Potato, brie and other veg bake

 

The veg box is still full of sweet potatoes and carrots, but also a couple of good sized spuds this week.  There was brie in the fridge, and apples in the fruit bowl - so ... ta dah ...

olive oil

potatoes (2 large)

onions (2 medium)

carrots (3 medium)

sweet potato (1 large)

apples (2 medium)

Brie

garlic

vegetables stock

salt and pepper

1.  Slice all veg in to thin slices - as thin as you can manage.

2.  Drizzle olive oil into a baking dish.

3.  Layer the veg etc - potatoes, onion, carrot, sweet potato, onion, apple, brie, potato.

4.  Mix garlic into veg stock and pour onto the layers.

5.  Season well with salt and pepper.

6.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for at least an hour at 180.

7.  Steam vegetables as a side.

8. Serve, scoff, show off.

Delicious

A tale of two curries

Sunday, a confirmed meat eater, a vegetarian and assorted random veg in the fridge ... so - Sunday night curries.

Start the curries off at the same time, and follow the steps.  Takes about a hour start to finish.

I had some curry mixes, so based the spicing on those ... could have used individual spices obviously.

Onions
Olive oil
Garlic
Celery
Malaysian fish curry mix
Tikka masala mix
Chilli
Mushrooms
Red pepper
Butternut squash
Pork loin steaks
Water
Pork stock
Apples
Apple juice
Pilou spice mix
Basmati rice

1.  Chop onions and start 2 decent sized sautée pans going with the onions in olive oil.
2.  Add crushed garlic.
3.  Chop celery and add some to both pans.
4.  Stir in spice mixes - Malaysian for the veg and tikka masala for the pork.
5.  Chop mushrooms and add to both pans.
6. Chop red pepper and add to veggie curry.
7.  Chop pork into bite sized pieces and add to meat curry.
8.  Prep butternut squash and add to veggie curry, and stir in.  Add veg stock.
9.  Keep turning posh until lightly browned, then add cored and chopped apples.  Then add pork stock and a cup of apple juice.
10.  Simmer both curries, if they are going dry add more water - taste to check seasoning.
11.  Add pilou spices to a little olive oil and cook them for a minute or two.  Add basmati rice and water to an inch above the surface of the rice.  Stir once and bring to the boil.
12.  When rice boils turn right down and slam on the lid - it will be ready in about 15 minutes.
13.  Add a drained, rinsed, tin of chickpeas to the veggie curry.
14.  Add half a cup of coconut milk to each curry, stir in and simmer.
15. Serve, scoff ... obviously taking which option you prefer.  I had some of each ... yum

The best cheese on toast snack thing ever

When you fancy something ..... hmmmm .... tasty ....

Nice bread
Red onion
Celery
Cheese
Pecans

1.  Toast the bread.
2.  Finely chop onion, celery and apple.
3.  Chop, or grate, cheese - mix into the fruit and veg.
4.  Chop nuts and add those too.
5.  Squish onto toast, place back under the grill for long enough for the cheese to melt a bit.
6. Scoff

Smoked mackerel and a medley of salads

A sunny day in Todmorden - miracles never cease!  So, a medly of salads for tea tonight.  There is no real recipe for this - boil the pasta, chop vegetables, open a tin and flake smoked mackerel - remember to squeeze lemon onto the avocado, or it will go brown.  I added garlic mayonnaise to my celery, apple and almond salad, but it's not universally liked, so I left it off the main serving.

Tomato and avocado salad

Cherry tomatoes
Finely chopped red onion
Radish
Avocado
Squeeze of lemon juice

Celery and apple salad

Celery
Apple
Almonds
Garlic mayonnaise (optional)

Pasta and mackerel salad

Pasta (random odds and ends of GF today)
Chopped red onion
Sweetcorn
Smoked mackerel

Green leaves
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar

Kholrabi salad with mushroom, spinach and hazelnut pasta

Well, much debate about what to call tonight's dinner - without just listing ingredients!  It is Monday - the veg box arrives on a Tuesday morning.  This is the time when you look at what you have got, and try to find something tasty, which is not just "chuck it in and hope for the best".

