The “T” word

Have you noticed how things have changed. For years from Boxing Day onwards virtually every advert on the television was for holidays. I know they haven't disappeared altogether but they seem to have been overtaken by adverts promoting a particular answer to weight loss.

The fashion these days is you spend a small mortgage on having pre-prepared “healthy” “well-balanced” meals – aka ready-meals – delivered a month at a time. 'Tis your prerogative of course and I'm all for convenience during the working week but would venture to suggest that whilst they may be “healthy” and “well-balanced” I think you might find that the tiny portion size might have something to do with it!

If you've been celebrating New Year with friends and family how many times were you asked about any resolutions you were going to make? If by some chance you are contemplating changes regarding the way you eat then I'd like to make a couple of suggestions.

If you do want to change the way you eat, make the resolution privately, to yourself. That way you'll immediately do away with any outside pressures - “how much have your lost this week?” - “oh, I've lost xlbs – i.e. more than you have”. It becomes competitive and adds pressure and you'll be heading for the hidden chocolate bars/biscuits by the end of the first week in January.

So I'm suggesting that you “tweak” what you consume – hence the “T” word. In other words make adjustments to what you eat. I know that you aren't going to like this but if your ultimate aim is to get onto an even keel, then exercise – i.e. doing some form of – will make a huge difference – adjustments alone won't cut it!

It's a bit like the tortoise and the hare …... slow and steady wins the race!

Festive Feedback

Remember what I said in “Pause for thought ...” about ringing the changes and doing something different – i.e. chips with everything. I am happy to report that it worked like a charm.

Of course I took with me a couple of surprises, one savoury, one sweet. Bullseye on both.

The savoury extra was pulled chicken – conveniently boxed and frozen in small foil containers. This is the recipe mentioned in Madness III – tee hee! One box out to defrost and one stashed in my Sister's freezer. Fast forward to Christmas night – peckish – one slider filled with chicken, can't remember what else went with it but I do know that it vanished at the speed of light.

Now for the sweet surprise. This is not my recipe, it comes from the Waitrose Magazine September 2015 – The Sweet Spot - Pizookie – pizza-cookie. It's absolutely true what they say - “utterly addictive”. I know that you can get the recipe on line because I forwarded it to a friend on Boxing Day – give it a go, it really is a show-stopper - find the recipe here. One or two minor points that aren't mentioned in the recipe from the magazine. It's 160 fan – I left my pizookie in for 30 minutes and it was still squidgy inside. I have also frozen it. Defrost when you are ready to use – you can re-heat the whole pizookie in a warm oven for 10 minutes or you could portion and zap on medium for 20 seconds in the microwave – serve with or without ice cream but you'll definitely need spoons.

“... I've just eaten my bodyweight in amazing goodies!....pulled chicken is amazing”.

“... The pizookie tastes fantastic and the pulled chicken is incredible...”

Not traditional festive fare I agree but it's great to serve food that is a little outside the box and just as much of a treat – all the more so for the cook when you can make ahead and freeze – no effort at all.

Courage mon brave! Or – be brave my friend.

P.s. A message received on Christmas Day

“ … Thank you for my HEAVENLY nut roast! Sheer bliss on a plate – an amazing Christmas dinner!”

Who'd have thought it!

Santa came early for me this year - my Editor and IT consultant, aka my nephew Lucas, bought me a website www.miammiamcookery.com – so much easier – it will take you straight to the blog. The best present!

Way back in the year, in the post By the way I mentioned chatting to Bernie Keith (bernie.keith@bbc.co.uk) on his BBC Radio Northampton morning show. In early December I received an invitation from the lovely Sarah, his Producer, to Bernie's outside broadcast from his home on 23^rd December to do a food demo in his kitchen during the show. Mad woman I hear you splutter – and you'd be right!

To cut a long story short I decided to make, among other things, tuna pastries (see Summer Holidays) and White Christmas (see Crossword Clue) for the sweet hit. The pastries are quick, easy and tasty and make a great canapé. The White Christmas is, you may recall in feedback from the taste testing - “...better than Rocky Road!” Good choice I thought.

Off I went on my merry way with my comforter – the satnav!

It was the best morning. I've cooked in confined spaces, surrounded by people, many times before but this experience took it to a whole new level. You must have heard the expression “vertically challenged” - a suitable description of myself – for once being so challenged came into its own – duckin' and divin' with trays of tuna pastries and trying hard not to injure guests when trying to open the oven door! The guests were kind and the recipe for the tuna pastries requested – they all disappeared.

