Apple and strawberry sponge

Lovely victims for lunch was also an excuse for a pudding, but continued the no shopping philosophy, so had strawberries and apples from veg box, and the usual staples in the cupboards.  I would normally have made the sponge a bit lemony with lemon rind, but didn't have any lemons, so added vanilla instead.

I also couldn't be bothered to measure things so just did it by eye.  I think the result was slightly less sweet than "recipe" sponge, which I preferred.  Victims scoffed happily, one with ice cream, and one with cream.  Tiny victim munched around the fruit in a very accomplished fashion.

2 apples
8 strawberries
Juice 1/2 orange
Sugar
Butter
2 eggs
Self raising flour
soya milk.

1.  Grease flan dish with butter, sprinkle some sugar on the bottom.
2.  Slice apples, spritz with orange juice to stop them going brown, slice strawberries.  Lay fruit on bottom of dish.
3.  Cream butter (about 75g) and sugar (about 75g) until light and fluffy.
4.  Add 1 egg, beat in, add self raising flour (about 75g) beat in.  Add the other egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract beat, add flour beat.
5.  If it looks a little stiff add a splash of milk (or soya milk in my case)
6.  Blob and smooth over fruit, and bake at 180C for about 30 minutes.

Delicious warm or cold.  People who have eaten with me know that I don't really "do" pudding when I am supposed to, so the victims had theirs yesterday, and I had mine for breakfast with natural yogurt.  Tsk, tsk... but it is Sunday.

Chipati wraps - spicy chicken and salad

Had some lovely victims come for lunch, and set myself the challenge of making something health and tasty without having to go to the shops.  Now, those of you who know me know that this is not much of ask, because I always have so much stuff knocking about.  However, one of the victims is a small sort of victim, so I wanted something which he would find bits to like as well.  So, my inspiration was fajitas/ burritos ... you know the kind of thing.  Trouble was I didn't have any avocado, salsa, cheese or sour cream - or indeed tortillas!  But what I did have was chipatis, chicken, yogurt, carrots, celariac and red pepper.  So, I made these....  I made mexican spicy chicken for bigger victims, and some chicken nuggety ones with breadcrumbs for the tiny victim.

1 pack chapatis
3 chicken breasts
Mexican spices
3 tbsp natural yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
2 tbsp flour, lightly seasoned
1 piece wholemeal bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
1 tsp mixed herbs
6 carrots
Bunch radishes
1 small onion
1/2 celeriac
sesame seeds
mustard seeds
juice of 1 orange
Lettuce (cos and chinese leaf) shredded
1 red pepper, in strips
4 tbsp light mayonnaise

1.  Cut chicken breasts into strips.
2.  Mix mexican spices and garlic into yogurt and 1 tbsp olive oil, chuck in 2/3 rds of chicken - cover and put in fridge to marinade.
3.  Whisk egg, put seasoned flour on one plate, egg on the next and breadcrumbs mixed with herbs on a third.
4.  Cover the remaining chicken pieces in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs - cover and put in fridge.
5.  Slaw - grate and mix carrots, radish, onion, celeriac - add small handful mustard seeds, some sesame seeds and orange juice.  Chill.
6.  Cut up other salad ingredients.
7.  To make up - fry chicken nuggets in olive oil, and marinated chicken in another pan with a tiny amount of oil.
8.  Wet sheet of greaseproof paper under the tap, scrunch it up, smooth it out, and wrap chipatis in it - microwave for 2 minutes.
9.  When chicken bits are cooked, drain nuggets on kitchen paper, pile everything on table and let victims make their own dinner.

A round of applause from littlest victim for his chicken nuggets, but he wasn't keen on the red pepper.  Bigger victims demolished most of the rest.  The carrot, celeriac slaw was the best bit for me.   Success, I say.

