The science of cooking... Must watch

ok this is much watch and read to allot there, who want to become better cooks.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-improve-your-home-cooking-with-the-power-of-scie-511405909

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

These are just so delicious and fresh.

Last week Liz had friends over and let them "roll their own" vietnamese spring rolls and sushi.

Just look at the photos

Here is a good site to have a go yourself.

Here is one from Gordon Ramsay

Shove it on a stick

Yep, thats what I said. Shove it on a stick.

Cooking things on sticks is great, either on the BBQ on inside on a hot grill.

Here are some great recommendations...
CHOW - shows us how to do Kebabs on a stick

Jamie Oliver - does Souvlaki

We skewer or put on a stick almost anything you would normally grill the kids love them. Well that is the bits they eat.

Don't forget wooden skewers work better on the grill if pre-soaked in water.

insalata caprese or to you and me Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

This has got to be one of the easiest and to me most delicious salads there is. It pretty much takes seconds to make. (So long as you have the ingredients) 

Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil. 

Here are some good recipes.

Epicurious

Jamie Oliver

But to be honest, get all the above lay the sliced tomatoes and Mozzarella on a plate, loads of basic, season and pour a little balsamic and olive oil over the top and EAT. Just perfect.

Quick Risotto and Sausage. Bank Holiday Monday in Germany

You have got to love Germany in May. There seems to be a Bank Holiday every week! Off course, you have to remember that a holiday to the German people is exactly that, there is NOTHING open.

So off course, we planned for a few days. It was raining today. Of course it was, it was a holiday! It got cold, so I made a risotto for lunch and even though it was only 13 degrees C outside, I BBQ-ed Bratwurst! See one of my previous posts.

I cheated. I used a stock cube! I know I wrote about homemade stock, but I was hungry and I did not have any.

Risotto is probably one the quickest richest rice dish from Europe, and so simple. If you want a quick rich meal where you can use lots of stuff up in your fridge then this is the meal for you.  The trick is once you have it going, is to keep it simmering until you get the rice to the tenderness you want. I use Risotto rice, but most rice will do, just realise that this is a quick meal, but needs your attention almost entirely from beginning to end.

Chow's risotto recommendations

Jamie Oliver's Risotto

There are countless recipes out there for this great simple dish. I especially love it, with a the end of a parmesan cheese, chopped and thrown in, as it just adds so much richness to it. Real Comfort food.

Loving Chow

I think Chow is a very cool food site. Seriously delicious quick and easy meals.


So go check out Chow, but come back

Best Knife Sharpener

For years I was a strong believer in the Stone for sharpening knives.
NO more. Yes I dreamed of owning the 500 Euro / Dollar electric sharpeners that Cooks Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen and lots of other sites recommended. But I do not have that kind of money.

What did I find? AccuSharp. It is, to put it mildy Amazing. Since getting my first, I bought a second for my cottage and the Scissor Sharpener too. It is just great. No more Stones for me. And no you do not need the 500 Euro / Dollar professional one. This is literally the last sharpener you ever need.

And unfortunately I am not paid by AccuSharp, but I would gladly accept money, if people purchase it, on my recommendation.

 

Interesting enough, Chow has a video on the old way. Try it if you like, but once you try this quick sharpener, you will store your stone away, as I have.

Fruit flies UPDATE

OK still have them..

Any suggestions?

Fruit Flies

I have fruit flies in my kitchen!

Trying a traditional vinegar trick. Will let you know..

A German sausage

I wrote a post a few years ago now, about the perfect sausage.

I will truly have to add to this soon, with an update for BBQ sausages and now of course the German sausages. 

Bottom line if you have never had a Bratwurst in a bun with mustard in Germany you have not lived. I am sure the Bavarians would say the same for Weisswurst, and I would have to agree. Whatever part of Germany you are in, you must try their local sausage. If you get a local beer too, all the better.

There really can not be an easier meal than Sausages.
Look at the great photo.

Looking forward to Summer in Canada and Pizza made on the BBQ

Yes Pizza on the BBQ. It is amazing.

I am very lucky to have a place to call home in Canada. We try to go there twice a year. One of the most amazing things about Canada, apart from the great supermarkets and specialist shops, all of whom speak English. Is the peoples attitude that cooking outside is a must, almost whatever the weather.

