Beach BBQ

Joined G and friends for a beach barbecue (the first in years). We all had to bring something to incinerate and I took the opportunity to try a few experiments, though I did make sure I put some sausages in my shopping basket to keep the old man happy.

First experiment involved some tuna steaks (cut quite thinly - could have been with being a little thicker), chilli flakes, crushed fennel seeds and trickle of olive oil. These were grilled for a minute or so each side so the inside of the steaks were still a little pink and translucent. M was not keen on eating tuna (he never is) so I left him guzzling bangers whilst G and I ate our tuna steaks. Successful, best left until the coals have toned down a little and are not so fierce.

Second experiment was a lazy hack. I bought a ready prepared batch of mussels in garlic butter - the kind you buy in a box and sealed in their own boil in the bag. I decanted these into a foil bag and sealed it up. Again, they were put on a warm barbecue - we could tell they were done after observing the bag puffing up with its own steam for 5 minutes or so. G, P, M and me tucked in, tossing the empty shells on the beach. Delicious, very successful - best place for doing this kind of thing.

Third experiment: cubed fresh pineapple, strawberries and marshmallows. Interesting mess is the best I can say about these!

Gadget of the month: August

This blog wouldn't be complete without a trawl through my extensive kitchenware and gadgetry...

The trusty bean slicer - particularly useful whilst we have a volume of beans : runner and french from the allotment. It is at the front of the utensil drawer for August and tends to languish at the back for the rest of the year....

Chicken Garden Pasta

Serves 2
Cooking and preparation time: 20 minutes


150g /6 oz fusilli pasta (or other short pasta shapes)
125g /4 oz shredded cooked chicken
250g /8 oz small tomatoes, quartered
25g / 1oz feta cheese, crumbled
150g / 6oz runner beans, sliced
half juice of lime or lemon
1 tbsp of chopped/torn basil
1 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground pepper and salt

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add pasta until al dente (about 10 minutes depending on pasta shape and brand).
2. Meanwhile shred chicken, quarter tomatoes and crumble the feta cheese into a bowl add juice and season.
   
3. Five minutes before end of pasta cooking time add the sliced green beans to the boiling pasta water.
4. Drain pasta and beans.
5. Lightly toss in chicken and tomato mixture with oil and basil.
6. Check seasoning, and serve.
   

Boozy Berries

This is the easiest pudding ever. Definitely adults only (why waste it on children?)


To a selection of seasonal berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries in this instance) pour over a measure of fruit liqueur of your choice. In this instance I used some creme de mure (what I had in), I expect kirsch or the usual creme de cassis would do well here as well. Let the fruit steep in the liqueur for a little while - for instance whilst you carve, serve and guzzle the chicken you have just roasted. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Roast Chicken

Roast Pepper and Tomato soup

The simplest soup ever as well as one of the most delicious. One day I would like to make this with peppers that I have grown, this year I will have to make do with tomatoes that I have helped grow. I know a slice of goats cheese with this would be delicious, but the soup really doesn't need it. This made enough soup, with freshly baked ciabatta rolls, to feed 2 for lunch.

Ingredients
2-4 red peppers (substitute yellow or orange if necessary)
8 oz tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped basil
olive oil
pinch of sugar
freshly ground salt and pepper
100g / 4oz onion, finely chopped
300ml / 15 fl oz vegetable stock, hot
sprigs of basil, to garnish

Slice peppers in half, place cut side down in roasting tray. Do the same for the tomatoes but place cut side up.

Sprinkle over a pinch of sugar, seasoning and basil. Drizzle over a couple of teaspoons of olive oil.

Roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes at 200ºc


Meanwhile, gently fry the onion with a teaspoon of olive oil in a covered saucepan, until soft.

When vegetables have roasted add to the pan with the hot vegetable stock. Bring to the boil.

Take of the heat and either let cool for a little while and then liquidise in batches in the blender (do not fill more than a third full) or blend in the pan with a stick blender.

Gently reheat, before serving with a sprig of basil.

