On location in SC - The not so glossy magazine!

$9.95 may sound a smidge expensive but, have a look at my first purchase – Cooks Illustrated

as you can see – 76 recipes!

Just to prove my point – remember the whole wheat flour for the soda bread – here's a review of the very same :

There's another major plus with this magazine – apart from the number of recipes it's full of clear and helpful advice for the novice. I would not describe my friend as a novice cook but needless to say he was impressed and so it stayed. Worth every cent!

By the way – on the “teach as you go” front, from last night's supper we had the technique of “smoking” chicken, an Alfredo sauce and veggies. By the by - another “lost in translation” ingredient – never heard of semolina flour in this neck of the woods (to toss the par boiled potatoes prior to roasting) – life is too short to hunt it down – all purpose (aka plain) flour will do – there's sad and then there's really sad.

I discovered that last evening's supper was photographed and emailed – I think I'll take that as a good sign!

Note to self – check out the pantry for supplies in the am – slow cooked beef could be on the menu and I suspect we may have more ingredient challenges!

On location in SC - My guilty pleasure

My guilty pleasure – don't get too excited!

I know it's not considered “de rigueur” these days but one of my favourite treats is a visit to a book store – aka shop.

A browse is the ultimate treat for me with a coffee and compulsory chocolate chip cookie sitting in a comfy chair. We pinched this idea in the UK but somehow I can't justify the time when at home.

Anyway the other major lesson I've learnt when abroad is that Airlines are quite strict these days about luggage weight – note to self, you can't buy heaps of books that weigh a ton!

Aha – here's my answer – buy good quality magazines instead. There are some really good ones out there and the way I look at it is if you discover 2 or 3 recipes that you like the look of or immediately want to adapt, then it's worth the dosh and it has paid for itself.

In my house magazines are treated the same way as books – I appreciate that this may seem a little over the top but if you are remotely interested in cooking – and buy books or magazines – then you'll browse through both at some time or another. Where magazines are concerned you might not bother to mark anything at all – conversely you might think it's acceptable to turn down a corner to mark a recipe – there's only one problem – I'd put money on you referring back for a particular recipe or article and its vanished into thin air. Treat yourself to a supply of coloured tabs – like post it notes but smaller – and mark as you browse – anything that appeals gets a tab – problem solved!

I know I'm sad – can a cookery magazine qualify as a “glossy mag” - probably not but who cares.

On location in SC – this is your roving reporter!

Did you know apparently there's a problem with bagels – in that when you fill a bagel the filling oozes through the hole – really?!

I give up – surely the (w)hole point – sorry couldn't resist – of a bagel is that the filling is meant to ooze and arming yourself with a heap of table napkins and licking fingers and getting generally messy is the best part!

Anyway I feel it only right that I should impart information that has recently come to my attention. I give you the alternative – a bialy – it's not a bagel, it's not an English muffin, it's the best of both.

The bialy is Jewish in origin – in particular Polish Ashkenazi. It's very similar to a bagel but a bagel is boiled before it's baked - a bialy is baked. The depression – not hole – is filled with various different ingredients to suit.

Personally I'd describe a bialy as a slightly smaller version of a bagel and I have to say that the thought of a cooked onion filling in the “depression” would definitely lift my spirits!

My quest is to see whether we can find them in the UK – I'm on the case.

On location in SC.

It's early morning – which means coffee and my quiet time – perfect for me to “get my head on straight”, which means at least two cups. I do my best thinking at this time of the day. After my first cup its tackle the instructions for the digital scales - for my friend's benefit – not a huge task but there's not much point in me bleating on if I can't demonstrate to him how to use them!

So, after explaining the workings of the scales it's all systems go and my student watches me make a loaf - literally 30 minutes later here's the result :

You might not be surprised to know that there's bread and cheese on the lunch menu today.

The verdict before lunch – “this could be the perfect answer”.

The verdict after lunch – “I never need to buy store bought bread again” and “I have to make a loaf before you leave so you can watch me”.

Great start to the week – my work here is going well.

A small tip – if you are demonstrating equipment like scales or timers it has been my experience that some students have a tendency to be a little heavy handed if you get my drift – slowly and gently wins the day and saves the piece of kit from an early demise!

