Dee's Little Blog Space

Still no sign of the camera lead.. If it doesn’t show up soon I’ll send for a replacement..

I’m resorting to swiping photo’s from sites I got these recipes from, and linking to them – credit where credits due!

I am a soup’aholic. There.. I said it.

In fact I’m a one pot throw it all in kinda girl.  Soups, Stews Casseroles  Hot Pots… I trawl the web looking for recipes and if I could possibly get away with it, i would chuck everything out of my kitchen bar the cauldron. lol. I  have a large Le Creuset casserole {did you know Creuset is french for cauldron}

#Le Creuset has been making superb, award winning cookware since 1925 and the secret recipe of ingredients remains the same today. Each piece is made from a unique mould into which molten iron is poured from a large cauldron (called a creuset).#

It’s become a family joke now.. if someone asks for me, they always reply.. She’s in the kitchen stirring her cauldron – yawn! My one pot soupy, stewie obsession started years ago when I was on a diet. {Remember the cabbage diet} what can I say –  I was young and foolish and if my memory is correct, quite windy.. lol  I was on that torturous  regime for a week feeling week and nauseous before I came to my senses and realised there’s more to life than cabbages and more to the point, most soups stews etc are healthy and low fat. That was the start of my search for one pot recipes … and the end of my diet- any diet. Sensible eating  from now on.. Life is too short!

15  years on  I have around 20 one pot recipe books, 4 folders of recipes I have ripped out of magazines and a huge amount of bookmarked sites. If I were to make one recipe a day I wouldn’t get through them in my lifetime – now that’s a scary thought.. I’m just a tad obsessed I think!

Mushroom bacon barley broth

This is a very filling broth, though I would say more like a stew. Iv’e cooked it a few times with the intention of freezing some – its never around long enough to freeze..

Moroccan chickpea soup

This is a favourite of mine to use up the broad beans from the allotment – sometimes its a Moroccan broadie soup when I have no chickpeas and I’ve been known to chuck in some borlotto beans I’ve  grown at the plot..

Hopefully normal service will resume shortly. If my camera lead doesn’t show by the weekend I’ll order a new one.. I’ve got a feeling it could still be hiding in my suitcase since our last trip…

Onion Chutney

Chop 6 large onions as coursely or finely as you like [ I like to use red onions ] and heat with a small amount of sunflower oil in a stainless steel pan until they are soft. Add 3 cups of your chosen vinegar: [ sherry, red wine, or balsamic] I prefer a mix of red wine and balsamic Then add 3 cups of brown sugar, add  a couple of bay leaves and 15-20 crushed black peppercorns. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the onions have gone translucent and all the liquid has evaporated.

Pour the hot mixture straight into small sterilised jars, seal, and store somewhere cool and dark or in the fridge. The chutney should keep for at least 6 months. To ensure the chutney can keep even longer (1 year plus), put the sealed jars in boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes.

The chutney should be left for 4-6 weeks to mature allowing all of the wonderful flavours to develop and mix.

Additional ingredients can be added to this recipe according to your personal taste. A couple of garlic cloves, cumin, thyme,  cloves, sultanas, mustard, apple, and tomato puree all work well. Add a tablespoon of cornflower to thicken up the chutney if desired.

It’s that time of year again.. I usually make this pudding a couple of months before Christmas, around October time..

I cant believe its October already,this year has passed in a blink of an eye…
Traditionally the puddings are made on stir up Sunday
Ingredients..

225g/8oz golden caster sugar
225g/8oz vegetarian suet
340g/12oz sultanas
340g/12oz raisins
225g/8oz currants
110g/4oz candied peel, chopped
110g/4oz plain flour
110g/4oz fresh white breadcrumbs
55g/2oz flaked almonds
1 lemon, zest only
5 eggs, beaten
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
1 level tsp mixed spice
5g/1 level tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
150ml/5fl oz brandy or rum

Method

Mix all the dried fruit in a bowl the brandy and leave to stand covered with a clean tea towel over night..

1. Lightly grease 4×600ml/1 pint or 2×1.2 litre/2 pint pudding basins.
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients.
3. Stir in the eggs and brandy and mix well.
4. Spoon the mix into basins. Put a circle of greaseproof paper [fold to make a pleat] and foil over the top of each basin and tie securely with string. Make a string handle from one side of the basin to the other so it is easier to pick the basin out of the pan after cooking.
5. Put the basins in a large steamer of boiling water and cover with a lid. Boil for 5-6 hours, topping the boiling water up from time to time, if necessary. If you do not have a steamer, put the basins in a large pan on inverted saucers on the base. Pour in boiling water to come a third of the way up the sides of the pudding bowls. Cover and steam as before.
Or place the covered puddings in a deep roasting tray, fill the tray with water, cover the tray with greaseproof paper making a pleat down the centre then cover with foil and steam in the oven.. gas mark 2 / 150c for 4/5 hours [ I prefer the oven method ]
6. Cool. Change the greaseproof paper and foil covers for fresh ones and tie up as before. Store in a cool cupboard until Christmas Day.

To serve: steam for 2 hours and serve with brandy butter, rum sauce, cream or home-made custard.