It's not that hard to cook scrambled eggs properly, although some people do seem to be a bit mystified as just how to proceed, and still others seem to overcook them so much that they end up as dry little rubbery curds. What you are looking for is something that luxuriously, meltingly creamy. 

First of all you need to start with a good egg. I know I don't need to lecture you on the difference between a cage grown egg and a free range egg . . . we've all heard that spiel . . . Let's just say that I prefer to pay more and use free range. For me it's more than just taste . . . it's a matter of conscience.

You want to use a skillet that's not overly heated, in other word, warm, but not hot. Then you want a nice lump of butter, softly foaming in the pan . . . and finally you want the perfect mix of beaten eggs, cream and milk.

You add this mixture to the warm pan, and then you just let it sit without disturbing it . . . not for long . . . just long enough that it begins to set on the bottom. Only then do you want to start moving the eggs. I like to use a wooden spatula or spoon. 

 I commence to folding my eggs, slowly . . . from the outside edges into the centre of the pan. Not stirring . . . but folding . . . a constant, and slow movement . . . which I keep doing . . . just until the eggs are almost set, but still moist. 

At this point you will want to take them right off the heat. The eggs will continue to cook for a bit longer from the residual heat in the pan, but what you end up with is a lovely moist product, not dry at all. 

 Perfectly scrambled eggs make a delicious light supper with either some buttered toast or even simple buttered bread.

*Cheese and Chive Scrambled Eggs*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe


Fresh chives and a good strong cheddar together with perfectly scrambled eggs, create a hearty breakfast dish just packed with flavour.

12 large free range eggs
2 ounces whole milk
2 ounces cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 TBS butter
4 TBS finely chopped fresh chives
4 ounces of a good farmhouse strong cheddar cheese, grated
(I use Davidstow)

Whisk the eggs, milk, cream salt, black pepper and hot pepper sauce together in a large bowl.  Heat the 2 TBS of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Once the butter begins to foam add the eggs.  Allow to sit for several minutes, without stirring, so that the eggs can begin to set on the bottom.  Begin to draw a wooden spatula or spoon across the bottom of the skillet to form large curds.  Cook, continuing to fold the eggs with the spoon slowly, working from the outside edges into the middle until the eggs are thickened but still moist.  Do not stir constantly or you will end up with small curds, you want thick moist ribbons.  Remove from the heat to a warm platter. Sprinkle the hot eggs with cheese and the chives.  Serve hot with warm toast, if desired. 

 Nothing screams Home Sweet Home more than a delicious Roast Chicken. I could easily roast and enjoy a succulent Roast Chicken every Sunday.  Done properly it is a thing of beauty and a properly Roasted Chicken affords you so much more than just the roast on the day, depending on the size of your chicken. 

For the smaller family a roast chicken is a delicious alternative to roasting a large turkey at the holidays. This year due to the pandemic, many of us will  not be able to travel to our family's during the holidays, so having a roast chicken only makes sense.

Leftovers are great for sandwiches or casseroles and then there is always that lovely carcass ready to be used for stock and soups. 

I always choose to buy the best chicken that I can afford. Free range and corn-fed are the best, but you need to make this choice according to your budget.  

 

How to Prepare a Chicken for Roasting 

 

It goes without saying that when you are spending a bit of money on a nice piece of poultry you will want to treat it with respect. Here are my tips for making the perfect roast chicken! 

 

Before you roast the chicken, you will want to pat it dry with some paper kitchen towelling. This results in a crisper, tastier skin. I like to tie the chicken’s legs together after stuffing it with anything I might be stuffing it with, prior to roasting. This helps the chicken to keep its shape during its roasting. 

 

If you are roasting a chicken on its own, it helps to place the chicken onto a greased rack I the baking dish. This helps to prevent the chicken from sticking to the dish. Pouring a small amount of liquid in the baking dish helps to create steam which helps to keep your roasting chicken moist. You don’t need much, only about ¾ of a cup. This can be stock or wine, or both. 

