Scrumptious

Spicy Tomato & Tamarind soup

2009-06-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from olive magazine, its really quick and simple and it uses up some storecupboard ingredients I think most people will have lying around. Its also Veggie friendly and really really tasty & comes in at 107 calories per serving!... This recipe serves 4 and is easy to double or half depending on your situation.

Garlic - 2 cloves

Root ginger - a thumb sized piece chopped

Green chillies - 2 chopped

Ground cumin - 1 tsp

Ground coriander - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander - A small bunch stalks & leaves seperated

Red lentils - 50g

Chopped tomatoes - 2 x 400g tins

Vegetable stock - 500ml

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp

Natural yoghurt - 4 tbsp

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan. Cook the garlic, ginger and chilli for 3 minutes until fragrant.
Add the spices and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the coriander stalks, lentils, tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender, then blend until completely smooth.
Chop the coriander leaves and mix with the yoghurt. Swirl into the soup before serving.

Splendid Fruit & Pancakes for an indulgent breakfast...

2009-06-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

I must admit although I love cooking and baking and I have an obsession with cookery books, I have had a tendancy to make similar meals without ever trying to make something I haven't ever made before. I do love trying out new recipes though and learning to make old favourites from scratch. So while I was reading through my favourite cookery books I decided to start trying out new things and expanding my knowledge base further. Now I am a huge fan of pancakes but I have always made the english kind, thin with lots of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, which are traditionally served on pancake day. I thought maybe it was time to brance out and try the american kind as Ive eaten them before but never made them from scratch. Nigella Lawson had the perfect recipe in her book Nigella Express.

So... Here are Nigella's pancakes...

for the pancake mix

600g flour
3x 15ml tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

40g vanilla or caster sugar

Mix all ingredients together and store in a jar.

To make the batter & the pancakes (150g pancake mix makes 15 pancakes about 8cm each)

For each 150g pancake mix, add & whisk together:

1 egg

250ml semi skimmed or full fat milk

1 x 15ml tablespoon melted butter

(I also added half a teaspoon of vanilla essence as I didn't have vanilla sugar.)

Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan with no oil
Spoon drops of 1.5 to 2 tablspoons of batter onto the hot griddle or pan and when bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A minute or so a side should do it.

To the cooked pancakes I added some maple flavour golden syrup & pieces of ripe mango, peach & raspberries. And I have to tell you they were mouthwateringly good. I would kill for some right now. nom nom. (I say this as I tuck into a donut topped with chocolate & hazelnuts and filled with a nutella like centre... haha)

So let me know if you make them and how they turn out!!!

Books, glorious books...

2009-05-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

So I have said for a while I am a self confessed book addict. Amazon is certainly my best friend. I have a few on my shelves that I just love looking through and reading. So, I wanted to share them with you...

Marie Claire Seasonal kitchen

I picked this baby up for £6 in WH Smith during the january sale (and its a hardback!!!). So this book as it says in the title is all about seasonal cooking. The book is quite large and has some absolutely drool worthy images within. Each season has its own section and also recipes for breakfasts, mains, snacks, & desserts. I love the layout of this book and the size of the photographs are great. There literally isnt a page goes by without me wanting to make something. The book is filled with huge glossy photographs and inspirational recipes. My only concern is that it is an australian book so some of the items may be harder to find, although a quick look in google would probably solve this. Some example recipes are - Roast pork with pineapple glaze, Crab & lemon pasta, raspberry coconut cake, grilled lemon prawns with five spice salt, pan baked eggs with chilli salsa, and bean and sausage stew.

There really is something for everyone here and I would recommend the book to keen cooks and cookbook enthusiasts alike.

A little spice...

2009-05-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

So recently I have been obsessed with mexican food, well I suppose it is tex mex really! But anyway I have eventually learnt how to make quesadillas that dont fall to pieces and have been eating fairly regularly of late. I know these recipes are going to drive people mad becase I am not sure of exact quantities and I unfortunately don't have photo's but here are some ideas I have been using...

Spiced Veg Quesies - makes around 6

6 corn tortillas
Half a red pepper diced small
Half a yellow/orange pepper diced small
100g fine green beans chopped roughly
3 spring onions sliced
4 large chestnut mushrooms
a clove of garlic
a sprinkle of cumin, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper
100g grated mozzarella
100g strong cheddar

Basically cook through all of the veg in a wok and add the spices once cooked set aside,
heat up a heavy frying pan with some good oil such as groundnut/vegetable (something tasteless) Fill your corn torts on one side with the veg and top with cheese, fold empty side over and press hard to avoid seperating. Place the quesadilla in the frying pan and fry on each side until golden.
PS I have found its easier to warm the tortilla's up prior to folding as they can split. This can be done in the oven or microwave.
With my leftover tortillas (packs usually contain 8) I have taken to cutting into 8 triangles and frying like tortilla chips.

