Greedy Gourmet

Greedy Gourmet

Have you ever reached satiety but carried on eating anyway because the food tasted so good? What about hiding dinner leftovers in a “secret corner” in the fridge, hoping no one else in the house will notice, and having a little midnight feast before anyone discovers your booty? Do you return to the same restaurant and order the same menu item over and over again? Wouldn’t you rather know how to prepare it yourself? This blog is the Greedy Gourmet‘s quest to finding new scintillating recipes containing the “oomph” factor.

Although the main focus of this blog is recipes I also review one product/service a week and organise regular giveaways to my loyal readers. If I’m lucky and get to travel you’ll hear all about it too!

Michelle

Welcome! My name is Michelle and I’m the author of this blog. I’m a South African who fell in love with an Englishman and moved to the UK in 2004. Ah, love! Unfortunately, here in Essex good restaurants are few and far between and I had no choice but to put on my apron and get stuck in.

I cook every single day. Sometimes once, twice or even the whole day. In fact, I cook with such reckless abandon that a lot of the time my kitchen looks like a bombsite. The only part that is missing is the yellow, sticky tape saying “Danger – Do Not Enter”. One of my favourite pastimes is paging through cookbooks and drooling over food porn. Even though I’m confident in my cooking skills the more I read the more I realise how little I know. Why not join me on my journey of discovery regarding all things edible?

For more information you can read 100 Things About Me.

Neil

Also known as The Man, Neiltjie or Mr. Fix-It. He is my greatest fan and a very frank critic. A fussy eater at the best of times and a pain in the ass to cook for but he’s so worth it. Ask him anything IT-related, and I mean anything (building computers, programming, Unix and other doodads), and he’ll have an answer. If not, he’ll find out one way or another. That is why he is the technical administrator of this site. He has no choice.

Gabriel

When Michelle 2.5 and Neil 4.9 compiled, a new programme, called Gabriel, was launched in 2007. Strong and stubborn with a sunny disposition and very healthy appetite he is a force to be reckoned with. He immensely enjoys baking with me and is fascinated with computers. Other names include The Boy, Baby, Little Bugger, Gawietjie and My Kind.

Pluji

Pluji was adopted from the SPCA in June 2003. She is fiercely loyal, learns quickly and is a tad on the pathetic and neurotic side. On your first visit to our home she won’t like you and when feeling confident and reassured will even growl or bark at you. After your eighth visit she might warm up to you and if you are lucky you will receive a lick and lots of affection. She’s a walking dustbin and will eat anything, including Shacia’s food. Her proudest achievement was when she was a puppy and got away with eating seven bowls of cat food before anyone noticed the cats weren’t that hungry after all. With a stomach ready to explode, she waddled, not walked. Every time Gabriel chases after her another hair turns grey. I guess it happens a lot.

Shacia

On Shacia’s arrival, adopted August 2003, Pluji was seriously ticked off but learnt to accept her and now the two are inseparable. A complete opposite to Pluji she will play with everybody and look at them as if to say “Are you my mommy?”. She is the friendliest and lickiest dog I’ve ever known and have never seen a hint of aggression from her. She is a picky eater though. Her proudest achievement was when she caught a fat, corn-fed pigeon from the wheat fields adjacent our house. As a knee-jerk reaction I immediately threw it in the garbage can but she was heartbroken and pawed miserably at it. Ridden with guilt I took it out again and she ate the whole bird, fair and square, except the gallbladder while Pluji looked on in disgust and momentarily turned into a vegetarian.

Photography

All food displayed on Greedy Gourmet is 100% real. No motor oil is brushed on a chicken to make it look good. I use mainly natural light. Unfortunately, during the winter months here in the UK, the light is no good and then I use two strobes. As for my camera gear, I have a Canon 350D and 400D, and I shoot mainly with a 50mm 1.4 lens. For post-processing I use Lightroom and Photoshop. Got any questions? Feel free to drop me a mail.

Reviews

All reviews on this site are objective and unpaid for. I am happy to accept products, books, etc., so long as it is food (growing as well), cooking or health related. Should I receive a book, product, etc. I cannot guarantee that the item will be reviewed on Greedy Gourmet. If it is chosen for review, the product will be thoroughly tested and honestly reviewed. I am an impartial tester. Readers will know whether I liked it or not, and why.

If you have a product, book, business, event or restaurant you would like me to review, get in touch.

Food Intolerances

Life isn’t easy being wheat and milk intolerant. My mother suffers from it too and I guess that’s where I got it from. In my early 20’s I drew the line after suffering at least one seriously painful bout of stomach cramps a week, year in and year out. For one year I vowed to cut out all forms of wheat and somehow I completed it successfully. Still, when I ate a gloriously creamy pot of Greek yoghurt with a dollop of honey, my stomach bloated 30 minutes later and I would look 5 months pregnant, not to mention the stinky farts that came along. Phlegm also formed immediately and if I pushed my luck by eating milk products a few days in a row, it would start with a sore throat and turn into a full-blown cold. My next New Year’s resolution was to cut out dairy (and wheat again) for a whole year. Things definitely went better but boy, was it difficult watching everybody around me devour chocolate eggs during Easter! After that I moved to the UK and started cooking full-time for myself, i.e. restaurants and take-aways went off the menu. From then on, my health took a drastic turn for the better and I rarely get ill (touch wood).

If you browse through Greedy Gourmet you will notice that there are recipes that contain wheat and/or dairy to make the site friendly for the general population, but rest assured they are not dishes that I will consume every day, but treat myself with once in a while; most of the time with no ill effects.

Since I know how difficult it can be to make the transition to exclude a prominent ingredient in your diet, I have created a Special Diets section to ease your search for “you-friendly” recipes. I even cater for vegetarians and vegans!

Pet Peeves

• One thing you wouldn’t find on this site is how to cook food in a microwave. It is an abomination and there is nothing natural or healthy about nuking your food.
• Another one of my pet peeves is the use of ready-made brand food in recipes. Searching for that particular product living in a different part of the world than the author makes it truly impossible to find. I prefer making things from scratch, using fresh and natural ingredients. Anyone can use the recipes on the site, since all the ingredients are generic.
• Stickers on fruit. Why? Why? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaay?

Press

• Profile article on BlogHer – March 2010