I know Todd does not like pasta at all. Shame that . . . I, myself am a pasta lover and every once in a while this carboholic just has to indulge.




I think my favourite of all the pasta sauces has to be Puttanesca sauce. Not only does it use ingredients that I always have in my larder, but it goes together relatively quickly, lickety split!




I love it's gutsy spicy flavours . . . garlic, red chili, capers, olives, anchovies and of course tomatoes. Add to that some basil and seasoning, and you have the perfect sauce in my opinion.



When I make this I am in pasta heaven. I don't mind at all that I don't have to share it.



*Spaghetti Puttanesca*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

One of my favourite sauces to serve with spaghetti. Gutsy and spicy and very moreish. Don't let the anchovies put you off. They melt into the sauce and you'd never know they were there, but they do add an wonderful flavour.

8 ounces dried spaghetti
a splash of olive oil
sea salt

For the sauce:
2 TBS olive oil
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
2 TBS chopped fresh basil
50g anchovies,drained
6 ounces pitted black olives, chopped
1 heaped TBS capers, rinsed and drained
1 415g tins of chopped Italian tomatoes
salt and black pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese to serve

First make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and chili. Cook, stirring until the garlic is a pale gold colour. Add the anchovies and the basil. Cook and stir until the anchovies melt into the oil. Add the remaining ingredients. Season with a bit of pepper, but hold off on the salt for the moment. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and simmer gently for 35 to 40 minutes, until nice and thick. Taste and add a bit of salt if required

Once your sauce is ready bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add a splash of olive oil and some sea salt. Cook your spaghetti noodles al dente in this according to the package directions. Drain well. Toss the cooked pasta in the cooked sauce, mixing it together thoroughly. Serve in heated bowls with a good topping of freshly grated parmesan.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, as I am, you would know that Rock Cakes are one of Harry's favourite tea time treats!



You would also know that Ron Weasely's mum is the best baker ever, and that her rock cakes . . . well . . . rock Harry's world!



For nine years, I have been thinking that they were biscuits (cookies), sort of like the Hermit cookies that my mother used to bake. I couldn't have been more wrong.



Rock cakes are delightful little drop scone-like cakes, and absolutely lovely served warm from the oven, and spread with a little butter. They are also one of the quickest and easiest cakes to make.



I seriously don't know why I waited so long to make them. These are fabulous!

We sat here on Sunday evening, munching on these lovely little cakes, while we were watching Larkrise to Candleford. Warm, split and spread with sweet butter, they were incredibly scrummy.




I think I can safely say . . . Rock Cakes are my only weakness . . .

Truly.

(recipe adapted from The Baking Bible, from the oven to the table, Marks & Spencer)



*Rock Cakes*
Makes 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

These are like a delicious scone stogged full of lovely mixed fruit. Fabulous, simply fabulous.

4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into bits
8 ounces plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 ounces light muscovado sugar
3 ounces mixed dried fruit
the finely grated zest of one lemon
1 large egg
1 to 2 TBS milk
2 tsp demerara sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Drop in the butter bits, adn then rub them into the flour with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles sand. Stir in the sugar, mixed fruit and lemon zest.

Beat the egg and 1 TBS of milk together. Stir this into the flour mixture, add the other TBS of milk as needed to make a moist but firm dough.

Using a dessert spoon, drop 8 to 10 equal heaps onto the prepared baking tray. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until risen, golden brown and firm. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool before eating.



Guess, I'll have to make some more, huh?

We are great fans of chips in this house. When we lived up North in Chester, we often walked down to the local chippie in the evening and shared a cone of chips together . . . hand cut and chunky, crisply fried and then doused in salt and vinegar. Tis a wonderful treat on a warm summer's evening.

The best chips I have had over here were some we treated ourselves to one hot summer's afternoon when we were visiting Liverpool. We bought them from a chippie in the downtown shopping area. Oh, my but they were lovely . . . it is now some 7 years later, I am still thinking about them . . .



