Friday, July 30th

Cream Cheese Pastry

250g Butter, melted
250g Cream Cheese, mix with Butter
Juice of one lime, stir in
250g Self-Raising Flour
Mix well. Refrigerate for an hour or before use. Enough for top & bottom. No need for blind baking.

Thursday, July 29th

One Dish Rice

500g Bacon, cooked, or Chorizo or left-over meat or chicken, cubed
240g Peas
250g Portebellini mushrooms, quartered
400g Cocktail tomatoes, halved
2 Bunches spring onions, chopped
500g Arborio Rice
50g Butter, cubed
30g Salted lemon, minced
30g Fresh herbs, chopped
1l Stock
Put everything together in roasting pan, lid on, for 30 minutes at 180C. Remove lid, stir and return to oven for 30 minutes more, or until water has cooked away.

Serve with black pepper & Parmesan.

Wednesday, July 28th

Another recipe for left over egg whites. Prepare a smallish cake tin by buttering it, shaking a spoonful of flour to coat butter, discard any extra flour.

Orange Cake

6 Free Range Egg Whites, beaten until it will stay in bowl when bowl inverted. Set aside, upright!

200g Butter, melted
100ml Milk, warm
300g Sugar
Finely grated zest of one unwaxed orange
100ml Fresh Orange juice
Mix well & sieve dry ingredients into mixture:

425g Flour
2ml Salt
10ml Baking Powder
Mix all, add egg whites, pour into baking tin and bake for an hour at 180C.

Tuesday, July 27th

Mung Beans with Cumin

15ml Olive oil, in pot
40g Fresh Garlic shoots, chopped, add to pot
60g Onion, grated, add to pot, sweat for 10 minutes
400g Green Mung Beans, add to pot
1000l Water, add and cook for two hours or until beans are soft enough for you
700ml Tomato cocktail, add
15ml Cumin seeds, add
30ml Lime juice, add
30ml Lemon salt, add and simmer for 30 minutes more.

Monday, July 26th

Robert Finn's Adept was a Dan Brown rip, protagonist even called David Braun! In spite of dubious plot and bad writing, it made for an entertaining afternoon. Fascination by William Boyd was good. I really loved Beulah Berlin, an A-Z.

Coconut and Granadilla Tart

Make one shortcrust pastry in a largish Pyrex, refrigerate.

4 Free Range Eggs, beat well
230g Sugar, add to eggs and beat well
400ml Coconut Cream, add to eggs and beat
250ml Granadilla pulp, stir into mixture
200g Fine Dessicated Coconut, stir into mixture
Pour onto shortcrust pastry and bake for 1 hour at 180C. Cover top after 40 minutes.

Friday, July 23rd

The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel was delightful. I particularly enjoyed The Vita Aeterna Mirror Company.

Shortcrust Pastry

100g Butter, melted
150g Flour
20g Icing Sugar
20ml Whiskey

Mix well, press into pie dish and refrigerate while making filling.

Thursday, July 22nd

The recipe is not strictly speaking for a custard, but the consistency is like that of a creme brulee.

Gruyere & Cumin Baked Custard

4 Free Range Eggs, beat well
5ml Cumin seeds, crushed, add to eggs
350ml Cream, add to eggs & beat
250g Cream Cheese, add & beat
2ml Salt, add & beat
150g Gruyere, grated, add and stir

Pour into oiled Pyrex, bake at 180C for one hour, in Bain Marie. Remove, leave to stand in Bain Marie for 10 minutes before serving.

Wednesday, July 21st

It was worth struggling through the Riddleyspeak to finish Riddley Walker.

Leg of Lamb

Leg of Lamb
Salt
Garlic, minced
Pesto; add salt & garlic to pesto and spread over lamb
Flour
Salt & Pepper; add to flour and sprinkle over lamb
250ml Red Wine
Add wine and lamb to oven bag, place on baking tray and bake for several hours @ 180C.

Tuesday, July 20th

Devil's Cheesecake
(3 layers)

60g Butter
60g Dark chocolate, melt with butter
60g Sugar, add to butter mix
60g Flour, add to butter mix
1 Free Range Egg, add to mix
Mix well, pour onto base of pan or Pyrex.

