Simply sumptuous

For me, the holidays are full of rich, complex delicious dishes with multiple ingredients (many of them hard to find in the US), washed down with copious alcoholic beverages of a more-expensive-than-usual nature, followed naturally by bouts of heartburn, indigestion and insomnia. It wouldn't be the holidays without all of this! And, as much as I enjoy almost all of the above, I do like the simplicity that the aftermath brings, when you crave nothing more than a turkey sandwich, and swear off alcohol for at least.... oh... 24 hours.

For this aftermath, this dish is the perfect fit. I am usually suspicious of dishes with so few ingredients, as part of me wonders how they can still end up delicious and comforting, if that is all they contain. Fortunately, my son, who was flicking through my Judith Finlayson recipe book The Vegetarian Slow Cooker, came across this, and insisted that we must give it a try. Given the sumptuous result, we will be doing so again, and, you never know, I may even be a bit less dubious of simple recipes in future (although given my stubborn and cynical tendencies, I'm not making any promises!)

Penne with Caramelized Onions
Serves 4

6 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 TBSP olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper
12 oz penne
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. In slow cooker stoneware, combine onions, olive oil, garlic and thyme, and stir well.
2. Place a clean tea towel, folded in half (so therefore giving you two layers), over the top of the stoneware, and then place lid of slow cooker on top of that.
3. Cook on HIGH for 5 hours, stirring two or three times to ensure that onions brown evenly, and replacing towel beneath lid each time.
4. When onions are nicely caramelized, season with salt and pepper.
5. Cook penne to desired consistency, then drain, reserving one cup of the pasta cooking water.
6. In a skillet over medium heat, bring reserved pasta water to a boil. Stir in parmesan and caramelized onions. Add pasta and stir to combine until evenly coated with sauce. Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional parmesan.

The best of the holiday season

I have been absent online for a couple of weeks, not, believe me, because I have not been cooking and baking, but rather because I have been cooking and baking so much that I haven't had time to blog about it all! For us Brits, Christmas is our big holiday, both in terms of family getting together, and in terms of food consumed, since we do not celebrate Thanksgiving (and that is for historical reasons, not because we are ungrateful!) With family visiting from England, it therefore fell to me to create the kind of rich, foodie excess that is de rigueur for a British Christmas.

There is nothing simple about Christmas fare, that is for sure. It is rich (we got through a lot of Setler's Tums, as well as other foodstuffs!), filling, waistline-expanding, and also often complex to make. And it doesn't flinch at copious use of alcohol either. A good British chef will tell you that you need to make your Christmas cake (a fruit cake with a whole page full of ingredients, and requiring 4 hours in the oven) up to 2 months in advance, so that you can then 'feed' it with brandy every week or so. Hic.

Some traditional Christmas dishes, I can take or leave. I am not a fan of Christmas cake for example, although to fulfill my daughterly duty, I did take the time to make one, and roped the kids in to make kitschy fondant decorations for the top of the boozy creation. My big favorite though is Mince Pies and Brandy butter. Quite frankly, they are divine, and represent for me the taste and smell of Christmas. In previous years, I have scoured the stores and managed to find jars of pre-made mincemeat, but this year, I had no luck (shame on you, Cost Plus!), so was forced to make my own. I have to say, it was pretty delicious though, so I may even choose to do so again. (I did baulk at making my own piecrust this time though, and bought pre-made rolled Pillsbury shortcrust pastry.) True to form, I also made copious quantities of mince pies, so that even though my family have now headed home across the Atlantic, I can still console my lonely self with a little leftover.

The recipes that follow come from Delia Smith (the mincemeat), and the Christmas recipe pull-out of the British version of Good Housekeeping magazine. As much as Delia is the Queen, I did have to tweak, and not merely because I am meddlesome and interfering - it is nigh on impossible to find currants here in the US, so I substituted successfully with cranberries and prunes. Suet is also difficult to find, but you can get it on Amazon. If you cannot find suet, then I have read that you can substitute cold chopped unsalted butter.

Needless the say, both recipes are both keepers :-) Don't wait for next Christmas - they would make an excellent New Year's Day treat.

Mince Pies
from Delia's Happy Christmas

Mincemeat:
450g/1lb tart apples (I used Granny Smiths), cored and chopped small (no need to peel)
225g/8oz shredded vegetable suet (see above for substitution suggestion)
350g/12 oz raisins
225g/8 oz golden raisins
150g/5 oz dried cranberries
75g/3 oz chopped dried plums/prunes
225g/8oz chopped candied orange peel
350g/12 oz dark brown sugar
grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
50g/2 oz slivered almonds
4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
whole nutmeg, for grating
6 TBSP brandy

Pies:
pre-made rolled pie-crust/shortcrust pastry (one pack of 2 9" circles should suffice to make 12 pies)
canola oil spray
milk
powdered sugar (icing sugar)

1. Combine all mincemeat ingredients, except for brandy, in a large ovenproof mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly. Cover bowl with a clean towel and leave mixture in a cool place overnight (at least 12 hours) so that flavors can meld.
2. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (120 degrees C). Cover bowl loosely with foil and place in the oven for 3 hours.
3. Remove bowl from the oven. At this point, the mincemeat may look a little like it is swimming in fat, but as it cools, stir occasionally, and it will all come together. If when it is cooled to room temperature, there are still pools of fat on the surface, then you can skim them off at this point.
4. Once mincemeat is cool, stir in the brandy. At this point, you can put the mincemeat in jars or tubs and store in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
5. To make the pies, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut circles from the piecrust to fit inside the muffin cups on a regular muffin tin. Spray oil spray in the cups, then place the circles of piecrust inside.
6. Spoon mincemeat into cups until they are 2/3 full (no fuller, as they will then overflow when baked).
7. Cut stars out of the remaining piecrust and place one on top of each pie. Brush with milk.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden brown.
9. Cool on wire racks and serve warm, dusted with icing sugar, with a dollop of brandy butter (see below).


Brandy Butter

4 oz/125g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 orange
12oz/350g powdered/icing sugar, sifted
2 fl oz/50ml brandy

1. Put butter, orange zest and half of the sugar in a food processor, or the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat together until light and fluffy. Add remaining sugar and brandy and whiz again to combine.
2. Spoon into a serving dish - will also keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Serve at room temperature though.

A feast from the East

Now, I am not necessarily one to blow my own trumpet, or as they insist on saying in this country, toot my own horn (not least because it's dangerous to say the word 'toot' in this house, it is guaranteed to result in crude giggly wildness for at least the ensuing 10 minutes). However, I have to crow just a little about dinner last night at the Farrar table. I made a new Indian-style slow cooker dish, but because the quantities didn't look enough to feed my hungry mouths, I frantically searched around for some appropriate 'extras,' and added another couple of dishes to go alongside, resulting in a bit of an Indian-style feast. It was decidedly yummy, and also all vegetarian. If you cook all three of the dishes below, in the quantities listed, then that is enough for 6 people, particularly if, like me, you add some naan bread alongside to mop up the saucy goodness. I should also add that although very flavorful, this food is not 'hot', so the kids won't necessarily baulk at it. All three of mine scarfed it up, and one lucky child is getting the (very limited) left-overs in their lunchbox today.

