tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328137810713213252024-03-05T22:39:39.190+00:00credit crunch kitchenmenus and recipes for budget family cooking, plus a bit of wittering as is my wont...Kitchen Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04325671301617624930noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-32211589120497905382023-01-11T21:35:00.001+00:002023-01-11T21:35:19.138+00:00Fen-style garlic slow braised aubergines with hand smashed noodles<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Inspired by a naughty lunch delivered to my work place from <a href="https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/food-and-drink/fen-noodles" target="_blank">Fen noodles</a> in Old Spitalfield Market, I aspired to recreate their glorious and unctuous garlic aubergine and hand pulled noodles. One of my vegan pals had really loved it and it was their birthday this week, so I thought I'd have a go at home and bring some in for them.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHCwq-ebQ-9Q1X_t9ugZeoBqgOYq76Cn2ZE_u5oozczPmuw-ozcEO0VucIziVAUVd7ZgZVqwqu2pe2yPykDd8XaRyd81iI7ivxGdT9iMIEbcovZBTaOu09XjpZa4ml7_JVYdaNSpnflqGtbEgzvpH_mpUBAGUzj1goK0NFW5WGHEVSoHa3kt0FIQV/s4032/PXL_20230109_183634600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHCwq-ebQ-9Q1X_t9ugZeoBqgOYq76Cn2ZE_u5oozczPmuw-ozcEO0VucIziVAUVd7ZgZVqwqu2pe2yPykDd8XaRyd81iI7ivxGdT9iMIEbcovZBTaOu09XjpZa4ml7_JVYdaNSpnflqGtbEgzvpH_mpUBAGUzj1goK0NFW5WGHEVSoHa3kt0FIQV/s320/PXL_20230109_183634600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfhZkPHex22p6yC-DHYBYQJV2ico4jHwxzLXwe7n_5PSWeIQ9sQuRqEk9q95Qm9-DdzW4driY1b78O_wBiZUtmM1-J3lbgAwuUA9XrSb14E7zRjMXiUjHQezdTDVKF-1SDIrmtPZzYbkHQ-QfeUdzy3Yojd0vFbgn1MDtZLNR7vPr9kKKxdhQdxuN/s2898/PXL_20230109_184732013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="2898" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfhZkPHex22p6yC-DHYBYQJV2ico4jHwxzLXwe7n_5PSWeIQ9sQuRqEk9q95Qm9-DdzW4driY1b78O_wBiZUtmM1-J3lbgAwuUA9XrSb14E7zRjMXiUjHQezdTDVKF-1SDIrmtPZzYbkHQ-QfeUdzy3Yojd0vFbgn1MDtZLNR7vPr9kKKxdhQdxuN/s320/PXL_20230109_184732013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Serves 4 - 6</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Ingredients:</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3 to 4 medium aubergines (yes, it's a lot - it shrinks down)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 to 2 TABLESPOONS of finely chopped garlic (yes, it's a lot, it is honestly not overpowering</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tablespoon lao gan ma crispy chilli oil or chilli bean paste</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">crushed chillies (optional) </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2-3 tablespoons soy sauce</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar, or balsamic vinegar, or rice vinegar with dumpling dipping sauce mixed</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 tablespoons ground nut oil (or more as needed)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">some spring onions, finely sliced, divided into white and green parts.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">350 - 500g dried lasagne sheets </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><i>Side note about garlic: I usually buy peeled garlic cloves in bulk from Costco or Booker and then chop half in a food chopper/processor and freeze it and I freeze the unchopped garlic separately also. If you can be bothered, you can freeze the chopped garlic in ice cube trays initially and then pop them out into bags, but I can't usually be bothered and I don't like the garlic residue on the ice cube trays (yes, I've tried keeping some separate just for this purpose but that really only works if you live alone as no-one in a family or house share listens to these sorts of rules) and I quite like smashing up the frozen lumps of chopped garlic to get however much I need. It's cathartic.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I start by cubing up the aubergine and heating the oil and frying the aubergine at quite a high heat. Unless you have a catering size wok, you may need to do this in batches until the cubes are nicely browned on all sides and the skins look browner rather than purple.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once they all fit in the wok at once, add the garlic, the white part of the spring onion and the salt. and then continue to stir and toss so that the garlic doesn't catch or burn. Once the garlic is soft, and the aubergine is starting to collapse on itself, add the chilli paste (either lao gan ma or chilli bean paste - I've seen both in supermarkets) and stir well, coating all the cubes with the shiny, red oil with its deliciously savoury chilli or soybean and chilli bits. You may wish to add some crushed chillies at this point, it rather depends on your tolerance and the fierceness of your chilli paste.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once it is all nicely mixed, add the soy sauce and vinegar, pouring around the edge and tossing it all well. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Now, reduce the heat and let the aubergine cook down.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Now for the carb element. I really liked the hand pulled noodles we had from Fen. I do not, however, have the time or energy - or even inclination on a weekday - to make hand pulled noodles myself, but I really wanted to get that chewy, irregular pasta/noodle mouthfeel. Inspiration struck me quite literally when a box of dried lasagne sheets fell out of the larder onto me! I got the kids to break the sheets up into irregular pieces and then I cooked the pieces in plenty of salted water just as I would any other pasta shape.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once they were done - around 11 mins - I used a slotted scoop and tongs to lift them out of the water and drop them straight into the aubergine (once that was done). I mixed them all together and scattered the green part of the spring onions on top and served! If I had needed to, I could have used some of the noodle cooking water to lubricate the dish, but it wasn't needed this time.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Now, it wasn't anywhere near as FIERCELY spicy as the Fen noodles one, but we all loved it, and my pal was over the moon (despite the moderated chilli levels) and said it was an amazing birthday gift!</span></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-76804238671184333742022-04-11T16:11:00.003+01:002022-04-14T17:33:18.851+01:00Traybaked chicken with clementines and courgettes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSGqqwFO2I9493-rKf-M6W0wC6f1FPD1oMW5t0M6Otoh-o667JzbVJnLYBrBD4iAmpOZQe9clKvZkaYAFPf00IGPjH_Qtm1QUWCQu6uiS4XhM_xbZgQQS5NecHHtfAd2ed-RIvQT6xQLSf7PzwusPk1Sfm_m7Ppyg4m4-BVQTuT_sPzF7CXJOSFoN/s3467/PXL_20220407_180705283.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1765" data-original-width="3467" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSGqqwFO2I9493-rKf-M6W0wC6f1FPD1oMW5t0M6Otoh-o667JzbVJnLYBrBD4iAmpOZQe9clKvZkaYAFPf00IGPjH_Qtm1QUWCQu6uiS4XhM_xbZgQQS5NecHHtfAd2ed-RIvQT6xQLSf7PzwusPk1Sfm_m7Ppyg4m4-BVQTuT_sPzF7CXJOSFoN/s320/PXL_20220407_180705283.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Traybaked chicken with clementines and courgettes</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">As part of my quest to find interesting and delicious new meals for the family, I stumbled upon an interesting sounding recipe on the M&S app. It, however, featured fennel, of which I am not a huge fan following overloading via Abel and Cole boxes over the years. I decided to use celery and courgette instead to up the veggie quotient and I'm happy to say it was a great success. Ok, Papa still pulled a face, but the kids had no such qualms. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">The M&S app recipe was written TERRIBLY and I've made enough tweaks to say that I've made this my own, so here goes:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 pack of chicken thighs (6 - 8 thighs in the pack)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3 tbsp olive oil</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tbsp Dijon mustard</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">4-6 clementines or other small peelie oranges</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 -2 red onions</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">half a head of celery</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2-4 courgettes</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">4-6 (or more) unpeeled garlic cloves</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">rosemary or thyme (optional)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">a handful or a cupful of frozen peas (optional)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">100ml chicken or veg stock (I use the granules in a tub)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Heat the oven to 190 degrees/gas 5</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Juice 3 of the clementines and mix with the oil and mustard in a large glass bowl.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the chicken thighs and mix well with salt and pepper and leave to marinate for 30 mins if you can spare the time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">While this sits, cut the onions into half moons, and roughly chop the celery and the courgettes. Reserve the celery leaves (also chopped) for a garnish.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Spread on a roasting tray with some rosemary or thyme and the unpeeled garlic cloves.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the chicken and marinade on top and then add the stock.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Cook for 45 mins until chicken is fully cooked.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">If using the peas, add them to the tray and cook through for another 3 mins.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">While the chicken is cooking, slice the remaining clementine(s) and char onto a griddle pan for around a minute until they caramelise.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Use to garnish along with the reserved celery leaves.</span></p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Serve with airfried baby potatoes - I like to dress a pack of baby potatoes with salt, pepper, paprika, dried rosemary, olive oil and lime juice and then airfry for 20 mins.<br /> </span><p></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-38826476518161029492021-06-21T21:32:00.003+01:002021-06-21T21:34:12.647+01:00Sone's Tandoori lamb chops and Nate's tasty rice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfdQtM_uK2LmLiS2wNUl5kgxVLHdEU5cS63gt4-t6hKA_0R9_ROP94CZtZVcvA_-Qf1Q4UGERMZvX-wa4yhwJKrH0x0ixz1BiX-b70GX_PuZDbGX4pLW7x_ujKnab9jPTp5BqlQGy57M/s2048/tandoori+lamb+chops.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1499" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfdQtM_uK2LmLiS2wNUl5kgxVLHdEU5cS63gt4-t6hKA_0R9_ROP94CZtZVcvA_-Qf1Q4UGERMZvX-wa4yhwJKrH0x0ixz1BiX-b70GX_PuZDbGX4pLW7x_ujKnab9jPTp5BqlQGy57M/s320/tandoori+lamb+chops.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">As we enter the barbecue season, some supermarkets put together meat packs which can be great value, and Papa managed to score an amazing value lamb pack which happened to include some beautiful lamb chops. I decided to use my amazing sister (in-law)'s way of tandoorifying food, and so I marinaded the chops in the early afternoon and then cooked them in just a few minutes on the Ninja Max grill. They were astounding! I paired them with some steamed broccoli and some tasty buttery pilau style rice using the secret tip imparted by Big'Un's amazing boyfriend, Nate.