A Cornish Food Blog | Jam and Clotted Cream

Fish is the Dish Challenge 4: Haddock Curry

2012-01-27T19:00:00.000Z

When I mentioned Haddock Curry on Twitter I got a few 'urghs' from people....but what you have to think here is kedgeree. Curry and white fish really do work amazingly well together- try this you will be convinced I promise!

So, in this latest Fish is the Dish pack we received some lovely North Sea haddock fillets from Delish Fish based in Scotland. The fillets come individually vacuum packed which really helps with quantity control! I used the curry recipe that was provided to us in the pack, but changed the method slightly to make it quicker and easier to put together. Because the haddock cooks so quickly it really is a 20 minute meal so perfect for a weeknight!

Haddock Curry
Ingredients: to serve 4 adults with rice and naan breads
Olive Oil
1 Onion, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 Red Chili, chopped
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and grated
4 TBSP Tikka Masala Paste
1 x 400ml Coconut Milk
900g Haddock Fillets, cut into chunks
Salt and Pepper
Coriander, chopped

Method:
Step 1: Fry the onion, garlic, chili and ginger in large pan (with a lid) for 7 minutes.
Step 2: Add in the curry paste and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Step 3; Add in the fish then cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Season and sprinkle over coriander

Spicy Carrot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

2012-01-25T10:17:00.000Z

I didn't expect much from this soup but it really packed a punch and I've been enjoying it for lunch this week as per the weekly meal plan. Baking the sweet potatoes in the oven before adding the soft flesh to the soup really helped with both the flavour and texture but it was the coconut milk that made it lovely and silky. The green chili (which I didn't de-seed before using) gave it a heady kick, but if you don't like a lot of heat you can just leave it out, or use half a de-seeded chili instead.

Spicy Carrot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup
Ingredients: to make 4 large bowls
4 Sweet Potatoes, halved and flesh scored
1 Onion ,chopped
1 Green Chili, chopped (I left the seeds in for added heat)
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
300g Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Litre Vegetable Stock
1 x 400g tin of Coconut Milk
Salt and Pepper

Method:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 200c/180fan and place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray. Put in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until flesh is soft. Scoop the flesh out and set aside.
Step 2: While the potatoes are baking you can get on with making the base of the soup. In a large pan, gently fry the onions, garlic, chili and carrots until soft.
Step 3: Add the stock and sweet potato flesh and bring to a simmer. Finally add the tin of coconut milk, cook for a few minutes before blitzing with a stick blender to make it silky smooth

Giveaway: Traditional Scottish Cheeseboard

2012-01-24T00:30:00.000Z

We'll be enjoying a traditional Scottish cheeseboard with out Burns Night Supper on Wednesday and Mull of Kintyre are kindly providing another cheeseboard to giveaway to one Jam and Clotted Cream reader.

The prize includes:
A slate engraved cheeseboard not available in the shops (not shown in photo)
Mull of Kintyre Scottish Mature Cheddar
Mull of Kintyre Scottish Extra Mature Cheddar
Scottish Oatcakes
Traditional Chutney

To enter:
To win the cheeseboard all you need to do is;
1. Complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
2. Entries can be via blog comment, Twitter, Facebook etc
3. Closing Date 31st January 05:01 am
4. UK entrants only

For more information on how to enter blog giveaways using Rafflecopter please see this short video.

Please remember you need to complete the mandatory entry first - which is a blog comment.

Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf. For information on finding the URL of your tweet please see this.

Good luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creme Brulée

2012-01-23T11:20:00.000Z

I received lots of lovely foodie related gifts for my birthday last week but the cooks blow torch and 4 Portmerion creme brulée dishes from my in-laws were my favourite presents. I'd never attempted creme brulee's before, partly because I lacked the necessary blow torch (you wouldn't get the same effect under a grill) and partly because I 'thought' it was complicated. As it turns out it really wasn't.

On Saturday I set about making the creme brulée's and what I ended up with (thankfully) was one of the most wonderful creamy creme brulée's I had ever tasted, delicately flavoured with vanilla and with the all important sugar crust. The beauty with these is that you can make them (barring caramelising the crust) up to a day before and store in the fridge until needed. Then when you are ready to serve just pull out your blow torch to caramelise the sugary crust.

Now I've cracked Creme Brulée's I'm wondering what else I can use my blow torch for. Suggestions most welcome as I'm struggling for idea's - food related please!

Creme Brulée

Ingredients: to make 4 x 175ml ramekins

5 Egg Yolks (large)

55g Caster Sugar

1 x 284ml Double Cream

1 x 142ml Double Cream

100ml Full Cream Milk

Vanilla Pod, halved and seeds scraped out

Extra Sugar for sprinkling on top

Method:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c/160fan.

Step 2: Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar for 1 minute with an electric whisk and set aside.