This may not be true to all Canadians, but to my wife's family it is a given. Whether the weather be hot or whether the weather be cold, they will use the BBQ.

One of the best things about the BBQ is the pizza. Yes I know. But remember it is an oven!

It is very simple. Make your pizza, which ever way you like. Personally there is nothing more satisfying than having homemade dough, but you choose. Just crank up the BBQ nice and hot. And put it on the BBQ on a metal tray. We use BBQ pizza trays, but I we used to use greased foil trays. And cook your pizza. The taste is amazing. It is as good, if not better than pizza over roasted.

Enjoy and let me know how yours turns out.

Here is method for the charcoal BBQ

Here is Chow's Grilled Pizza Dough recipe to get you going...

Missing Chinese Food

I have been away from China for 8 months now and boy do I miss the food. I miss the cheap take-aways and the great vibrant restaurants. The funky vegetables in the market, the smells.

I certainly don't miss the pollution though!

So to Germany we came. Clean air, efficiency and not so cheap food. But it is good.

So I will post some new food techniques soon. I was also start sharing sites that I have found that make my cooking and a wife's cooking so delicious and fun...

Stay tuned and enjoy the food.

I'm Back!

Well, here I was sitting in my new country of Germany and I realised that I gave up blogging 4 years ago, due to the "Great Chinese Firewall", which basically blocked all blogs, without illegally getting around them. So I stopped.

I have so much to say since then...

How to over cook a beef tenerloin!

Add two kids
No meat thermometer
get engrossed in anything else, excpet thinking about the delicious meat in the oven.


Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

Stock It!

Have you ever cooked with stock? Stock Cubes or buillon? Well you ought to have. Anyway there is nothing better than home made stock. Yes there are some good shop buillon out there now, but if you live where I do, behind a certain wall, then your choice is limited to the cheap end of stock cubes.

So how to make stock? It is easy and all you need is some left-overs.

You can make a veggie stock, or any meat stock , as you like.

Right now, I have a fresh chicken stock on the go. I got a whole chicken this morning. Welcome to the country behind the wall. It was at least dead and de-feathered. But that was about it. That is another story for the less sqeemish people out there. Anyway Stock.

Put all the bits of your left-over meat or veg into a pot, if they are raw, quickly brown them in some oil. Add a chopped onion (if you have one) - I didn't this morning! Then add veg (any bits that you have lying around and fry for a few minutes. Then add water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer for as long as possible. Two to three hours is good. The longer the more flavours can be brought out of the food into the liquid.

Allow it to cool. Draw off the fat. (Using a spoon is the easiest). Filter it and store it in the fridge or freeze the stock in useable amounts.

Home made stock can be used just like stock cubes, except you know what has gone in it.
Oh yeah I visited a stock factory in Ecuador once, believe me, if you can make it yourself you are doing yourself a big favour. Yes meat does go into manufactured cubes, but to make it go futher, lots of additives are added to stretch it.

Have fun, be brave and just try it. As you succeed you can try adding different things. Jamie O, Mrs Beaton and lots of people have great stock recipies.

Worm farms

I know you can't eat worms! Well maybe you can. But I am slowly becoming greener and this is one way to go. I personally think that I will ever become a veggie. I do try to buy local meat though. 
Anyway I digress. Yesterday my neighbours bought themselves and our family a worm farm each. So I look forward to being able to use all my veggie scraps from now on in a farm and then fertilise my own herbs, and veggies that I grow.

For more information check out worm farms on google. One of the simplest and clearest links for a little info is http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/services/worm.htm

Have fun...

Do you like seafood: A dish in 10 minutes

One of my favourite dishes is shrimp. If I ever get the opportunity to eat in Kingston Ontario. I will do my utmost to eat at Chez Piggy's. This is a great restaurant. One of its signature meals is Shrimp aglio olio, (Shrimp with garlic and chili in oil). Well you don't have to travel to Kingston to do this.
Get your shrimp. (Fresh if possible). (Dry on paper towel or in a sieve)
Slice a couple of small red chillies, remove most of the seeds, depending on how hot you like it. (Remember the seeds and the white insides are hotter than the outsides). Chop finely.
Get a few cloves of Garlic, peel and chop. (You can chop finely or not!)
Get a frying pan very hot, with a good does of olive oil in it.
Toss in the chili and garlic and stir quickly. Stir for 30 seconds
Toss in the Shrimp and cook them until they go pink. (If they were already pink then 2 minutes minutes max).
Take off the heat and serve in the pan.