P.s. Phew! There's always a risk that recipes – even the simplest – don't translate well. There are so many elements that can go wrong – a different oven – the climate – air conditioning etc. in spite of them all I am delighted to report that the bread was good. I might even make another loaf later on – just to make sure it wasn't a fluke – I don't think it will be wasted.

Nothing is ever straight forward!

Whilst my friend loves where he lives he's not enamoured of American bread. If you're fond of brioche and/or bagels then you're well set but ordinary toasting bread ain't so good. So, it makes sense that we begin with Soda Bread – the fastest and most uncomplicated recipe ever and it will suit my friend well – I hope.

However, if you've spent any time in the USA and shopped in “markets” then you'll know that it's a whole different world out there. It's fine once you realise there are different names for different products.

This is what I mean ...

… remember the Soda Bread - here's a list of the ingredients

Soda Bread

170g self raising wholemeal flour

170g plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

290ml buttermilk – 300ml pot works

fine

I've shopped to cook many times in the US and have to confess I've never seen self raising wholemeal flour … watch this space. What we call plain flour in the UK is all purpose flour in the US so that's ok. Bicarbonate of soda is known as Baking soda in the US. The one ingredient that should be easily available in the US is buttermilk – bring on our visit to Trader Joe's – a great “supermarket” and reasonably priced too. A voyage of discovery … here's what we found.

I have to confess it's good fun translating recipes – if you have the time of course and I did – hey you never know when you might want to bake Soda Bread in the US – I've saved you all that time and done the research for you!

Houston ..

… we may have a problem

I wouldn't want you to think that I'm spending all my time in the kitchen – I'm not – but as I plan to teach my friend various bits and pieces whilst I'm here it requires a little thought.

What better way to gather my culinary thoughts than to sit, with my morning coffee – notebook at the ready - cuddling the dogs – here's my view :

Hmmm – I need to check the kitchen kit and experience has taught me that it's as well to do this before you leave the house! There are certain essentials that are absolutely necessary.

You can do what you like cooking your signature dish with a drop of this and a pinch of that to refine your recipe and make it your own but you can't mess with baking – it's a science and the recipes are not there for fun, so we need scales. There are no scales – gulp!

Thank you Walmart – you can buy anything in Walmart – cheaply. Panic over!

Confession time - for years I used scales for baking that I know, hand on heart, were not accurate. Do yourself a huge favour and drag yourself kicking and screaming into the 21^st Century and invest in a digital set. Here's why. The majority of cooks have old books which give weights and measures in Imperial. In the UK we use metric weights and measures and have done so for a long time. In the US they still use Imperial. How much joy is there in having a set of scales that does it all – grams, pounds and ounces, fluid ounces, millilitres blah, blah.

The cherry on the top is that your baking is much more likely to be successful if your ingredients are accurately weighed.

If my friend is willing – at the age of 75 years old – to get to grips with a new piece of kit!

You won't regret your investment.

P.s. I only ever knew one person that never used scales - my grandmother - who was a brilliant pastry cook - I never saw her use a set of scales – in truth I don't think she owned any. The best apple pie ever. I'm not sure whether it was skill or practice in that she baked regularly and therefore experience meant that she just knew the amounts were accurate. It couldn't be just luck – I saw her produce and ate the results too many times for it to be a fluke – may be it was a combination of both.

On location - in South Carolina

It's time for a holiday and for me it's time to catch up with my friend in Lake Wiley, South Carolina. Just so you get your bearings Lake Wiley is in the north of South Carolina – yippee that means one flight to Charlotte!

My friend moved earlier this year so his home is completely new to me. I feel it only right that you should get a picture of where I am, so, here's the back view of the house :

Who let the dogs out - me – say hello to Choo Choo and her new best friend Hugo, aka Huggie, two wheaten terriers.

I should explain that this holiday will include some teaching but since my friend (and student) is more than interested we'll have the best time.

It's weekend and taking it easy is definitely the intention so we need to get the shopping out of the way so that we don't have to interrupt this fantastic weather - even by US standards it's warm – actually no it's hot – top 70ies.

On tonight's menu, smoked chicken fillet in Alfredo sauce with roast potatoes, roasted carrots in lemon and butter.

