On Saturday we came home from 10 glorious days in Spain. Although we were a bit far away from anywhere to do much sightseeing, when the temperatures were topping 33 degrees, who wants to move from the pool?!
We did little more than sleep, drink, play and eat for 10 days and it felt AMAZING. We sent the menfolk to the supermarket to do the whole hunter/gatherer thing, and they barbequed everything. Apart from the paella, of course.
And oh my GOD the supermarkets! The fresh food counters had me planning to move out there for that alone. Huge cured legs of ham (which, as a student sharing digs with two Spanish men, used to be commonplace because one of them used to smuggle one back in his luggage whenever he went home), gorgeous smelling bakery counters and best of all the seafood counter. Huge displays full of king prawns, langoustine and the like, beautiful fish, even squid, octopus and everything you could want - if you love seafood of course (I do)! Now I know that fish counters in some supermarkets are quite well stocked over here in the UK, but nowhere near as much as on the continent. Plus they tend to be pricey and choice can be limited. And where are all the fishmongers? Perhaps if I lived nearer to the coast, but even so, I have literally NO idea where my nearest fishmonger is. I have just googled it. Over 30 minutes drive away!
Anyway. We did manage to get out and about for lunch on one day, and Mr L and I shared some scrummy tapas dishes. Battered prawns, for example, were delicious, hot and tasty. I wasn't so sure about calamari dumplings, though, they were covered in a pretty funny tasting sauce. I love calamari (squid) cooked with salt and pepper, or in a similarly simple yet effective manner. The dumplings seemed to mess around too much with the flavour of the squid.
The tapa we both enjoyed most was the Spanish croquetas. Crunchy coating, soft gooey unctuous filling, with a little dipping sauce which we THINK was aioli. The traditional filling appears to be ham and cheese, but I didn't taste any ham, they tasted more mushroomy to me. And so here's my request. Does anyone have a recipe for these croquetas before I try to create my own?
Monday, 10 June 2013
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Fish Pie
I really love seafood. When I was pregnant with our youngest, I craved crayfish tails. If I have an evening to myself, the odds are that I'll cook myself king prawns with linguine. Properly cooked salt & pepper squid is a thing of utter loveliness.
My husband, on the other hand, does not love seafood. He is reluctant to eat fish because of the bones. His limit is a prawn cocktail. In restaurants, he looks at me like I am demented if I suggest he try the squid.
So, I don't cook fish that often. Occasionally, when it's not super pricey, we have tuna steak, and Nigella Lawson's recipe for mirin-glazed salmon is a definite hit. But usually, seafood is a treat when I'm in a restaurant and free to order just for me, or for when I'm cooking for myself.
I decided to make a hearty family fish pie for tea. Using Mary Berry's recipe, I made the sauce but I didn't use as much fish and I put some king prawns in there too. I put hard boiled eggs in, just as Mary's recipe does, but the kids really didn't like them, so next time, I'll just up the fish instead.
The best thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead and then put it into the fridge. Heating it up in the oven from chilled would probably add 5-10 mins onto the cooking time but all in all it's another meal that can be made ahead of time. Anyone with kids knows when school's out for the day, and they come home, it's pretty impossible to have any time in the kitchen which isn't punctuated by "can I have..." or by us having to break up squabbles, or help with homework etc etc etc
Anyway. This recipe feeds the five of us very well. I think with extra veg it would feed another mouth, so I'd say it feeds 4-6 people, depending on age and appetite.
You will need
75g butter
1 onion, chopped
50g plain flour
1 pt (575ml) milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper
then between 550g and 700g of assorted fish - I used a fish pie mix from Sainsburys (salmon, haddock and smoked pollock) and a pack of cooked king prawns. If you aren't using a pre-packaged mix, the fish should be cut into roughly equal chunks - about 1 inch square works well
4 eggs, hard boiled, if desired
approximately 900g potatoes
milk and butter
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes before turning the heat to low, putting on a lid and leaving the onions to soften, undisturbed, for 15 minutes or so. I used the time to peel and chop the potatoes.
Tip in the flour, and then use a whisk to stir as you add the milk gradually. It starts off as a paste and eventually you end up with a white sauce with onion in. The onion kind of melts into the sauce as it's cooked later but adds a really good flavour.
Once all the milk is incorporated, season with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and tip in any uncooked fish. Keep stirring and cook for a couple of minutes, until the fish is just cooked. Then add any smoked or already cooked fish - in my case the smoked Pollock and the king prawns - and stir thoroughly.