I will return with more!!!

2009-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I am sorry to have left here in a hurry and very sorry to have disappeared for so long. I hope to be back with some recipes soon. I have a new job now and T and I are still planning on moving though not as soon as we thought. I have had some fabulous cookery experiences lately. T has made the decision to go vegetarian which I completely admire though I can't see myself following in his footsteps. I am working as a chef in TGI fridays right now, which I know isn't the most amazing restaurant but it sure beats sitting behind a desk all day. So I am working weird shift patterns and most weekends.
In all honesty I'm just happy to be working again. Job hunting sucks and hopefully this might be a step in the right direction job wise.
Because T has decided to stop eating meat I am eating a lot less too. Although I still buy meat for myself, a few days a week we have non meat meals. Its proving to be interesting. I am amazed with how many meals are truly satisfying without a hunk of meat on the side. I am also happy to know we are cutting our carbon emissions and avoiding cruelty to animals. I only buy organic & free range meat, eggs & cheese now.
All in all, everything is fabulous.
And I can now make the yummiest quesadillas!
hope you are all well.
x

Busy times ahead...

2009-02-17T07:35:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, I just want to say a big thank you for your comments and encouragement! Please feel free to give feedback if you try the recipes!

T and I have just been told that our landlord wants use of our flat again so we are moving out before may 10th. I suppose this can only be a good thing as we have been trying to get a council place for a while now. We aren't truly happy here because it isn't really ours. So this news has put pay to some of the plans we were making. However once we get settled in our new place wherever it may be?! we will start working on our plans again. I know I promised a review of the Leon book and I will do it as soon as I get some time. For those wondering whether to buy it lets just say, YOU SHOULD! its a wonderful book. Well, I hope to be back sooner rather than later with some recipes!

Ashleigh

New books, new food, new me...

2009-02-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hello all, as the title might suggest there are some new things in my life right now. I bought myself The kitchen diaries by Nigel Slater, Already I love him and have bought Real Food, I also bought Leon by Allegra McEvedy. If you haven't heard of this book I will review it soon.

T (le boyfriend) and I are trying to lessen our meat intake and dedicate ourselves to buying quality over quantity where meat is concerned. We are also recycling as much as possible and starting a new shopping list regime. So every week we are planning our meals and sticking to a shopping list just like granny used to! This week we have had two veggie meals, and apparently by just having one vegetarian meal a week you can significantly lessen carbon emissions. We are currently very excited about starting to grow some of our own veg, even though we have a small backyard we are planning to buy some tubs and pots and maybe a raised bed to plant some veg in. I will keep you posted on these exciting plans. Our first veggie meal of the week was an aubergine & tomato curry, we had this with spiced potatoes, chapatis & nan bread. I sadly didn't take pics of the curry but it was sooo good I am posting the recipe anyway! Our second veggie meal was falafel! which I know is big in the USA but I have to admit I was a falafel virgin. I have to say it was a really nice texture, and some lovely fresh flavours thanks to the coriander but it was lacking something I cant put my finger on... maybe more seasoning, Anyway here are both recipes...

Aubergine & tomato curry - (feel good food magazine autumn 08)

Serves 5-6

3tbsp vegetable oil
700g aubergines cut into 1in chunks
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp ground coriander
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1inch piece of ginger grated
1 green chilli finely chopped
400g tomatoes quartered
1 tbsp tomato puree
2tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and fry the aubergine for 5 minutes, until golden. Tip into a sieve and drain off the excess oil.
Return the pan to a medium heat. Add the spices and stirfry for 30 seconds, then add the ginger, garlic and chilli. Stirfry for a further 30 seconds then add the aubergine, tomatoes and tomato puree. Add a pinch of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes, then stir in the coriander and serve.

I actually added a little water to this when I added the tomato puree, simply because I wanted some sauce to dip my nan into. Also you may find its worth skinning the tomatoes first rather than eating tomato skin later.

