Friday Smiles

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are having a good day wherever you are. Here, weatherwise, we've had a very mixed bag so far. It rained this morning, it's very breezy, and now the sun is streaming through the window, much to Silver's delight. Nothing pleases her more than a snooze in the warmth of the sun.

And any bed will do as long as there's a stream of sunlight to bask in. 

I've taken very few photos this week. Most have been scrapbook related but I though you'd like to see two notebooks that I'm enjoying using at the moment.  

The 'One Line A Day' book is intended to encourage me to keep a journal longer than just a few days ... up to now I've been a bad diary keeper! So far so good with this little book. Writing just one line is not so difficult.

The grey covered one on the left is my most recent book of recipes - there's two others on a handy shelf  in the kitchen. I've been experimenting with new soup recipes and reviving some long forgotten, but favourite, dishes.  I haven't made this cheese and onion pie for more than twenty years!

The recipe is one I got from my old friend, Jean, who was a very good professional cook. She was a school cook when I met her but she trained as a baker and specialised in the confectionary side of baking. Her cake decorating was a work of art.. 

It's a brief smiley post today but that's because I've taken very few photos this week, and those I have are mainly of the kitten. Proof, if proof were needed, that I don't get out much. I could bore for Scotland on the subject of the kitten but I'll spare you that - I can almost hear your combined sighs of relief!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - full of lots to smile about.

Take care too.

Saturday Supper - Potato, Leek and Cheese Tortilla

Evening Everyone,

Just enjoyed a ghoulish hour or so watching the Halloween Strictly - brilliant! Hope you are having a creeeeepy evening too. No bonfires and fireworks here tonight, the weather is dire - enough rain to dampen any witches spirits :)

It's been quite some time since I posted a recipe so I thought I'd remedy that tonight with one of my favourite ways of cooking eggs.

Potato, Leek & Cheese Tortilla

Ingredients:

• Butter for sauteing 
• 1 small leek or half a large one, sliced thinly and washed
• 225g cooked potatoes, (about 1-2 medium sized) 
• 6 eggs
• 85g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tsp dried herbs or 1 tablespoon fresh herbs finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Method:

• Melt a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan
• Saute the leek in the melted butter for about 5 mins until softened
• Cut potatoes in half and into slices about 0.5cm thick
• Beat the eggs, add seasoning to taste, then stir in the cheese and herbs
• Add a little extra butter to the pan if needed here
• Add the potatoes to the leeks, then pour in the egg mixture.
• Turn the heat to low, then cook for 10 mins until almost set
• Place under a hot grill for a couple of mins more until the top is bubbling and golden.

• Slice into wedges and serve with a salad.

 Very tasty!

I did hold back some of the grated cheese to sprinkle on top of the tortilla before popping it under the grill - I love grilled cheese :)

Note: this is a great dish for making leeks palatable for those who are not fond of the noble vegetable.

Hope you give it a try and do let me know what you think if you do.

Happy Eating,

Foodie Friday - No Jelly Trifle

Afternoon All,

As we are still in celebration mode I thought you might like the recipe for this really special trifle which will make a delicious end to your New Year's day dinner. It has the virtue, for me at any rate, of having no jelly in it and the slightly tart lemon flavour is very refreshing . The recipe for the trifle is my easy take on Nigel Slater's Mincemeat Trifle ... substituting a good quality bought lemon curd for Nigel's homemade and raspberries for cape gooseberries, simply because I couldn't find them in the shops before Christmas. The bonus is that raspberries are my all time favourite fruit :) Apologies for the quality of the photograph but the light quality in my kitchen on Christmas Eve was dire. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

For the mincemeat sponge

· 250g/9oz butter
· 250g/9oz caster sugar
· 75g/2½oz ground almonds
· 100g/3½oz plain flour
· 4 large eggs, beaten
· organic or unwaxed orange, grated zest and juice
· 100g/3½oz good quality mincemeat 

For the curd
· 1 325g jar of good quality lemon curd
· 1 orange, zest and juice

To serve
· 2 tbsp Marsala or dry sherry
· 400ml/14fl oz ready-made custard
· 300ml/10fl oz double cream
· 1 350g fresh raspberries
· handful pistachios, shelled and chopped 

Preparation method

1. Line a shallow 23cm/9in cake tin, with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. 

2. Set and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

3. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 

4. Mix the almonds and flour together in a separate bowl and set aside. 

5. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar, slowly a little at a time. 

6. Add the zest and a third of the almonds and flour, mixing slowly slow until the dry ingredients are incorporated, repeat this process by adding the second, and then the third lot. If you do this too quickly you will end up with a heavy cake. 

7. Finally, mix in the orange juice and the mincemeat. 

8. Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin and bake for 35 minutes. 

