Pickled Beets Recipe INGREDIENTS 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard Salt and pepper METHOD 1 Remove greens from beets, save for future use (see beet greens recipe). Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Steam or boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not. 2 Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets. 3 Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature. Serves four.

Ham, broccoli and tomato quiche revisited

Having made and eaten the quiche described in the previous posting, I have a few comments to make which I forgot in the original.  To ensure that the bottom of the pastry wasn't soggy, I pre-baked it for 10 minutes.  Make sure the watch the time or else it can get quite crispy in the next 35 minutes of baking the quiche.  To make sure that the broccoli and tomatoes didn't contribute too much in the way of extra liquids to the quiche, I defrosted the broccoli on paper towel and kept changing it as it became saturated.  Also, after cutting the tomatoes in half, I laid them cut side down on paper towel to remove some the their juices.  All in all, it worked out very well!

Ham, Broccoli and Tomato Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust, pre-baked for 10 minutes
• 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked ham
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 cup  frozen broccoli florets, thawed, well drained
• 10 to 15 cherry tomatoes, halved and drained on paper towel
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt(unless the ham is salty!)
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C

Make pie crust as directed and pre-bake for 10 minutes at 400 F or 200 C


Layer ham, cheese and thawed broccoli and cherry tomatoes in pie crust-lined pan. In medium bowl, beat all remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over ingredients.  Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Flatbread

LIGHT WHOLEWHEAT AND HONEY-CRUST FLATBREAD
175ml warm water
 7g sachet fast-action yeast
25g honey or agave nectar
50g sunflower seeds (optional)
175g plain flour, plus extra for kneading and shaping
75g wholemeal flour, such as spelt, rye or wheat
1 tsp fine salt

1. Pour the water into a small bowl and stir in the yeast and honey to dissolve.

2. Add the seeds, flours and salt, mix to a soft, sticky dough, cover and leave for 10 minutes.

3. Lightly flour a patch of worktop, lightly knead the dough for a bare 10 seconds, then return to the bowl and cover.

4. Leave for 30 minutes, and it’s ready to use.

Shaping and baking your flatbreads

Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan-assisted)/465F/gas mark 9 and have ready two baking trays (or bake in batches) lightly dusted with flour or cornmeal, or lined with nonstick baking paper.

Have your flatbread fillings ready, too.

About 15 minutes before you want to bake, cut the dough into quarters, shape into balls, cover and leave for five minutes.

One at a time, and using flour to stop it sticking, roll each piece quickly into an oval about 20cm long and 10cm wide.

Pat and push around the edges to create a small rim, then place two-up on each baking tray.

Quickly top with filling and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden.

Devon Apple Cake

Ingredients

500 grams of Bramley Apples, peeled, cored, diced
175g slightly salted butter, softened
175g light muscovado (brown) sugar, plus 3 T(tablespoon)
2 medium eggs, beaten
250g self raising flour
1t (teaspoon) baking powder
1 t ground mixed spice
1 t ground cinnamon
100 g sultanas (raisins)

1. Make apple sauce from apples and 2 T of water. Cool.
2. Pre heat oven to 160 C (325F)
3. Grease a 20cm loose-base cake tin or a spring form tin and line with grease proof paper.
4. Beat together butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices and add half to the bowl. Stir in. Stir in apple sauce and sultanas. Stir in remaining flour.
5. Put mixture into tin and then sprinkle remaining sugar on the surface.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Moroccan style stew

Having eaten lamb for Easter dinner we had lots left over. What to do with it, which would also let us use up other things in the fridge. I did buy a courgette (zucchini) to add a little variety to the root veggies we did have but besides that everything was already in the house.

Ingredients

2 carrots, cut into small pieces
1 large sweet potato, cut in to medium sized pieces (so that it doesn't disintegrate or turn to mush in the cooking process)
2 medium to large potatoes, diced
1 courgette (zucchini), sliced or diced and put in 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time
1 onion, chopped
1 container of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 t (teaspoon) paprika
1-2 t mild chilli powder
1/2 t fennel seeds
1 t cinnomon
1 t cumin (powder)
pepper and salt to taste
3/4 c (6 fl. oz) white wine
1 cup stock
left over cooked lamb (if you don't have any, buy some stewing lamb and cook it in a pressure cooker by itself for about 17-20 minutes or stew it on the stove until it is tender)
Couscous for 4

Serves 4

1. Fry onions until fragrent and soft.  Just before it it ready, add the garlic.
2. Add the vegetables (except the courgette), lamb, and liquids and simmer until the vegetables are almost tender.
3. Add the courgette, and cook for 10 minutes more
4. Check seasonings, and add salt, pepper and any other seasoning as necessary.
5. Serve with couscous.

If there are any ingredients which you don't have in the cupboard, improvise.  

Goulash...yum!

Goulash:  We had this for dinner on the Saturday before Easter.  It was simple to prepare, fairly inexpensive and tasted wonderful!  I forgot the cream but it didn't matter.

Ingredients

•  * 2 tbsp olive oil
• * 500g pork tenderloin, cut into chunks
• * 30g plain flour
• * 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• * 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• * 2 of red and green pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
• * 2 tbsp tomato purée
• * 2 tbsp paprika
• *1 can chopped tomotoes
• * 75ml dry white wine
• * 300ml beef stock, home-made or shop-bought
• * black pepper

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole dish or heavy-based saucepan.
2. Coat the pork with the flour and brown well, in batches, in the hot casserole dish. Set the browned meat aside.
3. Add in the remaining olive oil. Add in the onion, garlic, pepper to the casserole dish and fry until softened, around 5 minutes.
4. Return the pork to the pan with the tomato puree and paprika. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, white wine and beef stock. Cover and cook it on the hob on a gentle heat for about an hour, removing the lid after 45 minutes.
6. Check seasonings and add salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Stir in the sour cream and serve.