Mar 25th: Spanish Style Meatballs, Roast Potatoes & Swede

Recipe Source: I think Good Food magazine, though I can't swear to it.

Tasting notes: not sure what was particularly Spanish about these, but they were tasty. The potatoes and swede I just cut into fingers and drizzled with olive oil, throwing in a little sage and rosemary.  

Mar 24th: South Indian Pepper Chicken (new)

Recipe Source: Fresh Indian: Over 80 Healthy Indian recipes, Sunil Vijayakar

Tasting Notes: we liked this - the heat, such as it was, came from black pepper rather than chilis, so it had a different type of taste to some curries, but that was nice. Very creamy, without being full of fat. A definite one to repeat. Served with okra and tomatoes (which was less popular with the kids!)

Mar 22nd: Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Recipe Source: none, really. I've made this so many times, I just make it!

Tasting notes: Always a favourite. Usually I make it with at least part frozen spinach (defrosted) because otherwse you need a LOT of spinach and it's a pain.

Spanakopita:

about 6 sheets filo pastry

spinach - a lot. I use about 500g frozen spinach, defrosted and a large bag of fresh spinach

3 eggs

a bunch of spring onions, chopped

fresh nutmeg, optional

1 block feta cheese

melted butter or spray oil

To make the filling, squeeze out the frozen spinach really well and put in a mixing bowl. Pour a kettle of boiling water  over the fresh spinach, then squeeze out and chop finely; add to the bowl.  Chop and add the spring onions, break in the eggs, crumble in the feta cheese and mix well. Hands work best. Add a grating or two of fresh nutmeg if you like.

Spray a sheet of filo pastry with oil or brush with melted butter and place in the bottom of a lasagne, etc dish.  Do this again with 2 more sheets.  Add the filling, then put three more sheets of pastry on the top and bake in a medium oven (about 150C) until set and browned, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Mar 21st: Spring into summer pasta

Recipe Source: Good Food Magazine

Tasting notes: nice and fresh, liked the ricotta with this, really light and fresh tasting.

Mar 20th: Red Onion and Cannelini Bean Risotto

Recipe Source: Sylvana Franco, Delicious Low-Fat Recipes

Tasting Notes:  Forgot to take a photo of this before it was mostly gone! Tasty, easy, etc. 

Mar 19th: Salmon with greens and creme fraiche

Recipe Source: Good Food Magazine

Tasting notes:  Despite not photographing well, this tasted very nice - the broad beans especially benefitted from having a sauce (frozen ones can sometimes be a bit dry). 

Mar 18th: Surprise Tatin

Recipe Source: Plenty, Yottam Otolenghi

Tasting Notes:  this was really nice though it did fall apart a little when served. I used already sunblush tomatoes, rather than drying my own cherry tomatoes. We thought the puff pastry was a little thick; next time I will roll it even thinner.

Mar 15th: Spinach and Cheese Lasagne

Recipe Source: Good Housekeeping: Favourite One Pot and Slow-Cook Meals

Tasting Notes: Yum. I used more spinach, a 500g bag - I chopped up a few handfuls like in the recipe, the rest, I just put in a layer under the pasta (both times).  We like spinach, though. Didn't use pine nuts as I was out and didn't feel like walking down to the local shop (our local shop does have them, though, as it's a fabulous middle eastern grocery, etc).

Mar 14th: Chicken Broth

Recipe Source: The New Covent Garden Food Co; A Soup for Every Day

Tasting Notes: Other than the fact that we all like chicken soups, the attraction of this one was that it used the other half of a swede I had leftover from the Cornish Pasties the other day. It was nice, a good winter warmer. I didn't return the potatoes to the pan until everything was almost completely cooked, though.

Mar 13th: Leek & bacon risotto

Recipe Source: Good Food Magazine, date unknown

Tasting notes: Very nice. Not that I precisely use a recipe for risotto, but the idea of bacon, leek and chive was a nice one. I admit, I had no parmesan cheese (unusual for us) or emmental (which would have been my second choice) so I used a bit of a nice, strong, cheddar, which worked fine.

Mar 11th: Meat & Veg Pasties

Recipe Source: Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies. 

Tasting Notes: We wonder if we aren't allowed to call them Cornish Pasties because we aren't making them in Cornwall!  Lovely, really nice and the pasty especially good. I've made Cornish Pasties before, but not using this recipe - I think I used a Rick Stein one before, which was also good, but this one edged it a bit, especially the pastry.

Mar 10th: Penne with mushrooms, spinach and chives

Recipe Source; magazine, not sure which (but not Good Food as the layout and font aren't right)

Tasting notes: Really nice. The kids complained about the mushrooms, but actually, not as much as I expected. Doubled the spinach and and usual, used 500g bag of penne, which gave us some leftovers.

Mar 9th: Cottage Pie

Recipe Source: no recipe. Basically, chopped onion, carrot, parsnip and celery and beef mince (for shepherd's pie, I'd use lamb mince), brown everything and then cook with a little stock for as long as you have time to (usually 1.5 - 2 hours); then strain, reserving the cooking juices for gravy and top with mashed potato, returning to the oven to crisp up the top of the potato...

