The homemade Pitta Saga...

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

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 !

Day 17 is a Friday!

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 15 is a Wednesday!

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?

The World of Food Blogging

I love writing this blog, sharing kitchen tips and recipes with you all! Its fun when I get recognised as 'Tulip' from Tulips Kitchen and apart from the odd stalker (you know who you are...) you are all lovely. Updates have been pretty slow this summer, but its not because we haven't been eating, I've just had no time to sit and type up what I've cooked. The photos are still being taken tho...

This is a spinach quiche using a tortilla wrap as a base, works really well if you get the biggest wrap you can find [these wholemeal ones came from Tesco] and line a stoneware mini baker with it a quiche filling baked on a 180c until the filling was set made me a fantastic light lunch. Crispy and filling but without the stodge or faff of pastry!  Note the homemade salsa on the side... can't get enough of this stuff!

This is a a rhubarb square, so morish you can't just eat one! I like to serve them cold with pouring cream but Mum likes them warm with ice cream. The recipe can be found by clicking here

Feel free to leave a comment, ask for a recipe or help on anything food related, if I don't know the answer I have a gaggle of foodie friends who are bound to know the answer!

Got a new Toy....

Take a look at this, what do you think it is?

The sauce was made with garlic and herb philladelphia cream cheese and smoked salmon off cuts. Looks like pasta huh?   Well those of you who know me, know I can't eat the stuff, but I enjoyed this dish no end. Fresh, crunchy, creamy with the cheese and decadent with the smoked salmon.... Shall I tell you what I used to make my 'fake' spaghetti???

Its made with fresh courgettes, cut in my new toy, the spiralizer .

Its totally amazing! Once I'd cut it and left it to rest while I made the sauce, it took on the texture of pasta. I didn't cook it, although I've been told I could have blanched harder vegetables like celeriac, with courgettes you don't need to. I have a shed load of new recipes to try so watch this space....

The options are endless!

Courgette Fritters with Homemade Salsa

This is a great lunch dish, totally IPD friendly if you watch the quantity of salsa you have with it, uncooked ones freeze really well and they taste just as good cold the next day! This recipe came originally from Katie1980 in the IPD forum. (I've made a few changes as yer do!!!)

Sizzling in the Skillet

The salsa recipe using tinned tomatoes can be found by clicking  here or if you'd prefer a fresh salsa like the one I use at my Pampered Chef shows click here

Served with homemade salas

1. Grate a courgette taking the seedy middle bit, leave the skin on as all the flavour and goodness is in the skin. (This makes your fritters too soggy). I use the Pampered Chef rotary grater for this little job. Squeeze out as much water as you can before adding to the (Pampered Chef Batter) bowl.
2. Add 2 eggs, a small green chilli finely chopped (yep you've guessed it, in the Pampered Chef food chopper, well it makes sense, you don't want to get chilli all over your fingers!!!) a heaped table spoon of ground almonds and a dash of cream in a bowl.
3. Crumble in some feta (or grate it using the said rotary grater) You can use any cheese, goats cheese is good as is parmasan.
4. Shape fritters and chill for 30 mins (if you have the time)  I shaped mine using the Pampered Chef Ice Cream Sandwich Maker - sadly no longer available but fab for making burgers and burger shaped things like this!
5. Fry your fritters in a little oil until golden, flip and cook otherside.
6. I stand my cooked fritters on a cooling rack for a minute or two before serving, the left overs are kept on there until they are completely cooled. This keeps them from going soggy.

Light, Fresh & Fluffy

Karen says:-

"They are great for breakfast, nice with a tomato salsa, good with salad, very portable. And so easy and instant!"

Tulip says:- "She's spot on, the were easy to make, great hot with a salsa, loved them cold for a quick on the run breakfast and very portable, I scoffed mine in the car while stuck in traffic! Well a girl has got to eat!!!

Weemam first put me on to these....

Found this on the IPD website, just search coffee cup bread if you want to find the thread,  its the one that Weemam posted about. The recipe is on my favourite recipe site, recipezaars, click here to be taken to the recipe. Its for a sweet version, which is the first photo. Made with cinnamon, it made a nice tea time or breakfast treat slapped with cold butter.