Step 3: Put the cream, milk and vanilla seeds into a pan and put on the hob over a medium heat. As soon as you see bubbles forming take the cream mixture off the heat.

Step 4: Set a sieve above the whisked egg yolks and sugar and pour the cream through it.

Step 5: There will be a layer of foam so use a large metal spoon to scoop it off.

Step 6: Pour the mixture into a large jug and set aside while you prepare the tin. Place 4 x 175ml ramekins in a large deep roasting tray and pour in hot water from the tap so it comes about 1cm up the outside of the ramekins.

Step 7: Fill the ramekins with the cream mixture then place a large baking sheet on top of the roasting tin, leaving a small gap at one end for the steam to escape.

Step 8: Cook in the oven for 20 minutes (or until slightly wobbly when you shake them - if you are using deeper ramekins it may take 30 minutes).

Step 9: Take ramekins out of tin and cool on a wire rack. Place in fridge until ready to serve.

Step 10: When ready to serve sprinkle a heaped TSP of caster sugar over each ramekin and spread out by tipping the ramekin in different directions. Run your hand under running water then flick droplets of water over the surface of each one....then it's time to caramelise with the blow torch, holding it just above the sugar layer.

Step 11: Serve within one hour to ensure your crust is still hard.

Burns Night Supper

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000Z

I thought you might like to have a sneaky look at my Burns Night Supper Menu for Wednesday (25th January) - the night when Scots celebrate the life and poetry of Robert Burns. Now, as you may have gathered I'm not Scottish, nor have I ever lived in Scotland but you will know I don't need much encouragement for a feast (I can call this an 'educational feast' can't I.... for the kids), especially when enticed by some lovely Scottish products such as Mull of Kintyre Scottish Cheddar that I was sent to sample.

Unfortunately I've had to give the Haggis a miss as the Hubby wont eat it. So, here is what I will be serving up for our Burns Night Supper.

Starters

Scottish Smoked Salmon Pate

Main

Braised Scottish Venison with Neeps and Tatties

Dessert

Cranachan - a lovely dessert of Raspberries, Oatmeal, Heather Honey and Whisky

Cheeseboard

A Scottish Cheeseboard with Mull of Kintyre Extra Mature Cheddar, Scottish Oatcakes and Chutney

I've noticed that Mull of Kintyre has a winter photography competition currently on their Facebook page. All you have to do is take a photo of your favourite landscape and upload it to their page to be in with a chance of winning a selection of Mull of Kintyre Cheddar and a bottle of Springbank Whiskey...certainly worth a go for any budding photographers out there.

Meal Plan 23rd - 29th January

2012-01-22T17:00:00.000Z

Lunches this week will be Spicy Carrot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup which I made on Saturday...it's REALLY spicy so the kids will be having tuna/chicken/ham wraps instead.

Monday 23rd January
Dinner: Sausage, Apple and Red Onion Tart

Tuesday 24th January
Dinner: Lamb Steaks with Feta and Tomato served with couscous

Wednesday 25th January
Dinner: Special Burns Night Supper including a Scottish Cheeseboard courtesy of Mull of Kintyre Scottish Cheddar...details soon

Thursday 26th January
Dinner: Tomato and Caper Spaghetti

Friday 27th January
Dinner: Quick Chilli with Rice, Sour Cream and Grated Cheddar

Saturday 28th January
Dinner: Homemade Pizza and Chilli Sweet Potato Chips

Sunday 29th January
Dinner: Macaroni Cheese with Bacon served with peas

The Gingham Chicken Cornish Fudge

2012-01-21T20:12:00.000Z

My name's Beth and I'm a fudge-aholic.

I arrived home on Friday to find a parcel from The Gingham Chicken waiting on my doorstep containing handmade Cornish fudge in lots of delicious flavours to try....and try we did. In fact it's almost all gone and it's only Saturday evening.

Tracy, the lady behind The Gingham Chicken makes Cornish Fudge, Brownies and Cakes from her kitchen in Liskeard and is now selling fudge online. We 'met' on Twitter where she asked if I'd like to sample some of her fudge..... I'm very glad I said yes.

All the fudge is made in small batches for a really light and crumbly texture and Tracy, where possible uses Cornish ingredients including cream, butter and honey.

The fudge came beautifully packaged. The award winning Clotted Cream and Vanilla fudge arrived in a white box tied with red gingham ribbon with a pretty card (including the ingredients list) attached, the other flavours came in small transparent bags, tied with gingham ribbon and a gift card with the red chicken logo. I couldn't fault the packaging, it was unique and would stand out from the crowd.