Of course a trip to the seaside would not be complete without fish and chips, and whenever we go, we are obliged to partake of at least one batch, not to mention a couple of icecreams . . .

At home though, I usually use oven chips. It's usually too much trouble to take out the deep fat fryer and, with the hours I work during the week, I am usually rushed for time. I generally like to make my own oven chips though, by cutting baking potatoes into large chunky strips. I never peel, as we both love the extra flavour and texture that the peels give, but you can peel if you wish. I then toss them with a bit of olive oil and some herbs and garlic, and bake them in a hot oven until crisp and lightly browned. I sometimes do a mix of sweet potatoes as well as the regular ones. These are particularly good.



Sometimes too, when I am in a particular rush, I will opt for a good oven chip. We like the McCains rustic ones . . . because they still have the skins on and they are lower in fat.

I love to spice my chips with all sorts of things. Sometimes I will use a mixture of garlic, onion salt, pepper, paprika and herbs. Other times I will make an italian version that I create by tossing them with pepper and a commercial Italian spice mix, which contains garlic and peppers and herbs.



My favourite ones of all though . . . are the ones I make using my own homemade harissa paste. Oh, they are wonderfully spicy and tasty!!! You can make them as hot or as mild as you like. I never add any extra oil to them, but if you are using a lesser amount of the harissa paste you may want to add a touch of oil.



Of course you can choose to use a commercially prepared Harissa paste, and they will also be good, but it's fun to make your own. Just be a bit careful though, as the chilies can burn the skin and also the nasal passages if you breath in some of the dust from them. Keep a window open and wear gloves if you can.



These are wonderfully delicious served hot and crisp, with a tasty sour cream and lime dip on the side.

But don't take my word for it. Try making them for yourself. I think you'll find them very, very moreish in a scrummy sort of way . . .



*Harissa Spiced Chips*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A tasty oven chip, chunky and crisp and tastily spiced with a homemade harissa paste. You may want to make the harissa paste the day before. You can use a commercially prepared harissa paste if you wish, but I like to make my own. It makes more than you need, but it stores well and comes in handy for lots of things.

6 large baking potatoes, peeled or not as you like, and
cut into chunky sized chips
(you can use one 907g bake of oven chips if you like)
For the paste:
4 ounces dried hot red chili peppers
2 tsp sea salt
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp freshly ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground black cumin seeds
2 tsp freshly ground caraway seeds
1 skinned, deseeded and chopped red pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp tomato puree
the juice and zest of 1/2 a lime
1/2 of a preserved lemon (optional)
olive oil to cover
To serve:
8 ounces of dairy sour cream
the juice and zest of half a lime

First make the Harissa paste. Place the dried chilies in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, cover and then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for one hour. At the end of the hour, drain them well and place them into a food processor along with the salt, garlic, cumin, black cumin, caraway, red pepper, paprika, vinegar, tomato puree, the preserved lemon, if using, and the juice and zest of the lime. Blend to a smooth paste. Scrape into a jar and cover with some olive oil, to help protect it from the air. Cover and chill until you are ready to use.

When you are ready to make your chips, preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Place the chipped potatoes into a large shallow roasting tin. Toss with 2 TBS of the prepared Harissa paste to cover and then place them into the heated oven.

Roast, stirring every once in a while, for about 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely crisped on the outside and tender on the inside. Remove from the oven and serve hot with your choice of dip.

If you choose to use oven chips the proceedure is much the same, except you toss the bag of oven chips with the harissa paste to coat lightly and bake as per the package instructions.

While the chips are baking, whisk together the sour cream and the lime juice and zest. Serve the hot chips with the sour cream mixture for dipping. Delicious!

If you keep an assortment of tinned beans and tomatoes in your cupboard, you will always have the makings of a delicious meal to hand. With only a few additional ingredients, you can be eating like royalty in no time at all.



