Lucifer's Kidneys

Heaven not Hell!

Soften a small handful of chopped onions and a large handful peppers in a little butter and oil.

Add 1 tsp garlic and 3 or 4 lambs kidneys tossed in flour.

Stir-fry until lightly coloured and add 1 hpd tsp paprika.

Fry for a couple of minutes and add small handful mushrooms, loosening scrapings from bottom of the pan.

Lower heat and add 1 dstsp tomato puree and 1 hpd tsp mustard, 1 tsp Worcester and a pinch of S+P, plus a tiny pinch of cayenne.

Add 100ml natural yoghurt and stir gently. Check seasoning and cook through.

Love Food, Hate Waste

It was one of those nights when I'd been faffing round, and suddenly realised that the second part of "Room At The Top" was starting in 10 minutes. Something quick was called for - and a bit spicy was what was desired.

I started with a quickly defrosted sausage, cut into chunks and stir-fried with onion, peppers, broccoli and a little garlic.

When the meat was browning and the vegetables were softened I added a handful of frozen peas, some chopped-up chorizo (the ready-cooked type), and a pinch of hot paprika.

Out of the fridge came a tub of cooked rice, and was heated through before wacking the power up and adding a little milk to moisten. When all the liquid was absorbed, my faux-risotto was ready to serve.

To finish my meal - when the Tv programme was over - I raided the freezer again for some chocolate cake (Home Bargains), slathered with chocolate & hazelnut spread (ditto: Home Bargains), warmed through in the microwave and served with whippy cream and ice cream.

Hannah was not best pleased I'd been playing with chocolate again while she was out earning a crust or two!

Curried Pork Casserole (a bit west of Singapore)

East meets West

This was a hit with Hannah: a pork steak each, fried to seal and then pot-roasted for about 30 minutes in a closed casserole dish with button onions and parsnips, in a little salted water. When the veg was nearly tender I added a sachet (70g) of Singapore-style Laksa curry paste from Knorr Professional, which I had been sent to trial. Asda do something very similar: a 180g jar for £1.63. After a further 10 minutes I decanted the cooking liquor into a hot wok, boiled furiously to reduce and then stirred in about 50g of yoghurt. I returned the sauce to the casserole while I finished cooking the rice and stir-fried the veg: shredded savoy cabbage, broccoli and peppers, in a blend of rapeseed and sesame oils.

Hannah said the sauce tasted like chip-shop curry - which I think was a compliment!

An Eclectic Lunch

An unusual combination of components, which worked!

A slightly creamy cucumber soup - I'd bought a bag of diced cue reduced to 25p - which works as well cold as it does hot. The soft-boiled egg was just right: firm enough to slice in half, but still a bit runny.

Turkey Escalope, Ratatouille & Sweet Potato

Breast of turkey, egged and breadcrumbed, then fried, 

before finishing in a hot oven for about 15 minutes.

Sweet potato wedges, rubbed with olive oil and baked.

To complete the meal, a fairly simple ratatouille.

Berni Inn (revisited)

Bargain Mixed Grill

Reduced-price sirloin and bacon rashers from Morrisons, 

Gloucestershire Old Spot pork sausages from Frozen Bargains. 

Retro beef tomato with garlic mushroom filling, field mushroom, 

peas and new potatoes.

Autumn Snack

Homemade Carrot & Lentil Soup with a Salami & Brie Toastie

Blue Cheese, Turkey & Pasta Salad

Love your leftovers!

Cold pasta and leftover scraps of cooked turkey form the basis of this lunchtime salad. 

I added the usual fridge staples of peppers, onion and celery.

The mixture was tossed with a mash-up of French dressing  and Cashel Blue cheese

Curried Batter Pudding with Turkey & Veg

Curried batter pudding with diced turkey, marrow and onions

served with sweet potato wedges and roast cherry tomatoes

Kippered Mackerel, Beetroot & Horseradish Mayo

When I saw the pack of reduced-price fish I assumed - wrongly, it turned out - that it was just smoked mackerel by another name. It wasn't until I took my first bite that I discovered the fish was smoked, but not enough to have cooked it through - just like kippered herrings, in fact. My mistake was rectified by nuking for two minutes in a closed casserole dish.

To accompany, I had the last of some funny little potatoes Hannah unearthed at the Rice Lane Urban Farm, and I made a dressing of finely-chopped beetroot mixed with equal parts of mayonnaise and horseradish cream. Cucumber & mint in yoghurt and a French-style salad completed my very late Sunday breakfast.

Stuffed Marrow

Stuffed marrow, with sesame-roasted parsnip, balsamic tomatoes

and plain boiled basmati rice

Marrows for the bargain price of 25p each. I was particularly amused that Morrisons class them as "exotic veg"!

The filling was an underseasoned variation of a bog-standard Bolognese - with mushrooms and the scooped-out flesh and seeds from the marrow added.

Ready to wrap and bake

 

 

Straight from the oven

 

The tomatoes were sautéed in a little olive oil

with balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce and sugar.

The parsnips were lightly seasoned with S+P

and rubbed with sesame oil before roasting.

Soup 'n' Sarnie (sort of)

Chunky egg mayonnaise with spring onions,

fridge-clearout salad, with French dressing.

Chilled carrot & lentil soup

Yorkie Steak & Kidney Dinner

Yum!

Deliberately not perfect - how else could you tell it's home-made!

Working Lunch: Omelette Lasagne

Omelette Lasagne with fresh peas and deep-fried potatoes

I don't normally eat a full meal at lunchtime but Hannah was starting work at 2:30 and claims she needs the carbs to keep going until past midnight. Who am I not to give the girl what she wants?

I made several thin omelettes in advance, separating them with greaseproof paper. The filling was made from diced marrow fried with onions, and then passata and tomato puree added. I kept the garlic and seasoning to a very low level! 

I assembled the whole lot on an oven-proof plate: one omelette topped with the tomato mixture; another in the middle, with more filling and slices of mature cheddar over that, before adding the final omelette to finish. 

Whack it under a hot grill - or microwave gently to reheat and melt the cheese.

Burgering About At The Weekend

Quarter-pounder with Lyonnaise potatoes & two salads

OK, so Summer's over and Autumn's on its way - but sometimes a burger and salad is all you crave!

 Mint yoghurt mixed with diced cucumber and defrosted peas.

The bowl by Ruth Cave, Hannah's mother. 

A present last Christmas, filled with home-made Turkish Delight.

The other salad

Cherry tomatoes from a plant gifted by Ruth. On a frog plate, made by Ruth. A present for my most recent birthday.

Love your leftovers

It's been a busy old day in Posh Nosh World!

First thing this morning I was talking balls on the wireless - my Scouse meatballs, that is: Anthony Zausmer in conversation with Radio Merseyside's Tony Snell, 4th September 2012.



Then, it was off to the Town Hall in Wallasey, not only to meet up with some of the other winners and for me to do my party piece for the cameras, but also to hobnob with Phil Davies, the leader of Wirral Council, and Brian Kenny, the cabinet member for Environment:
Wirral Globe, 5th September, 2012
Wirral News, 5th September 2012
Wirral Borough Council recipe download

A very enjoyable day!