The chickpea recipe (i.e. garbanzo bean) is from my beloved Judith Finlayson's book The Vegetarian Slow Cooker and my love for Judith is such that I didn't tweak at all. As for the rice and the lentil dish, the recipes for those come from a book called The Best of Sainsbury's Oriental Cooking (Sainsbury's is the UK supermarket equivalent of Safeway, or Lucky). It's a rather odd use of the word 'oriental', as the book contains not only recipes for Chinese- and Japanese-style food, but also Indian and Indonesian food. Wirth these two dishes there were numerous Farrar-tweaks, not least because I decided to do the rice and lentil dishes at the last minute, so didn't have all the necessary ingredients, and had to improvise. The recipes detailed below are my tweaked versions.

One warning - the lentil dish looks rather unappetizing when you take off the lid of the pan and survey your achievement. It has the appearance of gloopy oatmeal. However, I can verify that it does taste delicious, and the rather disappointing appearance is easily masked with a sprinkling of green onions! Only other warning I have is that there may not be many left-overs, because it is all that good :-)

Gingery Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy

1 TBSP canola/sunflower oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP minced ginger root
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
2 15oz cans chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in the oil until they begin to brown (about 10 mins). Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for a further 1 minute. Add vinegar and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Add chick peas/garbanzo beans to stoneware, stir well, and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or HIGH for 3 hours.

**********

Pilau Rice

canola/sunflower oil
1 5cm/2" cinnamon stick, broken in two
6 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
3 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
12 oz white basmati rice
46 fl oz (about 1300 ml) vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
lime wedges to serve

1. Heat oil in a large skillet/frying pan, and add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves to hot oil. Fry for a few seconds until aroma starts to 'hit' you (!). Then add onions and fry for 10 minutes until golden.
2. Add garlic, ginger rice and fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick.
3. Add 30 fl oz (900 ml) of stock and salt and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, by which time most of the liquid should have been soaked up by the rice. Test the rice. If it isn't cooked (depends upon the brand of rice you are using, I think), then add more stock (I needed a further 16 fl oz/450 mls) and continue to cook until liquid is evaporated and rice is cooked.
4. Serve garnished with lime wedges to squeeze over the top.

**********

Red Lentil Dhal

canola/sunflower oil
6 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
1" piece of cinnamon stick
1 onion, chopped
1" piece of ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp garam masala
8 oz red lentils
salt
juice of 1 lemon
green/spring onions, sliced, to garnish

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Fry until they start to swell, and smell delicious. Add onion and fry until translucent.
2. Add ginger, chili powder, garlic and garam masala and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add lentils, stir thoroughly and fry for 1 minute.
4. Add salt to taste, and enough water to come about 3 cm/1 1/4" above the level of the lentils. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until thick and tender.
5. Add lemon juice, stir and serve garnished with sliced green onions.

"Give the people what they want..."

So sang the Kinks in 1981 (but if you were in Europe, you didn't get to hear that until 1982 because apparently funding fell through...). Well, looking at the recipes I've posted recently, one stands out as very popular, namely the Croque Monsieur Casserole posted in October (click here for link). And deservedly so, as it was delicious. So, in the spirit of the season, because I suspect you may enjoy this one too, and because some of my readers are vegetarians, today's recipe is a similar, bread-and-butter pudding style recipe, but this time without meat. So this is apparently what you want, come and get it. Of course, if the Kinks were right: "The more they get, the more they need. And every time they get harder and harder to please." Uh-oh!
As for the provenance of this one, I'm afraid I'm going to be letting you all in on my hoarding tendencies, since the recipe was given to me as a friend when we were in college together. At the time, five of us linguistics graduate students used to gather together of an evening, gossip about the other occupants of the lab, drink large quantities of red wine, cook, and eat good food. (It was during this era that my love for risotto was born, as we used to make huge pots of the stuff for example.) My good friend Sarah made this dish one night, and subsequently wrote down the recipe for me. In my recent clear-out, I found that piece of paper, and am somewhat embarrassed that during the ensuing 20+ years have not tried to replicate the dish. Last night was the night, and it has now made it on to my list of regulars for sure. Thanks Sarah....rather belatedly, but thanks! I confess that I did tweak a little, using frozen spinach for convenience, and upping the quantity of eggs and milk to make it nice and moist, but otherwise it is the original in all its glory. All you need to go alongside is a nice green salad.

Spinach Bread and Butter Pudding
Serves 8-10

2 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 large ciabatta loaf, sliced into 1/2" thick slices (stale is fine - mine was 2 days old)
salted butter
olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
6 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt and pepper
12 oz gruyere cheese, grated/shredded
10 eggs
4 cups milk (I used 2%/semi-skimmed)
fresh grated nutmeg (I used 1/4 of a whole nutmeg)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Spread butter thinly on ciabatta slices. Grease a 9"x13" pan and line the base with some of the bread slices.
3. Fry onion and mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes until softened. Add spinach and cumin seeds and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Layer half of the spinach mixture over the bread, then sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over that.
5. Repeat layers with half of remaining bread, followed by remaining spinach, another 1/3 of the cheese, remaining bread, then finally the remaining cheese.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and add nutmeg. Pour over the whole dish carefully, and then set the dish aside for at least one hour before baking, so that the bread soaks up the liquid. (you can leave it for way longer than that - in fact, I have left it overnight, if you want it for a brunch) You can help this by gently pushing down on the bread on top.
7. Bake for 40 minutes until risen and golden, and crispy on the top. If it starts to brown too quickly and isn't cooked in the middle, cook for longer, but with some foil on the top to stop it from browning more.

Fending off frostbite

It has been really cold around here this week. Now, now...before you roll around on the floor laughing, I don't mean California-cold, when the mercury dips below 60 degrees F and you think you might just need a sweater. No, I mean really cold. Frost-on-the-ground cold. Citrus-farmers-freaking-out-about-ruined-harvests cold. Don't roll your eyes! If there is a shortage of lemons next year, then you'll be sorry you doubted me.

Anyway, if you cannot appreciate my complaints of frozen toes and need for warm blankets, then at least appreciate my culinary means of overcoming the cold. It is stew season, people, and this one is a great one! I am often disappointed by beef stews, as they can be a bit bland, but this one avoids that by using beer (I mean, it has to be good then!) and a little touch of vinegar and mustard at the end, to give it a tang. Only a slight tang, mind you, nothing strong enough to alert those little (or indeed grown-up) palates around the table to the presence of mustard, just in case, like mine, they seem to believe that mustard is the food of the devil.

For once, I am up to date in terms of provenance, as this one comes from the current issue of Cooking Light magazine, subtitled "The Stress-Free-Holiday issue". (If I didn't have you at 'beer', then I'm betting your sold now!). I have hardly tweaked nor twisted - it has the word 'classic' in the title, so I just couldn't :-) All I did was reduce the salt a little and add some more beef, since I feel like I'm feeding the five thousand, rather than 5, in this house.

Enjoy, and stay warm (PS, if my husband is reading this, a new pair of fuzzy slippers for Christmas might be in order!)

