HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

I belong to many cooking groups from all over the world. Some groups in Spain create challenges every month. There aren't any winners, it is just to have some fun cooking and sharing the results. There are many different types of challenges too. This one is my favourite. Every month we are given an art work and we need to get inspired by it. This is my month's contribution to #Reto CocinArte . This month's challenge is about the work of Berthe Morisot, a French impressionist who was born in a bourgeois family in Bourges, France. It was normal for the women of her 'class' to have art lessons. In fact, Morisot and her sisters started lessons so that they could each make a drawing for their father's birthday. Most of Morisot's paintings depict domestic scenes. She painted what she experienced on a daily basis. Most of her paintings portray the public space and society of the late 1800s. She liked to paint private and intimate scenes featuring elegance an...

This dish is a favourite at our household. It is a delicious way to eat lentils. It is a recipe from Jamie Oliver and apparently he had it on the menu of his restaurant 'Fifteen' for many years because the customers just loved it. I first made it a few years ago, and only do it when I can find fresh Australian scallops at the shop. Unfortunately when you live in a small country town it is not that often. Perfect dish for a slightly cold autumn evening. INGREDIENTS 300g puy or Castelluccio lentils 1 bay leaf 3 cloves of garlic 1 potato, peeled 1 tomato a handful of fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped champagne vinegar (or red-wine vinegar) extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 5 heaped Tbsp creme fraiche or thick natural yoghurt juice of 1 lemon 2 handfuls of asparagus 12 slices pancetta or smoked streaky bacon olive oil 12 large scallops, shelled 24 sage leaves METHOD: In a saucepan, cover the lentils with water and, to give ...

A few years ago I went to a Chinese restaurant in Sydney and they served a dish with beans I totally fell in love with. I have been trying to reciprocate it since, but still cannot get the taste I got there. However, this dish is very tasty and goes well with the rest of the dishes I prepared for dinner - see below. I was not able to find the preserved mustard cabbage so I used kimchi instead. It was delish! INGREDIENTS 1 kg snake or green beans, trimmed 150 g minced pork and veal  2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine 1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil oil for deep frying 5 Tbsp finely chopped preserved mustard cabbage ( I used kimchi instead ) 3 spring onions, finely chopped 1 1/2 tsp sugar METHOD: Trim the beans and cut them into 5 cm pieces.  Put the meat in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the rice wine and the sesame oil and stir vigorously to combine. Get the rest of the ingredients ready. Fill a wok with about...

I really like Asian greens. This time I made them with oyster sauce and they were nice as a side dish to other Chinese dishes - see below - but I still like them best steamed with a bit of soy sauce with a splash of sesame oil, garlic oil and chili oil. Love them with any type of Asian style dish. INGREDIENTS 1 bunch gai lan 1 bunch bok choy 1 bunch broccolini 1 1/2 Tbsp grated ginger 3 garlic cloves, crushed 3 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine 1 tsp brown sugar 1 tsp roasted sesame oil oil for frying 1 small bunch of coriander, chopped, to garnish METHOD: Rinse all vegetables well and discard any tough stems.  Cut into 5 cm pieces through the stem and the leaf. Heat the wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot. Stir-fry the ginger and garlic for 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add the vegetable stems and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes. ...