Balsamic Beef Hash and boiled spuds

Tonight I was feeling a bit uninspired, what with the lack of anything of interest in the fridge. But greatness can come from humble and seemingly boring ingredients. I wanted to have a bash at Jamie's beef hash, but  the recipe has evaded me. So here instead is MY beef hash. And hash is the right word to use! The definition of "hash" is, according to the online dictionary, a jumble or hodgepodge. You'll see what i mean when you get to the ingredients list, (normal, normal, normal..whoa..are you sure!? And yes, yes i am)! This will feed 2-3, depending on your appetites.

Ingredients
500g Minced beef
1 medium red onion, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
Half a cup of frozen peas
1 green pepper, de-seeded & diced 
1 large clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 teaspoon of dried Thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried Sage
2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons of good quality apple juice (like Copella)
A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Little potatoes such as British Anya's, boiled for 5 mins and tossed in a knob of butter.
Method
In a large frying pan on a high heat, fry off the beef with the oil, until brown. Add in the carrot and onion and fry for a further 5 mins. You want the beef strands to take on a very deep colour and become almost crisp (or i do anyway). Turn the heat down a little and add in the pepper, garlic and herbs and fry for a further 5 mins, stirring often, allowing the herbs and garlic to release their fragrance. Add the vinegar, juice and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, stir and allow most of the liquid to evaporate off. The beef should become glossy but not be wet. Add the frozen peas at the last minute and fry until they are just warmed through. Season to taste and serve with boiled spuds.

Chocolate covered Butternut Squash, Barley and Cardamon Cake Plumps

 So this recipe started life as Carrot cake whoopie pies, but after a small pre-life crisis became something altogether more interesting. Like the transformation of a middle aged, balding, rotund man to drag act, the transformation may not have been entirely successful, but I am happy. I am the only fan, but just in case you're curious here's the recipe. It is super easy, as everything gets chucked in together. And the barley flour makes for an interesting base. I urge you to try it. But if you don't fancy it, wheat flour would work fine. To fancy them up a little why not sandwiched together with some marshmallow fluff, or Clementine curd or even plain whipped cream.

Ingredients
1 egg
150g castor sugar
50 ml milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
75g butter, melted
225g barley flour
50g ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
100g grated butternut squash
Half a bar of green and blacks dark choc
Method
Put all the ingredients except the choc into a large bowl and combine.
Allow the mixture to stand for 30 mins.
Preheat the oven to 170oC and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
When the mixture has settled, heap into 16-20 roughly even sized mounds on the baking trays, leaving 2-3 cm between each one.
Bake for 10-13 mins, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave in short bursts until smooth and shiney. Then using a spoon, flick the choc over the cake plumps. Make sure you put the baking paper under the rack to avoid completely covering your kitchen in chocolate.

Roasted squash, red onion, basil and balsamic quinoa (serves 2)

Ingredients
Red onion, top and tailed, peeled and quartered
Half a butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks
1 clove of garlic
A handful of basil leaves
Quinoa, about half a cup 
1 tablespoon of olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 tea spoon of balsamic vinegar
half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC.
Bruise the garlic by pressing it under the side of your knife. chuck onto a baking sheet along with the squash and onion. Drizzle with a little olive oil and oven bake for about 30 mins. 
Cook the quinoa according to the instructions of the pack. (It''s done when the grains uncurl). Drain if necessary and return to the pan. Add the tablespoon of oil, the vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
When the veg is beginning to brown at the edges and is tender remove from the oven. Remove the papery skin from the garlic and using the back of a spoon, mash the tender bulb to an unctuous and fragrant puree. Add this to the quinoa and mix well.
Divide the quinoa between 2 plates. Top with the squash and onion and finish with some torn basil leaves. 

Bank holiday banger soup

Ingredients
6 sausages (2 per person (I used some Chorizo style Chipolatas))
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 hot red chilli, diced (seeds & pith removed unless you like it HOTHOT)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans, rinsed
A squeeze (a table spoon-ish) of tomato paste (if you have some)
fresh ground black pepper
A little olive oil 
Cheddar cheese, grated
Bread to serve
Method
Fry off the diced onion, in a large heavy bottomed pan with a lid, over a medium-high heat, with the oil and paprika, until translucent and tender.
Reduce the heat a little and add the garlic and sausages. When the sausages are nicely coloured and beginning to firm (7-10 mins later, depending on the size of your sausages) add to the pan the tomatoes, beans, chlli and tomato paste. Stir. Bring to a simmer and allow it to bubble uninterrupted for about 10 mins.
Divide between bowls, top with grated cheese and serve with hot toast.

