Adjusting to Autumn

It is very cold today.  So far I have had trouble feeling positive about the Autumn.  It all looks very pretty but;
The nights are drawing in and the days have been wet, windy and cold.  I showed you my muddy dog walk.  It really is not as inviting as going out in the Summer.  I am still trying to lose weight but in the colder weather I just want to eat stews and casseroles and chunks of crusty bread.  Exercise is also harder to squeeze in.  This week I put weight back on.  Gah!  I have still lost 2 stone though and I really don't intend to put that back on.
          Euan is really looking forward to Halloween.  I have had trouble finding him some 'Vampire fangs' of all things.  I have been round and round the shops and in the end have ordered some from Ebay.  I hope they arrive in time.  I bought both boys a Toffee Apple yesterday as they are in all of the shops at the moment.  Euan was eating his and making a terrible noise and mess.  I asked him to eat his Toffee Apple with better manners.  Then he pointed out to me that without his two front teeth and four other missing teeth he really was doing the best job he could.  Poor little man, I forgot the tooth situation when I bought the Toffee Apples!
             I have a collection of 'Pumpkins' sitting in the fireplace ready for Halloween.  The shops have a lovely variety of 'squash' at the moment and it is great to experiment with them.  I came across a delicious sounding recipe for 'Potimarron Soup'.  I had no idea what a 'Potimarron' was so I went to good old 'Google Images'.  Low and behold I had one!  The above squash is a 'Potimarron'.  I have made pumpkin soup before and I am not really that smitten.  I have made 'Butternut Squash Soup' before and that is a big hit in this house.  'Butternut Squash Soup' is one of Henry's favourites.  (Ooooh talking of Henry, he got an e-mail yesterday, he got the part-time job.  Hoorah)!  Back to the Butternut, Butternut is a delicious vegetable but it is a battle to keep all of ones fingers when preparing and peeling it.  The recipe I came across for 'Potimarron' used unpeeled squash.

You just need to scoop out the seeds and chop up the flesh with the peel on.

Then I simmered the chopped 'Potimarron' with chopped onion, in 1.5 litres of vegetable stock until the potimarron is tender.  I used my hand 'whizzer' to make a delicious smooth, rich, chestnutty flavoured soup and seasoned to taste.

I served with a blob of reduced fat Creme Fraiche and some crispy fried bacon lardons.  This soup is absolutely Scrumdiddlyumptious.  It cheered me up, warmed me up and filled me up.  If in your travels you hap to come across a 'Potimarron' pop him in your basket and give him a good home.  This is a very simple soup where you just can't go wrong.
            There is a Tai Chi school in Devon that are running a rather interesting Potimarron Project you can read about it by clicking the link.  I am hoping to get hold of some seeds for next year and I will try to grow my own golden orbs of lovliness.
              We are on School holiday now for a week and I intend to get a well earned rest as well as digging out some crafty UFOs and completing some projects.  In my recent decluttering exploits I think I have come across about seven unfinished projects!  I need to get busy.  My other half has put in an order for a simple woolly hat. . . he wants it as of yesterday!  Euan also needs some gloves. . . kids and gloves!  We have lots of gloves that have lost their partners!  One of his favourite Bart Simpson gloves ended up on the school roof!  He just happened to throw it as the wind took it!  As you do!
XXX

You are Cordially invited. . .

Do not adjust your sets!  Apologies for the photograph.  The Elderflower Cordial tastes better than it photographs!  I used the tray as a backdrop to hide the rest of the kitchen, that looked like a bomb had hit it.  I found a non Citric Acid suggestion for Elderflower Cordial and that was to use extra lemon.  This was easy peasy to make and it is rather easy peasy to drink too when it is diluted with carbonated water.  I also think it would be delicious drizzled over a Lemon Drizzle Cake or ice cream.  I wish I had Gooseberries...but caterpillars devoured my Gooseberry Bush, elderflower and gooseberries are a match made in heaven.