Mar 7th: Mango chicken

Recipe Source: Chinese Food Made Easy, Ching-He Huang

Tasting Notes: A few changes to this one- I increased the amounts to make it feed 4 (Sarah not in for dinner tonight) and I put some carrots in, as I had no red pepper in the house. The mangoes I used were both not very ripe; I used the riper one for the puree and the greener one in the dish, which was perfect - it made it a little sour, in a good way, and the texture was nice. I did pre-cook the carrots and mango a little, rather than simply add them at the end.  Unusual, but really, really tasty.

Mar 6th: Chorizo, potato & thyme quesadillas

Recipe Source: Mexican Food Made Simple, Thomasina Miers

Tasting Notes: We all really liked this. I doubled the recipe, more or less, and there was some (but not a lot) leftover to have cold the next day in lunches, which also worked. I served it with an avocado & tomato salsa, quite basic, just avocado, tomatoes, lime juice, chopped chili - but it helped keep it nice and fresh and added a little veg to the meal!

Mar 5th: Sweet potato and red lentil soup (new)

Recipe Source: Good Food magazine, date unknown

Tasting notes: Geoff said this was a bit sweet, and I guess it was, but I like sweet potato, so it doesn't bother me. Alex loved it, but he's a soup monkey. 

Mar 4th: Lamb, Chickpea and Pear Tagine (new)

Recipe Source: Lorraine Pascal, Home Cooking made simple

Tasting notes: we were originally unsure about the pear, but actually it works very well. I served this with couscous and it was a lovely, earthy, flavourful tagine, great for a really dismal March day. 

Mar 3rd: Frenchish Chicken and Red Wine Casserole (new)

Recipe Source: Delicious Low-Fat Recipes by Silvana Franco

Tasting Notes:  this was lovely. Often when you cook chicken without the skin, it's dry, but this was nice and juicy, from cooking in so much liquid I guess. I used only thighs, not drumsticks (and one breast, which was lurking in the freezer). And I used Kalamata olives, not black - we all prefer them. The bread topping was great. I took the lid off the pan completely for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking (before putting the bread on and putting it in the oven) and turned the heat up, to reduce the liquid a bit. Just the right amount of orange (I used quite a small one; if it was larger, I might only juice half of it) - any more would be too much. 

Here it is before I've finished putting the bread on and putting it in the oven...

Mar 2nd: Thai style mince with fragrant rice

Recipe source: Ainsley Harriott's Low Fat Meals in Minutes

Tasting notes: This is one we've had many times before; everyone likes it. This time, I more or less doubled it, and we have some leftovers.  We liked it cooked longer than in the recipe - I usually let the mince cook for more like 20-25 minutes, not 5-10. 

Mar 1st: Spiced Potatoes, Cauliflower and Okra with Ginger and Garlic (new!)

Recipe source: The Great Vegetarian Cookbook, Rosamond Richardson

Tasting Notes: Forgot to photograph this when we had it! To be honest, this wasn't that inspiring. It was fine, nothing wrong with it (though Olivia prefers a curry with a sauce to a drier curry), but not inspiring. Might make a nice dish in a big Indian buffet, but as a main dish or one of two main dishes, just not that thrilling.

February Roundup

• 29th: leftovers, etc.
• 28th: Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce, salad, bread
• 27th: Coconut Chicken Soup
• 26th: Steak and Ale Pie
• 25th: Frozen pizzas (kids only - K&G went out!)
• 24th: Jacket potatoes with toppings (Kate went out!)
• 23rd: Red Thai Meatball Curry
• 22nd: Spaghetti with lemon and olives
• 21st: Courgette, Pea and Spinach Soup
• 20th: Stir-fried Chicken with Soy, Honey and Cashews
• 19th: Goat's Cheese and Pesto Canneloni
• 18th: Vegan Lancashire Hotpot
• 17th: Linguine Carbonara
• 16th: Chickpea and Spinach Curry
• 15th: Summer chicken one pot
• 14th: Calypso Pork Chops; Coconut Rice
• 13th: Artichoke, Bacon and Cheese Tart
• 12th: Risotto alla Pomodoro
• 11th: Rack of lamb, new potatoes, carrots
• 10th: Chicken, Green Bean and Potato Curry
• 9th: Macaroni Cheese with Broccoli
• 8th: Thai Prawn Soup
• 7th: Minty Lamb Flatbreads
• 6th: Spaghetti with Pancetta, Butter Beans and Rosemary
• 5th: Chicken soup with noodles and pak choi
• 4th: Roast Chicken, roast potatoes, cabbage, gravy
• 3rd: Black Pepper Tofu; sugar snap peas
• 2nd: Fish fingers, oven potatoes, peas
• 1st: Courgette and Tarragon Soup

Feb 28th: Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce

Recipe Source: Good Food Magazine, August 2001

Tasting notes: We've had this a number of times; it's quick and easy. I usually serve (tonight being no exception) it with salad and bread...

Feb 27th: Coconut Chicken Soup

Recipe Source: no idea, I'm afraid. Clipped it ages ago without crediting it. Not Good Food, for once - wrong font!

Tasting notes:  Tasty, not spicy despite the chili. We've had this before and had noted at the time that it would be nice with rice noodles as well - so this time I added some. Also added green beans again and a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach, which I had left from something (Sarah's DT class cooking, I think). Yum.

Feb 26th: Steak and Ale Pie

Recipe Source: Hairy Bikers: Perfect Pies

Tasting Notes: Good. Nothing to say, really.