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">As I'm brown, I often get asked how to tandoori things, and I've never really done much this way, so never been able to suggest much other than "buy some tandoori powder?" so I'm really pleased to be able to share this. I recall I used to avoid tandoori because of the bad colourings used, but it's now pretty easy to find packets of tandoori powder.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">To serve 4-5 people, you will need:</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">6-8 lamb chops or cutlets</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*about 150g plain yoghurt</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*3 tbsp tandoori powder</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*salt, pepper</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*1 tbsp chaat masala</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*about half a cup of onion/garlic/ginger paste (I used 2 blocks of (defrosted) frozen ginger garlic paste, and one small bitzed up onion) </span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">*a drizzle of oil</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">2 cups rice</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">1tsp ghee/butter/vegetable oil</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">3 tsps <a href="https://kucharek.pl/en/produkty/universal-vegetable-seasoning/">Kucharek Polish seasoning</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">a small piece of cinnamon</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">3 cardomom pods</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">1 bayleaf</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">broccoli</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">- optional to serve - Costco Jalapeno hummus</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">To make this:</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">First, marinate the lamb. I did this around 4pm and I grilled them at about 6pm. You can do it for longer or for as little as 30 mins. Mix all the starred ingredients (these are Sonia's amazing flavour combinations) together and then add the lamb and mix and coat well. Cover and leave.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">When you are 30 mins away from your meal time, heat the ghee (or inferior alternative) in a large saucepan and add the spices (bayleaf, cardamom and cinnamon.) After a few minutes, they will start to release a lovely fragrance. Now add the rice, and the Polish seasoning, (this is the secret Nate gave me) and stir to coat well. </span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">A minute later you can add the water, you will need 2 and a half cups of water for this amount (2 cups) of good quality basmati rice. Cover and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, turn the flame down as far as possible and let it simmer for 15 minutes. You know the drill, as soon as the timer goes off, switch off the hob, and then set another timer for 5 minutes and DO NOT TOUCH THE PAN. When the timer goes off again, <i>then</i> you can lift the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">Back to the lamb. While the rice is simmering, heat up your grill. You can use a griddle pan, or a barbecue, or the grill setting of a gas or electric oven, but I used the Ninja Grill Max (which is known as the XL in American and some other countries.)<br /><br />I heated the grill with the grill plate in to high, and then added the chops well spaced. I had to cook them in 2 batches , but they didn't take long, so it really wasn't a problem. I used tongs to lift them out of the marinade and I made sure I didn't drip the marinade all over the place. I closed the grill and left it alone for about 4 - 5 minutes to sear and stripe. Then I turned the chops and closed the lid again. After another 4-7 minutes depending on thickness of chop and size, they were all charred and striped and really delicious. </span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;">I served the chops with some steamed broccoli, and the rice, and some amazing jalapeno hummus I found in Costco! If you like some yoghurt and pickles or chutneys could also be nice on the side, or a crisp salad if that's more your thing. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-17018708231819630002021-05-04T21:18:00.004+01:002021-05-04T21:18:55.391+01:00Air fryer Buffalo wings, with (mild) blue cheese sauce<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9vphPv2tDv3aiKe4RR5EGN4fiv-rOFRLbqnigJb79vLHbBeLI-8rZ6Q9kBvVsBRykiGmHU33pgU7O26XCRrrWgaPIrFXVp79Zeo1_WAQCyhTxDLdJROudG3s_c4n6Zof2n1pt6A9Rmc/s2411/IMG_20210504_181809%257E2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2411" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9vphPv2tDv3aiKe4RR5EGN4fiv-rOFRLbqnigJb79vLHbBeLI-8rZ6Q9kBvVsBRykiGmHU33pgU7O26XCRrrWgaPIrFXVp79Zeo1_WAQCyhTxDLdJROudG3s_c4n6Zof2n1pt6A9Rmc/w320-h239/IMG_20210504_181809%257E2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">During lockdown, I jumped on the airfryer bandwagon, and now I seem to have ended up with a Ninja Foodi and a Ninja Grill Max. They do honestly make some things so crispy delicious and they are much easier to clean up than pots and pans, and they do cook with a LOT less oil or fat.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">One of the things everyone raves about is the old Buffalo wings, so here's my version (with some help from Godpapa) which is in part from this BBC Good Food one, and in part from a lot of reading around various air fryer online communities and working out what we liked best.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Buffalo Wings</span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 pack of chicken wings</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">a few tablespoons of self raising flour, or cornflour with gluten free baking powder added.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 tablespoons of avocado oil</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">salt and pepper</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">50g butter</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">5 tablespoons hot sauce (I prefer Frank's Buffalo Wings Sauce)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1) split wings into drums and flats</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2) pat dry</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3) lightly oil (avocado oil)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">4) toss in seasoned SR flour</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">5) air fry for 20-35 minutes at 200C, stirring occasionally</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">6) While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a pan, and add the vinegar and hot sauce. Stir to emulsify. When mixed, put in the bottom of a large bowl or serving dish.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">7) put hot chicken directly into bowl/dish of sauce, toss gently to coat. </span></span></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Mild blue cheese sauce</span></span></h4><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crumble about an ounce of blue cheese into a small dish. Add 3 tablespoons of plain set yoghurt, 2 tablespoons of soured cream, 1 teaspoon of celery salt and half a teaspoon of paprika. Stir well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> to mix and blend and evenly spread the cheese through the sauce. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Serve the chicken with the sauce, some potato wedges and some sticks of celery - and plenty of napkins!</span></span></div><p><br /></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-73144005277698488282021-03-29T20:26:00.004+01:002021-03-29T20:26:40.756+01:00Paneer and sweetcorn curry<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdhc08dgT6LD7HPkGXCIAJWrK4riLTT5V_W0LLtpiFP54jdu5q6V5JXbVidgIFlYr4LV6SUZYWlgDenAFzhb9m9-8WiSJOTqGpBHgyCVThvP3zcpvvbx85C1vLTAbGEmOvr5DY-YDp6A/s2048/Jay%2527s+birthday+thali.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1492" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdhc08dgT6LD7HPkGXCIAJWrK4riLTT5V_W0LLtpiFP54jdu5q6V5JXbVidgIFlYr4LV6SUZYWlgDenAFzhb9m9-8WiSJOTqGpBHgyCVThvP3zcpvvbx85C1vLTAbGEmOvr5DY-YDp6A/s320/Jay%2527s+birthday+thali.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I haven't made this dish in a while and so I was looking through my blog to refresh my memory as to how I made it, and I was horrified to find I hadn't blogged it ever yet!</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">As Big'Un is at Uni and sometimes turns to Mama's blog to find the recipes for the dishes she misses, I thought I'd better get it blogged. Turns out Middl'Un LOVED the dish and talked about needing me to "post it to her" when *she* goes to Uni, so I thought even MORE reason to get it written down! (So that she can cook it so I don't have to explain why I won't be able to post it...)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Ingredients:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">one pack of paneer (around 225-250g)</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 teaspoon of cumin seeds</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">one small onion, finely chopped</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">half a tin of chopped tomatoes</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">250g sweetcorn (I use frozen, but tinned would also be fine)</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">pinch of turmeric if wished </span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">salt to taste</span></li><li><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">ground black pepper to taste</span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Method:</span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Cut the paneer block into smallish cubes, about the size of playing dice. Fry gently in a little vegetable oil or ghee. Keep turning until they are crispy and brown on all (or most of) the sides. </span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the cumin seeds and when they start to sizzle, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until soft. Add the turmeric if using. Continue to fry until the rawness of the turmeric is gone, and the garlic and onion are very soft and translucent.</span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the tinned tomatoes and a little water. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are "melted" down. Stir well and add the sweetcorn. Season with the salt and pepper and cover. Allow to simmer for 10-15 mins. Stir well when done and serve with hot buttery chapatti.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-76183140730286957052021-01-28T09:35:00.001+00:002021-01-28T09:37:11.965+00:00Kimchi Fried Rice with fresh pickled veg<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvYArO4zA9qvDM2rhd36KNSAmlCjTwdexbv_LA2n-htSnLJChNuu4QKnMvTVk_CGteO_N5fhCL2zu0h60alD_vTW2oBepcuQc1r8Dr9-AqtKqzybkWH4XqefDKZohXw4TMXc9Us6Iv2A/s3213/IMG_20210126_182708.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1984" data-original-width="3213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvYArO4zA9qvDM2rhd36KNSAmlCjTwdexbv_LA2n-htSnLJChNuu4QKnMvTVk_CGteO_N5fhCL2zu0h60alD_vTW2oBepcuQc1r8Dr9-AqtKqzybkWH4XqefDKZohXw4TMXc9Us6Iv2A/s320/IMG_20210126_182708.