Rich Chilli

Delicious Magazine September 2006

Salmon Fishcakes with Sweet and Sour Salad

Thai Chicken and Bean Curry

Thai style seafood

Was intending for this to be Thai Style Mussels from "Fat Girl Slim" by Ruth Watson but we were a little bit short on mussels that weren't broken or still open after the first round of cleaning. Instead I plopped a few king prawns in which I happened to have in and they made a very satisfactory addition.

Bean and Bacon Risotto

Very loosely based on a basic risotto recipe:

• onions and broad beans from the allotment
• no butter (watching that waistline!)
• a wee grating of parmesan
• no garlic or celery (I was being lazy, besides the beans and bacon provide plenty of flavour)
• bacon grilled separately
  

Vegetable Jalfrezi

We came back from the allotment today with our rucksacks full of bounty. I had it mind to cook a vegetable curry - but which one? Taking into account what we had, the Vegetable Jalfrezi recipe from "Vegetarian Indian" by Shehzad Husain fitted beautifully. I am very proud (well shouldn't be, because I was playing truant from the allotment until last month) to say that all the vegtables in this curry, except for the chillies and coriander, came from our allotment: tomatoes, carrot and green beans.

Saag Aloo

Another recipe from "Vegetarian Indian" by Shehzad Husain, again with allotment fare: potatoes and tree spinach.

Poached Egg in the Microwave

I can't seem to poach eggs the proper way. Not having access to extremely fresh eggs, I would always seem to end up with a watery eggy mess when done the "proper" way. I also refuse to use a third vinegar (a THIRD?!*?) as suggested by one English celebrity spiky haired chef. If I used that amount of vinegar I wouldn't want to eat it! I suppose I could have an egg poacher - but that would be another piece of kitchenware to exasperate M. All I need is a ramekin, the other plus point is it is quicker than waiting for a saucepan of water to boil.

Ingredients:

1 capful of white wine vinegar
1 fl oz of water
1 egg

1. Pour water and vinegar into an average ramekin.
2. Heat on high for 90 seconds in microwave (800W).
3. Immediately crack egg into hot vinegar water mix.
4. Heat on high for 40-50 seconds, depending on how runny you like your yolk.

The following method works for me, with my microwave. Should I ever change microwaves I would have to go through a bit of messy experimentation - like I did Wales. I attempted to poach an egg when staying in a rented cottage in Wales. The microwave was slightly more powerful, I only had balsamic vinegar to hand. I ended up with egg and balsamic splattered all over the microwave. After cleaning that gunk up I relented and took the calorie hit of a fried egg - gorgeous lacy edges and all.

The herbs sprinkled over the top of the egg in the picture is my zataar mix.

Dried Apricot Jam

This is the recipe for August which I would usually post on my stitching blog. Now I have a place for recipes I place it here:

Makes about 6lb

Ingredients:
1 lb dried apricots
1 oz almonds
3 lbs sugar

Method:
Cut apricots into quarters.

Pour over 4 pints of boiling water and allow to stand 48 hours.

On the third day bring it to boiling point and boil for 1 ½ hours.

Add sugar and almonds (blanched) and allow the whole to boil for another hour or until setting point is reached.

Pot and cover in clean, sterilised jars.

Smoked Mackerel and Chorizo potatoes

Yummy recipe from the June 2005 issue of Delicious magazine. Particularly pleased with this as three of the ingredients: potatoes, onions and tomatoes all came from the allotment. There were only 5 ingredients anyway, the other 2 were smoked mackerel and chorizo. I was supposed to add flat leaf parsley as well but we don't currently have that in the garden (soon to be rectified). Neither did I strictly use chorizo, but rather some whole salami sausage that I had in the fridge.

Kitty gets cooking

This is an offshoot of my established blog kitty + stitch. In an effort to encourage my cookery skills (which were respectable before the stitching took over) I am intending to log what I cooked for one of my meals each day. This also ties in with an overdue goal to lose weight. I won't go on about how much I have lost, slimmed or any of that. Just a picture, some notes and maybe even a recipe if it is one of my own.