February3rd, 2008

I am really sorry for not updating sooner. But I have been a bit busy and in a bit of a slump in cooking. I haven't really had alot of time to try out any new recipes, so I have been making some of my old standbys lately. While there is nothing wrong with old standbys, some of which are recipes you use over and over again because they are good and you have perfected it to just how you like them to taste.
Tuna Casserole is one of my fav standbys for when I am busy doing other things or when I don't feel much like cooking. It is a recipe that will change with my mood and the ingredients on hand.
The basics for this dish is Tuna. Every other ingredient may well change like I said according to my mood or what is on hand. Most often than not I use pasta for the casserole, but sometimes it may contain rice. Which ever you use it will need to be cooked first.
So start with the pasta or rice in a large bowl, followed by the drained tin of Tuna, (you could make it with Chicken if you like and sometimes I do, but then it becomes a Chicken casserole. I guess even the Tuna isn't the main ingredient!!! hmmmmmm)
Then in go the other ingredients.....
A tin of Cambells Cream of mushroom soup(could use Cream of chicken, celery, etc)
Rinse tin out with 1 tin of milk
Chopped Celery, and chopped onion and mushrooms (these can either be sauteed first or if you like a bit of bite then as they are)
The next is peas or sweet corn or a bit of both. Or you could even use some broccoli florets.
Cheese is next, and inside the mix I usually use cubes of cheese. In the US I enjoyed Colby cheese, but here in the UK I either use Cheddar or Red Leister. Lancashire might also be nice.
Give a good mix and season with herbs...... Again your choice. Usually mine will contain a mix of thyme, oregano, and garlic, salt just a pinch and some fresh ground black pepper.
Place into your baking dish and then top with some crushed up potatoe chips (crisps for the Brits) and some grated cheese. Into a 180 C oven for about 30 to 45 minutes. Then enjoy!!!!


I would be interested in finding out what you put in your Tuna/Chicken Casserole that makes it your special comfort dish.

Brussel Sprouts.... This has been the year of the sprout in our household. Usually I am lucky to get poor Brian to eat even one and this year he has had them every conceivable way I could think of to cook them. (I haven't done a dessert with them and don't think I will be going there either.) The latest recipe using the nutritious sprout was a soup. You start off sauteeing some chopped bacon until crisp and set this aside. In the drippings left from the bacon you then sautee some thinly sliced sprouts and onion just until transparent. (Don't let it go further and ignore all phone calls at this time as if you don't they turn bitter. Yes I have learnt my lesson!!!!)
Next goes in some chicken stock or you could use vegetable stock. And a chopped up potatoe to add body. Once the potatoe is cooked then blitz with a hand blender and add some double cream. Season to taste. Heat just through and serve with the bacon and possibly more cream.


Another of my stand bys lately is how I cook fresh fish. Since I am trying hard to help Brian and I to eat more fish, this recipe is always yummy and quick to do.

First skin and de bone the fish. Could be cod, plaice, Halibut or our latest find Haddock. Place some olive oil into your baking dish and then the fish.

Next sautee off some onions just till translucent in a bit of olive oil along with some chopped rosemary(I have two rather lovely bushes growing in the garden so always have plenty of fresh rosemary to use) and some chopped garlic. Add some Bread crumbs and sautee just a bit longer. You can add some lemon zest to this mix too or some oregano and some juice of the lemon.


Now spread the crumb mix over the fish and bake in the oven at about 180 for 20 or so minutes till the fish is how you like it cooked and the crumb is just browned.


Another fav is chunky oven Chips that Brian likes to have on occasions. Take some olive oil into a baking tin. Then add some chunky potatoe chips. I coat the potatoes in the oil. Bake for about 20 minutes then take out and turn the chips. Add some rosemary and some garlic cloves. These can either be whole or sliced depending on how strong you want your garlic. Then back in the oven for another 20 minutes. This is when I put the fish in. And there you have A little healthier version of Fish and Chips.



And you can't have Fish and Chips without Tartare sauce!!! Well I ran out of my fav storebought stuff the last meal we had with fish and chips so I thought why not try to make some. I had all the ingredients for a change. Capers, Gherkins etc.......

So.......

