October 8th,2008

Tomatoes
The homegrown tomato have been doing exceptionally well after the initial panic of the plants not setting fruit. I think there were lots of folks having the same problem with their plants as I did and they set fruit rather late. These were started from seed back in February here and I nurtured them and tended their every need until it was time for them to go outside in their grow bags. This year I had even bought special grow bag supports to help them on their way to huge plants. And that they were!!! One was so tall it was twining into the honeysuckle bush! And this was my prize tomato!!!

I went out every day and inspected it and could hardly wait till it ripened. And we could enjoy it. Every visitor to the garden had to witness it's growth and oooooh and aaaaaaaah over it. And yet I waited for it to turn red.... well it started to turn a bit cold here and I thought hmm not warm enough at night for it to turn red.... So I picked it and some others that were just starting to turn.... and it ripened inside and turned a lovely shade of red with it's tiger stripes.

And yes it was well worth the wait and how else to eat this but just on it's own. No adornments, no cooking involved.... just as it was and it was very lovely and had a flavour all it's own to just savour.

The garden has produced quite an abundance of crops for me to use in my cooking and if you could just see our little garden you would be amazed at what I get from it.

The tomato plants that I worried over are now finally gone, but we are still enjoying their fruits and I am already thinking of next years crop and I may well start this next lot in January!!!

Sweet Corn and Potato Veggy Cakes

The tiny sweet corn is from our garden. Again next year I plan to start these a bit earlier and maybe try more than just the three plants that I had. The potato cakes were a bit of an experiment. I took some mashed potatoes and added some leftover veggies from the supper the previous night. With the way the economy is and all the talk about recycling and using up food and stuff I thought I would have a go at trying to do my part. To the mash just mix in any leftover chopped veg you have and an egg. Mix together and add a handful of shredded cheese. Form into patties and dip into an egg wash and then into flour. You can let sit for up to an hour or so in the fridge to firm up. Then fry in hot oil until heated through and golden. I made a tomato red pepper sauce to go over them... Just heat some chopped tinned tomatoes or use fresh and some chopped red pepper and some chopped onion. Heat through with a tsp of sugar and some balsamic vinegar. You can add some oregano and black pepper too if desired. Serve hot over the potato veggy cakes.

Veggy Fritters or Veggy Pancakes

Again trying to do my bit and using up some leftover veg I mixed the chopped veg with some chopped fresh chard leaves and some finely minced garlic to about a cup and a half of bisquick mix (it is an American flour shortening mix that is a base for all sorts of things like cakes, pancakes, scones, breads, etc.... A very versatile mix.) an egg, and some milk to make the right consistency. Fry in batches in olive or vegetable oil. Keeping them warm in the oven until ready to serve. You can serve with the tomato sauce as described in the potato cake recipe, but I just love them plain. And are great cold the next day. Again a handful of grated cheese is also very nice as is your choice of herbs.

Grilled Goats Cheese and Beetroot Stuffed Peppers

Okay first off you start by planting and growing some beet root. Sorry, you can buy some too... But this was from our garden. And was just boiled until tender. Then sliced. Take some Romano peppers and cut a slit in the side and deseed. Then rub with olive oil and place in the oven to partially cook.... take out and fill with alternate slices of beetroot and goats cheese. Sprinkle over some balsamic vinegar and some olive oil and a sprinkling of pine nuts and a grinding of fresh black pepper. Then back under a grill until melted and golden. Serve with salad fresh from the garden if possible with more fresh tomatoes and some cucumber chopped.

Gingersnaps
For some strange reason I have been craving ginger lately. Maybe it is because the weather here has turned cool and we have had several days that would rival any winter day we have had since I moved here. So maybe it is the warming qualities of ginger that I am wanting to rid the chill of the approaching winter chill. There is one thing that I think could make these even better and I have yet to try it, but I am thinking maybe some chopped up chunks of stemmed ginger mixed in right before baking. I will report back on this when I remember to by some stemmed ginger from the grocery store.

