Not quite English fishcakes

I always believe in being a bit flexible with food and using up leftovers as I hate throwing food away.  Anyway back from the gym, yes its that get fit and lose weight time of the year, feeling hungry and not knowing what to eat.  I had some left over mashed potato from last night, many tins of tuna in the cupboard so using my imagination this is what I came up with.

Not quite English fish cakes as I used chilli, pickled gerkin and coriander.

Mashed potato and a tin of tuna, about 130grams.
a small bunch of coriander and parsley chopped

mix it together

Chop 2 pickled gerkins and half a chilli (depending on how hot you would like it.  Add to the potato and tuna and mix well using your hands

Shape and put in the fridge for about half an hour.  At this point you can dip the fish cakes in some beaten egg and breadcrumbs to hold the mixture together when cooking but I decided not to.

Lightly fry in shallow oil for about 4 minutes each side.

serve with a salad and chilli dipping sauce.

It also makes an excellent starter

Food for Thought

Its that time of year when we start to think about what we eat and how much weight we put on.  Some of us will have eaten too much at Christmas and New Year parties and its time to take a long look at our diet.  We spent the new year in France with lots of good food, wine and friends always a really good combination

 Goats cheese salad

 Lunch of roast cod and ratatouille with a nice bottle of rosé wine

 Whitebait

Preparing for dinner in in a friends villa in St Maxime on New Year's Eve with a starter of sea food

Well back to reality with snow and colds and flu.  What could be nicer than a chicken noodle soup, it tick all the boxes for being healthy and also quick and easy to cook, this is my short version

1.5 litres of chicken stock (either with a stock cube or home made)

1 chicken breast
ginger
garlic
tin of sweet corn
1 bok choy
chilli
coriander
juice of 1 lime
tablespoon soy sauce
fine rice noodles

Just add whole chicken breast to the stock and cook

Chop a good thumb size of ginger
1 stalk of lemon grass
3 cloves of garlic

Flake the cooked chicken with a fork and add to the stock together with the ginger, garlic and lemon grass and cook to allow flavours to mingle, adjust the seasoning

add chopped bok choy, noodles, soy sauce, lime juice and sweet corn, heat for a further 5 mins and garnish with chopped coriander and a some thin slices of chilli

Delicious, and very healthy

Focaccia Bread

By the time we reach Christmas I think we are all exhausted.  If I have to think about another meal I will go into brain overload.  I wake up in the night going over mental checklists, cards, presents, entertaining, what to wear.  Then in the next instant I feel guilty and count my blessings, family, friends and food and a good place to live.

A warm house with the smell of fresh bread cooking.  I love making bread, I have a bread machine but I still love the feel of kneading dough, its good for destressing and getting my thoughts in order








This flat bread dates back to Ancient Rome and was originally cooked in the ashes of the fire.  Before baking the dough is sprinkled with a topping.  I have made this recipe many times and it is a favourite with all my friends.  It may seem like it takes a long time to make, but the actual hands on time is very short.
  
500 grams of bread flour
7g easy bake yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
300 mils water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Rosemary, olives (optional

Place all ingredients in a bowl and add warm water and olive oil

Mix well and turn out onto a board and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic

Put back in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 50 minutes or until it doubles in size.  Remove from bowl and knead again for about 5 minutes and shape on a baking tray.  Leave again to rise for about 45 minutes.  Remove and add rosemary and olives and more olive oil.

Bake in a hot oven 220c for about 15 to 20 minutes and leave to cool.

You can vary the toppings using different herbs like basil or sage and even fill with ham and cheese.  Its also nice served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.  Great to snack on or served as a simple starter, every one loves home made bread.

Mulled Wine

 Christmas, snow and cold weather, warm spiced wine and friends mmmmm a great recipe for a good time.

This is a great recipe fromm the BBC Good Food website and I have tried many times. 

      100g/4oz light muscovado sugar

        1 star anise

                 1 cinnamon stick

                 4 cloves

           150ml water

                 1 lemon

                  2 clementines

                  150ml Cointreau

                  750ml/ 1¼pint bottle light red wine

Put the sugar in a pan with 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 150ml water. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Simmer for 2 mins, then pour into a large jug and leave to cool. Add 1 lemon and 2 clementines,  along with 150ml Cointreau and a 750ml bottle light red wine

Stir well, then cover and chill for at least 2 hrs or overnight if you can.  I left mine overnight and it was so delicious the following evening.  I also doubled up on the quantities as the demand was so great the first time I made it and I ran out of wine.

You can serve this wine chilled or warm through without boiling and serve in warmed or heatproof glasses.

Cranberry and Oat Christmas Cookies

I went to my first cookie swap last Friday.  This is a great US custom where everyone bakes a set amount of cookies, you all meet up and exchange them, have lunch and laugh over the exchange of Christmas gifts and come home with an amazing variety of different cookies.  How cool is that.

I made Cranberry and Oat cookies.

100g butter
1 egg
50g mashed ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g light soft brown sugar
100g self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
120g rolled oats
60g dried cranberries
25g mixed peel - candied orange and lemon peel (optional, just add more cranberries)

Heat oven to 180C/160 fan/gas/4.  Cream butter and sugar until smooth and gradually beat in banana, vanilla and egg. Mix well until blended.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, mixed spice, oats, cranberries and mixed peel.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and it will look like a thick dough.

Line or grease a baking sheet and drop heaped teaspoons onto the sheet and press down.  The cookies will rise as they also have baking powder in them so dont put them too close together.

Bake for about 15-20 mins until lightly browned

The mixed spice and cranberries give them a very Christmassy feel

Lots of really great cookies

And look what I went home with

Such a great selection and a wonderful custom

November sun in Malta

What is a cure for the winter blues in England.  Well it could be a trip to somewhere warm, meeting with friends and eating good food and there isn't many places you can do that in November in the Med.
I have just returned from a great week in Malta staying at my friends B&B and I had the experience of eating something I had never tried before, Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia.  Not that I had set out to avoid this dish, I had just never seen it on a menu before.

Near to my friends house there is a beautiful fishing village called Marsaxlokk where they land fresh fish every day and have a wonderful fish market on Sundays.   They also have many restaurants to enjoy a great variety of local food

There is a small restaurant there called iPlace which apart from having good food you get ipads as menus and you can keep them during the course of the meal, very good for keeping children occupied.  

This is the dish I had and it tasted amazing.  I haven't cooked it myself yet but I think the following recipe is about accurate. 

400 gr. spaghetti

1/2 small jar of squid ink sauce (nero di seppia)

1 clove of garlic

cherry tomatoes

small glass of white wine

chopped parsley

small sweet pepper

olive oil

 Fry the clove of crushed garlic in olive oil until golden

Add cherry tomatoes and pepper, fry for a couple of minutes and add and white wine and squid ink.

Cook for about 10 minutes

While this is cooking, add spaghetti to boiling water and cook al dente

drain and mix with the sauce

garnish with chopped parsley

buon appetito

Red Hot Chillies - spice up your life

Of course your life maybe be spicy enough, in which case forgive me or let me know your method of making the day more spicy, with food I mean, what else!

Love them or hate them but you can’t ignore them.  I recently had breakfast with a friend and on the table was her own jar of chopped chillies in oil.  For breakfast, you must be joking right, no …… chillies on toast or as a dip, I’m hooked.

Just look at that colour on a grey Autumn day

Add some olive oil  and a pinch of salt

Eat with some home made focaccia bread (recipe to follow) and some home made hommus ....... Well maybe they don't go together but they tast good and life is too short for rules isn't it?

I am going to sit down and eat this right now