. Garnish with the green onion, and serve with a nice Thai Curry, Indian curry, or other dishes of your choice. ENJOY!

Bad Public Relations or what? Horse meat on the loose!

Not so long ago the Woolworths ship was sinking in deep and not so good scandals. It was believed that Woolworths was selling horse meat to their customers. In Mid- January Irish food inspectors detected horse DNA in burgers sold to the UK supermarket chains. Then obviously at Woolworths, they had to save their ship from sinking by saying they will conduct DNA tests, to see if what they were selling was really horse meat. By saying it will test what it sells, Woolworths is indicating to both the government and the public that it recognizes the issue had become an identifiable risk, and it wants to assure customers that its products are legitimate.

Earlier last year, a handful of cross Christians created a controversy in South Africa over making of spiced buns. Some members of the Christian community were angry at Woolworths, for putting a halal certification mark on packages of hot cross buns sold ahead of Easter. In  Facebook statuses and Twitter posts, the fired- up Christians argued that hot cross buns have special meaning in their religion, and so the halal symbol (which indicates the food is permissible for Muslim to eat, under Islamic law), should not be used.

Now that is bad public relations, which could ruin your reputation and your brand image as a company. As a company, especially the one that is 'loved and favored' by people, you should start by building a relationship with them and start taking their needs into consideration. Start by practicing good public relations. There must be trust between the both of you.

What do you think people?