American Pancakes.... Mood = Fruity and fluffy

So when you think of a pancake, what do you imagine? Thick, fluffy, bouncy, flavourful, syrup, cream .......... Yup. Thats what i thought. I hate pancakes that are thin like crepes. I just dont get them. Its like eating paper. I need things that are substantial, and actually taste like you are eating something.

So iv made so many kinds of pancakes. Some that tasted purely of dough and not cooking through enough. Some that were like rubber, and others that were dense and heavy and had no taste, so iv used the best of all the recipes and made my own version and I like this the best. It has a light texture, but it is alo quite substantial. You feel that it is worth the effort, which is minimal. I add fresh fruits to this, to make myself feel like it is a little healthy. And it is.... Sort of!

Recipe:

225g self raising flour

1ts baking powder

1 Egg

300ml milk

15g Caster sugar

1t vanilla extract

150g berries, or whatever fruit you like.

Butter for pan

Method:

• Mix milk and egg together

• Mix all dry ingrediants together and sift them adding a sprinkling of salt

• Add the vanilla to egg and milk mixture

• Make a well in the flour mix and add the milk and egg mixture and combine.

• Add your cut up fruit and stir.

• Heat you pan to medium hot and add a tiny knob of butter and ladel one scoop per pankcake.

• Cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side and then turn over when you start to see bubbles appear.

• Turn over and just brown the other side.

These pancakes, are light, fluffy, thick, and delicious.

Serve with fresh fruits, drizzle with syrup, add cream, icing sugar, whatever you fancy. These are served best at ANYTIME.

Batata Harra.....Mood = Spicy

Batata Harra is literally translated as spicy potatoes. I love love love this dish and i dont make it often enough. It is usually made with just potatoes, but i also add sweet potaotes as it adds a little colour and little difference in the taste. Adding a sweetness with the spicy aftertaste.This is a very traditional accompaniment in Middle Eastern cuisine, and most restaurants serve it, but i find it too oily when i eat it out. And mine is just simply better because i add more of everything i like.

My Dad makes this really well and it is one of those dishes that is a little naughty but very very nice.

Recipe:

3 Potaotes
1 large sweet potatoes
5 clove sof garlic
samll bunch of coriander
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt
cracked black pepper
olive oil
sprig of rosemary, chopped
Lemon

Method:

Peel, and dice all the potatoes

Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the frying pan, and heat the oil to high.

Add the potatoes, season with the above leaving the coriander and lemon out.

Let them start to sizzle and go brown, keeo tossing htem over and over to coat all sides.

When the potatoes have browned and cooked through, add some lemon juice, and the coriander, and mix through.

Serve with tabasco and bread.

This dish has to be eaten with bread to saok up all the juices.

Trust me this dish will knock your socks off. It seems so simple, but sometimes those are the best recipes.

Dont you think????

Nando's Chicken.....Mood = Out-Doing the original

I use chicken in so many things and in so many ways. My husband loves eating at Nando's and burger king. Its the "smell" he says. The after taste and the feeling after he east all this stuff is what makes him not eat it again for years. So the other night, i was at home with a chicken and though I was going to make one thing, and didnt have all the ingrediants, so my plan changed.

I had a whole chicken and remembered Nando's.

So i made a marinade of garlic, lemon, cayenne pepper, coriander and mint and let it sit in it for about 4 hours, skin on.

When it was time to put the chicken in, the juices from the marinade were seeping through and i couldnt wait for the end result.

Recipe:

1 Whole chicken cut in 2 down the centre
3 lemons
1 bunch or coriander
1 bunch of mint
6 garlic cloves, peeled, and bashed
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Cut the chicken in two

• Make the marinade by mixing all the above together and bashing the garlic without skins. This will create an amazing zingy almost spicy flavour.

• Cover the chicken with all the sauce and leave in the fridge to soak up the juices.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, and cook with all the marinade breast sides down for the first half an hour.

• Turn over for the next half to brown and crisp.

• Also if you can, baste the chicken with the marinade while cooking. this will help seal the flavours in.

• Serve with sauteed vegetables sich as asparagus and broccoli.

