June 11th, 2008

Okay we have finally had some lovely weather here so that means salads and BBQs. I have posted before about how to do the corn on the BBQ, so I won't do that again, although my friend Fiona at Cottage Small holder has come up with a yummy idea I want to try for my next BBQ. She posted on her blog about doing some stuffed vegetables and I don't see why you couldn't do them and then cover in foil and put on the BBQ. So going to give that a go next BBQ we have.
Quinoa
I have seen this ingredient here and there in different cooking magazines and food blogs so I had to try it. It is a grain that you cook very similar to cous cous and Bulghar wheat. Only this one has a neat curlyque.

First you need to rinse it well in cold water. Now this isn't very easy as the grains are really small.

I have adapted this recipe from Fine Cooking magazine.
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well. Place into a sauce pan along with 3 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium low once it comes to the boil. and simmer until the water is absorbed about 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and then spread onto a shallow plate or baking sheet to cool.
When cool, fluff again and transfer to a large bowl.
To make the salad:
1 1/2 cups finely diced tomato, you can deseed if you like, but personally I prefer the seeds.
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 cup finely diced cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced spring onions or chopped onion
Mix well with the Quinoa in the bowl.
To make the dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, juice of 1 whole lemon or more to taste(I would include the zest next time too and maybe some lime zest and juice), 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix together and toss with the salad. Let the flavours mingle for 2 hours before serving or over night. Adjust seasoings to taste. I also added a bit of dried oregano.
This was nice and refreshing for a change to a lettuce salad. I will be trying different recipes using this grain again.

Here I served it with Pork medallions cooked in a creamy onion mustard sauce with Butterbean mash and steamed asparagus and some cherry tomatoes. Very filling! But very Yummy!!!
I also made a plum ginger cake but we were too stuffed to even have a piece of it.
But here is how I did the cake.
Plum Ginger Cake
Makes one 9 inch square cake.
Preheat ove to 160C. Prepare your cake pan, by greasing with butter and dusting with flour.
Take 100 g softened butter and mix with 100 g caster sugar. Beat in 2 eggs one at a time. Mix together 100 g self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. I also added about a teaspoon or so of chopped fresh peeled ginger. Mix well and then place in baking tin. Bake for 10 minutes and then top with this mixture....
4 small plums sliced, 1 tablespoon of flour, 3 tablespoons of brow sugar and about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger. Mix together and then drop onto the part bake cake. Back into the oven for about 20 minutes or so until the cake tests done with a toothpick. I made a quick little icing to drizzle over the cooled cake. Melt about a teaspoon or so of butter in a jug mix well with some icing sugar and then thin with some milk to desired consistency. Drizzle over cake.
This is lovely served with vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Goats Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Take two long red peppers and slice a bit open so you can take out the seeds and membrane. Leave the stem on. Rub with olive oil and place some goats cheese slices inside. Drizzle with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and place under the grill. Grill till cheese is bubbly and peppers are al dente. Sprinkle with some pine nuts and drizzle with some pesto. Serve with some grilled ciabatta and fresh salad leaves.

Like I said we have been having quick salad types of meals. Hope you enjoy!!!

March 23rd, 2008

Hi all, sorry for not blogging more..... But this has been a bit of a hectic month. You can see some of the reasons why I haven't been here over on my other two blogs.
I have been cooking, but not like my big meals in the past. Trying hard to loose a bit of weight here, but not doing starvation dieting either. But the meals haven't been all that exciting.
I did attempt to make a watercress soup.... We ate it. But nothing really that great. Think it is something to work on or to give up on personally as I feel watercress is probably better eaten fresh.

Now I love a good fry up for Breakfast and do love a full English. I prefer savoury to sweet.... So I sometimes have some very unusual foods for breakfast. On this day I had some onion slices, asparagus spears, mushroom slices and some lean ham and cherry tomatoes all quick fried in a non stick pan with the tiniest amount of olive oil. Served on some wholemeal toast. Sometimes I top with a fried egg.