 

Once your chicken has roasted and has been taken from the oven, remove it from the roasting dish to a platter, tent with foil and allow it to “rest” for about 15 minutes. This helps the juices to settle back into the meat and will reward you with a much more succulent finish. Cutting into it too soon will release all those lovely juices that you really want to retain.  

 

*A Simple Roast Chicken*
Serves 4 - 6

Printable Recipe  

You can't beat a nicely roasted chicken.   Simple.  Easy to prepare. Deliciously succulent.    

1 large free range roasting chicken (between 3 1/2 and 5 pounds in weight)
a few knobs of softened butter
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a sprig of thyme
a couple cloves of garlic, peeled
the juice of half a lemon 

225ml of chicken stock (1 cups)

1 TBS flour     

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Have ready a nice deep roasting pan. 

Take your chicken and season it liberally inside with salt and pepper.  Stuff in the thyme into the cavity, along with the garlic, and a large knob of butter.   Rub the remaining  butter all over the outside of the chicken, pushing some of it beneath the skin of the breast between the skin and the flesh, taking care not to tear the skin.  Place the chicken into the roasting tin.   Season it with salt and pepper on the outside, and then squeeze the lemon juice over all.  Put the spent lemon half into the cavity of the chicken as well.  Pour  the chicken stock into the roasting tin around the chicken.   

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, basting with the pan juices from time to time.  When done the juices should run clear from the chicken when pierces between the thigh and the breast and the legs should feel quite loose when gently twisted.  Remove from the oven.  Remove the chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil.  Allow it to rest while you make the gravy.

To make the gravy, pour the pan juices out into a measuring jug.  Pour a bit of boiling water in the pan and scrape up any juicy browned bits.  Pour this into the measuring jug.   Spoon about 2 TBS of the fat from the jug into a saucepan.  Discard the remainder of the fat.   Heat over medium heat until bubbling.  Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute.   Slowly whisk in the pan juices, whisking until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly.  Season to taste.  Allow to simmer over low heat for a few minutes to get rid of any flour taste.

Serve the chicken sliced, along with some of the gravy and any vegetables which you have prepared. 

 

 

Now that you have a roasted chicken and have eaten all that you want from it, you will want to make yourself a delicious soup.  Its not at all very hard to do and can really help to make your hard earned dollars go a lot further. 

There is nothing tastier to make with the spent carcass of your roasted chicken than a beautiful big pot of chicken soup.  My mother taught me how to make soup and she never used a recipe.  She could make soup out of just about anything.   A soup is only as good as it's stock.   Here is my foolproof recipe for making a beautiful chicken soup that is sure to become a family favourite.  

*Chicken With Stars Soup*
Serves 4-6

Printable Recipe  

This is a very simple and easy soup to make.  I often use the carcass from a roast chicken to make this, saving some chicken from the roast to use as well.   As I always cut up chickens myself to use in other recipes, I usually always have bags of chicken backs and necks in the freezer as well, which are very good when used in this soup!   Its amazing what you can do with a few bones and some vegetables!  

1 spent chicken carcass (if there is not a lot of meat left on the carcass you can add a few chicken wings or a leg)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 carrot, unpeeled and cut in half
1 stalk of celery
Handful of celery leaves
1 onion, unpeeled, cut in half, root end removed
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper  

To finish:
1 carrot peeled and grated
¼ of a swede peeled and grated

1/2 mug full of Stelline Pasta (star shaped pasta, about 1/2 cup, or more as desired)  


Put your chicken carcass in a pot and cover with boiling water. Add the bay leaf, thyme, carrot, celery, celery leaves, onion and salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours. Strain broth into a clean pot. Discard vegetables and pick off as much meat as you can from off of the bones. Cut into small chunks. Bring broth to a boil and reduce somewhat. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If it is not very strong you can add a TBS or two of Marigold vegetable stock powder, but it really shouldn‘t be necessary.)  


Add the grated vegetables and the Stelline pasta.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until cooked. Add the diced chicken meat. Heat through and then ladle into hot bowls. Serve with some nice crusty bread or rolls.   

