RSS Feed

  1. Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Mint Sauce

    January 30, 2006 by Lisa

    • 6 lambchops
    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • 2-3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
    • 3 tablespoons mint jelly
    • clove garlic
    • tablespoon flour
    • 1 1/2 cups lamb broth (from a cube or stock)

    Grind garlic and rosemary in a pestle with the oil. Spread it on the top of the chops and cook them in a little olive oil for about 7 minutes a side. Remove from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the flour and cook a couple of minutes. Add the broth and the mint jelly and cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Pour over chops.

    Category Dinner Menu | Tags: | Comments Off on Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Mint Sauce

  2. Steak Sauce

    January 24, 2006 by Lisa

    Particularly nice on filet steak with a potato rosti. These are measurements in the ‘guesstimate’ style.

    • 1 cup beef stock
    • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    • 1/4 cup canned chopped tomatoes or tomato puree
    • 1/2 glass red wine
    • 2 cloves garlic – chopped or pressed
    • generous shake of chili flakes, salt and fresh ground pepper

    Cook the steaks a couple minutes on each side for rare/medium rare and remove them to a medium oven to keep warm.

    Add the beef stock, wine, vinegar and tomatoes to the pan and cook 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and boil hard until the sauce becomes syrupy. If you used the chopped tomatoes (or there are big chunks of garlic), you may wish to strain the sauce before pouring over the steaks.

    Category Miscellany | Tags: | Comments Off on Steak Sauce

  3. Pomegranate and Balsamic Glazed Chicken

    January 10, 2006 by Lisa

    Adapted from a recipe at pomwonderful.com.

    • 3/4 cup pomegranate and cranberry juice. I used half of each because I didn’t have a full cup of pomegranate juice
    • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    • 5 small carrots cut into bitesized chunks
    • 1 chopped shallot (I cater for those who are not fond of onions)
    • olive oil
    • 1 cup chicken broth
    • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (less if the balsamic is very rich)
    • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
    • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • fresh pomegranate seeds as garnish

    Brown the chicken with the carrots and shallot in oil until the carrots are tender. Stir frequently. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Transfer chicken and carrots to another dish and cover and keep warm.
    Pour out all but 1/3 cup of chicken cooking liquid in the skillet. Stir in pomegranate juice, balsamic, cornstarch, brown sugar and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Serve the sauce over chicken and carrots and garnish with reserved pomegranate seeds.

    Note: to extract pomegranate seeds, score the fruit and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate underwater to free the seeds. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl.

    Category Dinner Menu | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Pomegranate and Balsamic Glazed Chicken

  4. Brilliant Cough Remedy

    January 9, 2006 by Lisa

    You know those nasty coughs you get at the end of a cold? The ones that are worse at night or when laying down and won’t let you sleep? I hate those.

    Here’s a brilliant remedy that works in seconds and lasts all night (well, nearly).

    • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or a couple of drops of tabasco – I was out of cayenne)
    • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
    • 1 tbsp honey (I use the manuka honey as it’s supposed to have extra antibacterial properties – worth a shot, hey?)
    • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
    • 2 tbsp boiling water

    Mix well and take 3 teaspoons to calm the cough. Keep the rest by the bed just in case. Amazing.

    Category Miscellany | Tags: | Comments Off on Brilliant Cough Remedy

  5. Plum Salsa

    January 8, 2006 by Lisa

    Lovely on seared tuna and salmon. Also good on a green salad or mixed with cold rice or served with anything else you’d serve a mango salsa with (I had no mangos, you see).

    Enough for 4 servings. Adjust quantities and proportions as you fancy. Chop all the bits into cubes.

    Ingredients:

    • 5 fresh plums
    • half an apple (half because we gave the other half to the rabbits)
    • 1/4 cucumber
    • 1/2 orange pepper
    • clove of garlic
    • 1 shallot
    • juice of one lime
    • fresh coriander
    • scant 1/4 cup olive oil
    • salt, pepper and Shichimi Togarashi (seven spice seasoning) or tabasco as you like

    Mix it up.

    Category Side Dishes | Tags: | Comments Off on Plum Salsa

  6. Cocido de Puerco

    December 20, 2005 by Lisa


    Very simple, very cheap Mexican stew. A family favourite. Serves 4 or more.

    Ingredients:

    • shoulder of pork (you can also use a large hamhock, ‘though, of course it will be considerably saltier and won’t take as long to cook)
    • 3 or 4 large potatoes quartered
    • half of a large head of white cabbage, quartered
    • 3 large carrots cut into large chunks
    • 4 small ears of corn (as in, 4 half ears)
    • generous amounts of cumin, oregano (about 2 tablespoons or more of each)
    • salt, pepper, fresh coriander and slices of lime for garnish

    Brown the pork in oil in a large pot on the stove. Cover with water, add the cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and cook at a low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours, adding water if needed. When the meat is tender and separates easily, add the potatoes, cabbage and carrots and cook until tender (about 20 minutes). Add the corn for the last 5 or 10 minutes.

