Salaric Cooking

One of my husbands favourite cook books is Thai Vegetarian Cooking by Vantcharin Bhumichitr. This was bought for him as he loved Thailand and was struggling to find many good veggi resturants in this country(England). It has some very nice dishes in it that he has cooked for me and he has even managed to avoid stuff that is too hot. The thing he tends to do most is the Fried Rice with Turmeric but that maybe becuase he’s obsessed with that particular spice – an unfortunate state of affairs when white cloth napkins are involved!

It gives you lots of background infornmation and has nice large pictures that get you salivating. However the dishes all tend to be to my mind – complecated and so I would not recomend this for a cooking beginner. But if your interested in diversifying your diet or your cooking this book is fantastic. We have done several dinner parties out of it too.

Toast a piece of bread then put slices of cheese on it and place it under the grill and until molten and slightly browning, preferably with cheese running down the sides meaning you will have to wash the grill pan!

This dish is also known as cheese on toast and there are a few squabbles about weather it has to contain onion under the cheese and the such like. But my Welsh nan called cheese on toast Welsh Rare Bit and she was born in 1902 – if you have something that pre-dates this then let me know please. (though my dad pointed out that just becuase its called welsh rare bit doesn’t mean it is welsh – more info would be appreciated thanks).

*2 courettes *1 aubergine *4 sweet red, green, and yellow peppers *6 cloves of garlic *2 large onions *mixed herbs *3 tins of chopped tomatos *White Lasanga sauce *Green pasta sheets *Grated Cheddar

Fry onions and garlic. Add tomatos and herbs Simmer Chop and add other veg Reduce down Once reduced to a gloopy consistancey that resembles bolonasge layer it with the pasta sheets and white suace Make sure the top layer is white suace Sprinkel grated cheese on top Cook in oven for 45 minutes at 180 degrees C

*2 large onions *2 Green peppers *1 Jar of morrisons cheap sweet and sour source *1 cup of rice

Start the rice by putting one cup into the suacepan with three cups of water, add a pinch of salt. Put on medium heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn heat off and place a lid on it, leave rice to absorb the steam – this gives sticky rice that can be picked up with chop sticks.

Whilst waiting far the rice cut up the onions into large chunks which can be seperated out into ‘sheets’ of onion.

Put them in a large frying pan with the sweet and sour source on a high heat.

Cut up the peppers – again in large chunks and once the onions begin to look cooked add the peppers and stir continuously to prevent the sweet and sour source from burning to the pan.

Place the rice into large bowls and add the vegitables on top. Serve and eat!

Feed two with possibly too much veg.

This is one of my favourite lunches though it is really a convience food, almost a ready meal!

I buy stuffed pasta in the supermarket. They often have 3 for 2 deals and the like on them, my favourite is spinache and riccota. I also pick up tomato and mascopony suaces, they are generally next to the pasta.

I then put the pasta into boiling water for three minutes, heat the suace up, drain pasta and add it to the suace. Stir it around gently so as not to overlly break the pasta.

I then put it into two bowls and me and my husband eat it up whilst its still hot! Sometimes it stretches between 3 people though Al prefers eating an entire bag of the stuff to himself!

Due to having been flooded out of our own house we found our selves staying with a friend in London. I came to make me and my two year old lunch which ment it was time to once again raid his fridge and cupboards now the night before he had cooked us an obsolutely fantastic meal of which there were remnants of in the fridge.

I took out the sliced potatoe the wine vinigar, olive oil and basal dressing and wulnut pesto ricotta cheeese mix. I also extracted a Lloyeds Grosman Tomatoe and basil suace from the pantry.

I put the dressing in the wok on a moderate heat (he had a gas hob which I found so much better than my electric one). Once it was sizzling merily I added the potatoe slices – It was about two medium sized potatoes worth. As soon as the potatoe slices start to fluff slight (ie slightly full apart) I added half the jar of tomato and basil sauase.

I used a spatular to make sure the potatoe slices werent sticking to the bottom of the wok and then once the suace started bubbling I added the walnut and recotta mix which slowely melted in.

I served this to me and my daughter with chedder gratted on the top.

It was nice though I think it was really enough to feed about three adults if with something else.

*Sundried tomatoes *Mozarella *Chopped tomatoes *Nice pasta such as large shells – the sort of pasta they sell in the finest sections of up market super markets or in farm shops – you know in little celophane bags held together at the top with a ribbon!

Cook pasta and drain it. Place in baking dish. Sprinkel in sun dried tomartoes and chunks of mozarella cheese. Pour on the chopped tomatoes. Place in the oven for 1/2 hour at 180 degrees C

Works well with steamed asparagus and dough balls with garlic butter dip.

*1 tin of black eye beans in water *1 tin of green lentils in water *2 tins of chopped tomatoes *2 teaspoons of very lazy chopped garlic *5 drops of tabasco suace *ground black pepper *Rosemerry *Cheese

1)Take a medium/large suacepan and empty the lentils with their water into it. 2)Then the black eye beans should be drained and added. 3)Add the chopped tomatoes. 4)Place on a medium heat. 5)Grate and stir cheese into it until the red of the tomatoes becomes a sort of pinky colour and the mixture starts to stick together. 6)laddle into bowls and grate cheese on top. 7)Serve

You might also like to add things like tuna or bacon to this, different herbs and spices would add to the mix and as a result it is a highly versatile dish. I came up with it as there was a limited amount of stuff in the kitchen and so I just combined what I had!

*Broccoli *Carrots *Tofu *Noodles *Vegitable Oil

Cut the florettes off of the broccili (the little minni trees), make sure they are about a mouthfull each. Chop the carrots up preferably in sticks. Cube the tofu Put lots of oil in a wok – about three times the amount you think you need as the broccoli absorbs it! Put the noodles on in water to cook. Add tofu, broccoli and carrot to wok – sizel moving them all the time with a spatular or equivalent. Add more oil if nessacery. Drain noodles. Divide noodles into large bowls. Put the stir fry on top of the noodles and serve – preferably with chop sticks!

Flour, water, frying pan – this is what my friend uses to cook gipaties. These are like an unleven bread you eat with curries and stuff.

He sprinkeled flour on the work surface mixed flour and water into a stiff dough and then stretched it out with his fingers – I can’t remember if he then rolled it or not, it was very quick! He then dry fried it in the frying pan.