Epiphany

Kitchen fairies is a (currently) imaginary catering empire.  Its name is somewhat cornily a pun on the reclaimed colloquial use of fairy (and if you don't get it I'm not explaining), and on the concept of "wouldn't it be nice if the kitchen fairies had left us something tasty for dinner".   As such, I, as kitchen fairy in chief, have written it using the term "victim" to identify any diners.  This term was meant in a light hearted, tongue in cheek fashion, to indicate that sometimes the diners would be "inflicted" with my experimental concoctions.  

Recently, I have found that this is insulting both to me, and to my diners.  I am, from today, changing the voice for kitchen fairies posts.  I am privileged to cook, on occassion, for people who I love and care about; and they, in their turn are happy, and grateful, to receive my culinary offerings. 

Praise is sometimes offered, criticism is welcome - but there is not a power struggle, there is no victimisation.

Thanks for listening.

Savoury tarte tatin

Half a pack of puff pastry in the fridge, veg from veg box - going away tomorrow, so not that much else... savoury tarte tatin.

olive oil
butter
1 onion
handful green beans
3 carrots
3 largish new potatoes
cumin
chili
rosemary
garlic
apple juice
cider vinegar
pine nuts - toasted
puff pastry

salad - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olive oil, balsamic vinegar - toss

Heat oven to 180, cook in oven proof frying pan

1.  soften chopped onion in olive oil and butter
2.  Add peeled and chopped carrot, green beans and potatoes.
3.  Chuck in chopped rosemary, season ... then add what you fancy - I had some cumin seeds and some chili, so chucked those in.
4.  When veg are starting to vaguely soften add a glug of cider vinegar and about a glass of apple juice.
5.  Simmer until they are just about soft, add water if the pan goes too dry.
6.  Roll out pastry and plonk on top, tucking edges in in a rustic fashion.  Pierce with a fork to let out steam.
7.  Bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes - turn out and sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top.
8.  Serve, with salad, and chilled wine for adoring praise from gathered victims - well just the one today - but it was so nice we ate enough for 4.

Wimbledon final nectarines and cream cheese on toast

The best Wimbledon final in years, and a sunny day with Prosecco in hand ... me and my victim were getting a little peckish - well we had:-

Wholemeal toast
Spread with cream cheese
Top with sliced nectarine
Grind on black pepper
Pile on shredded lettuce

You can keep your strawberries and cream!  A successful, what have we got? invention.

Mackerel salad "nicoise" and carrot and grapefruit salad

Veg box and some smoked mackerel in the fridge ... and a little bit of sun - so - SALAD.

New potatoes
Green beans
Lettuce
pea shoots
Tomatoes
Red pepper
1/2 cucumber
Handful black olives
Smoked mackerel
3 large carrots
3 spring onions
Mustard seeds
1 grapefruit
1 clove garlic, crushed
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
English mustard

1.  Boil potatoes and steam green beans.
2.  Mix dressing - garlic, tiny teaspoon mustard, olive oil, juice of half a grapefruit, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar - season and taste.
3.  Drain potatoes and beans and chuck on dressing while still warm.
4.  Mix in other chopped salad vegetables - cucumber, lettuce, pea shoots, red pepper, tomatoes and olives.
5.  Flake on smoked mackerel and toss.

Carrot salad

1.  Peel and grate carrots, add chopped spring onions.
2.  Add 2 tbsp onion seeds and juice of half a grapefruit and a big pinch of salt.

Scoff, with lovely victim, and a nice glass of wine.  Summer is here.  We were particularly impressed with the grapefruit in the carrot salad.  Enough left for 2 packed lunches, so that was a bonus too.

Avocado, tomato and feta on toast

Toast bread, slice avocado - lay slices on toast, slice tomatoes, crumble on feta ... add spriggy stuff - peashoots in this case.  Scoff.

Egg on toast

Sometimes you need the simplest of things.  Eggs - toast - done.

Chickpea, sweet potato and chard red thai curry

I have been a bit pre-occupied for a while, so Kitchen Fairies has suffered, as has my diet, a bit.  So, when the opportunity presented itself for me to inflict kitchen fairies on a new victim I was very pleased.  After a full day of work, and with meeting for a proper purpose, as well as scoffing and chatting ... and the new victim being veggie ... made this the perfect tea.  Easy, tasty, quick and forgiving as I had faffing to do as it cooked.   Used veg from the veg box, so rang the changes from peppers and bamboo shoots etc etc.  Predictably was too busy chatting to remember to take pic of actual dinner - but, given that I am incapable of cooking for 2 here are the 5 lunches which have now been stowed in the freezer for another day.

