Pistachio Choc Chip biscuits

I haven't baked for a while due to my oven playing up, but its not stopping me completely! I decided to make biscuits using some chocolate pistachio I was given to make these dull evenings indoors a bit more comforting..hmm..

Makes about 15 biscuits

Ingredients:

150g butter
100g soft brown sugar and 3 tsp vanilla sugar
200g plain flour
5ml tsp salt
50g pistachio chocolate (or substitute for other chocolate or choc chips)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until it's light and creamy, add the flour and salt, mix well to form into a dough. You shouldn't need to use any liquid but if you do, just a teaspoonful at a time of tepid water.

2. Place the dough onto a floured board, add the choc chips or chopped pistachio chocolate, then shape into a 6cm width roll.

3. Wrap the dough in tinfoil and place in the fridge to firm up.

4. When firm cut the dough into even pieces, place the cookies on two baking trays and cook in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes at 160c on the middle and top shelves, changing the trays after about 9 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Tagliatelle

I was given a load of smoked salmon yesterday so I decided to use it to make a warm filling pasta dish for dinner instead of just eating with scrambled egg for breakfast. It worked out pretty tasty and certainly filled me up!

Ingredients:

2 Salmon (smoked) portions, sliced and diced into thin pieces
100 ml creme fraiche
250ml Milda (creme and sunflower oil) this is basically just a creamy white sauce which you can make your self.
1 white onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 a broccoli
1/2 a courgette
6 cauliflower florets
Fish seasoning powder or mixed seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
300g of tagliatelle


1. I started by heating some olive oil in a wok and adding the onion and garlic.
2. Meanwhile put a pan of water on to boil for the pasta
3. Add the broccoli, courgette and cauliflower and stir for 2-3 min
4. Add the milda or ready made creamy white sauce and stir in.
5. Add the smoked salmon pieces and stir in the mixture.
6. Mean while add the tagliatelle to boiling water, see packet for specific time
7. Add seasoning, salt and pepper to the sauce mix , stir in and let simmer.
8. When the pasta is cooked, strain it and add it to the sauce, mix up well and transfer to bowls.

Carrot and orange Stir-fry

This is somethings I found and thought I'd give try as its a lot different from my usual stir-frys. I also added a few ingredients to make it a bit more interesting.
Don't let the fact that theres a tiny bit of ketchup in it put you off, as it surprised me the way it worked so well with the soy sauce and sugar you can't even tell that its ketchup. This is very quick and easy to make and tastes really good give it a try!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP sunflower oil
1 clove garlic
5 carrots, sliced or grated
1 leek, shredded
4 broccoli florets
1/4 courgette
1/5 white cabbage. chopped
1 orange peeled and segmented
2 TBSP tomato ketchup
2 TBSP Soy sauce
1 TBSP demerara sugar
1 hand full peanuts
1/2 hand full mixed sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

1. Heat the sunflower oil in a large preheated wok add garlic
2. Add grated carrot, leek, cabbage, courgette to the wok and stir for 2-3min
3. Add orange segments, make sure you don't break them up as you add them to the mixture
4. Mix the ketchup, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl then add it to the wok and stir for a furhter 2 min.
5. Add the nuts and seeds, mix in then transfer to a bowl immediately.

You can add chicken or quorn to the stir-fry to make it even more filling and interesting.

It may look like meat but its not! Lasagna

Lasagna is another dish you can make in many different ways. Being vegetarian i often just make one with veggies and cheese but today I decided to make one more traditional but I replaced the beef with quorn mince instead. It looks like meat, tastes so great even my hubby to be doesn't mind the meat not being real meat!

1 Carrot
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 aubergine, chopped in small cubes
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 chopped red onion
1/2 small carton of cherry tomatoes
125g mozzarella
150g cheddar cheese
380 g tomatoe sauce/pasta sauce/chopped tomatoes
100ml or more water
Balsamic vinegar and soy sauce to taste
fresh basil
seasoning
6 pasta noodle sheets
1 packet of quorn mince


1. Sautee the onion and garlic
2. Add the vegetables and stir
3. Add the quorn mince and stir for a couple of minutes.
4. The add the tomato sauce and stir in a splash of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.
Also stir in the seasoning to taste and some fresh basil.
5. Bring to boil, then simmer. Add water if you need to.
6. Whilst simmering boil the pasta noodles for about 5-6min Al Dente
7. Meanwhile grate cheddar cheese and chop up mozzarella.
8. Make the white sauce if you need to or use bought a white lasagna sauce from shop.
9. Lay the pasta noodles of paper towels and pat them dry.
10. Place them in the baking dish then add the quorn mix, then sprinkle cheese ontop then repeat two more times.
11.Place in oven for about 35 min until the cheese on top is golden and cripsy.
Enjoy with a fresh salad, I personally love a roquette salad with lasagna.

