I hate it when you spend good money on something to eat and then when you get it home, it tastes like cardboard.  I bought a bag of apples the other day, and not just any old apple either . . .  Pink Ladies.  When I got them home and bit into one, it had about as much flavour as a piece of paper.  ZIP!  

  

There was no sweetness to it . . .  none of that juiciness that you would expect from an apple.  Perhaps I am just spoiled . . .  or maybe it is just apples at this time of year.  In any case I was really disappointed and I had spent almost £3 on 4 apples.  If the price of petrol wasn't so high I would have gone back to the store with them., but instead I just grumbled about it and that was that.  

  

It was the same as a punnet of pears that I bought, supposedly home-ripening.  HAH!  A week later, they are still as hard as rocks, and I took a bite from one today and it was BLECH!   I seriously doubt they will ever ripen.  It's positively criminal. I can't wait until the apples, plums and pears are ready on our trees!    

  

I had gotten some Granny Smith's to make Todd an apple pie with, but today I didn't feel like making a pie and I made this apple tray bake instead, which is (in my opinion) just as good if not better than an apple pie, and I think a whole lot easier and I was feeling rather lazy . . . 

  

With their buttery short bread base and sweet apple filling, not to mention that short buttery crumble topping, these always go down a real treat.  You can use whatever flavour of jam you want in them.  Today I used raspberry jam because that is what I had on hand.  They turned out fabulous!  As always.  Not quite pie . . .  but then again, I never heard anyone complaining either!



*Apple Crumble Tray Bake*

   





I just love a good tuna burger.  I can remember cooking "Italian Tuna Burgers" in home economics when I was at school.   

   

I've noticed a lot of this ready made in the shops recently.  Charging at a premium price, for what looks to be a very small piece of meat.  By the time you bought enough to serve your family, it would cost a small fortune.   Why buy ready made when it's so easy to make at home, and probably much tastier too!  

  

It does take a bit of planning as you need to rub the meat with the spice rub on the evening prior to cooking.   The meat then marinates overnight in this mixture.  The next morning you simply place it into the slow cooker with some barbecue sauce and Worcestershire and let the slow cooker do all the hard work.  

  

This leaves you free to do whatever you want all day, free from worry, as dinner is cooking itself in the slow cooker.  Of course if you don't have a slow cooker, you can simply pop it all into a casserole dish and cook it in a very slow oven for the same amount of time.  I would suggest  a temperature of 150*C/300*F.  Do check it from time to time though, just to make sure it's not burning or going dry.  

             

In any case by the end of the day you will be rewarded with fork tender beef in a lovely sauce, perfect for shredding and spooning out onto toasted buns.  I like to top mine with sweet pickled hot peppers and bake a few oven chips on the side.  Salad is also nice on the plate, just so you get some of your five a day you know.  We all need those!  Enjoy!  

                                                                                    

*Barbecued Brisket*

 

We've had some really miserable rainy dull days this week.   With the rain comes cooler temperatures and I have really been struggling to keep from turning the heat on.  I don't want to have to spend the extra money on heat if I can help it, especially at this time of year!



I am really enjoying  The Froothie Optimum 9400 Blender  which I was sent a few weeks back. It has really been making short work of all of the blending and blitzing in my kitchen, and it especially shines when it comes to make something as delicious as a smooth and creamy soup like this Honeyed Tomato Soup.  It takes hardly any time at all to use.  I am really loving it.  



*Honeyed Tomato Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A deliciously simple tomato soup, slightly sweetened with honey. I find the honey helps the tomatoes from being too acidic. It just tastes wonderful. Who would guess that is is low in fat!

2 (390g) pouched of chopped Italian tomatoes with onions and garlic (about 4 cups)
2 ribs of celery chopped
splash of white wine
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 TBS runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
250ml of skimmed evaporated tinned milk (1 1/4 cup)
250ml of 2% milk (1 1/4 cup)

Place the tomatoes, celery, white wine, sage and rosemary into a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer. Stir in the honey and season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the celery is soft. Blitz until smooth with a stick blender if you have it, or very carefully in a regular blender. Alternately you can put it through a moulee. Return to the heat. Whisk in most of the tinned milk, reserving a bit for a garnishing. Whisk in the milk. Heat through. Ladle out into 4 heated soup bowls. Drizzle a bit of the reserved tinned milk on top and drag through it with a toothpick to make a lovely swirl.  



I am really loving having this new toy to play with.  I am looking forward to creating a lot of new things with it, especially with the summer months coming up.  I see lots of tasty fruit smoothies, salad dressings, sauces, etc.  This little baby is going to get a lot of use for sure!  

To find out more about this beautiful machine do check out the Froothie Homepage.   To find out more about the specifications of it and just what it can do,  remember it's not just a blender.
Of course if you are as impressed as I am with what I have done with this machine you can just buy one now.With a one month trial, money back guarantee which includes return postage costs from the UK, you can't lose!

