Good Food

Pigeon with Beetroot and Rabbit Risotto

2009-07-05T20:11:00.003+01:00

I thought I had better have a practice at getting back into the blogging groove. It will be another 4 weeks until I am back up and running properly.

This recipe is a treat. The sweetness of the beetroot in the risotto provides a freshness against the pigeon breast's depth of flavour.

The Purple Sprouting Broccoli comes from my own garden - having a north facing veg patch means that we get this in abundance over a longer growing season than we might otherwise experience.

Ingredients

250g risotto rice
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
100g olive oil spread
1 table spoon of brandy
1 large glass of red wine
4 mushrooms
5 cooked baby beetroot
handful of fresh thyme
100g grilled (or BBQ'd!!) rabbit
handful of parsley
1 ltr beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of Mascarpone cheese

3 Pigeon breasts

Purple Sprouting broccoli

Method

Melt the olive oil spread in a heavy bottomed frying pan.

Soften the onion and garlic then add the risotto rice. Make sure this is well coated then add the brandy and flame off the brandy. Give a good stir to the pan and add the red wine.

Simmer off the wine and then the intensive bit of the job starts. Make your stock (I put the bay leaf in this rather than the main pan) and add a little at a time whilst constantly stirring the rice. Do this until the rice has softened - about 45 minutes or so. You may need more stock - it really requires a bit of judgement on behalf of the maker (or chef if you are better than me at it!).

Part way through add the mushrooms and beetroot, sliced to a medium thickness. Then add the thyme - finely chopped.

We had BBQ'd a rabbit last night and there were the hind legs left so I added a bit of that in (not essential though). Rabbit is great - but a bit bony so if you do put dome into this dish make sure no bones get in there - they are an unwelcome addition to a bite of food!!

Just before serving stir in the parsley (finely chopped) and the mascarpone.

Grill the pigeon breasts for a minute on each side. I seasoned with some good salt and nothing else. Let it rest for 5 mins and slice to serve.

The Purple Sprouting Broccoli only takes a minute or two in a pan with a shallow amount of water.

This is a great dish and really enjoyable "something different" meal.

Missing

2009-06-23T19:22:00.002+01:00

Andy has been working away for the last year and so hasn't been able to do this blog, anyway he'll be back in August so things should change soon.

New Kitchen

2008-09-28T18:20:00.001+01:00

Only a matter of days now till we'll be back up and running

New Kitchen

2008-09-14T20:22:00.002+01:00

At the moment we are currently half way through getting our Kitchen re done and so haven't got any updates at the moment. As soon as were back up and running were going to treat ourselves and cook something special.

Fish Pie

2008-08-31T18:01:00.004+01:00

Our village has a market on a Wednesday and when time permits in the morning before going to work Andrew likes to go. The fish stall comes from Fleetwood with that days fresh catch so its really as fresh as it gets.

Ingredients

Cod
Sweetcorn
Spinach
Seasoning
White Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Breadcrumbs

The cod, sweetcorn, spinach and seasoning were mixed together in the white sauce and the the mashed potato was the layered on top with breadcrumbs spinkled on top. This was then all baked in the oven for 30 mins.

Leg of Lamb

2008-07-29T19:58:00.008+01:00

Andrew asked that I update his website this week whilst he's away as he thought it would give me something to do, so apologies now for not putting up as much detail as normal. Maybe Andrew will update it soon with the detail.
Anyway my sister-in-law was with us this weekend so we decided that we'd use something local so we choose a leg of lamb from the farm across the road. This was marinaded for a few hours in a range of spices (in a Moroccan style) this was then roast for a couple of hours. Shortly before the lamb was ready we add a couple of tins of Chick pea's so they'd absorb some of the flavours of the meat. To serve we also made a salad with some lettuce from the veg patch as it was a really lovely day we ate outside.

Picture should be here but I can't get the computer to do what i want

Frank Salad

2008-07-06T19:34:00.004+01:00

I am not sure if I have any avid fans but just in case I do I need to explain why the blog has been unpopulated over the last month. The reason is that we have moved from our little two bed apartment and purchased an old farmhouse out in the sticks. The place is significantly bigger than what we are used to and needs a bit of effort to scrub it up to my wife's high standards.

Anyway - first job was to plant up the vegetable patch (we moved in at the start of June so were probably a bit late for the growing season but spinach and salad should do ok).

We have some really nice new neighbours and Frank from across the road dropped off some salad leaves and some lettuce for me to plant so fittingly (despite having a lovely range cooker at my disposal - and gas!!!) the first post is dedicated to the humble salad.

Ingredients

Selection of fresh salad leaves
2 tomatoes
4 radish
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella
1 red onion
4 new potatoes
1 oz butter
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of ginger wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of plum and port conserve
salt

Method

Arrange the salad items (less the red onion) on a plate, leaving a gap in the middle.
layer the mozzarella on the plate with the tomato and put mozzarella in the gap in the middle of the leaves.
Boil the potatoes then drain. Add the butter to the pan and keep on the heat. When the butter is melted add the sliced red onion and then mix the remaining ingredients and reduce the liquid by half.
Place the potatoes with onion and dressing in the middle of the plate, the heat will start to melt the mozzarella and any spare dressing in the bottom of the pan can be drizzled over the leaves.

De Neils Curry

2008-05-26T21:51:00.007+01:00

This is a mish mash curry that takes influence from both India and S.E. Asia. This is a home devised recipe but is a real corker.

Curry is a well favoured meal in the UK but there is no need to turn to a tin or take-away as it is dead easy to rustle up your own top notch curry and it is possible to make your own creations like this one of mine.

Ingredients

Spice mix
1 onion
2 tbs groundnut oil
4 cloves
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cinamon
1 tsp paprika
3 cardomon pods
3 red birds eye chillies (de-seeded and finely chopped)
3 tsp garam masala

Curry
2 chicken fillets
one sweet potatoe
3 tomatoes
300ml coconut milk
one tsp tamarind paste
4 green birds eye chillies (whole)
250ml reduced fat creme fraiche

Method

Start by making the spice mix. Put all the ingredients (except the oil and onion) in a mortar and pestle and pound to a paste as far as possible (whole cloves are nasty if you crunch on one when trying to enjoy your curry so at least make sure these are bashed a bit).

Heat the oil in a frying pan and start to saute the onions then add the pasted spices fry off for a good fie minutes or so - stirring regularly. This gets the spices working and is an importnt stage in the process.

Remove from the heat and set aside whilst the rest of the dish is created.

For the curry

Peel the sweet potatoe and slice into small discs the thickness of a 1 pound coin but the size of a 10 pence piece. Add these to the frying pan and cook off for a few minutes. The add the cubes chicken and add three tomatoes (quartered). Cook until the chicken is sealed all over then add the stock. To make this warm the coconut milk with the tamarind. Add the spice mix that was created previously and the whole green chillies, stir well. Cook for 20 minutes at a low simmer in the pan, or so until the chicken is cooked.

Just before serving add the creme fraiche and stir through - natural yoghurt could also be used if desired. To finish sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.

I served with Naan bread a great product for mopping up any left over sauce.

Beef and Mushroom Stew with Dumplings

2008-05-26T21:22:00.004+01:00

Right then this is good British grub simple, and delicious. It wont win a Micheline star but it will put a smile on the face of the eater.

Ingredients

500g stewing steak cut into chunks
6 mushrooms
one onion
1 beef stock cube
2 tbs turkey gravy granuals
two bay leaves
6 dashes of Worcester sauce
1/2 pint beer
flour
50g suet
100g self raisimg flour
a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

Start by softening the onion (roughly chopped)in a casserole dish with a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Add the stewing beef tossed in seasoned flour.

When the beef is browned add the mushrooms (cut in two) and add 500ml of boiled water mixed with the stock cube and turkey gravy (lighter and fresher than beef gravy granuals). Drop in the bay leaves and Worcester sauce and cook for an hour and a half.

To make the dumplings mix the suet, self raising flour and finely chopped thyme (remember to season them up with salt and pepper) with a few tablespoons of water. The consistency should be non sticky to the hand but still feeling moist.

Make golf ball sized dumplings and add to the stew. If you want soem veg add it at this point. I lobbed in some broccoli but carrots are a good choice as well. Given the flour basis of the dumplings there is no need for extra carbohydrates e.g. potatoes.

Add some extra moisture (I used half a pint of beer) and cook for 20 minutes and then serve.

pollo a la dolchelatte

2008-05-26T21:05:00.003+01:00

Chicken is so versatile but by itself it can be a bit bland. If using a chicken fillet simply cutting a slice to make a cavity in the breast makes a great pocket to pack flavour into the meat.

Using salty and strong flavoured dolchelatte is perfect for this purpose. Tht being said Gorgonzola, Stilton and Roquefort all perfectly suitable for the job.

I also add some herbal flavour inn the for, of 2 dried bay leaves.

Ingredients

chicken breast
2 slices of dolchelatte cheese
2 bay leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper

vegetables to serve with

Method

Cut a slit in the chicken to make a pocket. Stuff the pocket with the dolchelatte and bay leaves. rub the outside with olive oil and season well. Place in an oven proof dish and put in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with fresh vegetables - I had new potatoes, chanterelle carrots and French beans

Oriental Wild Boar

2008-05-05T21:09:00.003+01:00

Obviously pork has a limited place in asian cuisine (given the religious preferences of not an insignificant proportion of SE Asia). Wild Boar, however, is probably more akin to the type of pork meat encountered in Asia - the standard European pig (as popular in Britain and Denmark) is a different proposition so when I had a look in the freezer and saw we still had some wild boar steaks this easy throw together was an easy decision.

Ingredients

Marinade
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 wild boar steaks

Quick cook noodles, mange tout and baby corn to serve.

Method

Add the marinade ingredients to a dish, mix and add the Wild Boar (coat on both sides and set aside for an hour to marinade).

Grill for 5 or so minutes on each side. The other ingredients take about 4 onutes to boil in a pan.

Pork Balls

2008-05-05T20:47:00.003+01:00

Nothing to do with pig's testicles - but a cunning twist on the Chinese takeaway favourite (and not very Chinese at all really).

Having 2 kilos of pork between two of us was clearly going to be a multiple meal situation - or at least the same sandwiches for a week.

Ingredients

Pork Balls
chunks of cold roast pork
3 slices of bread (cheap white sliced is best)
chilli chutney
one egg

Sweet and Sour Sauce
2 tbs tomato ketchup
4 tomatoes (diced)
one onion
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

Method

Start with the sauce - add the onion (finely sliced) to a sauce pan and start to heat gently in some sunflower oil. After the onions have softened add the diced tomatoes - keeping the heat at medium. Add the ketchup, sugar and red wine vinegar and continue to heat gently - stirring frequently. This will take about 15 minutes in total to cook down. Whilst you wait crack on with the pork balls.

Cut the crusts off the slices of bread. Then slice into thirds and coat them on the inside with chili chutney. Seal the bread around the meat, pressing to seal. Beat the egg and season. Dip the bread balls into the egg and then add to a hot pan with sunflower oil. Turn frequently until evenly crispy.

Guacamole

2008-05-05T20:36:00.005+01:00

Guacamole is simple,tasty and whilst high in cholesterol its the right type of cholesterol.

The key thing to do is make sure that your avocados are very ripe. If you make sure of this you can't go wrong. I use a bit of my own birds eye chilli chutney (about a half teaspoon) to zing it up a bit.

Ingredients

5 very ripe avocados
1/2 teaspoon of chilli chutney (you could use Bajan Hot pepper sauce or tabasco - just make sure it is a wet chilli sauce i.e. not dried chillis or chilli powder)
teaspoon of olive oil.

Method

mash the avocados with a fork and mix the rest of the ingredients - if you like it chunky just mash a little less.

I served with warm toast.