So, two dishes, either of which could have stood alone, but actually were delicious together.

Kholrabi, apple and watercress salad

Olive oil
1 lemon
1 kholrabi
2 small apples
2 carrots (mine were yellow, but that's because that was what we got)
1 onion, very finely sliced
cider vinegar
1 small bunch watercress, leaves picked off
salt and pepper

1.  Squeeze half a lemon to catch its juice in a bowl add about as much olive oil - this is to stop the kholrabi and apple oxidising and turning brown - so bear this in mind as you grate the other ingerdients in, and make sure you turn them over in the lemon juice and oil as you prepare the veg.
2.  Grate in kholrabi, apples and carrots.  Finely (as finely as you can) slice onions into half moons. I would have used red onions if I had some, but I didn't so VERY carefully finely sliced a white onion.
3.  Turn over to make sure veg and fruit have a film - you may wish to add more juice/oil - and/or a drop of cider vinegar to make a tangy, tasy mix.
4.  Strip watercress and gently stir in leaves.
5.  Taste, and adjust seasoning.

Mushroom, spinach and hazelnut pasta

Pasta (this is a gluten free version, so it was a corn rice mix penne pasta.. but any shortish pasta would be fine)
olive oil
8 (well, 8ish) mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
splosh of brandy (optional really, but does give a depth of flavour)
big handful of spinach leaves
3 tbsps creme fraiche
75g gorgonzola (or other blue cheese)
water
black pepper
a handful of hazelnuts

1.  Cook pasta in boiling water, according to packet instructions - don't over cook, as it will be heated through with the mushroom mixture.  Drain when cooked.  If a little while before needed, drizzle over a tiny hint of olive oil and stir so that it doesn't stick together.
2.  Chop mushrooms and sautee gently in olive oil (and butter, if you like butter).
3.  Chop spinach leaves into ribbons - not tiny pieces, just so that when they wilt they keep some shape but are not stringy.
4.  Add crushed garlic to mushrooms, stir in.
5.  Add a splosh of brandy - flame it (turn pan slightly into gas flame/ a match) to burn off the harshness of the alcohol but retain the flavour (this step is entirely optional, but does add a depth of flavour otherwise un-achievable)
6.  Add ribbons of spinach and stir/toss until wilted.
7.  Meanwhile roast hazelnuts, briefly, in a dry frying pan - about 2 minutes shaking much of the time.  Once roasted  - either pulse in processor or smash a bit in pestle and mortar.
7.  Chuck in pasta, remove from heat.
8.  Let cool for a minute, add crumbled cheese and creme fraiche.  Stir through until cheese is melted.

Serve - I sprinkled the hazelnuts on the pasta, and served with the salad - and we both had seconds... and thirds.

Gluten free breakfast pancakes with apple and cranberry sauce

Truly rubbish pic, dunno what was wrong with the camera.  These were birthday breakfast pancakes for someone who is giving gluten free a go, to see if it helps with general aches and pains.

Olive oil (for frying, could be any vegetable oil)
Butter
Gluten free flour (Self Raising Doves in this instance)
Soya milk
Egg
Natural yogurt
Pinch of salt

Apple sauce

3 cooking apples
handful dried cranberries
sugar

1.  Put flour into bowl and crack in egg.  Stir in to start the process.
2.  Add pinch of salt and about a cup of soya milk.  Whisk.
3.  Add about 3 tbsp natural yogurt and whisk until flour has been incorporated, and the mixture is smooth.
4.  The texture should be of very lightly whipped double cream - if too thick add some milk, if too liquidy add some flour (easier to add a little mixture to some new flour, mix, then mix this in to the big batch - fewer lumps).
5.  Heat oil and butter in frying pan until just smoking.  Fry pancakes in batches - about 6ish cm across.  You know one side is done when you start getting tiny bubbles at the outer edges creeping in about 1 cm.  Flip and fry on the other side.
6.  Meanwhile peel and chop apples, put in a pan with sugar (to taste) and cranberries.  Add a tbsp water and cover with a cartouche (greaseproof paper scrunched up and wet and plonked over the fruit to seal in moisture).  Stew gently until pancakes are done.

