French Bread Day

Did you know? Did anybody know? French bread day. How bizarre.

Any way awe love French bread here so I think I may have to make some fresh homemade  soup when I get in from work and buy a couple of loaves of soft French bread.

 That's dinner sorted 

Beef Stifado

I made a Beef Stifado in the slow cooker yesterday and it really didn't disappoint.

We love Stifado. We have had it all Greece, some parts of Greece use Rabbit I won't eat Rabbit but Geoff will have it and he says its just as nice.

Just when I added the shallots

Ready to eat. 



This is the recipe I use.

Ingredients

For the marinade:

• 2-3 sprigs rosemary
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2tsps dried or 2 tbsps freshly chopped oregano
• 125ml red wine
• 2tbsps red wine vinegar
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 3-4 cloves
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken into large pieces

For the beef:

• 750g-1kg  diced beef
• 6tbsps light olive oil
• 500g shallots or small onions, peeled
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2tbsps tomato purée
• 1 beef stock cube
• Orzo pasta, to serve
• Oregano leaves, for garnish

When searing meat, don't turn it too much as that reduces the temperature of the pan. Allow one surface to brown, then turn, until seared all over.

Method

1. Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade, then stir in the beef, cover the bowl and leave in the fridge for a few hours or, preferably, overnight.
2. Set the oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas Mark 4. Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large pan and cook the shallots, or small onions, for 7-10 mins, until they start to turn golden, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Drain the beef as well as possible, reserving the marinade juices.
3. Heat 2 more tbsps of oil and cook half the drained beef until it's seared on all sides and starting to turn brown, then transfer it to a casserole dish. Heat the remaining oil, cook the rest of the beef and add to the casserole.
4. Pour the marinade into the pan and add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, the stock cube and 100ml water. Bring the mixture to the boil, then pour it into the casserole over the beef. Season. Cover the dish and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
5. Add the shallots or onions to the casserole, re-cover and cook for a further hour, or until the meat is tender. Serve with orzo, garnished with oregano leaves.

Ginger pineapple Pork

I found a recipe on another blog that looked really tasty so I thought i'd give it ago. Well I have to give him meat sometimes.

It was really easy to make and it was delicious

I'm off out tonight with work to the Indian tiffin room  for a belated birthday celebration. 

STICKY SESAME CAULIFLOWER BITES

After the success of the last couple of day I wanted to try STICKY SESAME CAULIFLOWER BITES. 

They were so easy to make. I didn't put too much sauce on them though as i'me taking them to work for my lunch with some salad. 

Here's the recipe 

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 whole egg whites
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce or sriracha
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• chopped green onions, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
3. Add egg whites to a large ziploc bag; add cauliflower florets, close the bag, and shake it around until everything is well combined. 
4. In a separate ziploc bag combine panko crumbs, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; add cauliflower florets to the bag, close it, and shake it around until everything is well combined.
5. Transfer cauliflower florets to previously prepared baking sheet; bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
6. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
7. In a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, combine sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and garlic; bring to a simmer.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
9. In a small mixing bowl combine cornstarch and water and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.
10. Add cornstarch mixture to soy sauce mixture and stir to combine; remove from heat.
11. Remove cauliflower florets from oven and either add them to the sauce OR pour sauce over the florets. Mix until well combined.
12. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
13. Serve as appetizer or serve over rice.

A vegetarian recipes

Because Natasha is a vegetarian  we tend to have a few meat free meals a week. Geoff doesn't seem to mind and to be quite honest I much prefer them.


I didn't know what to cook yesterday. I was having a look around instagram and came across Jamie Oliver's post he had just made a pasta dish that looked simple and delicious.


I had all the ingredients in. So I thought I would give it a go.

It was lovely and very filling.

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 15 g fresh thyme
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms
• 320 g cauliflower
• olive oil
• 200 g wholewheat penne
• 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 100 g ricotta cheese
• 1 lemon
• 20 g Parmesan cheese

TAP FOR INGREDIENTS

Method

1. Fill a large pan with salted water, place on a high heat and bring to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and onion, then halve, deseed and finely slice the chilli. Pick the thyme leaves.
3. Trim and slice three-quarters of the mushrooms. Trim the cauliflower, remove and discard the leaves, then chop the cauliflower florets and stalk into small chunks.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide saucepan on a medium heat, add the garlic, onion, chilli and thyme, then cook gently for 10 minutes, or until golden.
5. Add the sliced mushrooms and cauliflower, cover with a lid and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until softened.
6. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until al dente – this means it’s cooked, but still has a bit of bite.
7. Meanwhile, pick and finely chop the parsley leaves. Trim and very finely slice the remaining mushrooms.
8. Once softened, mash the cauliflower mixture with a fork until broken down, but still with a bit of texture. Stir in the ricotta, then season to taste with sea salt, black pepper and the juice from half the lemon.
9. Reserving a cupful of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pan, off the heat. Tip in the sauce and stir well, adding splashes of the cooking water to loosen, if needed. Taste and season with salt, pepper and the remaining lemon juice.
10. Stir in the sliced raw mushrooms, most of the Parmesan cheese and half of the parsley leaves. Serve with the remaining chopped parsley and cheese sprinkled on top.

Tomorrows dinner is another Vegetarian offering.Apparently it's better the next day.  I can take this to work with me and have it later. 

Ingredients

For the Chickpea Meatloaf

• 2-14 oz. cans or 3 1/3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
• 3 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

For the Maple Glaze

• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tsp. paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly oil a 9 inch loaf pan.
2. Working in batches if needed, place all meatloaf ingredients into food processor bowl and pulse until chickpeas are broken up and ingredients are well mixed, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Do not overblend. If working in batches, transfer each batch to a large mixing bowl when complete and then mix by hand.
3. Press mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake 30 minutes.
4. While meatloaf bakes, stir glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
5. Remove loaf from oven after 30 minutes and spoon glaze overtop of loaf. Bake another 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Recipe Notes

The longer this sits, the firmer it gets. If it initially feels a bit soft for your liking, let it sit a for a few minutes or prep it a day in advance and reheat the day of serving.

Heres mine cooling.