Roast Loin of Pork Stuffed with Peaches and Garlic

2008-05-05T20:12:00.006+01:00

We went to the wholesalers today and got a cracking load of garlic and a big 2 kg loin of pork.

I have done a variation of this many times over the years. Using fruit with meat is not widely enough used as the natural sugars combine well with the meat and any herbs - when roasting like this cutting a cavity to allow the fruit to get into the meat does a wonder.

Ingredients

a 2kg loin of pork
one tin of peaches in syrup
2 cloves of garlic
one teaspoon of oregano
olive oil

Method

Slice a slit into the loin (make sure you don't go all the way throughand ensure not to go to the ends.

Add the peaches, some salt and pepper, the garlic (crushed) and the oregano. I re-used the elasticated string that the meat came in but if you don't have this tie with butcher's string.

I roasted, wrapped in foil, for about an hour and a quarter and served with roast butternut squash and courgettes.

Steak Frites

2008-05-05T19:56:00.005+01:00

As a youngster I remember going to France on a camping holiday and having steak frites on the ferry - dead simple, bloody in the centre and charred on the outside. Chips all crispy and the juice of the steak there to be mopped up with the last of them.

For this don't use fancy cuts like fillet or rump - the thin frying steak is perfect. Use a griddle pan (ensure well heated before putting your meat in) oil the meat before putting into the pan then add a good cube of butter on top.

I griddled a tomato to go with and a bit of lambs lettuce (it made me feel better about the healthiness (or lack of)).

Spaghetti with Muscles and Sun Dried Tomatoes

2008-04-19T09:44:00.004+01:00

Spaghetti with Muscles and Sun Dried Tomatoes

I came home on Friday expecting a nice piece of white fish or a whole sea bass or something - ritual in our house is to buy what looks good at the fishmonger on a Friday and make it up from there. Judging from the purchase of ready cooked muscles I guess the fishermen hadn't had a good week!!

Whilst cooking your own can add a bit more flavour to the muscle the ready cooked variety are pretty cheap (85 pence for a pack at our supermarket) and a few bits of careful ingredient adding and a really nice, tasty meal can be prepared without much fuss.

Ingredients

wholewheat spaghetti (enough for 2)
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
pack of ready cooked muscles
6 sun dried tomatoes
150g of reduced fat creme fraiche
half a glass of white wine
basil leaves

Method

Start by boiling some water and getting the sundried tomatoes on to soak (they need about 10 - 15 minutes to refresh them otherwise they can be a bit leathery).

Get the spaghetti on the boil - mine takes about 10 - 12 minutes to cook which is plenty of time to prepare the sauce.

Finely chop the shallots and garlic and add to a hot pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the shallots soften rather than fry to a crisp. Add a dash of sea salt at this stage.

Next remove the sun dried tomatoes from the soak and slice into thin strips and add to the pan. After the pan is back up to the heat add the white wine and the muscles - make sure you don't overcook the muscles as they only really need heating through.

Drain the spaghetti and add the contents of the pan to the spaghetti pan. Give a good stir, the olive oil should evenly coat the spaghetti. Then add the creme fraiche and a good bit of black pepper. Stir well.

Serve with the ripped basil leaves on top. Great with the rest of the bottle of wine.

Home Roast Coffee

2008-04-06T19:49:00.005+01:00

How often do you see coffee claiming freshness? Well fresh ground and fresh roast are two different levels.

Green beans aren't so easy to get hold of but when you can grab them cos fresh roast and ground coffee is a real treat.

Simply heat the green beans in a non stick skillet, they will start to colour and crackle.

The darkness of the roasted bean will determine the strength of the coffee, a softer French roast comes from a brown bean. Black beans pack a punch.

When roasted to your liking place on two pieces of kitchen roll and give a rub to get the loose husks off the beans.

Grind in a coffee grinder. I have had mine for years and whilst electric grinders are available there is something satisfying about using a bit of elbow grease.

Sweet and Pepper Parsnips

2008-04-06T10:09:00.003+01:00

Sweet and Pepper Parsnips

Ingredients
2 pasnips
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp sunflower oil
2 tsp golden syrup

Method

Place the parsnips, sea salt, black pepper and sunflower oil in an oven proof dish. Place in an oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the dish from the oven, give a quick mix then drizzle with the golden syrup. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Curried Potatoes

2008-04-06T10:02:00.002+01:00

Curried Potatoes

Great by themselves with chapatis - I served as an accompaniment to my Roast Chicken (see next post).

Ingredients

1 onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
small potatoes
2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Method

Finely slice the onions and mix with the spices in an oven proof dish. Add the oil - mix well and place in a hot oven for 10 minutes. This softens the onion and gets the spices working. Add the potatoes (diced) and put back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Spiced Roast Chicken

2008-04-06T09:47:00.002+01:00

This is an own creation that relies on a good dry spice rub to flavour the chicken with.

I use free range, corn fed chicken - it costs more than a battery bird but is well worth the additional expense.

Ingredients

1 corn fed free range chicken
a lemon
2 kafir lime leaves
2 pieces galangal
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger powder
6 cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Method

squeeze half the juice of a lemon over the chicken. Put the other half inside the bird with the galangal and kafir lime leaves (this helps keep the bird moist).

Mix the dry spices in a mortar and pestle. Rub the spices over the bird (if you want to avoid hands that look jaundiced either don't add the turmeric or use a piece of clingfilm over your hand!

Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in tin foil. Place in a preheated over at 180 degrees for about an hour and a half (remove the foil for the ast 30 minutes) - to check whether the bird is cooked prize a leg from the breast and check that the juices run clear.

Let the bird rest (wrapped in foil) for 10 minutes before carving - this lets the meat relax and absorb juices in the cavity.

I served with my curried potatoes, French beans and sweet and peppered parsnips (see previous post).

Tuna with Greek Salad

2008-04-06T09:22:00.004+01:00

Tuna with Greek Salad

Dead easy and very healthy, that's what this meal is about.

Ingredients

Fresh Tuna Steak
1 Beef tomato
1 Little Gem lettuce
9 Black Olives
Feta Cheese
2 Pickled Chilli Peppers
Olive Oil
100g Cous Cous
1/2 a Green Pepper
2 slices Fresh Tomato
2 Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 tsp coriander powder

Method

For the cous cous - In a bowl place the cous cous, coriander powder, finely chopped sun dried tomatoes and salt & pepper into a bowl with some olive oil and 200ml boiled water. stir all the ingredients then add the green pepper (finely diced) and the fresh tomato (again finely diced) give a good stir and put a lid on the bowl.

Heat a griddle pan until searing hot. Oil the tuna with olive oil then season with sea salt and black pepper. Griddle on both sides to the point that the tuna is cooked 3/4 the way through. This allows for a medium rare steak - the way I like it - this requires good thick steaks.

Layer the salad and dress with a good olive oil.

Chorizo Butterbeans

2008-03-30T22:14:00.003+01:00

Chorizo Butter beans

This is a warm and tasty dish that is great soul warming food with plenty of flavour.

Ingredients

One Chorizo
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 sticks of celery
one red pepper
6 cherry tomatoes
a small handfull of French beans
sea salt
tin of butter beans
sprig of fresh thyme

Method

Place the olive oil and chopped garlic in a saucepan and gently heat from cold. This should soften the garlic and it is important to start adding the celery before the garlic starts to fry, do so in a manner that keeps the pan from getting too hot.

After a minute or so add the chorizo, roughly chopped into one pound coin size bits. The better the chorizo the better the dish - I have used the cheapest in the supermarket and found it to be sadly lacking in flavour or good texture.

Let the paprika and fat leach out of the chorizo before adding the thyme, tomatoes (halved) and red pepper (roughly chopped). After the pan has come back up to the heat add the tin of butter beans (drained and rinsed in cold water.

Make sure everything gets a good coating of oil and heats through. Add the French beans, salt and some more chopped thyme about a minute before serving.

This went brilliantly with the Foccacia that was a wonderful way of mopping up the flavoursome juices.

Chilli and Olive Foccacia

2008-03-30T21:48:00.004+01:00

Chilli and Olive Foccacia

This is a great big flavoursome bread that used up a jar of olives that I have had hanging about for a while and some pimento peppers to add a bit of zing. The key ingredient is the oil that the olives had been stored in, rather than just using olive oil using the herbed oil that the olives were preserved in.

Ingredients

500g Organic White Bread Flour
one sachet of dried fast action yeast
18 de-stoned olives
12 pimento peppers
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 dried bay leaves
50ml herbed oil (from the olive jar)
1 teaspoon sea salt
300ml warm water

Method

mix the flour, salt, oregano, bay leaves and fast action yeast in a bowl then

Mix the olives, 6 of the pimentos and herbed oil into the bowl then gradually add the water bringing the flour mix around it until a dough has formed.

Kneed the dough on an oiled surface until the dough is elastic in texture.

Place the dough mix into a round flan dish and cover with a damp tea towel in a warm place for 45 minutes. The focaccia should rise. Dust with oregano and the rest of the pimento peppers. Place in a warm oven (200 degrees C) for about 30 minutes.

Turn out into a wire rack and let cool.

I served this with a chorizo butter bean stew (see separate post).

Gammon Ham with Spiced Black Pudding Crust

2008-03-29T09:53:00.008Z

Gammon Ham with Spiced Black Pudding Crust

This is a bit of a labour of love. The flavouring starts right from the off with the boiling liquor.

Ingredients

One Gammon Ham (sized for the number of people to feed)

For the pot

12 peppercorns
6 juniper berries
2 bay leaves

For the Glaze

2 tablespoons of thick cut marmalade
2 tablespoons of cinnamon cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
12 cloves
50 grammes black pudding

Take the Gammon Ham and place in a pot filled with water until it is covered. Add the peppercorns, juniper berries and bay leaves.

Boil the gammon as the size requires. Mine was for an hour and a half. My cook book suggests for hams up to 2.25kg/5lb boil for 30 minutes per 480g/1lb; for hams weighing 2.5 to 5kg/5.5 to 11lb boil for 15 minutes per 480g/1lb and those over this weight boil for 10 minutes per 480g/1lb.

When the boiling is complete remove the ham from the pan - retain the stock for a risotto.

Remove the skin with a sharp knife - make sure to retain the fat layer though.

Cross cut the fat and stud with the cloves.

Mix the glaze ingredients together and cover the meat before roasting in a hot oven for 15-25 minutes. The black pudding adds texture and the cranberry/orange mix is luscious.

I served this with:
- a baked sweet potato (cross cut a sweet potato and rub with olive oil and sea salt, wrap in foil and bake for 45 minutes).
- boiled carrots and roast Jerusalem artichokes method as per the sweet potato above).

The next day's ham sandwiches were exquisite - the flavour penetrates the meat marvelously.

Garlic and Artichoke Heart Dip

2008-03-29T09:18:00.004Z

Garlic and Artichoke Heart Dip

I have had a tin of artichoke hearts in the cupboard for ages. Having never remembered to use them and after starting to feel a bit peckish after dinner last night I decided that the pita breads in the bread bin needed something tasty to accompany them.

This is a bit of a throw together but full flavoured.

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic
tin of artichoke hearts
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
2 dried chillies

Method

In a food processor chop the garlic then add the tin of artichokes (drained and rinsed). Mix in the olive oil.
add the chillies (chopped)and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

Serve sprinkled with paprika and dip with warmed pita breads.

Trout with Warm Black Eyed Bean Salad

2008-03-29T08:43:00.005Z

Trout with Warm Black Eyed Bean Salad

Pulses are much underutilised but are such a great vehicle for flavour. This warm black eyed bean salad could be done with an alternative bean (butter beans or canalenni perhaps).

The fish is simply seasoned and grilled as the natural flavour is not required to be messed with - there is enough in the beans.

