Kiwi and Chocolate Tea Cake

I got the basic tea cake recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini and used Kiwis instead of the suggested pear because we bought italian-grown kiwis from Trader Joe's and they are too sour for my liking. Also added a dash of choc chips upon J's request which is great because they really balanced the tartness of the kiwis.

This is a delicious light cake, we ate half of it before it is New Year's countdown, which was why I baked the cake in the first place.

My new toy!

John Lewis French cast iron cookware
Round casserole 22 cm/3 litre
Blue enamel

Suitable for hobs, ovens and grills
Double enamelled for durability
Energy efficient heat distribution
Guaranteed for 10 years
Freezer and dishwasher sage
Oven safe up to 200 degrees

This is my only purchase from the Boxing Day sales but I am ridiculously ecstatic about it! I have always wanted a Dutch oven but I have been daunted by the price tag. However, it's now mine because of a 60% discount! For the first time in 10 years, I am actually in love with the Boxing Day sales!

I think my first dish with the pot will be a beef stew

Roasted trout wrapped with parma ham

Ingredients

2 trout fillets
three slices of parma ham
400g of cherry tomatoes
dill

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Season the fish with sea salt and black pepper

Place one fillet in an ovenproof dish and drizzle olive oil over it. Cover with the second fillet. Lay the ham over the fish overlapping the slices to cover the fish in an even layer. Tuck the ends of the ham under the fish.



Add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle the tomatoes and ham with olive oil and season lightly. Roast for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are lightly coloured and the fish is cooked through.




Another ridiculously easy recipe to cook fish. I love how the taste of the fish blends in with the sharpness of the parma ham and the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes as it bursts in your mouth. Not to mention, the sea salt that's sealed between the ham and the fish. Serve with warm foccacia and it's an excellent Sunday lunch

Madrid chicken

Ingredients:

1 orange
Olive oil
4 chicken breasts (skin and excess fat removed)
2 chorizo sausages cut into 1cm slices
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup homemade tomato sauce
12 olives
parsley to garnish

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully cut 4 thin strips of orange rind. remove the peel and pith from the orange and segment the flesh

Heat the oil in a saucepan and brown and chicken and chorizo slices, in batches if necessary. Add the stock, tomato sauce and orange rind. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer covered for 25 minutes.

Remove the lid, turn the chicken over and continue to simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce reduced. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir through the olives and orange segment. Garnish with extra olives and parsley.

This is another of those recipes that you don't mind trying out because it seems interesting. (ref: pork and apple braise) However, the taste is again something you just can't put your finger on. I guess it's the odd mixture of oranges, olives, tomatoes and chorizo that makes this dish so... i don't know... different?

Smoked haddock chowder

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
500ml vegetable stock
2 smoked haddock fillet, about 100g each and cut into chunks
1 can of creamed corn
milk, to taste
handful of parsley, chopped

Put the onion and potatoes into a large pan. Pour over the vegetable stock and simmer for 6-8 minutes until the potatoes are soft, but still have a slight bite. Add the chunks of smoked haddock. Tip in the creamed corn and add a little milk.

Gently simmer for 5-7 minutes until the haddock is cooked. Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

Because I have half a celeriac left over from yesterday's lunch, I decided to pop it into my chowder (I don't like wasting food) and I read from wikipedia that its good in soups. It turn out pretty alright actually, nice balance with the rest of the vegetables in my chowder. That said, I think I used too little smoked haddock and way too much vegetables (healthy though, until I remembered that fish is healthy too). Have to remember to increase the amount if I am using celeriac again.

Smoked salmon and celeriac bake

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 lemon
1 small celeriac
2 medium baking potatoes
250g of sliced smoked salmon
dill
1 onion, finely sliced
cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl. Peel and quarter the celeriac, cut into slices and toss into the lemon juice. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and toss with the celeriac.



Layer the celeriac, potatoes and salmon in a large ovenproof dish, sprinkling dill, onion and cream over each layer, together with salt and black pepper. There should be around 3 layers of vegetables with 2 layers of salmon, onion and dill. Finish with the remaining cream.



Cover the dish with foil , place on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the top is golden. Cool slighly before serving.

