The Distracted Housewife

Friday Night Fakeaway : Ginger Chicken

2011-11-18T18:25:00.001Z

Now, this is GOOD... Happy Friday, everybody

Ginger Chicken

For the sauce:

2 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tablespoon tahini

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

4 tbsp rapeseed oil

Place all ingredients except rapeseed oil into a bowl. Slowly whisk in said oil to make a thick, pale brown sauce. Set aside while you do everything else (or you can make it the day before).

4 chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-size pieces

Cornflour

2 beaten eggs

Roll the chicken pieces in cornflour, then egg, then cornflour again. Heat about 4 tbsp oil in a large pan and fry the chicken in batches until ncrisp and brown. Don’t worry about cooking it all the way through, just get it looking good… Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Now, you could (and I have)just throw it in a dish and pour the sauce over before baking it, but I like to add noodles and spinach underneath to make it a more ‘complete’ meal. Soak two or three nests of dried egg noodles in hot water from the kettle, then drain them over a colander containing a handful or so of chopped leaf spinach. Put this into an ovenproof dish and stir through a few spoonfuls of the sauce. Top the noodles with the crisp pieces of chicken, in a single layer (or as near as damn it),, then spoon over the remaining sauce, making sure you get a bit on every piece of chicken. Scatter with some sesame seeds and bung it in a 180 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Cath xx

Jam-tastic!

2011-11-11T19:23:00.000Z

Now this is bit of a revelation. Homemade ice-cream in five minutes with no cooking! You need a pot of cream, a jar of jam, a lemon, a shot of some sort of booze and a lemon (and you only need half of that!). If I can get all of these things in the shop in the village, they are hardly difficult to come by. True, you do have to freeze the ice-cream overnight, so it's hardly what you could call an instant pudding, but it is so easy that you can almost always have some in to feed the ravenous hordes, whether expected or not...

It does need to be a decent jam though, and I favour the Bonne Maman conserves.I've also had luck with blackcurrant with cassis and apricot with amaretto but I always, always go back to the favourite; strawberry with triple sec. There's something about the orangey alcohol that just seems to bring out the true flavour of the strawberries and this has been described to me by more than one person as the most strawberry-ish strawberry ice-cream they've ever had. Not bad for five minutes' work!

Jam Ice-Cream

284ml carton whipping cream
370g jar of jam (and see above)
2 tbsp booze of your choosing (and see above)
juice of half a lemon.

Stiffly whip the cream. Stir the jam, alcohol and lemon juice together, then fold this mixture into the cream until thoroughly combined. Pour into an airtight plastic container and freeze. Transfer the box from the freezer to the 'fridge about twenty minutes to half an hour before you want to serve the ice-cream. I normally do this as we sit down to eat, which is easy enough to remember. Dish it out with an ice-cream scoop dipped in hot water for ease.

Cath xx

*** Sorry about the lack of picture. My camera batteries are flat - I promise that I'll upload one as soon as I can. Cath xx ***

Posh Peelings

2011-11-06T17:10:00.001Z

What a busy few weeks we've had at Distracted Towers! Weekend after lovely weekend we've had friends and family visiting and lots of enjoyably drawn-out suppers around a very convivial table. My younger son turned five last week and, eschewing a party, announced that he wanted to go to dinner at the local Italian restaurant. Yes, he's five... and yes, we went and all had a wonderful time. These announcements are getting to be regular occurrences of late; only the weekend before he announced that he wanted mussels to eat. His beloved, and adoring, Granny dutifully purchased said bivalves and he tucked into them with gusto... I had to snaffle some quickly to be sure of a share!

When Hubby took the boys to see his parents during the half-term holiday, he returned with a rather large bag of apples. He confessed that he'd accepted them thinking the children would gobble them up before long, before he found out they were, in fact, 'cooking' apples. So they sat around guilt-inducingly, until today when I finally had time to process the whole ~~sack~~ bag's worth.

I now have four 1-litre bags of stewed apple for the freezer, and a couple of bottles of extremely tasty apple juice. This may just be my new best thing...

Thrifty Apple Juice

apple peelings
water

Pack the apple peelings into a deep lidded pan. I had to use my stockpot because I'd peeled thirty-plus apples and had a veritable Mount Peelmore on the worktop. Pour water over to just cover the peelings and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer for a couple of hours, then strain the juice and stir in some powdered sugar to taste. Let cool before decanting into (empty wine) bottles with a funnel. Keep in the fridge, or use some to make ice-lollies

Cath xx

Normal Service will resume shortly...

2011-10-25T19:11:00.000+01:00

Just to let you know, it's the school holidays, and we are mired (in a good way, natch) in visitors and the like, so I shan't be posting much, if at all, for the next week or so. Sorry!

Cath xx

Luscious Leeks

2011-10-17T19:16:00.000+01:00

I really, and I mean REALLY, love leeks. I adore them and would happily eat them, cooked in all sorts of ways, several times a week. I rather rate them, too, chopped raw into salads in place of spring (or aren't we now supposed to say 'salad') onions. Leek soup is fab and there is no easier, nor lovelier, side dish to a roast chicken than a tin of chunked up leeks, roasted with a little oil and some chestnut mushrooms chucked in halfway through cooking. Anyway, I digress...

I remember eating something rather similar to this as a child, though only vaguely. 'Baby' (i.e. early) leeks wrapped in prosciutto, with hollandaise sauce was also quite a regular first course for entertaining in my newlywed girl-about-the-kitchen days. Leeks and ham, or bacon, are a marvellous double act in whatever guise you choose. See also:

Leeks with Ham & Cheese

I like to use 'Black Forest Ham' in cooking more and more these day; I love the smoky flavour and find it drier and less greasy than a lot of cured hams. It tends to be cheaper than prosciutto too, which is always nice these days!

6 slim leeks, washed, ends trimmed and cut into thirds (and see picture)
50ml dry vermouth
9 slices of ham, halved (and see above)
75g butter, plus some for greasing the dish
50g plain flour
1 tsp mustard powder
400ml milk
125ml double cream
50g strong Cheddar cheese, grated
100g fresh (i.e. stale) breadcrumbs
100g Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Put the chunked up leeks in a big pan, slosh in the vermouth and top up with water. Bring to the boil and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in the same saucepan, then stir in the flour and mustard powder. Cook briefly, then pour in the milk and cream, stirring continuously. Simmer until thickened, then add the cheese, remove from the heat and whisk like b**gery, until the cheese has completely melted into the sauce.

Wrap each chunk of leek in a piece of ham and arrange these little parcels in a reasonably shallow ovenproof dish which you have greased with a little lump of butter. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and smooth it out as best you can. Mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan together, add a few grindings of black pepper, then scatter these over the dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

I rather like a bit of salad with this but, apparently, I'm weird.... (how rude!)

Cath xx

Harvest Braised Steak

2011-10-16T19:09:00.000+01:00

This is a precious hand-me-down from my paternal grandmother. My beloved Granny gave this recipe to my darling Mum, who cooked it often during my years at home, before writing it out for me. Now I pass it on to you, for fear that this delicious recipe will otherwise, one day, be lost forever. It's a brilliant one-pot dinner, quickly prepared but slow to cook; ideal for a rainy Sunday in autumn. Food like this just feels so right at this time of year, familiar and warming but not flash or fussy. It's a completely self-contained meal as well, no bits and pieces or side dishes required, so very little washing-up to be done before the mad weekly rush to get the children's things ready for school tomorrow, lay out uniforms for the morning and get my babies off to bed, ready for the last week of school before half-term (and, blimey, hasn't that come around quickly!).

Harvest Braised Steak

2 tbsp oil or dripping
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
600ml beef stock
20g cornflour, dissolved in 100ml cold water
500g carton passata OR 400g can chopped tomatoes
200g mushrooms, chopped roughly
320g can sweetcorn, drained
handful of uncooked macaroni
800g braising steak, cut into portion-size pieces

Preheat the oven to 150°c. Heat the fat in a large casserole pan on the hob and cook the onion and carrot until softened. Pour in the stock and the cornflour mixture. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, sweetcorn and macaroni and stir well. Lay the pieces of braising steak on top and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook for two hours, checking occasionally that it is not becoming too dry. Top up with a little water or stock if necessary, then serve straight from the pan at the table.

Cath xx

Friday Night Fakeaway: Meatball Pizza

2011-10-14T20:14:00.001+01:00

My eldest son came home from school a week ago, having been on a field trip to taste the food at a local Italian restaurant (I know! How good is that? We never had cool trips like that in my day! *feels old*). One of the dishes the children had tried, which had made a very serious impression on my lad, was "a really nice pizza with meatballs and lots of stringy cheese, Mummy". It soon became clear that the mere notion of this full-on 'man' pizza was enough that the males of the household; from the tallest to the shortest, would ~~pester me mercilessly until I caved in~~ ask me very, very nicely if I would please make a similar pizza for the Friday Night Fakeaway this week.

Pizza is, it has to be said, a favoured option for Friday nights; I have used my bread machine pizza dough recipe for almost as long as I have had the machine itself, and this simple no-cook pizza sauce is easily thrown together and left to do its thing morning, noon or night.

Love-It-and-Leave-It Pizza Sauce

1 tube tomato purée
250ml water
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme
fresh black pepper

Stir everything together in a bowl. Cover it with clingfilm (which I hope, by now, you have learned to keep in the freezer) and then pop the dish in the 'fridge for a few hours; overnight or all day is fine too, just leave it for a bit for the flavour to really develop. Spread liberally onto your prepared pizza base and cook as normal.

Meatball Pizza

For tonight's meatball pizza, I defrosted some meatballs that I already had, as is my habit, in the freezer, but you can use whatever you have, buy some or make some specially. Use as many or as few as you like, naturally.

Cook the raw meatballs in the oven at 180°c for 15 minutes until cooked through, then remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven up to 220°c. Dust your baking trays with cornmeal (polenta) or regular flour, then place the rolled-out pizza bases on to the trays. Prick all over with a fork, then spread evenly with the tomato sauce. Dot the sauce-smothered pizza bases with the meatballs. Cover the pizzas with grated mozzarella (for the 'stringy cheese' of my son's description), sprinkle with a few mixed dried herbs and finish with some grated parmesan for an extra 'cheesy' flavour.

Transfer the trays to the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked; crisp around the edges with the golden, sizzling cheese settled around the nubbly forms of the meatballs. Throw a salad of some kind together (I'm still very keen on my Black Bean & Sweetcorn Salad). Remove the pizzas from the trays to a board, and slice them into wedges. Pour a glass of something lovely and enjoy the start of the weekend.

Happy Friday, everyone! Cath xx

Chicken, Chickpea & Spinach Curry

2011-10-12T17:09:00.003+01:00

This straightforward dish feels like real cooking, somehow. Pootling about in the kitchen for a while, wearing an apron; sounds of sizzling and amazingly delicious smells wafting through the house. Even better, the simmering time is sufficient for me to put two cups of basmati rice and a few cardamom pods into the hallowed rice cooker with some water and switch it on for a perfect, no-tears side dish; my relaxed raita is easily stirred together, leaving me plenty of time for a cheeky pre-prandial while I straighten up the kitchen.

Chicken, Chickpea & Spinach Curry

3 tbsp cooking oil
a few cloves
a few cardamom pods
2 fresh or 1 dried bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
about an inch of ginger root
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
500g carton passata
150ml carton single cream
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp garam masala
500g chicken thigh meat, sliced
250g spinach leaves, washed

Whizz the garlic and ginger, with about 4 tbsp of water, in the blender to make a runny paste. Heat the fat in a large pan. Add the cloves, cardamom and bay leaves to the pan and sizzle for a few seconds. Add the the onion and fry until soft but not coloured. Scrape the garlic-ginger paste into the pan and stir everything together well, then mix in the spices and cook briefly; the smell really is brilliant! Pour in the passata, add the rinsed chickpeas and swirl in the cream. Sprinkle in the garam masala, then add the chicken to the pan. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally, then fold the spinach into the curry until wilted. Serve with rice and a dollop of raita. It tastes even better than it smells, believe me.

This curry really does freeze amazingly well; so much so that I often do a double batch, squirrelling half of it away for a future meal. It's great when you can just defrost a really nice home-cooked evening meal in an emergency!

Cath xx

Courgette & Salami Pasta

2011-10-10T17:48:00.006+01:00

My mandoline slicer is one of those things that comes out only rarely, but when I do use it, I wonder why don't I use it more often? I suspect the answer is probably that it lives in its box in a cupboard, whereas the KitchenAid and the Magimix are out on the kitchen worktop. And I forget all about it, sometimes. And I'm a bit lazy.

Never mind, because 'the mandoline' really is the perfect tool for the job in the case of tonight's recipe. Take the courgettes and use the fine julienne blade to cut them into the thinnest matchstick strands imaginable. And if my distracted and oft-cackhanded self can manage this, so can anyone!. The heat of the pasta water will soften them as the pasta drains through the colander, no problem. If you don't have a mandolin, don't worry - you don't have to buy one! However, please don't try to knife-cut these incredibly thin strands of courgette; it'll send you potty, I should imagine. Just coarsely grate the courgettes instead; the texture will be a little different but the recipe will still work and taste good.

Courgette & Salami Pasta

150g short pasta (such as penne or fusilli)
150g salami, cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 courgettes (prepared as above)
handful mixed fresh parsley & basil, torn up
handful freshly grated parmesan

First, put some water on to boil for the pasta. Now, 'frizzle' the salami. Put the strips into a dry frying pan and heat gently until the oil starts to run. Turn the heat up and cook, stirring, until the edges of the salami start to 'catch' and curl then remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and drain it on kitchen paper. Add the chopped garlic to the oily juices in the pan, stir well, then remove it from the heat Tip the pasta into the now boiling water and cook until tender. Put the prepared courgettes into a colander in the sink and then, reserving a small cupful of pasta water, drain the pasta into the same colander (i.e. emptying the pan contents over the top of the shredded courgettes). Return the contents of the colander to the pan and put over a low heat. Pour in the garlicky salami oil and toss well to coat the pasta-and-courgette mixture, then stir the salami pieces through, along with the torn herbs, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if it seems at all stodgy. Tip into a warmed serving dish and scatter with the parmesan.

Cath xx

Pre-prandials: Americano cocktail

2011-10-09T18:19:00.002+01:00

Not to be confused with the caffe Americano (espresso topped off with hot water), an Americano cocktail is one of my most regular pre-prandial whistle-wetters, though I must confess that I drink mine in the non-standard way (i.e. with red vermouth rather than the classically-stipulated sweet). It is a refreshing long drink, no good with a meal to my mind, but a less solid drink, to paraphrase one James Bond, speaking in Ian Fleming's short story From a View to a Kill, ideal for killing time in a Parisian café.

Ah, yes, 007. Much as he is associated in the main with the vodka martini (shaken, not stirred, yada yada...), the first drink he orders in Casino Royale** is, in fact, an Americano! It reappears in From Russia with Love and again in the aforementioned novella, and as a long-time Bond fan, Fleming's drink-related authorial influence has clearly rubbed off on me.

Americano Cocktail

1 part Campari
1 part red vermouth (rosso)
sparkling, or soda, water - to top up

Mix the Campari and vermouth in a highball (i.e. tall) glass. Top up with fizzy water. Drink deeply, considering the possibility of another.

**It should be taken as read that I refer, above, to the novels and not to the films. Fleming was much more exacting about the drinking habits of his most famous character than United Artists or MGM have ever been (apart from the, frankly, now oft-repeated, almost hackneyed martini-ordering sequences which seem to recur almost constantly (or is that just how it feels to me these days?). Sorry, geek rant over...

Cath xx

Sunday Soldiers

2011-10-09T10:21:00.005+01:00

I love a ~~man~~ egg in uniform! Admittedly, this isn't really much of a post, this, just a quickie... How fabulous is this soldier egg cup and toast cutter set? My boys were lucky enough to be given one apiece by my parents and it continues to prove, almost every weekend, that it is just the thing for 'dippy' boiled egg and soldiers. The soldier sets are widely available on the interweb and the sort of cool gifts-homewares-and-novelty shops I spend far too much money in.

Eggs are easy enough to boil, but hobs are fussily awkward about producing them until you get the timing and temperature just right for the stove you're using. Luckily (?), with two small egg-o-holic boys, I get lots of practice!

Cath xx

Babbaccino

2011-10-08T15:22:00.001+01:00

Much as I drink tea by the bucketload (and I drink what has become known, chez moi as 'naked' tea; black, with no milk or sugar), I do, rather love my coffee as well; more specifically, my latte. My lovely husband bought me a coffee machine with a steam nozzle a while back and now I am never far away from one if I so fancy (which is often). The children are fascinated by the way that the steam nozzle works and the resultant clouds of cloud-like milk foam (and, yes, they have been warned about steam being dangerous, burns being horrid, not to touch the machine, yada yada yada...). After discovering the bambinoccino on the 'piccolo menu' at Pizza Express, they were unable to believe their luck when I pointed out that I was able to make these at home too. These are always popular, at any time, but seem to go down best with them at weekends, making them feel 'grown-up', watching a favourite film while the rain rattles against the windows.

I serve what we call 'babbaccinos' in their very own little cups; Maxwell & Williams demi cups, from the Cafe Culture range. I bought these in my lovely local coffee shop, Y Mecca / The Mecca, which is well worth a visit should you ever happen to be in the Aberystwyth area!. The sprinkle of cocoa mixed with cinnamon is de rigeur, and non-negotiable, as far as my boys are concerned. As you can probably imagine, they feel much the same way about the biscuit perched on the saucer alongide their 'babba'.

Cath xx

Friday Night Fakeaway: Homemade Cheeseburgers

2011-10-07T19:05:00.000+01:00

I've written before that I can't go very long without getting major cheeseburger cravings. Having instituted the concept of the 'Friday Night Fakeaway' at home recently; feeding our cravings for curries, burgers, pizza, fried chicken and the like, without flaking out too much on our 'homemade is best' principles or busting out on our food budget. It's proved so popular that, quite often, the menu for the following week's 'Fakeaway' is discussed and decided while, or occasionally even before, we eat this week's! I used to make beef burgers exactly as below, but using salt and pepper for seasoning, until I read Nigella Lawson's Feast and was wholly won over to the Zuni Café method she writes about in that book.