Next up I am showing you how to make a very basic stew.  You can use beef cubes, or pork or lamb for this, or even venison.  This is a very basic recipe. Once you master this and can make it without a recipe, you can branch out and begin to add other flavours, such as a bit of horseradish, some balsamic vinegar, even sweet pickle juice.  You can even use leftover wine for added flavour instead of water.   All are beautiful additions.
   

 

Another thing I like to make from scratch rather than from a box is Stove Top Mac and Cheese. My sister gave me this recipe many years ago and it has been an old stand by ever since.  Why pay a premium price for a boxes Mac and Cheese when making your own is such a simple thing and so much tastier!  

*Stove Top Mac and Cheese*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe

So easy to make and incredibly tasty!

2 cups (480ml) water

2 cups (230g) dry macaroni

1 cup (240ml) milk

2 TBS butter

2 cups (245g) grated strong cheddar cheese

2 TBS finely grated parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

Heat and stir the water, macaroni, milk and butter over medium heat for 15 minutes until the macaroni is al dente stirring frequently. Should take about 15  minutes.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheeses until the cheese melts.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper and serve immediately. Delicious! 

 

Who doesn't melt at the sight of a warm plate of Baking Powder Biscuits.  They were one of the first things I learned how to make.

 

These are one of the most basic of the quick breads and I have never known anyone to turn a well made biscuit down.   The important thing to remember about biscuits is to use a light touch with them.   Over working them toughens them.   

Pat them out gently and cut them out with a sharp cutter, using a very sharp quick straight up and down motion and your biscuits will always be perfect!

 

 

*Baking Powder Biscuits*
Makes 16
Printable Recipe


Golden brown and crusty outside, meltingly tender inside.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 TBS sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup of  milk


Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 6.  Grease two 8 inch cake tins. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl.  Drop in the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the milk all at once and stur just until the dough forms a ball around the fork.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead about 14 times.  Pat out to 1/2 inch thickness.  Stamp out rounds with a 2 inch biscuit cutter, giving it a sharp tap straight down and up again.  Do not twist.  Place touching each other in the cake pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you like biscuits with crusty edges all around, place them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet to bake instead. 

  

 

 

Next up I am showing you how to make a very basic stew.  You can use beef cubes, or pork or lamb for this, or even venison.  This is a very basic recipe. Once you master this and can make it without a recipe, you can branch out and begin to add other flavours, such as a bit of horseradish, some balsamic vinegar, even sweet pickle juice.  You can even use leftover wine for added flavour instead of water.   All are beautiful additions. 

 

 

*A Basic Stew*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe

This is the very basic recipe for a delicious stew.  You can use beef, or pork, or lamb, or venison and it will come out perfectly every time.  The secret is in the browning.

1 pound of stewing meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

(trim of any fat and gristle and discard)

salt and black pepper

flour to roll the meat in
a knob of butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 stalk of celery, trimmed and chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into coins

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into coins

1/2 a small rutabaga (swede) peeled and cut into cubes

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 TBS tomato ketchup

hot water to cover

beef stock cube

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

Season your meat and roll it in flour to coat.   Melt the knob of butter in a large heavy bottomed saucepan.  Add the meat and brown it well on all sides working in batches.   Don't over crowd your pan or your meat won't brown well.  Browning it well is the secret to a nicely coloured gravy.  Remove the meat to a bowl as it browns and repeat until all the meat has been browned.  Add the onions and celery to the pan.  Saute until softened.  Return the meat to the pan along with any juices that have accumlated in the bowl.  Add enough hot water to barely cover the meat along with the worcestershire sauce, ketchup, stock cube, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, tightly covered at a slow simmer for about an hour.   Add the carrot, parsnip and rutabaga.   Cover and cook for about half an hour longer.   Add the potato cubes and cover again.   Cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the meat is falling apart.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required.  Serve hot with plenty of crusty bread for sopping up all the juices.

Note - if you wish a thick gravy you can shake a tablespoon of flour in a jar with about 110ml or 1/2 cup of cold water until smooth.  Stir this into the stew and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for several minutes to cook out the flavour of the flour. 

