Curry is one of our favourite foods here in the UK. I expect it is a holdover from the days of British Colonialism in India. Thai food is also gaining great popularity over here.




Todd and I went to a Thai Restaurant for the very first time last Friday night with our good friends Jo and Colin. What a fabulous experience!



I think Todd may have had a touch of experience with it when he was stationed in Singapore back in the 1960's with the army . . . but I had never experienced it at all.



It was love at first bite! I just adored the flavours!! Similar to Indian curry, and yet at the same time completely different . . . much lighter, without any of the heavy sauces. I thought the flavours were cleaner and fresher.



We shared 4 different starters and 4 different mains, each one delicious in it's own right. I just know we will be going back. I have already put in my order to go there for our anniversary in November, and . . . if Todd doesn't take me there I'll be quite upset!



In the meantime I have been searching here at home for some tasty Thai recipes that I can make by myself. I came across a tasty looking one on the BBC Good Food recipe page. It's light and very, very tasty and quick to put together.



Of course, you know me . . . I had to put my own stamp on it. I marinated the chicken pieces in some of the curry paste first to give them even more flavour, and then added a few extra vegetables for more colour and crunch. We do love our vegetables in this house.



Todd gave it a two thumbs up! (SO did I!) I served it simply with some steamed basamati rice. Next time I think I'll tackle a Satay, or maybe even Thai Fish cakes! This stuff is addictive!!



*Thai Green Chicken Curry*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Delicious curry, that is light, flavourful and filled with the lovely crunch of fresh vegetables!

1 TBS oil
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 to 2 TBS green curry paste, depending on how hot you like it
400ml of coconut milk (don't use the low fat)
(about 1 3/4 cup)
a handful of thin green beans, trimmed and cut in half on the slant
1 small courgette, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal
a packet of mangetout, washed and cut on the diagonal
a packet of baby corn, trimmed and cut on teh diagonal
the juice of one lime
a large handful of fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Stir one TBS of the curry past into the sliced chicken breasts. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Once hot add the chicken and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes until it begins to brown. Reduce the heat and add the remaining curry paste, if using, and cook for a minute longer. Add the coconut milk and give it a good stir. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the vegetables and cook for about 3 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and coriander. Serve hot with some steamed basamati rice.

I'm going to show myself up right now for the somewhat ignorant gardener that I am. I love vegetables, but I have not had much experience in growing them.

At the beginning of this growing season, Todd and I planted all sorts of things . . . beetroot, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, squash, courgettes, lettuces, tomatoes, onions, cabbages, cucumbers and rocket. Everything was doing so so, but one row in the garden was growing by leaps and bounds.

"What is that?" I asked Todd. "Parsnips." was his answer. Hmmm . . . I thought . . .



Those parsnips are growing really fast. I had always thought they were a fall vegetable and needed the first touch of frost to really come in to their own . . .

In the meantime, every day I looked at them and they were growing larger and larger . . . and a few days ago they looked like they were going to seed . . .



I thought to myself . . . my goodness, but those parsnips have big and leafy tops . . . almost good enough to eat. I wonder if you can eat parsnip tops, coz they look as if they would make a rather tasty green . . . I know you can eat beetroot tops and turnip greens, and they are rather good.



I let them go for a few more days and then I just couldn't help myself. I just had to have a taste . . . they were growing so prolifically that I thought it was worth a try. Bravely I broke a leaf off and popped it into my mouth . . .

Only to discover that it was not parsnips . . . it was rocket!



So now I found myself with bags and bags of rocket that was almost past it's use by date . . . I'm not sure you can freeze it . . . I'm not even sure if it's still good for salads . . . but it is good for this. So you'll have to forgive me if you've seen this recipe on here before.



Some things are just so tasty that they bear repeating, and this is one of them. Besides . . . it helped me to use up a bunch of that overgrown rocket!

Please note, unless they are really young and tender, you will have to remove the beans from the pods, as the pods will be inedible. Put the beans in a pan, cover with boiling water, return to the boil and cook for 3-5 minutes. Then drain, empty into cold water, slit each pod along its seam and run your thumb along the furry inside to push the beans out. I really don't like the tough outer skin that covers each of the little beans, and so I always double pod them by taking a fingernail and slitting that outer skin open and slipping the tender sweet bright green bean inside . . . out! It can be a fiddly and time consuming job, especially if you are preparing a lot of them, but it is well worth the effort in my opinion. The beans will then be ready to re-heat gently with some butter and a bit of salt and black pepper, or to use in another recipe, such as the delicious one I have here today.