Recipe For Elderflower Cordial
10 - 20 Heads of Elderflowers ( Do not gather elderflowers that grow near to roads as they will be nasty)!
3 Lemons
1.5 litres of water
1kg of Sugar

Method
Heat the sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved and the water is boiling.
Wash the Elderflowers well.
Use a sharp knife to cut strips of Lemon zest away from the lemons, then slice the lemons.
Put the elderflowers and lemon in a large bowl, I used my 'Crock Pot'.
Pour over the syrup and stir well.
Cover and leave for 24 hours.
Strain through Muslin or a clean tea towel and bottle.

Quaff with Fizzy Water and Pretend it is Champagne.  Chin chin!  Cheers your Majesty.  Oooh that reminds me, I would like to try making Elderflower Champagne one day.

Pie Day Friday (3) - Delicious Calzone

My word is it 'Pie Day Friday' already?   I followed the recipe exactly from my 'New' Hairy Biker Pie Making 'Bible.

Calzone is basically and inside out Pizza.  You use a Pizza dough like a 'Pasty Shell' and put all you Pizza topping inside as a filling.  Henry's High School canteen sells them as 'Pizza Pockets'.  They are very portable and would make a great lunchtime snack for 'Teenagers' with places to go and people to see.
They use a basic Pizza Dough.  I made these once before but they were not a hit as the dough was about  3cm thick.  This time I got it right and used the rolling pin to roll out the dough to about half a cm.

I wanted to get creative with the topping/filling but kept to the recipe, which turned out delicious.  I found it useful to assemble all my ingredients together in smaller bowls as soon as the dough had been put to rise.  The Kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but these are really worth the effort.

Tomato Sauce:
Finely Chop an Onion and fry it gently until it starts to brown.  Add one clove of finely chopped garlic.  Cook for one minute.  Add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and a teaspoon of sugar.  Let it cool.

Fry 150g of finely sliced Mushrooms in butter until they start to brown and let them cool.

I had some pepperoni in the fridge but in future would keep these 'Vegetarian'.

Two Mozzarella Balls, drained and diced.

Ground Black Pepper for seasoning.

Fresh Basil leaves.

Assemble your Pizza Topping, then I used water to moisten around the edge of the dough so it would stick when I folded it over.

Make sure the Calzone is sealed well to keep all those flavours in while they cook.  Bake in a hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  I made eight of these lovlies.  Very tasty, economical and filling...might make a change from turkey :)  

Happy 'Pie Day' Friday - Or should it be 'Pie Eyed Day' Friday?

The Hairy Biker 'Perfect Pies' book has over 140 recipes...so on my first Pie Day Friday I ignore the book and make up my own pies!  The definition of 'Pie' in the book is anything in a crust or wrapped in a crust, so the definition is pretty loose and includes, flans, potato topped pies, somosa's etc.  The Somosa recipes look great.  Yesterday I made Vegetable Pasties ready for today and my other half has taken one to work.  I made enough Pastry to make a pastry case too, so today I made a simple quiche.  I experimented with Cream Cheese and eggs, rather than the usual eggs, milk and grated cheddar cheese.  I invented 'Celery and Mushroom Quiche with Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese'.  I don't think it would win any prizes for appearance but it is pretty tasty and was very quick to make.  My camera is not on the blink, it really is that yellow, I can only assume this is due to the superior quality of my 'buddies' offerings.

Ingredients:
1 Pastry Case
200g of Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese
2 Sticks of Celery sliced very finely
10-12 Button Mushrooms Finely Diced
2 eggs (preferably freshly laid by your bestest chicken buddies)

Method:
I gently fried the mushrooms and celery until they were soft.  I put these in the pastry case.  In a separate bowl I mixed the eggs and cream cheese until thoroughly blended and poured this into the pastry case over the celery and mushrooms.  Bake the quiche in a hot oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

I have also been busy making one of my favourite Christmas Tipples 'Irish Cream'.  I have never made it before, but Christmas isn't Christmas without a bottle of 'Baileys' Irish Cream.  I watched a program called 'Superscrimpers Christmas Special'.  If this is scrimping I am more than happy to scrimp away.
Super Scrimpers Party Food Recipes, including Irish Cream can be found here:

I promise these are tiny glasses.  I have started to sip mine.  I think in this case 'Home made' really is best.  I have poured a glass for you, if you are not here within the hour I am afraid I will have to drink yours too.  Cheers!

