Tulip's Kitchen

2011-12-10T20:05:00.001Z

I haven't posted since August but we've had a horrible couple of months.

I will be back soon...

Thomasina Miers Roast Tomato and Chilli Salas

2011-08-14T15:33:00.000+01:00

I am addicted to this...

I first made it to go with Torta (The Mexican Club Sandwich) but have used it as an accompaniment for everything from cheese on toast to stuffed pitta breads!

You can find the recipe here

Mexican Chile with a fruity twist

2011-08-13T15:33:00.000+01:00

This is just before banana & apple were added.

I told you I'm obsessed with her didn't I? It's the flavours, it's the ease in which I can put them together. They are great and makes my mouth all tingly!!!

This beat the usual chilli-con-carne, cumin and kidney beans effort I usually churn out! The recipe wasn't online for this, so I watched the episode over and over again and make notes as I went along.. it was delicious but will need to buy the book and check out the recipe for real!
My effort (and it was a ruddy good one even if I do say so myself was...

Minced pork and beef, (Brown it off)
Add chopped onions
Add a batch of roast tomato salsa (made up to the whizzed up stage without onions & coriander etc)
Cumin, Cinnamon, Cloves (I used about a heaped teaspoon of each)
Olives (chopped)
Raisins (Handful)
Fresh oregano
Smoked paprika (heaped teaspoon)
BBQ sauce (I used about 2 tablespoons of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce as I had it in the fridge)
Chicken stock (I used just enough to cover)
1 Banana chopped
1 Apple diced

Cook on hob for 20 minutes

Served it with rice, salsa
No photos of the served dish as we were greedy piggies again and scoffed it before I could snap! I will try to remember next time, I'm sure I'll be making it again next week...

Thomasina Miers Torta (Mexican Club Sandwich)

2011-08-12T15:28:00.000+01:00

I've got myself a bit of a crush at the moment... in the form of the lovely Thomasina Miers. I have watched all the episodes of her new series Mexican Food Made Simple and just love it... (I'm saving my pennies for the book now) The recipes I have followed from the website have ALL been easy to make and pack such a flavour punch that we are now gagging for more!

Last weekend (I know, I'm late in posted AGAIN!!!) I made the Torta a HUGE one that I cut into four pieces as I couldn't get hold of individual ciabatta buns.

Never made re-fried beans before - will never ever use tinned again!

avocado & roast tomato and chilli salsa

After toasting the inside of the ciabatta with the juice (fat) from the chorizo it was slathered with homemade mayo and crisp iceberg lettuce

Topped with the chiorzo & fresh red onion

The beast is ready!

Cut into 4 individual sandwiches.

Thomasina says " Mention the word ' torta' to any chilango (someone who comes from Mexico City) and you will see a faraway look come over them as they are transported back to the torta stands that line the streeets of the capital. This sandwich is not for the faint-hearted, but it is exceedingly good .

Good? These were AMAZING - as we bit into them we had that faraway look that made us want to be transported to Mexico!!! You could taste all the separate layers, the oozy mayo, the soft beans, the creamy avocado, the kick from the salsa, the different textures, ooooh, it all went together soooo well!

They were very filling but we still managed to eat two each.... greedy pigs that we are!

Let the Pork Fest begin...

2011-07-31T20:03:00.005+01:00

Saturday 30th July 2011

The invites were out...

The RSVP's were back...

We were all ready to ...

All the pork recipes on the menu were taken from the book I was given when I visited Jimmy's Farm. I know, I know, I had Jimmy sign it over to Claire as she had just left home to live in the middle of the countryside. Honestly, I have let her read it... once... and she loved it, the game recipes and real country feel of this book is right up her street!

Like I was saying, I used the book for the pork recipes, it was very easy to follow, a great read in its own right and I promise I will now give it back to its rightful owner!

We nibble these as appetisers with drinks

Perfect pork crackling
Mini Sausage bites from my butcher (Pork & Ginger and Pork, Cider & Apple)
Mixed Olives

Our main course

Stuffed hock and trotters!

Rillettes
Stuffed hock with trotters
BBQ Sheet ribs
Mini pork souvalaki (From Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros)
Traditional Rustic French Bread
Tomato Salad
Homemade Hummus

We had a choice of two desserts ( No real photos of them as the wine was flowing and the kids were impatient, I did capture the chocolate sauce that managed to stick itself to Arty's face... does that count?)

Apple Brown Betty & Pouring cream
Homemade Profiteroles with dark chocolate sauce

We drank:

Buzzards Valley English Regional Wine
Pinot Grigio
Merlot
Stella Artois
Cherry Tango
Pepsi

The conversation flowed....

Using real butchers over supermarkets
Supporting the British farming industry
The recent Pampered Chef Conference & relevant gossip (!)
The merits of having teenage kids (or not!)
How cute Rachel was when she was little (very!)

The verdict?

We all really enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed the pork dishes to different degrees. The rillettes after slow cooking for 3 hours were a great flavour but didn't have that pull apart loveliest promised in the book :-(

The hock meat was tender and tasty but needed to be picked out of the debris that was the rest of the hock... the stuffing was very tasty especially the caramelised bit that oozed from the opening of the hock.

Sadly the trotters were left untouched, they looked pretty gruesome and with the rack of moist meaty ribs there was no competition!

Thanks for the Flowers Rachel x

the thank you card from the Jackson.

Lambfest next you say....hmmm, that could be arranged!

Pampered Chef Conference... :-(

2011-07-20T18:40:00.002+01:00

The Pampered Chef National Conference was in full swing last week... New product announcements, new brochure launch and all the excitement of the directors events and gala dinner... Sadly I wasn't there :-(

Team Tulip 2010

Back in June I had to make the difficult decision to stop trading as a PC Consultant! Now as regular readers on here know, I love my job, love Pampered Chef, the products, my work colleagues and the flexibility of running my own business.

I started my own Pampered Chef business primarily for the flexibility it offered me. I was told I could earn a full time wage in part time hours and with money tight and time even tighter I thought I had nothing to lose but to give it ago. It needed to fit around caring for my in-laws, they were both ill and needed someone around to attend hospital appointment and pop round at the drop of a hat... or indeed a dropped tablet or a doctors home visit... who has an employer who would allow that much flexibility? Pampered Chef did.... I ran my business successfully for 3 years, juggling the oldies in the day time with paperwork and combining a great social life with my shows in the evening. I never had to do more than 3 a week to give earning that much promised 'full time' wage... I was in my element... I had a lovely team, a couple of shows a week, money in my pocket and a kitchen full of fab quality products but then in a blink of an eye it all changed!

My mum who has had health issues for a number of years was registered disabled... the things that she had struggled with for years were now beyond her, it was pretty obvious from the outset that she was going to need long term help. I am the type of person who likes to do things well, I am quite hard on myself, if I'm going to do something I have to do it well, it was clear I was going to have to spend time with Mum which led me to the decision to edit my life. I had to prioritise and sadly I had to pass my team on to my Director and give up my consultancy...pass the in-laws on to the rest of his family and care for my Mum full time!!! I still have my part time job with the Diocese and that is about just enough especially as my own health hasn't been 100%

I do miss it but I've made the right decision, Mum is happier, I can spend time with her during the day and be home with my family in the evenings.

With that decision under my belt and loads of consultants as friends I have become a preferred customer... with the NEW BROCHURE out in September with 19 new products I WANT THEM ALL.....

Short Glasses to match my others!

To all my ex hosts, guests and friends who would also like a new brochure get in touch with Liz Cooke and she'll send you one too!

Food Processor

- same mechanism as the salad spinner which was fantastic, so I'm expecting good things on this

- A great addition to my glamping kit!!!

If you would like to host a show...
are in Swindon contact Kerry Heaphy
in Gloucester contact Maggie Kirby
or if you're in the Stonehouse area contact Sarah L Jackson

Heads up on the new pink products available in October

A Raucous Garden Party

2011-07-10T16:46:00.000+01:00

I'm hosting my own 'Put Pork on your Fork' event. I've invited friends and family to bring some drink and hang out in my garden on Saturday 30th July and sample some of the fab recipes I'm going to try.

First up will be...

Perfect pork scratchings
stuffed trotters
Rillettes of Pork with melba toast
Souvlaki

Friends have been asked to bring their own tipple and if they bring children they have to be well behaved otherwise I will BBQ them... do you think that's too harsh?

If you know me personally and you're not recieved your invite on facebook, get in touch and I'll count you in!

Now I've made pork chops in a smoked paprika tomato sauce

2011-07-08T22:52:00.009+01:00

Some very dodgy photo came out of this cooking experience today, all a bit blurred and some even fogged up the lenses, but this one wasn't too bad.

Here you can see the chops balancing on their skins trying to get them nice and crisp. It worked! The chops were lovely and tender and moist with a crispy skin. I let them rest and added a small amount of homemade tomato sauce to the pan and mixed them with the remaining juices, to this I added a teaspoon of smoked paprika, once it was all heated through I poured it over the chops!

I'm really into this pork cooking lark now, to think I was nervous about cooking it. The secret is to cook it until it is just pink in the middle, then by allowing it to rest the residual heat finishes off the cooking process! Why I've never thought about this before I have no idea - it's the same principle as cooking a good steak, Jo likes hers as blood as hell and I've got to be so careful not to allow that resting period to cook it too much for her.... simples.... I have learnt so much this week... Education is a marvelous thing and you are never too old to learn new tricks!
So, have you bought any pork to cook this week, if so, leave me a comment and tell me what recipe you used, I'm up for a few more...

Souvlaki made from my new cook book!

2011-07-07T22:48:00.002+01:00

I didn't think my week could get any better, I was still on a high from taking part in the food blogger event and had my next challenge lined up with a small piece of chump when Amazon delivered a mystery parcel... drum roll please...in this next bit I get a bit sloppy and emotional!!! Out of the box fell the cook book I was reading at Marie's house, I'd fallen asleep reading and next morning had commented that it was an amazing book and I hurriedly copied down the souvlaki recipe to try with my Jimmy's Farm bounty. As a thank you for accompanying her to Ipswich Marie had sent me a copy of my own. If I hadn't been rewarded enough with a great day out, great company, a signed cooking book from Jimmy himself, a great lunch and a bag of meat... she sends me this!!! It brought a tear to my eye. Do you know what? Friends are the most important ingredients in the recipe of life... thank you Marie for my thank you gift, it was a pleasure spending time with you!

Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros

Diced chump of pork, skewered ready for the gril.

I served it with Jamie's chopped salad, Tessa's Tatziki, pitta bread recipe from Domestic Jules I grilled the kebabs for about 5 mins each side then left them to rest, by the time I was ready to serve them they were cooked to perfect.
I can't believe that I have now cooked two pork dishes without over cooking and drying them out... I'm on a roll; I might just cook pork again tomorrow!!!

For my IPD P2 followers, leave out the pittas the rest is good to go...

Jimmy's Farm rare breed belly pork with a Joe Collier twist

2011-07-06T22:43:00.003+01:00

I watched Joe prepare this cut of meat,

Rolled Belly Pork - Cheap as chips and tasty as hell!

He skinned it and liberally rubbed it with a mix of ground black pepper and garlic granules before rolling it up. He topped it with a mix of ginger, lemon, coriander. A great tip he gave us was to use the same many skewers as we had portions. (Which would have worked if me and Marie hadn't decide to cut the joint up and share it!) However if you're doing it at home, space your skewers out to determine portion size, once cooked just cut through the meat.

Makes my mouth water just looking at this photo!

I roasted it at 170c for 40mins with a good 10 minutes resting time and it turned out delicious. I cut in between the skewers and each portion was prettily displayed on the plate. This was full of great flavours, at the time I thought he was a little heavy handed with the pepper, far more than I would have added at home but once cooked it was delightful, not too peppery but with a great kick! The Asian inspired flavours he used on top of the joint were just perfect too, I have never had belly pork taste so good. The fat rendered down and became lovely and crispy and left the meat moist and full of flavour.
A great start to my week of eating pork!
I served it with a mix of steamed vegetables, Jo had parboiled potatoes roasted in the pork dripping...which looked amazing!!!

Marie takes me to Jimmy's Farm

2011-07-05T10:39:00.001+01:00

What a week I've had!
A whirlwind would be one way to describe it!
I arrived home from holiday on Saturday and with a quick change of clothes and a repacked suitcase I headed to Marie's, my good foodie friends house. She had been invited to attend a food bloggers day at Jimmy's Farm to promote the 'Put Pork on your Fork' campaign. It was to be held in Ipswich which meant traveling to London by train, a quick nip on the underground and catching another train out to Ipswich, all part of the fun I'd say but Marie was unsure, she has a few mobility issues and mentioned in passing that she didn't think she could go.... WHAT... ARE YOU MAD WOMEN??? This is right up your street, you know you'd love it...go go go go... get back and tell us how fabulous it was!
She still wasn't sure so I offered to assist her, I'd come up to Chester and travel with her, carry her case and help where needed, she would be silly to miss something she would get so much pleasure out of... all her friends agreed! The offer was there and after a few emails to those kind people at Finn Communications it was agreed that I could go too....

Now I'm not new to blogging, I've been going since 2007, but my blog it's flash, it doesn't have 'give aways', and I don't do that many reviews! It's just a place to keep all my family recipes, to share the love of cooking and to record the things that are special to me. All my regular readers know I'm an avid fan of low carb food, (being wheat intolerant and all) I'm also a HUGE Pampered Chef fan... and have promoted the products that I love along the way. How would this fit in with my recipe based food blog? Could I come home and give it a good write up....after all 10 of the top food bloggers in the UK had been invited to this event... would I be able to do it justice?

The invite said the day would promote 'One Pig Weekend', 'Put Pork on your Fork' and support the Great British Pig Farmer.... well I'm a huge fan of the British Farmer, I always buy British when I can... so that bit would be easy. Put Pork on my fork? As a kid I didn't eat much pork, the occasional rolled shoulder of pork on a Sunday but Mum's attempts to cook pork always ended up with a dry piece of white meat with a large chunk of white fat running down the side...blurgh!! The memory of it crushing any desire to cook pork in later life (sorry Mum!) So I would be very keen to learn more.... I then visited the 'One Pig Weekend' page.... OK... I'm inspired, you got me!!! It said I could host my own event, a raucous garden party using their pork recipes... NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT.... if they can show me some great ways to cook British pork that I could cook for my friends and promote British meat.... COUNT ME IN... (I'm never one to miss a chance to throw a party!!!)