Onto the flavours and we had the pleasure of sampling;

Cornish Sea Salt and Pecan
Chocolate Orange
Mint Chocolate
Lemon Meringue
Cherry and Almond
Ginger and Cornish Honey
Clotted Cream and Vanilla

My favourite? A very hard choice but it was between the Cornish Sea Salt and Pecan and the Chocolate Orange variety. Both equally delicious and moreish. But even the flavours I wouldn't necessarily choose to eat had me coming back for more. The Cherry and Almond was seriously addictive, even though I'm not that keen on almonds and the Ginger and Honey was lovely and warming.The one that most surprised me though was the Lemon Meringue Fudge - it was delicate, light and lemony and unlike any fudge I'd tasted before - definitely one to try!

Thank-you so much for the sample Tracy. You can follow The Gingham Chicken on Twitter @ginghamchicken and also on Facebook

Goats Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato and Caramelised Onion Pizza

2012-01-20T16:53:00.001Z

I go through phases with pizza toppings but this one is my current favourite - tangy goats cheese, sweet caramelised onions and sun-dried tomatoes with a few green basil leaves for colour. Yum!

The dough quantities I've given here make enough for 3 medium pizzas which works out perfectly in this house, 1 for hubby, 1 for me and 1 for the kids to share. Having one each has the added benefit of being able to put what you want on it. I always make my dough in the breadmaker on the pasta dough function (yes you read that right - pasta dough) which takes just 14 minutes and with cooking taking less than 10 minutes you can have a homemade pizza on the table in less than 40 minutes.

If you didn't need the full quantity of dough it freezes really well. Just roll it out, put it on a baking sheet and open freeze. It will also keep in the fridge for a day or two as well. What are your favourite pizza toppings?

Goats Cheese, Caramelised Onion and Sun Dried Tomato Pizza
Ingredients: to make 3 medium pizza bases
Pizza dough (to be made in a breadmaker on the pasta dough function):
165ml Water
1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
320g Strong Plain Flour
1/2 TSP Salt
1 1/2 TSP Fast Acting Dried Yeast

Topping (for 1 pizza):
1/3 Jar of Napolina Pizza Topping
55g Soft Goats Cheese
3 TBSP of Caramelised Onion Chutney
3 Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped
Ground Black Pepper
Fresh Basil leaves

Method:
Step 1: Put all the ingredients for the pizza dough (in the order they are listed) in your breadmaker and turn to the pasta dough function. When ready take out and split the dough into 3 and roll out - place bases on baking trays.
Step 2: Heat oven to 230c/210fan.
Step 3: Prick the bases a few times with a fork then spread over the pizza topping, scatter over the goats cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and spoon over TSP of the caramelised onion chutney.
Step 4: Bake for 10 minutes in the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes before cutting into slices.
Step 5: Scatter over the basil leaves and season with black pepper.

Stuffing Ball Carbonara

2012-01-19T20:35:00.001Z

This was always going to be a bit of an experiment because I didn't know if my coarse stuffing would hold together in small balls.... thankfully (after a short stay in the fridge and a little prayer) they did!

The stuffing, a lovely walnut, cranberry and smoked bacon one, had been sat in my freezer since before Christmas and was crying out to be eaten. So, whilst rifling through my freezer and cupboards last Sunday preparing my weekly meal plan I conjured up the idea for this recipe.

Due to the richness of the stuffing, I lightened the sauce by adding the grated zest of 1 small lemon to the egg mixture. I also reserved about 4 TBSP of the pasta cooking water in order to give the sauce a glossy finish -you just throw it back into the drained pasta at the same time as the egg mixture.

I'm also on the lookout for photography tips, specifically shooting in low light - if anyone can help I would be most grateful! I'm just counting down the days until the clocks change so shooting food in the evenings becomes easier.

Stuffing Ball Carbonara
Ingredients: to serve 2
250g Spaghetti
100g Stuffing, rolled into little balls and left to set in the fridge for 30 minutes
2 Eggs, beaten
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan
Zest of 1 small Lemon
Parsley to garnish

Method:
Step 1: Cook spaghetti according to instructions and whilst its cooking, fry off the stuffing balls in a little oil in a large frying pan. When the stuffing balls are cooked through remove the pan from the heat.
Step 2: Beat together the eggs, lemon zest and Parmesan in a jug.
Step 3: Drain the pasta (remembering to reserve about 4 TBSP of cooking water) then tip into the frying pan with the stuffing balls. Pour in the egg mixture and cooking water and gently toss until combined.
Step 4: Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and extra Parmesan.

Easy Chorizo and King Prawn Paella

2012-01-16T18:00:00.000Z

This is not an authentic paella by any stretch of the imagination but it is very quick and easy and most importantly tastes absolutely amazing.

I've made a similar dish before, which I posted a few years ago but I've tweaked the recipe somewhat from the original version. It's now ram-packed with flavour and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end of cooking lifts it even further. A dish like this eaten on a cold, crisp January day really starts reminding me that the longer and warmer days of Spring and Summer are just around the corner...and they can't come soon enough. Roll on the clocks changing I say and surely we are due a hot one this year?!