Gingersnaps
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup butter or margarine
1 egg
¼ cup black treacle or molasses
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda(bicarbonate)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon or more ground ginger
Preheat oven to 180C. Cream sugar and butter. Beat in the egg and treacle. Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed. If desired, chill dough for easier handling. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet(I use the non stick Teflon sheets). Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set. About 48 cookies.
If you use self rising flour, omit the bicarb and salt.

Merry Christmas!! And Happy New Year!!!

I would like to appologize for not writing sooner. I had all these great plans and recipes I wanted to share this month. But time and the flu had gotten the better of me. I would like to thank my dear friend Fiona over at the Cottage Smallholder for nominating me for the Happy Meme and the True Blue award. Thanks!!!!

For the first one I am to list 8 things that make me happy...
1. My husband reading to me or just holding my hand.
2. Seeing photos of my little Grand Daughter.
3. Hearing from my family and friends.
4. The cats. Especially when they are in a snuggle mood.
5. When a recipe or meal comes out as planned.
6. Hearing a robin sing and watching them bob around with their little chests puffed out.
7. Making cards or gifts for others.
8. A flower, a song, the taste of chocolate, a baby animal.... I think I could go on and on....

Now to nominate 8 folks for the Happy Meme......
Granny Pat
The Crafty Gardener
Amanda
Katie
Wendy
David
Charlotte
Cynthia


The True Blue award.

I think this is an award given to say thanks for the comments and reading on a regular basis.
As such I would like to award it back to my friend Fiona as she is a True Blue Blogger, commenting on my blog and answering me on her blog.
I would also like to award it to
Cynthia
Amanda
Charlotte
David
Katiez
Patricia
Joanna
And everyone that actually reads my blogs and comments. You all are true blue Friends!!! thanks!!!

Herman and the Potato Bread dough.....
Amanda at Little Foodies blog posted on her blog back in November about trying the potato bread recipe that all at the Daring Bakers were trying out.... So I decided to give it a try with Herman and to see how I got on with it. The dough is very wet and very very sticky. Like she said in her blog, I think the yeast loves Potatoes. The recipe can be found here at Tanna's blog My Kitchen in Half Cups. I cut the recipe in half as I know from experience this would produce more bread than Brian and I could eat in a weeks time. And for 1/2 cup of the potato water and 1/2 cup of the flour I substituted 1 cup of Herman. You will need more flour..... I didn't use the bread maker on this one instead I used the largest bowl I have my large mixing bowl. And it was just barely big enough to hold half the recipe!!!

I ended up making a foccacia with half the dough.

And Rolls with the other half. This was a new and different texture and flavour experience. And one I plan to do again and again.



Christmas Cookies

Okay I had best intentions to bake lots of Christmas goodies this year. And to send some to my sons back in the US. But coming down with the flu really put a hamper on getting them done. I did bake a batch of Snickerdoodles, but they seemed to have disappeared already, so after I finish typing this blog I am off to bake another batch. They are becoming the fav cookies around here. And never stick around long enough to ever go stale. Good thing the recipe makes a big batch..... Not good for dieters....
Snicker Doodles
1 cup Shortening/margarine/butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup all purpose/plain flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
And Cinnamon and sugar for rolling
Heat oven to 400 F/200 C. Mix shortening, sugar and eggs thouroughly. Blend all dry ingredients together and stir into the egg mix. Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Then roll into a mix of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (I like more cinnamon). Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. I use one of those teflon baking sheets on my baking trays. No mess!!!

Rolling in the cinnamon sugar mix.

On the baking tray.

Warm from the oven!!! Warning they disappear fast!!! Can't eat just one!!!

