Cook Books Galore

Blog note book (I now have a 2nd)

I have all my blog notes prepared and I am seriously behind since we moved back to England I have been finding it difficult to find the motivation to do anything, it's not been an easy year. So anyway I am very behind and because of that some of my posts are slightly too dated and I am having to alter them slightly to make them more current this one started off like this, "As I have mentioned before I am a bit of a cookbook fiend, my books are slowly taking over the bookshelf." Well that bit is dated because my books HAVE taken over the bookshelf and spilled over into a second, upstairs on the landing. I'll admit that whilst I have seen some peoples collections are far more extensive than my own, mine is probably going to be a life long hobby. A few years ago my cookbook collection was weak at best, and compiled of books which I had managed to pick up for a euro or two, or those that had been passed onto me either by my mother or grandmother. I was able to save a few but a lot got left with my ex, he has probably disposed of them by now as that's what he does with books. During that time cooking was plain, boring and a chore, stick the occasional 20 euro in my hand and I would go and buy a pair of shoes or a handbag, to cheer me up. Pointless really because I always wear the same shoes and use the same handbag. Now that I cook and I am learning all the time about new things, my money is better spent on cookbooks. As I use all of them all none of them go to waste. Unlike when I buy a pair of shoes or a new hand bag that I'll never wear or use.

95% of my books are a calculated resource, bought for one reason or another, most of my books have lots of additional information in them, about food, how to prepare it and tips and tricks. I find different books bring a whole wealth of different cooking knowledge to my table. My books are slowly but surely covering everything about cookery. When I originally wrote this blog out I had 87 including my magazine collection, that's since grown to 188, including my magazine collection - I have put most of them in folders so they are advertisement free, with the exception of a few which are advert free so although sold as a magazine, they are like little paper back books. If you are like me and like to have lots of information about cooking as well as the recipes themselves, it's worth looking around - one author is likely to give you some information you can glean from, two may give you two different opinions. Take an army of cooks and their opinions and ideas, are more likely to give you a whole wealth of invaluable knowledge, whilst I prefer the books with added text, even those with just recipes can teach you about techniques if you read them properly. For example one of the books told me that my "Baking Issues" maybe because my hands are too warm and gave me some ideas on how to rectify this, it was great to know what the problem was, I just didn't know why it was an issue. I was to later find out from Delia Smith that if the fat becomes too oily (through melting) because the rubbing takes longer and everything is too warm. What happens is that it coats more flour grains than it should. This means that the flour can't absorb enough water and the pastry will crumble and be difficult to roll out." This is just one example.

Heston Blumenthal, explained how certain flavours cut into each other and that all our senses make up the taste. It covered about 30 pages in total but was a very interesting read. I could go on for hours about what chefs like Nigella, Jamie Oliver, Tara Ramsay and Anthony Worral Thompson have taught me to name but a few but I'd be here for hours, but what I will say is that each book serves a purpose a little research and a quick flick through of the book (if you are buying in store) will help you to chose your books wisely, don't forget Amazon have customer reviews read the good and the bad to make an informed decision - I recently almost bought a book because of all the good reviews and then read the bad ones and changed my mind. You have to read the reviews and judge by what's written if it will serve your purposes. 

Tagliatelle with broccoli in a cheesy sauce

Jamie Oliver - My personal opinion of this man is that his heart is in the right place and I think his agenda is quit clear. He is a man on a mission and fair play to him, he's in a position to help people, advise and show. I have read a couple of his books now and can't help but feel a little sorry for him when people criticise him, because I feel these are people who make a split decision, about him and his agenda before hearing him out. He's not saying don't eat pizza, burgers or cookies - or whatever your favourite 'junk' food may be. He is saying eat healthily, in moderation and to eat fresh ingredients wherever possible and to treat yourself every now and again to the things you enjoy. He IS promoting a healthy lifestyle. I think he is wonderful and I am super impressed with his determination and resolve, the more of his books I read the more I realise that he is an advocate for good, tasty food, that's healthy.

Yes, good quality, organic ingredients play a huge part in most of his recipes, but the implication is not that YOU MUST, but the best that YOU can afford. You can't argue with that ethic! I changed this next recipe ever so slightly because I was in Germany at the time, and had to allow for the ingredients I was able to get locally, but it was very good despite my alterations.

Tagliatelle with Broccoli In A Cheesy Sauce

 

olive oil

500g fresh tagliatelle

 

for the cheese sauce

 

 

250ml crème fraiche

150g Philadelphia

150g parmesan, freshly grated plus extra for garnish

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

400g broccoli

2 large free range eggs (you want the yolks)

1tsp dried mixed herbs

 

1. First get a big saucepan of water on the hob and get it boiling, next using a bain-marie add the crème fraiche, Philadelphia and parmesan with a pinch of salt and pepper, slowly melt the chesses. While the cheeses are melting prepare your broccoli, wash it, and cut the florets into bite sized pieces.

