Roasted Vegetable Couscous:
 roast vegetable couscous Couscous is one of those controversial dishes between the sexes. Women love it, men fear it. But the following recipe is one size fits all. Women adore it and men actually love it, it’s a proper manly grain dish. You can use any of the derivatives including wholegrain, spelt, rice and maize couscous.
What you need:
1 x 500g packet of couscous. Bouillon powder. Boiling water. 1 each x red, green and yellow pepper 2 x large carrots 2 x red onions 1 x courgette olive oil, salt and pepper 1 x head of garlic
What you do:
Cut the veg into bite size chunks, now please show a little finesse here. Not door-stops, slice into appealing shapes. Separate the cloves of garlic, nick the skin and throw into the roasting dish with the veg. Coat the lot in olive oil, don’t be shy as you can use any flavoursome excess for the dressing, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 200 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the edges are browning. Take out the garlic cloves and slip off the skins, a tongs will stop that painful burning feeling you are now experiencing in your fingertips……. Put the resulting garlic paste in your dressing bowl/jam jar. At this point make your couscous. Add 1 x pint/ 600 ml of BOILING water with the appropriate amount of stock powder/cube dissolved in it, OR 1 x pint/ 600 ml of boiling homemade vegetable stock (Hi Martha) to the couscous, stir briefly and cover with a tea towel. Stand for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and then add the roasted veg.
Make your dressing by adding the following to your awaiting garlic paste:
for Asian style:
Chopped fresh coriander 3 tablespoons of soy sauce 5 tablespoons of sunflower oil 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 1 teaspoon of honey Optional extras: roasted cashew nuts or roasted sesame seeds, extra coriander, more dressing
for Mediterranean style:
Chopped fresh basil 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup of olive oil 1/2 teaspoon of sugar or more to taste optional extras: roasted pine nuts, extra basil, extra dressing. Throw into the couscous and mix through. Enjoy.
Thai Curries Made Easy
 Heart warming Thai curry
Thai Curries:
You hear it every week in this country, ‘I make the best thigh curry…..’ First and foremost the word is pronounced ‘Tai’. So for all of you who finally learnt to enunciate your TH’s properly on this word, get with the program. Lose the H and stick with what you do best…… dis, dat, dese and dose and of course Tai. Rant over, moving on.
Thai curry has to be one of the easiest dishes in the world to make as long as you can buy a decent paste. And I highly recommend a brand called Maesri. They do the whole spectrum from Red to Panang. I am going to give you the basic recipe for any one of the types and then refine each one with herbs, vegetables, meat etc. The sugar and fish sauce are the salt and pepper of Thai cooking i.e. your seasoning. Add extra sparingly to bring out the flavour.
What you need:
The base which works for the multitude of curries is as follows: 1 x tin coconut milk 1 x tablespoon of curry paste (red or green or yellow or Panang or Massaman etc) 1 x teaspoon of sugar 1 x tablespoon of fish sauce Serves two. Double, triple, quadruple at will.
What you do:
Whisk the paste into the coconut milk over a medium heat. Add in the sugar and fish sauce and then add the following to the listed curries:
RED: thinly sliced beef (raw), green beans (blanched before so you don’t end up with the squeaky teeth thingy) fresh basil leaves and 2-3 kaffir lime leaves if you have them. Bring back to simmering for 5 minutes.
GREEN: thinly sliced chicken (raw) and carrots sliced into match sticks. Simmer for 5 minutes and add fresh coriander and thinly sliced mange toutes just before serving. An alternative is to omit the chicken and add chunks of firm fish such as cod for the last 2 minutes of simmering time.
MASSAMAN: this is a rich thick gravy-like curry sauce and therefore really benefits from some hearty additions such as potato and squash. These should be added first, simmer for 10-15 minutes or until veg is al dente, then add chicken or beef and simmer for 5 minutes more. Coriander and some green veg is the finishing touch for this one.
PANANG: thinly sliced chicken (raw) My personal favourite. At this point I should add a note on peanut curry. It is truly delicious and can be achieved by adding half a cup of ground peanuts or peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of Namprik Pao (we discussed this before, look back at soup) to the basic recipe. Serve this on a bed of sautéed watercress.
There are a dozen variations on these themes and many more recipes. But that is for another day.
Everyone loves a fruity berry dessert in summer but what do you do when you crave the fabulous berry in winter. I can hear the resounding laughter from the chocoholics……. Easy tiger, this one satisfies even the biggest anti-fruit-dessert monster of them all – me. It’s a simple and delicious version of the sun-filled staple and the beauty is you probably have the ingredients in your freezer, cupboard and bread bin 90% of the time. Read on…..
