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  1. Enchilada Sauce v3 (easy)

    July 7, 2024 by Lisa

    This is in no way authentic, but it’s now a firm favourite for a few reasons:

    1. It’s easy, easy, easy (and needs no blender or food processor)
    2. It tastes very much like the enchilada sauce I remember from my childhood in California
    3. It’s so easy
    • 3 tablespoons oil
    • 3 tablespoons flour
    • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • dried oregano (some)
    • Salt (some)
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 2 cups chicken broth
    • splash of vinegar

    Measure and mix the dry ingredients while heating the oil in a saucepan. Stir the tomato paste into the broth. Mix the dry ingredients into the oil like you’re making a roux. Slowly add and stir in the broth and tomato paste until smooth and cook for a couple of minutes.

    That’s it! It’s really very nice indeed.

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  2. Buttermilk Biscuits V2

    December 30, 2023 by Lisa

    I’ve been struggling with biscuits. Every recipe says they are “so easy” but I can assure you they kind of aren’t. This version isn’t perfect, but it’s getting there. A few things helped. One, freeze the butter, grate it then put it back in the freezer. Two, use Tipo 00 (or T45 pastry flour) for a softer biscuit. Three, make sure the baking powder isn’t out of date (d’oh!). Don’t use the fan oven setting – conventional heat seemed to work better. Finally, use a high-sided dish when cooking the biscuits so the sides keep the biscuits from spreading. I used a 28cm deep dish pie pan and got about 8 biscuits in there.

    Ingredients:

    • 250g Tipo 00 flour
    • 1 tbsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp baking soda
    • 2 tsp sugar
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 85g frozen, grated butter
    • 180ml buttermilk

    Instructions:

    Preheat the oven to 220C. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together well. Add the frozen butter and use a pastry cutter to mix until crumbly. Add the buttermilk and mix gently. Turn out onto a floured surface and work together into a ball (don’t overwork – you don’t want the butter granules to melt). Pat the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick and fold the short edges in. Turn and pat down again. Fold and turn another couple of times.

    Pat into a rectangle about 1.5cm thick and using a floured biscuit cutter, cut into 8-10 rounds. Arrange the biscuits in the high-sided pan with each biscuit touching. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

    Category All Day Breakfast, Side Dishes, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup

    December 30, 2023 by Lisa

    A lovely wintery soup that tastes a little like korma. Mix up the spices as you like. We used chili flakes, powdered ginger, lime and coriander, but chipotle would add some smokiness or you could use fresh ginger, fresh chili peppers or even curry powder if you like that kinda thing.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 chopped celery stalks, chopped
    • half an onion, diced
    • olive oil
    • 2 large parsnips, peeled and diced
    • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
    • vegetable stock (about a pint)
    • 1 can of coconut milk
    • 2 tsp powdered ginger
    • chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste
    • fresh coriander and lime wedges for garnish

    Instructions:

    Fry the onions and celery in a large, deep skillet with the olive oil until soft. Add the parsnips and sweet potato, cover with vegetable stock, cover and cook until tender. Add the vegetables and stock to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add seasonings and coconut milk and transfer to a saucepan, heat and serve with coriander, lime and some crusty bread.

    Category Dinner Menu, Lunch Menu, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Gingerbread Cookies

    December 24, 2023 by Lisa

    These are soft, thick gingerbread cookies that are super simple to make.

    Ingredients

    • 225g salted butter, at room temperature
    • 213g light brown sugar
    • 170g black treacle
    • 390g plain flour
    • 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • pinch of nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp salt

    Instructions

    Beat butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamed. Add the treacle and mix until combined. Add flour and spices and mix well. Add 1-2 tsp of milk if the dough doesn’t stick together well.

    Divide the dough into halves, and roll each one between sheets of parchment to 1.25cm. Place the rolled dough in parchment paper on a baking sheet and chill for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

    Preheat your oven to 170° C fan or 180° C normal. Cut your desired shapes out of the chilled dough and place a couple of inches apart on a baking sheet. If the cookies are no longer firm and cold to the touch put the sheet back in the refrigerator or freezer for 5 to 15 minutes.

    Bake for 8-9 minutes. They should look just set and slightly puffy. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before decorating.

    The dough can be made, rolled out, and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before baking or baked, cooled, and stored in an airtight container for 1-2 days before decorating.

    Category Desserts and Sweets, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Fruit Crumble

    December 18, 2023 by Lisa

    Crumbles are super easy, but I always have to look up the proportions. This recipe is about right for a decent layer of fruit and a thick crumble. Honestly, I could eat crumble without the fruit, but we all need our 5 a day, right? Switch up the fruit as you like: apple, pears, maybe add some blackberries. You can use rhubarb if you’re feeling spicy – just pre-cook in a covered saucepan until soft and add sugar to taste. Use a rectangular baking dish. An 18×25 will serve 6-8.

    The Fruit:

    • 2 large Bramley apples for an apple crumble, but use more or less as you like
    • 2-3tsp cornflour
    • 150g caster sugar (or less if the fruit is sweet, like pears or eating apples)
    • 1tsp cinnamon

    The Crumble:

    • 240g plain flour
    • 150g room temperature salted butter, cut into pieces
    • 120g demerara sugar
    • 1-2tsp cinnamon
    • 100g rolled oats

    Peel and slice the apples into 1-2cm slices. If you use pears, cut into chunks as the pears will cook quickly. toss in a bowl with the cornflour, sugar and cinnamon.

