Fajitas

Or should we say woman vs food!

We don't have fajitas very often, so I thought I would try to pull off the full monty - though I stopped short of a slaw as there were actually only 3 of us, and I had gathered enough for about 6!  Also, the cold did not put any of us in the mood for salad.

So - wraps - tortilla wraps from the packet warmed up for non-gf people ... homemade gf chapatti for gf person.  I tried both - the gf version was considerably nicer.

Rice - I happened to have some 7 grain wholegrain microwavable handy, so used that  - but any rice would be fine.

Refried beans:

Sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil, add cumin and a pinch of chilli flakes.  Drain a tin of red kidney beans and add, along with half a cup of water.  Simmer gently.  If I had any fresh herbs I would have added at the end - I didn't so just a spritz of lime juice, salt and pepper and a squish with a masher and they're done.

Red peppers:

Sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil, add a few mixed herbs and sliced red pepper.  Fry - let the peppers char slightly to get a nice smoky flavour, add a little water to allow them to soften without burning.

Fajita chicken:

Marinade chicken pieces in fajita seasoning and olive oil, I used thighs cut into strips, but some would prefer breast.  Fry until slightly crispy on the edges.  The veggie alternative was halloumi in fajita seasoning fried until slightly golden.

Guacamole:

Very finely dice a small onion, cut avocado into small pieces, or crush with a fork, add diced tomato and a spritz of lime.

Sour cream
Grated cheddar

(If you are making homemade chappatis make the dough first - gf flour, natural yogurt and enough water to kneed into a dough)

1.  Start with the refried beans.
2.  Then the peppers.
3.  Marinade the chicken and make the guacamole.
4.  Keep an eye on the stove top mixtures, marinade the halloumi.
5. Grate the cheese
6.  Warm the bread, make the chappatis.
7.  Serve, stack ... try to roll greedy sized thing up, spill it all down your front!  Delicious.

Mackerel with colcannon

Paul the fish had some lovely mackerel, and it is very cold ... we needed mash.  Supercharged it with cabbage to get some veg into the veg dodger.  Delicious.

Potatoes
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Butter
Mackerel
Garlic
Lemon

1.  Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and roast in the oven.
2.  Boil potatoes, steam shredded cabbage above them.
3.  When the potatoes are done mash them, add butter to taste and stir in the cabbage.
4.  Marinade the fish briefly in olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic.  Fry on each side for a couple of minutes.
5.  Serve, scoff

Baked potato with romanesco and mushroom cheese

It looks like a mountain of mush, but it was really tasty.

Meat eaters had a bit of chorizo, veggies didn't ...

All ingredients (except soya milk) available from Todmorden Market.  Cheddar from The Crumbly Cheese, olive oil, mustard, gf flour and chorizo from The Mediterranean Pantry.  Veg from Garry outside.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Mushrooms
Romanesco (or cauliflower)
Wholegrain mustard
Flour (GF for us)
Soya milk
Cheddar ... lots
Chorizo

1.  Prick the potatoes with a fork, rub over with olive oil and bake.
2.  Sautee onion in olive oil, when soft add mushrooms.
3.  Steam the romanesco.
4.  Make the cheese sauce by adding a spoonful of flour to the mushroom mixture, mix until it has disappeared into the veg, then add a a spoonful of mustard and the milk (soya for us), mix until a sauce forms.
5.  Add grated cheese to the sauce, stir in the romanesco and put in the oven until potatoes are ready.
6.  At the last minute fry chorizo for the meat eaters.

Chinese tonight: chicken satay, straw mushrooms and beansprouts in oyster sauce and red pepper and cashew stir fry

A little trip into a chinese supermarket gave me the idea, but you can get most of the flavourings from Oriental Foods and me in Todmorden market.

Rice
Chicken - legs in this instance
Peanut butter
Sweet chilli sauce
Shaoshin rice wine
Rice wine vinegar
Chilli
Peanut oil
Spring onions
Garlic
Ginger
Straw mushrooms
Oyster sauce
Soya sauce
Red pepper
Chinese vegetable (or pak choi)
Cashew nuts
Beansprouts
Cornflour

1.  Cook the rice
2.  In an oven dish mix peanut butter with a dash of peanut oil, sweet chilli sauce, chilli and soya sauce.  Coat the chicken in the marinade and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes.
3.  In 2 woks, fry chopped spring onion, garlic and ginger.
4.  For the cashew nut mixture add red pepper, chilli flakes, soya sauce, rice wine vinegar, rice vinegar and stir fry.  Add the chopped vegetable and stir fry again.  Add a little water to create the steam.  Finish by adding slaked cornflour to thicken the sauce and the cashew nuts.
5.  For the mushroom mixture add a tin of straw mushrooms, a tablespoon of oyster sauce and a tiny splash of water, heat through then add beansprouts.  Finish by thickenning the sauce (if required) with a little slaked cornflour.
6.  Serve, scoff ...