 

2. Once the cheeses have melted remove from the heat, then put your broccoli and pasta into the saucepan of boiling water. Cook the pasta until it is just cooked through. Now is the time to whip the egg yolks and your mixed herbs into the sauce. Take a few tbsp. of the pasta water and place to one side, then drain of the rest of the water, return the pasta to the pan and add your sauce, quickly mixing it all up. If the sauce is a little too thick add some of your reserved pasta water, only a little at a time, you want it to be loose but not so loose it is watery, don't forget to taste it for seasoning and adjust it if need be. Serve and garnish with a little parmesan.

 

Jamie Oliver also drizzles a little extra virgin olive oil over his, but I am not a huge fan.. Try it and let me know what you think.



Posh Mussel Gratin

Any kind of shellfish is a winner in my book and I am constantly looking out for good recipes, that way if I happen upon some decently priced shellfish I have a rough idea of what I am going to do with it. I found this one in one of my most used cookbooks while looking for something else - I didn't give it much thought but it must have been fate or something because when I went shopping a few days later I found mussels. I admit I was a little dubious at the time of the quality but beggars can't be choosers I suppose - as the saying goes.

Whilst I am certain that the best quality ingredients are going to give you the best results I am also a firm believer in the 'It's what you do with the ingredients' theory, that counts. This recipe would be great as a starter at a dinner party, shared with friends or even with a salad as a main. It's a great recipe in my opinion, it tastes great and looks elegant without too much effort.

I used Vodka instead of white wine, mostly because I rarely have any wine in the house and almost always have Vodka, besides Vodka cream rocks. You could use either, or even try Vermouth. Vermouth is a good thing to have on hand because it doesn't go off for a few months, so keeps longer and you can use it instead of wine. I also use Port or Sherry instead of red wine.

Mussel Gratin

 

150ml Vodka

1 shallot, finely diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

3kg large mussels, cleaned

300ml light cream

3tbsp parsley, finely chopped

salt and black pepper to taste

30g of bread crumbs

2tbsp melted butter

 

1. In a large saucepan (with a lid, which you will need later), place the vodka, shallot, and garlic bring to a boil and then gently simmer for about 2 mins.

 

2. Now add the mussels and put the lid on the saucepan, (make sure it is on properly) now return to a boil, for 5-6 minutes, shaking the saucepan often, until the mussel shells have all opened.

 

3. Using a sieve drain the liquid into another saucepan and put the mussels into a bowl, throw away any shells that haven't opened as they are no good, don't be tempted to try and open them, just get rid of them.

 

4. Bring the strained liquid to a boil, then gently simmer until it has reduced to nothing more than a few tbsp fulls, three to be exact. Now add the cream and heat through, but don't boil. Mix in half the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

5. Next remove and throw away the top shell of the mussels, and in a circular pattern place the other half of the shells in to an oven proof dish. Pour the sauce over the mussels, sprinkle over the bread crumbs and the butter. Cook under the grill (broiler) for about 5 minutes, or until golden which ever comes first, then finally sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

American Pancakes

When I was 12 I spent three months in America, two of those months were spent in Biloxi, Mississippi. Crayfish, fresh shrimp and catfish were among some of my favourite things to eat for dinner, they were that fresh (apart from the catfish) that when you bought them they were still moving in the bag. American pancakes though were my favourite for breakfast, sorry to any of my American friends reading this and having your pancakes branded as being American, fact remains pancakes are different to what you get over here, which are thin like crepes and probably more like 10 inches. I loved them topped with maple syrup, or blueberries, good quality bacon and scrambled egg are also good, my favourite now though would be cinnamon apple sautéed in butter and brown sugar - it may sound odd but I have also served this with bacon - I find that the saltiness from the bacon and the sweetness from the apples go really well together. I will concede that I have rather odd taste buds at times, although I do have a recipe for chocolate coated bacon - so maybe my theory isn't so wrong? Even if you don't serve bacon with this recipe it is really good, you could even just make the pancakes and make your own topping, or use the cinnamon apple topping on French toast.
 

American Pancakes

 

 
 1 1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients, in one bowl and the wet ones into another, once both are mixed, combine the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then ladle a 1/4 cup at a time into a hot skillet, and cook until bubbly then flip and cook until golden on the bottom - top with your favourite topping. 

 

 

For The Apple Topping

 1 medium sized apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

In a small skillet, sauté the apple, brown sugar and cinnamon in the tablespoon of butter, until the apple is tender.

 

 

 

 

Italian Crusted Chicken

This is another really good chicken recipe, although warm mayo still makes me feel a little icky inside, but I still have the urge, will, need if you like to try different ingredients in ways that I haven't tried before, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This time it was good - which is proof in itself of not giving up on something, as far as I'm concerned. I suppose it's that way with everything though. 

