Herbs

It is so easy to grow herbs in pots on the patio it seems a shame to buy them from the supermarket.
My bay is a few years old now and just starting to produce lots of new growth, the rosemary bush is about a year old, and the sage, mint and thyme are new this year.
I have bought a lavender bush to sit amongst the herbs because the thyme seems to attract lots of little flies, and I am told the lavender helps to keep them away.
With the exception of mint, when the herbs grow too big or woody for the pots I put them in my vegetable garden and basically, I just let them grow into small bushes.
I chop the rosemary leaves and put these in the freezer for the winter, the thyme is too fiddly to chop and so I just cut the stems complete with leaves, and freeze these too.
Mint and sage can also be chopped and then stored in the freezer. The bay I cover up for the winter months to protect from the frosts and so in the winter I am able to also use fresh bay leaves.
Herbs are a cooks best friend and the uses for them are endless. An excellent book about herbs is The New Vegetable & Herb Expert by Dr D G Hessayon.

MUSHROOMS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

This recipe is very easy as lots of the best recipes are. These look stunning served with steak or poultry. Or, how about serving them on a thick slice of toasted bread with some of the cooking juices poured over.
I have cooked lots of sweet and savoury dishes from this book and find it is one of those books that you keep going back to, time and again. Good Housekeeping have some brilliant recipes in their books - try them for yourself.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING NEW RECIPE BOOK

ISBN 0007116918 - PAGE 238

SERVES: 6 people (can easily be scaled down)

6 large flat or portabella mushrooms
oil for greasing
2 finely sliced garlic cloves (optional)
6 sprigs cherry tomatoes on the vine
3 tablespoons olive oil

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan oven/Gas Mark 6. Put the mushrooms into a greased roasting tin, scatter over the garlic, arrange a sprig of cherry tomatoes - still on the vine - on top of each mushroom, then drizzle with olive oil.
2. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
3.Take the foil off the mushrooms and continue to roast, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes.

Fabulous.

Metal or Silicone Baking Trays

I decided to buy into silicone baking trays, they come in an array of tempting colours and designs.
However, I have now found it is impossible to love a silicone baking tray, they always look so clinical and unused, and anyway you still have to put them onto a rigid baking tray otherwise they just flip flop about!
Metal baking trays always have signs of being used, old deposits that won't budge no matter how hard you try. They look loved, also they bring back memories of baking days of old. You have to grease and line them even though the lining paper can sometimes be a struggle. I don't want perfection - just a cake that looks homemade.
A muffin or cupcake never looks the same unless it is in a paper case - well it just looks undressed! Part of the fun of eating a muffin is prizing it out of the case.
A muffin out of a silicone tray always looks lonely and unloved to me - but one in a muffin case, well that's a wonderful sight.

HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS MINCEMEAT

This has been made by me every year, and has never disappointed either myself or anyone who eats my mince pies etc. I listened to the Very Best of Nina Simone whilst making this – they are to me a match made in heaven (although obviously they do not bear any resemblance to each other). Why buy sweet readymade mincemeat that always boils out of the mince pies when this is so quick and easy to make.



DELIA SMITH’S CHRISTMAS

ISBN 0563370645 –PAGE 41

Recipe

Makes: 6 lb (2.75 KG)

Skill Level: Easy

Taste Test: Not at all sweet and sticky, and has all the elements that make a great mincemeat.

Use good quality dried fruit – I find Waitrose own make to be the best as the fruit is fresh and plump. Peel is a difficult one, I have used the whole mixed candied peel as Delia suggests in the past, but I wasn’t particularly fond of this, maybe this is because I am not very keen on peel. Anyway, I have now found Tesco Italian chopped peel to be the best and I only use a very small amount and make the rest of the recipe up with dried fruit. Also, I don’t like chomping on nuts in my mincemeat and so I also leave these out. The mincemeat doesn’t suffer for this. Delia says it is ok to use vegetarian suet, I have tried this and find it does not affect the end result. Please do not use the lighter suet – this makes the texture of the mincemeat gluey. The mincemeat is put in the oven for a few hours to melt the suet, which in turn coats everything, and because of this you will find the mincemeat stores very well.

Equipment Used: Microplane Grater.

PARMESAN-BAKED PARSNIPS

This is one of the very best ways to cook parsnips and they go beautifully with the Sunday Roast. A great recipe to make if you have received too many parsnips in your box scheme.

DELIA SMITH’S CHRISTMAS

ISBN 0563370645 – PAGE 142

Recipe

Serves: 8 people.

Skill Level: Easy

Taste Test: Parmesan cheese and parsnips is an unlikely combination of flavours but they compliment each other perfectly.

I find it is always best to put a timer on when cooking the parsnips, and not to be tempted to cook them for any longer than the 3 minutes stated, otherwise when you thaw them out/roast them, they will be overcooked. A recipe where you need to follow the method carefully. The parsnips coated in the parmesan cheese and flour mix can be frozen, and then they must be thawed out completely before roasting. The remaining parmesan and flour mix can also be frozen to use another time. This recipe is an all round winner.

Equipment Used: Bamix Hand Blender for grating the Parmesan cheese.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

I love to watch this pudding rising in the oven – delicious also served cold with lots of jam.

DELIA SMITH’S COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY COURSE – A NEW EDITION FOR THE 1990s.

ISBN780563214540 – PAGE 130.

Serves: 4 people – or 2 hungry people.

Skill Level: Easy

Taste Test: – Excellent – this Yorkshire Pudding is not at all stodgy, this recipe is my favourite. You will not find a better Yorkshire Pudding recipe than this. The texture is superb and you will have success every time.

TIP 1: I use two eggs and not one as in the recipe - this seems to give a better rise.

TIP 2: Use lard for the roasting tin and make sure it is very hot before pouring in the batter.

TIP 3: I use a muffin tin and this makes four individual Yorkshire Puddings.

Kitchen Equipment Used: A Bamix Hand Blender to mix the batter – this adds in plenty of air and makes a smooth batter.

FRESH TOMATO SOUP WITH BASIL

A wonderful fresh soup to make in the summer when tomatoes are at their very best.

DELIA SMITH'S COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY COURSE - A NEW EDITION FOR THE 1990s.

ISBN780563214540

FRESH TOMATO SOUP WITH BASIL - PAGE 73.

Serves: 4 people - or 2 people with second helpings.

Skill Level: Easy

Taste Test: Excellent - This must be the best fresh tomato soup ever!!

TIP 1: Use ripe tomatoes (because they’re sweeter). If you use under ripe tomatoes the soup will be very pale in colour and the tomato taste won’t come through very well.

TIP 2: For the stock, use half a vegetable stock cube or preferably vegetable bouillon powder (you can buy this in most supermarkets or health food shops - and this will last for ages).

Kitchen Equipment Used:A Meyer stainless steel saucepan – I like this because it’s a good conductor of heat, easy to clean and stylish.