Thank you for comments, as always, I've answered them. I'm bad at replying to comments, I know....I have a little run of answering and then not so much. I will always try to answer any queries in a blog post, if not the actual comment - give me a prod if I don't! Welcome to some more new followers too, it's lovely to have readers of my previous blog, plus some new ones.
Well, the mystery quiche turned out to be roasted squash, blue cheese and sage, delicious. We're having the other half for lunch today, must remember to get it out of the fridge before we go shopping, I like it cold but room temperature, not fridge cold. Think we'll have a mug of soup (bought one, there's a few in the cupboard) with it, we'll be cold when we get back as it's not going to get much above freezing today, apparently, with a very cold wind. Snow is forecast for late this afternoon/early evening, it doesn't look like it'll be a lot though and there's no more forecast for tomorrow.
Dinner tonight will be the rest of the savoury mince I made a couple of days ago. Incidentally, I was going to make a cheesy cobbler topping but husband decided he'd like dumplings, so I made cheesy dumplings instead. Made double quantity and froze the extras, I'll probably make a tomato and lentil soup to have them with, it's definitely soup weather at the mo. I'll do Yorkshire puds to go with the mince tonight.
I have some apples to use up, haven't decided what to do with them yet. Went to a garden centre the other day, they were selling bags of about a dozen Cox's apples, which are my favourite. Should have known better, really, I like them when they're first ready to harvest, when they're very crisp, sharp and juicy....these ones have clearly been stored for a few weeks and they're no longer sharp or crisp, very disappointing. I expect I'll put them in a cake.
Thursday, 31 January 2019
Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Quiche, wedges and homemade coleslaw
We're going out today so it's something out of the freezer for dinner tonight....an anonymous quiche (I forgot to label it when I made and froze it a few weeks ago), bought spicy wedges and homemade coleslaw. The coleslaw is white and red cabbage and carrots - although I usually finely slice the cabbage and grate the carrots, for quickness today I shall be whizzing them in my food processor - yes it chops rather than shreds or slices (my grater attachment broke ages ago), but we don't mind, it all goes down the same way. I'll add a handful of grated cheese too. Incidentally, I buy big blocks of Cheddar when on offer, grate it myself and keep it in plastic bags in the freezer. You can use it straight from the freezer, it stays free-flowing and defrosts in no time if you want it as is.
I don't put onion in coleslaw as raw onion doesn't agree with me, gives me stomach trouble.
The dressing will be mayo and Greek yogurt, half and half, with a spoonful of grainy mustard, salt & pepper and a sprinkle of paprika.
An anonymous reader asked about reheating frozen veggy cobbler so that the scone topping doesn't burn. Yes, reheating in the microwave would be fine, or do it in the oven if you like but cover the dish with foil, that should stop the scones burning. That's what I do. Or you could always take the scones off, reheat the casserole and then add the scones back on top for the last 5 or 10 minutes.
I'm happy to allow anonymous comments if people don't have a Blogger account (provided they're polite comments, of course). But would you anonymous commenters mind putting your name at the end of your comment, especially if you ask a question? It's a bit disconcerting replying to someone who's a complete stranger, just as it would be in real life face to face.
I don't put onion in coleslaw as raw onion doesn't agree with me, gives me stomach trouble.
The dressing will be mayo and Greek yogurt, half and half, with a spoonful of grainy mustard, salt & pepper and a sprinkle of paprika.
An anonymous reader asked about reheating frozen veggy cobbler so that the scone topping doesn't burn. Yes, reheating in the microwave would be fine, or do it in the oven if you like but cover the dish with foil, that should stop the scones burning. That's what I do. Or you could always take the scones off, reheat the casserole and then add the scones back on top for the last 5 or 10 minutes.
I'm happy to allow anonymous comments if people don't have a Blogger account (provided they're polite comments, of course). But would you anonymous commenters mind putting your name at the end of your comment, especially if you ask a question? It's a bit disconcerting replying to someone who's a complete stranger, just as it would be in real life face to face.