I took 1/2 cup mayonaise and added about 4 teaspoons of chopped rinsed capers, and about the same amount of chopped gherkin. Then added in some dried dill weed and chopped parsely. And a splash of my homemade tarragon vinegar (this is dead easy to make yourself and oooooooo so yummy) and a pinch of sugar. That is it. And Brian gave me the thumbs up and said it was much better than the stuff we buy in the jar. So guess I will be making my own Tartare sauce from now on.

Tarragon vinegar.

Take a clean bottle and fill with white distilled vinegar. (you can add a splash of white wine if you like for added flavour)

And then add some clean fresh tarragon leaves. Let sit for at least a month. Strain off and replace the vinegar to the bottle and add some more fresh tarragon leaves.

This vinegar is really lovely in vinegrettes and just sprinkled on salads and such. I even add it to potato salad.

You should try your hand at making flavoured vinegars as they are easy and add so much more depth to your recipes.

January 11th, 2007

Winter seems to be well and truely here as I am suffering from the winter blues at the moment. Hate getting those. Must make sure to get one of those special daylight bulbs for the computer or the craft room to help combat that blue mood.
The holidays were a bit rushed so I didn't get the chance to take alot of photos while I was cooking. I did however manage this one of my Poached pears using David Hall's recipe from Book The Cook. They came out really lovely and spicy and not too heavy for a refreshing dessert that Brian and I had the next day. We were just too stuffed to eat another bite on Boxing day.

I do wish to apologise as I have no idea whose blog I got this recipe from. I forgot to put the url down with the recipe. It is for Prawn Cigars with a Honey Mustard Apricot dipping sauce.
I did alter the recipe the second time I made these over the holidays. Just slightly and think I may have to do a little more, but they were really yummy!!!

First start out by toasting a 1/4 cup sesame seeds in a frying pan. Be careful and don't let them burn. Take some cleaned peeled cooked prawns and place in a food processor. I used a bag of frozen prawns. Add the sesame seeds, and here is where I made some changes as I like things with a bit more umph and flavour. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger, 2 cloves garlic, zest and juice of 1 lime, 3 chopped green(spring) onions, 1 tablespoon each Sesame oil, and soy sauce and a tablespoon of cornstarch. I added some finely chopped red chilli too. Blitz all together in the processor till it makes a nice paste like mixture. It may well be similar to how you make prawn toasts. I will add a whole chilli chopped next time and maybe even more ginger.
Then with your phyllo dough under a damp cloth work with three sheets at a time. Brush each with either melted butter or olive oil. I brushed the top sheet then flipped and brushed the next sheet and finally the bottom sheet. Cut these in half lengthwise. So you have two rather long sheets... Now place the prawn mixture down the side of the sheets in a long narrow strip. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg wash and roll up to form cigar shapes. Cut each into half and then half again. Brush with egg wash and dip in sesame seeds. Place on a baking tray.

Bake these at 200 C for about 15 minutes. It makes alot!!! These can be made a day ahead and kept covered before baking.
The dipping sauce I changed slightly too as by the second time I made them I had ran out of Apricot preserves and just used a tin of drained apricots.
Put either 1/2 cup apricot preserves or drained tin of apricots into a blender (here again I think you might also add a few chopped dried apricots if you have them about)
1 tablespoon water, if using the tinned ones, omit this
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh peeled ginger
Again you can add some chilli's chopped fine to the sauce.
Blend until smooth.
These were so easy to make and made a great starter on both occasions that I made them. I will be playing around with the phyllo pastry more making canapes. Maybe mini spring rolls or how about pizza rolls.... Hmmmm definately like this recipe. Again I want to apologize to the person whose site I got it from I did desperately try to search for it again to give you credit. So if anyone runs across it please let me know so I can edit this post. Thanks!!!

Well the holidays are all about feasting and friends. My family and friends know I am a bit of a foodie and usually I end up with foodie type presents. My dear friend Marc, sent us a fab Christmas present of Stilton and port. I have never had a piece of stilton that large before in my life!!!! It was and is (yes we are still eating it) lovely!!!! Boxing day we had Ham, and it was a gorgeous ham!!! One that I won't forget the flavour of for some time. (I still have the bone out in the freezer waiting for a nice pot of soup.) So I decided to create a lovely dish using both gorgeous ingredients together and one that my husband would love for me to forget to use. But this has been the year of the Sprout in our household. I am determined to like them since they are supposed to be very very good for you. So here is my dish....


