Saturday, September 29, 2018

Burger It 17: Cajun Fish Burgers



We don't eat much fish in our house. Mostly because 3 of us like it but Erin doesn't. Leigh loves fish so she was pleased we were trying these burgers.

Ingredients:

1lb white fish
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon of Cajun spice mix

Combine  everything in a bowl and form into patties. Fry in some oil until cooked to your liking.



Encase each burger inside a bread bun along with some lettuce. Add mayo or tartare sauce if you like.


These were really tasty burgers. Meaty, spicy and great to bite into the softer interior after the initial outer crunch. Lovely!

Ratings: Emma - 3, Leigh - 4

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Vegetable Update Part 3




Five more vegetable recipes coming your way!

Hasselback Potatoes


I really like these, they're crispy along the top and soft along the bottom. The butter and salt gets into the sliced parts for a really delicious bite. They're a bit fiddly to make and I sliced through several potatoes trying to make them (which still taste good but don't make the picture).

Spicy Southern Hot Corn


This recipe turns sweetcorn into a creamy corn creation. It's quite spicy due to the addition of hot sauce but the cream cheese in there helps even things out. Love it!

Sweet Potato Mac N Cheese


It's annoying when a recipe is called something it's not. This isn't mac n cheese of any kind, there's no macaroni!! It's sweet potato cheese at best, which sounds good on it's own. It's like some lame diet version of a recipe trying to make you feel like you can still eat your favourite foods. Guess what, you can...just eat the food anyway. I digress. This sweet potato in a cheese sauce is pretty delicious. Of course it is, one delicious food coated in another delicious food. Win.

Scalloped Potatoes


I'd never tried these before as they always seem a lot of work. JD made them and I really liked them.

Brussel Sprout Gratin


The amount of sprouts I had for this recipe fell short so I had to add in some cubed sweet potato. It was a really nice side dish. Brussels sprouts are under-appreciated.

I've just noticed the vegetable dishes in this update are mostly cheese sauce, potato or potato AND cheese sauce. My bad! I'll have to try better next time at finding some healthier veg recipes.

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Oh Burger 16: Classic American Burger



An American once told me that the Classic American burger is all about the toppings. So we made sure we had everything we needed for this one.


Beef tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles and cheap cheese slices.

Ingredients:

1lb minced beef
2 garlic cloves
8 slices bacon
Salt & pepper

Make up and fry the burgers and cook the bacon.  We've taken to using a lid on the frying pan for the last half of cooking, it steams the burgers keeping them moist but making sure they're cooked through too. We added the cheese to each burger for the last couple of minutes to melt it over the burger.


Assemble your burger as you like with whichever of the toppings you want. JD went for everything while I had everything but the tomato. Leigh had lettuce and cheese.



These were good burgers. Like a McDonalds or Burger King burger but better. Probably too many toppings for one burger because it made it difficult to eat. Tasty though, a meaty and moist burger, cheesy with a nice crunch from the bacon, onion and lettuce. It's the burger we have most often.

Ratings: JD - 3, Emma - 4, Leigh - 3

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Emma's Exercise Experiments - Salsa Dancing Classes



I've always wanted to try learning to dance so after establishing if it was something JD was up for (he was) I had a look around for classes in Harrogate. I found an offer for 4 Salsa classes for £10 per person so we snapped it up. The classes were on a Tuesday night at 8.45pm at a local social club.

We didn't know what to expect but we were looking forward to getting started. The night we went there were also two other couples starting so it was nice not to be the only newbs.

Tamara, the teacher, led us in learning the basic steps of salsa. It felt like we were thrown in at the deep end having never danced salsa before but it was really fun. That first week we learned several different steps, turns and movements to join together to music. It felt great to be dancing the steps along to salsa music.

 

As we're learning the steps we all assemble around Tamara in pairs. After we've gone through a short sequence the women rotate around to the next man, so everyone dances with different partners in turn. I was initially nervous to do this but it really helps to dance with guys of different experience as they can lead you in the steps to help learn them. A couple of guys in the class were really tall, I had to go on tiptoes to manage some of the turns!

Some of the steps are difficult to get right, it takes practise and perseverence to keep trying. I managed not to stand on anyone's feet so that's good. It felt stressful at times going through the steps wanting to get them right. Most exercise you can just muddle along at your pace but with dance classes you have to do the thing the same as everyone else.


There's often more women than men so if there isn't a guy free you can practise the steps alone. I sometimes used this time to catch my breath as the dancing is non-stop from the second the class starts. It feels like a good exercise for your arms as much as your legs because of the moves where you hold your arms up or in position as you dance.


The pictures don't do us justice, imagine a graceful Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Salsa dancing sexily around the dance floor! Haha, I wish, but we were getting it. It became easier to learn the moves and steps the more we danced. One tip if you want to try Salsa is to wear some shoes with no grips so you can spin/turn easier. Apparently I don't own any shoes that aren't trainers or flip flops so I struggled a bit with my shoes sticking to the dance floor.

Tamara and me.
After each class there's a chance for a drink and a chat so it's a nice way to get to know the other dancers. Not for us, we have to run home to bed after the class finishes as it's already past our bedtime!

Classes are usually £5 per person which is great value. Tamara also teaches Bachata as well as Salsa in other venues. You can find all the details on her Facebook page HarrogateSalsa


Previously on Emma's Exercise Experiments:

Gym 

Yoga

Bootcamp

Boxing 

Pilates

Tai Chi 

Pokemon Go 

Aquafit

Outside Gym 
// following script until attribution comment is to add pinterest button