Beaulieu Static Caravan Show

This weekend we had a stand at the Beaulieu Static Caravan Show. The weather was perfect.

The sun shone every day as we talked thermal cooking to many of the visitors to the show. One couple left the show and later decided to come back in to buy one.

Each day we took a cake and a main course to show what can be cooked in the thermal cooker. The steak and kidney pudding that we made for Sunday certainly was a hit with the male visitors who all seem to love this dish.

In the afternoon I did a demonstration of how to prepare a meal. This not only showed how quick it is to prepare a meal but meant we had a hot supper when we got home.

Fridays recipe: Chilli con carne - serves 8 people (use half the contents for 4 people): from Olive Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 2 onions, finely chopped


• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely


• bunch of coriander, leaves picked, stalks chopped up finely


• 2 green chillies, diced finely


• 1 tsp of chilli flakes


• 2 tsp ground cumin


• 2 tsp ground cinnamon


• 2 tsp dried oregano


• 1 kg good-quality beef mince


• 2 tbsp tomato puree


• 200ml red wine


• 1 tsp of salt


• 1 tsp of fresh ground pepper


• 600g canned chopped tomatoes


• 2 tbsp black treacle


• 1 litre beef stock


• 2 red peppers diced


• 400g tin kidney beans


• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in the inner pot and gently fry the onions, garlic, coriander stalks and chillies on a medium heat for 5 minutes until softened.


2. Stir in the spices and oregano and cook for 2 minutes.


3. Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the beef mince and brown it.


4. Turn down the heat to medium and add the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes.


5. Add the salt, pepper and red wine. Cook it for 2 minutes to let it reduce.


6. Stir in the canned tomatoes, peppers, kidney beans and black treacle.


7. Put the lid on the inner pot and turn of the heat.


8. Put the inner pot into the insulated outer pot and shut the lid.


9. Leave to cook in the thermal cooker for a minimum of 2 hours.


10. Before serving check the seasoning and adjust.


11. Serve with rice and garnish with the coriander leaves.
    

Energy savings using Thermal Cooker, Cobb and Ghillie Kettle.

I was sent this email the other day from Ian Knox who uses every day his Thermal Cooker, Cobb and Ghillie Kettle for cooking. He lives near Southampton in UK and as you can see is certainly do his bit towards trying to Helping Mother Earth.
The figures are for savings made between January to August 2009 compare to the same period 2008.

Ian's emails (all of these are published with Ian's permission)

---

22/04/2009:

As discussed my energy bills have been reduced from 76 GBP per month to as you can see 49GBP per month this reduction has been achieved by using the Cobb rather than our conventional oven.

From Ian's energy company:

Some good news: we are reducing your monthly Direct Debit to £49

We have reviewed your payments including your current credit balance of £2.63, and have calculated that we can reduce your monthly Direct Debit to £49.00.

You do not need to do anything as we'll start taking the new amount on 1 May 2009.

---

16/09/2009:

Hello Dave
Just a quick update on things.
Firstly you will be pleased to know that my energy tracker with Eon shows that we have made a saving of 8.7% on electricity and 32.8%on gas by using Cobb,Shuttle chef and Ghillie Kettle which amounts to 111KWH of energy saved which is enough to light an average house for seven weeks on energy saving light bulbs.

---

18/09/2009

Hello Dave

This is taken from our eon on line account, please feel free to use the information as you wish.

Regards

Your Energy Consumption Summary:

111 kWh energy saved = enough energy to light an average house* for 7 weeks using energy saving light bulbs the current year, your energy usage has:

Overall - Electricity plus Gas
gone down by 26.9%

Electricity - gone down by 8.7%
Gas - gone down by 32.8%


2009 - 3.139 Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide

or

* 9,659 Miles travelled in an average sized car.**

Your CO2 emissions have gone down - a reduction of 0.651 tonnes on 2008

The Beaulieu Autojumble 12th & 13th Sept. 2009

Last weekend we had a stall at the International Beaulieu Autojumble. I had tried for a couple of years to get a stall at this mammoth event in Hampshire and at last was allocated one for this year. The vent covers 30 acres and has over 2,00 stands. People come from all over the world to buy car bits old and new.

We demonstrated the Thermal cooker over the two days and had a considerable amount of interest. On show was our new Shuttle Chef Traveller (a KPY-4500 Shuttle Chef complete with the carry bag made for us). Most people chose to buy a top pot with their Shuttle Chef and for a limited period we were giving away a copy of our new thermal cook book.

Each day I demonstrated preparing a meal mid afternoon which meant we had a meal when we got home.

Visitors to our stand were offered chocolate chip cake made the previous night. This went down very well.

The second sale we made Saturday morning was to a lady who went of with her Shuttle Chef and made an evening meal of chicken casserole. The following morning she came to visit us saying how great the meal was and the fact she left it to cook in the afternoon in her caravan without the worry of power being on was so good.

The weather stayed fine for the whole weekend and by the time we came to clear up late Sunday afternoon we were pleased with the response and there were a number of new Thermal cooks.

Spiced Beef - from Mr D's Thermal cookbook

This is a great recipe. I regularly make it for it makes a wonderful lunch with salad or in a sandwich made with fresh bread.

Sometimes referred to as 'huntsman's beef' and at one time a popular dish all over Britain. The longer the beef is cured, the longer it will keep.