This is apparently Sweden-inspired and it reminds me of this potato dish I had in Brussels in the Christmas food market a year ago. It's quite a nice light dish for Christmas lunch, and the celeriac goes very well with the salmon. For those who don't know what celeriac is, (I didn't know until today), this is what it looks like:




From wikipedia:

Celeriac (Apium graveolens Rapaceum Group) is also known as 'celery root,' 'turnip-rooted celery' or 'knob celery'. It is a kind of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and well-developed taproot rather than for its stem and leaves. The taproot is typically used when it is about 10–12 cm in diameter; about the size of a large potato. Unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight.
Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, furrowed, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes.


I don't really think it tastes like celery, for me the closest parallel is fennel but it is an excellent complement to the fish, as it tastes slightly sour which balances the strong flavours of the smoked salmon. This is a good party dish i think.

Oh btw I am using the new roasting tins i bought from Robert Dyas. It's just 5 pounds for two of such roasting tins. I wanted a bigger one because I thought my cooking was restricted by the size of my pryrex dish

Broccoli and stilton soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ onion, sliced
30g/1oz butter
1 handful grated potato
290ml/½ pint vegetable stock
½ head broccoli, chopped
75g/3oz stilton, cubed
85ml/3fl oz double cream
1 tsp thyme, chopped


Method
1. Sauté the garlic and onion in the butter and oil for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the potato and stock and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the potato is tender.
3. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4. Blend the soup in a food processor.
5. Pour into a bowl and serve.

This is the starter to my main for my christmas eve dinner. this is one of my all time favourite soups, i don't even recall when i started liking it. I might have put in too much stilton though, next time I am cooking this, i have to remember to reduce the amount. Not too sure when that next time is though as I have 4 portions of it my freezer. I am such a squirrel

Marinated lamb with rosemary / Roasted rosemary potatoes / Grilled tomatoes

Marinated lamb with rosemary

Ingredients

4 large lamb leg steaks
2 tbsp of chopped rosemary
2 cloves of garlic

Put the lamb in a shallow, non-metallic dish. Mix 3 tbsp of olive oil with the rosemary and some salt and pepper. Pour over the lamb and turn to coat in the marinade. Cover and chill for up to 8 hours

Heat oil in frying pan. Fry the lamb for 5-6 minutes on each side, until slightly pink in the centre. Add the marinade and cook for 1-2 minutes until warmed through. Serve

Roasted rosemary potatoes

Ingredients

1/3 cup of extra virgin oil
750g floury potatoes, cut into 4 cm cubes
long sprig of rosemary
sea salt

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Pour the oil into a shallow baking tray. Toss the potato into the casserole. turning to coat thoroughly in oil, then spread out so that the pieces aren't touching. Scatter the rosemary leaves over the potatoes

Roast for 30 minutes, then turn and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Return to the oven and roast for another 30-40 minutes, or until crisp and golden

Grilled tomatoes

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp of chopped parsley

Place the tomatoes on a baking tray. Add the garlic, olive oil and parsley and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes under the grill and cook for 6 minutes.


This is my christmas eve dinner, simple home cooking.

(Fake) Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

6 large chicken thighs, skin on
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp curry powder
350g easy cook long-grain rice
700ml chicken stock,
250g frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chicken thighs, skin side down, for 8-10 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden. Tip in the onion and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the onion softens. Sprinkle in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more, then stir in the rice and pour over the stock. Bring the stock to the boil.

Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked. Stir in the peas and leave the rice to stand for a few minutes before serving.

This is obviously a bastardisation of the original chicken biryani, but it still tastes good and to me, that's all that matters! (cf: lainey) I used basmati rice instead of long-grain rice and that meant a longer baking time, probably around 50 minutes.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

What is more heartwarming than a tangy and spiced butternut squash soup? A curried version! I love this - this is great for winter, maybe the former is better for autumn.
I've adapted this recipe from a slew of recipes I found online.

Ingredients
4 teaspoon of butter
1 butternut squash
2 apples - 1 granny smith, 1 red
1/2 cup of apple cider (you can substitute with apple juice if you can't find apple cider I guess)
3 cups of chicken broth
1 super large onions (or 2 small ones, hee)
3 teaspoons of curry powder
salt and pepper

Steps
1. Cut squash into half, scrape away fibers and seeds, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and roast in oven for 30 minutes. spoon out the squash (removing the skin would now be easy).

2. melt butter in saucepan, add onions and curry powder and cook on low heat until onions are tender.

3. Add apples and half the chicken broth. Simmer till apples are tender.

4. Add squash and apple cider. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Leave to cool before blending in food processor (or hand blender). Use remaining chicken broth to play around with the consistency of the soup. For me, I didn't have to use any additional broth at all!

