UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

Okay- tried this on Steven last night.It got the thumbs up :)

Chicken and chorizo tray bake (adapted from GoodFood website)

140g cooking chorizo chopped into thick circles
2 red onions , cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves , left whole
4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken drumsticks
OR 4 chicken breasts chopped into chunks
4 medium potatoes , unpeeled and cut into small chunks
2 rosemary sprigs or tbsp of dried rosemary
1 red pepper chopped into chunks
drizzle of olive oil
---------------------------------------------------
* Put a drizzle of olive oil into the roasting tin and put the potatoes in at 200 for 10 mins.
* Add the garlic, chorizo (this will create some serious oil- hence the drizzle earlier), chicken, red pepper, rosemary and onion and put back in the oven for another 30 mins or until it all looks nicely roasted.
* Give it all a shake up half way through to spread the chorizo juices around.

It's really nice :) You can add carrot or even cherry toms for extra flavours if you like too.

I'm hungry. I think I've rather have that than the jacket spud I've got in the oven...

Message 2 recipe is not halloumi, but houmus, wonderful recipe nontheless. Dried and rehydrated and boiled (quickest in pressure cooker) OK, but a lot of faffing around, cans are much easier!

Patti (A Proud Canadian) wrote: "Found it in my email!

The most dangerous cake recipe
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoo..."

love this recipe. Like you say, very dangerous. Why has it taken me 55 years to discover it. Thank you for posting it!

Veggie pasta recipes for Elle!

Tomato and Pepper Sauce (serves two)

1 dessertspoon olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and diced
400g can of chopped tomatoes with herbs
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
200g wholewheat spaghetti

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onion, garlic and peppers for 5 mins, or until lightly cooked. Add the tomatoes and tomato puree. Bring the the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for approx 10 mins, or until the sauce has reduced slightly and the peppers are fully cooked. Cook the spaghetti as directed. Drain and divide between warmed serving plates and top with the sauce. Serve immediately with a crisp salad and garlic bread.

I sometimes find that this can be a bit sharp so I add a little sugar/splendour to taste.

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I found the next recipe in a slimming world magazine. It is a raw recipe so can be cooked when you need it without the use of a kitchen. It's especially yummy if you use some nice organic tomatoes.

No-Cook Basil and Tomato Sauce (serves 4)

1. Halve 3 large vine tomatoes, remove the seeds and discard (I don't bother discarding the seeds), then finely chop the flesh. Halve 8oz/227g cherry tomatoes.

2. Mix all of the tomatoes with a finely chopped garlic clove, a handful of freshly chopped basil and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar.

3. Seaon the tomato and basil sauce to taste and serve with boiled spaghetti or spooned over a grilled beef steak.

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This recipe is actually for philadelphia cheese but I prefer to use quark.

Cream Cheese and Spinach Lasagne (serves 6)

For the Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
2x400g tins of chopped tomatoes
a little castor sugar (optional)

For the Filling
1kg (2 1/2 lb) frozen spinach
300g (11oz) quark
3 tbsp Parmigiano reggiano shavings (can be bought in asda - if can't find use parmesan cheese)
2 tbsp mint leaves, freshly chopped
8-10 sheets lasagne

Preheat oven to 180c/ gas mark 4

1. For the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, and cook for 10 mins or until soft. It's best to do this over a low heat, and try not to let the onion mixture colour.

2. Stir in the tomato puree and continue cooking for 5 min before adding the tinned tomatoes. Simmer for 20 mins in an uncovered pan, then puree the sauce unti smooth, using a hand held blender - it should end up fairly thick and cooked-down. Add a pinch of sugar if the sauce tastes too acidic.

3. While the sauce is cooking, make the spinach filling. Put the frozen spinach into a pan and warm until it has defrosted. Drain off any additional liquid. Set aside to cool.

4. Put the quark into a seperate bowl and stir until smooth, then add the spinach, half the grated cheese and the chopped mint.

5. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in an oven dish, followed by a layer of the spinach mix and a sheet of lasagne. Repeat, ending with a layer of tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese and bake in an oven for about 30 mins.

Serve with tomato salad and garlic bread.

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Vegetable Lasagne (I've had this recipe for so long that I can't remember who it originated from - it could well be a Delia Smith recipe?)