We travelled down on the Sunday, talked food and recipes all the way, had a bite to eat and headed to our hotel, had a sleepover and were like a couple of kids sitting up in bed chatting (me taking notes... well you can never miss a chance of getting one of Marie's recipes down!!!) Breakfast the next morning then off to the farm.... where we were met by Chris.

Marie with Chris (a fellow northerner, so he gets my vote straight away!)

I'm not new to the PR ways of the Food blogger... but let me tell you, these guys were fab! The day was organised to a T, nothing was too much trouble and the content was designed perfectly to make us more knowledgeable about their product and leave feeling passionate and inspired.

Jimmy is so passionate about his farm!

Jimmy gave us a tour of the farm, now... my first thoughts were, it's going to be a bit smelly, he said he had over 600 pigs on the farm... I had my peg at the ready, but you know, good pig husbandry = happy pigs with no smelly sty's! He is so passionate about pig farming, his rare breed collection and is so knowledgeable that we were all truly interested. There are British farmers up and down the country who are just as passionate, just as knowledgeable and work just as hard to keep our meat British, we are really doing an injustice by buying imported meat. I am asking you all.... is your meat British, if not why not?

Joe Collier & Jimmy

After the tour we had a butchery masterclass with Joe Collier. Now Joe's shop is a bit too far to travel for most of us but if you have a butcher on your high street, pop in and see him, chances are his meat is British, if you don't and have to buy your meat in a supermarket, make sure it's British - you will taste the difference, the carbon footprint will be smaller and you will be supporting your farmer and your country...oooh I am a bit passionate about all these issue too.... but I digress...
These two together were a minefield of information. They went through the different cuts of meat, while Joe butchered a whole side of pork Jimmy explained how to cook and serve each one. Did you know the cheaper cuts of meat are usually the tastiest, and with a long slow cooking time you will end up with a dish that beats the more expensive cuts like the loin? I'm going to start asking for the Chump from now on, its so versatile and at £8.95kg much cheaper that the £16.95kg they ask for a top side of pork! I'm not going to say too much about the other cuts and recipes choices as in the next few posts I'm going to be showing you the recipes I have made since getting home. We were all sent away with a packet of meat and the instructions to come up with a recipe... me and Marie shared ours so they'll be one than one recipe from both of us.... they were all delicious! (see tomorrows post...)

Then... it was time for lunch in the newly converted barn.

Click here for a pork burger recipe

We all opted for the pork burger. I wanted to see how they should really be cooked, pork burgers can be dry (probably just mine!), this was anything but, moist and cooked to perfection! The onion chutney, pickled gherkin and fresh salad set it off beautifully. The chips, cooked in pork fat were a very tasty accompaniment. While some of us couldn't tell the difference between pork and beef me and Marie agreed, this was definitely one tasty pork burger!!!

I could ramble on all day about the merits of what I have learnt, how nice everyone was and how passionate Jimmy was about his pigs, but I'm going to leave it at that for now and follow it up with a few posts on the other things we tasted and all those lovely pork recipes I made during the week.
I have also got to sort out my 'One Pig Weekend Event' I'm thinking festival style, tents in the garden, wellies and umbrellas, pork roast and pimms...ooooh, who to invite...

Jimmy's Farm Pork Snacks

2011-07-04T23:01:00.000+01:00

Spent the day at Jimmy's Farm for the Put Pork on your Fork Food bloggers event.

What a good idea to serve sliced sausages with Pre lunch drinks!

Beef and Chili Sausages

For some reason I don't do beef sausages, no idea why!

These were lovely with just the right amount of spice and a lovely meaty taste

Pork crackling

Delicious, but mine would give him a run for his money!!!

#blowing my own trumpet!!!

Pork & Herb Sausages

The best of a classic!

CookingKT & English Mum

Piggy Salt & Pepper Pots

Apparently, these have a nasty habit of falling into handbags...

unfortunately they didn't fall into mine :-(

The Annual Camping Trip to Polzeath

2011-07-04T22:41:00.001+01:00

The view from our tent on the first day!

...and the view on the second day...oh dear!

...and the day after...phew, thank goodness for that!

Jo prefers to eat out when on holiday, I love the challenge of cooking in the tent!

Although I do insist on lunch in Padstow at least one in the week!

With the doom bar closed, we had trouble keeping Jo out of the Oystercatcher!

Half way up pentire before breakfast - the views were spectacular!

Jo's ultimate breakfast

Oh, she's going to hate me for this,

BUT I love her 'I've just beat Dad at pool again' face!

The view from our tent at night.

Paul's favourite Polzeath breakfast - the bacon & mushroom baguette

The Oystercatcher starter of chilli nachos

with three dips (sour cream, salsa & guacamole)

IT WAS SO BIG we couldn't manage a main course!

I think we could do with a bigger car! (Jo was in there somewhere too!)

And Finally... BBQ spare ribs

2011-07-01T22:54:00.001+01:00

I asked Marie for a recipe for my spare ribs, this was here suggestion

*Spiced Roast*

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 TBS white vinegar
1/2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chili paste
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
salt
pepper

Make 4 shallow diagonal cuts across the meat,
Insert a piece of garlic into each cut.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
Rub all over the roast.
Place in a shallow dish, cover and then chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Transfer to a baking dish (I used my stoneware obviously!).
Preheat oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
Roast for about an hour and a half, or until desired doneness.
Cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.

I served it removed from the bone, diced and mixed through spicy rice

bones, picked clean... nom nom nom!

IPD'ers - The meat is IPD friendly if you omit the sugar - would be great served with salad!

What a fabulous space.....

2011-06-12T13:06:00.000+01:00

Swancar Farm Country House belongs to a very good friend of mine. I've known her for longer than I will care to admit, for then I would have to admit to my true age and I am never honest about that!!!

I am honest about this though.... absolutely fantastic place! I so want to use this space, but with no impending wedding plans, my business meetings all being held in the South West and the next family party having to be set in Gloucestershire it doesn't really look like I'm going to get to use it in the near future. You could though...

The elegant 16th century renovated country house which is set within 250 acres of beautiful countryside has got everything that I want. The barn, the private dining room & lounge, the catering kitchen. The Swancar Farm Country House would be the perfect place to celebrate Paul's 50th birthday in September. It would be ideal... do you think I could get all his family and friends to travel the 2+ hours?

Not sure he'd be happy going all the way to Nottingham for his birthday though, he's already played Robinhood to my Maid Marion once and saved me from the fat fryer... not sure he'd do it again... he's hung up his tights, his outlaw days are over!

If anyone can recommend somewhere as beautiful as this but closer to home I'd appreciate it. Anyone close to this amazing place and with an event coming up, I'd go take a look, Tracy & Steve will make you very welcome!

How to deglaze your stoneware after roasting meat and make fab gravy!

2011-06-05T12:28:00.032+01:00

As anyone who has ever spoken to me for more than 10 mins knows, I love my stoneware, I have nearly every size that Pampered Chef do and I use at least one piece every single day! The question I get asked most is, 'how do you make proper gravy if you can't put it on the hob (stoneware is for oven use only, no grill or hob allowed!) Well, I'll tell you....

Roasting meat in stoneware is so simple, I never use foil and I never have to worry about my meat drying out as the flavour and the moisture stay in the food. I always cook pork in an oven that has been preheated to its highest temperature, roasting it on high for 30 mins until the crackling is crispy and golden. Then I turn it down to 150c for 35 mins for every pound of meat I have... slow roasting is the best! (For best results I dry and salt the pork crackling before cooking)

Once I have roasted the meat, I transfer it to a warm plate to rest. I am then left with my stoneware looking like this (see photo above) All dark and sticky and lovely... this is the bit I need for the gravy. In a regular tin I would put this on the hob and get it hot and add water or stock to it and cook the gravy straight in the roasting tin. Well,with stoneware, it is already really hot when it comes out of the oven and it will stay that way for nearly 30 minutes, so this is what I do..

I pour off all the fat and juices I can into a pan.... I use my little blue Le Cruet fondue pan as like Stoneware it stays hot long after you've taken it off the heat and its pretty enough to serve it straight to the table. (If you are trying to be healthy, you could drain some of the fat off first!)

I am now left with the stoneware with no juices in just the sticky bits.... using water from the kettle that is roughly the same temperature as the stoneware, I pour into the pan and using a fork I scrape all the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. I don't use too much water, just enough to dilute all those lovely bits needed for the gravy... (WARNING!!!!! Don't use cold water on hot stoneware or hot water on cold stoneware...the difference in temperature will crack your dish!!!)

Your stoneware will look like this once you have scrapped the sticky bits off !

Heat the meat juices in the pan until bubbling

Add a tablespoon of plain flour to these hot juices and mix with a whisk, beating until the flour is cooked, this may look a bit lumpy at first but bear with it..... mix to a smooth paste, then add the sticky water from the stoneware into the pan a little at a time until it becomes a thick gravy....

Now add stock or potato/vegetable water to dilute gravy to the right consistency, boil for a couple of minutes before turning it to a very low heat. If using just potato or vegetable water, add a stock cube. The knorr stock pots give the best flavour. I also add a large teaspoon of marmite to my gravy, love it or hate it, it gives great colour and an added depth you don't get without it. (marmite haters don't worry you can't taste it but it does make such a difference so don't leave it out.) Allow the gravy to sit on a low light for as long as possible, the longer you leave it the better the gravy is, keep stirring every now and again. If it looks like its getting too thick, let it down with a little vegetable water or water from your kettle.

Don't forget to eat as much crackling before offering it to your family members or guests, once it leaves the kitchen you'll only get an empty plate back....

If you make a large pan of gravy every time you roast meat, you can cool and freeze left overs in one cup prep bowls... ideal for mid week meals.

Tip - so you don't end up loosing all your prep bowl to the freezer, once your gravy is frozen, dip the bottom of the bowls into hot water to release contents allowing you to free up prep bowls and then store gravy in freezer bags.

''twas the week before her 16th birthday...

2011-05-25T13:07:00.005+01:00

...and she asked...

“Can I design my own birthday cake?”

“Of course you can my lovely!!!”

She had found a recipe online for a black forest gateaux. I gave it a read, and you know when it just doesn’t sound right? The ingredients list was causing me some concern, it was missing something, I just got the hunch that it wouldn’t work... I read the reviews and it confirmed my fears, others had tried and failed, but I got the gist of what she wanted...

What she was after and it took us a week to gather the chosen recipes together was a cake to top all cakes!

4 layers (2 chocolate, 2 vanilla) sandwiched together with fresh cream, chocolate mousse and dark cherries, liberally doused in kirsch when all covered in dark chocolate ganache THEN topped with chocolate curls and 16 whole cherries, one for each of her years on this planet!!!

First layer was a Mary Berry genoese sponge cake, Nigella's chocolate mousse, cherries

top with a chocolate genoese sponge layer, then sandwich the next layer together with fresh cream.

Remember to use pitted cherries or remember to pit them BEFORE you make the cake!!!

The Ultimate Birthday Cake!

When cut the layers were very impressive... everyone gave it a WOW!!

Then they demolished it.... this was all that was left... she has such greedy friends!!

Happy 16th Birthday Jo-Jo!

Chicken Tikka Masala Stoneware-Style!

2011-05-11T11:31:00.001+01:00

For Sarah with love...

This is one of the best stoneware curries, its got an authentic Indian taste and you can easily turn the heat up by adding more chilli's. If you would rather not use a tikka paste you could always follow this Chicken Tikka Recipe but probably wouldn't do it in the stoneware as the raw spices need to be fried off to give off the best flavours.

Chicken Tikka Masala Stoneware-Style!

5 chicken breasts for Deep Dish Baker or Square Baker – (can double ingredients for Rectangular Baker)
¾ jar Tikka Masala paste
250g natural yogurt
I tbs olive oil
1 red onion – finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 fresh green chilli
1 inch piece root ginger – finely grated or chopped
4 fl oz / 125 ml water
4 fl oz / 125 ml double cream
Bunch fresh coriander – finely chopped
1tbsp lemon juice
2/3 tsp cumin seeds

Method
1. Chop uncooked chicken into bite size pieces using Santoku knife and Cutting Board. Add the chicken to the Classic Batter Bowl. Chop the red onion and chilli using the Food Chopper and add to the bowl.

2. Use the Micro Scraper to take the masala paste out of the jar. Snip coriander with Kitchen Shears into a Prep Bowl, and then add to the bowl. Use the Easy Adjustable Measuring spoon to measure out the olive oil. Squeeze the lemon using the Citrus Press into Prep Bowl.

3. Measure the cream and water using the Easy Read Measuring Cup. Add the yogurt using the Measure-All cup. Crush the garlic with Garlic Press, and then grate the ginger using the Microplane. Combine all the ingredients in the bowl using the Mix’N Scraper.

4. Measure the cumin seeds using Adjustable Measuring spoon and place in a Prep Bowl, add a knob of butter and microwave until seeds pop. Add to mixture, stir and pour into stone on180-200 degrees for 35 mins – make sure curry is bubbling nicely in oven.

5. Serve with Coconut Rice using the Rice Cooker Plus in the microwave.

Makes 8 Servings
• 4 cups Thai jasmine white rice (note that other types of rice do not work for this recipe)
• 3 cups of good-quality coconut milk (regular or light!)
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons dry shredded/desiccated unsweetened coconut

Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, salt, and coconut. Stir well.

Cover and put in microwave. Give it five minutes on “Full” power and then another 10-minutes on “Medium” (50% power).

Gently fluff with a fork before serving (some of the coconut milk may have risen to the surface - just stir it back into the rice).

The rice should be “sticky” – this is normal.

At one of my Curry Night Special Pampered Chef Shows I take along a batch of Naan bread dough and let each guest cook their own bread.
This is great fun, they all roll out their individual naans with the bakers roller and cook it over a medium heat in the square griddle pan they are delicious and really do make a curry night special. If you'd like to know how to make them, follow the link here

Any questions? Just ask!

The homemade Pitta Saga...