Magic Bars
This is another recipe I make at this time of the year and another bad for the diet recipe. But ohhhh they are soooooooo nice!!!
Take 1/2 cup butter or margarine and place in a baking dish that is 13x9 inches and place into a preheating oven at 325 for glass(which I use) or 350 for metal. Once the butter has melted stir in 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker/digestive biscuit crumbs and press into the bottom of the pan.
Next pour on one ( 14 oz) Can of Condensed Milk (NOT EVAPORATED). Then sprinkle on 1 cup of chocolate chips, 1 cup of flaked coconut and 1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans). Then bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool. Chill throughly and cut into bars.

You can add other ingredients but I like them with just the chocolate, coconut and pecans.

People Chow
Another recipe I make at this time of the year is people chow. This is my own version of the recipes that are out and about.
Take 1 bar of good chocolate or 1 cup of chocolate chips and melt in the microwave with about 1 cup of peanut butter and about 1 large tablespoon butter or margarine.
Take a very large bowl of mixed cereals, (depends what country you are in) US I would use Chex and Cherrios here in Britain I use Shreddies or equivalent and cherrios. You can add other things like peanuts, or other nuts, raisins or currants. Mix all together with the melted chocolate mixture. Then in a large plastic bag pour in about 1/2 cup icing/powdered sugar. And fill as much as you can of the cereal mixture and shake to coat with the sugar. Keep repeating the icing/powdered sugar shaking until all the cereal is coated. Pour into large containers and enjoy. You can add other bits to this now too if you like, such as M&M's or Smarties, Cinnamon red hots or what you think might go well with the mix. Be warned it is very morish and you will get powdered/icing sugar all over your fingers and clothes.


I will try to add more recipes at a later date of other things I like to make for Christmas as presents to hand out to friends and family. Sorry for not getting done in time for this year. But you will be ahead for next year.

Cold Weather Food
When the weather turns cold and you are needing something to stick to your ribs this is a nice dish to make.
Corn Bread and Lentil stew.
When I moved here to Britain I didn't ship over my cast iron pans. Thinking the shipping cost would be more expensive than the pans were worth. That is wrong. If you move take the things you think aren't important, because you may have a hard time finding them. I was lucky and I did find a cast iron skillet. I am still in search of the corn bread stick pan like I used to have.
Anyway this is the only way to make proper cornbread is in a skillet. I also have had to improvise and instead of cornmeal here I use Polenta to make my cornbread. Almost the same but there is a difference.
Cornbread

1 cup corn meal/polenta
1 cup all purpose/plain flour
1/4 cup sugar/granulated
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup about 56 grams butter (melted)
Pre heat the oven to 425 F or 200 to 210 C Depends how hot your oven is.
Take your skillet (mine is roughly 8 to 9 inches in diameter) and place your butter into the skillet I add just a tiny bit more. Now place into the preheating oven till melted.
Mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl and then add the milk and egg and stir till blended. Once your butter is melted then take your preheated skillet out of the oven and swirl the butter around the pan and then pour the melted butter into the cornbread mixture and stir till the butter is combined. Place into the skillet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes just till a lovely golden brown. You can test the centre with a toothpick for doneness. It should come out clean. This is how I have always made my cornbread. There is a southern version that uses Buttermilk I think and no sugar. I remember when I was a kid eating some lovely cornbread when I went to Kentucky, but haven't been able to duplicate it.

Lentil Stew

I adapted this recipe from an old Light and Tasty magazine that I have.
1 Package of Low fat smoked sausage
2 to 4 medium carrots, sliced
2 to 4 ribs of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups water
2 to 4 medium potatoes, diced
1 cup of chicken stock could be from homemade or canned or made with stock cube
1 cup dry green lentils
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can of chopped tomatoes
chopped chilli peppers
In a large Dutch oven, cook the sausage, carrots, celery, oniona and garlic in oil until vegetables are almost tender. About 5 minutes. Stir in water, potatoes, broth, lentils, cumin and cayenne. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and chillis to taste along with any seasonings. This is when I add salt as I have found out with dried beans if you add salt early on they don't soften. I also add a bit of oregano and thyme as it gives it a better flavour. Heat through and serve with Hot cornbread and butter.

