ME ON A PLATE

The desire to replicate known recipes, to do it with attention to detail and to share the experience of flavours and textures with family and friends had its beginning during my teens.

I can still recall the first time I made something from scratch. It was a carrot cake. Grating the carrot, measuring out the ingredients then bringing it all together to bake. It was a success. I was pretty chuffed, being all of 14 years of age and male.

Both my parents worked while I was growing up. For the late 60's, through to the 80's, that was rare. Mum prepared most, if not all our meals with Dad, being from Ukraine, occasionally putting together a pot of Potato Soup, Borscht or Cabbage Rolls. My mothers "speciality" was Chicken Chow Mein which was requested for and provided to almost all major family functions. Another favourite meal was "Mock Fish". I would help by grating the potato. Mock fish had a soft internal texture with a crunchy exterior. This culinary delight evolved over the years to become Potato Rosti.  

Skip ahead to present day where I have decided to not only continue with my culinary passion but to further share acquired knowledge, skills, techniques and experiences by publishing such.

Over the years I have been fortunate to have dined in several fine dining restaurants. Yes, I am one of those who takes photos of their meals in many circumstances. Undoubtedly those photos and associated experience will be a part of this blog.

As for produce, my desire to further explore and taste many "extravagant" ingredients was strong enough to ensure I seek them out to fulfil the appetite for them. More on those later.   

I consider myself as an all-rounder, not just in body shape, but in that I will attempt to recreate many different cuisines and all course types.

The satisfaction and reward that is gained from enjoying the passion for food I have, comes from the pleasure I see on family and friends faces when they dine on something that has been prepared just for them to experience. Yes, the praise and compliments are most welcome but what really makes me happy and content is when my guests have had a wonderful meal and time.

Over the years I have seen hundreds of cooking shows, read many magazines, especially Delicious, (5 or so years of monthly subscriptions) and perused the Internet. So much inspiration. 

UK Masterchef, without a doubt, is my most favoured cooking program. Far,far superior to the Australian version. With UK MC it was a case of cook, be judged, stay or "sod" off. The Aussie version was more scripted, drama filled. All for ratings. That's what TV is all about though. 

My opinion of MC Australia didn't stop me from watching it altogether. I was inspirited to attempt several recipes presented. From these attempts came a few of my most successful recreations. More on those later on the Masterchef page.

While some people post political, environmental and religious views as well as photo after photo of their kids, pets, cars, etc, on social media, I'm one of those that probably drive others crazy with my food photos. We all have opinions, interests and passions that most of our friends and family are aware of. Social media has many positive and advantageous aspects that can be tapped into.

Through social media I have made contact with many friends from my past, especially from High School. It is by putting my passion "out there" that I have been presented with new recipes, cuisines and challenges. It is a lot of fun and gives me pleasure and enjoyment. Never short of inspiration. 

FODMAP

My wife Jen suffers from IBS and now follows a Low FODMAP Diet.
When I first met Jen, I would always have some type of prawn dish ready for her when she came home from work on Thursday nights. It was a treat. After a period of time she would always be in pain after eating prawns. Off the menu they came, for Jen at least. Over the following months she would suffer the symptoms of IBS on a daily basis. Many visits to her GP and specialist, along with research on the internet led Jen to a lot of information about FODMAP diets, available books and recipes. Jen started following Dr Sue Shepherd's Low Fodmap Diet with great results. There are many recipes available that are full of flavour, easy to prepare and that also made eating enjoyable again.
I will say that, for some time while Jen was going through the "process of elimination", I did loose some desire to cook. Jen was the main person I would cook for, the main person I wanted to share new recipes and produce with. The passion and desire slowly returned as I learnt to adapt to cater for Jens condition. If it meant a variation had to be prepared just for Jen, then so be it. I wasn't going to miss out. I still have the meals with the garlic, the onion and the everything that would upset Jen.

BON APPETIT again!!!!

Get Inside My Belly

Another recipe from Delicious Australia.

This Pork Belly with Chargrilled Peach Salsa is well worth the effort.


INGREDIENTS

1.2kg boneless pork belly, skin scored
1/2 tsp each ground white pepper, ground nutmeg and ground cloves
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 bay leaves
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
Micro parsley, to serve

Peach Salsa

3 ripe peaches, halved, stones removed
1 tbs olive oil
1 tomato, cut into 2cm pieces
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

METHOD

1. Remove pork from fridge at least 1 hour before cooking and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 240°C.

2. Toast the spices in a small dry frypan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Pat pork skin with paper towel until very dry. Drizzle the oil over the skin and season with 2 tsp salt. Turn the pork, skin-side down, and rub the spice mixture into the flesh (avoid the skin).

3. Place onion and garlic in the centre of a large roasting pan and place pork, skin-side up, on top, ensuring onion mixture is tucked under pork. Roast for 20-30 minutes until skin is golden, blistered and crisp. Remove pan from oven and reduce oven to 165°C. Add bay leaves and stock, ensuring liquid does not touch skin, then roast for a further 1 hour 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Remove the pork from the pan and transfer to a chopping board, then rest, loosely covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Set pan with juices aside.

4. Meanwhile, for the salsa, preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue to high. Brush peaches with oil, then grill, cut-side down, for 1-2 minutes until charred. Remove from heat and roughly chop. Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients, then season and toss to combine.

5. Skim fat from the reserved pan juices. Squeeze garlic from skins and mash with a fork. Add garlic, onion and 1/3 cup (80ml) pan juices to salsa and toss to combine.

6. Carve pork and serve with peach salsa, remaining pan juices and micro parsley.

Prepping the Salsa

Ready to go