Scoff, with or without maple syrup, sing happy birthday (badly).

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.

Juice-tastic

Let's get this year started in the right fashion - 1 orange, 3 clementines, 1 ruby grapefruit, 2 apples ... yum ... that's gotta be good for me, right?

Pork, butter bean and apple casserole

Another autumnal day in July, calling for another autumnal comforting casserole.  So, today, pork, butter bean and apple with mash and peas.  Sautee one chopped onion with celery, diced pork shoulder, garlic, mixed herbs, pepper, courgette, green beans and mushrooms. When a bit cooked add a spoonful of English mustard and a sprinkle of flour to thicken the sauce.  Turn over until the flour is thoroughly mixed, then add some chicken stock.  Simmer for a good half hour, and add chopped apple and butter beans, and a sprinkle of paprika.  Simmer a bit longer and serve with mash (or rice).  It was OK, nothing more.

Bring on summer - spicy hake with 3 salads

There was some sun today - hurray! So, I thought I would try to prolong the good sunshiny vibes with a salad dinner.  I had spicy hake, but also chucked a burger in for the victim ... just as well, as spicy fish was properly poo-pooed (silly! was delish).  OK - in order of cooking - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozzarella, coleslaw, waldorf (kind, sorta, ..ish) salads... spicy fish "goujons", green salad.

recipes - such as they are - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozarella salad.  I had beetroot and borlotti beans in the veg box this week, so made it from scratch - vacuum packed beetroot, and tinned beans would be proper tasty, and much less time consuming.  So, starting from the raw state... roast washed (but not peeled) beetroot in a tray with garlic, slosh of olive oil and splash of balsamic until beetroot is soft - I cover tray in foil and test after about an hour, knife should go in with very little resistance.  Meanwhile, pod and then boil borlotti beans - takes about 12 mins from boiling - but depends on beans.  Cool beetroot, cool and drain beans.  Skin beetroot (I always use gloves) and cut into bite sized pieces.  Mix together beetroot pieces, beans, chopped radish, mozarella - torn into bite sized bits, basil leaves, seasoning, olive oil - taste...yum yum - add splash of lemon juice/vinegar if needs a little sharpness.  Sorta waldorf ... well, as kids we hated walnuts, so Mum invented this with almonds... it may have morphed over the years, but it's proper simple, so morph it yourself.. Chop a fair bit of celery into small, but still chunky, chunks, add some chopped onion... chop apple - add - squirt with lemon/lime juice - mix up until all apple has touched acid juice, at this point I added chopped orange and red pepper.  Chuck in handful of almonds, small spoon of mayonnaise, good teaspoon of horseradish and about 2 tbsp of natural yogurt - season - taste, adjust... should be crunchy, savoury and refreshing.  Coleslaw... everyone has their own recipe - but finely shredded red onion, about 3 times as much red cabbage and white cabbage, grated carrot - lemon/lime juice or cider vinegar, and good pinch of rock salt... let sit for 30mins, cabbage will start to soften slightly.  Stir in splodge of mayonnaise and some natural yogurt (adjust proportions depending on whether you are trying to reduce fat (0% mayo lowest fat... all mayo if you are a skinny imp wanting to chunk up).

Spicy fish - was hake (could've been most white fish, tuna or salmon) - cut into strips and tossed in flour and fish curry spices - fried - hot and quick...

Delish.

Lettuce... OK - for completeness - I tossed it in lime juice and a whisper of olive oil.