Some of the beans I like to keep on hand are borlotti, cannellini, kidney,butterbeans, chickpeas, and pinto . . . to name but a few. They come in really handy for all sorts. Canned beans are excellent value for money. They are not only very nutritious, low in fat and a good source of fibre and protein, but they also save the chore of having to soak dried beans overnight and then cooking them the next day. With a good rinsing, you probably wouldn't be able to note much of a difference between them and freshly cooked ones . . .



I also keep several varieties of tomatoes . . . whole and chopped italian plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomato passata, condensed tomato puree (sun dried and regular, a few tins with garlic and olive oil already added, and my treasured American ro-tel tomatoes, which have chopped green chilies already added. I love the tuscany tomatoes as they are brighter in colour and much sweeter than the regular variety of tinned tomatoes, but I save them for special dishes as they cost a bit more.



We often eat soup for lunch or dinner in the wintertime. It's a great way of using up extra bits of vegetables that look to be getting a bit tired and need using up, and an excellent way of feeding a large group of people. I often make large batches and then freeze the excess in smaller containers to take out at a later date.



This is a particularly tasty soup that comes from one of my favourite regions of Italy. I'm afraid I have anglicized it a bit, to suit my own tastes and what I had on hand. I like think my version is healthier because there is no fat in it. I thicken it with breadcrumbs and of course the beans help to thicken it a bit as well.



The addition of the redcurrant jelly gives it an extra layer of flavour, which will have your guests wondering what that elusive flavour is that makes it taste that much more delicious.




*Easy Tuscany Bean Soup*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

A very delicious soup made quickly from store cupboard ingredients. It is very healthy and low in fat, as well as hearty and filling. A family favourite.

! medium leek, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped finely
1 (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes (2 cups)
1 1/2 pints vegetable stock (3 cups)
1 (400g) tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (2 cups)
2 TBS red currant jelly
2 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
4 TBS fresh bread crumbs
salt and pepper
chopped fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish

Place the prepared vegetables into a large saucepan. Add the chopped tomatoes and the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the rinsed beans, red currant jelly and tomato puree. Simmer for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the breadcrumbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for a couple of minutes. Ladle into hot soup bowls. Garnish with parsley and serve with warm crusty bread. Delicious!

 

We really love winter root vegetables in our house. By that I mean swede, carrots, jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, celeriac and the lovely parsnip. These are vegetables that really come into their own in the winter months, and it's no surpise that most winter soups and stews use them in one form of another.



My absolute favourites are the parnips and swede. (Rutabaga to you North Americans.) We ate rutabaga a lot when I was growing up, except that we called them turnips then. Surprisingly they were only known as pig fodder over here for a long time . . . no wonder the pork was so tasty.



My mother didn't like parsnips though. I can remember her cooking them for us once and I fell in love with their delicious sweetness. She had peeled them, cut them into rounds and then pan fried them in butter. Oh, my but they were gorgeous! She discovered though that she still didn't like them so that was the end of our having them at home.



I cannot imagine anyone not loving them. Perhaps if she had tasted them done this way, she would have liked them more. I shall have to try to tempt her with them the next time we are together.

And . . . if she still doesn't like them . . . no matter . . . that just means there's more for me.



*Parsnip and Swede Mash*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Scrummy, yummy with the delicious flavours of swede, parsnips mashed together with horseradish, sour cream and thyme. A crunchy buttery breadcrumb topping is it's crowning glory.

4 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium swede, peeled and cut into similar sized chunks as the parsnips
2 dessertspoons of sour cream
1 TBS creamed horseradish
salt and black pepper to taste
1 large sprig of thyme, the leaves stripped and stem discarded
For the buttery topping:
2 TBS butter
1 small onion, peeled and minced
1 large handful of soft white breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves



Place the swede and parsnips into a pan of sligthly salted boiling water. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes until quite tender. Drain well. Mash together with a potato masher and then stir in the sour cream, horseradish and thyme. You want a rough texture so don't mash too finely. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pre-het the oven to 190*C/375*F. Butter a shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring until golden brown. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring until the crumbs are crisp and golden. Add the thyme and season with a bit of salt if desired.