Try this recipe for your own better healthier, tastier, home made style of Nando's. Let me know what you think.

I think....

Nando's..... Is so  over!!!!

Gyoza.....Mood = Otherwise called "Potstickers"

The potsticker is one of my favourite things to eat and when i realised how easy it was to make this, i just jumped at the chance. These Gyoza are eaten at breakfast , lunch and dinner in China during the New Year. They are symbolic of wealth and prospersity and in some cases people even place a clean coin in one for one lucky person to have their luck for the year. This started during the time of the MING dynasty.
I was watching a program on TV the other day with Ken Hom and he made these, a little different to mine, as he used pork and I used minced veal, but it inspired me nevertheless. I saw how easy they were, how quickly they cooked and decided that it was going to be for dinner the next night. And that's how things start in this house and become a firm fixture.

I have to say I made these only once before working at Pengelley's, but generally was not really allowed to as the professionals were there to make this dish. So it's taken about 7 years and I'm back to square one. But with more confidence and skill.

Recipe:

Dough -

2 cups of flour
1 cup of boiling water

Filling -

270 grams of Veal mince
10 king prawns raw and deveined
2 Tablespoons Ginger
2 Tablespoons Spring onion
2 Tablespoons red chilli
1 cloved of garlic
2 Tablespoons of soya sauce
1 Teaspoon of sesame oil
1 small bak choi
2 Tablespoons of mint
2 Tablespoons of Coriander

Sauce:
6 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons of golden syrup
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli
Spring onion

Method:

Mix the flour with the cup of water and knead to a ball.

Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Mix all your ingrediants for the filling making sure they are all diced small.

Refrigerate.

Get you ball and cut into four slices. Then roll each slice to make a hot dog shape.

Then cut into equal size peices.

Flatten each peice with you palm and then roll out with a rolling pin to make a thin circle.

Place your filling in the middle and then begin to press to make a ravioli shape. You can crimp if you are confident in doing it. Or just keep it simple. You need to make sure there is a flat surface for when you pan fry them.

When they are all ready, get a pan hot with some oil, and place the gyoza in there neatly and let them cook till they brown.

Maybe around 2-3 minutes.

Then boil some water and pour a cup full of water into the pan.

Be careful as this will splatter.

Turn the heat down from full to around mid way and let the water evaporate.

Cover the pan with the water and let it steam. They should steam for about 5-7 minutes. This will help cook the top part of the dish.

Serve with the dipping sauce....

Ming-Tastic!!!!

Ruz wa Bazela.....Mood= Carbs, protein, veg

Ruz wa bazela is literally rice with meat and peas. Flavoured with a hint of cinnamon and black pepper and served with yoghurt. My mum used to make this and still does and it is a real hit in my house. I love making it as it takes about 10 minutes to get everything together and then you just leave it to cook as you do normal rice and there you have a very easy quick, helathy meal done in minutes.

I love this dish as it combines a little of everything, and mixing meat into our rice is a very common thing. We make so many dishes with this combination and it is always accompanied by vegetables. Either stuffed with the rice, or like this, just encorporated into it.

Cinnamon is very versatile, you can use it to mae savoury and sweet dishes, like apple pie, cinnamon buns, danish pastires etc... I Will post recipes fro those later. One teaspoon of Cinnamon contains as many antioxidants as a full cup of pemmegranate juice or 1/2 cup of blueberries, which are known as superfoods. So that is one absolutely great reason to use it.

Recipe:

300g Beef/lamb mince
2 cups of basmati rice
1 cup of peas
2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon
2-3 teaspoons of cracked coarse black pepper
olive oil
salt
Yoghurt

Method:

• Add some olive oil to you pot, and then sear the meat.

• Add the cinnamon, black pepper, salt and stir. There will be some water coming out of the meat, this is normal and fine as you will be adding water to this anyway.

• Taste the meat to see if it iseasoned enough for you.

• Add the rice, and mix and toast fro about a minute to coat every grain, and then add the peas.

• Cover with water just till it covers the rice. You need to remember with this dish, the peas have water in them so you dont have to put as much as you would when cooking plain rice.