*Baked Potatoes with Broad Beans, Rocket and Blue Cheese*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Imagine a tasty baked potato, it's skin all crispy and split open . . . topped with a delicious blue cheese sauce stogged full of fresh broad beans and tasty rocket. This is wonderfully delicious!

4 large baking potatoes
coarse salt
300g broad beans
1/3 cup cream
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
4 handfuls of rocket, chopped


Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Wash the potatoes, and while still damp, rub them all over with a little coarse salt. Prick them several times with a fork and then place them into the oven, sitting them directly onto the oven rack. (This will help their skins to become really nice and crisp) Bake for 1 hour, then check by squeezing them gently, to see if they are done. If they are done they will yield slightly. If they are still hard, then bake them for another 15 minutes and try again.

Cook the broad beans in some lightly salted boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well again. Slip off the outer grey skins by using your nail to slit open the skin and then popping the bright green bean out. Discard the outer grey skin. Set aside the beans.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the broad beans and cook them gently for several minutes. Add the blue cheese and the rocket. Stir everything together and cook until the rocket has wilted.

Take your cooked potatoes and cut a cross in one side of each and squeeze the potatoes around the middle until they open up. Place each on a heated plate. Spoon some of the broad bean mixture over the top of each. Season with some black pepper and serve.

Note - This tasty dish also makes a really delicious light lunch or supper all on it's own!

Tune in tomorrow. I'll have some tasty brownies to show you and the best thing of all is . . . they're low in calories and fat! I kid you not!

I guess it is a bit of a stretch to call this a Potato Pizza . . . really.


There is no crust . . . not unless you consider crisp skinned baked potatoes a crust . . . the outsides all crisp potato skins . . . crunchy and earthy . . . the insides all fluffy and meltingly tender . . .



Split in half and laid bare . . . with a deliciously cheesy topping chock full of rich tuna, tangy cheddar, spring onions, zesty pepperonata (from a jar) and salty dry cured olives . . . not to mention a bit of Italian spice . . .

I supposed the only way this resembles a pizza is that it is flattened and spread with a delicious topping . . .



Another way of looking at it would be to call them the most scrumptious, taste bud tittilating, gorgously scrummy, D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S jacket potatoes you have ever eaten!!!

Not to mention very easy to make and the kids love em!



Go on . . . make them tonight. Your family will thank you for it. All you need as a go with, is a tastily tossed side salad!




*Potato Pizzas*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy, cheap and the kids love them!

4 medium baking potatoes, washed well and dried
one half of a jar (290g) of pepperonata antipasta
one (225g) jar of albacore tuna in spring water, drained and flaked
2 spring onions, chopped
200g (8 ounces) of strong cheddar cheese grated
(I use the semi skim, no problem)
a handful of black olives, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Prick the potatoes all over with a fork to stop them from bursting during cooking. Arrange them evenly spaces on a microwaveable dish that you have lined with a double layer of paper kitchen towelling. Cook in the microwave on high for 8 minutes. Flip them over and cook them for another 8 minutes. (Alternatively you can bake them in a hot oven for about an hour. I place them directly on the oven rack and bake at 200*C/400*F Gas mark 6 This is my preferred method.)

While the potatoes are cooking make the tuna topping, and preheat your grill to high. Gently mix the tuna, pepperonata, onions, olives, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning together in a bowl along with about 1/3 of the cheese.

Take the potatoes out and cut then in half lengthwise, leaving them still attached along one side. Open them out like a book and place them onto a baking tray. Pile the tuna mixture over top and scatter the remaining cheese over top. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes, until the cheese has melted and started to brown.

I just love tortilla for lunch. Not the flour or corn ones in the sense of Mexican Tortillas, but those wonderful eggy creations in the Spanish tradition.



Quick, easy, nutritious and delicious, they make a quick lunch or light supper and are great to take on picnics, coz not only do they taste fabulous hot or warm . . . they are also scrumtious cold from the fridge or at room temperature. I'd even wager to say that they are even more delicious on picnics!



Mind you it is not quite picnic season yet . . .



The traditional tortilla contains not much more than egg, onions, potatoes and olive oil, but . . . once again, I can't leave well enough alone can I. I just have to grab the ball and run with it.



Here's my take on the tortilla. It does have shades of Mexico in it, I think . . . with the sweet peppers and the sweet potato . . . but there is also a very definite Spanish bent . . . with the chorizo and of course the olive oil!



No matter, it was delicious . . . this conglomeration of mine. That's what's good about Tortilla . . . you can put everything in them but the kitchen sink . . . and they always comes out tasting wonderfully moreish!




*Hearty Country Style Tortilla*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

An omelet by any other name. Chock full of tasty things, this is perfect for using up little bits of leftovers. Don't let what I have used here limit you, try adding your own combination of cooked veg, such as asparagus, corn, broad beans, mushrooms, broccoli! The sky's the limit!

