Saturday 24 April 2010

Quick Coleslaw

This is not an authentic recipe, but it's a quick one that's dead easy to throw together, especially if you have a food processor :)

For 6-8 servings you need:
1/2 white cabbage
1 large onion
2 carrots, peeled
Mayonnaise

Grate the carrots and then shred the onions and cabbage. Season. Add enough mayonnaise to make it how you like it. Scoff. I told you it was easy :P

Cheese and Onion Filled Potatoes

I adore these but they are a bit faffy to make. For that reason I usually make at least double the recipe and freeze the other half. They make a great side dish or a light lunch with beans or coleslaw and salad.

For each about 8 servings you need:
6-8 baking potatoes
2 onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheese
salt and pepper

Prick the potatoes all over and nuke till soft. Meanwhile saute the onion in a little oil till tender and sweet. Cut the potatoes in half and then scoop out the middles into a bowl. Add the cooked onions, cheese and seasoning and mix well. Scoop back into the hollows and then bake in a hot oven for about 20 mins till crispy on top. Yum.

Buttercream Icing

This is another easy recipe to remember as it's a ratio of 1:2. For enough buttercream to fill and cover the birthday cake recipe you need:

3oz very soft butter
6oz icing sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat everything together till light and fluffy. Use as you wish!

Birthday Cake

I always use the same recipe for birthday cake and scale up or down depending on how much cake is needed. This recipe is a classic victoria sponge one, and is best carved/cut the day after baking, or once it's been frozen and defrosted. But it's equally good the same day, just a little more crumbly!

The basic rule is equal quantities self raising flour, butter and caster sugar with half the amount of eggs e.g. 8oz flour = 4 eggs and so on.

For a cake that serves 10-14 people you need:
6 oz self raising flour
6 oz vanilla caster sugar
6 oz soft butter (don't use margarine as it mings in a cake!)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp milk

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each one. Sift in the flour, vanilla and 2 tbsp milk and beat till combined. Add a little extra milk if needed.

Scrape the mixture into a lined baking tin and bake at 150 degrees for about 30 mins till risen, golden and totally cooked. Leave to cool for a couple of hours before filling and covering as you wish. Happy Birthday!

Monday 19 April 2010

Crunchy Vegetable Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

This is based on Nigella's recipe for peanut sesame noodles in Nigella Express. It's a fab lunch dish which is filling, reasonably healthy and quick to prepare.

For 2 generous lunch portions you need:
2 blocks medium egg noodles (use rice noodles or soba noodles for a vegan version)
assorted raw veggies - I used red cabbage, grated carrot, spring onions, raw cauliflower, spring onions
1 chilli, finely chopped
handful fresh mint, chopped
juice 1 lime

Sauce:
4 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp pad thai sauce (or use sweet chilli sauce)
150ml water

Heat the sauce ingredients gently till combined. Meanwhile finely shred the veggies and cook the noodles. Place everything in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Pack into tubs and stun and amaze your work colleagues with such a delicious lunch :)

Sunday 18 April 2010

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup (v)

This is from French Polynesia apparently. It smelt very strange whilst it was cooking but actually tasted suprisingly good. It's a quick and healthy recipe that can easily be thrown together after work.

For 4 portions you need:
750g sweet potatoes, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, paprika, nutmeg, cayenne, ground black pepper
handful chopped coriander
600ml veg stock
can coconut milk
oil

Begin by frying the onion in 1 tbsp oil. After about 5 mins add the spices and garlic. Then add the sweet potatoes, coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 mins till the potatoes are cooked. Blend till smooth, reheat and serve garnished with the coriander. Some crusty french bread is good with it too.

Guacamole (v)

Yummy, creamy, green gunk! L told me today he wouldn't eat anything beginning with 'gwa' so he missed out on this luscious dip! I like mine sort of chunky, but you could blend it all for a smoother dip, or leave it all chopped for a rougher one. Either way it's great with tortilla chips!

For 4 portions you need:
4 avocados, halved, stoned and roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, pulverised in a food processor
1 chilli, blitzed (with the toms)
1 red onion, diced
juice 1 lime
salt

Mix everything together, blitzing half of the mix if you want a smoother texture. Scoff. Dead easy!

Quesadillas

There are infinite variations on what you can put in to these, this is just one suggestion. They're a fab snack, quick lunch or a side with other Mexican food.

For each quesadilla you need:
1 tortilla
1/4 cup grated cheddar
1 sliced spring onion.

Heat a large frying pan and place the tortilla on it. Sprinkle the cheddar over the surface of the tortilla and add the onion to one half. Heat. Fold in half to make a semi circle and then flip over. Serve cut into wedges. They're nice cold too!

Beans in Beer aka Frijoles Borrachos (v)

Fiesta baby! Today we had a Mexican feast, partly due to the surfeit of avocados in the fruit bowl that ripened together and partly due to watching Mark Beaumont Cycling the Americas where it looked like he'd had some yumsome food in central and south america. This recipe, for beans cooked in beer, is an adaptation of a Celia Brookes-Brown recipe.

For 2-3 portions you need:
2 large onions, chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 can chopped toms
1 can canolleni beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bottle corona beer
juice 1/2 lime
salt and pepper
1 tsp sugar
large handful chopped coriander
olive oil

Begin by sauteeing the onions in 2 tbsp oil till translucent. Then add the chilli, cumin and garlic. Fry for a further 5 mins or so. Then add the beans, toms, beer, seasoning and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer over a medium heat till the sauce is reduced by about half. Reduce the heat and keep warm till you're ready to serve. They're nice with quesadillas and sour cream. Omit the dairy to keep it vegan.