240g Dark Chocolate
250ml Cream, melt with chocolate, do not boil.
50g Cocoa, add to chocolate mix
750g Cream cheese, add to mix
150g Treacle Sugar, add to mix
4 Free Range Eggs, add to mix
Mix well, pour over first layer

150g Butter, melted
150g Treacle Sugar
2 Free Range Eggs
Mix well, pour over second layer

Bake at 180C for an hour, top with tinfoil after 40 minutes to protect from burning.

Monday, July 19th

Trout & Filo Flowers

48 Filo squares, approx 14cm sq.
60g Butter, melted
Butter 36 squares with pastry brush and stack 4 together in 12 piles, ending with unbuttered squares. Push piles into indentations in scone pan.

250g Cottage cheese
100g Parmesan, grated
250ml Sour cream
4 Free Range Eggs, beaten
400g Smoked trout ribbons, shredded
bunch Chives, finely chopped
Mix well, pour into prepared cases. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes, cover with foil as soon as filo begins to darken.

Friday, July 16th

Laura James' Tigger on the couch had very limited appeal. I liked The Age of Miracles by Marianne Williamson, although the prayers every two pages are a pain.

Fast Aero Dessert
serves 4

200g Peppermint Aero
350ml Heavy cream, melt with chocolate, pour into 4 ramekins.

100ml Whipping cream
15ml Fra Angelico, whip together, top chocolate, refrigerate.

Thursday, July 15th

Finished Lewis Hyde's The Gift. An intelligent book, somewhat humourless, the conclusion was the best bit.

Easy Lunch

Croissant, halved or pitas etc
Pesto, spread on croissant halves
Cold meat, top croissant halves
Grated cheese, top meat
Grill until the cheese melts. Serve with salads.
If making for guests, spread with different pestos and use variety of cheeses and meats. If using tomato slices, they must be on top of the cheese.

Wednesday, July 14th

Choux pastry (eclairs)

250ml Boiling water, in pot on stove
120g Butter, add to water
200g Flour, add to buttered water, stir into a ball, REMOVE FROM HEAT
4 Free Range Eggs, stir into mixture, one at a time, until well incorporated
Place spoonfuls on baking sheet, bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes. Fill with sweetened cream, top with melted chocolate.

Tuesday, July 13th

Started What are you optimistic about? edited by John Brockman. Nice to see that leading thinkers have things to be optimistic about.

Cheese Biscuits

275g Flour
2ml Salt
250g Strong cheese, grated
250g Butter, melted
5ml Mustard powder
2ml Cayenne pepper
Mix together, form into logs, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. Slice logs into 3mm thick rounds, bake on tray for 10-15mins at 180C. Also delicious spread with jam.

Monday, July 12th

Finally read Spud - Learning to Fly by John van de Ruit, that I was given 9 months ago. Not bad, I did laugh several times.

I want to read Russel Hoban's Riddley Walker but I loathe the riddlespeak, riddleyspeak. Why don't writers just stick to understandable English?

Paged through lots of cookery books over the weekend. Interesting to know that a Madeira cake is just a Pound cake, or as we called it as kids; a white cake. My grandmother baked the recipe that follows for me hundreds of times.

White cake

400g Flour
10ml Baking Powder
1ml Salt, sieve together

250g Butter, melted
400g Sugar, stir into butter
250ml Plain Yogurt, stir into butter
5 Free Range eggs, separated, stir yolks into butter, whisk whites until dry

Add flour mixture to butter mixture and fold in the whisked egg whites. Pour into ring pan and bake at 180C for 45 minutes. It is unnecessary to frost this cake.

Friday, July 9th

Found the new Jim Carrey movie, I Love You Phillip Morris enjoyable.

Paged through Beyond Nose to Tail - Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly again. Squirrels & lots of suet.....

Rather enjoyed Spud by John van de Ruit.

It would be great if every religious person would read The Religion Virus by Craig A James with an open mind.

