August 10th, 2008

Tagine

Well Brian and I haven't gone away on holiday this year, so I thought I would treat my self to a new kitchen gadget and maybe have an exotic meal right here at home. So I bought a Tagine from Lakelands. First off for those who don't know what a Tagine is, it is a Moroccan stew and you cook it in this funny shaped pot. The purpose of this weird shape is to keep the stew moist because the liquid steam actually ends up running back down into the cooking vessel keeping the food moist while it is cooked slowly. While I was at it I also treated myself to a new spice blend. It comes from Bart and is called Baharat. If you haven't tried this spice blend I can recommend it. Wow!!!! It is spicy and sweet and exotic all wrapped up into one. I have fallen for it in the short time I have used it and I know it will be used more often in my cooking.
I read the little pamphlet that came with the tagine. And one of my French cooking magazine to see how you go about using this pot and cooking a tagine. And came up with my own recipe with things I had on hand. Alot of tagines combine meat, vegetables and fruit it seems.... So this was my very first one....


First I made some meatballs by taking a packet of mince and putting the mince in a bowl. To this I added about a tablespoon of the Baharat spice blend, a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, some smoked paprika, a crushed clove of garlic and about 1/4 cup or more of bread crumbs and mixed all together by hand. Shape into meat balls and fry in a non stick skillet with a little olive oil.
Now in the base of the tagine, I opened a can of chopped tomatoes and put those in and sprinkled over some sultanas. Then put the cooked meatballs in. Then next I added some sliced onion wedges and some green and red pepper slices. A handful of green olives that had been pitted and the juice and zest of a lemon. I cooked this at 190 for about 45 minutes. I think it could have gone for a bit longer, but it was really lovely served up with some hot basmati rice. And some fresh garden vegetables served alongside.

These lovely beans are from my friends allotment. She asked me to watch over it while she was away and to pick some of the veg. Aren't these beans just a beautiful colour!!!!

The next night I had to try this tagine cooking again. Brian wasn't overly keen on the first recipe, but this one he complimented me on it, saying he would have that again.

Pork Chop Tagine

Okay this one I started by coating the pork chops in some of the Baharat spice blend and pan frying them in a little olive oil. While they were browning I chopped up three carrots and put in the base of the tagine. The added chopped onion, some dates, some dried apricots, some lemon slices some whole almonds, sprinkled over some of the baharat spice blend and then added two quartered tomatoes. Then the chops on top. The pan I deglazed with a little brandy and water. Poured this over the chops and vegetables and then baked in a 180C oven for about 1 and a half hours. This I served with mashed potatoes. And it was a definite winner!!!!

I think possibly this combination would also be nice with lamb. And as if this weren't enough to eat we had some summer pudding for dessert. Let's just say I had a very hard time sleeping that night from being over stuffed.

Just for information the tin of Baharat spice blend says it contains Paprika, Coriander, Black Pepper, Cumin, Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, Cloves, Nutmeg, and Cardamom.


Little Yellow Plums
Last year, my friend Fiona over at Cottage Smallholder had written a blog about hedgerow gathering and plums that made me envious. I had spied some little yellow globes of fruit that year too on one of our walkways around the estate, noticing them just rotting on the ground. So I questioned her and her commenters as to what these could be. I had never seen yellow plums. To me plums are purple or red. These little gems are upon closer study are called Mirabelles or Mirrabelles in German cooking. I think either Fiona or a friend called them Cherry plums. Well this year I wasn't going to let them all rot on the ground. Brian said I would get into trouble taking them as they belong to the school whose property they are growing on. But they overhang the fence and these were on the pathway. To me fair game, besides school isn't in session and I don't think they even know they are there if they did want to come in and pick them. Besides I only had about a cup or two of them. Not like I picked all the trees clean.

Once I brought my little treasures home the thinking of what to do with them started.... Fiona said back then why not pick them and do something special..... Well I did. I found a recipe for a plum chutney and I cut it in half. Besides if it wasn't going to taste very nice who would want all that chutney?
So here is my recipe for my special plums. The original says it makes 2 lbs of chutney, but I got one and a bit of a jam jar with my version.

PLUM CHUTNEY
151 g. cooking apple (I used 2 small to med sized braeburns)
76 g. onion chopped
76 g. sultanas chopped
227 g. chopped plums
95 ml malt vinegar
1/4 tsp nutmeg(I probably used a bit more)
1/4 tsp each ground ginger, cayenne pepper and dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
2 whole cloves
30 g. soft brown sugar
Peel and core and chop roughly the apples. Peel and chop the onion. Place each in separate sauce pans with lids and put in a bit of water and boil at a simmer until they are translucent and soft. Chop the sultanas and stone and chop the plums. Place onions, raisins, plums and apples into one of the saucepans(I used the larger of the two pans). Add 1/2 of the vinegar, all of the spices and salt. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer very gently, uncovered, stirring frequently for about 45 minutes.

