The ten minute soup challenge: Low fat spicy tomato and courgette soup recipe
“What do you think galengal tastes like?” My mum shrugged. “I would leave it if I was you.” I was examining the spices to add to our ten minute soup. So I put back the galengal and grabbed a small jar of Massaman Thai curry paste. This includes a lot of the ingredients that I use for our soup all in one jar – chilli, lemon grass, tamarind, corrriander and a few others such as shrimp and cumin. Galengal has a small walk on part too. We don’t eat soup every day for lunch. Sometimes we still eat a...
read moreDessert gooseberry and white currant jellies recipe
Sometimes we both cook when friends come for supper. If Danny is doing the main course he’s not keen on sharing a stove ever since the time I cooked my starters in the top oven and the kitchen filled with black noxious smoke. We’d only used this part of the oven as a grill before. And since. Now I generally make the starter and the pud in the morning. Jellies are ideal if you are preparing in advance. They are easy, look pretty and are a great way of padding out a small tray of soft fruit. Even though I’m now Queen of the...
read moreBroad bean and smoked duck breast salad with a garlic and spring onion dressing recipe
If anyone had suggested ten years ago that I might like to try growing broad beans, I would have thought that they were deranged. I hated broad beans. The flouriness of the beans and their crinkly skins. When John arrived with a large smile and a box of seeds it would have been rude to say no. So I smiled and enthused as he planted an entire bed of the kitchen garden with the plump seeds of these loathsome plants. I cared for these plants. Nipping of the tops to avoid the invasion of blackfly. Watering them when it was dry. They were planted...
read moreFillet of pork medallions on a herby bed of courgette and baby broad bean couscous recipe
Fillet of pork is so tender and succulent but sometimes it can lack flavour. Danny bought two packs of medallions from the condemned food counter at Tesco and fried them in a little black butter. He sat down to savour this delicacy with a small proud wobble of his head. Within seconds there was a roar. “They taste just like blotting paper!” When I found myself with a pork fillet to cook, I remembered the shrieks and made a marinade. I used loads of fresh herbs for this. We had a great tip from some friends who used to run a...
read moreThe ten minute soup challenge: Quick Asparagus and Coriander soup recipe
Danny reached for the ladle. “How can you run up a soup like this in just ten minutes? I can’t believe that it’s low fat. It’s delicious.” He didn’t mention the soup disaster that had been poured into the dogs the day before. Unbeknown to Danny I had researched soup based simply on a good stock, a few herbs and spices, a handful of fresh vegetables and some noodles. Many Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Indian soups use this principle of combining a stock that has simmered for hours with fresh vegetables,...
read moreHomemade raspberry jellies recipe
Tiny hands clap with glee when I make jellies. “Why do we only have jellies when we are entertaining? Let’s make far more than we need or invite less people next time.” Danny was scraping a small stolen tumbler clean. Good fresh fruit jellies are a delight. Wonderful as a little something if you are laid up in bed, a great dessert for everyone, including those on a low fat diet. Gelatine is also good for you, strengthening your hair and nails. So for once you can let rip and indulge with impunity. The amount of sugar that you...
read moreRoast poussin with a rich apricot stuffing recipe
I love the combination of meat and fruit. We had planned to dine on stuffed and rolled breast of lamb tonight but I couldn’t find it in the freezer. Our freezer is not large but it requires superhuman skills to pack any extra items in. The freezer always seems to be chock a bloc. In fact I need to be in “Sherlock Holmes super sleuth” mode to find anything. If I remove something it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is suddenly a bit more space. A genie seems to hop in and fill the gap with a smirk. We were out all day...
read moreThe ten minute soup challenge: Quick hot and sour vegetable soup recipe
My night time dreams have been rich and startling recently. I dreamt that my pond was full of tropical fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Bright pink and yellow scallops hung on the sides as I watched small electric blue fish swim between my toes. I woke in the morning exhausted from this adventure and longing for seafood. But we’re back on the soup for weekday lunch regime and I needed to make some while I rustled up breakfast. In the winter I’m happy to cook large batches at the weekend, freeze them and pull out a carton each night....
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