Purple fruit oat & spelt pancakes

Possibly the most underutilised, crowd pleasing breakfast food ever. Why banish pancakes to one day a year? This hearty version incorporates frozen berries which are a freezer food staple. But you can put in pretty much any fruit. A couple of bananas, mashed with some choc chips maybe; sultanas and some orange zest or grated apple and a touch of cinnamon. The combinations are up to you. This recipe will give you around 12 substantial pancakes. So if you want a few less just half the quantities. If you don't have spelt flour, wheat flour is also fine. The mixture will keep fine in the fridge (covered) for a couple days.
Ingredients 
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of white spelt flour (Sharpham Park is the best I've come accross)
1/4 cup of castor sugar (i used golden)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 table spoon of natural yoghurt
3/4 of a cup of milk
2 eggs
1/2 a cup of frozen berries
A knob of butter for frying
Fruit and more yoghurt to serve
Method
Put all the pancake ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
In a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat, melt the butter. Splosh in some pancake batter and fry until golden and bubbles are appearing on the top. Flip and cook the other side for   2 minutes. Serve hot.

Spaghetti Carbonara with Courgette ribbons (serves 1)

Ingredients
1 small courgette, cut into ribbons using a mandolin or veg peeler
2 rashers of bacon or pancetta, cut into chunks
a knob of butter or a drizzle of olive oil
1 egg
75 ml (ish) single cream
20g cheddar, grated
spaghetti (enough to feed one) 
a twist or 2 of black pepper


Method
Get your pasta going in a big pan of boiled water over a medium heat, with a dribble of olive oil to prevent it sticking together. Cook according to the instructions on the pack.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, dry fry the bacon in a large frying pan, over a medium high heat until crispy. Add the courgette strips and fry until soft and just beginning to colour. Remove from the pan, leaving as much of the cooking juices behind as poss.
Whisk the egg and cream together using a fork and season with black pepper.
When the pasta is done, drain and add to the pan that the bacon an courgette was fried in. Toss in the juices. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg mixture. Toss. The heat from the spaghetti will be enough to cook the egg, but if you find it's too wet, return the pan to the heat for a couple minutes. Scatter with the cheese and top with the courgette and bacon. Serve immediately. 

Breakfast Banana and peanut butter smoothie

Super Summer Spud Salad with home-made mayo

Oh boy, do I love a bit of alliteration! Not only a super summer spud salad but also simple too. The magic here is in the Mayo. If you've never made it before, do it! Because it is way better than the jarred stuff, but it does contain raw yolks so be careful if your preggers, delicate or v young and make sure the eggs you use are as fresh as poss. Oh, and make sure you do it in a big enough bowl. I did not. It did not end well (half my kitchen is covered in it)!  
Ingredients
cold leftover boiled Potatoes, cut into chunks and seasoned with salt and pepper.
a few Rocket leaves, washed
1 large tomato, cut into chunks
1 spring onion, finely sliced
a good hand full of mint, chives and parsley, finely chopped
For the Mayo...                                                                 
2 egg yolks
250ml of sunflower (or other mild) oil
Juice of 1 lemon (and zest if you like)
2 heaped teaspoons (at least) of Dijon mustard


Method
Salad: Chuck the salad ingredients into a bowl and toss. Done.
Mayo: In a roomy bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice and egg yolks. Slowly add the oil (you may require a glamorous assistant for this bit and if not, well done you, you are strong like ox) while whisking continuously. By the time all the oil is added the  mayonnaise should be thick and glossy. Taste and add more lemon and mustard if you like. Add some blobs to your salad and munch.


The Mayo will keep in the fridge for 2 days. This makes quite a large quantity (around 300ml) and unless you're a bit of a Mayo fiend like me, you may want to make only a half quantity. 

Clementine cake (Psst..wonderful & wheat free)

This one is Marvellous! And that is no understatement. Baking without wheat can be difficult, as nothing quite matches the adaptability and forgiveness of wheat flour. However, please stop the presses! Because this recipe is the answer to your prayers (well, your prayers asking for a soft and gorgeous cake that is made without the wicked cereal)! Serve with a few berries and softly whipped black pepper Chantilly cream..YUM.