Tip this mixture into a pie dish (the original recipe calls for the dish to be greased but I never have bothered with that and I have never had any issues) and leave to cool.
If using, slice the hard boiled eggs and distribute over the top of the pie. As I say, our kids didn't like the eggs, we quite liked them. If you aren't using them, add more fish.
Make your mash by peeling and chopping the potatoes and boiling in salted water until falling apart. Drain, mash and stir in milk and butter, and seasoning to taste.
Put the mashed potato on top of the pie mixture and use a fork to spread it out to cover the top. The fork makes a pattern on the top of the pie which is what catches and browns in the oven. At this point, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 3 days apparently, although I haven't tried it and I'm funny where fish is concerned.
When you are ready to eat your fish pie, preheat your oven to 200C (400F Gas mark 6)
Bake your pie for about 30 minutes (remembering to add about 10 mins on if it's chilled) most importantly until it is golden brown on top and piping hot all the way through.
This is a REALLY important bit. When you put the pie into the oven, please, please remember to place a baking sheet on the shelf underneath. This pie WILL leak over the sides of the dish. It's far easier to wash a baking sheet up than your oven.
My husband, on the other hand, does not love seafood. He is reluctant to eat fish because of the bones. His limit is a prawn cocktail. In restaurants, he looks at me like I am demented if I suggest he try the squid.
So, I don't cook fish that often. Occasionally, when it's not super pricey, we have tuna steak, and Nigella Lawson's recipe for mirin-glazed salmon is a definite hit. But usually, seafood is a treat when I'm in a restaurant and free to order just for me, or for when I'm cooking for myself.
I decided to make a hearty family fish pie for tea. Using Mary Berry's recipe, I made the sauce but I didn't use as much fish and I put some king prawns in there too. I put hard boiled eggs in, just as Mary's recipe does, but the kids really didn't like them, so next time, I'll just up the fish instead.
The best thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead and then put it into the fridge. Heating it up in the oven from chilled would probably add 5-10 mins onto the cooking time but all in all it's another meal that can be made ahead of time. Anyone with kids knows when school's out for the day, and they come home, it's pretty impossible to have any time in the kitchen which isn't punctuated by "can I have..." or by us having to break up squabbles, or help with homework etc etc etc
Anyway. This recipe feeds the five of us very well. I think with extra veg it would feed another mouth, so I'd say it feeds 4-6 people, depending on age and appetite.
You will need
75g butter
1 onion, chopped
50g plain flour
1 pt (575ml) milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper
then between 550g and 700g of assorted fish - I used a fish pie mix from Sainsburys (salmon, haddock and smoked pollock) and a pack of cooked king prawns. If you aren't using a pre-packaged mix, the fish should be cut into roughly equal chunks - about 1 inch square works well
4 eggs, hard boiled, if desired
approximately 900g potatoes
milk and butter
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes before turning the heat to low, putting on a lid and leaving the onions to soften, undisturbed, for 15 minutes or so. I used the time to peel and chop the potatoes.
Tip in the flour, and then use a whisk to stir as you add the milk gradually. It starts off as a paste and eventually you end up with a white sauce with onion in. The onion kind of melts into the sauce as it's cooked later but adds a really good flavour.
Once all the milk is incorporated, season with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and tip in any uncooked fish. Keep stirring and cook for a couple of minutes, until the fish is just cooked. Then add any smoked or already cooked fish - in my case the smoked Pollock and the king prawns - and stir thoroughly.
Tip this mixture into a pie dish (the original recipe calls for the dish to be greased but I never have bothered with that and I have never had any issues) and leave to cool.
If using, slice the hard boiled eggs and distribute over the top of the pie. As I say, our kids didn't like the eggs, we quite liked them. If you aren't using them, add more fish.
Make your mash by peeling and chopping the potatoes and boiling in salted water until falling apart. Drain, mash and stir in milk and butter, and seasoning to taste.
Put the mashed potato on top of the pie mixture and use a fork to spread it out to cover the top. The fork makes a pattern on the top of the pie which is what catches and browns in the oven. At this point, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 3 days apparently, although I haven't tried it and I'm funny where fish is concerned.
When you are ready to eat your fish pie, preheat your oven to 200C (400F Gas mark 6)
Bake your pie for about 30 minutes (remembering to add about 10 mins on if it's chilled) most importantly until it is golden brown on top and piping hot all the way through.