A lady guest spotted the huge bowl of white chocolate melting on the hob and “was intrigued”. When the time came to assemble I tapped her (politely of course) on the shoulder and asked if she would like to see the end result. I tipped the remaining ingredients into the melted chocolate – “it's difficult to believe all those ingredients will disappear into the chocolate”. I can confirm that they did. I was then able to utter those immortal words, “... and here's one I made earlier!” offering the sweet treat to the guests from boxes that were ready to eat – depositing the one just made into Bernie's fridge to set. Went down a storm, even though I say so myself!

It was such fun and great to put faces to names that I've been listening to for ages - thanks for the invitation Bernie (and Sarah of course).

P.s. The following morning en route to Derbyshire, listening to Bernie. before we were out of range, I'm delighted to report that he'd found the tray of White Christmas in his fridge - the remaining boxes he'd taken into the Station and sampled whilst on air – he liked it!

What a way to start the holidays!

A pat on the back!

Over the last couple of weeks you've taken multi-tasking to a whole new level – you never knew it was possible to keep so many balls in the air!

Now is the time to regain your sanity and, after all that rich food and perhaps a little over indulgence, you might fancy a smidgen of spice.

The only trouble is that you can never predict when the fancy may take you – unless of course you can predict the future – in which case you'll be collecting your lottery win!

Furthermore, if you make a curry sauce from scratch you need all manner of fresh ingredients - some of which are not always easy to get hold of if you live in the sticks - and it takes forever to make.

Here's my answer – and I'm not going to apologise to the purists out there – this recipe is fast – the curry sauce base takes no time at all and for the most part you'll have the ingredients in your pantry. I concede that you may need to invest in a jar of Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and if you can't get hold of star anise powder then use one whole spice.

Give it a go :

Curry sauce base

1 medium onion, finely diced

glug of vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 1 tsp of garlic paste

2 tsps mild curry powder

1 tsp star anise powder or one star anise

*3 tsps of of dark soft brown sugar

*1 tbsp Kecap manis

*1 tbsp dark soy sauce

*1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

*1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

160ml coconut cream

350g bag of prawns, defrosted

500g Charlotte (or similar) potatoes, cooked, peeled

and diced

2 handfuls of petit pois, defrosted

Fresh chopped coriander - optional

Mango chutney – optional

Serves 4

Mix together in a small bowl or jug all the ingredients marked *.

Soften the onion and garlic in a glug of vegetable oil, in a large frying pan. Add the curry powder and star anise and cook the spices on a medium heat so that they release their flavour – 2/3 minutes.

Add the mixed ingredients and then the coconut cream and simmer for another 2/3 minutes. Your sauce is ready to use whenever you are.

I added the prawns, potatoes and petit pois – served it in bowls with spoons – add a sprinkle of chopped coriander if you have it – it's not compulsory. I love mango chutney and finished my bowl with a large blob!

This sauce is really kind – you could keep it vegetarian by adding whatever veggies you have to hand or add cooked chicken. It's not a “blow your head off” curry sauce – serve it with rice or noodles or garlic bread if you don't want to include the potatoes. I can tell you it ticked all the boxes for me!

Since my next missive will be on 3^rd January I'd like to close by wishing you a happy & healthy New Year. Thank you for your support and I hope you'll stay with me in 2016.

Happy New Year! xxx

A snippet – or, what the Girls said!

I mentioned in Last Class of 2015 and Judy's Jars that I would give full and frank disclosure – whoever frank is – here it is,

Cheese and Pecan Loaf :

“…. cheesey, light, full of air bubbles with a crunchy cheese crust, delicious, even without the butter

…. beautiful texture and a delicious alternative to bread. The fact that it freezes well adds to its appeal.

…. made it look so simple and it was stunning – didn't want to stop eating it”.

Pulled Chicken :

“.... Sweet with a bite to it, tender, mouthwatering, lovely sauce – could serve with rice or potatoes.

…. Delicious, easy meal with a great combination of flavour and different textures. The easy alternative for the busy working mum.

…. Very more-ish.

…. Slow cooked and delicious”.

Winter Coleslaw :

“.... Completely different to shop bought – the dressing is very light – not at all creamy or sickly like the shop bought stuff.

…. A work of art with the red cabbage. This will be a favourite meal for the future.

…. Refreshing, tangy and again, delicious”.

Judy's Jars :

“....A beautiful and delicious alternative to trifle. Rich and very more-ish.

….Wow-wow-wow.

…. Total indulgence, chocolate feast with amaretti biscuits and sweet cherries – fantastic”.

“.... I shall use every single recipe, they were absolutely delicious”.

The end!

Just before I go, remember the Christmas Cake and Écrou roti exchange, mentioned in What a farce! My friend popped in for a quick cuppa at the weekend so we could swap culinary delicacies.

