11 January 2012
Lime Chutney (Recipe from ‘Let’s Preserve It’ by Beryl Wood)
4-6 limes
113g onions
56g sultanas
14g salt
14g mustard seed
14g ground ginger
pinch cayenne pepper
225g sugar
210ml vinegar
Wash limes, slice finely, remove pips; finely chop onions, put both in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, stand overnight; put in pan, with very little water, simmer till tendr; add all other ingredients, bring to boil and simmer till thick (about 1hr). (For lighter coloured chutney, use white vinegar)
Lime Pickle
1lb limes
3 tbs salt
1tbs turmeric
1.5tsp chilli powder
2tsp allspice (or 1tsp all spice and 1tsp curry powder)
150-285ml white vinegar
Cut fruit into chunks, remove pips, do this on a plate to catch as much juice as possible; put into bowl with all other ingredients and mix throroughly; transfer to screw-top jar and keep in sun or warm place for 1 week, shaking every day; when skins are tender, the pickle is ready. (If a sweet pickle is preferred add 84g Demerara sugar)
Lunchtime: Steamed potatoes with Asparagus & Lemon Sauce
500g new potatoes
chopped parsley
knob of butter
500g fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method: Wash asparagus and trim off bottom of stems by about 2 inches. Place in serving dish with 1 oz butter and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Place new potatoes in a second serving dish with knob of butter and sprinkle with chopped parsley or mint.
Set Miele steam oven on Menu cooking for potatoes and asparagus following instructions in cooker. Program takes about 25 minutes.
Pasta or Risotto – what shall we have?
Tuesday 10 January Lunchtime
Finished off the Celereac and the Bean Soup from Sunday and Monday!
Evening Beef & water chestnuts with Blackbean Sauce Egg Steamed Rice Lamb Curry with Coconut
9 January 2012
Lunchtime Finished off the celereac soup and the bean soup
Evening Lamb & Coconut Curry, Beef and Tomato Curry, rice and papadums
Lamb Curry with Coconut – preparation time 10 minutes
Ingredients:
500g minced lamb
1/3 pack of creamed coconut (abt 70g)
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cardamoms
3 bay leaves
2 small cinnamon sticks
4 heaped teaspoons Ferns curry paste (Mrs Fernandez lived near my grandmother in Poona in the 1920s. She made delicious pickles then and her great grandchildren continue the company she set up making more delicious curry pastes and sauces some of which I can buy at Win Yip in Croydon.
Method: Heat the oil in a saucepan for a couple of minutes together with the cardamoms, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Watch carefully to make sure it does not burn. Add onions and garlic and continue on a gentle heat until the onions are soft and transparent. Add the curry paste and stir to coat the onion mixture.
Add the meat and continue to cook gently until the meat is brown. You may need to add a small amount of water to avoid burning. Dissolve creamed coconut in about 250g of boiling water. Once meat is brown add the coconut to the curry. Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer. The slower you cook it the better it is.
Beef and Tomato Curry – preparation time 10 minutes
Ingredients:
500g diced beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (you can use butter or ghee instead)
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
3 bay leaves
2 small cinnamon sticks
4 level teaspoons of Veeraswamy Vindaloo curry powder (use more if you like it hotter!) 1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon vinegar
Method: Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks for 2 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and, taking care not to allow them to burn, saute in the oil until transparent. Add the curry powder and a little water if necessary so that it does not stick.
Add the beef, stir to coat with the mixture and then add tomatoes. Stir well, bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer until meat is tender. Add vinegar and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Steamed Rice – Preparation time 3 minutes
Wash rice first under running water. Place in serving dish. Cover with water (ratio of 1:1.5. Place in Miele steam oven on menu cooking. Rice is ready in about 10 minutes.
Papadums I don’t have a microwave now and I used to cook my papadums for 1 minute – turning them over halfway through – in the microwave or sometimes used tongs to cook them over the gas flame on the hob. Now I have an induction hob that isn’t possible. At the moment I buy ready to eat papadums. I must have a go at dry frying!
Sunday 8 January 2012
Lunchtime Celereac Soup Ingredients:
1 celereac
1 onion
1 leek
1 potato
1.5 pints vegetable stock
50g butter Pesto (optional)
Method: Peel and dice celereac. Chop onion, leek and potato. Melt butter in heavy pan and add vegetables. Gently saute for about 5 minutes until vegetables start to soften taking care not to burn. Add stock and bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend in electric blender. Serve with a spoon of pesto swirled on top.
