Lovely Sunday Lunch

So this is what we had for lunch yesterday.  This has to be one of my favourite meals (it's even one I can get my very non-veggie friend to eat).  On my menu plan I said I was going to make Dhal as well, but I forgot about it until almost everything else was ready, so I didn't bother, but this was more than enough for the three of us.  It is probably more of a spiced mushroom stew, than an authentic Mushroom Dopiaza, anyway authentic or not here is how I make this yummy dish.

Mushroom Dopiaza

Ingredients:
3 Medium Onions, sliced
350g Mushrooms, cut into quarters
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Coriander seeds
1tsp Garam Masala
1 tin chopped tomatoes, liquid only (I used the tomato flesh on the Saturday night Pizza)
1tbs Sunflower Oil

Heat the oil in a large lidded pan, add the sliced onions and fry gently for a few minutes.  Then turn the heat down to it's lowest, put the lid on the pan and cook very gently for between 30 minutes to an hour.  Long, gentle cooking of the onions gives this dish a wonderful sweetness.
Once the onions have cooked, turn the heat up to medium and add the spices and fry for a minute or two.  Add the chopped mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, then add the tomato liquid and simmer for a further 15 minutes.  The liquid should reduce by about half and the flavours intensify.  Serve and enjoy.

What to Eat This Week

To I haven't posted up my menu plan for a few weeks.  In my defence I've been busy (now don't faint) working.  I am back among the employed, albeit working part time, from home, with very variable hours, but it's work and I'm being paid and in a few months time I will have the joy of completing a self assessment tax return.

So what are we going to eat this week.

THURSDAY
Tartiflette (with totally inauthentic smoked salmon) followed by Chocolate Cake

FRIDAY
Sweetcorn Chowder

SATURDAY
Pizza

SUNDAY
Mushroom Dopiaza, Dhal, Naan Bread (approved foods) and Spiced Courgette Fritters

MONDAY
Moussaka 

TUESDAY
Veggie Sausages, Home made Baked Beans (white beans from approved foods) and Roast Potatoes (Fluffrick loves a Roastie)

WEDNESDAY
Scallops, Couscous salad and Fennel

This chocolate cake was a much better success that the one I made for my birthday, that cake was rather dry, but the post about it has proved very popular.  I let everybody eat the cake and tell me they enjoyed it before I told them the secret ingredient.  Drum roll please...courgette.  Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Courgette Cake, it doesn't say in the recipe how finely to grate the courgette, but I did it on the fine side of the grater and apart from the moisture it adds to the cake you can't tell it's in there.  For the icing I just made a simple ganache with plain chocolate and a little warm milk (rather than cream). Yum, yum, yum.

Approved Foods

So I've been reading Frugal Queen's blog for a while now and every now and then she refers to things she has acquired from Approved Foods.  So I thought I'd google them and fine out what it was all about.

So this is what I bought in my first order (I took advantage of the free delivery on your first order over £30).  Apparently I have saved almost £60 compared to the RRP, of course it won't be a saving at all it I don't actually use this stuff.  I'll have to try an remember to comment if I'm using approved foods when I post my meal plan.

What to eat this week

I am really wanting to cook quick things this week, but that isn't always easy when you cook everything from scratch.  The Olympics are sustaining me, do we really need to eat as well?


If I can drag myself away from the TV, this is what we have and will be eating this week.


FRIDAY
Twice Baked Potatoes


SATURDAY
Sushi


SUNDAY
Salmon and Prawn Skewers with Couscous Salad


MONDAY
Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin with Salad


TUESDAY
Mushroom Diopiaza, Gobi Aloo, Pea Fritters and Rice


WEDNESDAY  
Pizza


THURSDAY
Smoked Salmon, Mushroom and Cream Sauce with Spaghetti

What to Eat this Week

I wish the weather would make up it's mind.  Is it going to be cold miserable and grey, or lovely and sunny as it has been today?  Do I want salad or a nice warning bowl of spaghetti?  Weather won't you please make you mind up, so that I can decide what to eat.  Anyway this is the menu, provided the weather doesn't make to dish too inappropriate.


FRIDAY
Pizza - I do most often make my own pizza, but instead we ordered in the lovely pizza from Nibbles the best pizza in Sheffield.


SATURDAY
Sushi - I have never made sushi at home before, it took a bit of trial and error to make up the sushi rolls but it seemed to work okay. It also involved a trip to the local Oriental food shop.  


SUNDAY
Moussaka - this is in no way a traditional moussaka, for a start I use turkey mince, but it is tasty not the less.


MONDAY
Mezze - Falafel, Foul, Bulgar Wheat and any other dippy, picky thing I can think of.


TUESDAY
Mushroom and Stilton Pie with new Potatoes and vegetables.


