Me, You & lamb

 I was driving through the Winchester countryside and was listening to the local radio station who were talking about Christmas and the mass consumption of calorie rich foods. It made me think, as a bachelor I want to be able to cook something quickly, easily and memorable. My brain was ticking endlessly and then something peculiar happened, a farmer was crossing the road with his herd of lambs...and bingo! It was though i was struck by lightening and it lit my brain cells to work like a intel processor. Lamb was the chosen red meat - easily available, cookable and digestable.

Now was the hard part, how to prepare and cook it? A friend of mine was coming around to join me for dinner that evening and I thought I would use the opportunity to test run my virgin lamb cooking skills. So I dashed into the superstore and bought a kilo of the finest shoulder of Lamb - the butcher asked me, whole or chopped? I hesitated, and said chopped and later thought thats one way of making life difficult! It later occurred to me an unchopped lamb could've just been whacked in to the oven. On my way back home, I bought some potatoes, green beans and a tub of mixed herbs and decided to give a new herb called 'dil' a try - which I heard tasted good with the lamb.

So I gathered the ingredients on the, now, familiar work top beside the cooker and I began the whole process of chopping, peeling and cleaning of the potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and rinsed the green beans. Next step was marinating the lamb - my university flat buddy was from spain and he always said to keep it simple. So, guess what? That's exactly what I did. I mixed the lamb in black pepper, sea salt and added some pesto sauce to the mix and a tea spoon of corriander and chilli powder. I added a 1oz of water to the mix and a dash of olive oil and then with both hands marinated the lamb.

Then I heated some oil in a pan and added the onions and garlic.....waited for them to crystalise and then added the lamb. After this, its a game of patience and timing. Water needs to be added to the pan to level with the lamb in the pan and this process needs to happen on a regular basis until the lamb is soft inside. Once its soft, it's ready to be served and eaten.
The potatoes and beans were steamed and served with the lamb.... and cooking time was about an hour. But the pan and plates were clean with no left overs which suggested to me a simple lamb dish, and a friend is a winning combination.

The Bachelor and the kitchen

I hear you say 'bachelor and kitchen.... surely these two "things" are not made for each other! The thought of them being together brings into mind chaos and utter shame to the art of cooking fine gastronomic meals. The kitchen is alien to most bachelors with them thinking that its a place to look in the fridge for a snack before a footy match or even a place to leave the unfinished lasagna. Or some bachelor's have the top of the range kitchen glittering new and when you enter their flat they immediately show off their stainless steel cooker and electronic gizmo like its out of Star Trek - yet they will order in food from outside. And maybe you're right. Most of my friends, who are bachelor's enjoy the life of eating out or filling themselves with fast food from the local kebab house or burger joint to eating at some of the most exclusive restaurants in England from the Ivy to the Fat Duck that Heston owns. I have to confess I too, was one of those who enjoyed the fast paced, fast food and fine dining. The thought of eating in didn't even cross my mind- why bother when you can eat without the hassle of chopping onions and looking at timers to check whether the meat is cooked properly.


That was until one day when I was at home and I was suffering from a fever and a flue. My nose was red, the throat felt as though someone had used sand paper against it and the taste buds of my mouth had left me. I was hungry and I wanted to eat something hot and spicy that would blow the fever I had for six. I called up the local Indian and they told me a delivery wouldn't be possible because their delivery man was away, the Chinese takeaway didn't have a menu that was appealing to someone with a flu or a person without for that matter. I was running out of ideas, I had no car to go into town and the weather was pretty horrific. Finally, I took the brave yet unimaginable decision to cook something for myself. I opened all the cupboards and began piling up ingredients on the worktop next to the cooker. I had a can of mixed soup, packet of lentils, can of tuna, broccoli, potatoes and chilli powder, coriander powder, basil powder, black pepper and salt - and then i began panicking wondering what am i going to cook.


So here is what i did... i put all the vegetables in one pan and boiled, at the same time i boiled the lentils until they were soft and mashable. I chopped one small onion and a tea spoon worth of garlic and fried until they were brown - and the smell of two is very distinctive. Once the lentils had been boiled and soft I drained the water from the lentils and added the onions and garlic and mixed it thorougly. I added half a tea spoon of chilli powder and two tea spoons of corriander powder to the lentil. I then added boiling water to the mashed mix and boiled it until the lentil had become soup like. After 25-30 mins worth of cooking time I had a lentil soup that did the trick. I cut some fresh french stick breads and put them in the oven so they were open and soft and the lentil soup and the bread was my supper for the evening.

Not michelin star food - but this was the start of my cooking life and this blog is about my journey in discovering the perfect bachelor food. I hope to share my ideas and escopades with you and perhaps come up with recipes that dont need a genius to work out. I will be going to professionals and well known chefs to get some hints and tips that i aim to put up here for all those bachelors in need of some help in the kitchen.