First take and put on a pan of boiling salt water and cook some pasta. I am also one of those that puts a bit of oil in the water. Not necessarily to stop the pasta from sticking, but to keep the pan from boiling over. The oil seems to keep the starch bubbles from forming. (Test it!!) You will still need to turn it down once it starts boiling. But you don't get the white foaming that sometimes occurs with pasta.
Okay back to the recipe.
Clean a couple of handfulls of sprouts and cut into thin slices. Chop one onion and if you have some mushrooms slice those too. Now stir fry for a few minutes in a large wok or frying pan. Toss in some chopped ham and the cooked pasta. Now add a couple tablespoons of either double cream or cream fraiche and some crumbled stilton. Once heated through serve up with some tomato wedges and more stilton crumbled over the top. YUM!!!!

I think I need to start working on my presentation skills.

So if anyone has any tips or hints I could sure use them. This dish may look a bit sloppy, but the flavours were out of this world!!!
First I started off braising some red cabbage with a chopped apple and some chopped onion. Bit of red wine, cider vinegar, brown sugar and some left over cranberries. Simmered for about 1 hour.
While that cooked I then cut in half and cleaned a butter nut squash. Using the bowl and about an inch of the squash neck (the rest of the squash I will use in another recipe). Clean out seeds and prick the skin all over with a knife. Now place in a baking tin cut side down with about 1/2 inch of water in the tin and bake for about 1/2 hour at 190C. Once baked take out of the oven and turn over. So the cavatiy is upwards. Now in this you put 1/2 chopped apple per half, some chopped pecans, some sultanas, sprinkle over some cinnamon and brown sugar. Dot with butter and pop back into the oven for another 1/2 hour. Making sure there is water in the tin. The last 10 minutes take out and top with some mature cheddar, red leichester or as I used some goats cheese. (this was a mild firm goats cheese not the soft one with the rind). It is finished when the squash is tender and the cheese has melted. I will use the goats cheese more often as this complimented the flavour of the other ingredients.
And to finish off the meal I pan fried two pork chops with some onions and mushrooms. Once cooked I added a bit of cider to reduce down to make a quick sauce. All of these went well together and complimented each other....Now if I could just make it look a bit better...

Also this month I fixed a Beef and Beer stew. I was wanting the rest of the beer to make some sourdough beer rolls with. So here is the stew....Which was quite yummy!!!!


Heat a large dutch oven with a bit of oil and fry off some braising steak that is cut into cubes. Fry about 5 minutes and then add a chopped onion and some chopped red pepper, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms and sliced celery and fry for another 5 minutes. Just till softened. Sprinkle on some flour about 1 tablespoon, salt and pepper to taste. Chopped herbs of choice I used thyme and herbs de Provence add 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup Newcastle Brown ale. ( I think any ale or beer would work). Heat to boiling. Now I added about 4 to 5 rather thickly sliced potatoes to the top and then popped the lid on and into the oven for about 1 hour at 180C. Take lid off and let potatoes brown for about 20 minutes at 200C.

I served with a side salad of round lettuce leaves, chopped apples, pecans and crumbled stilton with a ceasar dressing.

We have been trying hard to have more fish in our diet here. And on the way home on Wednesday I stopped by the farm shop. The Fish monger is there on Wednesday's and Thursdays. So I checked to see what he had on offer. And bought some Haddock and some Cod.
The Haddock was about 1/2 the price of the cod and after the recipe I made we will definately be eatting more Haddock in our diets.

It is a recipe from a very old cook book I have by Robert Carrier
Take and skin and debone the fish. If you like the skin, then leave it on. We don't.
Butter a casserole dish.
Take and chop some onion and mushrooms finely and some chopped parsley about 2 tablespoons. Quickly sautee the onion and mushroom in a bit of butter or olive oil.
Spoon 1/2 of this mixture into the casserole dish and top with the fish. Sprinkle over the parsley salt and pepper. Then the other 1/2 of onion mixture. Top this with some white wine or double cream (I used wine) and pop into the oven till the fish is cooked. 180C for about 20 to 30 minutes. I served this along with some baked potatoes topped with mild goats cheese and a side salad and some microwaved cabbage. Very nice!!!
Another Christmas present this year was a cook book from my step son and partner called Fish by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall. I think this is to help us with our attempt to eat more fish. They also gave me the Auto Biography "RAW" by Anthony Worrall Thompson. And they found me a package of Orzo in a Greek shop in London!!!!!! And my friend Linda gave me another foodie gift...... one of my favs...... Hershey bars!!!!!