9. Run a knife around the edge of the tin and turn out onto greaseproof paper and leave to cool.

10. For the orange and lemon curd layer, empty the jar of curd into another bowl and stir in the zest and juice.  

11. To put the trifle together begin by breaking the mincemeat sponge into small pieces and put them in the bottom of a serving dish. 

12. Sprinkle with a little of the Marsala or dry sherry. 

13. Pour the custard over the sponge. 

14. Next spoon the curd over the custard, cover and chill for an hour. 

15. Whip the cream and then spoon on top, 

16. Decorate the top of the trifle with a scattering of chopped pistachios and the raspberries

Whilst most of the ingredients are readily available at any supermarket, I can recommend the mincemeat and lemon curd from M&S - very tasty.

I think it would also go very nicely with Di's surprising Friday Feast this week - Ham in Coca Cola. Yes, you read that correctly - yet another use for coca cola! I haven't drunk coca cola since we experimented cleaning pennies with it in the science lab at school but I might just be persuaded to give this recipe a whirl :)

The EM usually makes a very traditional English trifle - well, he is English after all - but, as he is still recovering from that nasty accident he had a few weeks ago, it was down to me to make it this year.  I really don't like traditional trifle at all - all that jelly and soggy sponge doesn't do it for me, yuk! So when I saw Nigel making his recipe on TV and it had no jelly I just had to give it a go. I'm pleased to report that the EM thought it was scrumptious :))

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday - Josh's Posh Macaroni Cheese

Hello Folks

What a busy time we are all having now ... and only about 9 days left to get everything that needs to be done, done. There's still a few cards to write, though most are winging their way now, and presents to wrap for hand delivering, and then I plan a big cook in this weekend ... yes, still so much to do :))

And talking about cooking, on to this recipe. I could never get the EM to eat macaroni cheese ... he just didn't like it and completely refused. However, at a family gathering recently we were discussing this with Josh, our chef grandson, and we decided the problem is that the EM remembers the tinned (Heinz) variety from his childhood ... pretty yucky stuff and certainly enough to put anyone off their food. Josh suggested he try this rather posh variation which includes the unlikely, but tasty, combination of shredded ham and flaked smoked fish. Result! It's delicious and we've won the EM over, so here it is.

Josh’s Posh Macaroni Cheese Bake(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 smoked ham shank – in Scotland this is known as a ham hough – cooked in a large pan with enough water to cover. Cool, remove skin and fat, strip meat from bone and break into shreds.

Small fillet of smoked haddock – cooked in milk, strained (reserve the milk for the sauce), cooled and flaked

8oz macaroni – cooked according to the instructions on the packet, strain and return to pan – it should definitely be al dente for this recipe 
2 ½ oz butter
6 tbsp plain white flour
1 ½ pints of milk (use reserved milk from cooking the haddock and make this up to the required amount)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of dry mustard powder
8 oz extra mature cheddar cheese, grated

4 large tomatoes, sliced
1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs

Method:
For the sauce:
Melt butter in a pan
Add the flour and cook for a minute
Whisk all the milk in at once, bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes
Stir in two thirds of the grated cheese
Season with salt and pepper
Stir in the mustard powder

Pour sauce over cooked macaroni
Add the shredded ham and stir in the flaked fish and heat through
Butter a large ovenproof dish – I used a lasagne dish – and turn on the grill to high
Pour the macaroni mixture into the dish
Arranged the tomato slices over the top
Mix the leftover grated cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the tomato slices
Place under the hot grill to brown before serving

We ate the macaroni just as it is but a rocket or watercress salad, or even lightly cooked broccoli, would make a nice accompaniment.

Cooking the ham shank does take a bit of time but you can use the cooking liquid and some of the shredded ham as a very good basis for soup, making it worth all the effort. I made a lovely pot of spicy lentil soup with it. If you really can't be bothered then perhaps you some chopped ham would make a perfectly adequate substitute.

Apologies for not being exact with the weight of the fish ... I forgot to weigh the little fillet I used, but believe me it was small. Only a little amount of fish is required.

The recipe feeds four big appetites easily ... we got two meals out of this amount.

I hope some of you will try this recipe, especially if there is a reluctant macaroni cheese eater in the family ... I think they will be pleasantly surprised. And, if you do try it, I hope you will let me know what you thought of it so I can pass your comments on to Josh. He has just started a new job at the Stravaigin2 in Glasgow's West End so we wish him luck and success there. Stravaigin is a great old Scots word meaning to wander or roam around, suggesting that the food/recipes served at the restaurant must be garnered from many places around the world.

Okay, I'd better get back to these Christmas jobs still to be done, not to mention the need to visit a few more WOYWWers blogs today ... I'm running behind on that too.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very good weekend and happy crafting,

In the Kitchen - Frugal Frittata

Evening All,

If you have been following this blog you will know that the EM has been confined to quarters of late ... no dashing out to the shops to keep the larder well stocked. This has meant I have had to exercise the old grey matter a little more than usual in the kitchen. Fortunately, we have a few staples already in the cupboards, eggs, cheese, etc., and a rake round the fridge produced enough to make this substantial dish for last night's supper.

