Prawn Salad

I am not a great fan of cold food especially cold prawns but when my sister made this salad to compliment a dinner dish I was preparing, I fell in love. I always have it with something hot though.

My sister is a lawyer and as with most lawyers I know, she hates Mathematics, anything scientific and everyone knows and forgives her for this. Even after she failed Mathematics in high school, my parents laughed and made a joke of it. Imagine if I had failed math like that! Trouble! I would not have heard the last of it.  Can you imagine the speech I would have been given? “As the first born in this family you have to set good example….” Oh the curse of first-born. Argh! Anyway she always turns to me for help with things like computers, the Internet or any form of technology so when ever I turn to her for help in this particular area she makes a big show of it. I once asked her how she loaded videos on Facebook, oh gosh how I regretted it! She called everyone to tell then how the student had become the master. Joker. So you can imagine how smug she felt when she showed me how to make the prawn salad, I didn’t hear the last of it! I know it's all love though.

Layered Prawn Salad

Ingredients:

½ cup of cooked and peeled small prawns

½ cup of shredded crab sticks

½ cup of sweetcorn

2 hard-boiled eggs.

4 tablespoons of Mayonnaise

1 Knorr cube

To get a layered look take an empty can that used to contain plum tomatoes and open both ends, wash thoroughly. I usually rinse the prawns with very hot water and then mix the cube of Knorr in. Add 1 tablespoon of Mayonnaise in each of the cups that contain the prawns, crab-sticks, sweet corn and eggs. You don’t have to use a 1-tablespoon, use as much or as little as you want.

Place the hollow can in the centre of a large plate and place a tablespoon of the crab-sticks mixture in the can. Using the spoon to smooth over the mixture in the can. Do this for all mixtures until you have placed all the ingredients through the can.  Cross your fingers and say a silent prayer as you remove the can slowly off the plate.

P.S. I didn’t mix the ingredients with Mayonnaise separately. What I tried to do was include the Mayonnaise as a layer as well but alas the arrangement collapsed. That’s why I suggested adding Mayonnaise to the ingredients to sort of glue them together and that’s why my picture doesn’t look like what I have described!

Why am I working on a Sunday? Why?

So I have loads of work, like proper work. You know, the one that pays for all the ingredients, food and gas bills. But I couldn't bring myself to do any of it. It's Sunday for crying out loud! And it's really, really cold. All I want to do is sleep. So what did I do instead? I cooked and cleaned and cooked some more. What do I tell my boss when she asks if I have finished my report?

Anyway I baked savoury and sweet scones and crumpet soaked in eggs. I usually use self-raising flour for my scones but today I had to use plain flour and baking powder. When I opened my bag of self raising flour I found some insects inside. Let me point out that this bag was brand new and sealed. Anyone that knows me well knows how much I detest insects, I get panic attacks when I see them. My sister always asks how I coped in boarding school. Our school was in the middle of a forest with all sort of wild life and wild insects! With teary eyes I called Chido to tell her what I had found and her question was "what were you doing in Asda?" Hisssss! I am heading there tomorrow to demand a refund and a million pound compensation for the trauma they put me through!

If you have only plain flour, self-raising flour can be achieved by adding 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every 250 grams of plain flour. For my savoury scones, I added cheese to the mixture and left out the sugar. In a bowl, I whisked 2 eggs, 3 table spoons of milk, finely chopped onions and tomatoes. I seasoned with mixed spices and salt to taste. I had bought some crumpets earlier which I then soaked in the egg mixture and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.

After cooking and cleaning you would think I would try to do some work. I sent out this message "Brunch at mine!" to a few church going friends, knowing they would be hungry after the service. I pity myself!

P.S. - All photographs taken by me unless otherwise stated