Cooked Spiced Beef will keep for 3-4 weeks in a fridge. Make sure it is well wrapped in foil to prevent it drying out.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg piece of boned and rolled brisket, topside, or thick flank
• 80g sea salt
• 10g saltpetre
• 15g coarsely ground black peppercorns
• 15g ground all spice
• 15g ground juniper berries
• 50g dark brown sugar, such as muscovado

NOTE: Saltpetre is used in commercial charcuterie and meat curing . If it's difficult to get hold of in small quantities, try the Natural Casing Company in Farnham, Surrey (01252 713545 http://www.naturalcasingco.co.uk/).

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together and rub well into the beef. Cover and leave in the fridge for 10-12 days, turning it once or twice a day.
2. After 10 to 12 days, wipe off the bits of marinade from the meat, put into a boil in the bag* and seal the bag with a tie.
3. Put the bag containing the meat into the inner pot of the thermal cooker.
4. Fill the pot with water up to about 3cms from the top.
5. Put the pot on the heat and bring to the boil.
6. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and transfer the inner pot into the vacuum-insulated outer container.
8. Close the lid and leave to cook for 4 to 8 hours.
9. Once cooked, remove the bag containing the meat from the pot and leave to cool. This will take about 3 hours.
10. Remove the beef from the bag. Wrap the beef in cling film. Put it in a dish and cover with a weighted plate.
11. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
12. Re-wrap, and keep in the fridge and use for up to 3 weeks.
13. Serve cold thinly sliced.

* Only use bags that are designed for boil in the bag cooking. Other plastic food bags must not be used.
Contact mail@MrDsKichen.co.uk if you have problems.

New bag for the Thermos Shuttle Chef

We have just commissioned a new carry bag for the Thermos Shuttle Chef. These are being made in UK and should be available within four to five weeks. The bag is thermal insulated and is made from the highest quality materials. The carry handle also acts to secure the lid during transport.

Due to it's design it is ideal for use on a boat where it can be hung from the handle thus making it gimballed.

The bag will turn the Shuttle Chef KPY-4500 in to a truly portable unit.
The price of the bag will be £19.95 plus delivery and is exclusive to Mr D's Kitchen.

Wrights cake mixes and the Shuttle Chef

Last weekend I did some experiments with Wrights cake and bread mixes using the Shuttle Chef. As you can see the cakes turned out very well.


Method:


All you need to do is to add water and vegetable oil to the dry mix, put it in a cake tin, cover the tin with foil or the lid (if using a Mr D's cookware cake tin). Then fill the shuttle chef inner pot (in which you have put a trivet or a Mr D's cookware pot cradle) with enough water to come ¾ way up the side of the cake tin and bring it to the boil. Don't put the cake tin in while you are bringing the water to the boil.

Once the water is boiling carefully put the cake tin in the inner pot and bring back to the boil. Once boiling turn down to a simmer and leave for 40 minutes with the lid on. After 40 minutes turn off the heat and put the inner pot into the outer insulated outer pot and leave to cook for a minimum of 4 hours.

When using the Shuttle Chef for baking bread or cakes, the cooking time is often longer than using an oven but remember, the amount of fuel used by Shuttle Chef cooking is a lot less than that used by an oven (which must be good for your pocket and the environment) and if you are camping, caravaning or on your boat you may not have an oven but still would like a nice freshly cooked cake.

Wrights do a selection of cake mixes and we have so far tried the Madeira and Ginger cakes. Both of these were great. If you are using the Mr D's cookware bread tin I would suggest ¾ of the packet mix is used.


I will do some tests on the bread mixes and report on those.

For more information on Wrights go to Wrights Home Baking

New Accessories for Shuttle Chef

Mr D's Kitchen now have available a bread tin, cake tin, Pot Cradle and the top pot all for the Thermos Shuttle Chef.

Theses are all available as separate items from Mr D's Kitchen and form part of a complete exclusive range of thermal cooking items.

For more details go to Mr D's Kitchen Shop.

Mr D's Thermal Cookbook - Now Ready

Mr D's Kitchen - Thermal Cookbook

On the 1st of September, Mr D's Thermal Cookbook will be released. Initially in the UK, it will only be available free with a Shuttle Chef bought from Mr D's Kitchen. Customers who have bought a Shuttle Chef from from us in the past will be entitled to a copy for just the cost of the package & postage. If you own a Shuttle Chef bought from us and would like a recipe book please contact Mr D's Kitchen on 023 8084 2190.

In Australia the cookbook will be exclusively available through Thermal Cookware.

Other countries will be able to buy it contacting Mr D's Kitchen.

Mr D's Thermal Cookbook contains over 80 recipes and has a very useful section which contains information on how to use a thermal cooker.

The recipe book has taken over a year to write and has envolved many testers. I would like to take this opertunity to thank all of them.

Writing a recipe book for a thermal cooker is not as easy as I had though. Developing a way to make something like a Lemon Drizzle Cake meant making around 30 cakes to get the quantities and cooking times correct. At home 95% of all our meals over the last 6 months have come from the Shuttle Chef. Friends have come to dinner and ended up testing thermal cooked meals. As we cook by gas, using the Shuttle Chef has meant a considerable saving in our gas bill.

When things have gone wrong like sinking cakes, Lindi and Allan Rush from 'Thermal Cookware' in Australia have always been there on the end of the phone to give help and support. My good friend Mike Redcar has been a main tester using his Shuttle Chef most evenings to try out new ideas to see if they are working. Jenny my wife has been very involved developing many recipes such as the very popular 'Lamb Biryani'.

The recipes are divided into 11 sections.

• Soups
• Mains Poultry
• Mains Seafood
• Mains Lamb
• Mains Beef
• Mains Pork
• Mains Vegetarian
• Puddings
• Cakes
• Bread
• Basic Recipes

Among the recipes we have enjoyed are 'Lamb Shanks on Couscous' which are the best lamb shanks ever, Spiced Beef and 'Lemon Drizzle Cake' which is always a favourite and 'Lamb Biryani' which was the first recipe we ever made in a thermal cooker.

