August 30th, 2007

I received this lovely award from Fiona over at The Cottage Smallholder Thanks Fiona!!! And if I could I would award it right back to her for being so Nice!!!!
I guess I have to pass it along too so I would like to pass it along to Cynthia at Tastes Like Home For all the nice comments she leaves me and others.
And also to Patricia at Technicolor Kitchen - English version for being so nice in not doing one blog but two!!! One in English for us that cannot speak Portugese and for being so nice too!!!
If I could I think I would give this award to everyone that visits here as you all have been so nice and leave lovely comments.

Sad isn't it!!!!

With it just being Hubby, myself and the cats, sometimes I get to have my lunch in front of the computer. I opted for a ploughmans on this occasion. Which basically is bread and cheese with a bit of fruit and veg and usually pickled onions and some Branston pickles. I wanted to have it with my own pickles this time. Now for some strange reason pickles don't go overly well with wine. We do eat most of our evening meals down stairs though at the kitchen table. Usually with the telly on and more than not watching a cooking show.

I felt like having a curry.
Sometimes you just get hungry for something and since we have been more or less stuck at home with Brian's shingles we haven't been out for an Indian curry in ages. So I thought I would make one at home.
First rub salt and Paprika all over your chicken. I used three skinned chicken thighs.
Next in a food processor blend together 1/2 cup water, 1 roughly chopped onion, 5 to 6 cloves of garlic,1 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped, 1 tsp ground tumeric, 2 tablespoons of garam masala, 1 tablespoon groupnd coriander(cilantro), 2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder to a smooth paste. Fry your paste in 3 tablespoons of oil for about 10 minutes stirring often.
Add 2 cups of chickenstock and cook for 5 minutes.

Then mix in 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 1/2 cup natural plain yogurt and mix well. Bring just to the boil and then take off the heat. I only used 1/2 the mixture for the chicken the other half I used to make a vegetable curry...... Rub this mix all over the chicken. I also cut three slits into the chicken down to the bone to help it to cook more evenly and to soak up more of the flavour. Cover with foil and bake at 200 C for 20 minutes. Then reduce heat to 180 and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and has browned.

To the other 1/2 of mix I started off with some chopped onion in a frying pan and a bit of oil. Fry just till they turn brown. Then add two roughly chopped potatoes and the head of 1 cauliflower broken into florets. Add the reserved 1/2 of curry sauce and 1 pkt of cocoanut cream. To this I added about 6 broken cardamon seeds and bring to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are tender.... And then add in some frozen peas and bring back to a simmer. (I had to add some mixed veg as I was out of frozen peas). That is what cooking is about sometimes improvising.

I cooked up some basmati rice.... Place in the serving dish.

And top with the vegetable curry and then the chicken thighs.

And there you go a very easy curry for two and then leftovers for breakfast the next day for me!! YUM!!!

Quick British Summer is finally here!!!
Well this past weekend we finally saw a bit of summer!!! And Brian was finally feeling up to having a BBQ. So out comes our little weber grill and the charcoal. I can't remember if it was last year or the year before we discovered the instant light bags of charcoal!! We have had pretty good luck with these. So on the grill goes a bag ready to be lit when I give the word. So we set up the patio table and get out the umbrella and Brian sits with a book and a glass of wine while I whiz around the kitchen preparing for a long awaited summer feast.
First I get the steaks marinating. Two sirloins. You must have fat with your steaks in order to have flavour, you just don't have to eat the extra fat around the steak. Cut it off afterwards and leave it. Anyway take two nice steaks.... Place in a bowl with a good splash of olive oil and red wine. Some chopped up garlic and some chopped dried oregano and thyme. I sometimes add chopped fresh rosemary too. Let them marinade turning ever so often while you prepare the other dishes.

Next was the veggies. Here take a double piece of heavy duty foil and in the centre put a good sloosh of olive oil. Then top with sliced potatoes, chopped onion, sliced and chopped red pepper and some fresh herbs and garlic chopped. Mix together and make sure they are coated in a bit of the oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Then fold up on two sides to make like a pocket. Right before sealing the third side add a sloosh of white wine and seal. Packet ready for the BBQ.

Next was the salad. I took some fresh baby spinach leaves and placed in a bowl, added some chopped red onion, thin slices of red pepper, some sliced strawberries, crumbled feta cheese and some chopped walnut halves. And then made a nice creamy honey mustard vinagrette to go with it.

