Harmony was a Hairspray

I was a mod once. It lasted about 6 weeks. I had the jacket, the make-up, the glaiket expression.  I listened to The Jam, The Who and early reggae. I wore badges with Quadraphenia and bullseyes, curled my lip and looked downwards at all times.   I cut my hair to resemble a chipmunk.   Smiling was out, sulking was in.   My twin sister decided, at the same time, to become punk-like.  She cut of her hair except for the huge spike that fell over her eyeballs, vision being secondary to fashion and trend.   Who knows what she listened to, I sure wasn't interested.   She donned a deliberately dumb stare and I a glazed one. 

We shared a room.  

Harmony was a hairspray; it only existed as a fine mist, making tangled angles out of hair teased to stick straight out or flattened to your skull, the cloud of residue leaving you with a persistent cough and damage to the ozone layer.  

 Channelling my inner mod.....maybe a little young still.

We ate stovies with corned beef, mince and tatties, beanfeast.   My mum was progressive; she liked to experiment.   The main success was mince curry, using leftover mince, spices and rice.   We felt sophisticated, eating noodles or pasta before every household had them as staples.   I tried to experiment and would spend hours in the kitchen, determined to make a nice meal for everyone and coming up with a bowlful of mush, not fit for the poor, poor cat.   I was a terrible cook.

Back then, I thought the more ingredients you put into a dish, the better.   It never really worked out that well.   To this day, I see a recipe with three ingredients and my first thought is "how could that taste as delicious as they say?".   Luckily, experience is a wonderful thing.   I realise that simplicity, in all it's form, is usually the most effective way of getting a wonderful plate of something scrumptious.   And it's cheap too.   What more could a tight, Scottish, thrifty shopper ask for?   Free food?  Free booze  World peace?  

So, in honour of that, here are a few recipes I made last week that are limited in ingredients, time and cost but bursting with taste.   Or so I / we think anyway.

Pasta Fromage with écrimage croustillant....aye, hen, we know it's mac n' cheese!

 

 Macaroni Cheese

Ingredients for 6:

Approx.  50g of pasta per person or more if you prefer

A large knob of butter

Tablespoon of plain flour

Milk

Grated cheddar cheese, four big handfuls

Actual measurements really don't matter in this recipe, don't be alarmed!   

Boil a large pan of boiling, salted water and thrown in your macaroni or pasta of choice.   The only pasta that doesn't go with this, in my opinion, is spaghetti or strand type pastas.   Leave to boil for the recommended time, usually around 10 minutes.   The sauce will take no more than this to make.

Place the butter into a pan and melt over a medium heat.   Once completely melted and starting to froth, add the tablespoon of flour and start to stir.   It will froth and change colour.   Keep stirring for a minute then, with your free hand, add a splash of milk.   Don't stop with the wooden spoon though.   If you have to use your free hand to hold the handle of the pot, don't worry.   Stop stirring, add the milk and then start stirring again.   The roux (lumpy mixture) will feel thicker as it all comes together in a lumpy paste.   This is fine.   Add another wee drop of milk and stir vigorously.  It will stay lumpy until about the fourth or fifth drop of milk and start to resemble a sauce.   Just keep stirring, stirring, stirring......   

Keep adding milk until you have a white sauce of a fairly thick, creamy consistency, like double cream.   It shouldn't be too much though as the simmering will thicken it up as will the cheese.   Once you are happy with your consistency, turn the heat down and let it simmer very gently  for a minute.   Then add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until it has melted into the sauce.   You can turn the heat up a bit if it is taking too long.   Once all the cheese has been incorporated, simmer gently for another minute and that is your basic cheese sauce.

Below are the optional ingredients including seasoning:

Freshly grated nutmeg

White ground pepper

Pinch of salt

1-2 slices of bread blended with a handful of cheddar cheese to make breadcrumbs

Tablespoon Parmesan grated (optional)

A sprig of thyme (optional)

 

I always add a good grating of nutmeg and a few shakes of the white pepper to my sauce.   Taste it first before adding salt as different cheeses have different salt levels.   I always use unsalted butter so tend to need a pinch.   Drain pasta and pour into cheese sauce, not the other way around.   If your cheese sauce pot is too small then add some of the pasta to the cheese sauce then pour that back into the rest of the pasta and mix well.