Homemade falafel pittas (Delicious magazine May 2007)

Serves 4

2 x 400g cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Large handful of fresh flatleaf parsley
Large handful fresh coriander plus extra to serve
1 garlic clove roughly chopped
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
half a tsp crushed chilli flakes
half a tsp ground cumin
1tbsp tahini (optional)
150ml vegetable oil for shallow frying
8 pitta breads
Salad

Pulse the chickpeas in a processor until coursely ground. Add the onion, herbs, garlic, flour, baking powder, chilli, cumin, tahini and pulse to a course paste. Season and shape into 16 disks. Chill for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add half of the falafel and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan and add the other half.
Fill each pitta with falafel and salad. Squeeze with lemon juice and eat.

I also made some mint yoghurt which was nice with these.

Book review 1 - Jamie, Giorgio & muffins

2009-01-23T04:49:00.000-08:00

Yes... I have some new reading/drooling material! As I have bought a few new cookbooks I thought I would give you a little review of each.

Totally muffins cookbook - Helene Siegel & Karen Gillingham

I must admit I am yet to use any of the recipes from this tiny little book. This book is the one right at the top of the pile on the photo and it is a small muffin shaped book. There are no photographs here, but there are some delicious sounding recipes. The recipes are divided into four categories which are - classic muffins, health muffins, party muffins, savoury muffins. And upon reading the recipe titles it would seem I bought this for the party muffins, although the idea of savoury muffins, I think is a great one. With recipes like blueberry buttermilk, raspberry streusel, maple oatmeal, raspberry cheesecake, peach cobbler, chile corn, sundried tomato olive and parmesan herb muffins, I cant wait to get baking! This book was particularly cheap and is a nice if small addition to my cookbook shelf!

Giorgio Locatelli - Made in italy - Food & Stories

I have to say this is quite simply the best cookbook I have ever bought. Its a hefty book with over 600 pages. It is so much more than a cookbook, upon opening the first thing I noticed was the amount of non recipe reading material here. The book is filled with stories of Giorgio's wonderful childhood in italy, where his passion for food came from and also has pages dedicated to specific italian ingredients such as Olive oil & balsamic vinegar. I have found this book so interesting. I have learnt how to pick out a cheap fake balsamic that would be a waste of my money in favour for something a little more traditional albeit more expensive. On top of all this the recipes are sublime! Recipes can be found for Antipasti, Zuppa (soup), Risotto, Pasta, Pesce (fish), Carne (meat), and Dolci (desserts). There are more than ten recipes for each category and they all sound delicious! This is not a book to buy if you are looking for something simple to flick through mid week, or if you want photo's more than words, The images are beautiful but the words are the importance here. Please if you enjoy reading and enjoy italian food buy this book.

Jamie's Italy - Jamie oliver

Well I love jamie. I love the format of his books. I think they are nice and simple but not lacking in passion or mouthwatering imagery. He really makes me believe I can make any of the recipes. This is my first Jamie Oliver book and now I plan on buying more. This book is divided into Antipasti, first courses, salads, second courses, side dishes, and desserts. There is a nice amount of information before each chapter and Jamie really sets the scene nicely. I picked up the paperback version of this for a small but nice £7 on amazon.co.uk I advise you to do the same. Here are a few recipe examples - Panzanella, Spaghetti with prawns and rocket, sausage carbonara, early autumn minestrone. All of which I want to make! Jamie talks about the difference between Italy's food culture and britains, and sadly we have lost ours. Well I, like Jamie, want to get it back! Bring on local, seasonal produce!!!

Chocolate brownie cupcakes & choc fudge frostin'

2009-01-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

So on Sunday me and my two best friends decided to have ourselves a sort of high tea party, I say sort of because as usual with us it ended up being less about tea and more about wine. We did however make lots and lots of spectacular cupcakes, and also succeeded in breaking my electric whisk! So here is the first of four cupcake recipes from the book 125 best cupcake recipes by Julie Hasson.

Chocolate brownie cupcakes (makes 12)

preheat oven to 325'f/160'C & line your muffin pan with paper cases

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa (sifted)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used plain chocolate chips)

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together both sugars and butter until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, beating until well combined, stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 28 mins or until a tester comes out with a few crumbs attached and a little melted chocolate. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Choc fudge frostin' (frosts 12-18)

1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar (confectioners)
3/4 cup dutch cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tbsp chocolate cream liqueur
1 tbsp strong brewed coffee (I used camp coffee essence)
pinch salt

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process all ingredients until smooth. (I did this with an electric whisk and it worked fine)

Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

2009-01-14T11:35:00.001-08:00

Oh amazon how I love thee... I just ordered myself two new cookbooks... I will let you know what they are like! I hope they hurry straight to my door....

Banana cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

2009-01-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from a book by Julie Hasson called 125 best cupcake recipes.. If you love cupcakes get this book!

