Eggs not Benedict

Like most of the food from a small kitchen this started out as 'Eggs Benedict' but then morphed into my version Necessity is the mother of invention after all!. We call it 'Eggs Moley'.
So the original version has  a base of muffins but I prefer crumpets,
The original has no veg in it and we need veg , so spinach goes on top of the crumpets.
The original has ham but I didn't have any but I did have some vegeburgers!
The poached eggs remain the same!
The original has
Hollandase sauce but i don't really like it so a roux sauce with cheese and mustard.
Easy!
Pop the burgers under the grill for 10 minutes , don't forget to turn them after 5 when you pop the crumpets under too. Pour boiling water over the spinach just to wilt it , I can't bear that horrid green overcooked mush!
Poach the eggs one egg per crumpet. I do them in my egg poacher because it reminds me of poached eggs when I was a child! About 5 minutes !
To make the sauce put 1 tablespoon of butter or marj in a pan and melt, add a tablespoon of flour and stir for about a minute, add 1/2 pint of milk and bring back to the boil whilst whisking  add a teaspoon of prepared mustard and a handful of grated cheese.
Place the buttered crumpets on a plate, spinach on top, burgers on top of that, eggs on top of that, sauce on top of that.  A sprinkle of black pepper .
Yum, yum, yum!

The Joy of Toads

There are just some days when only comfort food will do and 'Toad in the Hole' is my favourite. It has to be served with onion gravy for that is the law and let no one tell you any different!
This Sunday was just one of those days  so after a morning spent in the garden pruning a large beech tree and emptying the compost heap I was ready for just this joy!

The secret is in the mix for the Yorkshire pudding.
One egg, large pinch of salt and 300ml of milk whizzed in the liquidiser, add 4 desert spoons of plain flour and whizz again then leave the mix to stand for  at least 30 minutes .
In the meantime cook the sausages, any good quality ones will do, we often have Toulouse or Sicilian with their really pungent herby and garlicy taste but this week we went for meat free sausages with red onion and rosemary. Cook the sausages so they are just cooked and not brown on the outside. Don't worry they are going back into the oven again soon and if you overcook them at this stage they will be hard when you have finished.
Put a heavy bottomed dish into the oven with some oil enough to cover the bottom of the dish, purists use lard but to my mind vegetable oil is better.
This needs to go into the oven at 200C for about 5 minutes till the oil is really hot.
Then put in the precooked sausages and whizz the Yorkshire batter again then pour it straight in and put the dish in the oven for about 40 minutes.
When it comes out it should be firm , airy, golden and delicious. Serve with mashed potato, cabbage with cracked black pepper and cabbage and of course the obligatory onion gravy!

What to do with a teeny, tiny lobster!

Just before Cristmas husband saw an advert for very cheap frozen lobster  at Lidl (?!?!?!).

"That would be nice as a starter" he said,"Well if you go and buy one I'll prepare it " I replied. so dutifully he trecked off and returned with said frozen lobster that was in a frozen packet like a very large sausage, and into the freezer it returned!

We decided to eat said lobster as a starter for New Year  and have Lobster Americane ;and so I took it out to defrost which it did over the next twelve hours. On opening the packet said lobster was about the size on a langoustine!  On  shelling said small, fiddly lobster I get about half a cup of meat from the whole thing. Well bang went that idea, quick rethink!

.

Ok so I have some smoked salmon and a few king prawns in the freezer and by putting them in cold water can have them defrosted in an hour.
I then mixed the prawns and tiny amount of lobster meat together with lemon juice, chives, mayonaise and a little cream cheese and paprika . I then rolled some of the mixture in smoked salmon strips wrapped them tightly in foil (I know you are supposed to use cling film but I hate the idea of that plastic being next to something I am going to eat!) and put them in the fridge for an hour.
Served with a mixed green salad and balsamic dressing. Yum.
Moral of storry any bargain from Lidl is probably a false economy!

Busy life and Japanese soup

Life is just so full on and busy at the moment that i haven't had time to post, though I have taken lots of pics of food for intended posts!
When I'm really busy and pushed for time I love to have this Japanese Miso soup that takes literally five minutes from start to finish. Its so easy and filling I'm surprised I don't eat it all the time!
To start with put one and a half bowls of stock in a pan  (this is the bowl you intend to eat the soup out of when its ready) add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of mirin and a splash or rice vinegar. Throw in a sheet of egg noodles and a bowlful (if you are making two bowls, if you are making one bowl use half a bowl of vegetables!) of finely sliced vegetables, use a mandolin for these if you dont have the chopping skills of a surgeon but mind your fingers. Carrot, mushrooms, leeks, daikon, whatever you have really. If you are using meat throw a handful of finely chopped pre cooked meat in at this point; if you are using fish or seafood wait right till the end. I always like to put in a sheet of chopped seaweed too at this point.
Ok, so bring to the boil but before it gets there remove a ladleful of stock and mix some Miso or fermented soya bean curd into the stock till dissolved. I like the dark Mugi miso  but if you like it sweeter use the white miso use 1tablespoon per serving.
When the vegetables and stock have come to the boil take off the heat and if you are using fish or seafood throw that in at this point. Give a goood stir and then stir in the miso. Leave with the lid on for about a minute and then pour into bowls and enjoy!!!