Brian and I are always laughing that Jingles is going to be the first Cordon Bleu Cat Chef. (not that I am anywhere near being a Cordon Bleu chef) But he is very very interested in watching me cook. I sometimes let him see or smell what it is I am doing. It is so funny having a cat so interested in the process of cooking.

Have a very Merry Christmas all and A Happy New Year!!!

September 9th, 2007

I would like to Thank Patricia over at Technicolor Kitchen in English for her lovely Melting moments recipe . These little beauties do melt in your mouth, they taste rich and buttery with a hint of lime and were super quick to make and bake. They aren't over sweet and you don't need to pipe them as she did. I just dropped mine from a teaspoon onto the baking tray. The flavour matures upon sitting and are great with a cup of coffee or tea or even a glass of milk!!! Thanks Patricia!!!!

I started back to work again this week and it can be tiring when you have had a long break....
So you come home from work and are tired so want something super quick to fix.....
Slice some courgette, onion, mushrooms and put on a pan of boiling water. Once the water boils pour in some pasta stir fry the veg with some cherry tomatoes and a few herbs....

Tip in the pasta and add a bit of pasta water, sprinkle over some dried chicken gravy mix add some grated cheese and stir similar to a rissotto, splash of wine or lemon juice..... And quick as that is supper!!!


Next night on the way home from work I stopped by the farm shop who on a Wednesday and Thursday has a fish monger trailer set up there. I decided I would treat hubby and I to some lovely fish and fresh veg and fruit. Also came home with a goodie to try later once I find some recipes for using it. Amaranth!!! And I got a large bag of spelt flour too!!! The fish I bought was two nice pieces of Halibut (supper that evening), some monk fish fillets and 6 large fresh prawns.
The monk fish and prawns have gone into the freezer immediately upon arriving home ready for next week's meals.

The corn was super fresh and still had the husks and silks on it. I haven't tasted corn this nice since leaving the US. Usually the stuff we get in the super market has been around a bit longer than it probably should be.

For the fish I took and skined the halibut fillets. Take some chopped onion, and garlic and fry in a little oil. Add some bread crumbs, chopped oregano, rosemary and parsley. Juice of half a lemon and some pine nuts. I added just a small grating of parmesan cheese too. You can also use some chopped red chili pepper with the onions. Place your fish into a baking dish which has been oiled, top the fish with the crumb mixture and bake at 200 for for about 25 minutes. While this is cooking make up a salad of fresh leaves and which ever ingredients you like really. Then take the juice of half a lemon and the zest of the lemon, put into a small bowl, add some chopped rosemary and oregano, 1 clove of garlic crushed, some chopped fresh parsley and more chili chopped(optional), add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and whisk all together. Once the fish comes out of the oven place next to the salad leaves and drizzle the dressing over the hot fish and the salad leaves. This can be used with other types of fish too. And is becoming my very favourite way to have fish.

Sourdough Next step.....
Once you make your starter and you have it in the refrigerator you need to check on it every day and give it a good stir. And once a week at least you must feed it..... I combined this step along with making some rolls.

First take out 1 cup of starter from your plastic container... This you will use in your recipe. You can use this in any bread recipe in place of 125 ml of water (1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup or 75 grams of flour.

My recipe I made rolls with is as follows and is for a bread machine. Place all ingredients into your bread machine pan.
1 cup Sourdough starter
1 egg
125 ml warm water
30 grams butter
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons sugar(granulated)
445 grams flour(I used a mix of spelt, strong white and soft grains)
1 pkt yeast.
These I put in the machine on the dough setting and then once it was finished I proceeded to make rolls. You may need to add more flour or water according to humidity and such. This was a really sticky wet dough.

Once I turned it out from the bread pan, I knocked it back and with floured hands and board I made it into rolls.....