Tomato Sauce
1 14oz tin tomatoes (chopped)
1 large onion (fried)
1/4lb mushrooms (fried)
2 courgettes (fried)
1/2 green or yellow pepper (fried)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano

White Sauce
1 pint milk
2oz butter
2oz plain flour
1 bayleaf
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
2oz cheddar cheese

Topping
4oz cheddar

Method

Start by making the tomato sauce

Chop and fry together onions, pepper, courgettes and mushrooms. When soft add the tin of tomatoes, puree, salt, pepper, basil and oregano and cook for 1/2 an hour on low heat until sauce reduces and is not too runny. Leave to stand and cool and start the white sauce.

Over a very low heat melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in flour with a wooden spoon. Mix to a soft paste and gradually add milk. Return to heat, add other ingredients and bring to the boil. Once sauce thickened remove from heat, add other ingredients and bring to the boil. Once sauce has thickened, remove from the heat. (NB if sauce becomes lumpy blend in mixer)

In a lasagne dish - cover base with 1/4 inch of white sauce, layer with lasagne - one sheet only but enough to cover the white sauce. Then layer with tomato sauce and continue to layer - eding with a covering of tomato sauce. For topping - sprinkle with cheese.

Put in oven at gas mark 6 (200c?) for 35-40 mins.

:0)

Two recipes from Gillian McKeith

Onion Gravy
Makes 250ml
Keeps in the fridge for three days
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp olive oil
2tsp tamari sauce (I use soy sauce if I don't have tamari)
2tsp arrowroot

1. Place the onions, olive oil and 6 tablespoons of water in a medium-sized pan and cook gently for 15-20 minutes until the onions are very soft.

2. Mix the tamari with the arrowroot and add to the onion mixture, along with 500ml water, mixing well.

3. Cook over a medium heat for 10 mins and serve hot.

That's the official recipe - I find that if I make it McKeith's way I end up with 500ml runny gravy. Last time I made it I tweaked it a bit - I fried the onions gently in olive oil, then added the 500ml of water and simmered the whole lot for 20 odd mins until the liquid had reduced. Then I added the arrowroot and soy mix - the gravy has come out thicker and with a more intense flavour.

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Haricot Bean Loaf (I've found no need to adjust this recipe, it tastes yummy as it is.)

Serves 4

2tsp olive oil
1 leek, washed, trimmed and sliced
2.5-cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 carrots, trimmed, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
50g sunflower seeds
24g oat bran (the first time I made this I didn't have oat bran so just used porridge oats which tasted fine..)
1 tbsp wheat-free vegetable bouillon powder
410g can haricot beans, drained and rinsed
410g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1. Preheat oven to 190c/gas mark 5. Lightly oil a 900g loaf tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

2. Put the remaining oil and the leek in a small saucepan and cook over a low heat for 5 mins. Add the ginger, cumin and coriander and cook for a further minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. Place the onion, carrots, garlic, parsley, sunflower seeds, oat bran, bouillon powder and one of the cans of beans (either will do) in a food processor and blend for 20 seconds until semi-smooth. Transfer into a large bowl and stir in the second can of beans and the leek mixture.

4. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown in colour.

5. Turn out of the tin to a serving plate. Serve either hot or cold with a lightly dressed salad.

(I usually serve it hot with steamed vegetables and potatoes with onion gravy poured over it!)

:0)

You are an absolute star Karen! Those sound LOVELY!!! Thank you!

Louise-Lesley (Elle) wrote: "You are an absolute star Karen! Those sound LOVELY!!! Thank you!"

Hope you enjoy them, Elle!

:0))

Handy-dandy pie trick.

When rolling your pastry for a covered pie, don't faff about rolling the base and top separately.

Roll the pastry dough into an oblong, flip one end back, flip the pastry onto the plate, fill it, then flip the rest over the top and crimp and trim.

Voila! Perfect covered pie with no tears to fix!

Summer Roast Salmon

Roast salmon fillets served with a piquant creamy dip. Recipe for two.

