Scones

Well, as it happens, this is one thing I can bake better than my mum. She just can't make scones.
I did a bit of reading first, and this is an adaption of the Be-ro recipe for plain scones. It's simple, and it just works.

Ingredients

225g  Self Raising Flour
1tsp  Baking Powder
Pinch Salt
2tsp  Sugar
50 g  margarine
Enough milk to make a soft dough
Egg to glaze

I used a food processor.
1. Put the flour, baking powder, salt sugar and margarine into the food processor and blitz it until it is crumbed.
If you don't have a food processor, rub the fat into the flour with cold hands until it looks crumbed.
(If you aren't sure how to do this, maybe you should go and buy some scones, the ones from Marks and Spencer are quite nice.)
2. Add the milk slowly and blitz the mixture in pulses, soon enough it will clump into a dough.
3. drop the dough into a bowl, and kneed it a little to form a soft ball of dough, similar in consistency to bread dough. Try to keep the it cool at all times, and don't over work it.
4. Roll it out on a floured surface, cut into circles with your large cutter - or a cup.
5. Glaze with egg and bake on a sheet at 220C for 10 minutes (200C for fan assisted).

You can't buy nice scones, because they are always cold and lifeless. Don't mess about, eat them while they are still warm from the oven, that's what they are designed for.

This is how it works:

Butter =====> Jam =====> Cream

Don't even think about changing the order.
I used squirty cream, I prefer clotted, but I am trying to avoid a heart attack :)

Enjoy!

Beef Stifado

I have had the pleasure of eating this in a Greek restaurant. I had never made it before but fancied making something new. So..... I found a few recipes and molded them into this concoction. It worked really well, I am very pleased with it. I have updated it a few times now, and it's pretty bulletproof.

I forgot to take a picture, so I stole this one, it gives you the general idea...

Ingredients (Serves 4)
Cooking time 2-3 Hrs total.

1kg of lean beef cubed
500 grams of shallots or baby onions
2 large Onions sliced thinly
2 big tomatoes
4 to 6 Garlic Cloves
Cloves 3-4
vegetable stock cube
Wine glass of extra virgin olive oil
Wine glass of Red Wine
2 tbsp of wine vinegar
2 tbsp of tomato puree/paste
1 cinnamon stick
Some rosemary if you have some
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
Black pepper
Salt

1. Heat a little oil, and put the meat in a large frying pan, and sear the meat. Then add the olive oil, onions and garlic leave until onions start to go soft (about 5 minutes)

2. Add the glass of red wine and 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar, cover, and leave for 5 minutes

3. Add your cinnamon, stock cube, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, rosemary, tomato puree, and salt and pepper to taste. keep stirring to let all your ingredients mix together.

4. Add your chopped tomatoes and continue stirring for 5 minutes,

5. Transfer to a casserole dish, if it looks dry add a little water (or wine if you are hardcore), just enough to cover the meat, be careful not to drown the sauce, then cook for at least one hour in the oven on 160C, keeping checking - you don't want it to dry out and add water (wine you fool) if needed - you are aiming for a thick rich sauce texture.

6. Peel, then fry the shallots/baby onions in a little olive oil, be careful not to burn them, just aim to soften them and add a little colour, add these to Stifado after one hour of cooking in the oven and cook for a further 1 hour until the meat is tender.

Serve with rice or roast potatoes, or both.... and a bit of salad.

Enjoy

Tandori Chicken

Well, this isn't so much a recipe, more of an idea for dinner. If you can read the side of the Schwartz Tandoori Curry Powder container, you can make this........

All you need to do is mix some Tandoori Curry powder with some yoghurt, and stick it on the chicken. I added a bit of garlic, becasue I just can't help myself.

I've done this with all sorts of curry powders and spices, it always works well, just make sure you use plenty. 2 or 3 desert spoons of spices does it for me.

I served it up with some salad and potato wedges. Nom nom nom.

Enjoy

Onion Bhajees

Well, this is a favourite of mine. It's another recipe from The Curry Secret. I like to serve them up with mango chutney, yoghurt mint sauce and a bit of salad. I cooked this on Saturday, it was so nice, we are having them again on Friday!

Recipe (Serves 4)

4 medium onions
8 oz (225g) gram flour
4 level teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoon mint sauce
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon finely chopped green coriander
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 litre Oil for deep frying

Peel and thinly slice the onions.

Sift the gram flour and salt into a bowl and add enough water to make a stiff batter.

Add the onions and all the remaining ingredients to the batter and mix well.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the measure into hot oil and fry for about three minutes.

Remove the bhajees and press into circular flat patti shapes. I squash them between 2 plates.

Return to the oil and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the outside is dark brown.

It's nice to have a few authentic dishes...

P.S. I had a few comments about the poor quality of the pictures. I'm no photographer, but I hope they are getting better. Hopefully it doesn't look like I have made a plate of "Brown" !!

Mango Chutney

After an emergency trip to McDonalds, to top up on junk food, we made some Mango Chutney. It's bloody lovely, but I never realised how much 4KG of mangos would be......