4 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 baking potato, peeled and cubed
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 red onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
75g frozen peas
1 small red pepper, trimmed, seeded and diced
1 small green pepper, trimmed, seeded and diced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
75g spicy chorizo sausage
6 large eggs
smoked paprika to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of grated strong cheddar cheese

Preheat the grill to medium. Heat 2 TBS of the oil in a skillet about 10 inches wide at the base. Toss in the baking and sweet potato cubes. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until they begin to soften. Toss in the onion and peppers, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are almost tender and beginning to brown. Add the peas, garlic and chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes or so. Season to taste with the smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Beat the eggs together in a large bowl. Tip in the cooked mixture and mix it in thoroughly.

Wipe out the skillet with some paper toweling. Add the remaining oil and heat until hot. Tip in the tortilla mixture, letting it spread out evenly in the pan. cook over medium low heat until the bottom is golden brown and it is almost set. Sprinkle the grated cheddar over top and slide under the preheated grill. Grill until set and lightly browned on top. Remove and transfer to a serving plate. Cut into wedges to serve.

Everyone should have a recipe like this up their sleeves. A fabulous soup which makes good use of ingredients that are in most people's larders, and goes together lickety split . . . with very little effort.



Quick and easy . . . and simple to execute. Don't let that fool you into thinking that it's simplicity will affect it's taste. This is quite, quite delicious.

Your family will think you have slaved all day over it . . .



Just make sure you bury the tins deep in the bin, and your secret will be safe!




I promise not to tell. Cross my heart!




*Simply Tasty Tomato Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Simple, tasty and very easy, this store cupboard soup is bound to become a family favourite.

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 TBS butter
2 (400g) tins of dice plum tomatoes with garlic and olive oil
1 (295g) tin of condensed tomato soup (Batchelors or Campbells) undiluted
250ml of milk
boiling water as needed
dash of tabasco sauce
1 tsp dried basil (I use Bart Freeze Dried)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes (once again I use Bart Freeze Dried)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Garnish:
garlic croutons
2 ounces grated cheddar cheese



Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and saute, stirring occsionally, until softened. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tinned soup and milk. Add enough boiling water to give you a desirable consistency. Bring almost to the boil. Stir in the tabasco, basil and parsley flakes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook on low for 10 to 15 minutes until the flavours melt together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle out into heated bowls, garnishing each serving with some croutons and grated cheese.



By the way, I am giving away a tasty muffin cookbook and a pretty set of scales over on my other blog, A Year From Oak Cottage. Be sure to hop on over and check it out.

Some weeks I have so much on that I don't know whether I am coming or going! Weeks where I am uber busy at work and don't have a lot of time to spend on the fun stuff at home, like cooking . . .



There are people who say to me, don't you ever get tired of cooking? How can you spend all day at work cooking, and then come home and cook again???

It's easy when you love cooking as much as I do, and I really do love it! So much so that it never really seems like work to me . . . just fun. The real work is the cleaning up . . . but that we won't think about . . .



On weeks like those that I have an extra lot on, I like to keep a host of special, quick and easy recipes up my sleeve. Recipes that are simple to execute, don't take a lot of time, or host of special ingredients.

And most importantly, recipes that taste good. If it doesn't taste good . . . it's a waste of time, effort and ingredients, no matter how quick and easy it is . . .



This delicious soup is one of those recipe I do keep on hand. Quick, easy, simple, economical and very, very tasty! All you need with it is some crusty bread and perhaps a salad. You can make it totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.



*Creamy Potato, Onion and Cheese Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Simple and yet so delicious. This is a handy one to have in your recipe box for those days when you are lacking in time and inspiration!

3 TBS butter
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
6 spring onions, finely chopped (including the green bits)
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
700ml of chicken stock (A generous 3 cups)
sea salt and ground white pepper
150ml milk (2/3 cup)
150ml whipping cream (2/3 cup)
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 1/2 ounces coarsely grated cheddar cheese
fried garlic croutons to serve (optional)



Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Once it begins to foam add the onion, spring onions, and potatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions are tender.

Add the stock, Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat then cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes over medium low heat, until the potatoes are tender. Remove pan from the stove.

Mash the potatoes well with a potato masher. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Stir in the milk and the cream. Re-heat gently until nice and hot without boiling. Ladle into heated bowsls and sprinkle with the cheese, parsley and croutons to serve.

Pssst - I make my own garlic croutons. I just beat some softened butter together with a crushed clove of garlic, brush that mixture on both sides of sliced bread, cut the bread into little shapes and then bake the shapes on a tray in a hot oven until they are crispy brown all over. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeasy!!

