Gingerbread

This is something I cannot live without, at least once a month this needs baking.

Ingredients:

• 6oz plain flour
• 1 level tsp baking soda
• 1 level tsp ground ginger
• 1 rounded tsp mixed spice
• 2oz brown sugar
• 2oz margarine
• 2oz treacle
• 1oz syrup
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/4 pint milk

Melt the margarine, treacle and syrup together. 

Add these to the beaten egg with the milk. 

Next add this mixture to the dry ingredients.

Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes at 350d/180/gas 4. Check after 45 minutes as cooking time varies from oven to oven.

Cool and enjoy with real butter only.

Freezes well.

Fruit Loaf

Another easy to bake family recipe. Great for your tea-break or nice when out for a walk and need some nutrition.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 4oz margarine
• 10oz sultanas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice

Put all the ingredients in a pan and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Take off the heat and when cool add:

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• Add 1 beaten egg

Put into 2 x 1lb loaf tins.

Bake for 45-60 mins at 180. Check after 45 minutes as depends on your oven.

Cool and enjoy.

Freezes well.

Date & Walnut Loaf

An old tried and trusted family recipe, you can't go wrong. Brilliant comfort food and ideal for a snack when out in the great outdoors. Very moist and really tasty. As always with baking timings vary slightly from oven to oven.
Put into a bowl and soak for 15 minutes at least:

• 4oz dates
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coffee
• 1 cup boiling water

In another bowl:

• 6oz plain flour

Gently with fingers only rub in 2oz of soft margerine.

Now add;

•  pinch of salt
• 4oz sugar
• 2oz broken/chopped walnuts
• 1 egg

Now add all this to the date mix. Stir well, put in a 1lb loaf tin.

Bake for 45/60 minutes in the oven at 180/gas mark 4. Check after 45 minutes.

Allow to cool then eat. Freezes well.

Carrot & Parsnip with fresh ginger & honey soup

I know, I know I can hear you, not another soup. But yes it is another soup and I will tell you why. Soups are so tasty, so cheap, so easy to make and at this time of the year, November in Scotland, welcoming warmth. This is a lovely fresh tasting soup.

Ingredients:

These can be easily halved, doubled, trebled etc and freezes well so make as much as you want.

• Tablespoon of butter or olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 thumb of fresh ginger about an inch or so.
• 6-8 carrots
• 2-3 parsnips
• 1-2 Tbs pouring honey whatever kind you like.
• Half chicken stock cube.
• Seasoning
• Creme fraiche/plain yoghurt for decoration

This is so simple. If you have a food processor use this on the big blade to chop up the ingredients. If not a sharp knife will do.

Heat your pan and add the butter/oil.

Chop the onion and ginger finely and add to the pan. Add some salt to bring out the flavours. Stir everything around, put a lid on and simmer for about 10 minutes to soften the onions.

Peel the carrots and parsnips and chop or grate as you prefer. Add to the pan. I like to finely grate the stock cube over the vegetables. Drizzle over your honey and add salt and pepper. I use lots of pepper but less salt as I prefer to increase that at the end as required.

Add at least a litre of water and give everything a good stir and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. 

After that check and add more water if you want. It all depends on the texture you like at the end. I prefer soup to be runny but others like a smooth puree, its your call.

Simmer for another 20 minutes and that's it. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

I like to pour out half the soup and blitz this either in a processor or with a hand blender. If you want it more pureed blitz all of the soup.

If freezing, let it cool and do so now without adding the creme fraiche.

If serving add soup to your bowls, place some creme fraiche in the centre, sprinkle with chopped chives for added colour and taste and enjoy.

Another simple, easy and so tasty soup. 

Leek & Potato soup

Who doesn't like a good soup particularly now that the weather has turned. Supermarkets sell good carton & tinned soups but nothing beats home-made soup for flavour and value, all for minimal effort. Go on anyone can make this.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon each olive oil & butter
• 2 - 3 leeks
• 1 Onion
• Potatoes 2/3rds the weight of your leeks
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 chicken/vegetable stock cube
• 750m off boiled water
• 250m milk for mere mortals or cream for poshies
• chives for decoration (optional)

Add your oil/butter to the pot and heat slowly until the butter has melted. If you want use all oil or butter.