Morrocan-ish pasta bake

Terrible pic - delicious dinner.  I have claimed it to be lower fat, because there is no thick cheesy sauce, some yogurt and some strong parmesan adding the savoury creaminess.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, chopped
400g minced beef
1 red pepper, chopped
1 courgette chopped
a few mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
pinch chili flakes
pinch mixed herbs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp tomato puree
500ml (ish) chicken stock
Big handful baby spinach
Small handful of pinenuts
100g feta, crumbed.
About 300ml natural yogurt
30g grated parmesan
Nutmeg
Pasta - about 200g

1.  Soften leek in olive oil.
2.  Add minced beef and brown.
3.  When mince is browned add chopped veg, garlic, herbs and chili, season.  Stir in for a couple of minutes.
4.  Cook pasta in boiling water.
5.  Add tomato puree, cinnamon and stock to mince mixture, stir in a simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
6.  Drain cooked pasta, chuck into meat mixture with spinach and pinenuts.  Stir in until spinach has wilted.  Stir in crumbled feta.
7.  Mix half of the parmesan into the natural yogurt, add a tiny grating of nutmeg.
8.  Put meat and pasta into oven proof dish.  Spoon over cheesey yogurt, and sprinkle with reserved parmesan.
9.  Bake for 20 minutes at 180C.

Spicy beef stir fry with noodles

A stir fry is not the best thing to make when you have a hurty hand as there is too much chopping involved, and vigorous stirring and flipping can be a challenge - but I managed.

I used peanut oil, cos I had some, but any neutral flavoured vegetable oil would be fine, avoid olive oil.



1 tbsp peanut oil
about 100g steak - in bite sized strips
1 small leek
Fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chili flakes
1/2 red pepper, in strips
1/2 Kholrabi, peeled and chopped into strips
Small handful green beans
4 mushrooms
Chinese rice wine
Chinese rice wine vinegar
Soy sauce
Sweet chili sauce
1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
Beansprouts
Shredded chinese leaf
1 nest noodles
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

1.  Heat wok, add peanut oil.  Sear beef in hot oil.
2.  After a couple of minutes flipping meat about add chopped leek, garlic, ginger and chili. (set smoke alarm off)
3.  When leek is slightly softened, chuck in harder veg - beans, kholrabi and pepper.
4.  Splash in chinese rice wine, chinese rice wine vinegar and soy sauce. Keep stirring around for a couple of minutes, add sliced mushrooms.
5. Add water, and boil quickly.
6.  Slake cornflour in water and stir in quickly to thicken sauce.
7.  Chuck in cooked, drained noodles, beansprouts and shredded cabbage.
8. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top, scoff.

Mushrooms on toast

Kitchen fairies has been quiet for a while because of an injury.  Straining your right hand is not a good plan for a right handed cook.  It is getting better, though some kitchen tasks are still a challenge - peeling vegetables, anything requiring strength eg. mashing and whipping - but at least I can chop again.  Typing and picture taking (my hand shakes on pushing the shutter) have also suffered.

Thankfully my habit of preparing far too much food meant I had an overstocked freezer, so have managed not to have to rely on take-aways - though I have been frustrated by it being painful and difficult to make fresh food.

But this morning, I will take it no longer... so made mushrooms on toast.  Chop and fry half a small onion and fry gently in olive oil, when softened add chopped mushrooms (1 field and 3 closed cup) and 1 clove crushed garlic.  Fry gently until water comes out of mushrooms, add 1 tsp grain mushroom, and toss around until it starts to fry again.  Take off the heat, stir in 1 tbsp natural yogurt, small handful chopped parsley and season.  Serve on hot buttered granary toast.  Yum.

Hand hurting too much to hoover (shame!).

Tuna and chickpea paella

Stay for lunch they said.  Lovely, I said, don't mind if I do! so, who made the lunch?  Shrug!

That's not fair.  The victims in this case were my lovely parents who allowed me to come and park my bags with them in the evening, and go out for the night with old mates from school... to return after midnight, grunt and go to bed, so to rustle up a bit of lunch with their ingredients was a pleasure.  Thanks M&D.. heretoforth known as "victims".  There was a third victim, she is also related xx sis.

This recipe was adapted from another one... and I tweaked a lot, but significantly increased the tomato, rice and chickpeas and decreased the tuna.  If I made it again (which I would) I would reduce the tomatoes I used, but would keep to my proportions of other stuff.. and as usual measurements are vague, so just adjust to what you have.

