Meatball and cauliflower pasta bake

This has to be one of the easiest things to chuck together, but it's tasty and relatively good for you.  Boil penne and cauliflower florets in salted water for about 9 minutes.  Mix 2 tins of chopped tomatoes with some squished garlic, salt and plenty of black pepper (you could cook this first, you could add other veg etc to make a more complex sauce, and/or chili to heat it up a bit, but this works).  Tip meatballs, drained pasta and cauliflower into oven proof dish, stir in tomato sauce.  Grate cheese on top.  In the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Scoff.  I wasn't sure if victim would like this, and we have been a bit pasta'd out recently - but the declaration was "tasty!".

Monkfish & talapia on the BBQ

Marinaded monkfish and talapia fillets for 20 minutes, in garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, chili flakes and salt and pepper.  Meanwhile made celeriac slaw ( celeriac, carrot, apple - through mandolin (managed not to damage fingers this time), light mayonnaise, lemon juice, natural yogurt) ... and greek(ish) salad - little gem lettuce, rocket, red onion, tomator, cucumber, red pepper, basil, black olives, feta - dressed with olive oil and lemon juice).  Griddled courgette - marinade in olive oil, salt and herbs.  Grill monkfish for about 8 minutes, courgette about 6 minutes and talapia for about 6 minutes - on hot barbeque.  Served, today, with rice.  Primary victim had burgers, but the rest of us enjoyed the fish.  I prefered the talapia to the monkfish - but I'd do them both again.

pizza - in wood burning pizza oven

I love my wood burning pizza oven - and so did gathered victims.

Baked potato with quorn chili

When the beloved victim is under the weather there is, fairly frequently, a request for chili.  Today, there was also a request for baked potato.  But speedily! Well, a chest infection does that to a person.  So, prick big potatoes and rub with olive oil. In microwave at nuke force max for 10 minutes.  Then transfer to hot oven for at least 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, usual story with the chili, chop and sautee in olive oil - onion, celery, red pepper and mushrooms.  Add chicken type Quorn pieces.  Stir in chili mix and herbs and season, add tin of kidney beans and tin of chopped tomatoes.  Simmer until potatoes are done - taste, season, serve.  Receive compliments from adoring victims, well, single short but appreciative comment as they go back to the Star Trek movie!  Hey ho - will be watching Corrie in the kitchen again, then!

Pasta and tuna pesto salad

Recipe:  be as busy as humanly possible all day - look in cupboards - panic - boil pasta, open some jars and a tin or two, chop some stuff and mix.  So pasta - shells, because, why not?  Farfalle would be OK, and penne or other shortish types, but probably not long pasta, or sheets.  Jars - roasted peppers, pesto, mayonnaise (lower fat), gherkins, olives: chop - red onion, tomato, cucumber & stuff from jars that needed to be in smaller pieces (gherkin, peppers, olives).  Chuck handful of frozen peas into pasta - bring back to boil.  Open tin of tuna, drain, chuck into mixed vegetables - add big splodge of mayonnaise, add drained pasta and stir all together with a nice fresh grind of black pepper on top. Victim didn't say much, but ate it all.  I enjoyed mine. Some left for lunch tomorrow - result!

Spaghetti carbonara (with peas)

Cook spaghetti.  Chop bacon into small pieces (I used unsmoked because it was what we had, but smoked would add a nice smokey sweetness).  Fry bacon with chopped mushrooms and garlic in olive oil.  Add frozen peas (not authentic, but the neither are mushrooms, and I do insist on adding veg when possible), stir until heated through.  Grate parmesan, whisk 4 small eggs.  When pasta is cooked drain and toss with bacon mixture.  Leave to stand for a couple of minutes then chuck in eggs and cheese and toss togther well.  Serve, with lots of black pepper, and more parmensan.  Easy, quick, yum.  Victim didn't say much - but finished it.

lentil and couscous stuffed butternut squash

Meatless Monday, and butternut squash is one of the few vegetables still in season as we wait for the poly tunnel to start producing lots.  So cut butternut squash in half and scooped out the seeds.  Slash the flesh a little and season, drizzle on olive oil and roast for about 40 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil Puy lentils for 20 minutes until soft, chop and sautee onion, leek, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil.  Pour boiling water on couscous and leave to stand for at least 5 minutes to soak up all the water.  Mix drained lentils, couscous and softened vegetables and season well - you could also add olive oil, or a beaten egg.  Spoon into soft butternut squash and top with grated parmesan.  Back in the oven for 10 minutes.  It was very tasty, but needs the seasoning. A nice fresh salad to go with would be nice. Victim announced the presentation "challenging" but the dinner very tasty - particularly after adding chili ketchup - and scoffed the lot.  Bonus, lots of lentil mixture left to put in the fridge for salad tomorrow lunchtime.