New potatoes – scrubbed and cut into half lengthways.
Olive oil – 2 tbsp.
Salmon fillets - 2, about 150g (5oz) each.
Asparagus spears – 10-12 spears, trimmed.
Small tomatoes on the vine – 10-12
Lemon – 1/2, grated zest and juice.
Chopped Parsley and / or Tarragon – 1 tbsp
Capers – 1 tbsp, chopped if large.
Black Olives – 4, pitted and chopped.
Crème Fraiche – 2 heaped tbsp.

Preheat the oven to 200c / 400f / Gas 6. Put a large, heavy, shallow roasting tin into the oven to heat up while you prepare the potatoes. Spoon in half of the oil and toss in the potatoes to coat them and spread them out, cut side down, in one layer in the tin. Roast for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn the potatoes and push them to one side of the tin. Add the fish fillets, the asparagus spears and tomatoes. Sprinkle them with the rest of the oil and squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish. Bake for 10 minutes.

To make the sauce, mix most of the lemon zest and remaining lemon juice and chopped herbs (reserving some for garnish), along with the capers and black olives, into the crème fraiche.

Serve the fish on warmed plates on a bed of vegetables with more lemon juice squeezed over the top and the remaining zest and chopped parsley / tarragon scattered over. Place a dollop of the dipping sauce alongside.

Tip: to ensure even cooking, have all the potatoes the same size and the asparagus spears the same width, and chose the thickest fillets of fish you can buy.

We reckon you can substitute green beans for asparagus, sliced potatoes for new and tomato wedges for on the vine, if you want to make this at other times of year.

My local farm is selling off cuts of asparagus for £4 kilo. I made Asparagus Soup.

1kg Off cuts of asparagus ( end of tailsand any broken ones.
1leek
2 tubs of single cream.
4 chicken stock cubes (or vegetable if you are vegetarian)

Simmer leeks and asparagus together in stock until soft then pick out any tips in the offcuts. Liquidise the rest then add back the tips with the 2 cartons of cream. Stir, season to taste and bring up to heat. It is delicious. I made about 15 portions for the freezer and they were fairly strong so could probably added much more stock and made 20-25 portions.

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Salmon recipe sounds delish!

I wonder if anybody can help me find a lost recipe.

My mother used to make something we called "bombs". They had a marshmallow as the centre. The outside was a mixture of shredded coconut and cocoa, possibly something else. I don't think any cooking was involved, they were just assembled cold. Obviously something held them together.

My kids, now adults, loved them and I would love to be able to produce a plateful and sit back to watch their faces.

Does this sound like what you're looking for Vic?

http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/chocolate_...

Thanks for that Patti. I am not sure it is the same thing. With this recipe, would the marshmallows remain intact and identifiable in the middle of the bomb? Or would the marshmallow melt off into the general mixture?

I think I'd stir the egg mixture into the chocolate, then lightly stir in the marshmallows. If you use the full size marshmallows, they shouldn't melt too much.

Sort of roll the marshmallows around in the chocolate, then roll them in the coconut.

You could use finely chopped unsalted peanuts instead of coconut. I think that'd be yummy too.

Thanks Patti. I will give it a whirl, when next I see any one of my daughters, which is not so often, with them living on 3 different continents.

this is a classic in our family too

my nan always made it like this

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/snowball...

By George she's got it!

Thanks Elle, that is the one, if you combine it with the third comment down, the one about using rolled oats instead of the crackers.

Well done Elle!

And Patti. :-)

we always use digestives!

it's so yummy and very simple. love snowballs!!

I thought snowballs in the UK was some weird drink.

From the Royle family, I think.

Dave thinks it's Advocat and lemonade?

Yup! it is a cocktail as well but mostly, at least in northern ireland and wales, it's used to refer to those buns!

i'd generally say a 'snowball cocktail' if i was referring to the alcoholic version :P

The only snowball is a Tunnock's snowball!

http://www.tunnock.co.uk/products/sno...

Actually I prefer their caramel wafers - "more than 5,000,000 of these biscuits made and sold every week".

Oh yumm.

YES!

Those snowballs are amazing. I always had one at my Nans for years and it was only after she died I found out she hated the things and only kept them in for me. :D

She was also the Nan who made the ones above.

All snowballs are good snowballs.

I had this stirfry sauce from bbc good food tonight and it was delish!


