What's eating Richard Armitage?
The subject of food is one a little too dear to my heart (there's being voluptuous and then there's just being fat, aaight? :P), and - hooray! - there seems to be some of this in Dear Richard too. After all, was he not the one who mentioned fantasising about kissing Nigella Lawson after she's eaten some of her sumptuous chocolate cake? To that, I say: Hey Mister! I make wicked brownies! *polite cough* So today, the topic is going to be food!
Our man's also been on telly with another Richard, making a Thai green curry with Myleene Klass in the way, he's been known to make smiley faces out of chunks of stilton and he's also mentioned how he's fixated on a certain dish from Jamie Oliver - one which I have actually tried making! (How it went will be revealed later today.)
They say the way to man's heart is through his stomach. The stomach of Our Richard has microwave scrambled eggs and porridge. The latter, yes, that's what I do too. The first - meh, prefer it in a classic pan. And not scrambled. I bet he grew up with Sunday roasts and that when he comes home to his parents, there's a nice, traditional Sunday roast on the table. And he probably helps peeling the potatoes too, swoon.
Actually, yes. Found a quote!
That quote warms the cockles of my heart. My mum has always been the same, and I'm like that too. The best and healthiest meals are made from scratch at home, because you can control everything that goes in the dish. It's a bonus if you know how to cook, although I don't think you need to be a brilliant cook to make some tasty dishes at home. If you don't know how to make something, a cookbook is normally quite useful.
There are fancy-schmancy cookbooks with food you wouldn't normally eat (such as The Masterchef Cookbook), but plenty of cookbooks are full of basics, such as how to make pancakes, boil an egg, cook a roast and so on. Really very useful, so if you haven't got yourself a good, basic cook book, invest in one.
Ready meals are never as nice as if you had made them yourself, and even though the ingredients are listed on the back, you don't have any control over what's gone in it, be it salt, fat, allergens or additives. By cooking food yourself, you can cater for all dietary reqirements, such as low salt or low fat. Normally, if you eat out, food will be cooked in a lot of fat, and on cooking shows on TV, chefs are obsessed with drizzling olive oil over everything. If you're trying to lose weight, it's not exactly going to help your cause. We've noticed that before, we used to have lots of takeaways, and we both put on weight. Now, because we've joined a healthy eating "club", we've started cooking at home again, and nine weeks in, I've dropped around 10 kg / 20 lbs. The thing is, we both actually really enjoy cooking, so it's not a question of "can't cook, won't cook" - more like "can't be bothered to cook tonight, let's order a takeaway". It doesn't help that we're both big fans of Chinese, Thai and Indian food either, so takeaways are not just an easy option, they're a darn tasty one too!
Richard (trying to bring the post back from a healthy cooking rant) hasn't said much about takeaways himself, but he seems to be more the one to cook for himself anyway. Well, there is of course the comment about fancying sitting on a lazy Saturday afternoon with some mates, watching rugby on the telly and eating pizza, drinking beer. Perhaps he was talking about home-made pizza. ;)
This post is part of FanstRAvaganza 2, a Richard Armitage fanblogging event running 14-21 March 2011. See all FanstRAvaganza posts from this blog.
This year's other participants: An RA viewer's perspective from 33°0'S of the equator, Avalon's Blog, CDoart, Confessions of a Watcher, From the Quill Tip, Me + Richard, Mesmered's Blog, Nevermind, Mr. Armitage, Phylly's Faves, RA Frenzy, The RA Fan Blog, RA Vids & Graphics, The Spooks Fan Blog, and White Rose Writing.
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| Yeah, I could've posted a piccy of a chocolate cake here, but decided Nigella is better for our collective waistlines. Unless we eat her, but then that would be rather disturbed. |
Our man's also been on telly with another Richard, making a Thai green curry with Myleene Klass in the way, he's been known to make smiley faces out of chunks of stilton and he's also mentioned how he's fixated on a certain dish from Jamie Oliver - one which I have actually tried making! (How it went will be revealed later today.)
They say the way to man's heart is through his stomach. The stomach of Our Richard has microwave scrambled eggs and porridge. The latter, yes, that's what I do too. The first - meh, prefer it in a classic pan. And not scrambled. I bet he grew up with Sunday roasts and that when he comes home to his parents, there's a nice, traditional Sunday roast on the table. And he probably helps peeling the potatoes too, swoon.
Actually, yes. Found a quote!