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">My lovely extended family had kept mentioning having cooked kimchi fried rice, and I was intrigued. Having made a Sunday pot roast chicken, I had deliberately kept some meat back to use during the week. Some went in sandwiches, as having 4 people at home for lunch every day means we want to have interesting and varied lunches, and some I had earmarked for a chicken fried rice. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I had found <a href="https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/prawn-and-kimchi-fried-rice/r4rdizce?r=recipes/collections/29brc5oy">this</a> recipe online with some really lovely fresh crunchy pickled vegetables as a salad to go with the rice, and my lovely nephew sent me the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=238119110730945">video</a> that he uses for the recipe, and so using what I had I cooked a mashup of the two that suited us perfectly. However, I didn't want to lose the combined method so what better thing to do than blog it! </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">You will need:</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 cups of cooked and cooled rice.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 cup of kimchi, drained, liquid reserved, chopped</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 - 2 tablespoons of gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 cloves of garlic, sliced</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3-4 spring onions, sliced, green and white parts kept separate</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">leftover cooked chicken</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">If you want to do the vegetables as well, you will need:</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">half a bunch of radishes, thinly sliced</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">150g baby cucumber, thinly sliced</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 carrot, cut into matchsticks</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">60ml (1/4 cup) cider or red vinegar</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tsp caster sugar</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tsp salt flakes</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">First make the pickle by dissolving the sugar and salt in the vinegar and adding all the thinly prepared veg and tossing well. Leave to absorb the pickling dressing.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Next, heat the oil in a wok and fry the chicken. After a minute or two, add the garlic and white parts of the spring onions. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">When it is starting to brown at the edges, add the chopped kimchi. Continue to stir and now add the cooked, cooled rice. Stir through the gochujang and also the reserved liquid from the kimchi. Mix very well so all the rice is coated evenly in the sauces. Once the rice is thoroughly heated through, serve, with the pickled vegetables on the side. Sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds if liked.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1oxw7fon4aDjUO211FeWlQFlm1YhnxhpDrAjDZ0bhq3vlO8Du5rZWeuNIFRHmz1NwpuBbgBr1hQM5c3k-kTyLOUmVRDybhxTxvU2QRIF8-AgXDiMne90Jigw6HLlhPCGyb4XBk88VCg/s2398/IMG_20210126_171516.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1984" data-original-width="2398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1oxw7fon4aDjUO211FeWlQFlm1YhnxhpDrAjDZ0bhq3vlO8Du5rZWeuNIFRHmz1NwpuBbgBr1hQM5c3k-kTyLOUmVRDybhxTxvU2QRIF8-AgXDiMne90Jigw6HLlhPCGyb4XBk88VCg/s320/IMG_20210126_171516.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEunMO_nuB_4EMyfkBc9Dg8WqHV7W0OzuGLNBQN_H9ipuYYjPRkjWjZIlR7uEmbaYib6drQftaljE4xHLZDQhrdV44U4Zl0Ud4vw91cBbWzMrOtBm4HqFOdMufM_zhNNL6RRj61gTJ-rE/s3968/IMG_20210126_182113.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1984" data-original-width="3968" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEunMO_nuB_4EMyfkBc9Dg8WqHV7W0OzuGLNBQN_H9ipuYYjPRkjWjZIlR7uEmbaYib6drQftaljE4xHLZDQhrdV44U4Zl0Ud4vw91cBbWzMrOtBm4HqFOdMufM_zhNNL6RRj61gTJ-rE/s320/IMG_20210126_182113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-35778921897588740132020-11-23T20:50:00.000+00:002020-11-23T20:50:40.971+00:00Meatless Monday Courgette and Haricot pasta<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">This filling and veg packed pasta dish is really satisfying and moreish. You don't HAVE to serve it on a Monday, obviously!</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvejDHvzJBvLH1gZHMUMcQXW5mUxNCeUD3BhyF2ne9VIx2l1HKqhPgzkmYlR7fZCR9iQJM1jUaiSIjDlbOTy6UQVtHAqxIBJfcvdBM7psC_5RVtz_biJiQ-XolbjMwDMz3v3eefOyqTE/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2020-11-23+at+18.14.03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvejDHvzJBvLH1gZHMUMcQXW5mUxNCeUD3BhyF2ne9VIx2l1HKqhPgzkmYlR7fZCR9iQJM1jUaiSIjDlbOTy6UQVtHAqxIBJfcvdBM7psC_5RVtz_biJiQ-XolbjMwDMz3v3eefOyqTE/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-11-23+at+18.14.03.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><br /></span><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Ingredients</span> :</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 medium to large onion</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3 large courgettes</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 can of beans (haricot, borlotti, cannelini etc)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">400g pasta twists or similar shapes of your prference</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">salt and pepper to taste.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tsp mixed herbs</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tsp Marigold</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">red chilli flakes to taste</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">grated cheese if desired, or Engevita flakes</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">double cream if you want or have it, or Oatly cream.</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Method:</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Finely slice the onion and fry in a good glug of olive oil, on a medium heat. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Cut the courgettes lengthwise and slice thinly - I'll admit I used a food processor for this and it was a boon. Once the onions are soft and starting to mellow, tip in the courgettes and stir well to coat. Turn the heat up and keep stirring for a few minutes. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the salt and pepper, mixed herbs and chilli flakes and keep stirring and mixing. Lower the heat very slightly, and allow to soften and cook down.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Boil the water for the pasta, salt the water once it's boiling, and then cook the pasta for 10 minutes.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once the courgettes are softer, sprinkle in the Marigold powder and add a little of the water from the can of beans. Mix well. Drain the rest of the can and add the beans to the courgettes. Mix thoroughly, lower the heat and cover.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the courgette mixture. Stir well to mix, and add the cheese or Engevita flakes. Finally add the cream if using.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg99T2dtrDndINfvk7wdLp2TlY0zjxwih33gq1nFTJEo4EGaXhtonnGG9sQh_FS8jrynrj932UpYdg0HqkS7oZ7jv6qQKZOzNji_jFMlPEfNsnuQIAosFoHi8MqFGB6ghT_sNC1MAvKD3o/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2020-11-23+at+18.14.03+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg99T2dtrDndINfvk7wdLp2TlY0zjxwih33gq1nFTJEo4EGaXhtonnGG9sQh_FS8jrynrj932UpYdg0HqkS7oZ7jv6qQKZOzNji_jFMlPEfNsnuQIAosFoHi8MqFGB6ghT_sNC1MAvKD3o/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-11-23+at+18.14.03+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-27237875923724813502020-11-16T21:12:00.002+00:002020-11-16T21:20:23.454+00:00Peanut noodles with smacked cucumbers<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gFvr3mkON6d9tNZhAUQeuq0uUESfZ2GvS7DA-xmuq7gWIa7q2IdK0JDMoXSsswv-MXTnqItxVlrVFmK4_lFPY185BngWkanZQC83iQPFfAsaOLaXFb-219SRx3OWSPUr7CPrZUsOrhc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1541" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gFvr3mkON6d9tNZhAUQeuq0uUESfZ2GvS7DA-xmuq7gWIa7q2IdK0JDMoXSsswv-MXTnqItxVlrVFmK4_lFPY185BngWkanZQC83iQPFfAsaOLaXFb-219SRx3OWSPUr7CPrZUsOrhc/" width="319" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">If we are busy on the weekend or if Papa is working and we don't have a chance to go shopping, I get to get creative with my storecupboard for Meatless Monday!</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">The kids are not big fans of daal and rice and I find I'm often hungry again soon after rice anyway, so I was thinking of something different to do. I remembered that we'd had some peanutty noodle dishes from Hello Fresh which had included chicken and I'd felt the chicken was not really adding flavour, and I also remembered a dish from a book we used to use a lot: <a href="https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Wolf-Kitchen-Penguin-cookery-library/dp/0140262458/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=wolf+in+the+kitchen&qid=1605555848&sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Wolf in the Kitchen</a> which was simple and filling, so I sort of smushed the 2 ideas together. I had a bendy half head of broccoli and a lovely organic cucumber in the fridge, so I googled a nice smacked cucumber recipe as I've been wanting to try this for ages and lo and behold I even had some fresh veggies for the meal! This was filling and tasty! The kids also didn't ask where the meat was...</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">NB This is only vegan if you use non-egg noodles and make sure the chilli oil is vegan/vegetarian as some types have fish or prawns in! As you know I am NOT vegan, but if you are, I don't want to inadvertantly cause a problem.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Noodles:</b></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Ingredients:</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 cloves of garlic<br />3 or 4 spring onions<br />2 tbsp peanut butter (crunchy works well)<br />25g creamed coconut<br />some broccoli or other green veg. Mange tout, green beans, pak choi, cabbage etc<br />4 leaves of medium egg noodles or similar<br />100ml boiling water<br />soy sauce, ketjap manis, salt, sesame oil, sriricha - to taste</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p></blockquote><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Method:</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Slice and fry the garlic and spring onion on a low heat to soften and mellow the garlic. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">In another pan, cook the noodles. Drain when done and keep ready.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">After a few minutes of frying the garlic and spring onion, add the broccoli or whatever green veg you have if it is at all robust. Once that has started to soften, add the peanut butter and creamed coconut and the 100ml water to dissolve and spread. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">If you are using green leafy veg, add it now.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">When the veg is almost done, add the drained noodles to the pan and mix well. Add the flavouring sauces and seasonings to your preferred taste.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Serve with the smacked cucumber.