Italian Crusted Chicken

 

3tbsp mayo

1tbsp sun-dried tomato puree

4tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs

2tbsp parmesan cheese

4 boneless chicken breasts

2tbsp olive oil

 

1.Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Mix together the mayo and sun-dried tomato puree, and in a separate bowl mix the breadcrumbs and cheese together.

 

2. Wash the chicken breasts under running cold water and then place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

 

3. Spread all but 3tbsp of the mayo mix over each of the chicken breasts, then sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over each one, pressing down to make sure they are well coated.

 

4. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and cooked through. Spoon a little of the remaining mayo over each of the chicken breasts and serve with hot Italian bread and a green leaf, tomato salad.

Caprese Chicken

I was sat reading through this recipe and thought, I really have done a lot of chicken recipes, just as well I like chicken really! I particularly like this one - fresh basil is one of my most favourite herbs, and of course put together with mozzarella and tomato, what could be better? Well I can tell you that if you add chicken and bacon you get the most delectable chicken meal - I'm not going to say EVER, because the more recipes I cook the more I fall in love with, it's all part of the growth.

Caprese Chicken

 

8 bacon rashers (strips)

4 chicken breast halves

1tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tomato, sliced

basil leaves, thinly cut

1 ball mozzarella cut into 4 thick slices (may need less depending on the ball size)

 

 

1. Place the chicken in a ungreased baking pan, brush with the oil and sprinkle over the salt and pepper, top with tomatoes, and basil then wrap in two bacon strips, per chicken breast in a crisscross pattern.

 

2. Bake, uncovered in a 400F/200C oven for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170F/80C. Finally top with the cheese and bake again for a minute or two, until the cheese has melted.

Yummy Mixed Mushroom Puffs

This is an absolutely delicious recipe,  both Glen and I really enjoyed it but it's one of those recipes, that I have to starve myself all day to be able to eat it - I do not recommend that anyone starves themselves all day long though, it's very unhealthy. Unfortunately for me this is one of those really good recipes that leaves you craving for more but with the pastry and the double cream - not to mention the fact you can't help but eat too much it's not good on my waist line, which seems to expand in seconds and then take forever to shrink again, not ideal but equally a part of my life I have to live with. When I was younger sport was a massive part of who I was, daily bike rides, cross country running (although I was really rubbish at that, sprinting to get in front right at the start and being to tired to keep running towards the end and losing anyway) squash, hockey, aerobics, karate and gym sessions 2 or three times a week, I could eat what I wanted when I wanted and not worry about my weight. Now with my knees exercise is difficult and painful and limited to a brisk walk with the dog. At my age, and my thyroid issue doesn't help, controlling my weight is not easy without exercise - but on the other hand I am having to much fun with my cooking to eat only rabbit food all the time. Something somewhere has to give.....

Mixed Mushroom Puffs

 

 

375g Ready to roll puff pastry

1 beaten medium egg (for glazing)

 

for the filling

 

2tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

4oz/100g each of shiitake, oyster and button mushrooms, sliced

1tsp plain flour

300ml double cream

50g walnuts, chopped

salt and black pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Cut the pastry into 8 rectangles and put onto a baking tray scoring 4 of them into a lattice type pattern on top with a sharp knife. Brush each rectangle with the beaten egg and bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

2. In the meantime, heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onions and garlic cooking for about 5 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat, pour in most of the double cream then mix the flour in with the remaining cream until smooth. Add the walnuts to the skillet and return to heat, gently bring to a boil and continuously stirring add the remaining cream mixture, simmer for about 2 minutes stirring once or twice.

 

3. Arrange the pastry bottoms (the ones without the pattern) onto four warm plates, spoon over a good helping of the mushroom mixture and top with the lattice pastry tops. 

My Three Failure Recipes

These next three recipes are my personal failures, I have included them because I think the mistake was mine and not that of the recipe. It seems a shame not to add them because of my mistake - if you have a go let me know how they went.

My risotto cakes fell apart!

Risotto Cakes with Garlicy Fried Tomatoes

 

250g pack four cheese flavour quick cook risotto

2tbsp fresh chopped parsley

3 slices prosciutto ham, finely chopped

2tbsp finely grated parmesan

seasoned flour for coating

olive oil for frying

24 cherry tomatoes

50g garlic and herb butter

 

1. Cook the risotto rice according to the package instructions. Stir in the parsley, chopped ham and parmesan, season to taste with salt and pepper. Once cooked cover and leave to cool and go firm.

 

2. Divide the mixture and shape into 8 small rice cakes and coat each one in the seasoned flour.

 

3. Gently fry them in hot oil for about 3 minutes on each side until they are golden in colour and drain on kitchen roll.

