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.