2011-05-03T11:36:00.002+01:00

I had friends coming round for lunch, we'd had a big meal the day before and had a fridge full of leftovers and while I didn't want to short change them with warmed up seconds I didn't want to be wasteful either... what to serve them....hmmmmm... think, think, think.....I spend my free time reading a number of food blogs, the few I follow on Twitter are foodies and many of my Facebook friends are foodies... I read alot about what other people are cooking so over the past week I had read a link and followed it about the making of homemade pittas. It struck me as I gazed into my fridge that the leftover lamb and chickpea side dish could have the makings of a Greek Meze and somewhere in cyber space there was a pitta recipe just waiting for me... only problem was, I couldn't find it!!! I checked my own blog only to find that I had made them once before... but the link was broken..I still had no recipe. I asked who was responsible for whetting my appetite... who, in the last week or two had made homemade pitta with such fabulous results that I had stored it away in my 'must do' folder in my head... well it didn't take long for Domestic Jules to get back to me... it was her, she'd made them, they were truly fabulous and she very kindly sent me the pitta recipe link.... so I made them...only thing I did different is I cooked them on my Pampered Chef Rectangle Stone, I think it helped it to puff up and become crisp on the underneath too.

I agree, strange shape and probably a little well done but very nice all the same!

Check out Domestic Jules blog to see how they really should be cooked!

With those I served the reheated lamb from the day before. It had been served sprinkled with pomegranates so I carefully picked those out and squeezed the juice into the meat. Wrapped it in foil and slowly reheated it and came out trumps... moist and moreish Lamb Salad!

Then I made the Tzatziki - A photo can be seen here

350g/12oz Greek yogurt
1 cucumber
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, pushed through the garlic press
dash of extra virgin olive oil
paprika, for sprinkling

Method
1.De-seeding the cucumber before grating. Place the grated cucumber in a fine strainer and press to squeeze out all the excess liquid.
2.Combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice and garlic. Add a dash of olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
3.Leftovers can be sorted in the fridge but will separate slightly. Just mix with a fork before serving again!

I then turned the chick pea side dish into hummus by adding a large glug of oil and a tablespoon of tahini paste before whizzing it to a smooth paste (sort of... we all like a bit of texture in our lives!!!)
A beef tomato salad - Ripe tomatoes slices, white onion finely chopped, torn basil (used dried at a pinch), glug of oil, salt and pepper and a generous glug of balsamic vinegar and you're done! Cover and let marinate until you're ready to serve.

A mixed green salad finished it all off nicely!!

Pitta bread made with wholemeal bread was equally good!

We served all this with copious amounts of Procecco, sparkling water and squash for the kids. For dessert I made Turkish Delight Syllabub again I need to apologise to Nigella, I subbed lots of things in this but it still turned out fab... Tia Maria instead of Cointreau for a start and the chocolate on the top was more appropriate with the change too I think... hey, it worked for us, so no complaints!!!

Ryvita Crackers

2011-04-26T11:55:00.000+01:00

I had these sent to me before Easter and I can't believe its taken me so long to try them....!

As my regular readers will no I'm not supposed to eat wheat, its the trigger to my IBS so I avoid it at ~~all~~ most costs...!

I was asked to review these and I explained that I don't eat wheat but hubby does and would be honoured to do my dirty work for me!!!

I served it as it came, with cheese, biscuits and garden chutney and a large glass of red. I had the same but with a plate full of my Judy's linseed bread crackers

Well, what did he think?

I heard him before anything else, making mmm... nom nom nom noises with his mouth so full of biscuit I couldn't resist... I had to have one.... Oh wow... he was right, they were soo crunchy, more so than his usual type of square cracker biscuit! Great flavours, crisp, held its own when piled high with toppings and wasn't too dry when eaten alone. We were both really impressed. As you can see by the table, we made short work of them.... they were his biscuit of choice and didn't venture into the tin for other brands and left my linseed ones uneaten!

A great big thumbs up.... he's even asked me to buy these again instead of his usual ones... result! Mr Tulip can be a bit of a stickler for his favs!!!

Ryvita - 10 out of 10 !

I can't get enough of these!

2011-04-22T11:36:00.000+01:00

Topped with cream cheese, black olives or roasted red peppers

For breakfast or lunch, its so nice to be able to spread something on them and crunch!

Cracker recipe can be found here

Day 37 to 42...

2011-04-18T07:48:00.000+01:00

MIA again.... I've had a terrible week, one that I don't really want to repeat in a hurry. I've not eaten much and when I did it wasn't necessarily the healthiest of choices! I've had my weigh in and surprise surprise, I've not lost anything this week.... could have been worse tho, I could have gained!

Flowering arranging for the over 60's...

I know, I know I'm no where near that! I accompanied my mum, this was my effort... not much patience or an eye for detail but the flowers were a lovely gift so I did my best!

In between the horrible bits, they were some good bits.... the sun has shone, I had to get out my summer clothes, carefully selected the shorts that didn't fit last year and said a little prayer.... not only did they fit, I found £30 quid in the back pocket... Yay!!!

Food when enjoyed was of the BBQ variety.... marinated mint and garlic lamb steaks with steamed seasonal greens and roasted cherry tomatoes. I've done a bit of pre Easter baking but apart from the odd melting moment I've left it alone. We've got a week left of Lent and I intend to carry on with P1. I have a great blow out Easter meal planned with family... nothing too heavy on the wheat front, lots of veggie dishes and the biggest piece of lamb you can imagine, I do have a bottle of chilled Chablis waiting for me tho..... well without getting all religious on you, it is the biggest festival in our calendar!!!

Day 36 and I've been missing for a while..

2011-04-12T05:11:00.000+01:00

... I don't want you to think the worst!!!

I have stayed on plan having mostly egg and bacon for breakfast, salads for lunch with a few treats thrown in at the weekend.

I had a friend over for lunch on Saturday and we feasted on page 134 of Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals. (If I leave it at that, I'll be expecting you all to dash off and check out what we ate....lol) The dessert was a little different from that menu, we had the dessert from page 56 with homemade wheat free shortbread. Thank you for those Caroline it was delicious, can you send me some photos please?

Photo's will follow....

BBQ on Sunday with fab marinated meats, (minted lamb, garlic, lemon and oregano chicken and peppered beef medallions) green salad, Italian tomato salad. While the others munched on tiramisu I had fresh figs with mint and honey (Not IPD, but totally wheat free)

Today I'm starting with porridge...

Day 31 and I feel a rant coming on....

2011-04-08T07:53:00.000+01:00

I just had leftover cold pizza for breakfast, cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper etc… now it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that's 3 of my five a-day - I've drank a litre of water and it’s not even 8am! Now tell me, does that sound so unhealthy??

Anyhoo, I've had a bit of an ear bashing about my unhealthy eating... don't I worry about all that fat?? I sat with a rather rotund lady who told me that she is under her doctor for her weigh and is not doing so well, so is attending Weigh in World (can't remember which one!) because they let her have a Chinese take away and she's allowed lots of sins... which she sometimes uses to replace all her meals as she'd rather have a bar of chocolate!!! As she was telling me this she was scoffing cake, I was drinking water as I was still full from my cooked breakfast, and she’d had a bowl of cereal with semi skimmed milk.

When I explained my varied diet all she focused on was the cheese; butter and the lack of oranges and apples etc... She took no notice of my vegetable intake, the fact I'd lost over 10lbs in just over a month, surely that can't be healthy?!!
I don't mind that she doesn't like the way I eat, what I do object to is her asking me how I stay so slim then when I tell her, she jumps down my throat as if I've just said I'd eaten a baby seal!!! I don't eat shop bought cakes and biscuits, vary rarely eat takeaways, I'm picky when I eat out and don't treat myself like a human dust bin!!! (At this point of the conversation she's was eating a second dessert because it was offered... she won't eat anything later to make up for it she told me... how can that be healthy???)

I never tell people that I think their low fat, point watching, red day green day diets are bad, when people are overweight and reaching for another piece of cake, I don't say a word, I'm respectful of their choices, its their body, their life BUT... when you expect me to listen to you moaning about your trousers being tight, you're out of breath when you climb the stairs or that you don't want to go to fat club because it was someone’s birthday at work and you over indulged... I'm not interested anymore! Likewise don't ask me what I eat then rip my diet apart, I'm not overweight, not under my doctor and no longer interested in what you have got to say -
Too harsh?

Day 30... 10 days left...

2011-04-07T21:35:00.000+01:00

Thursday morning and I woke up starving, which is a sure sign I am wheat free. I don't get hungry when I'm stuffed full of wheat, that bloated feeling takes that away, so breakfast was a welcomed sight today.

3 slices of unsmoked back bacon, a large open cap mushroom stuffed with Gouda cheese and a fried egg all washed down with two latte mugs full of hot water... now that should last me until lunch!

I'm am being treated by my Mum to a pamper day complete with three course home cooked lunch. Now I'm not getting my hopes up too much here, its a day that has been arranged by her sheltered housing team and although they usually organise some fab treats, trips and social events, I will be the youngest one there by miles, the only one with my own teeth (expecting soft vegetables and a mushy pudding!) and the only one who will be able to out run the warden...wish me luck, I'll report back as to what war time favourite meal I had to endure!!!

Well I take it all back, I don't have photos but it was a very pleasant day. The three course lunch was a revelation... really really nice. I had melon and ginger for starter, orange chicken with roasted vegetables (I left the potatoes) and to finish I had a small portion of fruit salad with double cream. Damage limitation... no wheat which is my problem so great on that front and nothing too bad on the IPD front... I even won the raffle!

Dinner - Depends on what I am fed at lunch time, I may make a cauliflower pizza base with a garden ranch topping!

I did make the pizza... and very nice it was too...

Cauliflower pizza base

with a garden ranch topping

The recipes can be found on this page.... click here!

Day 29 Wednesday

2011-04-07T08:12:00.000+01:00

What did I eat on Wednesday?

I'm slipping, I should do this daily and I won't forget but life is rather busy at the moment....

Oh, I remember, I had a breakfast meeting with fellow Pampered Chef Directors, so it was a full English minus the beans and toast and lashings of coffee that made the meeting buzz... or was that because we were in the presence of Pampered Chef Royalty??? Either way it was a fab meeting, very focused and very inspiring... I've never had so much training and support... oh I do love my job... and I feel very privileged to have found a business that I love even more than the one I ran back in 2005!

From my meeting I went on to my day job... equally rewarding but office based. I sat at my desk and ate my homemade turkey ceaser salad, well it was lunch time!

Dinner was a rushed affair as I chose to nap and slept a little longer than expected... I had my crackers from yesterday spread with homemade chicken liver pate. They were a little soft today :-( I think keeping in the plastic tub didn't help, I much prefer to sore crisp things in a air tight tin, so when I make a second batch that's what I'll do and report back to you....

Day 28 - And I'm about to make some crackers...

2011-04-05T08:56:00.001+01:00

... don't worry, they're not wheat ladened ones, these are Elly's Linseed Bread with added nuts and cheese ones. Judy says its a fairly flexible recipe and I can throw in it whenever I have to hand... so here goes...

100 gm ground linseed

25 gm ground almonds

50 gm walnuts, broken roughly

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons wheat bran
2 tablespoons flaked almonds (if you don't want to use seeds just add more almonds and walnuts)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon onion granules [or ~ 1/3 tsp. onion powder]
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
100 gm cheese (e.g. strong cheddar, stilton, parmesan)
2 tablespoons plain protein powder (only if you have it)
2 eggs, large
3 tablespoons peanut or light olive oil
about 4 tablespoons water (you may need to add more when you have added the dry ingredients if it is too stiff)

Mix all the dry ingredients together; whisk egg, water and oil in a bowl, then add dry ingredients and mix well.

Place in a plastic food box, I use one that is 19 x 12 cm. (7 1/2 X 4 3/4 inches)
Microwave for 3.5 to 4 minutes. Turn out onto rack and leave to cool.
Slice when cold - I get 20 slices from mine - and spread out on baking tins. [Judy's note: I only got 18 slices; will slice thinner next time.]
Dry out in a cool oven (about 200 F) (93 C) until crispy.
A long time at a low temperature is better than a short time at a high temperature for taste.

These keep for ages in a clip and lock box so are handy standbys. Don't be put off by the smell when they come out of the microwave, once they are oven baked they are delicious. As I said, the quantities are to taste, so experiment to find out your favourite. Enjoy, Elly

A picture of Judy's is on her her website here

Breakfast: egg & bacon (probs... haven't had it yet...)
Lunch: chicken caesar salad
Dinner: Lemon Pepper Prawns with Asparagus Pilaf (using cauliflower obviously)

Day 27 and I have new batteries in my Scales

2011-04-04T08:39:00.001+01:00

We needed new batteries in the scales to weigh the suitcases... I knew he'd get on them this morning, I didn't hear a scream so it couldn't have been that bad. I used them this mornign too... I've lost 9 1/2lbs in 26 days that's over a half a stone in weight, no wonder I can't feel my back fat and my trousers are feeling comfortable. I think its just given me the boost I need to carry on with the next 14 days!!!

I will then go onto P2...

...until then I need to find some new recipes to have for breakfast as I'm sick of eggy stuff, any suggestions?

Breakfast: I had eggs!!!

Spicy sausage, leftover salsa gently fried with 2 eggs scrambled into them and served with homemade mayo!

Lunch: A Smörgåsbord of of cold meats and cheese... didn't want the tomatoes so Bobby and Ozzy shared them!

Dinner: Leftover lamb curry with Cauliflower rice. I've really got this rice business sorted, lightly steam cauli florets until tender then using the Pampered Chef mix and chop chop it until its the consistency of rice. No mess, no fuss just neatly chopped cauliflower rice... I love you mix 'n' chop...

Text from Bex: I've had raw meat... blurgh!!!! (I take it she wasn't impressed by the Carpaccio then?)

Day 26 - Mothers Day

2011-04-03T23:34:00.001+01:00

Not the way I usually spend Mothers day but when your middle daughter decides its time to stretch her wings there's no stopping her!! This is why when I should have been enjoying breakfast in bed, I was hurtling down the M5 towards Birmingham International Airport.

I'd had ham and eggs for breakfast before I left and I make no secret about my phobia of airports so had a coffee and nothing more while I was there. Dad and girls on the other hand tucked into Burger King milkshakes and chocolate!!

Lunch didn't happen - tummy too nervous!

Dinner - A scrummy lamb curry where I'd toasted and ground my own spices and cooked it for ever! Served it like a stew with no accompaniments and it was comforting and moreish. I'll serve the leftovers with cauliflower rice.