 

4. While you are cooking the rice cakes, in a separate pan, fry the tomatoes in a the garlic butter for 2 minutes.

 

5. Serve the hot rice cakes with the tomatoes and the garlic butter poured over the top.

 

 

 

I really didn't like the texture of this next recipe. It was too bitty for me, but then again I could only mash with a fork because I made this in the early days before my kitchen cupboards became full of gadgets and gizmos.

 

 

Whole-Wheat Penne with Cauliflower Sauce

 

 

salt and black pepper

1lb whole-wheat penne

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 cup vegetable stock

4 fresh rosemary sprigs, you want just the leaves

3/4 cup grated romano cheese

 

 

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just al dente, keep a little of the pasta water after it is cooked.

 

2. While the pasta is cooking make the sauce, heat the oil in a deep heavy based skillet over a medium heat, cook the garlic for about 3 minutes and then discard. Now add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes then add the cauliflower, stock and rosemary leaves.

Cover the pan and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

 

3. Add a ladle of the hot pasta water and mush the cauliflower with a handheld processor (I forgot the name of the gadget, whoops) I googled it's a handheld blender, drain the pasta and add it to the cauliflower. Add the cheese and toss to combine with the pasta, season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

 

This next recipe was to citrusy for us, it's the one recipe we had to throw away and order pizza instead, it really was, screw your eyes up tangy.

 

 

Citrus Garlic Shrimp

 

1 package linguine

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1/3 cup lemon juice

3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

5tsps grated lemon peel

4tsps grated orange peel

salt and pepper to taste

1lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

shredded parmesan and minced fresh parsley to top

 

 

1. Cook the linguine according to package directions, while that is cooking, in a blender combine the olive oil, orange and lemon juices, garlic, lemon and orange peel, season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

2. Pour the sauce into a large skillet heat and then add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Drain the pasta and toss with the shrimp mixture. Serve in deep dishes with parmesan and parsley sprinkled on top.



Childhood classic.... Apple Crumble

This is a classic dessert from my childhood. My mum used to make it, sometimes on a Sunday, a fruity and  crunchy topping, served with either ice cream, cream or custard, yummy! She would use gooseberries, rhubarb, plums or my favourite blackberries and apples, sprinkle a little cinnamon over the fruit and it's delicious. The thing I like most about this recipe is you can use any fruit you like. Another recipe with endless possibilities.

Also a useful tip, you can freeze the crumble topping, so you could make an extra large batch, freeze it and because it stays crumbly, you have an instant fuss free dessert option.

 

 

Apple Crumble

 

5-6 Peeled, cored and diced apples

60g dark brown sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1tbsp butter

 

for the Crumble Topping

 

250g whole wheat flour

1tsp baking powder

90g butter

150g dark brown sugar

 

 

1. In a large saucepan, with a lid, melt the tablespoon of butter, then add the apples, sugar and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples, cover and cook the apples until they are soft.

 

2. In the meantime make the topping, put all the crumble ingredients into a bowl and gently rub together using only your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

 

3. Put the apples into a shallow ovenproof dish and then sprinkle the topping over it, and bake in a 350F/180C oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot with cream, ice cream or custard.

Fear Not Winning Through..... Mexican Food

I often wonder if the fear of the unknown stops you from doing something, such as learning to drive, travelling alone to a foreign country or even something as silly as meeting new people - for some people the possibility of failure, fear of being alone or rejection can be too intense to bare. I think that food can be quite intimidating and it results in a kind of fear especially if you have tried something before and didn't like it. My blog about frogs legs would be a classic example of what I am talking about although I have still not tried them. Mexican food I can't remember what it was I ate that put me off? Maybe the bell peppers - although occasionally I do eat them. I would pointlessly go into a Mexican restaurant and order steak and chips with a mushroom sauce because it was safe - maybe it's ignorance, I wouldn't have known the difference between a fajita, enchilada, tamales, burrito or a chimichanga - it's hard to order something if you don't know what it is you are ordering. So you end up ordering what you always order! It is that fear of the unknown though that prevents you from trying something new. At some point you are going to have to put your fear aside and try it - fact is, it probably won't be as bad as you thought it would be. With that in mind I put my fears aside and tried this Mexican dish.

Shrimp Enchiladas

 

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4lbs raw medium shrimp

chopped green chilli

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8oz tub of Philadelphia

8 flour tortillas, warmed

1 1/2 cups chunky salsa

1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

 

1. In a large skillet, sauté onion until tender. Add the shrimp, chillies, chilli powder, salt, cumin and pepper. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes or until they turn pink, stir in the cream cheese until melted.

 

2. Place 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture down the centre of each of the tortillas, roll up and place seam side down in a greased baking dish. Pour salsa over the top and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.

 

3. Bake uncovered at 350F/180C for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Some times life is just SOOOO hard!

I don't know about you but I try not to wallow too much in self pity. After all we all have woes, there is always something that is sent to try us and pain us in some way and we have to somehow get through it all.