Jingles is desperatley trying to see what it is I am cooking now!!! I know he wants to become a chef!!

My dear friend Fiona at Cottage Smallholder has tagged me again with a meme...
8 Random Facts about myself.....
The rules: Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 8 random or weird things about yourself. Tag 8 people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Oh this is gonna be tough.....

1. I am an American living in Britain. I was born in Indiana and lived there most of my life with a few months here or there in Texas and Oklahoma. But technically I am a Hoosier.
2. I am a grandmother!!! My first granddaughter was born last May 8th. And yes I am very very proud of her as I am of both my Twin sons and daughter in-law and my Stepson and his partner too.
3. I have alot of intrests...... Mainly cooking, collecting recipes and cook books (well over 400)and desperately trying to be a foodie, but I also love my crafting as much as my cooking. So much so, that I have commandered the spare bedroom for a craft room and filled it to the ceiling with rubber stamps yarn and paper and even a spinning wheel.
4. I love animals almost more than people sometimes. I have always had an animal in my life and I would feel totally lost without them. Since moving here to Britain I haven't had a dog in my life and I do find that hard, so really enjoy visiting my friends dog Ben. And yes I spoil him rotten just like I spoil my cats. I believe animals have feelings and an intelligence about them like we have.
5. My husband and I are bird watchers. We aren't in the category of twitchers. We don't go rushing off to see a rare bird. If it should happen to be in one of the places we visit all the better, but we don't go to the other end of the country to see it. We enjoy nature and all the things in it.
6. I also enjoy physics. I like reading and studying Einstein and Stephen Hawking who amazes me. And I enjoy having coversations with Brian about things like Schrodinger's cat and what if, all sorts of things like that. Keeps me thinking.
7. And to go along with 6. I am a sci fi nut. I like Star Trek, Star wars, and all those types of movies. And reading Asimov and others too. But I tend to scare myself sometimes thinking about other life on other planets. So try not to watch movies that have alien Abductions in them.
8. I guess I am a hoarder.... Like I said earlier, I collect recipes and cookbooks. I collect craft supplies, clothes, plants, food, animals(when Brian lets me). This may come from when I was a kid. I am not sure. But it is one tough habit to break.

Okay shhhhheesh that was hard. :)
Now I am supposed to tag 8 more people so what I will do instead is the first 8 to visit are tagged. So please leave a comment and let us all know 8 random facts about you on your blog.

November 24th, 2007

I have been rather busy this past month but not too busy to cook. On the way home from work one day, I stopped by the farm shop and picked up some Cod from the fishmonger. I was looking for some halibut, but he said the awful storms we had a few weeks back had affected the fishing. But he should be back in a weeks time and should have some then.

I had been perusing my cooking magazines and I came across a recipe for Savoy cabbage with bacon and cod, they microwaved theirs, I rather fancied mine in the oven. I started off by frying the bacon till crispy and then just barely stir fried the cabbage and onions ( I snuck in some thinly sliced brussel sprouts, don't tell Brian). And then placed in a glass baking dish. Put the cod on top and sprinkled some black pepper and a bit of thyme on top. I forgot to add some chicken stock that they recommended, but instead I added a bit of white wine and some lemon juice.Then I popped the lid on and into the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 c. I also made my Butter bean mash to go with the fish dish and a lovely fresh salad.



Butter bean mash is easy, make potatoes as normal for mash and before adding to the bowl take a can of drained and rinsed butter beans and squish them with your fingers. Then add the mash and proceed as normal. The beans add a nice flavour and texture to the mash. I added my cloves of garlic to the potatoes while they were boiling so it wasn't too overpowering. Then put potatoes and garlic through the ricer. Add a bit of milk and butter and season with salt and pepper. Top with some grated cheddar cheese and just brown in the oven. I made the mash first and put it in with the fish in the oven.


