Spicy butternut squash soup

This in our allotment we managed to grow one butternut squash which is very disappointing but one is better then none. So I thought why not make soup with it and freeze it for when it’s a cold winters day.

I chop up two white onions, one stick of celery along with the leaves and crush three garlic cloves. I put them all in a bowl. I then chop up a chilli. I then peel 7 small potatoes and chop them up. I cut the butternut squash in half and scoop the seeds out. I peel the butternut squash and chop it up.

In the pan I put a good splash of sage oil and a small chunk of butter. I melt and heat the butter and oil. I then put in the onion, garlic and celery into the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft. I then add the chilli and cook for another minute. I then add the butternut squash and potato to the pan and cook for about five minutes just to caramelize the butternut squash and potato a little. I then measure out 500ml.of boiling water and dissolve a turkey Oxo cube and a vegetable Oxo cube. I pour it into the pan. I then add 4 sprigs of thyme. I add salt and pepper. I bring it to the boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potato and butternut squash is soft.

Once cooled I let it cool a little and then wizz it up in the liquidizer. It tastes amazing. I can’t wait to have it on a cold day. I then portion it up into three bags and let it cool before I put it into the freezer.

So to sum up

1 small butternut squash

1 stalk of celery

3 garlic cloves

2 white onions

7 small potatoes

1 chilli

1 turkey Oxo cube

1 veg Oxo cube

4 stalks of thyme

Sage oil

Butter

500ml water

So until next time happy baking

Spicy sweetcorn relish

It’s the last of the sweetcorn and so I thought I would make a spicy sweetcorn relish for over winter to go with burgers, salads and in sandwichs.

I strip the corn off seven cobs put it into a pan. I then chop up two white onions and half a red onion (which was left over). I then chop up a stalk of celery, one orange pepper, two chillis 9 cherry tomatoes and one long tomato. I put them all into the pan. I grate three garlic cloves into the pan. Measure out one teaspoon of mustard powder and one of paparika. I then pour 200 ml of white wine vinegar. I weigh 200g of brown sugar. I put it into the pan.

I bring the pan to the boil then simmer it for 20 minutes to let everything cook. I then turn the heat up and bring it to the boil for 10 minutes. I stir every so often so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

Now I put it into sterilized jars and it is done. Hopefully if it’s nice next weekend I will get to try it on a BBQ.

So to sum up

7 corn on the cob

2 white onions

Half red onion

2 chillis

1 stalk of celery

9 cherry tomatoes

1 long tomato

1 orange pepper

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of mustard powder

1 teaspoon paprika

200ml white wine vinegar

200g brown sugar

So until next time happy baking

Baby pickled beetroot

So my last day of causing a mess in the kitchen before I have to go back to work. Time really does fly when I’m creating things in the kitchen.

Now in my house we pick the beetroot while is is small one because it tastes sweeter and two to beat the rats and mice from eating it. I pick the beetroot out of our allotment and bring it home I cut the leaves off. I save and good leaves and wash them and put them on the side to put into a salad later. Now I wash the beetroot. I then put them into a pan of cold water. Bring it up to the boil and cook until they are soft.

Once they are cooked I drain them and leave them to cool. Once cooled I take the skins off them.

I measure out 300ml of tarragon vinegar and 200ml of cider vinegar. I put it into a pan. I then measure out 1 teaspoon of, black mustard seeds, coriander seeds and Szechuan pepper corns. I put them into a dry frying pan and dry fry them until they are fragrant. I then pop them into the vinegar along with two bay leaves. I warm the vinegar up but don’t bring it to boiling

I then slice the beetroot up pop it into a jar and pour the pickling liquid into the jar. All done now I leave it in a cool dark cupboard for a month. This is my fourth batch of this so far this year. And it is the first time I have pickled beetroot and it tastes amazing. I’m going to play round with different vinegars to see which I like the most

So to sum up

300g baby beetroot

300ml tarragon vinegar

200ml cider vinegar

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon Szechuan pepper corns

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

Until next time happy baking

Fresh tomato sauce

I did this recipe two weeks ago with my niece and it turned out really well. Now that I have another load of tomatoes I thought I would make it again and finally post it.

The tomatoes are all different varieties and all different sizes but that’s ok as it will make the sauce a more interesting flavour. I go in the garden and pick two stalks of celery, a handful of basil and a few sprigs of thyme and not forgetting some parsley. I wash them all and pat them dry.

Now I chop up three onions and five mini garlic. I then chop up two chillies, 10 mini carrots, the two stalks of celery and leaves. Now I chop up the yellow courgette that my amazing friend the librarian gave me from her allotment. I then slice up the large tomatoes and leave the little ones whole. I chop up the parsley and stalks.

I put a small handful of sun-dried tomatoes and chop them up. I put some of the sun-dried tomato oil into the pan with a small chunk of butter. I put the pan on the heat and melt the butter. I then put the onions and garlic in and cook for 2-3 minutes until they soften.

Now I add the chilli stir it in. I add the celery and cook for two minutes. I then add all the other ingredients apart from the basil and thyme I’ll add them at the end for a few minutes. I put salt and pepper into the pan. I turn the heat up and let it bubble away for about five minutes stirring every so often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. I turn it down and leave it to simmer for 30 minutes.

30 minutes up I add the basil and thyme for the last ten minutes of cooking. Now I fish the thyme stalks out and chuck them in the bin. I then put the sauce in the blender and wizz it up.

Sauce all done I try it and it’s yummy it’s got a good chilli kick to it. I put it into zip lock bags for the freezer. I can’t wait to make lasagna with this

So to sum up.