Ingredients

one small tin of black eyed beans
3 spring onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil
juice of half a lemon
sprig of fresh thyme
half a glass of white wine
6 french beans
6 cherry tomatoes
12 black olives
dressing made from 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar a teaspoon of pesto.
Good handfull of fresh parsley

Method

drain and rinse the tin of black eyed beans. Place in a saucepan with the lemon juice and olive oil. Add the spring onions (finely chopped)and the thyme. Let this come p to a simmer and reduce the heat.
On the side chop the cherry tomatoes in half and mix in the black olives and the dressing.
Add the wine to the pan and then the french beans, slowly bring the pan back up to the simmer and add the tomatoes, olives and dressing mix.
Slowly bring back up to the simmer and just before serving add the chopped parsley.

Serve with a grilled trout - simply trim the tail, head and fins then season with sea salt and grill until cooked through.

Venison One Pot Special

2008-03-24T13:05:00.004Z

This is normally something that my wife does with Belly Pork. On the basis that Belly Pork doesn't quite meet the grade from a health perspective venison has been bought into the equation. The Belly Pork does do well with this method as the fat goes soft and delicious - venison is a different beast (quite literally) and gives a different dimension to the dish.

Ingredients

250g diced stewing venison
2 peppers
4 plum tomatoes
12 button mushrooms
500ml beef stock
2 tbs tomato ketchup
2 tbs brown sauce
3 dashes of Worcester Sauce
75g brown rice

Method

Normal convention is to seal the meat first but for this dish everything goes into one pot and does not do anything other than boil to ingredients. As the amount of liquid all gets absorbed no flavour is lost.

Dice all the ingredients (excluding the rice) and put into a large casserole dish with the stock and sauce. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 2 hours. With 20 minutes remaining add the rice.

All the liquid should be absorbed by the rice so nothing is lost flavour wise. Whilst exceptionally simple, and washing up limited this is a great dinner.

Taramasalata

2008-03-23T18:44:00.004Z

Our house could probably boast a supply of taramasalata vast enough to feed a Parthenon full of Greeks for a week. The way to avoid this is to not use too much roe (like I did). Either way if there are any suggestions of how to convert Taramasalata into something else (cos whilst it's nice there is only so much that I can take) please send them through sharpish.

Ingredients

100g cod roe
an onion
stale bread (4 slices)
50ml olive oil
paprika

Method

Start by grating the onion. I used a food processor to save my eyes. Then soak the bread (I had a left over homemade loaf which is denser than the shop bought air pumped guff) in water and squeeze out the liquid. Add this to the onion and mix i the food processor. As it is mixing add the olive oil.

Cod roe is a funny thing to handle. The roe is inside a skin/sac and can be squeezed out like piping icing.

My error was to use 5 times the roe in the recipe above, I just asked for a whole roe from the fishmonger and didn't appreciate the weight of them. You live and learn as they say.

Mix the roe into the food processor and serve. I sprinkled it with paprika and served with black olives and warm pita bread.

Clam Paella

2008-03-22T10:07:00.009Z

This is partially inspired by TV chef Tomasina (bad spelling I expect) who has just started a new Cook's Tour series on Spain.

There is no traditional Spanish element to this as I chose Clams and Pollock because they looked good and fresh when I went out shopping.

Either way not a bad accompaniment to a glass of white wine on Good Friday.

Ingredients

a chopped onion
a red pepper
a green pepper
2 beef tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
12 Clams
a good head end piece of Pollock (Any white fish would substitute well)
Arborio rice (2 ladles worth)
a pinch of saffron
Fish Stock (I made my own)- 4 ladles worth
Parsley

Method

Start by softening the onion in olive oil, move to the outer edge of the pan (Tommi's tip) then add the chopped peppers and garlic. After a couple of minutes move the peppers and garlic to the edge of the pan and add the tomatoes - to prepare the tomatoes chop into large chunks and add a shake of sea salt, this aids bringing out the sweetness (apparently). Again wait a couple of minutes and move the tomatoes to the edge of the pan then add the Pollack (cut into 3cm cubes). When the fish is sealed move to the outer edge of the pan and add the clams (Vongoles if you are French). Add the rice and saffron, then add the stock. Turn the heat down low and cook for 20-25 minutes -another top tip from Tommi is to not stir the paella once the stock has been added! This does make for varied texture in the rice (i.e. some of it doesn't cook right good).

The fish stock is something that I concocted myself. I used the pan from Jerusalem artichoke & carrot soup making and used a standard vegetable stock cube with two tablespoons of home made taramasalata (see tomorrow's blog entry for recipe).
Top off with chopped parsley in olive oil and a finely chopped garlic clove - eat with loved ones

Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup

2008-03-22T09:51:00.006Z

This was a recommendation of my mother. I can guarantee that it wont have been as nice as if she had made it - 80% of people believe their mother is the best cook ever - but it is a really nice soup with an almost frothy texture that makes it good on a texture count, as well as the taste one!

Ingredients

4 large Jerusalem Artichokes
2 sticks of celery
4 large carrots
Large knob of goat's butter
1.5 litres of chicken stock
a bay leaf
2 teaspoons of coriander powder
150ml double cream

Method

Thoroughly wash the veg and chop to medium size chunks (see photo).
Soften the celery in the butter then add the artichoke and carrots, let the pan come back up to heat and then add in the stock and the bay leaf - add salt.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots have softened. Add the coriander powder and then using a stick blender take the soup to a puree. Add the cream to thin out and richen the taste. Personally I like pepper with this.

Pork Schnitzel with Apple Bubble & Squeak

2008-03-21T09:13:00.006Z

I travel to Germany a fair bit so normally I get my pig ration out there. These schnitzels though are a homemade special and I think are excellent as a quick and easy dinner.

Ingredients

Pork leg steak
chopped rosemary
dried breadcrumbs
one egg

one cooking apple
one small savoy cabbage
6 small potatoes

Method

For the schnitzel beat the pork with a rolling pin to flatten/tenderise the meat.

Dip in egg and then into the breadcrumbs and chopped rosemary that should be mixed together.

Shallow fry on a medium heat on both sides until the meat is coked through.

For the Apple Bubble & Squeak first put the potatoes on to boil. With 5 minutes to go add the cabbage (sliced into inch long strips) then the cored and chopped apple with 2 mins left. Drain and mash with a little salt and butter.

Jerusalem Artichoke Rosties

2008-03-21T09:00:00.004Z

The Jerusalem Artichoke is in season. My mum bought a load up from her garden this week and I just love the smokey taste of the little blighters.

The problem is my wife finds them a bit overpowering in flavour so I devised a recipe to try and make them more suitable to her palate.

Ingredients

2 large Jerusalem artichokes
4 new potatoes
1 onion
50g cheddar cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper
chopped chives

Method

grate all the ingredients (except the egg of course - it would be stupid to do that) into bowl and mix together.

Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped chives.

Let stand for 5 minutes then squeeze out as much moisture as you can and discard the liquid.

mix in the egg to help bind the ingredients.

Heat a frying pan with goundnut oil until just short of smoking.

Form a golf ball size of mixture into a pancake shape, first giving it a good squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.

Fry until golden on both sides.

Three was a good portion for me. I served it with red kale and some bacon ribs glazed in a chilli, tomato and basil mixture that I devised. No doubt the Rostis were a hit, my wife loved them too.

Deviled Kidneys and Cumin Cous Cous

2008-03-21T08:44:00.004Z

Deviled Kidneys I have done before - This might not be the same method but is nice and effective. The star of this dish is the cous cous.

It was the farmer's market again so the Lamb man got a visit and I picked up half a dozen kidneys - his are significantly better than anything I have seen in a supermarket (ever).

Simply cut in half, trim any excess fat and season in flour and dried chilli flakes. Fry in olive oil until cooked through.

For the cous cous measure out your portion of cous cous into a sealable bowl. Add to it a sauteed red pepper, mushrooms and onion (just chop up the red pepper and mushrooms into chunks and finely chop the onion, sautee in olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper) with all the oil from the pan. Stir in one teaspoon of corriander powder and one and a half teaspoons of cumin powder. Top up with boiling water from the kettle(about hlf a pint or so - dependent upon the amount of cous cous used). Leave to rest for 10 minutes and stir through before serving. Top with the kidneys. Quick, easy and tasty.

Ostrich Wellington

2008-03-21T08:22:00.006Z

Fortunate for us we live within a stones throw of an ostrich farm. Ostrich meat is rich and full of flavour. As a treat my wife bought me a big piece of ostrich fillet thus presenting the opportunity to have a bit of an experiment with something that I had never done before - a wellington.

The cynic in me says that this is just a posh name for a Pastie that restaurants use to bump up the price of a dish - that being said regardless of your views this is tasty and substantial.

Ingredients

A big foot long piece of ostrich fillet
a finely chopped onion
a clove of garlic (finely chopped)
a dozen chestnut mushrooms finely chopped
a tablespoon of tomato puree
half a glass of wine
chopped rosemary
a dozen or so leaves of spinach
ready made puff pastry (one sheet)

Method*

Start by sealing the ostrich in a very hot non stick pan. As there is little or no fat in ostrich meat it may be necessary to rub the meat with a little olive oil first. Set the meat to one side - there is no need for more than a few seconds to seal the meat all around.

Now make a mushroom pate. In the same pan saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic. When soft add the rosemary and tomato puree. Cook out the puree for a minute then add the red wine, season with salt and pepper. Let this reduce down to a thick consistency and set to one side.

Now the layering of the wellington. Roll out the puff pastry (the brand that I use needs to be out of the fridge for half an hour before using)*.

Place a layer of spinach on one half of the pastry, put the osterich fillet on top and then spoon over the mushroom pate trying to keep a consistent thickness over the meat.

Fold over the half of the puff pastry that has not been layered on. Brush the edge of the pastry with some egg wash to make the sealing of the pastry easier. Seal using a basic crimp. Bush with egg wash on the top and place on greaseproof paper.

In a baking tray cook in a pre-heated oven until the pastry is cooked - mine was about 30 mins at 200 degrees.

I served this with crushed potatoes and spinach.

Trout with Parsley, Prawn and Caper Sauce

2008-03-09T18:20:00.004Z

Trout with Parsley, Prawn and Caper Sauce

This was a dinner shared with my mates Dan and Tom. As such we enjoyed a nice glass of wine with the food followed by a truck load of beer, port and cheese then Jagermeister after eating.

Ingredients

Trout fillets
Chopped parsley
salt and pepper

For the sauce
30g goats butter
clove of garlic (crushed)
100ml milk
50g grated parmesan cheese
chopped parsley
a handful of cooked prawns
6 capers

Method

Coat the trout in olive oil and season, scatter with chopped parsley and wrap in foil. Cook the trout for 15 mins in a pre-heated moderate over (180 degrees C).

For the sauce melt the butter with the crushed garlic in a saucepan. When melted stir in the flour and cook out for 30 seconds. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. Add the capers and when boiled and thickened add the parmesan and the chopped parsley. At the last minute add the prawns

Pour over the fish to serve.

I served this with a spinach and rocket salad and some slow roasted peppers and mushrooms

Thai Style Prawn Porridge

2008-03-09T18:07:00.004Z

Thai Style Prawn Porridge

This is a bit of a thrown together dish but dead tasty. Not authentic Thai, more inspired by Thai flavours.

Ingredients

300g King prawns (shelled and pre cooked)
2 bok choi, roughly chopped
a sliced red pepper
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1cm root ginger (sliced finely)
small piece of dried galangal
a birds eye chillie
one tin of coconut milk
150g cous-cous
Chopped corriander

Method

Heat some groundnut oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, ginger, galangal and chillie for one minute. Keep the chillie whole rather than chopped.
Add the pepper and bok choi for a further minute then add the tin of coconut milk.
After 3 minutes add the cous-cous - this is definitely not Thai style but makes the porridge texture.
After five minutes add the prawns then serve and sprinkle with chopped corriander.