Tuesday, 29 January 2019
A freezer food week and Minced Beef Cobbler
My main food focus this week is making inroads into the freezer stuff. Yesterday's bubble & squeak used up leftover veg from Sunday dinner, along with various bits of cooked veg I'd saved up in bags in the freezer. We'll be having beef mince on 2 days, a previously made quiche (should have labelled it, I can't remember what I put in it), chicken pasta bake, diced beef and sliced turkey, both left over from Christmas. I'm also going to use quite a bit of frozen shop bought veggies, along with fresh veg.
I want to have a baking day soon, making a couple of loaves of bread, some cakes and some savoury things, sausage rolls, cheese scones and the like, to put in the freezer, so I need the space. But the big upright freezer in the utility room needs defrosting before I put anything else into it, hence the need to use up as much as I can of what's in it.
Minced beef cobbler for dinner tonight, that's savoury mince with lots of frozen veggies added, with homemade cheese scones (you Americans call them biscuits, I believe) on the top. Funny how food names vary in different countries....biscuits are something entirely different here in the UK, I guess you call them cookies - flat crunchy (sometimes soft and chewy) baked things you (well, we! you might not) dunk in your cup of tea.
Gemma's Person, you asked about baked beans - yes, they're out of a tin, I think they're haricot beans here, in a thick tomatoey flavoured sauce. I do make my own sometimes, using dried beans, chopped canned tomatoes or passata, tomato puree, brown sugar, onions and spices, I make it in the slow cooker.
I want to have a baking day soon, making a couple of loaves of bread, some cakes and some savoury things, sausage rolls, cheese scones and the like, to put in the freezer, so I need the space. But the big upright freezer in the utility room needs defrosting before I put anything else into it, hence the need to use up as much as I can of what's in it.
Minced beef cobbler for dinner tonight, that's savoury mince with lots of frozen veggies added, with homemade cheese scones (you Americans call them biscuits, I believe) on the top. Funny how food names vary in different countries....biscuits are something entirely different here in the UK, I guess you call them cookies - flat crunchy (sometimes soft and chewy) baked things you (well, we! you might not) dunk in your cup of tea.
Gemma's Person, you asked about baked beans - yes, they're out of a tin, I think they're haricot beans here, in a thick tomatoey flavoured sauce. I do make my own sometimes, using dried beans, chopped canned tomatoes or passata, tomato puree, brown sugar, onions and spices, I make it in the slow cooker.
Monday, 28 January 2019
Meat free Monday - Veg soup and Bubble & Squeak
Today I'm making a veggie soup for lunch, using a pack of ready diced carrot & swede, 40p in the supermarket. 40p is cheap anyhow, but it's an absolute bargain for the convenience of having it peeled and diced ready for use. I'll add a couple of handfuls of red lentils and a chopped leek, with some homemade stock from the freezer, it'll give us 2 or 3 days' worth of lunches.
For dinner it'll be bubble and squeak, with a fried egg and baked beans. Bubble and squeak, for overseas readers who haven't heard of it, is cooked leftover veg, from Sunday roast dinner usually, chopped up, mixed together and fried until crispy. It almost always contains roast and/or boiled potatoes and Brussels sprouts, but can use up any cooked veg you have kicking around. I freeze even small amounts of leftover veg until there's enough to make a decent bubble. You can add shredded leftover roast meat, or chopped bacon, or serve it alongside sausages. It must always be drizzled with spicy brown sauce, though! (Well, it's a must for me, husband hates brown sauce). Today's B & S consists of cooked roast spuds, parsnips, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and carrots. Sometimes I cook it all together as one big mash up, sometimes I form it into individual patties...today it'll be all done together. It's proper old fashioned comfort food and is worth cooking extra veg for, just to make sure you have enough and a good excuse to make bubble and squeak!