Best served with fresh french bread, and nothing else. Well a good glass of wine!

For better results: use a heavy iron pan, it will keep the heat longer, for serving.
You can exchange the Shrimp for Scallops or use both.

Breakfast in a hurry

Of course, you could have breakfast for dinner if you want. 

I recently found several good recipes for easy to make chewy granola-style bars. Yummy any time of day, really. Certainly good to stave off starvation in the pre-dinner hour! 

Version One, adapted from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express:

Open and warm a tin of sweetened condensed milk (the 397 g size) (I poured it into a jug and microwaved it on medium for two minutes)

Mix together in a bowl:

 250 g of oats, 

125 g of seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, etc), 

100g dried fruit in small chunks, 

125 g chopped nuts (I used almonds but she says peanuts), 

75 g shredded coconut

Pour the warmed milk over top, stir well. Press into a 9x13 inch oiled pan and bake at 130C or low temperature oven for an hour. It will be quite a pale golden colour at the very edges. Cool and cut into sticky, moist, fibre-rich bar treats.

Version Two, from a Canadian Basics cookbook

Mix together in a bowl:

1 and 1/2 cups of oats

1/2 cup each flour, brown sugar

1/2 cup each of two kinds of dried fruit (I used cranberries and apricots)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Beat together in a small bowl:

1/4 cup each oil and corn syrup

1 egg

Pour the wet over the dry and stir well.

Flatten into greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 180C or 350F for 20 minutes or until golden brown (definitely darker than the first type).  Cool and slice into bars. 

A quick and easy traditional stew / fricassee

One of my loves is slow cooked Fricassee Chicken, but who has the time?
Well I have been playing around with getting this dish to a near equivalent in about 30 minutes. (When it used to take 3-4 hours of slow cooking)

You need a good dutch oven or a good deep saucepan with a tight lid. I have used both.

The other thing you need to do is CHEAT. One of the reasons this dish tastes so good is it richness due to the stock. Well you are either going to have this ready in advance (do-able) or just use purchased stock cubes or bouillon.

The trick is to heat everything up really quickly, onions, garlic and then the vegetables you want soft. Remove them, quickly seal the chicken, put everything back together, add the stock and then just add the crunchier veg near to the end.

So...
Peel and chop your garlic and onion
Fry until softening in a little bit of oil. Put lid on to keep in juices if you can. (it also reduces the amount of oil you need)
Add the veg you want to be soft at the end, or want to use to add flavour.
Heat until softened. Remove these from the heat to another dish.
Put chicken in the pan and cook on all sides until sealed.
Put the veggies back in and add enough stock (water and cube or previously made stock) to cover everything.
Add a dash of nutmeg and or mace and some herbs of choice. I use Tarragon. (The Nutmeg and mace give it a more traditional English Fricassee taste) - See Mrs Beaton's original recipe.
Turn up heat until boiling and then let it simmer for 15 minutes, with the lid on!(The longer the better)
Boil it down to the thickness of the sauce you like. (You can do this in 2 ways. Stir and reduce on a medium heat or remove all the solid and then turn up the heat and reduce the sauce more quickly.)
Take off heat. Now you can stir in some beaten egg yolk or cream if you wish to cream it up.

This can be served with Taglitelle, Mashed Potato, Fresh crusty bread,...
-enjoy

Wow it has been such a long time

Well I had almost given up on the"Great Wall deities" but somehow, they have allowed us back into to edit and see our sites. Probably no one has had a go at them lately.
I have no idea, how long this will last though.

Not published for a while..sorry

We have not published for a while.. Sorry.

Liz and I have moved to Beijing, enjoying a whole new cuisine, whilst our third writer is now back in Canada, working as a Chef - go figure. So we apologise. We will try to post more now.

Some great links now out there...
Goto to itunes and then search for the Cooks Illustrated Podcast - it is great.
Subscribe to the Cooks Illustrated weekly news it will help lots.