I am going to try making mayonnaise in it this week, so watch this space!

   

This is a recipe that I have seen kicking around the internet for years which I have always wanted to make. It always sounded simple and delicious, and of course you know that my main criteria for cooking here at home is simple and delicious!   I can be rather lazy when it comes to cooking.   Quick, easy and delicious works for me!  Don't get me wrong.  I can do complicated  with my eyes closed . . .  but why???  If I can find a short cut which will get me the same results.  I'm taking it.

 

And you really couldn't get much simpler than this actually . . . chicken mini fillets (Or chicken tenders as they are called in North America) dusted with a tasty mix of spices, browned in butter (*slurp!) and then simmered in cream until done. (**Double slurp!)   Yes . . .  I am also somewhat of a glutton.

 

There is a little tendon which lays on the bottom side of these mini chicken fillets which I always remove.  I don't like the texture of it in my chicken.  It can make them a bit tough if you leave it in.  It's not all that difficult to remove. You can see it quite easily, it's very visible.  Just lay your chicken piece, underside up on a cutting board and firmly grip the end of the tendon with your left thumb and forefinger and then using a very sharp knife start to slide it down the of the tendon, chivvying the knife against the tendon without cutting through  . . . Once you have it all loosened, just throw it away!  

   

Then it's as simple as just mixing the spices and rubbing them into the chicken pieces and browning them, then pouring on the cream.   Talk about big time flavour for very little effort!  You will love this.  I know we sure did!    I serve it simply with some steamed new potatoes (so good this time of year) and haricot verts.   Delicious!




*Chicken Lazone*

335ml of beef stock (1 1/2 cups) 1 small jar of marinara sauce (1 1/2 cups) 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and black pepper to taste
splash of hot pepper sauce 1 bay leaf 1/2 pound of uncooked spaghetti noodles, broken into bits 1 cup chopped leftover roast beef or browned ground beef or turkey a handful of grated mixed mozzarella and cheddar cheese finely grated Parmesan cheese




Put the beef broth and spaghetti sauce in a large skillet ong with the seasonings and the broken spaghetti.  Stir to coat the pasta well.

Bring to the boil, then reduce  to a simmer, cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times.  Stir in the cooked meat and cover again.

 

Let it cook for a further 5 minutes or so to heat through, adding a further 110ml (1/2 cup) of water if need be. Remove the pan from the stove.

Cover with the cheeses.  Place lid on for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese and serve.

I was recently sent a few flavour extracts from the Nielsen-Massey Vanillas company to use in my baking.   I am no stranger to the Nielsen Massey line.  I have a drawer containing quite a few different ones, and of course their line of Vanilla products have been a favourite of mine for a number of years now.

Their most famous product is their Vanilla extract.  Started in 1907 in the United States, this family-owned business has gone from strength to strength. Want to know the secret of their super high quality? They use a cold-extraction process, slowly and gently extracting every bit of flavour from the beans, without harming them using heat.    They also have quite a variety of other pure extracts, including coffee, almond, chocolate, lemon, orange, peppermint, orange blossom and rose water.    I was sent a bottle each of the orange blossom, vanilla and rose water.

Like I said, I use the Vanilla all the time so there is nothing really new about that, but this was my first time using Rose Water or Orange Blossom Water.  If you are a fan of turkish delight you would already be familiar with the flavour of Rose Water as that is the predominant flavour in that lovely sweet treat.  

Sweet and fragrant Rose Water is an elegant steam distillate of rose petals. Its delicate floral notes are perfect in Middle Eastern, Indian and Greek cuisine and offer a wonderful accent to delicate French pastry glazes and creams. In addition to pairing well with vanilla, cream, white and dark chocolate and mild cheeses such as Brie or cream cheese, this water blends nicely with fruits like strawberry, raspberry, lychee and mango. Rose Water can also elevate sweetened hot water or milk and is a delightful way to flavour sugars and cookies.


I did a search on line and came up with a recipe by Sophie Grigson for a delicate sounding Almond Cake with a Rosewater and Lemon Syrup.   It almost sounded Greek with its flavours and of course the texture of the cake very much reminded me of a special Greek Cake that one of my friends back home always made.  I fell in love with it the first time she made it, and I fell in love with this cake as well.

It's incredibly moist . . . and rich.   You start it in a cold oven, which means that the outside surfaces bake first, leaving the centre with an almost damp and incredibly squidgy texture, all of which is greatly enhanced by the Rosewater and Lemon Syrup which you spoon over it as it is cooling . . .  a bit at a time so that it soaks into the cake, adding to it's wonderful depth of flavour and richness.

The syrup had an almost perfumed quality, not at all unpleasant in the least.   The lemon and rosewater went together beautifully.  I simply dusted the top of the cake with a bit of icing sugar to serve.   I thought a nice dollop of  crème fraiche or Greek yogurt would go perfectly with this, and . . . quite simply, it did.



*Almond Cake with a Rosewater & Lemon Syrup*