If making a crusty topping, I blend bread slices with a handful of cheddar.   I mix in a few leaves from a sprig of thyme which is probably entirely unnecessary but I love the taste nonetheless and sprinkle it on top of the mac and cheese which has been placed into an ovenproof dish.   I sometimes add a tablespoon of Parmesan but since I'm advocating less is more, forget about it!   Bake in a medium to hot oven until top is golden brown.   Watch happy faces devour the entire tray.

 

Use the sauce to cover cauliflower, potatoes...great if thinly sliced, covered in the cheese sauce and topped with the crust and baked in a hot oven....nachos, bread or dough balls.

Chicken Cous Cous

Ingredients for 6:

Cooked chicken, leftover or breast/thigh etc.  Approx. 1oz per person.

Cous Cous

Chicken stock

Spring Onion x 2

Cucumber

Cook the cous cous as per requirement on packet: I place a knob of butter into a pan, add 5oz cous cous, stir and cook over a gentle heat for a minute and then add 5oz chicken stock, stir and take off heat.   Leave it for five minutes to soak up the stock and then place back on heat, stirring for a minute or two.   Take back off the heat.   I like to add a squeeze of lemon and a little freshly ground black pepper.

Chop the chicken, season and add to the cous cous.   Chop the spring onions finely and dice the cucumber, adding both to the cous cous.   You could add a few, thin slices of red chilli if you like it with a bit of heat; I like to add this to the chicken stock to infuse and soften.

Serve up hot or cold.

 

Spaghetti with smoked salmon

Creamy Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients for 2 or one greedy person like me:

Spaghetti

Small onion, finely chopped

Olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely sliced (optional)

Handful chopped smoked salmon

Tablespoon cream

Boil spaghetti as per normal.   Cook onion in olive oil; do not brown, stir gently from time to time, adding a tiny drop of water if the onions are cooking too fast.   Add garlic when onions are almost soft.   Cook for a further minute over a low heat and add the tablespoon of cream and smoked salmon.   immediately take of the heat.   Add cooked and drained spaghetti to sauce pan and if you happen to have a handy lemon quarter, squeeze it all over and then mix/toss well.   If you prefer it a bit richer, add a few cubes of cold, unsalted butter and leave to melt.   Grind a lot of black pepper over dish.   Place in bowl and, safe in the knowledge that no-one will want any because they don't like smoked salmon, eat in front of the tv until gone.

Helen's Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Today's lunch:

Lahmacun bread brushed with a mix of butter and olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and topped with ingredients of choice:

• cherry tomatoes, fresh thyme, a sprinkling of Parmesan once out of oven
  
• roasted garlic, thyme and Parmesan
• goats cheese and thyme
• goats cheese, rosemary, cherry tomatoes and chutney
• salami and chorizo
• grated cheese
• roasted garlic and extra sea salt
  

Add any ingredients that take your fancy, making sure they can take 10 minutes in reasonably hot oven. These are also delicious for breakfast; you can add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter or not and/or topped with (after baking the buttered bread on it's own):

• Nutella and banana
• jam
• fruit coulis
• brown sugar mixed with cinnamon (bake this one in the oven)
• cream cheese and smoked salmon

The goats cheese and chutney was amazing!

Last night, we had chicken stew with dumplings, the quickest, easiest dinner which looks like you've been slaving over a hot stove for hours. We were so happy at dinner last night, sat round the table chatting away, eating up every last bit, pressing the baby potatoes and dumplings into the last of the gravy, finished off with steaming mugs of tea. After the Scotch broth for lunch, the comfort food had certainly done it's job.

Helen's Quick and Easy Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Place into a pan the following:
A half bag of baby potatoes (around 3-5 per person)
One onion, chopped large
A few shallots, whole or halved
A carrot, chopped large
2 garlic cloves
Some sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
Half a tin plum tomatoes or a few fresh tomatoes
Any other root veg you have in the house, chopped large

Add to this a pint or enough to cover of light chicken gravy, home made or granules mixed with chicken stock. If using fresh tomatoes, add a good squeeze of tomato puree to the gravy. Add a little dash of white wine if you happen to have some open. The teabag-looking item was a bouquet garni packet I had left so I popped it in for that little bit of extra aromatic flavouring.