• I always taste the water to see if it has enough seasoning. If you like, add more cinnamon, pepper and salt at this stage.

• Leave it to simmer on hgh heat for about 2-3 minutes and then turn it down to low heat for the last 15 minutes.

• Serve with Greek yoghurt and enjoy.

Easy PEA-sy!!!!

Spicy Dhal.....Mood = Indian Vegetarian

I love to change what i eat all the time, and try not to have the same meal twice in the same week, or more if i can be bothered. It seems like hard work, but seeing as it is so simple to make new delicious dishes all the time i try and make a little effort. I love lentils and seeing as i am anaemic, it helps to incoorporate them in my food intake as they are full of Iron, amongst other things. It gets boring making them the same way, so i add them to salads, make soups and then make this. Dhal, comes from the ancient sanskrit verbal root dal, meaning 'to split'.

It is pretty much fat free, as i use no oil at all and 2 Tablespoons of rice to make it a little more hearty.

Easy peasy to make and delicious. Can be made in huge quantities and kept in the fridge for about a week. That is what i do. Always something to have around when im feeling peckish. And i love to serve it with Mango chutney. Yum!

Recipe:

500g red split lentils
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 Green chilli, sliced lengthways
Vegetable stock, 1 knorr, or home made if you have
2 Tablespoons of rice, Basmati
2 Onions
2 Tablespoons Tomato pureé
Salt
Mango Chutney
Boiling water

Method:

• Place your rice and lentils in a pan and rinse.

• Then add the chilli, chopped onions, tomato paste and add enough water to cover the lentils by 2 x

• When the water is boiling with the lentils add the vegetable stock

• Add 2 table spoons of mango chutney and let it boil.

• Add some salt , to taste.

• Add more water to cover the lentils by about 1/4 inch.

• When it is ready, about 20-30 minutes later let it rest for a bit and serve with bread and chutney.

Vegetarian heaven.....

Rib shack style.....Mood = Southern

I love pork and everything else. But this dish is so moorish that it almost takes my breath away. I love the stickyness, the gooeyness and the finger licking that comes with eating this. I think food always tastes better when eaten with your fingers, although some may disagree. But i suggest you try it. Like when eating a curry for example or this dish infact. How do you eat a hamburger? with your hands! And if you used a knife and fork? It just would not taste the same.

So as you probably know, pork must be cooked through as it can harm you, and i will always mention this in every post i make regarding chicken and pork. There is nothing worse then spending so much time cooking and preparing for something and then you get food poisoning.

I like marinating the ribs for a few hours before i cook them as the flavours really get into the meat. you can leave that out if you like and are in a rush as these will be in the oven for 2 hours and will get a beautiful enough flavour while cooking.

As with all meats on the bone, the flavour is so much better and cooks faster, but i like to cook my pork for ages as it gets very soft and succulent and it makes the pork sticky too. My husband is a real supporter of all my food and i always experimant on him and this dish happened by accident a while back when i couldnt find what i was looking for in the supermarket.

Recipe:

16 ribs ( or how ever many you think you will eat. I choose the smaller ones as they have more meat on them)
Green Chilli
Ketchup
Tabasco
Onions
Garlic
Fresh rosemary
Fresh Thyme
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
3 cups of water

Method:

• Bash at least one head of garlic

• Cut 2 onions into quarters

• Add a pinch of salt pepper and a drizzle of oil

• 2-3 sprigs of rosemary scattered and the same with thyme

• Half a bottle of ketchup

• 1 Green chilli sliced lengthways

• As much Tabasco as you like and mix the water in. It will look a little wet but dont be alarmed as this will thicken in the oven during the 2 hour cooking process and will turn into a thick sticky sauce.

• Place the ribs into a heavy pan or pyrex and lay them out flat. Place them in the oven that has already been pre heated at 190 degrees

• Cook for about an hour before turning them over

• Add some water to make sure the sauce is still there and has not burnt.

• Then when it has cooked, take the ribs out and place them in a serving tray and seive the sauce on top. You dont want any bits.