WARNING>>>>>WARNING>>>>>>WARNING>>>>>> must make at least 24 hours in advance for the best effect, 48 is optimum.
One cheap white sliced pan (stale is a bonus, but please…no mould)
2 lbs. / 900g of frozen mixed berries (for the Martha Stewarts among you that’s the berries you picked in your own garden, laid out singly and froze during the summer, for the rest of us it’s the best value from the frozen section of the supermarket)
1 lb. / 580g castor sugar
24 fl. oz. / 680 ml water
Cut all the crusts off the white bread and line the pudding bowl, bottom, sides and all gaps in between with one layer of bread. Don’t worry if it looks like your first effort to get your Brownie/Girl Guide medical badge, it will all blend later.
Now, dissolve the sugar in the water over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Boil for two minutes and then add in the fruit. Turn up the heat to full. I find that if you add in the red and black currents first and get the mixture boiling again and then add the strawberries blackberries and raspberries, the fruit holds its shape more uniformly. Get it all boiling again (it must be nuclear to soak through the bread properly) but for Pete’s sake don’t turn the whole thing to mush. Pour half into the lined pudding bowl, making sure that the bread stays where it’s supposed to be. Put in a layer of bread and then pour in the rest. Top with another layer of bread and pour some syrup over it. At this point the sides and underneath may be patchy. If you fear that the syrup won’t soak through just slip a butter knife gently down the side and pour a spoon of syrup in the gap. This is where it gets messy. DO NOT try to add all the liquid….. you know you want to, but honestly, it doesn’t fit!! Keep some aside for when you unmould it. I know you finally did get that brownies badge but believe me, there is always a tell-tale white patch that needs covering when you turn it out.
To get the most shapely result put a side plate on top and weigh it down with suitable items. Do not use stones from the garden without rinsing them and putting a layer of cling film between them and the syrup. Yep, that’s what I didn’t do and ended up with unusable puddings at a dinner party due to the syrup being laced with grit….not big or clever. Wrap the whole thing in more cling film, yes the WHOLE thing. For some unknown reason the syrup grows in the fridge. Unlikely I hear you say, but I dare you to leave it uncovered and not on a tray in your pristine fridge. Leave for 24-48 hours. Then unmould into a large flat bowl or plate with a decent lip. Pour some extra syrup over the top and decorate. This is where seasonal ethics apply. You can use some of those imported off-season tasteless berries (guilt overload complete) or you can use cranberries for example. A sprig of holly or some scraggly mint from what’s left in the garden will suffice as a bonus.
Serve with lashings of whipped cream or crème fraiche or even mascarpone.
Cut all the crusts off the white bread and line the pudding bowl, bottom, sides and all gaps in between with one layer of bread. Don’t worry if it looks like your first effort to get your brownie medical badge, it will all blend later.
Now, dissolve the sugar in the water over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Boil for two minutes and then add in the fruit. I find that if you add in the red and black currents first and get the mixture boiling again and then add the strawberries blackberries and raspberries, the fruit holds its shape more uniformly. Get it all boiling again (it must be nuclear to soak through the bread properly) but for Pete’s sake don’t turn the whole thing to mush. Pour half into the lined pudding bowl, making sure that the bread stays where it’s supposed to be. Put in a layer of bread and then pour in the rest. Top with another layer of bread and pour some syrup over it. At this point the sides and underneath may be patchy. If you fear that the syrup won’t soak through just slip a butter knife gently down the side and pour a spoon of syrup in the gap. This is where it gets messy. DO NOT try to add all the liquid….. you know you want to, but honestly, it doesn’t fit!! Keep some aside for when you unmould it. I know you finally did get that brownies badge but believe me, there is always a tell-tale white patch that needs covering when you turn it out.
To get the most shapely result put a side plate on top and weigh it down with suitable items. Do not use stones from the garden without rinsing them and putting a layer of cling film between them and the syrup. Yep, that’s what I didn’t do and ended up with unusable puddings at a dinner party due to the syrup being laced with grit….not big or clever. Wrap the whole thing in more cling film, yes the WHOLE thing. For some unknown reason the syrup grows in the fridge. Unlikely I hear you say, but I dare you to leave it uncovered and not on a tray in your pristine fridge. Leave for 24-48 hours. Then unmould into a large flat bowl or plate with a decent lip. Pour some extra syrup over the top and decorate. This is where seasonal ethics apply. You can use some of those imported off-season tasteless berries (guilt overload complete) or you can use cranberries for example. A sprig of holly or some scraggly mint from what’s left in the garden will suffice as a bonus.