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Smacked Cucumber:</b></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Ingredients:</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 (organic) cucumber<br />2 cloves garlic, crushed<br />1 tsp salt<br />2 tbsp rice vinegar<br />1 tbsp soy sauce</span> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tsp sugar</span> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2 tsp chilli oil</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 tbsp sesame oil<br />optional 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds</span></div></blockquote><p><b><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Method:</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Using the flat of the knife blade, or a meat mallet, or a rolling pin, whack the cucumber all along its length. Take your time to enjoy this. Imagine it's (insert name of currently relevant idiotic politician)'s head or face. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once it is good and split, chop it into 2cm pieces and put the pieces in a bowl and add the salt. Leave aside for 30 mins.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">When it has sat in the salt, reverse drain it with a sieve or colander and pat dry with kitchen paper. DO NOT RINSE. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jug and pour over the cucumber. Top with the optional toasted sesame seeds. Use any left over dressing with the noodles, or with some steamed edamame in pods for a tasty side dish.</span></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-16745578592006047552020-08-31T17:34:00.001+01:002021-06-26T20:49:36.599+01:00spicy meat pulao<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Papa had a whole load of super cheap reductions from the meat counter one evening shift at work, and so we put a load of steaks and similar in the freezer for future "pay it forward" use.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I defrosted a beautiful sirloin one day, and had intended to add it to a salad, but it turned out to be a cold and gloomy day and so I decided we needed something warmer and more comforting.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I trimmed the fat off and rendered as much as I could down in a very hot non-stick pan. I cubed up the beef into quite small dice (1-1.5cm) and then seared them quickly in the hot fat. </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Next I added a teaspoon of ground cumin, one of onion salt and a heaped teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper. Then I added a bay leaf and once that was nice and fragrant, I put in 2 cups of washed basmati rice.<span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I sprinkled in some Marigold powder and stirred it around and finally added in 3 cups of boiling water.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">I put the lid on and once it was boiling again, I turned the heat down to allow it to simmer and then set a timer for 13 mins.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once the timer went off, I simply switched off the heat, and set another timer for another 5 mins.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Once THAT timer went off, I added a little grinding of salt and served it with butter.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">It was delicious and an amazing way to make one steak go a LOT further.</span></p><p><br /></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-33121813988219285092020-08-21T11:46:00.000+01:002020-08-21T11:46:10.254+01:00Easy on the go breakfast cups<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">The quest for acceptable holiday breakfasts continues. I've tried a few online recipes, and found many that are suitable, but the kids either get bored or find some issue with the results quite quickly. I don't want to compromise, and I want a handful of solutions that I can put on rotation. After a lot of trial and error, I came up with this iteration which is a mix of a couple of different recipes.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">1 and a half cups of oats</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2-3 tbsp of ground flax seed or similar (I used Aldi's ground linseed with raspberry and blueberry powder)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3 small brown bananas</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">3 tbsp smooth peanut butter (I used Whole Earth)</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">2tbsp coconut oil</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">half a cup of dark chocolate chips</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly oil 10-12 silicon muffin cases.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Mash the bananas as smoothly as you can in a small bowl. Add the peanut butter and mix until well blended. Now add the coconut oil. If you've used a peanut butter that is even more natural and separated, you may not need as much or any coconut oil.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">In a bigger bowl, mix the oats and the flax seed. You could add some chia as well if you like.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Stir through the choc chips.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Add the banana peanut butter mix and combine well. Divide between muffin cups and bake for 15 mins.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Remove when done, they should be browned and slightly crisp around the edges. Allow to cool for a few mins and then turn carefully onto a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;">Serve with berries if liked.</span></p><p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia;"><br></span></p><p><br></p>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-42972719953868421302020-07-21T11:23:00.000+01:002020-07-21T11:23:06.275+01:00Toor daal<font color="#800180" face="georgia">You can find these glossy oil-coated split pigeon peas in most supermarkets here in London. Many recipes exist as the lentil is used both in the north and the south of India. I've seen different spellings on recipes that reflect the language or dialect spoken - tuar, toovar, tur, and its also known as arhar dal, but the most common spelling and word is toor, so I'll stick to that here.</font><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">I have used 2 different recipes frequently. One was told to me by my mother, and the other is one I used to use from the side of the lentil packet! I copied it down because I realised I might one day have to get a different brand, or the manufacturers might change the packaging! I have another recipe stashed away that's a Parsi recipe which I'll add to this blog at some point in the future.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">This daal is usually a medium thickness and served with rice.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><b><font color="#800180" face="georgia">My Mum's version:</font></b></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1 cup of toor daal</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">handful of redskin peanuts (unsalted)</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1 whole tomato</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1/4 teaspoon of turmeric</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">salt to taste.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Add the above to a small pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water and give pressure for 7 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally to avoid it spitting and frothing at you, and then open the lid. Now you need to add some jaggery/gur to the dal, to taste. I have used muscavado sugar in place of this, but it doesn't have the complexity of flavours and is much sweeter than jaggery.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">While the lentils are cooking, make a tarka (tempering) of 1tsp mustard seeds, 2-3 sliced garlic cloves, a pinch of asafoetida, a few curry leaves, 1 whole green chilli and one whole dried red chilli.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Add the tarka to the lentils and garnish with chopped coriander leaves (if you hate me.)</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Serve with simple steamed basmati rice and a smile.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><b><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Packet side recipe</font></b></div><div><b><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></b></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">228g oily toor</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">114g chopped yam or sweet potato</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">75g redskin peanuts</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">2 tbsp ghee</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1/4 tsp cumin seeds</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1/2 tsp asafoetida</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">3 chopped plum tomatoes</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1 tsp ginger paste</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1/2 tsp chilli powder</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1/2 tsp turmeric</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">salt to taste</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">1 tbsp jaggery</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">juice of half a lemon or 1 tbsp tamarind paste</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Wash and drain the lentils. Place in a pan and add 750 ml water, the peanuts and the yam.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins. </font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Heat ghee and fry cumin until brown. Add asafoetida, tomatoes, ginger and chilli powder and fry gently.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Add this to the dal mixture. Stir well and simmer until the grains and yam are soft and fully cooked. </font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Add water if needed, but be sure to cook it in. Finally add the lemon or tamarind and jaggery and stir well. </font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Serve with rice.</font></div><div><br /></div>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-5165543166074994232020-07-20T23:19:00.001+01:002020-07-20T23:19:28.114+01:00Bengali style chana daal <font color="#800180" face="georgia">I really never loved this daal when I was growing up. It's thick and sweetish, and the grains are still very slightly firm to the bite and separate, not completely liquid, like more well-known daals. This is often eaten with luchi or puri - the small round deep-fried discs of featherlight bread often reserved for less day to day meals in Bengal. Luchis are the plain white breads, that taste both soft and crispy, and taste like flaky, fatty, slightly chewy morsels of joy. Puris are no less delightful, albeit made with the slightly more healthy partly wholemeal chapatti flour. The taste is slightly less guilt-inducing, but just as delicious. </font><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">I am not practiced at making these, so I am not making any attempts to blog recipes for the breads, but there are many recipes and videos for them out there. So here is the chana dal recipe my mother taught me. The main reason I used to eat this was for the sneaky nuggets of juicy fried coconut that hide in amongst the lentils, now I have learned to love the dish for itself.