• Serve with rice

This will definitely leave you in a sticky situation

My little Niece cooking.....Mood = Too cute

So this video was taken when my niece was just 2 years old. She wanted to make some Hello Dolly cookies but i didnt have time, and we resorted to this. It is so cute and i just love watching it over and over again. She is nearly 8 and this seems like a life time ago, but she is still the same. I hope you love her as much as i do.... ENJOY!!!!

Fundraising for Haiti..... MOOD= Devastation

So this is not a blog post on food. As that seems a little trivial right now. But more about helping others who need our support  in HAITI. I have made my donation and so should you. £30 is enough to help 3 families with water and food during this natural crisis. That is how much many of us spend on rubbish. Please think about everyone who needs help and those who are living in dire situations. Dig deep.

UNICEF DONATIONS for HAITI

It only take a minute or so to fill in your details.

Thank you

Cheddar and dill scones....Mood = Dill-icious...(Am i cheesy?)

MCAWQ3CDEVUX
Scones are just divine! In the morning in the afternoon, evening. Whenever. They are easy to make and you will be astonished at how the results turn out with minimal effort. I adore them and you can add any filling to them. Raisins, sultanas, sundried tomatoes and goats cheese, or chedder and dill. The list can go on, just replace with the same quantity in this recipe with what ever you like and see the delicacies grow in the oven.

I saw these a while ago on a cooking show and loved the idea. I always make sweet scones with clotted cream and jams, and never think about the savoury side of it, but they are just as delicious, if not more.

The ones I have chosen to make are chedder and dill scones. I loove the combination, and think they marry very well. They are quite delicate, so you have to find a strong chedder to cut through the pastry. I added cayenne pepper to this to give it a little kick, but you can omit that if you like. 

Scones were first mentioned, according to the oxford dictionary in 1513, and the name derives from the middle dutch language schoonbrood, meaning clean bread. They are extremely popular as they are very easy and quick to make. The UK, asutraila, new zealand and Canada, are the most popular countries for eating and producing scones. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that most of these countries were part of the British Empire at one point..... But nevertheless, they are common and almost part of their culture.

There are many types of scones, baked scones, drop scones, griddle scones, savoury, sweet, potato flour scones, but i assure you, all varieties are perfect.

Mine are baked scones with a lovley egg wash to give them a little shine.

Recipe:

500g all purpose flour

2 T Baking powder

2 t salt

250g butter

4 medium eggs

230ml cream or milk ( iused milk)

200g grated strong chedder

45g dill

2 t cayenne pepper

1 egg neaten with milk for glazing

Method:

• Add flour, salt, and Baking powder and cayenne pepper to the mixer, and add the butter. Start with the whisk or paddle and combine till it turns into breadcrumb texture.

• Mix the eggs and cream together and add them to the flour mix and mix again.

• Add the cheese and dill and mix till well combined.

• Turn out on to a well floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Make sure there is plenty of flour as this is quite a sticky dough.

• When it has come together roll it out to a square.

• Then cut triangles out of it and place on a baking sheet. you should get around 16.
  

• You can cut them into circles if you want but it creates more wasteage that way.

• Egg wash them and bake them for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees.

You can enjoy them any way you like. I ate them as they are and also as sandwiches. I filled them with ham salad and they were gone faster than i could imagine.

Mood Food= Mood = Sweet Magazine

Sweet Magazine, is for people with diabetes, and health problems. It has many recipes that help people incorprate healthy eating into their daily life. This magazine covers mainly problems with diabetes but also has a vast range of health benefits for other readers. I was asked by Catehrine Gray, a freelance writer if i would help with an article on MOOD FOOD.

This is a topic i understand wery well, seeing as it was based on people who have suffered from depression, as i have done, and also to help them come through the darkness of winter through healthy eating. I have had my fair share of experiance in this department and felt extremely privaliged to write or comment on this subject if it helped even one person.

This article is about seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

"Around 2 million people in the UK are believd to suffer from SAD at this time of year, with a high proportion of these being women aged around 30.