What dishes do you turn to in the Winter to remind yourself of long hot summer days?

Easy Chorizo and King Prawn Paella

Ingredients: to serve 4

1 Onion, sliced

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 TSP Dried Chilli Flakes

200g Chorizo, sliced

1 TSP Turmeric

600g Cooked Basmati Rice (I cook it the night before and store in the fridge)

200g Cooked King Prawns

100g Frozen Petit Pois

250ml Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lemon Wedges to serve

Method:

Step 1: Fry the onion, garlic, chilli's and chorizo in a little oil until the onion is soft.

Step 2: Sprinkle in the turmeric and stir then add all of the other ingredients.

Step 3: Simmer and continue to stir until all the stock is absorbed. Season and Serve with lemon wedges.

Meal Plan 16th - 22nd January

2012-01-15T17:00:00.000Z

It's my birthday on Wednesday .....29 (eeek), so Wednesday will most definitely be a takeaway, or if I'm lucky a meal out on hubby (I wont get my hopes up though). I'm also in the process of updating photo's on the blog so a couple of the recipes have featured before and there are a few new ones thrown in too.

As per last week lunches will be pasta salad.

Monday 16th January
Dinner: Chorizo and Prawn Paella

Tuesday 17th January
Dinner: Beef, Chestnut and Red Wine Casserole with Sweet Potato Mash

Wednesday 18th January
Dinner: Takeaway

Thursday 19th January
Dinner: Stuffing Ball Carbonara - I have some sausagemeat stuffing in the freezer from Christmas so will roll into little balls, fry then toss with spaghetti, beaten eggs and grated Parmesan.

Friday 20th January
Dinner: Cheese Omelette's with Sweet Potato Chips and Salad

Saturday 21st January
Dinner: Homemade Pizza's

Sunday 22nd January
Dinner: Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice

Easy Chicken and Vegetable Curry

2012-01-13T12:10:00.000Z

This is a semi cheats curry as it does use shop bought curry paste.....however, with a few careful additions to pep up the flavour, you can produce a quick, easy and really tasty curry that's got twice the flavour of any supermarket bought one...and it's probably a damn sight healthier as well.

You can use whatever vegetables you have around, in this case I used 2 onions, 2 red peppers and a handful of frozen peas, along with the diced chicken thighs. Cauliflower and sweet potato are always good in curries as is squash and spinach. Prawns can be used instead of chicken if you prefer.

Pretty much perfect Friday night food don't you think?! Have a lovely weekend - it's back to ballet, swimming and football so it's going to be a busy one here.

Easy Chicken and Vegetable Curry

Ingredients: to serve 4

2 Onions, sliced

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

Thumb Size piece of Ginger, peeled and chopped

1 Red Chilli, deseeded and chopped

2 Red Peppers, chopped

400g Boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs, diced

3 heaped TBSP Tikka Masala paste

1 400g tin of Coconut Milk

Handful of Frozen Peas

Handful of Toasted Cashew Nuts

Method:

Step 1: Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli until onions are softened. Add the red pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Turn up the heat and add the chicken, seal it and then add the curry paste. Cook out for a few minutes before adding the coconut milk.

Step 3: Simmer for 10 minutes before adding the peas, cashew nuts and seasoning.

Step 4: Serve with rice, naans and mango chutney.

Caramelised Red Onion, Feta and Bacon tart

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000Z

Don't you just love a good tart? I certainly do and always make sure I've got some sheets of puff pastry stashed away in my freezer to quickly satisfy any tart cravings that may occur.

Part of the reason I love tarts is that they are a great vehicle for using up odds and ends. I know I told you last week that Frittata's were the mother of leftover vehicles...but tarts come pretty close too. Which, is just as well as I had heaps of red onions left over from Christmas...I can't remember what drove me to buy so many in the first place, but it's a good job I did otherwise this tart may never have been born.

So, the tart in question involved slowly caramelising some sliced red onions in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar until sticky and syrupy, my house smelt amazing. Then all was required was some assembly work....unrolling out the puff pastry sheet, spreading over the onions and bacon and crumbling over the feta. So simple but so so tasty. Sun dried tomatoes and goats cheese would work well as an alternative, as would olives and grated cheddar. What are your favourite tart toppings?

Caramelised Red Onion, Feta and Bacon Tart
Ingredients: to serve 4 with side salad
395g sheet of Puff Pastry
2 Red Onions
2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 TBSP fresh Thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper
3 Smoked Bacon rashers, chopped
200g Feta, crumbled

Method:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 220c/200fan.
Step 2: In a pan fry the onion with a little oil until soft, turn up the heat and add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, thyme, salt, pepper and bacon, fry for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
Step 3: Unroll the pastry sheet and score a line 1cm in from the edge around the sides. Prick the base with a fork.
Step 4: Spoon the cooled onion and bacon mixture over the base, keeping within the scored line, then top with the feta. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. I sprinkled over a few torn basil leaves at the end to add some colour.