I do hope you enyoy the book I have enjoyed writing it.
Mr D

Netley Marsh Steam Rally and the New Pot

A little late, but last weekend we had a stand at the Netley Marsh Steam Rally in Hampshire. The weather looked as though it was not going to be kind to us but Saturday and Sunday turned out to be OK.

The steam rally started in 1971 when they needed to raise funds for urgent repairs to St Matthews church. Among the attractions was Billy the owl, start of the latest Harry Potter film. The steam rally has up to 10,000 visitors and many of them stay the weekend in their caravans or motor homes.

We had a 30 foot stand and the Thermos Shuttle Chef was our main item for sale. Just before the show we received our first shipment of pots from Australia. These hang from the top of the Shuttle Chef inner pot and means that you can cook accompaniments such as rice or vegetables in this pot while cooking the main meal underneath. This make the whole cooker so much more versatile. We were selling it for £24.99 or £20.00 if you buy it with a Shuttle Chef.

We had a lots of interest, and questions over the weekend. As usual the cake was the biggest talking point. We had made a lemon drizzle cake for Saturday and this was very popular. Each day I demonstrated the making of chilli con carne with rice. I used minced beef, a large onion, a packet of "Discovery" Mexican wicked chilli spice mix, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a tin of red kidney beans. I like to add a little chopped lemon (with skin) to give that slightly tart taste that contrasts with the heat of the chilli.

By the end of the weekend we had sold a number of Shuttle Chefs and all but one had included the new extra pot.

We will certainly be doing this show again next year.

Dave

The Thermos Shuttle Chef - how it works

Thermal Cooking with The THERMOS® Shuttle Chef









After preparing your ingredients, put them into the inner pot along with either stock or water. Bring the contents to the boil and turn down the heat to a simmer.





The advantages of thermal Cooking

. Safe: It is not a pressure cooker, there are no power cords, no switches or electrical hazards to worry about.

. Energy Saving: After the food has been boiled for a short time, the cooker needs no external energy while thermal cooking. Food stays warm automatically after it’s ready.

. Convenience: The thermal cooking process requires no further supervision or monitoring. Food can be cooked while you are traveling. You can cook with the pot anywhere, anytime and it’s safe to use indoors or out.

. Economical: Decreases fuel costs, economizes time and energy.

. Healthy: Entraps flavor, minerals and vitamins; generate less odor, grease and smoke in the kitchen.

. User friendly: Never over cooks and cleans up easily.

. Durable: Unlike foam insulation used in other brands, Thermos’s vacuum insulated outer pot is a technology that foam insulation can’t begin to touch. Thermos produces the most effective insulated container and is engineered to last.

To order your Shuttle Chef:
MrDsKitchen Shop

No Knead & No Oven Bread - cooked in a thermal cooker.

This recipe is adapted from the now famous no knead bread recipe developed by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery, Manhattan.
It was first published in the New York Times in November 2006 and has become one of the most talked about recipe on the Internet.

THE INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups of bread flour.
1 to 1½ tsp of salt (depending on your taste).
⅛ tsp of instant dried yeast.
1 cup of tepid water.

You also will need a tin to bake the bread in that will fit into the inner pot of the thermal cooker. A round cake tin will do fine. This tin needs to be greased.



THE METHOD:

1. Mix all the dried ingredients together in a bowl before mixing in the water. You don’t need to beat.
2. Cover the bowl with cling film. Leave it in a warm place for around 12 hours.
3. Sprinkle a good layer of flour onto a piece of parchment paper and flour your hands well before scooping the dough out of the bowl and putting it onto the parchment paper.
4. Spread the dough out a bit and simply fold the dough sides over each other. Then fold the bottom to the top.
5. Turn the dough over and shape it gently so it fits in the tin before placing it on a trivet in the inner pot and putting the lid on.
6. Put the inner pot into the outer pot. Shut the lid and leave for 2 hours to rise again.
7. After two hours remove the inner pot.
8. Remove the tin from the inner pot and make sure it has risen before covering it with either recycled aluminium foil (Eco care or similar) or baking parchment paper. Remember to make a handle to lift it out once cooked.
9. Put it back into the inner pot and fill with hot water to come ¾ up the side of the pan before putting on a heat source and bringing it to the boil.
10. Once boiling turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes.
11. Put the lid on the inner pot and put the pot into the outer pot for 2 hours.
12. When cooked remove and turn out onto a rack to cool.
    

Lamb Biriani - Video Recipe 0001

This Indian biriani, adapted for the Shuttle Chef, can be served on its own as a scrumptious meal, or dressed up for a festive occasion with fresh tomato chutney, vegetable curry side-dishes and crunchy popadoms. The lamb (mutton) needs to marinade for an hour at least (overnight if convenient). If you are cooking in the morning and want to save time then brown the onions the night before.

Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings (halve the ingredients for 3 people).

•1 kilo lamb (or muttton) cut into 2 cm cube pieces (I prefer shoulder).