A Trip to London
Almost no trip would be complete for us without seeing St. Paul's Cathedral. We always ride past it on a bus either going in or coming home. On the day this photo was taken it was a lovely Autumnal day and sorry for the specks of dirt and the glare, I took the photo from the top of a double decker bus.


We had two missions that day, actually three.... 1. To have lunch at our fav Italian restaurant Anacapri ..... 2. To check on Hamish's flat. They are off to Peru for two weeks and let us use the flat when they are away. Only thing is Brian doesn't like leaving the cats so we only stop for a rest and make sure things are okay. ......3. To see if I could find some Orzo. Well we managed two of the three. The ever elusive Orzo will have to be ordered off the internet I guess.


When you walk through this door you are greeted as long lost family. The head of the restaurant is so friendly and welcoming. Immediately upon sitting at a table you are looked after like no other place I know. They start bringing out the food even before you are presented with menus. There are fresh celery and carrot sticks with a lovely vinaigrette dressing. Olives, bread and butter and bread sticks are there to nibble while reading the vast menu of delicious options.

We both decided on the Mozzarella and tomato salad. I know it isn't very adventurous but it is really lovely!!! And the starters are as big as the mains!!!

Sorry for the olive pips. I just love black olives. We chose a nice Frascati wine to go with our meal.

I just love their Veal Milanese it melts in your mouth like butter and the spaghetti though it may look plain is so packed full of flavour. I wish I could make a plain tomato sauce that good. I would be a very happy woman if I could.


And Brian's main was veal medallions in a creamy mushroom sauce. I have had veal once in France that was so tough to chew that I sent it back and was really cross with them. Thinking that a French restaurant would know better!!! You only cook for just a bare minimum. And the chefs at Anacapri have it to perfection. They have some lovely pasta dishes that we have had before and loads more on their menu for all tastes. Hamish and Yuk-kin first introduced us to this lovely find....... The lucky sods only live a block away!!!!! I guess it is lucky we don't live so close, as we would probably be there every week and then it wouldn't be so special when we did go. Oh and if the starters and mains weren't enough you really should see the desserts!!!! They make a big presentation of the desserts. And you will usually have about 5 different ones brought to your table to tempt you. We opted for Cream Caramel (mine) and Cheese cake (Brian).


You will not need to lift the wine bottle to fill your glass and you won't go away hungry. The restaurant it's self is rather small, but the food and service sure aren't. So if you should find yourself in the Marleybone area of London around lunch or dinner time..... You would be hard pressed to find a much nicer restaurant than this one. I highly recommend it.

Comfort food
Okay you have been working away all day and it is cold outside and sleeting down with rain and you don't really feel much like cooking tonight.... well here you go.... Couldn't be any simpler than a good ole Sausage Hot Pot!!!

Very similar to Lancashire hot pot except it doesn't have lamb and you use baked beans and don't use mushrooms okay so maybe it is way different....
Start by browning some sausages in a frying pan, this will depend on how many you are cooking for. I usually go with the whole pack as I eat leftovers for lunches. You don't need to cook them fully, just brown well. And while those are browning throw in some chopped onion to slightly soften too. Place into a large ovenproof casserole dish. In the same frying pan saute some slices of carrot, celery and peeled pumpkin. Again giving them just a bit of colour, and just part cooking. Again put into the casserole dish. Now according to how many you are feeding, you can use one or two cans of baked beans. Mix these in and give a good stir. Now take about 4 peeled potatoes and slice really thin. I use my special gadget for this. Layer over the sausage mixture. Bake at 180 c for about 30 minutes covered. Next uncover and sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese over the top and back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Serve with a nice side salad. And this is as nice as a big fluffy blanket on a cold winters eve.

Thanksgiving
Even though I have lived here for 11 years we still celebrate Thanksgiving, but a scaled down version. We have a roast Chicken instead of a turkey. I do wish I could figure out how they have those gorgeous birds with the legs still attached and all golden brown. Then again those may be really dry, mine are never dry and are always falling off the bone.


And my pumpkin pies I have to make from scratch by roasting my pumpkin and then blending the flesh with two eggs, a bit of milk, some brown sugar and spices.