This went down very well, but the chicken legs were fiddly, so next time I'll use diced thigh meat on a skewer.

Cauliflower cheese grill, oven chips and a fried egg

Well, sometimes you just have to ... still the egg was home grown.

Recipe:  follow packet instructions, fry an egg.

Healthy fish and chips

Fish and chips - potato wedges and batter with turmeric in it to make it a bit tastier, and quite a lot healthier.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Carrots
Haddock
Polenta
Egg
Soya milk
Turmeric
Fennel seeds
Peas

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges and roast in olive oil for about 45 minutes.
2.  Make batter by mixing polenta, a teaspoon of turmeric, a pinch of fennel seeds and egg and enough soya milk to form a batter.
3. Sautee chopped onion in olive oil, add carrot and a little water, simmer.
4. When the potatoes are nearly done dip fish in batter and fry fro a couple of minutes on each side.
5.  Add frozen peas to the veg.
6.  Done, serve, scoff - really very tasty.

Mediterranean Medley

It's not really tapas as the main starting point was Aubergine parmigiana, but it had very much a tapas vibe.

We had:-

Aubergine parmigiana, with provolone
Sauteed potatoes
Smoked anchovy brushetta
Chorizo
Olives and feta
Green lettuce salad

The aubergine parmigiana was the only "recipe" really.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Oregano
Tomatoes
Aubergine
Provolone
Parmesan

1.  Make a tomato sauce by saauteeing onions and garlic in olive oil - then add chopped tomatoes, simmer until it thickens slightly.
2.  Slice aubergine and griddle on both sides for a few minutes.
3.  Layer the aubergines and sauce in a dish - tomato sauce, aubergine, cheese ... repeat ... top with grated parmesan - cook in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Sautee diced potatoes in olive oil.

Bruschetta

Ciabata
Smoked anchovies
Cherry tomatoes
Red onion

Griddle thinly sliced ciabata, top with sliced tomato, finely chopped onion and an anchovy fillet.

Chorizo - chop it and fry it

Lightly dress the salad with good olive oil and lemon juice.

It's a tale of three curries

Most dinners I make from scratch, but I like to try a few new standbys to have in the cupboard.  Today's venture into the unknown was a tin of mataar paneer, from an Asian supermarket in Bradford.  It was OK, the flavour was fine but the paneer was squishy ... much better if you fry it off in cubes first and then add to a pea curry - but, perfectly acceptable for a curry related emergency.

With it we had basmati rice, channa dhal and a mushroom tikka massala.



Basmati rice
Ghee
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Tikka massala paste
Cumin seeds
Turmeric
coriander
chilli flakes
Tin of tomatoes
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tin of mataar paneer
Yogurt

From start to finish ...

1.  Cook basmati rice.
2.  Chop two onions and fry in ghee in 2 frying pans.
3.  Add crushed garlic and grated ginger to both pans.
4.  Start the channa dhal by adding spices and frying off gently, then tip in drained chickpeas.  Stir around for a minute, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes, half a tin of water and simmer gently.
5.  For the mushroom curry add a tablespoon of tikka masala paste, cook out then add mushrooms.  When the mushrooms release their water add a handful of spinach to wilt.
6.  Put the mataar paneer on to heat through.
7.  When the spinach has wilted turn off the heat and leave to cool for 1 minute.  Stir in natural yogurt.
8.  Serve, scoff - the veg dodger wasn't thrilled at meat free, but mixed the three curries together and declared it really tasty.

Smoked mackerel fishcakes, with roast tomatoes and peas

A store cupboard and fridge satples kind of a day - rooted around, we have too many tomatoes, so need to use them up - also some potatoes and smoked mackerel ... so, fishcakes, delicious.

Onion
Olive oil
potatoes
tomatoes
Smoked mackerel
butter
spinach
frozen peas

1.  Gently fry onion in olive oil.
2.  Boil potatoes for mash.
3.  Chuck tomatoes in the oven drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with salt.
4.  Skin and flake smoked mackerel.
5.  When potatoes are cooked, mash with butter, add spinach and let it wilt for a minute.  Add flaked fish and mix well, season.
6.  Shape the fishcakes, fry on each side for a couple of minutes.
7.  Cook peas
8. Serve, scoff .... have seconds, no wait thirds ... and the veg dodger had one as a late night snack, so that was a long way to their 5 a day.