1 kg tomatoes

3 onions

5 mini garlic

10 mini carrots or two big carrots

1 yellow courgette

Handful basil leaves

Few stalks of thyme

Handful parsley

2 chillis

Salt and pepper

Sun-dried tomatoes

Sun-dried tomato oil

Butter

So until next time happy baking

Beetroot powder

On a night I have been watching master chef Australia never watched it before so we started on season 1. Since I have been watching it I have new ideas that I want to try and I will be watching the master classes again. On one of the master classes was beetroot powder and I thought since beetroot is in season why not give it ago.

I go in the garden and pick the beetroot now I know the beetroot are small but I like baby beetroot and plus I’m trying to beet the mice from eating them.

I cut the leaves off. Now you can use the leaves in salads. I then cut the root off and peel the beetroot. I then slice the beetroot up into thin slices and then into batons. I put them into a tray with baking paper. Pop them in the oven on 100 degrees Celsius. I leave them till they are dry so about 1 hour. Depends how thinly you have sliced them.

I take them out and they really have shriveled up to nothing. Ok a few bits look a little burnt but that’s because mum thought I had taken them out and had turned the oven up to cook the BBQ cheese bread.

Now I let them cool. I then wizz them up in the spice grinder. And all done. I can’t wait to try this on salads. Put it in sauces and also put it into fresh pasta dough to make beetroot pasta.

Since I have dried the beetroot it has intensified the flavour so use only a little. It’s not a bright red but maybe next time it will be.

To sum up

Beetroot

Until next time happy baking

Spicy tomato relish

It’s been a fun week. I showed my 6 year old niece how to use a sharp knife for the first time and I can say she still has all eight fingers and two thumbs. She chopped up tomatoes and celery for me for a spicy tomato sauce which I froze. I will put the recipe up when I have more tomatoes as I forgot to take photos of it. I was too busy being worried and watching my niece with the knife to take photos.

Today recipe.

First I weigh out 1 kg of tomatoes. All the tomatoes that I’m using are all different varieties as we must have planted about ten different ones this year.

I then cut up three peppers, 5 red onions and three chillis I have no idea what chillis they are as we lost the stick which had what they were on. I pop all of that into the pan.

I then quarter the larger tomatoes, half the smaller ones and leave the tiny ones whole. I put them all into the pan. I put the pan on a low heat for 20 minutes. So that the tomatoes start to break down and release the juices.

I weigh out 200g of sugar and then measure out 300ml of sage vinegar. I put these in the pan after the 20 minutes are up. I stir them in. I then add 1teaspoon onion powder, two tablespoons of black mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon of paprika and 1 teaspoon of salt I mix it all together. I then turn the heat up to the boil. I leave it boiling for 30 minutes stirring it often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.

30 minutes are up and the relish has reduced. Time to put it into sterilised jars. All done

So to sum up

1 kg tomatoes

3 peppers

5 red onions

3 chili’s

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoons black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon paparika

300ml sage vinegar

200g sugar

So until next time happy baking

Tomato roses

I saw this on YouTube and I thought I would give it a go since we have fresh tomatoes coming out of our ears.

I grate 100g of mature cheddar and there is about 20g of crumbly white already grated that needs using up.

I then get the ready rolled puff pastry and unroll it I then divide it into three length ways. I now slice up about 7 tomatoes. My tomatoes’s are all different sizes, shapes and colours. Now I lay the sliced tomatoes onto the puff pastry so that half the slice is above the pastry. Next I sprinkle cheese below the tomatoes. I then sprinkle mixed herbs over the cheese. I told the bottom of the puff pastry that has the cheese and herbs on over the bottom half of the sliced tomatoes. Now I roll the pastry up. It actually looks like a rose.

I do this another two times. I then put all three onto a tray with baking paper on. Now I crack an egg and mix it up. I then egg wash all three of the pastries. I put them in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

They look lovely and these are what my family are having for lunch

So to sum up

7 tomatoes

1 packet of puff pastry

100g mature cheddar

20g white crumbly cheese

Mixed herbs

1 egg

So until next time happy baking

Mushroom and tarragon soup

It’s been a while since I have posted any recipes, life kind of got really busy. But hopefully now I can start posting more again.

We have a lot of tarragon in the garden that is ready and I was thinking what to do with it and I then remembered about the amazing mushroom and tarragon soup that I had on the Strathspey Railway on the steam train this year when I was up in Scotland in Aviemore. So I thought I would try and recreate it. I did ask for the recipe but the chef wasn’t on board that day.

I get three sprigs of tarragon out of the garden and bring them into wash. Not sure if I will use them all. I get a small handful of dried mushrooms put them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them to rehydrate them. I get three small garlic bulbs which we grew for the first time this year they are only small but very tasty. I peel them and then chop them up. I grab two white onions and chop them up. I weigh out 507g of white mushrooms and slice them up. I take the leaves off the 2 stalks of the tarragon and chop the leaves up

I pour some oil into the pan and heat it up. I then put the onions and garlic in the pan I cook them for 2-3 minutes till they are soft. While they are cooking I boil the kettle and pour 400ml of boiling water into a measuring jug and dissolve a turkey Oxo cube (yes I could use veg but I still have lots of turkey Oxo cubes to use up).

I measure out 2 tablespoons of cornflour put it into a mug and measure out two tablespoons of water mix it together and pour it into the pan and mix it in. Now I put the chopped white mushrooms into the pan and stir them in well with the onions and garlic. I let them cook for a minute. While they are cooking I chop up the rehydrated mushrooms and pop them into the pan. Now I pour the water from the rehydrated mushrooms into the jug with the stock in and it comes to 600ml. I pour that into the pan. I then measure out 150ml of semi skimmed milk and pour that into the pan. I add the chopped tarragon. I add salt and pepper to the pan and bring the soup to the boil. I then turn the heat down and cook it for 15 minutes.