A little revision for me – back to old style Imperial temperatures and getting to grips with a new oven.

It's a tough life!

The end …

of the grid for the week

So my Multitaskers, what did you think – were you sceptical?

My intention was not to turn you into some crazy person obsessed with lists. If you've enjoyed the basic concept of the multitasking and, if only in a small way, have adjusted the way you plan, shop and cook - then all I can say is yippee!

If it has made you think about saving yourself time and money - for example, shopping randomly and usually expensively – then ditto!

If you're now using your oven to its fullest capacity and have a supper or two under your belt and it eases your working week – then ditto again!

Here's another thing – how much food have you wasted this week – have a look in your fridge – only you know how much food you condemn to the recycling bin each week. I'd like to bet that there's not much left in the fridge to recycle.

You never know you might actually begin to cook more than you'll use so that you create your own home cooked ready meals to freeze, so, when you're suffering from the revolving door syndrome – you know exactly what I mean - everyone coming and going at different times - you're able to pull meals out of the freezer.

If you've been impressed, nay pleased with the results, you could even go one step further and actually work out how much money you've saved – you've shopped once at the supermarket so you'll know – compare it with your previous shop. In terms of wastage the fridge and recycling bin speak for themselves.

Best of all it does not take into account your stress free, happy mood.

Give yourself a pat on the back and treat yourself with the money you've saved.

I know it's not rocket science but may be you've had a light bulb moment!

Retro night continued

I know that I've mentioned bread more than once.

Here's the thing – if you want to buy French bread or posh expensive artisan bread that's your choice.

However, you could try either of the following :

Soda Bread

170g self raising wholemeal flour

170g plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

290ml buttermilk – 300ml pot works

fine

Pre heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Tip the flours, salt and bicarb into a large bowl and mix.

Make a well in the centre, pour in 290ml of buttermilk and mix quickly with a large fork until you have a soft dough formed. You may need an extra drop if your dough is too stiff but take care it should not be too wet or sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.

Form the dough into a round a flatten slightly. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet.

Slice an “x” on the top of the loaf and bake for 30 minutes – the base should sound hollow when tapped.

Just to confuse the issue I've found buttermilk in different weights. A low fat version weighing 284ml and a full fat version weighing 300ml – either works well.

Cheese & Pecan loaf

60g Parmesan cheese, grated

350g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch cayenne pepper

125g mature cheddar cheese, cut

into small cubes

60g chopped pecan nuts (or walnuts

if preferred)

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

250ml full fat milk

1 large egg

170ml tub of sour cream

salt and black pepper

900g (2lb) loaf tin, well buttered and

lined

Pre-heat your oven 180c/160fan/Gas 4

Sprinkle half the grated Parmesan cheese into the loaf tin to coat the base and sides.

Mix the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and lots of black pepper into a large bowl. Mix in the cheddar cubes, nuts and spring onions.

In a separate bowl whisk the milk, egg and cream together then fold into the dry ingredients.

Spoon in the loaf tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 50/55 minutes until golden brown – skewer test i.e. insert skewer into loaf, on removal should be clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, turn out and transfer to a rack to cool.

Serve warm with lots of butter.

One thing is certain, both these breads are great. The Cheese & Pecan Loaf takes longer than the Soda Bread but both are equally delicious.

I might make one suggestion – if you opt for the Soda Bread I'd bake two loaves – it's the quickest loaf I've ever made. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than rustic and the perfect piece of cutlery – i.e. for dipping into melted cheese or paté or garlic butter.

Any bread left over is great toasted so not wasted at all or, if you prefer, you could freeze it.

I'd like to bet it's academic since it will all disappear.

By the way, for the meat eaters – I'd serve a platter of cold meats of your choice – not forgetting the Nasi from last night too.

No standing on ceremony – everyone helps themselves!

Saturday night is “Retro” night.

Here's the plan – Saturday night should be easy in every way – to prepare and to eat from a plate on your knee watching your favourite programme/film – whatever is your bag.

With that in mind the following suggestions don't take any time and effort and you don't have to produce them all – it's just a selection of bits and pieces that would hit the spot.

