Rather than buy a jar of ras al hanout, my preferred mild spice for couscous, chicken and veggie tagine type meals, I decided to mix up my own and yes I have all the necessary supplies!
Just mix equal amounts of cayenne, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardomum seeds ( blended in grinder) and turmeric with double the amount of ground ginger, coriander seeds (same grinder) and cumin.
Why did I not know it was that easy?
A giant catering tin of mushrooms was a bargain buy but once opened presented a ‘waste not want not’ challenge. I have paired them so far in:
chestnut stuffing – with breadcrumbs and herbs
Pasta sauce, boosting the usual tomato and onion base and topped with truffle oil
Savoury pancakes with cream and garlic
Chicken and mushroom pie – pastry bottom and lid, broth based gravy
Potato mushroom curry
And the rest is now in the freezer awaiting inspiration. Ideas welcome!
A first attempt that worked out really well. 6 apples peeled, cored and chopped then simmered in as little water as I could get away with. I added a squirt of lemon juice and a spoon of sugar then puréed it all before simmering off as much liquid as possible. The paste then went into the dehydrator in a thin layer for 10 hours before being snipped into snack bites. Lasts well in a tin.
Simple recipe, as good as any I’ve tried before. Hint, make only this size batch, unless you have the willpower not to devour them all straight from the oven!
2 egg whites whipped to soft peak, 100grams sugar, 100 grams ground almonds, pinch of salt, tablespoon amaretto or almond essence
Pre heat oven to 150 degrees and line two baking trays. Mix the dry ingredients together, then gradually mix in spoonfuls of the egg white gently so you don’t lose the air. Finally add the amaretto or essence. Teaspoons of the mix should be well spaced across the baking sheets before cooking for 15 minutes.
Leave to cool on a wire tray, if you can. Can be stored for a short while in a tin, if you must. The batch pictured here are slightly over cooked but still soft inside and delicious. Some recipes suggest making smooth little balls so they look more like the commercial biscuits.
Copious amounts of mint have been dried, frozen and made into tea already but still there is an abundance to be used. So mint sauce is today’s kitchen craft.
Chop leaves finely (don’t blend or it will be a purée) and steep in boiling water for a couple of minutes to tenderise them. Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon of malt vinegar with 1 teaspoon of caster sugar and a pinch of salt, scale up this mix so you have enough to cover the leaves.
Drain the leaves and rinse in cold water to stop them ‘cooking’ then put them in the jar/ saucer before pouring over the vinegar mix. Ready to use in half an hour, will keep in clean jar for weeks.
Liven up peas, potatoes, carrots, chicken and of course goes well with lamb.
I went into the sea
Up to my knees
Started to freeze
So came home and made mint syrup…
Two handfuls of mint stick-blended with half a cup of sugar. Three cups of water with another cup of sugar brought to the boil. Mint mix added to water and simmered for 10 minutes. Left to stand then double filtered before bottling.
Great in cocktails, with sparkling water, in herb tea, over ice cream or yoghurt.
I needed to make some space in the fridge so wanted to empty some jars. Leftover cookies were created using the remains of a jar of mincemeat and some liqueur chocolates that had been lurking since Christmas. Recipe varied from one on BBC good food site
150g dark brown soft or caster sugar,125g butter, ½ heaped tsp salt, 1 medium egg, 4 tbsp mincemeat and a handful of liqueur chocolates, 220g plain flour,½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Mix ingredients, spoon into balls and make for 12 minutes in oven at 160C. I put half in silicone Yorkshire mould to make giant cookies. All were squidgy when first out of the oven but firmed up as they cooled. Yum.
Doggy cookies made for a little Valentine treat to brighten up a lockdown Sunday.
Recipe found as a Christmas offering but easily translates with the right cutter.
Mix: 100g plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons olive oil. form a dough then roll out and stamp shapes – about 12. Bake on silicone sheet in 180C oven for about 20 minutes.
Box made pizza box style with decorations from standard shapes on the scan and cut.
After meat is cooked and while it is resting deglaze the pan with the butter and soften the onions then add other ingredients and reduce. Whole process should take about 4 minutes
We had ours over pigeon. But would work with venison, sausages or pork. The orange gives it a lovely lift.
janecrafts 