Rum Truffles (Vegan)

These are one of my favourites. As is the case with most vegan food, you really need to be in the mood to make it... cos it takes a while (one reason it is hard to be totally vegan!) you need to allow about 2 hours in total to prepare these!

As a poor student I don't have a lot of money to spend on pressies at christmas so I make up little bags of rum balls and mini christmas puddings for people :)

To make about 15 (very large) rum truffles:

60g raisins (2oz)
90ml dark rum (3fl oz)
90g firm margarine (3oz)
125g gram flour (1/4lb)
45ml maple syrup (3tbs)
50g carob powder (5tbs)
3tbs desiccated coconut (3tbs)

- Put the raisins in a small bowl, pour the rum over and set aside for at least half an hour.
- Melt the margarine in a small saucepan, stir in the gram flour to make a firm roux and cook GENTLY for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup, rum and raisins and continue stirring until thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat.
- Set 2tbs of the carob powder aside and add the rest to the saucepan. Mix thoroughly to a thick, slightly sticky, uniformly coloured paste.
- Put the desiccated cocnut and the remaining 2tbs of carob powder on a plate and mix together till the coconut becomes carob coloured
- Take teaspoonfuls of the truffle mixture, drop them into the coconut and roll them around to make well-coated balls
- Refrigerate for at least an hour

Serve with freshly-brewed (fair trade) coffee and brandy... mmmmm
You can replace the rum with brandy or liqueur and/or the raisins with dates if you so desire.

*with love from faerie the crazy hippie*
Happy Christmas all!

One of those "vague" recipes

This is one of those meals that I chuck together when I haven't got anything else in or really can't be bothered to do any serious cooking! I've deliberately not included specific amounts because you can add things in quantities as you fancy.

Ingredients:
Pasta
Large knob of butter
Garlic
Chilli (dried or fresh) or Hot Tobasco Sauce (optional)

All the following to be roughtly chopped:-
Tomatoes
Onions
Courgettes
Carrots (finely chopped)
Red Peppers

Bacon - optional
Cream cheese


Method:
Put the pasta onto boil

Grill the bacon

In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the chopped onions and soften gently.

Add the garlic and chilli (to taste but I use lots!) and cook for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook until they are soft

Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until just done.

Chop the bacon (if using) and add to the vegetables

Stir in a goodly dollop of cream cheese (I use goat's cheese but any cream cheese will do)

Strain the pasta when cooked and stir it into the vegetable mix.

Serve!

Creamy Pasta with Mushrooms

Italian, Main course, serves 2, pasta

Preparation time in minutes
30

Contains per single serving:
Energy 1065 cal, - protein 32 g
Fat 69g – carbohydrates 79 g

Ingredient’s:
200 g penne pasta
2 Portobello mushrooms
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
6 slices (rashers) of bacon
125 ml whipping cream
75 g Rucola
50 g Parmesan cheese in thin slices or grated.
Salt, freshly ground (lemon)pepper

Method:
Cook the Penne according to the instructions on the package.
Clean the mushrooms and cut them up into slices.
Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.
Put the garlic in and fry for one minute.
Put the mushrooms in and fry them over high heat for 4 minutes (let the moister evaporate).
Season well, with salt and lemonpepper.
Put everything on a plate and let it rest.
Put the rest of the oil in the same pan.
Bake the bacon until they are crispy and brown.
Take the bacon from the pan and put them on a piece of kitchen paper.
Strain the penne; reserve some of the hot water.
Put the penne back in the pan.
Add some of the cream and some of the reserved water.
Stir and put the rest of the cream (and water if needed) in.
Re-head it slowly.
Add the mushrooms, garlic and Rucola, stir lightly/slowly
If it’s hot enough, take it of the heat.
Divide the pasta over two plates or bowls sprinkle the bacon and the cheese over the top

Buon appetito!

Key Lime Pie

The basic recipe is a Delia Smith one but I have changed it slightly and also added some alterntives at the end to make it a bit different.

Dessert
Serves: 8 (or 6 if you're greedy like me!!)
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
For the base:
3.5 oz (95g) butter
8oz (175g) digestive biscuits

Filling:
1 level tablespoon grated lime zest (3 limes)
5fl oz (150ml) lime juice (4-5 large limes)
3 large egg yolks
14 oz (400g) condensed milk

Method:
1. Place the butter in a pan over the lowest heat to melt

2. Then crush the digestive biscuits. The easiest way to do this is to lay them out flat in a polythene bag and crush them with a rolling pin, rolling over using a lot of pressure.