Symptoms can include lethargy, loss of concentration, sleep problems and over eating, with some people turning to simiple carbohydrates to raise their blood glucose levels and lift thier mood which will only exacerbate the problem.

 Exposure to natural light or special lightboxes can be effective, but chef Joudie Kalla - who has suffered from depression herself and has diabetes in the family as well - is a firm beliver in lifting your mood through a healthy diet, focusing on certain foods.

Pulses, grains, pats, fish , fresh fruit and vegetables are you best friends at this time of year to keep your seratonin levels up and to also keep your glucose levels balanced, she says. Vitamin D also gives us a seratonin boost during winter months, so foods like mackeral, salmon, sardines, oats, milk, liver, shitake mushrooms and egg yolks, will all help aswell.

One of my favourite mood-boosting meals is grilled salmon with grilled vegetables and a lentil salad. Walnuts also contain omega-3 and essential fatty acids which are thought to be a helpful tool against depression."

This article is great. It hits all the right spots, and gives people guidance as to what to do during these hard times. I have many recipes on my blog which are recipes that i followed during the hard years that i was suffering from depression. I suggest that if you suffer from depression  diabetes or you just want a guiding hand to healthy eating, you get a copy of this magazine.

Linguine con polpa di granchio.... Mood= Italiano

Pasta is one of those dishes that we all eat. And sometimes we can get in a rut of what to add to it. This is the beauty of pasta. You can add almost anything you like. ANYTHING. I always make mine with a spicy tomato sauce and some fresh herbs. Oregano instead of basil. Manchego instead of parmesan. But sometimes like i said, you can get in a bit of a rut because you know what you like and what you are going to get. I have started to make different kinds of pasta, using linguine instead of spaghetti, for instance. I love it because it is flatter, has a little coarser texture and holds more sauce. Thats what i think anyway.

 

Linguine is flat like fettuccine and trenette, but thin like spaghetti. Traditionally spaghetti is used for tomato sauces and meat based sauces, and linguine is more for fish and shell fish. Im not sure why, but it just works better that way. Aesthetically it works too. Linguine means little tongues. Interesting.

So I had some gorgeous fresh white crab meat and thought that I would make something a little light for dinner. Usually i would say about 100g of crabmeat per person is enough, but i used 300g for 2 of us as i was really hungry. There was a little too much if i have to be honest with you. But it was great for later....

The sauce is simple. Garlic, olive oil, red chilli, white wine, lemon and parsley. Simple, fresh and delicious. NO FUSS.

Recipe:

200g Fresh white crab meat
200g linguine (1oog per person)
small bunch of parsley
1/4 cup of white wine
1/2 red chilli
10 Tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
half a lemon
lemon rind




Method:

• Boil the pasta in salted water

• Peel and slcie the garlic

• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, gently. Ona heat that is medium. Scale of 1-10, 6.

• Add the garlic, let it simmer in the oil, when it has softened add the wine, red chilli and cook gently.  Add the lemon rind.
  

• When the pasta is ready strain and add it to the oil mixture. 

• Add a little cracked black pepper and top off with chopped parsely and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add some salt and mix well.

• Add the crab at the end. You dont want to re cook it. You just want to heat it up with the pasta.

• And serve, with a slice of lemon and sprig of flat leaf parsley.

Simple, tasty, delicious, and oh so Italiano!!!!

Ecliars......Mood = Gone in a flash!

Ecliars are seen as very French and very fussy. And very difficult to make. But the truth is they are so easy to make, you just need a bit of patience. If you are anything like me, you will always get amazed when things are baking in the oven and actually turn out the way they are supposed to. I love watching things rise in the oven, and as i have mentioned before my ultimate 'watch through the glass door' is Yorkshire pudding. I love how they rise and their centre just dissapears. I think it is like magic, but there is a science behind all of this. Something that i will not get into. But just trust me, it will work.

For eclairs or profiteroles, it just amazes me how the shape is created and then the centre is hollow. I just want to know what is happening and who came up with all these ideas. Someone had to think about this and try over and over again till their idea became a reality. And something for us to enjoy. It is thought that Antonin Careme created the eclair while he was pastry chef for the french Royalty, but there is no evidence of that. '

For this recipe, you can fill your eclair or profiterole with Creme chantilly, Creme patissiere or ice cream. My favourite is..... All of them. It depends totally on what mood you are in. And you can have different flavours, like pistachio for instance. But i dont do that because i have an allergy to nuts, but thats not stopping you.