Bring to the boil and drop in chunks of chicken breast or thigh meat; chicken breasts into four, thighs into two. Stir, put on the lid, boil once more and then simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Prepare dumplings by placing into a bowl the following:
100g/4oz self raising flour
2oz mature cheddar cheese
1oz Parmesan (if you don't want to use this, add another ounce of cheddar instead).
Quarter teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp mustard powder
Handful of either thyme or chopped parsley
Sprinkle salt and pepper

Mix and add a beaten egg and enough water to make a sticky dough. Don't mix too much, you want it lumpy. Form into little dumplings and pour over a little oil, rubbing gently to coat each ball. Place in fridge until five minutes before needed.

Put oven on to 200 degrees Celsius/gas mark 5.

Pour stew into an oven proof dish and top with dumplings. Bake in hot oven for around 15 minutes or until dumplings golden brown or a little darker on top, depending on taste.

The dumplings will expand and stick together which is just perfect; half are soaking up the gravy, the half sticking above the top are golden and crispy. Apply three greedy, hungry wee weans, one hungry big man and try to get to the table before they polish it off, leaving you a loan potato and a carrot.
____________________________
I've had several phone calls, emails and texts asking me how I am; it's lovely that my friends take the time to do that but I find myself saying "I'm fine" even though I still feel poorly. Is it a mum thing, a Scottish thing or a woman thing that after 7 days of illness, I feel frustrated with my inability to get better quickly and I feel like such a fraud. Come on, flu, go already!

I want to walk up a hill, go shopping and take the kids swimming desperately. It's their holiday week; not that they've complained, I don't think they can quite believe their luck what with the jammies on for as long as they want, mum on tap, vid games, computer and dvds galore. It's been a nice week, considering.

Tomorrow, we plan to hit the cinema to see 'Up'; I'm hoping my coughing has subsided by then as I really want to see it and can't if all I'll end up doing is disturbing everyone around me. Tomorrow is another day, I could leap out of bed, restored and well! Karmic thoughts, people, karmic thoughts.

Buns, pasta and randomness

The kids are sharing a room at the moment because of the painting and decorating. They are driving me round the bend. I've considered all manner of things to make them still but for the love of all that is holy, they just keep at it! They just can't stop chattering like monkeys, even with a two day ban on all electronic equipment. I've even gotten a bit of cheek; not usual in this house, I can tell ya! "I can't turn on the light for you mummy, it's electric!" with a smug grin.

I've had no choice but to pour a large glass of wine tonight what with the abuse and my sore bones....that was the yoga...my legs have seized into a permanent lotus position....I've had to crawl round the house on my ar$£, pulling myself from place to place with my upper limbs...just as well my arms are like tree trunks, what with all the vinyasas.....

I know it's a pretty crappy picture but I stole it, edited it and all in two minutes....I have wine waiting after all.

I made Nutella buns last night; they sure don't look pretty but they tasted divine. The kids bounded down the stairs, two at a time, the smell tantalising their taste buds. When I told them it was Nutella Buns, they practically fainted with happiness. I allowed them a scant half a bun each for supper but that there would be plenty, ready and waiting for breakfast. Probably the sugar rush to the head which made them so wired last night....oh dear, they had cheese and pickles tonight. It's going to be nightmares, isn't it? Sigh.

I used the schneken pastry recipe but instead of slathering over egg and milk mix with the cinnamon filling, I layered on a great big dod of Nutella instead and rolled the dough, swiss roll like and cut into slices. I let it rest for another 15-12 minutes then baked at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. The smell alone is worth it. If you are selling your home, make these. You'd sell your home three times over and for twice the cost.

I made macaroni cheese for the kids and the spinach, feta, spicy tomato pasta for us. I've adapted this from a ricotta cheese recipe and the spinach didn't exactly enthrall me....it's the smell but this is a really tasty little number. Like the Nutella buns, it doesn't look like much but totally tastes better than it looks.

Spinach & Feta Pasta

1 garlic clove, finely chopped
A pinch of dried chillies
A tablespoon of olive oil
1 tin (400g approx.) of plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
A good handful of fresh spinach leaves
Approx. 200g feta, cubed
A handful of pine nuts, dry toasted
Linguine

Fry the garlic and chili over a medium heat in the olive oil until soft. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to brown as it will go bitter. Add the tin of tomatoes. Do not stir yet. Leave the sauce to thicken and bubble then gently mash the tomatoes with a fork. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper and set aside.