A perfect piece of roasted meat

OK, all you carnivores out there. Have you always wanted that perfect roast beef or pork or chicken?

Well here is what you do. Go to IKEA and buy a digital meat thermometer. It is called FANTAST. (The Canada site for Ikea is here. But just go to Ikea.com and find your country. If you don't live near an IKEA then cooking shops will also have them. http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80100406

Now even though the cooks on this site cook well, little tools to help them are always welcome. We purchased our digital meat thermometer a few weeks ago and it is just great. You set the temperature you need for the middle of the roast meat. You turn on the oven, you put the meat in the oven with the thermometer in it and the digital end out of the over and you wait.

Cooking the perfect sausage

First live in a country that makes good sausages! Presently I don't so we have to make them. We will leave the making of sausages for another day.

Sausage meat is best cooked long and slow, as it will release all the juices and seasoning from the meat as you cook. So this is an easy addition to our blog list, but an important one, as there is nothing like a well cooked sausage.

So get a good frying pan, turn your stove top on to low and put the separate sausages in the pan and WALK AWAY.

Go back every 5 minutes and turn the sausages to a different side! So it will probably take at least 20 minutes to cook a good sausage. The thicker the sausage the lower the temp. too as the meat in the middle of the sausage needs to cook too! (Oh yes and I know sausages are round and don't have sides, but it will be lying in a flat pan OK !)

Enjoy the sausage. I personally like mine with mashed potato. Now that's another recipe.

- David

Timing. How do I get everything ready at the same time?

Timing comes with a lot of practice and how well prepared you are. Chef's can cook many things at once, from a lot of practice and of course having stuff pre- prepared. Ever thought about how quickly a full plated meal only takes 10 minutes in a restaurant? Did you think they had faster stoves? No it is all down to being prepared.

A lot of food can be prepared in advance. Not too far in advance, but at least enough, for when you make dinner, the final few minutes allows you to get everything together on time.

Some easy things to get timing right.
1. Pasta can be cooked a few hours in advance and warmed in recently boiled water. (Do not let the pasta sit in water, from when you make it to when you serve it! It will turn to mush)
2. Meat can be cooked and left for 5, 10 even 15 minutes before serving it. In fact meat during cooking contracts and needs a few minutes to stand to allow the meat to relax (this will make the meat more tender!)
3. Rice can be cooked ahead of time and left for up to 30 minutes, drain off the water and put the lid back on.
4. Do all your chopping in advance. This means they are just ready to put in, when needed.
5. If you cook something right, do not wait too long to try it again, so that it sticks in your mind.

Steak and Pepper Sauce

There are lots of ways to cook steak. One of my favourites is with a rich creamy pepper sauce. Your can use black pepper or green pepper corns. This dish like the fetuccini alfredo is made even richer by the addition of brandy to the creamy sauce.
Steak is not hard to cook, again you have to decide on the way you like it. I am a blood thirsty carnivore and I love watching the blood oose out of the steak as i cut into it. You may not be! The thickness of your steak is important. The thicker the steak, the longer it will need to cook, and the lower the heat, otherwise the outside will be cooked to a crisp!

This is great served with french fries, or as used to call them "chips", before I became internationalised. I am sure you can follow the directions of the pack of french fries and cook them. (You do not need over fries to cook them in the oven though! Even old fashioned french fries, have enough oil on them to cook in the oven).


What you need:
Frying pan.
Steak - you choose. I often try to get a piece of tenderloin for this.
Salt
Pepper corns
Cream (100 ml, or 1/4 pint)
Garlic - chopped.
Brandy or sherry.
Oil


Cooking the steak: If you have never cooked steak before follow this, otherwise just cook it the way you like it and ignore this paragraph. To cook the steak, you need to have a good sharp knife. Fry it in the pan on a medium heat, turn it once every 2 minutes. After the first 4 minutes, cut into it with the knife and see how it is. Decide if this is the way you like it, if not cook for another 2 minutes and check again until you are happy. Once you have cooked steak a few times you can just tell.

Cooking the sauce: Use the same pan as the steak, let the steak sit on a warm plate. (Meat tastes better if left for a few minutes anyway) . DON'T Wash the pan - there is good flavour stuck to your pan. Turn up the heat, add the oil and chopped garlic. Cook for a minute, stirring. Add a tablespoon of brandy. Stir and cook. Add the pepper corn and stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream and cook until the sauce bubbles. Turn down the heat to low and stir and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the juices, from under the steaks and quickly stir in.