Placed them onto an oiled baking tray.

Let them raise till doubled in size. I used some scissors to snip a cross in the top of each roll. Just for decoration. Preheat your oven to about 180C (Fan) I would maybe go for a 200 without fan.
I brushed my rolls with a bit of water before baking.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.


And the final rolls. They are very light and tasty!!!

Now while you have your Sourdough out of the fridge it is time to wash Herman's house and to feed him. So place into a large glass or plastic bowl your starter. Always try to do this with 1 cup of starter. And to this add 1 cup of warm water and 1 cup of flour. Sometimes I add a pinch of sugar as an added food for the yeast. Give it a good stir and let it sit at room temp again for a day or over night. Stirring down a few times. Again if he should turn orange or pink or have a really disagreeable odour then discard and try again. The smell should be yeasty and pleasant.

Don't worry about lumps.....

as they will dissolve as you can notice the little gas bubbles already forming.

This is about an hour after he has been fed....

And after another hour

See the lumps are almost all gone.

Don't be afraid if the flour and water separates a bit. You will get a clear liquid on top of your starter. Just stir it and it will combine again. Remember to make sure and feed him once a week and to stir him every day. And you should have a good friend to help with your baking. You will definately get rave reviews when you bake!!!!
Definately try using this recipe for making cinnamon rolls. I will post that maybe next week, depending on how the diet is going or not... Heee hee.......

I know I really must find a local butcher sometime and soon!!! I am getting tired of the supermarket's meat selection. But one bit of meat that I am really surprised by is pork tenerloin. This piece of meat if I were back home I would be paying a small fortune for and for some reason goes for a few pounds here...... So I was lucky to find a nice one in the store this past week.... I had seen James Martin on Saturday kitchen or some such show cooking some tenderloins with stuffing inside. I have chosen to stuff mine with some fried onion, bacon, apple, pecan stuffing.

Fry off some chopped onion and bacon and chopped apple in a little oil or butter.

In a small bowl add some chopped pecans, chopped rosemary and some dry bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the fried bacon onion apple mixture. Let cool slightly while you prepare the pork.

James had a couple of handy tips... First you must trim off the sinew so you don't get a tough stringy bit.


Then take and cut it down the centre but leaving some of the flesh uncut. And open it up a bit.

Now cut down on either side the same way part way through. Now at this stage I should have beat the meat out just a bit more...... But I forgot...

You want to make sure you don't have any holes. So be careful with the cutting and the beating. He used cheese and a chutney in his tenderloins. So he didn't want the cheese escaping. I didn't have to worry about that.... I next took some dijon and some grainy mustard and spread over the inside of the pork....

And then the stuffing goes in..... I don't know why but I always have way too much stuffing!!!

Roll up as tightly as you can. A tip here would be to use a sheet of oiled foil and then you could just put straight into the oven and roast that way. But I was trying to be a bit chefy so decided to wrap mine in some smoked back bacon and tie with a bit of string. Just remember to take off all the string before serving.

Then he browned his tenderloin in a hot frying pan on all sides and then put into an oiled roasting tin. I added some sprigs of rosemary to the bottom of the pan to help with the flavour. I then deglazed the pan with a bit of cider and a splash of brandy. And poured the juices over the meat in the tin.


I added some peeled halved potatoes to the tin too for roasting at 200 for about 30 to 40 minutes. If it is browning too quickly you can cover with aluminum foil.

Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes covered and make a gravy. I passed the pan juices through a seive into a sauce pan and reduced by about half. Added some cream and a teaspoon of mustard. Check for seasoning and adjust.

While it was resting I also microwaved some Romanesco that I bought at the farm market along with some sliced carrots and a dash of oregano and some chopped garlic.

I just love this vegetable!!! Isn't it just the coolest thing you have seen!!!

And although you traditionally have a roast dinner on Sunday this is our Roast dinner on Saturday along with fresh baked sourdough rolls!!!!