Ingredients
100g white spelt flour
50g ground almonds
2 medium eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
75g butter
120g golden castor sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Juice of 3 chubby Clementines
1 teaspoon of icing sugar (I like the unrefined stuff best)
Cocoa for dusting
Method
Cream together the butter and castor sugar until lightened and fluffy.
Add eggs one by one and incorporate into the sugar and butter.
Add the flour, almonds and baking powder and mix. Add in the juice of 2 clementines and the vanilla. Mix.
Pour into a round baking tin, which has been greased and has a circle of baking paper in the bottom. Spread the mixture so that it is higher at the edges than in the middle, this will help to produce an even rise. 
Place in a pre-heated oven at 180oC for 25mins.
In the meantime make a syrup by heating the juice of the remaining Clementine and the icing sugar in a saucepan over a high heat. Reduce this to about 1 tablespoon of clear, glossy, sticky syrup. Allow to cool while waiting for the cake to cook.
When the cake is done (test by poking a sharp knife into the middle - it should come out clean, if not return to the oven for a further 5 mins) remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 mins. When it's cool enough to handle, remove it from the tin (take the paper off the bottom too) and place on a plate; brush with the sticky syrup and finish with a dusting of quality cocoa.

Lazy Sunday Bacon and potato Frittata

 Ingredients
4 small left over boiled new potatoes, sliced
4 eggs, beaten
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 spring onion, sliced
3 rashers of bacon, chopped
A knob of butter for frying
50g (approx) of cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper
To serve: rocket, basil, chives and parsley.


Method
Fry off the bacon bits in the butter over a 
medium-high heat 'til crispy
Add in the onions, potatoes and tomatoes
and fry for a further 5 mins, to allow the spuds
to absorb the bacon juices and bronze a little.
Add the beaten eggs to the pan and allow to 
stand on the heat for around 5 mins (small
 air pits should be forming) then put the whole
thing under a hot grill until the top becomes just
firm. Scatter with the grated cheese and allow it to melt before turning out onto a plate and slicing into quarters. Serve with a herb-heavy salad of Rocket, basil, chives and parsley.

(Mostly) Green veg rice noodles

Ingredients
1 bundle of rice noodles
Veg bouillon powder or half a stock cube
Half a courgette, finely sliced (use a mandolin if you have one, or a normal veg peeler works great)
A spring onion, finely sliced
A handful of frozen peas
A handful of frozen sweetcorn kernels
A small bunch of fresh mixed herbs, roughly chopped (I used mint and coriander)
Freshly ground black pepper
A dribble of sesame oil
Method
1. Begin by soaking your rice noodles according to the instructions on the pack. Chuck in a teaspoon of bouillon powder or half a stock cube to flavour the noodles a little and for the last few minutes the peas and sweetcorn. The peas and sweetcorn don't really need any cooking, just defrosting.
2. While your waiting for the noodles, fry off the courgette strips and spring onion with the oil over a high heat for a couple of minutes until they just start to colour.
3. When the noodle time is up, drain and plate up. Tip the courgette on top. Scatter over the herbs and add a little more sesame oil and a grind of pepper. 
4. Chomp. 

Simon Hopkinson's Chocolate pot with ginger

This recipe is adapted from Mr Hopkinson's BBC show The good cook. It is beautiful. Try it! Best to make it the day before as waiting for them to chill seems like an eternity. I adapted it a little to what I had in the cupboard: using more cream rather than milk, a dribble of vanilla essence rather than a pod, castor sugar rather than icing sugar and I left out the ground ginger. Oh and I only cooked it for half an hour, but as he said your waiting for the crust to form: so when you see it, whip the pots out. I also changed the method a little bit. So if you'd like to peruse his recipe, check out the link above. Below is my shortened, slightly lazier version which will make 2 delightfully rich and smooth desserts.

Ingredients

• 125ml/4fl oz double cream
• half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 70g/2oz dark chocolate broken into chunks
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of castor sugar
• 1 chunk of preserved stem ginger, finely chopped 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
2. Beat together the egg yolk & sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and cream and mix.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and when completely liquid add the chocolate to the egg mixture, whisk quickly to blend to a gorgeous dark emulsion.
4. Place the chopped ginger into the bottom of the ramekins. Top with the chocolate mixture. Place the ramekins into a deep roasting tin and pour in enough hot water to come up to at least two-thirds up the side of the pots. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until a crust forms on the top and it feels slightly springy to the touch.
5. Remove the pots from the oven, allow to cool a little before extracting the pots from their water bath. Chill in the fridge for as long as you can bear (ideally at least six hours, one hour minimum) before serving. 