I have certainly had my fair share of rubbish through the years with one thing or person or the other but I always seem to land on my feet, always pushing through that next issue, trial or tribulation. I try not to think about it too much which sometimes makes me wonder if I am uncaring or cold hearted? I am certainly sensitive and take everything to heart, I love easily and I get hurt because of it, but sometimes I just switch off emotionally, lately I feel my whole system shutting down, only part listening to people answering with hmmm and A-huh! Hearing certain words but not whole conversations and answering, hoping it's enough to get me through, I seem to be blagging my way through that lately too.... I feel self absorbed my issues, my woes and strife's are taking over and controlling my existence. 

These last 12 months have been so life zapping, I feel like all the fun has just got up and left the room, there's nothing to smile about, nothing to laugh at and nothing to motivate me. All the things which have defined me in the last seven years seem to be going by the wayside, which if I am honest is probably half my problem, after all if you don't do the things you love doing how are you supposed to forget the things that are hurting you?

My Mother in-law was, is, an inspirational woman someone I can look to and admire and I guess only aspire to be like, strong, kind and loving and oh so very brave, I can only tell this story from my limited perspective, because with regret and probably my biggest and most painful regret to date is that I will never know this woman the way many others have known and loved her. Let me explain.....

In 2007 Glen and I first started seeing each other, in Germany, at the time I was 28 and I guess you believe your going to live for ever plenty of time why not right? Your still young.... In 2008 we got engaged, Glen moved to America with work, 2009 I followed and we got married, late 2010 we moved back to Germany. We were both wrapped up in work and life, getting on with "important" stuff. Then in 2012 last year we moved back to England, and it took us getting a phone call from his mother to tell us she was sick to wake up and smell the roses.

The first time I met her was in a hospital room in Newcastle, six years after I had met my husband, if I am honest not a lot from that day sticks out that much, we had taken the girls up too (although we hadn't told them how sick their Grandma was) and since we weren't all allowed in her room at the same time out of respect for the rest of the family I hung back. We knew she had terminal cancer at this point, but she had gone in to have a hernia, poked back in I suppose. Not that you would have guessed anything was wrong with her at the time, had it not been for the oxygen tubes. Cracking jokes and in truth more worried about her cat Socks than she was herself. I do remembering thinking how strong and almost overpowering her presence was, not in a bad way, she made you feel loved and warm, safe. I also remember feeling incredibly sad, because on the one hand I had been blessed with MIL that was so beautiful on so many levels but on the other I knew she was going to be taken away from me and probably sooner rather than later.

Over the following months we went up to see her, whenever she was well enough which towards the end was few and far between. Even when we did go up she wasn't much up to visitors!

We took Vinny up with us and she would put Socks in her bedroom and then fuss over the dog, I think he instinctively knew where the rich tea biscuits where kept, as she made him sit and then fed him handfuls of them, he loved his Grandma straight away.

Glen would tell me stories about when he went home and his mother would make far too much food and make him eat it, I put that down to one of those half truths, you know the type of story I mean..... "Oh there was hundreds of them" when in truth it was only about 10 but felt like 100. It's true though, the first time we went she didn't have anything ready but offered us sandwiches, crisps, pizza and chips (fries) amongst other stuff, which we politely declined. The next time we went, she had laid out, sandwiches, crisps, chocolates, cakes and biscuits and wouldn't accept a polite no thank you as an answer. She broke my heart this day, this was the day when I knew that despite my attempts at remaining detached that I loved her. She wept, not a lot, just a little, she knew that her time was slipping away but it wasn't HER time she was sad about, it was for those she was leaving behind, in particular her boys. She was worried about her beautiful boys, for Wayne, Darren and Glen. She had raised them on her own a strength in it's self to admire and respect because they are smart, hard working and caring men. A credit to their mother which can not be disputed and you could tell that she was so very, very proud of them.

She took everything in her stride, I have no doubt that it must have been very difficult for her but she had everything organised, down to the very last detail. How she managed to cope with that alone is beyond me. I fear I would have fallen apart.... At the end all her boys were around her, keeping a vigil. Taking it in turns to stroke her hands and her hair, she wasn't awake, but I think she knew we were all there! Especially her boys and Jill, my sister in law who is absolutely amazing, in par with my MIL as far as strength goes, another woman in my eyes to aspire to, I really have been blessed with strong women around me. Those last few hours, quiet time to reflect and think was quite literally the hardest in my life, for me it was a different kind of pain than the others, I don't feel less than them but part of me feels as though I have less rights to pain as them, mostly I feel cheated because she was the sort of woman, the MIL I have always wanted. I have a few memories that I can hold on to and I will with all my heart.

As an after thought, if anyone is reading this and is thinking about making a charitable donation anytime in the future spare a thought for the Marie Curie charity who do an absolutely outstanding job of looking after all their patients, with the utmost care and respect. There are only 9 hospices in the United Kingdom of their kind and are incredibly expensive to run, with no NHS funding they rely on people like us to donate whatever we can.

