My Sunday..in food

A rather lazy Sunday today, chilling in the garden drinking ice cold sparkling elderflower, and eating ice lollies.

Quite fitting, then, to have a lazy "roast" in the evening when it started to cool down. We had Linda McCartney veggie sausages with Miss P's Roasties, vegetables and yorkshire puddings. For dessert we had a really cold strawberry jelly, topped with cream and fresh strawberries.

Not the most gourmet but nice and easy!

Grilled Mackerel with Sticky Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds

Last night we had two whole mackerels, which I marinaded then grilled for 4-5 minutes each side.

I made a sticky asian marinade with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp honey and 2 tsp sesame seeds. I cut 3 slashes in each side of the fish, laid them in the marinade in a shallow bowl and turned to coat. Left in the fridge for 5 minutes while I heated up the grill.
Afer grilling the first side, I turned the fish over, then put a small piece of peeled, sliced ginger into each slash. I poured over any remaining marinade liquid, then I cooked this side. Putting the ginger in at the last minute ensured there was just a subtle ginger flavour and it didnt overpower the dish.

I served it with brown rice and green beans, which I sauteed in sesame oil, chopped garlic and dried chilli flakes for an extra kick.

Chunky Chocolate and Oat Cookies.

Had the girls round today for a spot of baking, tea and gossip. We made these cookies...I'd like to say with Toby's help, but today he wasnt that interested. Alice, Zoe and Skye got a bit excited by it all though! Toby did, of course, enjoy helping us eat them.

We made them as double chocolate using milk and dark, but the original recipe said to use a mix of dark and white, which would also be delicious! I also added some chopped hazelnuts as we had some to use up..

vegetable oil, for greasing

100g white chocolate

100g dark chocolate

125g butter, room temperature

125g light muscovado sugar

1 egg, beaten

125g wholemeal self raising flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

50g porridge oats

1.Set the oven to 180'C/Gas 4.

Brush 2 baking sheets with a little oil.

Put all the chocolate into a plastic bag and bash with a rolling in, until broken into small pieces.

2. Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg, flour, cocoa powder and oats, and mix until smooth. Stir in the chocolate pieces.

4. Scooped heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving a little space between each to allow them to spread during cooking.

5. Bake for 10-13 minutes until lightly browned. Leave to harden for 1-2 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with a cup of tea and good company xx

Steak with Garlic and Mushroom Sauce

Congratulations my clever Tim for (finally) passing your driving test today!! We had a celebration dinner of steak, cooked on a griddle pan with chips and a dressed rocket salad. Any excuse to buy steak!

I made a garlic and mushroom sauce to go with it, by gently frying 6 sliced mushrooms in the pan used to fry the steak (whilst the steaks were keeping warm and resting), and one crushed garlic clove. Then I poured in a small 150ml pot of single cream, added salt and pepper, and increased the heat. I let it bubble for about 2 minutes, until it reduced and thickened.

For dessert, we had vanilla ice cream with homemade dark chocolate sauce (made by melting 1/2 bar of good quality dark chocolate and a splash of milk in a bowl over a pan of simmering water). Topped this with some pre-chopped hazelnuts.

Food really is the best way to celebrate!

Pork meatballs in tomato and red pepper sauce

The recipe for these meatballs came from a cookbook of meals for Toby- they're extra healthy as they contain apple. Then I added some pre-roasted red peppers to my usual tomato sauce to add an extra dimension. Delicious. This served 2 of us four meatballs each, plus 12 mini meatballs for three freezable portions for Toby. Otherwise it would serve 4 adults, making 16 large meatballs in total.

For the meatballs

450g pork mince

1 small apple, peeled and grated

1 garlic clove, crushed

25g fresh white breadcrumbs (whizz 1/2 slice white bread with a hand held blender)

1 tbsp olive oil for frying

250g spaghetti

For the sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

400g can chopped tomatoes

3 roasted red peppers from a jar

1) Put the pork mince in a bowl and mix in the apple, garlic, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper. Shape into meatballs, cover and chill for 10 mins while you make the sauce:

2) Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for 3 mins. Tip in the tomatoes, fill the can halfway up with water and add this, along with the peppers and some seasoning. Cover and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

3)Heat oil in a large frying non-stick frying pan, and fry the meatballs for just over 5 mins, until lighty browned all over. Set aside and keep warm.

4) Cook your spaghetti according to instructions.

5) Whizz the tomato sauce with a hand held blender, until fairly smooth. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5 mins, until cooked through.

6) Drain spaghetti. Drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking. Divide onto plates or bowls.

Top with the meatballs and sauce, and some parmesan, if you like.

If you want to use half this recipe for kids, or just to have between two of you another time, leave to cool completely before freezing in portions.

My kitchen needs these...

These are some of the cookbooks I'm pining after on http://www.amazon.co.uk/. And they've got 50% off. Very tempting indeed, but which ones to choose??

Three courses for special friends..

Sorry I haven't posted yet this week,it's been a pretty hectic one!

We had our friends Dan and Steph round for dinner on Tuesday night, and had a good catch up. We ate bruschetta topped with sundried tomato paste, mozzarella,basil and olive oil to start.

For mains I just roasted a free range chicken with lemon,herbs,chilli and garlic and served with homemade chips and a salad made with asparagus, peas, thinly sliced fennel and salad leaves.

For dessert I made a white chocolate mousse from a Rachel Allen recipe, topped with strawberries, raspberries and pomegranate. Here's the recipe:

100g white chocolate, chopped

150ml double cream

1 gelatine leaf

2 large egg whites

50g caster sugar

1) Melt the chocolate in a bowl of over a pan of simmering water. Set aside, leaving to cool slightly.

2) In a seperate bowl, whip the cream until almost stiff and place in the fridge.

3) Place the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 3-4 mins until softened, then drain the water off and add 4 tbsp boiling water and stir to dissolve the gelatine.

4) Put the egg whites into a medium sized bowl with half the sugar, whisk with an electric whisk until firm. Add the remaining sugar and whisk until the mixture is stiff.

5) Pour the dissolved gelatine into the melted chocolate and stir. Fold in the whisked egg white mixture and, lastly, fold in the cooled whipped cream. Pour into glasses or small bowls, cover and place in the fridge for a few hours until set.

Finish with seasonal berries.