For the marinade:

•4 green chillies (seeded and finely chopped)
•Coriander leaves (chopped - about 1 cup full)
•1 clove garlic (crushed with salt)
•2 teaspoons cumin powder
•1 teaspoon chilli powder
•1 teaspoon garam masala
•1 small carton plain yoghurt (approximately 2 large serving spoons)

For the biriani:

•4 medium onions (thinly sliced)
•Oil or ghee (about 1 desertspoon)
•1/2 kilo potatoes (can be either old potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks, or new potatoes halved)
•Pinch of saffron (optional, but adds a suble flavour)
•3 cups of long grain Basmati or Patna rice

For garnish
•100 gms cashew nuts (or shredded almonds)
•125 grams sultanas

Method:
1.Cut the lamb (mutton) into cubes.
2.Chop the chillies finely, crush the garllic, chop the coriander leaves and mix all with the spices and yoghurt.
3.Coat the meat with the marinade, cover and put in the fridge for 1 hour or longer.
4.Chop the onions, then fry in ghee or oil until golden with some browning (they should taste sweet). Remove from pan.
5.Add a little ghee or oil to the pan and heat marinaded lamb to seal the meat. (I prefer to add the meat a third at a time so that it is easier to turn.)
6.When the lamb is simmering hot, add the potatoes and 1/2 the fried onions. Stir well and bring back to simmer.
7.Mix the rice with 5 cups of boiling water and 1 desertspoon of salt.
8.Put the saffron in 1/2 cup hot water.
9.Stir 1/2 the rice into the lamb and potatoes, then spoon the other 1/2 of the rice and water on top.
10.Sprinkle the saffron water onto the top of the rice.
11.Make sure it is all simmering hot, put the lid on the Shuttle Chef pan and place it in the Shuttle Chef.
12.Leave to cook in the Shuttle Chef for 2 1/2 hours to get really tender, succulent meat. (You can leave the biriani cooking in the Shuttle Chef for up to 7 hours - the tatse is superb and the rice is still separate.)

To serve
Heat the remaining 1/2 of the browned onions, then add the nuts and sultananas. Stir occasionally until heated (the sultanas will plump). Open the Shuttle Chef and stir the onion, nuts and sultana garnish into the top layer of rice. Serve with Tomato Chutney.

Tomato Chutney
•1 small green chilli (deseed and chop very finely)
•1/2 medium onion (chop finely) I prefer sweet red onion.
•3 large or 4 medium toamtoes (chopped)
•1 desertspoon vinegar1 teaspoon sugar
•Good pinch salt

Method:
Stir all ingredients together, cover and leave in a cool place for flavours to blend.

This recipe is from Mr D's Thermal Cookbook

Nasi Goreng - serves 4 people.

In 2007 we made our first visit to Indonesia. Our filming trip had included Korea a place we have filmed in now four times over a period of six or seven years. I didn't have much knowledge of Indonesia other than what I had read about Bali so it was a new adventure. We arrived in Jakarta and travelled 100kms by taxi to our hotel the Permata Krakatau Hotel & golf course which turned out to be a number of different buildings rather like a holiday village. Our journey there took in a lot of the countryside which was full of paddy fields and small villages with people sitting out taking in the evening air. I immediately fell in love with the country and the people who seemed so friendly.


The hotel was not far from the island volcano Krakatau which, on August 26,1883, erupted causing what was one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history. The explosion was equivalent to 200 mega tonnes of TNT - about 13,000 times the yield of the Little Bomb, which devastated Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion was heard more than 3000 miles away and fine ashes from the eruption were carried by upper level winds as far away as New York City. and a series of large tsunami waves generated by the main explosion, some reaching a height of nearly 40 meters (more than 120 feet) above sea level, killed more than 36,000 people in the coastal towns and villages.


In the year following the eruption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years, and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888.

The food at the hotel was very good but one of my favourite dishes was Nasi Goreng. Nasi goreng literally means fried rice and is often accompanied by additional items such as a fried eggs, chicken and kripuk (fried crackers / chips made of shrimp or vegetables). Nasi goreng can be eaten at any time of day, although the Indonesians often eat it during breakfast, and mostly the ingredients are a previous day's dinner leftover.

THE RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of rice (basmati)
• 4 cups of water.
• 1 chicken stock cube.
• 2 tbls of oil (groundnut or vegetable oil)
• 3 onions chopped small.
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped small
• 2 green chillies (medium) chopped.
• 2 skinless chicken breasts diced.
• 400g raw prawns
• ½ tbls coriander seeds
• 1 tsp of shrimp paste.
• ½ tsp of sugar.
• 2 tsps of Kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 1 tbls soy sauce
• ½ lettuce finely sliced.
• ½ cucumber sliced.
• 4 eggs (one per person)

METHOD:

Cooking the rice:

1. Wash the rice once. Crumble the stock cube into the water and bring to the boil. Add the rice and let it boil for two to three minuets. Cover with a lid, turn off the gas and let it stand for around 15 minutes, loosed with a fork and let it cool down. This can be done the day before and when cool put in the fridge until required.

Main recipe:

1. Put oil in Cobb wok.
2. Add onions, garlic and chillies and fry until softened. Do not let the colour. When soft remove from the pan and put to one side.
3. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary and heat until very hot.
4. Add the coriander, shrimp paste and sugar and let it cook for 30 secs stirring it all the time.
5. Add the chicken once again stirring until the chicken has turned white and is cooked.
6. Now return the onion mix to the pan containing the chicken mix well. making sure the heat is high add the rice to the chicken. Keep tossing it until the rice is heated through.
7. Add the Kecip mantis, soy sauce and spring onions, turn down the heat to keep the mixture hot while you fry the four eggs.
8. To serve arrange the lettuce around the outside of 4 plates. Place the rice mixture in the centre. Garnish with the cucumber strips and put a fried egg on top of the rice.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Lancashire Hot Pot Serves 4-6 people - from Mr D's Thermal Cookbook

The Lancashire Hotpot has its origins in Lancashire. Some people say that female mill workers would prepare the dinner in the morning and place it in the range so that it was ready when the family returned home in the evening. Others say that mine workers would take it to the mines for lunch wrapped in blankets to keep it hot. Whatever the truth is though, it certainly is a great meal to cook in a thermal cooker.