I love you Thelma. May you be forever peaceful now. xxxxxxx

Pasta Bakes

At the rate I am going, I am going to be able to write a book on all the pasta bakes I have tried. I could be an advocate for pasta bakes. I stand by my previous statements of "Pasta bakes are fast and convenient" if you are short on time or you want left overs for tomorrow - assuming you have leftovers, it's easy for me because we are going to have leftovers with just Glen and I. I don't know but words like low sodium, reduced fat and all those veggies make me feel good about this recipe, quite possibly a misplaced "Feel good" factor but it is what it is, personally I don't put much stock into low fat, no sugar ingredients - too much information is out their for you to read and so many people with different ideas it's hard to keep up with the latest new "Health" fad. Best example I can give of this, in my experience is low fat yogurt, I used to be quite heavy and got quite excited because I found out I have an under active thyroid - on medication I was likely (and did) lose the weight quite quickly, but I decided to eat more healthily too. I'm two things, a really bad liar, as such I don't bother, but I am also quite animated, when I get excited (basically I am trying to nicely say that at times I tend to run my mouth without thinking, usually when I get excited) yacking at work one day I was explaining about my new "diet" and these low fat, no sugar yogurts, to which I was told there is so much sweetener in them they're no better for you than if you ate a normal yogurt, so what's true? To be honest I don't know, I could go down to the library or do some research on the Internet, but to what avail? I'd end up with more information than I know what to do with, confusion? No I don't think so. I now take the moderation view, I feel this is better for me. This is not to say that at times I don't live in the misguidance (or not) that low fat, no sugar IS better for me, after all slimming world suggests using these products so there has to be something beneficial in it? And there we come full circle yet again.

Broccoli Ham Bake

 

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (or other similar pasta)

4 cups broccoli florets

1 large finely chopped onion

1 cup cubed cooked ham

2 tbsp butter, divided

1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour

4 cups fat-free milk

2 1/2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar

1/4 cup minced parsley

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup day old bread crumbs

 

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, meanwhile cook the broccoli until crisp tender.

 

2. In a deep skillet melt a tbsp of the butter and saute the onion and ham until the onion is softened, sprinkle with the flour, stir until well blended, then slowly stir in the milk, bring to a boil continuously stirring until thickened.

 

3. Stir in the cheese, parsley, mustard and all the seasonings. Drain the broccoli and pasta, stir into the cheese sauce and then transfer into an oven proof dish.

 

4. In a small skillet, melt the remaining butter add the breadcrumbs and stir. Sprinkle over the pasta mixture. Bake uncovered at 350F/180C for 25 minutes or until heated through.

Chicken Pasta Greek Style

I am one of those weird people that loves antipasto type foods, artichoke hearts, olives, feta, sun dried tomatoes, any of those sorts of foods get my taste buds going and an intense urge to pick takes control - it's a wonder any of it made it as far as the recipe. With all of my favourite things this was always going to be a winner for me - my poor husband on the other hand, hates artichokes and isn't a fan of olives, as for feta and sun dried tomatoes, he doesn't mind either way. Oh well, this is what I wanted to make, rather selfishly I suppose.... Maybe he won't notice the artichoke and olives if I don't tell him they are in there? Yeah right, the poor man spent  more time fishing out the artichokes than eating it. At least I didn't put the devils food in it as well (sweetcorn) that really would have been incredibly cruel. Although amusing for me.

Chicken Pasta Greek Style 

 

2 cups uncooked penne pasta

1/4 cup cubed butter

1 large roughly chopped onion

1 tbsp flour

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1 cup crumbled fete cheese

1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun dried tomatoes

1/3 cup sliced Greek olives

2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

 

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Melt the butter in a large oven proof skillet, saute the onion until tender, stir in the flour and gradually add the stock, bring to a boil continuously stirring until thickened, then stir in the chicken, artichokes, cheese, tomatoes and olives.

 

2. Drain pasta, stir into the chicken mixture, grill/broil for about 5 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top, sprinkle with parsley.

 

 

Sweet and Sour Lime Chicken

On my continous pursuit for new chicken recipes, I came across this one and it seemed perfect for what I had in mind. After my citrus escapade in the summer of 2010 - which I will get to in a later blog - I haven't really made anything which required citrusy flavours, unless we are talking about a few drops of lemon concentrate here and there, or a glass of orange juice. One mishap with an ingredient is no real reason to stop using it altogether, but I decided baby steps was the way forward. The original recipe said to use two limes but  I only used one. I suppose that citrus fear is still there. Like I said baby steps. To be honest I think maybe this was the right move to make, it was a very nice dish and encouraged me to be brave with the use of citrus fruits again - boy I sound like such a coward.

