a FREE eCOOKBOOK for my mates thanks for your support xx stonesoup | minimalist home cooking a FREE e-cookbook. © Jules Clancy 2010 All rights reserved. This is a FREE e-book. Please spread the love and share it with anyone you think may benefit from a collection of fast, fresh, simple recipes. It can be downloaded from www.thestonesoup.com. [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 3 contents the story of stonesoup what is minimalist home cooking? how minimalist home cooking can HELP YOU about 5 ingredients | 10 minutes snacks & starters soup salads & vegetables pasta & noodles grain & legumes meat, fish & eggs sweet treats how to setup a minimalist kitchen how to stock a minimalist pantry index about the author [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 4 Hi there. My name is Jules Clancy. I love food. I love wine. And I’m the only person I know that is crazy enough to have degrees in both. In 2005, I was working as a food scientist developing new products for a gobal cereal company when I discovered the world of food blogs. I’d always longed to write recipes for a living, however, it seemed like an impossible career to crack into. But anyone could start a blog... and so began stonesoup. After a few months writing, I knew this was what I was meant to do. I invested in a digital camera and by trial and a lot of error began to take photos of my food. In January 2010, I took the next step on my blogging path and quit my day job to become a full-time blogger. stonesoup is a blog that helps people become better home cooks by using a minimalist approach to cooking. It allows me to use my food science knowledge for good. I focus on reducing the number of ingredients, the amount of equipment, the number of steps involved, and the time we spend in the kitchen to a minimum so we can focus what’s important. It’s about simple, wholesome, delicious food that is easy to prepare and still fun and satisfying to eat. Why the FREE e-cookbook? Over the past year I’ve been writing a series of recipes that have only 5 ingredients and take 10 minutes to prepare. They’ve been published in a number of locations. I thought it would be useful to have these recipes all together in the one handy ebook that you can keep on your laptop or computer at work as an at-your-fingertips reference for when you need inspiration for what to cook for dinner. If you do find this recipe book useful, I’d really appreciate it if you shared the love and forwarded it to your family and friends. Or better yet - send them the link to stonesoup (www.thestonesoup.com) so they can download their own copy and discover the wonderful world of food blogging themselves. Love Jules x the story of stonesoup [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 6 what is minimalist home cooking? I could make some dodgy jokes about minimalist home cooking being eating out all the time, or what happens when you’re in a country stricken by famine – but I’ll spare you. In the stonesoup kitchen, the focus is on recipes that meet most or all of the following criteria: minimal time As much as I love spending a whole day in the kitchen, I’m always thinking about how I can do things more quickly and efficiently. This is where the 10 minutes comes in. minimal number of steps This is related to time but I wanted to spell it out separately. At stonesoup I’m always looking to minimalise the number of steps needed in a recipe. I strive to keep the instructions concise but easy to follow. minimal number of ingredients A long ingredient list can be daunting. This inspired me to create this series of recipes using 5 ingredients or less. There are no needless ingredients. Everything must perform a key function to get included. minimal equipment I’ve never been a fan of single-use kitchen equipment and I know that like me, most people are cooking in pretty basic kitchens. While some of the recipes in this book may be quicker and easier to prepare with a food processor, that’s as fancy as it gets. There’s a section on how to setup a minimalist kitchen later in this book. [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 8 how minimalist home cooking can HELP YOU Minimalist home cooking is all about stripping things back to the essentials. Here are 7 ways where my [5 ingredients | 10 mintues] recipes can HELP YOU. less time in the kitchen 10 minutes cooking leaves more time for the activities and people you love. less time shopping With only 5 ingredients in each recipe, you’ll find your shopping lists are shorter and more managable. You won’t need to spend as much time out hunting and gathering. eating more fresh, healthy food Everyone knows that home cooked food tends to be better for you. With the focus on fresh ingredients, my 5 ingredients recipes make it easy. more pleasure & enjoyment Cooking can be a great way to relax and unwind. Spending 10 minutes using one of my minimalist recipes will help you gain more pleasure and enjoyment from dinner time. save money If dinner only takes 10 minutes to prepare, you’ll be more likely to cook for yourself than take the expensive dial-a-dinner option. less stress Long ingredient lists and complicated methods can lead to much stress and kitchen confusion. Minimalist home cooking keeps things as simple and stress-free as possible. more kitchen confidence If you’re new to cooking, starting with minimalist recipes will help you get some great simple dishes under your belt and give you the confidence to tackle anything, [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 10 about 5 ingredients 10 minutes [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] is a series of recipes aimed at keeping things as simple as possible. The original idea of 5 ingredients. 5 minutes. came from the lovely Sheri over at Zen Family Habits. But over time we expanded to 10 minutes to give a little more flexiblity. The recipes in this FREE e-cookbook have been published previously on stonesoup and a number of different locations. I’ve pulled them into one handy e-book that you can keep on your computer, ready to inspire and answer the eternal question ‘ What’s for dinner?”. 5 ingredients Each recipe can be made with 5 ingredients or less. There are a few that don’t use the whole 5, so don’t stress if there are only 4 or 3 ingredients. To keep it realistic, the 5 ingedients do not include salt, pepper or olive oil. Since most recipes will use all three of these, please note that they’re expected to be in your pantry. 10 minutes This is a guideline for how long each recipe will take to prepare to be ready to eat. But everyone cooks at different speeds, so some people may take a little longer especially the first time cooking a particular dish. I put out a challenge on stonesoup recently and most people were able to make the recipes in the 10 minutes, but a few did take longer. snacks & starters [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 13 serves 4 as a starter You can either serve this as bruschetta with the beans dished up on toast that has been rubbed with the cut side of a clove of garlic. Alternatively, serve the beans in the middle of the table with bread on the side so your guests can help themselves. I’ve made this with cannellini beans and butter beans and I have a slight preference for the slightly larger, firmer butter beans. Borlotti beans would also work well as would chickpeas. 1 can butter beans (400g /14oz), drained 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely sliced 2 small sprigs rosemary, leaves picked pinch chilli flakes, optional Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat and add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add remaining ingredients and stir fry beans until they are golden and warmed through. Season well and serve with a drizzle of peppery extra virgin olive oil. warm butter beans with rosemary & garlic [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 14 crostini with smoked salmon & sour cream serves 4 as a starter This is one of those effortless starters that feels a little bit special but can be made in a flash from ingredients from your supermarket. If you don’t have access to capers, chopped chives or parsley would work well. It’s more about getting some visual greenery and freshness. Baguettes are lovely for crostini but I’ve also used crackers or larger slices of sourdough cut into small, bite sized pieces. 8 thin slices baguette 100g (3 oz) smoked salmon, sliced sour cream capers lemon cheeks, to serve Toast baguette slices lightly on one side. Layer each round with smoked salmon, top with a dollup of sour cream and sprinkle with a few capers and lots of freshly ground black pepper. [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] www.thestonesoup.com page 15 crostini with buffalo mozzarella, peppers & basil serves 4 as a starter The success of this starter is all in the cheese. If you can’t find the freshest buffalo mozzarella, don’t be tempted to use stringy, ordinary mozzarella or boccincini. The best substitute would be a fresh goats cheese or even some humble ricotta. You can roast the peppers yourself, but I find that the jars of pre-prepared roast peppers or capsicum are perfectly fine if you’re short of time. 8 thin slices baguette 1 large ball bufffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks roasted & peeled red pepper (capsicum), finely sliced a few fresh basil leaves Toast baguette slices lightly on one side. Layer each round with mozzarella chunks, top with a few slices of pepper (capsicum) and a basil leaf or two.