Turkey Chow Mein

Just for 1

Sometimes rather than pleasing other people you just have to please yourself.  I always cook for others and try and make food for other people’s specific preferences.  This evening was different.  it was just me and I felt like a hearty turkey meal with some Asian influence.  I have always been a fan of Chow Mein but not a fan of takeaways.  So with some ideas from a student cookbook I made my own tasty meal.  I had fun picking at it while I was making it too.

This recipe was adapted from  Helen Aitken’s The Really Useful Ultimate Student Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdoch Books, 2008).

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil, 1 onion (chopped), 2 garlic cloves (chopped), 250g thigh turkey mince, 1 small red and green pepper (de seeded and chopped), 6 tbsps dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1 vegetable stock (dissolved in 50 ml hot water), 300g egg noodles, salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic.
3. After 3 minutes add the turkey mince.
4. When the turkey mince has turned opaque add the peppers.
5. After 5 minutes add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and chilli flakes.
6. Mix well then pour in the vegetable stock.
7. Add the noodles.
8. When the turkey mince, noodles and vegetables are cooked through season to taste.

Saffy’s Top TIps:

1. Switch up the vegetables.  Try mushrooms and carrots.
2. To thicken the sauce add 1 1/2 tsps cornflour.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Experimental

The morning I made this smoothie I was in a very experimental mood.  I had no bread for my peanut butter and no cereal for my milk.  I thus decided to put them together and voila! With a few extras my peanut butter smoothie was born.

Ingredients:

100ml skimmed milk, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 tbsp flaxseed, 1/2 tsp lavender honey.

Method:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender.

Perfect for:

1. An Energy Boost.
2. Post Workout Replenishment.
3. Snack before mealtime.
4. Power beverage before meetings.

Mash-Up Trifle

Home Alone

When I am home alone this is my chance to try different food combinations in small quantities, hoping to avoid disasters when cooking for others.  I have never made a trifle before and I always wanted to make one.  Good  Housekeeping had a recipe for a trifle but rather than layering everything I decided to just mash everything together.  This was only because I wanted to taste the different components and check my dessert skills were up to scratch.  Just me, so I could get  away with bad presentation.  Unfortunately I did have to turn it into something more pleasant for others as I am not a big eater.

This recipe was adapted from Good Housekeeping Magazine (June 2012).

Ingredients:

I made my own components but I was mainly trying to see how gluten free custard taste.
Sponge cake, Jam , Raspberries,  Gluten – Free Custard, Double Cream.

Method:

1. If you would like to layer your trifle then you start with the sponge then jam, followed by the raspberries, doused in custard and topped with whipped double cream.

Although I made each component myself (not including the jam and cream) you could easily by everything cheap from the supermarket to decided which products and flavours work best.

Tips on flavours and variations:

1.  I tasted the trifle with a variety of nuts from pistachio to almond.  Nuts are fantastic for texture as I found out quickly that trifles can become quite sloppy from the cream and custard.

2. I also added extra layers to see how easy it could be to separate the different ingredients.  I used jelly which is a classic and also wafer thin sweet biscuits.

3. I love my fruit and I though a mixed berry trifle would taste nice and look rather impressive having different fruit for a new layer.  Blackberries and raspberries are luxurious and would look really dramatic with the other vibrant colours.

4.  Fancy extras are a must for special occasions because trifle could be seen as a boring and effortless dessert.  So I thought about adding truffles and praline.  Even Baileys and crunched up meringue to replace the custard.

 Saffy’s Last Mas-Up Trifle Message:

Just from one idea you can see how a plethora of magical tricks came to mind to make my trifles super fancy.  This was definitely an hour well spent and I am looking forward to making interesting trifles in the future.

Tomato and Goat’s Cheese Tart

Snacking with elegance

When my friends visit they know they are going to get really great food… even when I am a busy bee during the week of our get together.  (This is usually the case!) I had less then an hour to make my girl a sweet and savoury meal.  I did not have to, but I wanted to.  Only the maximum effort for my closest friends on the cheapest budget of course.  Tarts are really easy to make and do not require a great deal of time.  Just a few ingredients gave give your taste buds maximum pleasure.  And also tarts mean less washing up, so you get to spend more time with your friends.

This recipe was adapted from Good Housekeeping Magazine (September 2012).

Ingredients:

200g sheet ready – roll puff pastry, 125g, soft goats cheese, 1 beef tomato (sliced and/or chopped), 1 tsp caster sugar, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil leaves.

Method:

1.  Score (Not cutting all the way through the pastry!) a boarder about an inch into the rectangle.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
3. Arrange the cheese and tomato on the pastry.
4. Sprinkle over the sugar and season.
5. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven the pastry has cooked.
7. Scatter a few washed basil leaves over the top.
8. Drizzle about a tsp of balsamic vinegar over the top.

Banana Tart with Blueberries

Caramelized Banana

I love cooking with bananas!  Frying, baking, mushing! Anything other than eating over ripe bananas raw.  I have never caramelized bananas before and I think it is a great fruit to sugar up, not just apples and pears.  I made a lovely tart for my best friend for a catch up.  I was in an extra sweet mood so added some blueberries to my easy peasy tart.

Ingredients:

100g butter, 175g caster sugar, 2 ripe bananas, 2 chocolate flake bars, puff pastry, blueberries.