When I was growing up, you could tell what night of the week it was just by what we were having for supper.

Saturday night we had comfort food. It would be either stew or baked beans or something like that. On Sunday we had a big dinner . . . probably a roast of one kind or another. Mondays was leftovers from Sunday dinner . . . Tuesdays, spaghetti . . . Wednesdays, porkchops . . . Thursdays, chicken . . . and then the piece de resistance was Friday night . . .

HOT DOG night!



My mom made the best hotdogs in the world!! All the kids in the neighborhood would vie to be invited over for hotdog night. She used to buy the hotdog buns that had soft bread sides. They were buttered and toasted in the sandwich grill, until they were buttery brown all over, just like a grilled cheese sandwich. The weiners were toasted on the grill as well. Sometimes she would even split the weiners down the middle, so that they opened out flat like a book, and the insides got all tasty and crispy too. Grilled onions and all the hot dog accompaniments were on offer of course . . . relish, mustard, ketchup.

She'd wrap each one up in paper kitchen towelling to keep them warm, and we'd each be allowed to have two of them. Let me tell you . . . they were a real treat!

Can you tell that I just love hotdogs????

That was one thing I missed a lot when I first moved over here. I couldn't find them anywhere.

Well, that's not entirely true. I lie . . .



I was able to find these. Tinned hotdogs. UGH . . . there's no other word for them, and yet they sell loads. They also sell them soaked in brine . . . in jars. DOUBLE UGH.

To a hotdog connoiseur, they just didn't cut the mustard!!! (every pun intended, tee hee) They are the 'WURST' (double tee hee)



Anyways, I have since been able to find fresh ones . . . and whilst they are still not as good as the ones back home . . . they are still loads better than the tinned or brined ones.

The best hotdogs of all, of course, are the ones back home that you get at country fairs or at ball games . . . oh and from street vendors of course . . . or the 400 Flea Market just outside of Barrie, Ontario.

Ahh . . . the smell of frying onions . . . it gets you everytime . . .



This is my take on a delicious memory, my own personal tribute to my mother's hotdog nights.

It is Friday after all . . .



*Ball Park Pizza for Two*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

If you are a fan of hotdogs, you will love this cosy little pizza. It's just the perfect size for two to share.

Dough:
110g self raising flour
25g of butter
4 TBS milk
2 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese
Topping:
4 smoked frankfurters, cut into 1/2 inch sliced
2 heaping dessert spoons of barbeque sauce
1/2 of a small onion, peeled and chopped
1 heaping dessertspoon of hotdog relish
1 TBS of American style yellow mustard
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Sift the flour into a bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese. Mix well, then stir in the milk with a fork, until you have a soft dough.

Butter a large baking tray and press the dough out onto the tray to a 9 inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. (The thinner the dough the crisper your crust will be)

Mix together the sliced frankfurters, onion, barbeque sauce, hotdog relish and mustard. Sprinkle this over top of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border all the way around. Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crispy and brown on the bottom and the cheese is bubbling.

Note - instead of a scone type of dough, you can use regular pizza type dough, and make a larger pizza for the family. Just increase the amounts of the toppings.

Some days I am sincerely lacking in time. Days when I have extra work on up at the big house that I cook in, and then have the shopping to do for work as well . . . and yet . . . we still have to eat here at home.

I still have to feed my husband and myself.



Those are the days when I rely on a well stocked larder.

A well stocked larder that I can go to at a moments notice and rustle up a meal in quick time.



A meal that is not only filling, but delicious.



A meal that is easy, quick, delicious and pleasing to the eye . . .



When you have a husband that hates pasta . . . it can be a real challenge.



This tasty soup fits the bill perfectly.

It's quick. It's delicious. It's filling. Not only does it use some of my favourite ingredients, but it uses things I always have in my larder.



Necessity is the beautiful mother of invention . . . don't you think? With some crusty bread on the side, this was very . . . very satisfying.



*Tomato and Chick Pea Soup*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A store cupboard recipe that goes together in a flash and uses things that most of us have on hand in our larders. Tasty and filling. Don't overdo the smoked paprika . . . you only want a hint of the flavour . . .you don't want it to take over.

a spash of olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 14-oz tin of chick peas, drained
1 14-tin of cherry tomatoes, undrained
1/8 tsp of smoked paprika
1 bay leaf broken in half
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and black pepper to taste
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, celery and rosemary. Cook and stir for several minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock. Stir in the bay leaf and smoked paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Discard the bay leaf. Using a stick blender, blitz it a few times to crush some of the peas, but you want a lot of texture and some whole peas, so don't overdo it. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Stir in the parsley and serve in heated bowls.