Bite Me!

I found the recipe for these here and had to give them a try for Christmas morning, since they sounded so easy.  They are as easy as they sound, and I thought they were delicious, in part because they're slightly savoury - if you're expecting ultra-sweet American style soft muffins, you'll be disappointed.  But they are spicy and comforting and I love the crunchy sugar topping!  They'd be great with some chunks of white chocolate added, if you want that extra sugar kick.

People are always asking me what I eat for Christmas dinner - well, maybe not always, but fairly often around Christmas time!  So here's the answer for this year - roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, honey & mustard parsnips, stuffing and veggie gravy.  OK, so it's not the most sophisticated-looking plate of food, but it's reeeaaalllly good.  And (ssh!) surprisingly healthy.

I'm especially proud of the vegetarian gravy, which has a really intense flavour and is very easy to make.  You will need:

boiling water

marigold vegetable stock

Marmite

Tabasco

red wine or sherry

Worcestershire sauce

soy sauce

porcini (optional)

Method

 Very easy - simply mix a dollop of everything together in a saucepan and gently reduce down for about ten minutes.   I haven't put amounts down since I just chuck everything in and then see how it tastes.  If using the porcini, soak them in a mug of warm water for ten minutes before you start, and then add both the mushrooms and the water to the saucepan.  Sieve the mushrooms out before serving.  If you want thicker gravy rather than a jus, add a little flour or cornflour to the mixture and whisk to get rid of lumps. 

This is so good my sister even prefers it to normal gravy...

This is my Mum's great cookie recipe, named (and invented) by herself, and she's right - they are fabulous.  They are great because they look healthy, but actually aren't at all.  As she says, this recipe will make about 48 cookies, but they won't last long!  The measurements are in American cups, but if you don't have cups use a measuring jug - one cup equals up to the 250ml mark, half a cup is 125ml, and so forth.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

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This Thai red curry is a favourite of mine - it's really quick and easy to make and tastes great.  I use shop-bought red curry paste which some would probably consider cheating, but as long as you get a decent paste I think that the end result is still pretty good.  I buy my paste from the Chinese shop in Brixton but Thai Taste is available from Waitrose and is excellent.  I would stay away from Marks & Spencers' red curry paste - I tried it recently and found it to be very vinegary, with a lot of chilli but not much flavour apart from that.

Ingredients

tbsp groundnut or other flavourless oil

two birds-eye red chillis, chopped fine

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I made these little fritters from a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's fascinating book Eastern Vegetarian Cookery.  It's not a book for the faint-hearted, as so many of the recipes require ingredients that you're unlikely to find in your local Tescos, but the recipes sound so tempting and are so different that I think it's worth the effort...

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Cooking healthy meals from fresh ingredients is all very well, but sometimes you just want to eat something that's quick and dirty.  Having a craving for pizza this weekend, I created quite a respectable meal out of: one stale foccacia from the freezer (I always freeze things if I'm not sure what to do with them), half a tub of month-old salsa, some odd-looking mozzarella from the newsagent, and the contents of various other jars and remote corners of the fridge (frozen veggie bacon, sliced jalapenos, wrinkly mushrooms and the like).  I bunged it all under the grill and it was jolly nice too.

Yet more baking at the weekend - this time a raisin and walnut loaf from The Cranks Bible.  It's delicious toasted or with cheese, and best of all, there's no kneading!  I've had to put half of it in the freezer already to stop myself going mad and eating the whole lot at once...

Cabbage may not be the most elegant of vegetables, but it is certainly good for you (see here for how it may help prevent breast cancer), and it is very versatile. It’s also a staple for this time of year if, like me, you try and eat vegetables that are in season. I love it sliced thinly in stir-fries and noodle soups, or in a creamy pasta sauce, but if you want it to be the focus of your meal you can’t beat a dish of stuffed cabbage. My recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

one cabbage

tin of chopped tomatoes

two tbsp tomato puree

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I was on a bit of a baking kick this weekend, getting up at seven o’clock on Saturday morning to attempt to make some bread. I tried some sourdough a couple of weeks ago which was a complete failure, so this time I was less ambitious and made a simple white loaf using Nigella Lawson’s recipe from How to Eat. As you can see, it turned out rather well, but I think I will make a larger loaf next time as this one had vanished by the end of the day...

What did you have on your pancakes this year? I went for a gruyere leek filling – finely slice some leeks, fry and then add béchamel sauce and grated gruyere. Yummy.

I've recently adaptated my tom yum soup recipe (see “Tom Yummy”, July 2006)– I had the idea of adding some ingredients to make it a bit more filling and it’s so good that it’s become my staple diet for the last month. The main soup recipe is exactly the same, except that before adding any of the vegetables, I sieve out the galangal, lemongrass, onion and chilli bits. This means you can be a bit less careful in your chopping, can add the chillis without deseeding them (which I always find a bit of a pain), and also means you don’t keep having to fish woody bits out of your soup. After sieving, you’ll be left with a sort of stock to which you can then add the vegetables...

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This is not exactly a classical Thai recipe but it is very quick to make and, I think, very nice! The core  ingredients are the sort of thing that you can keep in your fridge for quite a long time, adding whatever vegetables you happen to have around.

Ingredients

block of tofu, chopped into small cubes (I use Cauldron organic tofu)

half an onion, finely sliced

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My dad taught me this Madeiran recipe last week, and I’ve made it at least twice since then - I only like eating bananas when they’re under-ripe, so this is perfect for using up bananas that have gone a bit squishy, and it’s really easy to make too.

Ingredients

Banana

Butter

Sugar

Method

Melt a large chunk of butter in a frying pan. Once it is melted and bubbling slightly (be careful not to burn it) add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and stir until dissolved. Then add the banana, cut in half lengthways, and fry until lightly browned. Serve immediately (and then go back to the pan when it’s cooled and pick out all the bits of toffee.)

I had a real craving for Glamorgan sausages the other day, and when I got home my cook (aka my wonderful boyfriend) had made some for me . This is the recipe, with his comments:

Ingredients

250 g grated Caerphilly cheese ( or use Lancashire)

150 g white breadcrumbs (plus more for coating)

3 tablespoons of spring onions, finely chopped

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It’s currently asparagus season, but won’t be for much longer so get in there quickly! It’s a flexible vegetable - you can add it to salads, omelettes, quiche, pasta or even pizza if you’re feeling a bit experimental, but I think simple is best - simply snap off and bin the woody stems, steam and then add butter, salt and pepper for a real treat.