Spinach Pastry Vegetable Quiche

This is the first quiche I have made in years. I've forgotten how good they can be. Mixing your favourite vegetables with different cheeses.. I got inspired by finding spinach pastry in our local Swedish shop so decided to use that as my base..

300g Spinach pastry
1 small red onion
4 broccoli florets
1/2 courgette
1/3 small aubergine
1 small leek
1 red bell pepper
4 eggs
1/2 pint of milk


1.Preheat an oven to 200°C. Blind bake the pastry in the centre shelf of the oven for 10-15 minute until firm but without colour. Remove the blind baked pastry and set it aside while you prepare the filling.
2. I decided to roast the veg this time for my quiche so i chopped everything up, added a touch of soy sauce and balsamic and seasoned well with pepper, a pinch of salt and some mixed herds. Stuck in the oven until they were about half cooked.
3.Break the eggs into a bowl, beat them well then add the milk and a few more herbs and beat together.
Put the vegetable filling in the flan dish adding some of the cheese and add the egg mixture. Cover with remaining cheese and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the filling has set and the top turned a nice golden brown.
4. Its best to let the quiche cool down a bit before serving to let it completely set. You can eat it hot or cold.

Its a Roast!

Sunday roasts are one of my favourite dishes. There are so many different versions you can do. I often make a vegetarian one but this time I'm making chicken for my man. So I'm making a roast for two. Perfect food for a miserable day and now autumn is coming its perfect to warm you up and fill you up!
What I'm using today:
2 large Potatoes
2 Carrots
2 Parsnips
1 Courgette
4 Broccoli florets
1 cup of peas
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
1 leek
honey, ginger, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme

*Turn the oven up to 180 degrees
*I start by peeling the potatoes,parsnips,carrots, and par boiling them. I chop the courgettes, leeks and peppers and place them on a roasting try with a bit of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
*Then I wrap the chicken breasts in foil and put it in a roasting dish after covering it with a thin coast of butter, rosemary, thyme, chopped garlic, salt , pepper and a bit of paprika.
*When the carrots and parsnips are nearly done, I strain them, place then on a roasting tray with olive oil. On the parsnips this time I grated a bit og ginger on then( but thats not always) I also gave them a light coat of runny honey. I also sprinkle some sesame seeds on them. The carrots I season with salt and pepper and rosemary and thyme. Its best to use fresh herbs but dried herbs work nearly as well.
*When the potatoes are done, strain them and place them on a roasting tray with olive oil, seasoning (including salt , pepper, paprika and garlic ) mix them up abit, if they are slightly over cooked the better as the bashed potatoe mushy bits turn nice and cripsy in the oven.
Place all the trays and the the chicken in the oven.
*While thats cooking chop the broccoli and place in a pan ready to boil.
*Make the gravy- I use red onions, garlic, rosemary thyme, pepper, veg stock, a tea spoon of marmite, a table spoon of tomatoe paste, a small pour of red wine, and bisto gravy powder and lots of water)
*Boil broccoli and peas when you see chicken is just about done
*When the chicken is done remove from oven, keep wrapped in foil if the veg isn't finished otherwise remover everything and serve.

Tiger Prawn stirfry with Spinach noodles

This dish is a nice spicy filling yet light meal which is quick and very easy to do!
Ingredients :
Tiger Prawns- I used 10 per person as I love them
100g Mange tout
100g Baby corn
1/2 Aubergine
Thai asparagus
3 spring onions
45g cashew nuts
2 tea spoon peanut butter
2 cloves garlic
tsp chopped ginger
soy sauce
3 lime wedges

You can use fresh or frozen Tiger prawns, I used frozen ones today so I defrosted them under running cool water before starting the stir fry.
*Place a pan with water to boil for the noodles.
*Then get a wok turn on to high heat and start by frying the garlic , ginger and spring onions, turn down to medium heat and throw in the asparagus, mangetout and baby corn.
*Squeeze in a two wedges of lime
*Throw in the cashew nuts
* Dissolve the peanut butter in a bit of boiling water and pour into the wok.
* Put the noodles in the now boiling water
*Add the tiger prawns and squeeze another lime wedge into the wok
*Add soy sauce and seasoning
*Stir the prawns and veg for a few min until prawns are cooked through.
* Remove the noodles from the heat when cooked, strain and add a small amount of sesame oil to them before pouring them out into a bowl. Add the stir fry mix on top of the noodles finishing off with another lime wedge.