Serve with the sauce poured over the steak.

Fettucini Alfredo

This is a delicious creamy dish, that is definitely not for the people on diets! But again it is all in the sauce. I remember always ordering this dish as a kid, at an Italian restaurant my parents took me too and I could never finish it. It is extremely rich and delicious.

What you need:
Saucepan for the pasta
Saucepan or large frying pan for the sauce.
Brandy or Sherry
Garlic ,1 clove chopped.
Cream (1/2 pint , 200 ml)
You favourite long pasta, I choose fetuccini for this.
Seasoning.
Olive oil.
Lots of grated Parmesan.

What you need to do:
Cook the pasta to the way you like it. Follow the instructions on the side of the package for amounts per person and cooking instruction. Do this just in advance of making the sauce. The sauce will only take 10 minutes and if you keep the lid on the pasta, they should stay warm enough.
In a pan on a low heat add a tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped garlic clove, stir and cook for a minute until the garlic has become clearer.
Add a tablespoon of brandy or sherry and stir. (The alcohol boils off before eating -sorry! it is purely for taste.)
Add half the cream and turn the heat up. Boil the cream, stirring all the time. The cream will condense as the liquid boils off, and in the process will become sweeter.
Stir in a spoon of parmesan and then another and then a 3rd one.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Stir in and continue to reduce (boil off) the creamy sauce. (Taste it, it should be yummy!).
Stop heating the sauce, when it is twice as thick as it was originally. Add the rest of the cream and stir. Add to the noodles and stir altogether.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan. A salad and some fresh bread.

You can make this even richer by adding chopped mushrooms, when you add the garlic, but the sauce, will no longer be a pale white sauce, it will be a browner.

Real Macaroni Cheese

This is a great veggie dinner, which is great for a cold winter night or any other time. The stuff you buy in packages, is not quite the same as this! This can be made with one cheese or many cheeses. The pasta bit is easy the sauce is the problem, and the reason why lots of people just buy the ready made packaged stuff. But you can do it. The Sauce is really just cheese and milk, but thickened with flour and oil (or butter).

What you need
Saucepan for pasta
Saucepan for sauce.
Dish that can go in the oven.
Macaroni or your favourite short pasta. A good handful per person.
Cheese 300g
Milk (1/2 Pint)
Flour
Butter or oil (olive is good)
Seasoning (salt / pepper etc)
Cayenne or Paprika is you wish.

What you need to do:
You need to cook the pasta to al dente (see Spaghetti al carbonara). You can do this in advance. (If the pasta has stuck together, just pour some water over it to loosen it).
Grate the cheese so that you have a large pile of cheese.
Preheat your oven to 150 C or 300 F
In a Saucepan melt a Tablespoon of butter and then stir in a table spoon of flour, over a low heat on the stove. Stir in the flour until you have a good consistent goo!
Now add the milk slowly to the mixture stirring with a whisk. Once the goo has disolved, add the rest of the milk and stir, add a tablespoon of the grated cheese at a time until dissolved. Leave a tablespoon or more back for the top of the dish at end. The sauce will start to thicken as it heats up, it is best not to let it boil for too long and if it boils turn the heat down. (if you have a slow top - take the pan off the heat to let it cool quicker and then return it to the top).

Season your sauce to taste. Once your sauce is nice and thick and not lumpy, pour in the cooked pasta and stir them together. Pour the pasta mixture into the oven safe dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and if you want, a bit of Paprika or cayenne pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes and then eat.

To add more flavour, add some chopped garlic, as you make the goo, or finely chopped shallots or onion.

This can also be made with bacon bits as well. pre cook them and add them when the sauce is cooked.

Serve it as meal on its own, or with a salad. Or if your feeling bold as the starter.

Wine for Dinner? David's thoughts

I used to be a bit of snob with wine, thinking the majority of people did not know a lot about wine. This is because as a kid, my parents took me around France and Germany on wine holidays, whilst all my friends got to go to Disneyland or something. I am grateful now, for this choice my parents made, it has made me appreciate good wine, but here is what I think.