Told Brian we were ready so he lights the bbq!!

One final preparation is I take some onions and cut into thirds widthwise and drizzle with some olive oil. Brian is keeping a close eye on the barbie for me.

Oh almost forgot I made a bit of a corn salad to go with the bbq too..... Take some sweet corn, chopped onion, chopped red pepper and some chopped parsely, toss with a tarragon vinegrette.
Once your fire is ready put on the packet of veg and cook for a good 1/2 hour turning frequently. Then the steaks go on for about 1 to 3 minutes per side depends on the heat of the fire, the thickness of the steaks and how you like them. Cook the onion slices with the steaks.

Pickles and some beet root to round it all off.

And now feast time!!! Served a nice bourdeux with the meal and a nice cold crisp sauvignon blanc while watching the fire start and the veggies cook.

Brian and I both enjoyed the steaks!!! Jingles did too!!!

Jingles asking for more.
Well a feast isn't complete without a dessert. I had some lovely vanilla ice cream in the freezer and thought I had always wanted to try the grilled bananas I have seen others do on the telly. So here was my chance. Take a piece of foil. I used the outside piece from the veggies(a bit of recycling) and put your banana inside this. Cut a slit in the banana and spread apart and fill with some chocolate chips. Wrap tightly in the foil. And put on the grill for about 10 to 15 minutes turning a few times.

This was gorgeous!!!!!!! The hot custardy bananas went well with the cool vanilla ice cream!!

The next day we had another bbq!! This time with homemade potato salad and bake beans.

Take a large can of bake beans or two small cans place in a baking dish. Add a good slug of ketchup, about a tablespoon of prepared mustard(your choice I used hot dog mustard) 1/2 chopped onion or more, about 1 to 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar and since I have recently found smoked paprika about 2 teaspoons of this. Mix well and then cover and microwave for about 5 minutes on high. Remove from microwave and place in a 180 C oven uncovered for about 1/2 hour. Can add crisp fried bacon or some chunks of ham if you like and have some around. Great served cold the next day on sandwiches.

Served up with grilled hamburgers, sausages and hot dogs on homemade buns.

And Yes Jingles cleaned his plate again!!!

Cannelloni
Patricia over at Technicolor Kitchen in English Cooked up some lovely looking Herb Ricotta Cannelloni the other day. And they just looked sooooooooo yummy I wanted to have a go. So I sorta followed her recipe, but wanted meat in mine. So I took a pack of lamb mince and fried it off with a finely chopped onion, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, about 2 tsp of oregano, a good scraping of fresh nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Once that was fried up and drained I added 1/2 packet of fresh baby spinach and fried until it was wilted down. Put this into a bowl and added about 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs and 1 container of riccota cheese, some freshly grated parmesan and about 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese.

Mixed it all up with about 2 tablespoons of tomato puree.

Take your fresh lasagne sheets and soak in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then on a clean tea towl dry them off on both sides.

And with two spoons put your lamb mixture down one edge like so.

Then roll up like so...

Place into a baking dish that has first been oiled and with a little tomato sauce covering the base.

Until you have as many as you can fit into the dish. Mine made enough for 6 cannelloni.

cover with sauce and bake at 180 C for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Take out of the oven and cover with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and put back in for another 10 miutes until browned.


Thanks Patricia the cannelloni was really delicious and I will definately be making this again. Served with a fresh salad and crusty bread.

June 14th 2007

Fingers crossed the New cooker/stove should be on its way here next Wednesday!! We went into town last Tuesday and bought it. And I think all in all I did well, as this is a very very much better one than the one from the horrible shop!!!! It has a Wok burner and a super dooper grill that heats up in 15 seconds and a fan oven that has different settings for different foods...... one for cakes, one for breads, roast meats, chicken, fish and even one for letting dough rise!!! I really can't wait for it to get here. This is the one we bought.... Cannon
Brian had treated me to lunch on Tuesday so we weren't too hungry after getting home. And I did so want to use my ceps that I got at Borough Market. I think they also go by the name of Porchini mushrooms. I have never had these before and I think we will have them again if we can find them. Our local Sainsbury doesn't carry these.
Anyway this is how I prepared them. First I sliced them length ways in to ummm about 1/4 inch slices.