Spread the vegetable mash in the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the crumbs over top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

One of the films we just love to watch here at Oak Cottage during the winter months, and especially at Christmas, is Little Women. I just love the period costumes and the story. It bewitches me completely, and weaves a magic spell around my heart. When I was a little girl I loved the book, and, I read it over and over again. One of my favourite scenes in the film is the scene where Meg, Jo and Amy are walking and Amy trips, dropping her school slate into the snow.

Shelooks up at Meg and says, " I'm so degradetated, I owe at least a dozen limes." to which Meg replies, " Are limes the fashion now?"

Feeling a bit sorry for her after this, Meg gives Amy the money she has saved from selling rags so that she can purchase some limes to take to school, thereby enabling her to save face with the other girls. (As the story continues, the limes are taken away from Amy and she is struck by her teacher, causing her to be removed from the school by their mother. But . . . we won't think about that right now . . . )



Sometimes I like to sit and imagine what it would have been like to live in a society where the accumulation of limes would be a status thing amongst school girls . . . and I wonder . . . would I have been able to afford to buy limes? Or would I be permanently left on the side lines . . . wanting limes and envying those who had them.

And then my imaginations take me even further . . .



If I had limes, and lots of them . . . would I be content to just carry them around, and boast about how many I had to my friends, showing off to all and sundry . . .



or would the creative cook that resides deep inside me be tempted to sacrifice just a few of them to the creation of something delicious and ludicrously tasty . . .

and then . . . were I rich enough to have oodles of limes . . .

perhaps I would be rich enough to be able to purchase another exotic ingredient as well . . . preserved stem ginger . . .




and . . . lets face it . . . were I wealthy enough to buy the ginger . . . it's a dead shoe in that I would also be able to afford candied glace cherries and lucious dried sultanas . . .

Why then I expect . . . I'd be in full possession of all the ingredients needed to create a delicious cake!!!



Mmmm . . . just think about it . . . a tasty and moist loaf cake, absolutely stogged full of glace cherries and sultanas, the zest of limes and preserved ginger . . . and slathered in a luciously sweet, yet tart lime frosting. Oh, how lovely that would be . . .



I dare say the other girls would want to be my friends even more than if I just had some old limes. It sounds good to me anyways . . .



This is a cake for cosying up with next to the fire . . . a woolen blanket thrown over your knees, and a warming mug of spiced apple tea on the side. MMMM . . . Moreishly scrummy . . .

But don't just take my word for it! Bake it for yourself, then sit back and enjoy . . .



*Cherry and Sultana Loaf with Fresh Lime and Ginger*
Makes 2 (1 lb) loaves
Printable Recipe

A refreshingly light cake with a tasty lime icing. Chock full of glace cherries, sultanas, preserved stem ginger and lime. Delicious! Make one to eat now and one to stick in the freezer to enjoy at a later date. (Don't ice if you are putting it into the freezer. Save that for the day you want to serve it.)

6 ounce self raising flour
4 ounces butter, softened
4 ounces caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2 ounces raisins
2 ounces glace cherries, quartered, washed and dried
5 ounces sultanas
4 bulbs preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
the finely grated zest of two limes

For the icing:
4 ounces icing sugar, sifted
2 TBs lime juice
1 bulb of preserves stem ginger, chopped
the finely grated zest of one lime

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Butter and line two (1lb) loaf tins with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place all the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well together on low speed of a mixer to start with, and then medium speed until well mixted together and smooth. Divide evenly between the two loaf tins and smooth the tops.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins. Once completely cold, remove and ice.

To make the icing mix together the icing sugar, lime zest and lime juice until smooth. Spread over top of the cakes. Sprinkle with the chopped stem ginger. Cut in slices to serve.



PS - For those of you who asked yesterday, a Swede is a rutabaga. They call it a Swede over here. (It's like a large turnip which is orangy coloured)