WEDNESDAY
Stirfry Vegetables, Noodles and Potsticker dumplings.


THURSDAY
Spaghetti with Walnuts and Crumbs.

What to Eat This week

So what are we going to eat this week?  I do have a process for the weekly menu and it starts with the veg box delivery on Thursday.  This is what we received this week...

New Potatoes, Onions, Salad Leaves, Lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots and Spring Greens.  I have to admit this is not the most inspirations selection I have ever received, but it made the decision that Fluffrick will be having salad for lunch an easy one.

Of late my trusty copy of River Cottage Veg Everyday has been my first port of call when deciding how to make best use of the weekly veg box.  It is a wonderful book with a vast selection of great veg recipes, the Spouffle has made a frequent appearance on the weekly menu.  

So what is actually on the menu...

Friday

Tartiflette - veggie style made with potatoes, onions, cheese and double cream

Saturday

Salmon & Prawn Skewers and salad

Sunday

Roast Chicken, New Potatoes, Carrots, Spring Greens and Stuffing

Monday

Chicken Biryani and Naan Bread - this is not an authentic biryani more of a spiced Chicken rice really, but very yummy

Tuesday

Chilli Cheese Polenta with Tomato Sauce - courtesy of Mr Fearnley Whittingstall

Wednesday

Toad in the Hole (with Veggie Sausages) with Carrots, Spring Greens and Onion Gravy

Thursday

Macaroni (well Penne actually) Cheese

I also plan on making a simple Apple Cake at some point this week, which I will document if I can get the camera working again.

Beetroot and Carrot Soup

I made Borscht last autumn for Fluffrick's lunch, but for the life of me I can't find the recipe again, so this is not an authentic Borscht but a slightly spicy very earthy Beetroot soup

 Ingredients - for 4 servings
1 Large Onion
250g Carrot
400g Beetroot
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 Teaspoon Mild Chilli Powder
1 Litre Vegetable Stock
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

 Finely chop the onion and sweat in a little olive oil for a couple of minutes.  Add the Cumin and Chilli Powder and fry for another couple of minutes.  Peel and finely grate the carrot and beetroot. I definitely use the food processor for this, if you only have a box grater it would be a good idea to use rubber gloves to avoid very pink hands.

Add the grated carrot and beetroot to the onion and mix everything together.  Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer, put a lid on the pan and very gently simmer for one hour. Blend the soup with a stick blender and serve.

A really easy tea

This is a very quick and easy meal, and really quite delicious.  Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Mushrooms and Cream.

Ingredients - serves 4

120g Smoked Salmon - a use a pack of trimmings as you cut the Salmon up anyway
250ml Double Cream - you replace this with Creme Fraiche for a sharper taste
200g Mushrooms
400g Pasta

Boil the kettle, the sauce doesn't take very long to make.  Slice the mushrooms and fry them in a little olive oil. Put the pasta on to cook. Add the smoked salmon pieces to the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add the cream and heat through.  Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, serve and enjoy

Sprout Soup Anyone?

This is not a recipe of my own invention, it is courtesy of Mary Berry's Family Recipes circa 1979 and she called it Frugal Soup, did she not think Brussel Sprout Soup would be appealing?

Ingredients -  serves 4

225g Brussel Sprouts

1 Leek

25g Butter

500ml Stock (from a cube, I use Kallo) Chicken or Vegetable

25g Plain flour

300ml Milk

Salt/Pepper

Nutmeg

Wash and roughly chop the sprouts, you don't need to trim them other than to remove the bottom stalky bit.  Wash the leek and cut into rounds.

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the leeks and soften gently for 5 minutes, don't allow to brown.  Add the hot stock and then the sprouts and bring to the boil.  Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the sprouts are tender.

Blend or liquidize the cooked sprout mixture, I use a hand blender, but they weren't around back when this recipe was initially written.  Whisk the flour into a little of the milk and add to the blended sprouts, followed by the rest of the milk and mix thoroughly.  Bring the soup back to the boil, stirring until slightly thickened, season with salt and pepper.  Serve with a little grated nutmeg.

You could make it even more festive by adding some cooked chestnuts after the soup has been blended, I keep meaning to try it like this, but have yet to get sound to it.

If you wait until next week to make this soup, you should be able to buy a bag of sprouts that the supermarkets are trying to off-load for mere pence, just don't try to give this to anyone who doesn't like sprouts.

Festive Burgers

I wasn't going to write up this recipe as it is only 3 ingredients and beyond simple, but then I realised just how festive it is.  Green pepper, red onion and turkey mince, you can't really get more in the season.

Ingredients - for 8 burgers

1 450g Pack of Free Range Turkey Mince

Half a Green Pepper

1 Red Onion

 Chop the green pepper and red onion finely, it has to be fine as it is cooks with the burger, then add to the turkey mince.  By far the best way to combine the ingredients is just to get you (clean) hands in there, squidge everything together so that the pepper and onion is evenly distributed.

