The Thermal Cook

I have just added social networking on this site. Why not join?
Th lower set of buttons are for the networking.

1 Comment »

We are hoping for good weather this weekend as Jen and myself will be at the Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show, near Southampton demonstrating and selling Mr D’s eco-friendly Thermal Cookers.

This will be the third year that we have been selling thermal cookers and their accessories at the show and there is always a lot of interest. The show itself is celebrating  its 40th Birthday this year and at only £8.00 for adults and £6.00 for children is a really cheap day out.

There are vintage motor bikes, steam engines, a craft marquee, fun fair and this year the Top Gear Toyota Hilux that went to the Artic will be there.

If you are in the area please come and see us. The show is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Meadowmead Farm, Netley Marsh, Hampshire. SO40 7GY and is open 9am until 6pm each day.

Tags: Events, hay box, haybox, mr ds thermal cooker, Netley marsh, shows, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, THERMAL COOKERS, thermal cooking, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

Thai food uses the freshest ingredients to give it that unique taste. Thai recipes use all five flavors: spicy, sweet, salty, bitter and sour, bringing them together in perfect harmony.

This pork curry is uses tamarind paste to give it the sour taste and fish sauce to add a salty flavour. It does not use coconut milk just chicken stock and water.

If you would prefer to use chicken or fish instead of pork the curry should work fine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500g pork, cubed
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• ¼ cup coriander coarsley chopped
• 1 tbsp galangal paste
• 1 tsp crushed chilles
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 500ml chicken stock
• 500ml water
• Coriander leaves to garnish

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in the inner pot. When hot add the pork cook until browned.
2. Stir in the shrimp paste, coriander, galangal paste and chilles. Cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
3. Add the fish sauce, tamarind paste, sugar, the chicken stock and water. Stir well and bring to the boil.
4. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes with the lid on.
5. Turn off the heat and place the inner pot into the insulated outer container.
6. Shut the lid and leave to thermal slow cook for 2 to 3 hours.
7. Serve in a bowl garnished with the coriander leaves and rice in a separate bowl.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, curry, eco-friendly cooking, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, hay box, haybox, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, pork, Thai curry, Thai food, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, THERMAL COOKERS, thermal cooking, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

Today we have a recipe from a new friend of mine Stephanie Harris-Uyidi who is the founder of  The Posh Pescatarian Seafood Sausage Company is based in Orange County California.

Stephanie has been a pescatarian for more than ten years so really knows how to prepare and cook seafood.

I have been following her site Posh Pescatarian for some time and asked her if she would kindly let me use some of her recipes on my site. During our conversation Stephanie showed an interest in thermal cooking so a few weeks ago I sent a Mr D’s Thermal Cooker over to her and this is one of the recipes she developed for it.

Thank you Stephanie for this great recipe and if you would like to see more of her videos please goto her YouTube Channel at Posh Pescatarian YouTube Channel

Tags: ALL RECIPES, eco-friendly cooking, fish, fish chowder, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, hay box, haybox, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, Posh Pescatarian, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

Kerala cuisine is a combination of Vegetables, meats and seafood flavoured with a variety of spices. Seafood’s are main diet of Coastal Kerala. Whereas Vegetable is the main diet in plains of Kerala and Meat is the main course among tribal and northern Kerala.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• ½ tsp black mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped (remove seeds if you don’t want it too hot)
• 10 curry leaves
• 400 ml can coconut milk
• 400 ml water
• 1 fish stock cube
• 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 500 g firm fish (yopu could use salmon if you wish)