Festive Cushions - My First Sewing Lesson for 25 years

Forgive my model's dirty face...he had just finished a mug of Hot Chocolate.  (That is my mug of tea in shot!)  He is enjoying a cosy winter evening under his Granny Square Blanket on the sofa, watching TV.  He loves the weekends.  Euan is almost as proud of these 'Festive Cushions' as I am.  He was fascinated by sewing machine shenanigans!  I think he is going down with a lurgy as he is sneezing a snuffly, so curling up on the sofa is a great remedy.
The cushions are a result of reading too many ideas from Dottie Angel.  They are hot off the sewing machine in this picture and need pressing and buttons added.  Euan did want them immediately though and they are in use as I type!  I have never used my sewing machine before and I took it to my Mom's today, where we fathomed it out together.  I have not touched a sewing machine for 25 years.  I some how broke a needle at school and remember it hurting, so I am very wary of sewing machines...I spent more time in the queue for the teacher than actually sewing and never completed a single item.  My heart nearly leaped out of my chest today as soon as I started the foot pedal!  I was pretty scared.  I spent a lot of time breaking thread and threading the machine....is that normal?  I did it over twenty times!  I am delighted though that I have sewn semi straight lines and turned two 'Christmas Tea Towels' into cushions.  I did not think I would be able to do that!  I won't be making a wedding dress any time soon, but I can sew two tea towels together, whhooo hooo!

I would not give you a close up at this stage in my sewing career though!  I have been looking at craft with 'Tea Towels' on the net and can feel an obsession coming on.  18 Clever Dish Towel Ideas - Is my favourite so far :)  You can get some lovely tea towels and they are very durable and inexpensive.  I am thinking in the new year to make matching chair cushions for the dining chairs.  I am going to look for 'Cup Cake' Tea Towels.

Quick and Easy Spicy Meat Kebabs

This is another recipe adapted from Alia's Creative Life.  I am increasingly shocked at the cost of my grocery bill which seems to rise each week as the global economy continues to create a painful 'credit crunch'.  I 'work' part time and try to cook economically and create a variety of family meals on a budget.  I wander around the supermarket tutting to myself as I seem to have a photographic memory for grocery prices and I feel like these huge supermarkets are doing an excellent job of ripping us off!  My Dad laughs at me because I grumble about inflation and he still laughs about my comment that 'Budgie Millet has gone up over 100%'.  It is a good job the budgie has a tiny appetite!

This is 'Bob the Budgie's' Blog Debut.
 I can't say he was overjoyed to have a Camera stuck in his cage.
  He is 8yrs old and very chatty.
He loves Millet!

My 'boys' however do not have tiny appetites.  They go through phases where they will eat with gusto anything that I cook but currently both are going through a 'picky' stage!  That does not go down well in this house.  I think it is since I have started this *^""*ng diet Healthy Eating Plan and the offerings have altered somewhat!  They both viewed Homemade Salmon Burgers with suspicion, but tucked in and enjoyed them!

Grilled Salmon Burgers, Served with New Potatoes, broccoli  and Parsley  Sauce

Henry and I prepared live Mussels from Scotland this week and cooked them in White Wine and garlic.  I thought they were delicious but Henry prefers his usual pickled variety!  He was not happy de-bearding a kilo of live mussels.  I say it is character building.  I really should have got a photograph of the boy at work!  Whilst this dining is not the most economical they were still cheaper than any take-away meal.
These spicy kebabs were very easy to make and make a fast food style meal to be eaten with salad, pitta bread and sauce.  I think you could use any regular meatball/ meatloaf recipe and add spice.  In my case I added Balti Curry Powder.  Yeah for Spicy Balls.  They were a hit in this house!

