'Cherry Tomato Sauce with Cheat's Fresh Pasta'

Hello! This was a really delicious dish and it was really quick and easy to make. This would be perfect for a quick family meal! It serves 6 with quite a bit left over. 

~Ingredients: 1 and a 1/2 pints of ripe cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, a small bunch of fresh basil, 1 pound of fresh lasagne, salt and pepper, olive oil, 2 pats of butter, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, 4 ounces of parmesan cheese.

(I didn't have fresh pasta so I just used regular penne pasta and it still turned out really well).

So 1st I chopped all of the tomatoes in a half and measured out the 1 and a 1/2 pints of them. I just left them in a bowl until I was ready to use them later. Then I put the pasta on the stove, there is so much of it so waiting for the pasta to boil will take some time, so I used this time to chop everything else. I chopped the garlic, and then I grabbed a bunch of basil, took off all of the leaves (I put them aside for later) and chopped all of the basil stalks. When the pasta was actually cooking, I started to cook the sauce. In a large frying pan on a medium heat, I added a couple of lugs of olive oil and the garlic. When the garlic was brown, I added the butter and waited for it to melt. When the butter was fully melted, I added the tomatoes. After stirring it, I added the basil stalks and half of the basil leaves. After stirring, I added the balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. I left this to cook, turning it to a low heat for the last few minutes while the pasta was still cooking. While it was still cooking I grated all of the parmesan. When the pasta was finished I drained it and added it to the saucepan. I gave it a good stir and added half of the parmesan. I stirred it and added the rest of the basil leaves and some salt and pepper. Then it was ready to serve :). It was so simple to make but lovely to eat! I just served it with a plain side salad. 

'Meatballs and Pasta'

Hello all! I am so sorry I haven't blogged in so long, I have been extremely busy. I cooked this meal last Friday and I think it turned out really well. I cooked it for my parents and 2 friends, I'll definitely be using this recipe again!

~Ingredients: 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 14 cream or plain crackers, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 large egg, salt and pepper, olive oil, a small bunch of fresh basil, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 of fresh red chile, 2 x 14oz cans of diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, spaghetti, and parmesan for grating

I started by preparing the meatballs, I did this in the morning and then left them in the fridge until they were ready to cook. I picked the rosemary leaves off of the stalks and finely chopped them and put them in a large bowl. I then wrapped the crackers in a tea towel and crushed them until most of them were crushed. I then added them into the bowl and continued to crush them with the back of a wooden spoon. I then added the mustard, oregano, and ground meat. I then cracked the egg into bowl and added some salt and pepper. Now comes the gross part, you have to mash it together with your hands. For this I put on some rubber gloves, it was freezing because the beef had just come out of the fridge. Then when it is in a large ball, cut it into 4 even parts, and roll each part into another ball. Then divide each ball again into 6 smaller parts, and roll into balls again. Then put them on a plate, drizzle them with olive oil, jiggle them around a bit so they are well covered, cover them, and then place them in the fridge until they are needed.

Now, when you are ready it is time to chop all the vegetables and cook the meatballs. First, put the kettle on to boil (for the pasta). First, put the largest frying pan you have onto a medium heat and add a large lug of olive oil. Squeeze all the meatballs into the frying pan and cook for 8 minutes, or until cooked, constantly turning the meatballs until all the sides are cooked. Afterwards, take the meatballs out of the frying pan and place onto an enamel plate. Then peel and finely slice the onion. Now you should put the same large frying pan onto a medium heat and add 2 gollups of olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, throw in the onion and cook and stir around for 7 minutes or until they are golden. You do not want undercooked, and crunchy onions in your sauce. Now chop the red chile and the garlic, and pick off some large basil leaves. When the onions are cooked, add these 3 ingredients into the frying pan. Then also add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Then when you have seasoned the sauce add the meatballs into the sauce, and leave to cook on a low heat until your pasta is ready,

Serve the meatballs on top of some spaghetti on a large plate. I also served some garlic bread with mine. I think this meal turned out really well!

 

'Salmon Fish Cakes'

Hello! Okay so this was one of my favorite dishes so far but definitely was one of the trickiest. But it was very tasty and enjoyable to make! And shout out to Morgan for helping me prepare it ;)

~Ingredients: (makes 8 fish cakes)
salt and pepper, 1 and 1/4 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound of salmon fillets (scaled and bones removed), olive oil, a small bunch of fresh Italian parsley, 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and more for dusting, 1 large egg, 2 lemons, and you may want 4 tomatoes for grilling as a side, and peas

So I had to prepare it in the early afternoon and cook it in the evening due to my working schedule. First, I put the kettle on to boil. Then, I peeled the potatoes and cut them into even sized chunks. I just cut each potato into 4 quarters. Afterwards I cut the salmon into four equal pieces. I then rubbed each piece of the salmon with olive oil and sprinkled some salt and pepper over all of them. Afterwards, you wrap each individual piece in aluminum foil. Then you put the boiled water in the bottom pan of the steamer and place the potatoes in the water, and then in a pan above the bottom one you place the salmon wrapped in foil. Cook the potatoes and the salmon like this for 12 minutes, or until they are both cooked. This is where I stopped for now. I put the salmon in the fridge after picking out all of the bones and removing the skin, and then just drained the potatoes and left them in the saucepan.