Beef Burgers

700g lean 'steak' mince
3/4 tsp caster sugar
3/4 tsp salt

Split rolls, sliced cheese and Special Burger Sauce (and see below), to serve

Put the meat in a large bowl, sprinkle it with the salt and sugar, squidging it all together with your hands. Form the meat into six burger patties. Place them on a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Cover with clingfilm and chill them in the 'fridge until just before you need them, but do give them a chance to return to room temperature before cooking them. Brush them lightly with oil (I, almost exclusively, use British rapeseed oil in cooking now, but I just use the ordinary stuff here and save the cold-pressed for 'best') before cooking them under a medium-hot grill. You could also fry them in a dry non-stick pan, barbecue them (though maybe not in this dismal weather) or even bake them in the oven. Keep an eye on them, though - you want them only just cooked through, still juicy and possibly, even, still slightly pink in the middles.

We like to eat our burgers in split rolls (cut-sides lightly toasted, please) with slices of Monterey Jack cheese and dollops of Special Burger Sauce, the recipe for which is taken from The Takeaway Secret by Kenny McGovern; a lovely book and an absolute must for any 'Fakeaway' aficionado. The brand recommendations given in this recipe are Mr McGovern's; I have to say, I agree with him.

Special Burger Sauce
(American Fast-Food Style)

4 tbsp mayonnaise (recommended brand: Hellman's)
2 tsp yellow mustard (recommended brand: French's)
2 tsp tomato ketchup (recommended brand: Heinz)
1 tbsp finely chopped gherkin

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yellow mustard and ketchup. Add the chopped gherkin and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.

I also cook some Real Oven Chips to go with burgers; while I have never been especially enamoured of chips, the same cannot be said of the rest of the household who LOVE them. I would possibly be ousted from the pedestal I happily occupy if I ceased my provision of bowls of chips!

Happy Friday, everyone! Cath xx

Fast and Furious Dinner Rolls

2011-10-06T16:12:00.003+01:00

I love freshly baked bread with supper, it somehow seems to make a fairly basic meal of soup or pasta feel like so much more of a 'dinner event'. Rolls are always a great option for me, easily portion-controlled and saveable for the next day (if 'saveable' is indeed a real word, which I somehow doubt). For the longest time, I've been making the Quick Mixer Rolls that I've written about before but in recent months I've moved on to these babies; a slightly smaller batch of dough and easily adapted to suit different meals perfectly. Sometimes we have these as very basic round rolls, but these 'knots' are extremely easy and very popular. I have had some, limited, success cutting the dough thinly and plaiting the strands, but it was way too much like actual effort for my liking. The knots are ridiculously simple and give the false impression of hours spent tending dough. It's our little secret, dear reader...

.I generally just brush the unbaked rolls with melted butter before they go in the oven (as below), but there are numerous ways to tart them up to better match your meal. One of our favourites is cheese, herb and garlic rolls to go with tomato-based pasta dishes. Simply sprinkle the butter-brushed rolls with a mixture of garlic salt, mixed dried herbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You can also scatter over either, or a mixture of, poppy seeds and sesame seeds, or make a naughty 'weekend breakfast' version by mixing a tsp of cinnamon with 2 tsp of sugar and sprinkling this over. Gorgeous with freshly brewed hot coffee!

Fast & Furious Dinner Rolls

I must confess that the thing that makes these fastest is that I do the kneading in the KitchenAid. They work well in the processor too, or even by hand, they just won't be quite as immediate. More like 'national speed limit rolls' rather than '100mph instant ban rolls', I suppose!

300g strong white bread flour
100g granary flour (or use all white)
1 tbsp easy-blend dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
300-350ml warm water
melted butter, for brushing

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add as much water as you need to form a softish dough. Knead for 3 minutes in a mixer or by hand until smooth, silky and springy. Set aside in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. Cut into eight, roll each piece into a thin sausage shape and tie loosely in a knot. Place on floured baking sheets and cover. Leave to rise for 30 minutes, brush with melted butter (adding any flavourings you like, and see above) and bake at 180°c for 15-20 minutes until the bottom of the rolls sound hollow when tapped and the crust is nicely burnished brown.

Cath xx

Risotto alla Carbonara

2011-10-05T17:53:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's been a while. I won't go into boring details, nor will I make excuses for my time away, just know that I'm back, hopefully for good!

This is a lovely recipe that can be easily thrown together from ingredients that can be kept in the 'fridge or the cupboard for a good while. I am wholly won over to the oven-method for risotti; I love the therapeutic stirring of a trad risotto but more and more often, especially on a week-night, there are more pressing tasks to attend to than standing over a steamy pot for half an hour. My mascara is grateful, let me tell you!.

'Oven risotto' is very straightforward, and ideal if you have guests too, as the bulk of the work can be gotten out of the way, a dish bunged in the oven and a good time had by everyone (rather than by everyone else, while the cook stirs, cursing, in the kitchen). This risotto alla carbonara feels rather indulgent with its creamy texture and is almost a one-pot meal, though of course you do need hot stock, so if you're using homemade you'll need to heat that in a pan too, soz. I've moved away over recently from my previously much-admired Touch of Taste bouillon liquid to another Knorr product, the oh-so-convenient Stock Pots; these are now my storecupboard emergency stock replacement of choice.

The Black Forest Ham is not, I know, at all authentically Italian, but it eliminates the need to fry pancetta (thus saving on washing up) and gives a wonderfully rounded, smoky flavour Anyway, I tried it once because we had a pack in the 'fridge that needed using up and the rest is, as they don't say but should, merely a matter of geography. As for the cheese rinds, I find that they are a wonderful addition to this kind of risotto. They impart a delicious, deep flavour to the risotto and are very popular with my children, who both love the savoury chewiness of the cooked-down rinds. To this end, whenever I finish a chunk of Parm., I scrub the rind well under hot water, then transfer it to a bag in the top of the freezer set aside for cheese rinds. Just fish out one or two and add them to risotti when you add the stock. They can also be useful in certain soups, but do remember to remove the rind(s) before using the stick-blender. I write from scalded experience...

Risotto alla Carbonara

30g unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
300g risotto rice
100ml dry vermouth (or white wine)
200g pack Black Forest Ham, chopped
2 Parmesan cheese rinds, if available (and see above)
1 litre hot stock.
3 eggs, beaten with 100ml double cream and 50g freshly grated Parmesan,

Melt the butter in a large ovenproof casserole and soften the onion and celery. I sometimes add a little chopped garlic at this point, sometimes not. As with so much, food is all about how you feel! When the onion and celery are very soft, tip in the rice and stir to coat in the buttery pan juices. Pour in the vermouth, stir in the chopped ham and pour in the hot stock. Stick the pot in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 180°. Remove the pan from the oven and vigorously stir in the egg mixture. Cover the pan with a lid and leave for five minutres while you pour a(nother?) drink and finish setting the table or whatever. With risotto, I like a salad and a glass of wine, both crisp, nothing more.

Cath xx

Oh Snapz!

2011-03-09T17:17:00.002Z

Children always seem to want to snack, don't they? I suppose it's because they are such busy little bees, but my boys always seem to be re-fuelling. So I am always interested to find out about new snacking options for them; ones that are good for them, or at least not bad for them, and which have a touch more kid-appeal than the usual 'healthy' options seem to. I received a parcel from Healthy Supplies this morning, containing a selection of the interesting and nutritious goodies stocked on their website. First on our taste-testing schedule were some Snapz fruit and vegetable crisps...

Baked, rather than fried, they are still crisp and really rather delicious. We first tried the beetroot crisps and the carrot & paprika crisps. It's fairly obvious which is which, huh? The children were torn as to which they preferred but ultimately Chris liked the beetroot crisps best (as did I); sweet and crunchy as they were, while James preferred the carrot & paprika version. I found these tasted very strongly of carrot, which would be a big plus for most people (and especially my carrot-addicted children), but I've never been a huge fan of cooked carrots , vastly preferring them raw, so I couldn't eat more than a few. However, the two types were hugely complimentary when mixed together which was an interesting option, and the paprika added a pleasant piquancy to the earthy-tasting carrots. We often eat root vegetable crisps as a pre-dinner nibble, but these weren't salty or greasy like some we've tried and tasted so clearly of the vegetables rather than the seasonings alone, that it was a completely new experience

Next, I suppose, we moved on to 'pudding', and tried some of the apple fruit crisps. One the left in the picture are the regular Crunchy Apple variety, the Apple & Cinnamon crisps on the right are strongly flavoured with cinnamon. Rather too much cinnamon for my taste, but the children adored them and were pretty close to licking the dusty scraps out of the bowl after they'd polished the actual apple-slice-crisps off. The cinnamon-flavoured apple crisps were noticeably thicker, and chewier, than the au naturel version, which were delicious and, somehow tasted even more of apples than do actual untouched apples. Go figure! The children rated the selection as follows.

Chris

#1 Beetroot
#2 Apple & Cinnamon
#3 Carrot & Paprika
#4 Apple

James

#1 Carrot & Paprika
#2 Apple & Cinnamon
#3 Apple
#4 Beetroot

As for me? I preferred the beetroot and the carrot & paprika crisps when they were mixed together as a savoury option. I wouldn't choose to eat the apple & cinnamon crisps again, but I might nibble on the odd pack of the plain apple crisps in the future. I can see these finding a home in lunchboxes for school trips and the like in the future.

Cath xx

Saturday Salads

2011-03-05T13:56:00.001Z

How to get children to enjoy salads? To get them, regularly, actually ~~asking~~ clamouring for them to be served for lunch? The answer, I find, is relatively simple... crunchy bits!

The first lunchtime salad I regularly serve is this simple hard cheese salad. Known as 'lunchbox salad' by me, this is the little salad that my Mum used to pop in for me if ever I needed a packed lunch for school. Shredded Little Gem lettuce (rather than the original Iceberg), diced celery and grated carrot are combined with a bit of grated cheese (strong cheddar for Chris, 'Special Reserve' Red Leicester for JD, who is clearly becoming a food snob!) and a scattering of salted peanuts. Obviously, times have moved on and heads would surely spin, were I to attempt to send this peanut-studded salad into school with my kids so we eat it with nuts at home, with croûtons for school trips and the like.

Croûtons are another easy way to add crunch to a salad, but don't forget some of the things that you can easily buy and stash in the cupboard for quick salad-bar assemblies. Bacos, or similar bacon crumbles are great with this easy blue cheese salad dressing, again served simply over some shredded leaves (usually Gem or Romaine). You can also get some rather addicting little fried onion shreds which are divine in a salad of this sort. They're called 'Onion Crispies', but 'crispy' is such an idiotic word that we'll quickly gloss over that fact...

Blue Cheese Dressing

25g blue cheese, crumbled (I usually use Danish Blue, but anything goes!)
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp crème fraîche

Gently heat the crème fraîche and the vinegar with the crumbled cheese, stirring until the cheese has melted. Taste it and add a dash of pepper if you like. You probably won't want any salt, but you may want a dot more vinegar or crème fraîche. This is also rather lovely as a dip, especially with leftover chicken strip from fajitas (naughty, naughty!).

Cath xx

Making the Mustard

2011-03-04T17:43:00.000Z

Just before Christmas I made a massive batch of wholegrain mustard to form part of my Christmas gifts for family and friends. Today I needed to make another batch, as the last jar that we have in stock now has only a mere scrape left in the bottom. Making your own mustard really is so easy and extremely rewarding. I give you, below, the basic blueprint for my mustards - I have made wine mustards, beer mustards, cider mustards and now a sherry mustard using this basic recipe; all have been successful and delicious. Try to look out for a wholefood shop or market stall that will sell the mustard seeds 'loose', those little supermarket jars can work out very expensive indeed!

Homemade Wholegrain Mustard

Use a vinegar that corresponds to the other liquid you want to use; i.e. sherry vinegar and sherry for a sherry mustard. If you want to make a beer mustard, use a cider vinegar and switch the quantities (i.e. 200ml good beer and 100ml vinegar). I suggest using a malt extract instead of the sugar or honey in this case.

100g brown mustard seeds
100g yellow mustard seeds
200ml vinegar (and see above)
1 tbsp English mustard powder
100ml beer/cider/wine/sherry
1 tbsp soft brown sugar or honey
1 dsp (2 tsp) salt

Either whizz the mustard seeds in a processor/blender, or bash them up in a pestle and mortar. You don't need to reduce the seeds to a powder, just crack them a bit. Put the seeds into a bowl, stir in the mustard powder, sugar and salt and pour over the liquid ingredients. Leave to soak for a couple of hours or until the mixture has thickened slightly. Pot in small sterilised jars and keep in the cupboard for a couple of weeks to let the flavours fully develop. See how easy?

Cath xx

BBQ Beanfeast

2011-02-27T19:19:00.003Z

I wrote recently about my culinary experiments with American-style pulled pork and ever since, the flavours have continued to fascinate me. The flavour rub for that recipe has found its way into several dishes since and a keep a jar of it, ready mixed, in one of my kitchen cupboards. Tonight I used it yet again...

Basic BBQ Rub

6 tbsp paprika (regular, not smoked)
2 tbsp flaky sea salt
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp English mustard powder

Stir all ingredients together. Keep in a (labelled!) jar in the cupboard.

This is the sort of easy dish that we all love; something like a chilli con carne, actually, but sweeter and with less spicy heat. It is very forgiving as regards side dishes as well, I prefer to serve it with rice, but it also works well with soft flour tortillas or potatoes (jacket spuds and potato wedges, especially). Frankly, a little salad and a chunk of crusty bread to dunk is all you really need.

Beef &Bean BBQ Pot

I mainly use the ordinary HP barbecue sauce, but I occasionally dally with another brand. Just use your favourite.

2 onions, chopped
120g smoked bacon chopped
300g minced beef
3 tbsp BBQ rub (and see above)
1 red pepper, halved, de-seeded and sliced
400g tin of mixed beans, drained
400g tin chopped tomatoes
bottled barbecue sauce
dried oregano

Heat a little oil in a casserole pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the bacon to the pan and cook through, then put in the beef and brown it well. Sprinkle the BBQ rub in as you brown the beef, then add the strips of pepper and mix through the meat and onions. Tip in the beans, then the tomatoes. Fill the empty tomato can half-full with water and add a good squirt of bottled barbecue sauce. Stir well and add this liquid to the pan. Sprinkle dried oregano into the pot and stir again. Cook, covered, at 160°c for 20 minutes, then remove the lid, stir again, and cook for 15 minutes more to reduce the sauce. Enjoy!

Cath xx

P.S. Blogger formatting has gone insane, it seems. No matter.

It's Leeking again!

2011-02-26T19:16:00.000Z

I love cooking with leeks. It feels right, somehow, using them as often as I do when I live in Wales, but I suspect that I would use them almost obsessively wherever I lived. They give a delicacy of taste that onions, however useful (and they are) in cooking, simply cannot provide - leeks are, to me, definitely the blushing ingénue to onions' dashing cad. They go particularly well with chicken, cheese (ooh, leeks and blue cheese...) and ham or bacon, but I also love them with black pudding and with salmon. Mustard is another friend of the leek, and this wholegrain mustard-spiked chicken dish is a great favourite of ours.

Chicken with Wine and Mustardy Leeks

8 chicken thighs
5 leeks, halved and sliced
200ml white wine
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
200ml chicken stock
15g butter

Heat a little cooking oil in a casserole pan and brown the chicken well all over. Remove to a plate and set aside, then put the sliced leeks into the pan and cook, stirring, until soft. Add a splash of boiling water from the kettle to help scrape up any chicken bits from the bottom of the pot as you stir. Stir in the mustard and add the stock. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it melts. This will help to emulsify the saucy leeks a little. Put the chicken pieces back on top of the leeks, pop the lid on and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook at 160°c for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to crisp the chicken skins and reduce the sauce a little.

I served this with a pan of brown rice, and we had pre-dinner munches on root vegetable crisps (with a cheeky G&T for me!)

Cath xx

Feeling Greeky

2011-02-25T18:57:00.003Z

I have been remiss with trying out recipe ideas recently, so I've taken advantage of the latter, less busy, part of the half-term holidays to try out some new things. Now, I know that this kind of pie is nothing new (sorry spanokopita), but I like to think that there is a place for my distracted version; mainly just stirring stuff together, but with a nice bit of pastry layering to feel like I've done some 'real' cooking (what a ludicrous phrase that is - all cooking is real cooking, unless it's merely re-heating, I suppose... but what else am I supposed to do with leftovers?)

'Greek-Style' Cheese & Spinach Pie

For the 'hard cheese' specified, I use a roughly half-and-half mixture of parmesan and cheddar, but either would be fine on its own, or use a different, well-flavoured hard cheese. I do wonder about blue cheese as an idea, too, maybe with walnuts replacing the almonds? Perhaps another day...

600g spinach, (2 big bags from the supermarket)
handful flaked almonds
good pinch dried oregano
3 eggs
200g feta cheese (or similar Greek-style' or 'salad' cheese)
150g hard cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
good grating of fresh nutmeg
50g or so butter, melted
1 (supermarket) packet of filo pastry - 12 sheets

Wilt the spinach in a couple of batches by plonking it in a colander and pouring a kettle-full of boiling water over it. Remove it to a big bowl and leave to cool. Repeat with the second batch. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, being careful in case there are any 'hidden' pockets of hot water. Set aside. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until just golden, remove to a dish and add the dried oregano immediately. Stir, and the delicious aroma of the herb will be released. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the cheeses, the garlic, a little black pepper and plenty of nutmeg (lush with spinach). You don't need to add salt, the cheese is plenty salty enough. Finally, add the nuts/herb mixture and the roughly chopped spinach. Mix well.

Brush the inside of a pie dish with melted butter and lay a few sheets of filo over to cover the base and overhang at the sides. Brush with butter again, then top with some of the spinach mixture. Repeat with another layer of buttered filo; another layer of spinach filling . Finish with a nice thick layer of buttered filo sheets. Sprinkle with another pinch of dried oregano, for pretty, if you like. Bake at 180°c for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve with a cucumber or tomato salad (or both, or something else entirely, if you like, hehehe). We nibbled on some black olives and feta that I'd marinaded in garlic oil beforehand.

