EAT THIS!

Smoked chicken and avocado wrap.

2007-05-02T13:20:00.000+01:00

Type: Fusion, easy

Serves: 4

Preparation time in minutes: 15

Contains per single serving:
495 calories, protein 28 g, fat 9 g, carbohydrates 38 g

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or a light version)
125 ml sour cream
300 g smoked chicken breast, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
10 small carrots, sliced
3 tablespoons mint, chopped
1 ripe and ready to eat avocado
1 lemon, squeezed
1 spring onion, chopped
4 Wrap tortillas (the larger size)

Method:
Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream.
Add the smoked chicken, the red onion and the carrots and stir.
Season with mint, freshly ground pepper and salt.
Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and cut it up evenly, sprinkle with the lemon juice.
Heat the tortillas, follow the instructions on the packet.
Spread the chicken salad evenly over the tortillas, place the avocado on top
Scatter the spring onions.
Add some more salt and pepper to taste and fold the bottom of the tortilla up and then fold the left side over to the right (or whatever way you fancy) and turn over onto your serving plate.

Enjoy!

Tip: I forgot to buy the carrots so I used tomatoes instead. Delicious!

Mediterranean Puff Pizza

2007-03-19T16:21:00.000+01:00

Type: Mediterranean (vegetarian)

Serves: 2 (or 1 one if you are really hungry, or 4 if you use it for a snack)

Preparation time in minutes: 20 minutes & oventime 20 minutes

Contains per single serving:
605 Kcalories - protein 4 g, fat 41 g – carbohydrates 41 g

Ingredients:
375g ready made puff pastry, thawed if frozen
2 big plum(or breakfast) tomatoes
1 courgette
1 onion
1 mozzarella cheese
4 table spoons of green pesto
Salt & Pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to fan 200C/conventional 225C (or check the instructions on the package).

Wash and slice the tomatoes and the courgette, thinly slice the onion and slice the mozzarella.

Unfold the pastry on a lightly flowered surface. Roll into 30 x 30 cm square and place on a baking sheet. Prick the pastry with a fork.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Spread the pesto over the crust and place the vegetables and mozzarella on top.

Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put the pizza back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

Really yummy with a green salad.

Enjoy!

Soup du jour - Leek-Mustard soup

2007-02-24T19:47:00.000+01:00

I’ve tried this soup last week and I really liked it. Maybe you want to give it go too, so here is the recipe.

Type: Dutch, starter or main course,

Serves: 4

Preparation time in minutes: 25

Contains per single serving:
Energy 255 cal - protein 4 g, fat 22 g – carbohydrates 10 g

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil,
500 gram leek, use the white and the light green part, thinly sliced,
2 potatoes peeled and cut into (cube like) pieces
Chicken stock (from a cube), 1 litre
2 tablespoons of sharp (whole-grain) mustard
125 ml crème fraîche (light)
Salt and pepper

Other stuff you need:
(Immersion) blender
Soup pot

Method:
Reserve a bit of light green parts of leek (sliced very thinly) to add to the plates/bowls just before serving.

Put the oil in the soup pot and heat it.
Add the leek to the pot and let it sweat for 3 minutes or so, just giving fragrance not colouring!
Add the potato and stock and bring everything to a boil
Let it simmer for 10 -15 minutes
Add the mustard and the crème fraîche
Puree the soup with your (immersion) blender
Reheat the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste
Put the soup in their serving bowls and sprinkle the reserved bits of leek on top!

Enjoy your soup!

Chicken with Honey and Wholegrain Mustard

2007-02-24T11:22:00.000+01:00

This is based on a WeightWatchers recipe and is delicious!!

Serves: 4
Preparation and Cooking Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy!

Ingredients

4 Chicken breasts
2 large courgettes
4 large red onions
Approx 1lb new potatoes
Approx 12 baby tomatoes
2 large red pepper

Juice of 1 lemon
3 heaped tablespoons of wholegrain mustard
3 tablespoons runny honey

Pre-heat oven to Gas mark 6, 200c

Method:

Parboil the new potatoes.

Roughly chop the courgettes, red onions and red pepper into large chunks.

Toss the potatoes and vegetables in some olive oil and place in a baking tray or oven-proof dish. Put into the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken breasts to the vegetables and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the chicken and vegetables. Mix the mustard, honey and lemon juice and pour over the vegetables and chicken and return to the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked. Turn the chicken pieces over half way through cooking.

