Chicken and leek pie

Another Waitrose bargain... 99p roast chicken!  So,  sautee leek, celery and crushed garlic in olive oil until soft, add stripped chicken pieces - sprinkle with flour, stir in with spoonful of mustard and seasoning.  When all flour is mixed in add good glug of white wine and about a mugful of chicken stock.  Simmer, and stir for a couple of minutes to cook flour.  Take of heat, and allow to cool briefly.  Stir in creme fraiche.  Chuck in pie dish and cover with pastry (puff in this case) - egg or milk wash and bake for 25ish minutes.  Served with mash, carrots and purple sprouting.  Several shades better than bought standby pie - and leftovers to boot.  Victim scoffed, said "nice pie" .. and then made tea.  result!

In other news, chickens have finally started laying again!  Not many yet, but it means that spring is on the way.

Herman Jr

Herman 2 - this time with dried cherries and dark chocolate.  I think I prefer this one :).  Victim is not keen on the texture, but she's funny like that with cakes & muffins.

3 baby Hermans in the freezer, one for us for the future, one booked and one spare.

Instructions (from Netmums)


HERMAN THE FRIENDSHIP CAKE

Herman is a friendship cake which you can�t buy, but you can give him away. He grows slowly but surely because of the yeast in him. It is usually 10 days before you can eat him.
Herman doesn�t have to be kept in the fridge and doesn�t require a lid � just covering him with a tea towel is sufficient. Herman grows at room temperature.

If you would like to spread a little friendship follow through instructions below and at end of 10 days you will have a cake to eat and four starter kits to pass on.

If you cannot wait to have your cake and eat it, go straight to day 10, but you will forego the opportunity to pass on some friendship.


Day 1: Today Herman is given to you. Put him in a big bowl (At least 4pt capacity). Cover Herman loosely so he can breathe. A tea towel or loose lid is ideal.

Days 2 & 3: Stir Herman 2-3 times a day with a wooden spoon (do not use metal, and which you can leave in the bowl)

Day 4: Herman is hungry. Give him the following:-
200mls milk
200g self-raising flour
250g sugar

Days 5, 6, 7 & 8: Stir Herman 2-3 times a day.

Day 9: Herman is hungry again. Give him the same ingredients you gave him on Day 4. Stir well then divide him into 5 equal parts. Give 4 baby Hermans away with a copy of this sheet. (or keep one back for yourself to grow and redistribute to other friends) Keep the 5th portion to bake.

Day 10: Herman is absolutely starving. He needs a holiday. He likes to go to a hot resort. The oven is his favourite. Pre-heat oven to 170�C (150�C fan-assisted oven) and grease a cake tin generously. Prepare him for his holiday using one of the following:-

1. Fruit cake Recipe:
150g self-raising flour,
100g finely chopped nuts/raisins,
200mls oil,
half teaspoon of baking powder,
2 teaspoons cinnamon,
3 eggs, 2 grated apples,
Bake in loaf tin or 9� x 9� cake tin

Other recipes: 
Chocolate Cranberry Cake Recipe: 150g self raising flour, 250g sugar,100ml oil, 1/2tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1tsp ground cinnamon, 1� tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 3 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate, 100g semi-dried cranberries. Bake 30-35 mins in loaf tin or 20-25 mins in two 8-inch sandwich tins, and sandwich together with cream &/ thick cooked cranberries sauce .

Double chocolate Cake: � cup butter at room temp,1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 4 eggs, � cup unsweetened cocoa, 1� cup self raising flour, � tsp salt, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, � cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, � cup chopped nuts. Bake in 9 inch square pan.

Ginger Cake :150g self-raising flour,1� tsp ground ginger, � tsp cinnamon, � tsp bicarbonate soda, pinch of salt, 125g golden syrup, 60g finely chopped stem ginger, 1 tbsp ginger syrup from stem ginger jar, 2 heaped tbsp sultanas, 75g dark muscavado suger, 2 eggs, 150 ml milk, 75 ml butter at room temp/softened in microwave


Mix everything together and pour into a very well greased cake tin. Bake for 40 mins to one hour, depending on your tin. Cool in tin for 10 mins then turn out.

Spicy beef stew

Bargain spicy sauce for beef, and some bargain silverside came to together into a very pleasant chili - fried onions and browned beef added carton of spicy sauce, more tomatoes and cup of water - simmered for ages - added tomato ketchup 10 minutes before the end to counteract smoky flavour of sauce.  Served with brown rice, and leeks and cabbage in white wine. Was OK - victim offered no opinion, but did eat green stuff.

