Slow cooked spicy sausages

Ingredients

1 garlic clove 

1 onion

6 or 7 sausages

150g mushrooms

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 or 2 (hot) birdseye chillis

Handful parsley

Gather all your ingredients to the chopping board.

Slice the garlic or crush in a pestle and mortar if you prefer.

Slice the onions in semi circles or however you want them.

Chop and prep the other ingredients.

I chop the mushrooms up really small.

Get a decent sized oven dish and put the raw sausages in.

Cover with the tomatoes, chilli, garlic, onion, parsley and mushrooms; add salt and pepper.

Spread the ingredients around equally. 

Cover with foil and cook on a low heat (150 degrees) for 2 to 3 hours. 

I keep a check on it to see whether the oven needs turning up or down to make sure they are not cooking too fast as I have made this up so it is just guess work.  The idea is to get a really slow cooked effect so if you’ve a slow cooker try it in there. 

I love sausages when they are soft and the skin isn’t toughened.  Any sausages will do I just use the thick Richmond ones.      

To accompany the sausages try cooking new potatoes then tossing them in oil and finish them off in the oven about 180 degrees for 10 mins to crisp them up. 

Today I have made home cooked roast potatoes.

I peeled 5 large Maris Pipers and cut them in half and part boiled them for about 10 mins in salted water. 

After draining the water I poured them back into the pan and gave the pan a good shake fluffing up the potatoes.  You can do this by using a fork but this way is quicker. 

Using some cheap sunflower oil put quite a few glugs into a large roasting dish and heat for a min or 2 in the oven about 190.  Add the potatoes.  They will take around 45 mins but you need to get them out every 10-15 mins to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom and using a spoon gather the oil and spoon it over the potatoes.  Do this a couple of times throughout cooking. 

If you’re hungry some nice warm bread goes well with this dish and olives to start with.

I made this for the first time for my boyfriend’s family as a Spanish themed meal, it is my own creation. 

We had olives, hot bread with oli oli which is garlic mayo, extremely popular in Spain.

To make Oli Oli I just crushed a load of garlic as small as I could and mixed with normal 

Hellmans mayo, or for extra garlicy do this with a garlic mayo.  It might sound naff but try it on some nice bread its lovely. 

I also made Spanish lemon chicken but I will post this another time.    

I insist this be served with wine.

Enjoy 

Destiny

I’ve been wondering recently what my destiny is?  

I spent a long time believing you make your own destiny and only you can make things happen; but can we really ignore the power of the universe, gods plans and good old fashioned coincidence, if there is such a thing.  If destiny was real could we avoid it and could we change it?

I do find myself saying ‘it wasn’t meant to be’, generally when I don’t get what I want.  Whether that is being with someone or wanting a certain job, that isn’t up to us, it’s a dependant variable.  

Every now and again I’ll realise there is so much to this world.  Right now as I sail down the M6 on my way to work there are many others doing the exact same thing.  More importantly at this very second, there is someone overdosing on heroin, being shot, being released from prison, being abused, losing a son, taking their own life.  There is a baby being born, a soldier fighting for his country, a doctor saving someone’s life.  People all across the world are living out their destiny.   

Even though we do not always agree with what happens to us, is there a bigger picture?  Are people put in our lives for a reason and a time limit or do we determine their departure?

Unless one event happens, then the sequence of events that follows this would not happen and is the next sequence of events our actual destiny?

I remember lying in bed crying and asking god why on earth he was doing this to me? I realised that no one was doing this to me but ME.  I was choosing to live that life, I could leave if I wanted to; in the end I did.

Sometimes things are out of our control, like when someone leaves you and you don’t want them to, or no matter how hard you try or how good you are, you still don’t get what you want. 

At the time we can’t see why this happens but is it just another road we have to go down to get to the next bit of our destiny?

What kind of people would we be if we were never thrown shit to catch now and again, hills to climb, obstacles to move; we need this stuff to make us tougher.  Can you imagine a life where everything you wanted just happened; you were never disappointed and you never had to try; you’d never feel any kind of negative emotion because your life was truly perfect.  If we didn’t experience the negative could we recognise the positive?    

I started to think further when I saw the new Kiefer Sutherland series Touch.  This is built on an idea that the universe and everyone in it is controlled by destiny.  There is an invisible string that joins each and all of us to the people we are supposed to meet along the way. 

There have been a number of occasions in my life when I have felt destiny has brought me to people but then I am the one here living this life making decisions. 

It’s a scary concept to me that I do control my own destiny because what if I make a mistake? What if I choose the wrong path and not the one I am supposed to choose, does this change my whole destiny?

If there are only two roads and you choose the wrong one, you can’t go back because the road doesn’t stay open forever, does it? 

Perhaps if in the past I’d chosen a different road I’d not be sat typing this now.

I don’t think anyone will ever really understand life and the reason why things happen.  When good people get sick, when children die before their parents, healthy men and women taken before their time without so much as a warning or time to say goodbye.  I cannot explain this and I doubt anyone can, I just call it ‘life’.  

