No decoration needed

The glossiest chocolate icing covers a two layer chocolate sponge.


Made this afternoon.

Food for Happiness

Chilli Con Carne
Rice
Tortilla chips


My chilli has evolved over many years into a hot meaty bowl of lovesomeness. I originally followed Delia Smith's recipe, then deserted her for Mary Berry's simplified recipe.
And although both were good I still felt the need to tamper.
And so tamper I did until I arrived at today's version, which I must say, receives many a fine comment.
And.
It is so easy.

Ingredients. Serves 4. Or 2 providing you can tolerate a double dose of chilli on a Monday and a Tuesday.
It's perfectly acceptable to re-heat, I usually dip bread into mine

Minced Beef. The best quality you can afford.
Oil.
Onions
Green or red pepper.
Chilli flakes or two mild chillis. Don't use the cheapest chilli powder on the shelf.
Cumin seeds or ground cumin. Whatever you have.
Tinned tomatoes.
Tomato puree.
Beef stock (not always essential depends how juicy your tomatoes are and how wet you like your chilli).
Brown sugar.
Lots of garlic. I use 4 cloves. 
Pepper and salt.
Tinned or soaked and boiled beans. I've used them all. Kidney beans of course. Borlotti. Aduki. Black Eyed Beans.
I even had the nerve to use Cannellini.

Beef Cobbler

With a butter bean layer.
Lovely.

What Better

After a chilly day out and about looking for retro crockery I made a Chicken and Mushroom Pie. After the pie was assembled I put together a Chocolate And Sultana Loaf Cake.

The pie will be served with... what else.... but mashed potatoes and spicy baked beans. The baked beans thing is a lower cost version of a Mary Berry recipe. In the original recipe Mary uses red and green peppers, onions and mustard and ketchup. In my version I've opted for Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and plenty of black pepper.
I have though made Mary's version many times but I'm out of peppers and ketchup and mustard too. So a skinflint/bad housewife version will have to do.

The pie is another version of another Mary Berry recipe.
Her version uses leftover lamb and onions, my version, leftover roast chicken and to eke it out, a couple of chestnut mushrooms and onions.
This is a gorgeous little pie, full of flavour, easy to make and economical too. What more could a busy housewife want?

I'm going to serve slices of the loaf cake with some chilled evaporated milk, it's homey.

Pecan, Toffee and Chocolate Muffins

Made a dozen.
Would have loved to have used Maple syrup but I didn't have any, might save up and buy myself a bottle for Christmas...
The chicken flan yesterday was scrumptious, finished off the last of it today with a tiny salad of tomatoes, beetroot, red onion and cucumber. Not haute cuisine but very tasty and perfect fare for a scorchingly hot day.


Here's the recipe for my muffins

250g/9oz self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
50g/2oz soft margarine 
75g/3oz light brown sugar
175g/6oz mix of chopped pecans, dark chocolate and plain toffees 
2 medium eggs
250ml/8 fl oz full fat milk

Heat oven to gas 6/200c/400f

Place twelve muffin cases in muffin tin
Put flour and baking powder in bowl
Rub in margarine until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Stir in brown sugar.
Add nuts chocolate and toffees.
Mix the eggs and milk and add in one go stirring all the time.
Don't overbeat it, the mixture should be lumpy.
Spoon into cases.
Bake for 25 minutes until risen, firmish and golden.

Leave in tin to cool off for a few minutes then transfer to a rack to properly cool.
These could be served warm with cream or ice cream, but I usually serve muffins at room temperature. They never go anywhere near a fridge.

Hope you try them.

You Can't Rush Pastry

I made a Chicken and Sweetcorn flan, it was easy. Cold chopped chicken and defrosted corn stirred into an onion sauce spiced with a little chilli and paprika then poured into a blindbaked cheese pastry flan case. Topped with grated cheese and baked till shining and golden.
To accompany the flan boiled potatoes and homegrown courgettes.
Wonderfully simple food.
As I had some pastry left over I cut out a dozen heart shaped biscuits, dusted them with cayenne and baked for fifteen minutes. Really moreish. Ideal I should think with a glass of pre-dinner sherry. If that's your thing.

Some people get in a lather when making pastry. And I understand why. Unless it's handled correctly and the simple ingredients respected and understood you can end up with either the ubiquitous soggy bottom or something so hard it is inedible.