It’s all cooked. So I pour half into the blender. I wizz it up till it is smooth pour it into another pan and wizz the other half up. I then mix the two together. I now pour the soup into three zip lock freezer bags and let it cool to go in the freezer. Now my soup tastes amazing I had a little try. Next time I think I will add the extra sprig of tarragon and I might do half white mushrooms and half chestnut mushrooms. Then when I make it again I might start experimenting with different mushrooms.

So to sum up

507g white mushrooms

Small handful of dried mushrooms

Two white onions

Three small garlic bulbs and I really do mean small so might be about four big garlic cloves

Two sprigs of fresh tarragon

400ml boiling water

200ml mushroom water

1 turkey Oxo cube

Salt and pepper

150ml semi skimmed milk

2 tablespoons of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water

So until next time happy baking.

Dill vinegar

I have finally got round to posting something again it’s been a very busy few weeks so haven’t really had much time to try new recipes been sticking to the ones that I know work.

Now we are getting into harvest season and quite a lot of stuff is ready for picking I will be coming up with new ways to preserve stuff or make things out of it. Like yesterday when I made bhajis I used Radicchio in them and guess what they turned out really good. When I get the next lot of radicchio I will put the recipe on the blog. Now to today’s post. There is a lot of dill to use up so I think why not make dill vinegar and then use it to pickle veg.

Yesterday I picked the dill washed it and waited for it to dry. So today I could use it.

I measure out 750ml of red wine vinegar put it into a pan. I then bring it to the boil. Don’t forget to turn the extractor fan on. Now I put the dill into the sterilized jar. I then pour the vinegar over it and put the lid on now I will leave it to infuse for a month in a cool dark cupboard. Can’t wait to use it in stuff.

So to sum up
Big bunch of dill
750ml red wine vinegar
Until next time happy baking.

Leftovers potato salad

I know I’m not posting some new recipes every week but I have been busy helping on Duke of Edinburgh award expeditions. I still hate putting a tent down in pouring rain. So onto today’s recipe

I have leftover bacon, crème fraiche and a ¼ of a red onion what to do with them. Well we are having a BBQ later so why not make a side dish of potato salad.

I go out in the garden to pick two bay leaves and a good handful of chives. Unfortunately the parsley is too small to pick so it will have to be dried parsley. I bring them in the house and wash them all. I put the bay leaves into the pan. I then get 10 potatoes and wash them and take any bad bits off I slice them up into thick slices. I put them into the pan with a half teaspoon of caraway seeds. I put a sprinkling of salt in the pan and fill it with water. Bring it to the boil then cook until tender. So around about 10-15 minutes.

While they are cooking. I cut up two smoked streaky bacon rashes and put them in a frying pan along with the quarter of red onion I have left over. I cook till the bacon is crispy and the onion is soft. I put them into a dish to cool down.
The spuds are done I drain them and put them into the dish. Remember to take the bay leaves out and put them in the bin.

While they are cooling I chop up the chives. Spuds are cool I then slice them thinly. I put the chives in the dish along with half a tablespoon of dried parsley. I mix it all together. Now I measure out 5 tablespoons of the crème fraiche (that’s all that’s left) and 5 tablespoons of low fat mayonnaise. I mix it all together and then do a few twists of cracked black pepper and then mix it all up again. All done I can’t wait to have it with the BBQ.

So to sum up
10 potatoes
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
Handful of chives
Two rashes of smoked streaky bacon
Salt
Pepper
5 tablespoons of crème fraiche
5 tablespoons of low fat mayonnaise
½ tablespoon of dried parsley
2 bay leaves and a 1/4 of red onion

So until next time happy baking

Chicken pasta

I know two posts in one week, very strange. I love that it is spring and all the veg seeds are starting to pop their heads, the spuds are in the ground and there is evil tree pollen everywhere ( yes I’m allergic to the stuff and I’m sick of sneezing).

Moan over with onto the post. I have a small bit of rosemary jelly left so I thought why not put it over the chicken legs while I cook them. I brush the jelly over four chicken legs. I put tin foil over the dish and pop it in the oven for 50 minutes at 180 degrees

While that is cooking I chop up three onions. I put a splash of olive oil into the pan. I heat the oil up then put the onions in. I cook and high for two minutes then turn down low for 15 minutes to cook. I peel two cloves of garlic. I then grate then into the pan and cook on high for a minute being careful not to burn it. I then turn the heat down.

I get two cans of chopped tomatoes and put them into the pan. I measure out 1 tablespoon of mushroom power, a sprinkle of salt, one teaspoon basil, one teaspoon thyme and half a tablespoon of dried chilli flakes. I put them all in the pan. Mix them and turn the heat up until it stays to bubble. I then turn it down and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

I weigh out 250g of orecchiette pasta. I put it in a pan of boiling salted water. And cook it according to the instructions on the packet.

The chicken is done I take it out of the oven let it cool and then I take all the meat off the bones.

I pour the pasta into the dish then pour the sauce over it. I put the chicken in the dish and mix it all together. Now I get 25g of parmesan and slice it up. It was meant to be grated but all the graters are in the dishwasher. I put the slices on top sprinkle some parsley and pop it in the oven at 180 degrees for 5-10 minutes till the cheese has melted

It tastes really yummy I can’t wait to have it for lunch this week

So to sum up

4 chicken legs

1 tablespoon rosemary jelly

3 onions

2 garlic cloves

2 Tins chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon mushroom power

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon thyme

Pinch of salt

Sprinkle of parsley

25g parmesan cheese

250g orecchiette pasta

So until next time happy baking.

My curry powder

I know it has been a very long time since I last posted. I haven’t really done any new recipes but I have found out to make lasagna even better by putting homemade pesto on the pasta sheets.

So to today’s post. I know you can buy curry powder in the shop but I bet quite a few people already have all the spices in their cupboard to make their own curry powder and it is really simple and quick to do ( well it was once I found all the spices in the spice and herb cupboard there’s alot of herbs and spices in that cupboard and yes we use them all).

