Aubergine Melts

Aubergines (or eggplants for my US readers!), I find, are the meatiest tasting vegetable out there. I can eat one of these and not feel like I am missing the meat part of my meal. I ate a whole one for my lunch, or you could have half with a couscous side dish. I couldn't entice any of my children to try it though! Not even the veg-loving one wanted to taste it. I loved it though, and will have it again soon.

Serves 1-2

1 whole aubergine
Olive oil
2 tablespoons pesto
1 ball of mozzarella, drained & sliced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
Basil leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200c. Cut the aubergine in half and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Spread a tablespoon of pesto on each half, then top with sliced mozzarella and then finish with the cherry tomato halves. Pop back into the oven for anther 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted & tomatoes softened. Sprinkle with basil.

Tuna Patties

I invented this recipe whilst thinking of ways to use up tins of tuna in my cupboard. These are full of protein, so perfect after a morning of Zumba! I love my Zumba classes, but I come out of them ravenous. I have 2 patties with some salad for lunch, and they are very filling. My kids love them too, which is a bonus. You could swap the tuna for tinned salmon, you could also add finely diced peppers or sweetcorn to the mix as well. Delicious hot or cold.

1 180g tin of tuna, drained very well
2 spring onions, chopped
40g grated cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 beaten egg
Salt & pepper to season

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Form into 2 patties. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan to a medium heat. Add the patties, and leave for 6/7 minutes. Do not move the patties during this time! They need to form a crispy crust on the underside so that they keep their shape. Flip over and fry the other side for 5/6 minutes. They should be golden on both sides. Remove to a plate and serve.

Broc-a-leekie Soup

This is another amazing soup recipe from Clementines of Broughty Ferry! I really enjoyed this soup, so warm & filling - perfect for the wintry days we are still getting. This is great if you are vegetarian or a meat eater. I cant wait to make this one again.

1 leek sliced
1 head of broccoli, chopped (stalk too! no waste!)
1 medium potato, peeled & diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1.2 litres of vegetable stock

Fry the leek & garlic in some butter until softened, around 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potato & stock, season & simmer for 15 minutes. Blitz with a hand blender and serve with a swirl of cream.

Broccoli, courgette & basil soup.

I made this soup yesterday, and it was wonderful! So fresh & green, and it felt healthy to eat. This made enough for about 4/5 people, even though I scoffed 2 bowls myself because it was so tasty. I like that has only a few ingredients, yet combine for maximum flavour. Use the stalk of the broccoli too, it is fine to eat and the soup is all blended at the end. The recipe & ingredients were supplied by Clementine of Broughty Ferry.

I onion or shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets & stalk diced
1  courgette, chopped
1 litre veg stock
Teaspoon mixed herbs
Handful fresh basil leaves
Oil for frying

Fry the onion and garlic in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Once softened (but not coloured, usually about 5 minutes) add the herbs & stir. Add the courgette & broccoli and stir to mix everything through. Pour in the hot vegetable stock and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Once the broccoli is cooked through, add the basil and blend until smooth. Serve with a drizzle of cream or yogurt if desired.

Sausage & Pickle Plait

I had some sausage meat leftover from Christmas, so used it to make this tasty plait. It did get a soggy bottom though, I obviously don't have Mary Berry's touch! It was still very tasty though, and went down well with the whole family. You could use any pickle/chutney or relish to this, I think a tomato relish would be lovely! Even branston pickle would be great. I used a caramelised onion pickle in this version.

1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
375g sausage meat
2 tablespoons relish/pickle or chutney
Beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 220c. Roll out your sheet of pastry. Spoon on the sausage meat up the middle, and flatten slightly. Make sure to leave around 4cm on each side. Spoon the pickle into the middle of the sausage meat. Cut the empty sides into strips about 1 cm apart. Fold these over each other, taking one from each side in turn, until you have covered the top of the plait. Wash with the beaten egg & pop into the oven for 35 minutes, until golden & crisp.

Prawn Cocktail Salad

This was our starter at Christmas. Simple, traditional (old fashioned maybe?) but to me, lovely!

I love having this for lunch, sometimes swapping the prawns for crayfish tails.

Prawns
1 tblsp mayonnaise
1 tblsp tomato ketchup
Tiny pinch paprika

Mix the mayo, tomato sauce & paprika and mix with the prawns, Serve on a bed of salad.

Kids Can Cook - Sticky Chicken Noodles

Tonight it was the turn of my 10 year old daughter to cook tea for her & her sister & brother. I thought a simple stir-fry would be a good start, so she could learn some knife skills and to help her balance flavours when making the sauce. She did really well, with minimal input from me. Dinner was eaten in record time, so I think it was a huge success! This is a good recipe for a beginner, as it has just a few simple ingredients and its hard to get it wrong. It's also great for a quick lunch if you are stuck for ideas. You could use any veg, we talked about how next time we would maybe add mushrooms and baby corn to the stir-fry.