After I came back from work, I mashed the potatoes in a glass bowl. Then I cut the parsley leaves into small pieces, removing the stalks, and placing the leaves in with the potatoes. Then I added the fish and a tablespoon of flour. I mixed all of this just with a normal metal spoon. Then I added the egg and a bit of salt and pepper. The salmon cake mixture is now ready. To make the cakes I smoothed out the mixture in the bowl, and then cut it into 8 equal sections (like slicing a pie). I then had a large board and put ALOT of flour over it. I then rolled a section into a ball and then squished it down until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. I then made sure it was fully coated in flour and then placed it on a plate until I was ready to cook them. I did this for each individual cake.

I then put some peas in a glass bowl with a bit of water and salt and cooked them in the microwave for five minutes with cling film on top with a few holes punched into it. I then also cut tomatoes horizontally in half and placed four halves on one enamel plate, and four on another. I then sprinkled some salt and pepper on each half and a dollop of butter on each. I then placed them in the oven (on the top shelf) and had the oven set to broil.

Now, I cooked the fishcakes. I put the olive oil in the largest frying pan I had. When the oil was extremely hot I placed the cakes in the pan. I cooked 2 at first and then 6 the second time. You place them in the saucepan and cook them for 3 minutes on each side. Have the gas set to a medium heat otherwise the cakes will burn. When they were ready I served them with peas, the grilled tomatoes, and slices of lemon. I highly suggest squeezing some lemon on the cakes, it really adds a nice flavor to it. And also add some more salt and pepper. They are very, very delicious.

'My Sweet & Sour Pork'

Hey everybody! I am so sorry for not posting in so long, I have been so busy, but here is another one of my meals :) Tonight I cooked the sweet and sour pork, which turned out really well and was one of my favorite dinners so far to both cook and eat. It says it serves 2, but I think it is definitely enough to serve 3 people!
~Ingredients: salt and ground pepper, 1 cup of basmati rice (I actually used half a cup and it was plenty), 1/2 pound of pork tenderloin, 1 small red onion, 1 red or yellow pepper (I used a red one), a thumb-sized piece of root ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 or 1 fresh red chile (I used a whole one), a small bunch of fresh cilantro, vegetable oil, 1 heaped teaspoon of five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 x 8oz can of pineapple chunks, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1 small heart of romaine, 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

Okay, so 1st I had to make the five-spice powder because they do not sell it here in America. So I found a recipe on the internet of how to make my own. So I mixed one teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground star anise, 1 & 1/4 teaspoons of ground fennel seeds, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper. I just mixed all of the spices into a ramekin and it was ready to be used!

Then I chopped the pork, I bought a pound of pork, so I cut in half and used one half and froze the rest. I chopped the pork into 3/4 inch cubes and put in a bowl to use later. I didn't cook it until I had all of the vegetables chopped. I chopped the red onion, red pepper, cilantro stalks (save the leaves for later), garlic, and the root ginger and saved it in a bowl for later. Then I put the wok on the stove and put it on a high heat until it looked hot. (When I put the wok on I also put the rice on). Then I put in a good lug of vegetable oil. Afterwards I put in the pork and the five-spice powder and gave it a good stir. When the pork looks brown, use a slotted spoon to remove the pork and put it in a bowl. Then add another lug of oil, and throw the vegetables in the wok. You should cook all of this for at least 2 minutes, or until you think it looks ready and give it a good stir. After two minutes throw the pork back in, the cornstarch, and the soy sauce. Then after another minute add the pineapple chunks and the balsamic vinegar. Leave it cooking for quite a while, when you think it is tasting right and you have added some salt and pepper it is ready to eat. If the rice hasn't finished yet, you can have the pork cooking on a low heat. But when the rice is done, feel free to eat the pork :). It tasted really tasty and it was truly one of my favorites to cook! I served it with lettuce and the cilantro, and you can also put some sesame seeds on top of it as well.

'Chicken Tikka Masala'

Hello! Okay so I had originally planned to cook both the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Vegetable Bhajis, but things did not go to plan, but I will explain that later. However, I did end up making a really tasty Chicken Tikka Masala!