Cheap as chips roast chicken

Sometimes, midweek, you fancy somethings just a bit ... you know ... homely and comforting.  Chicken thighs are cheap, and possibly more flavourful than breast meat, and this is easy as ...
I made the veg just that little bit nicer by simmering in a little stock and garlic.

Olive oil
Potatoes
Chicken thighs
lemon juice
Garlic
Bouillon
Leeks
Carrots
Cabbage

1.  Cut the potatoes into wedges and roast in olive oil for about 40 minutes.
2.  Put the chicken thighs in an oven dish, season with salt and pepper, and a spritz of lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil and stick in the oven with the potatoes.
3.  In a little olive oil gently fry chopped leek, add crushed garlic.
4.  Add chopped carrot to the leek with about half a cup of stock, and simmer gently.  After about 10 minutes add shredded cabbage.
5.  Serve, scoff

Mediterranean halibut with baby roasties

Paul the fish had some fabulous halibut, so I treated us.  The halibut is marinaded gently in lemon, garlic and basil to give it a bit of a Mediterranean twist, but then very simply fried for a couple of minutes each side.  Simple, and delicious.

1.  Chop potatoes into medium sized dice, roast in olive oil, for about 45 minutes.
2.  Marinade the fish in crushed garlic, olive oil, juice of half a lemon, a pinch of dried basil, salt and pepper - put it into the fridge for 30 mins or so.
3.  About 10 minutes before serving steam the asparagus spears, and boil the peas.
4.  Fry the fish on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes each side.
5.  Serve, scoff, smile

Autumnal butter bean and root vegetable casserole: with sausages for National Sausage week

The weather has turned suddenly wintery, and it was cold in the Market Hall today - so comfort food was required.  Fabulous cumberland sausages from Bracewell's, halloumi from The Crumbly cheese - some spices and butter beans from the Mediterranean Pantry - and seasonal vegetables from Garry outside - a delicious warming casserole was made.

Olive oil
Leeks
Garlic
Mixed herbs
Chilli flakes
Turnips
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Red pepper
Tinned tomatoes
Butter beans
Sausages
Halloumi

1.  Sweat down cleaned chopped leeks in olive oil, add crushed garlic.
2.  Chop and add vegetables, a pinch of herbs and chilli flakes.
3.  Add tinned tomatoes, and break them down with a fork, add water.  Simmer.
4.  Cook sausages / halloumi ..
5.  When the veg are nearly soft add the butter beans and heat through.
6.  Serve, scoff and curl up on the sofa.

National sausage week, day 2: Italian expression

Nick at Melling's Quality butchers has got some lovely sausages on - every week, not just this week.  The herby italian variety looked particularly nice, so we had some of them.  With it we had lentil and provolone pasta bake and salad.  If we all ate meat I would have made the sausages into meatballs and put the in the bake, but that wouldn't have been fair on the veggie!

Onion
Olive oil
Garlic
Italian seasoning
Aubergine
Red pepper
Lentils
Chopped tomatoes
Pasta
Parmesan
Provolone
parsley
Italian sausages
Salad leaves, dressed with balsamic and olive oil

1.  Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil until it goes transparent, then add crushed garlic and a good pinch of herbs.

2.  Add chopped aubergine and red pepper, and a handful of red lentils.  Fry briefly, then add a tin or two of chopped tomatoes, a pinch of chilli flakes and a cup of water, simmer.

3.  Boil pasta (gluten free for us).

4.  Cook sausages as you prefer - I bung them in the oven, turn after 10 minutes.

5.  Drain pasta, mix pasta and sauce together with a handful of chopped parsley and some grated parmesan.  Top with grated or sliced provolone and put in the oven to brown - about 15-20 minutes.

6.  Serve, scoff - have seconds (well thirds actually... one of us)

National sausage week: bangers and mash

Starting National Sausage week with the classic - bangers and mash, with an onion gravy, peas and steamed cabbage.  Fabulous.

There are many varieties of sausage available from Todmorden market, so I will be ringing the changes through the week.

Potatoes
Sausages - classic pork today
Onion
Olive oil
Tomato puree
Stock
Butter
Cabbage (green and cavolo nero today)
frozen peas
Butter

1.  Peel potatoes and boil.
2.  Bung sausages in a medium oven.
3.  Chop onion, sautee in olive oil until soft, add tomato puree and stock and simmer.
4.  Mash potatoes with butter, put in the oven to brown the top.
5.  Steam shredded cabbage, and cook the peas.
6.  Put the sausages into the gravy.
7. Serve, scoff, have seconds.

I made a veggie version too, all the same - but obviously 2 lots of gravy.