In all my 48 years on this earth I have never stuffed an aubergine. It’s never been one of the things I would put down on my bucket list, but more to do with something I’ve never done that would probably be advantageous and fulfilling but not especially necessary. A bit like tasting a scallop, or finally reading the chronicles of Narnia or singing at a karaoke. Some of the stuff I’d like to do, but haven’t yet got round to it. But the other day I finally stuffed an aubergine and it was incredible. Here is my vegetarian version. Ingredients: 4 aubergines 4 tbls olive oil 1 large onion…
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Victoria Sponge…Kind of!
Have you ever tried a proper Victoria Sponge cake? It’s the plainest of cakes, which is right up my street, because I am the ultimate plain Jane, enjoying rich tea biscuits, vanilla ice cream and anything else that gives minimum flavour. Actually, you can’t really put a Victoria sponge into that category, because when made well, they can be scoffed quite easily whilst emitting moans of exquisite pleasure, and a scoop of mashed potato will not do that, unless you throw in half a block of butter. Queen Victoria had this cake named for her. A Duchess of some town, introduced the concept of having sponge cake for afternoon tea,…
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Pasta Bake with Mozzarella Cheese
If you are following the Slimming World diet then this recipe is Syn free apart from the cheese, which isn’t many, probably about 1 or 2 per serving. I eat this with salad and it tastes lovely. This amount makes enough for a dinner for me and my 2 boys, and it keeps in the fridge for a day or two. Ingredients: 400g beef mince, 400g tinned tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, 2 cloves garlic, 500g pasta (penne or similar), 1 ball of mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Method: Preheat the oven to 200c. Put the pasta on to boil. Dry fry the beef mince with the crushed garlic…
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Butterfly Cakes
This is a trip down nostalgia lane. I made these fairy cakes as my first cooking experience as a child. They were the first recipe I attempted at school, and they were also the first cakes I made with my children when they were little. They have been around as a recipe for as long as I can remember, which is nearly 50 years! Gulp!!! And, my grandmother even made them, so they are a really old English recipe. For some reason, they seem to appear quite often in children’s cookery books, and I think it’s because they are simple to make, very cute to look at, and filled with…
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Rock Cakes
These may look like rocks, but they don’t taste like them. This is the first ever recipe my great-grandmother, taught me. Easy Peasy! Ingredients 200g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 100g butter or margarine 85g sugar 100g of sultanas or mixed dried fruit 2 eggs beaten Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract 2 tablespoons milk sugar for sprinkling 1 cup of icing sugar with 2 tablespoons of water added for a dropping texture Method Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sieve flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter or margarine and mix into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. I use…
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Low Fat Chilli Beef
Ingredients: 3 cloves of garlic crushed Low cal fry light Pinch of chilli flakes Quarter teaspoon of pepper Half a teaspoon of sugar Tablespoon light soy sauce 1 Teaspoon of chilli bean paste 4 leaves if pak choi Rump or sirloin steak for 2 people. Or adjust accordingly. Sliced thin. 1 tablespoon of shaosing rice wine or dry sherry Method: In a bowl make a marinade for the beef. Add the garlic, chilli flakes, pepper, sugar, light soy sauce and chilli bean sauce. Next add the beef, mix and leave for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the rice on to boil for 10 minutes. Spray the wok or frying pan…