I even make my own pie crust from scratch, although I could buy this premade.

And then it is roasted potatoes and Stuffing balls rather than the traditional dressing I used to make.

And they do have cranberries here in the grocery, you can get fresh ones or already prepared cranberry jelly in a jar. Oh and instead of gravy I make bread sauce from a packet that is just gorgeous with chicken and roasted potatoes.

Ohhhhhh gotta save room for some pie!!!! Happy holidays everyone!!!!

October 23rd, 2007

Herman the Sourdough is still going well and each week he is being fed and is changing ever so slightly. Getting more sour tasting and more glutinous. I mainly make rolls using my ole standby recipe for rolls. Which is 1 cup sourdough into breadmachine pan, 1/2 cup milk warmed with some butter(about 2 to 3 tablespoons) one egg, all put into the pan along with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Then what ever flour I have to hand with most of it being strong white bread flour. You need 3 1/2 cups of flour and one packet of yeast. Put on dough setting and when done, shape into rolls and let rest at least 1/2 hour bake at 180 C for 16 minutes. These are the softest and lightest rolls you will ever make. I sometimes add pine nuts, or sunflower seeds to the recipe. It really is a basic recipe you can do so much with.

I attempted to make an apple bread with Herman, but had a bit of a problem of it coming out way too moist. Must add more flour or less Herman. But once the recipe is perfected then I will post it. It wasn't too horrible and had a really nice apple flavour.


Gadgets
Here is another of my fav kitchen gadgets. I picked up this little mandolin at a garage sale back in the US ages ago for about 50cents. I know it is well over 12 years old, because I have lived here for 11 almost now and I had it before coming here. It is still very sharp and I have to make sure Brian doesn't get anywhere near it. Afraid of him cutting himself. But it is very useful in making uniform thin slices. It also has a few other attachments, but this is the one I use the most.

Another can't live without gadgets is my vegetable peeler. I imported it along with some of my other kitchen gadgets when I moved here. And I haven't found one since that comes close to this little workhorse.

And you are probably wondering what I would make with thin slices of potatoes and onions and carrots.... Well how about a good ole Lancashire Hot Pot. Before moving to Britain I had only had Lamb about twice and then I don't think it was lamb, more like mutton. And only on a sandwich much like the kebab shops sell over here. Nothing as nice as the lovely chops in this recipe.
First I layered some potatoes in the bottom of a big casserole pan then went on the lamb chops and a sprinkling of rosemary.

Next cover with carrots and onions.

And a layer of mushrooms and more rosemary.

I don't think the mushrooms are traditional. But they are a nice addition.

Then cover all with a layer of thinly sliced potatoes season with salt and pepper and more rosemary. Dot with butter. Pour over a little stock and cover with a lid and bake at 180 for an hour take off lid and finish baking at 200 for another 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes brown on top.

Here it is served up with a piece of the Herman apple bread. A lovely meal for a chilly autumn day.


Wendy's Tom Yum(ish) soup
I can highly recommend Wendy's recipe for this gorgeous soup!!!! Tom Yum recipe
Mine didn't look as lovely as her's but I bet it tasted as yummy!!! This is definately one I will be making for my Stepson and his partner the next time they come for lunch. I may just have to fix it again today..... It is sooooooo yummy!!!! Thanks Wendy!!!


Autumn Recipes....

As the weather starts to turn cold I get hungry for more seasonal warming comfort foods.
So what do you do with left over roast Chicken.... You make a pie.....

I first parboiled some vegetables; carrots, potatoes, celery and at the last few minutes some peas. Add some onion and mushrooms that have been sauteed and add some chicken stalk and some fresh rosemary, garlic and thyme. Thicken sauce with a little cornstarch slurry and put into pie dish along with big chunks of chicken. Roll out your pastry cover and bake....

Serve with a side salad and you have comfort on a plate!!!


Ugly recipes...... that taste yummy!!!!
Okay you remeber a few blog posts back when I mentioned a recipe using swordfish that just looked so awful that I didn't take a photo..... well here it is.