METHOD

1. Put the ghee or oil in the inner pot over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and turmeric.
2. When the seeds start to po add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook gently for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the curry leaves and chilli. Cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and water. Crumble in the stock cube before adding the tin of tomatoes.
5. Stir well to dissolve the stock cube. Check the seasoning and add some salt if necessary.
6. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.
7. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Add the fish and bring back to the boil. Put on the lid and put the inner pot into the insulated outer container.
9. Shut the lid and leave to thermal slow cook without power for 3 hours. If you need to leave it longer than this, do everything except adding the fish which you can add about  30 minutes before serving by bringing the curry sauce back to the boil, adding the fish and then putting the inner pot back into the outer container to finish cooking.
10. Serve with rice.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, coconut milk, cumin seeds, eco-friendly cooking, fish, food, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, ghee, hay box, haybox, Indian, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, thermal cooking, thermo cooking, tomatoes, turmeric

No Comments »

Originally the recipe was designed for ox tail but as I was unable to find any at this time of the year I decided to use shin. This dish is ideal for the thermal cooker as it needs long slow cooking.

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg shin of beef, cubed
• 5cm of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
• green spring onions, sliced

METHOD

1. ½ fill the inner pot with water and briong it to the boil.
2. Carefully place the beef in the boiling water and bring back to the boil.
3. Drain the beef and return to the inner pot.
4. Fill with enough water too cover the beef and add the ginger, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, sugar and ground pepper.
5. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on.
7. Turn off the heat and put the inner pot into the insulated outer container.
8. Shut the lid and thermal slow cook without power for a minimum of 3 hours.
9. Garnish the beef with the sliced spring onions.
10. Serve with rice and stir fried vegetables.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, eco-friendly cooking, food, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, hay box, haybox, meat, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, shin of beef, the thermal cook, thermal cooker, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

Vintage photograph of Gurkha soldiers from the british army on parade. 1920's 30's India.

Last week I had a great lunch in a restaurant near Wareham, Dorset. The restaurant is called Gurkha and does a lunchtime buffet of Indian, Nepalese, Thai and Chinese food. It is run by Captain QGO Asbahadur Gurung formerly of the Brigade of Gurkhas.
Apart from the Tom Kha Seafood soup, which incidentally was the best I have ever tasted my interest was in the cuisine of Nepal. One of the dishes on offer was Gurka Lamb curry and it was so good I though that I should try and make something similar. Having some lamb shanks in the fridge they were the obvious choice for the lamb part of the dish. The rest of the ingredients I found in my store cupboard.
Before we get on with the recipe here is a little history about the Gurkhas. The Gurkhas who come from Nepal in the Himalayas have served in the British Army for many years. They have fought alongside British troops and proved themselves to be the most disciplined, fearless, brave fighters in the world. As a fighting force they are feared all over the world.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 lamb shanks, slashed with a knife to allow the marinade to penetrate the meat
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 250 ml natural yoghurt
• 125 ml vegetable oil
• 10 cardamom pods, seeds removed
• 25 g fresh ginger, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 7 cm of a cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 350 ml cold water

METHOD

1. Add garlic, ginger, yoghurt, cardamom, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, fennel, cayenne and ½ the onions into a blender. Blend the mixture into a smooth paste.
2. Sprinkle the lamb shanks with a little salt, then pour over the masala mixture, and allow to marinade for at least an hour.
3. Heat the oil, in the inner pot and add the cinnamon, cloves and rest of the onion. Cook until the onion is golden brown.
4. Add the marinaded lamb shanks to the inner pot along with all the marinade.
5. Bring to the boil, you should see oil slowly rising to the surface. At this stage add the cold water, stir and bring the mixture back to the boil.
6. Turn down the heat. Put on the lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Put the inner pot into the insulated outer container and shut the lid.
8. Thermal slow cook without power for a minimum of 4 hours.
9. Before serving check the seasoning and adjust if needed.
10. Serve on a bed of plain, pilau or saffron rice which you could cook in the top pot if you have one.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, curry, eco-friendly cooking, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, Gurkhas, hay box, haybox, Himalayas, lamb, lamb shanks, meat, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, Nepal, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, THERMAL COOKERS, thermal cooking, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