Fish Florentine

2008-03-09T17:50:00.004Z

Fish Florentine

This is rich and calorie packed but dead tasty as a treat.

Ingredients

2 haddock fillets (skinned and boned)
150ml dry white wine
good handful of spinach
50 grammes butter
plain flour
150ml milk
75ml double cream
100 grammes grated mature cheddar cheese
110 grammes dried bread crumbs
dash of mace

Method

Poach the fish fillets in the wine for about 10 minutes. Remove from the poaching liquid and flake the fillets.
Make a sauce by melting the butter in a sauce pan and adding the flour.
Cook for 30 seconds and then start gradually adding the milk and stirring with a wooden spoon.
When the sauce boils and thickens remove from the heat and stir in the cream and half the cheese.
Stir until the cheese is absorbed then add the fish and the mace.
Steam the spinach for 5 minutes (so that it keeps some shape rather than going to a pulp).
Layer in ramekins spinach, fish, then spinach. Top with breadcrumbs and then more grated cheese.

I served with French beans and mashed potatoes.

Chicken Liver Spaghetti

2008-03-09T17:37:00.004Z

Chicken Liver Spaghetti

This is quick and dead tasty

Ingredients

300g Chicken Livers (trimmed of sinew etc.)
plain flour (to dust the chicken livers in)
A finely chopped red onion
2 cloves of crushed garlic
Slug of brandy
150ml Double Cream
50 grammes Grated parmesan cheese
chopped parsley
wholemeal spaghetti

Method

Get the pasta on the go first
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan add the onion and then the crushed garlic. Fry for 1 minute.
Dust the chicken livers in flour and add a few at a time to the frying pan.
After 5 minutes flambee by adding the brandy and then lighting the liquor.
Take off the heat and add the double cream and then throw in the parmesan cheese.
Stir in the chopped parsley and then mix with the spaghetti.

Chorizo Roast Chicken

2008-03-09T17:17:00.005Z

Chorizo Roast Chicken

A roast Chicken is a great meal. If you are sensible enough you can get 3 meals for 2 from a medium size bird. Recently in the British media there has been a big push to promote the use of organically reared birds rather than use of battery chickens. Personally I support this movement, the taste is superior and it is a better life for the bird.

This recipe uses a trick that I often use to add flavour and keep the breast moist. I insert the sliced chorizo between the skin and the breast. The fats from the chorizo baste the breast and the paprika-y spicey flavour permeates into the meat.

Ingredients

One organic chicken
8 slices of chorizo sausage
6 small dried red chillies
salt & pepper
olive oil

Method

Insert the chorizo slices under the skin of the chicken.
Drizzle the bird with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Scatter the dried chillies over the bird.
Cover with foil and roast in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for about an hour and a half. For the last half hour remove the foil so that the skin crisps. Check the bird is cooked by making sure the juices run clear.

Serve with whatever you like. Either traditional Sunday roast style (roast potatoes and a couple of veg)or perhaps with some rice and roasted peppers.

Italian Style Salmon and Cannellini Beans

2008-01-05T10:04:00.001Z

Italian Style Salmon and Cannellini Beans

This is a fantastic, healthy dinner which goes marvelously with a glass of sauvignon blanc.

It is really easy to pull together and is a nice taste to zing up winter.

Ingredients

fish
300g salmon fillet
salt and pepper
juice of half a lemon

beans
tin of Cannellini Beans
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
100ml water
juices of half a lemon
olive oil
chopped parsley
3 chopped spring onions

tomatoes
200g cherry tomatoes
a finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
12 torn basil leaves
salt, pepper
olive oil

Method

Start by putting the beans, rosemary and whole, peeled cloves of garlic and water in a saucepan and very gently heat until just starting to reach a boil then remove from the heat. The purpose of this is to infuse the flavors.

For the cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and place in a bowl with the shallot (finely chopped). Add the red wine vinegar and a glug of olive oil and stir and let stand whilst you prepare the rest of the meal.

Skin the salmon, cut into healthy size chunks (about the width of 2 fingers), season with salt and paper and coat in olive oil and place in a searing hot pan until just cooked through, squeeze over the lemon juice 30 seconds before removing from the pan.

Whilst the salmon is cooking drain the beans and remove the garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary. Discard the sprigs of rosemary (don't worry if a few leaves stay with the beans) and mash the garlic in the lemon juice. Add the chopped parsley and spring onion to the beans and lemon juice and garlic. Mix well with a glug of olive oil.

Just before serving, season the tomatoes with salt and vinegar then add the ripped basil leaves mix well with a little more olive oil.

Serve and enjoy.

Salmon Fishcakes

2008-01-04T20:03:00.001Z

Salmon Fishcakes

Ingredients

600g skinned and boned salmon
generous handful of coriander
100ml goats milk
good knob of goats butter
salt and pepper
2 tsp chillie chutney (see previous post)
egg
flour
dried breadcrumbs
500g mashed potatoes (I used King Edwards)
sunflower oil

Method

Poach the salmon in the milk with the stems of the coriander and some salt and pepper for 10 mins. Set aside to cool and flake.

Boil the potatoes and then mash in a little of the poaching milk and a good knob of goats butter. Let cool

Chop the coriander leaves and mix with the mashed potato, flaked salmon and chillie chutney.

Shape into patties using a small fist of the fishcake mix.

Cool in the fridge for an hour then dip in the beaten egg, then the flour and then the dried bread.crumbs. Shallow fry in sunflower oil. Dry on kitchen towel and serve.

I served with grilled peppers in olive oil and garlic.

Turkey Chillie

2008-01-04T19:37:00.001Z

Turkey Chillie

Ingredients

500g minced turkey
3 carrots
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
tin of chopped tomatoes
glass of red wine
200ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
tin of kidney beans

2 tsp Chilli Chutney

Chilli Chutney

Ingredients

20 birds eye chillies
2 inches of root ginger
4 cloves of garlic
100ml red wine vinegar
50g brown sugar
100ml water
packet of gelatine

Method

for the chilli chop the onion and fry in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the minced turkey and brown. Add the peppers and fry for 3 minutes. Add all the tomato puree stir for 30 seconds and then add the wet ingredients (tomatoes, wine and stock) and the carrots. Simmer for 15 minutes. Just before serving add the kidney beans and the chilli chutney.

Serve with brown rice

To make the chilli chutney

in a food processor chop the chillis - a mix of red and green is what I used (less the stalks), the ginger and the garlic.

In a pan make a syrup with the water and sugar then add the chopped chillies, garlic and ginger. then add the red wine vinegar and reduce down. add the gelatine (as per packet instructions - some require mixing in cold water) and let cool. Jar and put in the fridge.

This is really versatile and can be used in sauces, on sandwiches and the fishcakes (in the next recipe). It is really firey hot but you can modify the heat with the ingredients. The recipe above made 2 jars.

Lamb Shoulder

2007-12-31T08:56:00.001Z

Lamb Shoulder

I don't really know what to call this recipe as its a bit of a mish mash of flavours that I think go well together. Its simply a roast lamb dish.

Ingredients

1/2 shoulder of lamb
3 cloves of garlic
a bay leaf
a star anise
tin of tomatoes
1/2 pint of boiling water
2 carrots
potatoes (as many as you want for each portion)
1 apple
2 tbs cumin powder
lamb stock cube
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tbs turmeric powder
salt and pepper
good handful of parsley
zest and juice of a lemon

Method

In a roasting tin place the garlic cloves (skinned and bruised with the heel of your hand), bay leaf, star anise (broken in the hand), tin of tomatoes, water, the apple (core removed and cut into quarters), the carrot cut into big chunks (about a third of a carrot at a time).

Place the lamb shoulder on top and put cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, lamb stock cube and salt and pepper.

Cover the whole tin in foil and place into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C.

After 45 mins remove the foil and baste the meat with the juices. Return to the oven for 15 minutes then remove and baste once more, before placing back in the oven add the potatoes. Return to the oven for an hour - baste half way through.

Remove the meat from the tin and leave to rest. Whilst the meat is resting remove the carrots and potatoes from the tin and mix into the remaining liquid the parsley (roughly chopped), lemon zest and juice. This makes a lovely sauce to serve the meat with.

Pot Roast Pheasant

2007-12-18T12:44:00.001Z

Pot Roast Pheasant

Game season is in its full throw so the Farmer's market in Preston City Centre is overflowing with all sorts of Game.

Not being certain as to the age of the bird always makes choosing a Game recipe a bit tricky, only if you get a bird not yet plucked will you be sure of the age and sex.

For pheasant a good way of being sure of not ending up chewing on a tough bird for an evening is to pot roast it. This is my recipe:

Ingredients

1 whole pheasant
8 dried apricots
a large glass of red wine
a double measure of cooking brandy
6 smoked garlic cloves
salt and pepper
3 carrots
a large handful of oyster mushrooms
a bay leaf

In a large casserole dish place the pheasant (make sure all the bits of feather ends are removed).
Add the apricots, garlic cloves, red wine and brandy and bay leaf.
Season and place in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees C for an hour, basting half way through.
Add the carrots, cut into rough batons
cook for a further 15 minutes then add the oyster mushrooms, taking the opportunity to baste the bird again. Leave in the oven, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes.

Let the bird rest before serving, the left over cooking liquor makes a wonderful sauce straight from the pan.

Ostrich Steak with a Simple Paprika Sauce

2007-11-30T20:47:00.002Z

Ostrich Steak

We have an ostrich farm close by to where we live and the meat is top draw.

Cut a couple of baking potatoes into wedges and bake at 200 degrees for 35-40 minutes

In the same oven dish add some chopped peppers for 20 minutes and some baby tomatoes for 10 minutes.

In a frying pan heat some olive oil and goats butter until close to smoking.

Add well seasoned ostrich fillet steak to the pan, three minutes each side. At the same time add a dozen chopped mushrooms to absorb the flavors from the pan.

Remove the ostrich to rest and add 200ml of creme fraische with a tablespoon of paprika and stir through.

Seafood Paella

2007-11-30T20:27:00.001Z

Seafood Paella

A loin of cod (skinned)
12 king prawns (cooked)
4 baby octopus
6 asparagus spears
an onion
a clove of smoked garlic
safron (soaked in 200ml boiling water)
6 chestnut mushrooms
12 fresh basil leaves ripped
250ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper
paella rice
glass of white wine
ounce of goats butter

Chop and fry the onion in a big glug of olive oil until clear.

Add the paella rice and stir until the grains are starting to look clear.

Add the glass of white wine until absorbed by the rice

Then add the safron and its stock and the vegetable stock.

boil for 25 mins or until the rice is cooked

add the cod cut into chunks and the vegetables. After 2-3 minutes add the prawns and the squid cut into rings/tentacles (remember to remove the spine).

After 2-3 minutes stir in the butter and basil then serve.

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

2007-11-30T19:59:00.001Z

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

1/2 an inch of fresh ginger
1/2 a star anis
1/4 tsp astofedia
2 birds eye chillies
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tin of light coconut milk
250g fresh beansprouts
2 bok choi
2 kafir lime leaves
6 shitake mushrooms
6 button mushrooms
chopped coriander
2 Fresh Tuna steaks
250g wild rice

Grind the ginger, star anis, half the chili, black pepper, astofedia and garlic in a mortar and pestle.

Add to a hot wok with a dash of groundnut oil heated until just short of smoking. Fry for a minute and the add the beansprouts.

Stir fry for 3 minutes and add the kafir lime leaves, add the two types of mushrooms (sliced). After a minute add the bok choi (chopped)and the rest of the chili.

Add the coconut milk and heat until boiling. Then add the tuna (cut into strips)for 3 minutes.

Add half the chopped coriander.