Here's a snippet from an email :

“.... the roast is amazing. I've cut it into portions packed it and stowed it safely in the freezer. I did allow myself a “tester taste” and – drum roll please – IT'S TO DIE FOR. Absolutely scrummy-licious, thank you so, so much! That's my Christmas sorted … and I'm really touched by all the trouble you've gone to to create a reduced sugar roast for me ...”

It was gluten free too – and, whilst I think about it – on my latest foray to Daily Bread Co-operative – northampton@dailybread.co.uk I discovered another fab product – Essential Organic Apple purée – 700g £1.75 outstanding value.

I'm not wanting to claim bragging rights – just to let you know the recipe works and “does what it says on the tin”.

Unyaka omusha omuhle! (This time “Happy New Year” in Zulu)

Lunch or Dinner?

... on New Year's Day.

Either or, here's another suggestion for a meat free dish that you could serve to veggies or use as an accompaniment – it lends itself very well with duck, goose or gammon.

Apricot & Pistachio Stuffing

60g Unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed or 1 tsp garlic paste

**200g Breadcrumbs/Parsley, Thyme & Lemon stuffing mix

150g dried Apricots, roughly chopped

50g shelled Pistachios, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

**Generous pinch of dried parsley and thyme

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

Heat the butter, add the onion and garlic and fry for 6/8 minutes until softened, add the breadcrumbs/stuffing mix, apricots and nuts and season well. Add 9 fl oz (just under ½ pint) of boiling water (you can use vegetable stock for enhanced flavour if you prefer) mix and then transfer to a lined loaf tin. Alternatively you can roll the mixture into stuffing balls, place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Cover in foil and cook for 20 minutes. You can freeze the stuffing, cooked or uncooked (although if you are using breadcrumbs that have been frozen the stuffing should be cooked before freezing).

**You can use your own breadcrumbs, especially if you use white bread and you've got the end of a loaf. Take the crusts off and blitz – you can air dry on a baking sheet or pop into a low oven to dry out – they can be frozen. If you buy them don't get the bright orange variety, Waitrose do their own version – expensive but you get what you pay for. You can also cheat and use a packet of Parsley, Thyme and Lemon stuffing mix and add breadcrumbs. The Shropshire Spice Co make a good product in 150g packets, so an additional 50g of crumbs is required, adding a generous pinch of dried parsley and thyme.

Finally, here's my contribution if you are feeling a tad fragile. I can't hold it out to be a hangover cure but, try peanut butter on toast and top with cranberry sauce/jelly or, my personal favourite – redcurrant jelly. If you use the Whole Earth peanut butter you could even try and kid yourself it's healthy.

S novim godom! (I hope this says “Happy New Year” in Russian)

Staying in?

…. for New Year that is.

If you've decided to put up the shutters and get to that box set you've been promising yourself or may be a couple of friends are joining you for a leisurely supper here's a thought of the “keep it simple” variety.

Here's my Cpop (cheese, potato and onion pasty) – boring, ordinary, I hear you say, no I reply.

Cpop

1 large onion, finely chopped

500g Charlotte potatoes, cooked, peeled and cut into small dice

1 puff pastry sheet – 320g

1 egg, beaten

300g grated mature cheddar cheese

1 heaped tbsp dried parsley

2 tbsp dijon mustard

black pepper

sprinkle of salt

Pre-heat oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6

Serves 4 generous portions

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add a sprinkle of salt. Add the cheese, onion, parsley and mustard, season with black pepper and mix thoroughly.

Unroll your pastry onto a sheet of baking parchment.

Place the mixture on the lower half of the pastry sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, holding the baking parchment, fold the pastry over the filling and glue the edges. Use a fork to seal. Make two incisions in the top of the pasty and egg wash. Bake for 20/25 minutes. Check after 20, your pasty should be golden brown.

This pasty freezes well.

Here are three photos that I hope will help you on your way.

Serve it with the winter coleslaw or, shred red cabbage and carrots, chop spring onions, et al and make your own aioli – try this recipe on for size :

Aioli

2 large tsps of garlic paste

2 egg yolks

½ tsp dijon mustard

½ tsp salt

60ml extra virgin olive oil

180ml rapeseed oil

black pepper

drop of water – 2 tbsps

Pop the garlic paste, egg yolks, mustard, salt and water into a food processor, mix well. Gradually add the olive oil and the rapeseed oil. You should get a pale “emulsion” that looks like mayonnaise but tastes much better. Adjust seasoning to taste.

I think we'd be fibbing if we didn't admit to loving comfort food and this is a perfect supper on the sofa with the box set – preferably with the food served on a plate!