3. Empty the contents of the bag into a bowl and add the melted butter and mix well.

4. Place the butter-crumb mixture in the flan tin and, using your hands, press it down evenly and firmly all over the base and up the sides of the tin.

5. Then place it on the baking sheet and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.

6. Place the egg yolks and lime zest in a bowl and, using an electric hand mixer, whisk them for about 2 minutes, or until the egg has thickened.

7. Add the condensed milk and whisk for another 4 minutes.

8. Finally, add the lime juice and give it another quick whisk, then pour the whole lot on to the
baked crust and return it to the oven for another 20 minutes, or until it feels just set when you lightly press the centre with your little finger.

9. Remove it from the oven and, when it's completely cold, cover it with clingfilm and chill until needed. Serve cut in slices with crème fraîche and a twist of lime for decoration. Also yummy with ice cream!

Alternatives

1. Instead of digestives, use your favourite biscuits for the base. I often use ginger nut with chocolate digestive
2. Use lemons instead of limes
3. Add another fruit to the lemon or lime filling such as passion fruit, mango, raspberries or strawberries

Simmered Pears in Red Wine.

Winter side dish or dessert.
Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
- 8 firm cooking/dessert pears (in Holland we use Gieser Wildeman or Saint Remy pears),
- bottle of red wine
- caster sugar ( I use 10 dessert spoons of sugar, but you can add more (or less) if you like)
- 2 cinnamon sticks,
- Rind of halve a lemon or 400 ml. orange juice

Method:

1. Peel the pears, leave the stem and don’t cut them (if you want, you can slice the bottoms off to help them to stand up easily in the pan or when served).

2. Pour the wine into a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar. Put the pears into the pan and add the orange juice and cinnamon sticks. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Put a lid on and cook for 45 minutes or so (Gieser Wildeman or Saint Remy pears take longer – 90 minutes or so), until beautiful red and soft but still retaining their shape.

3. When you eat them as a side dish, eat them hot!(Delicious with roasted potatoes) If you want to use them for dessert, let them cool in the liquid. Serve with cream, or mascarpone, or just plain vanilla ice-cream and some port-wine or some of the liquid

Enjoy!

Tip: you can store these pears in your freezer (store them in a container with the liquid)
Tip2: Don’t throw away the liquid….it’s very tasty and you can drink it or use it as a sauce

Beaufort Stew

The main ingredients are:
shell-on prawns (Asda do them);
red (Desiree) potatoes, whole if small (currently unavailable here, I substituted a sweet potato which did just as well, but dont cook for too long);
corn on the cob sliced in half, or baby corns from the greengrocer;
sausages (veggie sausages will do), cut into 2 inch pieces;
Old Bay Seasoning (see below).
Optional: crab legs

Boil ample water in a pan and add a teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning, the sausage and the corn. Boil for ten minutes and add the potato (shouldnt be larger than around 2 ins square. Boil for a further 10 minutes. Add the shrimps.
Continue to boil for another 10 minutes or so, drain and discard the liquid.
Serve piping hot in large bowls with crusty bread or crackers. No cutlery but have available a discard bowl and kitchen roll. Eat with fingers.
We found the taste, texture and fingeriness ideal as a really fun way of eating.

Old Bay seasoning does not appear to be a UK staple, so I looked here and then went to the health food shop/deli and got the following ingredients although in considerably larger quantities.

1Tbsp Celery Seed
1Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns
6 Bay Leaves
1/2 Tsp Whole Cardamom
1/2 Tsp Mustard Seed
4 Whole Cloves
1 Tsp Sweet Hungarian Paprika
1/4 Tsp Mace

The proportions are correct and you'll have plenty left over as you only need a teaspoonful.
A spice grinder, a pestle and mortar and a fine seive are primitive substitutes for a modern food processor, but they do the job with a lot of elbow grease and sweeping up afterwards. The bay leaves are a pig to do in a spice grinder, or a pestle and mortar. Dont use a juicer, it just doesnt work,