Serve on the wild rice and sprinkle with the rest of the corriander

Spicy Lentils

2007-11-11T14:12:00.001Z

Heat a tablespoon of groundnut oil in a small skillet pan.

When hot add 3 crushed cardomon pods, sprinkle of fenugrek, sprinkle of coriander powder and some crushed chillies. After a minute or so add a chopped red onion and fry until soft.

Add a good portion of dried red lentils (I use the variety that do not require overnight soaking).

Stir the lentils into the onion and spice mix and start to add some stock. Keep adding the stock a little at a time (a bit like a risotto method) topping up when the lentils have absorbed the previous stock.

Towards the end throw in a few green beans.

Cod in Lemon and Garlic

2007-11-11T14:04:00.001Z

In a dish layer slices of lemon and a sliced clove of garlic.

Place a fillet of cod on top and season the flesh of the cod with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the cod with a good glug of olive oil, sprinkle with some chopped parsley and then layer a sliced clove of garlic and some lemon slices.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Ideal served with french beans and boiled new potatoes.

Spicy Sicillian Sauasages

2007-11-10T10:40:00.001Z

This is a good quick throw together dinner

Sausages have traveled a journey over the last few years with wider varieties being available in the supermarkets.

These sicillian sausages were made with lots of garlic and crushed chillies.

Cut the sausages into big bite size pieces and cook in a frying pan in olive oil and part way through cooking add a half dozen ripe baby tomatoes cut in half. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and half a dozen pickled green chillies roughly chopped into 1 cm long bits.

Either serve with cous cous, bulgar wheat or wholemeal pasta (as we did)

Potato, Mushroom and Stilton Bake

2007-11-10T10:27:00.001Z

Potato, Mushroom and Stilton Bake

We had some friends over for dinner and had some left over Stilton - this was a good quick rustle up dinner.

Chop a dozen mushrooms into halves and scatter in the bottom of a lasagna dish. Add 6 chopped spring onions and drop two teaspoons worth of dijon mustard around the dish.

break the stilton into small hazelnut size chunks and spread evenly around the dish.

Add a teaspoon of dried sage.

Layer the dish with sliced new potatoes that I boiled for 5 minutes and then spread some creme fraiche on top and season with black pepper.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins.

Rabbit Risotto

2007-11-10T09:54:00.001Z

Rabbit Risotto

Last nights rabbit was stripped of any extra meat (particularly the fore legs) and then added to a litre of water and a couple of bay leaves and boiled to make some stock.

This was used as the stock for a risotto which was warmed to just short of boiling for the risotto making.

Fry a chopped red onion in olive oil until soft and add a crushed clove of garlic.

Fry a cup of arborio risotto rice for 3 minutes or until the rice starts to go see through. Add a glass of white wine and wait for it to be absorbed by the rice.

Add a small ladle of stock at a time replenishing when absorbed by the rice. Continue until the rice has become soft.

Add a chopped red pepper (helps with the colour) and half a dozen chopped mushrooms.

Stir through a tablespoon of grated parmesan and a knob of goats butter. Season to taste.

Roast Rabbit with Sausage Stuffing

2007-11-10T09:39:00.001Z

Roast Rabbit with sausage stuffing

Take a fresh rabbit - we got ours at the local farmer's market and drizzle with olive oils and a crushed clove of garlic.

Make the stuffing using sausage meat. We just took some black pepper sausages (with a sprinkle of crushed chillies) and removed from their skins - about 3 was enough to amply fill the rabbit.

Wrap the stuffed rabbit with parma ham, drizzle with olive oil and season

Put in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for an hour basting every 15 mins and turning over half way through.

I should have taken a photo of the rabbit before I took the meat off as it looked quite impressive, was just keen to devour it.

Using up the rest of the Vegetable Ragu

2007-10-28T20:00:00.000Z

I used it to top some seasoned salmon and mixed with fresh parsley and a chopped clove of garlic. I baked in an oven for 20 mins - delish!

Vegetable Ragu Pasta

2007-10-28T19:53:00.001Z

place in a roasting dish 9 cherry tomatoes, half a courgette, a sliced green pepper and a sliced yellow pepper, half a winter squash (chopped into chunks) and 6 mushrooms.

Coat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 40 mins

Blitz with a hand blender until a pulp

Fold in a 250ml tub of creme fresh - this is the ragu

Boil some spaghetti, drain then mix in the vegetable ragu and heat through for 3 mins.

I served it with some boiled asparagus (entirely optional) and threw over a few ripped basil leaves

Vegetable Gratin with Asparagus

2007-10-28T19:40:00.001Z

Thinly slice a sweet potato, 2 parsnips and half a winter squash

par-boil for 3 mins

layer in a baking dish

infuse milk and creme fresh with a clove of garlic (crushed)then pour over the vegetables.

bake for 50 mins at 180 degrees

layer whole asparagus spears and top with grated sheep's wensledale cheese (a hard, sharp sheep's cheese) and half a ball of mozzarella.

Bake for a further 10 mins (or until the cheese is properly melted and just starting to turn brown)

Chicken And Tomato Casserole

2007-10-21T20:05:00.001+01:00

Chicken And Tomato Casserole

Boil 8 small potatoes in salted water, drain and bash with the back of a fork.

De-skin 12 cherry tomatoes by blanching in boiling water for 10 mins then plunging in cold water before peeling off the skin.

Skin and de-bone 6 chicken thighs and chop into large chunks (2 or three pieces per thigh. Season well with salt and pepper and in a casserole dish fry in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients together add 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, a good glug of olive oil, a big pinch of dried rosemary, 2 bay leaves & more salt and pepper.

Cook in a preheated oven (without a lid) for 25 minutes.

Turkey Burgers

2007-10-10T20:21:00.001+01:00

Turkey Burgers

Season turkey mince, 1 tsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp brown sauce and 3 tsp pasata, handful of chopped coriander and a finely diced red onion. Mix by hand and grill for 5-6 mins on each side. Serve with wholemeal rolls and diced tomatoes with ripped basil dressed in olive oil

Springbok and Sundried Tomato Tart

2007-10-10T20:09:00.001+01:00

Springbok and Sundried Tomato Tart

Make some short crust pastry and shape into a deep flan case. Blind bake and let cool.

Fill the case with springbok sausage meat (previously sauted in a pan till cooked through), 4 tbs pasata, 6 sundried tomatoes in olive oil, 125g ball of mozarella torn into pieces and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 25 mins till cheese is melted through.

serve with salad

Crocodile steaks with sweet potato chips

2007-10-10T19:58:00.001+01:00

The initial 6 weeks probation is over so I am switching to only things that we cook now .

Crocodile steaks with sweet potato chips

Cut 2 sweet potatoes into chunky chips coat in about 2 tbs of olive oil, drizzle with 2 tsp clear honey and sprinkle with salt. Scatter a few cloves of garlic (crushed with the heel of the hand) into the roasting tray and roast for 20 mins on a high heat.

Meanwhile season 2 crocodile steaks (from www.alternativemeats.com) and in a hot pan melt an ounce of goats butter until going nut brown - add a chopped red onion, fry until translucent. Fry the crocodile steak for 2 mins each side. Set the croc to one side to rest and add 2 tsp of rosemary and lime jelly and mix into the onion and remaining butter. Pour over the croc steak.

serve with steamed French beans.

Day 48 Saturday 6/10/07

2007-10-06T19:16:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Benecol probiotic drink
Slice of wholemeal bread

Daytime

Played full game of rugby against Vale of Lune drew 23-23
4 pints of beer (2 bitter, 2 lager)

Eve Meal

Andalaucian pork with bulgar wheat

Marinade seasoned pork in paprika, chopped garlic, dried oregano, thyme and sage and olive oil (marinade for a couple of hours)griddled in olive oil
Peppers sliced (red, green and yellow) roasted with basil garlic and Feta cheese for 40 mins
Served with salad and avocado dressed with a Dijon dressing.
Bulgar wheat soaked in boiling water for 20 mins with salt and olive oil fresh chopped coriander mixed in at the end.

½ bottle of French red (Cotes du Rhone) and ½ a bottle of French white (viognier)

Pros – vegies

Cons – no proper breakfast

Day 47 Friday 5/10/07

2007-10-05T20:56:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Shreddies with goats milk
Benecol probiotic
Cup of tea

Daytime

Cup of vending machine coffee
Mixed dried berries

Eve Meal

Seared scallops on watercress salad

Heat olive oil and butter in skillet
Sear seasoned scallops in pan add strips of serano ham
Serve on watercress (nice and peppery) with a pesto dressing (tsp of pesto, olive oil and white wine vinegar)

Roast monkfish in serano ham

Wrap seasoned monkfish tail (light on the salt because of the ham) in serano ham inside the wrap add a teaspoon of garlic jelly then sprinkle with smoked paprika. Roast in the oven for 30 mins

Serve with pan seared broccoli with capers

Baked figs with goats cheese with forest honey

Halve 2 figs put a teaspoon of soft goats cheese on top and bake for 10 mins. Drizzle forest honey on top when cooked

Pros – fish

Cons – goats cheese

Holiday Food

2007-10-04T22:03:00.000+01:00

Day 38 Wednesday 26/09/07

On Holiday heading to Normandy

Breakfast

Bowl of Shreddies with semi skimmed goats milk
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink
Glass of pomegranate juice
cup of tea

Daytime

Cup of vending machine white coffee
Humus and falafel sandwich on wholemeal bread
Ham and goats cheese hot pita pocket

Eve Meal

Roast Chicken with baked potato, carrots and chard with gravy

1/3 a bottle of NZ White wine
cup of coffee

Pros – plenty of veg

Cons – ham and cheese in the pita pocket and the skin on the chicken

Day 39 Thursday 27/09/07

On Holiday in Normandy

Breakfast

Bowl of museli with semi skimmed milk
Slice of toast with jam
cup of tea

Daytime

Two ham and tomato wholemeal rolls
Pint of heineken

Eve Meal

Camembert and Normandy ham on toast with Dijon dressing dressed salad
Beef bourginon (2 pieces of shin beef slowly braised in a red wine sauce with 3 potatoes) – very simple but very lovely
Crem caramel

Red wine, a whisky
A coffee

Pros – breakfast

Cons – ham and cheese and beef for evening meal

Day 40 Friday 28/09/07

On Holiday in Normandy

Breakfast

One croissant
Slice of bread with jam
cup of coffee
glass of orange juice

Daytime

Goats cheese baguette and a glass of cider

Eve Meal

Sep ravioli in a creamy sauce
Rare steak with chips and salad
Choc moose
Red wine & a whisky
A coffee

Pros – not sure really

Cons – beef in the evening and croissant

Day 41 Saturday 29/09/07

On Holiday in Normandy

Breakfast

Slice of bread with jam
Natural yoghurt
cup of coffee
glass of orange juice

Daytime

Salmon salad
Lemon sorbet
orangina

Eve Meal

Trout in a crème fraiche and herb sauce
John Dory fillet in cider sauce with leeks and potatoe
Cheese course and lemon sorbet
Glass of pommeau, ½ a bottle of Sancere & a whisky
A coffee

Pros – fish

Cons – creamy sauces, cheese and butter in cooking

Day 42 Sunday 30/09/07

On Holiday in Normandy

Breakfast

Two mini pain au chocolat, 2 mini Danish pastries
Slice of bread with jam
Natural yoghurt
cup of coffee
glass of apple juice

Daytime

Ham and Goats cheese baguette
Banana
Bottle of lemonade

Eve Meal

Terine (mixed meat)
Steak (rare) with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding type bouls
Cheese course
Apple tarte with crème fraiche
Red wine, white wine & a whisky
A coffee

Pros – not sure really

Cons – beef in the evening and pastries

Day 43 Monday 1/10/07

On Holiday in Normandy

Breakfast

Slice of bread with jam
cup of coffee
glass of pear juice

Daytime

Flamenkuche (Alsatian thin based pizza type thing) with crème fraiche, emental, ham and mushroom topping
Nibble of Mel’s goat’s cheese salad
Pepsi

Eve Meal

Deep fried nibbles (a chicken wing, onion ring and a potato/cheese thing)
Bison steak with chips
Red wine
Armagnac and a coffee

Pros – Bison

Cons – chips, flamenkuche

Day 44 Tuesday 2/10/07

Travelling back from holiday

Breakfast

Full English (bacon, sausage, hash brown, beans, scrambled egg, grilled tomato)
Orange juice
Cup of coffee

Daytime

Pint of Heineken
Chicken salad sandwich
Chocolate chip baguette
Orange and mango smoothie

Eve Meal

Take away from the local curry house
Tandori chocken
Curry sauce
Naan bread
Pint of lager
½ a bottle of cotes du rhone
benecol pro biotic drink

Pros – none really

Cons – the lot!!