Classic Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Serves 6-8

2 1/2 lbs trimmed boneless beef, cut into 2" cubes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP canola/sunflower oil
3 medium onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" slices
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 12 oz bottle nut brown ale (not too hoppy)
1 1/4 cups beef stock/broth
1 1/2 lbs baby potatoes, halved
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2" lengths
1 tsp dried thyme, or 4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 TBSP AP/plain flour
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add 1 1/2 tsp oil to skillet and add beef. Cook for 6-8 minutes until well browned. Remove beef from skillet and place in slow cooker stoneware.
2. Add remaining oil to skillet and sauté onions and garlic for 4 minutes. Add beer, scraping skillet bottom to remove all those tasty browned bits. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup stock, remaining salt and remaining pepper. Bring to a simmer then carefully pour contents into slow cooker.
3. Add potatoes, carrots, thyme and bay leaves to slow cooker, and cook on LOW for 7 hours (or HIGH for 3 1/2 hours).
4. Combine remaining 1/4 cup stock with flour, stirring with a whisk. Stir this mixture into the stew and cook for a further 15 minutes. Stir in mustard and vinegar. Discard bay leaves (and fresh thyme sprigs, if using) and serve in bowls sprinkled with fresh parsley.

The easiest chili in town

You've got to love superlatives. Anything with an -est, just begs people to disagree and send you alternatives. Well, quite frankly, bring it on, people! Even if I'm wrong about this particular superlative, since we are all big chili fans in this house, I welcome all alternative recipes! Sadly, I think I may be completely justified in my superlative usage this time, as this one is so simple. It is also one of my oldest son's favorite dinners - he beams when he knows this is what's for dinner. Fair enough, he is the biggest food fan around, and measures most experiences by the availability and tastiness of the food on offer, but he isn't always easy to please, so a dish has to be truly deserving to merit a position on his favourites list. If that dish also happens to make it easy on the family chef, then so much the better!

The original recipe comes from a tattered copy of a Betty Crocker recipe magazine that I clearly grabbed whilst waiting in line in Safeway. My only tweak has been to often make more than the recipe below indicates, so that there is sometimes some leftover for lunches the following day, to switch from beef to turkey, and to add some green bell pepper. You could also add some corn, unless, like me, your husband would then sit there and attempt to pick out every little niblet.... Personally, I think it is better (and healthier) this way, but if you are a Betty Crocker purist, get some beef and ditch the veggies.

Salsa Chili
Serves 4

oil spray
1lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 16oz jar of mild or medium salsa
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles, drained
2 tsp chili powder
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can pinto/red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
shredded cheddar cheese to serve

1. Cook turkey and onions in a large skillet sprayed with oil, breaking up the meat as you go. When there is no pink left and all the turkey is browned, transfer to the slow cooker stoneware.
2. Stir in salsa, tomatoes, chiles, chili powder and green bell pepper.
3. Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
4. When nearly ready to serve, add beans, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes until heated through.
5. Serve over rice or cous cous, sprinkled with cheese.

Weekend special

I have friends who serve up amazing breakfasts to their kids every day, with cooked eggs, sausage, pancakes etc. Oh, you know who you are. I cannot allow my children to sleep over at these houses. For if they do, they will realize that they are deprived and will rebel against the sorry selection of whole-wheat cereals and last week's left over English muffin that we have on offer in our kitchen during the week. The weekend however, is a different matter, and I love nothing more than starting the day in my PJs cooking up a huge plate of pancakes (that mysteriously all seem to disappear, however many there are on the plate), or sausages and hash browns. Weekends in our house are 'special breakfast' days, or, if you live like the friends I mentioned above, 'average days'.

Last weekend I tried a new recipe for a more or less effortless weekend breakfast, which turned out rather delicious. I confess that it isn't completely free from effort, but the effort expended happens the previous evening, so the morning itself is pretty effortless, and that means an extra half hour in bed, so I can't complain.

The original recipe came in one of the ever-increasing number of emails I get from Allrecipes.com, but I tweaked it to our tastes, and made it slightly less unhealthy by reducing the amount of cream. Yes, it's the weekend, but I don't want to feel guilty all day and have to skip dessert later!

Baked Cranberry-Raisin French Toast
Serves 6

oil spray
1 16oz package of cinnamon raisin bread, cut into 1" cubes
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk (I used 2%/semi-skimmed)
2 tsp vanilla extract
maple syrup to serve

1. Place half the bread cubes in a 3 qt baking dish, sprayed with oil spray. Sprinkle over 1/2 cup of the cranberries. Put remaining bread cubes over the top, then sprinkle with remaining cranberries.
2. Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and vanilla, and then pour over the contents of the baking dish. Press down lightly on the bread cubes to make sure that all start to soak up the liquidy goodness.
3. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.
4. In the morning, uncover the dish and bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until golden and set in the middle. Serve with maple syrup.

Stealing Safeway's thunder?

Since my children have given up eating sandwiches, I have had to hustle to find alternatives, and soup is one that works well. I often buy the Safeway Select fresh soups, and the baked potato soup has always been a favourite. It's like warmth and comfort in semi-liquid form, and I figure that with a thermos full of that in their lunchboxes, I've done my parently duty (against all the odds, given their current anti-sandwich bent).

The recipe below is my attempt to replicate these tubs of deliciousness myself at home, using one of my favourite kitchen gadgets, the crock-pot. If it weren't for this magic appliance, and my breadmaker, I think we would probably starve around here. The soup isn't exactly like the original, but I like to think that this is at least in part because it might be a tad less sodium-laced and contain fewer chemicals. That's my story anyway, and according to my resident taste-testers (a suspicious and hard-to-please bunch at the best of times) it was "delicious", not a word they throw around lightly.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Serves 8

canola/sunflower oil
12 rashers of bacon, snipped into 1/4" pieces
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cups of stock/broth (made using bouillon cubes to DOUBLE strength)
4 cups water
2 3/4lbs potatoes (peeled weight), peeled and chopped into 3/4" dice
1 TBSP fresh chopped dill, plus a little more for garnish
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup AP/plain flour
4 cups half-and-half (for the Brits out there, use 2 cups cream, 2 cups milk)
2 12oz cans evaporated milk
sliced green/spring onions and shredded cheddar to serve

1. Fry the bacon and onions with some oil in a skillet over a medium high heat, until bacon is evenly brown and onions have softened. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Stir chicken broth, water, potatoes, dill and pepper into slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 hours.
3. In a small bowl, whisk flour with the half-and-half, then add evaporated milk and stir to combine. Stir mixture into soup. Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes before serving, garnished with extra dill, cheese and green onions.

My kitchen smells...

...and it isn't because the boys got home from a run and took off their sneakers, or because everyone is avoiding having to take out the food composting bin to empty it. No, my kitchen smells in a good way, thanks to a rather delicious chicken and squash concoction. Today, we are Moroccan-inspired again, and I'm devouring the leftovers from last night's dinner. At this rate, I may have to buy one of those tagine thingies, although I'm not sure they make them big enough to contain the amount of food it takes to feed my brood. I may at least have a cup of peppermint tea to wash my lunch down.