Recipe:

85g butter

220ml water

105g flour

pich of salt

3 eggs

Method:

• Put butter and water into a saucepan, and melt the butter slowly into the water.

• Seive the flour 3 times with the salt.

• Make the water come up to a rumbling boil, then tip the flour into it.

• Remove the pan from the heat.

• You have to work as fast as you can by mixing until the misture begins to come away from the pan.

• This is called PANADE (the mixture)

• Let the mixture cool, and when it has, begin adding the eggs a bit at a time. Beating until it is shiny and smooth.

• It may look like it is not going to gather together  and that it is splitting but keep going. It will after a few minutes.

• The mixture should be a dropping consistency.

• Place in a pipin bag and squeeze out lines of the pastry or small balls for profiteroles. Make sure you leave space between them as they will grown quite big.

• Have the oven at 200 degrees, and bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and brown.

Filling:

570 ml Double cream

3 T icing sugar

Method:

• Whip the double cream and icing sugar till it holds its shape.

• Make a small hole at the end of each eclair and through another nozzle and piping bag start to fill the eclair.

Topping:

Coffee- 225g icing sugar with 2T of coffee mix let cool and dip the ecliars into it.

Chocolate - 225g plain chocolate 15g butter melt them together in a pan, and then dip ecliar into it and serve.

Ecliars mean lightning, but what relation to the finished result that has i  dont know. Maybe because they will be gone in a flash!!!!

Pain Perdu......Mood=Getting Lost

Pain perdu, or french toast is something that i cant simply explain in words. Well I can, but the actual result is just so, soothing, oozing, and gorgeous. The origins of this dish can date as far back as the 4th Century, but i am sure it has evolved to a degree of greatness since then. French toast, pain perdu, Poor Knights of Windsor, whatever you want to call it, is a dish that is served all over the world. From Australia, to Canada, France, Portugal and HongKong.

I have been researching this and was actually astonished to find that it is served everywhere. I thought it was typically french, but it didnt even originate there. I guess the french know how to beautify everything.

Lost bread, is the literal translation, meaning making use of and reclaiming stale or 'lost' bread. I love getting lost in this bread. I love the texture, the smell, the look and the feeling i get in my tummy when i eat it. I drizzle mine with golden syrup and icing sugar and top it off with vanilla ice cream.

What more could a girl want!!!!

Basically this dish makes use of bread that is going to waste and the soaking in the milk and egg mixture restores the moisture and brings it back to life. The golden colour and the smell almost intertwine with each other, making this a much superior dish to the traditional french toast. Much!

The recipe is simple. I made my own brioche bread for this as i love to make everything myself, when I can and when I have the time. It turned out great. Better than great infact. Me and my husband polished this off in about 3 seconds. But I didnt feel bad as we had a really healthy dinner. Chicken soup. Yumm!

Recipe:

4-8 slices of brioche

1 egg

70g butter

40g golden caster sugar

1g salt

1t ground cinnamon

1/2t ground nutmeg

40g flour

180ml milk

1t vanilla extract

Method:

* Melt the butter and let cool

* Cut the brioche lengthways and let dry out a little

* Mix egg, and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.

* Add the cooled melted butter and then flour

* Add the vanilla extract.

* Heat the frying pan to a medium heat from scale of 1-10, around 7,add some butter and melt it.

* Soak the brioche for about 15 seconds in the mixture and drip off any excess and brown.

* When one side has browned, turn it over.

* Do the same for the other peices and eat immediately.

* Sprinkle some icing sugar and drizzle some golden syrup on top.

* Add vanilla ice cream to top off your sugar rush.

This only takes a few minutes to prepare, and it is so wirth it. Effort level easy peasy. Its great for kids aswell. Great for anyone.

Im sure you will be lost in something by the time this is over. Probably yourself!!!!