Next chop the ends of leeks, waste little, roughly chop and rinse the remainder under the tap to get rid of any dirt and add to the pot, cook gently for a couple of minutes. Chop your onion and add. Dice your potatoes but not too small as you want some of these to remain whole and add to the pot. Finely chop your carrot and into the pot. Add some salt and give it all a good stir to coat and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Grate in your half of chicken/vegetable stock cube, add the water and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Add your milk and give it all a good stir and simmer for about 15 minutes.

This should now be cooked, taste and add salt/pepper as appropriate.

I blend about half the soup to give a mixture of textures.

Finely chop some chives for decoration and taste.

Brilliant, easy, quick & tasty.

Keeps well in the fridge for a few days or freeze some for another day.

Get stuck in.

Marinated Salmon with Chinese stir fry noodles

The only time taken in this recipe is the marinating of the salmon but you can stir fry prawns, chicken etc with the noodles for a quick meal.
Like most stir fries they are far tastier and healthier than packet or take away versions.
Of course you can add and change the vegetables to suit your cupboard.

Ingredients for 2:
For the marinated salmon see previous recipe in the blog.

• Cooking oil
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• 1 small onion
• 4 good sized button mushrooms
• 1 pack ready to wok soft medium noodles
• Soy sauce
• Walnut/Sesame oil

The salmon takes about 15 minutes to cook in the oven at 200.

First heat your wok and pour in a tablespoon of cooking oil and add your finely sliced pepper. Keep stirring but cook for 3-4 minutes as the pepper is the firmest of your vegetables.

Now add your chopped onion and stir fry for another 3 minutes.

Add your finely sliced mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes.

The mushrooms will soak up most of the liquid.

Now add a good splash of soy sauce and some walnut/sesame oil to add flavour.

Add the marinade from your salmon and you now have a sauce.

Finally add your noodles and cook for 2 minutes.

Taste and season if required.

Enjoy

Spicy Carrot & Potato soup

This is just the thing for a cold day and guaranteed to unblock the sinuses. Simple quick anyone can do this.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
• 1 Leek
• 500g carrots
• 100g potatoes
• teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground ginger & chilli flakes/powder
• 1 litre tepid water
• 1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
• Creme fraiche or cream (optional)

Boil a kettle for your stock.

Top and tail the leek but use all the rest. Chop roughly, clean through with water to remove any grit and add to the pot with the butter or oil.

Peel and roughly chop the carrots & potatoes and add to the pot.

Sprinkle with a little salt to bring out the flavours. Give everything a good stir and cook gently for 5 minutes to soften.

Add your spices and stir well so that all the vegetables are coated.

I like to finely grate the stock cube over the vegetables before adding the water but it's fine if you want to dissolve it in the water first.

Add the water and cook gently for 30 - 45 minutes until the veg has softened. I usually set the timer for 15 minutes and give it all a good stir each time.

At the end taste the soup but I would be surprised if you needed to add any seasoning.

Now optional of you want to leave as it is or blend the soup. I usually use a hand blender and roughly blitz about half the veg leaving you with a mix of textures.

Now time to eat. I like to add a dollop of half fat creme fraiche to the mix but it is not necessary.

Eat and enjoy.

Marinated chicken yummy

I have included another marinaded dish which has a superb sweet taste and a lovely gravy to mash in your veg.

Ingredients for 2:

• 2 chicken legs (use thighs, wings whatever you fancy)
• 1 tbs soya sauce
• 1 tbs honey
• 150ml cider
• thumb fresh ginger finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tbs flour

Take the skin off the chicken.

Mix the soya/honey/cider/ginger & garlic and bathe the chicken legs. Cover & put in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight is even better. If you can turn over at least once to marinate the chicken allover.

Set oven to 160 degrees.

Heat some olive oil and add the chicken and brown both sides, take out of pan. Add some butter and add the chopped onion (keep largish) and fry for about 3-4 minutes on low heat. Add chopped green pepper & cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the flour and give everything a good stir for 30 seconds. Add the marinade and the chicken legs and put in oven. 