Thank you for comments. Marlene made a comment yesterday about the recipe I'd used for my risotto being different to the one she'd used - it was the same recipe actually, I'd just added a few different things. More often than not I'll change a recipe....leave out something I don't like or don't have, and substitute something else. Or just add something I think will also work well in it. I suppose I view recipes as an idea - that's not to say the original recipe won't work, I'm sure it will and no disrespect to the writer of the original. It gives me ideas, I suppose, and I like experimenting.
For dinner it'll be bubble and squeak, with a fried egg and baked beans. Bubble and squeak, for overseas readers who haven't heard of it, is cooked leftover veg, from Sunday roast dinner usually, chopped up, mixed together and fried until crispy. It almost always contains roast and/or boiled potatoes and Brussels sprouts, but can use up any cooked veg you have kicking around. I freeze even small amounts of leftover veg until there's enough to make a decent bubble. You can add shredded leftover roast meat, or chopped bacon, or serve it alongside sausages. It must always be drizzled with spicy brown sauce, though! (Well, it's a must for me, husband hates brown sauce). Today's B & S consists of cooked roast spuds, parsnips, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and carrots. Sometimes I cook it all together as one big mash up, sometimes I form it into individual patties...today it'll be all done together. It's proper old fashioned comfort food and is worth cooking extra veg for, just to make sure you have enough and a good excuse to make bubble and squeak!
Thank you for comments. Marlene made a comment yesterday about the recipe I'd used for my risotto being different to the one she'd used - it was the same recipe actually, I'd just added a few different things. More often than not I'll change a recipe....leave out something I don't like or don't have, and substitute something else. Or just add something I think will also work well in it. I suppose I view recipes as an idea - that's not to say the original recipe won't work, I'm sure it will and no disrespect to the writer of the original. It gives me ideas, I suppose, and I like experimenting.
Sunday, 27 January 2019
Husband cooking dinner today
The fish finger butty was lovely, as usual. I like Little Gem lettuce in it but had forgotten to buy any so went without, husband had watercress, which I'm not keen on, in his.
Took a couple of bites before remembering to take a photo
The sprout and Dolcelatte risotto was gorgeous, the cider and blue cheese really made it.
Frying the leek, sliced sprouts and courgettes
Adding the blue cheese when the brown rice was nearly cooked
The finished dish, with pecans stirred in at the end to retain the crunch.
We're having belly pork slices today, with assorted veggies. Husband's cooking it, so I'll leave it up to him to choose which veg and how he's going to cook the pork. I've suggested a cider sauce, as there's half a bottle left from the risotto....he's not keen on making sauces so I'll probably do that. He doesn't do a lot of cooking, although usually prepares the lunch (quite often it's soup that I made earlier, or he makes a sandwich for us), but likes to do Sunday dinner sometimes. It's nice to have a day off cooking occasionally, and he does do a good job....even if he makes a bit of a mess in the kitchen!
The sprout and Dolcelatte risotto was gorgeous, the cider and blue cheese really made it.
We're having belly pork slices today, with assorted veggies. Husband's cooking it, so I'll leave it up to him to choose which veg and how he's going to cook the pork. I've suggested a cider sauce, as there's half a bottle left from the risotto....he's not keen on making sauces so I'll probably do that. He doesn't do a lot of cooking, although usually prepares the lunch (quite often it's soup that I made earlier, or he makes a sandwich for us), but likes to do Sunday dinner sometimes. It's nice to have a day off cooking occasionally, and he does do a good job....even if he makes a bit of a mess in the kitchen!
Saturday, 26 January 2019
Fish finger butty, Sprout & blue cheese risotto
A butty, for overseas readers, is a filled bread roll or sandwich. We like MaccyD's filet o fish, but rarely buy them, cheaper to make our own. So this is what we're having for lunch today - a wholemeal seeded roll filled with grilled fish fingers, slice of Swiss cheese, mayo and salad leaves, with sliced gherkins on the side (they tend to fall out if you put them in the butty, which is pretty messy to eat anyway).