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><b>Chana daal </b></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">These are split polished chickpeas, NOT split yellow peas, but I have been told those work very well as a substitute if you can't find chana dal. I have seen it in most supermarkets, however, so if you can get it, do try it with the correct thing.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">First, boil 2 and a half cups of water in the pressure cooker. Then add one cup of chana dal, half a teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon each of coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt and also a pinch of sugar. Stir well and cover and bring to pressure. Cook for 9 minutes.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">While this is cooking, gently fry some finely chopped fresh coconut until it is lightly toasted. Set aside.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">When the dal is finished, and the pressure has released, open the lid, mix the dal well and keep it simmering. It should be thick enough to eat with torn up flatbreads, it should not be so thin that it can mix with rice.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Now heat some ghee and fry a couple of bay leaves, a stick of cassia bark, 2 cardamom pods and a clove. Pour this over the dal. Finally, add the fried diced coconut. </font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#800180" face="georgia">Serve with luchi and enjoy. </font></div>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-46410247809106339242020-07-14T23:33:00.000+01:002020-07-14T23:33:21.297+01:00Moong/Mung Daal - Yellow Mung lentil<font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">When my mother fell seriously ill last year, she was in hospital for some months. She really hated the food, and I tried to cook for her and take it to her in the evenings so she could eat home-cooked hot food at supper time. There were no heating up facilities, so I used to either cook it freshly and put it in a food thermos and drive there at dinner time or I'd cook it earlier/ the day before, and heat it up and put it in a food thermos and drive to the hospital at dinner time. We would also take a metal bowl and a plastic spoon for her to eat from and with, as the hospital only had plates in the evenings and the metal spoons they had were too heavy for her to use comfortably.</font><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Doing this was an honour and a privilege and I will always be grateful that I could do her this one small service as often as I could. I would honestly give anything to cook one more time for her or for my dad.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">One day she asked me to make this specific daal, mung daal. It is often given to patients and the elderly, as it is supposed to be easy to digest. As it was never one I liked as a child, I had never asked her how to make it, so I sat with her and took notes as she described how she cooks this. I'm glad I did that then because soon after that, she lost a lot of the capacity to have told me any more recipes, although she did not die for some months after.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Since that time, I've learned to love this dish and I often cook it now for my vegan and vegetarian friends and colleagues, as well as for the family. The quantities below will serve 1-2 people and rely on using the measurement of the ubiquitous Asian "rice cup" - a plastic cup that comes with most rice cookers - I have since found that the volume of those rice cooker cups is the same as the volume of 2 rice-portion scoops from the Love Food Hate Waste campaigns.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Mung/Moong Daal</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">half a rice cup of yellow mung lentils</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">quarter teaspoon turmeric powder</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">half teaspoon salt</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">half an onion, roughly chopped</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">2 green chillies, one left whole, one broken in half</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">2 cloves of garlic, sliced.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">First, soak the lentils for half an hour.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Drain well and put into the pressure cooker.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Add slightly more than double the volume of water. (About 1 and a quarter rice cups of water.)</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Add the turmeric, salt, onion and green chillies.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Give pressure whichever way you normally do for 8 minutes.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">If possible, allow pressure to release naturally - otherwise, a quick release will be ok, but messy.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Mix well to smash the lentils. I've seen some Indians use a really cool piece of very simple equipment to do this - it looks like a star on a stick, and the star is put in the lentils and the stick is spun between the palms to whisk up the lentils!</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAL7e0Qxdg1gXB4E4nddEEsRtB3RKNEZaC-EKv7ycVirl_KSJyPhF37lU-6xtx5Bj7hKa1SU5zxo5pkH4YrWT9lMe2245pM5KGRCgSONUX1xYGyS08EWa-5LhL_O-bC5gRQUMJRJ_6xY/s437/Screenshot+2020-07-14+at+23.21.51.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAL7e0Qxdg1gXB4E4nddEEsRtB3RKNEZaC-EKv7ycVirl_KSJyPhF37lU-6xtx5Bj7hKa1SU5zxo5pkH4YrWT9lMe2245pM5KGRCgSONUX1xYGyS08EWa-5LhL_O-bC5gRQUMJRJ_6xY/s320/Screenshot+2020-07-14+at+23.21.51.png" /></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Fry the sliced garlic in ghee or vegetable oil until it just starts to brown. Add to the daal. Check the salt and the consistency. If you need to add more water, be sure to continue to heat the daal or the water won't mix in properly. If it pleases you, garnish with chopped fresh coriander. This does not please anyone in my family.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font color="#7b1fa2" face="georgia">Enjoy with rice or chappati. Think of me and my darling mother.</font></div><div><br /></div>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-18517953162909661962020-07-14T22:44:00.001+01:002020-07-14T22:44:45.389+01:00Daal daal daal - starting with masoor (red lentils)<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It came to my attention recently that tho I mention daal often, and I certainly used to cook it often, I don't have many daal recipes actually IN my blog. This is pretty ridiculous as I'm from a south Asian background (my mother was Bengali, my father was Sindhi, I was born in north London) and I do love daal, and apart from the fact that one of my kids isn't always mad about daal - I did used to cook it often!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since both my parents died very close together about 4 months ago, even my reluctant kid has asked for daal and rice - perhaps it's a link to the much-missed grandparents, a comfort connection, a taste from memories linked to the older generation, I don't know, but we've started cooking daal again recently and when I realised that my recipes are handed down from my mother, sister-in-law and grandmother, then I knew I must share them with the world so their love can </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">continue to </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">spread around the world.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can spell it dhal, daal, dahl or however you want, the word just means "lentil". There are probably as many recipes as there are cooks, but every family has their preferred way of cooking each lentil and there are definitely regional trends. I'm not going to write an essay about this now, as many people have covered it far better than I could.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are not cookbook recipes with measurements, tho I'm sure I will revisit them in the future when I have time to measure properly for the western cook, but for now, I want to get them down quickly for people to use the way they were taught to me.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Starting with the first I learned when I was at university and craving home-cooked food:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Masoor Daal (red lentil daal) (potentially vegan)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take one large handful of red lentils <b>per person</b> and put it in a pressure cooker. This will work the same in a traditional hob top or an electric type like Instant Pot.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have very small hands, so I tend to do 6-8 handsful for 4 - 5 people.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add 1 tsp of coriander powder (for this amount of lentils - less for less, more for more, you will learn your tastes over time)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add a pinch of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of salt (see above for amount variations)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add water from the tap until the surface is about an inch to an inch and a half above the top of the lentils in the pan.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Close the cooker and bring to the boil and then turn the heat down when the pressure is up and cook for 5-7 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If using Instant Pot, close the lid and use manual, 6 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can also soak the lentils overnight and then simmer for half an hour instead.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the lentils are cooking, you make the "tempering". This is a flavouring for the lentils, basically. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, slice one small onion and start it frying on a low flame in your oil/butter/ghee of choice. When the onion is nice and soft, add 2 sliced garlic cloves and a finely chopped inch of peeled ginger.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When these are browned and the onions are sticky looking, add half a tin of chopped tomatoes, or 2 chopped fresh tomatoes if you prefer, and about a tablespoon of tomato puree. Stir into the onions etc. By the time those are fully cooked in, the lentils should be cooked and the pressure can then be released if it hasn't already. Now add the tempering to the lentils and stir well. You may at this point want to add water, and perhaps salt, or if it's thinner than you wanted, allow it to cook without the lid to let it thicken.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I'm serving this to guests, I often add cream and butter at this point, but then it's DEFINITELY not vegan, but there are obviously vegan creams or "butters" you could add if you want that richness. None of it is necessary.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All you need now is some steamed basmati rice, a bowl, and a spoon if you want it.</span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-63071531257049307142020-06-10T21:51:00.001+01:002020-06-10T21:51:24.695+01:00Easy peasy creamy pasta<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A very simple dish that I've cooked regularly but never blogged is so simple that I'm almost embarrassed to blog it. But with Big'Un heading to uni in a few weeks, it seems important to note down even these obvious recipes so she can use them when she needs them. This is one she loves and is easy and quick and satisfying. I used to cook it whenever we stayed in a caravan or anywhere self-catering due to the simplicity and low number of ingredients.