Cath xx

Souper, Smashing, Great...

2011-01-26T19:17:00.002Z

I adore this soup, based of stock with lots of of good things added. It can so easily be varied by changing very little. I sometimes make a more 'Spanish' version by swapping the bacon for chorizo, the beans for chickpeas and the pesto for smoked paprika. However, my most usual soup of the type is this; filling and rustic in an Italian style...

I keep a couple of bags of the shredded leek-and-carrot mix in the freezer; I find it to be so much less hassle to do a big session of chopping once in a while than to have to start knife work every single time! A couple of handfuls of the mixture is enough for one batch of soup and defrosts ever so quickly - I suspect that you could probably could use it straight from frozen, but I've never tried. **UPDATE: I now have, and you can! **

Bean & Bacon Soup with Small Pasta

I generally use macaroni, as I keep that in the storecupboard as a matter of course; you can always substitute another small 'soup' pasta (like conchigliette), or just use some broken-up bits of spaghetti. This amount feeds all four of us comfortably, with enough left over for two small portions for lunches in the week. It freezes well, too.

200g bacon, chopped up roughly
1 leek, halved and sliced
2 carrots, diced
1.5 litres chicken stock
2 tbsp pesto
150g small pasta (and see above)
2x 300g cans borlotti beans, drained

Grated parmesan, to serve

Heat a very little oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon until cooked and tinged with brown. Scoop the bacon out of the pan and set aside. Put the leek and carrot into the pan and fry until soft. Add a little of the chicken stock and scrape up all the nice toasty bits that have 'caught' on the bottom of the pan, then put the bacon back in the pan, pour in the rest of the stock and bring to the boil. Add the pesto and stir well, then tip in the pasta and cook for five minutes. Add the beans and continue to cook until the pasta is al dente. Ladle into warm bowls and serve, topped with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.

Cath xx

Planning Ahead...

2011-01-23T16:53:00.000Z

My regular task on a Sunday is to plan our family meals for the week ahead, before I go food shopping on Monday morning. I know that some people find this too much to be bothered with, preferring instead to make a decision every day. Each to their own, but I would find that crippling; I am certain that we would end up eating the same meals over and over again, that supper time would becoming stultifyingly dull and that I would be gripped, nightly, by paralysing indecision, plus you always have an answer to the whiny "what's for dinner..?" questions. As a keen cook, I want to try out new things and, by planning ahead, I can build our week of menus to include both the comfortingly familiar and the appetisingly new... It is liberating to come home and be able to start dinner without having to make any decisions and to know that I have everything needed for a meal [a] in the house, not requiring an emergency shopping trip and [b] not still in a solid, icy lump in the freezer (because I knew last night I would want it and I took it out to defrost then).

Making a shopping list inevitably saves you money if you stick to it; it's when you meander around the shops picking up 'what looks nice' with nary an idea of how you intend to use it that you fritter your pennies away. The excuse that "I wait to see what's on special offer" is no excuse really, lists of all the supermarket deals can be found online, via their websites. Try somucheasier for a conveniently grouped list of all the stores' sites. Plan your meals according to what WILL be on offer.

If this sounds preachy, I'm honestly sorry, it's not meant to, but I save so much by shopping this way that my list for the week can always include a few treats; some nice wine for the weekend, a trip to the cheese shop for a beautiful piece of cheese to go with soup and bread, or some delicious olives and chorizo from the Spanish deli; I want others to enjoy these little pleasures too. Plan midday meals too, if there'll be people in for lunch, or just build in a few simple options to your list. Likewise with breakfasts...

When you have children of school age, the other advantage of meal planning is that you can check what the next week's school meals will be and cater accordingly, even my children would baulk at the idea of spaghetti Bolognese for supper if they had already eaten it for lunch at school. Our local council, in Ceredigion, provides parents with a copy of the 4-weekly rolling menu and I'm sure that can't be exclusive to that one authority. So useful to keep track of what they're eating and plan your family meals at home accordingly. If your school doesn't provide you with this, ask them; even if they only put the menu on their website it would help, but I would think that most schools would be only too pleased to accommodate a genuine interest in improving the family life and well-being of its pupils. Happy planning!

Cath xx

On the Pull...

2011-01-22T19:35:00.002Z

This is a fab Saturday night family supper. Not much work, then all day in the slow-cooker, a little bit (but again, not much) of work again and you're ready to eat. I found this recipe on one of my blog-watching sessions, following links and seeing what I can find. This is taken from the website of an American public media radio show, The Splendid Table and I've bookmarked a couple of other ideas that interest me from this site too. I've made a few tiny changes (mainly to do with quantities), but the original recipe is here if you'd rather follow that. Bottled 'liquid smoke' is available in the UK from American Soda, who are based in Ashton-under-Lyne, though I suspect that this would be just as tasty, though in a different way, without the 'specialist equipment'. I also adore the fact that, in the US, pork shoulder is (inexplicably, to my mind) referred to as 'pork BUTT'. Oh my, how the evolution of language fascinates...

American BBQ-Style Pulled Pork

I think the dsp (dessertspoon) measure may be a little archaic these days, but I rather like it; it refers to 2 tsp.

2kg boneless pork shoulder
3 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 dsp garlic powder
1 dsp English mustard powder
4 tbsp bottled 'liquid smoke'

Stir the spices and salt together. Cut the pork into chunks, removing the rind Put half the pieces into the slow cooker, then add half the spice mix and half the liquid smoke, then add the rest of the pork and the remaining flavourings. Cook on medium all day (I would say use high if you don't have a medium setting). Put the cooked meat in a bowl and strain the cooking juices into a jug. Shred (this is the 'pulling' part...) with two forks as for French rillettes or Peking duck. Put the shredded meat back into the slow cooker pot and add as much of the reserved juice as you need for a pleasantly soft and juicy texture

Serve with rolls, salad and barbecue sauces and condiments of your choice. Our pre-prandial snack tonight was celery sticks with a cheesy dip.

Cath xx

One Pot Wonder

2010-12-18T18:08:00.000Z

I love a meal that cooks in one pot... Not only is it easy to serve but, happily, easy to wash up after. This is something that was quick to throw together with ingredients that, bar the chicken, I always have in the cupboard. As for the chicken, thighs are always a sensible option, easily portion-controlled and much, much tastier than all the skinless breast fillets you can throw at me! I usually have these in the freezer so it was an ideal meal to make when we are snowed in. The Jamaican spice blend can be any of your choosing, bringing a hint of sunshine and warmth to what is - essentially - a very simple meal.

One-Pot 'Jamaican' Chicken with Rice and Peas

3 tbsp dripping or oil
1 large onions, peeled and chopped
1-2 tbsp Jamaican or jerk seasoning
8 chicken thighs (skin on)
350g long-grain rice
1 litre chicken stock
400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

Heat the fat in a large pan and lightly brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the onion gently until soft. Add the spice mix, then tip in the rice and cook for 1 min, stirring all the time. Stir in the kidney beans and then add the chicken stock. Lay the browned chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, cover the pan and simmer for 40 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Cath xx

Snow Day!

2010-12-17T11:58:00.001Z

This is our day today. A white, powdery, perfect snowscape. So no work for me and no school for the children. We will be carefully adhering to the 'official' snow day rules of tea, toast and television. After what feels like weeks and weeks of chickenpox, interspersed with various other ailment, I need some down-time to prepare me. After all, it's time to take Christmas by the antlers..!

In fact, a couple of Christmassy movies might be just what we need to get us, fully, into the required festive mood. Earlier this morning I made my usual cranberry sauce, to the same recipe I have made for as long as I can remember. In fact, the link takes you to a post from 2007 with a three-year-old Christopher helping to stir the berries in the pan, bless his heart! The marzipan will go on the Christmas cake later today, finally preparing it for decorating at the beginning of next week. Then it's just a question of waiting for the snow to melt for the final sortie to the shops (to pick up the turkey the Christmas Eve ham, the vegetables and maybe, just maybe, a few little extra treats. Well, it is Christmas!

Tortilla for the Illa

2010-11-24T19:33:00.001Z

My children aren't ill very often, we've never (touch wood) had many of the usual childhood bugs, coughs and colds to deal with. So it comes as a horrid shock when one of my babies is laid low by being really, properly poorly. Earlier this week, my youngest boy broke out with spots all over his little body; attack of the dreaded chicken pox! We've been holed up at home for most of the week so far, and it shows no sign yet of abating. Luckily, a homebird like me doesn't feel the cabin fever thing so much, but I am struggling to find seemingly endless ways to entertain a crochety child, who is missing his schoolfriends, feeling a bit pathetic and who is really too young to completely understand why. We've read lots of stories, talked to Granny on the telephone, done colouring and sticker art. We have also, snuggled under a duvet on the sofa, watched rather more television than I would normally allow, but I am choosing not to feel bad about that.

We have also made one of our current favourite treats;
chocolate covered pretzels! I say 'made', of course what we actually did was coat a bag of Julian Graves' salted pretzels in melted milk chocolate. These are always a real nostalgia trip for me; does anyone else remember those bags of Nestlé chocolate-coated 'Pretzel Flipz' that were around about 10 years ago? They were gorgeous. Then they disappeared, how rude. I did think of doing a little more baking with him today, but he has spent most of the day in and out of the bath as it seems to soothe the itching, poor boy...

Supper tonight just had to be chicken soup for the invalid, more specifically my Chicken Tortilla Soup, which is comforting and easy-to-eat, with grated cheese and soured cream on the side. We had a roast chicken for supper last night, so I made my usual 'overnight stock' in the slow-cooker to have it ready for tonight's supper Quick shopping trips hardly being a priority at the moment, we had no convenient carton ofc soured cream in the 'fridge, but did you know you can make a perfectly good substitute by mixing 3 tsp of lemon juice into 150ml double cream? No? Well you can, and I am more likely to have a bit of double cream knocking around than I am to have bought soured cream 'on the off chance'. Actually, last week I'd overbought double cream because it was on offer when I did the shopping, knowing that we had visitors at the weekend. So it all worked out in the end... now we've just good to wait for the pox to vacate the residence!

Cath xx

Pork Rescue

2010-11-22T17:30:00.003Z

After a fabulous weekend with friends, the centrepiece of which was surely the 4kg shoulder of pork we roasted on Saturday afternoon, I found myself with a huge hunk of meat still left in the 'fridge. As pork seems to roast so much better when cooked in a large piece (and anyway, you get more crackling this way), it seems silly not to cook a large piece when you get the chance, especially if the only 'problem' is having meat left over; leftover pork is so lovely, whether you cook it or not , and so versatile when you do. This recipe also, happily, uses up the rogue green peppers so often lurking in my 'fridge; refugees from bargain mixed bags of peppers. The frozen 'mini rösti' I sometimes use to top this sort of meal are easy enough to get hold of in most supermarket freezer sections; the usual mashed potatoes for the top are great, but ultimately, on a cold Monday evening, these are the easy option, however lazy it may seem... and, justifiably so, as it's very tasty either way!

Pork Pot (as named by James)

1 tbsp dripping, oil or butter
1 onion, peeled, halved and sliced
1 stick celery, chopped
1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped
200ml pork gravy (or water)
500ml passata
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 or 4 handfuls of shredded cooked pork
frozen mini rösti (12 or so)

Heat the fat in a large casserole and fry the onion, celery and pepper until softened. Add the gravy (or just some water if you don't have gravy left over, or to hand) and the passata, then stir in the chickpeas and the shredded pork. Stir well to mix, then turn it all out into an ovenproof dish. Top with the frozen rösti (and see picture) and cook at 200°c for 25 minutes. Serve with something a little crunchy, whether salad or vegetables.

Cath xx

Mother's Ruin

2010-11-15T19:25:00.000Z

"Do not allow your children to mix drinks. It is unseemly and they use too much vermouth." Social Studies, Fran Lebowitz, .

If you have access to damsons, this is a lovely thing to make at this time of year. Because of the time of year that the damsons start to fall, it will be ready in time for Christmas and makes a good present, if you are generous and would like to give some away. It is also great to be able to offer your guests a nip during the cold winter months. It takes a good six to eight weeks, but a little shimmy-shake occasionally is all that is required of you for most of that time.

Damson Gin Liqueur

This recipe also works very well with cranberries for a pleasantly bittersweet liqueur, to be served icy-cold in shot glasses.

450g damsons
450g caster sugar
1 litre gin (inexpensive, even cheap, stuff is fine)

Put everything into a large, clean Kilner-style preserving jar and seal. Store in a cool, dark place and shake the jar vigorously every day (or as close to that as you can manage). After six or eight weeks the liquid will be a gorgeous deep purple-red colour and look slightly syrupy. Strain the liquid from the fruit and bottle. I pop the gin-soused fruit into bags, and then into the freezer, to use in 'naughty' jams and chutneys later... anyhow, enjoy!

Cath xx

Passing it on...

2010-11-11T19:20:00.005Z

This is something of an old-time family classic for me, one that my Mum cooked when I was a child and that I, in turn, now cook for my brood. I'm sure that my boys will one day pass it on to their own families.

In fact this recipe was originally passed on to my Mum. A teacher at the school where she worked as a newly-qualified teacher, a lady named Doris, unselfishly passed on several of her recipes. Now, years later, I pass it, and others, on to you now through this blog. Part and parcel of a love of cooking is, often, the almost obsessive collecting of recipes, which inevitably leads to the sharing of the same. I understand the (perhaps perceived) necessity for a business to keep a 'secret recipe', but I have no real idea where the benefit might lie for a home cook. Sure, I eat things that I'd rather keep secret, but that tends to be my 'dirty little secret' foods; Bombay mix eaten with a chunk of mature cheddar, cream crackers with cheese spread and sweet chilli sauce and peanut butter-and-salad sandwiches. But I digress... This is my version of the genuine article, modified as it is with my preferred garam masala replacing the curry powder used in the original recipe. You can also use some chili powder for a spicier edge; try both, and decide for yourself which you prefer. It works well in the slow-cooker too, but do make sure you buy condensed mushroom soup, not the regular kind, or the sauce will be altogether too watery.

Quick Chick

4 roasted peppers (from a jar!), cut up roughly with scissors
6 chicken thigh fillets, halved if very large.
1 tsp mild chilli powder
295g can condensed mushroom soup

Put the pepper into the bottom of an ovenproof dish (or, indeed, in the slow-cooker). Put the pieces of chicken into a plastic bag, add the chilli powder and give it a good shake about. This is by far the easiest way, but if you prefer, put the chilli powder on a plate and roll the chicken in it. Pour and scrape the soup over the top of the chicken, it won't look like enough, but slap it about with a spatula to get a bit of the soup over all the bits of chicken. Cover the dish with foil and stick it in a 180°c oven for 45 minutes or so. Do all this in the morning, if you're using the slow-cooker, forget about the foil, stick the lid on and leave it on LOW all day. Serve with rice, though noodles are also a very acceptable side dish.

Cath xx

Slow Spuds

2010-11-10T19:15:00.000Z

I haven't got a recipe for you today, but I do bear news of a bit of a fab discovery. Did you know, if you have a slow-cooker, you can use it to bake potatoes? Well, you can. Granted, they come out more like jacket spuds that have been cooked in the microwave than the (still infinitely superior, to my mind) crisp-skinned and fluffy version baked in the oven BUT... this has changed my life. With this 'in hand', as it were, I can come home knowing that supper will be on the table in less than 10 minutes; very handy when life takes over, as it so often does, especially when there are the children's social lives to manage, not to mention all the other commitments one rashly takes on.

First thing in the morning, prick your potatoes, pop them in the slow-cooker and stick the lid on - no water necessary - then, and this is the part I really like, you are free! Go back to bed, go to work, go off out for the day and leave them to it. They need about 10 hours on MEDIUM, or a little less on HIGH and, when it comes to suppertime, your potatoes will be ready; needing only the customary knob of butter and whatever filling(s) you and your fellow diners currently favour. That'll be cheese for all of us, then; with baked beans added for the boys - big and small - of the household and a heap of coleslaw for me (and a spot for my little James as well, who never likes to feel that he might possibly be missing out on anything, bless him!

Cath xx

Confession Time

2010-11-09T19:33:00.000Z

Tonight I broke one of my own golden rules and sat at the table with the family for dinner to eat a completely different meal to the rest of them. My lovely hubby had decided, with the children, last night, to have turkey burgers and chips for supper this evening. Not being the biggest fan of chips in the world, and having absolutely no interest whatsoever in a breaded turkey burger, we came to a decision that they would eat theirs and I would have something different, but that we would, at least, still all eat together at the same time

Scrambled eggs is, at a time like this, one of the easiest and quickest meals to put together and, luckily, is also one of my favorite things to eat. Not a traditional supper dish, perhaps, but one that I find welcome at pretty much any time.

I'm not going to give you 'a recipe' for scrambled eggs, as they seem to be quite a personal thing; a real matter of taste, but I will tell you how I like mine. I prefer scrambled eggs to be very soft and creamy. The very firm, fluffed-up version one so often encounters is all very well, but when I make them at home, I cook them like this. Have the toast ready before you begin and keep it warm. Heat a knob of unsalted butter in a small pan (non-stick, if at all possible, washing up the scrambled egg pot is a particular bête noire of mine!). Crack 3 eggs into a jug and beat them with one teaspoonful of anchovy sauce or a little squeeze anchovy paste, in lieu of salt. Tip the beaten eggs into the foaming butter in the pan and quickly give them a good stir. Season with plenty of black pepper and continue to stir until the eggs are cooked, but not dry – they should be nice and oozy. I like my scrambled eggs next to toast, not on it, but that's another of those personal things. I would have to eat this many, many times before I even began to tire of it. It really IS one of those things, I suppose...

Cath xx

In the Mood

2010-11-08T19:34:00.001Z

So, what do you think of the new look? Freshened things up a little, hasn't it? I've been in that sort of mood today and , after redesigning the page this afternoon, I was entirely ready for some serious kitchen action. I say serious, but, despite the loooong list of ingredients below, please know that I put this meal together tonight in little over half an hour. All the ingredients, bar the meat, are standard storecupboard and 'fridge stock in my home, and I usually have some minced lamb in the freezer.