Cook the linguine as per instructions. Steam the spinach for a few minutes above the pasta water. Drain the linguine and add to the tomato sauce, add the spinach and feta and mix. Place into serving bowl and sprinkle over pine nuts. Eat heartily.

And now for some randomness: Lucy wandered round taking odd photographs tonight so I thought I'd share them with you.

A photograph in a silver frame of my first graduation, in my early 20s.


A partial shot of my party invite, still to be distributed.


We were watching Friends.


Lucy's eyeball.

Guest Blogging and Sunshine

I slept like the proverbial baby last night couldn't have been MY babies they were talking about and woke up to the sun shining from the sky. Hurrah! It's still minus 20 but the young lassies will be out in flip flops, shorts and fake tan, ignoring the goosebumps, the blue toes and tsk, tsk tsking from the grannies passing by.

Lucy and Fraser woke me up with a cup of tea and a plate of ginger nuts...can you believe that. I was so amazed at having slept, so chuffed with my kind children that my head started to get around the fact that today, today I could merrily skip to the shops, stop off for coffee and possibly even go up a hill. I even rode the banister down the stairs with a merry 'weeeeeeeeeeeee' to find a forlorn looking lass pouting up at me, clutching her tummy.

Crash and burn, thoughts, crash and burn. So Kelly stayed at home. I questioned her for a moment but Kelly always goes to school, hating to miss anything and once we'd established that nothing was wrong at school, I looked at her pale face and tucked her into a blanket, resigning myself to the house.

It gave me a chance to package up these lovely little gifts from Snapdragon's Garden for my bloggy peeps; the last batch of Scottish lovelies went missing in transit, apparently some little bint somewhere is rubbing my tartan all over her house and 2 months later, I received my double surance: insurance and an assurance from the mailing company that the next batch would be safe. Nuh uh. These little beauties are being posted by my very own hands. Keep your eyes peeled.

I was asked to guest host a blog today by the lovely Charlotte at noteasilyoffendedmoms. As you can guess by the title, it isn't a blog for the faint hearted but definitely worth a look if you can stand the pace. She gave me three subjects to consider: sex, religion and/or politics. Hmmmm. Subjects that normally leave me in palpitations. Of course, having the opportunity to spew my diatribe all over someone elses page with permission didn't leave me thinking for too long. But I warn you now.

I plan to make some pakora and paratha bread for Lyn as she is having a weekend curry feast. I'll also be making some Parmesan crusted mini quiche tonight and will let you know how it turns out. Amazing what you can do with cheese, eggs and flour. Illness always spawns requests for chicken noodle soup and macaroni cheese so that is what is on the menu for the children; if they like the quiche, then supper is sorted.

Back to normal soon as Brian returns tomorrow night from his wanderings and I finally have Time returned to me.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head.

It's a rainy day in Scotland; the natural state of things. I cooked most of the day and looked up various hotels and venues for my trip to Canada in a few weeks...I'm really excited at meeting up with my old friends in Toronto, visiting Montreal and walking the Bruce trail, possibly staying at Niagara on the Lake and visiting some wineries. Can you hear that high pitched noise? That's me, screaming in a pitch reserved for cats and dogs, so the kids can't hear how excited I am.

I made Carrot, Honey and Ginger soup for lunch today, alongside pan toasted ciabatta with cheese and chorizo, cheese and ham and just plain ole cheese. I stuck to the soup only, letting the rest of them wire in to the bread, having lost another 2 pounds this week and not wanting to put it back on in one sitting!

Carrot, Honey & Ginger Soup
5oz/150g onion, thinly sliced
3/4 oz/20g root ginger, thinly sliced
3oz/75g unsalted butter (I used much less than this-around 1oz/25g)
1oz/25g honey
21oz/600g carrots, sliced
1.5 pints/1 litre water (I used a mild chicken stock)
One third oz / 8g salt (just added it to taste!)
Fifth oz/5g white pepper (just added it to taste!)
Squeeze lemon juice

Sweat onions and ginger in butter over gentle heat for ten minutes...do not brown so keep and eye on them. Add a droplet or two of water if required.
Stir in the honey and let it melt.
Add carrots and stir. Pour in water or stock.
Add seasoning to taste, bring to boil, cover then simmer for 45 minutes.
Pour into liquidiser and process to a puree.
Check the salt and pepper, add more if required, add lemon juice and serve with a little cream.