THE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg of Lamb or mutton neck chops cut into 4 cm cubes.
• Seasoned flour for dusting.
• Groundnut oil.
• 50g of unsalted butter.
• 3 medium onions sliced.
• 1 ltr of lamb stock (if using stock cubes use two in 1 litre of boiling water).
• 2 sprigs of thyme.
• 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
• 900g of potatoes cut into 1.5cm slices.

THE METHOD:

1. Dry the lamb on kitchen towel before dusting it with the seasoned flour.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a hot frying pan and fry the lamb in batches until it is browned all over. Remove each batch as it is browned.
3. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the frying pan.
4. Add the onions and thyme. Cook until the onions start to colour.
5. Add the butter and cook for a few more minutes until the onions have softened.
6. Sprinkle on one tablespoon of the seasoned flour and mix with the onions.
7. Slowly add the stock stirring all the time to avoid any lumps.
8. Add the Worcestershire sauce.
9. Bring to the boil and check the seasoning. Adjust by adding salt and pepper if necessary.
   Simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Now start to assemble the hotpot by placing a layer of potatoes overlapping in the bottom of the Thermal Cooker inner pot.
11. Next put a layer of lamb followed by a layer of onions and the sauce they were cooked in.
12. Now put another layer of potatoes and continue layering potatoes, lamb and onions until everything is used up. End on a layer of potatoes.
13. Put the thermal cooker inner pot on the stove and bring the contents to the boil.
14. Put the lid on and turn down to a simmer for 5 minutes.
15. Put the inner pot into the insulated outer pot and shut the lid.
16. Cook for a minimum of 3 hours before serving.

Boiled Fruit Cake - from Mr D's Thermal Cook Book

I thought today that I would give you a recipe that we have done so many times and always gets great comments when people try it. This fruit cake was one of the first recipes I tried and I couldn't believe how good the cake was. You really must give it a try.

Apart from your thermal cooker you will also need a fixed base cake tin, some baking or greaseproof paper and something to raise the cake tin from the bottom. I use for this a food ring.


THE INGREDIENTS

• 375 gms of mixed dried fruit.
• 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar.
• 1 tsp of mixed spice.
• Grated rind of an orange.
• 1/2 a cup of water or orange juice.
• 1/4 of a cup of whisky you could use sherry instead (optional).
• 125 gms of butter.
• 2 lightly beatened eggs.
• 1 cup self raising flour.
• 1 cup plain flour.
• 1/2 tsp of soda bicarb.

OPTIONAL: you can replace the water, liquor and sugar with a 450 gram tin of crushed pineapple.

THE METHOD:

1. Place the dried fruit into a saucepan with the brown sugar, mixed spice, orange rind, water, liquor and butter.
2. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
3. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Mix in the eggs.
5. Stir in the sifted flour and soda bicarb.
6. Line a 16 cm round cake tin or Pyrex dish (one that fits nicely into the inner pot) with baking paper.
7. Spoon the mixture into this prepared cake tin.
8. Lay a round of baking paper on top of the cake mixture then cover the tin with a trimmed piece of foil to prevent condensation from seeping in.
9. Place a trivet or metal pastry ring in the base of the inner pot and rest the cake tin on this. (If you are using the 3 litre pot the cake tin can sit on a folded pad of foil).
10. Pour enough hot water into the inner pot so that the level comes halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
11. Bring the water to the boil.
12. Put the lid on and turn down the heat to simmer gently for 30 minutes.
13. Turn off the heat and transfer the inner pot into the insulated container for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours.
    

Note: As the cake cannot dry out or overcook you can actually leave this cake over night before removing it to serve.

Chef David cooks Cape Rock Lobster on his Cobb BBQ

Chef David visits Paternoster which is situated above Cape Town to cook some Rock Lobsters on his Cobb BBQ.

NOTE: This Video was produced by Cobb for publicity purposes and should not be copied without their consent.

Chef David makes an Osterich Egg Omlette on his Cobb BBQ

Chef David shows how to cook an osterich egg omlettte using his Cobb. He cooks the egg which has the equivilent of 24 chickens eggs inside on an osterich farm in Langebaanweg, South Africa.

NOTE: This Video was produced by Cobb for publicity purposes and should not be copied without their consent.

Chef David Cooks Rack of Lamb & Asparagus on his Cobb BBQ

Chef David cooks a rack of lamb and aspargus on Peerl Rock, South Africa using his Cobb BBQ.

NOTE: This Video was produced by Cobb for publicity purposes and should not be copied without their consent.

Lamb Rump & Bread Rolls cooked in a Cobb BBQ

Chef David in a Cobb video shows us how to cook lamb rump and make bread rolls in a Cobb BBQ.

Lamb Biriani - recipe from Mr D's cookbook

This Indian biriani, adapted for the Shuttle Chef, can be served on its own as a scrumptious meal, or dressed up for a festive occasion with fresh tomato chutney, vegetable curry side-dishes and crunchy popadoms. The lamb (mutton) needs to marinade for an hour at least (overnight if convenient). If you are cooking in the morning and want to save time then brown the onions the night before.

Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings (halve the ingredients for 3 people).

• 1 kg lamb or Mutton cut into 2 cm cubes.