This is a REALLY important bit. When you put the pie into the oven, please, please remember to place a baking sheet on the shelf underneath. This pie WILL leak over the sides of the dish. It's far easier to wash a baking sheet up than your oven.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Slow cooker recipe - homemade yogurt
I love my slow cooker. I don't think there's a better way to cook when I'm busy. You do all the work in the morning, when you're full of energy and enthusiasm and above all else, you have time. Once the kids are home from school or preschool trying to get tea on the table can be a bit of a battle. How much easier is it once you realise it's already done?
But slow cookers aren't just handy for dinner, you can make cakes, breads, desserts, and as I discovered recently, yogurt! If you have small children you'll know how much yogurt features in their diet. Even if you haven't got children, this is a very handy recipe and allows you to produce fresh, natural yogurt for a fraction of the price with no nasty chemicals.
The best part is that other than your slow cooker, the only things you will need are:
4 pints whole milk (I actually used semi skimmed as we had loads, and it worked fine)
150ml pot of natural live yogurt
Hardly an extensive list, is it? Oh and you will need a couple of bath towels or blankets.
Pour your milk into the slow cooker.
Turn it on low, and cook for 2.5 hours.
After this time, turn off and unplug the slow cooker.
Leave well alone for 3 hours.
After the 3 hours is up, scoop out about a cupful of milk. Tip it into a jug and whisk it together with the yogurt. Tip this back into the slow cooker, and give it a quick mix.
Wrap the slow cooker in the bath towels or blankets and then leave it somewhere for 8-12 hours. If you plan it properly, you can add the yogurt before bed and leave it overnight. When you get up in the morning, you have made yogurt!
It's not super thick at this stage, so if you prefer it to be more thick and creamy, like greek yogurt, then you can sit a strainer over a bowl, and line the strainer with a muslim cloth. Pour the yogurt into the strainer and put in the fridge. Keep checking until it is as thick as you like. If it's too thick, add some of the liquid back into the yogurt.
That's it! Put into containers (I used ice cream tubs) Now all you have to do is decide on flavours - I put strawberry pieces in some. Honey is nice, especially if it's thicker yogurt. Jam, puree, nuts, whatever flavours you like.
But slow cookers aren't just handy for dinner, you can make cakes, breads, desserts, and as I discovered recently, yogurt! If you have small children you'll know how much yogurt features in their diet. Even if you haven't got children, this is a very handy recipe and allows you to produce fresh, natural yogurt for a fraction of the price with no nasty chemicals.
The best part is that other than your slow cooker, the only things you will need are:
4 pints whole milk (I actually used semi skimmed as we had loads, and it worked fine)
150ml pot of natural live yogurt
Hardly an extensive list, is it? Oh and you will need a couple of bath towels or blankets.
Pour your milk into the slow cooker.
Turn it on low, and cook for 2.5 hours.
After this time, turn off and unplug the slow cooker.
Leave well alone for 3 hours.
After the 3 hours is up, scoop out about a cupful of milk. Tip it into a jug and whisk it together with the yogurt. Tip this back into the slow cooker, and give it a quick mix.
Wrap the slow cooker in the bath towels or blankets and then leave it somewhere for 8-12 hours. If you plan it properly, you can add the yogurt before bed and leave it overnight. When you get up in the morning, you have made yogurt!
It's not super thick at this stage, so if you prefer it to be more thick and creamy, like greek yogurt, then you can sit a strainer over a bowl, and line the strainer with a muslim cloth. Pour the yogurt into the strainer and put in the fridge. Keep checking until it is as thick as you like. If it's too thick, add some of the liquid back into the yogurt.
That's it! Put into containers (I used ice cream tubs) Now all you have to do is decide on flavours - I put strawberry pieces in some. Honey is nice, especially if it's thicker yogurt. Jam, puree, nuts, whatever flavours you like.
Monday, 13 May 2013
Vanilla shortbread
I have, I'm sure I've said already, a bit of a cookbook addiction. I don't think it's a BAD addiction, and it keeps me occupied. I also look forward to my subscription to BBCGoodFood magazine crashing onto my doormat every month, I read it several times, both hard copy and on my iPad, as well as downloading other foodie magazines like .delicious. By the way, how brilliant is it to be able to purchase digital copies of magazines? Even better is the way that you can search the internet for recipes, ideas, ingredients and everything you can possibly imagine.