Sweet and Sour Lime Chicken

 

 

4 skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp honey

juice and rind of 1 lime

2 tsp tomato puree

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

serve with rice and garnish with spring onions

 

 

1. Slice the chicken into long thick strips, heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet. Add the chicken, season and stir-fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cooked through.

 

2. Mix together the honey, lime, tomato puree and soy sauce. Add to the frying pan and simmer with the chicken for a few minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. Serve on a bed of rice and garnish.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

This one is really good, the original recipe said to use foccacia bread - I know what that is, but I hadn't had any before and I couldn't find any in the German shop. I do have a few recipes for it, but if I am honest despite some recent successes, my baking is still pretty pityful. Since I had no idea what it's meant to taste like or what kind of texture it has I decided to give it a miss and opt for pita bread instead. At this point I wasn't too fussed - I could have easily choosen ciabatta bread - burger buns or wraps. I don't know which would have been a better subsitute, but what I do know is, I will be doing these with pita breads again. We really enjoy pita bread though, especially as a late night boozy snack. In such cases I normally shred some lettuce and stick it in a mixing bowl then finely chop tomato, shred either ham, turkey or chicken - sometimes if I have any smoked fish I will use that, it entirely depends what's in the fridge at the time - I used shrimp and crayfish once, that was yummy - salt and pepper and dollop of mayo and give it a good mix, in the meantime toast the pita and then stuff them full of the mixture... So for us pitas were always going to be a winner. 

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

 

2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

25g butter softened

zest of half a lemon

1 tbsp fresh thyme

2 chopped garlic cloves

2 pitta breads

2 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp cream cheese

50g watercress

1/2 tomato

mixed leaf salad

 

1. Using a rolling pin batter the chicken breasts until it is about a cm thick. In a bowl mix together the butter, lemon zest, thyme, and garlic. Using the herby butter season the chicken.

 

2. Place the chicken on a foil lined tray and grill the chicken under a medium heat grill for about 5-10 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through, use the juices and bast every now and again during cooking. Meanwhile warm the pita breads.

 

3. Split the pita's and spread mustard on the bottom half and cream cheese on the top, divide the water cress, tomato and mixed leaf  salad between the bases, and top with the chicken and the other half of the pita.

Shrimp Stirfry (Issues with being a cooking newbie)

I'm including this recipe because it is quintessential. Despite my now obvious mistakes and ingredient changes, mostly because I couldn't get what I needed. I have since discovered that I can get the ingredients - I just didn't know what I was looking for in the German shops. I do know now though, not that I am in Germany anymore. I'm not saying that Germany doesn't have the ingredients, but I am saying that I am a cooking newbie - Bok Choy and Sprouting Broccoli confuse me, add German to the mix and confused.com doesn't even begin to cover, how difficult it can be - even using google translate doesn't really help. Bok Choy for example came up as Bok Choy, only that's not what it is called in German. I wandered around that vegetable aisle for ages looking for Bok Choy and couldn't find it anywhere - so I decided to look for something similar - great, but what is similar to Bok Choy? At that point I wasn't even 100% sure, what it looked like or tasted like so how was I supposed to find something similar? I was certainly wishing that instead of assuming I would be able to get it, that I had done some research before leaving home. On this occasion I used savoy cabbage instead. I didn't give up though and on a later shopping trip I did find Bok Choy, I still didn't know what it was called, but at this point after having looked in my ingredients reference book that my husband had bought me for my birthday, I had a rough idea of what I was looking for. I had almost given up hope of finding it, when I picked this green leafy vegetable up and decided that, that was about as close as I was going to get - I got home and pulled that ingredients book out again and would you believe it, I had only gone and found the all illusive Bok Choy in German it is called Mari Gold or something like that, don't quote me on it though because I can't check. 

Shrimp Stirfry

 

11/2tsp cornflour/cornstarch

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 small savoy cabbage

1lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

 

 

1. In a small bowl combine the cornflour/cornstarch, stock and soy sauce until smooth. Set aside, thinly slice the cabbage and set aside.

 

2. In a large, skillet or wok, stir-fry shrimp in 1 tbsp of the oil, until the shrimpp turn pink, remove and keep warm.

 

3. Stir-fry the garlic and the chilli flakes in the remaining oil for about a minute the add the onion, mushrooms and  cabbage stir-fry for 4 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp tender.

 

4. Stir in the cornflour/cornstarch mixture and add to the pan, bring to a boil; cook and stir for a few minutes or until thickened add the shrimp and heat through, serve with chinese noodles.



Diet Food - Broccoli and Shrimp Soup

Briefly last year, by briefly I mean one recipe. I was on a healthy eating kick - it's always my intention to eat healthily, but despite my best intentions when looking for recipes I tend to skip over the really healthy 'diet' ones. I mean diet just sounds boring, tasteless and drab - am I right? In reality this doesn't have to be the case, it's just my silly mind set. For example this next recipe is low fat low everything soup. To be honest it's not bad either - I still don't like the idea of a diet, I am not massively over weight although a few lost pounds wouldn't hurt, but I am enjoying my 'Kitchen Antics' too much to quit now.... I'm going to have to 'research' diet recipes a bit more before I take the diet plunge.