Fat Free and Reduced Sugar Sponge Cake

2012-01-09T07:30:00.000Z

Sounds grim doesn't it, but actually it didn't taste too bad at all.

I've already told you I'm definitely not on a New Year diet.... but, in the interests of being able to fit nicely into my bikini on our family holiday to Egypt in February, I didn't think cutting back a bit was such a bad thing. Hubs is also on a bit of a health kick so I decided to transform his favourite cake, a Victoria Sponge, into something much more virtuous.

Not only does this sponge contain no fat whatsoever, it also contains only 80g of sugar, less than half the usual amount for a sponge cake of this size. This is thanks to a brand new product from Tate and Lyle - Light at Heart sugar (available in both white and brown) which incorporates a substance called Stevia with all natural cane-sugar. Stevia is a herb, grown in South America that has incredibly sweet leaves - it's 200-300 times sweeter than sugar - which means you only need to use half as much.

The result obviously isn't gone to match up with a full fat, full sugar version of a Victoria Sponge but for anyone on a diet or watching their fat and sugar intake, it's not a half bad alternative. One word of warning, the sponge is a lot drier because of the lack of fat so the resultant sponge wont keep for very long (2 days max). To finish, I filled the sponge with a 100% fruit Cranberry and Raspberry Jam from SuperJam, which made it even healthier, but you could use ordinary jam if you preferred.

Fat Free and Reduced Sugar Sponge Cake
Ingredients:
50g Cornflour
50g Plain Flour
50g Self Raising Flour
4 eggs
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
80g Light at Heart White Sugar
Jam for the filling
Icing Sugar for dusting

Method:
Step 1: Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins. Preheat oven to 180c/160fan.
Step 2: Sift the flours together 3 times to aerate.
Step 3: In a standing mixer beat together the eggs, vanilla extract and Light at Heart sugar for 8-10 minutes until tripled in volume.
Step 4: Fold the flours into the eggs mixture and divide between the tins.
Step 5: Bake for 20 minutes and cool on a cooling rack.
Step 6: Spread a jar of jam over one of the bases then place the other sponge cake on top. Sieve over icing sugar

Meal Plan 9th - 15th January 2012

2012-01-08T19:31:00.000Z

Miraculously I stuck to last weeks meal plan to the letter.... but I doubt this week will be as successful due to the resumption of after school clubs for Lowen and hubby going away for a few days with work. I will try my hardest though, I promise!

Lunches this week are mainly going to comprise of Tuna Pasta Salad - I've made a huge vat of it today to last the whole week. I've also made up another jar of my 'Really Useful Salad Dressing' to dress any side salads that we have with dinner.

Monday 9th January
Dinner: Feta, Red Onion and Bacon Tart served with salad or leftover veg from today's roast dinner.

Tuesday 10th January
Dinner: Feta and Sun-Dried Tomato Omelette with Salad (and oven chips for the kids)

Wednesday 11th January
Dinner: My all time favourite (and hubby's least favourite hence why I can only cook it when he is away).....Spaghetti Carbonara

Thursday 12th January
Dinner: Stuffed Red Peppers with salad

Friday 13th January
Dinner: Chicken and Cashew Nut Curry

Saturday 14th January
Dinner: Harissa Spiced Lamb Chops with Couscous. The kids will have Cheesy Pasta instead

Sunday 15th January
Dinner: We are at my Mum and Dads for a roast.

I've got Blackberries and Raspberries in the freezer, as well as some frozen crumble topping so I might whip up this lovely crumble for Friday and Saturday.

What's on your menu this week?

Ultimate Chilli Con Carne

2012-01-05T19:00:00.000Z

This is my ultimate chilli recipe, suitable for both kids and adults thanks to a little secret addition at the end for those who like it hot. The base recipe is from BBC Good Food but I have adapted it quite a bit from the original, not least doubling the quantities so I can put half in the freezer to pull out on the days I just don't have enough time to cook (there will be many of 'those' days when I go back to the 'day job' next week...boo!).

The quantity this recipe makes is enough to serve 8-10 adults easily with rice, tortilla chips, sour cream and grated cheese. Nothing quite like a lovely hot chilli on a windy and cold winter evening don't you think...and it always tastes better if made a day in advance.

Leftovers can be made into a Chilli Cheese Pasta bake, which I will be duly doing in line with this weeks meal plan - miraculously I have stuck to it by the letter, an achievement in itself! Enjoy.