Serves 3 children

2 chicken breasts, diced
Half a red pepper, chopped into bite size pieces
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Pinch Chinese 5-spice
200g egg noodles (cooked by an adult if you are a beginner)

Olive oil to fry

Heat up the olive oil in a large wok or frying pan on a medium heat. Stir fry the onions & peppers until they are soft. Add the chicken & stir fry until it is all golden in colour. Put your egg noodles on to boil for 3 minutes (or get an adult to help). Drain & put aside. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil. honey & Chinese 5-spice in a small bowl, and mix it up with a spoon until it is all combined. Pour over your chicken stir fry and toss everything in the sauce. Add the drained noodles, and toss again. Serve quickly to warm bowls & serve.

Curried cauliflower & coconut soup

I love soups just now, especially after a nursery run in below zero temperatures! It is quite literally freezing up here, snow yesterday and freezing icy rain today. I don't drive, so we have had some miserable walks the last few days. Ah well, its water not bullets (though it almost felt like it!). Coming home to a bubbling pot of soup is fantastic, and just what I needed to warm up. I created this recipe because I had half a head of cauliflower to use up and I hate waste! This takes only half an hour to whip up, and tastes great.

Half a head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 onion, diced
250 ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 tin of coconut milk
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
Butter & olive oil for frying.

Saute the onion in some butter & a dot of olive oil. When softened (about 5 minutes) ad the curry powder. Fry this for about a minute then add the cauliflower & stir. Heat for about 4 minutes, then add the stock & coconut milk. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, season & then blend. Serve with a few spring onions snips or chives.

Eggs in Purgatory

I saw this dish on Nigella's Nigelissima on TV recently. They looked easy to make, budget friendly and very tasty - and all round winner for me! They took about 5/10 minutes max to make so perfect at lunch time. I made this just for myself, if you want to feed more just times the ingredients by how many people you are serving. Serve with a big chunk of bread to mop up the juices.

1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 or 2 eggs (depending on your appetite)
Olive oil
1 garlic clove
Pinch of chilli powder or flakes
 parmesan

Heat a small frying pan, and heat the olive oil. Add the garlic & chilli and heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and allow to come to a simmer. Crack in your egg(s) sprinkle on some parmesan, cover & allow the eggs to poach. You want the egg whites cooked but the yolk runny, so keep an eye on it. Either eat from the pan (ala Nigella) or transfer to a plate. Top with a little more parmesan, then tuck in with your hunk of bread.

Guest Post - Simple Chicken Soup

I invited some of my family & friends to write up their favourite recipes to include on my blog as guest posts. Here is the first, from my cousin Heather, who also loves to cook. This is her recipe for a basic chicken soup.

~Basic Chicken Soup~
900mls boiling water
1-2 chicken stock cubes (I use one, but I like this to taste less salty)
225g skinless chicken breast, cubed into bite sized pieces
1 red pepper, sliced into thin slices and halved
1-2 tbsp fresh tarragon chopped, or 1-2 tsp dried if you can't get fresh
a small bunch of chives cut into pieces.
2 tbsp medium sherry, or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Purple sprouting broccoli or shredded curly kale
a large handful or two of frozen sweetcorn kernels

Method
Bring the stock to the boil and add the pepper and sweetcorn,
Let boil for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken.
Allow to simmer for 5 minutes before adding the sherry/vanilla and herbs.
Stir and then place the greens on top, don't stir them in, allow the broccoli/kale to cook on top. Place a lid on the pan if you wish but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't boil over.
After 5 more minutes give the soup a careful stir. Taste a little of the broth to see if you need to add any salt or pepper.
Serve.

You can add twists to this soup.
Exchange the kale for pak choi, and the tarragon for ginger (be careful and add a small amount, and add more as you need) break up a portion of the dried fine egg noodles and add and a slug of good rich soy sauce will give you an oriental version (for people that like a kick, add a finely shredded fresh red chilli too)

You can add different vegetables depending what you have in the fridge and cupboards. All greens go well. Onions for extra flavour. Only potatoes would thicken the broth and make the texture weird.

Mushroom Soup

I am loving the series of MasterChef Australia that is on TV at the moment. I have already tried the melting moments that Julia made in an episode. Whilst browsing, I saw this recipe by Wade, for mushrooms soup. So simple and it was an amazing flavour! Luckily I made enough to have some tomorrow too :) I can see this being made quite often for a quick lunch. I dropped a couple of dried porcini mushrooms on top as a garnish.