 

Broccoli and Shrimp Soup

Serves 1

 

50g broccoli

1/4 litre vegetable broth

2 tbsp sour cream

salt, cayenne pepper

50g Shrimp

Dill

 

1. Wash the broccoli and seperate into two florets, blanche in the vegetable broth for about 15 minutes. Half the broccoli and set aside. Puree the broccoli and the vegetable borth, stir in the sour cream and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Add the rest of the broccoli, the shrimp and heat through, just before serving sprinkle with dill.

Tarragon and Apple Chicken

Sometimes I'll be going through my recipe books/magazine folders and something will catch my eye and I can almost taste what it will be like, or i'll see the picture with it and think it looks fantastic. I am easilly pleased if it sounds good and looks good or I can imagine the flavours teasing my taste buds, it gets included on that months menu. Chicken is a regular on our dinner table, laps at the moment to be honest, we don't have a dinner table or the room for one. I am always on the look out for new chicken recipes. I have to be careful with the timing though because I only use chicken breast. I have bought chicken thighs, although a slightly pointless exercise really - I can't eat the meat near the bone, which doesn't leave very much I can eat and an awful lot of waste.

 

Tarragon and Apple Roast Chicken

 

 

4 Chicken breast halves

salt and pepper to taste

6 tbsp olive oil

4 tarragon sprigs

10 whole garlic cloves

3 red apples, cored and quartered

2 tbsp cidar vinegar

200 ml chicken stock

 

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C, Place the chicken into a roasting tin, season with salt and pepper and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then add the tarragon, garlic and apples and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until Golden and cooked through, juices should run clear.

 

2. Remove the chicken from the roasting tin and keep warm, place the roasting tin over a low heat, add the vinegar and the chicken stock, bring to a boil and then pour over the chicken, Garnish with tarragon.



Bacon and Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers

I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. You can't beat a good burger, I love them and the more the better, cheese, bacon, mushrooms, jalapenos, yummy! I stack mine - gunk dripping down your elbows, unless you have managed to adopted the Guy Fieri method of eating a burger? Melted cheese and mayo dripping down your chin and onto your top are all perfect indications of a perfect burger (in my opinion) and you can't forget your fully loaded filling falling out of the back of your burger and onto your palms and then needing to be poked back in.

I would certainly avoid eating this sort of burger in public - it would be bound to turn out rather messy and embarassing experience - however at home, when the doors are locked and the curtains are drawn what do you have to lose? Dignity? I think not - so get in that kitchen and make your messy burger as tall as you can possibly manage to eat. Cram it full of all your favourite things.

Bacon and Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers

 

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

3oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/3 cup bacon bits

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1lb sliced fresh mushrooms

1tbsp olive oil

1tbsp water

1tbsp dijon mustard

4 wholewheat hambuger rolls split

1/4 cup mayonnaise

4 romaine leaves

1 medium tomato, sliced

 

1. Combine the cream cheese, blue cheese and bacon bits, make 8 thin burgers out of the beef, divide the cream chesse mixture onto the middle of four of the burgers, and top with the remaining burgers, press the edges to seal the burgers. Mix together the garlic powder, salt and pepper and use to season the tops of the burgers.

 

2. Grill the burgers for about 5-7 minutes on each side or until the thermometer read 160F and the juices run clear.

 

3. While the burgers are cooking, in a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, until they are tender, and stir in the water and mustard.

 

4. Serve the burgers on the buns, top with mayonnaise, romaine, tomato and mushrooom mixture.

A Little Magazine Gem - Mushroom Ragot with Spatzle

Over the years I have collected hundreds of magazine recipes, just over a year ago now I put them all in those plastic sleeves, seperated them into chapters and filed them. I then indexed each recipe, written totally by hand. I get some freaky satisfaction out of writting by hand, just as each of my blogs is first carefully thought out and written by hand first, then typed up, saved and proof read (normally, not always) before being posted. This is a recipe which came out of one of my German magazines called "Meine Famillie und Ich" I think they have changed the name of the magazine now to Genuss but I'm not 100% sure on that one. 

Mushroom Ragout with Spatzle

 

500g mixed mushrooms

500g button mushrooms

500g spatzle

50g onion

2 tbsp olive oil

bacon bits

2 tbsp creme fraiche

3 tbsp parsley

3 garlic cloves

pepper

 

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic,  then gently saute them with the bacon bits.

 

2. Add all the mushrooms and saute for a further 10 minutes then season with pepper, parsley and creme fraiche.

 

3.Cook the spatzle for about 3 minutes in boiling water and serve with the ragout.