Ignore the gram masala in the photo I picked it up instead of ginger silly me

First off all the ground spices into a bowl. I measure out 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon fenugreek, half teaspoon cinnamon, one and a half teaspoon mild chilli powder, 1 teaspoon hot chilli powder, two and a half tablespoons tumeric, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, one teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, half teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Now on to the whole spices. I put these all into a dry frying pan. To dry fry them. I measure out 1 tablespoon corridor seeds, 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds and 2 teaspoons fennel seeds. I take 4 curry leaves out of the jar and pop them into the pan. Now I smash up 8 cardamom pods to get the seeds out. Now I put the pan on the heat and dry fry them until they smell fragrant this should take about two minutes. I let them cool before I put them into the spices grinder. I’m the grinder they got and I wizz them up until they are powder.

Now I put the ground up whole spices into the bowl with the ground spices and mix them all together. All done homemade curry powder done.

It makes about 90g of curry powder

Curry powder ingredients

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon corridor seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons mild chilli powder

1 teaspoon hot chilli powder

2 1/2 tablespoons tumeric

1 teaspoon ginger

8 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

So until next time happy baking

Chilli flakes

This year we have had a really good crop of chillies. I have frozen a lot. Made sweet chilli sauce, made hot, hot, hot chilli sauce and now I’m going to dry the last of them to make chilli flakes

First thing I do is I go out to the greenhouse and pick the last of the chillies. I then bring them in the house and wash and dry them all. I cut the stalks off. I then slice them all in half. By the way I have no idea what type of chillies these are as we lost the labels for them. One they are halved I them put them on to a tray and pop them in the oven which is at 100^oC. I leave them in for a few hours to dry. I turn them round every so often

They have all dried nicely. I now let them cool for 10 minutes I then crush them up with my hands and pop them into a jar and that’s the chilli flakes done.

So, until next time happy baking

Chicken and turkey bacon hotpot

I’m still playing catch up with all the blogs, but this week has been very busy looking after the two monsters sorry I mean my two nieces. I also had a very special cake to make for my friend the biology teacher. The new ganache icing that I have been trying out well I still hate it as it takes forever to set but once set it is easy to work with, I just don’t have a lot of patients at the moment. But the cake came out ok even if it is very slightly wonky (it just would not sit straight no matter what I did) but don’t tell the biology teacher. You can tell me what you think of the cake. Right onto the blog

 I slice up 11 small potatoes (these are what we got from the allotment this year) I put them in to a pan cover them in water and put on the gas. I bring the pan to the boil and then let the potatoes simmer for 5-10minutes until they are starting to go soft. I then take them off the heat and drain them and leave then to one side.

The leeks and the carrots are ready in the garden, so I thought why not use them. I pull out the biggest leek and 2 of the carrots. I then pick a bay leaf and cut a few sprigs of thyme. I bring them all in the house and wash and trim them. I put some sage oil in to a pan. I cut up the leek, two sticks of celery, two white onions and the two carrots I put them into the pan and cook them for 5-6 minutes until they start to soften a little. While that is cooking, I cut up two chicken breasts and 6 rashes of turkey bacon. I then pop the turkey bacon and the chicken into the pan. I weigh out 50g of plain flour and pop it into a measuring jug. I then get a chicken oxo cube and a veg oxo cube put them into another measuring jug and pour 500ml of boiling water over them to dissolve them

Now I slowly add the chicken veg stock to the flour I whisk it till it is smooth. I then pour it into the pan along with the rest of the chicken veg stock. I then measure out 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and add that to the pan. I bring it to the boil then let its simmer while I cut up 250g of chestnut mushrooms. I put the chestnut mushrooms into an oven proof dish along with the thyme and the bay leaf. I pour the contents of the pan into the oven proof dish I mix it all up a little bit I add salt and pepper. I then layer on the potatoes.

I have already pre-heated the oven to 180^oC. I put some tin foil over the top and cook in the oven for an hour. I then take the tin fil off and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the potatoes start to go brown and crispy. All done im so looking forward to this. This dish with probably serve 4 people. I had some for my tea and then luch the next day and I froze 2 portions.

So, to sum up

250g chestnut mushrooms

2 celery sticks

2 white onions

1 leek

2 carrots

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

2 chicken breasts

6 rashes turkey bacon

11 little potatoes

1 chicken oxo cube

1 veg oxo cube

500 ml boiling water

Salt and pepper

50g flour

1 tablespoon tomato puree

So, until next time happy baking.

mac and cheese with hot dogs

We have had the jar of hot dogs in the house for a while. They were for my niece to eat as she likes them but she never has and I’m sick of seeing them in the cupboard so I thought I would use them up in mac and cheese.

I have some tiger baguette left over so I cut it up into chunks. I put it onto a tray with grease proof paper. I drizzles sage oil over and I pop the tray into the oven on 200^oC. in going to make them into croutons to go on top of the mac and cheese to give it a crunch. I bake the bread till it is nice and crispy

Now I weigh out 250g of macaroni pasta and put it in the pan with water and cook it till its ready.  I then drain the pasta and pour it into an oven proof dish.

I grate 80g of grana Padano cheese, 200g of medium cheddar and put them to one side. I weigh out 50g of plain flour and 50g of butter. I measure out 500ml of milk. I put the butter into the pan to melt I then add the flour to make a roux. I then slowly pour in the milk whisking the whole time once the milk is all added I keep whisking till it thicken. Once it has thickened, I then add 2 teaspoons of homemade mustard and stir it in. I then add the grana Padano and mild cheddar to the pan and mix it in to melt. I then add the full tub of ricotta to the pan and mix it up. yes, this is going to be a very cheesy mac and cheese.