Swordfish with pesto sauce served on spaghetti
Take two swordfish steaks and pan fry with some sliced onion and covered in pesto... I used a store bought pesto, but you could make your own. Just pan fry till the onions are tender and the fish is cooked to your liking.... Serve onto hot spaghetti with a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese. And enjoy. Like I said it isn't the prettiest dish to look at, but it is packed full of gorgeous flavours.

September 15th, 2007

It still feels a bit like summer time here so enjoying the fresh salads and sweet corn as much as we can. I keep hearing this talk of food miles and carbon foot prints and all the damage we are doing to our environment. So I have decided to buy some things from the farm shop a bit more. The food there is mostly local and I will be doing my little bit for the local economy and environment. Although I will still need to do a grocery store shop for some things. And tonight I ordered my garden kit for next year. Now to get the seeds. So keep an eye out for info on my grow my own veg...


This is a rather quick and easy supper but is packed full of flavours. First take a chicken breast for each person and marinate in a dash of olive oil and lemon with a tsp of grainy mustard and a tsp of honey. Let marinate at least an hour if possible.
Heat your grill(brolier) up to just below the max and cook the chicken about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Make sure it is cooked all the way through. Then pop on some mozzarella cheese and under the grill till it browns. You can baste your chicken with a combination of honey and mustard. Take your same marinade type of ingredients and whisk together to make a dressing.(Don't use the marinade that contained the raw chicken). Take some salad leaves and choice of ingredients place on plate, top with chicken and drizzle with dressing. Here it is served with fresh corn on the cob. YUM!!!!

Monk Fish
Not only am I trying to do my little bit for the environment, but I am also trying to fix healthier meals for Hubby and myself. So that seems to include more fish in our diets. I have only had Monk Fish once or twice before when we have eaten out. I thought it was nice and not too fishy tasting for my liking. It is a rather meaty fish, but not meaty like tuna or swordfish. So I asked my fishmonger how to cook this new delicacy. His answer and it seems like his answer for anytime I ask how to cook a piece of fish is to pan fry or grill it. But he did mention wrapping it up in some parma ham first this time. So I bought a pack of Parma ham and got the monk fish out of the freezer.... Looked on the internet for a recipe or two, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. I used a recipe I found on the BBC website and adapted this recipe from Tony Tobin Monkfish wrapped in Prosciutto

First take your parma ham and lay side by side. A packet of 5 slices will do two monkfish fillets. Sprinkle on some roughly chopped fresh sage leaves.

Next lay on your clean monk fish fillets. The recipes said to make sure they didn't have any membrane or skin on them. Luckily my fishmonger removed this for me as I wouldn't have known about this bit of information. Besides removing the membrane, he also removed the skin and then cut the fillets away from the bone. I am quite impressed with him so far and am enjoying new kinds of fish.

Next place the fish on the ham and wrap up. You can season with some black pepper if you like before wrapping.

Make sure your layers over lap.... Now heat a frying pan with a little olive oil to really hot and just sear on all sides for about 2 minutes. Next, place into the oven at 220C for about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile I prepared some fried potatoes to go along with the fish(actually started them before the fish) and put together a salad. The sauce for this dish is really lovely and light....
Take 1/2 onion and chop fine, saute in a frying pan with a little olive oil until they become translucent. Add a crushed garlic clove and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste and a bit of double cream about 2 to 3 tablespoons. Reduce slightly. Right before serving tear some fresh basil leaves into the sauce.
Take another frying pan with just a sprinkling of oil ( I used a non stick pan) and some baby spinach leaves that have been washed and drained. And just wilt down.... Sprinkling of nutmeg and pepper.
To plate up
Place spinach on plate next to the fried potatoes. Monkfish on the spinach and then cover the fish with the sauce. Enjoy!!!!!

This was a first for Brian and he wasn't overly keen on the monkfish. I really liked this!!! And I am the chef soooooo guess who will be having monk fish when he has salmon. Wonder if I could get away with wraping salmon in parma ham.... hmmmm Comments on this are welcomed!!!
As I don't personally care for salmon, but Brian does.

Sourdough Week 3
Okay it has now been week 3 for Herman and he seems to be doing well, and I haven't killed him. I have remembered to stir him every day and say hello to him. And today was his feeding and clean house day.

Lots of air bubbles today!!! And still a very pleasant yeasty smell.