This is based on a recipe from Waitrose. It is very simple to put together and is ideal for anyone on the move in their motor home.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 454g of sausages of your choice. I used pork
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 100ml of water
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 200ml white wine
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 500g baby potatoes, halved
• 250g frozen peas
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Put the olive oil in the inner pot over a medium heat.
2. Add the onions and the garlic. Cook until the onions are soft.
3. Put the sausages in the pot and cook them until they colour slightly.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, water, the chicken stock cube, the wine, the Worcestershire sauce, the potatoes, and the frozen peas. Give everything a stir, making sure that the stock cube has mixed in, and bring to the boil.
5. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on.
6. Put the inner pot into the insulated outer container and shut the lid,
7. Thermal Slow Cook without power for a minimum of 3 hours.
8. Before serving check the seasoning and adjust.
9. Serve with crusty bread.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, eco-friendly cooking, food, food/haybox/hay box/thermal cooking, hay box, haybox, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, pork, potatoes, sausages, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, THERMAL COOKERS, thermal cooking, thermo cooker

No Comments »

Vietnamese cuisine is a perfect blend of fresh ingredients, pungent fish sauce, tart limes and a wide variety of familiar and exotic herbs. Pork, chicken and fish are popular, but there is also a well developed vegetarian culinary tradition. Thit Heo Kho Nuoc Dua (pork Stew with coconut juice) is a very popular dish in Vietnam but like so many recipes there are many variations. I was unable to get a fresh coconut for the juice so I used a tin of coconut milk diluted with one tin of water.

Although this is a very easy recipe it has four main steps. First step is the marinading of the pork which needs to be done at least one hour before cooking. Second step is hard boiling the eggs. Hard boiled eggs are used in many Vietnamese recipes. Third step is the main cooking and the third step is adding the beansprouts and eggs before serving.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg lean pork, cut into big pieces

Marinade

• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Main Ingredients

• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 coconut, fresh coconut juice
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
• ½ cup rice per person

METHOD

1. Put the marinade ingredients into a bowl and add the pork. Stir well to make sure it is all covered then put in the fridge for at least one hour.
2. Heat cooking oil in the inner pot and stir fry pork for 5 minutes.
3. Pour in coconut juice and bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer.
4. Simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on then turn off the heat and put the inner pot into the insulated outer container.
5. Shut the lid and leave to thermal slow cook without power for a minimum of 2 hours.
6. 30 nibutes before you want to serve remove the inner pot from the outer insulated container and place it on a medium heat.
7. Add the eggs and bamboo shoots. Bring to the boil.
8. Put the inner pot back into the outer container and leave to thermal cook for 30 minutes. Longer will not hurt.
9. Before serving check the seasoning and adjust with salt and fish sauce if necessary.
10. Serve with rice.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, coconut juice, eco-friendly cooking, fish suace, garlic, hay box, haybox, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, pork, the thermal cook, thermal cook, thermal cookbook, thermal cooker, THERMAL COOKERS, thermal cooking, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

No Comments »

Liver I know is not enjoyed by everyone but it is really good for you as it is rich in iron and vitamin A. You can choose whichever type of liver you like for this recipe. I have used ox liver but lambs or pigs liver will work just as well.

To make this dish will take no time at all.

INGREDIENTS

• 350g ox liver, cut into strips
• 3 tbls plain flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, skinned and chopped
• 100g mushrooms, sliced
• 400g can haricot beans, drained
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 150 ml cup beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

1. Dust the liver with seasoned flour.
2. Melt the butter and olive oil in the inner pot.
3. Add the liver, onion and mushrooms quickly until brown.
4. Add all the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil.
5. Turn down the heat, put on the lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Place the inner pot into the insulated outer container.
7. Leave to thermal slow cook without power for 2 hours.
8. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
9. Serve with rice.

Tags: ALL RECIPES, beans, eco-friendly cooking, hay box, haybox, Liver, Mr Ds Cookbook, mr ds thermal cooker, MrDsKitchen, mushrooms, the thermal cook, thermal cooking, thermo cooker, thermo cooking

1 Comment »