Risotto - we have risottos quite often, we really like them, and it's a good way of using up leftover veg or meat. As for the rice....I don't use proper risotto rice, just ordinary bog-standard brown rice. Sacrilege, I know. And using ordinary rice means you don't get the soft creamy stickiness you have with proper risotto rice. But we don't care, we still like it anyway. The reason I don't use risotto rice is partly cost - it tends to be dearer than ordinary rice - and partly because risotto rice generally is white. As a diabetic, white carbs aren't good for me at all so I have brown by preference. You can get brown risotto rice, but not generally in the shops (none of our local supermarkets stock it, nor does the health food store in the town) so have to order it online and it's a lot more expensive. So brown ordinary rice it is. I have a big 3kg bag of brown basmati which I bought cheaply from Approved Foods some while ago (Approved Foods is an online retailer of short- or out-of-date dried, tinned or packet foods), but today am using brown easy cook rice, slightly shorter grained, which one of the supermarkets had on offer a few weeks back.
Marlene S mentioned a Brussels sprout and cheese risotto she made from a Miguel Barclay book, he used Stilton but Marlene's family aren't keen on it so used goats cheese instead. We do like blue cheese - I haven't got Stilton but do have a pack of Dolcelatte I picked up yesterday on a yellow sticker. As a soft cheese, it needs to be used quickly, so that's going in the risotto. I'll also use sprouts (of course), one of our homegrown leeks, some mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes (there's a half full jar in the fridge that I keep forgetting about, hope there's no mould!) and some cider as the stock - we have a couple of bottles in the utility room bought when we had friends round ages ago that have been there ever since...the cider that is, not the friends! Garlic bread from the freezer (still trying to make inroads into the freezer stuff). I'll try to remember to take photos later.
Risotto - we have risottos quite often, we really like them, and it's a good way of using up leftover veg or meat. As for the rice....I don't use proper risotto rice, just ordinary bog-standard brown rice. Sacrilege, I know. And using ordinary rice means you don't get the soft creamy stickiness you have with proper risotto rice. But we don't care, we still like it anyway. The reason I don't use risotto rice is partly cost - it tends to be dearer than ordinary rice - and partly because risotto rice generally is white. As a diabetic, white carbs aren't good for me at all so I have brown by preference. You can get brown risotto rice, but not generally in the shops (none of our local supermarkets stock it, nor does the health food store in the town) so have to order it online and it's a lot more expensive. So brown ordinary rice it is. I have a big 3kg bag of brown basmati which I bought cheaply from Approved Foods some while ago (Approved Foods is an online retailer of short- or out-of-date dried, tinned or packet foods), but today am using brown easy cook rice, slightly shorter grained, which one of the supermarkets had on offer a few weeks back.
Marlene S mentioned a Brussels sprout and cheese risotto she made from a Miguel Barclay book, he used Stilton but Marlene's family aren't keen on it so used goats cheese instead. We do like blue cheese - I haven't got Stilton but do have a pack of Dolcelatte I picked up yesterday on a yellow sticker. As a soft cheese, it needs to be used quickly, so that's going in the risotto. I'll also use sprouts (of course), one of our homegrown leeks, some mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes (there's a half full jar in the fridge that I keep forgetting about, hope there's no mould!) and some cider as the stock - we have a couple of bottles in the utility room bought when we had friends round ages ago that have been there ever since...the cider that is, not the friends! Garlic bread from the freezer (still trying to make inroads into the freezer stuff). I'll try to remember to take photos later.
Friday, 25 January 2019
Comments and yesterday's food photos
Several new followers already, welcome everyone. Thanks for comments, think I'll answer some of them here.
Rosemary (what a beautiful blog you have, so much colour!) said about finding out how so many veggies can be roasted successfully - yes, I've been finding the same, who knew! I too roasted beetroot for the first time last year - it really brings out the flavour and they taste delightfully sweet. I've also recently started roasting cauliflower - rather than breaking it into florets, I slice it into thick 'steaks', spray them with oil and sprinkle with paprika then roast until browned. Delicious.