    In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon with the butter and rub together with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed and it has the texture of wet sand. mix in the oats.

    I always add a thin layer of crumble to the bottom of the dish as I love the slightly gooey base, but you can go straight in with the fruit if you prefer. Add the rest of the crumble to the top in an even layer. You can give some of the crumble a bit of a squeeze to create some larger crumbs which will crisp up nicely. If you want a really crunchy top, sprinkle on some more demerara sugar, but watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

    Cook for 30-40 minutes at 180C fan or 200C conventional. You can stab a fork in to make sure the fruit is cooked. Serve hot or cold with cream, custard or ice cream.

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  6. Enchiladas Verdes

    August 31, 2014 by Lisa

    This dish was a slight revelation for me as I’d neither made it, nor indeed, eaten it, so was dependent on my own tastes and a variety of recipes, both online and in my various cookbooks.

    Salsa Verde is made with tomatillos, a small green fruit that looks a bit like a small, green tomato and a bit like a large gooseberry. Interestingly, whilst a member of the nightshade family, like tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant/aubergine, it is more closely related to the Cape Gooseberry than the tomato. And whilst the tartness reminds me of a gooseberry, it’s apparently not related to it at all. Moving on…

    This is a recipe for chicken enchiladas verdes, and is as easy as enchiladas get. You will need a couple of things not generally available in the UK: a large (24 oz) can of tomatillos and white corn tortillas.. Both can be found at mexgrocer.com. Queso de Chihuahua is also recommended, but a mild Chedder would also do well enough. Makes enough for four.

    Filling:
    5 or 6 chicken thighs in an oven-proof container, sprinkled liberally with
    Cumin
    Oregano
    Ancho chili powder (or similar)
    And a splash of olive oil

    Salsa verde:
    24 oz can tomatillos in their liquid
    2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped finely
    Half an onion, chopped
    6 or 7 pieces of jalapeño, to taste and chopped
    Chicken broth cube

    Queso de chihuahua, grated, for the top

    Place the chicken thighs and herbs in the oven proof dish and sprinkle with a bit of olive oil. Place in a 200 degree oven and cook until done – about 25 minutes – turning once or twice.

    Fry the onions and garlic in a little oil until soft and place in a saucepan with the jalapeños, tomatillos and their liquid. Crush the stock cube into the pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes and let cool. Put the contents into a blender and blend until smooth. Make a roux with a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of flour and slowly add the blended tomatillo mixture in until thickened. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with the sauce.

    Drain the chicken. The chickens grease can be added to the tomatillo sauce if you like. Shred the chicken.

    Place 10 corn tortillas in the microwave for 1 minute to soften them (healthier than frying them in oil). Roll some chicken and a tablespoon of salsa verde into each tortilla and place side by side in the casserole dish. Cover with more salsa verde (you’ll have quite a lot left over) and sprinkle liberally with the grated cheese. Heat in a 200 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Top with sour cream, or creme fraiche and chopped coriander (cilantro) and serve with Mexican rice.

    Category Dinner Menu, Uncategorized | Tags: | Comments Off on Enchiladas Verdes

  7. Eating differently

    February 10, 2014 by Lisa

    I’ve been experimenting with diets lately. Not the weight loss type, though the successful one brought me down 10 pounds in a couple weeks. No, I’ve been trying to feel better and to feel better about the food I’m eating. A friend and I did a detox over January and it has radically changed the way I eat going forward.

    The detox meant no meat, added sugar, salt, wheat, dairy, alcohol or caffeine and since it ended, I’ve entirely lost my will to eat wheat or sugar, meat might feature once or twice a month and dairy is now mostly milk in a single coffee a day, some butter or Parmesan and a lot of goats cheese.

    Importantly, I feel so much better and I’ve learned to love a lot of interesting, tasty new foods.

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  8. Homemade “Rice-a-Roni”

    March 10, 2012 by Lisa


    Rice-A-Roni was one of those favourite packaged foods I grew up with.

    There are a lot of Rice-A-Roni recipes out there – most of them identical, but none has really captured that Rice-A-Roni taste for me.  This one is the closest I’ve managed to get.

    The original uses vermicelli, but that’s hard to find and spaghetti is a poor substitute. The important ingredient here is the orzo – a rice-shaped pasta. This seemed to make all the difference.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup long grain rice
    • 1/2 cup orzo
    • 1/4 cup of butter
    • 1/2 a small onion
    • 1-2 cloves garlic
    • 2 1/2 cups water
    • 3 chicken stock cubes
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Disolve the stock cubes in 2 1/2 cups of boiling water. Saute the onion in the butter in a skillet and when softened, add the rice and pasta and cook until the rice is semi-transparent (ish). Crush the garlic into the mixture and add the stock. Cover and simmer over a low heat until the rice is tender (15-20 minutes).

    Done.

    Disappointingly, I can’t find an original ad as the jingle is inexorably linked with this side dish for me, but here’s the jingle with someone’s vacation photos:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1-TdlaxQmQ

     

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