This recipe came originally from a Cooking Light magazine from 2009 - I knew I was keeping piles of them for a reason, and not just because I'm going for the cluttered, borderline-hoarder look in my home, rather than the minimalist "I shop at the Container Store and everything is in its place" look. I tweaked it in my usual fashion by increasing quantities, and also adding more vegetables, so that it is truly a one-pot meal. All you need is a bed of something to soak up the saucy deliciousness - I chose quinoa, as you can see from the picture below, but cous cous or rice would work just as well.

Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine
Serves 6-8

olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
4 cups chicken broth/stock
1lb peeled cubed butternut squash
2/3 cup halved green olives
16 pitted dried plums/prunes, chopped
1 1/2 cups green beans, chopped into 1" lengths
fresh parsley to garnish

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden.
2. Stir in cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, salt, garlic and chicken and continue to cook for a further minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add stock/broth, squash, olives and dried plums, stir and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Add green beans, return the boil, cover and simmer for a further 8 minutes until squash and beans are tender.
5. Serve over quinoa/cous cous, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Redemption

For the record, I confess: I am evil. As I type, I am listening to the sounds of anguish from my kids' bedrooms. Their shameless, wicked mother has ordered them to tidy up their rooms. I know: cruel AND unusual. I even threw out the "Grandma is coming to stay, and she will weep in dismay if she sees the state of your rooms" card. I know, pulling out all the stops. Because there is no point in being half-evil, I then went beyond the point of no return and threatened removal of privileges and loss of allowance.

The thing is, I have no shame, because I feel that I will redeem myself later in the form of dinner. They may be reduced to slave labor and pitiful wails of "But it's my personal space!", but at least they will be well fed as they bemoan their fate at my hands.

As you can tell, it's another top notch afternoon of teenager-dom in our house. But, there is redemption in sight tonight (and I can smell it, as well as see it), in the form of a fabulous chili recipe, which I will now share, so that you too can bask in the glow of your own personal redemptions, at least for five minutes, until dishes are scraped clean and you try and persuade your tablemates to have a shower/go to bed/finish their homework/pick up the wet towel they left in the hallway yesterday/stop slapping their brother.... (choose as appropriate for your own personal demons).

And as redemption goes, this one is a doozy - sure you get me at least 5 minutes (dare I say it, possibly 6) of love and appreciation. It comes from a Pampered Chef book called 'It's good for you'. My suspicion is that this simply means that it is less bad for you than some of the whipped-topping creations elsewhere in their books. Nevertheless, it isn't awfully bad for you either, given the selection of ingredients. Of course, the Farrars then go to town with the toppings, which rather changes the nutritional profile, but I'm assuming that where sour cream and cheese are concerned, they may learn moderation at some point in their lives (hmmm, given their parents' affection for dairy products, possibly not).

Oven Barbecue Chili
Serves 8

2 lbs boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1/2"-1" chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 cups diced green bell pepper
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce (called passata in UK)
3/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce
2 TBSP cider vinegar
2 TBSP chili powder
Toppings: sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar, chopped green onions, diced avocado, chopped firm tomatoes...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Place all ingredients (except for toppings) in a large dutch oven, or stoneware baking dish with a lid.
3. Bake covered for 2 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender.
4. Serve with toppings.

Hubble Bubble

There is nothing like the soft hubble-bubble sound of a big saucepan on the stove (or cauldron, if you prefer), and the delicate aroma of a spicy stew, to fend off the shivers of winter. I don't know about you, but those shivers are all the more evident now that daylight savings time has kicked in, and it seems to be getting dark and dingy around 4.30pm. As regular readers will know (and as anyone else with only 24 hours in their day will appreciate), I love nothing more than a one-pot meal. Sitting with your hands cupped around a large steaming bowl of yumminess, while a glass of something red and full-bodied breathes beside me, is my idea of a fabulous evening. Yes, I confess that this is terribly middle-aged. The heels, dancing and fabulous cocktails, have their place in my calendar, but it's an ever-smaller place!

This stew more than fit the bill for the Farrar bowls. The recipe came originally from a reader-submitted dish to Cooking Light magazine, but I tweaked it so that there were more vegetables in there. That way, I don't feel bad about not cooking side dishes (remember, my days only have 24 hours in them, after all), as the nutritional value is all there steaming in that same bowl, having cooked in that same pan. All this needs is a little bed of couscous or rice in the bottom of the bowl, to make it more comfy, and that is dinner sorted. Just open the wine, will you?

Chicken and White Bean Stew
Serves 8

canola/sunflower oil
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups finely chopped onion (around 2 large onions)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
2 15oz cans cannellini beans (undrained)
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 cups light coconut milk
1 cup water
2 TBSP chopped peeled fresh lemongrass (about 2 stalks)
2 15 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups green beans, snipped into 1" lengths
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)

1. Heat some oil in a large dutch oven/saucepan over a medium high heat. Add cardamom, cloves and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add onion, and sauté for 8-10 minutes until tender. Add chili powder, turmeric and coriander and stir to incorporate.
2. Add beans, chicken, coconut milk, water, lemongrass and tomatoes to pan. Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add green beans and green bell pepper, and stir to combine. Bring back to simmering point, then cover again and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, until beans and pepper are tender enough for your tastes.
4. Serve over cous-cous, garnished with the cilantro.

Aaaaah, that's better!

When you are feeling under the weather, chicken noodle soup is supposed to hit the spot and fend off those pesky germs, but I confess I have never really understood the attraction of chicken noodle soup. I mean it's OK, but it's a bit thin, and most versions thereof seem to me to consist of a bowl of chicken broth with a few bits and pieces thrown in. When my head is fuzzy with a cold, and my mouth and nose feel like they're stuffed with cotton wool, a bowl of chicken noodle soup may steam nicely and smack of warmth, but it doesn't taste of much. Personally, I gain much more comfort from a bowl of something a bit more substantial, and with a stronger taste that even virus-addled taste buds can savor and enjoy. This recipe more than fits the bill and is easy to customize to suit your personal tastes (and the ravages wreaked by whatever germ you are currently harboring in your bloodstream).

The original recipe is one I scribbled down from a book written by the Covent Garden Soup Company. They were the first to really make a go of selling fresh soups in supermarkets - so much more delicious than the canned variety. And, they were kind enough to share their recipes so that we could all have a go at making them when we had the time and inclination. The only tweak I have made is to blend the soup; I just think it is better that way, but if you want to be more faithful to the original, then leave out this step. I also tend to add more lemon juice than the recipe calls for, as we love the taste of lemon in our house. As I suggest below, it's a good idea to have extra on hand, taste when it is cooked, and add more to your taste.

Enjoy, and may your germs flee your body, in fact the entire building, soon...