For the Marinade:

• 4 green chillies (seeded and finely chopped)
• Coriander leaves (chopped - about 1 cup full)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed with salt)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 small carton plain yoghurt (approximately 2 large serving spoons)

For the main recipe:

• 4 medium onions (thinly sliced).
• Oil or ghee (about 1 desertspoon).
• 1/2 kilo potatoes (can be either old potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks, or new potatoes halved).
• Pinch of saffron (optional, but adds a subtle flavour).
• 3 cups of long grain Basmati or Patna rice.

For garnish

• 100 g cashew nuts (or shredded almonds)
• 125 g sultanas

Method:

1. Cut the lamb (mutton) into 2 cm cubes.
2. Chop the chillies finely, crush the garlic, chop the coriander leaves and mix all with the spices and yogurt.
3. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and coat the meat with it. Cover and put in the fridge for 3 hours or longer.
4. Chop the onions, then fry in ghee or oil until golden with some browning (they should taste sweet). Remove from pan.
5. Add a little ghee or oil to the Shuttle Chef inner pot and heat marinaded lamb to seal the meat. (I prefer to add the meat a third at a time so that it is easier to turn.)
6. When the lamb is simmering hot, add the potatoes and 1/2 the fried onions. Stir well and bring back to simmer.
7. Mix the rice with 5 cups of boiling water and 1 desertspoon of salt.
8. Put the saffron in 1/2 cup hot water.
9. Stir 1/2 the rice into the lamb and potatoes, then spoon the other 1/2 of the rice and water on top.
10. Sprinkle the saffron water onto the top of the rice.
11. Make sure it is all simmering hot, put the lid on the Shuttle Chef pan and place it in the Shuttle Chef.
12. Leave to cook in the Shuttle Chef for 2 1/2 hours to get really tender, succulent meat. (You can leave the biriani cooking in the Shuttle Chef for up to 7 hours - the tatse is superb and the rice is still separate.)

To serve

Heat the remaining 1/2 of the browned onions, then add the nuts and sultananas. Stir occasionally until heated (the sultanas will plump). Open the Shuttle Chef and stir the onion, nuts and sultana garnish into the top layer of rice. Serve with Tomato Chutney.

Tomato Chutney

• 1 small green chilli (deseed and chop very finely)
• 1/2 medium onion (chop finely) I prefer sweet red onion.
• 3 large or 4 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 dsp vinegar1 teaspoon sugar
• Good pinch salt

Method:

Stir all ingredients together, cover and leave in a cool place for flavours to blend.

Chef David Cooks Saldana Mussels on his Cobb BBQ

Chef David shows how to cook wonderful fresh mussels from Saldanha Bay, South Africa using a

NOTE: This Video was produced by Cobb for publicity purposes and should not be copied without their consent.

Mussaman Duck Curry

A mussaman curry is one of the most delicious dishes. It is thought to have arrived in Siam with the first Persian envoy to the court of Ayuthyia in the sixteenth century. Mr D has adapted this recipe for the Shuttle Chef from one published in Fresh Magazine and they have kindly given their permission for us to use it. This unusual version of Thai mussaman curry is highly seasoned with tamarind and will delight you and your guests.


INGREDIENTS:

• large duck breasts
• 2 star anise
• 2" piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3tbs Mussaman paste
• 400ml coconut milk
• 200ml water & 1 chicken stock cube
• small jar 100gm tamarind paste
• 1tbs fish sauce
• 75g salted peanuts
• 350g potatoes cut into 2.5cm cubes
• small bunch of coriander leaves

Method:

1. Put a frying pan on a high heat and when hot add the two duck breasts skin side down. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the skin is golden brown.
2. Turn the breasts over and cook for a further minute.
3. Remove from the pan slice the duck breasts and put to one side for later.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the shuttle chef inner pot over a medium heat.
5. Add the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves and cardamom and cook for 30 secs.
6. Add the chopped onion and cook for 4-6 minutes until golden.
7. Stir in the Mussaman paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the sliced duck and make sure that it well coated with the mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the cocunut milk, tamarind and fish sauce.
10. Add the chopped potatoes and make sure that they are nicely covered with the sauce. Bring to the boil.
11. Add 3/4 of the peanuts (saving the rest for garnish).
12. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
13. Put the lid on the inner pot and place it into the insulated outer pot.
14. Put the lid down and leave it to cook for 2 hours.
15. Serve with Jasmine rice and garnish with the remaining peanuts and the coriander.

Cooking Rice in a thermal cooker.

Probably like you, many of the meals I cook, involve serving them with rice and if you own a thermal cooker there are two way to deal with this.
As my Shuttle Chef has only one inner pot (some thermal cooker have two) I can either put a trivet in the bottom (its legs in the food) and put something like my cake tin containing part boiled rice on the trivet or I can cook my rice about 30 minutes before I want to eat in a separate saucepan.
In the past I have tried many methods of cooking rice. These include Jamie Oliver's rice cooking method from his book "Ministry of Food" and Madhur Jaffrey's methods from her book "Illustrated Indian Cookery". All of these work but take far more time than my method and do not seem to be any better.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of rice per person. I always use Basmati rice except for when I am cooking Thai food. With Thai I prefer Jasmine rice.
• 1 cup of water for each 1/2 cup of rice.
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. Add the water to a saucepan.
2. Add salt tasting the water until you can taste the salt. Vary the amount to your taste but remember if you can't taste the salt in the water your rice will tend to be bland.
3. Bring the water to the boil.
4. Pour the rice into the boiling water and bring it back to the boil.
5. Boil it gently (a rolling boil) for 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan.
7. Leave for about 30 minutes and you then will have perfectly cooked rice.
8. Before serving fluff up with a fork.