Here goes :

Baked Camembert

250g Camembert

1 clove garlic or garlic paste

olive oil

Bread of your choice

Pinch of sea salt

Handful of chopped dried cranberries

Handful of chopped mixed nuts

Preheat your oven 180/350/Gas 4. Leaving the Camembert in the box, score around the top about half cm in and cut off the top layer of skin. Slice the garlic clove and poke into the top of the cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil then bake in the oven for 15 minutes – or until gorgeous and oozy in the middle.

Serve the Camembert with warmed flat bread or French bread – dunk the bread into the cheese and then into the cranberries and nuts – repeat!

Cream cheese and cashew nut paté

1 carrot, finely grated

225g cream cheese

100g roasted cashew nuts, crushed to a rubble – not

to a dust!

1 tbsp of chopped chives

salt and black pepper

black olives – pitted and sliced (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together, box and fridge. If you are feeling really virtuous have a side of raw carrots.

(any leftovers are perfect for lunch, served on whatever takes your fancy – rice cakes, gluten free cheese oatcakes, toast or even as a sandwich filling – a toasted bagel would be good too – sounds positively healthy).

Retro Rooms

Serves 6

750g chestnut mushrooms cut into quarters

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley – finely chopped

2 tbsp lemon juice

Glug of dry sherry

6 tbsp rapeseed oil

100g unsalted butter – at room temperature

4 garlic cloves – or equivalent paste

salt and black pepper

Mix the butter with the garlic. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the mushrooms and season with salt and black pepper. Add the lemon juice and a glug of dry sherry. Add the butter and garlic mixture and cook for 5/7 minutes, fold in the chopped parsley.

Serve in ramekins with warm crusty bread to mop up the garlicky yumminess.

As an alternative you could add croutons to your mushrooms and not bother with the crusty bread.

Speaking of bread … read on

Friday already …

… and Friday night is fish night. Here's my “fish” version of an Indonesian favourite – Nasi Goreng.

There are two main types of Goreng – Nasi Goreng which is fried rice and Mie Goreng which is fried noodles. There are lots of variations of both dishes but they have basics in common. They began life as a breakfast dish using up leftovers and evolved into a popular street food choice, right up to being served in posh restaurants. They can be spicy or not depending on your taste and vegetarian or not and you'll find many recipes out there.

I made my first Nasi Goreng in 1987 and still make it – with my own variations along the way, like the following :

Nasi - but not as we know it

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder

*225g cooked rice

*175g cooked salmon fillet, flaked

*175g smoked salmon, finely sliced

*175g peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

4-6 hard boiled eggs, quartered

black pepper

Serves 4-6

Add the vegetable oil to a wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the salmon and prawns.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice together, stir into the rice mixture, then season to taste with pepper.

Add the eggs, folding in gently, serve immediately, straight from the wok.

You can adjust the amounts of fish/seafood to your own personal taste – bearing in mind that you have two elements to replace from the original recipe – chicken and ham – 175g each plus 175g of prawns. You are adding hard boiled eggs - these are not a garnish but an integral part of the dish since the sauce is quite punchy and the fish quite salty so they play an important part in the balance.

Make it your own – adjust to suit yourself, if you want more prawns then adjust the amount of salmon accordingly. You can still get great deals on on cooked salmon fillets or flakes and smoked salmon too, so keep your eyes open!

Oops, nearly forgot – any leftovers box and fridge.

Friday morning …

… whilst you're splitting the breakfast atom or juggling breakfast balls, hard boil the eggs as per the following recipe – don't forget to set your timer!

For Friday's supper I have made certain assumptions. That you're tired and you really don't want to be bothered about food at all. You're ready to do another supermarket shop – whether it's physical or virtual you still need the time – the cupboards whilst not bare are definitely depleted.

I have therefore taken it for granted that you want minimum fuss and maximum flavour in the shortest time possible. To this end ...

You'll notice that there are four items marked * on the recipe. The first is cooked rice. Stock your freezer with frozen rice – you can also buy rice and vegetables too. This rice and/or vegetables can be stir fried straight from the freezer or microwaved. To give you an indication of time – 250g of the rice and vegetables takes 4 mins 750w or 3.30 mins 850w. It comes in 500g bags and apart from the rice contains petits pois, sweetcorn and fried onion – available from Marks & Spencer. Frozen rice is widely available at most supermarkets.