I try and eat as healthily as possible. A bit of fish, fresh vegetables ... It's how I was brought up. Growing up in Leicester, my brother and I used to whinge about not having any of the ready-made dinners that came onto the market in the 1970s. But Mum's always hated anything processed. And now I'm the same, so when I go home I look forward to her cooking. [Sunday Times]
That quote warms the cockles of my heart. My mum has always been the same, and I'm like that too. The best and healthiest meals are made from scratch at home, because you can control everything that goes in the dish. It's a bonus if you know how to cook, although I don't think you need to be a brilliant cook to make some tasty dishes at home. If you don't know how to make something, a cookbook is normally quite useful.
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| This is the one I grew up with at home |
There are fancy-schmancy cookbooks with food you wouldn't normally eat (such as The Masterchef Cookbook), but plenty of cookbooks are full of basics, such as how to make pancakes, boil an egg, cook a roast and so on. Really very useful, so if you haven't got yourself a good, basic cook book, invest in one.
Ready meals are never as nice as if you had made them yourself, and even though the ingredients are listed on the back, you don't have any control over what's gone in it, be it salt, fat, allergens or additives. By cooking food yourself, you can cater for all dietary reqirements, such as low salt or low fat. Normally, if you eat out, food will be cooked in a lot of fat, and on cooking shows on TV, chefs are obsessed with drizzling olive oil over everything. If you're trying to lose weight, it's not exactly going to help your cause. We've noticed that before, we used to have lots of takeaways, and we both put on weight. Now, because we've joined a healthy eating "club", we've started cooking at home again, and nine weeks in, I've dropped around 10 kg / 20 lbs. The thing is, we both actually really enjoy cooking, so it's not a question of "can't cook, won't cook" - more like "can't be bothered to cook tonight, let's order a takeaway". It doesn't help that we're both big fans of Chinese, Thai and Indian food either, so takeaways are not just an easy option, they're a darn tasty one too!
Richard (trying to bring the post back from a healthy cooking rant) hasn't said much about takeaways himself, but he seems to be more the one to cook for himself anyway. Well, there is of course the comment about fancying sitting on a lazy Saturday afternoon with some mates, watching rugby on the telly and eating pizza, drinking beer. Perhaps he was talking about home-made pizza. ;)
This year's other participants: An RA viewer's perspective from 33°0'S of the equator, Avalon's Blog, CDoart, Confessions of a Watcher, From the Quill Tip, Me + Richard, Mesmered's Blog, Nevermind, Mr. Armitage, Phylly's Faves, RA Frenzy, The RA Fan Blog, RA Vids & Graphics, The Spooks Fan Blog, and White Rose Writing.
Congratulations on losing 10kgs!! I'm up to 6kg but it tends to fluctuate by about 300gms :(
ReplyDeleteI remember RA saying he liked sushi in an old interview. I thought that he may have been a vegetarian buddhist when I first started watching his work. The beer and pizza comment put an end to that image.....lol.
Congrats on losing 6 kg! That's very good. Keep going and good luck! :D
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, he does have that sort of look about him in the interview on the N&S DVD. How you can "look" Buddhist, I don't know. Not like they have to walk around in kaftans and sandals or something! :) Sushi is nice as well, and heh, considerably healthier than a pizza!
Congratulations to everyone on losing weight. I've struggled with my weight all my life, and I know how difficult it really is.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that Richard loves good healthy food, but can still fall of the wagon once in a while to have beer and pizza. Something very down-to-earth about it.
I have microwave porridge (or oatmeal as we call it) every morning, and now whenever I'm making it for breakfast I think of Richard. He can chop coriander for me any time he wants :)
This post has created "stirrings" within...hanging out eating beer & pizza watching rugby on TV *Squeee*
ReplyDeleteGeeeeez, what an incredible take on RA! I never would have thought of something actually original! LOL
ReplyDeleteI love to cook and I love food, and reading recipes is my porn. There is no question in my mind (and thanks for reminding me) that he's into food porn too. Terrific post.
BTW, it turns out he frequents an organic butcher in his neck of the woods. And, he waits his turn!
Just loved the post!
Musa: The best eating practice is really "everything in moderation". And he does work out a lot as well, so he can "afford" a pizza every now and again. :) Been struggling with weight since I was about 7. Used to be stable on ca 10 kg overweight for many years, but then I moved to college and that added another 10 or so, and then to the UK, which added even more ... :/ So now, looking back ten years, I think "hey, I used to be skinny! ... In comparison!" Heh.
ReplyDeletetyme_4_t: You bring the beer, I'll bring the pizza, and then we can rugby tackle RA on the sofa together. Deal? ;D
pi: Thank you. :) (I'm already considering spending all of F3 next year on writing about RA and food. *giggles*) Both the hubby and myself love to watch cooking shows and learning new things - and if someone's cooking something particularly nice, I seem to have the catchphrase now of "Can we keep him/her?" (said in a childish pleading voice as well, of course!) :)
With food porn, well there is Nigella who is always so seductive she's almost a parody of herself. My favourite for making food sexy is Nigel Slater. The way he talks about the food he cooks is damn near erotic!