Serve with lashings of whipped cream or crème fraiche or even mascarpone.
 Crunchy Goodness
Crunchy Oat Cookies and Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
As you probably noticed I do a good deal of baking. So my favourite recipes are those which take the least time and the result is delicious. I came across these ones on a sheet from the National Dairy Council many years ago. They of course are promoting butter. So pleeeeease do not attempt this with anything but. I have doctored the ingredients somewhat so now the recipes are mine all mine. The guilt-free refers to the fact that they have oats in them. Come on, any excuse to feel good about gorging on butter and sugar (unrefined brown!) Now, while we are on the subject of chocolate, there is something you should know. Your baking will taste as cheap as the chocolate you use. Therefore I forbid you to use “cooking chocolate”. It is not chocolate. It is oil and flavourings and that’s about it. If nothing else at least use Cadburys or Bourneville. But the best is chocolate with at least 52% cocoa fat. If you really insist on milk chocolate use either the aforementioned Cadburys (hard to melt without clagging) or a milk chocolate with a minimum of 30% cocoa fat. If you are going to indulge you might as well be sure to do it in style. Enjoy……
Crunchy Oat Cookies, what you need:
300g white
spelt flour (you can use plain flour, but remember spelt is an excellent source of protein)
150g of whole oats
150g of unrefined brown sugar
150g sliced almonds
1 x teaspoon baking powder
300g butter
2 tablespoons honey
What you do:
Melt the butter and add the honey. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add in the oats, sugar and almonds. Pour in the melted butter mix and blend. Now take a handful of dough about the size of a golf ball (or bigger if you are like me and require a large sized cookie!!) roll it around in your hands quickly then flatten onto a cookie tray to about a half inch thick. Do the same with the remaining dough and then bake in a 180 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
Chocolate Chip Cookies: What you need:
200g butter (at room temp)
200g brown sugar
2 free range eggs
300g white spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g porridge oats
200g chocolate chips (remember, GOOD stuff)
What you do:
About now you are rummaging around in the fridge because you forgot you needed soft butter. Panic not. You can melt the butter if you need to. Put it in a large bowl and add the sugar. Mix and then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sieve the flour and baking powder in to a bowl. Add the oats and chocolate chips. Then add in the liquid mixture. Blend and roll in to balls as above. It might be an idea to grease the cookie tin as the chocolate is inclined to stick, as I learned to my detriment and ended up with chocolate chip crumble. Bake at 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
 courtesy of kerala.me
Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
If you have decided that you really want to cook Thai food but are a little nervous, here is one of the easiest recipes to master. Yeah, yeah, I hear you complaining already that there are weird ingredients in it and you’ll only use them once, and what a waste and whinge, whine, moan……
Buck up now. All Thai pastes and sauces last a long time in the fridge. And even better, the lime leaves are dry and you can freeze the ginger and the lemon grass. So quit your jibber jabbering….. You will use them over and over again once you get the hang of it. They are all available from any Asian supermarket and some whole-food shops or good delis. The Namprik Pao adds an authentic taste to the soup but if you just can’t get it, use sliced fresh chilies or crushed chili to taste. If you like this one we can get very adventurous and start on the curries and noodles next.
What you need:
400 ml chicken or vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon powder)
1 x 400 ml tin of coconut milk
2 free range chicken breasts sliced very thinly
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of Namprik Pao (Thai chili paste)
(Do not increase this ingredient if you want to make the soup spicier, it’s too sweet. Use sliced fresh chilies or crushed chilies)
3 x 1” slices of galangal (Thai ginger) or regular ginger root, skin left on
3 x 2” pieces of fresh lemon grass (usually beside the ginger root in good supermarkets)
5 x Kaffir lime leaves
1 x tin of straw mushrooms (optional)
Coriander leaves as garnish.
What you do:
Mix the liquids in a pot over a low heat, add in the ginger, lemon grass and lime leaves. Add the chili paste and the sliced chicken. Add in the fish sauce and lime juice. Don’t allow the soup to boil as it can separate. If using put the straw mushrooms in. Adjust seasoning to taste. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes and serve with a garnish of whole coriander leaves. Warn your guests not to eat the roots, stems or leaves!!
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