Makes enough for 4 hearty bowls

125g butter, cubed 
1 onion, finely sliced 
1 garlic clove, finely sliced 
600g button mushrooms, finely sliced 
4 parsley stalks 
1L chicken stock 
2 tablespoons dry sherry

Parsley leaves and/or porcini mushrooms to garnish.

Melt the butter in a pan, and cook the onions & garlic until soft but not coloured, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and parsley stalks and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the sherry & reduce for 5 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 15/20 minutes. Season & taste. Blitz the soup and serve.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is a simple, yet tasty, soup to make using leftover butternut squash. I had half of one left from another recipe that I wanted to use. Just double the quantities if you want to use a whole squash. I made Parmesan croutons to go alongside, just some nice bread sliced, drizzled with olive oil, coated in grated Parmesan & dry-fried in a frying pan. This recipe will make enough soup for about 4 people for lunch. Scatter sage leaves on top for extra flavour.

1 red onion diced
2 sticks of celery diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Half a butternut squash deseeded and cut into chunks
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
 olive oil

 Sweat the celery, carrot & onion in a drop of olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic & rosemary & cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the squash and stock, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season well, then blend. Serve with sprinkled sage and crusty bread.

Stuffed Quesadillas

The traditional version of these are just stuffed with cheese, but I wanted to zing mine up a little! You could add anything you wanted really. I had onions, red pepper, mushrooms & some cooked chicken in the fridge, so bunged them all in. I did fry them first, to soften up a little. I used half for this quesadilla and have kept some to have again this week.A tasty lunch, that isn't your usual wrap/sandwich. Kids love them too!

To serve 1 person

1 tortilla wrap
1 teaspoon oil
1 handful cheese
Other fillings (cooked onion, pepper, mushroom, chicken are what I have used)

Heat the teaspoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the tortilla and flip after 10 seconds. When air bubbles start to appear under the wrap, its time to add the cheese & filling. Don't overfull, as the quesadilla will be folded in half & flipped, so the filling may fall out. Fold over the top of the wrap & cook on that side for about 2 minutes. Flip over carefully. The top side should be nicely browned & crisp. Cook for 2 minutes more then move to a warm plate. Then enjoy!

Meatzza

I caught Nigellas' new cookery show, Nigelissima! the other day, and this was one of the recipes that she showcased. Always one to try something new, I wanted to try this recipe as soon as possible. I had most of the ingredienst to hand so decided to make it for our lunch today. The kids quite liked it, but I found it a bit bland. I am already thinking about what to add to the meat base to zing it up a bit, becausethe meal is a great idea (especially for low-carb followers). I missed the bread though, I felt like it needed a bun becuase it was quite like a burger. Serve it with salad for a yummy lunch idea.

500 g minced beef 
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
2 Eggs (lightly beaten) 
1 cloves garlic (peeled) 
1 pinch of salt and pepper to taste
butter for greasing 
1 can chopped tomatoes (400g), drained 
1 teaspoons garlic oil 
1 teaspoons dried oregano 
1 ball mozzarella (not buffalo) (125g drained weight, halved then sliced) or grated mozzarella
1 bunch basil leaves


Preheat the oven to 220c. In a large bowl, mix the mince, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic & eggs by hand, gently. Season with salt & pepper Try not to over mix as this will make the base too dense. Grease a small round (about 9 inch) baking tin with butter. Gently press the mince mixture into the pan, squashing into the edges.

 Drain your tin of tomatoes in a sieve to get rid of as much liquid as possible. Mix in the garlic oil, oregano and season. Spread over the meat base, then top with sliced or grated mozzarella. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out into a plate & top with fresh basil.

Feta, hummus & courgette flatbread pizza

I am now on my 3rd batch of no-knead bread and I am still loving it! Today I used some to make a base for a flatbread pizza. This made the most delicious pizza I have ever eaten! I was wary about using hummus as a base sauce instead of tomato, but it really worked. This had a wonderful Greek taste to it, no flavour was over powering, they all just worked together to make a very tasty flavoured pizza. I will be making this again, and very soon! I had a friend over for lunch who seemed to really enjoy it too.

A hand full of no-knead dough or your own pizza base
100g hummus
100g feta cheese
10 or so cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small courgette, cut into thin strips with a veg peeler
3 mint leaves
Balsamic glaze to drizzle
Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 200c. Prepare your pizza base. If you are using the no-knead dough, roll out it quite thin & pop onto a slightly oiled pizza stone or baking tray. Top with the hummus, and spread to the edges. Add the tomatoes and courgette and season. Crumble the feta all over the top & then put into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven & add chopped mint & then drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Cut into slices & serve with a rocket salad.

