Celebrity chefs have used every trick in the book (namely their own books) to encourage us to cook. Delia Smith has always been a bit of a trailblazer publishing books such as 'How to cook' which started with the very basics; how to cook eggs. Her 'Delia's how to cheat at cooking' was very well received because it was a new approach to cooking in the 21st century. Delia sympathised with young people who had not been taught to cook, and with busy working mums and dads who had succumbed to the easy option of feeding their families on ungenerous ready meals and takeaways.
Delia anticipated the obesity crisis we now find ourselves in and her book was all about encouraging novice cooks by making simple adjustments to well known recipes. The book was published in 2008, since then the emphasis in the culinary world has been about saving us money. How to cheat feels slightly dated because the ingredients seem rather extravagant now, ready grated cheese, ready made breadcrumbs, ready cooked smoked bacon, tins of fried onions and her greatest revelation, frozen potatoes, be it mash or roast.
The concept was good and I still use some of her recommended ingredients if I really want to save time eg frozen mash potato, tinned Spanish fried onions, jars of roasted peppers, fresh cheese sauce...........
Jamie Oliver went one further and published 'Jamie's 30 minute meals' the concept being you could have an amazing home-cooked spread on the table in half an hour. All done with the best of intentions, this book failed on many levels albeit 'tried and tested' by Jamie's 'food team.' Many of my work colleagues, who like me bought the book, found that 10 minutes into the recipe they'd just about managed to peel and chop a couple of onions, by which time Jamie had the spaghetti sauce bubbling, the salad mixed and was preparing the ganache for dessert!
The truth is both Jamie and Delia share an absolute passion for food, as I do. I really begrudge eating inferior food just to fill a space, don't get me wrong, I love a good burger or pizza, but ready meals with their outer packaging all gorgeous colour photography with mouth watering prose on the front of the packet, insults not only my taste buds but my intelligence. Read the small print and you will find up to ten different types of sugars, sweetening agents and fats, including trans fats in an average ready meal. Manufacturers wanting to create the impression of fruit or vegetables or other expensive ingredients without including the real thing have 4,500 different flavouring compounds at their disposal, flavourings and colourings replace natural ingredients. This debasement of our food is having a profound affect on our bodies, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and increasing evidence that dementia and behavioural problems are linked to our toxic diets, yet still people eat this crap!
I'd rather eat an omelette, beans on toast or simple pasta dishes than chemically enhanced mush and I admire Delia and Jamie for their cookery books which don't ridicule or humiliate people who can't cook but try to aid and encourage them. As they say 'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.' Only you can decide whether cooking is worth an hour or so of your time each day!
This next recipe was so delicious I would pay good money in a restaurant to eat something half as good! It's a combination of a recipe in Jamie's 30 minute meals and a couple of Delia's cheat ingredients, with a bit of a Donna twist.
Incidentally, Jamie rustled this up for Jool's when she was pregnant and nothing else was hitting the spot, I can certainly see why she loved it so much!
Scrumdiddlyumptious pasta
Recipe
Serves 4
1 tin Spanish fried onions
1 tin ratatouille
6 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 peppers, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
6 good quality sausages
500g pasta
A few sprigs fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Blitz carrots, peppers and garlic in a food processor, you can add some of the tinned onions to loosen the mixture
In a large lidded pan heat a splash of olive oil, add veg mix and the remaining tinned onions
Remove skins from sausages, break sausage meat up
Add sausage meat to pan, breaking it up and stirring as you go
Add ratatouille and stir, season to taste
Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a drop of water if necessary
Cook pasta according to packet instructions and drain
Add pasta to sauce, stirring and combing well
Add basil and allow to wilt
Add a large handful of Parmesan
Serve in warm bowls
You can tweak this recipe, infact I make it slightly differently each time. Use freshly chopped onions rather than tinned, replace ratatouille with a tin of tomatoes or with a couple of sticks of celery, blitzed with the other vegetables. Add chillies to spice the dish up and vary your sausages, I used chilli, garlic and herb which were delicious.
'Your body is a temple, you are what you eat. Do not eat processed food, junk foods, filth or disease carrying food. Some people say 'well it tastes good'. Most of the foods today that cause sickness, cancer and disease ALL TASTE GOOD; it's well seasoned poison! This is why so many people are sick, because of being hooked to the taste of poison instead of being hooked on REAL FOODS that heal and provide you with good health and wellness.'
-Supanova Slom
Love Donna xxxxxx
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