I set the timer for 30 minutes to turn chicken legs and cook for another 30 minutes.

I served this with boiled potatoes to soak up the juices but you could have rice. I also had my bacon & cabbage dish(see previous salmon recipe) and some carrots.

Lovely & don't forget to drink the rest of the cider!!

Marinated salmon with stir fried cabbage & bacon

Another little beauty that is simple to put together and tastes great. Farmed salmon can be a little bland and this livens it up.

Ingredients for 2:

• 2 good salmon fillets or 4 smaller ones
• 1 tbs soya sauce
• 1 tsp grain mustard
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 orange just the juice and the rind. (fresh orange juice will do if no oranges)
• a thumb of fresh ginger
• cabbage (I prefer green but white will do)
• half a packet of bacon lardons or 2 rashers of bacon.

First of all marinate the salmon. Mix the soya sauce/mustard/honey and the orange together. If you want a looser mixture add a little water. Bathe the salmon with the marinade and if possible leave for a couple of hours in the fridge, all day even better, but you can use straight away. 

Put in an oven 200 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Check after 15 if you like your salmon slightly pink.

Make some rice, put 200g in boiling water for 7 minutes. Check the grains are not hard. Drain and put back in the pot, off the heat, with lid on and leave for 10 minutes, perfect rice.

I use about 4 leaves of cabbage, shredded thinly. Fry your bacon in butter/olive oil for a few minutes and then throw in the cabbage. Fry for a few minutes, add a little water, take off heat and leave to steam finish for a few minutes. Taste and season.

A lovely simple dish and very tasty.

Prawn and/or Vegetable Curry

As always this is simple, quick & tasty.

For 2-3 but again can be increased or decreased. If you want vegetarian just leave out the prawns.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• Half butternut squash (use the other half for a soup)
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 medium or 2 small apples, skinned & cored
• 1 tsp of your favourite curry paste
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric
• 10 - 20 frozen prawns depending on size & your tummy
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400 ml stock or water
• Thumb of fresh ginger or 1 tsp of powdered if that's all you have.
• A handful raisins/sultanas to taste
• Low fat creme-fraiche

Half and then quarter your onion, you want largish slices, fry gently in oil for 5 minutes or so.

Chop your squash and potatoes into similar sized cubes and add to the onions.

Do likewise with your apple. Chop the garlic finely and however you like your ginger, we like to taste it so large pieces for us, and add to the mix.

Mix all together to be coated in the oil. Then add in your curry paste & turmeric and again give it all a good stir.

I grate in half a chicken stock cube then add 400ml of water. If you want to water only will suffice. 

Throw the raisins into the mix.

I season with salt & pepper at this stage but will almost certainly do so again at the end. The golden rule of seasoning, you can add but you cannot take away.

That's it, bring it to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. At this stage I add the raw prawns. If using pre cooked prawns add these at the end so that they don't go rubbery. Give it a good stir and simmer for another 10 minutes. At this stage taste and season if required.

I like to let the curry rest for the flavours to mingle then reheat gently. I add creme fraiche (I know I add it to everything), when serving and I either have a nan or plain rice with it.

Simple, enjoy.

Smoked Haddock Pasta....delicious

Just had one of our favourites tonight, so quick and easy but so good.
For 2:

A couple of fillets of smoked haddock (about 400g), not the yellow dyed stuff. Put in a pan, add some bayleaves + onion ( either or both ) black pepper, cover with milk, bring to boil, take off heat, and leave for 10 minutes. Take fish out and flake to remove any bones. Keep milk for sauce.

Put pasta of your choice (180g enough for 2)  in boiling water for required time, 10 minutes or so.

Make an easy cheese sauce. Melt a spoonful of butter, add same of plain flour and mix together for a minute. Add in some of the cooking milk and whisk until it thickens. Add more and whisk again, don't worry you don't want it thick. Add in grated cheddar cheese and taste.

Drain pasta, add cheese sauce and combine. Add haddock ( I often throw in some prawns but not a must ), give a good mix. 

If you want add some Arran honey mustard to your cheese sauce.

Put into warmed bowls, bit of crusty bread and maybe more parmesan, enjoy.

Some Albarino goes well with it.