Butternut & Nut Butter Soup

This was delicious! I only decided to make it because I had half a butternut squash left in the fridge, and no idea what to do with it. I watched a River Cottage re-run, and this was one of their featured recipes. I served it with some crusty rolls that I made from my no-knead bread dough. I had a friend over, and she agreed that it was an amazing lunch :) She liked it so much, she left here and went directly to the supermarket to buy the ingredients to make it herself.

Serves around 5 hungry people!

1 butternut squash,peeled,cut in half, seeds removed and chopped into 1 cm cubes
1 medium onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of dried chilli (or used finely diced fresh)
1 litre of stock (chicken or vegetable)
3 cm chunk of ginger, peeled & grated
200g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, your preference)
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of chopped coriander


Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Lightly fry the onion until the onions are translucent. Add the chilli, ginger & garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Add the stock & the butternut squash and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Blitz the soup until smooth. Add the peanut butter while the soup is still hot, and allow to melt in. Stir & season.

When you are ready to serve, bring the soup to the desired temperature, add the lime juice & coriander and then serve into soup bowls. Delicious with crusty bread to dip in.

Cheese & Egg Tartare open sandwhiches

I wanted a nice, tasty topping for the bread I made, see here. Watching re-runs of the River Cottage tv show, and saw this interesting idea. Cheese topped with an egg tartare, or fancy egg mayo, on top. He always makes things look so tasty, I had to try this. I loved the egg tartare, but I really didn't like it with the cheese - this is probably because I am not a cheese lover. I would definitely have it again,minus the cheese.

2 slices of nice bread (i used my own homemade bread)
Cheese, sliced

2 eggs, boiled, shelled & roughly chopped
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 gherkin, finely chopped
1 or 2 spring onions, sliced

Mix the eggs, mayo, gherkin & spring onions together. Top your bread with the cheese, then the egg tartare. 

French Onion Soup

I saw this recipe on Lorraine Pascale's programme last night, had all the ingredients at hand, so of course I had to make it! I was also watching River Cottage re-runs, one where Hugh was making soda bread. So I made that too! The soup was really simple (as always) to make but tasted delicious. The kids have all had seconds! Dipping the warm, fresh soda bread into just made it top notch.

4 large onions
1 bay leaf
knob of butter & drizzle of olive oil
handfull of sage, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 litre good quality beef stock

Chop the onion into very thin, long chunks. Heat the butter & oil over a medium heat in a large pan. Add the onions. bay leaf and stir. Cover with a lid and allow to soften for 25 minutes, stirring now and again. Once they are all lovely & soft, add the chopped sage, flour and garlic. Stir for 2 minutes, then add the stock. Season and then turn up the heat to simmer, covered, for about 3 or 4 minutes. It is then ready to serve! Lorraine says to serve with giant mustardy cheese toasts, but I used freshly baked soda bread.

Gingerbread Pancakes

Surprise surprise, another Lorraine Pascal recipe from the TV show Fast, Fresh & Easy food! I am loving her recipes just now, they all taste fabulous. This was no exception! I drizzled mine in maple syrup, though Lorraine adds crisp parma ham to hers too. The recipes makes loads, you can feed at least 5 people with them. I will probably halve the recipe next time, as there will definitely be a next time very soon!

225g/8oz self-raising flour

3 tbsp soft light brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

pinch salt

couple of drops of vanilla extract (optional)

300ml/½ pint semi-skimmed milk

1 medium egg

4 tbsp sunflower oil

 Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a large bowl, give them a quick mix and make a well in the centre. Add the vanilla extract.Then gradually pour the milk in bit by bit, stirring all the time to give a smooth mixture. Then beat the egg in well and set aside. 

 Heat the oil in a frying pan, on a medium heat. Then spoon in four dollops of the pancake mix (to spread to about 10cm/3¼in wide). Leave to cook for about 1-2 minutes until golden, then flip them over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Slide them onto a baking tray and put in the oven to keep warm. 

To serve, drizzle with maple syrup.

Tuna Melt Baguette Pizzas

A very quick & easy lunch for the whole family. I had a very busy day, with BT coming out & rewiring our phone line! That meant I couldn't spend the afternoon in the kitchen as I had planned. A quick meal was needed, so this was perfect. The kids can muck in & help too. Change the toppings to your own favourites if you like.

Serves 4

1 long baguette (or 2 small ones)
2 tablespoons tomato puree
Small tin of sweetcorn
Tin of tuna
Half a red pepper, diced small
150g cheese (i used mozzarella but any will do)

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Cut a long baguette in to 2 halves. Cut each of those lengthways, so you have 4 open baguettes.  Spread the tomato puree on each open slice, spreading to the edges. Mix the tuna, sweetcorn, pepper and half the cheese in a bowl then divide between the baguette slices. Top with the remaining cheese.
Pop into the oven for 12 minutes, then serve with a side salad.