Beef Ghoulashanoff and other stuff, with pictures

Not quite sure what to call this stuff, but it worked out blimmin well for a quick Friday night slap-together dinner. It started out as goulash, based on the recipe in my favourite old cookbook "Best Ever One Pot", a wire bound cheapo I found in the budget book section in Sainsbury's in London years ago. Believe it or not, I do often use recipes, though more often than not I stray quite far off the original recipe on a culinary adventure of my own imaginative creation, depending on what's in the pantry cupboard and fridge! Surprisingly most of my concoctions turn out rather delicious, by my own unusual standards anyway!

My dinner. Taken with the new Nikon D7000, no flash.

By the way, it's Saturday afternoon and I'm happy to say for a change I don't have a hangover! (Hooray for J.) It's now a week since I last touched alcohol (except the wine in last nights food, but that doesn't count!). Last night was the first real challenge on my quest to go dry because it's been for a long time now that I systematically drink myself stupid on a Friday night, unless I'm hungover from Thursday. Yes I missed my drink last night, but it wasn't unbearable. I got some stuff done on the PC and got an early night, and better yet was up early this morning, bright and fresh and not with a throbbing dehydration headache and the persistent need to sleep all day like most Saturdays. I got up with a refreshing bounce and was out early to get some banking done before the relentless Bayside Mall crowds arrived. Had a delicious breakfast with the wife at Dolce, picked up some hot, fresh cinnamon donuts, and was back home by 11 where Tammy was having a great time with her Granny Bev.

An even bigger challenge is going to be getting through tonight without drinking either. I won't drink, no question of that, but I am already craving a drink. The idea of a cold beer or a stiff whiskey & coke is very attractive as I write this. But I won't do it! If I can get through the weekend without too much withdrawal pains then the road ahead should be a lot easier. Well it works in theory, in my mind...

Ja anyway, as I was saying, this pot started out as beef goulash from the recipe, because I had goulash beef in the freezer. But as some of the ingredients were missing I flipped a few pages 10 minutes into preparation to the stroganoff page, and I didn't have all the ingredients for that either, so I combined the two, with the addition of wine and curry spices and some extra ingredients, and the result was yet another deliciously hearty meal that solicited more slurping and lip-smacking compliments than negative criticisms from the worlds harshest food critic - my wife!

( I really need to invest in a proper office style chair soon, this old plastic garden chair at my desk at home is seriously uncomfortable, exponentially so as the hours march on with my face stuck to the PC screen!)

Everyday I'm waffling... la la la...

So basically, this goulashanoff curry thing comprised of the following:

• One large onion, coarsely chopped and caramelised in a big-ass cauldron (I use my trusty pressure cooker) with some brown sugar and olive oil.
• While the onion fries, chop one green pepper (didn't have the red one the goulash recipe demanded) and a slice a pack of fungus.
• Meantime add the beef (cubed steak basically) to the onions and fry on a high heat.
• Add some spice. I added some dry chili powder, ground turmeric, paprika, and about a tablespoon of Woolworths Cape Malay curry spice. Some salt & pepper and a dollop of garlic paste. Mix well to coat the meat & onions and fry some more.
• Meantime peel some carrots, chop into wheels.
• Peel a few potatoes and cut into medium chunks, eg quarter a small potato. That sort of size.
• (The last 2 ingredients are my own addition not featured in either recipe, nutritious pot-fillers to make the food go further)
• Now add the peppers, mushrooms, carrots & potatoes to the pot. Give it a stir.
• Prise open a can of chopped, peeled tomatoes and lob it into the bubbling cauldron.
• Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
• Pour in about half a litre beef stock (in my case about half a litre of water from the kettle and an Oxo cube! LOL.
• Quickly chuck in around half a leftover bottle of the wife's wine while she's not looking and discreetly discard the bottle (which was a week old in the back of the fridge and probably forgotten).
• Close the cauldron lid and leave to cook on a low heat for an hour and a half.

"Chooka-train" along the edge of the pool.

At this point we headed off to take Tammy to her swimming lesson. She has really come on a long way with her swimming, and last night in particular she was more confident than ever, co-operating with the instructor happily, and she genuinely seemed to be enjoying herself in the water revelling in her new found confidence. She's not swimming on her own yet, but I reckon it won't be long now. She went a lot longer and further under the water than previously, and she seemed totally comfortable whereas before there was always a bit of drama and spluttering. We are very proud of the little froggy and very happy with the fantastic job that teacher Lindsay of Funki Flippers in Tableview has done with Tammy!

Enjoy the photo's (taken with my old Nikon D40x and the 200mm lens), the rest of the cooking to follow further down...

Chilling for a moment on the floating foam mat. Life's a beach in Tammy's world!

Splashy kicking practice.

The floating starfish - totally confident, happy as Larry, and providing constant entertainment with her stories.

After swimming and of course a marshmallow for the water-monkey we returned home for a chilled out Friday evening of good food & TV and some chocolate pudding for the girls (I don't like that shit!)

• Put a pot of water on to cook a pack of twisty pasta.
• Added a cup of thickening Maizena cornflour and water to the cauldron still simmering away cheerfully, smelling absolutely delectable!
• Plopped in another tablespoon full of garlic paste, pulled out the naked thyme twigs, and sealed the hatch to simmer a bit longer. Stirring every 5 minutes.
• At the end pour in a pot of fresh cream, turn down the heat, and cook for another minute stirring slowly until the sauce is nice and thick.
• Have a spoonful of the sauce to taste, muttering in satisfied delight.
• Dish up generously and enjoy watching the hungry family chomping away like Hungry Hungry Hippo's!

On another note, as you may know I've got a new camera. I haven't yet had a chance to go through the million-page user manual so I have only used it on automatic. Below is a pic I took of Tammy this morning eating breakfast in the sunlight shining through the window, and the first photo taken with the camera, a picture of my hi-fi in the office. Naturally the picture quality will improve as I get to know how to fly this camera and develop my photography techniques through my course and a lot of trial & error practice. Watch this space - more to come...