Kolhapuri Mutton (Madhur Jaffery's)

Ingredients

2lb/900g boned lamb from the shoulder, cut into 1½ in/4cm cubes

For the marinade
4 tbs/60ml plain yoghurt
2 tsp/10ml very finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp/5ml finely crushed garlic
¼ tsp turmeric

For the sauce

½ tsp/2.5ml vegetable oil
2-4 dried, hot, red chillies
1½ in/4cm cinnamon stick
10 whole cloves
10 whole cardamom pods
2 tbs/30ml whole coriander seeds
10oz/350g, 3 medium sized onions, peeled
6 tbs/90ml vegetable oil
2 tsp/10ml finely crushed garlic
1 tsp/5ml very finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3 small tomatoes, very finely chopped
1¼ tsp/6ml salt

Method
Put the meat in a bowl. Add all the marinating seasonings and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight if you prefer.

Lightly grease a small cast-iron frying pan with the ½ tsp/2.5ml of vegetable oil and heat it over a medium-low flame. When it is hot, put in the dried hot red chillies and the cinnamon stick. Stir these around until the red chillies darken. Remove the spices and put them in a plate. Put the cloves, cardamom pods and coriander seeds into the same frying pan. Stir and roast the seeds until they darken a few shades. You will be able to smell the roasted coriander seeds. Put these spices into the same place as the chillies and cinnamon.

Put all the roasted spices from the plate into the container of a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder. Grind as finely as possible.

Cut all the onions in half, lengthwise. Now slice half of these sections crosswise into very fine half rings. Chop up the other half as finely as you can.

When the meat has finished marinating, heat the 6 tbs/90 ml/½ cup of oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in just the sliced onions. Stir and fry them until they are reddish-brown in colour.

Now put in the very finely chopped onions and stir them for 1 minute. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Put in the 2 tsp/10 ml of garlic and 1 tsp/5 ml of ginger. Stir for a few seconds. Put in the ground spices from the coffee grinder and stir once. Now add 4 fl oz/125 ml/½ cup of water. Continue to stir and cook on a medium-low flame, stirring as you do so for 3-4 minutes. You will begin to see the oil as it separates from the spice mixture.

Now put in the marinated meat. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Stir and fry the meat with the spice paste for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt. Continue to stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Now add about 8 fl oz/250 ml/1 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour or until the meat is tender.

Just before serving, you can spoon the fat off the top if you so desire.

I finished the evening listening to my new CD's (thanks girls) and swigging a double Vodka and Tonic in celebration of Mothers Day and the news that said daughter had arrived safely. She was having fun but was having phone problems, so a quick phone call to Orange and a PUK code obtained and all was sorted! (good ole Mam!)

First text message read: People nice, food good but loads of it. I think I ate a whole barnyard!!!
Straight to the important stuff... the food... a chip of the old block dont' ya think?

Day 25 its a saturday!

2011-04-02T23:42:00.000+01:00

All packed and ready to go...

It's the day before Beccy leaves for Italy and she went out last night.. this morning, she was feeling a bit the worse for wear so we took her for a full English at a local cafe.

Egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms and tomato - Bex had beans on toast and a mug of tea

Lunch: Breakfast was late and a lot so no breakfast

Dinner - Lamb curry with rathia

I was going to have a drink tonight to go with my curry but I didn't, I hit the tonic water with a slice of lime in it instead - didn't miss it at all. Maybe I'm a tea totaller after all???

Day 24 - Friday

2011-04-02T21:02:00.000+01:00

Breakfast - Well, I was going to have scrambled egg but after making the salads for lunch I couldn't resist and ate mine at 8am!!!

Lunch - Very naughty, but missed it.. too busy doing stuff!

Dinner - To finish off my topsy turvy day I had a cooked breakfast

Drinking lots of water but not getting much exercise in at the moment, but at the same time I never stop.. does that count?

Day 23

2011-03-31T21:47:00.000+01:00

Tulips from my Mummy!

Breakfast: Porridge

Lunch : Herb salad with spicy chicken thighs, tomatoes, red onion and homemade mayo

Dinner was a good old fashioned northern tea. Gammon, egg and 'chips'

Made from swede! No really, try them they are delicious, par boil for 6 mins, roast with a spritz of oil for 20-25mins!

Day 22

2011-03-30T08:12:00.002+01:00

Amy's gifts

Started the morning with my usual two latte cups of hot water, had a small bowl of porridge today. I know its not P1 but I'm not going to have time to eat until much later and don't want to fall into the trap of snacking or being over hungry like yesterday. Made with water it is comfort in a bowl, try to get the best you can afford, it really does make a difference to the taste and the smoothness of the oats.

Lunch will be a ham and Camembert salad, with a mixed green leaf, it has coriander in it (my favourite) If I make the salads different, with herbs and different dressings I never get bored of them. Paul is having left over corination chicken and cauliflower rice.

Dinner: Courghetti bolognese

Now this was a revelation. I used my spiralizer to make courgette 'spaghetti' dropped it into my homemade bolognese while it was heating up and served it with grated Parmesan. Delicious.... it looked the part and tasted very pasta like, but without the bloat!

Day 21....

2011-03-29T09:16:00.003+01:00

... no idea what I'll be eating today, got carried away playing with my new phone and have missed breakfast and have no lunch prepared....watch this space!!!

Popped back in to say, " It didn't go to badly!"

I ate snacky things all day, crudites, garlic mayo, slices of ham, chicken wings, that sort of thing, not a proper meal, because I'd snacked I didn't feel that hungry when meal time came around, this is why at 9pm last night I had the last piece of apple pie and cream!!! It doesn't pay to snack all day, 3 regular meals a day, with protein, vegetables and fat is what makes for healthy eating. That way you are satisfied when you leave the table and don't crave all the wrong food....

Day 20...

2011-03-28T12:19:00.000+01:00

Half Way There!!!

Day 20 and apart from the slip up yesterday I've been spot on! No idea what I have lost as we still have no batteries in our scales. I will try to remember the next time I go to my in-laws! I do feel better though, my work trousers are loose and I've lost that bloated feeling and I no longer have back fat, well not much anyhoo!!!

I've drank loads of water today but as usual after eating wheat I am only just starting to feel the need to eat and its just after mid day :-( I have a rare roast beef salad planned for lunch but really dont' fancy it at the moment. I'm going to make myself some sort of frittata filled with beef, mushroom, chilli and garlic... I'll pop back and show you a photo later!

Dinner - Chicken with cauliflower rice

Sunday

2011-03-27T22:01:00.000+01:00

A quick recap from Saturday...

I probably didn't eat enough on Saturday, after such a late big breakfast I didn't need to eat again until about 4pm where I had the leftover smoked mackerel salad with the mustard and oil dressing from Friday. I had a show that night so didn't eat again. Lots of water though so I don't feel too bad!

Sunday started with me starving so I had a small portion of porridge made with water and a teaspoon of honey on. Not P1 but I knew I wasn't going to eat until later in the afternoon and it was sooo good!

Trying to get a decent photo of all of them is pretty hard

I need that windows cloud programme me thinks!!!

Today we had a family lunch planned as our middle daughter is off to Italy next weekend to work for the summer. Grandparents gathered and meat was roasted. It was Beccy's choice to have chicken and beef and it was lovely, beef cooked rare and the chicken was melt in the mouth perfect. I didn't have any alcohol even though the family supped sherries and wine but I did have a couple of roast potatoes AND... this is where I really fell off the wagon... a portion of apricot cobbler!!! I've had lots of water and don't feel too guilty, I've been great for the last 18 days and not missed desserts at all but our Sunday's are precious, especially this one!

Next time I will make sure the dessert is wheat free so I lessen the 'cheat'!

Saturday Day 18

2011-03-26T12:23:00.000Z

Well I made it through the party without going too far from the pink path! I drank G &T's without the G and I really didn't notice, I even felt a bit giggly with the excitement of the party so really didn't miss the alcohol part eitehr.
It was also good that I was able to drive home at the end of it too, as the end arrived a little earlier than expected for us! Beccy suffered a migraine and we had to leave early :-(

Food was good though - we packed an in car picnic for the journey as we left straight after Jo had come in from school. While they snacked on pringles and munchies (*their choice as I don't choose to feed them such cr@p) I had chicken bites 7 kabanos. The party food couldn't have been any better, my sister had put a fab spread of different cheeses, crudites, cooked meats and crusty french bread (which I declined) so no cheats there! The birthday boy was feeling no pain when we left last night, no idea how he's feeling this morning, still had no reply from my text. I do have the urge to ring him and sing (in a very loud voice) the HAPPY BIRTHDAY song, all 4 verses!!!!

On to today - Its another bright day, I have a clear head and a full tummy!
For breakfast I had another Pampered Chef Stoneware cooked breakfast, complete with sausages, bacon, fried egg, mushrooms (have you tried baked mushrooms in the stoneware? Out of this world!!!) and roasted mini plum tomatoes.

Lunch - Can't even think about lunch yet as that breakfast will keep me going for ages yet. I do have salad stuff and cold meats in the fridge so something along those lines will probably play a big part should I need something.

Dinner - A vegetable curry is what I fancy at the moment, something light but flavoursome, with a bit of a kick, I also want to try that cauliflower technique again but using fresh cauli this time, I think it will turn out even better.

Pop back for recipes and photos once I've done them.

I am getting a lot of readers from the IPD website, I hope its all going as well for you as it is for me, I'm losing weight and feeling much better and I don't feel as if I've compromised my diet either, in fact I am probably eating more vegetables and variety now than I was beforehand. Share your story, tell me how you are doing, I love reading your comments!

Day 17 is a Friday!

2011-03-25T08:05:00.000Z

Normally by this time of the week I'm hankering after a good Friday night, getting home from work, leaving the shopping half put away on the kitchen floor while I search for the cork screw to welcome the weekend in! Well its been a couple of weeks now since I've done that and its not a bad feeling, I get a long Friday nights which isn't taken away in a boozy haze and a clear head on Saturday morning, I'm quite enjoying this alcohol free time... until now!!! I'm off to my brother-in-law's 40th birthday party tonight, the old git is finally catching me up!!!
However I made a promise to my nephew I'd match him day for day in staying dry for the whole month and a promise is a promise.. so its tonic water for me and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it... only time will tell, I am the designated driver so there's no chance of a slip up either!

Now on to my food... the Prawn and Spinach curry went down well last night, and the easy peasy cauliflower rice was a revelation... who knew it could be so simple? (check out yesterday's blog to see what I mean!)

Today for breakfast I had this...

small pieces of sausage, diced bacon, fried egg, simple but it hit the spot!

For lunch I'm going to have this lovely smoked mackerel salad, with watercress, spinach, mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, I've made a little pot of dressing to go with it too.

4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp mustard, salt and pepper, all shaken up in a jam jar, it should be enough for the two of us (if one of us isn't too greedy!!!)

Dinner - Not sure but I promise to keep it wheat free and as much on IPD as possible...watch this space...!

Day 16

2011-03-24T08:01:00.001Z

Woke up to sunshine again! Doesn't it make you feel so much better? So much so today I will cycle to work and back like I did yesterday. Feel a bit achey today but I'm sure it will go off when I get back on the bike today.

For Breakfast: Leftover Prawn and Chorizo Frittata

Lunch will be a salad with rocket , watercress, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and strips of rare roasted beef. I'm going to make a mustard mayo to go with it..yumyum!!

Dinner: Spinach and Prawn curry with cauliflower rice
Now this was a revelation... I had the curry in the freezer, so it just needed heating up but the cauliflower rice needed doing, I didn't have a fresh cauli only frozen so I popped it into the microwave to steam and cooked it for 6mins, drained it then because I was being lazy and didn't want the faff and mess of using the food processor I 'mashed' it in my large micro cooker with the mix n chop. Now I've not used this tool much, its a sturdy tool that I sell quite a lot of and customers rave, but I've never found much I've wanted to do with it, until now.... it cut the cauliflower up into tiny little pieces and because the cauli was steamed but still retained some bite, it was a great texture to imitate rice!!

How cool is that?

At this stage you could then fry it in butter and spices or carry on as your recipe dictates, but this time I just served it as it was with the curry on top as good old fashioned tradition dicates - we didn't need the extra butter, spices or anything as the prawn curry was so full of flavour it just needed to be used as a filler... AND WHAT A GREAT JOB IT DID!!!

Day 15 is a Wednesday!

2011-03-23T08:11:00.001Z

Breakfast: Prawns and Chorizo Frittata to make this dish IPD friendly I subbed the milk for a dash of cream and added, snipped mange tout*. French beans or asparagus would work when in season too. The recipe calls for a 20cm pan but I used the bigger one as it was already on the cooker top (How lazy is that?) My frittata wasn't as thick as it should have been but heck, it was a fab breakfast never the less!! Great cold served with a salad and some homemade mayo for Lunch

Snacks: For him not me as my breakie filled me up enough. Roast beef wraps with a cream cheese, mustard and cucumber filling.

Dinner: Not sure, breakfast was so lovely and lunch is going to be lovely, I can't think past this, although the fridge has IPD food to cook so I'm not too worried. I'll pop back later and tell you!

* probs not a P1 veg?

Lamb Dopiaza (Lamb With Onions)

2011-03-22T08:42:00.000Z

Will pop back later to post a photo, but be warned it has a huge flavour but its not very photogenic!!!

You will need:
6 onions, peeled
7 garlic cloves, peeled
2 1/2 cm cube fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
425 ml water
10 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cm cinnamon sticks
10 whole cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
1 kg boneless lamb shoulder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 tablespoons plain yogurt, beaten lightly
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

This amount serves 4 adults.