 

 Now that you have the stew made you are going to want to make some dumplings to drop on top and enjoy with your stew.  When I was a child it was always a great day when my mother made stew and dumplings.

They are quick and easy to make. Just try not to peek into the pan when they are cooking and you will be okay!

  

 

*Basic Dumplings*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

Quick and easy and oh so tasty.  A must with some soups and always with stew.

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup (240ml) milk

Quickly whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the milk all at once and mix only to combine. Let rest for a few minutes.

Make sure your soup or stew mixture is bubbling. Drop the dumpling mixture on top of the hot stew by the spoonful, trying to keep it on top of any vegetables and meat. Cover tightly and cook for 10 to 15  minutes without lifting the lid.  The dumplings are done when you can insert a toothpick into the centre of one and it comes out clean. 

 

 

So there you have it. Ten basic delicious recipes that everyone should know how to make by heart.  These are my ten basics. What are yours?  I really want to know! 

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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Shepherd's pie is made using ground lamb.  Lamb was not something I ate a lot of in Canada. It was not all that easy to find although my late FIL raised lamb on his farm.  It is probably the same as it is in most places.

You have a hard time finding things that are actually grown there because it usually gets shipped elsewhere.  That's why we end up eating California berries and BC apples, even though we have really good ones here in Nova Scotia. It's all down to trade agreements.

  

I remember the first time I went up to the Horseshoe Pass in Wales. I was amazed at all the sheep. They were everywhere. Dotting the hillsides, on the roads, etc. 

I remember tip toe-ing through the grass trying to avoid their mess, not wanting to step on it.  But there was no getting away from it, and really it doesn't smell anyways.  Not like others.  You just had to give up after a while!

 

I use a bit of carrot in the mix with the meat and onions. This adds a little touch of sweetness and helps to get in a bit of extra veg. You could certainly add some celery if you wished or even grated turnips.  Both would work well.

I also flavour the gravy with Worcestershire Sauce. It adds a lovely touch. You could add a splash of HP sauce as well if you liked, or even Ketchup but it is  not really traditional if you do.

 

The thatch of potatoes on top is really nice and flavour filled as well. You will want to use a nice floury potato so that your mash is nice and light.  

Don't use new potatoes. Old potatoes work best. New Potatoes don't mash properly. I made that mistake once at Thanksgiving when I was really young and didn't know better.  Are you familiar with the consistency of glue?  haha  Yep, not very appealing in the least!

 

I have 20 years of lost time to make up for and I plan on doing just that for the remainder of my days.  Making up for lost time. Building memories for those grands that are much more than a photograph or a face through a screen that they cannot touch! 

That is the silver lining in all that I have been through lately.  Being able to be with family and forge relationships with my grandchildren.  That is the real gift. And I will never take it for granted, not ever.

 I have sized this recipe down to generously serve just two people. There are quantities in the recipe for both two and four servings. 

The larger servings are in brackets.  I hope that it is easy to understand and not confusing. I tried to make it as easy as possible.

 

The cheese tastes really good and  helps to get a really nice golden brown colour to the finished dish.  I think something which is topped with golden brown anything automatically tastes even better.

We eat with our eyes first.  Enjoy!

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Shepherds Pie

Yield: 2 (4)

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 25 Mincook time: 30 Mintotal time: 55 Min

A classic family favourite perfectly sized for two. Ingredient measurements for 4 are in the brackets.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp sunflower oil (1 TBS)
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (1 medium onion)
• 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated (1 medium carrot)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (1 clove)
• 1/2 pound lean minced lamb (1 pound)
• 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (1 tsp)
• 2 tsp plain flour (1 TBS)
• 150ml (generous half cup) lamb or vegetable stock (300ml/1 1/4 cup)
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (1 TBS)
• frozen peas (Optional)
• 1 pound floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2 pounds)
• 2 TBS milk (4 TBS)
• 1 1/2 TBS butter (3 TBS)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 40g (1 1/2 oz) strong white cheddar cheese (50g/2 ounces)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the onion and garlic in it until softened. Add the minced lamb and cook, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until browned.
2. Stir in the carrot and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and herbs. Gradually whisk in the stock and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until it bubbles and begins to thicken. Leave to simmer while you do the mash.
3. Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender, about 12 - 15 minutes. Drain well.
4. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5
5. Return to the pot and shake over the residual heat of the burner to dry out. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in the butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the lamb mixture. Pour into the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover with a layer of frozen peas. Spoon the mash over top to cover, roughing the surface up with the back of a spoon or a fork. Sprinkle with the cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Spoon out onto heated plates to serve.