Frankly, I think that this dish is perfectly flavoursome without the lamb, but the males of the household prefer it with, so there we are. Rice and lentils are a great combination anyhow and adding just a handful or so when cooking 'plain' rice gives a new dimension of texture and taste to an ordinary side dish. Lentils are a great, inexpensive source of protein and the children have loved them since they were very small. One of their favourite weaning foods was this Cheesy Lentil Savoury. Type 'lentils' into the search bar above to see more of my recipes using this often-underappreciated (in the West, at least) ingredient.

Spiced Rice & Lentils with Lamb

2 tbsp oil (I use rapeseed)
2 x 1” pieces of cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
5 cardamom pods
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
5cm piece ginger, minced
1 tbsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cayenne pepper,
250g minced lamb (optional!)
175g red lentils
200g basmati rice
750ml water
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp melted ghee or butter
1 tbsp lime juice (bottled, in my case)
Chopped parsley

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and briefly fry the cinnamon, cloves, bay and cardamom. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, then mix in the garlic, the ginger and the other spices. Add the lamb, if using, to the pan and brown it well, then tip in the rice and lentils and add the water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for15 minutes, until the rice and lentils are tender. Using a fork, stir in the garam masala, the melted ghee (or butter), the lime juice and plenty of parsley. Serve with some sort of flatbreads (pitta, naan, chapati...) and some raita or natural yoghurt.

Cath xx

Small Life, Big Happiness

2010-11-07T17:28:00.001Z

I am a homebird. My house is my home and my escape; that is the way I like it, cosseted with family and friends. When it is gloomy outside, damp and windy, when the light is grey and cold, I retreat ever more into what can be my little world of colour and comfort. Not 'cocooning' in any sense, but most definitely 'nesting'... Small pleasures are all the more appreciated at this time of year and, while I feel grateful for much in my life, sometimes the trivial things can be as life-affirming as the most important and significant people and events.

This afternoon, in front of a roaring fire, the children and I have been curled up on the sofa, snuggled under piles of blankets. We watched The Sarah Jane Adventures, their very favourite program for a long time and, well-scripted as it is, I confess to loving it too, as well as the time I spend watching it with them in quiet contentment. For a little afternoon snack, nothing could have been better, today, than a cup of tea (for me), a glass of milk apiece (for the children) and a chunk of tiffin. Call it chocolate biscuit cake, call it fridge cake if you like, but it always has and always will be tiffin to me. Not for me, however, the extravagant concoctions of amaretti or wafers, with cherries, nuts, ginger and marshmallows. If you fancy something more along those lines, have a look at my recipe for Rocky Road. Tiffin should be, to my mind at least, quite plain and unfancy; a no-frills treat if you will.

Tiffin

I prefer half-and-half milk and plain chocolate for the topping, but you may, obviously, do as you please

220g digestive biscuits
75g raisins
100g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp caster sugar
200g chocolate

Crush the biscuits finely and stir in the raisins. Melt the butter, syrup, cocoa and sugar together and mix this into the biscuit crumbs. Press into a 9" square tin. Melt the chocolate and spread over the surface. Chill until just firm, then mark into squares. Chill until solid before breaking up the bars. Put the kettle on and hold any errant, pleading children at arm's length until their bedrooms are tidy...

This doesn't keep well. I mean, it can be stored in a box in the 'fridge just fine, but it doesn't generally hang around long enough to need that kind of treatment!

Cath xx

Antipasto Antipasta?

2010-11-06T19:37:00.002Z

The pairing of tuna and butter beans makes for a classic Italian antipasto, and a combination that I adore. It also works well as a suppertime pasta dish and this is a simple recipe using mainly storecupboard ingredients, except for an onion, some parsley and a lemon (and if I can pick those up in our tiny, though fabulous, village post office then I'm sure no-one else will find too much of an excursion in them). As for the pasta, I am currently having a total linguine moment, so I used that tonight, but cavatappi and fusilli have worked equally well for me in the past.

Pasta with Tuna and Butter Beans

250g dried pasta (and see above)
200g can good-quality tuna in olive oil
1 small onion, halved and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
can butter beans, drained and rinsed well.
chopped fresh parsley
grated zest of one lemon and a spritz of its juice
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, drain the tuna and reserve the oil. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and fry the onion with the whole garlic cloves until the onion is very, very soft. Tip in the butterbeans and turn in the oil until they are warmed through, then add the tuna to the pan with some parsley and the lemon zest. Fold it all together carefully; try not to break the tuna up too much or the dish will lose its pleasing texture. Drain the pasta (reserving some water from the pan) and toss it with the tuna-and-bean mixture, adding a little of the pasta water and a squeeze of lemon juice to bring the flavours and consistency together. Please, no cheese...

*****

We went to Pizza Express in the half-term holidays while we were on a shopping jaunt to Carmarthen and the children were freshly, as always, enamored of the famous dough balls with garlic butter. Ever since, they have been regularly ~~nagging me~~ talking about them and finally I thought it was time I knocked up a home-style batch; driving to Carmarthen just for an order of dough balls would be extravagantly decadent in the extreme!

Dough Balls

450g strong white flour
7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
250ml warm water
flour, fine semolina or cornmeal, to dust

garlic butter, to serve

Mix all the ingredients for the dough together and knead for 5 minutes. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Knock the dough down and knead for another 5 minutes. Re-cover and leave for another 30 minutes or so. Divide the dough into 16 and roll into balls. Place on a floured baking sheet and dust them with a little bit of flour (or, even better, a little fine semolina or cornmeal/polenta flour). Leave for 30 minutes until puffed up and then bake at 200°c for 15-20 minutes until tinged with gold. Serve warm, with dishes of cool garlic butter on the side. Dip the balls into the butter, or break them open and spread with the butter; your style, your choice.

Cath xx

Trés Bon-Fire

2010-11-05T20:52:00.002Z

"Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot." Traditional.

Good old Bonfire Night was tonight, once again, let down by our Welsh weather. Plaaning ahead, and rather than attempting any 'outside' jollity in the face of biting winds and lashing rain, we opted for a night in front of the fire. Indoors.

Food for Bonfire Night is a pretty easy piece, really; things along the lines of bean casseroles, sausages, chili, cheesy toast, baked potatoes and always, always, something really sweet and sticky to follow. Tonight, and (voluntarily) housebound, I prepared a pot of chili and some rice for supper. I also added, for later, a plate of my special Bonfire Hotdogs to munch while we watched a fireworks display on the television, before letting the children loose with a couple of dozen glowsticks in lieu of sparklers; a truly wonderful idea as it turns out; no buckets of water, no stress about potential injuries nor any (imagined?) need to constantly lecture the poor kids AND more gratification time than your average sparkler!

'Bonfire' Hotdogs

These are great for bigger gatherings or parties on a budget, as the treatment you give the sausages somehow manages to make even cheap bangers taste a whole lot better than they really ought to. Good sausages can be transformed into an almost-gourmet trea; great for barbecues or even for eating cold as part of a 'posh picnic'.

8 thick pork sausages
8 rashers streaky bacon
4 tbsp barbecue sauce (e.g. HP)
finger rolls, to serve

Skin the sausages. This is easily done by scoring lightly along the length of each sausage, then peeling away the skin and it really makes a difference, trust me! Wrap each sausage in a rasher of streaky bacon, then place on an oiled rack over a baking tin. Brush each sausage, quite liberally, with barbecue sauce. Bake at a low temperature (130°c fan, 150°c conventional ovn for 30-40 minutes until well cooked. Slip the sausages into top-sliced finger rolls and return to a very low (i.e. as low as possible) oven to keep warm and crisp the buns slightly in the meantime.

Cath xx

Su-pie-lative

2010-11-04T19:21:00.000Z

I may have pointed out before, just once or twice, how much pie means to the members of this household. I am always greeted with smiles, and shortly thereafter blissful munching, when I bring a pie to the dinner table. This is my version of a classic chicken pie; no frills really, but easy to make and lip-smackingly rewarding to eat. Adding suet to the pastry makes for a gorgeously flaky, almost melting texture. I have all but stopped glazing pies with egg-wash; dusting the pastry with flour instead makes for the pie-crust of my husband's dreams, soaking up, as it does, the chickeny juices and his beloved Henderson's Relish.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie

350g plain flour
90g suet
85g butter, diced
cold water, to bind pastry
400g chicken thigh meat, diced
1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 sausages, skinned
breadcrumbs
100ml chicken stock
1 tsp cornflour, slaked with 1 tbsp water

Make the pastry. Rub the suet and butter into the flour, season it well and bind it with some cold water. This is made much, much easier if you can just bung it all in the processor and whizz, but no matter if not. Roll out the pastry and line a pie dish. trim the excess and roll out a lid for your pie.

Toss the chicken in the flour, then mix this with the chopped onion. Squidge the sausagemeat together with a handful or so of fresh breadcrumbs, divide the mixture into six and roll each into a small ball. Put the floured chicken, onion and sausagemeat balls into the pastry-lined dish. Mix the sock and the slaked cornflour together and pour this liquid evenly over the ingredients in the dish. Top with the reserved pastry lid, crimp the edges and dust lightly with flour. Bake at 180°c for 25 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 150°c and cook for a further hour.

Serve with a (preferably green and leafy) vegetable of your choice, tonight we had some simple steamed-and-buttered cabbage. Perfect plus.

Cath xx

Delicious Autumn

2010-11-03T19:32:00.000Z

"Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits." ~ The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler

Autumn. It may be cold and dark (and, for us in West Wales at least, misty and extremely damp), but it does have its plus points. Roaring open fires, hot chocolate, snuggly sweaters and beautiful colours on the trees. All these, and cooking lovely, warming casseroles like this one. It truly is food to warm your heart and soul. Even more so when it comes with a baked potato; crunchy-skinned without, fluffy and buttered within, on the side... just pop your pricked spuds in the 160°c oven as you begin to prepare the casserole and everything will be, perfectly, ready at the same time.

Casseroled Pork Chops with Cider and Mustard

4 pork chops, bone in
2 tbsp dripping or butter
1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly
2 eating apples, cored and cut into wedges
500ml cider
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water
salt and pepper
chopped fresh parsley

Melt the fat in a large, deep pan which has a lid. When it is hot, quickly brown the pork chops, then remove them to a plate. Add the onions to the pan and fry until soft and golden. Pour in the cider and add the mustard and slaked cornflour, stirring well to combine everything, before adding the apple pieces and returning the chops to the pan. Cover and bring to the boil. Transfer the pan to a 160°c oven for an hour, then check the seasoning and correct it to your liking. Stir in the parsley and serve with baked potatoes.

Cath xx

The Insolence of Youth

2010-11-02T15:08:00.001Z

My baby is four, how did that happen? Four! How very rude of him to keep growing up... Yes, it's JD's birthday and as usual I am finding it a little harder to cope with than his elder brother's progression in age.

He, on the other hand, is having a whale of a time. From the early morning wake-up call, through the tearing of paper, punctuated with gasps and cries of "I've always been wishing for a [insert name of relevant gift here]....", through lunch and the blowing out of all four candles at once!

Ah, yes, the cake... always a pleasure to make a lovely cake for my boys' birthdays. Though I don't believe that anyone should ever feel guilty about buying birthday cakes from the supermarket, or paying a bakery to make one, I get a lot of enjoyment from decorating the children's cakes to match their latest interests or passions and see it, in a way, as another gift; one given with special love and time from Mummy...

As we are very much all about dinosaurs at the moment, this volcano cake seemed appropriate. Two ordinary chocolate sponge cakes; one made in a pudding basin and the other in my tarte tartin tin. Iced with chocolate buttercream and sprinkled with grated plain chocolate and a little dessicated coconut, dyed black with food-colouring paste (just mix 1/4 tsp paste with 1/2 tsp or so of water and mix in the coconut to colour it. Spread on foil to air-dry a little before using). The 'molten lava' streaming down the sides is actually melted white chocolate with a little orange colour paste stirred in (Sugarflair's Tangerine/Apricot, if you're interested). Spooned into the top crater and running gloopily down the sides, it looks rather good, I think. The 'magma'-filled recess also made a good spot to place the candles, the chocolate achoring them steadily. A good result all round, I feel!

Cath xx

In the interests of honesty and transparency, I feel that I should confess that, actually, I messed up the first attempt at the basin cake, by cooking it at too high a temperature for too short a time. So we had a kind of melting-middle chocolate sponge with cream for pudding on Sunday. As Homer (Simpson, this time) might well have said "Mmmmmm.... unexpected pudding".

A state of cake-like readinesss

2010-10-02T18:19:00.001+01:00

Sorry about the long break between posts but life has been a touch manic of late and I've found myself relying heavily on old favourites rather than developing any new ideas. I'm glad to see some of you keeping up with me on my new Facebook page too, so thanks - write on the wall or post on the discussion board...

I also had my first baby's SIXTH birthday to contend with - where does the time go? He was still only a toddler when I started this blog; I remember writing affectionately about the Mr Bump cake I made for his third birthday. How times change, though, and this year we are ALL about Doctor Who; a T.A.R.D.I.S. cake it had to be! Somehow fittingly, I have never been as proud of a cake I've made and decorated since the aforementioned Mr Bump, so that slightly softened what feels like quite a major blow, in some ways. He seems, quite suddenly, so grown-up!

I have been a good little Distracted Housewife today and I have made my Christmas cake! My usual recipe, though slightly fiddled with... Rum & Ginger Fruitcake this year; with dark rum replacing the brandy and the quantity of ginger upped (with 2 tsp dried and 2cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated). The cake is now wrapped up tightly in double greaseproof and foil and safely tucked away in my big cake box until just before Christmas. I'll feed it with an extra tot of rum once or twice (!) before the big day but apart from that it can sit, emanating domestic smugness until I decorate it... now I've just got to think how, which is invariably the hardest part for me! Ideas gratefully received...

Cath xx

Fakin' Bacon

2010-09-10T19:16:00.000+01:00

OK, so it's only just barely a recipe, but it is very useful especially if, like me you do your supermarket shopping after school and then get home needing to prepare supper. These mushrooms are super quick to prepare; if you use the soya bacon chips I specify, it takes less than five minutes to get it all ready and then you can just bung the dish in the oven.

The other rather amusing(well, to me anyway!) thing is that this dish can be serve to vegetarians as the 'bacon-flavour' soya chips are 'suitable for vegetarians'. If you know a veggie who (rather oddly, in my opinion) wants to eat something bacon-flavour, then this could be just the ticket. Obviously you could replace the soya chips with real bacon if you're somehow 'spooked' by them, just grill until very crisp and crumble or chop when cool. I rather love them and have mentioned this before, plus anything that saves a bit of time is always welcome in my kitchen...

Cheesy Baked Mushrooms

500g white mushrooms
about 10 tbsp BAC~Os
fresh parsley, finely chopped
150g strong Cheddar cheese, grated
black pepper

Grease an ovenproof dish, which will just take the mushrooms in one layer, with a very little oil. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and - don't waste them - set them aside to use in another recipe (I'm planning to add them to a veggie lasagne I'll make later this week). Lay the mushrooms, hollow-side up in the dish and add a good pinch of BAC~Os to each mushroom 'cup'. Scatter chopped parsley over all the mushrooms and cover with the grated cheese. Season with pepper. Bake at 180°cfor 20 minutes. All you need to go with are some nice bread rolls and a green salad.

Cath xx

'Banging' Nachos

2010-09-08T19:14:00.001+01:00

Nacho platters are becoming a big favourite with us, midweek, for a fast, slightly 'treaty' supper that doesn't break the bank (and see my recipe for Loaded Beef & Bean Nachos as well). They are also a great way to get children to eat more pulses and vegetables. I prefer to make my own tortilla 'chips' for these; I feel that the method I give here makes for a more filling base to the plate than a bag of bought tortilla chips provides, plus you can avoid all the extra added salt of the commercially fried chips. Just take some corn or flour tortillas, cut each disc into six wedges and spread out on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake at 200°c for 5 minutes, then turn them and return to the oven for another five minutes. You can make these in advance and keep them in a tin if you like, but they aren't a great deal of effort even if you do everything for this meal just before you eat it.

Making this sauce by mixing spices and herbs with a drained can of chopped tomatoes was something of a revelation for me when I first tried it out (necessity being the mother of invention, as they say) and I share it with you now. It gives you a lovely thick, spicy sauce just perfect for nacho-type dishes or just as a dipping sauce; no need to shell out for long-life jars of incredibly salty, yet suspiciously sweet, 'salsa' ever again!

Sausage Nacho Platter

6 flour tortillas, cut and baked as above
6 sausages
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
400g can mixed beans, drained
100g sweetcorn, defrosted if frozen
4 fat spring onions, chopped
1 small red pepper, diced
150g Edam, grated

Skin the sausages and divide each into three. Heat some cooking oil in a non-stick pan and fry the sausage pieces until well cooked through (about 3 minutes a side). Meanwhile, drain the excess juice from the tomatoes, discard it and mix the chili powder, cumin and oregano in with the tomato chunks.

Spread the tortilla chips out across a very large plate, then top with the beans and the sweetcorn. Scatter over the red pepper dice and the chopped spring onion. Nestle the sausage 'nuggets' atop the vegetables, then dollop and drizzle the spicy tomato mixture all around the surface. Cover everything with the grated Edam and pop the plate in a hot oven until everything is covered in molten, oozing cheese. Serve with a crisp green salad on the side.

Cath xx

Quick & Mix

2010-09-06T20:19:00.001+01:00

I love homemade bread, don't you? Still a little warm, dunked in soup or topped with lashings of butter and, just maybe, some cheese? I crave good bread and this recipe means that I can satisfy that need easily, pretty much whenever I feel like it. You really do need a mixer or processor to really appreciate the speed, but you can take the 'scenic route' with a bowl, wooden spoon and your hands and just take a little longer about it. You can use a full 750g of white flour for your dough if you like, but I prefer some wholemeal in there too; it somehow makes the bread taste even more homemade!

Easy Mixer Rolls

500g strong white flour
250g strong wholemeal flour2 tsp salt
7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
450ml warm water
a little milk
seeds, to top, if liked

Rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the salt and then the yeast. Mix in the water, then knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover the bowl and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Divde the dough into 12, roll each into a ball and place side-by-side, slighly spaced apart, in a roasting tin. Brush with milk and sprinkle with seeds, if you like (I usually use poppy, sesame and sunflower seeds separately, see picture; sometimes I mix some mustard seeds in with the poppy seeds too). Bake at 200°c for 15 minutes, remove to rack and cool slightly before serving.