Green Salad

Baby Spinach leaves, washed
Long stem Broccoli, cooked (al dente)
Green Beans, cooked (al dente)
Asparagus, cooked (al dente)
Salad dressing, pour over hot veg and leave to cool. Add drained veg to salad.
Spring Onions, chopped (optional)
Feta, crumbled or Parmesan, grated
Roasted Nuts, pine nuts are particularly good with this
Chili, minced (optional)

Thursday, July 8th

Butternut Bake

1kg Butternut cubes, roasted
2 Free Range Eggs
120g Cream Cheese
60g Sweet Chili Sauce
20g Coriander Pesto
Puree together. Spray tart Pyrex with olive oil, fill with butternut, bake for 30 minutes at 180C.

Wednesday, July 7th

This is the kind of pasta dish we ate as children, before my mother married an Italian and we discovered Parmesan.

Cheddar Pasta

500g Angel Hair Pasta, cooked according to packet instructions

250g Bacon, cut into slivers and fried. Set aside.

50g Butter
500g Butter mushrooms, quartered
240g Exotic mushrooms, cut where necessary.
2 Bunches spring onions, chopped.
Fry in batches in butter.

250ml Thick sour cream, add to cooked mushrooms and onions.
250g Cheddar, grated, add to mushrooms, stir until melted.
Add bacon, stir through, then add pasta. Serve with lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Tuesday, July 6th

Crown Roast with rosemary potatoes

1-2kg Crown Roast (most butchers need 48hours notice to prepare a crown roast)

750ml Rosemary, needles only (use stems for potatoes)
30ml Garlic
100ml Lemon juice
50ml Capers
100ml Cashews
salt & pepper to taste.
Puree all. Rub over roast, paying special attention to fillet pieces. Place roast on roasting tray with a few onions or potatoes in the centre to hold the shape. Bake at 200C for 1 hour. Transfer roast to serving dish, without onions/potatoes, decorated with a crown of rosemary branches.

Parboil potatoes, cut into cubes. Thread cubes onto rosemary stems, spray with garlic flavoured olive oil and bake alongside roast.

Monday, July 5th

Currently reading two yes, but books: The Gift by Lewis Hyde (praised by Margaret Atwood, no less) and In Search of the English Eccentric by Henry Hemming. Maybe the second part of The Gift (wherein the writer will attempt to apply the language of the theory of gift exchange to the life of the artist) will be better. As for ISotEE, I prefer the drawings to the writing.

Lamb Fillet for 2

600g Lamb Fillet, cubed. Fry for 5 minutes in very hot, heavy pot.
30ml Tandoori paste, add to lamb and stir through.
100ml Thick cream, add and stir through.
1ml Salt, add and stir through.
Serve immediately with past rice (orzo) or similar and salad.

Friday, July 2nd

Toffee Sauce

200g Butter
400g Sugar
5ml Salt
125ml Water
Put together in heavy, deepish pot. Cook on medium heat, WITHOUT STIRRING, until mixture turns the colour of caramel. Remove from heat and add cream carefully, it might spatter, stirring for the first time.

500ml Cream
Stir well to incorporate in sauce. Serve hot or cold. Lasts well in glass bottle in refrigerator.

Thursday, July 1st

The Secret, Israeli Film Festival movie, was very enjoyable. Religion is scary.

I made a dessert from the rest of the filo, also used up egg yolks, whites were needed for an Angel Food Cake. Not baked yet.

Mango in Filo

125g Dried Mango, cut into squares.
120ml Lemon juice, 3 lemons should do it.
Pour lemon juice over mango, microwave for 1 minute, cover and set aside to soften.

300g Filo pastry, cut to fit Pyrex you plan on using.
100 Butter, melted
Spread filo sheets with butter (use pastry brush) and make four buttered piles.

200g Dark brown sugar
12 Free Range Egg Yolks, beat with sugar.
250g Philadelphia Cream cheese, beat into egg mixture.
10ml Mixed spice, stir into mixture.
100g Flaked almonds, stir into mixture. (Save a few spoonfuls for top)
15ml Cacao Nibs, stir in.
Add mango to mixture, stir well.

Place one pile of buttered filo sheets in Pyrex, spread with one third of mango mixture. Continue until done. Finish with reserved almonds. Cut into 8 portions. Bake at 190C for 20 minutes, taking care not to burn top.