Marlene J asked about recipes for lentils/pulses. I don't tend to make meals using lentils as the main ingredient, as husband's not keen on them - he says they taste too earthy. But I do use them a lot in my cooking. I put a couple of handfuls of red lentils into stews, mince dishes, curries and the like to thicken them and make them go further, you hardly notice they're there as they disintegrate when cooked down. I also make soup with them, lentil and bacon or tomato and lentil, or carrot and lentil. The little blue/green Puy lentils I cook first, a whole packet at a time, and freeze in portions. I like a heaped tablespoon of them added to a risotto, they seem to pair quite well with rice. I also do a sausage and lentil dish...cut sausages into chunks (I use scissors to cut each sausage into 3 or 4) and fry with sliced onions or leeks, mushrooms and any other veg you have knocking around. Add some wine if you have it and sizzle to cook down, then throw in the Puy lentils and a tin of chopped tomatoes and whatever herbs you fancy, simmer until thickened. This also works really well with chicken pieces, breasts or thighs. I'll have a think about recipes for pulses, none immediately spring to mind, well, other than hummus and split pea and ham soup.
Marlene S - your sprout and cheese risotto sounds delicious, I'll have to try that.
TA - no darling, there's not much room for a food processor in your kitchen is there?! Small but perfectly formed! And yes, I do know how you feel about courgettes....plenty of other things to try instead though.
Photos:-
The breakfast muffins I made the other day.
Potatoes boiled and smashed.
Brushed with melted butter and cheese sprinkled on, prior to roasting. I made plenty, the rest will be saved for the weekend, we'll have them with beans for lunch on Saturday.
Cheese sauce added to the smashed potatoes, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, and Brussels sprouts roasted with dried cranberries and pecans. Yummy and filling and we didn't miss meat at all.
Rosemary (what a beautiful blog you have, so much colour!) said about finding out how so many veggies can be roasted successfully - yes, I've been finding the same, who knew! I too roasted beetroot for the first time last year - it really brings out the flavour and they taste delightfully sweet. I've also recently started roasting cauliflower - rather than breaking it into florets, I slice it into thick 'steaks', spray them with oil and sprinkle with paprika then roast until browned. Delicious.
Marlene J asked about recipes for lentils/pulses. I don't tend to make meals using lentils as the main ingredient, as husband's not keen on them - he says they taste too earthy. But I do use them a lot in my cooking. I put a couple of handfuls of red lentils into stews, mince dishes, curries and the like to thicken them and make them go further, you hardly notice they're there as they disintegrate when cooked down. I also make soup with them, lentil and bacon or tomato and lentil, or carrot and lentil. The little blue/green Puy lentils I cook first, a whole packet at a time, and freeze in portions. I like a heaped tablespoon of them added to a risotto, they seem to pair quite well with rice. I also do a sausage and lentil dish...cut sausages into chunks (I use scissors to cut each sausage into 3 or 4) and fry with sliced onions or leeks, mushrooms and any other veg you have knocking around. Add some wine if you have it and sizzle to cook down, then throw in the Puy lentils and a tin of chopped tomatoes and whatever herbs you fancy, simmer until thickened. This also works really well with chicken pieces, breasts or thighs. I'll have a think about recipes for pulses, none immediately spring to mind, well, other than hummus and split pea and ham soup.
Marlene S - your sprout and cheese risotto sounds delicious, I'll have to try that.
TA - no darling, there's not much room for a food processor in your kitchen is there?! Small but perfectly formed! And yes, I do know how you feel about courgettes....plenty of other things to try instead though.
Photos:-
Thursday, 24 January 2019
Small shop, smashed spuds and loaded sprouts
I actually remembered to take photos yesterday. Another reason why I don't put photos on here very often is that they take so long to load - our broadband speed here in the sticks is so very slow (less than 1mbps) and I'm not very patient. Never mind, I'm just grateful we have the internet at all.
The pizza I made for dinner yesterday, prior to baking. It was very nice, we'll have the rest cold for lunch today.