British baking week: Day 5: Also Apple Day - so Apple Bread

More or less from here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-bread/detail.aspx ... but the batter was far too dry so added about 4 tbsps orange juice.  The result is lovely and moist with a bit more underlying fruitiness.  Next time might even add orange zest for added oomph.

National Vegetarian Week: Day 3: Dahl and rice

 Yum yum skiddidily yum yum - IF you like pulses, gentle curry and spinach - victim HATES all of these things - after the ... OK I'll try it if you pick the slimy bits out... it's vile... blah ... what else is there?  - I actually extracted a "compliment" .. and I quote " it tastes really nice, no really nice - but the texture's a bit, well, blah... where are the chunks of stuff?". Hey ho!  I was quite pleased.  The victim had suffered an exam at mid-day, so to destress we went for a Pizza lunch (I had fiorentina in order to keep with National Veggie Week, J had a chicken'y thing - they were OK, but not great - but as outside oven is due on Friday was interested in watching chefs at work, and analysing menu).  Anyways up - ideas yup - but we can do better.  So, when we got home I wasn't hungry but J, who doesn't really like pizza (go figure!) was - so had nuked leftovers of one of her faves.

Dahl - boiled up some yellow split peas in a fair old volume of water for a bit (20mins ish... timings really not important in this "recipe").  At the same time fried sliced onion until browned, added crushed cloves of garlic (2), rated ginger (1 tsp
?),  ground cumin (1/2 tspish),urad dhal (optional - well all spices etc are optional - the urad dhal add a level of nuttiness, but really, not essential), fennel seeds, grated ginger (tsp?),  a shake of tumeric and decent shake of mixed herbs.  (by the way - drawback of open plan kitchen / dining room - splutters from TV watchers getting roasting spices in the back of their throats).  Fry until aromas bursting out (ask TV watchers!) - take off heat.  Add spicy mixture to cooking split peas, tsp garam masal, and some chopped green beans (or whatever you fancy, or not.. I just had some around).

Add oniony/spicy mixture to peas - stir in a tsp of marmite/vegimite - or other savoury condiment.  Simmer again until everything is a bit of a delicious mush - I would say about 15 mins (depends on age of split peas etc). Cook - simmer/ bung in oven - chuck in slow cooker for half a day... (45 mins simmering should really be loads, if you are busy and have chucked it in an oven (medium/180C... ) it could happily sit there for hours. About 5 mins before serving shuck in good handfuls of spinach.  As soon as it has wilted enough to be stirred in - jobs a good 'un.

Victim winced - well - she hates cooked spinach, lentils, curry without meat (what can you do???!)... so also made the cheese and cracker platter with instant apple chutney (matchsticks of onion; apple and  half a red chili, grate of ginger, squirt of limejuice, salt) cheshire cheese, baby plum tomatoes, pickled onions (not my choice!), crackers and fresh herbs. This got much more of a thumbs up.

Pork,mustard, cider and apple casserole with veg

Didn't have long, but had outlaws expected for Sunday nosh up - so - quick casserole with pork fillet and apples from the veg box with assorted health giving greens.

Soften leeks, celery and garlic in olive oil - add bite sized pieces of pork fillet (yes, I know - criminal waste of the lean meat - but it stays tender, and doesn't need 3 hours slow cooking to be a tasty, but light stew which goes down well).  Add a couple of good splodges of grain mustard, decent slosh of dry cider and about 1/2 pint chicken stock.  Simmer for 20 mins (ish) add 3 chopped apples, bung back in oven.  Add handful of frozen peas and finish off in oven for 10 mins. (Could have stirred in creme fraiche for creamy finish - but didn't feel like it).

Meanwhile - bored with mash, and not wanting the moaning I get with plain boiled spuds... boiled some peeled spuds in smallish chunks until nearly done - drained and chucked in baking dish in a hot oven with a drizzle of olive oil for last 10 mins, to get a crispy (faux roast) potato crust. Served with steamed carrots and kale.  Yum to curly kale - yah boo sucks to one of the victims who doesn't like it... it's REALLY good for you.