Ultimate Chilli Con Carne

Ingredients: Makes enough to serve between 8-10 adults

1 TBSP Oil

1 Onion, chopped

1 Red Onion, chopped

75g Chorizo, chopped

2 Red Peppers

5 Cloves of Garlic, crushed

1 TBSP Chilli Powder

2 TSP Smoked Paprika

3 TSP Ground Cumin

2 Cardamom Pods, bruised

1KG Minced Steak

1 Oxo Beef Stock Cubes

2 x 400g Tins of Chopped Tomatoes

60ml Sweet Chilli Sauce

1 TSP Dried Marjoram

4 TBSP Tomato Puree

2 x 400g Tins of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

Thumb sized piece of dark chocolate

For those who like it really hot add some Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I use Franks Red Hot).

Method:

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large lidded casserole and gently fry the onions, chorizo, red peppers and garlic until the onion is soft.

Step 2: Stir in the chilli powder, smoked paprika, cumin and cardamom pods and cook for a few minutes.

Step 3: Increase the heat and brown the mince then add the tomatoes, sweet chilli sauce and marjoram. Crumble the stock cube into 300ml of boiling water and add this to the pan, season well. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for 45 minutes.

Step 4: Add the kidney beans and chocolate and simmer gently, uncovered for a further 30 minutes.

Step 5: Serve, preferably the next day with rice, tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream and the cayenne pepper sauce for those who like it really hot (in this case my husband).

Roasted Pumpkin, Red Onion and Goats Cheese Frittata

2012-01-04T12:33:00.000Z

Frittata's are my 'go to' meal when I'm trying to use up leftovers.... and thanks to Christmas I have an awful lot of cheese still left in the fridge crying out to be eaten, in this case some welsh goats cheese. The pumpkin was derived more locally from my Mother in Laws allotment, which is still producing lots of lovely produce even in January and the free range eggs were from a farm gate just outside the village.

I usually have a slice of frittata with some green salad, but hubby and the kids prefer chips - depends how healthy you want to be I guess. Whatever you choose, enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin, Red Onion and Goats Cheese Frittata
Ingredients: to serve 4 with salad/chips
1 Red Onion, Sliced
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme leaves
1/2 Roasted Pumpkin, cooled and cubed (I roast my pumpkin in wedges at 180c for about 40 minutes, drizzled with oil and seasoned well)
75g Goats Cheese, crumbled
100g Mature Cheddar, grated
6 Eggs, beaten
Splash of Milk
Seasoning

Method:
Step 1: In a 20cm frying pan, heat some oil and then fry the onion, garlic and thyme until the onion is soft.
Step 2: Preheat the grill.
Step 3: Pour in the beaten egg (which has been combined with the splash of milk beforehand), pumpkin and cheeses, stir and season well.
Step 4: Cook for around 10 minutes, until almost set, then finish the top off under the grill.

A Really Useful Salad Dressing

2012-01-02T10:31:00.001Z

Now that Christmas is over for another year I'm all of a sudden craving lighter meals... don't take this to mean I'm on a diet - I'm not, but my body just craves salads after all the rich meaty food of the festive season. So to help speed up the process of salad assembly I make a huge batch of this dressing and store it in a jar in the fridge (it will keep for a good month) and then everytime I make a salad (which is quite often) I can just drizzle a little over, whether it be a hot smoked salmon salad (see photo below), a green salad, rice salad, pasta salad, potato salad - I've yet to find anything that is doesn't work with.

A Really Useful Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

120ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 TBSP White Wine Vinegar

4 TSP Lemon Juice

1 TSP Sugar

1 TSP Dijon Mustard

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

Salt and Pepper

Method: Step 1: Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar, shake and store in the fridge for up to a month!

Meal Plan 2nd - 8th January 2012

2012-01-01T13:37:00.001Z

I get quite a few emails and tweets from people asking how I go about planning my family's meals. So, I've decided to start documenting my weekly meal plans on the blog....if nothing else you can be a bit nosey and see what I will be getting up to in the kitchen. Hopefully though you will be able to see how I go about using up leftovers (making the pennies stretch that little bit further), you can see what I do with all the fantastic local produce I get my hands on both from my Mother in Laws allotment and local markets and you can also see what healthy snacks and treats I rustle up for lunchboxes.

Before I give you this weeks run down it's worth mentioning a very useful website that I use to help plan my weekly menu's. Eat Your Books is a great resource for finding specific recipes in your cookbook collection (mine is rather large so it saves a lot of time thumbing through all the indexes) and it's also useful for getting inspiration for leftover ingredients.

Onto this weeks meals.

Monday 2nd January

Lunch: Tuna and Cucumber Pitta Pockets.

Dinner: Leftover Mughlai Chicken (recipe from Nigella Feast), Rice and Naans. Plum and Walnut Crumble for Pudding (I have some crumble topping in my freezer to use).

Tuesday 3rd January

Lunch: Leftover Festive Salad for me, lunchboxes for the rest of the family who are back to work/school/nursery.