You can also use this dough to bake a loaf (in a 2lb tin or formed into a round on a baking sheet) at the same temperature for 35 minutes. My other favourite thing to do with this quick dough is my Fake Foccacia. For this, you need to pat the dough into the bottom of an 8"/20cm sandwich tin and, withe your fingers, poke indentations all over the surface. Dabble the loaf with olive oil (garlic-infused, if you have it) and sprinkle with freshy chopped rosemary or thyme. Bake for 30 minutes and cool slightly in the tin before removing it to a rack to finish cooling.

Cath xx

Weekend Cook

2010-09-05T16:30:00.001+01:00

While cooking during the week has its rewards and is a worthwhile occupation, it can be fraught; keeping the family happy, the cook composed and the suicide hour as peaceful as is reasonably possible. Weekdays find me looking for shortcuts, quick solutions and recipes for the all-important slow-cooker.

Weekends are another matter, though. I am rarely more at peace with myself than pootling around in my little kitchen at the weekend; baking for the week ahead, preparing bits and bobs in advance for the week's meals and just generally idling hours away planning lovely meals...

Saturday night was pie night for us and, while I would usually make a pie like this with leftover roast, or otherwise cooked, chicken, his one was a scratch pie from start to finish. Poached chicken has such a beautiful succulence in a pie and the liquid provides a tasty sauce with little work.

Chicken & Leek Pie

Obviously you could use leftover cooked chicken, as detailed above and just steam the leeks while you make the sauce with a pint of stronger chicken stock (and I would recommend the Knorr Stock Pot stock gel if you have no homemade stuff to hand)

4 chicken breast fillets
60ml dry vermouth
3 leeks, trimmed and sliced thickly
light chicken stock or water, to cover
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 dried whole chilli pepper
40g butter
40g flour
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

Put the leeks and chicken breasts into a large saucepan and pour over the vermouth. Pour the stock or water into the pan and add the peppercorns, bay leaves and chilli. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken and leeks from the pan with a slotted spoon and strain the liquid into a jug. Pour the liquid back into the clean pan and boil it, reducing it to a pint. Leave the liquid to cool. Chunk or slice the chicken breasts as you like and put them, and the leeks, into a pie dish. Put the butter and flour into a saucepan with the poaching liquid and bring to the boil, whisking continuously. Turn the heat down and simmer, still whisking, until the sauce has thickened. Pour this into the dish and gently mix to coat the other ingredients. Top the dish with the puff pastry and bake at 180°c for 30-45 minutes until the pastry is cooked and everything has had chance to heat through completely.

This weekend has been boosted by my acquisition of Kitchen, the lovely new offering from Nigella Lawson. Filled with all sorts of good things and the sort of perceptive, evocative writing she is so well-known for, I have been sofa-bound, armed with this book, whenever time allows.

Today, I decided to try out a few of the recipes; the Everyday Brownies (p.217) and the Crustless Pizza (p.26) and the Ham Hocks in Cider (p.368). The brownies were very popular with the children, being more 'cakey' and considerably less opulent than my usual Fabulous Chocolate Brownies. The pizza was a delicious kind of 'Yorkshire Pudding' pizza and went down very well with all of us at lunchtime.

Ham Hocks in Cider are now simmering on the stovetop in readiness for our supper this evening. Happily, the ingredients are things that I generally have in the house (apart from the fennel seeds, so I left those out and added a couple of bay leaves instead). Two large hocks cost only £3.00 from the butcher yesterday, so hardly extravagant. To that end, I plan to serve the hocks with extravagantly buttery mashed potatoes and, I think, the last of the purple sprouting...

Cath xx

Cobblers!

2010-09-02T18:24:00.001+01:00

Our friendly door-to-door fish man brought, among other things, some river cobbler round on his van this week. I'd never tried this fish before, only knowing that it had been implicated in a couple of Trading Standards cases where it was being sold as cod by unscrupulous fish-and-chip shop owners. If it can pass for cod while being more sustainable and therefore less culinarily unethical , I'm interested...but then, I love a bit of controversy, me!

While I love a good fish pie, it can be a bit of a production for a simple weeknight supper. These little jackets are a time-and-stress friendly option; always welcome on the first day back at school!

Fish Pie Jackets

4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and pricked
2 fillets firm white fish (and see above)
milk
200g spinach, washed
50g parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Bake the potatoes. I bake them for 90 minutes in a 160°c oven. Meanwhile, poach the fish in enough milk to just cover it. I do this in the microwave for speed; one of the few things that I do use the popty ping for. Just make sure that it's in a covered dish! Put the spinach into a large bowl. When the potatoes are ready, halve them and scoop out the cooked potato into the bowl on top of the spinach; the heat from the spuds will wilt the leaves. Mash the potato and spinach together, the add the fish, flaking it and folding it in carefully. Add as much of the poaching milk as you need, to make a nice soft 'mash' consistency and then season the mixture (mainly with pepper, don't forget that the parmesan is salty too!). Fill the potato shells with the fish mixture and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Put the jackets on a baking tray and bake at 200°c for 20 minutes to heat through and crisp up.

I serve these with sweetcorn as an extra 'fish pie' ingredient and very good it is too!

Cath xx

Oh, me and my paella...

2010-08-26T19:39:00.002+01:00

On my birthday earlier this month, finding the queue at the Cadbury shop untenable, I sneakily visited the Professional Cookware Company shop at the designer outlet 'village' in Bridgend. How chuffed was I, to find a gorgeous paella pan for £6.00; half price from the usual £12.00. We have had several variations on the paella so far, starting off with the pork, chorizo and spinach version from Moro: the cookbook. The most surprising part has been how effortless it is, nothing too taxing is ALWAYS my kitchen motto!

Gaining confidence in the process has been swift; I concocted a version with added black pudding last weekend, but tonight I truly did myself proud and I really had to share this one with you. I suspect that you don't really need a proper paella pan for this; I'm sure a decent, deep, non-stick frying pan would do.

Chicken & Chorizo Paella with Purple Sprouting Broccoli

cooking oil (your choice)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chicken breast fillets, cut into scraps
1 tsp smoked paprika
80g chorizo, diced
250g paella rice
800ml chicken stock, hot
100g purple sprouting broccoli, in 2cm lengths

Heat the oil and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add the chicken and the garlic and continue to cook until the chicken is well sealed and the garlic is fragrant in the pan. Stir in the paprika and add the chorizo and the rice. Pour in the chicken stock and turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave the pan alone; stirring at this point makes the rice 'claggy', trust me! Cook for 10 minutes, then tip the chopped purple sprouting onto the surface of the rice and leave for a further 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover with foil and leave for a further five minutes. Remove the foil, fold everything together with a fork and serve, not without a hint of smugness.

Cath xx

Colourful Cookery

2010-08-25T19:24:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, changing just one thing can make something rather dull into something really rather fabulous. On a shopping trip last week, the children and I popped into the local heath food store to buy some spices. While we were there, we spotted this gorgeous-looking lumaconi (meaning: snail's shells) pasta. Unable to resist any sort of novelty, we just had to bring some home...

This red-and-white pasta bake is something I have made for the children before, but trust me, it has finally achieved greatness and become all that it can be with the introduction of the new pasta; the sauces pool inside them, still remaining pleasantly separate and allow the surface to crisp beautifully.

Red-and-White Pasta Bake

I usually have keep tomato sauce in the freezer in 500g portions, but you could just as easily use 400-500g's worth of some ready-made stuff.

300g lumaconi
500g tomato sauce
25g butter
25g plain flour
1 tsp mustard powder
3/4 pint milk
40g Red Leicester Cheese, grated
80g Cheddar cheese, grated

Boil the pasta in lots of salted water until just al dente. Meanwhile, put the flour, mustard powder and butter into a saucepan with the milk and bring to the boil, whisking continuously. When the sauce has thickened, stir in half the Cheddar cheese and set the pan aside. Mix the rest of the Cheddar and the Red Leicester together. Drain the pasta into a colander and transfer it to an ovenproof dish (the pasta should, ideally, sit in one layer). Pour the tomato sauce unevenly over the pasta, leaving some areas bare, filling some of the hollows and not others, etc. Repeat with the cheese sauce; you should have a pleasant 'patchwork pasta' effect (or something like that, anyway!). Scatter the mixed cheeses over and bake in a 180°c oven for 20-30 minutes, until the surface is crisp and browned.

The great thing about a pasta bake like this is that you can assemble it, up until the point of baking and then either pop it in the fridge for the next day, or even freeze it. In that case, I suggest lining the ovenproof dish with a large piece of heavy-duty kitchen foil. Once, cool, overwrap the food and pop it all in the freezer (only if your dish is freezer-safe; most are, but do check!). Then, once the food is frozen solid, you can slip the food out of the dish with no difficulty and transfer the foil-wrapped parcel to a big ol' freezer bag.

Cath xx

Back with a Biryani

2010-08-23T19:28:00.000+01:00

The summer holiday is almost over and, once again, we find ourselves asking "what summer?". Apart from the odd nice day here and there, we have been disappointed again. Yah boo sucks to the weather! We did, thankfully, have a good day for my little brother's wedding at the beginning of August and we've managed to make a few nice memories but still, I'm sure the summer was better, hotter and longer when I was younger... or is that just the rose-tinted memories of childhood?

Meals, for us, have taken a decidedly exotic turn over the last few weeks, I think in lieu of the BBQ-and-Pimm's summer of my dreams, I sat, salivating, over cookbooks and planning how to cook away the pain. We have done Mexican, Spanish, Middle-Eastern and all those beautifully-spiced and fully flavoured cuisines. I keep returning, though, to the flavours of Indian cooking and, after a veritable curry banquret at the weekend (when a very dear friend was visiting us), we had a large cache of cooked basmati in the fridge. This, therefore, took about 20 minutes all in, which is heroically fast, judging by my standards at the moment!

Chicken Biryani

2 tbsp oil (I use rapeseed for cooking)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
small knob fresh ginger root, grated
2 tbsp garam masala
'knife tip' of cayenne pepper
1 chicken breast fillet, cut up into small pieces
150g purple sprouting broccoli, chopped
300-400g cooked basmati rice
small handful flaked almonds
small handful sultanas

Heat the oil and fry the onion until golden. Add the chicken, garlic, ginger and spices and fry until the chicken is sealed, then add the chopped purple sprouting and 50ml water. Cook, stirring often, until the broccoli wilts and softens, then tip the rice, almonds and sultanas into the pan and mix thoroughly to coat everything in the spicy, oily, juices. Cover the pan tightgly with foil and remove from the heat for 5 minutes. Serve with raita and Indian pickles.

Cath xx

Homemade Pâté Heaven - It's Easy, I Promise!

2010-07-31T21:13:00.002+01:00

Pâté is one of those things that, if you love it, you really love it. I really like making my own, homemade, pâté, it can be just what I want it to be. That being said, however, I am quite 'conservative' about how my pâté should taste; I like a good livery flavour and not too many extra (for which read extraneous) flavours. I would much rather eat a small portion of a good, simple pâté like this one than have twice the amount of strange, ersatz pâté, with odd things added to it. This seems especially to be a problem in the run-up to Christmas, but the supermarkets especially (though independent butchers are not totally immune; I have seen some very odd things in my time) do seem keen to push pâté on us as a 'luxury' food, studded with all manner of fruits and striated with bizarre, and jarring, vegetable purées. No matter, though, once you taste this you will always want the good stuff...

Really Easy Chicken Liver Pâté

I use GIA's Garlic Purée in my pâté, because I like it to be as smooth as possible. You can, of course, substitute a minced clove of fresh garlic.

2 x 227g cartons of frozen chicken livers, defrosted and drained

200g butter
2 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp brandy
1 tbsp garlic purée (and see above)

Heat a frying pan and melt the butter. Fry the chicken livers until well browned, the put everything from the pan into the food processor, with all the other ingredients. Whizz to form a smooth purée, then pour and scrape into ramekins or one larger serving dish. Chill the pâté until set, and until needed. Serve with hot toast, warm rolls and, for my preference, a dish of cocktail gherkins (or cornichons, if you must) to provide tang and crunch.

Cath xx

Choccy Roccy

2010-07-30T19:09:00.003+01:00

Generally speaking, I have much more of a 'savoury' tooth than a 'sweet' one. I will always reach for celery, olives, cheese or nuts without even considering chocolates; I eschew the biscuit tin for a handful of my best-beloved Bombay Mix. That being said, Rocky Road' is one of the few sweet treats that I really can't resist... So easy to make, and great for the children to help with too, my version gets a nice little kick from the ginger and is just how I like it; more 'rock' than 'choc'. OK, it's very far from being a health food, but it's a lovely treat. Cut into slices to serve with cups of tea or as a quick, no-effort pud, chop it up roughly to scatter over ice-cream or just break off a chunk for an instant sugar-fix...

Rocky Road

200g milk chocolate
200g plain chocolate
knob of butter
8 'pink wafer' biscuits, roughly broken up
12 glacé cherries, halved
12 marshmallows, quartered
2 tbsp glacé ginger, finely chopped
100g pistachio nuts, shelled
*hundreds and thousands, to decorate*

Melt both types of chocolate together with the butter. Stir in all the other ingredients and mix really well to coat everything in chocolate. Pour and scrape into a lightly oiled baking tin (whether you use a small one, for 'deep', or a larger one for 'shallow' Rocky, is up to you. Scatter over some hundreds-and-thousands 'for pretty', if you like, then pop the whole assembly into the 'fridge. Chill it until set, then cut, or break, it up as you like. Enjoy!

Cath xx

Get a Bead on This..!

2010-07-27T19:21:00.001+01:00

Not a great deal to tell you today, but look! Look! Look at what I made!! I went to an informal jewellery workshop this morning and in less than 2 hours, turned out this little beauty; the ideal bracelet for so many of my favourite outfits. I find myself wearing a lot of green lately, so this will happily not be one of those items that is just perfect with one outfit but, unfortunately, only the one, i.e. it doesn't really go with anything else. Such items are rarely good buys, and just make me feel (a) cross with myself for not wearing them more often and (b) bitter that I *wasted* money when I could have had something more versatile. Not this baby, I suspect that this will barely be off my arm for a looooooong time...

Cath xx

Comforting Food. Again.

2010-07-26T18:33:00.004+01:00

OK, Back to it. This is what I cooked tonight, making use of the contents of the 'fridge... After using it as an accompaniment for my Fruity Spiced Chicken last night, I had loads of leftover brown rice sitting in a box, waiting to be used, so that had to go somewhere. Rootling around in the depths of my brain, I decided that it would be just the ticket for a vegetarian 'baked rice' recipe. So I dug some garlic butter out of the freezer (I always make masses at a time and freeze it in portions to use, not only for more garlic bread, but also in more general cooking), and got to thinking about mushrooms and what sort of binding sauce would be good. Obviously, you can just use regular butter and add in a few cloves of minced garlic when you fry the 'shrooms, then add some chopped herbs to the dish later, but the ready-homemade-and-frozen garlic butter plan is, I beseech you, truly the way forward.

Cheesy Mushroom Rice

700g cooked brown rice
50g garlic butter (with herbs, if possible)
400g mushrooms
40g butter
40g plain flour
1 tsp English mustard powder
500ml milk
200g Cheddar cheese

Melt the garlic butter in a large frying pan and cook the mushrooms until very brown and what I call 'squeaky'; there should be no liquid left in the pan at all and you will know just what I mean when the mushrooms, almost, seem to squeak Meanwhile, make an all-in-one white sauce by putting the butter, flour, mustard powder and milk into a saucepan and, whisking continuously, bring it all to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer briefly, then remove from the heat. Add half the grated cheese and stir well until it has melted into the sauce completely. Put the cooked rice into an oven dish, add the mushrooms and mix the cheese sauce in thoroughly. Top with the remaining cheese and bake at 200°c for 30 minutes or so, until the top is somewhat crisp.

It was really, really nice - I cannot sufficiently explain how much I wanted to eat, well, ALL OF IT. This one is definitely a keeper...

Cath xx

Trying Things Out

2010-07-25T15:50:00.000+01:00

I haven't felt very inspired, blog-wise, recently. I'm still cooking, of course, and have tried out a few new things. Some of them worked (peanut-butter fairy cakes, courgette pizza, adding some of my green sauce to a béchamel) and some of them need more work (soca, homemade wasabi peas, risotto in the slow-cooker). I still take my photos, and I do plan to write about them but, somehow, I just don't 'get around to it'. I want to do this, I really do, I just don't seem to have the motivation at the moment, or know where to go with the blog to make it more appealing to you; frankly I don't even know if there even is a 'you' or if I'm just typing to myself, which is a worry. Is anyone out there? Please drop me a comment and tell me what you think, I feel a bit lost for words (and that is very unlike me)

Cath xx

Pin It!

2010-07-19T16:38:00.000+01:00

I have recently discovered a new favourite thing; Pinterest! This funky site allows you to collect together all the inspirational and wantable bits and bobs from all over your web-i-verse and 'pin' them onto a virtual m oodboard of your own making. A great way to avoid the long lists of 'favourite' pages, bookmarked only because you like one or two of the pictures.

My pinboard is full of beautiful things; tasty things; witty things and a lot of typographic art that makes me smile... I can also view other ;inboards for a jolt of colour and whimsy when I feel like some surfing-time... Roll on over and see for yourselves. What will you pin?

Cath xx

Going Green

2010-07-17T20:18:00.002+01:00

This is a lovely little thing I came up with during one of my 'kitchen pootling' sessions, just playing about with things from the 'fridge and the cupboards, seeing what happens... Hugely successful in this case, this green sauce is divine with plain steamed vegetables; with new potatoes; with grilled meats (especially lamb, my goodness!) and, as we had it tonight, with fish (mackerel, filleted and fried in a knob of butter). It has quite a summery feeling to it, but is thankfully not inherently reliant on good weather, as so many 'BBQ' favourites can be. While this is what we call it at home, I'm aware that it (maybe) doesn't sound terribly appetising, so I've tried very hard to think of a more poetic-sounding name, but I can't, so as 'green sauce' it must stay. You do need a blender or a food processor for this recipe.

