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Meals

Part III cooking

Read the next entry from the diary and the menu that follows. Note down all that you think needs to be done in order to serve the meal. Then read the list of things to be done and amend or complete your notes.

The proof that cooking isn't for me: a further extract from the diary of a person who is about to go out to work.

After several weeks of Chicken Chow Mein for dinner, I decided that things had gone far enough. After all, there couldn't be that much to preparing a simple four-course meal once a day. We sat down together to plan a menu, then a programme of attack, adding a theatrical flavour for extra spice.

Our first menu:

Asparagus soup - for starter

Roast Chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas - main dish

Peach Flan - for dessert

Act One

scrub asparagus stems

strip away the base

cut out woody parts

scale the fish,

bone and fillet it

cut off head and tail

peel and wash potatoes

top and tail carrots

shell peas

thaw frozen chicken

skin peaches and remove stones

Act Two

chop up asparagus or shred it

измельчать; шинковать

chop up разрубать; крошить

place fish on greased foil

slice potatoes

резать ломтиками или слоями, нарезать;

dice carrots

нарезать в форме кубиков

crack two eggs for the flan

открытый пирог (с начинкой из фруктов, сыра, грибов и т. п.)

separate them

Act Three

scald marrow bones for stock

обваривать, ошпаривать, обжигать

крепкий бульон из костей

brown them in oven

put in large pan; add other ingredients

bring to boil and simmer to extract juices

strain through sieve or muslin

brush fish with melted butter

stuff the chicken

cover the breast with bacon rashers

season and rub with lemon juice

cook in middle of pre-heated oven

sift flour and salt into bowl for pastry

cut up butter, rub into flour, mix or blend

add water, sprinkling evenly over surface

beat egg-whites and fold them into mixture

добавлять какой-л. ингредиент, медленно вливая его и помешивая ложкой

knead gently, then chill for 30 minutes

а) замешивать, месить (тесто, глину) б) смешивать до получения однородной массы

Act Four

pour stock over asparagus and boil

allow to bubble for an hour, stirring regularly

dress the fish украшать, разукрашивать

свежевать, разделывать (тушу)

приготовить (для еды) , приправлять (еду)

place in hot oven

steam vegetables

baste the chicken

сбрызгивать жиром, поливать жиром (мясо во время приготовления)

roll out pastry

bake in oven

whip or whisk cream for topping

Act Five

warm the plates

skim the soup to remove fat, etc.

garnish the fish

coat with pre-prepared sauce

drain vegetables

make gravy from stock

carve meat

grate nutmeg over flan

leave to cool

Finale

serve

Epilogue

freeze or ice leftovers

The next day I read the plan of action ... and went out to find a job. Chicken Chow Mein is OK, even though it has this rather strange after-taste.

Read the list of foodstuffs and the list of verbs. Note down what you can do to each of the foodstuffs by listing the appropriate verbs. Then take each verb and say which of the foodstuffs it can be used with.

wash

mince

knead

sift/sieve chip

grate

whip

stir

carve

scale

bone

stuff

spread

slice

mash

skewer

насаживать на вертел, шампур

string

scrape

grind

shred

eggs

potatoes

fish

cream

dough

vegetables

meat

flour

peel

skin

shell

pluck

dice

beat

chop

crush

crack

squeeze

sprinkle

scramble

whisk

snip

drain/strain mix/blend

roll (out)

dip smother