October 2016

Panko Crab Cakes, Rocket Salad and an Anchovy and Caper Dressing Recipe

This is a great store cupboard lunch or light dinner. I have been wanting to make an anchovy dressing for ages, the salad tasted like a lighter more flavoursome Caesar salad. Tinned crab is a really easy and cost effective way of having crab cakes I think it is probably cheaper than tuna now. I…

Red Wine and Chorizo Risotto Recipe

A risotto is our fast food as it can be so flexible with its ingredients and cooked in 30 minutes. We add frozen veg to ours and we always have chorizo and leek in the fridge. While going through our cookbooks we came across a red wine risotto in Angela Hartnett’s book and thought we…

Sweet and Sour Udon Stir Fry with Prawns, Tofu and Leeks Recipe

So at the moment we are going through our many cookbooks and marking recipes we want to make so we can put them on my blog and get rid of the book. Any books that have a lot of recipes we keep but any that only have a few, we are working our way through….

Hearty Pork Chops, Lentil Ragout and Cider and Mustard Sauce Recipe

I always think a pork chop makes a great mid-week dinner. As pork is quite a sweet meat it really does go well with earthy lentils and vegetables. This is perfect for this time of year a juicy pork chop nicely browned with pancetta, earthy lentils and vegetables all brought together with a comforting creamy…

Red Mullet with Couscous and a Sun Dried Tomato and Caper Sauce Recipe

This fish was so pretty and colourful I wasn’t sure if I wanted to eat it, to add to the prettiness our fishmonger butterflied it which is something I haven’t see before except on sardines! But I am glad I did. This was a tasty supper. I love sweet sun dried tomatoes and the couscous…

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake with Chocolate Icing Recipe

I love healthy recipes but I am also partial to a slice of cake and I have promised Paulie I would make one once a week. I don’t think some sugar is bad for you I am just not keen on chemicals that are used to bleach flour or sugar. This is based on Mary…

Salt and Pepper Squid Stir Fry Recipe

I am always a little worried when it comes to squid as to whether it is going to be chewy or tender. I needn’t of worried with this recipe as the scoring of the squid and minimal cooking time makes this a tasty tender dish. We based this on rick steins recipe but added in…

Sticky and Sweet Glazed Baked Ham with Pineapple Salsa Recipe

This is everything a ham should be, sticky, sweet, juicy and tender. The freshness from the salsa cuts through the sweetness and keeps the pineapple theme running throughout the whole dish. We are lucky as we have an excellent butcher and we ordered 2 smoked gammons and were not disappointed. Sometimes old school joints taste…

Herb Crusted Haddock, Fennel Puree and Crispy Capers Recipe

Fish, fennel and capers are one of my all-time favourite combinations and we use these 3 ingredients in lots of different ways. I am a fennel puree virgin and really enjoyed the creaminess. The recipe we roughly followed didn’t add the fennel seeds but after tasting I thought it needed a more aniseedy flavour and…

Healthy White Bean, Squash and Kale Soup Recipe

So another recipe including the lovely squashes that are right in season at the moment. This is my third variety and it is called a harlequin squash. This squash was really colourful which attracted me to it in the first place. I am really packing in the super foods into our diet at the moment…

Fillet Steak and Stilton Pasty Recipe

So it’s national baking week so what could be better than a juicy tender flavoursome pasty? I made this more luxurious by using fillet steak and stilton rather than skirt steak and vegetables. It really did pay off the meat was so tender and it was deliciously juicy in the middle as the pastry kept…

Roasted Spaghetti Squash, Pancetta and Spinach with Shaved Goat’s Cheese Recipe

I am making the most of the lovely autumn squashes that are available at the moment and my next choice is the spaghetti squash. I have seen it a lot when searching for recipes but I was truly amazed how it really is like spaghetti strands but a has a nicer much sweeter flavour. This…

Leftover Roast Chicken Asian Noodle Soup Recipe

Having roast chicken tonight? Save the carcass and leftover meat. There is something really satisfying about using up leftovers and having a free meal. Asian chicken noodle soup has so many healing properties you get different properties from the ingredients in this dish. You have chicken bones, ginger, garlic and spinach which are all superfoods…

Monkfish on Spiced Beans with a Chorizo Crumb Recipe

I love monkfish it is so meaty and sweet. I wish is was still as cheap as use to be when used for scampi in the olden days. We do a lovely recipe which is lemon and pepper monkfish medallions (recipe here) but we thought we would try something more wintery this time. This dish…

Friday Treat – Easy Brown Sugar and Flour Fudgy Chocolate Brownies Recipe

I love a fudgy chocolate brownie, but I am not keen on white sugar as it can be so sweet and it has been refined. This recipe was perfect and makes a perfectly sweet, gooey, yummy brownie. It completely hits the spot for a sweet fix but keeps your conscience completely clean as there is…