Green Sauce

I use a vegetable peeler to peel away the strings from the celery, then cut it into chunks.

1 stick celery (and see above)
handful parsley
handful mint
1 tsp capers, rinsed
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
60ml olive oil
60ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
1 egg yolk

Put everything, bar the egg yolk, in the blender. Whizz until a slightly creamy, smooth-looking sauce is formed, then add the egg yolk and blend again. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour into a bowl and chill until needed. Stir before serving, as the oil will separate slightly on keeping.

Cath xx

UPDATE: Just the other night I made a simple béchamel sauce for a pasta bake with salami and courgettes and, finding I hadn't made quite enough sauce, whisked in the remaining green sauce to increase the volume a little. Result? Totally divine In fact, this may now be one of the bet uses for my little green goddess! x

Canne-loony

2010-07-13T19:22:00.000+01:00

This is rather more fiddly than a lot of my midweek suppers, I'll grant you, but cannelloni al forno is lovely and I'm so won over to using these supermarket packets of 'fresh' lasagne sheets; it really is tiresome making one's own pasta whenever one wants to make cannelloni and the dried tubes you sometimes see for sale are, nine times out of ten, irreparably damaged by the time you get them home from the shop. It's also, actually, quite nice sometimes to feel that you are doing a bit of 'real' cooking in the middle of the boring, workaday week; it seems to bring that expansive, weekend feeling even to a drizzly Tuesday evening.

Cannelloni al Forno with Tuna

1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
400g can tuna, drained
300g spinach, wilted and chopped
pack of 10 'fresh' lasagne sheets
500g carton passata
100g mozzarella, grated
50g parmesan, grated

Heat some oil in a frying pan and soften the onion and celery together. Stir in the tuna and the spinach and heat through. Remove from the heat. Put spoonfuls of the mixture onto each of the lasagne sheets and roll up from the longer side, making a 'tube', filled with the tuna mixture. Place these 'tubes', in turn, in an ovenproof dish then, when all 10 are done, pour over the passata and scatter over the cheeses. Bake for about half an hour in a 180°c oven. Let it cool in the dish a littlew before you serve it, otherwise you'll be faced with tuna alla napalm! Enjoy with salad, you could even add some garlic bread if you want a little more kitchen pootling to do...

Cath xx

Summer Lovin'

2010-07-12T20:08:00.001+01:00

I just adore this sort of meal in the summer months; simple to throw together in the suicide hour, but not sacrificing anything for that. It's really tasty, full of flavours that suggest the season, without being too obviously contrived. I also love this for using only things that anyone might have in store at any time; the only thing might be the fresh basil, for which you could easily substitute a tablespoonful of pesto, let down with a little extra olive oil, stirred in at the same point in the recipe. Similarly I use chipolatas, because my butcher sells beautiful ones, but you can (obviously) use whatever you prefer; just please bear in mind the meat content of sausages and look out for ones with a high percentage - some can be terrifying low in meat content, once you look at the label.

Summery Sausage Traybake

4-6 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, halved and sliced thickly
10 chipolatas
8 new potatoes, quartered
4 tomatoes, quartered
handful fresh basil, torn (and see above)

Pour the olive oil into a roasting tin and add the onions, sausages and potatoes, mixing well to coat everything. Cook in a 180°c oven for 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes to the tin, toss well and return to the oven to cook for a further 30 minutes. Stir in the torn basil (or the oil-and-pesto substitute mentioned above) and cook just 5 minutes more. Serve straight from the tin at table, you need nothing else at all (though a glass of red does go down beautifully with it, if you insist).

Cath xx

Viva los Nachos!

2010-07-10T19:20:00.007+01:00

Did you know that Nachos have been around since 1943? Or that October 21 is the International Day of the Nacho? Or, even, that they were first created for a group of U.S. Army wives who turned up at a restaurant in Mexico just after closing time? Well, just maybe those hungry ladies should be considered the patron saints of unexpected guests, because the Nachos Especiales (Nacho’s special dish) that Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya hurriedly created for them that day started a huge culinary wave that continues across the world today. Anaya’s Mexican original was a simple dish of tortillas with pickled jalapeños and shredded cheese, but thanks to U.S. appetites, we have since become more accustomed to the delights of 'Loaded Nachos', with a multitude of delicious things piled onto the humble tortilla chips that lie beneath.

You can, of course, use a bag of bought tortilla chips to make Nacho dishes, but I quite like to make this easy version in the oven to cut down on the fat and salt inherent in the dish. Just take some corn tortillas (they are usually sold in packs of 8), cut into wedges and spread out on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake at 200°c for 5 minutes, then turn them and return to the oven for another five minutes. You can make these in advance and keep them in a tin if you like; I normally do them during the day, at some point, for supper in the evening.

Loaded Nachos with Beef and Beans

I have recently found some fab mixed beans for this, labelled 'Mexican Bean Salad', which are a mix of pinto, haricot, red kidney and black turtle beans, but any can of beans will do.

350g Tortilla chips (and see above)
1red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp mild chili powder
250g beef mince
400g can mixed beans (and see above)
fresh parsley, chopped
2 or 3 tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
150g Edam, grated

Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and spice, stir well, then add the beef to the pan, Brown it really well until it is completely cooked, then mix in the bean salad and heat through. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Spread the tortilla chips out across a very large plate, then top with the beef-and-bean mixture. Scatter the tomato dice over, then cover it all with grated cheese. I find Edam best for Nachos, really, because it melts in a way I like without too much oiliness. The cheese flavour is prominent, without becoming overpowering, but feel free to substitute Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack or whatever you fancy. Nachos are such a moveable feast! Flash the plates under the grill to melt the cheese and serve with sour cream or natural yoghurt. I like to serve pickled jalapeños, though I leave them on the side as I'm the only one who goes there. Similarly, you could add other side dishes; some salsa; even a dish of guacamole, or some of my avocado dip if you really want to push the boat out....

Cath xx

For Goodness Sake...

2010-07-09T18:34:00.005+01:00

Making this for supper always reminds me of that old advert for British Lion eggs, where the guy is listening to his flatmates debate what they could make for supper with the paltry contents of their fridge and he exclaims, in a really broad west of Scotland accent, "for goodness sake, you could have a courgette frittata". Don't mind if I do, actually...

I've mentioned my other half's liking for attempting to 'do' accents before. He found (and still finds) it hilarious the way the chap says "for goodness sake", and apes him, even now, at every opportunity which presents itself. He is also currently rather keen on the accents of the Big Brother narrator and the guy from the Co-Operative adverts who says "Haalf- Priiiice". So this, dear readers, is the soundtrack of my life...

Potato and Courgette Frittata

You need, really, to use a frying pan with a heat-proof handle for this recipe so that you can put it under the grill safely.

olive oil
2 large courgettes, sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 300g leftover cooked potatoes, sliced
8 eggs

Lay the sliced courgettes on a baking tray with just a spritz of oil. Roast for 15 minutes, turning the slices over once. Meanwhile, soften the oil in a good slick of olive oil, adding the mustard seeds and garlic. When the onion is soft, add the potatoes to the pan, followed by the courgettes. Beat the eggs with some ground pepper, then pour the eggs into the pan. Preheat the grill to a medium heat and let the frittata sit, without stirring or fiddling with it, on a medium hob for 10 minutes. Turn the pan occasionally if, like mine, your hob has some spots hotter than others. When the frittata is set around the edges and almost on top, stick the pan under the grill to cook the top. This will take barely a couple of minutes. You could, I suppose, turn it out onto a plate or a board to serve it, but that strikes me as too much hassle, having the potential for disaster as it does, so I just leave it in the pan. In any case, let it cool slightly before slicing or serving it as this does improve it. Cut into wedges and serve with a leafy salad.

Cath xx

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

2010-07-09T13:50:00.000+01:00

We are redecorating and reorganising the children's shared bedroom at the moment, with an eye to having "a place for everything, and everything in its place" sometime in the not too distant future, not to mention somewhere for homework as they get older (which they are, rather rudely, continuing to do all the time!). That said, however, Hubs and I were distracted from the more practical side of the shopping when beautiful frivolity by KICO popped up on the radar .

How could we resist this BIRDEY light? It's somehow Pixar-esque. In fact, we kept having to open the box regularly, to peep at it and get a giggle-fix, until it went up onto the ceiling. The children love it, we love it and the light is amazingly bright, as are our smiles every time we see it. Now we just have to resist getting the matching wall lights too!

Cath xx

Puff the Magic Dinner

2010-07-08T18:19:00.002+01:00

Much as I love making pizza, it can be a step too far on a weeknight to start mixing, kneading, resting and rolling out the dough base. While I sometimes have the organisational capacity to make the dough during the day, or even the night before, the suicide hour usually calls for a meal that can be quickly banged together and plonked on the table, with the confidence that it will taste great and keep everyone happy (for now, at least...). This is, I suppose, a kind of midweek variation on a Roasted Vegetable Tart which I used to make all the time. In fact, as I've remembered about it now, I'll have to make it again very soon!

Sheets of frozen, ready-rolled puff pastry are often on special offer at the supermarket and I always take the opportunity to stock up, as they make all sorts of meals that feel 'special' with not too much actual work. Even I am organised enough to transfer a rolled-up sheet of frozen pastry from the freezer to the 'fridge before going to bed, so that I can use it the next evening. Make sure you take it out of the fridge for a bit before you try to unroll it though, as the pastry is apt to crack it's too cold when you handle it.

Pesto Chicken 'Pizza' Tart

You can, of course vary this by changing the chicken for something else, such as roughly chopped salami, shredded lamb (though I prefer to use red pesto with lamb) or some sliced mushrooms. You could even just 'do' a tomato and cheese version, I suppose.

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
2 tbsp pesto (from a jar)
3 tomatoes, sliced
200g cooked chicken, shredded
100g mozzarella, grated

Preheat the oven. I admit that I don't bother for most recipes, but with some things it really does seem to make a difference to the end result. Unroll the sheet of pastry and place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Gently score a narrow border about 2cm from the edge, and prick with a fork. Spread the pesto across this centre area, then lay the sliced tomatoes, in a single layer, on the pesto-smeared base. Top this with the chicken and the grated mozzarella and bake at 180°c for 15 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden, with a lovely, browned and bubbled cheesy surface blanketing the delicious filling below. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into slices to serve.

I like to accompany this with salad or a green vegetable; tonight I served steamed broccoli. Another reason why I love the puff pastry is that my family are learning to adapt to my no-potatoes-with-pastry edict (though, of course, I break my own rules on occasion), so no peeling needed.

Cath xx

Little Bits of Loveliness

2010-07-01T18:24:00.001+01:00

Crôutons can really add an extra dimension to a main course salad. If, and when, you have a moment and feel like doing a little extra cooking, you could do worse than making a batch of crôutons instead of buying little bags of tiny, over-priced and over-seasoned, rock-hard bullets. They are easy and the flavourings (if any) can be varied to suit your palate or the sort of salads you like to make. If they are well dried out in the oven they will keep really well in an airtight container, ready for you to fling into salads, soups or even pasta dishes (!) whenever the fancy takes you.

Crôutons

100g white bread, crust cut off and cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
flavourings (and see below)

Dry the cubes of bread out, a little, in a very low oven (less than 100°c), but don't let them colour. Cool. Meanwhile, whisk the oil and flavourings together in a large bowl. Drop the bread cubes in (all in one go) and stir until they are evenly coated-ish. Tip onto a baking tray and return to the oven to bake, slowly, for another 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. You will be able to tell, from the delicious smell, when they are ready. Indeed, the smell will also tell you when they are burnt, so be alert.... Let them cool completely before using or storing, as this will retain the crunch.

As for flavourings, I mostly make my crôutons with smoked paprika, with cracked black pepper or with garlic and herbs. A pinch of salt helps bring the flavours together in every case except for my cheesy croutons (which are usually eaten with tomato soup), which I make using some grated parmesan mixed in after the oil and a little garlic.

Incidentally, one possible word of warning though. I cannot, and will not, countenance the use of crôutons as a 'nibble' under any circumstances. I was shocked recently, to be offered a dish of mixed olives (fine, lovely), a single, whole, pickled artichoke heart (hmm...) and some clearly industrially-prepared-and-bagged crôutons masquerading as 'tapas' in a pretentious bar. Okaaaay... rant over.

Cath xx

Homemade (Burger) Heaven

2010-06-30T18:14:00.001+01:00

Oh man, how I love the taste of a homemade burger! Burgers are one of those wonderful things to cook that (almost) everyone - and especially children - loves, plus they are quick and easy to prepare, in fact those same children can help you with the whole shebang. You know exactly what has gone into them - no nasties - and can vary the recipe however you like, according to your mood/the weather/what's in the cupboard/the day of the week. While beef burgers are the mainstay of any summer barbecue with us, a midweek special treat for us is these lovely lamb burgers. They take next to no time to knock up when I get in from the school run with the children feeling somewhat fractious in the heat.

As for the shaping, you can either do it with your own, wetted, hands, or gadgets are available for the purpose. I have an old, much loved burger press from Lakeland, which I would not like to be without at this time of year (or ever, frankly). They don't seem to sell the one I have anymore, but still stock a similar product.

Lamb Burgers

500g lamb mince
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp mint sauce (from a jar)
1 tsp olive oil

Rolls, salad and chips or crisps, to serve

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and squidge them together, with your hands, to mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture equally and shape into burgers (and see above). Cook on the barbecue. or grill under a moderate heat, turning once, until cooked through and just browning nicely on the surface. I love them in a toasted bun with spinach leaves and a blob of natural yoghurt.

Cath xx

Life's NOT too short to stuff a pepper..!

2010-06-28T20:09:00.002+01:00

At this time of year, I love easy dishes that feel summery and evoke the expansive spirit of barbecues and food al fresco, without all the smoke and soot midweek. This is very simple, but still very summery. These also reheat very well the next day, should you have any left over (I find that adults usually eat two as a main meal and that children only eat one). Enjoy them with rice, or salad, or both... it's your call. Some of you may like a little dollop of soured cream; a blob of guacamole or a dab of houmous to go with.

Meaty Stuffed Peppers

These work equally well with minced lamb, though I replace the kidney beans with chickpeas, lose the oregano and add a teaspoonful of dried cumin for this variation.

2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
250g minced beef (and see above)
2 tbsp tomato purée
400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 balls mozzarella, each sliced into 4

Trim the stems of the peppers, then halve them through the remaining stem. Scoop out the seeds and cores and lay, cut-side up in a roasting tin. Set aside.

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and soften the onion with the oregano. Stir in the garlic. Add the mince and brown it well, before mixing in the tomato purée and stirring the kidney beans through the pan. Season to taste. Pile this mixture into the pepper halves, then top each with a slice of mozzarella. Bake at 180°c for 20-25 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and toasty. Use a spatula to lift them onto a big plate and serve nicely warm, rather than piping hot. Add some nice bread to mop up the juices, and you're good to go!

Cath xx

Chocolate Mousse 1 - Football 0

2010-06-27T18:05:00.001+01:00

Just as I do with sponge cakes, I think of chocolate mousse in imperial terms. Not in a neo-colonial way, no, but in as much as the imperial weights and measures just seem to work with certain recipes. For each serving, use one egg and one ounce of chocolate. A little dash of a carefully chosen flavouring and that's all you need. Good, simple food at its best!

As far as flavourings for chocolate mousse go, I have tried many, many variations over the years. Brandy is always my classic fall-back. Fruity liqueurs work well, as does good old fresh orange juice. I love mint chocolate mousse, but really good peppermint extracts are few and far between. I'd be interested to know if anyone has a source...? Dark rum is nice in the winter (for me, rum is very much a winter flavour) and coffee is an elegant flavour as long as no-one is going to object to a coffee-chocolate mix. Some people seem to feel inordinately strongly about that; maybe brought on by too many cheap chocolate-covered 'coffee creams' as a child..?

Classic Chocolate Mousse

4 eggs, separated
4oz plain chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp brandy (and see above)

Melt the chocolate in a big bowl. Let it cool, then stir in the egg yolks, one by one. This is the point at which to add any flavouring. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then carefully fold the whites into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse into serving pots and chill until set. I don't usually garnish my chocolate mousse at all; today I used some strawberries from my friend Avril's garden; a few raspberries or a blob of whipped cream with a light dusting of cocoa are equally nice, when the urge for a little lily-gilding comes upon one.

The chocolate mousse was tonight's pudding, following a supper of Chicken, Leeks and Bacon with a Crumble Topping. Very good it was too, unlike the football result!

Cath xx

Old Tarts

2010-06-26T18:38:00.001+01:00

Still getting back to normal after #operation roof, I'm cooking really 'proper' meals again, but I must admit that the heat is stifling the family's appetite somewhat, not to mention fraying the children's tempers!

Tonight we ate my (immodestly) super Courgette and Goat's Cheese Tart, which was just enough cooking to satisfy my needs, but not too much, if you know what I mean.... This is a regular summer supper for us; it's filling and delicious without being heavy or stodgy in any way. Really needing very little in the way of accompaniments, it makes a lovely portable dish for a contribution to a picnic or any other communal meal at this time of year I made the pastry this morning and blind-baked the case so that I only had to fry some sliced courgettes and throw the rest together at five o' clock. Blind baking is a contentious old thing,and I must admit that I don't usually bother for a midweek meal. I will, however, confirm that the tart is almost always nicer if you do. Sorry! Do be sure to dice, or crumble, any cheeses that you add to the filling of a tart; this avoids the problem of 'cheesy cement' sinking to the bottom of tarts and coming to rest on the pastry case. Grating cheese over the surface of the egg-custard mixture is, however, fine and dandy.

Cath xx

(In fact, the tart was so good tonight that I'm seriously considering making another tomorrow, for snacking on during the week!)

Intermission-lude

2010-06-25T18:42:00.002+01:00

It's been a while, I know, and the reasons are far too many and varied to go into at length. Suffice it to say that our bathroom ceiling collapsed during a storm a few weeks ago and, ever since then, we have been busy picking up the pieces - both figuratively AND literally! Now, however, the roof has been replaced and order is (just about) restored. After what feels like weeks of quick dinners, I'm ready to return, with a vengeance, to the kitchen. I've missed real cooking terribly and I can't wait to find some more lovely things to share with you...it's nice to be back to writing to you again!