I now cut the hot dogs up into chunks. I pour the cheesy sauce over the macaroni and then put the hot dogs in the dish I mix it all together. I then put the croutons on top. I sprinkle some dried parsley over the top and pop the dish in the oven for 15 minutes.

All done now this mac and cheese tasted really nice. I didn’t use it all up, so I had some for leftovers for work and I froze dome of it.

So, to sum up

50g butter

50g flour

500ml milk

2 teaspoons homemade mustard

80g grana Padano cheese

200g mild cheddar

250g ricotta

8 hot dogs

Tiger baguette

Sage oil

Dried parsley

250g macaroni pasta

So, until next time happy baking

mushroom pate

It was the morning of my birthday, and I woke up a 4:30 in the morning. I gave up trying to get back to sleep at about 4:45, so I got up. now normal people would go make coffee and watch tv or read a book but not me I got up and made mushroom pate its only because I had all the stuff in, and I also was meant to make it the day before but never got a round to it because it took forever to make my birthday cake.

First off, I boil the kettle and put a hand full of mixed dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to rehydrate them. I chop up 3 white onions and 4 garlic cloves. I put them into a ban and cook slowly for 5 minutes until they are soft. While they are cooking, I get the mushrooms I have a packet of chestnut mushrooms, portobello flat mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and forestiere mushrooms. I chop them all up. I then drain the rehydrated mushrooms and chop them up to. I then put all the mushrooms into the pan with the onions and garlic. I add some salt and pepper. I turn the heat up on the pan and cook until the mushrooms have softened, and all the liquid had evaporated off.

While they are cooking, I get a bag of chestnuts and roughly chop them up. now I get my food processor out which I have had for a while, but I haven’t used it yet hopefully it goes well, and I don’t break it. I put the chestnuts in the food processor along with to tubs of soft cheese. I then measure out a tablespoon of dried tarragon and poop that in. now the mushrooms ae all cooked so I pop them into the food processor. I Wizz it all up until it is nice and smooth. I then put it into little jars as I’m going to give some of the pate away. Put this in the fridge for about 8 hours or overnight. This goes nice on crackers or toast.

One of the teachers that I gave the pate to had it on toast and the next night she added it to a pasta sauce and said it was an amazing pasta sauce. You could also add it to soups and stews to add extra flavour.

So, to sum up

4 garlic cloves

3 white onions

250g chestnut mushrooms

150g portobello mushrooms

125g shiitake mushrooms

250g forestiere mushrooms

Handful mixed dried mushrooms

1 tablespoon tarragon

400g soft cheese

180g chestnuts.

Salt and pepper

So, until next time happy baking

This is just one of the jars but it does make a lot of pate

Mums tomato soup

Too use up the last of the tomatoes for this season I thought I would make my mums homemade tomato soup with an added extra roasted pepper.

I get two red peppers and I put then in the oven to roast. This takes a while as I wait for the skins to blacken. Once they are done, I take the peppers out and I let them cool before I peel them and take the seeds out.

I weigh the tomatoes and they come to 1.8kg. They are a mix of all different types that just adds to the flavour. I then go in the garage and get 9 smallish potatoes. I wash them and then slice them up and put them in the pan with the tomatoes. Yes, I leave the skins on as I will be liquidizing and sieving the soup later on. I then add two bags of frozen carrots. The frozen carrots are what I picked out of the garden, blanched, and froze a few weeks ago. I slice up two white onions and three garlic cloves and pop them in the pan. I measure out 2 teaspoons of paprika, 2 teaspoon parsley and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree. I go out to the garden, and I pick a bay leaf. I bring it in the house and wash it then pop it into the pan. I put the roast peppers in. Now I boil the kettle measure out 1 litre of boiling water and put a veg oxo cure in and dissolve it. Now I pour it into the pan. I put the pan lid on, bring it to the boil and cook for 30 minutes or until all the veg is soft.

While that is cooking, I cut up 5 slices of smoked streaky bacon and cook it.  Once the soup is cooked, I put it into a liquidizer and wizz it up. I then sieve it to get and seeds out or potato skin. I then put the soup back into the pan add the bacon and bring it to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. I then put it into a bowl add a swirl of double cream and it is ready to eat. Now I just wish I had made some homemade bread, but I didn’t think that far ahead. The soup was very nice and warming especially on a cold rainy day.

So, to sum up

1.8kg tomatoes

2 red peppers

9 small potatoes

2 white onions

1 veg oxo cube

5 slices of bacon

2 bags frozen carrots or 2 carrots

3 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 teaspoons parsley

2 teaspoons paprika

1 litre water

Splash of double cream

So, until next time happy baking

Chicken and mushroom fried rice

I know I haven’t written any blogs for a while, but I have been busy I had my birthday cake (I’ll put a photo on in a minute to show you how it turned out) to make and other stuff to do so over the next few days I will be writing all the recipes that I have stored up for the last few weeks.

With this recipe you can leave the chicken out and just have mushroom fried rice. I went out to the garden, and I pulled two leeks out. I brought them in washed and trimmed them. I then sliced them up. I cut up two white onions. I put some sesame seed oil in the pan. I put the leeks and onions in the pan and cook them on a low heat for 15 minutes. I then slice up 9 white mushrooms. Earlier in the day a got a bag of carrots I froze a few weeks a go out, I let them defrost. Now I cut into strips 3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs. I put them in the pan along with the mushrooms and the carrots. I cook for a few minutes. now I add two tablespoons of light soy sauce and three teaspoons of homemade curry powder. I mix it all up and let it cook slowly.

Now I get a mug full of brown rice and put it in to a new pan with 2 mugs of water and cook the rice till it is done. Rice is cooked I drain it and then put the rice in to the pan with the chicken. I then add a handful of frozen peas and cook for 10 minutes. While that is cooking, I fry an egg. Now I wanted the yolk not to smash but I smashed it grrr. Everything is cooked I plate it up the fried egg on top. Now I’m not eating it all as I will have leftovers for work, and I will freeze a portion or two for another day.  