Ingredients
400g of Lean Minced Beef
400g of Lean Minced Pork
1 large grated onion
2 tsp of dried Mixed Herbs
150g breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of Balti Curry Powder

Method
Plonk all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  (  I used clean hands to do this job.)  Leave the mixture for an hour or so to chill in the fridge.  Roll into small, walnut sized balls.  Deep fry your balls (No giggling please!)  For 5 minutes.  Serve hot with Pitta bread or Naan bread, salad and Raita Sauce.  I have made a note to myself to experiment with a vegetarian recipe for this style of kebab, it will probably involve my old favourites, Chick peas.

'Give Away' Ta Dah - 'Lantern Scarf' by Anastacia Knits

Woohoo!  This is a cheeky little pattern from Anastacia Knits.  It has made a light but warm scarf.  I loved making this because it is not the type of scarf I would usually make.  I usually stick to the plain stuff!  It has a simple but effective repeat pattern.  It grows very quickly and was easy peasy.  I learned how to read a chart finally, thanks to this pattern.  I didn't use the written instructions and followed the chart, which made me feel very grown up.  Previously I have had a total mental block with charts but I really enjoyed this.  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!  I also manged to read USA crochet terms without having to use a written translation.  What a great pattern for raising my self esteem and giving me a nice smug feeling.  The yarn I used was 'Sirdar Click' Aran, which is very soft and snuggly, but the pattern is so adaptable it can be made with any yarn.

My lovely boys were willing models!

I think Henry thinks my Blog may be a good way of getting a date, he is clearly open to offers.

I think I may have trouble getting rid of him, it is a good job I love him!

Euan was also enthusiastic to get in on the act!

Anastacia has kindly offered give a copy of this pattern away as prize to one of you lovely blog readers.  All you need to do to win your copy of the 'Lantern Scarf' pattern is leave a comment below stating which one of 'Anastaciaknits' designs is your favourite.  Leave a comment by the 17th of November and I will arrange for a winner to be Randomly drawn  on the 18th November.  You would still have time to whip up a couple of these for last minute, hand made Christmas gifts!

Frittering Away!

I found this recipe at 'Alia's Creative Life' Blog, they are quick and crispy Vegetable Fritters.  I have never made anything like these before and ignoring the 'deep fried' aspect thought they are a good way to get the kids to consume vegetable.  They made a nice weekend snack in front of the T.V.  It is almost essential to have something to dip them into.  I used Home made 'Tamarind Sauce' the kids preferred Ketchup.
Ingredients
1 small cabbage, finely shredded
2 carrots, grated
2 onions, finely sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small can of drained sweetcorn

Plain flour 125g
A mug of water.

Method
Mix the flour and water to make a thick pouring consistency, you may need to add more water or more flour.
Stir the batter in to all of the vegetables and mix well.

Plop spoonfuls of this mixture into a hot deep fat fryer, until the fritters are golden.  Drain well and enjoy!  Next I would like to try Pakora, by adding Curry Powder to the batter mix and making spicy fritters....

Garbanzos!

My friend was very proud of this little plant and sent me the photograph.  It is a 'Chickpea' plant complete with cute little pods.  I did not know you can grow these in the UK.  I love the fat little pods.  I also love chickpeas.  I buy the dried variety as this works out more economical than the canned and use my 'Slowpot' / 'crockpot' to prepare them in bulk.  When they are tender I then put them in to little bags in the freezer, so they are ready to drop in to soups, curries, stews, and salads.  I will also have to have a go at 'falafels'.  I love the Blog 'Alia's Creative Life' and really enjoyed the photographs that accompanied this recipe here Masala Garbanzos.  Garbanzos are good on 'Healthy Eating Plans'!  Inspired by Alia's recipe, I tweaked it a little to make 'Aloo Chana Chaat' in my trusty old 'Slowpot'.  I think this is a great healthy, tasty and thrifty recipe.