6. Bring to a simmer again in saucepan and add salt and pepper to taste.

YUMS YUMS YUMS!

Jeff's score : 8/10

Summer pork and potatoes

Ingredients:

750g potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
500g vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
leaves of 3-4 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 pork chops

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Drizzle a little olive oil over the base of a shallow ovenproof dish that is wide enough to take the chops in one layer. Arrange rows of potatoes and tomatoes across the dish, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go and sprinkling with half the rosemary and all the garlic.

Drizzle more olive oil over the vegetables and bake for 30 minutes, then sit the pork on top, season and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. Return to the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the pork and potatoes are tender.

As lainey kindly pointed out, in her infinite wisdom, it's winter in England and yet i am eating Summer Pork. Well, all i can say is, I DON'T NAME THE RECIPES!

Oh, and i know what's the first thing my mom is going to ask me when she sees this recipe: Did I eat all the fat on the pork chops?

Pork and apple braise

Ingredients

500g pork tenderloin
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned
1 onion chopped
1 Cox's apple, cored and cut into thin wedges, skin on
300ml chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley

Cut the pork crossways into 2cm slices and coat in the seasoned flour. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork in small batches, then remove and set aside.

Fry the onion in the remaining oil until soft and golden brown. Add the apply and fry until it has slightly caramelised. Slowly stir in the stock, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan

Return the pork to the pan and add the bay leaves and mustard. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season to taste.

There are some dishes that I just can't figure out. This is one of them. I think it's just so different from the food I am used to all my life; I am just not used to the taste. It's not bitter or sour or bland; it's just different.

Salmon and Leek Quiche

We are going to Yas's and Marb's family friend's place for Christmas dinner and it would be nice to contribute something. I thought a quiche would be a sturdy dish that can withstand the journey on public transportation to wherever we are going. I got this recipe off my new favourite food blog - Chocolate and Zucchini (thanks to Y). It's easy to make and very delicious indeed! But I'm glad we did a trial run because I didn't season it enough.

Score by jeff: 7/10 (more salt and pepper needed)

Nietize says it looks like a pizza, so here's a pic of the cross section, together with a salad. It needs to be thicker, more filling.

Tuna souffle

This is my first time with this recipe and I honestly didn't expect anything to happen, i.e. the souffle to rise and puff. I was staring at it through the oven glass initially. I went to check something on the internet. I came back and I was astonished to find that it was actually rising. The recipe involves mixing 25g of bread crumbs, 60 ml cream and 1 tsp of snipped fresh chives and letting it stand for 2 minutes. Add in 50g canned tuna (drained and finely flaked), 1/4 tsp of lemon juice and 1 egg, lightly beaten. Mix well, season and pour it into the ramekin dish. Cook for 20-30 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees till the souffle is golden and well puffed. I am really really happy with this dish. By the way, this recipe is for 1 portion, do your maths

Oden (The Tokyo 7-11 version)

Last year, I had to go to Japan for work. To get to the hotel in Hayama, Kanagawa, I had to take the commuter train from Narita airport. I was tired, hungry and had lost my luggage (found it though). So imagine my devastation when the little inn told me that their restaurant was closed for the night. I called my best friend in Singapore (she had spent 2 years in Japan teaching) and she said, "Oh! Go to 7-11 and get some Oden."

So I did. And it was so comforting for a tired, cold soul.

And so I tried to recreate it today despite the lack of several ingredients. I call it the 7-11 version because my friend, Y, who worked in Japan for 1 year, said that there must be fish paste in Oden.

So this is really a simple version and not orthodox, but the broth does taste like the real thing

Broth:
- 3 tbspn of mirin
- 2 tspn of sugar
- 6 cups of water/chicken broth (i don't have so I added the chicken broth cube)
- 3 tbspoon of soysauce
- 1/2 tspn of sesame oil
- 2 tbspn of sake (i didn't have so i used white wine)

Oden ingredients:
- lotus root
-daikon
-fried tofu skin
-shitake mushrooms
-carrots
-boiled eggs

You should add fishpaste, cake or balls because Y says that makes it oden :p

Bring the broth mixture to a boil before adding the ingredients. Simmer for 1 hr and serve hot and comforting!

