foodmonger

A take on a 16th Century Banquet

I finally have a new keyboard, in other words I have a functioning “a” and “s” key – I so very much missed using words like sausages, ass(es), smack, snake, and snail. Having to copy and paste “s’s” and “a’s” lost its charm rapidly . I can now so easily write scissors, sissy, and Smeagol – what a delight. I no longer have to revert to using bizarre teenage code-like l@ngu@ge; instead I can now (if I so wish to) talk like I have a stutter or a lisp.

Today’s post is similar to my last one. My boyfriend and I are on a no-carb diet which pretty much eliminates a bunch of ingredients I usually cook with. At present I am living on salad and meat – I am so tired of eating meat! All I want is white food: pasta, bread, rice, chips, crackers, potatoes, flour (yip, I’ll even eat a spoon of flour that’s how desperate I am). I shouldn’t complain, I did take Saturday and Sunday off as it was my boyfriend’s birthday. We threw a party on the Saturday, and the Sunday was his actual birthday. Only thing though, I drank too much and forgot to eat all the bread and potatoes in the world (the wine however was a treat). And on the Sunday, Clarke’s was closed (like all restaurants in Cape Town) so I did not get the burger that I was dreaming of.

Since I am not in the mood to cook a great no-carb recipe (ie. I don’t feel like eating no-carb-food — i’d rather starve), I have decided to post a few pictures I did earlier in the year. It’s not a recipe, rather a bit of fun and something for me to post and I suppose drool over (it’s been 14 days since I have had a burger).

I worked on a MacDonalds commercial with Sam, from Drizzle and Dip ( www.drizzleanddip.com ), and at the end of the shoot there was a lot of leftover burger patties, sliced cheese and rolls. After sitting out all day, none of it was fit for human consumption. This was great news for me. A few days before the shoot, I was toying with the idea of taking junk food and creating 16^th Century still lifes out of them. So I took all the leftovers home and made very neat burgers fit for a Banquet

I am happy with them to an extent. However, I never got the grade, lighting (Chiaroscuro) exactly how I wanted it. Also, I lacked the props to properly pull it off.

Next week, I will still be on this ridiculous diet but shall post an actual recipe.

Also to be found a:  www.food-monger.com

Styling Eggs

At present my computer’s “a” and “s” keys do not work. As a result I am forced either to copy and paste them in (using old word docs as reference); or write like a twelve ye@r old on f@cebook or $m$ – I am not sure which is wor$e. Luckily for this post I am using my boyfriend’s laptop – saving me time and ensuring I don’t look like a silly teenage girl whose brain has gone on sabbatical.

As a result, today’s post is a little different from my usual posts and quite short (cannot hog the laptop). I also thought it would be nice to post something that was purely fun and (hopefully) interesting.

For some of you who don’t know, I am a freelance food stylist. I often practice food styling techniques at home to test them out and to improve my styling skills.

Since eggs are relatively cheap I decided that I would practice styling eggs and make a series of photos that tell a story/message about breakfast. This post is about styling eggs – how to cook them so they look as sunny as a Wimpy breakfast ad

Firstly, use free-range eggs. Ethics aside, the yolks hold their shape better and are lovely and plump

Secondly, always use a non-stick pan. A cheap one from Click’s does the job. I use what P ‘n P calls an “Eggy Pan” – a small non-stick pan (as in the below pics). I find it works brilliantly and since it is so small I never use it for anything else, thus it always stays in perfect condition

Thirdly, cook your eggs slowly in vegetable oil – never be tempted to up the heat. If you do, you’ll find the white starts to get bubbles and the yolk can also form bubbles and sometimes they rupture and there goes your perfect egg.

I use a heart-shaped mould in the pics, you can apply this technique using other moulds or none at all. And… always brush your mould with oil or spray with non-stick spray.

The picture below shows how the yolk naturally falls to one side. To avoid that, using a spoon hold the yolk in the centre. After about 40seconds of cooking, remove the spoon and your yolk will stay centre – eggs solidify quite quickly.

Keep cooking your egg very slowly on a low heat until the white is completely opaque. Then remove your egg.

You can make these eggs ahead of time and keep them for quite a few hours till needed. On shoots you often need quite a few eggs for a shot and it is best to make a couple in advance. All you have to do is pour a layer of vegetable oil over your cooked eggs and store in a container or simply place on a tray and cover with plastic wrap.

One last tip, if you are using a mould, you’ll find that the white runs out a little – don’t stress. When your egg is half-cooked press down on the mould as if it is a cookie cutter. You’ll notice the escaped white will separate from the sides of the mould. Simply scoop them out with a spoon and continue to cook your egg till done.

also to be found at: www.food-monger.com

Chocolate Horlicks Brownies.

With all the snow that’s been going around it got me in the mood for Brownies. Somehow chocolate always suits cold weather – well any weather, it’s wonderfully versatile good anytime and anywhere (in the bath or in the sand chocolate will always be delicious and appropriate).

Aside from all the snow around the country, I also had to test this recipe out for a styling job. It’s a great recipe and you can find it on the Horlicks website: http://www.horlicks.co.uk/recipes/ or below. The site has tons of recipes that use Horlicks, many of which use Horlick’s in crazy ways as in Salmon Goujons with a Horlicks batter.

For the recipe please visit: www.food-monger.com