Divide into 8 equal (hopefully more equal than mine) portions and form into burgers.  Then chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Fry in a little olive oil for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.  Ensure that the burgers are cooked all the way through, before serving.  If you are an over achiever like me, serve them with home-made spiced oven chips and home-made baked beans, but you can serve them with whatever you like.

Yummy Aubergine Bake

For quite a while I never knew what to do when an Aubergine arrived in the veg box.  Of late I have been making Moussaka, with either a turkey or vegetable filling (no cute little baa lambs eaten in this house), but the frequency with which the Aubergine shows up has sent me looking for other recipes.  One of these days I will post a recipe that does not include tinned tomatoes, but that day is not today.

Serves 4 -  Ingredients:
1 Large Aubergine
2 Eggs
50ml Milk
50g Plain Flour
150g Breadcrumbs
1 Medium Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tins of Tomatoes
Olive Oil
125g Mozzarella
250g Ricotta
50g Parmigiana

Peel the Aubergine and cut into slices just over 1/2 cm thick. In a shallow bowl mix the milk with 1 of the eggs, put the flour and breadcrumbs into 2 other shallow dishes. Flour the aubergine slices, dip into the egg & milk mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs.  Put in the fridge for half an hour to dry a little before frying.

 Fry the breaded Aubergine in olive oil (it may take quite a bit of oil)until golden, then drain on some absorbent paper.

Now for the tomato sauce.  Finely slice the onion and garlic, gently fry in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes then add the tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes on a medium heat.

For the cheesy layer. In a bowl combine the half the grated mozzarella, the tub of ricotta, the parmigiana and the other egg.

In a large oven proof dish, put a third of the tomato sauce on the bottom and over with half the Aubergine slices.  Top with a further third of the tomato sauce and then all the cheesy mixture.

Top with the other half of the Aubergine slices and then cover with the remainder of the tomato sauce and the remaining grated mozzarella.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 and bake for 30-40 minutes until it is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Warming Food for Cold Days

The weather has been cold, wet and horrible; which just puts me in the mood for warming and hearty food. So let me introduce you to Chicken Casserole and Dumplings. It's also pretty damn easy to make.

Ingredients for 4 Hungry People:

For Casserole

1 Large Leek

2 Parsnips

2 Carrots

Half a Celeriac

5 Mushrooms

1 400g Tin of Tomatoes

8 Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Plain Flour

Salt/Pepper

For Dumplings

200g Self Raising Flour

70g Vegetable Suet

1 Tsp Mixed Herbs

Salt/Pepper

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190 ^oC/375 ^oF. Wash and slice the leek, both white and green parts, the long cooking makes it all tender.

Peel and chop the root vegetables into 1-1.5 cm dice. You don't have to use these vegetables, it's just what I had to hand. Also great would be, swede, turnip, jerusalem artichoke, sweet potato, I wouldn't use potato as they tend to turn to mush.

Quarter the mushrooms and remove the skin from the chicken portions.

Heat a large casserole (with a lid) on the hob and add the olive oil, gently fry the vegetables for 5 minutes with a little salt and pepper. Add the plain flour and stir it in well. Add the tinned tomatoes and then 1 tin full of hot water. Finally add the chicken portions and try to submerge them in the liquid. Heat on the hob until it is bubbling, then put on the lid and put in the oven for an initial 1 and a half hours. Now go and snuggle up on the sofa and keep warm, or as we did today go to a cold and wet Sharrowvale Market.

Now for the dumplings. Put the self raising flour, suet, herbs and seasoning in a bowl and mix together. Add enough cold water to make a soft slightly sticky dough. Spoon golf ball sized portions on top of the casserole, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes, this time with the lid off.

Serve up to hungry people, all that will be left is the bones.

What to eat this week

Started the weekend by making Quark Pastry (from my Nordic Bakery cookbook) and making Jam Pinwheel Pastries. Very yummy.

SATURDAY:

Spouffle - quick easy and very delicious

SUNDAY:

Mushroom & Stilton Pie with Potato & Celeriac Mash and Broccoli

MONDAY:

Moussaka

TUESDAY:

Orecchiette with Broccoli, Chilli & Pine Nuts

WEDNESDAY:

Spaghetti & Meatballs

THURSDAY:

Smoked Salmon Tartiflette

FRIDAY:

Chicken & Mushroom Pie and Veg (lets see what comes in the box)

For Fluffrick's lunch this week I made "Mexican Tomato & Bean Soup" from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's new book.

What to eat this week

So we are already half way through the week, but I want to keep a record of what we are eating.