The chocolate and orange cake. The choc topping looks a bit grainy, and it is....I melted the choc in the microwave, then stirred in some finely grated orange rind. I thought the chocolate was going to seize - it didn't quite seize, but the texture did change, it went from silky smooth and pourable to thick and grainy, so I spread it on the cake quickly before anything else happened! It tastes ok though, thankfully.
Shopping this morning, we don't need much at all, just a couple of things we've run out of (red lentils and stuffing mix, both of which I use a lot) and some fresh veg. We're eating so much more veg nowadays, I do use quite a bit of frozen veg now, but you can't beat fresh for some things.
For dinner this evening I'm doing vegetarian. I saw a recipe the other day (can't remember where...oh, I think it popped up on my Facebook feed) for smashed potatoes. What you do is boil small to medium size potatoes in their skins until nearly soft, drain and leave to cool, then press on them firmly until they're squashed and the skins split. Then put in an oven tray, toss with melted butter, herbs and grated Parmesan, then bake until crispy.
I'm also doing roasted Brussels sprouts. I only discovered a couple of years ago that roasting sprouts changes their taste entirely - I love sprouts anyway, but roasting them until the edges go brown and crispy makes them taste all caramelly and a bit smoky and they're just delicious. I shall mix pecan nuts (there's a handful left in a bag in the cupboard) and some dried cranberries in with them and a bit of oil, then roast for 20 mins.
Carrots and parsnips roasted with honey to go alongside. I might make a cheese sauce too.
Shopping this morning, we don't need much at all, just a couple of things we've run out of (red lentils and stuffing mix, both of which I use a lot) and some fresh veg. We're eating so much more veg nowadays, I do use quite a bit of frozen veg now, but you can't beat fresh for some things.
For dinner this evening I'm doing vegetarian. I saw a recipe the other day (can't remember where...oh, I think it popped up on my Facebook feed) for smashed potatoes. What you do is boil small to medium size potatoes in their skins until nearly soft, drain and leave to cool, then press on them firmly until they're squashed and the skins split. Then put in an oven tray, toss with melted butter, herbs and grated Parmesan, then bake until crispy.
I'm also doing roasted Brussels sprouts. I only discovered a couple of years ago that roasting sprouts changes their taste entirely - I love sprouts anyway, but roasting them until the edges go brown and crispy makes them taste all caramelly and a bit smoky and they're just delicious. I shall mix pecan nuts (there's a handful left in a bag in the cupboard) and some dried cranberries in with them and a bit of oil, then roast for 20 mins.
Carrots and parsnips roasted with honey to go alongside. I might make a cheese sauce too.
Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Chocolate cake, pizza, salmon dog biscuits
Welcome to my new followers, and thank you for the lovely comments.
Yesterday's cakes - the mincemeat one has already been sliced and frozen. This morning I'm going to put a chocolate orange topping on the choccy one - just a bar of chocolate melted in the microwave, with some finely grated orange zest stirred in, then poured over the top of the cake. When making the cake yesterday (it was just a bog standard sponge cake batter, with 1 oz of the flour substituted with 1 oz cocoa powder - oh, and sorry, I always use the old type measurements with my Victoria sponge mixtures, as that's the way I've been doing it since before metric measurements came in!), I added in about 2 tbsp. thick cut orange marmalade, so it should have a nice orangey chocolatey taste. I'll try and remember to take photos today, I always forget.
Husband, under my direction, made pizza dough about a month ago, frozen in 2 lumps....one we've already had couple of weeks ago. I got the dough out yesterday, I'm going to top it with chilli which I made last week, I made enough for 4 extra portions to freeze plus a smaller bit in a tub specifically for the pizza topping. Will add some frozen sliced peppers and buffalo mozzarella balls (got them yesterday reduced to half price when I popped into the shop for carrots and milk) and a sprinkle of Cheddar. I'll make coleslaw to have with the pizza.