If you believe in the scientific as opposed to the spiritual you can follow the idea that death is death and it happens through biological reason and disease.  If you believe in god you ask yourself why he would do this? One of my theories is not all destiny is good destiny.  Maybe the people that die are taken away before they unknowingly affect something of importance that would occur in their future; that inadvertently affects others.  If we have a path set out at birth, say someone out there already knows our exact time of death and reason and no matter what happens nothing will change that.  

The people that die could have been picked at random, even at birth, they may die just because not everyone can live.  Again if we never suffered loss would we appreciate life?          

I do not harbour any regrets, I don’t believe in it.  We can’t change our choices and whatever they were made us who we are today; whether that makes me more of a person or less of a person, I don’t know.

Are we able to make our own destiny? Can we follow our dreams and make life what we want?

I think maybe if we keep our dreams to an achievable level this could be ok.  Wanting to be someone we’re not, or hoping for millions of pounds or children we unfortunately can’t have – you see where I’m going; may not be attainable goals.  But, if were just looking for that perfect love or just pure happiness and a healthy enjoyable lifestyle, then I can believe in that destiny; or can I?

Life isn’t one happy road, its lots of roads and journeys with unlimited happiness and sadness some of which is out of our control.  I guess as the saying goes we just have to roll with it; cause that is what us humans do, we adapt, we adjust, we mould, we only want simple things like food, sleep, nurture, someone to love us.  It doesn’t sound that complicated when you put it like that. 

When I was younger I had this notion that when we die we would discover all the answers of the universe.  We’d know what happened to us and our loved ones when we died, we’d know about god, we’d know about ghosts, we’d know about all the mysteries of the whole world.  We might even see Elvis :)  

But then the thing is you would never get to tell anyone, because you’re dead.  But you would finally rest in peace knowing what is really out there.

It’s a nice thought isn’t it, although I’m a bit more cynical now.  Chances are when we’re gone we’re gone; not sure there is any proof of this on the contrary but it’s my little dream of death. 

What I’d like to think is, my destiny is to write so I can give up working my office job but then again I guess that is up to me to do the work.  I’d also kinda like to be turned into a vampire by Edward from Twilight but then that is just silly; but another option for giving up work ;) 

If destiny existed though, it wouldn’t matter what decisions we made would it because we’d have to live out that destiny whatever... as though destiny actually got in our heads and made our choices for us?? What do you think?      

                       

The first and last pics were taken from the National Geographic website check it out http://m.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/09/national-geographic-photo-contest-2012/100373/

Mince with spicy cream

Apologies for my lack of blogging recently, I haven't lost the love but have been trying to concentrate on finishing by book and if I'm really honest finishing several bottles of wine.

I just showed the new blog layout to my mother and she said but you're not a foul mouthed princess, I said, yeah I know I'm not a princess.  

Anyway get some cream and spice it up with one of my bitching personal versions of spicy Thai mince.  

Keep a look out for a future post of Jamie's Thai mince version 2.  

This one is juicy and saucy, version 2 is  much hotter and dryer, I like to think its like Lab Moo which I had in Koh Samet served by a very angry, stressed Canadian guy who owned the restaurant and was clearly struggling to cope.  His wife was Thai so I imagine she cooked it and it was bloody gorgeous despite waiting about an hour for it.  

May as well tell you the story now................ It was our last night on Koh Samet, I had noticed earlier in the week it was a non smoking restaurant, as it was an indoor establishment; on this night though they had one table outside where I could fully embrace my L&MS that cost me about £1.40 a pack (fills me with joy).  

We were warned of the wait but I wasn't bothered, more time for wine and fags I thought.  When he took our order he asked if I'd like any rice with it, being indecisive when it comes to food I paused a little and he bit my head off and said 'It's not hard, I'm busy here' he possibly even clicked his fingers or maybe I imagined that bit; I said yes, I'll have rice.  When dinner finally came there was no rice *Fucknuts* We asked for another beer and he did bring it over, I mean I did get the impression we were in a restaurant not a self service piss hole or a prison, it wasn't a cheap menu; he goes 'Next time fridge is over there, get it yourself'.  

Seriously dude go and learn some fucking customer service skills if you're going to run a restaurant.  Jesus Christ, we both know how stressful it can be running your own business but everybody knows you NEVER EVER take it out on YOUR customers.  He really needed some valium or magic mushrooms or dope or something.  

He did come over when it had calmed down to talk to us but I still haven't really forgiven him for that attitude.  

Right enough of my Thailand tales, depressing myself sat here, get this saved in your fav's.  

Ingredients

1lb mince

Olive oil

1 white onion 

1 ½ peppers

5-6 mushrooms

Spoonful of ginger

Sprinkle of coriander

1 garlic clove

200ml double cream

½ tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp massaman curry paste

2 hot chillis    

Cup of rice

I made this one up myself because I’m a tight wad and wanted to use the cream that was left in the fridge.

I got some mince and just used a load of ingredients I already had in the house.

Chop all your ingredients.

Brown off the mince with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes then drain the fat.

Put the mince back in the frying pan and add the massaman paste. 

Stir in the onions for a minute then add the mushrooms and peppers.

Add the double cream and the tomatoes.

Add the garlic and the ginger.

Turn on the rice to boil.

At this stage I tasted the mince to see how hot it was but it wasn’t hot enough for me so I gradually added the chillis until it was.

Enjoy