This tomato soup is so intense; there’s no ‘hint’ of tomato, it screams tomato, but intriguingly, for those of us who don’t like the taste of a cooked tomato on its own, it tastes like tomato soup. Weird.
There is no stock propping up the flavour base, so the flavour is cleaner, yet richer. Probably because stock gives a big background flavour, but inevitably drowns the prime performer.
It’s easy to make too. That has to be a bonus.
Another thought. If this tastes as good as it does with ‘reduced in price’ tomatoes bought from the supermarket in a literally snowy and icy January, can you imagine what it will taste like made with home-grown tomatoes in the height of Summer? Woah. I shall be growing nice, big, fat tomatoes this year!
Continue reading 'Intense Tomato Soup'»
An emergency meal for you today. This is my ‘need-something-quick’ meal. Everyone likes it; it has protein, carb and vegetable.
I have all the ambient ingredients in the pantry and I always have some mince and peas in the freezer.
It tastes really nice too.
People ask for seconds.
Continue reading 'Beef pasta bake'»
This recipe is from ‘Delicious’ magazine’s Dec 2009 edition. It is very delicious. Very delicious indeed. Mum made it last week; it took just one bite for me to shove the magazine in my handbag and scurry home to make one for us as well.
Moist, moist, moist, plummy, fudgey with marzipan and some chopped nuts for an additional texture.
Not just that, this genuinely works as a cake. It isn’t a ‘best served warm’ cake, it is a proper cake. Likewise, if you serve it warm, it is a real pudding.
A really clever recipe that comes together without a lot of fuss. In addition to all this, it can be frozen. That is pretty marvellous at this time of year – you never know when you’re going to need a cake or pudding on standby.
Continue reading 'Plum, Marzipan and Almond Cake or Pudding'»
Alex asked what we were having for dessert.
‘Queen of Puddings’, I replied.
‘Is that your name, Mama? Queen of Puddings?’
Well… dear, sweet child, flattery will get you everywhere. I’d like to continue with more ego-stroking anecdotes, but he went on to express his deep dissatisfaction that the meringue was soft and warm as opposed to huge, crunchy, chewy and cold with buckets of whipped cream on it.
Oh well.
We love it.
Alex managed to eat his, despite the crushing disappointment. Brave little soldier.
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This one is courtesy of my friend Dana. She’s from Iowa and in addition to working full time and raising her two boys, the family run a farm and breed cattle. She can even artificially impregnate cows, which is a skill that I’m sure we are all in awe of. Those pictures will go with me to my grave.
So as she’s all about the beef, here’s her famous recipe for…
… chicken.
There is only one thing to dislike about fried chicken – the enormous, precarious vat of boiling oil, the greasy smell and the clean-up. OK, there are 3 things to dislike… (Monty Python moment – sorry)
One of the joys of this recipe is that you get all the flavour of fried chicken but none of the risk (Alex! Cats! Out of the way!) and only a fraction of the cleaning up. You DO, however, get all the crunch, all the succulence and all the flavour.
Ian wants to marry her; hey, after cooking this recipe, my Mum and Dad want to marry her. Try this chicken and you too could dream of marrying Dana. Dana, we love you and good grief woman, do we love your chicken.
Continue reading 'Dana’s Oven Baked Fried Chicken'»
Puff pastry, sweet gooey marzipan, juicy baked fruit and it is ready to dazzle in around 30 minutes.
Oh yeah baby.
Continue reading 'Marzipan Fruit Puff Tarts'»
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