Ratatouille a la Holly

anyone else a huge fan of this ridiculously healthy tasty side ?? No?? ... oh well - i'm going to blog about it anyway!
I made it last night to go with gammon and it caused uproar in our house.
Gammon can only be eaten with egg and chips in my husbands eyes (or curly fries as he had last night) and i suggested having ratatouille as a healthy option, he could not get his brain around that one.
We had a friend over as we so often do and he adored it - so score !!
The combo worked exceptionally well ...

Blogging on this recipe is literally a guessing game. I throw a bit of this in and a bit of that it but hey ... give it a try.

Literally use what ever quantity you fancy as this freezes really really well and is like about 1 W.W pro point a serving so you can have quite a lot. As you can see from my plate last night.

so this is what i do ...

I dice 3 small red onions and start cooking them down with a knob of butter or two(literally the butter is the only thing you have to count in the recipe so you don't have to worry too much). Meanwhile dice up some carrot (I used two large), into really small chunks so that they are nice and soft, throw them in the pan and keep stirring every few minutes.At this point i add my herbs, two dried bay leaves, garlic (i used dried and threw about a teaspoon in, then crumble a veggie stock cube in, stir through. I DO NOT put salt in. I was eating it with gammon and stock cubes are full of salt and it thought it was perfectly seasoned, but if you want to add salt i would wait until the end and taste it first. I then cut up my courgette, i only had a half of one left so i used that, but i would probably go for one big one if i had had it in. Throw that in, then the peppers, i used one red and one green, i tend to chop into fairly large chunks as it is a nicer texture. Then i whack the lid on, you do have to stir it often though else it sticks. I probably gave it about 10-15 mins with the lid on. Then i take the lid off and add a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, then i let it simmer down. I left it on the hob for about 25 mins stiring regualrly. Et voila ... Ratatouille a la Holly !!

Don't forget to take the bay leaves out before you serve! this serves about 3 or 4 people. If your being strict weight watchers, way out your butter knob and divide the points between the servings to be massively accurate. It shouldn't be more than two points though. If so you've put way more than you needed in the first place.

But pretty much ratatouille goes with any meat and potato dish ! Enjoy an enormous tasty heap of 1 whole weight watchers point. Mmmm mmm!

Sorry for the lack of photos - we have moved house and i cannot find my cable to get photos off my camera so i had to take this on on my phone.

Stu's Killer Jungle Sauce

I best start this blog off with a public health warning!! 
this sauce is HOT !! 
It's Hotter than hot ... 
In fact it's just totally insane ... but if your up for trying it ... he's given me his recipe ... 

Just to give you an idea ... I literally put my finger in the rim of the bottle and tried the tiniest bit ... 
I then downed about 4 pints of milk! Insane ... 
but this is how many Scotch Bonnets he put in it ... so you get an idea ... 

so yeh .. He's pretty insane ... these babies are also home grown! 


anyway if you dare try it ... here's his recipe ... 
I'd suggest cooking this one on a nice day so you can open all the windows and ventilate the house! 


I honestly think though a few drops of this bad boy in a chilli or something would be awesome! 


Jungle Sauce!

10-20 Scotch Bonnets / how ever many you dare!
2 inches ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 tin of tomatoes
handful of chopped oregano or basil 
sea salt
A huge glug of cider vinegar!

Extra:
(half a chopped mango if you fancy it)1.chop 2.simmer 3.blend 4.bottle! 5.ouch! 

strawberry cider

this was the lovely 'aperitif' at our mothers day banquet ... I sort of made it by accident ... but it turned out like a dream!

all it was was a apple and raspberry J2O and a large bottle of cider, and some cut up strawbs ...
pour the J2O  in first (but i think you could use any store bought raspberry fruit juice.
throw you strawbs in the jug, then you pour the cider in exceptionally slowly so that the drinks don't mix .. et voila ... one little word of warning ... this is very VERY drinkable !!
ENJOY !!

Ch Ch Ch Ch Chilli Jam

if you love cheese as much as i do and love a bit of chutney with your crackers and like a bit of spice this is for you !! I grew homegrown chillies to make mine with but i must confess i had to buy a few more to add in as you do need quite a lot to make this recipe, I got about 6 small jars out of it though, so you could always half or even quarter the recipe. Unless you make this as a christmas gift and give it away which is what i'm doing (homemade hampers all the way)

Ingredients:

150g red chillies (deseeded and chopped up into large chunks - use plastic gloves to stop the chilli getting on your fingers)

150g red pepper (again deseeded and chopped into big chunks)
1kg Jam Sugar
600ml Cider Vinegar
6x 250ml Jars

How to ...

Sterilize your jars
put your chillies and peppers into the food processor and blitz until you get fine flecks of chili
dissolve the sugar in the vinegar slowly over a low heat (you do need quite a large pan)
DO NOT STIR - let it dissolve on its own
add the chili mixture to the pan and bring to the boil for 10 minutes
take off heat and allow to cool
leave to thicken for about 40 minutes
then ladle into the jars and seal tightly

Keep you jam in a cool dark place for  up to a year, but once opened it needs keeping in the fridge and it should keep for about a month.

lovely leeks and homegrown too

These leeks are so simple yet so delicious ... 5 ingredients in total. 

leeks           veg stock cube             water                butter             wine 

melt the butter in the pan (quite a big lump but really you can use what you need - butter is key though i dont think low fat spray would produce the same flavour, cut up your leeks, (I used 4 medium leeks - they shrink no end) keep stirring the leeks on a low heat, then the star ingredient: the wine, this added a gorgeous undertone to these buttery leeks ... I had a small glass full left in the bottle and i used that, crumble in the stock cube and simmer. I added water as need, a little at a time depending on how dry your leeks are getting,  and i cooked until the leeks were softnened! mmmm mmm I served these with sausage and mash, but literally i think they'd go with any roast meet or anything. 

