“The Various Flavours” of Coffee by Anthony Capella
“The Food of Love” by Anthony Capella
“The Last Chinese Chef” by Nicole Mones
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Anne Shafter and Annie Barrows
July 16th, 2011
This is one of our favourite winter warmers and always makes you feel better if you have a cold.
Stock
1 whole chicken
Parsley
Bouquet Garni
1 – 2 garlic cloves, whole
1 Chicken stock cube
Vegetable soup mix (usually consists of celery, parsnip, onion, turnip and potato). Available from most major supermarkets throughout winter.
Method
Place all ingredients into a large stock pot. Cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken, set aside to cool. Discard vegetables. Skim the oil off the top of the stock.
Once chicken has cooled, remove meat from the bone and cut into small pieces. Set aside.
Dumplings
1 egg
Continental flour
(approximately 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon Vegeta or salt
(to taste)
Method
Place egg and vegeta in a small bowl, whisk lightly.
Slowly add flour while stirring, add enough flour to form a firm dough (consistency of soft butter).
Set aside while preparing the soup.
Soup
Chicken pieces (skin and bones removed)
2 carrots, sliced
2 – 3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Bring stock to the boil, then add sliced carrots. Cook carrots for a few minutes before starting to add the dumplings.
Scoop 1/2 teaspoon of dumpling mixture. Dip the teaspoon into the soup, the dumpling should fall off.
Continue with each dumpling until mixture is finished. Cook for about 10 minutes. Check the dumplings are cooked by removing one from the soup and cutting in half to see if cooked through (be careful they will be hot).
Add the chicken pieces for a few minutes to warm and serve.
Posted in Soup, Winter Warmers |
December 6th, 2010
This is a delicious chutney that would go beautifully with a Christmas lunch of ham and turkey, or out of the festive season serve it with a Ploughman’s lunch of cold meats, pickled onions, a wedge of cheddar cheese and fresh bread.
The preparation time to chop the ingredients and sterilise the jars does take some time and the cooking time is pretty long but the chutney is very simple to make and worth the effort.
Ingredients
8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes
2 large or 3 smaller onions, chopped
2 1/2 cups sultanas
1 cup dried apples, chopped
1x 400g tinned tomatoes, crushed
5 fresh ripe tomatoes, skin removed, chopped
8 garlic cloves, crushed
5 cloves
2 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
3 cups rich brown sugar
1 small chilli, chopped finely
Salt and pepper
4 cups malt vinegar
Method
Combine all the ingredients together in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, stir occasionally.
After around 2 hours of cooking, if still very chunky use a potato masher to break them down. Do not mash till smooth, I just find mashing it a small amount encourages it to break down faster. Cook for a total of around 3 hours.
Bottle immediately and seal the jars while still hot. When you hear the lid pop you will know it is sealed. Store in a cool dry place for about a month for it to develop the flavours. Enjoy!
April 13th, 2010
This year we have had a huge crop of Basil, even after bringing loads to work there is still so much to use. We were pretty sure Stephanie Alexander’s ‘Kitchen Garden Companion’ would have various ways of preserving basil…and it did. The one we chose was a variation of pesto, which can be used where ever you would add basil.
We removed the leaves from the stalks and ended up with about 10 cups of basil. Put the basil, 5 peeled garlic cloves, a little salt and enough olive oil to loosen the basil, into the food processor. Blend until finely chopped, transfer across to a clean screw top jar and cover the top with olive oil. The oil layer will help it keep longer, each time you use it make sure an oil layer remains (the top layer of the basil will brown but this is easily removed before using). Secure the lid and store in the fridge, this should keep for a few months.
We have cooked with it a few times now and each time it has been delicious. Last week we made a pizza with ham, lots of mushrooms, fetta, olives and a few dollops of the basil. And have also had a lovely weekend lunch of freshly made sourdough, spread with the basil (I like it quite thick), a few slices of fetta cheese and topped with slices of tomato and a little freshly ground pepper to finish it off….mmmm
Posted in Preserves, Vegetables |
January 12th, 2010
Andrea and I had a great time last year decorating these cupcakes for mum’s birthday. They were vanilla cupcakes decorated with coloured butter icing. We originally wanted the colours to be bolder but in the end were really happy with the peach and Tiffany blue.
Posted in Cakes |