I really enjoyed this, and I think it will become a new regular for tea or work lunch.

So, to sum up

3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs

9 white mushrooms

Small bag of frozen carrots or 1 carrot

2 leeks

2 white onions

3 teaspoons homemade curry powder

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Sesame seed oil

Handful frozen peas

1 egg

Mug full of brown rice

So, until next time happy baking.

Pumpkin loaf cake

The pumpkins have been ready for a while now, I just haven’t had time to do anything with them. i have finally got round to doing something with them and its going to be pumpkin loaf cake.

I cut up a quarter of a pumpkin it weighs about 500g. I then cut it up into chunks and put it into the dish in the oven. The oven is on 200^oC. I leave it in the oven for 45 minutes until it is soft. I take it out of the oven and let it cool I then take the skin off the pumpkin and mash it up. I re weigh the pumpkin and it comes to 260g

I weigh out 225g of self-raising flour pop it into the bowl. I then weigh out 200g of light brown sugar which may have a little bit of dark brown sugar in (ok I mix the two together as there was only a tiny bit of the dark brown sugar left). I weigh out 100g of butter and pop that in. I measure out ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and pop them into the bowl. I then crack 3 large eggs into the bowl I now add the mashed pumpkin. I nearly forgot the tablespoon of black treacle. Now I mix it all together till it’s a smoothish batter.

I have pre-heated the oven to 180^oC. I have lined a 2lb loaf tin. I pour the cake batter into the tin and then pop it into the oven for 1 hour.

1 hour up I take the cake out and leave it into the tin for 5 minutes. I then turn it out to cool on a wire rack. All done now do I share this cake with my friend who loves pumpkin cake.

So, to sum up

225g self-rising flour

200g light brown sugar

100g butter

1 tablespoon of black treacle

3 large eggs

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

500g raw pumpkin when cooked about 260g ish

So, until next time happy baking.

coconut cake

I still have half a tin of coconut milk to use up. Since I used half on the curry. what to do with it. Coconut cake plus its Sunday and who doesn’t like cake after their Sunday dinner.

First, I line a 2lb loaf tin. I then turn the oven on to pre-heat to 165^oC

I weigh out 200g of self-rising flour, 200g of light brown sugar (yes, I forgot to pick up caster sugar when I went shopping yesterday), 180g of butter and 100g of desiccated coconut. I put them all into the bowl. I then crack 3 large eggs into the bowl. I pour the 200ml of coconut milk into the bowl. I then mix it all together.

I then pour it into the lined loaf tin and put it in the oven for 1 hour.

Times up. I take the cake out. I then let it cool for five minutes in the tin I then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool. I really can’t wait to try some especially since I used brown sugar I it this time.

So, to sum up

200g self-rising flour

200g light brown sugar

180g butter

3 large eggs

100g desiccated coconut

200ml coconut milk

So, until next time happy baking.

Coconut curry

So yesterday I made coconut curry paste and today I’m going to use some of it. Now there is a reason for making this curry I want to see how well the tomato and coriander sauce I preserved works as a base to the curry. If it goes well I think next year I will make a few more jars so that I have enough to last over winter but that will depend on how good of a crop we get next year.

I get two white onions chop them up and put them into the pan. Now I pour the oil off the top of the curry paste into the pan. What is the point of wasting the oil by draining it off and not using it. So, for me by using the oil off the paste I’m adding extra flavour to the onions while they are cooking. I fry the onions on a high heat for a few minutes stirring them about every 20 seconds so that they don’t catch on the bottom. I then turn the heat down and let them cook for about 15 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, I peal a garlic clove and grate it. I then weigh 11g of fresh ginger, peal it then grate it. Once the time is up, I put the garlic and the ginger in to cook for a few minutes. I then add the small jar of the curry paste its about 2-3tablesspoons. I mix it in with the onions. Garlic and ginger and leave it to cook for a good 10 minutes.

I now cut up 3 chicken breasts into chunks and put them into the pan I cook them for about 5-10 minutes.

I get the jar of tomato and coriander sauce that I preserved last month. I pour that into the pan. I then measure out 200ml of coconut milk and pour that into the pan. I mix it all together. I bring it to the boil I then let it simmer for 15minutes. lunch for the week is done. Ok I had a sneaky taste, and it tastes really nice.

So, to sum up

3 chicken breasts

2 onions

1 jar preserved tomato and coriander sauce

1 small jar homemade coconut curry paste

1 garlic clove

11g fresh ginger

200ml coconut milk

So, until next time happy baking.

Coconut curry paste

I haven’t made a curry paste in a while and thought I better make one since I will be wanting to make curry this week. I’m make the curry paste in advance so that all the flavours can infuse together before I use it.

I get all the spices out of the cupboard. First things first.  I measure out 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds, 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds. I get 5 cardamon pods and smash them open and get the seeds out. I then put all the seeds into a frying pan and dry fry them for a few minutes until I hear them pop. I put them to one side to cool.

I new measure out 1 teaspoon turmeric, 2 tablespoons of my homemade gram masala, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 ½ tablespoons ground nut oil, 1 tablespoon dried coriander leaf. I put them all into the mini chopper. I then measure out a tablespoon of tomato puree and pop that in. I add a pinch of salt and pepper. I measure out 3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut.

 I weigh out 35g of fresh ginger. I then peal the skin off and cut it into chunks. I then peal the skin off 4 garlic cloves and chop them up. I chop up one red chilli. I put the ginger, garlic, and chilli into the frying pan with a splash of oil and cook for a few minutes. I then put them into the mini chopper. I then wizz it all up together until it is a smooth paste. Now I put it into jars and cover it with a layer of oil and pop it into the fridge. Now it should keep for up to a month in the fridge.