And RA frequenting an organic butcher (would've been surprised if he didn't wait his turn!) is excellent news. :) Cockles are warmed yet again! I went off Greg Wallace (bald guy on Masterchef) completely when he slated organic produce a while back. He said it's just a way to get more money, because there's nothing to proove it's more nutritious and what have you. THAT'S NOT THE POINT and HE OF ALL PEOPLE should bloody KNOW! Bah! (I'll let him get away with fruit & veg, but with meat, I'm offended. Organic standards are way ahead when it comes to animal welfare.)
There is something so sexy about a man who can cook for himself...especially a man who also happens to be Richard Armitage. *gaspdroolTHUD*
ReplyDeleteAnd having just read your latest post, I think it wouldn't hurt to assume that this man CAN do, well, pretty much everything! Cello, flute, dance, sing, SMOULDER. I say clone him!!
myownmania: Yeah! 1x RA for everyone! :D
ReplyDeleteAh! Food and RA -- 2 of my biggest obsessions! Very tasty post!
ReplyDeleteI think now I must try porridge once. I never had any and to make it in the microwave just is not selfexplanatory to me. Does it bind correctly? Do you have a recipe or a tip for that?
ReplyDeletePhylly: Thanks - same here, although I believe RA is tastier. ;)
ReplyDeleteCDoart: Yes, it binds fine, especially if you use a finer ground oatmeal. I think we used to make it with one measure oatmeal to two measures water at home, with a pinch of salt. The English call it "the Scottish way", because they just make it with milk and think the Scottish/Swedish way to make it is weird. For the microwave, I use a sachet of Quaker Oats, so you rip it open, pour the (finer ground) oats into a bowl (salt pinch optional), and fill the sachet with water or milk to the line, add it to the bowl and then microwave for a couple of minutes. You might have something similar where you are, but either way, the one measure oats to two measures water works just as well. Do you use deciliter as a measurement? (Brits look at me blankly until I say "it's 100 ml".) If so, I'd use 1 dl oats to 2 dl of water, but it depends on how hungry you are.) :)
Thank you very much for this recipe, Traxy!
ReplyDeleteI just did try it, though I could not decide between the English and the Scottish way and used half milk and half water. For me, I must admit, salt is not optional but a 'must', otherwise it would just taste like the past people in former times used as glue. Bahhh...
(I know, as I had problems with my stomach once and had to eat a kind of oatmeal soup only oatmeal and water for two weeks. When I can avoid it, never again!)
We indeed have deciliter and 'Dekagramm', though it is only in use in Austria any longer. And you are right, we even have a variation of porridge, "Haferbrei". I must admit, we are a bit on the English side with milk, though we add sugar. With sugar always a bit salt is needed to enhance the sweetness.
You see, we have quite a sweet tooth here in the south and so I just could not resist and added "Marmelade" (= jam) to my porridge / oatmeal.
Thank you very much for the recipe. It really did work wonderfully in the microwave. I must repeat that and will always think of you and RA while doing it ;o)
Still catching up on Fanstra. Love this. Have we died and gone to heaven that Richard likes to cook and admits liking to eat?
ReplyDeleteI'm another one who's mother hated anything processed. Actually, my mother was Martha Stewart's sister, so when she cooked, it had to be completely natural foods, and not just natural but from certain places, i.e., if she used vanilla extract, it had to be made from vanilla beans from Madagascar and grown on the South side of the tree. ;-)
CDoart: Always used to have some jam with my porridge growing up! It's only in later years that I've started to have it without. I agree about the salt - my co-workers look at me like I'm crazy when I add a pinch of salt to the bowl but without it, it would be horrible!
ReplyDeleteRAFrenzy: Hahaha, yeah, don't think I'm quite THAT extreme. If it's an extract, sure, it should be with real vanilla beans, but that's about as far as I'd go. ;) (Yes I know you didn't mean it literally!)
That's the thing that I find crazy about the USA, though. Here, we're very much against artificial additives and that sort of thing. In the US, no one seems to really care. Looking at a Hershey's Nutrageous bar a while back (which we've quite liked before, because we love peanuts and they're VERY peanutty), the ingredients list really put me off eating them more times, simply because it didn't exactly read "peanuts, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, milk" or something like that, but rather a lot of chemical names and what have you. I showed it to the hubby, and we exchanged glances and said "right, won't be having them again!" :/