Muesli

I love to have muesli for breakfast but prefer to make my own rather than use any factory produced blend.

I usually keep the muesli in a 2 litre Le Parfait storage jar (air tight).  I guess that is the equivalent of a half gallon mason jar.   I make it whenever I run out so that there is always a jar of it in the store cupboard.  I find it doesn't seem to suffer any storage problems although I've always eaten it long before it has time to go stale, usually in four to five weeks.  I do, however, keep it in my cool dark store cupboard.

I made some today:  Here's my recipe

I start with the empty storage jar and about half fill it with rolled oats.

Then I add a good layer of desiccated coconut.

Next goes in the dried fruit.  I just throw in about a handful of each fruit, always raisins and golden sultanas, and anything to hand.

Next it's time for nuts.  I love whole almonds but only add about a half handful. I do know, however, that lots of people prefer sliced almonds.  Personally, I love the crunchy texture form using whole ones.   I also add a handful of salted peanuts.   Lots of people turn their noses up at salted peanuts, but I love them in the dish so I use them!  In fact, I use salted peanuts in all sorts of recipes and they are a basic in my kitchen.

The last thing to go in is about a half handful of sunflower seeds.  I use the hulled ones as I can't eat the dry husks.

And that's it, close the jar, give it a good shake, and put it away for a delicious and very healthy breakfast cereal

Today, I didn't have dried apricots, or indeed any other fruits so I just added a few whole prunes to the bowl.  I sometimes add dried banana or dried cranberries or any other dried fruit that catches my eye at the market.

I usually just serve it by pouring the mix into a bowl and adding milk.  Some days, if I'm feeling particularly wicked, I'll add half and half or make my own by mixing cream and milk.  At the same time, If I'm feeling I ought to be good, I replace half the milk with plain yogurt.  Actually, I'm increasingly serving it with a mixture of milk and yogurt and I find that I have really got to like that taste.

Sometimes, I will soak the muesli overnight in apple juice, then just add yogurt in the morning.

I do like muesli, so I don't restrict myself to having it just at breakfast either!    I often have a bowlful as my evening snack, when I have eaten our main meal of the day at lunch time.

Laying the table

Someone asked me recently how you lay a table for dinner, so here is my version!

 

What to do with half a chicken

Wednesday for me is a funny day for dinner.   It's the day I look in the fridge!!

What I mean is that once a week, usually about Wednesday, I check the fridge to see what has been put in there over the weekend and maybe needs to be dealt with.   Mostly it doesn't need to be eaten right away but it allows me to plan a meal in the next couple of days that will reduce my wastage by using up the left overs.

Some days I'm truly surprised at what I find.  Oh, sure, I can usually remember cooking it and know when it is from, but often I have completely forgotten about it's existence.

Today was just such a day.  This morning I dutifully checked the fridges.  For reasons I won't go into I have two fridges, one in the kitchen and another one in the utility room.  Today I found half a roast chicken.

I remember cooking roast chicken when a friend popped in at the weekend but I had completely forgotten that a whole half a chicken was residing in the cool spaces of my fridge.

and so the title emerged.  and to be honest I didn't really have a clue.  Oh, I know plenty of ways of using up chicken but nothing tempted my taste buds.

I didn't want to make a huge production but just do something different and, of course, tasty.

I considered the plethora of sauces that you can use to brighten up cooked chicken, but, to be honest, no, I just didn't want anything like that.

I turned to my even colder spaces and looked for inspiration in the freezer.  The freezer has a regime much like Fridge Wednesday... I really should start to do this on a Friday.  I like the idea of Fridge Friday! Anyway, the freezer regime is much less disciplined and I also realised that it too was due for a bit of a sort out.

There were, however, a few king prawns that needed using up in the next week or two.  I was supposd to be looking for inspiration and now I had just added king prawns to my.....

King Prawns and Chicken....    Paella

and so, just about an hour later I was on my way to the market to buy some more seafood.   I was feeling a bit lazy so I decided to buy a frozen mix of seafood and a few mussels.  I already had prawn and the king prawns and on checking in the fridge I had enough chorizo and some ham.   Most paella recipes call for some sort of bacon but I often substitute ham.

So with a few things from the freezer, and some stuff from the vegetable box I was on my way.

Here's the recipe for my paella.  It looks complicated but it's just a case of adding everything into the pan.