1. If you like it, drink it. If you like it at room temperature drink it that way, if you like it cold, drink it that way. In fact just enjoy your wine with your dinner.

2. Generally dark / rich food deserves a heavier tasting wine, otherwise you won't taste it.

3. Go out to your local wine store and buy some. If you find a good one, good back and buy 6 or 12 or more of it. And then you have something that you like to keep in reserve.

4. Never buy really expensive wine, unless YOU are going to enjoy it. Buy and drink wine you like.

5. Do not be afraid to try different wines.

6. Do not let any wine snob tell you something else! Let them ponce around telling you about its bouquet and character, whilst you just drink it.

7. A higher price does not make a wine good! Your taste is the judge of that.

Spaghetti Carbonara or Spaghetti, Eggs and Bacon

Spaghetti Carbonara or Spaghetti, Eggs and Bacon is a really quick and simple dish.

Spaghetti, I find is best cooked to "al dente", which basically means soft,yet still chewy.
Anyway Spaghetti is easy to cook, but it takes practice to know when it is just right for you, but we shall have a go anyway..

What you need:
Saucepan
Frying Pan
Spaghetti
Eggs (1 per person)
Bacon (a few rashes per person)
Olive oil or normal oil
Parmesan Cheese - optional
Salt, Pepper
Garlic / onion - optional
Oregano / basil - fresh or dried optional

What to do:
[First check the side of your spaghetti box. How long does it say to cook it for? Use this as a guide]
3/4 fill your saucepan, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and put it on a high heat on the stove to boil. (The lid on, speeds this up)
Chop the bacon into 2 to 3 cm strips. Fry the bacon in the pan, with the onion and some chopped garlic on a low heat. Don't fry the onion too dark!
When the water is boiling put the spaghetti into the saucepan. Stir it in with a table spoonful of oil. Put the lid on and let the water come to the boil again. When it does turn the stove down to allow the spaghetti to boil.
Check the Spaghetti 2 minutes before the side of the package said it would be done in. Nice? Hard? A bit too chewy? YOU DECIDE. Repeat again every 2 minutes until you think it is ready. Drain off the water and leave the spaghetti in the Saucepan.
Add the bacon to the spaghetti and season it. Then crack the eggs directly into the saucepan and stir. The eggs will cook instantly with the hot spaghetti and bacon.
Stir in the fresh chopped herbs and serve with Parmesan.

Enjoy

Risotto

A simple rice dish, that can grow into a dinner delight. THE SECRET IS IN THE STIR.

Risotto is an Italian dish, made from rice, stock and anything you have that you want in it, depending on where you are in Italy, the consistency will vary. This recipe will be a thick northern Italy based dish. Below I will give you the recipe for a basic vegetable risotto, but you can really add anything.

This is great with fresh bread and a salad. To really add flavor, get some fresh Basil and chop it up at the very end and sprinkle on it and add dried and or fresh chopped herbs (oregano, basil) when you add the veg.

Here is what you need:

Saucepan, with a lid
Oil - oilve is good, but normal cooking oil will suffice
Rice (1 cup per person if main meal, 1/2 a cup if a starter) - now if you want to be fancy go and buy Risotto rice, but otherwise normal rice works fine.
Water
Stock cube or better still bouillon
Fresh vegetables, cut into small pieces, about 2cm in length. (Thicker veg takes longer).
Parmesan cheese - again better if a block, but pre-grated is fine.
Salt, Pepper.

Here is what to do:
Make some stock. To a stock cube just add a pint / 500ml or very hot water.
Turn on the stove top.
Put you rice into the saucepan with a table spoon of oil. Gently heat the rice.
Pour enough stock over the rice to cover it and stir.
Let it simmer. Stir
As the stock disappears, keep adding a bit more stock. Stir
Keep stirring.
[The rice will soak up the stock and get thicker].
After about 10 minutes, test a tiny bit of rice. If it is still hard, but chewy, then add the vegetables.
Otherwise re-test every 2 minutes until chewy but hard.
Stir. Put the lid on for 4 minutes.
Take of lid stir, until the thickness of the Risotto is too your liking.
Turn off heat.
Stir in a spoonful of grated Parmesan.
Season to taste. (Stock cubes have a lot of salt in them! So taste before seasoning)

Eat it.