Here's just a few!

It's a lot. The original recipe was for 2 KG, but being a smart arse I doubled it, and couldn't fit it in the pan. Luckily Emma has 2 big pans :)

Served up with some Yoghurt Mint Sauce and a little chopped salad.

Recipe is from "The New Curry Secret", slightly modified.
Makes about 2-3 jars

2kg Mangos peeled and chopped.
350g Sugar
2 Chillis Chopped
500ml White wine Vinegar
2tsp Grated Ginger

Put it in a big pan, bring to the boil, and simmer for an hour.

Sugar and chilli. I thought it looked nice.

I suggest you buy the book, it's probably the best curry book I have ever bought.

I had a bit too much liquid after an hour, so I removed some from the pan with a ladel.

I like it smooth, so I blended it.

Then I put it into sterilised jars.

Here's my haul of chutney, in its jars. The tall one in the middle is an imposter, and it just some of the juice I removed. I thought I'd keep it and use it as a pouring sauce.

Healthy Lunch

Every one has to have their vitamins......

So in an effort to get more Iron, it was necessary to swing by to get a medicinal Big Mac, and a diet Coke...

KFC

Well, today was a day off cooking. I went to see the Colonel!

Maybe I'll try cooking some Southern Fried Chicken some time. I'll look for a recipe.

It's a long journey, and you can't expect me to cook every day, lol.

Emma is cooking curry tomorrow, and I am well looking forward to it :) And on Saturday we are making Mango Chutney together, so I'll ley you know how we get on.

Love the Food
x

Spicey Cajun Pork in Tomato

Well, today I couldn't have felt less like cooking. I was tired and hungry, not a good combination, but once I got going I enjoyed it. I had no choice, it was cook or starve, and anyone who knows me also knows I won't starve. Pork again, mainly becasue I got a good deal on it, and it's on the top of the freezer. You can also make this with 2 chicken breasts.

 Spicey Cajun Pork in Tomato

Ingredients (Serves 2)

2 Pork Loin Chops chopped into strips.
1 finely chopped onion
1 clove of garlic
390g chopped tomatoes
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp crushed dried chillis
2 tbsp olive oil
200g sliced buttom mushrooms

Heat the oil in a fryin pan.
Add the pork and the cajun seasoning, and fry for 5-6 minutes on a medium heat.
Add the onions, paprika, garlic, crushed chillis and the onions, and fry for another 6-7 minutes stiring regularly until the onions start to brown.
Tip in the mushrooms and tomatoes, and stir in.
When boiling, turn down the heat, and simmer gently for another 15 minutes, until it has reduced to form a nice thick shiney sauce.

Server with rice or cous-cous, and a little bit of salad if you have some.

Pork Fried Rice

I have been making this for years. It tastes great, and can be made with pork, chicken, bacon or turkey. My dad used to make fried rice when I was a kid, I got a lot of the recipe from watching what he did when he made it. This is a great way to use up a small amount of left over meat, as it goes a long way in this dish. The quantities aren't really important, I often use left over rice rice too. So you can adapt it to suite your ingredients.

Serves 2 to 4 depending on appetite.

Ingredients
1 mug of rice (I use basmati)
2 pork loin chops
1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 Onion - finely chopped
1 Egg - whisked
1/2 Mug of Frozen peas
Vegetable Oil

1. Cut any fat or skin off the meat, and slice into small pieces. I like mine fairly small, about bite size so it's easy to eat. Place in a bowl, add the Chinese 5 spice, the sugar, and a good splosh of soy sauce. Mix it up, cover, and allow to marinade for at least 10 minutes, longer is better.

2. Place 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan or wok. Heat the oil, and add the meat, fry on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until cooked through and nicely browned. Set aside for later.

3. Cook the rice according to the instructions. For Basmati rice, soak for about 15 minutes and rinse. Simmer in plenty of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Strain in a seive and rinse in boiling water straight from the kettle. Set this aside for later.

4. Place 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan or wok. Heat the oil, add the onions and gently fryuntil soft and translucent. Add the peas, and fry gently for a further few minutes. Add the beaten egg, and keep stiring and tossing it to break the egg up as it cooks. Add the meat and toss it all about for a minute.

5. Add the rice to the pan, and mix it all thoroughly whilst on a medium heat. Add a good few shakes of Soy Sauce and keep stiring until it's all mixed in and piping hot.

Serve with egg noodles and maybe some curry sauce. Any fool can cook noodles, just read the packet. I prefer the small egg thread noodles.

Enjoy
x

Welcome

Hi,
And welcome! I decided to do a bit more cooking this year, and I thought this would be a great way to share my experiences and recipes. I'm not a chef, or a cook. I just love cooking and eating. I shop at Tesco and Sainsbury's, so if they don't sell it, I don't use it.

I would also like a way to share my recipes with my friends - here they are :)

First up will be Pork fried rice, inspired by my Dad's recipe he has used for years. This will follow with pictures in the next few days. Enjoy. I'll see you soon.