Lentil and Lemon Soup
Serves 6

2 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
5oz (150g) red lentils
19 fl oz (570 ml) vegetable stock/broth
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp tomato paste (puree)
2 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper
juice of half a lemon (plus more to add to taste)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook onion and garlic until soft but not colored (about 10 minutes).
2. Add lentils and stir to coat well in the oil.
3. Add stock and bring to the boil.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and 3/4 of the chopped thyme.
5. Bring back to the boil, turn the heat down, and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Pour into a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Season and add remaining thyme. Then add lemon juice, bit by bit, tasting as you go until it's delicious :-)

Unknown territory

I have never been to Minnesota. In fact, until recently, all that I knew about Minnesota came from that movie with Renee Zellweger, where she is some high powered Miami exec who gets forcibly relocated to Minnesota (New in Town). Actually, all I really remember about that movie is that it was very cold in Minnesota. I think most of the jokes revolved around that, and accents. It wasn't one of Renee's more memorable roles. Anyway, if it really is that cold in Minnesota, then all the more reason why they need winter warming recipes like this one :-) I cooked up a huge pot of this on Halloween. Each year, I have this great plan that the kids will go out trick or treating with at least something in their tummies, and then I will tell them they can eat as much of their candy-haul as they want to, and they will eat only a moderate amount, because they are full of yummy soup already. Cunning, eh? Well, it would be, if it worked.

This recipe came from Myrecipes.com (and originally from Cooking Light), from where I learned another great fact about Minnesota: apparently, the state grain is wild rice. I'm not sure that featured in the movie, but my memory is not reliable where average films are concerned. Whether it did, or did not, it lends some thickness and creaminess to the soup, and looks pretty, so that's fine with me. The only tweak I have made is to add more chicken than in the original (so that it is a meal in itself) and to add more thyme. Taste before eating too - I found I needed to add a bit more salt for my taste.

Minnesota Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
Serves 6

2 leeks
1 TBSP unsalted butter
3/4 cup of finely chopped celery stalks (about 2 stalks)
10 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
7 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup AP/plain flour
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 1 1/4lbs)
1 cup half-and-half (for the non-Americans out there, use half cream, half milk)
3 TBSP dry white wine
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
bread to dunk :-)

1. Cut leeks in half lengthwise, wash under running water and then slice into 1/4" slices.
2. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add leeks, celery and mushrooms and sauté for 10 minutes or so, until tender. Stir in 6 cups broth. Add rice, salt, thyme and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45-55 minutes or until rice has 'popped' and is tender.
3. Combine flour and remaining cup of broth with a whisk until smooth. Add mixture to soup in pan, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low, add chicken, half-and-half, wine and mustard. Cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated through.

Slow cooker slam-dunk

If  could somehow put into words how the kitchen smells when the crockpot is bubbling away with this dish, then I would. But I'm not sure words will do it justice. However, you know me well enough by now, to know that I will try! Suffice to say, it is deliciously citrusy with an eastern spicy twist that you just can't put your finger on.

If I could put into words how this dish tastes, when served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes(with some steamed cabbage mixed in), then I would.... Oh OK then: it is a succulent mix of delicate flavors worthy of a chilly winter's evening.

If I could describe how grateful I am to Sara Lewis for including this recipe in her book Slowcooker Easy, then..... For once, however, I think I'll just shut up, and let the recipe speak for itself (and the photo prove the point). Now there's a first ;-)

Pork with Orange and Star Anise
Serves 8

2 TBSP canola/sunflower oil
8 pork chops, trimmed and each cut into 2-3 pieces
2 onions, chopped
4 TBSP AP/plain flour
900 ml chicken stock
grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
6 TBSP plum sauce
4 TBSP soy sauce
7-8 whole star anise
salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add pieces of pork and cook over high heat until browned on both sides. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon and transfer to slow cooker pot.
2, Add onion to skillet and fry, stirring until lightly browned. Stir in flour, and then gradually mix in stock, orange rind and juice, plum sauce, soy sauce and star anise. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, stirring.
3. Pour sauce over pork in slowcooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes (mixed with steamed cabbage, if you like).

Making a meal of it

I confess, I looked at the ingredients for this dish and I thought it didn't really sound like an entree, but rather a list of ingredients for nachos. Not that I don't love nachos (and I confess, I even like the ones you get in the movie theater with fake cheese poured over them.... mmmmm), but it wasn't exactly a main dish, at least from the ingredients. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, particularly since, if I told the kids that we were having nachos for dinner, I was pretty sure that the response would be positive. Surprised, but positive!

And in actual fact, this does turn out to be a substantial main dish in itself, and another one I'm adding to my growing veggie repertoire. It turns out you can make a meal of nachos :-) The recipe comes from the magazine Everyday with Rachel Ray, and you can throw it together almost as quickly as a bowl of nachos. I did add some tomato, as I thought it needed another color to make it look pretty! It needs nothing more than a nice salad to accompany it, and the warmth of the chiles (warmth, rather than heat, don't worry) is perfect for the darker, cooler evenings of fall.

Baked Green Chile Chilaquiles
Serves 5

2 TBSP olive oil
2 poblano chiles, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups mild green tomatillo salsa
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves), plus more for garnish
8 oz bag of corn tortilla chips
10 oz Monterey Jack, shredded (you could use mild cheddar instead)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, sliced
2 green/spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook the chiles over medium/high heat, until beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook for a further 20 seconds. Stir in the salsa and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Set aside.
3. Place half the chips in a 2 qt baking dish. Top with half of the salsa mixture, half the cheese and half the beans. Repeat the layers with remaining chips, salsa, cheese and beans.
4. Bake until casserole is hot and the cheese melts (18-20 minutes).
5. Garnish with avocado slices, green onions, tomato and remaining cilantro before serving the lime wedges.

Dessert? Why not!

Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that you have just treated yourself to an awesome salad entrée (perhaps this one). Well, in my book, that means you have earned yourself a dessert. And I have a great one for you. This recipe comes from one of those little free books you get when you re-subscribe to a magazine, in this case, Good Food magazine in the UK (so don't even think about telling me Brits can't cook). It's a cake, but one with a texture unlike most other cakes, and a combination of flavours more usually associated with a savory dish. It's rich, fragrant, fresh, and quite frankly delicious, and if you have an overgrown patch of rosemary in your garden like mine, then a great way to put it to good use.

Lemon Polenta Cake with Rosemary Syrup
Serves 8

6 oz polenta (cornmeal)
2 oz AP/plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 TBSP plain yoghurt
5 TBSP canola/sunflower oil
grated zest of 2 lemons, plus 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg whites
14 oz white sugar (caster)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus extra to decorate
fresh berries and extra plain yoghurt to serve

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Sift polenta, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl (tip in any grains too large to go through sifter as well)
3. Combine yoghurt, oil, lemon zest and juice in a pitcher/jug. It will look curdled, but don't worry!
4. Beat eggs and egg whites with half of the sugar until creamy. Beat in the yoghurt mixture until smooth, then fold in the sifted dry ingredients.
5. Pour this batter into a 9"x5" loaf pan, which has been sprayed with oil spray.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Put the remaining sugar in a pan with 7 fl oz (200 ml) of water and the rosemary sprigs. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Cool completely, and then strain.
8. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then poke holes in the top with a skewer and pour over half of the rosemary syrup.
9. Serve the cake sliced with fresh berries, natural/plain yoghurt and extra syrup.

The last gasp of summer

This morning, I walked the dog in a thick, cold, drizzly fog; this afternoon, the sun is shining and the temperature gauge has risen more than 20 degrees. Fall is decidedly strange that way. Since the weather has yet to adopt a more wintery hue for at least part of the day, I thought I would post one last salady entrée recipe. I know some of you live in colder climes, but this one is well worth a try - just crank the heating up, put on a sweater and pour a glass of something fortified to warm you up.