Leek and mushroom macaroni cheese

So, it looks like a bowl of something quite unpleasant - but I thought it was OK.  The sweetness of the leeks comes through and it's much less fattening than traditional macaroni and cheese.  Cook macaroni until al dente following packet instructions.  Sautee leeks, garlic and mushroom in olive oil until soft.  Grate cheese - in this case red cheddar and parmesan.  When macaroni is cooked drain and stir in vegetables, also stir in cottage cheese, natural yogurt and most of the cheese to make a sauce.  Season with black pepper.  Put in over proof dish, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 25 minutes (ish).  Victim was really quite rude, and asked for a peanut butter and jam sandwich.  This criticism is way too harsh.

Butternut squash, chocolate and orange cake

Butternut squash... really?  I have done beetroot chocolate cake before, but not butternut squash.  It's pretty good, but not too sweet.  The recipe has a ganache topping, but I didn't have any cream, so served it with cherry ice cream - will get some cream or something for tomorrow.  It would be good with orange cream cheese frosting, but I think that defeats the lower fat/ lower sugar - but still cake point of it all.  Recipe more or less from here http://www.bakingmad.com/recipes/cakes/butternut-squash-and-chocolate-cake but I added zest of an orange, which I think went well.

Chicken, noodles and coleslaw

Rubbed chicken breasts in olive oil and hot sauce.  Roasted for about 25 minutes.  Meanwhile make coleslaw by shredding cabbage, red onion and carrot.  Squeeze in lemon juice and season.  Stir in half and half natural yogurt and mayonnaise.  Instant noodles - follow packet instructions, add handful of frozen peas!  Easy.  Not gourmet, but quite tasty.

Lemon chicken with red rice

Both me and the victim have had horrible colds, amongst other pressures, so no posts for a bit.  Also, as we have been under the weather favourites have been wheeled out .. and they have featured on the blog many times. Lemon chicken may well have appeared before, but I'm not checking... I never promised a no repeat recipe blog.. and I know it doesn't appear every week.  It is tasty, though, so you could eat it every week if you had too!

So, sautee chopped onion and celery in olive oil until a bit soft.  Push veg to edge of pan, turn heat up a bit, add bite sized pieces of chicken, keep stirring until all edges a bit cooked.  Add other veg (chopped green beans and diced carrot), some stock, minced garlic, juice of a lemon or so and sprinkle of mixed herbs.  If you're feeling fruity grate in zest of lemon.  There should be enough liquid to keep the mixture a "sauce" but not to drown the contents.  Simmer gently for 10(ish) minutes.  Meanwhile cook red rice (it's a grass officially) according to packet instructions. (or use any other sort of rice/ pasta/ potatoes/ bread... whatever).  Just before serving stir in big handful of chopped parsley and another squirt of lemon juice.

Grind black pepper and add chopped parsley to the rice and splodge.  Victim has been moaning about splodge of rice - splodge of sauce, so I tried a ring presentation - all seems a bit 70s to me... so here is another pic.. same dinner, rice in a mould.  Please leave a comment to gang up on me, or give me ammunition against victim's ideas.

Chili con turkey

Lemon drizzle cake

When I left for work this morning this was a full, whole, freshly baked cake... when I got home!!! well, that is the point of cakes, ... to share... and there is a lot left.  I was told that our 6 month old neighbour ate most of it.  This is a FIB.  Anyway recipe mostly from here.... http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/534232 obv round tin, but otherwise followed recipe.

leek and mushroom risotto

Proper risotto - not the usual "ricey stuff", but proper risotto with arborio rice and everything!

So, sautee chopped leeks in olive oil.  When a little bit soft add chopped celery, courgette and garlic.  Turn over in the oil a couple of times (quite gently to not separate the leeks too much) and add risotto rice (or other rice - will still be nice, just not so risotto squishy).  Turn in the oil so that each grain is covered - add glass of white wine.  Simmer for a couple of minutes, when the wine is almost gone add chopped mushrooms, some herbs and chicken stock -a ladle at a time (mine took just under 2 pints).  Add more stock and keep stirring it in and letting it soak in until rice is just cooked.  It should then stand and soak in remaining stock for a few minutes, so stop the cooking with a tiny bit more "wetness" than you think should be in the finished dish. (I wasn't quite brave enough this time and it was just ever so slightly, a bit, dry).  Season well, and stir in.  Take off the heat and stir in handful of grated parmesan.  Leave to stand for 3 minutes (ish).  Serve, grind black pepper on the top, with a drizzle of truffle oil (OK, that's optional - but we have some in the cupboard and it does add a touch of yum).  Victim had seconds.