Nanci's Banana Cake

Well I tried Kali's version of Nanci's scrummy Banana cake which apparently tasted different, but still just as yummy, to Nanci's so I thought I'd try my own. Its funny how the same receipe can taste different depending who makes it! However as they have all been delicious so I tried it out only to be pleasantly surprised that mine is just as good! However I i did use a little extra ingredients so it did take about 20-30min longer to bake than Nanci's But if your patient enough its well worth the wait!!

Springform tin 22cm or different but change cooking times, less for cupcakes/smaller tins more for loaf tins etc. I just keep checking it when baking

280g Banana very ripe mashed About 3
330g Sugar
125g Butter soft
100ml Buttermilk
225g Self raising Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
2 Large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
20 walnut halfs


Preheat oven 160 for fan 170 if you dont have one. If your oven is prone to being very hot then I do 150

Mix in a processor the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla for 2 mins
Add the Buttermilk mix until combined
Sift Flour, Baking powder into processor mix, scrape into greased and/or lined tin
put in the oven for 50-80 mins , just keep checking it from about 5omin and judge for your self.

For the icing you can either make classic butter icing like Nanci if you have an extra sweet tooth or like Kali and my self make a similar icing to what you would have with carrot cake.

1.150g of cream cheese, 50g of butter and 75g of icing sugar.
2.mixed them together with a wooden spoon until blended and runny and then put the mixture in the fridge for half an hour to part set.
3. spread evenly and generously onto the cooled banana cake and then top with walnuts.

Thanks to Nanci and Kali I can now enjoy a lovely piece of cake with my cup of afternoon tea.xx

Healthy Hot Pot!

Ok Well unfortunatly I have just got a nasty cold so my aim with this dish is to give me all the goodness I need to help me get well again. So I threw lots of lovely fresh vegetables in a large pot with some chickpeas, bulgar wheat and some immune boosting ginger and garlic! Its not only lovely tasting but it fills you up, heats you up and helps your body stay healthy!


what you need:

1/2 dessert spoon chopped ginger
1 dessert spoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 red onion chopped into thin slices
1/2 a large courgette or one whole small one, cut into thick slices
1 leek chopped the same as courgettes
1 medium size red pepper
2 sticks of chopped celery
4 brocolli florets, each one cut into two or three depending on size
350ml veg stock (I use one cube and dissolve in hot water)
1/2 can of plum tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas
100ml of bulgar wheat
Your choice of seasoning and herbs to taste ( I used rosemary, ground coriander, all-round mix spice, chilli powder.. and of corse ground black pepper and a touck of salt.

1.First chop all the vegetables. Get a large sauce pan or pot, put a dessert spoon of olive oil in it, heat on high temp and start cooking the onion, garlic and ginger.
2.Once starting to sizzle turn down the heat to medium and add the rest of the chopped vegetables.
3. Stir a few times then add the vegetable stock dissolved in water, then add the chick peas and stir in the plum tomatoes making sure you squash them as you do so.
4.Add the spices and herbs of your choice
5, Add the Bulgar wheat and turn down heat jut so its simmering. Place a lid over the pan or pot and leave for about 15min, or until the bulger wheat has absorbed enough of the stock to be soft. There should still be some of the liquid left in the pot when finished. This is important you include in your servings as it contains alot of the vitamins and minerals from the vegetables!
6.when finished empty out potions into bowls, add a fresh parsley sprig. Enjoy your healthy meal!

Welcome to my blog of food!

I have realized that I cook quite a lot and everyone seems to very much enjoy my food.. However I often forget what I've made in the past. I used to work as a chef and regret not saving all my recipes so I have decided to start a blog to save all my creations and to share my cooking skills with others. Hope you enjoy them!