Score by Jeff: 8/10

Pea and bacon soup

Ingredients

900g frozen peas
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrot, finely chopped
3 slices of smoked bacon, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
vegetable stock

Fry the bacon until crispy and brown, set aside.
Add the vegetables (except for the peas) and cook gently till soft
Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes
Add vegetable stock, bring to the boil, and simmer for 1 hour.
Puree the mixture and serve with a egg on top and some mint. Sprinkle the bacon over it

This is my improved and extravagant version of a pea soup recipe in this new cookbook I have. To be honest, it tastes like a "posh" version of mushy peas, and if you like mushy peas like I do, you will love this soup. Now all I need to do is learn how to make a "posh" version of fish and chips to go with this soup...

Pork stroganov

Ingredients

4 pork fillets, cut into strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced,
225g mushrooms sliced
300ml sour cream

Heat oil in large frying pan and cook the onion slowly until soft but not coloured.

Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Remove the vegetables from the pan and keep warm.

Increase the heat, and fry the pork very quickly in small batches until lightly coloured.

Return all the pork and vegetables to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the sour cream and bring to the boil.

This is a classic Russian dish usually made with fillet of beef but i have modified the recipe by using pork and adding peas (to increase the amount of vegetables). Also, I am not too sure whether I am supposed to eat this with pasta...I think traditionally, stroganov is eaten with rice.

I seem to have gone against all orthodoxy with this recipe

Turnip Gratin

This is off Pioneer Woman's site. So you can get the recipe here. It's really heartwarming and filling! I'm always looking for new vegetables to cook because frankly, I'm sick of broccoli, spinach, rocket, cabbage, bak choy AND repeat...

I greatly reduced the amount of butter and cheese used here because I was feeling guilty but I believe if you put as much as Pioneer Woman postulates, it might be absolutely delicious but decadent. Also to note to spread the cheese, garlic and salt evenly, I kinda only focused on the middle part of the pan, so the middle part was a lot more delicious than the outer circle.

Oh and I didn't use Gruyere but Mozarella and Mexican cheese blend from Trader Joe's (which is a blend of a myraid of very tasty cheese).

Also, I peeled the top of my finger off while peeling turnips in a hurry, so Jeff continued by helping with the slicing and chopping of the garlic. Unfortunately, I believe there might be some of my blood in the turnips. Just a wee drop or two. :p

Jeff also rates this 8/10. I donno whether to believe him anymore. :p

p/s: Are the photos better? Jeff took them with his DSLR. YAY!

Mushroom Soup (without the sherry)

Oh how wonderful to finally be able to drink mushroom soup in the land of clam chowder. I took the recipe below and made it without Sherry (donno where to find) and it still tastes fine, heartwarming and nice! And so simple to make!

Jeff's rating: 8/10 (he says sea salt is crucial)

Beef and Bean Hotpot

From GoodFood magazine, 101 One-Pot Dishes

750g of minced beef
1 beef stock cube
2 large onions
450g carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1.25 g potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 cans of baked beans
Tabasco sauce
parsley

Heat a large non-stick pan, add the beef and fry over a medium high heat until browned, stirring often and breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Crumble in the stock cube and mix well.

Add the vegetables, stir to mix with the beef and pour in enough boiling water to cover. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and stir well. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Tip in the baked beans, sprinkle with tobasco sauce to taste, Stir well an heat through. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with the parsley.

This is the perfect winter comfort food, warm, peppery and extremely easy to cook. I have three portions in the freezer now, along with the many packets of food I have squirrelled away for winter.

Sausage and leek hash

From GoodFood magazine, 101 One Pot dishes

2 tbsp olive oil
6 plump sausages
6 potatoes, thinly sliced
350g thinly sliced leeks
1 tbsp creamed horseradish sauce
100g mature grated cheddar

Heat half of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add the sausages and fry gently for 8-10 minutes until well browned. Remove the sausages, then slice them on the diagonal and set aside.

Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add the potatoes and leeks and give everything a good stir. Cook until the potatoes and leeks are tender and beginning to brown, turning them over from time to time. It should take 15-20 minutes.

Toss the sausages back in along with the horseradish, to taste, and heat through for a further 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, sprinkle in the cheese, season well and stir gently to combine

I added one more step to the recipe which I thought completed it, as well as to ensure that the potatoes and sausages are completely cooked. I popped into my toaster oven for 30 minutes. I really like this dish as the horseradish sauce gives it a distinctive taste. It is also essential that good quality sausages are used, mine is Tesco Finest! pork and leek sausages.