Breakfast Pancakes

I am big on breakfasts and believe in starting my day with a happy belly so I can get on without thinking about food! I made this for a friend who was dropping in for a quick hello before going to work.

Makes 2 generous portions

Ingredients
60g porridge oats
2 heaped tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp honey
2 medium eggs whisked

Method

• Mix all the ingredients and rest for an hour in the fridge.
• Prepare berries or any fruit topping of your choice along with sauces to go with the pancakes.
• I like to defrost assorted berries as the juices give enough sweetness to the pancakes however put anything you like from chocolate, nuts, yoghurts and/or butterscotch sauce!
• Place a lightly oiled baking parchment* in a frying pan, heat on medium and put 2-3 tbsp of mix. Spread out to get the thickness you prefer.
• Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes (may need more cooking time if pancakes are thick) then flip and cook the other side for a few minutes or until cooked through.
• Serve with your favourite toppings.

*I put a piece of baking parchment as it saves the pan from becoming sticky and its easier to clean :)

Garlic Mushrooms

We had a bumper crop of garlic this year so naturally its going in everything we cook! I made an easy & cream free garlic mushroom dish for dinner (tonight) to go with roast chicken & potatoes - delish!

 Elephant garlic used in this recipe.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 punnet garlic mushrooms sliced
1 vegetable stock pot
4-5 garlic cloves sliced
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vegetable oil
lots of pepper

parsley garnish

Method:

• Heat oil in a large frying pan and add mushrooms. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until they turn brown.
• Add garlic & stir for 30 seconds then add stock pot & 1/4 cup hot water. You may want to add a little bit more water but keep an eye on it as the mix needs to have a thick sauce.
• Simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat, turn off heat and add a good bit of pepper.
• Garnish with parsley & serve warm on a slice of toast or as part of a warm salad.

Sweet & Savoury biscuits

Staying with the theme of using curry spices I made a sweet & smoky savoury biscuit for one of my cookery demonstrations. It was my 4th visit to the Stainton & Streatlam WI and the biscuits were a big hit! I have made a few tweaks to the recipe since then but they still taste very nice!

Makes between 12-15 biscuits depending on cutter size

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

3 tbsp butter

1 heaped tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tbsp cumin seeds dry roasted and cooled

pinch of salt

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1/4 cup milk

Method

• Preheat oven to 180*C and line a baking tray with baking parchment
• Mix all the spices (apart from cumin seeds), salt, icing sugar & flours together in a metal bowl.
• Add butter to the flour mix and rub in until it has a breadcrumb like texture. Add cumin seeds at this point. 
• Add a tablespoon of milk and bring the flour together to form a ball. You may need to add more milk but do so a little at a time to make a moist dough.
• Put the dough ball back in the metal bowl, cover and refrigerate for half an hour.
• Roll out (as thin or thick as you prefer) the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into any shape you like.
• Put on a baking tray with two finger space between biscuits and bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Cooking tome depends on the thickness of the biscuits.
• Check after 8 minutes and cook until the biscuits have turned golden brown.
• Cool on a wire rack and serve with a tomato chutney or on its own.

Each bite will give you a sweet, spicy, smoky & tangy flavour to be enjoyed with a nice cup of tea!

Fruits of our labour!

After months of watering, pruning and exposure to bees, we (mainly hubby) have got a few beauties to be proud of!

Tomatoes are thriving and finally getting some heat to start ripening. Peppers are growing and we get to sample some cucumbers tonight. Goes to show how a little TLC (again mainly given by hubby) can reap the benefits and all of this can be achieved at the back of the house either in pots or in the ground.

  

Easy Vegetable & Chicken Curry

Hubby requested a mild but flavoursome curry today and this is what was created - it was a big hit so no doubt I'll be making it a few more times!

Serves 2 very generous portions

Wash & slice one red onion, half each cauliflower & broccoli and 2 carrots.

Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a large pan. Add onions and cook until soft and turned dark brown - about 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste, 2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp chilli powder. Mix well and add a few splashes of water if the mix is getting too dry. Put vegetables in the pan & keep cooking on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until all they are coated with the spice mix.

Add 1 tbsp tomato puree, vegetable stockpot & 1 cup boiling water. Mix well and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes to blend all the flavours. At this point if the mix is getting dry add a little more water but not too much or the curry will be very runny. The curry can now simmer for 20 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked through.

If you want to add meat then do it before putting the curry on simmer. I cut 500g of chicken thighs into bite size portions and added to the vegetable curry. Simmer on low heat with the lid on and check after 20 minutes - ensure meat is cooked and the liquid has become thick.

Serve with a crisp salad and minty yoghurt.