Next add in the remaining vinegar and the brown sugar and continue cooking as before for a further 45 minutes to an hour, or until thickened. Remove the cloves. (I still have mine in!!!)

Pour the hot chutney into hot dry jars and seal.


Now I know you need to let chutney mature..... so I have stuck mine into the fridge for a week or so before we try it. But if the pan scrapings are anything to go by.... This is going to be very nice with a bit of cheddar cheese and biscuits and a nice glass of wine.

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 23rd, 2007

Sourdough Cinnamon rolls!!
Okay if you are on a diet of any sort please look away now!!!!! Because I am about to give you the recipe for my gorgeous sourdough cinnamon rolls...
First you must make your dough and I did this in the bread maker on the dough setting and let it go through the paces for dough.....

Take 1 cup of your starter and place in the bread maker pan.
Add 1/2 cup of milk and 3 tablespoons butter and place on a low heat in a small saucepan until it is just warmed and the butter starts to melt. Don't get it too hot or you will kill your yeast. Just warm to the touch.
Add this to the pan along with one egg.
Add 1/4 cup sugar and a 1/2 tsp salt
Add 2 1/2 to 3 cups of strong white bread flour.
And one packet of yeast..... Let your bread maker do it's thing, checking at the start that it isn't too moist or too dry. Add some water if too dry and add some flour if too wet.
Now for the really really bad part........
Cut the dough in half and working with one half at a time roll out I didn't measure the thickness, but sort of like a thick pizza dough. (I only made half and the other half I just made into plain rolls, I was trying to watch the diet a little.)

Take and melt some butter, roughly about 3 tablespoons or so... I used the microwave for this job.


Now brush the melted butter, you can spread on softened butter if you like, but I was again trying to watch the calories just a little.


Now I know some of you out there have little helpers in the kitchen. But I bet I have the first cat that is interested in cooking!!! He loves to watch me cook. And is soooooo funny as he seems genuinely interested in what I am doing!!! Brian had to pick him up for him to have a look at what I was making.

Now sprinkle or spoon on some dark brown sugar. Muscovado would be even better. Sorry I didn't measure, but you want a good coating.

Next sprinkle over some cinnamon. The best cinnamon you can find. Use as much or as little as your tastebuds dictate to you. A really good dusting!!!

Next a sprinkling of pecans. As if there weren't enough calories already!!! And drizzle on more butter.. Not alot, but just a little.

Now along the wide edge start rolling up. I streched it a bit while rolling too. Pinch the edges shut.

Now slice into rounds.... about 1 to 1/2 inches.

Place into a really well buttered non stick baking tray.

Sprinkle on more brown sugar and cinnamon and put a pecan half on top. Drizzle more melted butter over the tops too.

Cover and let rise till double in size.......

Meanwhile here is our good ole friend Herman being fed!!!


Now bake in a preheated 190C fan oven for about 20 to 25 minutes till nicely golden brown. I would put a pan or foil under this pan to catch the dripping sugar that comes off them. You don't want a mess in your oven.

Next take and make the icing. I took about a tablespoon of butter and melted again in the microwave.... Stir in some icing(powdered/confectioners) sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract. Add icing sugar and stir till you can't anymore and then start adding a bit of milk or cream to get to this consistency.

Turn your rolls out, and I turned my upside down so the gooey bit was on the top. Now drizzle with your icing......

Get a nice glass of milk or cup of coffee and invite some friends over to help you enjoy. Less calories that way!!!


Gadgets

This is another of my kitchen gadgets that I have great fun using.... It does some really great carrot shreds for salads..... It is a mouliex I think that is how it is spelled. Any way you insert the cutting blade disk and then the handle locks that into place. You open it up and put your carrot or whatever in the little hopper part and clamp down on the long white handle and turn the other handle....

And this is what you get..... Just right for a salad and quick!!!


Quick supper dish!

Put on a pan of water to boil and cook some pasta I used fussilli.
Take some chicken breasts and chop into chunks..... Coat in a mixture of ground cumin, chilli powder(I used mild), and smoked paprika. Add some oregano and some chopped garlic. Stir fry in a wok.

Next add in 1 sliced onion, 1 red and 1 green pepper sliced and stir fry.