What curry should I make with this.

So, to sum up

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

5 cardamon pods

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 ½ tablespoon ground nut oil

2 tablespoon homemade gram masala

4 garlic cloves

1 fresh chilli

35g fresh ginger

1 tablespoon tomato puree

3 tablespoon desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon coriander leaf

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

So until next time happy baking.

Pear jam

The pears are really ripe and before they all go mouldy, I need to do something with them. I bet you have guessed what I’m going to do jam. Yup you are right.

I weigh out the pears and they come to 3457g. by the time I cut the skins off core them it should come to about 3kg. I peal the skins off and core all the pears this takes a while, and it is very warm not fun. I then chop them up roughly.  I put them into the pan. I then cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the pan. I then chuck the lemon skins into. I measure out 100ml of water and pop that into the pan. Now I put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. Once boiled I turn it down to simmer for 20 minutes to soften the fruit.

The fruit has softened. I weigh out 3kg of sugar it is a mixture of white and light brown sugar because I ran out of white sugar again. I pop that into the pan and I dissolve it. I turn the heat up to bring the jam to a rolling boil. I leave it on a rolling boil for 20 minutes as it is a large amount of fruit and sugar.  

Now I turn the heat off. I scrape the scum off the top and get rid of the lemon skins. I pour the jam into the hot sterilised jars put the lids on and turn them upside down so that they form a seal. Now I’m going to say this is the last post about jam for this year but you never know I might one or two more up my sleeve

So, to sum up

3kg pears

3kg sugar white and light brown sugar

1 lemon

100ml water

So until next time happy baking

Pear, bramble and vanilla jam

I know I said the last jam post was most likely to be the last put since I have pears still and picked bramble, I thought why not do a pear, bramble and vanilla jam, so I did.

I weigh out 1146g of brambles. I put them into the pan. I then get the pears from the garage, and I cut the top and bottom of and any bad bits of skin. I then roughly chop them up leaving the good skin and the core in. I weigh it up and it comes to 2kg of pears. I pop them into the pan. I then cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the pan. I then chuck the lemon skins into. I measure out 3 tablespoons of homemade vanilla extract and pop that into the pan. I measure out 100ml of water and pop that into the pan. Now I put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. Once boiled I turn it down to simmer for 20 minutes to soften the fruit.

Now I’m trying to make this jam without my niece realizing that I’m in the kitchen cooking with out her so far so good.

The fruit has softened. I weigh out 3kg of sugar and pop that into the pan and I dissolve it. I turn the heat up to bring the jam to a rolling boil. Now before it gets to the rolling boil my niece comes in and she’s not happy that I’m cooking with out her she askes what can she do I say its going to be a little while before I can do anything as I’m waiting for the pan to boil. She’s still not happy. I get her to get the jam funnel and to find the two ladles which keeps her happy for a few minutes. finally, the pan come to a rolling boil, and I set the timer for 13 minutes.

I set up the big bowl with the sieve over it and the muslin in the sieve. My niece askes why do you do that I tell her I don’t like lumps in my jam, and I don’t like seeds in my jam. Now the time is up. my niece gets her little step and stands next to me I spoon the jam into the sieve and sieve out the bit my niece keeps an eye on the level of the liquid in the bowl and tells me when it gets close to the bottom of the sieve. I then pour the jam into the hot sterilized jars. My niece passes me the lids and I put them on and turn the jars upside down to form an airtight seal. I keep sieving the jam till it is all gone through the sieve. I jar it all up my niece keeps handing me the lids and we have finished the jam. Now she leaves me to go draw with her grandpa, so I’m left with the washing up not fair.

So, to sum up

1146g brambles

2kg pears

3kg sugar

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 lemon

100ml water

So until next time happy baking

My sort of mexican rice

This is the second of my lunches for this week. I have two chicken breasts and I wasn’t sure what to do with them do I go and make something with noodles or something else I went with something else as I remembered I had a small amount of my homemade fajita mix left and I could use that up. I have done fajitas a few times so didn’t want to do them again then I thought fajita/ Mexican rice bingo got the lunch idea time to make it.

I get a cup full of rice which weighs 140g with the cup I use. I put it in to the pan with a few strands of saffron as I want the rice to be yellow. I then pour in two cups of water and put it on the heat I bring it to the boil and let it simmer till it is cooked.

While the rice is cooking I cut up the two chicken breasts. Put a splash of marjoram oil in the pan and cook the chicken. While they are cooking, I slice up 2 red onion, one long red chilli, one yellow pepper, two white mushrooms and 2 chestnut mushrooms. I then put all the veg into the pan with the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. I then add two tablespoons of my homemade fajita mix and mix everything together and cook for a few minutes.

Now I add the rice to the pan mix it all together. Now I know some Mexican rice recipes have beans in. I’m not a big fan of beans but I do like baked beans and so I add a tin of baked beans to the pan, and I cook for a further 5 minute and the dish is done looking forward to this

So, to sum up

1 tin baked beans

1 long red chilli

1 orange pepper

2 red onions

2 white mushrooms,

2 chestnut mushrooms

140g rice

Pinch of saffron

2 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons fajita mix

So, until next time happy baking

Tomato coriander chicken

Its back to going to work after been on holiday. Did I want to go back no because I have been having way too much fun in the kitchen creating new things. It now back to making my lunch for the week and I’m going to use the tomato and coriander sauce that I made a few weeks ago and bottled up.

I get a chicken breast and cut it up into pieces. I pour a little bit of marjoram oil in the pan. I cook the chicken until it is cooked through. While the chicken is cooking. I weigh out 100g of pasta. I then put it into a pan of water and cook it.

Pasta is cooked, chicken is cooked I pour the pasta in the pan with the chicken I then add the tomato and coriander sauce I bring it to the boil and let it cook for five minutes. it is done. For once a quick and very easy lunch

So, to sum up

100g pasta

½ jar of tomato and coriander sauce

1 chicken breast

Marjoram oil

So, until next time happy baking.