On that note, try this for a midweek supper in the hot weather. Based on our great lunchtime favourite, this brings a teeny tweak of sophistication to the classic Welsh rabbit. I can even imagine this being served, to people rather less greedy than us at any rate, as an elegant starter on a 'waffeur-thin' croûte with a delicate side salad. Ha!

Mushroom Rabbits

200g hard cheese, grated (such as a good, strong cheddar)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp plain flour
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, beaten
2-4 tbsp milk

6 large flat mushrooms

Beat the fisrt 6 ingredients together. Pile onto the mushrooms (gill sides), place on a baking tray and bake at 180°c for 15 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and filling is slightly risen , browned and bubbling. Pop onto a piece of sourdough toast or a halved ciabatta roll and eat warm, with a salad to accompany.

Cath xx

Old Favourites

2010-05-23T17:47:00.003+01:00

With a lovely weekend like this one has been and the children content to play for hours in the sunshine,I've done very little but sit in the garden, listening to the radio, leafing through magazines and, as the evening draws closer, drinking those stubby little bottles of French lager that just say 'summer' to me. Last night, we barbecued some quickly home-made burgers with some sausages and revisited our old faithful barbecue side dishes of barbecued garlic mushrooms and brown rice salad. The smell from the grill was fantastic, and sitting in the garden, just chatting, is a really terrific way to spend a warm Saturday evening (even if it did have to be cut short, all too abruptly, by the children rushing indoors for their weekly Doctor Who fix).

Tonight, I'm continuing the weekend's classic favourites theme by serving up my cheeky, cheaty pasta bake with a simple lettuce salad and no fuss whatsoever. Then back into the garden...

Cath xx

Milky Milky

2010-05-18T17:52:00.000+01:00

This is a really nice treat for the children, full of goodness and, even better, they can get really involved with the preparation. We make almond milk quite often and this milkshake is one of my boys' favourite things to do with it. Admittedly you don't have to make the almond milk yourself (you can buy a version in most health-food-type stores and some supermarkets but, as you will see, it takes very little effort and is actually rather fun (for the children, too). It has several uses; my children love it on cereal and I've made a very successful almond custard using almond milk. I've yet to try it for making ice-cream, but the time is undoubtedly drawing near when I shall, I'm sure... possibly an almond latte would be nice too!

Almond Milk

400g whole, shelled almonds (with the skin still on)

Blanch the almonds. Do this by putting them in a pan of cold water and bringing them to the boil. Drain and leave to cool, then slip off the skins by squeezing them at the pointed end with your thumb and forefinger. Children really seem to like doing this.

Put the blanched almonds in a large bowl and cover with 1 litre of fresh water. Leave to soak for 24 hours or so,giving it a stir whenever you think about it. The next day, whizz the water and the nuts in the blender until finely chopped (I need to do this in two batches). Strain through a muslin-lined sieve, pressing the solids down hard to extract as much liquid as possible. Store in a covered jug in the fridge. You can stir in a couple of drops vanilla extract at this point if you like (or some amaretto, which is lovely for an almond custard but maybe not such a good idea on your breakfast cereal, eh?)

Now to that all-important milkshake...

Bakewell Pudding Milkshake

500ml almond milk
100g raspberries (frozen ones are fine)
1 tbsp Demerara sugar

Blend. Hand to excited, pleading offspring. Relax in glow of perfect motherhood for all of ten seconds.

Cath xx

Simply Sinful

2010-05-17T18:49:00.000+01:00

These cheesy scones go really well with LOADS of different meals, or stand alone as a super snack,. They are easy enough to make, provided you don't get too bothered by the (very tasty but, OK, admittedly unhealthy) butter and cheese factor. Tonight they sat beside a mixed bean chilli that I put in the slow-cooker this morning, but we also eat them with soups, stews, and breakfasts. They are extremely good cold too, so don't fret about having any left over (as if!).

Cheesy Scones

If you fancy, you can add 100g sweetcorn kernels to the scone mix before stirring in the milk. This is particularly nice to add texture if you want to eat them with something like scrambled eggs and bacon.

350g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp mixed dried herbs
4 tsp baking powder
200g butter, diced
200ml milk + 1 tsp
175g grated Cheddar cheese

Put the flour, salt, mustard and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in 150g butter, then stir in the milk and mix to make a soft dough. Roll out to about 1cm thick and cut rounds with a 5cm cutter. Re-roll and keep cutting to use up all the dough. Placethe scone rounds in a greased roasting tin. Melt the remaining butter, the cheese and 1 tsp milk together in a pan and pour this over the scones, getting a little mixture over each piece. Bake at 200c for 15 minutes until golden and crisp on the top. Remove them from the tin CAREFULLY, with the aid of a spatula and/or palette knife. Serve while still warm and pull the scones apart at the table. It doesn't take much...

Cath xx

Slow and Spicy

2010-05-15T18:41:00.001+01:00

Anyone who might be reading my blog with anything approaching interest and/or regularity will have realised by now that I love and rely quite heavily on my slow-cooker and have done for a long time. It never ceases to surprise me with some of the lovely things that can so easily be made and I never seem to stop recommending to people that they should get themselves a slow-cooker, pronto!

This morning I threw this little number together. The really great thing about using a slow-cooker (apart from the food, natch) is that nearly all of it is that lovely throw-it-together sort of cooking; no stress, no fuss. A 'proper' recipe is a bit difficult to give (hence why I haven't written about it before), because every time I make this sort of curry in the sainted machine I use just what we have in the house, vegetable-wise. In other words I don't shop specifically for it. So I've finally decided just to give you tonight's interpretation; what follows is just one version of an ever-changing favourite.

Slow Vegetable Curry

I should probably note here that I used frozen cauliflower today. I usually put some frozen veg in these curries, but no more than one sort, generally.

1 tbsp fat (oil, butter, ghee, whatevs)
2 onions, halved and sliced
3 tbsp curry powder, or to taste (I used Steenberg's Tikka Masala, choose your favorite)
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
150g-ish mushrooms, quartered
200g-ish cauliflower, in small florets
can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
can chopped tomatoes
80g creamed coconut, chopped and dissolved in 200ml boiling water

Soften the onion in the fat. I have to say that I always pre-soften onions for slow-cooker dishes in the popty ping (Welsh slang for microwave), which is actually one of the very few times I use it. Stir the curry powder into the onions. Put these, and all the other prepared vegetables, into the slow cooker. Mix really well, then pour over the creamed coconut liquid and pop the lid on the cooker. Cook on LOW all day, or HIGH if you start it at lunchtime. Serve with rice or bread if you like (my hubby and children do), or just eat a bowl of it on its own, which is what I do.

Cath xx

Tikka Time

2010-05-08T19:54:00.000+01:00

Saturday evenings for us, these days, are increasingly ruled by my sons' growing obsession with Doctor Who. Not terrible, because Hubby and I enjoy watching it with them (even if we do have to tolerate a running commentary on what's happening in the program we. are. watching. too.). Early evening television means an earlier supper than we might otherwise have and this spicy dish is perfect for a Saturday night, eaten from sticky fingers, noshed without ceremony but with huge enjoyment, before they rush to the sofa for their weekly 'fix'. Tonight I prepared a bowl of my ever-popular Spiced Potatoes with Spinach, but these wings are just as good with a bowl of rice or a nice green salad. Cross-culturally, I rather love them with Tzatziki, too, especially leftovers eaten cold for a sneaky snack or a light lunch.

Tikka-Style Wings

I have a Typhoon CrushGrind, (highly recommended) so I grind *these* spices in that before adding them to the whizzer. Alternatively, crush in a pestle-and-mortar or even substitute 1/2 tsp each of the bought ready-ground spices

12 chicken wings
6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp tomato purée
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 inch piece ginger root, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 cloves*, ground (and see above)
seeds from 8 cardamom pods*, ground (and see above)
tbsp black peppercorns*, ground (and see above)

Put the chicken wings in a large bowl and everything else into a blender or food processor. Whizz to a fragrant, nubbly paste. Pour and scrape this over the chicken wings, then turn them really well to coat them completely in the spicy paste-marinade. You can either cling-film the bowl as it is or, to save space (always important in a family 'fridge), I transfer the whole shebang to a lidded plastic box. Either way, chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Cook the chicken wings, still coated in the flavour-paste, in a 200°c oven for 40 minutes. I usually line a roasting pan with foil because any burnt-on paste is a nightmare to wash up! Serve on a large platter and make sure to provide plenty of kitchen paper and a poubelle de table (aka 'table dustbin') for the discarded bones. Slurp!

Cath xx

Pish Pie

2010-04-30T18:30:00.001+01:00

Known forever as 'pish' pie due to the semi-Spooneristic tendencies of a friend when I introduced her to this idea, this has, for a long time, been my way of getting a fish pie (lush comfort food, filling, child-friendly, etc, etc) on the table at suppertime without too much fuss or washing-up. The portions of fish in butter sauce may initially seem a little spooky in their plastic carapaces but, once combined with the other ingredients and blanketed with mash, they are very delicious, believe me.

Quick Fish Pie

4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
2x 300g packs frozen 'fish portions in butter sauce'
326g can sweetcorn, drained
3 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
handful parsley, chopped
milk and/or butter for mashing potatoes

Boil the potatoes until soft. Meanwhile, cook the fish portions as directed, but for only half the time stated. Mix the sweetcorn and parsley together in an ovenproof dish, then squeeze the fish & sauce out of the packages and stir through the sweetcorn with the chopped egg. Drain the potatoes and mash, as you like, with milk and/or butter. Dollop the mash over the top of the pie, scratch the top with a fork and bake at 200 for 15-20 minutes until slightly browned.

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and try not to mind the rain too much, eh?

Cath xx

Oo-er, Saucy..!

2010-04-29T20:12:00.001+01:00

Frozen chicken livers. Not a phrase that immediately suggests anything terribly exciting but, man, I love these babies. I keep a couple of cartons in the freezer most of the time; quick pâtes, warm salads and this delicious, hearty pasta dish need be barely more than a defrost away. Satisfyingly, everything else for this recipe is readily available from the storecupboard and the garden so, as long as I remember to take the livers out of the freezer in the morning, supper can be a pretty fast construction, which is always good on a school night, isn't it? As a (slightly defensive) aside, yes, I know that a whole 500g pack of spaghetti is a trifle excessive for two adults and two children but it's lush and we're greedy. In any case, my hubby can always be relied upon to relish any leftovers for his midnight 'lunch'. Odd, yes, but this is the life of a night-worker...

Spaghetti with Saucy Chicken Livers

500g spaghetti
20g butter
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
large sprig rosemary, needles chopped
2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2x 227g cartons frozen chicken livers, defrosted
50ml dry sherry
150ml milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
handful fresh parsley, chopped

Cook the spaghetti in a pan of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together in a large pan and fry the onion with the rosemary until the onion is softened. Toss the livers in the seasoned flour and add all this to the pan. Fry until the livers are browned, then pour in the sherry. Sizzle, sizzle, then pour in the milk and stir well to scrape up all the floury bits. Mix in the mustard and bubble while the sauce thickens. Stir in the parsley. Drain the pasta, saving about 100ml of the water. Toss the sauce through the drained pasta, then deglaze the liver cooking pan with the reserved pasta water and stir this through also. Serve, without the addition of cheese, I feel.

Now to plan for the May Day bank holiday weekend... I feel a bit of a kitchen frenzy coming on, hooray!

Cath xx

Forgetful, moi?

2010-04-26T19:47:00.001+01:00

OK, so this is basically supper made with what I had in the fridge. I had planned to make a risotto tonight; we had a roast chicken yesterday and I used the slow cooker to make some stock last night, while we slept. Mid-afternoon, though, I had a mini-panic attack when I realised that I had completely neglected to take any bacon or similar out of the freezer to use in the risotto and that, having all had chicken rolls at lunch, it was unlikely in the extreme that the cold, cooked chicken would cut it . On its own, in any case...

Necessity being the mother of all invention, come suppertime, I opened the fridge and began unloading 'possibles' onto the counter. Decision: chorizo would boost the bit of chicken we did had and spinach is always a winner in this household. Result: possibly the best risotto I have ever made. Very inauthentic, very unItalian, but very delicious nonetheless.

Risotto with Chicken, Chorizo & Spinach

25g butter and a drizzle of olive oil
1 onion, diced
200g risotto rice
50ml dry vermouth
800ml hot chicken stock
800g chorizo sausage, diced
100g cold, cooked chicken
couple of handfuls spinach leaves
25g fresh parmesan, grated

Melt 15g of butter with a drizzle of olive oil in a deep, heavy frying pan. Soften the onion, then tip in the rice, stirring to coat all the grains with the fat. Pour in the vermouth and cook for a minute or so to evaporate the alcohol. Then, still stirring all then time, add a ladleful of chicken stock at a time and allow it to be absorbed by the rice each time before adding the next. After you've put in all but 2-3 ladlefuls, add the chorizo and chicken and continue cooking in the same way. . When the last of the stock is absorbed, fold in the spinach, then add the parmesan and the last 10g of butter, cut into pieces. Give it all a good stir, then take the pan off the heat, cover it and leave it for a couple of minutes. Throw a green salad together, set the table, pour a drink and serve, smugly...

Cath xx

Love Match Wales

2010-04-24T18:51:00.001+01:00

Another lovely day, more time out in the sun. After a relaxed morning poking around in fields, we stopped for a picnic at Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian, the Welsh Assembly Government's Forestry centre near Ponterwyd. While eating, in the picnic area, gazing at the beautiful view from our hillside seat, we realised (yet again) just how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Wales is, of course, more beautiful when the sun shines, but where isn't? And really, what clould be nicer than snuggling up in front of a roaring fire, blanket on lap, while the rain thyunders down outside as you sit in a warm Welsh stone cottage? Look beyond, though, at hills and mountains, polka-dotted with sheep, or covered by Wagnerian pine forests; rivers laid like silver ribbons along the valleys; only farms and dwti cottages occasionally puncturing nature's canvas (and the A44, of course, but we couldn't see that from where we were, only hear the odd motorbike here and there).

Therein, of course lies a problem inherent with life here, now at least. You want to go to fabulous places for picnics and you want to enjoy your picnic. What could be nicer with a picnic than a cold beer? But drinking and driving? No, no, no, no, NO! Thankfully, we are able to take icy bottles of Cobra Zero with us, all the taste and 0%! Alcohol-free beers (known as 'non-stick' beers in my family) are truly the way forward for picnickers, I feel... and I also heartily recommend the alcohol-free Becks 'Blue'.

Here ends my 'I love Wales' rant, for the time being at least...

Hwyl fawr, Cath xx

Bunking Off in the Garden

2010-04-23T20:08:00.003+01:00

Lovely, isn't it? To see the signs of Spring appearing everywhere, to feel warmth from the sun on your bare arms, to hang your laundry out in the breeze and even to be brave enough to eat supper out on the patio... I have been outside for so much of the last couple of weeks, often just sitting and breathing in the glory of nature (hence no posts - sorry about that, I do feel sort of bad). I have attempted to get our little garden in some sort of order and made plans for summer bunting and outdoor picnics (rather than the carpet picnics we have been restricted to for what feels like years, rather than months!).

Tonight's supper was a slightly spicy little number. We ate my version of Keema, a simple spiced meat dish, accompanied by the Spiced Potatoes with Spinach which my boys love so much. It somehow felt so right to be eating it outside.

Spiced Potatoes with Spinach

This, I suppose, is my approximation of the Indian restaurant classic Saag Aloo, which I love, love, LOVE! Anything with spinach is A-OK with me, especially if the children love it too!

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
2cm piece ginger root, minced
400g potatoes, cut into 2cm-ish cubes
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kalonji (AKA black cumin or nigella seeds)
140g bag baby spinach leaves

Heat the oil in a large pan (it needs to be one with a lid). Frizzle the bay leaf and mustard seeds briefly, then add the onion to the pan and fry until soft. Stir in the garlic and ginger and fry for a moment more before adding the spices. Stir well, add the potatoes and then pour in 150ml water and clamp on the lid. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, then stir the spinach through the potatoes as best you can. Lid back on, heat back up and cook for 3 minutes or so until the spinach has wilted down. Try not to eat it all straight out of the pan before serving it (though this is the hardest part of the recipe for me).

Divine with a dollop of raita; my lazy version is here. Enjoy!

Cath xx

Tap..tap..tap... It's Spring!

2010-04-11T15:17:00.002+01:00

Spring has, most definitely, sprung this week and most of our time has been spent in the garden. It's lively to be outside in the fresh air, to dry laundry in the breeze and dream about lazy days to come...I hope!

Eating al fresco seems, somehow, to demand 'picky' bits of food; things to leave on the table and graze at until the sun goes down. This is one of those wonderful things that is impressively easy to make, but which feels like a real treat. The facts that all the ingredients are readily available in my storecupboard and that the finished product freezes beautifully only adds to its appeal; I need never be far from a helping of this! This is also popular with children, probably because of its natural sweetness; but then saying that, as my children fall on most foods as though ravening beasts, they may not be the best example to present here...

Tapenade with Figs

250g dried figs
3 cloves garlic, peeled
250g pitted black olives in brine, drained
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
2 tsp anchovy paste
2 tbsp olive oil

Put the figs and the garlic cloves in a small saucepan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook fro about 10 minutes, until the figs are really soft. Drain, reserving the liquid. Put the figs, garlic and all the other ingredients in the blender and pureé, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid to slacken the mixture as you need to. Chill until needed, freeze in portions or just eat it straightaway!

While wonderful on its own on slices of crusty bread, whether toasted or not, this is completely divine with salty cheese or a plate of charcuterie. Also consider adding it to a chicken sandwich (dee-lish).This forms a regular part of my lunch in one way or another and I never get tired of it, I hope you don't either.

Cath xx

Twiddley-Diddley-Kidneys

2010-04-10T18:26:00.000+01:00

There seem to be very few people (veggies excepted, ha-ha!) who really dislike kidneys. My whole family ADORE them and we eat them quite often; mainly in Kidney Turbigo, but also occasionally in Kidney & Red Wine Pie, as made by my Mum and now by me. This sort-of riff of the classic Devilled Kidneys is another favourite, with mushrooms added and a wee scoosh of sherry. It's also very nice with just the mushrooms if you want a vegetarian dish, naturally swap the chicken stock for vegetable (or leave it out entirely, and see below).