I talk to my pastry. And handle it as little as possible, and when it's handled, it's with the lightest touch. Having the right oven temperature is essential too.
I heated up an oven tray in a very hot oven before placing the pastry lined flan tin ON IT. I think the blast of heat helps avoid dampness.
After lining the tin bunch up some foil and cover it with baking beans. Then blind bake for 20 or so minutes. A little more won't harm.
Then out of the oven and quickly filled with your chosen mixture...
Back in it goes and after a while you have a very nice little flan/quiche whatever you wish to call it.

I've started using Trex for pastry instead of Stork. Uses 20% less than other baking fats. So much better for you. I hope.
Because I do love pastry.

A New Burger

Pork and Apple Burgers

400g Pork Mince
1 Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Bramley Apple, peeled and finely chopped
1 heaped teaspoon dried sage or 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh sage
1 beaten egg
55g fresh breadcrumbs
salt and a generous amount of black pepper

Mix everything together.

Form into burgers.
Rest in fridge. The burgers that is, not you.
Heat a pan and fry for three minutes each side, then pop into a hot oven for twenty minutes till meat is cooked through.
Serve in floury baps with a little salad and relish of your choice.

This recipe is from Leith's school of cookery.

For lunch today we had the remainder of last night's Pea and Bacon soup. And I think it tasted even better warmed up and served with a crusty buttered roll and scattering of Bombay Mix. Really quite yumsome.
For sweet yesterday I decided on a Lemon Curd Bread and Butter Pudding. It was souffle like, as light as a feather duster and very deelish. So easy, so economical. I might try a chocolate flavoured B&B pud next time. Bread spread with Nuttela and a chocolate custard poured over. Drooling at the thought of it.


I love being kitchen bound, nothing quite lifts my spirits quite like a good bake.
 

Something Light Tonight

Pea and Bacon soup ( recipe from Delia Smith's Frugal Food cookbook) with cheesey bread and for pud fruit and custard.

I bagged some Lamb today, reduced sticker luring me in. Don't often get lamb on account of its atrocious price but today I got lucky.
I'll probably make a Lamb and Lentil casserole ( Shirley Goode recipe ) or failing that, a Fruity Lamb curry.

Pork is on the menu for tomorrow.... More about that in the morning.

I've made a mashed potato and onion bake to serve with a shop bought steak and kidney pie (Morrison's in store baker does make a fine pie) and to accompany the pie and flash mash some buttered sprouts ( switching back to butter on account of not believing everything I read in the papers about butter being bad for you) and, for added moisture, a jug of tangy gravy (thickened beef oxo with marjoram,Worcestershire sauce and plenty of seasoning.
For dessert, a sunken Orange Syrup cake (used way too much baking powder so instead of a nice rise I got a sad plunge) It tastes the same, heavenly.

I made some choco chip muffins for Mark's birthday and, for Rob's dad, a big batch of spiced hazelnut Coburg buns. The original recipe called for flaked almonds but I'd run out so had to fall back of my favourite nuts. Hazel.
As it was a birthday treat I wrapped them in a blue flowered napkin then straight into a pink gingham cake tin. Trevor saw the funny side.
Returning to Mark's foodie presents I gave him a lime jelly made with lemonade and apple and pear squash and studded with green seedless grapes. For added fun it was set in an old glass storage jar complete with bright green lid.
He freaked!
But he's bright and brave kid, he'll get over it and get to know that I mean no harm.

It was Mark's 15th birthday yesterday (Saturday) and we, that's the lad himself, his ma and pa, the grandparents and I had a yummy dinner at The Royal Oak pub, simple homey decor with beams and fire, and the food was to rave about.
I plumped for Atlantic cod and chips, mushy peas on the side, and for pud a Brioche Summer Pudding with cream.
A half pint of Bombardier beer added to the excellence.

Breadmaking next week...

Liver.
Went to market just for half a pound.
It does fry up nicely though and served with crispy bacon, mash and beans it's one of the finest plates of food I supply.
Pud will be some sort of jam thing. Having the sticky stuff in abundance.

I've been eating a lot of Brie recently.

For lunch today:

A salad of hard boiled egg, cheddar cheese cubes, raw carrot, cucumber batons, tomato halves and homegrown chives. Boiled unpeeled potatoes dressed in a little sunflower spread and parsley. A drizzle of Heinz salad cream and a spoonful of tomato relish.

And for dessert? A few sweetened strawberries with very little single cream.

Fine fare for a hot day.