This task can be left until you are ready to cook this evening. If you buy the rice and vegetables you don't need the onion in the recipe since they're already in the rice.

Take the cooked salmon fillet/flakes, smoked salmon and the prawns from the freezer, ensuring that the prawns are placed in an appropriate sealed container to defrost during the day.

These tasks take seconds. The eggs can be peeled this evening – whilst the rice is in the microwave.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that by taking advantage of deals when you see them and freezing ingredients life is so much easier when you've the wherewithal to produce an excellent meal very quickly without having to go anywhere near a supermarket!

Get into the habit of stocking your freezer with ingredients you know you'll use. I appreciate you need the space in the freezer and I'm not suggesting you rush out and spend a fortune you can't afford. A little thought goes a long way …

… to saving your sanity!

Thursday night is veggie night!

I hope that by now you get the gist of what I'm trying to do – save you time, effort, stress and oh yes – money too. You should find that you shop less and because you know, in advance, what's for supper you don't deviate because you don't need to!

Tonight's meal may not go down a storm, mainly because “meat-free” isn't very popular – anyway lets see where it takes us – as always rules are made to be broken.

Orzotto with leftover

roasted vegetables topped

with balsamic mushrooms

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

260g orzo pasta

500ml chicken stock (or vegetable)

juice of 1 lemon

200g frozen petit pois

2 tbsp fresh pesto

bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

extra pesto and slices of lemon to serve

salt and black pepper

Leftover veggies small diced and of a similar size

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for 2/3 minutes. Stir in orzo and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the stock all at once. Simmer and stir occasionally for 7/8 minutes until nearly cooked. Stir in the lemon juice and the frozen peas. Add the leftover veggies. Simmer for 2/3 minutes until the peas are cooked then add the pesto and the parsley. Season to taste and serve with extra pesto and a squeeze of lemon.

“As always, rules are meant to be broken” :

Add cubes of diced chorizo with the onion at the beginning of the recipe.

Sprinkle with bacon bits and parmesan – if you serve the bacon bits in a separate bowl then everyone can help themselves so you can serve vegetarians and meat eaters too.

For your bacon bits place rashers of back bacon (I'd use smoked) on foil on a large baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes on 200c/180fan/Gas 6. Turn and repeat – the bacon will be crispy and will break up into pieces – box it and use it as a garnish.

For the additional vegetarian topping :

Mushrooms in Balsamic

4 tbsp rapeseed oil or similar

500g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

4 cloves garlic, crushed

pinch of salt

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

60g parmesan shavings

Heat the oil, add the mushrooms and garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook on high for 5 minutes until browned and the liquid produced by the mushrooms has been absorbed. Mix the vinegar with the sugar and pour over the mushrooms.

Stir until syrupy – 1-2 minutes and serve as a topping on the Orzotto - garnish with shavings of parmesan – would not recommend using grated parmesan.

If you are a lover of risotto, we all know it's a labour of love – emphasis on the word “labour” - I don't care how organised you are, no-one has that sort of time during the week – orzotto is nearly as good and certainly better time-wise.

You could substitute 250ml of the stock with dry white wine. If you do then add the wine when you've fried the onions, then add the orzo and the remaining 250ml of stock.

Hopefully the inclusion of chorizo or bacon will keep the meat eaters happy!

Wonderful Wednesday

… or is it mid week misery!

I mentioned in “Your Autumn Arsenal” that we are all creatures of habit and consequently food becomes boring – we tend to stick with what we know and the rest, as they say, is history and we've reached for the takeaway menus.

On the menu for Wednesday is Smoked chicken with potato cakes using your chicken fillets smoked on Sunday together with your leftover mashed potato. It couldn't get more boring if it tried so here's my plan.

You have choices depending on how much time and energy you have but none of what I'm about to suggest takes a large chunk out of your evening.