Another addiction of mine is cookie cutters. Big, small, elaborate, funny, I love them all. I've tried to rein it in a bit, but recently I saw some angry birds plunge cutters. Now, my kids love angry birds, so I "had" to buy them didn't I?
So, to test them. I bought some ninja bread men cutters recently and made.. well, you can guess I made gingerbread! I could have made the same again but I really fancied some little vanilla shortbread biscuits. A simple dough, using butter, sugar, flour, egg yolk and vanilla extract, chilled and then stamped and baked.
Using my trusty kitchenaid stand mixer, I creamed together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy and light - you cannot overmix at this stage, so if in doubt, give it another minute or two!
Incorporate the flour, egg yolk and vanilla until the dough starts to clump together, then tip the bowl onto some clingfilm, wrap and chill until firm.
Once chilled, this dough is incredibly firm and you will need to roll it to approximately 5mm thick. I found it best to pull off a chunk and then wrap the rest up. Then, using the cutters, carefully cut and then plunge to make the features. It is best to flour the cutters, and you will need to do it several times as this recipe made about 80 biscuits. It's handy to keep a cocktail stick nearby as when the dough starts to stick to the cutters, the first place it sticks is in the little nooks and crannies of the design. Use the cocktail stick to remove any dough, hold the cutter upright, tip in some flour and shake to coat the whole cutter. Tip out any excess. The softer the dough is, the more it sticks, and I found that if you chill the biscuits for a few minutes before baking, the shapes are more defined.
This is approximately half a batch. The thinner the biscuit is rolled the browner it becomes so take care to keep it all one thickness. You can see in the bottom right corner of the picture where my mixture was a little thinner. It doesn't really affect the taste but it doesn't look as appealing.
To make these biscuits you will need
250g unsalted butter, slightly softened
140g golden caster sugar
1 large free range egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
Set the oven to 180C
Bake in batches for 7 -10 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. Mine were done at 7 minutes, but keep checking to see when they have turned a pale golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack
If you would like to buy the angry birds cutters, you can get them here: www.sewwhite.com
Another addiction of mine is cookie cutters. Big, small, elaborate, funny, I love them all. I've tried to rein it in a bit, but recently I saw some angry birds plunge cutters. Now, my kids love angry birds, so I "had" to buy them didn't I?
So, to test them. I bought some ninja bread men cutters recently and made.. well, you can guess I made gingerbread! I could have made the same again but I really fancied some little vanilla shortbread biscuits. A simple dough, using butter, sugar, flour, egg yolk and vanilla extract, chilled and then stamped and baked.
Using my trusty kitchenaid stand mixer, I creamed together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy and light - you cannot overmix at this stage, so if in doubt, give it another minute or two!
Incorporate the flour, egg yolk and vanilla until the dough starts to clump together, then tip the bowl onto some clingfilm, wrap and chill until firm.
Once chilled, this dough is incredibly firm and you will need to roll it to approximately 5mm thick. I found it best to pull off a chunk and then wrap the rest up. Then, using the cutters, carefully cut and then plunge to make the features. It is best to flour the cutters, and you will need to do it several times as this recipe made about 80 biscuits. It's handy to keep a cocktail stick nearby as when the dough starts to stick to the cutters, the first place it sticks is in the little nooks and crannies of the design. Use the cocktail stick to remove any dough, hold the cutter upright, tip in some flour and shake to coat the whole cutter. Tip out any excess. The softer the dough is, the more it sticks, and I found that if you chill the biscuits for a few minutes before baking, the shapes are more defined.
This is approximately half a batch. The thinner the biscuit is rolled the browner it becomes so take care to keep it all one thickness. You can see in the bottom right corner of the picture where my mixture was a little thinner. It doesn't really affect the taste but it doesn't look as appealing.
To make these biscuits you will need
250g unsalted butter, slightly softened
140g golden caster sugar
1 large free range egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
Set the oven to 180C
Bake in batches for 7 -10 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. Mine were done at 7 minutes, but keep checking to see when they have turned a pale golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack
If you would like to buy the angry birds cutters, you can get them here: www.sewwhite.com
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
A blog award!