Chicken Tikka Masala: (serves 6)
~Ingredients: 4 skinless chicken breasts, 2 medium onions, 1 red chile, a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, a small bunch of fresh cilantro, vegetable oil, a pat of butter, 1/2 cup of tikka masala or mild curry paste, salt and pepper, 1 x 14oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 x 14oz can of coconut milk

Okay, so I started off with the chicken. I chopped off all the 'white bits' off of the chicken and then continued to cut them into slices, preferably 3/4 inch thick strips. I then left the chicken to the side on a plate, the chicken cutting took a bit of time, and it stinks! I then proceeded with the cutting of the vegetables. I peel and halved the onions, and then finely sliced the onions. I then threw the onions into a large saucepan (but didn't cook them yet). I then cut the chile in half, took out the seeds, and then finely sliced the chile. I then peeled the ginger, and finely sliced it. I threw the chile and ginger into the saucepan with the onion (still not cooking). I then picked the cilantro leaves and put them in a bowl to the side, but cut up the stalks and put them in the saucepan. Now you start cooking the vegetables. You add two big lugs of oil and some butter, and then leave it cook on a medium to high heat for ten minutes with the lid on, or until the onions are nice and brown. Then you stir and season, and add the tomatoes and coconut milk. (Be careful the coconut milk splashes literally everywhere). After giving it a stir add the curry paste and the chickens. Now, Jamie says to add a can of water, but I would suggest not to. I added the water, and my sauce was very liquidy. I would have preferred it to be thicker, and I think not adding the water would have made that happen. After it is boiling, bring the heat down a bit and let it simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Start cooking the rice, and soon the curry will be good to go. you can then serve the curry with some cilantro leaves on top, and maybe with some natural yogurt and some sliced almonds, or even a pinch of lemon. I just served mine with white rice and some cilantro leaves.

Now, I will explain what happened with the vegetable bhajis. So, you need a deep fat fryer (which I realized just before I did not have) or you need a quart of vegetable oil to cook them in a large saucepan (and I realized I did not have a quart of vegetable oil either). So I had made the mixture and wasn't able to cook it. The curry was also ready to eat, so it was to late to drive down to Safeway to grab some more oil. So it was disappointing, but I will still tell you how to make them!

~Ingredients: 2 large carrots, a 4-inch piece of fresh root ginger, 2 medium red onions, 2-3 red chiles (based on how spicy you want it), a large bunch of fresh cilantro, 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 cup of self-rising flour, 1 quart vegetable oil, a piece of potato
So to start, you just cut all the vegetables and put them in a large bowl. So I grated the carrots, sliced them into tiny pieces and put them in the bowl. And then I did the same for the ginger and the red onions. This was a very long and tedious process. Then you cut the chiles into halves, remove the seeds, and then finely slice them and put them in the bowl as well. You then chop the cilantro leaves AND the stalks and put them in the bowl. Now add the mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin seeds, and salt. Then add the flour and 1/2 cup of cold water and start scrunching the mixture together until it is nice and thick. In your hands it should feel somewhat like thick cake batter. Now is the time to cook them, which I didn't get to do :(. You can cook them in a deep fat fryer (very simple) or cook them in a large pan on medium to high heat. So to do the latter process, add the quart of oil into the large saucepan. Now drop in a piece of potato, and when it floats to the surface and begins to sizzle, that is the perfect temperature to cook the bhajis. Remove the potato using a slotted spoon. Pick up a tablespoon of bhaji mixture and place it into the oil gently, you can have several cooking at the same time. After 5 minutes, or until it is golden and crispy you can remove it and put it on a paper towel to drain. You can now eat them straight away by serving it with a bit of salt and lemon. You can just keep cooking the bhajis until you have used all your mixture!
I will show you some photos of the mixture itself.

'A Cracking Burger' and the 'Evolution Tomato Salad'

Hello everyone! Today I made burgers with a tomato salad and fries to accompany it. It showed me how homemade burgers are so delicious and simple to make!

A Cracking Burger: (serves six)
~Ingredients: 12 plain crackers, 8 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 large egg, salt and pepper, olive oil, 1 romaine lettuce, 3 tomatoes, 1 red onion, 3 or 4 pickles, 6 burger buns, 6 slices of cheddar
So to started off I wrapped the crackers in a tea towel and started to grind them until they were all tiny crumbs. I just bought the Safeway brand crackers, and since they are smaller than crackers in England, I used 14 instead of 12. I ground them and then threw them into a large bowl. In the large bowl I crushed them again until they were fully in crumb mode. Then I chopped the parsley up with a pair of scissors (scissors used for food) and mixed it in with the crumbs by stirring with a wooden spoon. After that I added the mustard and ground beef and then mixed it altogether with my hands. Continue to mush together until all the ingredients are one, and make sure to add some salt and pepper and to crack the egg into it. I then divided the burgers into six equal sections and made them flat. I then put them on a plate, drizzled some oil over them and then put them into the fridge until they were needed :) When we were ready to eat, I cooked them on the barbecue, 4 minutes on each side (8 minutes total).

Evolution Tomato Salad:
Okay, for this salad I switched it up a lot from the recipe. I just made a simple salad by chopping up tomatoes into wedges, and mixing it with mozzarella pieces, cherry tomatoes, and basil (left over from when I made the pasta). I then just sprinkled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top of it, and it turned out really well. Jamie Oliver suggests maybe serving it with olives and tuna included, but I wanted to keep it simple.

I also had in mind to serve the burgers with some frozen fries that I bought, but I forgot about them, so we ended up having the fries as our dessert. And with the burgers I gave the option of having slices of tomato, slices of lettuce, slices of pickle, relish, ketchup and mustard as toppers. Overall, it was one of my favorite meals so far! I cooked them for 3 of my friends, and my parents.