If you like food without a sauce, then you can re-heat your smoked chicken – wrapped tightly in foil and placed on a baking tray - in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 15 minutes. Whilst your chicken is in the oven tip your leftover mashed potato into a mixing bowl. Add some finely sliced spring onions and a couple of handfuls from your grated cheese stash, season with salt and black pepper and mix well. Divide into equal portions, mould into balls, flour lightly and then flatten into a potato cake and dry fry in a non stick frying pan, turning until golden brown on both sides. The potato cakes will be ready when the chicken is.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record you could delve into your raw slaw stash and add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese too – serve as is without any dressing – season to taste – add a glug of sweet chilli sauce just before serving – you'll still retain the crunch from the raw slaw and a nice hit from the sweet chill sauce.

Two other alternatives using leftover mashed potatoes are the Colcannon or Pea and Spring Onion Champ (The humble spud and The humble spud – take 2).

If you prefer a sauce with your meal then the fastest and tastiest has to be Alfredo (the recipe is on the blog) - submerge your already poached chicken fillets in the sauce to warm through.

If you find you have more time and can be bothered mid-week you can use one of the chicken recipes in Your Autumn Arsenal – nothing is set in stone – all of this is meant to trigger ideas of your own, tailored to your families' likes and dislikes.

P.s. I should apologise in that I didn't make it clear in “Sunday multitasking continued” - “Whilst you're at it” “Smoke” 4 chicken fillets - that the chicken fillets should be fridged when they have cooled.

May be not so boring!

Trauma free Tuesday!

Fancy a pizza with a difference - using the extra lamb shank you cooked?

I know we've made the Stromboli previously but this recipe uses the lamb shank and also gives you variations if you feel like being adventurous.

Stromboli

400g prepared pizza dough or ready-made base

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 lamb shank stripped and shredded

120g baby spinach

100g thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Generous sprinkle of dried thyme

Pre-heat your oven 220fan/200c/Gas 8. Place a large baking tray in the oven.

Place a dampened J cloth on your work surface. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the cloth – it will stop it sliding – make sure you leave enough to get hold of – you're going to lift it onto the hot baking tray that's in the oven at the moment. Unroll the pizza dough gently on the parchment.

Spread the tomato paste onto the base. Add the shredded lamb, followed by the spinach and then the mozzarella and sprinkle with the dried thyme. Roll up the base from the shortest side and brush with the olive oil - make sure it's seam-side down when placed on the tray.

WITH CARE remove the tray from the oven and then carefully lift the parchment and the rolled up pizza onto it. Place back in the oven for 20/25 minutes until golden brown – check at 20 minutes.

When removed from the oven slice into portions to suit and serve.

Variations on a theme :

Use goat's cheese instead of mozzarella

Use ground cumin to sprinkle over the lamb instead of or in addition to dried thyme

Sprinkle capers over the top of the shredded lamb – salty capers and sweet lamb - yum

Sprinkle sumac over the top of the lamb – a sharp lemony flavour – double yum

Any or all of the above will work well and – surprise surprise – you could dip into your raw slaw stash and serve a coleslaw as a side.

Happy Tuesday!

Marvellous Monday!

Had a hard day at work? Can't be bothered to think about supper – that's fine – all that hard work on Sunday will now come good.

Remember the potatoes you almost roasted yesterday – here's why.

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6. Cut the potatoes in half, lengthways, in their foil tray and place in the oven for 15 minutes to warm through.

Warm smoked mackerel salad

Serves 2

(double the recipe to serve 4)

350g new potatoes

1 tsp horseradish cream

juice of 1 lemon

2 smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and

flaked (200g approx)

black pepper

100g sour cream

bunch of spring onions – approx

85g when trimmed and finely sliced

handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

OR use baby spinach

Whilst the potatoes are warming, mix the sour cream, horseradish cream and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with black pepper.

Tip the sour cream mixture over the potatoes – the mixture will loosen. Add the flaked smoked mackerel and the spring onions and combine gently. Sprinkle with finely chopped flat leaf parsley and serve whilst warm.

Serve with a winter coleslaw – buy it if you must, but if you have prepared the raw slaw mix then it takes but a minute to add a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream and a touch of Dijon mustard and mix!

Ps. If there is any left, box it, fridge it and lunch it next day. If you like cold leftovers so be it – if you don't then just pop into the microwave (at home or the office) for a minute to warm through and instant lunch.

I just love it when a plan comes together!