Masala mackerel with cumin spiced mushy peas

This dish was the main course that I served in my budget lunch exam accompanied by Maru's bhajia and cumin spiced mushy peas.  The total cost came to £4.59 for four people - although you may want to buy slightly bigger mackerel than Asda were able to provide.

I had never cooked with oily fish before and I was surprised at how well they went with the masala paste - you can still taste the fish through the spices.  Also the tomato garnish looked like jewels on the beautiful blue skin and so I got good feedback for presentation.

The cumin spiced mushy peas are both simple and delicious.  I'm off to make something to eat as I'm making myself hungry!

Spiced mushroom tart

In my last post I mentioned that I would share the recipes that I created for the budget lunch exam.  This was my starter which I served with raita.  Using Asda special ingredients it came to a grand total of £1.30 for four tartlets (roughly $2).

The examiner said that she thought the tart had good flavours and it was definitely one to keep making.  Everyone who tasted this dish while I was practicing it enjoyed it too; thanks to all my guinea pigs out there - especially Deb for all her critical feedback.

In other news, I got my theory exam results and got 90.5%!  I'm off to make some puff pastry in celebration.

Diary of a Trainee Chef - part 2

Incredibly tomorrow sees the start of term 2 at Tante Marie.  I am sure that time moves more quickly in Woking - seriously the first term flew by in the blink of an eye and a whirl of caster sugar.  

As well as learning loads of new cooking skills, I've also learnt a little about my personality:  I have spent my entire adult life thinking my parents pushed me to succeed while at school.  It has become apparent that I am actually the driving force and I have a hugely competitive nature.  My moment of enlightenment came one Sunday morning prior to my theory exam when my mum said:

"Don't  you ever just wake up and think 'I can't be bothered.  I'll relax today and work tomorrow.'?  That's what a normal person would do.  You've always been like this.  You stress us all out.  You are a total pain in the neck.".  

Okay so maybe some quality parent- child counselling sessions are required...

News in brief since my last post:

Celebration cake

The surprise highlight of last term was designing and decorating a cake for a special occasion.  I decided to make a cake for my friend Rachel's fiftieth birthday and you can see the result above.  I have to admit I am secretly very pleased with it.  Cakes have historically never interested me but I found this exercise very relaxing and Rachel was really pleased when I gave it to her.  Who knows maybe professional cake making is in my future?  The cakes from the rest of the group were fantastic - here are a few of my favourites.

Diary of a Trainee Chef

While I'm confident that I can cook a decent curry, the thought of making European staples such as shortcrust pastry fills me with terror.  That is until recently; I am now three weeks into my Intensive Cordon Bleu Diploma course and already I can whip up a latticed apple tart that will have you dreaming of orchards in Normandy with the first bite. 

This transformation hasn’t come easily however; the course is called “intensive” with good reason.  Since I started the course I have cooked on average for 6 hours a day either at school or at home.  When I’m not cooking I’m either watching a demonstration or reading about the theory of food.  Coincidentally my book group is reading The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry  - a factual account of the author’s experience at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.  So before I go to bed I read about someone else going through a similar experience to the one I am living during the day.  The result is that I am dreaming about cooking every night and I am grinding my teeth for the first time in years.  Historically I have associated cooking with relaxation and leisure and I have been taken by surprise by the demanding nature of the course.  In retrospect it should have been obvious - after all we are being trained for the fast-paced atmosphere of professional kitchens.  So whilst I’m incredulous that this course is more stressful than my banking job, I am actually enjoying each day and learning more than I thought possible.