Roast lamb dinner

For a greedy person!  Delish.  Season leg of lamb with salt and pepper and rub on olive oil.  Cut bulb of garlic in half and chuck in roasting tray, lie leg of lamb on rosemary on grill in roasting tray - chuck in a glass of white wine.  Stick into hot oven for 30mins, then turn oven down to about 150 - cover in foil, and roast slowly for 2-3 hours.   Drain juices after about an hour, to make the gravy.  After 1 and a half hours parboil potatoes, then roast, in a hot oven in hot olive oil (for about an hour and 10 minutes).  In a little olive oil, chop red onion and half a red cabbage, 2 chopped apples - add apple juice, splash of cider vinegar, black pepper and dried fennel seeds, simmer for at least 40 minutes - or bring to the boil and then stick in the oven with the lamb.  Peel and chope carrots, swede and turnip.  Boil for about 12 minutes then drain and slash vigorously with a sharp knife, adding a knob of butter and just too much black pepper.  At the same time soften sliced leek in a drop of water (or white wine if there is some left), just before soft add shredded green cabbage.  Finish off gravy ... fat from lamb pan, tablespoon of flour add lamb juices and stock.  Scoff (with or without mint sauce/mustard/ horseradish), have seconds, and scoff that as well.  Victims all finished their plates, and visiting victims took some home for tomorrow.

Farmhouse breakfast week

It's National farmhouse breakfast week -
http://www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/
- and I didn't realise until Sunday lunchtime - what a waste of a Sunday pig out breakfast opportunity - beans and tomatoes on toast was today's offering - trying to pretend it was a cooked breakfast while watching the saturated fats and calories... had I realised it was farmhouse breakfast week I might have been tempted to do the works - and take a pic!  Shame.

Prawn fried rice

Cooked rice.  Stir fried onion, mushroom, red pepper and celery in peanut oil with garlic, ginger and chili.  Added cooked rice and defrosted prawns.  Stirred some more.  Chucked in handful of frozen peas.  Stirred some more.  Poured in 2 beaten eggs, in a layer so that it set.  Did not stir - let the egg set.  Added soy sauce and rice wine.  After a couple of minutes stirred it all round so that everything mixes in - but not too vigourously, so that some of the bits of egg were recognisable.  Serve, scoff.  Victim approved.

Cajun chicken, roasted root veg and greens in creme fraiche

It's been quite an odd week - in that victim has done most of the dinners.  This is a very pleasant change, but I'm not used to it!  We had - quorn chili, hot vegetable soup, corned beef hash and beef biryani of earlier post.  Chopped potato, swede and turnip - roasted in olive oil, mustard and thyme for an hour or so.  Chopped leek and softenned in white wine, when nearly soft added chopped green beans, simmered for about 10 minutes, added chopped cavolo nero and simmered until wilted (5 minutes).  Meanwhile, tossed chicken strips in blackenned cajun seasoning and olive oil, then fried them for about 2 minutes on each side - till cooked through.  Took greens off the heat, seasonned and stirred in dollop of creme fraiche.  I loved the veg - victim loved the chicken... not sure it all went completely together, but there you go!

Herman the friendship cake

Was given a Herman starter, and grew him for 10 days, today he went on "holiday" to the oven.  Delicious, moist and not too sweet.  I made this Herman with dried cranberries.  I have kept Herman jr to grow him up, and distributed Hermione, Herbert and Percy as instructed.  Recipe(s) from here http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/food-feeding-555/recipes-557/577548-herman-friendship-cake.html

Beef biryani

Victim made it!  It was very tasty - but boy did it knock your socks off!  Certainly needed the yogurt.  No recipe, because I was not responsible - victim might add one!

First decent dinner of 2012

Really!! .. we have been living out of the freezer, cupboards and phoned for a takeaway... However, "decent" - may be an over statement, but at least it was homemade, fresh and generally wholesome - the potatoes and gratin were both over done - and the presentation is limited.  I put it down to sluggish brain combined with indecision after the lurgy.  Anyway - it was - chicken in white wine and mushroom sauce with cauliflower and brussel sprout gratin, roast new potatoes, grandma's carrots.  "Recipes" - par boil halved new potatoes, then roast in hot olive oil; for the gratin used this recipe (almost - much less rich.., had no sage  - used some thyme, and used broken up crackers - cos they were left over - for the crust - from here) http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2008/11/cauliflower_and_brussels_sprout_gratin, carrots boiled and drained, and chopped furiously with a sharp knife with butter and lots of black pepper.  Saute onion and garlic, turn up heat, brown chicken strips on all sides chuck in big handful of mushrooms and good splosh of white wine.  Cook chicken through - remove - stir cream into wine mixture for sauce - pour over chicken.  Serve all bits and pieces and scoff.  Victim said some rude things about overcooked potatoes, but actually we both enjoyed vegetable gratin, and all the elements together.  (Victim had seconds of moaned about potatoes).

Happy New Year 2012

nuff said... 5 days and counting