So, my recipe today:-

1 tbsp peanut oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sweet potato, diced
Handful green beans, chopped
Some mushrooms, chopped
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tin coconut milk
water
Big handful of chard - toughest stems chopped off, leaves chopped into big strips
1/2 tsp sugar (to taste, when I tasted it, it was slightly too hot and sour, you might not need it, you might want more)
To serve:-
Jasmine rice (cooked in rice cooker - cook to packet instructions)

1.  Fry onion gently in peanut oil, for a couple of minutes.  Set rice off cooking (follow packet instructions, or chuck in a rice maker with the right amount of water and ignore 'til done).
2.  Add curry paste, garlic diced sweet potato and mushrooms, stir round for a while.
3.  Add green beans, stir in.
4.  Add chick peas, coconut milk, and water - simmer for a bit (about 15 minutes).  Add water if it looks like it's going dry.
5.  When veg is soft enough to put the tip of the knife in, add chard, allow to soften for 5 minutes .. ish.
6. Squirt of lime, or lemon if you have it.  Scoff

Newest victim claimed to enjoy it.  I hope so, and hope to victimise them more in the future.

Roast chicken with mediteranean roast vegetables

This is a great, chuck it in (in 2 stages) and ignore it dinner.  I had it on Sunday whilst also performing an enormous admin, brain bending, multiple spreadsheet, document, juggling act.

It is really tasty, and fresh.  You could have roast potatoes or rice - but I just had a chapati which was left over from previous dishes.

1 chicken (free range/organic if you can afford it)
1 lemon
1 bulb garlic
water
olive oil
1 aubergine
1 pepper
Handful mushrooms
1 courgette
6 shallots (or 1 onion, red would be good)
vine tomatoes

1.  Preheat oven to 180C
2.  Cut garlic and lemon in half and stuff all halves into cavity in chicken.  Rub chicken with olive oil (not much) and season.
3.  Put chicken on baking tray, breast side down (cover with foil).  This allows the fat to start melting and spread through the chicken as it starts cooking, keeping it moist.
4.  Stick in over for 30 minutes - get on with jobs, phone calls, silly internet games .. whatever.
5.  Take chicken out of oven, take off foil, turn chicken breast side up, chuck 1 big glass of water into the roasting tray.  Chuck back into oven.  Bake for about another hour.
6.  In another over proof dish - put in 1 tbsp olive oil - chop into bite sized pieces veg (aubergine, courgette, mushroom, onion), season, toss around, lay vine tomatoes over the top.  Chuck into oven with chicken.
7. Faff about for around an hour.  Should be ready.  Check that the chicken is cooked by inserting knife into fattest part of thigh and making sure that juice is clear not pink.
8. Scoff.

(If you have gathered victims - receive copious praise - do not let on how easy it was).

Chapati sausage roll

I can't believe I haven't thought of this before!  I'm sure you have... but translate hotdog into something a bit lighter and homemade (but also quick).  3 ish portions...

2 onions
1 tbsp olive oil
6 sausages
1 tin of tomatoes
American mustard
Pea shoots - or shredded lettuce etc
4(ish) chapatis

1.  Fry sausages in olive oil, add sliced onion.
2.  Soften onions and cook sausages a bit, then add tin of chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water.
3.  Simmer until onions are soft, sausages are cooked through.
4.  Microwave chipatis for 45 seconds (ish)
5.  Well - obviously - put chapati on plate, put sausage and good spoonful of onion and tomato mixture on top, season, add mustard and green stuff.  Roll up.
6. Scoff

Curry... innit - with steak mince and veg

Longish day at work, got home about 7:30... hungry, but wanted something tasty.  Steak mince from my butcher mate needed using - could have done spag bol, chili or no end of other classics - but fancied more complex flavours.  Hunted in spice cupboard, and found a curry mix I liked the smell of, cumin, cardomon and hot stuff.  Probably a "waste" of steak mince, but it was yummy.

1 leek, chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g steak mince (doesn't have to be steak, obv)
1 tbsp spice mix (or mix your own)
1 pepper (orange this time)
Mushrooms
Fresh tomatoes
Green beans
Tin chopped tomatoes
Spinach

Chapatis - out of packet - microwave

1.  Gently sweat leeks in oil, turn up heat add mince, keep stirring around.
2.  When a bit browned (doesn't need a lot) make sure it's separated into mincy bits, not lumps.
3.  Add chopped veg, garlic and spices.
4.  Keep stirring, add water and simmer for a bit, chuck in tomatoes.
5.  Simmer, when veg is ready stir in spinach til wilted.
6. Scoff - I did, with chapatis.