Evening Roast Stuffed Pork joint, seasonal vegetables and spinach (4 people)Ingredients:
1 ready stuffed pork joint (abt 850 gm)
6 medium potatoes
1 pkt ready washed spinach
2 large parsnips
1 leek
3 red onions
1/4 red cabbage
1/4 cauliflower
vegetable oil
1 beef stock cube
Preheat oven to 190C. Put pork in roasting dish in centre of oven (35mins per 500g + 30mins) with tablespoon of oil. Peel and prepare potatoes and vegetables for roasting, drizzle with oil. Add to oven 1 hour before meat is due to finish. Ten minutes before place spinach in serving dish in steam oven to cook. Use juices from meat and vegetables and add stock cube to make gravy.
New York Cheesecake Sainsbury New York Cheesecake
7 January 2012
Lunchtime
Ploughmans
Cheeses, bread and pickles
Evening Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes
4 Chicken breast fillets
6 tablespoons (tbs) lemon juice
1 1/2 rounded teaspoons (tsp) paprika
1 large garlic clove
1 tbs fresh chopped tarragon
50g unsalted butter
8 sun dried tomatoes (in oil preferably)
200 ml double cream Chilli Rocket leaves – generous bunch to garnish
Method: Chop the chicken breast fillets thinly across and place them in a bowl with the lemon juice, paprika, garlic and chopped tarragon. Stir the mixture to evenly coat and leave to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Slice sun dried tomatoes into about 3 or 4 pieces.
Melt the butter in a large deep frying pan over a low heat. Add the chicken mix and cook gently stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes. Take out the chicken pieces and put to one side, bubble the pan juices fiercely for 2 minutes to reduce slightly. Remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly and stir in the double cream, bring back to the boil and keep bubbling and stirring for 2-3 minutes or until thickened slightly.
Season with salt and add the chilli powder. Add the cooked chicken back into the pan, mix thoroughly and continue heating for a minute.
We had this with Fueselli pasta, roasted peppers, tomatoes and garlic and spinach
4 January 2012
Lunchtime Butternut squash soup with garlic bread
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash (medium) diced
1 onion chopped
2-3 small potatoes diced
1 vegetable stock cube
600 – 1000 ml boiling water
Method: In large saucepan saute chopped onion until transparent. Add diced squash, potatoes and vegetable stock cube dissolved in 600 ml boiling water. Add remainder of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend until smooth in electric blender.
Eat with garlic bread
Greek Yoghurt with Wendy’s home made plum jam
Swirl a large dessert spoon of home made into yoghurt for very tasty pudding
My intention is to keep a diary of the recipes I make throughout the year. Today we are eating up what’s in the store cupboard and fridge after Christmas and New Year! There are five of us at home today plus granddaughter, Sophie.
Lunchtime Carrot and Coriander soup Preparation time: about 15 minutes Ingredients:
5 large carrots
1 medium onion
two dessert spoons of coriander seeds
ground 1 vegetable stock cube
bunch of fresh coriander leaves chopped roughly
1 dessert spoon olive oil
Method:
Dice onion and stir fry in olive oil in saucepan until transparent. Peel and dice carrots, add ground coriander – you can sieve it to remove husks – and add to pan with together with 600ml of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Add coriander leaves and blend in electric blender.
Notes: Sophie successfully tried a small portion of soup.
Evening
Rye bread with humus, smoked salmon and capers
Lamb Fajitas with Steamed Rice
Preparation time: about 20 minutes
Ingredients:
500g organic lamb mince
1 jar Mexican Discovery Fajita Seasoning and Sauce
2 sticks celery diced
1 orange pepper, seeded and diced
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1.5 cups Basmati rice and 2 cups of water
Method: Put Basmati rice in serving dish. Cover with water. Place in Miele steam oven on menu cooking. Rice is ready in about 10 minutes.
Stir fry the onions for a couple of minutes and add the minced lamb with the Fajita seasoning. Continue to stir fry the meat until it is browned. Add the remainder of the diced vegetables, cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Just before serving add the sauce, bring to the boil and then simmer for one minute. In a dry frying pan heat the fajitas for about 10 seconds each side taking care not to burn! Serve portion of lamb mixture in fajita with rice.
Note to me!: Will probably try heating fajitas in oven next time to save the last minute juggling with frying pan, fajitas and lamb!
3 January 2012
Lunchtime
Vegetable soup
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Ingredients
2 small carrots
1 small piece cauliflower
1 onion
1 tin tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
1 dessertspoon veg oil
Chop onion and cut vegetables into small pieces. Saute in oil until transparent. Add carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, stock cube made up to about 800ml with boiling water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Blend to smooth in electric blender. Serve with toast.
Lazy Evening
Small bowl of soup
Organic Sausages with Mustard from Waitrose
Mediterranean vegetables stir fried (Iceland)
Satsumas and bananas