Directions

Cut three of the onions into thin sliced half rings, cut the fourth finely. Keep the two types of onions separate.
Put the garlic and ginger into a blender add 100ml of the measured water and blend until fairly smooth.
Heat the oil in a wide heavy saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, put in the sliced onions. stir and fry for 10-12 minutes until the onions turn a reddish-brown colour. You may have to turn the heat down towards the end of this cooking period.
Remove onions when cooked and spread them on a paper towel lined plate.
Put the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves into he hot oil. Stir them for about 5 seconds, now put in the meat and brown the meat on one side.
Turn it over and brown on the other side. Remove the meat and put in a bowl.
Put the chopped onion into the remaining oil. Stir and fry on a medium heat until the pieces turn brown at the edges. Add the garlic-ginger paste. Stir and fry it until all the water has boiled away and you can see the oil again. Turn the heat down and add the coriander and cumin. Stir for 30 seconds.
Now add 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, stir and blend, add all the yoghurt this way, blending well.
Put all the meat and accumulated juices and remaining water into the pan. Add the cayenne and salt, simmer, covered on a low heat for 40 minutes or until the meat is tender.
Add the fried onions and the garam masala. Stir to mix.
Cook, uncovered for another 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the pan sit for a while. the fat will rise to the top, remove it.
This dish is great prepared ahead of time and reheated

This is quite high in onions but is great meal and worth it if served with low carb veg and no rice!

Tuesday Day 14

2011-03-22T06:16:00.004Z

Breakfast: No prawns left, so no Chorizo & Prawn Fritatta this morning. I had scrambled egg and the last of the smoked salmon instead. It doesn't have to be expensive, its only two eggs and I use smoked salmon trimmings to stir through the egg at the last minute so very affordable. I know, I know, it's a sacrilege 'cooking' smoked salmon but it's how I like it!

Lunch: leftover butter chicken or Spicy BNS & Smoked Salmon Soup, depends who gets to the fridge first!

Snacks: Baton's of Cucumber & Green Pepper with tiny squares of Camembert cheese to accompany each piece. This is much nicer that munching down on a packet of crisps

photo and recipe to follow

Dinner: Lamb Curry

Monday Morning - Day 13

2011-03-21T07:54:00.002Z

Well, I start this week feeling much better than I did the last. I have had one cheat in the whole 13 days and I seriously regret that. The pudding yesterday was lovely but its still killing me, I didn't sleep too well last night because of it and have no desire for breakfast this morning. Not a good feeling. I did however cycle to and from the supermarket on Saturday and the excerise made me feel good. My work trousers are no longer tight and I have bags more energy so I will continue with no more slip ups

No breakfast as yet!

Edited to update you. I've had breakfast now, I had to be up for 3 hours before I felt ready to eat, but that will be the wheat I had yesterday!

Fried egg, bacon and sausage medley with a couple of sundried tomatoes thrown in the pan for good measure. Very tasty!

Snacks - Can't think of any I fancy but Paul went of to work with the last two kabanos, so I won't be having them!

Lunch - Cauliflower & Stilton Soup made fresh last night and will reheat at lunch time.

Dinner - Butter Chicken or Lamb Curry - you decide - There's a poll at the top of this blog, choose what I eat tonight!

The Butter Chicken Won!!!

The recipe is in the pink book (pge 145 - I think!) or on the forum if you don't have the book!

Chicken, onions, tomatoe and a selection of Indian spices and double cream!

Dee-lish---us -

Well voted guys!!!

...to click on the links to get to the recipes. If there's a broken link or you can't find it, email me or leave me a comment and I'll get straight back to you.

Day 12

2011-03-20T22:01:00.004Z

Sunday Today we had a mixed frittata for breakfast, I say mixed because I added all those little bits from the bottom of the fridge. Small amount of onion, a little bit of sausage meat rolled into small balls, the leftover salsa gave it a real kick. 4 eggs for the two of us and I cooked it until it was golden and crispy on the edges, just how we like it! We ate it in bed while reading our books.. what a great way to start the day!

Lunch - We were out at Johan's baptism, Hot pork rolls, applesauce and crackling, with an assortment of puddings. I ate the pork, the crackling and then crumbled and had a portion of the chocolate orange pudding, everyone was raving about it, I so wish I hadn't, lovely though it was, the wheat is killing me now, it sat in my tummy all evening, so much so that I only had a small bowl of soup in the evening!

Dinner - Spicy butternut Squash & Smoked Salmon Soup This is Paul's favourite soup, its creamy with the coconut milk, has his favourite salmon in it and it has a little bit of heat from the curry powder. I have made enough for us to have it for lunch one day next week too!

Not enough water today and no exercise, but it is supposed to be a day of rest!

Day 11

2011-03-19T06:01:00.001Z

Saturday

Breakfast - Changed my mind, we had bacon and salsa stuffed avocado melts. There was slightly too much chilli in the salsa but tasy all the same.

Snack - Not sure if I'll need any snacks today, breakfast was late and very filling and I'm scouring the pink forum to look for something scrummy for lunch.
If you have a suggestion, do let me know, I love trying new recipes

Lunch: Short of time so had a salad instead, made a simple dressing from olive oil, white wine vinegar, oregano, S&P and mustard.

Dinner will still be Lamb Dopiaza with a side of Nepalesean vegetables (at the moment, it may change!)

Day 10

2011-03-18T07:04:00.003Z

Friday
Gosh this has been a long week, I think that must be because I went into work on Monday instead of Tuesday... thank cruncy its Friday!!!
To celebrate we had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Snack - kabanos sausages

Lunch - we had lunch out today, chicken breast with a cheese and salsa topping served with a mixed salad and a sparkling water

Dinner - Cauliflower pizza breadsticks with a garlic dip

Day 9

2011-03-17T07:52:00.001Z

Thursday and I'm feeling great! I noticed a really difference yesterday.
I'm alert when the alarm goes off, not groggy at all AND and I'm not sure I want to admit this, but I didn't need my afternoon nap yesterday either!!! Each afternoon around about 3pm I usually get a slump in my energy levels, my batteries run out and I'm good for nothing, but yesterday I sat down when I got in from work and didn't fall asleep.... I carried on the conversation with one teenager until the other one came in and took over and I was still awake... an achievement in itself really!! This has got to be directly related to my diet, I don't feel stuffed full of wheat, I have no sugar high to come off which in turn does not result in a sugar slump... if you're not feeling 100% look at what you eat, is it making you worse?

Breakfast - Cauliflower mash with grilled bacon....boring..... I know, but we like it and after all, some people have the same cereal every day for years!! We love this breakfast, so we'll keep having it until it all runs out which will be tomorrow - its scrambled eggs and smoked salmon!!!

Snack - Mini Stuffing balls

Not a great photo but a lovely little snack. I use the butchers sausage meat mixed with onion, sage and pine nuts or apricots in P2, whizz everything but the nuts in the food processor then hand mix the nuts so they are left whole, roll into bite size balls and put them in one layer on a piece of stoneware and roast in a 180c fan oven for 15-20 minutes depending on size. You want them golden and sticky, so low and slow is the way to go.

Lunch - Left overs from the day before

Dinner - Spanish Chicken - Page 154 from the Pink book served with buttered cabbage

A meat feast of Spanish loveliness, chicken, chorizo, sausage onion, tomatoes and paprika, served with lightly steamed green beans made a great evening meal.

Lots of water today in the earlier part of the day and I slowed up by the evening... also walked to Nana's and back with Ozzy a good 40 minutes there and back!

Day 8

2011-03-16T06:30:00.002Z

Wednesday

Breakfast - Cheese and Mushroom Omelette's

You can get the recipe and watch how Jamie Oliver makes the perfect omelette, by clicking on the highlighted text, just don't use a metal spatula on a non stick pan like he does!!!

Snack - Ham and mozzarella roll ups

Lunch - leftover chicken and Okra Curry & Cauliflower rice

Dinner - Courgette 'Spagetti' with a smoked salmon and tartare sauce

So simple to make.
Use one large courgette per person and sprialize it, turning it into spaghetti shapes. Mix a small pot of creme fraiche with 2 tablespoons of homemade tartare sauce black pepper, dill and chopped smoked salmon and mix well. A great low carb / wheat free meal!

Day 7

2011-03-15T08:31:00.001Z

Tuesday

Breakfast - Cauliflower Mash & Bacon (Paul’s favourite, so must have it twice!)

Snack - Garlic, Lemon & chili chicken wings

Very easy to make; cut wings into three, throwing the tip away and popping the two meaty bits into a batter bowl, add chili oil, garlic, lemon slices and plenty of salt, pepper and oregano. Roast in a 200c oven until crispy and cooked right through. These are great at curbing those snack cravings! Obviously made all the better in a piece of Pampered Chef stoneware

No Photo we both forgot to take one... it was lovely tho!

Lunch - Pastrami & Cherry Tomato Salad with homemade Mayonnaise
Not really a recipe just an assembly of ingredients. You can get the recipe for the mayo buy clicking the link above and on that page there is a link to a video of me making it... very very simple, but be warned once you've made it yourself you will never buy it again!

Frozen Okra in Asda 97p... amazing product

tbh not sure if it's IPD -but its green!!!

Maybe someone can comment and let me know - thanks!

Dinner - Chicken & Okra Curry with cauliflower rice...

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts, diced
1/2 lbs fresh okra or 1 (10 ounce) packet frozen okra,
7 cloves garlic,
1/2 red chili
7 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
salt
1 teaspoon sugar ( or sugar substitute)

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

If fresh okra is used, trim off any tough stems. If frozen okra is used, defrost and drain. Cut each pod into 3/4 inch lengths.
Put the garlic, Chili and three tablespoons of water in the blender and blend as thoroughly as possible to a smooth paste. Empty the mixture into a small bowl and add the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric and blend well.
Heat the oil over medium high heat in a skillet and add the whole cumin seeds.
Cook briefly until the seeds start to sizzle and add the spice paste.
Cook, stirring, about one minute.
Add Chicken and cook until it has no pink on the outside, then add the okra, salt, sugar and lemon juice and the remaining four tablespoons of water.
Stir to blend.
Bring to a simmer, cover closely and cook over very low heat about ten minutes.
Serve with Cauliflower rice

1 head of cauliflower, coarsely grated in a food processor, you could do it with a food chopper but it is quicker in a processor! Heat coconut oil in a large skillet and cook the cauliflower until tender, fry it in the oil a little longer than you think you should... I like it when it starts to pick up a little colour! Don't over cook thought as it starts to resemble Cauliflower mash... which is good, but not what you want here... texture is what we are after!

Day 6

2011-03-14T09:03:00.002Z

I've been dry for 2 weeks.... don't make the joke about pampers / pull ups or being a big girl now, its all been done!!!

No alcohol and no wheat, how am I feeling? Ruddy fantastic, much more energy, no IBS, my skin is clearer, eyes brighter and I have a wet nose and a waggy tail... oh sorry, got a bit carried away there!!!!

Breakfast - This one of Paul's favourites, thick cut bacon with a cauliflower mash. This is a fab breakfast, very filling, very tasty and it lasts me all the way into a late lunch, so no snacking needed.

All you need to do (the night before) is steam small cauliflower florets until tender, mash with butter and a little cream, salt and pepper. Cool and refrigerate until the next morning. I then microwave it and serve with the bacon OR sprinkle with cheese and pop in a hot oven until the top is crispy and golden.
This is my week's menu, there may be a few changes if i run out of things or I fancy something else, but I have nearly all the stuff to make the following....

Snack - 2 Kabanos sausages

Lunch - Salmon and Broccoli bake (recipe in the pink book)

(Only half of this bake, Paul had the other half)

Dinner - Sausage casserole and spring greens.
Originally Bee's recipe from the pink book!

A really easy dish to prepare, fry off little balls of sausage meat in oil, until they form a lovely brown crust, drain on kitchen paper and add shredded leeks cooking them until they are soft, add the sausages back in, (you could add mushrooms at this stage if you fancy!) Add a tin of tomatoes and a squirt of tomato puree, bring to a gentle boil then simmer adding a teaspoon of red wine to the mix. Serve it with steamed buttered cabbage, its delicious and very filling.

Today I have drank my 8 large glasses of water, two coffees, and still NO ALCOHOL!!!!
I haven't walked or cycled today, but I have been on the go since 6am this morning... does that count?

Day 5

2011-03-13T05:29:00.003Z

Today is going to be tricky - I'm out for lunch celebrating a lovely ladies 80th birthday. I'm going to do my best but promise, promise, promise to keep off the wheat, I'm feeling so much better without it!

Breakfast will be light as our lunch is pretty early. Maybe that antipasto from yesterday?
Well after a lazy morning reading in bed this morning I only had time for a small plate of mozzarella and parma ham, very quick and tasty!

My lunch was lovely and I was very good, with only one little treat ;-) My starter was a prawn cocktail, I passed on the bread then had Salmon with a creme fraiche sauce, a selection of green veg and a small helping of red cabbage* for my main course, then for dessert I had a vanilla and champagne pannacotta, this was the only wheat free thing on the menu so I opted for it, very nice it was too. No wine and only two sips of champagne for the toast and a black coffee, I really enjoyed my lunch and didn't feel as if I was dieting at all, didn't feel all bloated and horrible either :-)

No photos as I left the camera in the car!

* (Not IPD friendly but was a good compromise from the carrots!)

Day 4 - Lazy Man's burden!!!

2011-03-12T10:12:00.004Z

Day 3 and I'm feeling good, the bloated feeling of late has gone and I'm feeling lighter on my feet, no headache to speak of and I'm looking forward to the next couple of days cooking snacks and meal for the week ahead!

Breakfast - A full English in my rectangle baker. Today I made it suitable for a lazy man and his wife to eat in bed! I nipped downstairs, threw it all into the stoneware set the timer for 20 minutes and went back to bed to read my book, when the buzzer went of, I left the book, went and added mushrooms and tomatoes and popped it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. This gave me just enough time to sort out the coffee, breakfast tray and fry a couple of eggs. Once it had all cooked nicely, I chopped it up into bite size pieces so as to make it easy to eat with a fork and delivered it to the lazy boy who was sat up in bed waiting.
We've had a great morning, the sun was shinning through the window, breakfast was eaten one handed with a book in the other, what a way to start the weekend.

Lunch - Antipasto - was on the cards but after a late big breakfast, I didn't want anything, I think I had a piece of cheese when I made the kids french bread and cheese!

Dinner - Prawn and Okra Curry with Cauliflower rice didn't happen, the family had spag bol and garlic bread and I had the sauce let down to a stew like consistency with a topping of Parmesan cheese!

Lots of water and feeling good!