Paella

Ingredients

500 ml (1 pint) chicken stock 1/2 a cooked chicken, 110g/4oz chorizo, cut into thin slices 55g/2oz ham cut into small pieces 1 teaspoon of minced garlic 1 large onion, chopped fairly small 1 red pepper, chopped 1 tsp herbs de Provence ¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes 1 cup (250ml) short-grain rice 1 tsp paprika 1 small glass rose wine 150 g mussels 6 king prawns 450g/1lb bag of seafood cocktail 100g frozen prawns handful of frozen peas 2 large tomatoes, cut into small pieces Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

Put the chicken stock in a pan and heat gently

Strip the chicken from the carcase, roughly cutting it into chunks.  remove the joints and cut them into drumstick, thigh, wing etc.

Heat some olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add the chorizo, ham and dried garlic and fry until meat is crispy.

Next add the onion and pepper and further cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the herbs de provence, chilli flakes and short grain rice, and stir well, coating everything in the juices.

Add the paprika and wine and leave a minute or so and then pour in the hot chicken stock, add the cooked chicken and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Add the mussels into the dish and then add the frozen seafood.   Sprinkle in the peas and chopped tomatoes and continue to cook gently for another 10 minutes stirring from time to time.

Add salt and pepper to taste

I served the dish with a hot baguette.

The Ultimate Indulgence

This is a recipe for a very rich and delicious chocolate fudge cake that is so easy to make it's hard to believe.

What's more, you can make this cake as often as you like and still stay healthy.  You just must NEVER eat it!

The recipe was given to me by a friend ages ago and I make it from time to time.  It freezes well.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Bake at     180 - 200°C
Makes 1 large square cake. Very soft and delicious.

1 2/3 cups plain flour
1 cups sugar
1 cup 32% Drinking Chocolate powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. carb. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 carton Yogurt 125ml
1 tsp. vanilla

Put all the ingredients in a blender and whiz on low speed for 1 min. then turn the speed up to high and whiz for a further 3 mins.

Put into a lined cake tin and
bake  at 190°C (375°F)  50 - 55 mins.

May be iced and split with cream , cocoa and icing sugar.

 

Note 32% chocolate powder is a drinking chocolate not cocoa

A  US cup is 250 ml

Scones

I love scones for afternoon tea.  Scones served warm with butter and jam.... Delicious

Here's a very simple recipe which makes the best, yes, the best scones.

You can substitute the flour and baking powder for 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour if you want

Makes 12 scones

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups Plain Flour
7 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup lemonade
200ml single cream

1 cup sultanas (optional)

Method

If using dried fruit, soak in the cup of lemonade

Sift together the flour and baking powder.

Add liquid, (and sultanas)

Mix as little as possible just until it comes into a rough ball. Press out
on a floured bench to about an inch thick  and cut with scone cutter.

Dab tops with milk
Bake at 180C for about 15 mins

Red Lentil Burgers

A lovely recipe for a tasty vegetarian burger.  I love these and often serve them at barbecues for my vegetarian friends

 

Simmer 1/2 cup of red lentils and 1 bay leaf in water for 15 - 30 min

Saute gently, 2 finely chopped onions and 2 cloves of garlic, sliced.

add parsley, basil, marjoram, and thyme to the pan

Add in the lentils, drained.

Tip into a bowl and add 1/2 cup fresj wholemeal bread crumbs, 2 eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup of flour, 4 table[spoons of tomato paste and stir it all together.  If it's too wet add extra bread crumbs

Form into small balls and then flatten and fry in olive or sunflower  oil.

Traditional Burgers (Ian’s Recipe)

 

Serves 4

500gms minced (ground) beef
2 medium Onions
2 good tablespoons of rolled oats
1 Tbls worcestershire sauce 
2 Tbls of Tomato Ketchup
I Tbls Olive oil
a dash of sea salt
a medium egg

Method    In a food processor, mince the onion then add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sea salt and olive oil and mix a little more
Add the beef, oats and egg and whiz a little more to mix thoroughly.
Adjust the consistency by adding more oats if it's too wet

Take a small ball of the mixture and squeeze tight to compress the mixture together.  Flatten with a spatula and fry gently in a little olive oil
Serve immediately
Or allow to cool and freeze until needed