 | Category: | | Meat & Seafood | | Style: | | British | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | 4 |
Description:
When you want to eat a load of meat but feel healthy as well, there's nothing to beat lamb chops served on a bed of vegetables aka ratatouille. Before you start switch the oven on to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Ingredients:
100g/4oz butter
1 tsp olive oil
8 lamb loin chops
1/2 level teaspoon dried mixed herbs, those old ones you've had in a jar for years will be fine
2 large peppers, any colour combination you like, cut in half, deseeded, then cut in 1/2-inch wide strips
2 medium onions, quartered, shredded, whatever
2 small aubergines aka eggplants, stalks removed and cut in 1/4-inch thick slices/cubes/any shape you like
225g/80z tomatoes, chopped tinned will be fine
salt and pepper
Directions:
Melt half of butter in small roasting tin with oil. Add chops, sprinkle with lots of dried herbs, cook in hot oven for 15 minutes or till tender. While that's cooking get on with the ratatouille.
Melt butter in pan and fry onions and peppers for 5 minutes till soft and onions go yellowy brown. They always say golden-brown in books, but they just look yellowish to me. Add aubergines and undrained tomatoes, cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, not too hot or it will spit all over the shop. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon ratatouille onto plate and arrange chops on top. You can balance a namby-pamby leafy garnish on there as well if you want. I have a pot of basil on my kitchen window which is looking a bit old now, so I threw a handfull of the leaves into the ratatouille while it was cooking instead.
| Category: | | Baking | | Style: | | British | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | 12 |
Description:Today I christened the new oven by making these scones. Link to conversion chartsPreheat oven to 160C/gas mark 3/325F Ingredients:250g self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 100g caster sugar (finely granulated) 110g butter Juice of 1/2 a lemon 280ml milk Directions:Sieve all dry ingredients into a bowl. Really shake that sieve around till clouds of flour go up because it gets lots of air into it.  Add softened butter, no need to cut up into bits if it's soft enough. Rub it all up between your fingers till it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Don't worry if it feel all gooey, just keep going and it will eventually happen.  Pick out that seed that always gets in the lemon juice no matter what juicer you use and pour juice into the crumbly mixture.  Pour the milk into the middle.  I suggest you pour half in and stir, the repeat with small amounts so you get it to a really elastic sort of consistency. If it goes all runny, tip in some more flour. You'll know when it's right when the dough is all springy when you pull it and bounces back when you poke a finger into it.  Roll out on floured surface. That stainless steel rolling pin beats any wooden or plastic ones: solid, heavy, and always cold. The handles are really well fixed in as well.  Cut into shapes. The convention is apparently fluted for sweet scones and straight-sided for savoury. Avoid cookie-cutter shapes when making these with children as they all just look like disappointing blobs in the end.  Place on baking tray in oven. I check them every 10 minutes to make sure they're a light golden brown. The slower the cook the more they'll rise and stay soft inside. tried to get an oven shot but it was too dark in there.  Cool on wire rack. That's what they say in the recipes. If you slice them in half too soon they'll look unbaked inside when they are in fact OK. I like mine slightly warm though so the butter melts. A bread knife is best for slicing. I spread mine with ginger marmalade as well.  Here's a tip for buying crockery: just get plain white, then you'll neve rhave problems replacing the chipped and broken ones.
 | Category: | | Other | | Style: | | British | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | No limit |
Description:
The weather has been hot and humid today, though it's cooling down a tad now the sun is setting and some clouds have materialised. I've got back home from my outing (photos to follow) and now I've to mixed up a jug of Britain's traditional summer cocktail for us to down. This is probably the only cocktail in the world which is drunk in pints and half pints. Pimm's No. 1 Cup is a bit like Coke: supposedly on six people on the planet know thw recipe, but it's a gin-based concotion containing bitters, quinine and the secret herb combination. There's also a vodka based No. 6 Cup, the remaining four in between no longer being manufactured, and a Winter Cup, neither of which I've tried. You can use any measure you like and vary the proprotions to suit yourself, but don't go overboard with the fruit and veg. You're not making salad. I tend not to avoid ice cubes these days as they trigger off trigeminal neuralgia which detracts from the pleasure somewhat.
Ingredients:
Pimm's No. 1 Cup
Fizzy lemonade - ice cold
Cucumber slices
Mint leaves - crushed
Strawberries - halved
Directions:
Mix the whole lot up and pour into huge glasses.
 | Category: | | Side Dishes & Condiments | | Style: | | Soulfood | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | Covers a main course salad for four |
Description:
This is a really unusual, tangy, exotic salad dressing which I made earlier this week. You can use it on any salad you like. Mine is made of halved cherry tomatoes, drained tinned flageolet beans, deseeded and chopped mixed peppers, finely chopped red onions, French beans, deseeded and finely chopped re chillis, chopped fresh basil and mint. I'm going to tip some drained tuna chunks in sunflower oil into what's left for my lunch today.
Ingredients:
30g (1oz) cumin seed
30g (1oz) coriander seed
30g (1oz) fennel seed
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
Good-quality olive oil
1 head garlic, cloves separated and finely chopped
or
1 heaped tsp prepared minced garlic
125ml (4floz) red wine vinegar
Directions:
Roast cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and chilli flakes in dry frying panover medium heat for a few minutes until aromas are released and spices just turn dark brown.
Grind to a powder in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle.
Drizzle a little olive oil into the frying pan and gently saute garlic over medium heat for a few minutes.
Add ground spice, then pour in red wine vinegar, transfer to stainless steel bowl and allow to cool completely before pouring over salad.
http://mitchylr.multiply.com/journal/item/101/Mitchys_Fototastic_Challenge_3
 | Category: | | Baking | | Servings: | | 2 cups (US) |
Description:
Corn syrup is an American ingredient which we can't usually get hold of here. I googled it and was directed to Yahoo! Answers, where some people suggested substituting light corn syrup with golden syrup and dark corn syrup with treacle. Neither substitute quite matches the Wikipedia description, because both have quite distinctive flavours. Then I came across this recipe which was also posted on Answers by an avatar in a chef's cap, and I tried it last weekend. It worked pretty well, is sweet, thick and colourless and keeps for two months unrefrigerated.
Ingredients:
2 cups (US) white sugar
3/4 cups (US) water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Dash of salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a heavy, large pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and put cover on it for 3 minutes to get sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Uncover and cook until it reaches soft ball stage. Stir often.
Cool syrup and store in a covered container at room temperature.
 | Category: | | Meat & Seafood | | Style: | | Italian | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | 2-3 |
Description:
It's what it says it is up there.
Ingredients:
450g (1lb scallops) cut into quarters if large
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons brandy
300ml (1//2 pint Imperial) single cream
10-12 saffron strands
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Put the wine and brandy into a large, heavy based frying pan and heat gently, stirring constantly. Drink a glass of wine as well while you're at it.
Remove from heat, set light to the liquid, and when the flames have died down, return to the heat.
Carefully stir in the scallops,cream, saffron strands and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.
Season to taste, spoon onto a warm serving dish.
I like to eat this with fresh tagliatelle myself.
 | Category: | | Barbecue & Grilling | | Style: | | Soulfood | | Special Consideration: | | Quick and Easy | | Servings: | | Coats 8 sausages easily |
Description:
Easy Barbecue Sauce. There's not much more that one can say about this recipe.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons runny honey, 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Directions:
Mix them together.
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