Posh cheesy chips with pickles, apple and tomatoes.

Or to be more specific... Baked Camembert, with cornichons, pickled silver skin onions, sunstream tomatoes, apple and roastie sage spuds. This isn't one for those watching their waistline but it is blooming tasty. Not to mention, rich, indulgent, delish and incredibly easy. This has got to be like a 0.5 on the difficulty scale (0 = easy as ABC, 5 = tough like chocolate). Takes around 35 mins, all in.

Start by preheating your oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 6.

Remove the cheese from its wooden box and take off any wrapping and stickers.Then replace it into its box. Make a few holes in the top of the cheese with a sharp knife and poke in some slivers of garlic. This will add an extra dimension to the divine cheesiness that you will shortly discover. Replace the lid. Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until gloriously gooey.

While the cheese is cooking. Peel and slice your spuds into skinny wedges. Par boil on a high heat for about 5 mins, then drain and scatter onto a baking tray, sprinkle with salt and olive oil and place in the oven with the cheese.

Relax. Read a book, watch the box, whatever, just chill.

5 minutes before the cheese and spuds are due out of the oven assemble the rest of the plate party. ie your choice of pickles and crudite, or simply some lovely crusty bread. I had pickled onions, gherkins, tomatoes and some sliced apple fresh from the tree in the garden.

When your cooking time is up, remove the spuds and cheese from the oven. Slosh some dried sage onto the spuds and toss. Serve immediately, but beware that cheese will be HOTHOT.

Quick tomato, courgette and basil pasta

Hi there, this is my first recipe. I hope you like it. It's feeds one, but will happily extend to more by doubling, tripling or quadrupling (etc) the quantities. It takes about 20 mins.

So to begin, get your pasta going (quantity depends on how hungary you are!) and cook according to the instructions on the pack.

In the meantime, sweat off a small diced onion over a medium high heat with a knob of butter and a drizzle of olive (or your preferred) oil in a frying pan with a lid, so that the onion effectively steams.

After about about 5 mins of sizzling add in a hand-full of chopped (half centimetre slices) courgette and a crushed small clove of garlic.

When the courgette is beginning to brown, add to the pan 2 tomatoes, cut into chunks. By this time the pasta will probably be done, so drain, plate and scatter with some finely grated Parmasan cheese (decent cheddar will also do the trick).

When the toms are beginning to break down ie the skins are beginning to loosen, add to the pan some single cream (around 100ml) and a squish (a dessert spoon approx) of tomato purée. Stir and simmer until the sauce  thickens slightly. Remove from the heat, add a grind of salt and black pepper to taste and pour over your pasta.

Scatter with some torn fresh basil leaves and the leaves from a sprig of thyme and some more cheese if you like.

Hello?


It’s awfully quiet out there. If you are there, dear reader, why not stay a while? Pull up a pew and have a look around. With a bit of luck you might even like what you see. Though for me this is unknown territory, and possibly perilous ground I hope I can at the very least, make you glad you stopped by.

So then, the premise; the mission; the very foundations upon which this blog will be built…Just to remove any remnant of mystery or ambiguity…My aims, in not entirely uncertain terms are …

To cultivate the creativity I used to let roar!

To eat better, more interesting and at least sometimes healthier but easy meals every day and share the recipes here.

To celebrate the things I make, even if they are a complete disaster, because at least I have tried and that after all is a start.

To master the full and well structured sentence – a la Nigella.

To shake the infamous block of the writer's variety and the greyish tinge which has been slowly imparted upon my soul by my desk job.

To share my general enthusiasm for food with someone. Anyone? Everyone!

So, in a nutshell...Here you will find recipes, general foodie musings, the odd restaurant experience might creep in, probably numerous cookbook mentions, tales of food fancy and hopefully a little cooking inspiration.

Yes. Yet another food blog. But this one will be different. No, honest.

This is the Cliché paragraph, so please skip ahead if you have a low tolerance level. (I’m saying it , because I want you to know, and you look like the type of person that will only judge me a little)... I love to cook. Almost as much as I love to eat and in the future I promise to read more, cook better, experiment and take more care about what I shovel into my gob. And so this is the evidence. The means to keep me on track. Food is pretty important after all. There's not many things we do at least 3 times a day.

Here we are then, at the beginning and if you’re out there dear reader, please feel free to visit me every now and then – I’d love to see you around.

The countdown continues...2...

I'm almost ready, just the final kinks being worked out. Why not come back at the weekend?