The salmon dog biscuits are dead easy and not nearly as posh as they sound....it's simply pastry - flour and butter with a jar of salmon fish paste substituted for half of the butter, and a splash of water. I whizz it up in seconds in the food processor. The first couple of times I made it, I rolled the pastry out and spent ages cutting out tiny shapes, but then thought don't be daft, Betty doesn't care what shapes the biscuits are, she wolfs them down in seconds. So now I just roll it out to a rough oblong on a sheet of baking paper, transfer it to a baking tray and bake till golden. It's so much easier to quickly cut it into squares with a big knife when it's baked.
Think we're going to have a veggie dinner tomorrow, I saw a recipe for smashed potatoes which sounds good, and have some parsnips and Brussels that need using up.
Yesterday's cakes - the mincemeat one has already been sliced and frozen. This morning I'm going to put a chocolate orange topping on the choccy one - just a bar of chocolate melted in the microwave, with some finely grated orange zest stirred in, then poured over the top of the cake. When making the cake yesterday (it was just a bog standard sponge cake batter, with 1 oz of the flour substituted with 1 oz cocoa powder - oh, and sorry, I always use the old type measurements with my Victoria sponge mixtures, as that's the way I've been doing it since before metric measurements came in!), I added in about 2 tbsp. thick cut orange marmalade, so it should have a nice orangey chocolatey taste. I'll try and remember to take photos today, I always forget.
Husband, under my direction, made pizza dough about a month ago, frozen in 2 lumps....one we've already had couple of weeks ago. I got the dough out yesterday, I'm going to top it with chilli which I made last week, I made enough for 4 extra portions to freeze plus a smaller bit in a tub specifically for the pizza topping. Will add some frozen sliced peppers and buffalo mozzarella balls (got them yesterday reduced to half price when I popped into the shop for carrots and milk) and a sprinkle of Cheddar. I'll make coleslaw to have with the pizza.
The salmon dog biscuits are dead easy and not nearly as posh as they sound....it's simply pastry - flour and butter with a jar of salmon fish paste substituted for half of the butter, and a splash of water. I whizz it up in seconds in the food processor. The first couple of times I made it, I rolled the pastry out and spent ages cutting out tiny shapes, but then thought don't be daft, Betty doesn't care what shapes the biscuits are, she wolfs them down in seconds. So now I just roll it out to a rough oblong on a sheet of baking paper, transfer it to a baking tray and bake till golden. It's so much easier to quickly cut it into squares with a big knife when it's baked.
Think we're going to have a veggie dinner tomorrow, I saw a recipe for smashed potatoes which sounds good, and have some parsnips and Brussels that need using up.
Tuesday, 22 January 2019
Ham, soup, cakes, pasta bake
Boiled a gammon joint yesterday, we're going to slice and freeze it. I'm using the stock this morning to make a big pan of soup - lentil (the split red ones), carrot and leek, I'll add the shredded end bits of the ham into the soup when it's blitzed.
We have lots of leeks left in the garden, I've run out of onions now and am using the leeks instead....not buying onions while we have so many leeks. After all, it's still another onion flavour.
Husband wants some cake, and I haven't made any for a good couple of weeks. Think I'll make two, a mincemeat cake as there's half a jar of homemade mincemeat lurking in the fridge, and a chocolate & orange one....bar of choc that's been in the cupboard for weeks, if I don't use it soon I'll probably end up eating it on a day where I'm feeling sorry for myself! And a couple of wrinkly oranges in the fruit bowl. I'll slice and freeze the cakes in portions. (As fast as I use up something from the packed freezer and clear a small space, I fill it up again, duh!).
For dinner tonight I'm continuing to use things we have already, it'll be a pasta bake using one of those pasta in sauce packets....I found it in the utility room larder cupboard when I was looking for something yesterday, it's a smoked ham and cheese one. I'll add a few leftover things to it - one small sweet potato left from the bag of 8 or so bought about 3 weeks ago, a bit of smoked salmon left from yesterday (there was too much in the pack to add to the fish pie, as smoked salmon has such a strong taste), a leek and some frozen sliced peppers. Broccoli to be served with it.