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 pack of boneless chicken of choice</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">olive oil or butter to fry</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 pack of cream cheese (flavoured if you like - I used black pepper this time; I've used garlic and herb in the past too)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 onion</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">half a teaspoon of garlic granules (optional)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 heaped teaspoon of Marigold (yes, I always take this with me on self-catering holidays)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a splash of white wine</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a bowlful of frozen veg of choice (peas, sweetcorn, a small bag of mixed veg, whatever)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(if you don't have a freezer, a tin of sweetcorn would also work)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">splash of green Tabasco.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">salt and pepper to taste</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">300 - 500g pasta shapes</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Begin by getting the water on to boil. Then chop up the chicken into bitesize pieces and fry them until golden in the oil or butter. Chop the onion while that is frying. Once they are done, remove with a slotted spoon and put the chopped onion into the pan. Fry slowly until translucent. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the water is boiling, add salt to the water and boil the pasta shapes for the time stated on the packet.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the onion is soft, add the chicken back in, with the garlic granules and the Marigold and finally the wine. Stir it all well and add the veg and then pop a lid on and simmer until the pasta is done.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the pasta is cooked, scoop a mug of water out and reserve and then drain the pasta. While that is draining in the colander, add the pack of cream cheese to the chicken and stir it about and let it melt evenly through the chicken.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Carefully mix in the drained pasta and if needed add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to help loosen the whole thing to coat the pasta in the creamy sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and the very important green Tabasco. I haven't found anything that makes this dish quite the way that green Tabasco does, it's the sour tang I just love! Honestly, I love the flavour of it almost as much as I love Marigold; I'm pretty sure my kids don't recognise foods cooked without one or t'other!!</span><br />
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<br />sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-23733876888023713862020-04-13T21:24:00.000+01:002020-04-13T21:24:23.558+01:00courgette and bacon pasta<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, we are a nation in a very different place than the last time I blogged.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covid-19, lockdown, social distancing, queues for entering supermarkets, supply shortages. No pasta, no toilet paper, no flour, no eggs, no ketchup, no tinned tomatoes... Strict limits on purchases of the above if you CAN find them, as well as on hand-wash and hand sanitiser.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm lucky that I've always been a bit of a hoarder, and I like to buy in bulk anyway, and also I'm lucky enough to have a fantastically well-stocked local corner shop - so I can get a lot of basics practically on my doorstep when I need them. Including pasta!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This dish was quick and simple, and veg packed and frugal. Everyone enjoyed it, including Papa who is usually very mistrustful of courgettes.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I used:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 courgettes</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 medium onion</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">125g bacon</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">one teaspoon of butter</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">half a teaspoon of salt</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">half a teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">one teaspoon Marigold powder</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">splash of white wine if you have it, otherwise just splash in some water</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">50-75g plain cream cheese</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">400g pasta </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">grated cheese to serve</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First I chopped up about half a pack of unsmoked back bacon from the corner shop and dry-fried it until golden. This is the point that Papa filled a large pan with water and put it on to boil for the pasta. We used 400g of mixed fusilli - half wholewheat and half tricolori, basically because wholewheat is a bit more filling so goes further and the tricolori is interesting and also its what I found in big bags in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next I topped and tailed and halved and quartered 2 courgettes lengthways and then sliced the quarters up thinly. They weren't at their best, but this didn't really matter. I then halved the onion and sliced one half very thinly and chopped the other half finely.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the bacon was nicely golden, I removed it from the pan with a slotted spoon, and tipped in the courgettes. I left it to brown slightly and soften, and then added the onion and the butter and sprinkled in the salt. I turned the heat down slightly and left it to soften.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meanwhile, at some point the water came to the boil, and so Papa put the pasta on to cook around when I was taking the bacon out. Papa asked me if the sauce would take as long as the pasta, and I wasn't sure, but both were done around the same time in the end!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the veggies were nice and soft, I added the Marigold powder and the splash of wine. Honestly, water would be fine, or cider, or dry sherry if you happen to have it!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the pasta was cooked, I put the bacon back into the pan with the courgettes and also a ladleful of the pasta water. Finally, I stirred the cream cheese into the courgettes and bacon.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tiny had at least 2 helpings, not-so Littl'Un loved it, not-really BigUn enjoyed it too and added it to her plan of things to cook at Uni....</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmSgf86ZDWcexeLVnuNsPcdaEMVatMfirXhg7D-CMCniYNR0y_5IA4u79QIrJxqDOfKLuHru03FwwRvUCcFFbF0vUVTTu8YiPNjAesPFTwfkgdO1BaDXs_ETbS0FCNFQbuKvLRciXagE/s1600/courgette+bacon+pasta.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmSgf86ZDWcexeLVnuNsPcdaEMVatMfirXhg7D-CMCniYNR0y_5IA4u79QIrJxqDOfKLuHru03FwwRvUCcFFbF0vUVTTu8YiPNjAesPFTwfkgdO1BaDXs_ETbS0FCNFQbuKvLRciXagE/s320/courgette+bacon+pasta.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-3290936840279494462019-09-05T23:10:00.000+01:002019-09-05T23:10:23.016+01:00Some kind of fried rice thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpDHumx2SngZcHv5ZTwH7mF3Tda2TRZK6K-v_NpaeKKbXkaeHbuSVKk0pIKOKJbmEk2SYOtkKUYTdAqRHNWTwQv2AuQ6eEQp196BZ6bs6IfgLCWc65-iMiKKKpoxhuUXYGM7yNk21DSI/s1600/283A4EF2-584D-4C71-BBA7-9C3DEE60490C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpDHumx2SngZcHv5ZTwH7mF3Tda2TRZK6K-v_NpaeKKbXkaeHbuSVKk0pIKOKJbmEk2SYOtkKUYTdAqRHNWTwQv2AuQ6eEQp196BZ6bs6IfgLCWc65-iMiKKKpoxhuUXYGM7yNk21DSI/s320/283A4EF2-584D-4C71-BBA7-9C3DEE60490C.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Life has been crazy hectic recently. Both my elderly parents are unwell, one in critical care in hospital, and I’m running in circles to support them both and also keep the kids fed and watered.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meals have to be quick to put on the table, but nutritious and filling and satisfying. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On my way home I asked Papa to chop up some mushrooms which had been languishing in the fridge and once home I took a pack of bacon lardons and a bag of sliced kale which had been bought but not yet used, and created a sort of improvised fried rice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I cooked 2 cups of rice in the microwave (I have a sistema microwave rice steamer currently, but I’ve used microwave rice cookers for as long as I can recall.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While that cooked, I fried the bacon in a very hot wok. When starting to crisp, I removed the bacon using a slotted spoon and then I proceeded to fry the chopped mushrooms in that oil. I then added a handful of frozen chopped onion and a shake or two of frozen chipped garlic. Not the purée or paste, but the roughly chopped garlic so as to keep the flavour at the correct level.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When these were nicely softened and cooked, I added the bag of chopped kale. Of course at first it looked like it wouldn’t fit in the pan, but it soon “melted” down. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By this point, the rice was cooked and I added it to the wok, breaking up any lumps and mixing everything very thoroughly so that no clumps remained. I then added the bacon back along with a little black pepper. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We all enjoyed this dish. Some added a little soy sauce and some added hot sauce of choice, but everyone enjoyed it!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients used:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 large pack of lardons</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 bag of sliced kale</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 punnet brown mushrooms</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">1 onion, finely chopped, or a handful of frozen chopped onion</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Ground nut oil if wished</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Salt and pepper to taste.</span></span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-45906724421194622702019-08-12T20:44:00.000+01:002019-08-12T20:46:20.945+01:00foraged foods - blackberry cake<div>