And then sauteed them in some butter (yes, I know not good for the diet, but they were special!!) Added a finely chopped clove of garlic, and a touch of brandy. Then I added some double cream, some fresh oregano and thyme leaves and a good dollop of light cream cheese(trying to not go overboard with the calories.) Then I toasted some slices of my homemade Tomato Bread under the grill. Served it on the bread and topped with some freshly grated parmesan and a sprig of fresh basil. They were very nice and I will definately be buying them again when I see them. They are a very very meaty mushroom and would be excellent grilled and then topped with some stilton and grilled onion to make a veggie sandwich. YUM!!!!


Sun-Dried Tomato Bread
I like the looks of this bread and it toasts up lovely, but I think I maybe improving on the flavour of the recipe just a tad....Possibly adding some dried oregano and basil and minced garlic to the dough. Oh, maybe some fennel seeds too!! But here is the recipe I started with...

350g strong plain flour( I used 250 white bread flour and 100g spelt wholegrain flour)
1tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon caster sugar
1 packet dried yeast
200 ml warm milk
2 to 3 Tablespoons tomato puree
5 Tablespoons olive oil
(I would add some dried herbs too and maybe some garlic)
I put all this into my bread maker putting the liquid ingredients on the bottom as my maker calls for it. I used the dough only setting.
Once it is done,Knock the dough back and then I then kneaded in a little flour along with 35g chopped sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil. You can use the oil from the tomatoes instead of the olive oil)and 1/2 of a chopped onion. I might also increase these amounts on the next loaves. Another addition would be olives either black or green would taste lovely. I added fresh oregano leaves, but they weren't strong enough. Knead till well blended and shape into two round loaves. Place on an oiled baking sheet and cover with a dish towel and let raise for 45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Can be eaten warm or toasted and lovely with mozzarella grilled on it.

I have been in a baking mood lately, guess it could well be the impending arrival of the new cooker/stove that has me in the baking mood. My Blogging friend Wellunderstood from the Checkered Napkin blog made some lovely looking Blueberry muffins and I wanted to try the recipe with my new spelt flour.... So here is the results....

I used her recipe which can be found on her blog....Blueberry Muffins For the folks using metric I used 42g. butter, 56g granulated sugar and 250g flour and 250ml milk, but follow the rest of the ingredients that she has listed. The blueberries I used a punnet, but a mug full would work. And for the flour I used my spelt wholemeal flour. If you are interested in the benefits of spelt you can visit this website.Dovesfarm flour and this one that I purchased my flour from at the market stall Sharphampark. The muffins were really tasty and nutty. I think I may cut the flour measurement in half and then add the equal amount of corn meal (or in the UK use Polenta).

For supper last night I was hoping to grill outside on the BBQ, but Brian was too tired. So I cooked inside instead... But I did the sweet corn like I would on the BBQ. Wash your ears of corn and remove all the silks. Then place on a sheet of aluminum or is it aluminium foil. Then add what ever fresh herbs you have on hand.. and either some olive oil or a small knob of butter. Wrap up tight and either put on the BBQ or bake in the oven at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes.

I also cooked some asparagus that we got at the market and I wanted to try them with the sunblushed tomatoes again.... (I did buy a rather large tub of the tomatoes and they are yummy!!!)

What I did was to sautee the asparagus in a small bit of butter(Yeah, I know but if you are going to use fat, use the real stuff!)Then once they were close to being done I added some of the chopped sunblushed tomatoes and added some fresh lemon juice. And again it tasted really yummy!!!!!

Then to finish off the meal I baked some thickish boneless pork chops in the oven along with the ears of corn. They were really easy, 15 minutes in a baking dish, turn over, spread on some grainy mustard bake another 5 minutes at 180°C then put a slice of cheddar cheese on top of each chop and pour over some double cream. Another 5 minutes and that is it! They were also very very yummy!!! I did use a special cheddar cheese that we bought on our Peak District tour. It was cheddar with garlic and onion.

There was nothing left on either plate at the end of the meal other than the empty cobs and a bit of the fat from the chops.
I also made a lovely salad with buttercrunch lettuce, and lots of fruit and cucumbers and sprinkled over some chunks of the Comte Cheese we bought at the market.

As if we had room for anymore to eat!!!! But we almost polished this lot off too....

Well it is no wonder this happened after he sat down to watch a bit of telly!!