Sooooo... for coring the kidneys, you need a sharp knife and a pair of sharp scissors. Cut the kidney in half lengthways. As you will see, there is a distinct gristly white core. Use your scissors to snip this away; don't worry if you lose a little meat as it comes away. If (as usual) there are any little bits of the core left , snip these out separately. Halve the kidneys again for this recipe, then I soak the kidney pieces in milk until I cook them. This may well be nonsensical superstition, but it's what I do.

Sherried Kidneys & Mushrooms

This also makes a lovely first course, served on a crisp piece of toasted bread. The amount below serves 4 as a main course, so should easily provide for 6 to 8 people as a 'starter'. One proviso, though; omit the stock from the recipe in this case... We like quite a 'saucy' dish when we eat this as a main, not so good for a first course.

40g butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp English mustard powder

8 lambs’ kidneys, halved, cored and halved again

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

250g mushrooms, sliced

50ml dry sherry

100ml hot chicken stock

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Melt the butter in a large pan and soften the onion. Meanwhile, add to the flour a little salt, some ground black pepper and the mustard powder. Toss the kidney pieces in the seasoned flour, then add it all to the pan and fry until the kidneys are brown. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are just tender. Pour in the sherry, then add the stock and stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened somewhat. Throw a handful of chopped parsley over, and serve with rice.

Cath xx

Here comes the sun?

2010-04-09T18:41:00.002+01:00

This is one of my little 'Ha! Summer's on the way' suppers that needs a little bit of easy kitchen action; just right to prepare, glass of wine in hand, with the back door open while the children play in the garden. Turn the music up to drown out the sound of them arguing and pretend that la-la-la you can't hear them... Chin chin!

Cheesy Stuffed Aubergines

2 aubergines

250g minced lamb

50g couscous

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

150ml lamb (or vegetable) stock

50g Brazil nuts, chopped (optional, v. yummy!)

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

Cut aubergines in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh, leaving about a half-centimetre's border around. Dice the flesh and set aside. Put the 'shells' in an ovenproof dish and season the inside surfaces with salt and pepper.

Fry the lamb and onion for five minutes, until the lamb is browned and the onion softened. Turn the couscous in the pan to coat the grains in fat. Mix in the diced aubergine and the remaining ingredients, bar the cheese. Use the mixture to fil the aubergine shells, then top with the cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 180c for 30 minutes; uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes.

This meal needs very little in the way of accompaniment, as it has a little of everything therein; some warm bread rolls are just right. Happy weekend!

Cath xx

A-Hunting We Will Go...

2010-04-04T17:22:00.000+01:00

Thank you, sunshine, for making today a lovely day for an Easter egg hunt. I hid pairs of little foil-wrapped eggs all over my parents' garden (then had to move some to new locations when I spotted my children 'cheating' through the French windows!).

Shoes on, they were handed tin buckets and we all counted 1-2-3-HUNT! Hiding the eggs in pairs implicitly seemed to encourage them to share, and to help one another out rather than simply piling all the eggs they could find into their proverbial 'one basket'. I will DEFINITELY be doing that again next year. Hope the good weather holds for the rest of the long weekend... Happy Easter, all of you!

Cath xx

The Gift of Finding Beauty

2010-03-29T13:43:00.000+01:00

I am very sad to hear of the loss, too early, of Elspeth Thompson, a writer whom I greatly admired for her gift to see the beauty in the mundane and to find wonderful ways in which incompetents like myself could dare to upcycle the world around us.

I shall think of her often, and the ways she inspired me to feather our little nest just that little bit more...

Rest in Peace, lovely lady.

Cath xx

Casserollin', rollin', rollin'!

2010-03-22T20:04:00.000Z

Apologies to Limp Bizkit, there... Casseroles of one sort or another are a real regular favourite in this house; Christopher, especially, when asked what he'd like for supper, invariably requests a casserole. Sometimes, though, one wants to feel that the finished dish is somewhat more than the usual bung-it-all-in-and-see; more of a classic dish that happens to be a little bit like the good old cass. Chicken Chasseur is much maligned by packaged 'recipe mixes', purporting to recreate this classic dish (just add chicken, onion, mushrooms etc.). It is, in fact, hard to see how following the instructions on one of these packets is , realistically, any easier than making it properly. There are no strange, recherché ingredients here, just a short list of, well, real food. The only, perhaps, slightly specialist item you need here is a large plastic bag...

Chicken Chasseur

I keep some of those small 200ml bottles of wine in my kitchen cupboard to use in cooking; if I open a 'big' bottle just for a little bit, I inevitably drink the rest, so better safe...

8 chicken thighs
plain flour
salt and pepper
20g butter and a splash of oil
1 onion, sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
200ml white wine
200ml chicken stock
a bay leaf
parsley, to finish

Put some flour a a large plastic bag and season it well. Chuck in the chicken pieces and toss them well in the flour to coat them thoroughly. Shake off the excess flour and ditch the bag. Heat the fat in a large casserole, then brown the floured chicken pieces well and set them aside for a moment. Fry the onion until soft and golden, then stir in the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they absorb all the fatty juices and start to 'squeak' a little on the pan. Reduce the heat, then pour in the wine and stock and bring to a low simmer. Add the bay leaf and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and simmer for another half an hour. Turn the heat up a lttle towards the end, to bubble the juices away just a little. Throw over a handful for chopped parsley, for pretty, and serve.

Tonight, we ate ours with mashed potatoes and a dish of leeks in cheese sauce, but it's equally good with a bowl of rice or some plain steamed potatoes and peas. Quite frankly, bread and salad is more than enough... Enjoy!

Cath xx

A Very Porky St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T17:35:00.001Z

James and I had a lovely St. Patrick's Day lunch today, cooked for us at the Aberystwyth family centre by some Irish friends. Coddle is not so very dissimilar to the Welsh favourite, cawl; a casserole of bacon and sausages cooked in stock with potatoes, parsnips, swede and carrots. Served with some gorgeous soda bread it was, truly, a meal to make you sit up and beg!

Wanting to offer the rest of the family a little of the culinary comfort they had missed out on at lunchtime, tonight I opted for an easy midweek roast; potatoes, parsnips and (unpeeled) carrots, chopped up and roasted with a small, 1kg joint of pork loin. I added a glass'-worth of chicken stock (as I had no pork stock) and cooked it all at 200°c for an hour. Served with some stuffing balls and some steamed broccoli (plus the inevitable sweetcorn), it made a meal with very little work on my part. Result!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Cath xx

French Connection

2010-03-14T19:35:00.002Z

Hope all the mummies out there had a lovely, lovely day. I took my boys to the park for a bench-bound picnic lunch and a 2-hour climbing-frame fest earlier, so I feel I've earned my lovely new bubblegum-pink handbag and my rainbow-coloured necklace...they know me so well, somehow!

Dinner tonight was pretty lazy Sunday roast, a roast chicken, supplemented by steamed potatoes (although, to my mind, a loaf of good bread is just as good, if not better!) and one of our favourite sides, known to us as French Peas. Loosely based on Petits Pois a la Française, this is another of those dishes that keeps on giving; I've already earmarked the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch...

French Peas

100g butter, preferably unsalted
1 tsp vegetable oil
200g bacon, chopped
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 little gem lettuce, sliced
200ml chicken stock
900g petits pois
1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tsp water

Melt half the butter with the oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon until just cooked through, then add the garlic clove with the onion and fry the onion intil soft but not coloured. Add the lettuce and cook until wilted, then stir in everything else. Cook at a low simmer for 5 minutes or so, then cut the remaining butter into cubes, add it and cook until the butter is melted and the sauce is thickened and glossy. Fish out the garlic clove (and snaffle it, cook's treat!). Tip into a warmed bowl and serve.

Cath xx

Going Coco-nutty!

2010-03-13T19:00:00.001Z

This is a lovely, mild and creamy curry for a weekend family supper. It is quite 'saucy', because we like lots of sauce to soak into our rice, and to mop up with our naan, but you could cut the liquid down a little if you want, I guess. Creamed coconut is a lovely addition to make to curries when cooking for the children as the sweetness seems to allay any potential tiresome behaviour about 'too spicy' foods.

Coconut Chicken

50g ghee (or butter and a splash of oil)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
a few cloves
500g chicken, sliced
1 pint milk
1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tsp water
100g creamed coconut, chopped

Heat the fat in a large pan (one with a lid!) and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and stir well, then mix in the spices. The aroma will really hit you sometimes, so be careful with your eyes and that cayenne! Add the chicken and fry quickly to seal it, then pour in the milk, cornflour-and-water mixture (which will stabilise the milk and prevent it from curdling unappealingly). Simmer gently for 30 minutes, then stir in the coconut until the sauce is smooth and thickened.

Serve with rice or naan bread, or both in this house. Yum!

Cath xx

Get Inventing!

2010-03-06T15:06:00.001Z

"With tuppence for paper and strings...you can have your own set of wings", or so the song goes. With a few more varied bits and pieces and some sticky tape or glue, however, the world is a child's oyster. My boys' favourite pastime is junk modelling, constructing all sorts of fantastic machines, robots and spaceships out of everything and anything that we save for them; everything from loo roll tubes to chocolate box trays, from bottle-tops to lolly sticks.

Incidentally, don't throw away those irritating bits of plastic that are used to wire toys, almost irretrievably, into their packaging. They are fab for junk modelling and have made robot legs, lorry grilles, oven racks, you name it!

I want to encourage the creative spirit, but I'm not too keen on the mess all over the house, so today we turned their playshed into their very own 'invention club'. With boxes, tubes and cartons galore, all sorts of bits-and-bobs and a ready supply of sticky tape, glue sticks and marker pens, they have their own little mad haven of creation...

Cath xx

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, unwaith eto!

2010-03-01T19:48:00.002Z

St David's Day and, for children that means dressing up in national costume for school and, for everyone else, it means CAWL!!. As three of the four of us had already eaten cawl at lunchtime, however, I decided not to repeat it at supper, opting instead to prepare another of our favourite Welsh dishes, Wyau Ynys Môn.

I love the patriotic enthusiasm that March the 1st brings out in the Welsh, and as Wales is my adopted homeland and the birthplace of my children, I do all I can to embrace it. People may joke about the Welsh; the language, the long placenames, coracles and the ever-popular sheep gags, but their passion for their country should never be denigrated. A straw poll of my Saes (English) friends revealed that no-one does anything to celebrate St George's Day (though I do wear red roses in my hair on the day, most years in any case!) and none could tell me when the English patron saint's day fell (23 April, if you're interested). If you can find me a Welsh person who doesn't know the date of St David's Day, it would be rhyfedd iawn (very surprising)! Just a thought...

Cath xx

Nifty and Thrifty!

2010-02-26T21:11:00.002Z

It's getting to that time of year... The time when I drag my spring clothes out of the wardrobe and wear them in defiant abandon of the weather. I take my umbrella with me everywhere, but (happily) have rarely had to use it lately. It' the time of year when a rainbow of colour begins to resurface, when chunky costume jewelery sparkles again, when cooking begins to lose a little of that wintry comfort-food edge

At this time of year you can often find over-ripe (albeit imported) tomatoes, bought too early by over-enthusiastic retailers, going for a song because they can't yet be sold to customers still hunkered down against the cold weather. I spend happy afternoons cooking these fruits into batches of lovely sauce and freeze them, all the better to enrich mid-season meals like the simple tomato-and-mozzarella pasta bake we enjoyed this evening. This tastes sooo much better than jar-sauces and even sauce made with tinned tomatoes (my cold-weather standby); it is totally moreish and takes very little actual work, honest; just be around to 'poke' it occasionally.

Thrifty Tomato Sauce

Obviously adjust this to the quantity of tomatoes you have, but I thought framing the recipe for one meal's-worth of sauce would probably be the most helpful.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 kg tomatoes (overripe, somewhat squishy is fine. Mouldy, however, is NOT )
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
2 tbsp tomato purée
seasoning, to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, garlic and dried herbs and cook until the onion is soft, but not brown. Add the tomatoes and crush lightly (with a potato masher or similar) to pop them and release the juices. Stir in the tomato purée and cook very gently over a low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, giving it an occasional spoon-tweak to check it doesn't stick, until the tomatoes are very soft, Purée with a (hand) blender until smooth, then season to taste and cool before freezing.

Cath xx

Oh, if only...

2010-02-21T13:09:00.000Z

Carlisle station was recently bedecked in full-on Technicolour to film a TV advert for Homebase .

While it is unlikely in the extreme that the powers-that-be would ever even consider allowing it to remain like this indefinitely, I just wonder how much the general happiness of our society would be improved by surroundings like this forming part and parcel of our daily lives.

Just imagine candy colours, Pucci-style prints, Missoni-esque stripes, twinkling lamps and stairs that surely must lead to something wonderful..?

I have long felt that my mood improves in direct relation to the quantity and quality of colours I wear; sometimes just a glance down at one of my (many and varied) rainbow-hued bracelets is enough to stave off a gloomy moment similarly I feel it would be hard to wait for a train here, even a horribly delayed one, without a little smile twitching your lips. And the train pulling in at the end of the day would surely pick up even the most jaded and exhausted commuter?

Think of the places that could be improved by a makeover like this... away with the grey from dismal multistorey car parks, institutional council buildings, banks, public loos. And certainly hospitals and doctors' surgeries could be be made into vastly more pleasureable places?
Dream on, I know - but bring the RAINBOWS into your life and see what happens!

Cath xx

Photographs with thanks to Keep Carlisle Station Like This! on Facebook

Doing Porridge

2010-02-20T10:26:00.000Z

Porridge is a near-perfect breakfast for children (and most adults too). Filling, warming and stoked with energy that lasts until lunch. I'm somehow a little wary of microwave ovens, but they are wonderful for making porridge - even on a rushed morning before school I can manage to dish up bowls of basic porridge, usually served with a little milk (or a tot of cream if we have it) and a sprinkle of demerara sugar. This, the porridge of my childhood in Scotland is now the porridge that fuels my boys' childhood in Wales.

Weekends sometimes seem to call for a bowl of porridge that feels slightly less basic and run-of-the-mill, however, and this banana porridge is a great favourite. If we have some fresh blueberries in the fridge (and we did, today), I add those, but more often than not I prepare this with sultanas, which swell up, juicily delicious, as the porridge cooks.

Banana Porridge

1 cup porridge oats
pinch of salt
1 banana
1 cup milk
1 cup water
handful blueberries or sultanas
fresh nutmeg, to grate over

Mash the banana and blend with the milk and water. Put the porridge oats into a large microwaveable bowl and add a pinch of salt. If you're using sultanas, stir those in too. Pour the liquid into the bowl and mix well to combine. Microwave for 5 minutes, then stir and return to the microwave for another 3 minutes, or until cooked. It is ready when it looks like porridge! If you're having blueberries with it, stir those in now. Transfer to small bowls for serving and grate a smattering of fresh nutmeg over.

Cath xx

It's the little things...

2010-02-19T16:53:00.001Z

Sometimes children blindside you, unexpectedly and at exactly the right moment, with just how wonderful they truly are. After an extremely hectic morning, I was rushing around trying to get my chores done and, to my shame, ignoring the children, frequently shooing them from my path.

A little while later, my baby James (who is, of course, now a very grown-up three years old) wandered up to me and presented me with a bunch of flowers he'd built out of K'nex. Well I was floored. What a lovely gesture from one so young, and what a special reminder to, as they say, "stop and smell the flowers". In fact, I've put them in an old jam jar, on the mantelpiece, to remind me not to get so frantic about things that, ultimately, don't really matter - especially if it means ignoring the things that really are important!

Cath xx

Simple Pleasures

2010-02-17T16:19:00.000Z

'Feeding the ducks' is a favourite with all children, little ones AND ones and, while it's bitterly cold in West Wales today, the sun has been shining beautifully. So, with Granny and Grandpa in tow, the children and I headed out for a wintry walk, armed with a 'duck bag', filled with the dry ends of various loaves of my home-made bread for the ducks we new we'd see, on the riverbank, en route.

Ducks are, with the possible exception of penguins and meerkats, the most comical of animals. It is so easy to anthropomorphise them as city gents in bowler hats (umbrella under the wing, etc) and to laugh at the ones who grab chunks of bread and then run desperately away from the rest of the flush of ducks (and therein lies something else I adore; the peculiarly English notion of collective nouns. We laughed as they ran, giggled as they followed us, in vain hope, as we continued on up the riverbank once all the bread was gone and we marvelled at the subtle differences in plumage, along with a few no-so-subtle aberrations. Such as my new favourite thing, this handsome chap, sporting his very own fabulous ducky afro!

Cath xx

Taking It Easy

2010-02-11T17:45:00.003Z

Those after-school dinner decisions are tough, Aren't they? Even if you make meal plans, sometimes life kicks you to the kerb and you have to come up with something fast and filling for the family. Something you can cook easily while dealing with the aftermath of the school run and children tired and fractious after a busy day. Not for nothing do I (only half-jokingly, sometimes) refer to this time of day as 'the suicide hour'.

Now, baked beans are not something that I would ever choose to eat in the normal run of things, but they can occasionally be a useful ingredient in cooking and this is one of those times. Likewise with stock cubes; I only rarely use them but when you are cooking with minced meat from the supermarket, rather than the butcher, they can add an extra boost of flavour.

Easy Home-From School Hotpot

Obviously switch the lamb mince and stock cube for their beef equivalents if you'd rather...

3 or 4 large potatoes, sliced thickly
1 onion, sliced
500g lamb mince
1 lamb stock cube
420g can baked beans

Put the sliced potatoes into boiling, salted water, return to the boil and cook for 10 minutes until just tender in the centre. Drain carefully (i.e. don't break them up!). Meanwhile, heat a littl oil in a casserole pan and fry the onion until softened. Add the mince and brown it, then crumble in the stock cube. Cook for a few minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the baked beans. Lay the slices of potato on top in a spiral fashion (see picture), drizzle with a little melted butter and transfer to a 200°c oven for 15-20 minutes to brown the top.

Cath xx