Good afternoon :-)
I've had a less-than-productive morning, looking for a new car. Who knew finding an affordable 7 seater with the features I want (and without the ones I don't) would be so hard?! And my youngest was not keen on road testing ANY of them. he screamed a fair amount, and was not even swayed by the salesman's offer of fizzy pop (which he's not allowed!) a banana or some crisps. He does love our old, knackered Zafira, but it's on its last legs and needs to be replaced. He will need counselling when it goes! Does anyone have any advice re: cars though?
So I got home, hot and bothered (the air con no longer works) and there was a lovely email from Sisley at SewWhite (@sewwhite - twitter folk) saying that she'd like to give us a blog award!
You can guess how much that lifted my mood :D
Please check out her website here: www.sewwhite.com
I've had a less-than-productive morning, looking for a new car. Who knew finding an affordable 7 seater with the features I want (and without the ones I don't) would be so hard?! And my youngest was not keen on road testing ANY of them. he screamed a fair amount, and was not even swayed by the salesman's offer of fizzy pop (which he's not allowed!) a banana or some crisps. He does love our old, knackered Zafira, but it's on its last legs and needs to be replaced. He will need counselling when it goes! Does anyone have any advice re: cars though?
So I got home, hot and bothered (the air con no longer works) and there was a lovely email from Sisley at SewWhite (@sewwhite - twitter folk) saying that she'd like to give us a blog award!
You can guess how much that lifted my mood :D
Please check out her website here: www.sewwhite.com
Saturday, 4 May 2013
#SpecialK30 How I've Changed Linky Challenge
It's safe to say I'm pretty much addicted to Twitter. I find myself opening twitter before facebook nowadays, and enjoying what I read FAR more. I mean, honestly Facebook friends, if I see one more shared picture of a hoax romantic/tragic/heroic tale or one more passive aggressive post about being in the 3% of the poster's friends who will post this to their status update for an hour, a minute, a pigging SECOND I swear I will... well maybe I won't deactivate my account because I'm a nosey so-and-so, but by goodness I'll grumble for a bit. And so I prefer twitter, because people are far less willing to post the same crap as everyone else when they've only got 140 characters to use.
ANYWAY. I follow www.twitter.com/BritMums because, well to be honest, I'm British and a mum. And I like their twitter feed. Recently they asked if anybody wanted to try the new Kellogg's Special K. Yes, yes I would please. So, last week, I answered the door to the postman, who was holding a spangly red jiffy package containing... well you can guess. A lovely box of Special K. For me. Lovely, crunchy, tasty Special K. It seemed a little crunchier and tastier than before but still Special K. And I love my cereal crunchy.
So here is my entry for the How I've Changed Linky Challenge.
A lot HAS changed in 30 years; namely me. 30 years ago, I was 5 years old, full of beans and dressing up for school plays. You can see me here:
ANYWAY. I follow www.twitter.com/BritMums because, well to be honest, I'm British and a mum. And I like their twitter feed. Recently they asked if anybody wanted to try the new Kellogg's Special K. Yes, yes I would please. So, last week, I answered the door to the postman, who was holding a spangly red jiffy package containing... well you can guess. A lovely box of Special K. For me. Lovely, crunchy, tasty Special K. It seemed a little crunchier and tastier than before but still Special K. And I love my cereal crunchy.
So here is my entry for the How I've Changed Linky Challenge.
A lot HAS changed in 30 years; namely me. 30 years ago, I was 5 years old, full of beans and dressing up for school plays. You can see me here:
Don't I look sweet? And innocent? Yeah right. I THINK you can guess how old I am, 30 years in the future. Now, however, it's not me doing the dressing up; it's my children. My middle child is, coincidentally, 5 years old, and he too loves dressing up, especially for school plays. Here he is, at the Christmas nativity. You can, I think, tell that he was the best donkey IN that play.
In 30 years, I've grown up, gone to university, got married, bought and sold houses, and had children. Three, in fact, which is why I need my breakfast. I don't always eat it at breakfast time, but I eat it. And so do my children. They too like the taste of Special K, which is why I usually have to hide it from them. Especially Donkey boy there.
You can find out more by visiting www.myspecialk.co.uk
Thanks!
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Redesigning
I know I've been neglecting this blog of late; I am planning a small redesign which will hopefully make it a much more pleasurable experience :o)
So, if you will bear with me for the next few days whilst I get things up and running, hopefully you will like what I've done.
PS any suggestions at this stage would be welcome!
So, if you will bear with me for the next few days whilst I get things up and running, hopefully you will like what I've done.
PS any suggestions at this stage would be welcome!
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