Day 3

2011-03-11T06:16:00.003Z

Water, water, water... it really does make a difference! When I first started this blog, it was anonymous, no one knew me or who I was talking about, now-a-days it’s a little different so I'm careful what I put as my kids are not too keen on me telling everyone all what's going on in our house BUT... got to share this bit, we've had a bit of a thing with water at the moment, I've challenged one of them to drink as much of their recommended 2 lts of water a day, she's being doing well and you can see the difference in her skin, spots are clearing up and she feels much better too... see water is the way to go! I'm going to drink up all my water today too!

Breakfast- I'm going all continental this morning... Cherry tomatoes rolled up in pastrami, mozzerella rolled up in oak smoked ham, dice cheddar cheese and diced cucumber...I've made this the night before and used it as a grab and go breakfast with great results!

Lunch was a brocolli, salmon and feta bake - good ole Bee, this has got to be one of my favourite recipes of hers...love the balance of salty feta, fish and crunch of the brocolli!

Check out other photos of this dish here

Dinner - Family request... Gammon, egg and 'chips' they’ll have ordinary we'll have them made with swede! Edited to say " We opted for the belly pork instead of the gammon as a full english is planned for in the morning!"

Belly pork chopped cooked on the griddle pan with grilled tomato, swede chips and mayo!

Day 2

2011-03-10T08:45:00.056Z

Breakfast was an impulse.... I was making sandwiches for Jo, there was a small bowl of tuna mayonnaise with diced cucumber left and I just fancied it.. so had it, just like that scooped out of the bowl with a spoon and washed it all down with lots of hot water... yep, no coffee, just hot water from the kettle. Very refreshing!

Lunch was scrambled eggs with garlic butter, spring onion and cheese :

This recipe serves 1 hungry person.

3 large eggs
3 teaspoons double cream
1 dash of salt
1/2 Tablespoon butter for frying

Heat a 20" saute pan to a setting just above medium.
In the classic batter bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and salt. Beat vigorously for 1 minute.
Allow the mixture to set for a couple minutes to let the foam settle.
Melt the butter in the frying pan. As the very last of the butter is liquefying, add the egg mixture.
Do not stir immediately. Wait until the first hint of setting begins.
Using a spatula or a flat wooden spoon, push eggs toward center while tilting skillet to distribute runny parts.Continue this motion as the eggs continue to set.
Break apart large pieces as they form with your spoon or spatula.
Flip over all the eggs. Allow the eggs to cook 15 to 25 seconds longer.
Transfer eggs to serving plate.
Add salt and pepper, grated cheese and finely sliced spring onions to taste

Dinner - Leg lamb chop with mixed green veg and mint butter

Marinate the meat in mint infused oil before slapping it on a hot griddle pan for 3-4 minutes each time (we like ours still pink inside)
I lightly steamed mange tout, french beans and broccoli and drizzled with mint butter

No photos of the actual meal today as we were all starving and I'm sure I'd have been lynched if I'd have attempted to get the camera out. Now I need to drink a bit more water as I've been busy and forgot :-(

40 days with the IPD.. come follow me!

2011-03-09T08:35:00.003Z

Breakfast for one - cooked while I was in the shower,

First I preheated the oven while I got everything out of the fridge. I popped the sausages and bacon in my Pampered Chef medium bar first, then nipped upstairs for a shower, came back downstairs and they were nearly cooked, then added the tomato, put the kettle on, got my plate ready then dropped the egg in... 3 minutes later and the whole thing was done!

One IPD friendly breakfast cooked in no time at all,

No grill pan to watch, no eggs to fry no mess and only one pan to wash at the end

- that's what I call a fuss free breakfast!

Lunch - they said it would be easy to eat this way and still eat out... and as I was driving Bex up to Manchester for an interview, I stopped at a beefeater and had a lovely steak and salad with garlic mushroom... all IPD friendly and delicious! Simples!!!

Because lunch was big I only needed a snack in the evening, so because we were still on the road, we called into a service station and I picked up some Honduran Prawn Cocktail Sauce Dippers, an individual wendslydale cheese, a bag of nut and a bottle of water... again not difficult and I'm feeling a lot better for it.

Bring on day two!

I can't access the forum :-( Can those luck enough to, let those powers that bee know that their password reset page ain't working!!!

Edited to say: Thank you... its sorted, I'm in... still want you to spread the word tho.... come follow me for 40 days, see who is the bigger loser!!!

This struck a cord, thanks Marie!

2011-03-08T23:30:00.000Z

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa......but I first read it on Marie's blog and it struck a cord.

Now me and Marie go back a long way, we have been friends for years, we're on the same journey but we just choose to sit on different buses. Not that we've ever let that get in the way of our foodie friendship! She's a pleasure and a delight to be with and with things like this for me to read on her blog every day, she gives me food for thought too... thank you Marie, you a very special lady x

Another special thing this week is this....

Tia Maria Cheesecake

I've never made a baked cheesecake before, no idea why I've put it off for so long, it was very simple to do, and the outcome was fab!!! I found the recipe in a little booklet that came free with my Good Food magazine this month and while drooling over it, I figured I had Tia Marie left over from Christmas and all the other stuff was sat in the kitchen just waiting for me to bake it.... how could I refuse?!! The original recipe had it topped with continental chocolates, that was a step too far for us, we just wanted the hit of cheesecake... so here goes.... I baked it in the Pampered Chef Springform Pan used my batter bowl to mix the filling, it was so easy, in fact chilling it in the fridge took the longest time and it was pretty hard to wait, so we didn't!!!

Looking a little bit slumped!!!

It was rather sickly eating it warm and it didn't look the bees knees either but it was worth it, warm chocolate boozy goodness... delish!

Chilled and looking lovely!

Thankfully it is all gone and we can now start our 40 days without such temptation in the fridge.

A Birthday Tribute

2011-03-06T06:30:00.011Z

God saw you getting tired, 

When a cure was not to be. 

So He wrapped his arms around you,

and whispered, "come to me."

You didn't deserve what you went through,

So He gave you rest. 

God's garden must be beautiful, 

He only takes the best

And when I saw you sleeping, 

So peaceful and free from pain

I could not wish you back

To suffer that again.

I think of you in silence

I always speak your name

I have so many lovely memories

And your picture in a frame

I do not need a special day to bring you to my mind

Since days I do not think of you are impossible to find

I think of you with love today

and send you birthday wishes

You are now my guardian angel
watching me from above

Heaven must be a beautiful place for He only takes the best

God please look after Bryan and don't let him be sad,

let him walk side by side with our beloved Dad

...until we meet again!

I am donating all my cake baking money for the rest of the year to The Bryan Stephen Harris Isaac Breath of Life Fund, if you would like me to make you a cake, or would like to make a donation, it will be much appreciated. The link above will take you to his fundraising page.

Do you think he was listening? Nawh neither do we...lol

Today I'm going to bake this in his honour and to help sweeten a sad day!

Tia Maria Cheesecake - click the link to be taken to the BBC Good Food website

Happy 50th Birthday Fr. Kevin

2011-02-28T09:23:00.008Z

It all started back in 2010 almost a year ago, 6 of us had a meeting in a pub, as you do and started to hatch a plan... it had to be changed quite a few times, especially when himself decided to throw a spanner in the works and start mentioning the big 5-0 and what he was going to do.... but it all worked out in the end!

The local community centre was the ideal place to host such an event, its bright and airy, has a bar, big enough to hold our parish and it was within walking distance for most of our parishioners!

The food was amazing, we had asked everyone to bring a plate to share and the assortment was amazing, from traditional sandwiches, crudities and dips to smoked salmon sushi it was a wonderful spread. The desserts were pretty good too. My in-laws enjoyed the homemade sherry trifle the kids munched on chocolate cake and lemon roulade I skipped dessert and hit the cheeseboard, great great selection! Over 200 people turned out to wish our Parish Priest a 'Happy 50th Birthday' from the oldest parishioner to the youngest (seen in the arms of Rose in the photo below) we all had a lovely afternoon, I think we should all do it again next year!!

These were my contributions

Spinach diamond puffs

300g frozen leaf spinach, thawed, drained well and chopped
1 small carrot
1 small onion
100ml mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
115g Gruyére cheese
1 packet (500g) chilled fresh (or frozen, defrosted) ready made puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6.
Place drained spinach on absorbent kitchen paper; press to remove excess moisture.
Chop spinach using Forged Cutlery Utility Knife.
Finely chop carrot and onion on Cutting Board using Food Chopper.
Place spinach, carrot, onion, mayonnaise and seasonings in Classic Batter Bowl.
Grate cheese into batter bowl using Deluxe Cheese Grater; mix well using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®.
Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour.
Using lightly floured Baker's Roller®, roll half of pastry into a 30-cm square.
Cut rolled pastry into sixteen 7.5-cm squares using Pizza Cutter (do not separate squares).

Using half of spinach mixture, spoon some spinach mixture onto centre of each square.
Flatten mixture slightly.
Lightly beat egg in Prep Bowl; brush beaten egg over cut lines in pastry and around outside edges of large square.
For each appetizer, bring two opposite corners of each square up over filling, pinch together firmly and twist or fold over.
Place on Medium Round Stone; brush tops with beaten egg.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Transfer to serving platter using Mini-Serving Spatula.
Repeat with remaining pastry and spinach mixture to make a total of 32 diamond puffs.

And then the amazing Caramel Cake -

This makes a huge cake, enough to share with friends !

For more scrummy photos of this cake click here
For the recipe, you'll have to go to Ruth's website - click here

And the best cake of all was his birthday cake... expertly made by Caroline, a cake baker extraordinaire, its always handy to have one of these in your parish, we are never too far away from a piece of cake!!!
For the cake topper we do need to thank Ben's dad, after the photos had flown back and forth across cyber space it landed on his desk and he did a bit of jiggery pokery and voila - One Swindon Football Team Photo with substitute player... can you spot which one he is?

Afternoon Tea with Nana

2011-02-27T09:14:00.000Z

Well, she's moved in, got herself settled and we celebrated by inviting family, friends and the residents of her new sheltered home round for cake and coffee. I didn't try anything new, the old favourites were the best!

First we had Marie's Golden Jubilee Cake, light sponge dotted with raspberries and sandwiched together with clotted cream, this time I dusted it with icing sugar but I normally mix up a runny icing and splatter (technical term) it with it!! The old folk loved it, and have been talking about it all week... I'm just going to have to make another one. with the royal wedding coming up I've promised them a cake to help celebrate as they all gather round their new cinema style surround sound TV to watch the happy couple tie the knot!

Then came the Mincemeat and Marzipan cake... being the end of February I'm still trying to use up all the Christmas leftovers... its usually one of the first things I make at the start of advent, when the first batch of mincemeat is made and the Christmas cake ingredients are all prominent in the shops. I always make too much mincemeat, and at times like these I'm glad that I do! This is a moist tea loaf with the undertone of the mincemeat dotted with cubes of golden marzipan, (I still think of it as golden even though I use the natural uncoloured stuff - shadows of being brought up in the glowing 70's!!!)

Photo from the GF website

The last but not least was the Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake and no, that's not the silly name I've given it, that's what its actually called!!! Check out the link above it will take you to the recipe and their photo... I didn't manage to capture my own as it was cut as soon as it had cooled and we raced off for the 2pm start... this again was very popular, its so soft, moist and moreish... the orange icing just gives it a hit of sweetness to offset the almost savoury element of this cinnamonney, carrotey loveliness...(now I did make those words up!!!) Delicious!

We had lots of old friends and family turn up, my nephew who is just about to turn two years old kept us all entertained and my Mum got to meet their oldest resident, he's 99 years young and he apologised for not meeting her sooner but he was away on holiday... oh the life of the retired!!! I didn't catch his name but we are going to call him Brigadier on account of his moustache... what a wonderful old gentleman, I may adopt him for my Grandpa!

Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread... Toasted!

2011-02-26T10:26:00.001Z

A couple of weeks ago I was fortune enough to travel north to see my dear friend Marie. She was hosting a Pampered Chef show where I would demonstrate a couple of my favourite recipe for her.. now showing Marie how to cook new recipes is a bit like taking coals to Newcastle, very bizarre but while her show was a great success, food went well, company was great and I met Dawn, who is now a new member of my team. The highlight has got to be the scrummy food she made for me... she sent me home with a goodie bag full of Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread.

Now when something arrives from Marie, it doesn't last long, Jo usually jumps on it and claims it as hers. Luckily I got in first and managed to slice and toast a couple of pieces of this... oh wow... so good and to quote Marie "its all rich and buttery and filled with a delicious cinnamon swirl", she advises that "you'll want to keep it all to yourself . . . but alas . . . it is TOO good not to share" . . . well sorry Maire, you had already shared it, I felt that was where it should stop... I ate both pieces myself!!!
This was the 'taste' I woke up with this morning, so there's nothing else left to do that bake one myself... by Wednesdy if there is any left I'll toast it for my breakfast...mmmm roll on midweek!!!

We've all gone Battenburg Barmy!

2011-02-23T15:29:00.017Z

Wikipedia says "Battenberg cake is a light sponge cake. When cut in cross section, displays a distinctive two-by-two check pattern alternately coloured pink and yellow. The cake is covered in marzipan and, when sliced, the characteristic checks are exposed to view. These coloured sections are made by dyeing half of the cake mixture pink, and half yellow, then cutting each resultant sponge into two long, uniform cuboids, and joining them together with apricot jam, to form one cake. Established variations are for coconut flavouring to the sponge cake and lemon curd or raspberry jam in place of apricot jam.

The origin of the name is not clear, but one theory claims that the cake was created in honour of the marriage in 1884 of Queen Victoria's granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg, with the four squares representing the four Battenberg princes: Louis, Alexander, Henry and Francis Joseph.

This is one of Claire's favourite cakes, she used to love a slice as a special treat when she was little ( I didn't often buy shop bought cakes even back then) I've never made one but have often thought about it. However, while looking through my friends Facebook status I noticed that Suzi a fellow pampered cheffer and team mate had made a fab attempt at making this chequered cake, hers was a great colour and a lovely dainty little size, looking just like a battenburg should, her comments were, to quote " my first attempt at making battenburg, quite pleased with it and even if i do say so myself, tastes delicious." Well, I thought I'd give it a go myself, Claire would love me for ever.....