Olive oil (about 3 tbsp)
Tuna (300g) - in big "bite size" pieces.
2 peppers, 1 red, 1 yellow, cut into 1.5cm x .5 cm slices (ish)
celery, chopped, about 3 stalks
spring onions - 1 bunch chopped (reserve about 1/4 for garnish)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red chili (the nice 4 inch long shiny, a bit sweet one ... not the firey bird eye type) finely chopped - again reserve a bit for the garnish if you fancy.
1 carton passata (use less for a more authentic, less gloopy dish)
1 pint(ish) fish stock
250g paella rice
1 tin chickpeas, drained
good pinch paprika
pinch saffron

1.  Heat paella pan (or whatever you are using) to quite hot.  Toss tuna pieces, gently, in olive oil.  Sear in hot pan.  Don't faff with them, let them brown, and if possible crisp, on each surface without overcooking.  It should talk no more  than 5-6 minutes - but let them rest enough to nearly caramelise on each surface.  You are aiming for a bit more than "seared" but not much more.
2.  When all tuna surfaces are browned, remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil or baking paper (you want to keep a VERY gentle cooking continuing, but you don't want to steam off any caramelisation).
3.  Add a little oil to the paella pan, add chopped celery, peppers and onion (and any other veg you wish to chuck in.  Stir a bit, on a moderate heat, until a little softenned.
4.  Add crushed garlic and finely chopped chili (or crumbled dried chili, which might be more authentic), keep stirring.  It should look glossy still.  If it doesn't, add a little more olive oil and stir in.
5.  Add rice.  Stir GENTLY, until every grain is covered in a film of oil, and the rice has started to cook a little.  The change is subtle, but it changes form white, to more or less translucent.  The veg mixture will mask this a bit, until you are familair with it - but basically keep stirring gently for a few minutes - don't let it catch on the bottom of the pan.
6. Add passata, stir again, gently.  It'll look sticky quite quickly.  When it starts bubbling again add the stock.  Now stir it confidently, bringing the rice from the bottom of the pan "de-glazing" as you go. (stirring the stubborn bits from the bottom of the pan into the mixture).
7.  Cooking time should now be about 12-15 minutes.  The mixture needs to simmer for a bit, on a low heat, with its lid on. [insert grumble,  Mum - that paella pan is too big for just 4 of us...me, no it's not, there's just a shallower mixture... etc etc... reality - I cook TOO MUCH - I used the lovely (and big enough) risotto pan, and still cooked too much, and in the wrong pan... yes well, I'm cooking it, and I'm trying to balance the flavours, and there are 4 of us not 2, and if we use less tuna, we can use more chickpeas....... etc  xx all)

8.  Add tuna bits... simmer 3 more minutes.
9. Leave to stand for 3(ish) minutes - scoff

with a green salad.

I enjoyed it - and gathered victims were unanimous (it's not family tradition to be vociferous) in praise.  So for my own judgement,  the tuna could have been cooked less -and more of a statement if it was in 1 piece.  but in summary --- BIG WIN!

NB.  From #5 you can leave to cool, and then pick up later ;) ... just make sure you have enough stock, so it doesn't all fry out

Mushroom, chard and baked bean curry

Veg box.... loads of mushrooms and chard, this is quick and delish.  Ended up adding baked beans as was a little heavy handed with the spices, so wanted a bit of sugar to slightly calm the heat - what better, then, than baked beans, with a bit of sugar already in them.  Cheap, cheerful, delish.

1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
1 courgette, chopped
Spice mix (I used a gosht mix and extra chili)
2 cloves crushed garlic
Mushrooms, chopped
Chard, stalks chopped, leaves shredded
Tomatoes, chopped
Baked beans

1.  Soften chopped onion in 1 tbsp olive oil & 2 tbsp water.
2.  Add spices and garlic, then add chopped veg including chard stalks and tomatoes, add water if it looks dry.
3.  Simmer for 10 minutes, add shredded chard and baked beans.
4.  Simmer for 5 minutes, until veg is all cooked.

Serve with chapatis or rice and natural yogurt.