Serve! As a suggestion, serve with asparagus or green beans.

Rum Truffles (Vegan)

2006-12-22T12:49:00.000+01:00

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

2006-11-24T11:24:00.000+01:00

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

2006-11-09T15:21:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-26T11:19:00.000+01:00

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.

2006-10-23T15:08:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-20T17:46:00.000+01:00

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,

Fish and Pasta Bake

2005-11-02T15:05:00.000+01:00

Ingredients

Selection of fish (I use haddock, smoked haddock, salmon)
Prawns
Pasta
Milk
Cheese
Butter
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli peppers

Method

Steam the fish until just cooked. Skin and flake into a large, ovenproof bowl.

Cook the pasta until "al dente"

Melt the butter in a pan and add the ginger, garlic and chilli peppers to taste. Add the prawns and cook until warm through. Add the prawns to the fish, retaining the melted butter mixture.

Add cornflour mixed with water to the butter mix to form a roux sauce. Add the milk and stir in until the sauce is not too thick but not too runny. Add grated cheese (enough to taste but not overpowering).

Add the pasta to the fish and stir in the sauce.

Grate cheese over the top and put the bowl, covered with foil or a lid, in oven for 10 minutes.

Remove and eat!

Chicken in Dill & Mustard Sauce

2005-08-19T20:47:00.000+01:00

Ingredients

Chicken breasts - as many as you need
Tesco's Finest Dill Mustard
Cornflower
Goat's Cheese

Method

Make a split in the chicken breast, without going all the way through.
Fill the split with the Dill Mustard.
Place the chicken pieces in a roasting tin or wrap in foil.
Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes or so.

Strain off the juices into a pan and add a little cornflower to the juice to thicken.
Add a tablespoon of Goat's cheese and stir in.
Pour sauce over the chicken and serve with vegetables of your choice.

Spicy Sprouts

2004-12-01T15:24:00.000+01:00

Sounds disgusting? Try them...scrummy!

Ingredients

Sprouts, as many as required
garlic
chilli - dried or fresh
butter

Method

Boil the sprouts in salted water until almost cooked - they should still be firm but not rock-hard
Drain and leave to cool slightly

Melt the butter in a pan and add the chill and garlic - both to your own taste. Stir for a minute.
Add the sprouts and stir fry for a couple of minutes and then turn the heat right down and leave them to finish cooking for 5 minutes....stirring from time to time.

Serve!

Sara's easy pudding

2004-12-01T06:00:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine gave me this recipe that is so simple it's unbelievable! She is definitely of the "can't cook, won't cook" school so this is great if you want to impress without any hassle!

Ingredients

1 pack of frozen summer fruits
1 box of ready made meringues

Method

Defrost the bag of frozen fruits and put into a serving bowl.

Crumble the meringues into the fruit. Leave for about 5 minutes and serve!

Serve with double cream or ice-cream.

See, told you it was easy!

You can make it a bit posher if you want by using fresh berries sprinkled with a little sugar and leave to stand for 1/2 hour. And make your own meringues if you're feeling really clever!

Bacon and Spinach

2004-12-01T05:45:00.000+01:00

I found the basics of this recipe when I was giving a Thanksgiving dinner and wanted some traditional American recipes. It's really easy and quick to do and you can vary it according to taste. The flavours all infuse and it's delicious!

Ingredients

1 onion
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
8 rashers of bacon, roughly chopped
1/2 bag of spinach
1/2 pint single cream
Milk
Butter or oil
Pepper

Method

Roughly chop the onion and gently fry in some butter or oil in a saucepan. Once softened, add the crushed garlic and cook for a few minutes.

Add the roughly chopped bacon and continue to fry for a few minutes. Add the single cream and black pepper and gently simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. If it thickens, add a little milk to increase the liquid. It should still be thick, but not glutinous.

Tear the spinach and stir it into the mixture. Cover the pan and gently simmer for about 5 minutes.

Serve!

You can adapt this recipe as you want. If cream is too rich, use just milk and thicken it with some cornflour. You can add cheese or use leeks instead of onions. I also use cheap cooking bacon rather than expensive rashers, it does the job just as well! You can also make this well in advance and leave it cool, then just re-heat it when you need it.