Aloo Chana Chaat

Garbanzos, (Chick Peas) 2 Cups (You can use them straight from the can or just boil Chickpeas)
Onions, 3, finely sliced
Tomato, 3, finely chopped
2tsp Garam Masala
2 red chilies finely chopped
six cloves of garlic finely chopped
Boiled Potato, 3 Medium, Peeled and Cubed
Coriander Leaves/Cilantro, 2 Tsp, Chopped
Oil
Salt

Method:
1) Heat some oil in a sauce pan or a wok.( I used that spray oil honest Guv!)
2) Saute the onion it becomes tender.  Put it into a slowpot on the hot setting.
3) Add the Garlic, chilies, Garam Masala, Chopped tomatoes and Potatoes.
4) Add the Garbanzos (Boiled Chickpeas) and stir well.
5) Cook on hot for 3 hours then turn it low until ready to eat.   Garnish with Coriander Leaves!
6) Serve Hot, with Tamarind Sauce or Chutney.


I also had a block of dried 'Tamarind' at the back of the cupboard.  I have never used Tamarind at all.  The same friend with the 'Chickpea' plant said her Hubby bought a block too and wondered what you do with 200g of the stuff.  I 'googled' and found a recipe for a sauce, the sauce apparently keeps really well.  Again I tweaked the recipe to suit my store cupboard.  


Tamarind Sauce
200g of Dried Tamarind
500ml of hot water
1tsp of chilli powder
2tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Salt
75g of sugar
1 large dessert spoon of Black Treacle


Put all the ingredients together and soak for 30 minutes.   Using a liquidizer or hand blender whizz until smooth.  Now for the labour intensive bit...rub the mixture through a sieve.   Bottle and store in the fridge.  This makes a delicious tangy sauce to add to curries or to eat as an condiment.  

Aloo Chana Chaat served with Homemade Tamarind Sauce

Blackberry, Apple and Cinnamon Chutney

Move over Cranberry Sauce and Make way for Blackberry, Apple and Cinnamon Chutney.  Today I read a post over at A Trifle Rushed, where there has been a bit of a pickle.  I read this post  and knew I had all of the ingredients for this delicious Autumnal Chutney Recipe.  I only have a few apples left on my little tree now and the blackberries are all finished.  It is a shame to grow your own fruit and vegetables and let them go to waste so jam, pickles and chutneys are the order of the day.  I made six jars of chutney.   The smell was delicious as it bubbled away.  It will be matured nicely ready for Christmas.  I have never used blackberries in Chutney before, the flavour with the apple and cinnamon is something else.  It also has a wonderful colour too.  I think it will be the perfect accompaniment to cheese and cold meats, I also think it would be deliciously fruity with Turkey, Goose or Duck.  I need some labels for this years preserves and they also need cute 'Mob Cap' lid covers.  I think they will make great Christmas Gifts especially with  Homemade Blackberry Brandy I have stashed away.

Home made - Sage and Onion Quiche

There are going to be a few recipes on their way using...you guessed it, Eggs!  This was my first dish with 'home made' eggs.
Sage and Onion Quiche.  Very simple ingredients but very tasty.  It can be eaten hot or cold.  It keeps well for a couple of days and is great for picnics.
Ingredients
1 Packet of Shortcrust Pastry Mix - (I know pretty lazy but very quick and convenient, I try to always keep a pastry mix in my cupboard.)  Line a Quiche dish with the pastry and 'Blind' bake for 10 mins.
3 large onions finely sliced and fried in butter until soft and golden ( I used a mixture of red and white onions)
8-12 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
4 medium eggs and a tablespoon of milk, beaten together.
200g of Grated Mature cheddar cheese.
Method
Mix the sage into the onions and place into the pastry case.  Sprinkle over the grated cheese.  Pour over the eggs and milk.  Bake in a hot oven until golden and set. (About 25 mins)

Lavender and Lovage 'Herbs on Saturday'