The whole idea is to give us all a challenge to shake things up a bit in our home kitchens. Consider it our very own version of a Mystery Basket, forcing us to cook with fresh produce daily. This Challenge is for any valid for 7 days during Friday, Sept 9, 2011 – Friday, Sept 16, 2011. This is to facilitate the difference in weekend days in the different countries in which participants are in.
The aim is to REALLY challenge ourselves to be spontaneous in the kitchen and to cook as fresh as possible!
The rules:
- Shop for produce to cook dinner (or lunch) everyday for 7 days only. (1 point)
- Get at least THREE items fresh per day (dictated by what looks good). (1 point for all three)
- Extra point for item never cooked with before (1 point)
- Cook a totally new recipe to you which does not have to be original, just new to you. Credit recipes taken from or inspired by others. (1 point).
Additional Rules For bloggers
- Link back your posts with your Challenge entries to this post. (1 point)
- Share your links for posts on our FB Page (1 point)
- If you are interested in joining the challenge, comment below and we will add a link to your blog below.
Additional Rules For non-bloggers
- Email your photos and meal description to mail@chefansteward.com or post on our FB Page
Participating blogs:
Irina Savva
Cooking with Zahra
Shafeena
I’m in for some cooking challenge 🙂
hey karin, could you please amend my blog title to eaternal zest please.
hehe.. only problem with creating titles like that is they dont work right all the time.
thanks 🙂
My sincerest apologies, Kari
Great! Looking forward to sharing the fun and nail biting with you !
This is awesome 🙂 so total 7 recipes during the week?
Dima, it is rather exciting! I think we will have a lot to be both happy about and to complain about during the week. We will all have to share notes about what looks good where and when the market days are for the different grocers. Yes it which out to one per day, not 7 in a day 🙂
May I enter too? Im not too sure If i will be able to be loyal for all 7 days!!! but want to try nevertheless!
Certainly Dina! The more the merrier! It doesn’t matter how many days you do it as long as you make sure it really challenges you! Adding your blog to the list now.
Challenge 2 of ‘Chef and Steward’ fresh mystery basket challenge happened today, Sunday Sept 11, 2011.
Not sure if I should be ashamed to say this, but I’ve never made curry goat. However, I am very proud to say that my 1st attempt – note well, without a recipe – was a resounding success. Granted I did use my experiences from making other curried dishes to guide this one and I didn’t try to be creative either. That ‘creative’ part is very important cause ‘being creative’ is a default state for me and my family. I thought of doing this dish because we love curried goat and because I don’t know how to cook boar. Yea boar – it’s sold in Loshusan along with lamb and a couple other things I’m hoping to get the courage to purchase and try. And I figured, this challenge is not about being crazy and wasteful – but sensibly exploring and hopefully widening the in-home dining experience.The rice & p-beans is the ‘being creative’ victim. It seemed to me that if one can cook rice with red peas and gungo peas and black beans, etc. then one should be able to do it with them all at once. And of course if it can be done with one, two, three … wha mek not ten, twelve and even 14!? So guess what? I did it. I used a pack of peas and beans (14 in all) meant for soup. Hence the ‘p-beans’. Smart huh?! No coconut milk, no oil, no butter. And instead of pigs tail I used some of the left over red herring. For those of you who don’t know, the real test of a GREAT rice and peas dish is when it can be eaten on its own and still taste amazing (i.e. NO GRAVY, NO MEAT, NO KETCHUP, NOTHING) – and this is one of them.
So far this challenge has been interesting, but I’m not gonna be able to do it every day. Next time probably won’t be until Tuesday. By then I may have the courage to buy the boar – eeek! J Hold on – isn’t boar in the pig family?
WOW! REALLY proud of you Kathy L. Gayle! I love the rice and peas idea and that at the ripe age of 25, I have made you cook curried goat 🙂
Ok, so I decided to take on a challenge set by my good friend Kari Heron through her blog ‘Chef and Steward’. Aside from the time and change in how I do my shopping, I thought it would be a breeze. I still think it will be, but on my first day I decided to go with red herring and apricot cheese. (Didn’t remember to get a 3rd item). Ehm… not sure that the red herring was the greatest idea. I loved the apricot cheese and red herring can eat, but I’m thinking – not the way I used it. There is a reason why we don’t usually see red herring used for much more than Solomon grundy.
Anyway, my inspiration for picking the herring? My bro, Robert. He suggested it. Initially I was going to do it with a baked potato but while shopping I noticed these cheeses – lemon cheese, blueberry cheese, a couple others and the apricot cheese. The apricot cheese won because it was the cheapest of the lot (not that it was cheap). I still may try out the herring and potato dish cause I have left over herring. I’m just gonna have to find a way to cut down on or counter the saltiness of the herring. For some it may be fine, but I really not into salty food.
Oh but I haven’t told you what I made with my items have I?! For all who know me … just take a wild guess… Or check out the pics. And I made 3. Each slightly different but all with the herring and apricot cheese.
Want recipe? Don’t ask … just come for the leftovers …. Nooo no no … is not like that. It don’t taste bad ….. just …… Strong! DWL!
So what 3 items should I get next?
Hahaaha! You know Kathy L. Gayle I always thought you were an uncontained genius in the kitchen, mixing textures and flavours like only few people are open enough to do. The pizza’s look great and I am sure that bro, being well initiated, would have taken all if you had let him. Folks, Kathy was my first producer when I started presenting TV @16. She then showed me how to be a good PA and then a producer. She is also a legend in her kitchen!
hahahahaha yeah – “legend” is right. DWL!!! ‘Splagy Food Specialist’
🙂
Finally got around to posting my Day 1 recipe: Grilled peach and chicken salad http://www.eaternalzest.com/?p=451
My Day 2 Recipe is in 🙂 (finally) – Mushroom and Potato Gratin
hope you like it
http://www.eaternalzest.com/?p=482