    And that’s it. Serve with fresh coriander and lime, tortillas and mexican style rice.

    Category Dinner Menu, Lunch Menu | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Cocido de Puerco

  7. Classic Meatloaf

    October 30, 2005 by Lisa

    Yeah, OK – meatloaf is stupidly easy, but I’ve messed it up in the past by not using enough meat (yes, really) or crackers. Consider this my personal aide memoire.

    Ingredients:

    • 800g pack of mince
    • 2 whole eggs
    • 1/2 chopped onion or 3 chopped shallots
    • 10 Jacobs crackers, crushed finely
    • salt, pepper and any other spices deemed appropriate. Oregano or rosemary next time, perhaps?

    For the top:

    Heat in a small saucepan:

    • 1/2 cup ketchup
    • good squeeze of American mustard or 1 tsp powdered mustard
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • dash of worchester sauce

    Mix the meatloaf ingredients well and press into a loafpan. Cover the top with the sauce and place in a 175 degree oven for about an hour. Must be served with mash and brown gravy and the leftovers chilled and sliced for sandwiches. There’s no point if you don’t make enough for sandwiches the next day!

    This version makes 3 suppers and 3 sandwiches. Sandwiches should be served on thick white bloomer with mayonnaise. All vitally important. 🙂

    I saw another recipe that used sausage as well, which could be rather nice. Will try this next time.

    Category Dinner Menu | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Classic Meatloaf

  8. Southern Stir Fry

    October 7, 2005 by Lisa

    I haven’t enjoyed a meal like this in ages. This is a fairly traditional southern US meal. It’s actually cooked in 2 skillets, both with lids! This served three to bursting, though I think I’d double the juice and cornstarch next time for more sauce.

    • 2 large baking potatoes chopped into cubes
    • 1 head of baby cabbage, sliced thinly
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 2 rashers of bacon, chopped
    • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    • 1 cooking apple, sliced thinly
    • 1 cup apple juice (or mixed apple and orange or whatever – I only had ‘exotic’ – it was lovely)
    • 1 tablespoon malt or apple vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
    • Salt and pepper

    Cook half the chopped onion and bacon in a few tablespoons of oil in a hot skillet until soft and browned. Add the potatoes and cabbage, reduce heat and cook for around 30 to 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Season to taste (though a good generous few twists of freshly ground pepper is highly recommended).

    In the other skillet, cook the other half of the chopped onion and apple in oil. Once the onion is browned, remove onion and apple to a bowl and add the chicken breasts and a couple more spoonfuls of oil and cook about 4 minutes until brown on each side. Add the applejuice and vinegar and reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook about 10 minutes until cooked through.

    Remove the chicken to a plate. Mix the cornstarch and a tablespoon of cold juice until smooth. Add to the hot juice and cook until thick. Add reserved onion and apple slices and heat through. Serve on top of the chicken breasts.

    Sauteed or boiled spinach or greens would be the thing in, say Tennessee, but a green salad was lovely as well.

    Category Dinner Menu | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Southern Stir Fry

  9. Lime and Basil Chicken

    September 19, 2005 by Lisa

    This was quite nice. A bit summery for a coldish September day, maybe. I served it with sauted cabbage and basmati rice.

    Ingredients:

    • 4 chicken breasts
    • 1/4 cup lime juice
    • 1/3 cup white wine
    • Couple tablespoons chopped fresh basil
    • 1/2 pint cream
    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • butter or oil for cooking the chicken

    Brown the chicken breasts in the butter or oil – 3 or 4 minutes a side. Put aside. Add wine and lime juice to the pan, scrapping the bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and add the chopped basil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the chicken breast back to the pan. Cook about 20 minutes. Remove to a plate. Stir the flour into the cream and add to the liquid in the pan. Cook slowly until thickened. Pour over the chicken breasts and garnish with fresh basil.

    Category Dinner Menu | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Lime and Basil Chicken

  10. Rocket and Nectarine Salad

    July 13, 2005 by Lisa

    A gorgeous summer salad that’s perfect with barbequed meats and suchlike. This one is adapted from another recipe found online because I seem to be well-placed for rather mature rocket in my garden. The nectarines set off the taste really well.

    Dressing:

    • 3 tbsp Rasberry vinegar
    • 1 tsp coarse grain or dijon mustard
    • 5 tbsp good quality olive oil
    • sugar, salt and pepper to taste

    Mix together well and pour over 2 or 3 sliced ripe nectarines and a few big handfuls of rocket leaves. I added a handful or coriander leaves once as well, which was a nice variation. Use some milder leaves as well if the rocket is too strong. The original recipe also called for toasted walnuts, but I reckon pecans or cashews would be nicer.

    Category Side Dishes | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Rocket and Nectarine Salad

Older Entries
Newer Entries