A poor workman blames his tools, this one blames her greed

I'm no food photographer, as you'll soon be able to tell. In preparing to write this, I scoured the Internet for advice about how to have the most exciting, interesting and inspiring food blog possible. This is none of those things, and for that I am profoundly sorry. One thing that is completely out of the realm of my ability, however, is to take pretty pictures of food, or, indeed, have any success in food styling whatsoever. I could try to pass on the blame here, and claim it's because I don't have a decent camera (at the moment I'm using my iPhone) or that the light in my kitchen is rubbish, or that I don't have any attractive props. The reality is, though, that after cooking a delicious (if I do say so myself) meal, and having tasted and smelt it all through that time, all I really want to do is get down and eat it as quickly as possible. I don't have the presence of mind to arrange a sprinkling of herbs, or angle the meat precisely. I've been cooking, I'm hungry!

This recipe is one I had my eye on for a while. It's adapted from BBC Good Food, which is my go to place for easy weekday recipes, as well as instructions on how to make more basic things, such as steak and chips (I'm a nervous cook). It's really quick, and rather tasty, perfect for a weekday night. However, I used Blue Dragon Thai Red Curry paste, which was a mistake. They seem to have changed their pastes recently, and they are much wetter, and less... paste-y. When I opened this one it smelt worryingly like a cheap jar of red pesto, and the flavour was similar, with barely a a kick of heat at the end. More of a tap, really. I had to add a lot of spices to make this interesting. I'm sure what I used wasn't particularly authentic, but it did the job. If I were to make it again, I'd definitely try to source a decent Thai paste, or, perhaps in the future when I'm more confident, attempt to make it myself. Also, I'd use full fat coconut milk next time. ANYWAY enough self defence and complaining, here's what I did.

The recipe calls for 500g salmon, but salmon is expensive, and I was only cooking for two, so I used 220g and bulked it up with veg. There was plenty, with enough leftovers for a small post-pub snack and lunch the next day. I think broccoli would work with this as well, and would add even more iron, which can only be a good thing.

Red Thai Salmon Curry

Ingredients:

Thai red curry paste(I had to use about 4 desert spoons, because it was so bland, but I also have a high tolerance for heat)
1 sliced onion (I also threw in 1/4 red onion that was sitting forlornly in my fridge)
1 red pepper
1 tin of (reduced fat, if you like) coconut milk
The juice of 1 lime
A splash of fish sauce
Cumin powder
Garam masala
Coriander powder (as much spices as you feel like, keep tasting. I used just under a teaspoon of each, I'd say, though I wasn't particularly precise)
A 300g packet of green beans
2 salmon fillets
2 large handfuls of spinach
A few cherry tomatoes

Cooking away

Heat a little bit of oil in the pan (I'm not sure how necessary the oil was, but I used it anyway) and then add the paste and fry for a couple of minutes. 

Add the onion and the pepper and cook over a low heat until they're softened. 

Pour in the coconut milk, lime juice, spices, mix and bring to the boil for a minute.

At this point in the recipe, I was still waiting for my companion to arrive, so I left it on a low heat until he did, so as not to over cook the fish. I don't think this did any harm, and it allowed the flavours to develop nicely.

Add the salmon, the green beans and the tomatoes, and cook for five minutes, until the salmon is nice and flake-y.

Throw in the spinach leaves, mixing until they wilt.

Sprinkle some decorative coriander (or basil, like me) on top

Serve with rice that is far less overcooked than mine.

And that's it! My first (albeit simple) recipe done. I hope I haven't bored you to tears/made you retch/outraged you somehow.

A brief history

I never learned to cook. I did Home Economics for a while in school, but generally used the time to doodle the name of my crush in the margins of my books. During my Junior Cert exam, I managed to set a tea towel on fire. The examiner came to investigate, but I blamed some construction work outside, and got away with it. Imagine failing Junior Cert Home Economics? I'd be humiliated. I didn't progress to Leaving Cert level.

It's not that I avoided cooking after that, I just never took an interest. I could make a rasher sandwich, I could scramble some eggs, and I lived with my parents. Why bother?

I moved out at the age of 22, armed with two student cookbooks and a new, hungry, boyfriend I was eager to impress. It was then that I discovered that food could be made more delicious by adding lots of spices, and lots of fats. I became adept at making simple dishes that contained lots of cheese, curries and chili con carne.

Three years later, I'm still not particularly skilled, but I do my best. My kitchen equipment consists of some cheap pots and pans, one decent knife, a chopping board and, my pride and joy, the cast iron griddle pan. This represents the first piece of 'real' cookware I have owned, and using it is a treat (although cleaning it isn't).

Isn't it beautiful?

I enjoy cooking an awful lot these days, and am determined to get better at it. I don't expect to be rustling up gourmet meals this time next week, but it would be nice to be able to do something more impressive than bangers and mash (though I am quite good at that, and it will most likely feature soon).