...to the bat cave.... oh no, wrong alter ego.... I went into Tulip's Kitchen to weld my baker's roller and shake my batter bowl. The results were good... the colour was more a red than a pink, the size was great if you were the BFG and the marzipan went on forevvvvvvvverrrrrrr!!! I made it in my Square Bake Pan making one batch of cake mixture and split it into, colouring one half 'pink' and the other yellow, however two colours in one pan does not make for even colouring (as you can see by the photo) Next time I'll make two cakes so the colours stay separate and make two battenburgs, this really was mahoosive!
Comments flew "what's with the Battenburg fetish?" "off to make my own" and so it continued... and then I opened last months Good Food Mag which had been sat on the bedside table gathering dust (just haven't found the time to read it yet!) and lo and behold there on page 124 was " Bake a Classic Battenburg Cake", tips, how to make it different and what's in its name... oh if only I read it earlier. I will be following this recipe next time and when April's copy hits the mat, I'll be waiting with a cup of coffee in hand and will read it cover to cover, I promise.... if I've got time!!!

A variation on a theme..

2011-02-21T11:59:00.036Z

Can't remember where the inspiration came for these... when I remember I will come back and let you know. I'M BACK...Thanks for reminding me Marie! I should have known it was you that had inspired me. I was reading your blog ' A year at Oak Cottage' and came across your Tear and Share Ring and needed to feed the crowd so filled in the ring to make more, it was just about enough with the dessert that followed!

I used my quick rise pizza dough rolled it out into circles and filled it with my favourite pizza sauce and some chopped Italian sausage along with a small ball of mozzarella cheese, enclosed it all in the pizza dough, turning the circle into a ball with all that lovely filling hidden inside. I then popped it into my very well seasoned deep dish baker and painted the top with melted garlic butter then scattered herbs on top! It was ready for the oven.... 200c for 30-35 mins or until it was brown and gorgeous!!!

It was a great meal to share, we just tore piece off it and ate them with our fingers.

The top was crispy and garlicky the middles were soft and doughy

This is one I pulled apart to let you see;

the cheese was ooozy...

the sauce fragrant and hot...

and sausage gave it all a peppery goodness...

oh I could eat that again!

Happy 25 years Paulus!

Jane's little Berry Tarts!

2011-02-19T10:56:00.001Z

I first had these at a training day with the Pampered Chef, made by the lovely Jane from Team Kirby. For lunch we were asked to provide a plate of PC goodies, we're all foodies and all gain from seeing and eating other PC recipes (well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) The lunch table was full of scrummy Pampered Chef recipes including these lovely little tarts. If anyone can tell me the recipe for that pasta salad we had I'd be grateful!?

These were made in the Deluxe Mini Muffin Pan with sweet shortcrust pastry dibbed to perfection, cooked blind (remember to prick the bottom of the pastry otherwise it will puff up.) and left to cool. For the filling I mixed extra thick double cream with crème fraiche and a touch of vanilla flavoured icing sugar and piped it into the empty pastry cases using the star nozzle on my easy accent decorator. The berry topping was a mix of berries left to marinate in a little lemon juice and icing sugar just until the the berries started to give up a little of their juice... amazing! This was made from memory because while I was scoffng them we were all all quizzing Jane on how she'd made them. I hope I got it right Jane? They'll tasted delicious either way!

Oh yeah and before it gets lost in all the scrummy food - the training day with our brilliant Executive Director Sue Caldwell - I don't just go for the lunch, the training and support we get as consultants is second to none. It was as expected, it was an amazing day! As always she inspires, motivates and passes on great ideas and tips so our hosts and guests get the very best out of their Pampered Chef Shows! Thanks to all those who helped to organise such a great day especially the infamous Sarah 'L' Jackson* who organised the Gloucester Posse!

*If she could remember any of the original S L Jackson's quotes she may say something like 'That's one tasty Little Berry Tart!!' 'I'm loving these gawd damn berry tarts on this gawd damm Pampered Chef lunch table" (Did you see what I did there? I can't say her name without trying to quote the man himself (Samuel L Jackson for those who are still struggling!!!)

We don't do Valentines in this house but if we did....

2011-02-13T20:28:00.001Z

Me and Paul have never celebrated Valentine's day, apart from the cheesiness of it all, the anniversary of our first meeting is the week after so in true cheapskate fashion we love to buy cut priced flowers, eat in crowd free restaurants, and get to choose from all the leftover bargains!

Yesterday, Paul had a raging hangover thanks to Mr Gaze and spent the day on the sofa. Not one to miss an opportunity to do nothing I thought I'd waste a day in the kitchen making something different. Now my baking is usually fast, filling and not too expensive, a habit that started when I worked full time and had 4 lunch boxes to fill and the girl's friends to feed. But I'd been looking through Ruth Clemens Valentine baking recommendations and decided to try my hand as some of them. She's a self confessed girly glam rebel, I'm not... so I thought it would be a bit of a challenge... my attention span isn't all that good!!!!

I decided to made a batch of these Vanilla Sugar Cookies They were quite time consuming, what with chill time and rolling them between greaseproof paper etc... but I stuck with it, cut them into heart shapes, pricked them all round with a fork, and they turned out quite well!

They are a bit sweet for my liking but looked pretty, had a lovely vanilla flavour (Thanks Caroline!) and a great crunch. So, what to do with all these cookies? I decided to give some away to friends at church who make my working life that little bit easier. They've all been so supportive over the last couple of months. Working in a parish is definitely a team job, lots of people give their time to make it all run smoothly, this in turn makes my job easier... so thank you... I think they turned out lovely! I made little boxes made out of old copies of Good Food Magazines and lined them with pink tissue!

After I'd completed these I thought I'd do a few for Paul... as I said we're not your regular romantic couple!!!

His tasty Valentine treat!!

6 went in and 7 came out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-12T19:20:00.000Z

Well I know Jo's Yorkshire Pudding are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ----- BUT.... this is a new one on me!! She mixed her regular 1 cup mix and popped it into a very hot oven (I'd cooked the meat previously) and this is what happened...

the oven was so hot the mix just rose and rose and... this happened!!!

WE'VE HAD TWINS!!!

How strange is that??

Quick Tartare Sauce

2011-02-11T10:22:00.009Z

Ingredients

200ml/7fl oz mayonnaise
3 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
3 tbsp gherkins, drained and chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
squeeze of lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1.Mix together all of the ingredients in a small bowl and serve straight away or store in the fridge until needed

My Pampered Chef Fat Free Yorkshire Puddings!!!

2011-01-28T08:32:00.002Z

2 cups of Plain flour
2 cups of Milk
4 eggs

Salt and Pepper

Mix and pour into a Pampered Chef Stoneware 12 Cup Muffin Pan and bake in a hot oven (220c) for 35 minutes and this is the results every time!!

No need to preheat, no fat, just cook the stoneware from cold... it keeps hot for ages so your seconds (lets face it, you're going to have seconds) will still be nice and hot!!!

Marie's show is still open if you'd like to order one... Click here for ordering instructions, its at the bottom of her 'pizza post'. I'll keep the show open until Sunday morning so plenty of time to make your choice!

Pampered Chef Cookware SALE now on - take a look.....

2011-01-09T21:33:00.000Z

How many of you have looked at The Pampered Chef Cookware (pots and pans to you and me!!) and thought these look beautiful but as much as I love the idea of top quality cookware I just don't think my budget will stretch to them? Yet when you think about the fact that most of us use cookware virtually every day, it's worth investing in quality. After all, cooking is much more fun when the results are just right! And with our lifetime guarantee you can buy with confidence!
One of the reasons I love our Cookware is the fact that it also goes in the oven turning it into bakeware too - that's like having your cake and eating it too!! (Ooh don't forget to ask me for my Chocolate Fudge Skillet Cake recipe!)

This month our Cookware carries a 20% discount available to you whether you attend a Cooking Show or just place an individual order with me.

Also if you have Hosted a Pampered Chef Show in the past year you can take off an additional 10%!

Most of us have at least one pan that we've been planning to replace - maybe a Saute Pan that will fry your eggs, omlettes, pancakes, mushrooms and tomatoes - and with our Executive 20 cm Saute Pan (pictured below) you don't need to use oil or butter to fry your eggs either as the nonstick is sensational as you might expect! Try my tip for frying an egg with no oil. After it starts cooking add a splash of water to the pan and cover it with a lid to finish cooking. This seals the egg completely.

The Pampered Chef's Executive non-stick 20-cm Saute Pan usual price £39.95 - this month £31.96 and receive a set of Quikut Paring Knives for free with your purchase.

On Monday at our Cluster meeting (that's a team meeting not a cereal by the way!) we demonstrated the Zesty Raviolli Skillet, a fab mid week meal in the 30cm skillet pan which was quick and easy to make and tasted fantastic! - Click on the link above for the recipe- or I could come and make it for you at a Show of your own soon.

As you might imagine I love all our Cookware and in particular the Executive (non-stick) range. My personal favourite pieces include the Stir-Fry Skillet (Wok), Family Skillet (a massive 30-cm skillet) with lid (Jo's favourite), the 28-cm Square Grill Pan (Paul's favourite - pictured), the raised ridges give his steak rich seared grill marks - he thinks he's a chef!!! We also like the Flat Griddle for American style pancakes, Welsh cakes, crumpets, and because it has a lip around it you can also do delicious griddled bacon and sausages and fried eggs too!

We love the Pampered Chef's Executive Stir-Fry Skillet/Wok (as pictured) Usual price £95 - this month £76 I've spent more on shoes and not worn them that much and believe me this baby is going to give you some serious use!

Just to give you an example of its versatility, here's what we use it for:

Stir-fry vegetables and meats with little or no oil, sauté and simmer - it is great for porridge (yes really!), scrambled eggs for a crowd! (Belinda a fellow consultant and all round domestic goddess has had 36 eggs in it and still had plenty of room to stir!), omelet, frittata, a full cooked breakfast.

Another favourite is the 30-cm Skillet - Usual price £101 - this month £80.80

Here's what we use this for:

Curries, stir fry, chilli, shepherds pie (you can finish off by browning it in oven). Any kind of Thai, Malaysian, Chinese dishes.

I've even made cakes in it - From a simple sponge to crumbles and cobblers, ask me for my apricot cobbler recipe, started on the cooker top and finished off in the oven. bl##dy lovely it is too!!

Last week Jo made her Flaky Bird Pie in it, she browned off chicken breasts and onion on the hob, added garlic, carrots, stock, mustard, tarragon and a splash of wine, topped it with ready rolled puff pastry and tucked it in like a sleeping baby. Popped it in the oven at 220 degrees for about 15 minutes then reduced heat to 180 degrees for a further 15 minutes and Bob's your uncle (or in her case her Granddad!!!) . Served 6 hungry teenagers! Apart from a great tasting dish, there wasn't much washing up as all she'd used is one pan, the food chopper and a spatula...good job as her sisters hates washing up!

Tonight I'm trying out a skillet lasanga recipe in it!

If you are a Stainless Cookware fan than look no further than our top-of-the range set which for price takes some beating on the high street! Suitable for halogen and all stovetops. And of course our Stainless range goes in the oven too and the dishwasher.

For a full list of our Cookware with Sale prices please contact me.

FREE PRODUCTS THIS MONTH!

Receive a set of three Quikut Paring Knives FREE with £25 or more purchase! and

Choose one Cookware Accessory FREE with every £45 purchase

Large Microcooker - Small Microcooker or Stainless Steamer.

www.pamperedchef.biz/tulipskitchen

NEW YEAR, NEW CAREER!

2011-01-03T09:30:00.000Z

Here comes Rudolf....

2010-11-30T23:40:00.000Z

I picked up the Morrison's magazine last time I was in and came across a recipe for these cute little Rudolf Cupcakes. Now we've got a Christmas themed cake sale planned on the 19th for Jo's World Youth Day funds, so I thought these would be of great interest to the children and would be worth their parents parting with a £1 a piece! I stored the recipe away with the intention of making them in a week or two but I had to go to the dentist today! He told me my gums have a cold... no seriously, that's what he said.... I have to stay out of the cold and eat warm scrambled eggs all week :-( but hey, enough about my teeth.... back to the cupcakes!

The nursing and reception staff at my surgery are fundraising this week by selling homemade Christmas cakes and biscuits. My tooth was hurting so much I made a bargain with my dentist, if he made the pain go away I would make them a tray of cakes to sell... deal? Not exactly, I'm still in pain but the tray of cakes are done!

These are so cute, the cake is fluffy and flavoured with orange zest the topping is a homemade chocolate frosting. The recipe calls for the shop bought stuff but you know me, I don't do that so I used this Chocolate Frosting recipe - it was delicious, light not overly sweet and oh so chocolate-y. I have the leftovers in the freezer waiting for our cake sale now!!!
Would you pay £1 for a Rudolf Cupcake?

First mince pies of the Season!

2010-11-28T22:42:00.002Z

Homemade mincemeat, with fresh all butter pastry made in the deluxe mini muffin pan... no pastry rolling for me, I just 'dib' them out with the tart shaper and just like magic the tin is lined with pastry.

These are the first batch of many that will be made during Advent and the Christmas season... don't you just love them?

What I love about these ones are they are just one bite big! The lid which I cut with my Pampered Chef creative cutter set, comes off with ease so you can fill it with brandy cream and then replace... oozing slightly when you bite into it... delicious!!!

Topped with a heart for the one you love!

Pumpkin and Spinach Frittata

2010-11-25T13:57:00.000Z

At this time of year, we get invited to shared suppers or bring a plate buffets. There is always the sausage rolls, the variety of sandwiches and if you're lucky a quiche or two... great if you can eat that sort of stuff, but what about if you're wheat intolerant? Its a complete no go... I hate buffets, they are always a mine field of wheat and unanswered questions...which will do me the least damage!!! I always find it best to stick to the salads or take a plate or two of these little beauties. You can change the filling to suit yourself and as you can see, if you cut them into triangles and serve them on a platter, you can fool yourself into thinking you are eating sarnies like everyone else.

IMHO these are tastier than sandwiches especially if you're faced with a platter of plastic bread with a bit of rubbery cheese in them!!!

These are filled with sweet potato and spinach - which is what I had in the cupboard, however you could use anything, butternut squash is good, courgettes, peppers etc... Great warm or at room temprature. I have even eaten them cold straight from the fridge at breakfast time!