Frugal Frittata

Ingredients:

One large, deep frying pan.

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 3 rashers of back bacon - ours was unsmoked - chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion - peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk - chopped
• 3 medium sized cooked potatoes - cut into bite-sized dice
• 1 medium sized tomato - cut into bite-sized dice
• 3 dessertspoons of cooked peas
• 1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs
• 6 eggs - beaten
• 2 dessertspoons of semi-skimmed milk
• 2 oz grated cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Heat pan for a minute or two and then add the oil.
• Add the chopped bacon and fry gently for a couple of minutes.
• Add the chopped onion and celery and cook until softened.
• Add the potatoes and fry until gently browned.
• Toss in the tomato and fry for a minute or two.
• Meanwhile mix the milk into the beaten eggs and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Now add the peas and the mixed herbs.
• Turn up the heat and making sure the bacon and vegetables are spread evenly in the pan, pour the beaten eggs over the mixture.
• Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the mixture.
• Cook on high heat for a few minutes then reduce the heat to prevent the base of the mix burning and allow the egg to set completely.
• Finally, turn on the grill, set on high, and just before serving zap the pan under it for a few minutes to cook the top of the frittata to a golden brown shade.

Serve with a salad, ours had lettuce, tomato, orange and apple slices combined, but a green salad would go with it just as well.

The frittata is big enough to feed four people for lunch or two very hungry people for dinner. You could easily adjust the ingredients to make a smaller frittata, e.g. two eggs and fewer potatoes & vegetables would still make a good sized meal for one.

Most of the vegetable ingredients could be substituted with any other leftovers you have in your fridge and the bacon could be omitted to make a tasty vegetarian dish.

Frankly, the most time-consuming thing about making this recipe is the preparation - once the bacon and vegetables are chopped, cheese grated and eggs beaten it's made in super quick time.

The EM enjoyed it so I hope that if you try it you will enjoy it too - whatever, do let me know - all feedback welcomed :)

And after all that typing, I now have to go think about what we are going to eat tonight. Thank goodness for the fridge and freezer - we'd starve without them.

I'll be back tomorrow with another project I've just completed. Until then, happy crafting to you all,

Comfort Food - Cold Weather Cooking

Afternoon Folks

A slightly better day here today - it's still dull and dank but the winds have died down from gale force to a gentle breeze. But it is clear that winter has arrived so time to get out the slow cooker - there's nothing better than getting home, chilled to the bone, to be greeted by the delicious aroma of a warming and comforting stew wafting through from the kitchen.

Many of you will have gathered from my posts that my DH, Alan, is a handy person to have around -he can do just about anything he turns his hand to, especially in DIY sphere. So perhaps it's no surprise for me to reveal that he's not a bad cook too - as long as it's simple! He may have been a research chemist in another life but he does not like measuring things out to the nearest nanogram :) So for no other reason than it's not an exact science, he particularly enjoys making soups and stews and the following recipe is one of our favourites. I believe it's Alan's variation on a Marco Pierre White original - yes, it was as much a surprise to me that he read the recipe, let alone tinkered with it to suit our tastes! 


Alan's Chicken & Vegetable Pottage
Serves 3/4 people depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients:

12 large chicken drumsticks
3 large potatoes – cut into bite-sized chunks
6 medium sized carrots – sliced into bite-sized chunks
2 onions – finely sliced
3 sticks of celery – sliced into bite-sized chunks
3 chicken stock cubes made up with 1 litre of boiled water
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
A handful of chopped chives
2 bay leaves

Method Throw all the prepared ingredients into a large slow cooker.
Cook on high for one hour, then on low for 6 hours.
Serve from the slow cooker – two to three drumsticks per person.
Crusty bread goes very nicely with this dish - but then we think crusty bread goes nicely with most soups and stews :)
Alternatively, this dish can be cooked on low for 9 hours and be ready for when you get home from work or a day out.

If you haven't got a slow cooker, and why should you - a lot of people don't own one - then you could stick everything into a large casserole dish and cook in a slow oven for several hours. I don't think the timing is crucial as long as the ingredients are cooked all the way through.

The weekend is almost upon us and, for once, I've no plans to take me out into the cold, yet ... no, I intend crafting away in my little room for as much of the weekend as I can get away with. Alan, of course, may have other ideas and could easily drag me out for a walk along the promenade - nothing like a good bracing walk to put some colour in your cheeks, he'll say! I have the patience of a saint :)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, whatever the weather and whatever you do.

In the meantime, take care and happy crafting,