Add the drained pasta saving some of the liquid if you want more sauce or if your pasta gets too dry, add in some chopped tomatoes and a tin of chili beans. Heat through and serve topped with some shredded cheddar or red leister cheese.

Enjoy!!

Kitchen disasters.
Okay This was my failure for the past week..... I made another dish that I thought was a failure so didn't photograph it because it looked really bad, but it tasted really really nice.... The nice dish recipe was....
Take a swordfish steak and spread on some pesto. Pan fry with some sliced onions until done on both sides. Add some black and green olives and serve on some cooked spaghetti... Top with pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan. It really did look horrible, but the flavour was out of this world. We will be having that again even with it's bad looks!!

But not this dish.....Well not the same way I cooked it here.... First you make pancakes using flour and oats and yeast. It is a german recipe. These were really nice. Then take some vegetables and cook adding a teaspoon of curry powder(mistake one) And then my second mistake I added quark to the hot vegetables. It separates and looks rather disgusting!!!!!! So don't cook Quark!!!!! I should have just spread it onto the pancakes. Would have been much nicer. Then top with slices of tomato and then the veg. I will be doing this a whole different way next time. So I have learnt from my mistake.

But it looked okay.... Much nicer than the swordfish dish!!! Oh well just goes to prove you can't always tell until you taste it!

There is an UPDATE to the Garden blog the garden in a box has been installed!!!

August 23rd, 2007

A big thanks to Linda over at In My Canadian Garden blog for this lovely surprise!!! It is going to be difficult to choose who to pass it along to, as there are so many talented bloggers I have gotten to know lately!!! So these are the ones I have decided to bestow this honour on...although there are several more that are worthy of it also!!!
Fiona at The Cottage Smallholder She has such a creative way with words and such a lovely garden and Mrs. Boss and the Keets!!
Haalo at Cook (almost) Anything Very creative chef!!! The photos make my mouthwater and I just can't wait to try the recipes.
Amanda at The Little Foodies Very creative in how she is teaching Little and Small about food and the different cultures of the world we live in. And a lovely garden too!!
Nettie at Nettie Is a long time pal that is very creative in an artistic way!

The Garden
Our little garden is producing some food for our table, not enough to preserve, but enough to enjoy some simple little pleasures!!!

A few years ago my stepson and his partner bought us a fig tree for a present. It was a tiny little stick of a plant. We tried growing it in the conservatory where it wasn't very happy. It would get little figlets on and then they would all fall off before developing into much. Well we finally stuck it outside in a pot near a wall for protection and I give it loads of water and this year we have been blessed with two figs!!! And it now has lots of little figlets on there at the moment. They are soooooo delicious and sweet and I served them as the crowning glory to a lovely goats cheese salad.


Besides the Fig, these are some of the other veggies our little garden has produced for the table. The mini carrots I grew in a pot on our patio, the potatoes in a potato barrel, the tomatoes in a growbag, the beans are in a huge trough like planter(which next year I hope to house some sweetcorn with the beans) and the courgette I grew in pots this year also. It may not seem like alot, but for our tiny garden. It is quite amazing the variety I am finding I can grow in pots. I can't wait till next year now to try even more veggies!!!

Blogging Events
Being fairly new to this blogging craze I am just starting to understand blogging events.
Michelle over at Je Mange la Ville was participating in an event for Remembering Julia Childs on August 8th. I remember this lady back when I lived in the US. She was so funny, much like Fanny Craddock over here in Britian. There would be lots of dramatics and the occasional accident and a bottle of wine would disappear in no time. I always got such a kick out of watching her and the dishes she prepared. Michelle cooked a recipe from one of Julia's books and I thought I would also give it a go. Not only was it a fitting tribute to Julia, it reminded me of a trip Brian and I had to Brugge. Sitting outside a little cafe watching the horse drawn buggies and tourists go by. Brugge is such a lovely city that we both really love visiting when we get the chance.The recipe is for Waterzooi. It is a bit of a cross between a soup and a stew and has such a lovely flavour from the tarragon. I can highly recommend it!!! Waterzooi

Waterzooi is a combination of celery, carrots, leeks and onion,surrounding a breast of chicken in a flavoursome tarragon broth. I can still taste it now!!YUM!!!!

The weather has been rather autumnal here lately and I am not sure but it starts me wanting to prepare for winter and hibernation. So I have this strong urge to preserve food. When I lived in the US and had my huge garden it seemed like I was spending the whole summer canning green beans, freezing vegetables, making jams and jellies and making pickles. Since moving over here I have found that it is very hard to get the equipment for putting food by. No giant pressure cookers or canning jars with removable lids. Instead there are kilner jars. Now I trusted the company that made the glass jars at home to make sure their glass wouldn't break during the processes of high pressure and temperatures, but these jars here have me a bit unsure if they can withstand such processes. So I have almost given up putting food by. But sometimes I just get hungry for things from my past and this is one of those times. So while Brian was watching the football match on telly (he supports Liverpool) I made myself some Bread and Butter Pickles. I cut the recipe in half as I didn't want to be eating them for a whole year.