Method:

1. Over a medium heat in a small frying pan.
2. Put the sugar and butter in the frying pan.
3. While this is melting chop up the bananas.
4. Mix in the bananas.
5. When the mixture thickens add the chocolate and let it melt.
6. Remove from the heat.
7.  If the pan is not oven proof transfer to an oven proof dish.
8. Cut the pastry to the size of the pan.
9. Place over the bananas and syrup mixture.
10. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
11. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
12.  When the pastry has browned and puffed up.  Leave to cool before 5 minutes before serving.
13. Scatter the blueberries over the top.

Warm Chickpea & Tuna Salad

Healthy Eating

I wanted to eat something very healthy but I was  so not feeling the salad that was in one of my cookbooks.  So I did what any amateur chef  would do and spruced up my food to make a very tasty and filling salad.

This recipe was adapted from 101 Cheap Eats (BBC, 2009).

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 onion (peeled and chopped), 1 garlic clove (peeled and chopped finely), 400g tinned chickpeas (drained), 200g tinned tuna (drained), 1 beef tomato, 3 tbsp mixed herbs, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 large handfuls chopped spinach, salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Heat the oil over a medium heat in a wok.
2. Add the onion and garlic.
3. When softened add the chickpeas and tuna.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients.
5. When the spinach has wilted season to taste.

Serving Tips:

1. Serve with warm pitta bread.
2. Serve with couscous.
3. Parmesan Cheese.

Coconut & Ginger Cake

Just Right

I have met various people who dislike coconut in various sweet snacks such as chocolate, and fried foods.  However, I believed I could convert these people by creating a cake which including coconut and other spices.  A cake which is seductive with hints of interesting flavours rather than an overpowering flavour of ginger or coconut.  The cake was a hit with non coconut eaters.  I really had to stop myself from picking at it.

This was adapted from 101 Cheap Eats (BBC Books, 2003).

Ingredients:

125g butter, 125g caster sugar, 2 medium eggs, 125g self – raising flour, 10ml whole milk, 3 tsps ginger, 30g dessicated coconut, 2 tsps vanilla,1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon.

Method:

1. Beat the butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. When the butter and sugar is creamy beat in the eggs gradually.
3. Fold in the flour and then beat in the milk.
4. Add the spices, essence and coconut.
5. When everything has been mixed well pour into a prepared tin.
6. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C.

Serving Ideas:

1. Cream.
2. Custard.
3. Banana Syrup.
4. Peach Slices.

Chicken & Vegetable Noodles

Scrumptious Noodles

These noodles were super delicious, I made sure to add as much flavour as possible.  My noodles were really a hit with my friends.  They are perfect for a lunch and are fantastic to use up leftover meat and/ or vegetables.   Hopefully I will one day learn how to use chopsticks so I can learn how to eat noodles in style.

This recipe was adapted from 101 Cheap Eats (BBC Books, 2003).

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sunflower oil, broiled chicken pieces, liquid Maggie seasoning, frozen peppers, 250ml vegetable stock, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 250g straight-to- wok noodles, fresh coriander.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok at a medium heat.
2. Fry the chicken pieces in the oil and season with the Maggie seasoning.
3. Add the peppers.
4. Pour over the vegetable stock and soy sauce.
5. Add the noodles and let the food simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Scatter with coriander and then divide into bowls.

Rhubarb Sponge Pudding

Falls in place

This week has been mad! Dancing, networking and baking for a wedding.  Hopefully all of my hard work and love will pay off and so far so good.  I made this pudding because everything was falling into place and the stress was slowly but surely going back to its normal manageable levels.  This pudding is gorgeous.  I adore rhubarb.  Eat this to relax and smile and make sure you have nothing left to do after eating it.

This recipe was taken from Ainsley Harriott’s just five ingredients (BBC Books, 2009).

Ingredients:

500g rhubarb (canned or fresh), 250g golden caster sugar, 175g butter, 3 eggs, 175g self – raising flour.

Method:

1. Drain and prepare the rhubarb and spread at the bottom of an oven proof dish.
2. Beat the caster sugar with the butter until creamy.
3. Beat in the eggs gradually.
4. Fold in the flour.
5. When well mixed pour on top of the rhubarb.
6. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.
7. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until the sponge is well risen, firm to the touch and golden brown.

Saffy’s Serving Tips:

1. With low fat Greek yoghurt and fresh berries.
2. With warm homemade custard.
3. With some summer berry ice- cream.
4. A warm berry compote.

Sausage, Tomato and Butter Bean Stew

Lazy Days

Lately I have been having very lazy mornings but very busy afternoons and evenings.  I therefore felt it necessary to make the most of my mornings and prepare an easy dish for the evening.  This meal is hearty, comforting and great if you have quite a bit of work to do in the evening.

This recipe was adapted from Ainsley Harriott’s just five ingredients (BBC Books, 2009).

Ingredients:

6 pork sausages, 1 large onion (chopped), olive oil, 1 tsp garlic granules, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 200g chopped tomatoes, 200g canned butter beans (drained and rinsed), salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the sausages and cook gently until lightly browned on both sides.
3. Set the sausages aside.
4. Add the onion and fry until soft.
5. Add the garlic and herbs and vegetables.
6. Add the sausages.
7. When everything has been cooked through season to taste.