roasted pepper and garlic fougasse and garlic and herb fougasse

Mmmm mmmm mmm ... I am loving this fougasse !! It's amazing and looks awesome to present to friends ... and whats more it looks like you've put a lot more effort into it than you have !! :) 

I got Tim to make the dough for me ... it's just the same dough recipe as before ... bread dough recipe

So here's what i did: roasted pepper and garlic fougasse

Ingredients:

1/2 ready prepared dough (see link above for recipe)
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 small spring onion
2 cloves of garlic
a few glugs of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of oregano

Do this prep whilst your dough is rising.

chop the peppers to centimeter square pieces .... and dice the spring onions,
peel the garlic cloves and cut into 6 pieces,
put this in an oven dish and slow roast on about 150 degrees for 40 mins stirring half way through.

When your dough is ready take about half the pepper mix and knead into the dough ... then roll it out onto a lightly oiled tray and puch the rest of the pepper mix in with your fingers.

roasted pepper and garlic fougasse

garlic and herb fougasse

garlic and herb fougasse:

all you need for this one is...

1/2 of the prepared dough (as above)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp marjoram
2 tsp worth of fresh basil leaves (ripped up with you hands)
1 tbs of grated cheese

It's very simple again ...

knead your herbs into the dough, and roll out onto a lightly oiled tray
chop your garlic cloves into small chunks and push them in across the dough
take very small ammounts of cheese and push them in as well

there you go it's ready for baking

bread bread and more bread

If any of you have ever heard my husbands descripton of my bread baked in my breadmaker you'll know he uses the word 'brick' quite regularly.

So i decided to surprise him when he got home from a weekend away with a fresh baked hand made loaf ... which he loved !! :)

So heres what i did ...

Ingredients:
500g strong white bread flour (plus extra flour for dusting)
7g sachet of fast action yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:
Mix flour and yeast together into a large bowl.
Add the salt and sugar.
Boil the kettle and measure out 100 ml of boiling water into a jug, make the water up to 300ml with cold water then add the oil.
Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the liquid and mix (i use my hands).

When its mixed into a sticky dough its time to knead so flour your surface and have fun.
Knead until the dough is smooth.
When  it's smooth put it back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel, i put mine on the windowsil to help the rising process, leave it for an hour.
Put dough back on floured surface and give it a small knead again.
Shape and then place on an oiled oven tray, cover and leave to rise for another 30 mins.

ready to bake

Bake at 220 degrees for about 30 - 35 minutes.

i also made this ...

a Cheddar, red onion and thyme tear and share bread

What you need is ...
Dough made as above (up until it's risen for 1 hour)
1 onion
40g cheddar cheese
2 tsp of thyme

What you have to do is ...

make the bread (as before) up to the first rising time of 1hour.
Then slice your onion really small and cut your self some cubes of cheddar.
Place your dough on a floured surface and knead in your onion and thyme.
Cut your dough in two and roll one half into a rectangular shape.
Place on an oiled tray and then slice a long line diagonally (as in picture), then cut 2/3 more slices either side to create a leaf shape.
Poke your cheese cubes into the bread at various intervals.

Bake at 220 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

pineapple rice

It's been a little while since I last blogged - we've been away to north yorkshire for easter, so i didnt get a lot of time to blog or bake for that matter.

Tim and me at Marsden beach

This was a simple dish i took as a side to a BBQ at a a mates house the other day.

Pineapple Rice:

1 tbsp veg oil
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp mild curry powder
600g cooked rice
300g fresh pineapple chunks cut into small pieces
4 tbsp soy sauce
pinch sugar
finely sliced spring onion

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the shallot until they start to turn brown and add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Then add the curry powder and rice and stir fry to separate the grains. Add the pineapple and then the soy sauce and sugar.
Take off the heat and stir through the spring onions.

easy easy french bread pizza

made with fridge and store cupboard essentials!

I was wondering what to have for lunch today! I didn’t have anything exciting in the cupboards just the everyday stuff … so I decided French bread pizza would be nice!

This is what I used …

A Part bake baguette
Cheddar cheese
Onion
Green Pepper
Ham
Oregano
Garlic
Dried grated parmesan
Canned tomatoes

Obviously you can use whatever you have in you cupboard and make your favourite pizza.

Part bake your baguettes – mine needed 10 mins so I gave them about 7, then
using as much or as little as you want … build up your pizza topping, starting with the tomato and ending with the cheese.

Then I baked mine for about another 10 mins … and ate them! ☺

balsamic and brown sugar red cabbage

This is a really simple recipe ... I just throw as much cabbage as you want into a pan with a little oil .. then two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of brown sugar ... leave it to cook on low for 30 - 40 mins ... about half way through add a bit of water and put it up a little higher if cabbage is still a bit hard. keep stiring and voila ... a great side for sausage and mash, or a roast.

pink apple slaw

I went to a friends house for dinner the other night and she made an amazing homemade slaw, I decided to try and make my own and decided to add apple as i'd heard that was good in a slaw. I love red cabbage and will always use it instead of white or green cabbage if possible! hence the pinkness.

It took me about 10 mins to do ad then was ready to go and i made enough for about 4-6 people depending how big a portion your planning on doing as a side.

I used 1 apple and 2 onions but i think less onion and more apple would be better so i've adjusted the recipe for you guys.

Ingredients:
4 carrots
1 onion
100g red cabbage
2 apples

Blitz this in the food processor, i did mine into very small chunks but if you have more of a shredder setting that would leave you longer chunks.

Mix together in a bowl and all I added to this was 95g of mayo, 2 tsp Lemon juice and salt and pepper.

As you can see the colour is incredible ... the kids might even eat it!