Asian Chicken Salad
From Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool
Serves 4-6 as an entrée

1 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
6 TBSP soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp hot Chinese mustard
4 TBSP minced fresh ginger
4 green/spring onions, thinly sliced
3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4" strips (about 1.8lbs)
2 cups bean sprouts
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
6 cups finely shredded savoy cabbage (about 1 head)
2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large measuring jug/pitcher, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, oil, mustard, ginger and green onions. Pour half of this dressing into a large bowl.
3. Add chicken to the bowl and toss to coat with the dressing. Set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes, and up to 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together the sprouts, cabbage and red bell pepper. Toss with the remaining dressing (may not need all of it, so don't pour it all in in one go!). Set aside for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, take the chicken and put it on a baking tray, coated with oil spray. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink. Cool slightly.
6. Top the cabbage mixture with the chicken and sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

It's all about winning

If you are a parent, then you will, like me, have come to realize that you are no longer in control of your own life. The kids are. Victories are few and far between, so must be savoured and appreciated, in the vain hope that the glow they impart might last just long enough until the next time. Well, last night, there was a moment at the dinner table, when I felt like I just might be winning, temporarily, and only at a stretch, but winning a small victory, nonetheless.

If you are a frequent reader here, you will have gathered that my children are in a phase when they refuse to eat sandwiches in their packed lunch, which as you can imagine is a cause of pain and suffering for the woman who packs those lunches, namely me. Put it this way, it is October, and I am emotionally 'done' with the year of packed lunches already. I am also constantly struck by how ridiculous it is NOT to like sandwiches. They love bread, they love cheese, they love ham. But a cheese and ham sandwich? Forgetaboutit.

Well, last night, this is the dinner we gathered around:

No, it isn't a sandwich! It is a dish called a Croque Monsieur Casserole, the recipe for which came from a Rachel Ray magazine. What is a Croque Monsieur? Well, it's a French ham and cheese sandwich. Let me repeat that: it's a ham and cheese sandwich. OK, so our dinner was technically a casserole based on a ham and cheese sandwich. A casserole which was greeted not by 'The Y-word', which is usually thrown at a sandwich (rhymes with duck, and is forbidden in this house, along with at least one other word that rhymes with duck), but 'The D-word' (rhymes with propitious, and maybe this will be). Ha! This round of the sandwich wars was won by me. The war rages on, and I'm losing, but at least this battle is mine :-)

Whether you like sandwiches or not, with or without ham and cheese, this recipe is a definite keeper (even now that they know it is based on a sandwich). My only tweak was that I added more egg and milk, as it all looked a bit too dry when I assembled it. I'm glad I did, as it was perfectly moist as prepared below. It also went fabulously well with a simple green salad dressed with a sharp tasting vinaigrette, to cut through the oozy, creamy, cheesy goodness of the casserole. I have therefore also included a recipe for lemon vinaigrette below, for those who are feeling brave and want to try and replicate this victory at home!

Croque Monsieur Casserole
Serves 5

1 day-old baguette cut into 1/2" slices
2 TBSP butter melted
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
9 oz gruyere, shredded/grated
8 oz thinly sliced ham
6 large eggs
1 3/4 cups whole milk
freshly ground black pepper
1. Take half of the bread slices and chop them into 1/2" cubes. Toss cubes with melted butter in a large bowl.
2. Spread mustard over remaining bread slices, and arrange them, slightly overlapping, in a 2-qt baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over the top.
3. Fold ham slices in half and arrange in an even layer over the cheese. Top with half of the remaining cheese.
4. Sprinkle bread cubes evenly over the top, and then top with remaining cheese.
5. Whisk eggs with milk and season with black pepper to taste. Pour carefully over casserole and lightly press down on bread so that it begins to soak up liquid.
6. Set casserole aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
7. Bake casserole in oven until puffed up and golden, about 30 minutes.
8. Leave to cool slightly for 5 minutes before serving.

Lemon Vinaigrette

2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard
5 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients together. Serve tossed with a simple green salad.

Feeling chilly?

This post is dedicated to a dear friend of mine. Let's call her Heather. Last week sometime, she posted on Facebook that she needed to "move somewhere where it's sunny and warm". A few days later she lamented that "This dreary, gray, cold weather has me down", and then the clincher was today's post, accompanied by a photo of the heater she had on her desk, which complained that she was "still freezing". Ever eager to help, I have obviously offered her a bed here in sunny California so that she can escape the frozen wastelands of Illinois. However, if the truth be told, the weather is becoming decidedly fall-ish here too, so she might be better off checking Hotwire for fares to Hawaii.

The upside of fall's arrival for me is, of course, food-related. There is nothing more comforting on an evening that seems not just chilly, but prematurely dark, than a steaming hot plateful of something that has been simmering in the slow-cooker all day. So Heather, that is why this post is dedicated to you my dear. At least you will have something tasty and warm to look forward after you turn off that heater at work, and drive home :-)

The recipe comes from a book I recently bought called Simply Organic, by Jesse Ziff Cool. For those of you who are local, she is the one who owns the Flea Street Café in Menlo Park. The book was recommended to me (thanks Janel!) because although I would love to cook more seasonally, I don't always feel like I know how - what is in season when? And for convenience purposes, much of my shopping is done in a supermarket, where you can get most things year round, whether that is appropriate or not. This book, unlike most, is written by season, so for example, the recipe below comes from the section on 'Indian Summer'. Great idea, and some lovely looking recipes.

I served the dish with a side of soft polenta and some roasted delicata squash, which I have put recipes for below, as they went together beautifully. I have the October issue of Cooking Light to thank for the squash recipe.

Enjoy, and stay warm :-)

Harvest Pot Roast
Serves 8

1 large onion, cut into thick slices
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
12 oz mushrooms, quartered or thickly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup ketchup
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 chuck roast, about 3lbs, trimmed of visible fat
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Combine onion, carrots, mushroom, garlic and tomatoes in the slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Top the vegetables with half of this sauce.
3. Place the roast over the vegetables, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread remaining sauce over the beef.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
5. Let meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and serve drizzled with sauce and vegetables from slow cooker.


Soft Polenta
Serves 8

3 cups water
3 3/4 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups coarse polenta/cornmeal
3 TBSP fresh grated parmesan

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water, milk and salt to a boil.
2. Gradually stir in polenta in a steady stream.
3. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and blended, and bubbles like lava (about 5 minutes)
4. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring frequently, while the mixture bubbles and thickens, and the grains become tender and creamy. This should take 20-30 minutes.
5. Stir in parmesan and serve.

Roasted Delicata Squash with Red Onions
Serves 6

1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 TBSP honey
2 tsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 12 oz delicate squash, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/2" slices (no need to peel!)
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided
cooking spray
3 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add squash and onion and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle in 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.
3. Arrange vegetable mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet, coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until squash is tender, turning once halfway through.
5. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper and parsley before serving.

Why, thank you!

Thank you all for checking into my blog! This blog is something which is very dear to my heart. After all, I love cooking, and I love writing. What a combo!