I have been watching the foodie shows on telly and Jamie Oliver's new series At Home, I am finding quite interesting. It combines not only cooking but gardening tips and hints too. In the episode I watched he made this lovely looking tart with asparagus. Mine is, well let's just say looks a bit more rustic. But the flavour is out of this world!!!! Thanks Jamie!!!
He starts out making mashed potatoes. You all know how to do that..... Boiled potatoes and then mashed with some butter and either milk or cream... Just the regular old everyday mash.
Then he takes and adds a couple of eggs (I think three) to the mash with some Lancashire cheese.... Mix well with some seasonings. I think next time I will definately be adding some garlic to this mixture and maybe even some sauteed onions. Next line your tart pan with some buttered phyllo pastry sheets. I used the whole pack, brushing with olive oil and butter and layering all around the tart pan. Next pour in your mash mixture and then top with some lightly blanched asparagus spears. Brush with some butter. Then into an 180 to 200 C oven for about 45 minutes. Making sure to put onto the lowest shelf. I started at 200 then turned down to 180 about midway through the cooking.

This tart is definately going to be made here again and again!!!! I will work on the presentation next time.

The tart was enough on it's own with a possible salad for a lovely meal, but I was already cooking another dish that night and said oh heck why not go for it. Yes, it blew the diet out the window but that happens and I will be good the rest of the week.
I had to try Katiez over at Thyme for Cooking's recipe for her Pork Medallions in White Wine Mustard Sauce!! It was sooooooo yummy!!!! I did make one alteration in using cider instead of the white wine.

Another reason for not cooking alot is it was my 50th Birthday this past month. So I have been taken out to eat a few times and have had other things to eat instead of normal healthy food.... Such as chocolates and chocolate cake!!!
My stepson and his partner took us out to eat at Caldesi's restuarant in Marleybone. That was one of the lovely meals out.... Then Hubby took me to Anacapri in Marleybone....another fantastic meal out. And we have been eating Hotel Chocolates as my friends got me their Deep Dark Chocolate Easter egg for my Birthday....... If you have never tried Hotel Chocolates and you love chocolate, you really should give them a try. I think it is the best chocolate in the whole world. I am willing to try samples of other chocolates anyone is willing to send me..... tee hee....

This is the top layer to the creamy filled eggs. The giant egg is just huge!!!!!!!!!! And Thick!!!!
And since it was my birthday I decided to bake my all time fav cake. A Hershey's Black Magic cake but with out the Hershey's cocoa. Oh well..... It was the first time I baked this cake in my new oven and well...... It didn't turn out perfect. Needs some more testing I think.... hee hee.
But it did taste lovely. I have put the the recipe link over on my main blog page. Along with how I make the frosting for this divine cake.

I prefer having this cake after it has been refrigerated. It is soooooooooo lovely.

Now for a recipe!!!
Okay it was late last night when I decided to fix supper. Looking through all the cook books for pork chop recipes.... But nothing much took my fancy. Had decided what to fix only to find the pork chops hadn't thawed out yet. Yeah I know I could have defrosted them more in the microwave or just cooked a bit longer, but by this time the pair of us were getting rather hungry. So I had a soup recipe I had been wanting to give a try....
The recipe comes from the Victory Cookbook by Marguerite Patten OBE

Oatmeal Soup
1 oz margarine
2 medium onions, grated or finely diced
2 Tablespoons medium oatmeal
1 pint cold water
salt and pepper
1/2 pint milk
3 medium carrots, grated
(I used butter instead of the margarine, you could also use olive oil)
I also used 1 chicken stock cube, some dried thyme, oregano and some fresh chopped corriander.

First heat the margarine in a pan and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Making sure the onions don't brown. Blend the oatmeal with the cold water, tip this into the pan and stir as the mixture comes to the boil; season lightly. (This is where I added the stock cube and the dry herbs along with salt and pepper.)

It does thicken a bit. I stirred it quite frequently and simmered for about 15 minutes, her recipe calls for it to simmer for 30 minutes.

Next add in the milk and carrots and cook for a further 15 minutes.