Per 50g of noodles:

1 garlic clove , sliced
1 red chilli , shredded
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce

I messed around a little with the quantities, less chilli (used flakes too) and more curry and it worked out fine too.

So delicious!!

From http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bi...

> Some years back I tried crocodile, serving up the bugger was in my mind
> entirely fair as he had tried to eat me, looked like fish, tasted like
> chicken and had the texture of skirt steak - why would you bother.

I ate croc when we killed all the crocodiles on the Oubangui. The way
to go about it is to tenderize the meat by blowing up the river with
nitroglycerine. You get the nitro by heating dynamite sticks in a
frypan over your cooking fire. You gotta be little careful when you
pour the nitro into the Mason jars -- you know, those preserve jars
with the rubber ring and the over-centre wire closure. It's a good
idea to use a double rubber ring. String jars across the river in two
places, check that the bearer holding the brolly is actually holding
it over you, and chuck in a log. Pick up tenderized croc on the banks
of the river. Better than long pig but barely. As you say, why should
anyone bother.

If you catch a nest of baby crocs just as they hatch, you can make a
novelty gumbo stew but make sure they're cooked quite dead because the
women in the party tend to object if a piece of the stew starts
wriggling when they blow on it. Be careful. Mama Croc tends to be
there when her little ones hatch, to carry them to protected waters in
her mouth, because you're not the only one trying to eat them; their
daddy too thinks they make a nice little tapas.

Best food value from croc is omelet from croc eggs. Too few, too
infrequent, too dangerous to harvest ever to be a commercial
proposition, but a great taste if you've gone bush and She Who Must Be
Obeyed tells you to make like the Great White Hunter and bring back
something to vary the diet. You can check whether Mama Croc is nearby
by throwing in a porter or, if you got one to spare, a dog, while you
dig up the eggs.

Andre Jute
Nitro-smelter & Cook

Andre Jute wrote: "From http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bi...

> Some years back I tried crocodile, serving up the bugger was in my mind
> entirely fa..."

What about the recipe...just kidding?

Adult croc, tenderised as in the whole-river (organic — heh-heh!) nitroglycerine process described above, you can roast or barbecue like chicken.

Baby croc gumbo stew is cooked in a pot of spicy tomato sauce. It's fake French-American cooking, but then so is shrimp gumbo.

The big tip with crocodile eggs (most wild eggs, in fact, say ostrich eggs) is that they are much richer than the chicken eggs we are used to, so you may want to cut the taste by adding milk.Then just scramble the eggs and serve on toast.

The best croc I ever had was prepared as a special treat by Andrew McCoy's steward, Mbopo Oscilloscopo. He selected a youngish croc, didn't gut it (this is the important part), packed it in clay so that not an inch of skin showed, buried it in hot coals in a pit dug in the ground, and after 24 hours when the pot formed by the clay was broken, it took the skin away with it, leaving just the meat. But the truth is that crocodile isn't anything special to eat; the same technique makes anything more palatable, from a hare to an eland, taste very special indeed.

There used to be a Greek restaurant at the top of the Edgeware Road that served kid baked in clay... Their roast kid was special too. My mouth waters when I think of meals I had there thirty years ago. We used to come down from Cambridge on any old excuse (reading in the British Library, see your publisher, go tell Rupert Murdoch what you really think of him, steal a bowler hat in the Lords cloakroom, whatever) but in fact to eat there.

Rosemary wrote: "The only snowball is a Tunnock's snowball!

http://www.tunnock.co.uk/products/sno...

Actually I prefer their caramel wafers - "more than 5,000,000 of these biscuits made and sold every week"."

I don't like those caramel wafers, it's the Tunnocks tea cakes for me!

For Vanessa - Cheese and chilli biscuits

A little melted butter or marge to grease baking sheets

225g/8oz plain flour
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garlic salt
half tsp paprika
200g/7oz diced chilled butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
200g/7oz Cheddar cheese.

This is very much a guideline, I find. I didn't have enough plain flour this time so I topped it up with spelt flour that I have for bread.
If I don't have garlic salt I substitute some of the butter for a couple of those little garlic butter pats you can buy. Or you can use the hard baking marge.

