Last night we had the kind of dinner that you see on cookery programs and go “yeah right”. Chicken and goat’s cheese pizzas, lamb & veg skewers, and home-made coleslaw. The coleslaw was based on the one my Mam used to make, and it was such a strange feeling. I grated the carrot, and thought “that looks right”. Then I grated the cabbage, and it mixed a bit with the carrot in the food processor and I couldn’t believe how right it looked. Then I added the salad cream and I was right back at number 55 (before the council changed the door numbers) with the little fridge by the arch into the kitchen. I couldn’t believe how good, and homey it smelled So here’s the dead-easy recipe for “coleslaw 55″:
Ingredients: 1 large carrot 1/4 of a white cabbage Heinz salad cream
Method: Grate carrot and cabbage in food processor (the bigger the holes in the grater, the better) Mix thoroughly Add salad cream sparingly to taste
MMMmmmmmm
Tg
P.S. I made the stuffing again the other night with olive oil, and it was actually nicer
Ingredients: Chopped pecans (1/4 of a tescos bag for two people) Breadcrumbs (gluten free breadcrumbs are *so* easy to make ) Honey 1 onion, quartered and sliced
Method: Mix the ingredients, put them in the pan under the chicken Pour the oil from the chicken onto the stuffing whenever it’s pourable (anyone know if chicken fat is worse for you than olive oil?)
I guess it’s got something to do with the fact that our kitchen has been on the edge of being installed for at least a fortnight (the finishing touches are going on as I type), but the temporary kitchen has been rather under-supplied of late. This has led to some (rather successful, if I do say so myself) improvisation. Here’s how I made tonight’s.
Ingredients: 1 large parsnip 2 medium potatoes 2 small sweet potatoes 2 onions 6 cloves of garlic 1 carrot 2 large tomatoes 1 chicken stock cube Kettle of hot water
Method: Chop em up (if you want thick soup, cut the potatoes small so that they can dissolve completely) Stick em in a big pot with the stock cube Pour on enough hot water to cover most of the veg (if you cover it all it’ll be too much water) Bring to the boil and then simmer till done (about 30 – 40 mins)
I don’t know how to pronounce it, but I know it tastes good!
Feeds: 2 (actually, the amounts below are what I’m going to make next time, what I made today wasn’t enough)
Ingredients: 1 yellow pepper 1 courgette 1 onion 4 cloves of garlic 1 handful of mangetout (all chopped as you like them) Olive oil for frying 1 and 1/2 cups of brown rice 1 vegetable stock cube a little salt 4 cups of hot water
Method: Fry the onions and garlic until they smell great Add the courgette Sprinkle with some salt (this really improves the taste of the courgette) Fry up for a couple of minutes Add the hot water to the stock cube and mix well Add the pepper and mangetout and fry up a bit Add the stock Add the rice Boil till the rice is cooked and the water’s gone (should hopefully happen at the same time) If you can, let the stock/starch stuff at the bottom caramelise a little Leave to stand for 5 minutes
Yum!
Very simple meal, but tasty:
Serves 2__ Chop up a carrot, a parsnip, a sweet potato and an onion into bite-sized chunks [1] Chop the root-end off *loads* of garlic cloves [2], but leave the rest of the skin on Pour on some olive oil and herbes de provence and mix well Lightly oil two chicken breasts (preferably on the bone with skin on) and season with salt, pepper and herbes de provence (fresh thyme is a major plus) Pop all the veg around the chicken on a shallow baking dish Roast for about an hour (juices run clear, yada yada)
Chop up enough cabbage for two, and boil for about 20-30 mins (I wasn’t timing it) in water seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika
[1] Next time I’m going to steam the carrot and parsnip for about 5 mins before roasting them [2] There’s a high possibility, unless you’re a garlic-hating freak, that while you eat you’ll be wishing you’d put in more garlic
I’ve been making a lot of stews since I realised they’re actually a lot less hassle than most things. Tonight’s was so good it deserves a blog-post.
Ingredients (for two people): 2 chicken breasts 2 rashers 4 cherry tomatoes 1 parsnip 1 fennel “bulb” (for want of a better word) 1 onion 1 large potato 2 garlic cloves Small lump of fresh ginger Paprika Fenugreek Ground Cumin Hot water
Method:
Endives sure are tasty for an accident. Tesco’s are selling them these days (I think the label says ‘chicory’), and I recommend you try them like this:
Ingredients: 1 endive (chicory) per person 1 boiled egg per person 1 slice of ham per person (optional) Some walnuts Some cheese Some butter A little lemon juice Salt and pepper
Method: Simmer the endives for about 15 minutes (add a knob of butter and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice to the water) (This is a good time to boil your eggs, too) If you want, wrap each endive in a slice of ham (they work equally well without) Put some walnuts at the bottom of a casserole dish Put the endives on top (wrapped in ham or not) Slice the peeled eggs, and put the slices on top Cover the whole thing with grated cheese Grill or bake until the cheese is melted
Serve with boiled potatoes and sweet-potato mash
Mmm mmm.