For about the last 5 minutes of cooking time I added the chopped fresh corriander.

Served with fresh baked wholemeal rolls and butter.

I don't know if you have come across this cook book before, but I have a few of Marguerite's cook books. This one is about nostalgic food and facts from 1940 -1954 and covers what it was like to cook during the second world war. There are some very inovative recipes in these books. And I was quite surprised about the oatmeal in this recipe. And you know what, I think in future I will be adding Oatmeal to a few more of my soup recipes. It added body and flavour to the soup. This recipe was really yummy and I would say a very versatile recipe too. You could change it by adding other vegetables to it at the carrot stage and adjust your cooking times. Potatoe would be nice, as would broccoli or cauliflower and try different herbs too. Parsley or chives would be lovely. I love recipes like this that allow you to learn something and to inspire you to try new things with it too.
I think I may try another version later today with maybe potato as it is snowing outside and soup is lovely on a cold day!!!

August 18th, 2007 part two

Do you ever have one of those nights where you change your mind on what you were going to cook, because you just want something hot and fast and comforting??? I sliced some courgettes(zucchini) onion, red pepper and fennel; stirfried for a until crisp tender, threw in some chopped tinned tomatoes that actually now come out of a box, bit of chopped garlic, some herbs had some penne pasta on the boil, then tossed all together and put into a baking dish and covered with some cheddar and into the oven. YUM!!!! Quick and delicious!!! Recipe can be varied according to mood and ingredients on hand.

These are the rolls for the next couple of days! They are a bit wholemeal with sunflower seeds. Love the breadmaker!!!!
Now for something exciting and yummy!!!

One of the blogs I visit everyday to read is Haalo's Cook (almost) Anything blog. It is the most gorgeous Banana Upside down cake recipe!!!

First I made the carmel bit with butter and dark brown sugar....

Lined a cake tin with baking parchement and buttered it.

Then the caramel went in and the bananas all in neat little rows...

Then all the cake ingredients went into a large bowl and were whipped up with a mixer. I did make one alteration to the recipe. I added vanilla extract to the batter mix.

Cake batter ontop of the bananas

Baked for about 40 minutes checking after 20 and then each 10 minute afterwards.

And this is what you end up with!!!!!!!! Ohhhhhhhh yummy!!!
But I had to fix supper first....

So thanks to my Friend Linda for her lovely allotment grown carrots and to Jamie Oliver for the recipe..... Carrots peeled and cut in half lengthways. 1 orange cut in half and then into chunks. Water and some herbs... bayleaf, rosemary, thyme and parsley...and three whole garlic cloves in their skins. Boil till almost tender then into a roasting pan the drained carrots and oranges and take one of the garlic cloves and squeeze over with some olive oil and roast in the oven.

Then on with the other part of the meal.... Thanks to Aldo Zilli and Linda again and our local Fish Monger.
This is Roast Cod with Caponata.

Take 1 aubergine and chop into small dice. Toss with some flour and salt and pepper. In a large frying pan or non stick wok heat a little olive oil and fry half the aubergine for about 5 minutes drain on kitchen paper. Fry the other half.

Two onions chopped about the same size as the Aubergine and fry that afterwards for about 3 minutes....

Add 1 chopped courgette and 1 stalk of celery chopped and fry for another few minutes add the aubergine back into the pan along with some chopped tinned plum tomatoes, some olives, garlic, oregano, capers and 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a dash of red wine.
Take 4 cod fillets and lightly flour and season, panfry for 2 minutes per side. Put the caponata mix into a baking dish and top with the cod fillets topped with a sprig of rosemary. Bake for about 10 minutes at 200 C until cod is to your liking.

Thanks for the really lovely meal last night everyone involved it was really delicious!!!
Oh and the dessert!!!

I can't wait!!!! Served the slices of Banana cake with some lovely vanilla ice cream and dig in!!!

It even had Jingles hungry for some!!!!

Poor Brian had a fight on his hands it was sooooooooo yummy!!!!
So the last big thanks goes to Haalo!!