And to express my gratitude for those of you who enjoy reading the blog, and trying out the recipes, I did some 'tidying up' yesterday, which I wanted to make you all aware of. Why? Because it will hopefully make this blog a bit easier to navigate, particularly if you're trying to find recipes from some time ago.

If you scroll down the right hand side, you will see a link to a page called RECIPE INDEX. On the page there, you will find a list of all the recipes I have posted (and I add to it each time, so it is up to date). They are divided into sections by main ingredient (e.g. beef entrees/vegetarian entrees etc), 'status' in the meal (e.g. sides/salads) as well as cooking method (e.g. slow cooker recipes/grilling recipes). And each recipe in the list shows when it was posted and the title of the post. The title itself is a link, which, if you click on it, will take you directly to the post in question.

Enjoy!

Kimberley

Side-swiped

Let's face it, sides can sometimes steal the show. And in our house, they also make fabulous lunchbox fillers the following day, which makes me love them all the more (it's October, and I'm fed up of packed lunches already...) In fact, the first of the two dishes in this post is being enjoyed by my children on the blacktop right now. Why, they are probably just now extolling the virtues of the mother who cooked it and packed it for them. I'm sure that's what they are doing.

These two sides are scene-stealers for sure - the first because it contains pesto, so duh! And because it is incredibly easy to make, can be served hot, warm, room temperature or cold, keeps for a while in the fridge and tastes just as delicious however and whenever you serve it. Come on! What more could you want. The second is a scene-stealer because it is just so pretty, has all the health benefits afforded by quinoa AND tastes good. The first recipe comes from a great cookbook called Delia Smith's Summer Collection. Delia is kind of the Julia Child of the UK, except that the UK is fortunate to still have her in their midst, and she is still cooking. The second recipe came from the deep dark recesses of my imagination.

Pesto Rice
Serves 8 as a side

arborio rice, measured to the 1 pint level in a measuring jug/pitcher
1 11oz container of ready-made pesto
2 pts of hot vegetable stock
6 green onions (spring onions), finely sliced
juice of 1 large lemon, or 2 small

1. Measure rice into a jug, then add about 1/4 of the pesto to the rice and stir to coat the grains.
2. Tip the mixture into a large saucepan.
3. Measure hot vegetable stock in the same jug, and then add that to the saucepan.
4. Stir together and bring mixture to the boil, then put the lid on, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer (WITHOUT OPENING IT) for exactly 20 minutes.
5. As soon as the timer goes, open the saucepan and add green onions, lemon juice and the rest of the pesto. Mix together and serve at desired temperature (my favorite is probably room temp).

Mediterranean Quinoa
Serves 8 as a side

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Cook quinoa in water according to directions (should be no water left when it is done), then allow to cool in a large bowl on counter.
2. Make dressing: whisk together balsamic vinegar, oil, ground mustard and black pepper.
3. When quinoa is no longer hot, mix all ingredients together and stir in dressing until combined.

Lying by omission

As I have no doubt stated before, I am not one for sneaking in hidden ingredients. I know Jessica Seinfeld has made a successful career out of it, but I have never quite understood how you get from hiding green beans to having children happily eat green beans. My policy has always been to just plonk a pile of green beans on their plates and wait until the day they decide to eat them. I seem to remember reading somewhere that a child can try something 10 times and dislike it, and then the eleventh time is often a charm. Well, it hasn't worked for me every time (Brussel Sprouts anyone?), but I live in hope.

I am the first to admit that I am also very lucky, in that my children do not eschew the majority of healthy foods. Sure there are some that they seem to have concluded are the work of the devil (Brussel Sprouts anyone?), but in general they eat healthily, so I confess that perhaps my preference for avoiding vegetable sneakiness is driven in part by the satisfaction that I don't need to. However, there are a couple of recipes which have entered my regular repertoire, where the veggie ingredients are all but invisible. Sure zucchini muffins (see here for example) have green flecks, but they seem to disappear pretty quickly anyway. The recipe below is one which I challenge any picky eaters to turn down. The hidden ingredient is completely undetectable, even by my most suspicious (and squash-hating) child. It's a doozy, and whereas Mac 'n' cheese is usually a wasteland where nutritional value is concerned, this is one you can serve up without feeling that you totally capitulated to the whims of any tiny vegetable-haters. And it also gives you the satisfaction of having pulled the wool over their eyes - victories like that can be hard to come by as a parent, so I take them where I can get them!

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine, but I have tweaked it somewhat - my kids may not turn many veggies down, but they do prefer other types of cheese than in the original.

Mac 'n' Cheese with a secret
Serves 8

3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
1 1/4 cups chicken broth/stock
1 1/2 cups milk (I use semi-skimmed/2%)
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP plain yogurt
1 1/4 cups shredded/grated Monterey jack cheese (or cheddar, or.... you choose)
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1lb uncooked pasta (I use macaroni, but it doesn't really matter!)
oil spray
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley (unless the presence of green stuff will cause a riot)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine squash, broth, milk and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until squash is tender (about 25 minutes). Remove from heat.
3. Place hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper and yoghurt. Remove the center piece of the blender lid so steam can escape and cover loosely with a clean towel. Then blend until smooth.
4. Place blended squash mixture in a large bowl and add Monterey Jack cheese, pecorino and 1/2 cup of parmesan.
5. Cook pasta according to directions (do not overcook, as it will cook a little more in the sauce in the oven). Drain and add to cheese sauce mixture.
6. Spread mixture in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 cup parmesan and bake for 25 minutes until bubbly and golden. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Succeeding with squash

There are moments, when I really do feel like I might be succeeding as a parent. That I might be having a modicum of positive impact on my children's futures, and that they might just turn into responsible, healthy, NICE adults. Not the moments when they are hitting each other over the head with lego guns, or the ones when they are singing along to the latest hit song and inserting the words 'pooh' and 'pee' in random places to their great amusement. No, those moments give me a different feeling entirely. It could be fear.

No, the moments, I'm talking about are those like last night when my daughter entered the house and smelled the contents of the slow cooker, which were bubbling away in the kitchen. "What's for dinner?" she asked, and when met with the reply, "Squash and Black Bean Chili," she broke into a huge grin and cheered "Yay! It's squash season!" Yup. An open expression of enthusiasm for nutritional ingredient from squash family and its place in a healthy, home cooked, vegetarian meal. I believe I will savor that moment for a while... at least until she next slams her door on her brother's finger whilst shouting "Get out of my room!" At least that long. As Lady GaGa would say, I live for the applause, and failing that, I'll settle for full tummies and no complaints.

The chili was indeed pretty good, but I have come to expect nothing less from author Judith Finlayson. I sometimes read her recipes and, looking at the list of ingredients, I'm not convinced, thinking that they sound a bit simple, but I have never been let down when I actually try them out, and this one was no exception. Yes, youngest son studiously (OK, not studiously, let's call it irritably) picked out every hint of squash from his bowl, but the other two lapped it all up, and went back for more.

This particular recipe is from her book The Vegetarian Slow Cooker. The only tweak I made was to leave out one chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, as we wimpy Farrars tend to baulk at the heat they lend to a dish. I served the chili over a bed of rice, with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some sharp cheddar (the latter was a crude, and failed attempt to disguise the squash. Jessica Seinfeld, I am clearly not).