Pre-heat oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and grease baking trays

Sift flour, chilii, garlic salt and paprika into a bowl and rub in the diced butter.

Add egg and grated cheese and mix together, kneading for a minute or so. It will be sticky.

Put into cling film and chill for about half an hour

Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick. Use cutters of your choice.

Place the shapes on the baking sheets and cook for about 12 minutes. Let them cool on the trays for a couple of minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

You can re-roll trimmings a couple of times before they befcome a bit tough.

Wow haven't seen this thread in a while.

I sort of cooked this evening. I made omelette. :)

Perhaps we need a 'the only thing I know how to make is reservations' thread...

I love my family so much, tonight I'll see to dinner. WHO HAD THE TAKEOUT MENU LAST?

I discovered online takeaway!

And me!!!

It was sooooo cool.

Then the 'food' came....

Patti (Migrating Coconut) wrote: "And me!!!

It was sooooo cool.

Then the 'food' came...."

It seemed like such a god idea at the time.

Domino Pizza are the only ones that use T'internet for ordering round here. Mind you they still deliver with a horse and cart. God, I wish that were true.

That's typical of living in a middling town, fibre broadband and nothing local to look at.

I have a massive choice of decent takeaways, and it is so tempting to put in that order....

I think we're a bit spoiled. For a town of about 6000 souls we have delivery available from the local chippy, two Italian, Thai, Turkish, two Indian and two Chinese. And all of them more than acceptable! Or if you fancy you can phone up the lobstershack and go and pick up freshly caught local lobster and chips. Who needs t'internet? Or a kitchen for that matter :)

I have a choice tonight. Do I go with the salmon, peas and rice that I bought, or do I order an Indian from the Indian Curry Club and have the salmon tomorrow?

Definitely curry GL. Almost traditional on a Friday! Plus you can have the leftovers for saturday brunch

Who says there will be leftovers?

(actually there probably will...)

Linda made me some of Ignite's Cheese and Chilli Biscuits.

Two words: Yummmmmm Meeeeeee.

Chicken Biryani. And loads of leftovers.

I cook enough for four people and then have to make sure I freeze three portions otherwise I'll eat the lot...no willpower I'm afraid.

It's funny about takeaways...I've always been surrounded by them but very rarely have one. I suppose if I lived in a place that didn't have one that would be when I would be craving one.

Very middling sort of meal tonight. Sorry Geoff. Was so busy laughing I forgot to take photos. There was about 30 of us.

Started with loads of salads and bread. Wonderful! Then the fish came out.

The choice was eat the fish, or not. I tried a bit. Was really 'fishy' fish. Blergh.

Was 'locally caught'.

Not what one wants to hear when one knows how poisonous the Caspian is...

Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "I discovered online takeaway!"

Love a bit of online takeaway :) There's even a chippy that delivers here!

Last night a made a recipe from one of my Good Food magazines, which received the ultimate praise- "You can make that again".

Spicy chicken pasta
Serves 4
chopped up two peppers and one onion very small
fried in a bit of oil until soft
added a good squeeze of garlic puree and hot chilli powder according to your taste
added 4 chicken breasts chopped into chunks and fried until sealed
added 2 tins of chopped toms and a good squeeze of tomato puree.
Simmer for 45 mins, at the last moment stir through a tbsp of philadelphia (I used light) and serve with pasta :)

I had some of the leftovers on a jacket potato this evening too, lush!

Bumpity bump bump.

There you are Lorraine!

I'm going to sticky this thread. Never shows when I search for it. Argh.

Anyway, this is spice crust I put on the chicken last night.

It's my own creation.

You wouldn't need to do a whole chicken. Just a leg or breast would be fine.

I used about a 1/2 teaspoon of everything.

In a dry frypan toast cumin and coriander and mustard seeds. When they start to fly around the kitchen, take them off the heat and lightly crush them in a mortar and pestle.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chilli flakes, garam masala, garlic flakes.

Lightly crush again then add olive oil to make a paste.

Smear all over the chicken with the back of a spoon cuz if you use your fingers the turmeric will give you yellow fingers.

Let rest for 30 minutes or so then bake in a moderate until done.

The crust kept the meat lovely and moist.

Moderate oven that should be, of course.

Gas mark 6, I think? 350F anyway.