June 22nd 2007

Okay I am back to finish what I started. The Lemon and Lavendar cake. As I said it took an hour and a half in the oven to bake. And it smelled yummy!!!

After it had cooled I made a lemon glaze to go over it and then sprinkled on a few more lavendar buds.



Now yesterday you could definately taste the lemon and the lavendar in the first bite, which was a bit unusual. But after the initial bite, you didn't taste the lavendar only the lemon.



And today the cake has had time for the flavours to meld together and you really don't taste a strong lavendar taste at all. It did turn out very nice and moist even for that long baking time..

And here is the recipe....

Adapted from the American cookbook The New Pillsbury Family Cookbook 1975. This was my first cook book I ever owned or rather a copy of the first one as my son has my original copy. I have since found this one on the internet and had it shipped over to the UK. Anyway here is the recipe and my additions.
Lemon Lavendar Pound Cake
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp grated lemon zest ( I used the zest of a whole lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter softened
1 cup yogurt
3 eggs
And my addition of 2 tablespoons of fresh lavendar flower buds.

Preheat the oven to 325°F (I used fan at 170°C). In large mixing bowl combine the sugar and the butter just till mixed, then add all the other ingredients and on low speed until blended of an electric hand mixer. This is a really heavy batter. Beat for an additional 3 minutes at medium speed scraping the bowl's sides several times. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf tin. Bake for about 1 hour and 3o minutes. Until golden brown and when a tooth pick inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes then remove from pan. Cool completely befor icing the cake.

Lemon glaze icing...

Well this is my own and there are no measurements. Just till it looks right.

Take a small bit of butter and melt into a measuring jug. Add a tablespoon at a time of sifted icing sugar and mix. When thick then add a little vanilla extract and the zest of 1 lemon and the juice of 1/2 of a lemon then start adding more sifted icing sugar until it is of a fairly thick, but also runny consistency. You can make it as thick or as thin as you want by adding either more sugar or more liquid (lemon juice or milk). Now spread onto cooled cake and I sprinkled about a teaspoon of more Lavendar flower buds.

It was and is an interesting cake. If you want what we Americans call a pound cake just leave out the Lavendar buds and there you have it. It is very similar in texture to the British Maderia cake, but the flavour is different. My work colleague liked it and is taking some home to her husband to try. My hubby likes it too.

Smoothies

We have been having the occasional smoothies still and Hubby really likes them. I did and will admit to having one that we both didn't really care too much for and it is this one. I put the oranges in whole and the skin didn't blend up as much as I had hoped, so well.... let's just say it wasn't as smooth as it should have been.

But to make up for it this one here we both gave the thumbs up!!!
A handful of fresh blueberries, 1 banana, 1 mango, about 5 large strawberries, juice from 1/2 lemon, two heaping teaspoonfuls of yogurt and lots of ice cubes all in the blender and pulse till smooth.... This one was very creamy and very cold too!! Excellent for the hot summers day we had after the cooker arrived.


Last night's supper meal 2 from the new cooker.

Okay I wanted to test out different parts of the new stove so looked for a recipe for grilling... Take a Chicken breast and cut a pocket into it. Stuff with goats cheese and some fresh thyme leaves and seal with a wet cocktail stick. Coat in honey and sprinkle on some paprika (I used smoked paprika, have you lot tried this stuff it is lovely!!!!!) Place on a preheated grill pan and grill for about 7 minutes per side. I had to turn my grill(broiler for the Americans out there) down. It was rather hot. In the meantime I sauteed some potatoes and with a griddle pan cooked some sliced onion and peppers that were tossed in some olive oil and some thyme leaves. The broccoli is frozen I just cooked quick in the microwave, thought we needed something green to eat. It all turned out lovely and actually quite quick again to cook. Guess this is the biggest difference between the old stove and this new one, the timing of the cooking. This one is like a super powered high performance machine and the poor old cooker (it did serve us well for over 15 years) was like an old sedan. We are going to be cooking a roast this Sunday and I will let you know how that gets on....