Turkey and Pomegranite Salad

This started off as a recipe from my friend and Leiths trainee Elz Bermudez. It sounded delicious using duck breasts but no duck breasts could be found this weekend so I used turkey breast. We also forgot to get loads of other ingredients so it turned into a recipe of its own. Necessity is the mother of invention!

I chopped a large potato into inch sized cubes and boiled them till just done for about 15 minutes then plunged them into cold water. Broken Brazil nuts and walnuts were coated in honey and mixed spices then roasted for 10 minutes at 180 C. Sticky and yummy these are really hot when they come out of the oven so don't try and pick one up to pop in your mouth or you will burn both!
A turkey breast fillet (£2.69 from Sainsburys) was marinaded for an hour with mixed spices and the juice of a mandarin then popped in the oven for 40 minutes in a dish with the juice.

Mixed salad leaves were mixed with the potatoes and piled on the plate, the honeyed spiced nuts were then added and the sliced turkey breast. Pomegranate seeds were sprinkled over the top. (the best way is to roll the whole pomegranate round till it stops crunching then cut into halves and the skin bashed with a wooden spoon to get the seeds out, pick out any of the white pulp that falls in! Its a bit woody.)
A dressing was dribbled over the top made from a fruity olive oil , a little English mustard and strawberry vinegar. Delicious! and perfect for Saturday evenings dinner with a glass of wine!

Halloween and the Feast of the Dead

As Autumn turns to winter and the clocks change to bring evening darkness the time of feasting is upon us and remembering those who have gone before. Its a time of rich earthy flavours and scents. We decided to have 'Daemons on Horseback' our own variation on the traditional devils or angels.

I made a puree of garlic and butter beans by cooking a small tin of butter beans with a clove of garlic for about five minutes and then mashing with olive oil . I baked portabello mushrooms for 10 minutes with olive oil so they became flaccid and then  rolled them round a little of the stuffing. These were then wrapped in bacon and baked for a further 15 minutes. Served with a celery leaf and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

For the main course we had Venison Wellington with a 'mash of nine sorts' a traditional Halloween dish made from mashed potato, carrot, celeriac, parsnip, turnip, leek, cream, butter and pepper.  Sticky garlic potatoes (thanks Nigella) and Brussels sprouts, I love sprouts  and really have to hold off till Hallows !

The venison steaks were culled in the local forest and came from the Wild Meat Company.  These were seared in hot oil for a couple of minutes each side and left to cool. I made a duxelle with finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, butter and a couple of juniper berries, slowly cooked so the flavours permeate the butter.  This was spread over a puff pastry thinly rolled, the venison was placed on top with chicken liver pate (the Julia Child's recipe is brilliant and the one I use)  on top of that and more duxelle on the top. Encased in pastry , glazed with an egg wash and baked for 40 minutes. The meat was tender and melted in the mouth with those beautiful autumn woodland scents combined with the earthy vegetables, perfect.

And for pud, it had to be Christmas pud made back in September as it does need to be tested. Served with thick cream.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom!

Seared Japanese Salmon with vegetables and noodles

Some days you just don't fancy what you planned for dinner and you want something quick and easy with stuff that's in the cupboard.
That happened with us, I was going to make salmon fish cakes but at about 4.30 we didn't fancy them so a quick change around and seared salmon was made.

I used 4 salmon fillets, they were just the Sainsbury's basics ones and made a marinade of 1tablespoon of each of  honey, dark soy sauce, Shaoshin rice wine (it should have been sake but we didn't have any) and a tiny bit of wasabe paste. I mixed them all up and squished the salmon about in it then left it for about 10 minutes whilst  I chopped some vegetables into julienne strips and small florets, just stuff we had in the fridge ; a couple of carrots some broccoli a few runner beans from the garden, half a courgette and  some celery. These were then sightly steamed so hot and still crispy whilst some noodles were thrown into boiling water. I heated a frying pan with a little oil till smoking hot and flung in the salmon skin side down for a couple of minutes till the skin was crisp, then over for a couple of minutes, when cooked (I can't bear undercooked fish where it has that slightly creepy texture about it!) heated through the rest of the marinade in the same pan. Then drained the noodles and put them in a bowl with the vegetables on the top and the salmon on top of that with the sauce and a tiny bit of chopped chilli!
All done in 15 minutes for £1.25 each!

Nom, nom, nom!