This soup is excellent if left to get cold, placed in fridge and reheated.

For dinner, I made pizza & chips; not any old pizza and chips but homemade pizza: the dough, the sauce and I even milked the buffalo myself....ok, I lie but the rest is true. The chips were made with sweet potato, cut into chips, drizzled with a little olive oil, sea salt and thyme and roasted in a medium to high oven for 20-30 minutes, until soft and browned a little on the outside.

Home-made Pizza with fresh Tomato Sauce and sliced Mozzarella
Pizza Dough
250g plain flour, good Italian 00 flour is best but isn't necessary
1 heaped teaspoon easy-blend dried yeast (half 7g sachet)
Half teaspoon salt
150ml warm water with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil added
1 baking sheet, lightly oiled

Combine flour, yeast and salt and pour in water and oil mix. Form a dough, adding more water if necessary. When it looks bound...it'll still look messy though...plop onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. Put into an oiled bowl, turning once to oil both sides of the dough, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Make the tomato sauce. This is the same as my usual tomato sauce recipe except I use 2x500g cartons passata and I do not add the water/stock or milk. This can then be used as a pizza sauce and for a variety of other uses.


Put oven on to 240 degrees Celsius/gas mark 9.

Make the chips.

When dough has doubled in size, punch all the air out of it and knead for another minute. Press out onto the baking sheet, atop a baking tray or pizza tin; press out until it nearly fits the tin. spoon over some sauce and bake in the oven for approx. fifteen minutes. Check, you don't want it to burn.

Turn oven down to about 220 and add a little more sauce...just a little and fresh mozzarella, sliced. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper or any other toppings of choice. Pesto or basil would be lovely with this. Cook until mozzarella has melted and browned a little...approx. 5-10 minutes.Serve with the chips, salad and some cold meats; you have the option of course of putting the meats...salami, chorizo, pepperoni...on top of the pizza before the cheese. Enjoy.


Edited to add: I forgot to say, with this being served for a family of five, the calorie content per person was 372 calories. There is also lots of tomato sauce left over for pasta and bread pizza.

Wordless Wednesday?

I have too much to say.

This week has been spent in the house, mainly cleaning. I'm not even going to begin to bore you with the details except to say, God I'm Bored. If the children say they are Bored, I tell them non possible, mon petit pois (pretentiousness runs in the family) the only people who get Bored are stupid people, people with no imagination. We once had a funeral for Bored (hence the capital letter...you were wondering where I was going with that, weren't you?). We buried him in a box (yes, Bored is a he...of course he is)and said a few kind words and then Bored no longer lived with us. Bored, Can't and Won't all had funerals. We mourned their passing briefly but emotionally.

But Bored is back. He has risen from the dead and I'm trying to keep him hidden within the confines of my head. I can't let the kids see him as they'll be scared, confused and happy, all at the same time. I know how to get rid of him but I miss the wee fella and he has to stick around whilst I continue my rant round the house. Or else Clutter and Confusion will come back. Sigh.

Bored had a nap whilst my mum and big sis visited with wee baby M. I made my usual indoor picnic, this time consisting of cold meats, a round of Camembert, crackers, tomatoes, Parmesan, Pastrami and rolls. The kids had cheese and pickled onion sandwiches with chopped apple and crisps. I then made Welsh Cakes. I had forgotten how much I love these little treats. You cook them in a dry pan which makes life kinda easy as they take around 5 minutes and taste delicious either on their own or with jam...of course, Kelly poured half a jar of Nutella on hers. I tried to tell her everything tastes good with Nutella and maybe she should try it on it's own first but her invisible lalalala and fingers in the ears look was apparent.

Welshcakes
125g cold, diced unsalted butter
250g self-raising flour
75g caster sugar (plus a bit more for sprinkling)
Quarter teaspoon ground allspice (if you can't find, mix some powdered nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
100g sultanas or raisins
1 large egg, beaten
Crinkle Cutter, round, approx. 7.5cm and griddle or frying pan

Rub the butter into the flour like you would pastry until it resembles sandy breadcrumbs...don't worry if a little lumpy, then add sugar, spice and dried fruit and stir. Add egg and mix with spatula or wooden spoon. I get in with my hands at this point just to give it a quick knead but hands should be cold and work quickly so it doesn't get warm. You don't have to do this though. Form a ball and then flatten a bit into a disc shape, cover with clingfilm (is this the same as serrano wrap?) and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Roll out onto floured surface to just under a cm thick and then use crinkle cutter to cut out rounds. You will need to re-roll to cut out the rest. It should give you between 10-16, depending on the size of your cutter and the thickness. Neither matters too much.