Dinner: Cheeseboard and Red Onion Frittata and Salad (hubby and kids will have oven chips with theirs too)

Wednesday 4th January

Lunch: Ham and Tomato Sandwiches

Dinner: Smoked Haddock Risotto (I will replace the leeks for an onion)

Thursday 5th January

Lunch: Onion Soup

Dinner: Chilli Con Carne (I always use this recipe from BBC Good Food)

Friday 6th January

Lunch: Onion Soup

Dinner: Chilli Cheese Pasta Bake (using the leftover chilli)

Saturday 7th January

Lunch: Small Pasties from village bakery

Dinner: Homemade Margherita Pizza's (I make the pizza dough in my breadmaker on the pasta program so it only takes 15 minutes)

Sunday 8th January

Lunch: Pot Roasted Brisket served with Roast Garlic Sweet Potato Mash and Cauliflower Cheese. Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (which I make in my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker) for dessert.

Breakfast is usually cereal for the kids and hubby (Bran Flakes are in favour at the moment) and I will have yogurt or stewed fruit. In terms of baking, I want to make some healthy cereal bars for lunchboxes (I don't go back to the 'day' job until the 10th) so will probably make a batch of these Muesli and Honey Bars later in the week.

What are you cooking this week?

Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake

2011-12-29T12:11:00.000Z

This was my greatest triumph at Christmas and it was so good I'm making another one for New Years Eve. The cheesecake is made in a 25cm springform tin so it serves at least 8-10 people, but as it's so rich you could probably stretch it out to serve 12. The other beauty of this dessert is it freezes really well, minus the cocoa powder topping, so it's a useful dessert to have stored away in your freezer to pull out for unexpected guests or impromptu get togethers.

When raspberries come into season I will try it again with a handful of raspberries in the cheesecake mix and a few TBSP of raspberry liqueur, that would be lovely I think.

Have a wonderful New Year. I will be resuming normal service on the blog next week.

Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients: for a 25cm Springform tin
For the base
85g Hot melted butter
14 Dark Chocolate Digestives, blitzed in a processor to crumbs
For the cheesecake filling
900g Full Fat Cream Cheese
200g Caster Sugar
4 TBSP Plain Flour
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs, beaten
285ml Soured Cream
For the topping
142ml Soured Cream
Cocoa Powder for dusting
2 Cadbury's Flakes, crushed to sprinkle on top

Method:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c/fan 160. Line the base of a 25cm springform tin with baking paper and lightly oil the sides.
Step 2: Mix together the base ingredients, press into the tin and bake for 10 mins, set aside to cool.
Step 3: Switch the oven up to 220c/fan 200. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until really smooth (I used my kitchen aid) then add the flour, vanilla extract, eggs and soured cream. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 10 minutes. Turn down the oven to 110c/fan 90 and bake for a further 25 minutes. Turn off oven, open door and leave in their to cool.
Step 4: Smooth the soured cream on top and put it in the fridge to set (or freezer if freezing), then sift over cocoa powder and sprinkle over the crushed flakes.

I need help with my new camera... plus a leftover festive salad recipe

2011-12-28T14:42:00.000Z

I have a new toy...that I am still trying to get to grips with *snigger*. My lovely hubby bought me a Canon DSLR for Christmas, so for the last few days I have been playing and fiddling A LOT....still haven't quite got the perfect picture though. I'm all confused (it doesn't take much) with aperture/exposure/ISO/f thingies/white balance. So, I have a question for all you really good food photographers out there.....in normal daylight conditions what settings should I be using to shoot food (and should I be doing so on manual, program, macro (I have a macro lens too which I haven't even opened yet), av.....??? HELP!!!! All hints and tips would be most welcome.

On to the salad, which is basically a concoction of leftovers from the fridge, in this case salad leaves, cucumber, apple, walnuts and cranberry goats cheese, finished off with a simple white wine vinegar dressing. It was delicious and a most welcome 'lighter' meal after all the heavy rich food I've been eating over the last few days. As much as I like Christmas, I'm now itching to get the decorations down, clean my house and get back to normal in time for the new year...hubby and kids have been calling me scrooge!

Leftover Festive Salad

Ingredients (to serve 1...the kids and hubby had cheese on toast):

Handful of salad leaves, washed

Cucumber, chopped...a small handful

1 Apple, chopped

Handful of toasted walnuts

75g crumbled goats cheese

Dressing:

Glug of White Wine Vinegar

Glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Seasoning

Method:

Step 1: Combine all salad ingredients in bowl.

Step 2: Mix together dressing and pour over salad.

Cheesy Fish Bake

2011-12-28T11:31:00.002Z

I received some lovely Young's Seafood products in my latest Fish is the Dish package including a few of the new products from Jamie Oliver range (my kids loved the fish fingers), haddock fillets, fishcakes of varying sorts and also three packs of the Easy Cook frozen diced fish - Salmon, white fish and smoked fish (£2.99 each). Its these last three products I used to create a cheesy fish bake.