However, I went on to make a savory version with parmesan cheese and 1/2 tsp of dried garlic, I toasted them and topped them with diced red pepper and goats cheese, popped them under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese was bubbly hot!!! Delicious

Mexican Chicken Pie

WOW-WEE!!! This has been my most requested Pampered Chef recipe this month...its a great dish, ideal for lunch, great with tortilla chips and served with the salsa, or cold served in a lunch box! Adjust the chili to suit your taste.

350g/12oz cooked chicken
25g/1oz pitted black olives
1 garlic clove
115g/4oz mature cheddar cheese
2 tsp chili or green pepper sauce
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Tex Mex chili 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 chili/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.


Chili Salsa [just mix all together!]
500 g vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small fresh red or green chili, 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

If you wish to order any of the products used in this recipe please use the contact link at the top of this page or go directly to my Pampered Chef website.

Salmon & Dill Mini Quiche

These were delicious!!! I made them in my pampered chef deluxe mini muffin pan. I used a block of ready made puff pastry and lined the tin using the mini tart shaper then I added small pieces of smoked salmon and finely chopped dill. Mixing 4 eggs, a small pot of double cream with salt and pepper in a classic batter bowl, I poured it into the pastry lined tins. Baking them for 12-15minutes was just enough to cook the pastry and brown the tops. I loved these warm but were just as nice once they had cooled.

To make them wheat free or IPD friendly I made them without the pastry and they were just as nice, like little crustless quiches, ideal with a salad for a light lunch or do what I did and pop 6 into lunch box and used them as snacks while at work!

Missing in Action....

I've had lots of wintry walks this week but very little of anything else...schools out, works out and Paul stuck at home too!! It was almost crying out for traditional comfort food.

I had this for lunch (phase 3) .... A mix of avocado, red pepper, spring onion, lime juice, black pepper with a dollop of sour cream, served on a slice of stone ground toast. But went on to have this for tea....

Jamie Oliver throw it all in paella from the series 'Oliver's Twist' sans the seafood!. It was very tasty, very comforting and probably the first time I'd had rice for many months. I did enjoy it though, it was so easy to put together and the flavours worked really well together. It also ticked all the boxes for my love food hate waste campaign. I have been using this website for a while now, especially the perfect portion control part of it. Its brilliant, and it helps me to make sure my fridge is empty BEFORE I go shopping again...but more on that later!!!

I made a sandwich!

Oopsie Roll, split, filled with salmon rillettes, homemade mayo and sliced cucumber.

Absolutely delicious. They held together really well and unlike bread, I wasn't left bloated and overfull, even though I had eaten 2 of them!

Bacon Brussels & Brie From the Forum!

Recipe can be found on the forum

Photograph of dish before the brie had slumped...

...and AFTER the cheese had slumped attractively. (Bee's words not mine!)

Loved the salty bacon, slumped brie but not the ruddy Brussels sprouts!!! I'm going to make this with cabbage next time but anyone who is a Brussels lover with adore this dish...the little blighters are just a little too strong for my taste!

Pampered Chef Chicken Ham and Broccoli Ring

This is so easy to make but looks and tastes like you have spend ages in the kitchen. This uses the croissant dough that can be found in the chiller section of the supermarket, however it works just as well using puff pastry or to make it IPD friendly put the filling into a oven proof dish and cook for 10 minutes until bubbling and all ingredients have 'melted' together..see the bottom of this post for IPD serving suggestions!