Preheat the pan over a medium heat, no oil, and place Welshcakes inside and cook for approx. 3 minutes each side. The cakes will rise a bit and go golden-dark brown. I like these on the dark brown side. Remove to a cold plate and sprinkle with caster sugar. Leave to cool and set in the middle before eating with jam, plain (too dry for me)or even that bleedin' Nutella!



I have so many things to sell on ebay; I'm going to start with my teeny weeny Karen Millen suits that I used to wear for work. They are in excellent condition, will now be viewed as vintage and will be worn by some slim, young girl who doesn't know the half of it yet...good on her! I'm putting the proceeds towards my Canada Fund. More on that later...

Karen and Anne

I've just been to the pub (guess which one) with the gorgeous Karen and Anne. It's now past midnight but I promised lamb koftas and lamb koftas you shall get, Karen, my friend!

Tomorrow, we are going away with a few other families to a lovely house in St. Abbs near North Berwick, Scotland. I've been cooking up a storm all day and have so far came up with caramelised onions, roast lamb, what looks like a thousand filo pastry muffins with a variety of fillings including goats cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, cheddar cheese, Parmesan etc. They look and taste lovely. These are the easiest but most impressive looking little starter dish; you basically cut filo pastry into squares then oil the muffin tin, place in the first filo layer and press it down, brush with butter or oil (I used olive oil) and repeat four to five times. Don't worry about the edges, the rougher the better. Then fill.

My first filling was tomatoes, salt and pepper, goats cheese, some fresh thyme and rosemary. The second batch was similar but with caramelised onions...you get the idea. Anything you want. Then, for every batch, pour the following mix in carefully...1 egg, about 4 fl. oz. double cream and a huge handful Parmesan cheese; whisk together and pour into each muffin until half to three quarters filled. Bake in oven at 170 degrees celsius for around 10-15 minutes...basically, as soon as they go brown and the cheese is bubbling and golden. Keep your eye on them after the first then minutes.

Wonderful munch...scooby snacks....crunch...

Lamb koftas were made to go alongside the roast lamb. I'm going to make my homemade bbq sauce in the morning but this time I'm going to add ground fennel and star anise...oh yes, my friend, time for some good old experimentation! I'll report back of course.

The bbq sauce will be brushed atop of the lamb for the last ten minutes of cooking and also used to brush over the lamb koftas.

Lamb Koftas
* 500g minced lamb
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 2 tsp ground coriander
* 2 fat garlic cloves , crushed
* 1 tbsp chopped mint
* oil for brushing
Mix together all the ingredients until well blended. Divide into 6 balls, then roll each ball on a board with a cupped hand to turn them into ovals. Don't worry if they look more like lumpy brains...

Thread onto 6 skewers and brush with oil. I shall also be brushing it with bbq sauce at the last minute.

To cook on a griddle: heat the pan until you can feel a good heat rising and cook for 3-4 mins each side. Don't turn until they are well sealed or the meat will stick to the grill or pan. Season if you want, and set aside. Serve the koftas with yogurt and spiced flat breads or as I plan to do, tsatziki, pitta bread and a whole host of other accompaniments.
To BBQ:
Put the meat skewers on the grill over a medium heat for about 3-4 mins each side.
BTW...140 calories per Kofta!!
I've not cooked these before so I'm a little premature in posting the recipe...I can't see how it could possibly go wrong though.... ;O) Good luck Karen.

I'll post the other recipes when I return my lovely blogger friends. I leave you with some photos...far too many photos...of my filo muffins.

Bread and Cheese

Another day was spent in tartan trousers, ironing, packing, finishing up work, cleaning, washing and asking the kids to keep it down to a dull roar. There was not a lot of time for cooking or even eating for that matter so we had bread and cheese for dinner; bread and cheese with grapes, tomatoes, olive oil and a few slices of salami. I managed a small glass of wine and half a cake thingy my husband bought...I eat these things out of duty...