Instead of doing the typical fish pie I decided to create a fish bake, with a cheesy sauce and crumble topping. I flavoured the cheese sauce with some thyme, onions and bay and the diced fish can be used straight from the freezer, which is ideal if you are one of those people who always forget to take things out to defrost. I served it with some peas, but if you wanted to make it more substantial some garlic bread would go nicely with it too.

Cheesy Fish Bake

Ingredients: to serve 4

3 x packets of Young's seafood frozen diced fish

1 onion, chopped

2 Bay Leaves

55g Butter

50g Flour

600ml Milk

200g Cheddar, grated

175g Plain Flour
75g Butter, diced

50g Parmesan, grated
1 TSP of dried Thyme

Seasoning

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c.

Step 2: Fry the onion and Bay leaves in the butter until soft.

Step 3: Stir the flour into the buttery onions - cook for a few minutes before adding the milk gradually - use a whisk to prevent lumps forming. Bring to the boil then take it off the heat and add the grated cheese and frozen fish, season well (discard the bay leaves). Pour into an ovenproof dish

Step 4: Rub together the flour and butter until crumbs form then stir in the cheese, thyme and seasoning. Sprinkle over the fish.

Step 5: Bake for about 25-30 minutes - cover the top with foil if starting to brown too much.

Tea and Cake

2011-12-20T17:22:00.000Z

What tipple do you enjoy drinking with your Christmas Cake? For me it's not alcohol (which you may find a little surprising)...it has to be a good honest cup of tea. There is nothing better than snuggling down on the sofa on a dark, cold, late December evening with a huge slice of my Walnut and Whisky Christmas Cake (the whisky icing is the best bit!) and a steaming mug of tea (I'm partial to this one). Cake and tea just seem to go hand in hand...especially during the Christmas festivities.

I was therefore glad to see Twinnings, one of my favourite tea brands, getting into the festive spirit this Christmas with their Mulled Spiced Tea Caddy containing 20 envelopes of mulled spiced tea - a rich aromatic tea with all of the flavours of the season... I'm pretty sure it would go well with a slice of my apple cake. They also have plenty of other Christmas Tea Gifts on offer too - my tea obsessed hubby would love the Twinnings Tea History Hamper containing 2 boxes of tea, a white china tea-pot (I've always wanted a white china teapot) and a pair of bone china mugs, but it's the gift vouchers available in their online tea shop that would be REALLY useful for that awkward tea obsessed Auntie and Uncle that you just have no idea what to buy. The good news is you have until tomorrow (21st December) to place orders that will guarentee a delivery by Christmas Day!

Gingerbread House

2011-12-15T20:09:00.000Z

Ever made a Gingerbread House? No, me neither so when I received an email from Tesco Real Food asking if I wanted to try making one...I thought why not, how hard can it be? Thanks to the How to video on the Tesco Real Food website it really wasn't that difficult at all (barring a small incident with a boiled sweet!). The video goes through everything in a step by step manner - useful it it's your fist time. Granted, Kate does make it look effortless...and she doesn't have two excitable children wanting to join in the decorating but it's certainly not as tricky as I had first imagined.

My effort above obviously isn't going to win any prizes (I am artistically challenged at the best of times) but it's a lovely little project to do with the children on a wet and windy December afternoon, of which there have been plenty of those over the last few weeks!

As well as the How to Video guide, Tesco's are also offering advice on all matters cooking related via Twitter. On Christmas Eve (10am-8pm) and Christmas Day (8am-4pm) they are only a tweet away, eager to help avert any impending culinary disasters in your house. All you have to do is direct your food related question to @tescorealfood and they will get back to you with any advice, tips and practical help that could literally save the day!

Thanks Tesco Real Food for sending me all the ingredients to make the gingerbread house.

Smoked Salmon Pate

2011-12-12T10:34:00.000Z

A few weeks back you will remember I received this fab seasonal box from Forman and Field in association with Knorr. In it was some gorgeous London Cure Smoked Salmon, which I have duly transformed into an ideal Christmas Day starter to serve 8. A little smoked salmon goes a long way in this recipe, helping keep the costs down but not compromising on flavour or quality.

Will you be serving a starter on Christmas day, or do you and your family prefer to get stuck straight in to the main event?

Smoked Salmon Pate

Ingredients: to serve 8 as a light starter

200g tub of Cream Cheese

200g Smoked salmon

1 heaped TBSP of Horseradish sauce

Juice of 1 Small Lemon

3 TBSP Chives, snipped plus extra for garnish

Method:

Step 1; Blitz together all the ingredients in a processor, season and garnish with extra chives.

Step 2: Serve with melba toasts or brown bread.