You will need

900g pumpkin, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream
40g baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to moderately hot.
Place pumpkin in single layer, on medium flat stone, brush with combined garlic and oil, roast uncovered in moderately hot oven until tender.
Meanwhile, oil a pampered chef square baker (or you could use a 20cm- square cake pan, line base and sides with baking paper.)
Whisk eggs with cream in classic batter bowl.
Layer half of the pumpkin in the pan,
Top with spinach and remaining pumpkin then pour in remaining egg mixture; sprinkle with cheese which has been finely grated with the PC micro plane (a little bit of cheese goes a long way when you use the micro plane!)
Bake, uncovered, in moderately hot oven about 25 minutes or until firm. Stand 5 minutes before cutting into triangles.
Display on your best platter and watch them disappear... even those who snaffle sarnies will love these!!

Great for IPD'ers too!

Another one of Jamie's 30 minute meals!

2010-11-07T00:44:00.005Z

Sea bass and crispy pancetta, sweet potato mash, Asian greens, sparkling lemon ginger drink This really was made in 30 minutes although the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but boy oh boy was it worth it.

The Pampered Chef Reversible Bamboo Carving Board was perfect for mixing the sweet potato dressing on, the dip in the middle meant it stayed where it was suppose to!

The sparkling lemon & ginger drink was really really nice I wasn't expecting it to be, after all its ginger, lemon and a bit of lemonade topped up with fizzy water.... what a great flavoured water so refreshing and left me with a smug.... I made that feeling!!! Can't wait to try the pomegranate one now...

I'm not too confident about cooking fish but I followed his instructions exactly and it turned out absolutely perfect, the skin was beautifully crisp and the flesh cooked just right! Paul was a little skeptical about the bacon with fish but again, spot on!

Asian vegetables were very easy to do and very tasty, loved the idea of dressing the bowl then adding the warm vegetables, got stuck in with my hands and I loved it! Didn't have asparagus so used french green beans instead.... just as nice!

Didn't make the dessert as Tesco were out of stock of all frozen fruit.... should have gone to Sainsbury's!!!

Caramel Cake

2010-11-07T00:11:00.001Z

I first tasted this delicious cake when Caroline made it for our weekly toddler group, now you regular readers will know I ain't got not toddlers...lol but Caroline's cake is worth heading into the church hall for a fat slice of cake... The recipe for Caramel Cake - comes from Ruth's blog the Pink Whisk, she wasn't the runner up of Great British Bake Off for nothing... this is amazing!!!

A moist cake, made fatter by using my regular sandwich tin and not the size that Ruth had called for. It was sandwiched together with caramel butter icing with caramel icing... the finishing touch was the crushed diam bars on the top!

I could have eaten two pieces at a time, instead I cut one large piece!!!

Jamie Olivers 30 Minute Menu - Stuffed Mushrooms Crispy New Potatoes & Beetroot & Feta Salad

2010-11-01T22:41:00.003Z

Taken from Jamie's 30 minute menu, this was the one he made the steak sarnie with, we did it without as there was plenty of food for mid week. It was easy to put together but wouldn't have done it in 30 minutes if I'd made the sandwich as well and the results we had were variable too. :-(

Beetroot and Feta Salad

Now I like feta and I love beetroot but this was so-so for me, probably not enough texture, soft beetroot, soft cheese, OK, though I won't be dashing to make it again!

Stuffed mushrooms -

I've made these before but by adding the chili and the lemon just takes them to a different level they were Divine!! Could have eaten more - Paul missed the meat!

The crispy new potatoes were easy to cook, with the wide pan and pre boiled water they didn't take long at all, drained and fried in the same pan saved washing up too.

Had the royal seal of approval from the kids too!

I am definitely getting this book , this is the third menu I've done and with the exception of the beetroot salad we've loved them all!

I've been instructed to make the sarnie from this one and leave the vegetables out... nuff said!

Noodle Bowl Salad

2010-10-24T20:53:00.000+01:00

I love this recipe, its quick and simple to make. Its great anytime of the day but works really well in the lunchbox, so we had it for a light supper then packed the rest up to take to work tomorrow!
I use the recipe from an old BBC good food mag but you can find it by clicking here

Jamie's 30 minute meal

2010-10-24T20:30:00.002+01:00

I sat watching Jamie O's 30 minute meals on catch up earlier today and watched the one where he makes mushroom risotto with a cucumber and spinach.

I checked the fridge and I had all the ingredients to do the spinach salad but lacked mushrooms for the risotto...

but I did have asparagus, mint and lemon... so that's what I did, cooking it in the 30 minute style. It turned out fabulous!

Didn't have the stuff to do the dessert he suggested but did have everything to make a huge banoffee pie!

This was delicious... expertly made by Jo. The recipe she used as base loosely on this one here however she used butter and kept it plain.

The day I went to see the Pope...

2010-09-19T16:39:00.000+01:00

A camera shy Jo before boarding the bus!

Waiting for Pope Benedict XVI to arrive at Hyde Park

Not the best photograph in the world,

but this was the cookies we baked to take with us as part of our picnic

Part of base camp for Our Lady's Parish, it was so nice getting to spend time with other parishioners from Our Lady's. Thanks for sharing it with me!

It was a truly amazing day. The atmosphere was wonderful and I feel really blessed that I was able to go. I loved every minute of it!
A HUGE thank you has to go to our parish priest, Fr. Kevin for making it possible for us to be part of such a fabulous day - YOU'RE THE BEST - 57 people, one coach, 4 tube trains a walking bus and two wheelchairs all the way to Hyde park without any mishaps or lost persons.... AMAZING... me thinks he's done it before!!! ;-)

Cooking for Our Parish Paella Party

2010-09-18T15:52:00.001+01:00

Look at the size of that pan!!!!

Do you remember me telling you about the paella practice we had for this church event? Well it happened, the pan was delivered... it was huge. The recipe was doubled, doubled and then double some more until we have enough for everyone! We had a team of helpers to set up, prep, serve etc and the boys set up the gas!!!

Blurred due to a drunken photographer NOT that Paul was moving too fast...
that would never happen lol

The recipe came together just as well as it did when we practiced for 4 people, OK it took a little longer and it needed four of us to stir it but I was pleased with the outcome. The recipe was great, very meaty and while it took a lot more stock than I had first anticipated, I quickly got over my nerves about cooking such a huge pot of paella. I spent the previous night dreaming about cooking it and couldn't stir it enough to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan.... not a good dream I can tell you, I woke up feeling like I'd spent the night cooking paella and didn't fancy doing it all over again in just a few hours time.

In the end I shouldn't have worried, we all had a great time, the paella was easy to cook and while sometimes I felt like we didn't have enough hands to stir it all, it turned out great!
It didn't stick and was cooked to perfection, even if I do say so myself!

A very relieved cook serving up the Meat Paella

The recipe for a regular 4 serving size can be found here

Paella de Carne Recipe

Mexican Chicken Ring

2010-09-11T13:10:00.000+01:00

350g/12oz cooked chicken

25g/1oz pitted black olives
1 garlic clove
115g/4oz mature cheddar cheese
2 tsp chilli or green pepper sauce
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Tex Mex chilli seasoning
2 fresh tomatoes
1 lime
55g/2oz tortilla chips
2 packets (240g each) chilled fresh dough for croissants

1) Cook chicken in 20cm Saute Pan. Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas 5.

2) Coarsely chop chicken using Food Chopper, place in Classic Batter Bowl. Slice olives using Egg Slicer Plus and add to bowl. Press garlic through Garlic Press, add to mixture. Grate cheese using Rotary Cheese Grater into bowl. Measure chilli/pepper sauce and seasoning using Adjustable Measuring Spoons and add to bowl. Using Mini Measure-All Cup, measure mayonnaise and add to bowl. Mix well using Small Mix ‘N Scraper.

3) Seed and remove core from 1 tomato with Core & More and chop tomato using 13 cm Santoku Knife, add to bowl. Slice lime in half and juice one half of lime using Citrus Press and add 1 tsp juice.

4) Place tortilla chips in plastic bag and crush with Baker’s Roller. Sprinkle crushed chips over Large Grooved Cutting Board. Unroll croissant dough; separate into 12 triangles and press each one into chips so they adhere to one side. Arrange triangles in a circle on Medium Round Stone with Handles with chip side down and wide ends of triangle overlapping in centre and pointed ends towards the outside (there should be about 13 cm diameter opening in centre of Stone). Gently press edges of triangles where they meet together to seal.

5) Using Large Stainless Steel Scoop place chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each dough triangle. Bring outside points of triangles up over filling. Tuck point under wide ends of dough at centre of ring (filling will not be completely covered).

6) Bake 20-25minutes or until golden brown. Cut remaining tomato and lime half into wedges and decorate in pastry gaps. Cut into portions using Pizza Cutter. Serve warm using Mini-Serving Spatula.

This is great served with Chilli Salsa

500 g vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 small fresh red or green chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons snipped fresh coriander

1 clove garlic, pressed

2-3 teaspoons olive oil

Few drops of hot red pepper sauce (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Parish Paella Party Practice!

2010-09-10T21:33:00.003+01:00

How's that for alliteration? We are hosting a Paella Party next Friday, to celebrate Pope Benedict's visit to the UK and to welcome all our new parishioners from the ARCC base. Over 20 family are expected to attend and we thought it best to test out our chosen meat paella dish beforehand. Now I prefer the traditional seafood ladened rice dish but Liz [who's had the original idea to host the party] doesn't like seafood! We found the recipe for paella de carne on fabulous food website. We were hoping that the name of the website was a good omen, so we both took a copy of the printed recipe home and gave it a try.

This is my version.

Not the best photo I agree, but the flavours of this dish were lovely, the spiciness of the chorizo oozed into every grain of rice, the chicken was tender the peppers remained crunchy and sweet. All we have to do is sort out the quantities for 80 people now... wish us luck!

This one isn't much better, but trust me, the flavours were great!

Carrot & Orange Cupcakes

2010-09-09T14:02:00.003+01:00

With the arrival of my Pampered Chef 3 tier cake stand I've been on a bit of a cup cake crusade lately . They don't travel too well in a school lunch box [you should see the mess at the end of the day] but they are very very girlie and the flavour combinations are endless, watch this space for more...

Using vegetables in cakes is one of my favourite ways of getting the kids to eat one of their 5 a day. Adding the orange disguised the carrot even further.

The cream cheese frosting balanced the sweetness of the cake perfectly and the grated orange zest looked very pretty!

This is a waitrose recipe, simple instructions and very easy to make.

Ingredients

2 large eggs
175g golden caster sugar
150ml sunflower oil
200g self-raising flour, sifted
3 tsp mixed spice
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1½ x 200g tubs Soft Cheese
50g golden icing sugar, sifted

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Place 12 paper muffin cases in a deep bun or muffin tin.

2.Put the eggs, sugar and oil in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

3.Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the flour, spice, grated carrot, vanilla extract and half the orange zest, until thoroughly combined.

4.Divide the mixture between the muffin cases then place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

5.For the frosting, beat together the soft cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Chill until ready to use. Spread liberally over the cooled cakes and top with the remaining zest, or, as shown, make long strips of zest using a zester.

Banana Sponge Pudding in the Microwave

2010-09-08T10:12:00.003+01:00

Now in any good kitchen there is a calamity corner, you know, where all the mishaps are placed. The recipes while taste good don't actually look good enough to hit the blog? Well today I thought I'd share one such 'disaster' with you...

Got a great little recipe for you, but as I am doing a pampered chef children's fund raising show next week I thought I'd adjust this recipe so I can have two teams of two making a small pudding each. Are you still with me???

My first attempt.... not as appetizing as I was hoping!

Second attempt went well, in fact this recipe was spot on the first time, it just needed to be split into two coffee and more cups and it would have turned out just fine.

The sponge is very moist thanks to the banana in it, and looks good with the bananas on top, served with ice cream this is going to get the thumbs up from kids at my 'Kids can cook' fundraiser.

Easy Microwave Banana Pudding

4 tablespoons butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 ripe bananas
4 tablespoons light muscovado sugar
4 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoons Milk
1 eggs
Icing sugar

Serve with ice cream (optional)

Put the butter in small batter bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute till melted. Add 1 ½ bananas, mash into the melted butter using mix n’masher, then add the sugar, flour, cinnamon measured with adjustable measuring spoons, eggs and milk.

Mix together well using mix n’scraper. Place mixture into two well buttered coffee n more cups.

Slice the remaining banana using egg slicer plus and spread them over the top of the batter. Return baker to the microwave and cook on high for 4/5 minutes till cooked through and risen. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar using sugar flour shaker or ice cream using the ice cream dipper.

Serves 4 people, or two greedy people! prep 10 minutes and cook 10 minutes.

Tip: Save over ripe bananas for this recipe. Freeze them whole in plastic bags. The browner and softer the bananas, the stronger the flavour when baked.

Jo is my favourite daughter today!

2010-09-07T23:18:00.002+01:00

My Jo is 15 and loves cooking, so much so that she offered to cook dinner tonight! One of her favourite cook books is Sam Sterns 'Cooking up a Storm' so she chose Mixed-up chicks with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and smashed new potatoes.

WOW what a great dish, the flavours were amazing, the fresh basil with the roasted tomatoes the garlic cheese stuffing in the chicken breast and the pesto underneath the parma ham just brought it all together. I had to be quick to snap a photo... clean plates all round!

Well done Jo, can you do it again next week?

Traditional Rustic French Bread

2010-09-06T15:22:00.001+01:00

I love making bread, these french sticks were very easy to make, French Tart's instructions were easy to follow and the resulting sticks were amazing. The smell coming from the kitchen was French, they sounded French when I broke them in half and the taste was just like I was on holiday. Deeeee lish-us!!! You can get the recipe by clicking here

My shaping could do with a little more practice!

The texture was just like the baguettes we get on holiday.

Served with a selection of flavoured oils.

Basil, chili & balsamic (LtoR)

He's so cute I could eat him...

2010-09-05T20:55:00.001+01:00

...but I won't!!!

Meet Bobby!

This is Claire's new border terrier puppy Bobby!

This is a photo of him with his brothers [he's the one on the right]

Cooling off on a hot day...

Look at those cute little paw prints, the larger ones belong to Ozzy

Ozzy is not as pleased as we are at have a new puppy in the housee. He's was getting his nose pushed out a little at first, but he is such an anti social dog we figured it could only do him good. In fact one week in and they are pretty much giving each other a wide berth.... one day they may be friends!!! I'll keep you posted!