Hello

Today I am going to give a tip to all the people out there who say they cannot cook.

Boiling Water.

I have often heard it said “I can't cook, I cannot even boil water” So for all you people here is my first tip for cooking.

When boiling water place a lid on the pot as it reduces the time required to get the water boiling. This will save you some money over the year and stop the room steaming up. Also did you know when you add salt to the water before it boils it makes the water boil at a higher temperature, and thereby reduces the cooking time. Do not forget when the water does boil reduce the heat of the cooking ring so that the water is still boiling but you are then using less energy to keep it boiling.

By the way adding salt does not make the water get to the boil any quicker.

Do not forget send your recipes to:

cookingwithblogger@gmail.com

The first recipe Mozzarella Cheese

This is a recipe for a starter that my wife and myself had in a restaurant in Turkey when we lived there.

It is very simple, requires no cooking but tastes divine.

Mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and pesto.

Now you have the option of buying a jar of pesto or making it yourself. Personally I would recommend making it yourself as there is no comparison, in my opinion between a jar or fresh pesto.

This dish is best made before it is intended to be eaten and chilled in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. This is an advantage if you are using for a diner party. It can be prepared earlier in the day and put in the refridegator until it is served.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 Ball Mozzarella cheese

1 or 2 Tomatoes

Some basil pesto

Basil leaves to garnish

METHOD

Slice the Mozzarella ball into slices about 4mm to 6mm thick. This should give you about eight slices.

Slice the tomatoes into the same number of slices as the cheese. Make them a reasonable thickness so that your can taste then when you eat them with the cheese.

Lay the cheese and tomatoes alternatively around a plate.

Lightly season with sea salt.

Pour over the pesto and garnish with a couple of basil leaves.

Place in refrigerator to chill before serving. Best served with Mediterranean bread to mop up the delicious juices of the tomato and basil pesto.

If you wish to make the pesto yourself see below for the recipe. It is a guide that should be altered to suit your individual tastes.

To make the pesto fresh:

Bunch of Basil

1 Clove of Garlic (Chopped)

30gm Pine Nuts or Walnuts

25gm Parmesan Cheese

Olive Oil

Dry roast the nuts in a pan until they are golden brown.

Put the nuts, basil leaves and chopped garlic into a mortar and grind with the pestle until they are broken down into small pieces. Add a little olive oil at a time and work until a smooth creamy paste is formed.

I hope you enjoy the dish as much as I do.

Send your recipes to:

cookingwithblogger@gmail.com

Cooking with Blogger

Welcome to Cooking with Blogger.

The purpose of this blog is to enable everyone to enjoy cooking as much as possible.

I suppose the first question that should be asked here is "Why do we cook?"

The answer is different for many reasons.

Some cook because they have to. To keep living - we have to eat to live.

Some cook because they enjoy it and like to experiment with different ingredients.

Some cook to earn a wage.

Some say they cannot cook. These people I do not believe.

Everyone can cook.

Agreed that some cook better than others, but, everyone can cook.

I am going to try to set this blog up so that everyone can post their favourite recipe on the blog (providing I authorise it, this is to make sure that there is no posting by spambots).

I will authorise at least one each day that I think is the best or most interesting recipe. The remainder I will keep on record and I will maybe see about organising them into groups and do a special release of them.

So there you have it, get your favourite recipe and send it to me. Do not forget to include your name of any other details (web site, blog etc.) so that you can have the credit or blame for it.