Day 45 Wednesday 3/10/07

Breakfast

yoghurt

Daytime

Cup of vending machine coffee

Eve Meal

Pan fried tuna with mango cous cous

Sauté onion, mushrooms and courgette in olive oil
Add tuna and sear making sure to leave the middle pink
Serve on cous cous – soak in boiling water and add 3 tsp of mango chutney
Serve with watercress

Pros – fish, veg, yoghurt

Cons – missed lunch

Day 46 Thursday 4/10/07

Breakfast

Shreddies with goats milk
Benecol probiotic
Cup of tea

Daytime

Cup of vending machine coffee
Pastrami and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread

Eve Meal

Chicken fusili with pesto and vegetables

Grill chicken breasts
Sauté mushrooms, tomatoe and courgette with a splash of Worcester sauce
Boil dried wholemeal fusili as per pack instructions
Chop chicken and mix with a few teaspoons of pesto, the veg and the pasta
Add black pepper and ripped basil leaves to serve

Pros – evening meal

Cons – pastrami at lunch

Day 37 Tuesday 25/09/07

2007-09-25T21:01:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Bowl of Special K with semi skimmed goats milk
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink
cup of tea

Daytime

Two cup of vending machine white coffee
Ham, sheep’s cheese and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread with flora proactive spread and fig and chilli jam (from the farmer’s market)
Glass of pomegranate juice

Eve Meal

Roast Veg with pesto Pita Pockets

Chop one butternut squash, a white turnip, a red pepper, a green pepper, a red onion, 3 cloves of garlic and half an aubergine into rough size pieces (roots smaller than vine items) sprinkled with salt, pepper and dried oregano a glug of olive oil and a couple of bay leaves
Roast in the oven at 200 degrees C for 45 mins

To serve smear the inside of a pita pocket with Pesto and add a generous portion of the veg.

½ a bottle of crianza Spanish red wine

Pros – plenty of veg

Cons – ham and cheese in the sandwich but it was a lean piece of ham

Day 36 Monday 24/09/07

2007-09-24T21:03:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Bowl of shredded wheat with semi skimmed goats milk
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink
cup of tea

Daytime

One cup of vending machine white coffee
Ham and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread with flora proactive spread and fig and orange liquor preserve (from the farmer’s market)

Eve Meal

Oriental cottage pie (inspired but modified from Simon Rimmer on Something for the Weekend on BBC2 yesterday)

Topping – one sweet potatoe peeled, boiled and mashed with dash of goats milk, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sesame seeds

Filling – fry off in olive oil one onion sliced, when browned add 6 button mushrooms (quartered), then after a couple of minutes add chopped water chestnuts (from a can) and 3 sliced carrots (in rings). Cook for a couple of minutes and add sauce as below

Sauce – olive oil in a sauce pan, add a chopped clove of garlic, 2 tsp ground ginger and a tsp of crushed chillies. Add 50ml dry sherry, 75ml red wine, 30ml soy sauce & 10 ml oyster sauce then 150ml veg stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 mins

Add sauce to filling and transfer to oven proof dish then spread topping on and crisp under the grill

Serve with pickled red cabbage (more Lancashire than Beijing – but what the hec)

2 glasses of sherry and 2 glasses of red wine

Pros – plenty of veg

Cons – ham in the sandwich but it was a lean piece

Day 35 Sunday 23/09/07

2007-09-23T20:54:00.000+01:00

Last Night

Had a half bottle of Italian merlot (won at the pub quiz) it needed food to make it palatable so had some sheep's cheese on 3 oatcakes.

Then got peckish so had a ham and salad sandwich (was a bit naughty and had mayonaise on it)

Breakfast

Apple, mango and passion fruit smoothie
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

Went to the SO Noodle Bar
Had Aubergine Tempura with seaweed
Then had shredded chicken noodles
Washed it down with a bottle of Japanese lager

Eve Meal

Taiwanese Aubergine

Fry a chopped onion in groundnut oil with a centimetre of fresh ginger and a star anise, half way through add a pinch of sugar.
Chop half an aubergine into chip size bits and add to the onion after they have softened
When the aubergine has browned add 3 tbs of soy sauce then 3 tbs of rice wine vinegar then 150ml of water
Leave to simmer for 10 mins then add a tablespoon of oyster sauce and a teaspoon of cornflower mixed into some cold water. Mix through and cook for a further 3 mins.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve

Pros – lots of aubergine

Cons – noodles will have been fried as was the tempura aubergine

Day 34 Saturday 22/09/07

2007-09-22T20:01:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Poached egg on seeded toast (2 slices) with Flora Pro Active spread
Slice of seeded bread toasted with flora pro active and marmite
Apple, mango and passion fruit smoothie

Daytime

2 Nectarines

Eve Meal

Kangaroo Steak

Mel has been on the net for cholesterol friendly foods and put an order in with www.alternativemeats.co.uk so over the coming days we will have Kudu, Crocodile, springbok sausages and wild boar. Tonight we had kangaroo rump steak with veg

In olive oil fry off 3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped, after 30 secs when the oil has taken the flavour add the kangaroo rump steaks (seasoned with salt and pepper) and fry on each side for 6 minuted.

Meanwhile boil new potatoes and with 5 mins to serving add baby sweetcorn

Remove the steak from the pan and let rest for a minute or so, in the same pan used for the meat add a dribble of red wine to deglaze and add spinach, till wilted.

Serve

A glass of rioja and ½ a bottle of Aussie Shiraz Cab Sav

Played a full game of rugby (my brother in law scored twice)

Pros – played rugby and kangaroo is low in cholesterol but does not fail to achieve my manly desire for steak

Cons – only fruit at lunch

Day 33 Friday 21/09/07

2007-09-21T20:53:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Bowl of shreddies
Apple, mango and passion fruit smoothie
Cup of tea

Daytime

Nectarine
Cup of vending machine coffee

Eve Meal

Fillet of Plaice with a spiced Peanut crust

For the spiced peanut crust fry a chopped clove of garlic and a pinch of curry leaves in olive oil. Add pinch of cumin seeds and some crushed chillies then add a handful of salted peanuts (leftover from my flight to Munich this week). Blend the fried off spices and peanuts in a food processor with a tablespoon of houmus and a teaspoon of cumin powder and a teaspoon of tumeric, add olive oil to make consistency become creamy.

Grill the plaice (seasoned with salt and pepper) then smear the peanut paste over the fish and grill till crisped
Serve with salad (lettuce and tomatoes) dressed in a balsamic and honey dressing

1 pint of lager
½ a bottle of Rioja

Pros – fish in the evening

Cons – only fruit at lunch

Day 32 Thursday 20/09/07

2007-09-21T20:52:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

2 slices of seeded toast with honey
Apple, mango and passion fruit smoothie

Daytime

1 cup of vending machine coffee
handful of Haribro sweets

Eve Meal

Went to the pub and had fish pie – was a mix of salmon, cod and prawns with potatoes but had a cheese sauce over it. It came with a small portion of veg (broccoli, carrot and green beans)
One pint of bitter and a J2O

Pros – veg and fish in the evening

Cons – lack of lunch and cheese sauce

Day 31 Wednesday 19/09/07

2007-09-19T20:41:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

2 slices of seeded toast with honey
mandarin, orange and raspberry smoothie

Daytime

Beetroot soup (from Saturday)
2 cups of coffee

Eve Meal

Swordfish and lemon pepper fishcakes with tapenous stuffed tomatoes

Swordfish and lemon pepper fishcakes from the farmer’s market baked in the oven served with asparagus, baby corn and green beans
Tapenous made from kalamata olives blended with houmous used to fill whole tomatoes scooped out of the seeds and baked in the oven for 25 mins.

½ a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon

Pros – veg and fish in the evening

Cons – none

Day 30 Tuesday 18/09/07

2007-09-18T22:29:00.002+01:00

Breakfast

Smoked salmon and gravalax with a slice of brown seeded continental bread
An orange and raspberry smoothie
A strawberry and cherry smoothie

Cup of coffee

Daytime

lunch
Veal with spetzle and broccoli
Glass of guava juice
2 cups of coffee

On Flight
Beef and salad sesame bagel
Slice of apricot tart
Grapes
2 Cups of tea

Eve Meal

Beetroot and Lamb Risotto

Sautee an onion
Add risotto rice
Add stock slowly (beetroot soup (from Saturday) watered down – ¼ soup to ¾ vegetable stock)
Add 6 mushrooms (quartered)
Add lamb (from Sunday)
Add chopped asparagus
Warm through and serve

Pros – breakfast

Cons – too much red meat

Day 29 Monday 17/09/07

2007-09-18T22:29:00.001+01:00

Breakfast

Two slices of seaded bread toast with honey
A mandarin, orange and raspberry smoothie

Cup of tea

Daytime

Beef curry with white rice, Bombay potatoes and an onion bhaji (at a conference today)

Eve Meal

Steak with potatoes, green beans and gravy (on the aeroplane to Germany)

A gin and tonic and a glass of red wine
3 beers

Pros – breakfast

Cons – too much red meat

Day 28 Sunday 16/09/07

2007-09-18T22:27:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

A mandarin, orange and raspberry smoothie

Daytime

Went to Pizza Express and had ½ a chicken pizza and a glass of Pinot Grigio

Eve Meal

Roast shoulder of lamb

½ Shoulder of lamb studded with garlic and lemongrass, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, roasted for 1 ½ hrs wrapped in foil with foil removed for the last ½ hr.
Served with boiled potatoes, green beans, carrots and lemon chard
On the side a teaspoon of rosemary and lime jelly

½ a bottle of chianti red wine

Pros – loads of veg

Cons – pizza and roast lamb

Day 27 Saturday 15/09/07

2007-09-16T18:04:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

A mandarin, orange and raspberry smoothie

Daytime

Went to the farmer’s market that is held at our local church every couple of months. Great selection of vegetables and some nice local lamb plus some fish.

Home made borsch (beetroot soup)

Bunch of beetroot with tops of leaves removed, cut in half
Put in a big casserole and a cup of water added
Add a couple of bay leaves, shake of paprika, salt and pepper
Boil for 15 minutes to get the flavours going.
Add a litre of water and boil for another 15 mins.
Add a small sprig of fennel top roughly chopped (adds a nice aniseed tinge)
Blitz with a hand blender and serve with a few sprigs of fennel top – if I had some crème fresh I’d add a dollop of that but it doesn’t feature in the list of good things to have.