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Not-so-Littl'Un loves to pick our blackberries, but I never feel I know what to do with them these days. I don't have time or energy or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory" target="_blank">spoons</a> for jam making and there aren't always enough berries for a crumble or a pie, and a blackberry fool is a VERY decadent thing! I don't always cope with too much decadence!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My parents were coming over for supper, and I was just making a very simple pot roast chicken, so I wanted something different for pudding.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I did a bit of googling and managed to find <a href="https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/blackberry-cake" target="_blank">this blackberry cake recipe from The Happy Foodie,</a> because one of the kids won't eat cakes made with ground almonds and LOTS of summer fruits cakes use ground almonds. That same kid later decided to announce that they don't like cake other than fruit cake (don't get me started on the difference between a cake with fruit in, and a fruit cake) so I needn't have actually hunted!!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, it then turned out that I don't have a 23cm cake tin, let alone a springform one, but I DO have a 19cm one and a 25cm one. I decided more is more, rather than less is more, and I thought I could have a go at scaling up the recipe. I had more than enough extra blackberries to scale up with anyway!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The biggest thing to remember with this is not to wash the berries, this can be tricky when they are handpicked, but if you wash them, they become soggy and the cake will be too wet and not rise properly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's my scaled-up version.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">350-400g blackberries</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">175g unsalted or slightly salted butter</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 medium eggs</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">150g caster sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 tbs demerara sugar (or sugar crystals for coffee which is what I used, as I don't have demerara and I wasn't about to buy a bag just for 2 tbs!)</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">300g plain flour</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">150ml semi-skimmed milk</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Equipment:</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">25cm springform cake tin (min 6cm deep)</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">non-stick baking paper</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">cake mixer or electric hand whisk</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Method:</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Line the cake tin with the non-stick baking paper. If you only have greaseproof, make sure you use the dregs of the melted butter to grease the paper. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. Check through the blackberries for dirt or wildlife, and put to one side. Melt the butter, and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. Put the eggs and the sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whisk (not the flat beater or its equivalent) attachment and whisk until pale and fluffy; alternatively use a hand-held electric mixer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until incorporated (I switched to the normal cake beater for this.) Pour the melted butter and milk into the mix, and whisk again.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">5. Sprinkle a handful of the blackberries into the bottom of the prepared tin. Pour about half of the cake mix over the top of the blackberries. Sprinkle half of the remaining blackberries over the cake mix, then add the remaining cake mix. Finally, sprinkle the remaining blackberries over the top and sprinkle with a little caster sugar (or vanilla sugar if you have some).</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">6. Put the cake tin on a flat baking sheet (to catch any potential spillages) and bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until the cake is golden on top and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, before popping the spring open and transferring to a cooling rack. </span></div>
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sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-8787051346199573132019-03-27T22:28:00.001+00:002019-03-27T22:28:47.067+00:00Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Fillets with peanut garlic kale<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After a busy day of running errands, and visiting family, we needed a quick, easy and tasty supper.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First I set the oven heating up to 200 degrees, and then I brushed a foil tray with oil and laid out a pack of boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets - unfolded so they were flat, and smooth side down - and then covered them over with a small bottle of Blue Dragon teriyaki marinade. I had planned to make my own, but I ran out of time, and this was my back up. If I'd had time, I would have left this to marinade for an hour, but I didn't have this luxury, so I drizzled on about a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil and popped it in the now hot oven for 20 mins.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meanwhile, I followed the packet instructions for a bag of sushi rice, up until the point where I cooked it in my rice cooker. No fuss no muss.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After the 20 mins were up I turned the fillets over and sprinkled on some sesame seeds, then put them back for another 15-20 mins.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I finely chopped some spring onions and fried the white part in a lightly oiled wok. I then added some chopped garlic. When both were soft and fragrant, I chucked in a bag of prepared kale. Big'Un isn't great with kale always and found it tough chewing (she's always had an issue with tough leafy foods) and her little brother kindly suggested that next time maybe we could try cavolo nero. I nearly choked for laughing at his terrible "overheard in Waitrose" comment!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the kale was properly mixed with the aromatics, I then added some soy sauce and about a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter, thinned with a little hot water. Basically, I had an almost empty jar which I didn't want to waste, so I swished it out with boiling water and poured it all into the pan. This did a nice job of thickening the sauce and also adding a subtle flavour and texture to the kale. Finally, I sprinkled on a few sesame seeds.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once everything was ready, I put the green parts of the spring onions out to be used as a garnish for the chicken, and I sprinkled the rice with mirin before serving. I also put packets of <a href="https://www.tanaka-foods.co.jp/en/product_line/gohan_ni_mazete.html" target="_blank">Tanaka Gohan sushi rice spice mix</a> for sprinkling on the rice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was also plenty of lovely sticky teriyaki sauce for the rice. The whole meal was a huge success.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We also brought some sushi rice ball makers to the table for a little fun, and these were great too! We used <a href="https://www.superdelivery.com/en/r/pd_p/5272617/" target="_blank">these</a> ones. Tiny hasn't always enjoyed sushi rice, but this way he definitely did! This was a definite "please do make this again Mama" meal!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-32305100074508579932019-03-25T21:18:00.000+00:002019-03-27T21:18:31.590+00:00Cheesey smoked haddock<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mondays are what I call our revolving door days. The girls help at Rainbows and Brownies, both now being too old to actually attend either, and our pack doesn't have enough call for a Guides section. Tiny usually helps if I'm helping too, or he hangs out with Papa for a change. He's the only of the 3 kids who is a fish fan, so I often cook some salmon or some simple white fish for Papa, Tiny and myself to share, and the girls have mini pizzas and veggies which they cook when they need them in the halogen. </span><div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today we had a surplus of milk though, and Tiny wanted in on the pizza action, so Papa brought 3 mini pizzas home and I made a simple ordinary cheese sauce when I got home from work - with my usual touches of malt vinegar and mustard powder, of course.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once we were closer to our mealtime - we usually try and fit in our supper during the longer Brownies' session - I laid some undyed smoked haddock in a buttered dish, and poured the cheese sauce over it. I grated on some hard Italian cheese and then I baked the whole shebang for 20 mins at 200 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I served this with some steamed green beans and some soft white rolls to mop up the tasty cheese sauce. It was simple but satisfying!</span></div>
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sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-44606628076354467082019-01-28T19:22:00.000+00:002019-01-28T19:23:26.611+00:00Express Vegan Noodles<div style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">We have been using discounted Hello Fresh boxes recently, and one recipe for express noodles with chicken had me actually wishing it hadn’t had any chicken. I’m not a fan of chicken breast and I felt by increasing the amount of nuts and veg, this could be cheaper and yet tastier. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjvnz60qRTVb6c-Er5MjE3uT8GDGPNeooqveCcgxQML0Au6u0dbSihNiouQuFqcSUVhweQ0GMHpp3XkiE8EL4KHnszkA3K3Id_xcuQDwAmnSw0-x9H2VqEZD9QSPUy1DGmdatk7W8Xro/s1600/7786B70D-9CDE-4358-AA57-515DB7FD1B5A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="904" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjvnz60qRTVb6c-Er5MjE3uT8GDGPNeooqveCcgxQML0Au6u0dbSihNiouQuFqcSUVhweQ0GMHpp3XkiE8EL4KHnszkA3K3Id_xcuQDwAmnSw0-x9H2VqEZD9QSPUy1DGmdatk7W8Xro/s320/7786B70D-9CDE-4358-AA57-515DB7FD1B5A.jpeg" width="180" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">And it turned out to be very easy to make it vegan, so I did. For fun. Here’s what I did.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">1 bunch of spring onions</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">2 handsful of unsalted cashew nuts</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">2 handsful of salted roasted peanuts</span></div>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17pt;">150-200g sugar snap peas</span><span style="font-size: 17pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">150-200g baby corn</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Approximately 500g noodles of choice - I love fresh ones for speed</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">60ml ketjap manis</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">30ml soy sauce</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">1 tsp toasted sesame oil</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Oil for frying</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Vegan stock powder</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">First split the cashews and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Then finely slice the spring onions and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Then crush the peanuts very roughly. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">At this point, cook the noodles if required and set aside after taking precautions to avoid sticking together as detailed on the packet. If you start them as you start frying the problem shouldn’t arise.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Heat a wok and add a little drizzle of groundnut oil. When hot, add most of the spring onions and stir. After a minute or two, add the halved cashew nuts and continue to stir. Now add the veg (sugar snaps and baby corn) and keep stirring. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">Sprinkle about half to 3/4 of a teaspoon of veg gan stock powder onto the veg and add a splash of water, mix well. Cook until the water has evaporated.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;"> Now you must add most of the peanuts, reserving some for later.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">When the contents of the pan are well mixed, add the noodles and the sauces. Stir well and mix with tongs or cooking chopsticks.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17pt;">When it is all thoroughly coated, and piping hot, serve with the reserved spring onions and peanuts for sprinkling on top at the table.</span></div>
sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-73573112284853649962018-07-06T20:52:00.000+01:002018-07-06T20:59:29.336+01:00Emergency Banana Cake<span style="color: purple; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Our lovely church playgroup has been the joyful participant in the </span><a href="http://fareshare.org.uk/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">FareShare</a><span style="color: purple; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> scheme and a local Tesco Express branch donates pastries and breads most weeks which Papa goes to collect and we share with playgroup and church members, with any left over being taken to a local homeless shelter - so there really is no waste!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, the Tesco we receive donations from has apparently had a broken freezer for a few weeks, and the repair is not likely to be swift. So when I received the text to inform me that there was no donation this week, I decided to use some black bananas to whizz up a cake for <span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">playgroup instead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">I used to bake every Thursday once upon a time, when our playgroup was a small circle of parents and carers, but since beginning online advertising, we've had far higher numbers and I just can't cope with the volume each week!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But just this once, I wanted to. Besides, those bananas were going to go to waste otherwise!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I looked for a quick and easy recipe online using the right amount of banana, and then of course I slightly tweaked what I found because it was too high in sugar for my preferences.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is what I did, I'm afraid I mix and matched the measurements because the original recipe was a "cups" recipe, and while I like that for liquids and powders, I don't like it for things like butter. Just try it, you won't be sorry. At least 7 people asked me for the recipe...</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Emergency Banana Cake</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 oz butter </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3/4 cup sugar. I used a mix of dark brown soft and golden caster sugars</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">2 eggs</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">4-5 mashed bananas</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">2 cups of plain flour</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">1 Preheat the oven to 180˚, and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper. I also used 3 silicone muffin cups as all the mixture didn't fit in the loaf tin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">2 Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, then the bananas. Add the flour and bicarb, and just stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">If you are doing the creaming and egg mixing in a machine, stop and use a spatula to fold the flour and bicarb in by hand.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3 Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30 mins. Remove the smaller cups and turn the loaf around. Cook for another 15 mins and you should find that a toothpick comes out clean by then. Turn out and cool. Slice and share and eat. Sit back and accept the adulation for very little effort.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">HINTS AND TIPS: The recipe suggests using a 9" x 5" pan. I didn't have anything in even a vaguely similar size so I improvised. It suggested using one whole cup of sugar. I reduced this to three quarters, and would actually happily reduce the sugar further than I did already. It also suggested cooking for 1 hour, but I felt my cake was done perfectly, but I do have a new fan oven.</span></div>
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sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-28217126075309215232018-06-23T10:51:00.000+01:002018-06-23T10:51:48.959+01:00another courgette disguising trick - cheesy green sludge<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friday afternoon and I couldn't think what to make. The veg drawer contained mainly carrots, courgettes and mushrooms. Deciding not to take too many risks, I avoided the mushrooms and decided to see if I could do something new with the courgettes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First I wanted something different with the carbs also, and we've had a lot of pasta and rice, and we don't often have a lot of bread in the house, so I got out the bag of red potatoes and using my <a href="https://www.lakeland.co.uk/10389/Bamix-SliceSy-Food-Processor-Attachment" target="_blank">Bamix SliceSy</a> I made thin slices of potato. I steamed them in the microwave for 5 mins and then tipped them into a baking dish. I got not-so Littl'Un to spread them out, season with salt and pepper, cover with milk and cream and dot with butter. We then put them in a preheated oven and let them cook while we got on with the courgette transformation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I chopped up half a pack of streaky bacon and got that frying in a pan. I finely chopped a couple of shallots (because I had them from earlier than the onions - one onion would have been fine also!) and added those to the bacon once it had started browning.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Swapping cutters, I got Big'Un to grate the courgettes in the SliceSy and once the bacon and shallots were cooked the way I like (brown and almost crispy bacon, soft and translucent shallot) we tipped in the grated courgettes, seasoned it all with black pepper, and stirred well. I lowered the flame and allowed it to simmer with the lid on until it eventually turned to almost mush. At this point, I added the thicker cream which was still stuck to the pot after adding the liquid double cream to the potatoes, and a good dollop of butter. Finally, just before serving, I chucked in a good handful of grated cheese and waited for it to melt completely, after stirring it through.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The whole meal was a masterpiece!! Everyone wanted more, and even Tiny didn't patronise me when I called it "cheesy bacon vegetables" - he didn't seem to clock that it was courgettes this time!!!</span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-82157885572512669032018-06-23T09:26:00.000+01:002018-06-23T09:26:31.640+01:00Mama and Tiny's furter rice <span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tiny is 6 now and always asks if he can help me in the kitchen making supper. His bigger siblings don't always offer, and till recently were busy with revision and other stuff, so weren't always in a position to help in any case.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many meals just aren't suitable for adapting to his skillset, and there are days when we don't have the time for him to do the things he can do at Tiny-speed, so sometimes I just get him to sit with me and chat, but on this particular day, I thought he could help me, so I got him to get washed and aproned and he was delighted.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I gave him a pack of 10 frankfurters and a chopping board and a small kitchen knife. I showed him how I wanted him to chop the furters and let him get on with it. We played a game of number bonds with the furters, and I got on with chopping up an onion and slicing some garlic.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I started by frying these latter 2 in a tablespoon of butter in a saute pan, and when they were soft, I added the chopped furters. We then added 2 cups of basmati rice, and gently coated the grains in the flavoured butter. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I then poured in a good portion of frozen vegetables and helped Tiny to stir and mix well.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally we added Marigold powder and 3 cups of boiling water. I put the lid on the pan and once it was boiling again, I turned the flame to low and left it to simmer for 15 mins. Set a timer! Tiny and I washed up the prep stuff together and sang songs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the timer went off, I switched off the flame but set a timer for another 5 mins - WITHOUT TOUCHING THE LID.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once the 5-minute timer went off, it was time to eat, and it was really delicious - not to mention quick and easy and cheap. You could use bacon, or Quorn or mushrooms or chipolatas instead of the frankfurters; they may need more or less frying before the stock goes in.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can personalise the flavour at the table with your sauces of choice - we all love <a href="http://www.franksredhot.com/products/buffalo-wings-sauce/" target="_blank">Frank's Buffalo Wings Hot Sauce</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I couldn't get a photo of the dish as we ate it up way too fast!!!</span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432813781071321325.post-12486655254874232282018-05-21T23:13:00.001+01:002020-07-19T22:46:55.671+01:00Chaat-topping lunch salad<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, the kitchen is all done, yes I should post some pictures at some point, and I'm getting a lot of joy from cooking and baking again. I started taking lunches to work, and whilst trying to be healthy, I'm also trying to keep my food interesting too. It's hard to be surrounded by delicious food all day and I'm so hungry by my break that it's too easy to grab something from the shop. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lately, I have been making a small layered salad, and adding some flavour pizazz in the form of some Indian "chat" (or "chaat") masala. It's a gently spicy, sour, pungent, punchy powder that gives that very distinctive flavour to Indian snack foods like chaat, bhel puri and many more. Some people add it to fruits, and that makes a very refreshing snack. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If I'd been more organised, I'd have sprouted some lentils and beans and chickpeas myself, but instead I bought a pack of "salad toppers" sprouted lentils etc and used a third of the pack each time. I put the sprouted lentils in the bottom of my lunch pot, and sprinkled a little chat masala on top. Then I quartered a handful of baby tomatoes and then I added half an avocado, also chopped up. A twist of salt and another sprinkling of chat masala followed by a good shake of lemon juice, and that's the salad done. It's very filling from the lentils and the chewing, and the flavours all make it very satisfying.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>sweet without sugarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115430898282770995noreply@blogger.com0