Monday, 21 January 2019
Dog food, breakfast muffins, fish pie
Monday 21 January
New blog - this will be to do with food (growing, buying and cooking) only, for a few good reasons I shan't be disclosing any other aspect of our lives.
Husband made 2 loaves first thing this morning - a part rye/part white one for us, and the white soda bread for the elderly neighbour with health issues. He's become quite adept at bread making now and no longer needs me telling him what to do. He does well at it, except for the shaping part....his loaves often look quite 'rustic', shall we say, but taste perfectly fine!
I made 2 trays of food for Betty first thing. It's cooked mashed sweet potato, cauliflower, bit of leftover broccoli, a mashed banana, 2 eggs, minced raw chicken, a shake of garlic granules and oregano, and couple of tbsp. brown flour to bind. Ratio is about 50% chicken (or tuna/sardines when I make a fishy one). Mixed well then spread out on two greased trays, to a depth of about 2 cm, then baked until set and brown. Cut into cubes when cooled then frozen in portion size tubs....each tray makes about 4 portions for our medium height, chunky and muscly dog. She loves it, licks her plate clean.
I don't want to eat carbs - toast or cereal - for breakfast every day, so I made breakfast muffins today. I grated a large courgette and about the same quantity (by volume) of Cheddar, mixed with 6 beaten eggs and about a dessertspoonful of Italian herb & seasoning mix. Filled 12-cup muffin tray and baked. I have 2 of these for breakfast, they taste very nice cold or warm. I sometimes use grated carrot instead of courgette, or chopped mushrooms, or bacon bits. Crumbled feta or a bit of blue cheese or snipped sun dried tomatoes are a nice addition too. They keep well in the fridge for a few days, or I freeze them.
Fish pie for dinner tonight - Cod and some smoked salmon trimmings, with mushrooms and sliced leeks, in a homemade cheese sauce (husband's not keen on parsley sauce). Topped with sweet potatoes cut into small dice, with a sprinkling of wholemeal breadcrumbs and grated cheese for a bit of crunch. Served with peas and sweetcorn.
New blog - this will be to do with food (growing, buying and cooking) only, for a few good reasons I shan't be disclosing any other aspect of our lives.
Husband made 2 loaves first thing this morning - a part rye/part white one for us, and the white soda bread for the elderly neighbour with health issues. He's become quite adept at bread making now and no longer needs me telling him what to do. He does well at it, except for the shaping part....his loaves often look quite 'rustic', shall we say, but taste perfectly fine!
I made 2 trays of food for Betty first thing. It's cooked mashed sweet potato, cauliflower, bit of leftover broccoli, a mashed banana, 2 eggs, minced raw chicken, a shake of garlic granules and oregano, and couple of tbsp. brown flour to bind. Ratio is about 50% chicken (or tuna/sardines when I make a fishy one). Mixed well then spread out on two greased trays, to a depth of about 2 cm, then baked until set and brown. Cut into cubes when cooled then frozen in portion size tubs....each tray makes about 4 portions for our medium height, chunky and muscly dog. She loves it, licks her plate clean.
I don't want to eat carbs - toast or cereal - for breakfast every day, so I made breakfast muffins today. I grated a large courgette and about the same quantity (by volume) of Cheddar, mixed with 6 beaten eggs and about a dessertspoonful of Italian herb & seasoning mix. Filled 12-cup muffin tray and baked. I have 2 of these for breakfast, they taste very nice cold or warm. I sometimes use grated carrot instead of courgette, or chopped mushrooms, or bacon bits. Crumbled feta or a bit of blue cheese or snipped sun dried tomatoes are a nice addition too. They keep well in the fridge for a few days, or I freeze them.
Fish pie for dinner tonight - Cod and some smoked salmon trimmings, with mushrooms and sliced leeks, in a homemade cheese sauce (husband's not keen on parsley sauce). Topped with sweet potatoes cut into small dice, with a sprinkling of wholemeal breadcrumbs and grated cheese for a bit of crunch. Served with peas and sweetcorn.
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