Played a full game of rugby (a 0-0 draw – better than England at least)

Eve Meal

Grilled red mullet with vegetables form the farmer’s market

Sprinkle the mullet with lemon and sea salt and grill for 5 mins each side
Served with boiled new potatoes, lemon chard, green beans and some daikon radish marinated in white wine vinegar

A bottle of Rioja red wine

Pros – loads of veg and fish, homemade soup

Cons – breakfast (or lack of it)

Day 26 Friday 14/09/07

2007-09-15T09:20:00.000+01:00

Last night

3 bottles of Nastro Azzuro
3 chocolates (orange cream ones)

Breakfast

1 x banana
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

A chicken and cucumber sandwich on wholemeal bread

a banana

1 cup of vending machine white coffee

Eve Meal

Chicken Pita Pockets with home made salsa

Breast of chicken dusted with lemon pepper, grilled and cut into chunks
Salad made of grated daikon radish (this is an Japanese vegetable that looks like a big white carrot), tomato slices, pickled green chillies, red onion & cucumber.

Salsa made from finely diced tomatoes, half a red onion finely diced a shake of dried oregano, some chopped coriander leaf, a tablespoon of Watties Tomato relish (like a burger relish – adds a little sweet tang) and a half teaspoon of Carribean hot pepper sauce. Variations on this are using fresh chillies and dropping the relish – this makes it less sticky so its prone to fall off your pita bread!

Afterwards had a few dips into some shop bought low fat hummus (I prefer my homemade variety) and some (about 10) Pringles Rice Infusions

A bottle of Italian white wine

Pros – loads of veg with the pitas

Cons – Had 4 pitas and it was white rather than wholemeal bread (all that was in stock when I went to the shop)

Day 25 Thursday 13/09/07

2007-09-13T20:54:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of mango and orange smoothie
1 x bowl of special K (semi skimmed goats milk)
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

cup of tea

Daytime

A beef and sweetcorn sandwich on wholemeal bread
A chicken and sweetcorn sandwich on wholemeal bread

2 bananas

1 cup of vending machine white coffee

Eve Meal

Stir Fried Beef and vegetables

Lean trimmed rib eye steak cut into strips, fried in groundnut oil, removed from pan and drained of oil
Garlic, red onion, mushrooms, green pepper, fresh lemon grass, carrot, courgette stir fried with a dash of fish sauce and soy sauce added towards the end.
Add the sealed beef and stir in a pak choi and some black pepper
Serve

Pros – healthy start

Cons – red meat

Day 24 Wednesday 12/09/07

2007-09-12T20:57:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of mango and orange smoothie
1 x bowl of shreddies with a pear (semi skimmed goats milk)

cup of tea

Daytime

A beef and cucumber sandwich on wholemeal bread
1 banana

1 cup of vending machine white coffee

Eve Meal

Devilled Lamb’s kidneys

Rather than dust the kidneys with flower use cumin powder and a few shakes of chilli flakes
Sauté in a half teaspoon of olive oil
Served with a corn on the cob, green beans, sautéed mushrooms and aubergine

Went for a run this evening with Mel

Pros – healthy start

Cons – lambs kidney

Day 23 Tuesday 11/09/07

2007-09-11T17:58:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of strawberry and banana smoothie
1 x bowl of Special K with a pear (semi skimmed goats milk)
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

cup of tea

Daytime

Some leftover pasta with tomato, broccoli and courgette from the freezer

1 cup of vending machine white coffee

Eve Meal

Leek, mushroom and muscle quiche with salad (leftover from last night)

Served with a watercress and spinach salad with tomato and cucumber dressed with a balsamic vinegar, olive oil and honey dressing

Pros – healthy start

Cons – pastry (but used goat’s butter not cow’s butter)

Day 22 Monday 10/09/07

2007-09-10T20:41:00.001+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of strawberry and banana smoothie
1 x bowl of shredded wheat with a plum (semi skimmed goats milk)
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

Beef sandwich on wholemeal bread
¾ a prawn mayo sandwich
can of coke zero
can of lilt
dried sharan fruit

1 cup of vending machine white coffee

Eve Meal

Leek, mushroom and muscle quiche with salad
Pastry made with 200g plain flower, 100g goats butter and a splash of water mixed together and left to rest in the fridge
Blind baked for 20 mins and left to rest
Filling – sauted leeks and mushrooms (about 10 mins on a low heat in olive oil), can of Spanish muscles in tomato sauce for the last 30 secs.
3 eggs and 200ml of semi skimmed goats milk (whisked), sprinkle of dried sage
All added to the pastry case and baked in a pre heated oven for 30 mins(ish)

Served with a watercress and spinach salad with tomato and cucumber dressed with a balsamic vinegar, olive oil and honey dressing

Pros – healthy start

Cons – prawns at the buffet lunch, pastry (but used goat’s butter not cow’s butter)

Day 21 Sunday 9/09/07

2007-09-10T20:30:00.001+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of strawberry and banana smoothie
1 x bowl of special K
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

Goats cheese salad
Watercress and spinach leaves, tomato, ½ a goats cheese log sliced
Dressed with a garlic olive oil, wholegrain mustard and cider vinegar vinaigrette

1 skinny latte at Costa coffee

Eve Meal

Went for a BBQ at some friend’s – pigged out a bit but it was all healthy stuff (1 ½ venison sausages, jalapeño burger in a white roll, a mackerel, chicken kebabs (3) with chicken breast, onion, peppers and courgette plus 2 chicken kebabs (skewered on a lemongrass with aubergine, courgette and yellow pepper lightly dusted in Thai 7 spice).
Tomato, mozzarella and basil salad (was low fat mozzarella)
Salad leaves dressed with balsamic vinegar

2 glasses of rose (Aussie Shiraz)
3 glasses of white wine (Italian Pinot Grigio)
1 glass of red (Spanish Rioja)

Pros – lunch was healthy

Cons – loads at the BBQ

Day 20 Saturday 8/09/07

2007-09-09T09:16:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of strawberry and banana smoothie
a plum
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

3 slices of wholemeal toast
bowl of red pepper soup
bottle of lucozade
2 pints of guiness (watching the rugby international)

Eve Meal

Leeks and courgette sautéed in olive oil then ½ a glass of white wine added Cornish
lemon sole added to the pan with an extra ½ glass of white wine
Sweet potato chips roasted in olive oil with whole cloves of garlic (1/2 a bulb’s worth)

Later home made guacamole (3 ripe avocadoes, ½ a lemon juiced, olive oil all mashed together), with 3 slices of wholemeal toast then a goats cheese

½ a bottle of white wine (Aussie colombard)
1 bottle of French red (Corbiers)

Played rugby – probably was on for 70 mins we narrowly lost 8-5

Pros – fish

Cons – wine, goats cheese

Day 19 Friday 7/09/07

2007-09-08T08:16:00.001+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of apple, kiwi and lime smothie.

Daytime

one cup of vending machine white coffee
a yorkie bar for lunch (was rushing to make golf in time)
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Eve Meal

Went to Salvatore’s for a celebratory meal because I had finished my MBA dissertation
Had chicken livers fried in onions as a starter
For mains I had a swordfish steak with carrots, broccoli and roasted potatoes. Veggies were coated in butter (should have anticipated that and asked for them not to be)

1 bottle of Itallian white (½ a bottle of Sicilian and ½ a bottle of Sardinian which Mel wasn’t so keen on so I probably had nearer 2/3 a bottle)
2 brandies later on and an espresso
Then a smoothie (kiwi, apple and lime) when I got home

Played a full round of Golf at Duxbury Park which is a fairly hilly course (had a pretty variable game)

Pros – stayed off the creamy pasta sauces

Cons – chocolate bar for lunch wasn’t too great and a bit to drink in the evening which was fair enough seeing as it was a celebratory meal.

Day 18 Thursday 6/09/07

2007-09-08T08:15:00.000+01:00

Last night

½ a bottle of white wine – a bit naughty on a school night but such is life
a plum

Breakfast

1 x glass of apple, kiwi and lime smothie.
2 bowls of shredded wheat (thought Mel hadn’t made any for me so doubled up and she wouldn’t have one.
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

cup of coffee

Daytime

Two cups of vending machine white coffee

1 tuna mayo, cucumber and lettuce sandwich
½ prawn mayo sandwich
½ chicken mayo sandwich
all on wholemeal bread at a buffet lunch at work

Eve Meal

Devilled prawn, mushroom and tomato pasta
½ an onion fried off in olive oil
6 mushrooms sliced and fried off
2 tbs tomato puree fried off
add water to make a rich and thick paste (just a 100ml or so)
throw in some pre cooked prawns just before serving on wholemeal pasta

3 bottles of Nastro Azzuro

went to rugby training

Pros – lots of fibre (2 x shredded wheat portions and wholemeal pasta

Cons – buffet lunch but I resisted the cakes and crisps (again)

Day 17 Wednesday 5/09/07

2007-09-05T20:41:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x glass of apple, kiwi and lime smothie.
a smoked kipper (grilled) and 2 slices of wholemeal toast with dairy free omega 3 rich spread.
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

cup of tea

Daytime

Two cups of vending machine white coffee
Cup of vending machine vegetable soup

¾ tuna mayo, cucumber and lettuce sandwich
½ prawn mayo sandwich
¼ chicken mayo sandwich
all on wholemeal bread at a buffet lunch at work

Eve Meal

Salad made of 3 tomatoes, handful of green beans, basil leaves, olives, red onion, anchovies, capers, boiled egg dressed in vinaigrette made of the olive oil in the anchovies tin, white wine vinegar (ration 3:1) and Dijon mustard.

½ a bottle of French white (Chardonnay)

went for a run with Mel, beat previous time by a minute!

Pros – salad in evening

Cons – buffet lunch but I resisted the cakes and crisps

Day 16 Tuesday 4/09/07

2007-09-04T22:29:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x pomegranate, raspberry and cranberry smoothie
a smoked kipper (grilled) and 2 slices of wholemeal toast with dairy free omega 3 rich spread.

cup of tea

Daytime

Two cups of vending machine white coffee

Ham sandwich on wholemeal bread
Dried cranberries

1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Eve Meal

Griled Lamb fillet with grilled tomato, boiled green beans, new potatoes and carrots
Redcurrant jelly on the side – nice and simple but very tasty

½ a bottle of Aussie red (Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon)

a plum

Pros – veggies and fish

Cons – red meat but the fat was trimmed off it

Day 15 Monday 3/09/07

2007-09-03T20:43:00.000+01:00

Last night

Snacked on dried fruit (mixed berry variety)

Breakfast

1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink
1 x pomegranate, raspberry and cranberry smoothie
½ a pink grapefruit

cup of tea

Daytime

One cup vending machine white coffee

Dried cranberries

Eve Meal

Curried Aduki Beans with home made paneer

Paneer made by boiling a litre of goats milk
Curdled with lemon juice (1 ½ tsp)
Drained through muslin
Under the weight of a pan full of water for 45 mins
Kept in the fridge in water overnight

Aduki beans boiled for 50 mins

Curry
Fry off a tsp of mustard seeds (black and white), cinnamon (1/2 a stick), handful of curry leaves, tsp of fenugreek seeds, 2 cardamom pods, 3 cloves, ½ a chilli (de-seeded) and a clove of garlic sliced (remove from pan and put in a hand blender – with 2 tbs of goats yoghurt blend till fine.

Fry off a red pepper and a courgette ½ a chillie and a clove of garlic (chopped)

Add the spiced yoghurt mix and cook for 5 minutes

Add a tsp of turmeric and a tsp of garam masala, stir through then add another 3 tbs of yoghurt, mix in the aduki beans

Pros – loads of fruit & aduki beans

Cons – yoghurt and frying for dinner

Day 14 Sunday 2/09/07

2007-09-02T19:47:00.001+01:00

Last night

1 x pomegranate, raspberry and cranberry smoothie
½ bottles of Valdepenas (Spanish white, quite smokey so had a some olives which made it better)

Breakfast

1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

One cup of tea

Tea smoked salmon
Fillet of salmon skinned and pin boned, seasoned with salt
Smoked over assam tea in a steamer (place tea on a piece of foil in a steamer pan and put the salmon on the steamer level – turn up the heat and let the smoke infuse into the fish). A better method would be to mix the tea with sugar and rice mine was a bit too overpoweringly smokey.
Served with an avocado, tomato and dill salad dressed in lemon juice and olive oil.