SATURDAY:

Cauliflower Cheese

SUNDAY:

Country Chicken Casserole with Dumplings

MONDAY:

Vegetable Fajitas

TUESDAY:

Trout, Potatoes, Broccoli and Dill cream sauce

WEDNESDAY:

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese and Walnut

THURSDAY:

Turkey Lasagne and vegetable

FRIDAY:

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto - we should have had this last Friday, but I've had a cold, so we had Chinese Take Out instead

For Fluffrick's Lunch this week I made him Five Root Soup a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Special, I was going to make some bread from my new Nordic Bakery book, but I haven't felt up to it, I hate having a cold.

What to eat this week

SUNDAY:

Moussaka

MONDAY:

Pumpkin & Prawn Curry with Naan Bread

TUESDAY:

Roasted Squash Falafel, Cous Cous and Halloumi

WEDNESDAY:

Twice Baked Potatoes

THURSDAY:

Pizza

FRIDAY:

Chicken & Mushroom Risotto

As I am a cooking from scratch sort of girl, this week's menu is dependent on me not be totally shattered. Fluffrick is on holiday this week and we have plans to tile the hall floor. It's about time too, as the tiles have been hanging around for ten months patiently waiting to be put into service. I just can say I'm looking forward to trying to tile a floor that is in constant use. We may just end up having Scrambled Eggs or Cheese on Toast all week.

Pretty in Pink

When my lovely Mum in Law was down to visit the other week, we went for Lunch at Endcliffe Park Cafe and I had the Borscht. So when I asked Fluffrick what he would like for lunch this week, he suggested Borscht.

So here is his very pink lunch. I got some lovely beetroot at Whirlow Hall Farm, with which to make the Borscht. The beetroot I bought had beautiful tops, which I chopped up to put in these savoury muffins.

What to eat this week

The menu planning seems to be going okay so far, what I planned I actually ended up making last week. So here we go again...

SATURDAY:

A trip to Green Steps Fish & Chips - should this be on the list as technically I'm not cooking?

SUNDAY:

Roast Chicken, Stuffing & Veg followed by Key Lime Pie

MONDAY:

Mushroom Omelette for Mum, Fluffrick & I are off out

TUESDAY:

Arroz con Pollo - Chicken with Rice

WEDNESDAY:

Tuna & Pasta Bake

THURSDAY:

Tartiflette 3 ways - Mum likes the classic with Onion and Bacon, Fluffrick likes his without the Onion, mine is without the Bacon but with Mushrooms instead.

FRIDAY:

De-constructed Toad in the Hole - My sausages in Toad in the Hole always seem to go rubbery, so I'm going to try cooking the batter and sausages separately, wish me luck.

Spouffle

So we had the Spouffle for tea last night and I've been given to go ahead to cook it again. I went with the courgette version and I think it turned out just like the picture (it's not very oftern that happens). This is a recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's new book River Cottage Veg Everyday. I bought this with the birthday money my sister sent me, which I thought was appropriate as she is also a Hugh fan.

That's yet another book to add to my Hugh collection, we may have to reinforce the cook book shelf. Once challenge I should set myself is cooking more than just one or two recipes for all my cook books. It is so easy just to keep going back to the same familiar recipes, rather than trying something different. It may be that neither me, Mum or Fluffrick like the new dish, but it could just as easily turn into a new favourite.

What to eat this week

My Mum is always asking me "What are we having for Tea?" to which I usually reply "Food." Maybe now I can just point her in the direction of this blog.

MONDAY: Mushroom Dopiaza, Aloo Gobi, Rice maybe some Naan Bread

TUESDAY: Turkey Burgers, Sweetcorn Fritters, Mash Potato

WEDNESDAY: Cashew Fried Rice, Potsticker Dumplings

THURSDAY: Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

FRIDAY: Spinach (or Courgette) Penne Cheese Spouffle

We get a weekly Veg box delivery, which this week contained, Cauliflower, Cavelo Nero, Tomatoes, Large Red Pepper, Courgettes, Leek, Green Beans

Mum may not be delighted that there are more Veggie meals than meat meals, but that seems to be the direction that Fluffrick and I are taking.

Of course the plan may well go out the window, we'll just have to see.

The last of the Brambles?

The Bramble crop has been early this year, so this may be the last decent picking.

A Bramble & Apple Gallet, that has collapsed a bit unfortunately.

I made some Bramble Jam with the first picking, which should last us for a fair few weeks yet. There have also been a few other pies and some mini Bakewells made with fresh berries rather than Jam, which I think have been my favourite.

On the home grown front, my three tomato plant have been truly pitiful. If we've had 15tomatoes in total I'd been surprised. My four chilli pepper plants have been doing great though. Now I just need to do something with the twenty or so ripe chillies I currently have. I'm thinking a Chilli Jam, but as I've never made one before we will just have to see how it goes.