Marie Cookpad

  When I worked at the Manor I always had to have a fresh plate of cooked Chicken Tenders in the refrigerator for the Mrs. to snack on at all times.  I also had to have a tray of fresh vegetables and dip and a tray of devilled eggs at the ready for the Mrs and Mrs.    It used to really annoy me if I got them done and in the refrigerator and the daughter came home with her friends and then they snuffled them all up without a second thought.  That meant I would have to make a quick trip to the shops and do them all over again . . .  along with my other duties.    I did not have a very understanding boss.  The daughter and her friends eating all that you had prepared was not a good enough excuse.  Those things had to be there no matter what.   It was my job after all  . . . so I shouldn't really complain.  It wasn't that I didn't like doing these things, I just didn't like having to do them twice in one day.   ...

  Last month we received a beautiful box of fish from Seafresh Quality Foods .  Seafresh is an on line fish monger, which sells quality fish, seafood, poultry and meat.  I was incredibly impressed with both their product and their delivery service!  There was absolutely nothing that I could fault with any of it. Feel free to read about my experience here .   Included in the box was a package of beautiful looking raw King Prawns .  Their prawns are individually quick frozen so that you can take out as many or as little as you want, which makes them very handy to use and ideal for whatever size family you have.  They are also shelled and de-veined at the source, so you can just cook them without any messing about.  BONUS!     One of my first jobs as a young woman was as the Pastry Chef in a big hotel back home.  It had a four star restaurant attached to it. The Old Orchard Inn was a prime destination for tourists and locals ...

  What I am showing you today is not so much a recipe as it is a technique, although I will certain give you a tasty recipe that you might want to make at the end!  Bagel Chips.  These crisp delicious crisp snack breads are so simple to make and you will find that they come in handy all year round, especially if you are entertaining!  I would probably even go so far as to say that if you have these in the house, you got a party in the making!    All you need for them is a bag of bagels (use your favourite kinds) some kind of fat for spreading on them, and a seasoning sprinkle.  Today I did them three ways so I could compare the taste.   I did a batch with olive oil, a batch with sunflower oil and a batch with softened butter.  All three I used the same Italian garlic seasoning on.  Can you guess which was the tastiest to me?  No surprise there  . . . butter.   As you can see they also got a bit crisper with the butter...

  I cannot tell a lie.  The potato is my favourite vegetable. That is probably why I have never been able to stick to a low carb diet. I like bread and potatoes too much.  I have modified my diet somewhat in recent years however, eating only whole grain bread and new potatoes most of the time . . .  new potatoes are low GI.   A week or so ago the Manomasa Family asked me if I would be interested in trying out their new line of chunky dips, inspired by the Taquerias in the markets of Mexico.  Arriba!  Didn't have to ask me twice.  I adore Mexican anything, and I was already a fan of their fabulous tortilla chips.    They have several variety of chips . . .  each one as good as the other.  They also sent me a bag each of their Green Lemon and Pink Peppercorn, and the Classic Cantina ones to enjoy.   Todd's not a huge fan of overly crunchy things like chips however, so I wanted to make something that he could enjoy these dips...