I am just back from trying my new hobby!

[chenrezig]

I am just back from my first lesson.. "The Old Bakery", the cafe across the road is running an 8 week course and I have just got back from my first lesson .. we learnt to do sweet n sour with chicken, egg fried rice ..and ... we made our own pizzas from scratch, so guess what I will be having for tea tomorrow night? I took a couple of pics with ,my little Doro ... I am so chuffed at it having come out okay as I usually end up chucking out anything with yeast as I can never get it to rise ...

[maureenho]

23m 23m 23m

That looks yummy Liz, well done, look forward to seeing what you make next.  o904 o904 o904

[Rosalind]

It looks fabulous Liz, hope you enjoy it. ju098

[chenrezig]

It was a brilliant evening if that doesn't sound daft?

Crhis started by showing us round the kitchen which sink to use for what - there are three! One for handwashing, one for food prep, and one for "dirty" dishes. Three bins - one for compostible stuff one for other stuff and one for glass. Then it was about hygiene n cleaning the work surfaces.

Then we got a little apron each which we get to keep. Then we started making the dough for the pizza, my did my hand ache with all that kneading. but it turned out to be worth it in the end.And while that was proving, Chris showed us how to make sweet and sour, and egg fried rice. If you haven't guessed by now the theme of the lesson was "Ban the Takeaway". We even got to try Chris's sweet/sour and egg fried! So much better than what I have tried before, and "lighter" to eat.

Then it was decorate your pizza time - we made the sauce from chopped toms, mixed herbs and a bit of olive oil, then it was do what ever we wanted re the topping.  I choose cheese (it was a mix of mozerella and cheddar to give it flavour), then red/green/yellow peppers, red onion, ham, a bit more cheese and a few peppers.

While they were cooking Chris went over the rest of the course - next weeks is healthy eating, I must rememebr not to have any tea before I go over! lol lol

They didn't take too long too cook, and when they were, rather than try our own, Chris gave us a slice of his own pizza he had done!

At the end we all got a little folder to keep the recipes that we try - I quite fancy having a go at some egg fried at the weekend as you can freeze that so I can make a few portions as it is just me on my own.

Things I picked up last night..

Did you know that you must cool rice after you have cooked it ( you run it under the cold to the tmeperature of the cold water)? It is because heat resistant spores can start to grow if you leave it to carry on "cooking"

[JaneJ]

What a great cours.

The tip about the rice was very interesting.

Will you share the egg fried rice method? I can never seem to do it.

I think you have a brilliant new hobby and I hope you can let us know your recipes. They sound tasty and fun to do.

Very proud of you for going. It's hard going to new group and meeting new people. Good on you xxxx

ki12 ki12 ki12 ki12 ki12

[chenrezig]

We get the recipes for what we make and he demonstrates each week, and I have the one for egg fried - I will type it out after tea tonight  n post it on Chill. I am going to get some rice n freezer bags and make some at the weekend. I already have three pizza portions in the freezer - I kept one out for tea tonight.

Chris is a great chap, as well as cook he can ride a unicycle and toss a pancake at the same time!  Next weeks lesson is "Healthy Eating". I have washed my pinny out already for next week. I might even do a little bit of cross-stitch on it once I have finished the course if I can find my "vanishing" canvas.

There was a new cafe opened a while ago, further into the city and scince it opened he has lost 20% of his business! Probably the novelty of it being at the local prison.

I usually go in Chris's cafe at least once a week, but I will pop in tomorrow for breakfast as I have my charity shop job am n I can go in there n have breakfast as I might have to miss dinner as I will have to go straight from the shop to my knit n knatter. Very handy as the cafe and charity shop are next door to each other lol

He has TWO weddings to cater for this Saturday so he will be closed that day.

Liz

PS The course is sponsored by the Co-Op. Another tip re the rice, is that rinsing it gets rid of starch so it is more "fluffy".

PPS The sweet n sour sauce was just orange juice, honey, soy sauce and a dollop of ketchup it was way better than those ready to buy sauces - much "lighter" and not so heavy n "sickly".

PPPS - Did you know soy sauce comes from soya beans that make the veggie stuff? As it is a dark sauce I never put two and two together ...

[JaneJ]

Thank you for those tips. You must be his star pupil.

an incredibly clever chap.

A friend of mine from Malaysia was horrified I didn't rinse my rice before cooking!! she was surprised we hadn't poisoned ourselves. It makes a huge difference to the flavour though if you do wash it thoroughly.


Thank you Liz. I really am looking forward to your next class. You certainly do some very interesting things

xxx

[chenrezig]

..and I have now made some egg fried rice ! Bit more than I intended, I must have a bigger mug than he used I think, but divided it up into four portions and now letting them cool for the freezer ..

I am having a slice of pizza for tea ...

[wendy]

I have enjoyed reading all this, and cant wait for the next instructions.
It is amazing that it is just over the road from you as well.
I went to the city this morning, as I felt really well, I called in the cafe that we used to go to in Norwich, near Primark.
Do you know it is the oldest shop in Norwich from 1600
It used to be where all the French had shops and the actual shop was a tannery.
I will call in again, because I dont think they are doing very well, and the man was very friendly.
(the shop is opposite the newsagents)

[chenrezig]

That's why I am trying to support Chris's cafe more. he used to organise a huge fete on the estate but with this new cafe taking such a large chunk of his business away, he has to do more and more outside catering to make up for it so he hasn't got the time anymore..

Here is the recipe for the Egg Fried Rice

[Honey]

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