FESTIVE FROLICS

No produce from the garden being used here.   Just to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to say thank you for following me in my first six months of blogging!  (Be you in the UK, the Phillipines, Saudi Arabia, China, India, France or the States - how did that happen?!)

 

If you've time amongst the craziness here are a couple of sweet treats I can recommend if you've a little time spare in the kitchen.  Both should be on the BBC Good Food website.

 

These cute polar bear peppermint creams went down well with the children at the library where I work or if you want to amuse them before Santa arrives  have a go at some marshmallow snowmen!

 

 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/polar-bear-peppermint-creams

 

Watch out for more recipes when the garden starts to grow in the New Year!

RICH PICKINGS!

Rich pickings from the freezer today as a delicious damson cobbler delights the tastebuds after the Sunday roast thanks to the windfalls bestowed on us by the generous owners of the plot where we garden.

 

 

 

 http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/damson-cobbler/

 

SOMETHING FISHY'S GOING ON...

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Four easy steps and you have a simple supper full of goodness.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/843634/haddock-and-spinach-cheese-melt

COBBLER COBBLER...

 

Using the last leek in this Hairy Biker's cobbler.  Strange the emotions that accost you when you glance over a garden with scant produce - no longer needing your loving care, no longer providing something for tea each time you leave - apart from the sprouts that is and the spinach continuing to push its way through the frozen soil.

 

 

 

 

  

This recipe is the perfect antidote to the winter chills

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_casserole_with_67654

A LITTLE ROMANCE

So the romance is still going on with my spiraliser!  A dull drizzly evening was livened up with a fish curry from the book 'Spiralize This' by Denise Smart.

 

So so simple but the reward was huge for so little effort!

 

Worth putting on the Christmas list!

 

(Spicy Baked Cod with Potato Topping)

CHICK PEAS!

The word chickpeas somehow got lost in translation during a visit to Italy in the Spring of this year so this recipe is in homage to my Perugian daughter in law.  Jam packed with health enhancing  ingredients it almost resembles a hearty soup so snuggle up in the warm grab a  spoon and slurp to your heart's content.

I can't find the exact link for the Waitrose recipe - there are lots of similar offerings out there - so here are the instructions for the one I made which provided two helpings.

 

I brown three chicken breasts, then add a sliced onion, 100 grams of chorizo  some garlic  and a red chilli from the bush sheltering in my conservatory and cook for 10 minutes.

I add about three quarters of  a tin of tomatoes,  half a tin of chickpeas and 50mls of white wine and allow to reduce for five minutes.

 

Then add 150mls of chicken stock, one large courgette and 200 grams of tinned chickpeas

 

 

and cook for approximately half an hour before adding a good handful of fresh parsley.

 

And of course we had to make two versions, one with chickpeas and one without :)!  Try it out and see which you prefer!

 

 

 

LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT! ( Jack Frost is about!)

As the frost makes the morning glisten it is time to take comfort from our food and this Ainsley Harriott pie has that in ladlefuls - it almost wraps its arms around you and hugs you! 

 

 Using the penultimate leek from the garden (we must endeavour to plant more next year as they add so much to dishes and roast dinners) and the last of the runner beans, it seems to herald the beginning of the end of the growing season.

 

So easy to prepare

 And then it comes out of the oven all puffed up with its own importance!

 

 

 

http://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/recipe/tempting-turkey-leek-and-mushroom-pies/

 

FLANTASTIC!

 

 

Bringing a touch of summer to the chilly winter days I have just used up some of the last courgettes we have harvested (in November!)  and some iron rich spinach to make a vegetable quiche.
It is a recipe filched from the BBC Good Food guide created by Lisa, the owner  of the Almeley market and deli run within a pub in rural Hertfordshire.  However I don't seem to be able to find a link to the recipe so here are the instructions.

Use approximately three quarters of a pack of Aldi's shortcrust (even the celebrity chefs now do this for quickness!) 

Pop into a medium pie dish - scrunch up some parchment and foil and bake blind at 160 degrees in the fan oven for 20 minutes and another 10 minutes after removing the foil and parchment.

On a medium heat fry one chopped courgette and one sliced onion until soft in half an ounce of rapeseed and the same of olivio (or butter if you prefer).

 

Then tip in 50 grams of fresh spinach with a splash of water and wilt for a few minutes.
Add all the vegetables to the pie dish.

Then add 100 grams of mature grated cheddar

 

Beat together 150mls of crème fraiche (I used a light version) and two large eggs and pour over the cheese.

Arrange tomato slices on the top and bake for one hour at 160 degrees (fan).

 

A tasty treat for me when he's having his leftover roast lamb during the week!

 

CHEAP AND CHEERFUL!

 Cutting down on saturated fat seems to be something many people seem to be looking to do these days.  Swapping beef mince for pork or even turkey is often hard as the recipes can sometimes seem a little bland and a little less hearty compared with recipes when you use darker meat.  However adding strong flavours, ingredients like hot smoked paprika and the heat of a chilli from the garden, can add further depth and intensity and I can highly recommend this turkey and pepper bake from the BBC Good food magazine.  

   As long as they haven't put up the prices since the refit of our nearest Aldi this is one to add to the cheap and cheerful list!

 

 

 

 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1656634/spicy-turkey-and-pepper-bake

 

HAND ME DOWN

A hand me down recipe from a member of my food club has just produced a simple spicy rice dish and used up some of the remaining courgettes from the garden.  I cannot believe that I am still picking vegetables and using them in recipes to encourage seasonal eating when the clocks go forward tonight and  fireworks sparkle in the misty landscape as I write.

 

 

To make the sausage jambalaya brown a pack of Lincolnshire sausages (they need to be cut in half).

 

Then add an onion, , two cloves of garlic, chilli powder and a couple of teaspoons of turmeric and eight ounces of brown rice and fry till the rice is opaque.  Add a large tin of tomatoes and three quarters of a pint of stock and after bringing to the boil simmer for 20 minutes.  Add half a red pepper, a sliced courgette and 100grams of mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes.

This is where the recipe and I differ - my rice - as always happens when I cook dishes like this - was not cooked - so I added more hot liquid twice from the kettle and gave it another ten minutes.   Then we are ready to serve

- and the good thing is there is very little washing up as everything is cooked in one pot!

ROLL UP ROLL UP (THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN!)

 

Harvesting our sprouts is not a straightforward task -  they cling to their stalk steadfastly,  ascending and balancing on top of one of another like mini  acrobats and they are densely packed together. 

 

                          

 However it is so worthwhile as these gorgeous green gymnasts are proving to be a versatile vegetable.







Sadly posting this blog has become the epitomy of frustration!  The recipe for the tempting pasta dish I was going to recommend has disappeared into the ether!  So  my suggestion is either follow the link for the Martha Stewart recipe and see if you enjoy that one or try my made up version using leftovers from the fridge.  I will post the offending recipe when it magically reappears in a few weeks time!

Cook three to four ounces of penne pasta for one person.
Fry about four diced rashers of streaky bacon ( I would suggest a low salt variety if you don't want to beset with a raging thirst all evening!)  Add a chopped onion and a good handful of sprouts - if they are the baby variety I would suggest keeping them whole as they have a tendency to be like spinach and disappear if they are cooked for too long.

 After a short while add a good hunk of blue cheese and some water from the pasta

add your pasta and bob's your uncle you have another quick and easy supper dish although the devilishly rich sauce makes it seem like you've slaved over a hot stove for a lot longer!

 

 

http://www.marthastewart.com/313031/pasta-with-brussels-sprouts-and-bacon