225 g (8 oz) skinless, boneless cooked chicken, chopped
175 g (6 oz) broccoli, chopped
1/2 red pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
140 g (5 oz) Gruyère or Emmental cheese, grated, divided
125 ml (4 fl oz) mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 packets (240 g each) chilled fresh ready-to-bake dough for six croissants
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/Gas 5. Coarsely chop chicken and broccoli on Cutting Board using Food Chopper; place in Classic Batter Bowl. Dice red pepper using Utility Knife; add to bowl. Add garlic pressed with Garlic Press to batter bowl. Grate 115 g (4 oz) cheese into bowl using Deluxe Cheese Grater. Add mayonnaise, mustard and salt; mix well using Small Mix 'N Scraper®.
Unroll croissant dough; separate into 12 triangles. Arrange dough triangles in a circle on Medium Round Stone with wide ends of triangles overlapping in centre and pointed ends towards the outside (there should be about 13 cm/5 in diameter opening in centre of stone). Gently press edges of triangles where they meet together to seal.
Spoon chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of dough triangles. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at centre of ring (filling should not be completely covered). Place baking stone in Medium & Rectangle Rack.
Brush egg white over dough. Grate remaining cheese over top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Slice using Pizza Cutter and serve.
Yield: Serves 10
Per serving: Energy 303kcal; Protein 14g; Carbohydrate 17g; Fat 20g; Saturated Fat 7g; Fibre 1.1g; Salt 0.9g
Cook's Tip: For a Chicken & Asparagus Ring, use 175 g (6 oz) fresh asparagus, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces, in place of the broccoli, and use 1 carrot (cut into thin match-stick size strips, then strips cut into thirds) in place of the red pepper. Omit the final sprinkling of cheese over the ring, and sprinkle with flaked almonds instead. Use Crinkle Cutter instead of Food Chopper to coarsely chop chicken.
© The Pampered Chef—United Kingdom, Ltd.

This is the basic recipe but I substitute to suit what I have in the cupboard. Cheddar cheese, pre- cooked sandwich ham and chicken, asparagus for the broccoli, onions instead of the peppers...you name it, it will work! Take a look at Tulip's Kitchen Facebook Group Page where you can find lots of different variations
The pastry is not IPD friendly obviously, but the filling could be served hot in a bowl and served with cauliflower sticks or indeed placed on top of a cauliflower pizza base making the most amazing IPD friendly pizza ever!!!  If you would like to purchase a Medium Round Stone to ensure crisp evenly cooked pastry clicke here to go order!

Brocolli Ham and Cheese Squares

Bex is the Mac 'n' Cheese queen and makes a mean cheese sauce from scratch, there is always leftovers in the fridge which they use to make these simple lunch time treats. Its also a great way to get them to eat broccoli as it is so finely chopped they get the goodness without the big tree crunchy bits!!! [Their words not mine!]

Unroll the puff pastry squares, cut into squares, score a frame for the filling and top with finely chopped broccoli, diced ham which has been mixed into the cheese sauce. There are no quantities for this recipe its just all done by eye!

Bake in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling on top. Great served cold in a lunch box too!

Magny Cour Sandwich

Salami, brie, tomato & mixed leaves

Without the bread IPD friendly...with the stoneground seeded bread ok for phase 3?

I'm so proud of my 13 year old!

When I nipped out to Morrison's I left Jo with her head in the fridge....when I got back she had cooked herself this....

Ready for the oven

She said I could post it here on the condition that she gets credit for it!

"No palming it off as your own" were her exact words...cheek of it, as if I would!

Posh Beans...no toast!

I used to love these in my bread eating days...served on buttered wholemeal toast was soooo yummy, but yesterday I served them in a bowl like a bean stew and they were soooo scrummy! I know the beans are a no-no but as a once a week treat on phase 3 (not sure what phase 3 is....have lent my book out so can't look it up either!) but I really enjoyed it and I'm sure its better for me than eating the toast with it. You can find the recipe here

Salmon Bake

Taking on board Weemam's ideas to throw whatever's to hand into her bake I did the same yesterday. Tin salmon, soya beans, cauliflower and the eggy mixture that is part of the original recipe and Voila!!!

All ready for the oven!

Cooked and ready to eat!

I love this dish, its so adaptable, the feta with the salmon is also a big hit. Not very interesting for you lot, having to see almost the same dish weekly, but I'm loving it at the moment....sorry!

I have other non-IPD dishes that have be prepared which I will post here but IPD'ers do not be tempted!!!

A Simple Bacon & Cheese Omlette

Fluffy eggs, french lardon's with grated mature cheddar

I'm working 3 jobs at the moment, life is busy, not much time for anything else, hence the blog hasn't been updated for days. I am still eating well, just old familiars as that take the least amount of time to get into the lunchbox or on to the table. I'm now home for lunch for two days and out for 3 so I will start to make a little more effort to cook and post.