Thursday 31 January 2013

Salad... it's not just for rabbits!


This is one of those fab Pinterest ideas that I actually got round to trying :-)
Salad in Kilner jars.
These were brilliant!
I made them up at the start of the week and stored them in the fridge.
The jars are about 400ml, which we found was enough salad for a light lunch for the two of us, after you've added some prawns, chicken, ham, or anything else you fancy.

Of course, you can add whatever salad ingredients you like, but it's best to keep any dressing at the bottom, so things don't go soggy!

I also got to use my new julienne peeler, which made shredding the carrot an absolute doddle.

Now, I need to buy some more jars to try these out with fruit!! ;-)

Saturday 26 January 2013

Passion Cake


This is my first, cake bake of the year and I fancied something fresh and fruity.
It didn't disappoint, the passion fruit was lip-smackingly tangy!



When the recipe calls for carrot, banana and pineapple, you know this isn't going to be one of those light-as-air sponges, so it was no surprise that this cake is a little on the stodgy side.
But, we like stodgy :-) and the wonderful tang of the passion fruit was delicious.


You can find the recipe here 


Tuesday 22 January 2013

Poached Pears

I have just about used up any remaining Christmas goodies.
Ok, there is a packet of pain au chocolat in the freezer that keep calling to me, but I am trying to ignore them!!

I did find a half bottle of mulled wine on the shelf and decided to use it as poaching liquid. 
Even haven't got desperate enough to drink it!!    Yuk!


These pears were easy peasy and surprisingly good!

Heat 300ml mulled wine and 150ml water in a pan.
Neatly peel the pears - add to the pan and bring to the boil.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 - 40 mins.
If the pears aren't completely covered with liquid, keep turning them.
To see if they are done, just push the tip of a sharp knife into them It should meet no resistance.  
(No mulled wine? Try using red wine and add the zest of a lemon,  a cinnamon stick and a couple of dessertspoons of sugar.) 

  

Sunday 13 January 2013

Lamb Tagine with dates, almonds and pistachios

I definitely had a bit of a Moroccan feel going on this week
and this was a great dish to use up some of those dates that have been hanging around since Christmas!


The supermarket didn't have any diced lamb, so I ended up buying a small, lamb shoulder joint and cutting out the bone and dicing it myself.
It was fiddly, but well worth doing - the meat was beautifully tender and delicious.
I would have served it with a mound of buttery couscous, but Mr Kiss is 'allergic' to it. (He says he's not eating wall-paper paste), so we had it with fat chips, which did a great job of soaking up the rich sauce.



Wednesday 9 January 2013

Harissa Lamb and Houmous Flatbreads

This was a surprisingly, tasty supper dish and great way to stretch a small lamb joint.


I took a small, lamb shoulder joint (approx 800g) and rubbed it all over with Harissa paste, then put it in my slow cooker with a couple of glasses of red wine.
After about 6 hours the meat was meltingly tender and easy to pull apart with a couple of forks.
I served it on warm tortillas, smothered in houmous , topped with shredded cabbage and cool tzatziki.


Sunday 6 January 2013

Baked Camembert

Saturday night, in front of the telly, with a sharing platter of baked, gooey Camembert, some rustic bread, and chopped nuts and cranberries.


Baked Camembert.
Take off all the plastic wrapping and place the cheese back in the wooden box. 
Score a cross in the top of the white rind and poke in a few rosemary sprigs. 
Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 180C for about 20 minutes.
You can eat the white rind, but personally I don't like it and the cross in the top, makes it easy for me to peel it back and dig into the gooey cheese :-)
(This is one of those cheeses to be avoided if you're pregnant!)

Thursday 3 January 2013

Chicken with Pink Grapefruit and Avocado

If you've wandered in here, welcome to my new blog.
I love food - cooking it, and more importantly, eating it!
I can't promise you fabulous photos, or intricate recipes, but stick around and you might see something you'd like to try yourself :-)
  
 Tonight's tea was roast chicken with a fresh, zingy salad.


No recipe required for this - it's just roast chicken with
a simple salad of  pink grapefruit, avocado, watercress and a sprinkling of pine nuts.
Served with sour cream.