Useful guide to cooking times

I though that today I would post this useful little chart from The Thermal Cooker site. It will give you a basic idea of cooking times for your own menues. Most slow cooker recipes can be used in the thermal cooker and by using either the times in a similar recipe or the times below you should end up with a perfectly cooked meal.

Food:	Simmer time after bringing to the boil:	Thermal cooking time:
Rice	5 mins	1 to 1.5 hours
Potatoes	5 mins	1 to 2 hours
Soup & Stock	10 mins	2 to 3 hours
Green Lentils	10 mins	3 to 4 hours
Pintos	10 mins	3 hours
Split Peas	10 mins	2 hours
Quinoa	5 mins	1.5 hours
Millet	5 mins	1 hours
Polenta	1 mins	1 hours
Winter Squash	5 mins	1 to 2 hours
Steamed bread	30 mins	3 hours
Chicken	6 mins	2 to 3 hours
Beef	13 mins	3 to 4 hours

Stocks - There are basic stocks in Mr D's Thermal Cook Book

Stocks are something that is ideally made in a thermal cooker. They are great to have in the freezer ready for use with soups, gravy or risotto.
The method of making them is the same. Once you have added the ingredients, brought them to the boil simmer for ten minutes then put in the thermal cooker and left for up to 8 hours. It is important to make sure the cooker inner pot is filled at least up to 3/4 to retain the heat for the longer cooking. Remember you can always freeze the stock (by putting 500ml portions into small freezer bags) so I always fill my Shuttle Chef to the top. If you are not freezing it keep it in the fridge until required.

If you are making a meat based stock to use for soups don't remove the layer of fat from the surface until you are ready to use it as this forms a seal to keep out the air.

VEGETARIAN ORIENTAL VEGETABLE STOCK:

To make this stock you need to keep your vegetable trimmings for a few days. Keep them in the fridge in a bag until you are ready to make the stock.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 fill your inner pot with water.


• 1 tbls of black peppercorns.


• 4 star anise.


• 6 cardamoms.


• 1 cinnamom stick.


• 1 piece of blade mace.


• 6 cloves.


• 1 tbls cumin seeds.


• 1 tbls coriander seeds.


• 2 bay leaves.


• 4 curry leaves.


• 1 stick of celery.


• 1 green chille (optional)


• 5cm of ginger chopped. No need to peel.


• 1 onion chopped.


• 3 cloves of garlic crushed.


• A selection of vegetable trimmings chopped roughly.

Bring to the boil. simmer for 10 minutes and then put into the outer insulated pot for 6 to 8 hours. Once ready strain and either freeze or keep in the fridge until ready for use.

Over the next few weeks I will be adding more stocks.

Useful Tip 1 - How to cook for two people.

I was looking at Thermal Cookware site this morning and found this question and answer which I though may be of use to many who use a thermal cooker to cook for only two people.

Question:
Is it possible to cook a small meal as sometimes I do not have enough ingredients to fill a whole pot or I may just want to have enough for one or two people?

Answer:
If you are using the one pot Shuttle Chef you can certainly cook a smaller meal however it would only retain it's core temperature above 60 degrees (food safety standards) for less than 6 to 8 hours, therefore you could prepare a smaller meal in the morning to eat at lunch time or at lunch time to eat at dinner (say 4 hours later). Or you can bring the inner pot back up to the boil 4 hours later so that it would have another 4 hours before dropping below food safety standards.

When I have been cooking a small amount I have often put this in my cake tin which I cover with baking parchment and then put this on a trivet in the inner pot filled with enough water to come 3/4 of the way up the side of the tin. This system seems to work well. This is the same method that is used to cook cakes.

Chef David make Flapjacks on his Cobb BBQ

Chef David uses his Cobb BBQ to make flapjacks. This is part of a series of recipes made by chef Davis for Coob Global.

NOTE: This Video was produced by Cobb for publicity purposes and should not be copied without their consent.

Master stock - From Mr D's Thermal Cook Book

Last night I didn't use the Shuttle Chef as we still had some of the Biriani left so I have decided to add my recipe for Master Stock.

Master stock refers to an aromatic, reusable stock used a lot in Cantonese cooking. Once the base stock has been prepared it is then used as a poaching or braising liquid for meat. Chicken is the most common meat cooked in master stock, although duck and pork are also often used.
I have read that in some restaurants in Beijing use master stock that is over 100 years old and it is a wonderful thought that maybe flavours that were created all those years ago are being handed down from generation to generation.

My stock is fairly new and I don't know if in a hundred years someone will still be cooking chicken in it but I do know it gives food a divine texture and flavour.

KEEPING THE STOCK: After use, if the master stock is not be immediately reused it should be boiled, skimmed, strained and cooled quickly to minimise the potential for bacterial growth. The stock should then be refrigerated or frozen until required. Refrigerated stocks may be kept for up to three days, while frozen stocks may be kept for up to a month. If the stock is to be kept longer it must be boiled before being reused.


THE INGREDIENTS:

2 L Water.

4 Cloves Garlic Sliced.

4cm piece of Ginger sliced.

6 spring onions chopped in half.

1 piece of cassia bark (you can substitute cinnamon stick for this).

3 star anise.

3 pieces of dried orange peel. You can buy this at an Asian supermarket or peel an orange (without the white pitch as this is bitter) and dry it slowly in the oven on a very low heat.

250 ml light Soy sauce.

250 ml Shoaxing wine (Chinese cooking wine).

75 g Chinese rock sugar (granulated sugar can be used ).

THE METHOD:

Fill a saucepan with the water. Add the sliced garlic, ginger and shallots, followed by the aromatics.

Add the light soy, shaoxing wine and Chinese rock sugar.