Bread and Butter Pickles (the whole recipe)

Slice 1 gallon cucumbers, 8 medium onions, 2 green peppers(capsiums) and place into a large bowl or container that will hold them all. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup salt. Add 1 quart of cracked ice and 1 cup cold water. Mix together and let stand 3 hours.
Mix together in as large a pan as possible I use my large soup pan:
5 cups of vinegar
5 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. mustard seed
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp. celery seed
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves (or less)
Heat this to boiling. Drain your vegetables and add to the vinegar mixture.

Heat to boiling and boil for 5 minutes. Pack into hot pint jars and process 10 minutes in a water bath. Makes about 7 pints.

I only had two rather large cucumbers and I used about 5 onions as I love the onions better than the cucumbers in this. Cut all your other ingredients in half and I would say to take th sugar down to just 2 cups. Maybe my tastes are changing but it was rather sweet. And I ended up with one rather large kilner jar of lovely pickles!!These would be great served with a lovely ploughmans lunch!


I was going to try the stew recipe for supper that night, but by the time Football had finished and the pickles were done it was rather late so I decided to whip up an impromptu supper of a Brie and veggie tart. First take some Puff pastry and spread into a baking tray prick the base so it doesn't rise too much. Bake for about 10 minutes.


Then top with some tomato puree and some slices of Brie. Then some sauteed onion, chopped garlic and courgettes. Add some fresh tomato slices and a sprinkling of Oregano and some pine kernals. And bake till crisp and bubbling.


Gadgets
The newest gadget to enter my kitchen is a timer. On the old cooker we had a rather loud one and the new cooker for my aging ears isn't all that loud. So I thought I would invest in a seperate timer. That way if I decide to leave something baking in the oven and go work somewhere else in the house, I can take the timer with me. It has a cute ring, much like the old telephones used to make.

Another Gadget that I inherited since moving here was Brian's first wifes Crockpot. It is very very retro!!! And not a thing wrong with it. I even have the manual that goes with it. So I have delegated it a place on my countertops so that I will use it more.

So when David over at Book the Cook posted his recipe for Stifado I thought I would give it a try and use the crockpot. I reduced my sauce down a bit on the hob, as when you use a crockpot the sauce doesn't boil down like on the hob or in the oven. I can definately recommend David's recipe it was delicious!!

I did change one little thing in that the tiny little carrots that I grew in pots on my patio, I added these to the stew, thinking that they desereved to be cooked in a great recipe.

Brian enjoyed it as much as I did and only requested maybe not so much mint ontop next time. It was really really Yummy!!! Thanks David!!!

More Zucchini!!
Okay a couple of weeks ago I made some Zucchini Banana nut bread and was hoping that Linda's son Elliot would enjoy it, but he wouldn't give it a go. I think he guessed we were up to something. So I decided okay I will get sneeky. This time I made some Cookies and some Brownies using Zucchini. I haven't heard back whether he has tried them yet or not. But I do know that Linda, Naomi(her daughter), Brian and I really like them both!!! So here are the recipes for you to try...


Zucchini Drop Cookies from Cookin' with Maudie (one of my Amish cookbooks)
1 cup zucchini, peeled and grated
1 cup white sugar(granulated)
1 egg
1/2 tsp cloves (ground)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup rasins
1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate)
1/2 cup butter or Crisco
2 cup flour (plain)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Beat sugar and butter till creamy, add in the zucchini pulp and mix together. Add flour and remaining dry ingredients. Mix in raisins. Drop onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or till done. Frost or eat plain. (we are eating plain!!) YUM

Zucchini Brownies

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)
Mix together in a bowl and then add
1/4 cup oil and 2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 cups grated zucchini.
Mix using a wooden spoon until moistened. Pour into a well greased 9x13 inch baking tin. Bake at 180 C for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting.
Now I did make some changes to this recipe... because it seemed too dry. I added 1 egg and some milk until it was moistened. Also I added on another 5 minutes to the cooking time.

These aren't overly sweet. but they are very very moorish!!!! And you know what? You wouldn't have a clue that you were eating your veg in them either!!!!

Late breaking update...... He loved them!!!! Have checked to see if he likes beets..... .....