Squash and Black Bean Chili
Serves 6

1 TBSP coconut oil (or canola/sunflower oil, if you can't get this)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick (around 3" long)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups cubed butternut squash
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 4oz can diced mild green chilis (if you can't find this, use one fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped)
finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) to serve

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions until softened. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and cinnamon stick, and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Add beans and squash and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours, until squash is tender.
3. Add bell peppers and chiles and cover and cook for a further 20 minutes on high, until bell pepper is tender.
4. Discard cinnamon stick. Serve on bed of rice sprinkled with cilantro.

"You must remember this..."

If you recognize that quotation, then you will know what region of the world my culinary explorations have taken me to this time. Need more help? How about "Here's looking at you, kid". Yup, Casablanca. Before I get any snide comments, I know this came out in 1942 and I'm not THAT old. I'm guessing my dad made my sit through it in my youth, whilst extoling the virtues of cinema in years gone by. That's what he did with The Big Sleep and 2001: A Space Odyssey. His efforts were not fruitless, but clearly didn't achieve the desired effect, having left me with a deep hatred of both of the latter apparent cinematic masterpieces.

I did travel to Morocco once, on an extremely memorable trip with two friends after we had finished our final exams at university. It was memorable for so many reasons, most of them good, like the amazing peppermint tea, the crazy bazaar shopping and the great food. The occasional bad memories include seeing a sheep ritualistically slaughtered in the street (brought a new literal meaning to 'rivers of blood') and one of the worst cases of sunburn I have ever suffered.

Moroccan food is not something I dabble in often, and no, I don't own one of those weird cooking pot things.

Don't get me wrong, they are gorgeous looking things, but our kitchen is full to capacity, and we might have to build an extension if I can't get my cookware and cookbook addictions under control. I also generally like any kitchen equipment that I invest in to be useable for more than one dish, so I have shown a tiny morsel of will power and stepped away from the tagine. Fortunately, for this recipe, all that was needed was my trusty slow cooker. I believe that the original recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens, but again, I got a little ahead of myself with the scissors and cut off all evidence of its origin.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Pistachio Couscous
Serves 6

2 1/2 lbs of lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup dried apricots, halved
3/4 cup pitted green olives
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBSP AP/plain flour
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups couscous
3/4 cup shelled chopped roasted pistachios
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)
1 lemon cut into 6 wedges.

1. In a slow cooker, mix together lamb, carrots, onions, apricots, olives, garlic, flour, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup of water.
2. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
3. Cook couscous according to directions. Stir in pistachios and most of cilantro.
4. Serve tagine over couscous, sprinkled with additional cilantro and with a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze over the top.

Fall flavors

Fall, autumn, whatever you want to call it, it is upon us. Why it even rained overnight last night, and this is California, so the rest of you must be three feet deep in snow by now. And nothing fits fall like a jacket potato, with a saucy, drippy, flavorful topping seeping into it. Mmmmmm. To accompany our baked potatoes last night, we had an Italian Sausage and White bean Casserole, which did the trick beautifully. Enjoy :-)

Italian Sausage and White Bean Casserole
Serves 6-8

olive oil
2 lbs Italian sausage meat (or sausages with casings removed)
3 leeks, sliced into half moons
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2" pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz can chopped/diced tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce (sold as passata in UK)
2 15oz cans white beans (e.g. cannellini)
1 cup chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190C).
2. Heat some olive oil in a large ovenproof pot over a medium high heat. Add sausagemeat and cook until browned, breaking sausage up as you go. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add a little more oil to the pot if necessary, and add leeks, carrot and garlic. Cook stirring, until starting to soften.
4. Add wine and cook for 1 minute, scraping bottom of pot to release all those lovely caramelized bits. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, and sausage, and bring to a boil.
5. Add beans and parsley, then taste and season as desired with salt and pepper.
6. Combine breadcrumbs with parmesan in a bowl, then sprinkle over the top of the bean and sausage mixture.
7. Put pot into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Have I mentioned how much I love my slow cooker? Now, now, enough of the sarcasm. I know I do tend to wax lyrical (i.e. go on and on) about how awesome this piece of kitchen paraphernalia is, but you have to agree that I have a point. In case any of you have yet to discover the work I've been doing behind the scenes, there is now a recipe index on this site here, which is divided into sections, one of which is dedicated to all the slow cooker recipes I've blogged about thus far (with dates and titles of posts, so that you can find them, once you've finished dribbling).

This week has been somewhat trying in the Farrar house, as I had shoulder surgery last Friday, and have been unable to drive all week, not to mention stiff and sore. Add to this that, apparently, serving as my personal chauffeur, was not one of my husband's burning ambitions, that he didn't want to have to cook, clean and bottlewash as well as hold down the rest of the sizeable metaphorical fort that is life chez Farrar, AND that we stupidly signed our kids up for activities in three different places at the same time, and you can understand that dinner needed to be quick, easy but nonetheless healthy and tasty (sitting on my behind on the sofa all week and a diet of fast food was not a combination I wanted to contemplate). I have some pretty awesome neighbors who treated us to home-cooked deliciousness in honor of my advancing age and physical decrepitude, but the remaining evenings were a perfect opportunity for the slow cooker to shine, and shine it did :-)

The recipe below is a perfect example of why the slow cooker isn't just for winter stews and soups, and comes from Sara Lewis's excellent book Slow Cooker Easy. It is a delicious chicken dish, steeped in lemon over a bed of summery couscous. Add a glass or three of chilled Sauvignon Blanc and you have a dinner that might make you forget your advancing infirmity for an evening at least.

Lemon Chicken
Serves 6

For the chicken:
olive oil
6 skinless chicken breasts (about 2-2 1/2lbs in total)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 TBSP AP/plain flour
900 ml (30 fl oz) chicken stock
2 small lemons, each cut lengthways into 6 wedges
4 baby pak choi, thickly sliced, cores discarded
6 oz sugar snap peas, halved lengthways
1/2 cup crème fraiche
4 TBSP chopped fresh mint and parsley, mixed
salt and pepper

For the couscous:
2 cups wholewheat couscous
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green (spring) onions

1. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and fry the chicken breasts until browned on both sides (they don't need to be cooked through).
2. Remove chicken from the pan and place in the slow cooker pot. Add onions to skillet with more oil if necessary, and fry stirring until lightly browned.
3. Stir in the garlic and the flour and continue to cook for one minute more. Mix in stock and lemon wedges and bring to the boil, stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour lemon sauce over chicken breasts in slow cooker pot and press the chicken below the surface of the liquid. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours.
5. Add pak choi and sugar snap peas to slow cooker and cook on high for 15 minutes more, or until just tender.
6. Meanwhile cook the couscous according to directions. When cooked, stir in remaining ingredients for couscous.
7. Once vegetables in the slow cooker are tender, lift out the chicken and plate on a bed of cous cous. Stir the crème fraiche and herbs into the sauce in the slow cooker and let it heat through for a few minutes, then pour over the chicken on the plates.