While we were in town yesterday I stopped by Holland and Barratts to pick up a few things like nuts and seeds. I have been looking for some rye flour for ages now and our super markets don't seem to be carrying it anymore. I really don't understand why.... is it that the farmers aren't growing rye anymore??? This does make me worry that possibly we are going to start missing out on a few key ingredients for future meals. It is like the story this past week of the poor Italians and their pasta. I can understand why the farmers are deciding not to plant certain crops and to plant others instead. But what is going to happen to our food in the future??? I still can't find Orzo anywhere in this town and I have looked everywhere I can think of. I guess our next trip to London I will have a look there. Talk about food miles!!!!

Anyway the recipe today was again done in the bread maker to the dough stage. I adapted a recipe from an Allinson Bread cookbooklet. It is for their Caraway Rye Bread.
Take 1 cup of sourdough starter and place in your bread pan
Add 100ml warm water
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil
1 to 2 tsp of sea salt
125 grams of strong white bread flour
200grams of rye flour
1 Tablespoon of carraway seeds
1 pkt of dried yeast
Placed in that order with the salt to one corner and the yeast in the middle. Turn the breadmachine to your dough setting and when done punch down and knead a bit longer. Then shape into an oblong loaf and cut three slashes in it. Let rise until doubled in size about 30 to 40 minutes or longer. Preheat oven to 190C. Brush loaf with water, milk, or an egg wash and sprinkle with seeds if desired. I went for sesamee seeds and water today. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until browned and hollow sounding when thumped. Let cool and then enjoy!!!!


The bread has come out quite dense and I think possibly I need to play around with the ingredients a bit more to get the air bubbles that are traditional with sourdough breads. But overall opinion in our house hold is this is a very nice loaf of bread!!!


As you may well have guessed, I enjoy playing around with new ingredients.(yeah I know food miles!!!) But when I was at the grocery I bought a packet of Farro in the Italian area of the store (a couple of small shelves dedicated to some gourmet goodies such as the likes of pate, and wasabi along with the Italian ingredients). I keep hoping I will see Orzo there. Anyway, this packet caught my eye and I wondered what on earth Farro was and how you go about cooking it. Apparently it is a whole wheat kernel of sorts. I am not real certain if it is spelt or not. But it looks a bit like puffed wheat that hasn't been puffed. So back to the internet I go in search of a recipe on how to use it. I think one of my Jamie Oliver cookbooks has a recipe for it too. Anyway after reading about it all, I decided today was the day and so I treated it pretty much like Aborio Rice and made a rissotto with it. So on went the boiling water and the big pan to heat the olive oil. And in goes a good couple of handfulls of farro into the hot oil. Just like the rice I decided to brown it a bit in the oil. Now from what I could tell, you don't want to leave this too long or it will catch and burn. So in goes some of the water.... It immediately starts soaking this up. So on goes the timer for 20 minutes so that I can judge about how long to cook it for. In go my herbs, oregano, thyme, pepper and some chopped garlic.... now for the veg (topping up all the while with the hot water which I have placed a chicken stock cube in, you could use homemade stock and it would be even better) Two stalks of celery chopped, 1 large carrot chopped, 1 small fennel bulb sliced, 1 onion chopped, a handful of sliced mushrooms and one small courgette sliced. The stockpan I have holds about a litre of liquid or maybe 1 1/2 litre, anyway it is nearly full when I start and by the time I am finished with rissotto it is empty. But with the farrow, don't put too much liquid in or you may end up with farrow soup. Mine was a bit soupy. Anyway, back to the cooking, I added the contents of a rinsed and drained can of Cannelli beans to the steamy mixture and then hunted in the fridge for some cheese and 1/2 a lemon that were ready to be used up. I grated a mix of red leister and a strong cheddar into the mix and one last check for seasoning. And then served up with some fresh grated parmesan and basil leaves and some cherry tomatoes. It was lovely. I didn't really notice a taste as my other ingredients had a very strong taste and so the farrow if it had a flavour was masked. The texture was similar to the Aborio rice, but slightly different. More like pearl barley.

The Farro will need some more experimentation I think. And I will definately be buying it again. But need to find it locally if possible...... Any local Farro farmers in Essex????