1 bottle corona whilst watching the football

Eve Meal

Chilli leftovers from day 4 from the freezer
Served with basmati rice and green beans – I had a couple of pickled chillies as well

½ a bottle of Chilean cabernet sauvignon

Pros – lunch was light and healthy

Cons – Red meat for evening meal and didn’t have a proper breakfast

Day 13 Saturday 1/09/07

2007-09-01T20:38:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x bowl of special K with a banana in it (used flora cholesterol lowering milk)
1 x Benecol probiotic cholesterol lowering drink

Daytime

One cup of tea

1 x pomegranate, raspberry and cranberry smoothie
1 x bowl of tomato and basil soup
3 x slices of wholemeal toast with dairy free spread on

1 bottle of lucozade
Played rugby – a full 80 minutes (scored a try and we won 50-0)
Can of Kronenburg after

Eve Meal

Desi Murgh curry (but with turkey steak)
Fry off some onions in sunflower oil
Take them out
Fry off garlic and ginger paste
Add 4 tomatoes (diced)
Add 50g yoghurt (I used goats yoghurt)
Mix in chilli powder, coriander powder, a bay leaf, cardomen pods (cracked), turmeric and cloves
Stir all together to make a paste, add the onions (having blended them down first)
Add turkey (cubed)
Add water
Cook through.

Not a traditional twist but I added red lentils (boiled first)

½ a bottle of Spanish white (sauvignon, verdejo)
½ a bottle of Chilean Sauv Blanc

Pros – lunch was light and healty

Cons – Curry required a bit of frying off (I used sunflower oil – 1 ½ tbs)

Day 12 Friday 31/08/07

2007-08-31T20:30:00.000+01:00

Last night

3 Bottle of Nastro Azzuro at the pub quiz

Breakfast

1 x banana
25g dried cherries
cup of tea

Daytime

One cup of vending machine white coffee

1 x ham, salami and lettuce/tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread
1 x bottle of carrot and orange juice

Eve Meal
Gridled tuna steak, marinated in lemon juice served with brown rice, griddled panned mushrooms with an avacodoe, tomato, lettuce and onion salad dressed with a home made vinaigrette.

bottle of macabeo chardonnay (spanish) white and 1/2 a bottle of verdelho (Aus)

Pros – tuna, brown rice

Cons – salami – but that’s the last of it!

Day 11 Thursday 30/08/07

2007-08-30T20:40:00.000+01:00

Last night

Bottle of corona
8 olives

Breakfast

½ a red grapefruit
cup of tea

Daytime

One cup of vending machine white coffee

1 x tuna and hummus sandwich on wholemeal bread
1 x can of diet cherry coke (tasted odd)

Eve Meal (made by Mel, ready for when I got back from work)

Pasta bake with condensed chicken soup, broccoli, courgette & tomato

Pros – nothing outstanding

Cons – worked late and missed rugby training

Day 10 Wednesday 29/08/07

2007-08-29T20:06:00.001+01:00

Breakfast (v early cos I was flying)

1 x banana
cup of tea

Daytime

Two mugs of white coffee

1 x Ham gorgonzola & rocket panini
1 x orange and passion fruit juice

Eve Meal

Venison Italian stew
1 onion fried in olive oil
venison chunks sealed
pepper and garlic clove (chopped) added – softened off
tin of tomatoes added, seasoned
300 ml vegetable stock
simmered for an hour with bay leaf, oregano and thyme added
tin of butter beans

served with tomato and courgette salad dressed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing

½ bottle of red wine (Chianti)

Pros – loads of veggies, went for a jog with Mel before dinner

Cons – lunch had cheese in it

Day 9 Tuesday 28/08/07

2007-08-28T22:52:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x banana and strawberry smoothie
1 x kiwi fruit
1 x Bowl of Special K
cup of coffee

Daytime

One cup of vending machine white coffee

1 x Ham tomato & salad sandwich with wholegrain mustard on wholemeal bread
1 x banana
1 x pack of dried strawberries and apple

Eve Meal

Stir fried vegetables (1 x red pepper, 1 x orange pepper, green beans, 3 cloves of garlic, 4 tomatoes (quartered) and 4 spring onions) fried in a little olive oil seasoned with black pepper, soy sauce some rice vinegar and thai 7 spice mix.
Served with noodles and 3 pork & lemongrass sausages (grilled and cut into bits)

½ bottle of white wine (Aussie Verdelho)

Pros – loads of veggies

Cons – sausages (but they were in the freezer and needed using up)

Day 8 Monday 27/08/07

2007-08-27T19:45:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x banana and strawberry smoothie
1 x kiwi fruit
cup of tea

Daytime

A couple of cups of tea

Tomato (1), avocado (1) and basil salad dressed with olive oil

Bottle of lucozade

4 olives as a snack

Eve Meal

Roast pigeon
Spring greens
Green beans
Shitake mushrooms in a red currant jelly

Bowl of fresh rasberries

½ bottle of red wine (Chilean Cab Sav)

Pros – pigeon and greens

Cons – can’t think of any unless avocado (which is fattening) has the wrong type of cholesterol

Update on avocado:
Although avocados have a high fat content (between 71 to 88% of their total calories) you don't have to avoid them to enjoy a healthy diet. The body needs some fats to function well, and avocados contain healthy monounsaturated fat, which is good for lowering cholesterol levels.

Avocados are also a good source of vitamin K, dietary fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and copper. They also contain potassium (more than a medium banana), which helps regulate blood pressure and can help guard against circulatory diseases, such as heart disease or stroke.

Day 7 Sunday 26/08/07

2007-08-27T19:24:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

1 x banana and strawberry smoothie

Daytime

Salmon and prawn salad at Burlington’s café – it had marie rose sauce on it I should have asked for a vinaigrette but will learn for next time.

A couple of cups of tea

BBQ at Big Jeff’s
4 x Mackerel fillets in lemon juice and olive oil
couple of nacho’s with chilli on

about 8 bottles of Corona

Eve Meal

Fillet steak (griddle panned)
4 x New potatoes
green beans

1 glass of red wine

went into town and had a couple of bottles of lager and then about 4 bottles of crappy lemon alcopop and a pink sambuka.

Grabbed a kebab on the way home – it had donner meat as well as BBQ’d chicken and lamb steak so I chucked the donner in the bin – still not a great episode though
Had a banana and strawberry when I got in to feel better about the kebab.

Pros – mackerel fillet at the BBQ rather than meat,

Cons – booze and kebab

Day 6 Saturday 25/08/07

2007-08-26T08:54:00.001+01:00

Last Night

1 bottle of corbiers and half a bottle of chillean sauvignon blanc
felt hungry so had 8 olives – much better than my standard chorizo or cheese options

Breakfast

1 x banana and passion fruit yoghurt smoothie

Daytime

1 cup of white black coffee
1 x prawn and mayonnaise sandwich (from the Spa shop)
1 x banana
2 x bottles of lucozade

Eve Meal

BBQ at Tom and Polly’s
Went easy on the dips – probably only half a dozen pretzel type things with hummus and taziki
1 lamb burger in a brown roll with tomato and mozzarella
1 sausage in a finger roll with salad
some couscous with fruit in it
tomato and mozzarella salad
1 x baramundi in olive oil and lemon juice

bowl of strawberries
1 pint of fruili beer
1 glass of red wine

Pros – baramundi, steered clear of the potatoes salad at the BBQ,

Cons – sausage and burger, prawns in mayo (but it was the best choice in the shop)

Day 5 Friday 24/08/07

2007-08-24T21:00:00.000+01:00

Last Night at the Pub

3 bottled (330 ml) Mexican lager
No chips!!!

Breakfast

Cup of tea (semi skimmed goats milk)
2 x slices of homemade organic wholemeal loaf with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and sesame seeds toasted with dairy free sunflower type spread and raspberry jam

Daytime

1 cup of tea with skimmed milk
1 cup of black coffee
1 x salami & tomato sandwich on homemade organic wholemeal loaf with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and sesame seeds..
1 x packet of dried fruit (apricots)

Eve Meal

Fish curry

Fried off in olive oil brown mustard seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, and half an onion
Blended up some coconut milk, fresh ginger, half an onion, clove of garlic and dried and fresh coriander.
Add in half the liquid mixture, in the pan for 10 – 12 minutes.
Add garam masala, black pepper, curry leaves
Add the rest of the liquid, some water and the cubed, skinned fish (salmon)

Cook through the fish and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.

served with wild rice (which was v nice and picked up by Mel on a whim at Tesco’s)

Pros – wild rice, salmon

Cons – coconut milk

Finished work at 4.30 which is unusually nice!!

Day 4 Thursday 23/08/07

2007-08-23T20:37:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Cup of tea (semi skimmed goats milk)
1 portion of shredded wheat with semi skimmed goats milk
1 x banana
1 x glass of orange and mango smoothie.

Daytime

1 cup of tea with skimmed milk
1 x salami & tomato sandwich on homemade organic wholemeal sundried tomato bread.
1 x packet of dried fruit (mixed fruit)

Eve Meal (made be Mel)

Chilli con carne
Lean minced beef
1 x onion
1 x clove garlic
½ x yellow pepper
1 x orange pepper
8 x mushrooms
tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tsp chilli powder
½ litre beef stock

served with brown rice

Pros – brown rice

Cons – red meat

Went to rugby training this evening which was fairly intensive.
Going to the pub quiz this eve (that wont help!! – will have to avoid the chips at half time)

Day 3 Wednesday 22/08/07

2007-08-22T20:29:00.000+01:00

Breakfast

Cup of tea (semi skimmed goats milk)
6 x strawberries
1 portion of shredded wheat with semi skimmed goats milk
½ x glass of orange and mango smoothie.

Daytime

2 cups of vending machine white coffee
1 x salami & salad sandwich on homemade organic wholemeal loaf with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and sesame seeds.
1 x packet of dried fruit (yoghurt coated strawberries)
1x banana

Eve Meal

Small tin of blackeyed beans
One tin of tuna in brine
Half a yellow pepper
One de-seeded green chillie
4 x spring onions
2 x tomatoes
6 x kalamata olives
sprinkle of dill
juice of half a lime
basic vinaigrette

served as a salad nicely diced

Pros – olive oil rich, black eyed beans very good, tuna was in brine

Cons – nil

Trying to take work a bit less seriously didn’t last was there till gone 7 again. Went for a short jog with Mel this evening which was nice.

2007-08-21T21:36:00.000+01:00

Day 2 Tuesday 21/08/07

2007-08-21T21:19:00.001+01:00

Breakfast (made by Mel)

Cup of tea (semi skimmed goats milk)
1 x banana
6 x strawberries
1 portion of shredded wheat with semi skimmed goats milk
½ x glass of apple, kiwi and lime smoothie.

Daytime

1 cup of vending machine white coffee
1 x salad sandwich on homemade organic wholemeal loaf with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and sesame seeds.
1 x packet of dried fruit (cranberries and tropical fruit – which had coconut flakes in it!)

Eve Meal (made together)

½ a glass of fresh orange juice
Egg pasta with grilled bacon (2 rashers) and ½ a grilled aubergine, 4 teaspoons of pesto sauce with a side serving of trimmed green beans plus 3 slices of Italian sun dried tomato wholemeal bread (homemade)

Half a bottle of white wine (Italian Frascati)

Pros – olive oil rich, bacon and aubergine were grilled not fried

Cons – pesto has Italian cheeses in it (Mel says we will start making our own!!)

Generally feeling ok, think a proper breakfast helps. Trying to take work a bit less seriously.