a funny old day

today, ella, martha and i emptied my shed both of its contents (temporarily) and its rodent lodgers (i get the feeling this is only temporary too). a job well done.

we finished just in time to begin preparing vegetable risotto for 12....

mmmmmmmmm, vegetable risotto. my favourite rice dish.
there are different kinds of risotto rice, arborio and carnaroli. i used arborio as i prefer the texture and its usually more readily available in more shops in the UK. it has a light, creamy texture too.
ingredients:
375 grammes of Arborio rice
2 large onion2, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
mushrooms ? lots of mushrooms
peas
carrots
Parmesan Cheese
2 and 1/4 pints of vegetable stock

chop up the onion, and saute it with the garlic, add in chopped peppers and mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes. add in the rice, along with a pinch of salt. continue to saute for five minutes and then add in the vegatable stock and the peas and cook slowly on a low heat for half an hour/until the stock has reduced away. you can use pretty much whatever vegetbles you like, so you can try it out with your favourites. a cheap and cheerful addition is to add in a tin of chopped tomatoes just before you put in your vegetable stock (use slightly less stock to compensate) or drain off a tin of baked beans and add them in. you can even use a tin of vegetable soup along with some stock for a richer taste. traditional italian recipes would add in parmesan cheese (i may have overdone the parmesan!), which is great for taste, but if you fancy adding a little of your favourite cheese at this point and mixing it through for a creamier taste, i think that works really well. once the cheese has been melted and stirred through you're ready to serve. sprinkle a bit of parmesan on the top and Hey Presto, a fine risotto.

it was demolished in no time.

that just left time for a little more cumberland ale and jamie playing "i will follow you into the dark" on the guitar after one listen!

a good day....