Bring to the boil and taste the stock for balance of flavours. If it requires more salt add a little more soy sauce.

Allow the stock to cool, if not using straight away, strain it through a fine sieve and refrigerate until needed.

Master stock, once cooled, strained and refrigerated can be used again and again.

Replenish the stock with fresh garlic, ginger, shallots and aromatics each time you use it and the flavour will continue to intensify in strength and flavour.

Andrews Spare Ribs - from Mr D's Thermal Cook Book

Last night we had some of the family around and I decided to BBQ, I know the weather was not so good but stiff upper lid and all that. I had decided to use the Cobb BBQ for the barbie with Lokkii briquettes.The lokkii briquettes are completely organic and have an organic firelighter so they are both convenient and eco friendly.

I wanted to include spare ribs in the menu as I had some in the freezer. These work well on the BBQ but are even better if cooked slowly in the Shuttle Chef so I put together a simple recipe "Andrews Spare Ribs". The reason they are called this is that a Filipino chef who unfortunately is no longer with us taught me how to cook spare ribs this way and guess what his name was Andrew.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Spare Ribs.
• 1 Red Onion chopped
• 500ml bottle tomato ketchup
• 3 cups of water
• 1 magi stock cube
• 2 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcester Sauce
• 1 cup of Sprite *
• 1/2 tsp salt

* Sprite is used as a tenderiser.

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients into your thermal cooker.
2. Bring top the boil.
3. Skim off any impurities that form on the surface.
4. Turn down to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes put into thermal cooker outer pot.
6. Leave for minimum 3 hours to cook.
7. Serve with the lovely rich tomato sauce.

Poached Guinea Fowl with Vegetables - from Mr D's cookbook.

Last night we wanted something light so I put together this delightful dish of poached guinea fowl with vegetables. I served it with the perfectly cooked vegetables and drizzled over the light stock created from the poaching liquid. By poaching the guinea fowl it is moist and takes on the wonderful flavours of the fennel and other vegetables.
There was enough for 3 people but as there was only two I saved the stock we had left over, shredded the remaining Guinea fowl into it and will have it as a soup today. You could use the same recipe with chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg Guinea fowl


• 6 carrots peeled and cut into 5cm chunks.


• 2 medium leeks cleaned and cut into 5cm lengths.


• 20 small potatoes washed but not peeled.


• 1 fennel bulb sliced.


• 4 celery sticks halved.


• 1 bay leaf.


• Water.


• 2 Vegetable stock cubes or my preferred way of making stock is to use Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder (obtainable from most supermarkets) . If using this add 1 tablespoon.


• Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method:

1. Wash the guinea fowl.


2. Place the guinea fowl into the inner pot of the thermal cooker.


3. Add the carrots and leeks into the pot.


4. Add the sliced fennel bulb, celery and the potatoes.


5. Put enough water to cover all the ingredients in the pot.


6. Add the stock cubes or powder.


7. Bring to the boil.


8. Turn down the heat to a simmer and put the lid on the pot.


9. Simmer for 10 minutes then put the inner pot into the outer pot.


10. Shut the leave and leave for a minimum of 2 hours to cook..


11. Once cooked adjust the stock for seasoning.


12. Serve spooning some of the stock over the guinea fowl.
    

Julia & Julia - A new movie with Meryl Streep

Julia Child (born Julia Carolyn McWilliams August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author and television personality, who introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream, through her many cookbooks and television programs. Her most famous works are the 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and, showcasing her sui generis television persona, the series The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

In a new film due to be released in August this year Meryl Streep plays Julia child in this film writen and directed by Nora Ephron. The film intertwines the lives of Julia Child and Julia Powel (played by Amy Adams) and is based on her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

This is certainly a film I will add to must list.

The History of the Cobb

The design of the Cobb Portable Grill originated with safety in mind. An innovation straight out of Africa, the Cobb was initially designed as a cooking system for people in rural areas without access to electricity so they could cook in a safer environment, with less danger of out of control fires. The first proto type of the grill was a ceramic sphere-shaped device that cooked well, but was heavy and cumbersome. The initial fuel source for the Cobb was dry corn cobs, abundant in rural Africa, hence the grill’s name. The unit has been refined over and over, and the result is a small, eco-friendly, portable and incredibly efficient barbecue. Compressed charcoal briquettes – a universal commodity, have replaced the corn cobs.

The Cobb has taken over seven years to get to the point it is today. The Cobb has certainly created a following for itself. The Cobb most certainly does ‘make life easier’
With the possible distribution of the Cobb Cooker in third world countries through international aid organizations, it is hoped that it will some day contribute to a reduction in deforestation, injury and loss of life and property from primitive and dangerous cooking methods.

The all new fully Stainless Steel Cobb Premier will last for years, since there are no parts that can rust, break or wear out.
The Cobb BBQ Cooking System. Weighing only 8.5 lbs., the fuel efficient Cobb uses only 8 – 10 charcoal briquettes for three hours of cooking.

With the introduction of the all new Fully Stainless Steel Cobb BBQ Cooking System, this cooker is truly in a class of its own. Unlike typical grills, the Cobb can roast, bake, smoke and fry while the safe cool-to-touch base makes it ideal for taking anywhere. Don’t let the small design fool you. The Cobb Grill can cook a 9Lb Chicken in about 1 1/2 hours.

The Cobb reaches over 500 degrees inside, while the stainless steel mesh base is completely cool outside. Whether your taste is for steak and chicken or fish and vegetables, the Cobb cooks complete meals to succulent perfection! Please explore our site further to learn more about the amazing Cobb Cooking System

The Cobb can be purchased from Mr D's Kitchen Shop