I leave you with my cartoon feeling of the day....

Heaven...I'm in heaven.

Tonight's dinner is my all time favourite meal as if you didn't know...hardly any cooking is required as most ingredients are bought fresh and all home-made ingredients, with the bread being the exception, are prepared way ahead of time.

This is not an expensive meal as it is shared between many-it is the best meal to have with friends when you do not want to cook on the night and want to chill out with a glass of wine and chat whilst eating over several hours.

To give you an idea of prices, 30 slices of chorizo costs around £1, a large tub of olives between £1-£3, mozarella £1 with the cheese platter being the most expensive but a little goes a long way. There is a wonderful cheese shop in Glasgow called Mellis however, for all I love their cheeses, they need to be eaten almost immediately as oh are they ripe!

This is a lot of food and no matter how many people I have round, there is always some left to snack on for lunches, picnics or even another dinner.
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Ah, antipasti...the simple tomato, transformed with a little sea salt, black pepper, fresh basil, garlic oil and fresh mozarella. Thin slices of parmegiano regano. A plate filled with charcuterie: prosciutto, salami and chorizo. Fresh rocket with an olive oil, honey, herb and balsamic vinegar dressing. Freshly baked bread. Olive oil, drizzled with thick, aged balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sea salt for dipping. Olives; fat, green, Queen olives with whole garlic cloves, little Spanish ones marinaded in lemon oil, glistening, Greek black olives with herbs. Sun-dried tomatoes and roasted peppers.

Then, a round of Camembert, grapes, crackers and Brie. A Dunsyre Blue and a strong cheddar. Homemade chutney and tomato chilli relish alongside caremalised onions.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Pasta Supper

Want a really quick, tasty but low fat (and cheap) pasta supper? Then try the following recipe I just made for my tea; it was really good, it took 10 minutes to cook, preparation was minimal and I couldn't eat it all as it was incredibly filling.
Pasta Supper
4 Tomatoes (or more) cut into quarters
Pesto (yes, I know but I love the stuff and I made A LOT!)
Goats Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Spaghetti (100g)

Put oven on to around 200 Celsius
Drizzle pesto over tomatoes, around a tablespoon and add sea salt & black pepper.
Crumble over a little goats cheese to taste...feta would work just as well.
Place in oven. After around 5 or so minutes, put water on to boil for spaghetti. Cook spaghetti as per instructions and drain.
Take tomatoes out of oven and blend 3/4 of them in a blender...if no blender then mash with a fork.
Pour blended mix over spaghetti and bowl up! Arrange the remaining tomatoes around the plate. Enjoy.


I'm not a calorie counter...life is too short, right? However, I'd say I'm more aware these days and for future reference, I've worked out that this pasta comes to 458 calories for the full serving. See the following breakdown:
350 calories for 100g uncooked spaghetti
0 calories for tomatoes
58 calories in pesto although as you are all well aware, mine was made without pine nuts!
50 calories for the goats cheese (the creamy kind, used around 25g)
Total calories 458 which is pretty good going; I didn't finish mine tonight as it was too much. The amount of sauce was enough for 2 so if you were to add another 50g pasta then the total for two would be 633 or 316 per serving. No wonder I'm losing weight.

The approx. cost of this per serving is 55 pence. Yup, you heard right.
Asda Spaghetti on offer at 2 for £1, 1kg pasta. Per 150g therefore is 15 pence.
Tomatoes approx. 14 pence each x 4=56 pence
Goats cheese cost 25p (Asda £10 per kg)
Pesto I'm just going to estimate at 15 pence per tablespoon although it could well be less.
Total Cost=£1.11/2= 55 pence per serving!! Goodness...who says you can't eat well for less?

Pasta!

I have occasionally bought cold pasta from the supermarket which tastes like feet and doesn't last long so I decided to come up with my own. I wanted a dish that was lovely whilst hot but just as good cold. This is the best so far.

250g Penne Pasta
1 roll soft goats cheese (packet from Asda)
Rind and juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons (or more) of grated parmesan
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed to use, stalks discarded

Cook the penne as per instructions. Drain and add all of the above ingredients; use only half of the goats cheese though, chopped up. Mix all the ingredients through and then crumble over the remaining goats cheese, some extra parmesan and a grinding of salt and pepper.