K is for Kegeree

 

We are currently watching the latest round of Masterchef on BBC1. We haven't watched every episode but catch it from time to time. One thing which always amazes me about the people who take part is the way they cook dishes they have never tried or tastedI I mean this is a COMPETITION so if it was me I would make sure the dishes I cooked were tried and tested beyond belief!

A few weeks ago one of the challenges was to cook kegeree. I decided to give it a go as it is something I have never cooked before. I do my own stir fry but with long grained rice. When I saw some proper risotto rice at a reduced price I had to buy some and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use some up. This then are the ingrediants I used:-

500g risotto( arborio)
Olive oil
1 pt stock
2 chopped onions
Spices to taste (cumin, chilli, etc)
Mixed vegetables
4 soft boiled eggs
Cooked flaked mackeral or fish of choice ( I quite fancy trying with monkfish)


Heat olive oil, add onions and cook till golden brown.
Add rice and stir in half the stock.
Cook until absorbed.
Stir in remainder with cooked veg and stir until rice has absorbed liquid and veg is heated thoroughly.
Add fish and cut egg.
Serve straight away!

J is for Jam and pure Joy!

Scones with jam and cream are sheer joy! Following on with my cookery challenge I tried out and modified another new recipe this week, infact only yesterday, Monday. From the Hairy Bikers recipe book this was the recipe :-

Ingredients

340g SR flour
pinch salt
85g butter
55g castor sugar
125ml milk
4 tbsp natural yoghurt

Heat oven to 200 c Gas 7

Mix salt in flour
Rub in butter
Add sugar, stir
Add milk & yoghurt
Work until soft dough
Roll and cut into scone shapes
Brush tops with milk

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes

I used vanilla yoghurt and the taste was simply out of this world!
Add strawberry jam & cream!
So easy but the taste, sheer sheer JOY!

I is for Interview!

We as a family have been in the news!
Last week I was featured on the Chris Evan's Breakfast show when I took part in the megaphone challenge, which takes place every morning around 8am! It was really funny and I had many people calling me up to say they had heard me.

I regularly take part on a Hospital Radio Show and a couple of week's ago I shared all about ABC Wednesday which you can listen to here. I am on half way through the programme, 33 minutes 45 seconds into the broadcast. I talk about various recipes and ofcourse ABC gets a mention!

Our Godson has his own radio programme on a local radio station, each Tuesday at 1pm. You can listen to it via this link!

Continuing with my cooking challenge this week I am cooking a traditional lancashire hotpot! A new recipe for me.

 

Ingredients

* 100g dripping or butter
* 900g stewing lamb , cut into large chunks
* 2 medium onions , chopped
* 4 carrots , peeled and sliced
* 25g plain flour
* 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
* 500ml lamb or chicken stock
* 2 bay leaves
* 900g potatoes , peeled and sliced


1. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Heat some dripping or butter in a large shallow casserole dish, brown the lamb in batches, lift to a plate.
2. Fry the onions and carrots in the pan with a little more dripping until golden. Sprinkle over the flour, allow to cook for a couple of mins, shake over the Worcestershire sauce, pour in the stock, then bring to the boil. Stir in the meat and bay leaves, then turn off the heat. Arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the meat, then drizzle with a little more dripping. Cover, then place in the oven for about 1½ hrs until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Remove the lid, brush the potatoes with a little more dripping, then turn the oven up to brown the potatoes, or finish under the grill for 5-8 mins until brown.

H is for Herby Potatoes.

Life is very hectic at the moment what with my wedding commissions and Jon's business. Both entirely different but enjoyable in their own ways.
I am developing a new product at the moment and received a fantastic response at a recent Wedding Fayre. Responses are all very well, but it is the follow up which is a true test of success, so to receive a deposit for a definite booking was a good measure of future commissions.
With Jon's business it is all about bureaucracy and I am working on policy statements regarding Health & Safety, Quality Assurance etc. Sounds boring but it does bring back memories of the policy statements I was involved with in Education so I am finding it quite enjoyable in a strange way!

Keen to keep up with my cookery challenge, ie to develop or try a new recipe each week today I am sharing my Herby Potato Recipe, a recipe of my very own, inspired by a jar of mustard!

We were with one of Jon's customer's last week and for lunch I had warm potatoes together with a lovely fillet steak kebab. The customer runs a farm shop and had a variety of interesting jars on sale, amongst them I saw a jar of Horseradish Wholegrain Mustard. On our return home I cooked some roughly cut potatoes and stirred in a couple of tablespoons of the mustard together with 2 beaten eggs. I then transferred the mixture to a greased oven dish and cooked for 15 minutes. Absolutely awesome! We have to return to the shop in the not too distant future so I will be developing the recipe when I try out different mustard and other bits and bobs!

G is for Good Old Fashioned British Cooking!

Easy Chicken & Mushroom Pie!

We all go through fads and fazes, hubby announced only last night that he was going off fancy food! I was somewhat surprised as I would not regard myself as a fancy food cook, but heyho in the everyday life of a domestic goddess I guess one has to take delivery of such comments gracefully and move on! before I move on however I will mention that this comment came after he "played" with his Lamb Biryani and said that he didn't really like lamb biryani! My mind cast back to last week when I remember removing an empty plate after he had heartedly tucked into ....yes you've guessed Lamb Biryani! BUT as I say.....quickly moving on.........
so I decided to do a good old fashioned pie, chicken and mushroom to be precise, why? cos we had chicken and mushrooms in the fridge.

This is my recipe, I made it up for ease, and to be part of my cookery challenge!

Short crust pastry

Diced chicken
Mushrooms
Stock cubes
cup of milk
2 Tablespoons of flour
Seasoning

Cook chicken in a splash of oil.
Add stock cubes/stock and cook until chicken well coated.
Add mushrooms and milk.
Dissolve flour in a jug with a splash of cold water, gradually add in stock from pan.
Stir until thickens.
Leave to cool after seasoning

Line pie dish & bake blind for 10 minutes
Pour chicken filling into pie dish
Coat crust with water
Add pastry lid and trim edges.
Coat with beaten egg & cook 20 - 25 minutes in 180 oven.

We will be having this tonight, will let you know how it goes, but the tasting I did throughout was very favourable, let's see what the boss? thinks! lol!

Trivia for Tuesday!

I came across this fun project and decided to join in!

I buy all of Jon's ties, so it was fitting to start the ball rolling with this, my favourite tie. Due to my business I attend many wedding fayres, and indeed it was at one event I saw this tie and had to buy it for Jon! Whenever I attend any function I always try to find a little something for Jon and he was over the moon with this. I love the detail in the tie, especially the road sign! It is appropriate today as our own motorbike is having it's annual MOT test so it will be ready to take us out and about on our adventures!

Believe me it is a very very cold day but Jon found himself a free day so he booked the bike in and set off only moments ago..........



Thanks to Troy for having the brainwave!

Thought for today!

Synchronicity means everything happens at the right time, right place and often for the right reason. Contact someone you've been thinking about. When you think of someone it is likely they are thinking about you. Learn to read the signs and go where you are guided.