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This was always one of my father's favourite suppers! He is a simple man with simple tastes and not too hard to please so long as it is not too far out of the ordinary!

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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 Last week we were craving sausage rolls.  I don't believe that I had ever tasted a sausage roll prior to coming here to the UK.

My mother used to make weiner rolls when I was growing up. They were something we all loved as a family. 

 Mom made beautiful plain pastry. It wasn't puff pastry, just plain. All of her pies, etc. were beautiful and we loved them.

When she made weiner rolls she would make her regular pastry recipe and then roll it out. The rolled pastry would be cut into rectangles large enough to wrap around weiners, enclosing them completely.

 You can even get Vegetarian ones.  Both are wrapped in flaky puffed pastry.  Of course you get what you pay for.  

The more expensive ones will have a lovely rich and ample meaty filling. Using a quality sausage meat.  The cheap ones will be mostly pastry and filled with nasty sausage meat. People seem to enjoy both.

 The first time I tasted a homemade one was at my friend Joy's in South Wales.  They were magnificent. It truly was love at first bite.  

You can find her recipe here.  She was really generous and shared it with me. I think she also sent us home with a bag filled with them that visit along with her gorgeous lamb samosas!

 This recipe for Apple & Sage Sausage Rolls was one I had clipped from the BBC Good Food Magazine back in 2012.  I had saved it in my recipe files to bake one day.   

I discovered it while going through them the other day and thought that there would be no time like the present to make them. I had puff pastry and sausage meat in the freezer that I needed to use up.

 The directions were a bit ambiguous.  I have tried to make them as straight forward as I can, as well as adding my usual North American measurements. 

Try to use the best sausage meat that you can afford.  I actually did a tutorial on making your own sausages here. 

 I know you won't be able to get British Sausages in North America.  You can however make some tasty sausage meat yourself. I highly recommend it.  They are really delicious.

You only need the meat to make the filling for these sausage rolls. It is mixed with chopped fresh sage and apple. I peeled the apple.

 I used French all-butter puff pastry that I had in the freezer. If you can find all-butter puff pastry, I really recommend it.  

I always think it is best to use natural ingredients whenever you can. I don't like things with artificial ingredients and preservatives.  Go as pure as you can.

 

Apple & Sage Sausage Rolls

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Yield: Makes 12

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 15 Mincook time: 25 Mintotal time: 40 Min

These delicious sausage rolls are flavoured with sage and chopped apple. Quick and easy to make.

Ingredients

• 400g (16 ounces) of sausage meat (from about 6 meaty sausages)
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 2 TBS chopped sage
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound (500g) all butter puff pastry
• 1 free range egg  beaten together wih 1 tsp water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line several baking trays with baking paper. 
2. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and crumble into a bowl. Add the chopped sage, garlic and chopped apple. Mix well together.
3. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle. 12 inches wide at the shortest edge. Halve the pastry to make two long thin sheets.  Divide the sausage meat down the centre of each, leaving a good border on both sides.
4. Beat the egg together with the water. Brush some of this down both long edges of each pastry strip.  Fold over the edges to cover the sausage meat, making two long rolls.  Seal the edges with a fork.
5. Flip over and place pastry seam side down on the baking sheets.  Brush more egg wash over top.  Cut each roll into six equal pieces.  Snip each in a few places and spread them apart on the baking sheets to leave room to rise.
6. Cook for 25 minutes until golden brown and puffed.

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One thing I will miss about the UK are the lovely sausages they have over here. There are about as many varieties of sausage as there are areas and counties. 

Nevermind, they have good ones in Canada as well! There will always be things we miss about the places we have lived.