Apple and thyme jelly

I have finally got to the last of the apples for this season I think unless someone gives me some. So, for my hopefully final apple recipe for this year I’m going to do an apple and thyme jelly.

I weigh out 2.3kg of apples I then chop them roughly up leaving the skins on. I also keep the cores. Now I put all the apple and cores into the pan. I then measure out 2.5litres of water. Pour it into the pan. Now I slice 4 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the pan and I chuck the skins into. I go out in the garden and get about 10 prigs of thyme. I wash them then chuck them into the pan. I put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. I then turn it down and let it simmer until the apples are soft so about 20 minutes. I then take the pan off the heat set the jelly bag up and pour the contents of the pan into the jelly bag. I leave it our night to drip.

The next day I measure out the liquid and I get 2 litres. I pour it into the pan. Now for every 600ml of liquid I want 450g of sugar, so I need about 1.5kg of sugar. I weight the sugar out I then pour it into the pan. I put the pan on the heat and dissolve the sugar. I then bring it to the boil and leave it on a rolling boil for 13 minutes. now I turn off the heat and pour it into hot sterilized jars I put the lids on and turn them upside down to form a vacuum. Once cooled I will label then and store them in a cool dark place.

I think this will go nice will cold cuts of meat. A spoonful could be use in tomato-based sauces.

So, to sum up,

2.3kg apples

4 lemons

10 sprigs of thyme

1.5kg sugar

So, until next time happy baking

Apple and roesmary jelly

I think the apples are slowly staring to go down which is really good. Now I say this and in the next week or so someone will give me a huge bag full. I have done a few apple recipes so far now I’m trying out another new one apple and rosemary jelly. I think this will go nice with pork or used as a glaze on a pork joint or on a whole chicken. Also maybe add a tablespoon to homemade gravy or a Bolognese sauce.

I weigh out 2kg of apples I then wash them. Now I just roughly chop them up with the skins left on. I put the apple into the pan including the cores and the pips. Now I go out in the garden and cut 4 rosemary sprigs off the plant. I bring them in and wash them I then add them to the pan. I measure out 1 litre of water and pour it in. I slice 4 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the pan I then chuck the lemon skins in to. I put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil I then turn it down to simmer for 20minutes or until the apples are soft.  It smells so nice.

I set the jelly bag up. I spoon all the contents of the pan into the jelly bag and leave it to drip overnight.

The next day I measure out the liquid and it comes to 1.3litres. I pour it into the preserving pan. I then measure out 750g of sugar and pour it into the pan. I put the pan on the heat and dissolve the sugar. I bring it to a rolling boil and leave it on a rolling boil for 10minutes.

All done I put it into hot sterilized jars, put the lids on and turn them upside down to form a vacuum. Once cooled I will turn the jars the right way up and label them. Really looking forward to trying this

So, to sum up

2kg apples

750g sugar

4 lemons

4 springs of rosemary

So, until next time happy baking.

Apple, pear and cinnamon jam

There are still lots of pears and apples left I swear someone is going in the garage on a night and filling the boxes back up. they are never ending.

I know I said I was finished with making jam but because of the number of apples and pears we have I thought why not make apple, pear, and cinnamon jam. Now for once this jam is going to have chunks to it (no I don’t mean that I will forget to take the cinnamon sticks out).

I weigh out 1.2kg of apples and 1.2kg of pears. I really need 1kg of each fruit, but I weighed out the extra 200g to account for the cores and the skins and how bad I am at pealing them.  I then peal them and core them. Now I chop them up into small piece. I pop them into the pan. I add the juice of a lemon and two cinnamon sticks to the pan. I measure out 100ml of water and pop that in the pan. Now I put the pan on the heat bring it to the boil and then let it simmer for 20 minutes until the fruit is soft.

Times up I now measure out 1.5kg of sugar and pour that into the pan. I dissolve it and then turn the heat up and bring it to a rolling boil. I leave it on a rolling boil for 15 minutes. after the 15 minutes I then pout it into hot sterilized jars pop the lids on turn the jars upside down to form a vacuum. Once cooled I will label them and put them in a dark cool place.

So, to sum up

1.2kg apples

1.2kg pears

2 cinnamon sticks

1 lemon

1.5kg sugar

100ml water.

So, until next time happy baking.

Apple and pear spiced chutney

We still have a lot of pears and apples stored in the garage and I want to make something with them before they go off.  I thought apple and pear spiced chutney. I think this will go nice with cheese and crackers or with pork or ham.

I weigh out 1kg of apples and 800g of pears. I then peal and core both the apples and the pears. Pears where great to peal the apples because they are small took forever. I chop all the apples and pears up into small pieces I chuck them into the pan. I then add a cinnamon stick. Chop up two white onions and put them into the pan. I measure out 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and chuck that into the pan. Now a weigh out 550g of light brown sugar. That goes into the pan. I measure out 700ml of cider vinegar and pour it in to the pan. Now I put the pan on the heat dissolve the sugar then bring it to the boil. I leave it on the boil stirring it every few minutes so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom. I keep doing this till it thickens up. it takes about 20 minutes. so, it’s done. I remove the cinnamon stick. Time to put it into hot sterilized jars. I then put the lids on to the jar’s upside down so that a vacuum forms. Once cooled I turn them up the right way and label them. Store in a cool dark place and eat in a months’ time once the vinegar has mellowed. It should keep yup to six months unopened. Now this would make a fantastic birthday present or Christmas present for any friends who are mad about cheese (yes that’s you my friend the biology teacher)

So, to sum up

1kg apples

800g pears

550g light brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 white onions

700ml cider vinegar

2 teaspoons ground ginger.

So, until next time happy baking.