Banana cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

(makes 12)

Ingredients

1 and a quarter cups of plain (all purpose) flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 cup granulated sugar
half a cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large bananas)
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting

3 cups icing sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla

Method

Preheat your oven to 180'c or 350'f & line a muffin pan with paper cases

In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl whisk together the sugar, oil and eggs until smooth. Add the banana and vanilla, beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating until smooth.

Scoop batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 24-28 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back lightly when touched. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting

In a small bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat together the sugar, butter and salt until creamy. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth. Spread frosting onto cupcakes with a knife or pipe decoratively over cupcakes.

Happy New Year Everyone!

2009-01-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Hi all I just wanted to say thank you for your kind words and encouragement... I have decided instead of dedicating this place to recipes I will simply dedicate it to my life in general, food plays a big part in my life and hopefully this year will be a good one for me. My friend and I, who are planning to start our own business hope to get things started very soon! In fact Im itching to start. I have a job interview tomorrow that will hopefully fill in my bored days right now until things really start moving. Anyway I just wanted to say thanks and I hope you all had wonderful christmas' and happy new year to you all!

Also someone mentioned in my comments they miss clotted cream! does america not have clotted cream? awww I love clotted cream in a lovely strawberry shortcake! Yummy!

I bought myself a chinese steamer this week and my new wagamama cookbook arrived yesterday so hopefully some yummy recipes will follow! I must be more strict when it comes to photographing my food! I got a new camera for christmas so there is no excuse! Thanks guys xx

Stewed fruit crumble

2008-12-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

It's frosty outside & the fire is on, what could be more perfect than a fruit crumble?

So I had some fruit lying around and decided to whip up a nice warming fruit crumble. Here is my basic recipe, you can swap the types of fruit around as much as you like to suit your taste. Recipe taken from http://www.jamiesdinners.com/ and modified.

Stewed fruit crumble

Ingredients (serves 8)

1 vanilla pod
225g plain flour
115g butter (room temp)
90g soft brown sugar
255g caster sugar
1 clove
Zest of half an orange
4 pears peeled and chopped roughly
2 apples peeled and chopped roughly
2 peaches peeled and chopped
2 handfuls of blueberries
2 handfuls of blackberries
small handful of fresh mint leaves chopped

Method

Scrape out vanilla seeds from the pod
In a large pot add the caster sugar and 255ml (enough to cover fruit) water, place on heat
Once warmed through add the vanilla, clove and orange zest
Boil until liquid becomes clear then remove the clove
Turn down to a simmer and add your firmer fruit, in this case peaches, apples & pears
Simmer slowly for 5-6 minutes or until tender
Add the berries a couple of minutes before the end so they hold their shape
Let the fruit sit in the syrup for all the flavours to develop
In a bowl sift the plain flour and a pinch of salt
Rub in the brown sugar and the butter until you have a nice mix of lumpy bits and smooth bits
Place fruit mixture in oven proof dishes
Sprinkle crumble mixture over top
Bake at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 15-20 mins until topping is crisp and fruit is bubbling out at the sides.
Serve with good vanilla ice cream or double cream!

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7 things I used to do:

Go out every weekend
work in a care home
work for the NHS
venture out to take photo's
buy ready meals
copy my mums hatred for different foods
get up at 6am

7 things I do now:

Lie in a lot
Cook my own foods from scratch
try new food I think I don't like
take photo's of food
collect cookery books
collect cookery magazines
share my excitement about food with my boyfriend

7 things I want to do:

Go back to college to study something involving food
Try more foods I'm scared of
Eat more fish
Take more photo's
Enjoy my relationship more
Collect lots more cookbooks
Enjoy learning more about food

7 things that attract me about the opposite sex:

Nice eyes
Good sense of humour
Passion
Someone who is honest & opinionated
Someone with many interests
Romance
Someone who makes me feel safe

7 favorite foods:

Surf & Turf with garlicky king prawns
Brownies
Cupcakes
Scallops
Roast Chicken
Chinese food
Brocolli

Numero uno

2008-11-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to start my own food blog. I'm Ashleigh, 24 and I live in the north east of england with my boyfriend. I have always had a passion for food! Myself and a friend are currently trying to start up our own little bakery, its early days yet but fingers crossed it will all go well. And in the mean time no doubt you will hear many moans and groans from me as we are finding our feet. We do have a website which is in the process of being created and a dedicated cupcake blog there too! http://www.sodapopcupcakes.com

This blog will be for my personal use to share recipes and photo's.