Nigel Slater Kitchen Diaries: Chicken with Mustard Seed and Coconut Milk

I'm on recipe number 5 from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries. This one was really tasty! This one involved browning the chicken, using a pestle and mortar to gently release the spices (coriander seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds.) Then take the chicken out of the pan so you can fry the spices. Add tumeric, onions, garlic, dried chilli flakes (meant to be 2 red birds eye chilli), curry leaves and chopped tomatoes, fried for 5 mins.

After pour in a tin of coconut milk and then return the chicken to simmer in the mixture for 30 mins. Very delish!

Nigella Lawson's Feast: One Pan Sage and Onion Chicken and Sausage

First I peeled and cut the onions into eighths and put it into a freezer bag with oil, mustard, dried sage, black pepper, lemon juice and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Squidged it around, then added the chicekn pieces. Left it to marinate in the fridge for over 2 days.

Then Preheated the oven to gas mark 7, put the chicken into a roasting tin, skin side up with the marinade. Put the sausages in. Sprinkled a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage over the chicken and sausages. Roasted it for over an hour, turned the sausages midway through so that they could brown evenly. Enjoyed it immensely.

For desert, I made an apple crumble. Stuffed!

Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook: Cinnamon Rolls

I'm on a roll! I was trying to do some work at home but ended up baking instead. I've got a pile of recipe books with a list of recipes I want to try. Next up was Cinnamon Rolls. It looked interesting to make and besides I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen cupboards.

First sifted the flour and sugar into a bowl and stirred in the yeast and salt. Made a well in the middle, poured in the tepid milk, egg and melted butter, and stirred to make a sticky dough.

Kneaded the dough until it was elasticated and smooth. Added in the raisins and cinnamon and continued kneading. Then divided the dough into about 20 even pieces. Shaped each piece into 20-25cm strands, flattened them.

Mixed the sugar and cinnamon together to sprinkle on each strip of dough. Then rolled them up tightly into spirals. Lightly oiled 3 baking trays and then put rolls on them. Covered with oiled cling foil and left them for a hour to double in size.

Preheated oven on gas mark 5, brushed rolls with milk to glaze. Then baked for 30-40mins. Then transferred them to a wire rack. Made a glaze with icing sugar, water and vanilla essence. Finally, brushed the rolls with the glaze. Again yum!

Wright's Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato Bread

I'd been meaning to bake some bread for ages but had been putting it off because I thought it would be too much effort, all that kneading and proving. But a friend had sown the seed in my head, after he'd spent many weekends successfully baking many loaves. Told me that he'd fallen in love with the smell and eating freshly baked bread was heaps better than supermarket bread.
I spotted Wright's Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato Bread Mix in Sainsbury. Thought this would be a great way to start me off. A packet of bread mix and just add water. Yes, I was sold! I could do this! But I'd left it in the cupboard for over a month before I'd got round to testing it out.

Anyway, first you put the mix in a bowl, add some water. mix it until it becomes doughy. Then leave it for about 10mins. After put it on a clean floured surface. Knead it for a while. I forget for how long. Then either make it into a round loaf shape and place it on a greased baking tray or put it into a greased loaf tin. I made mine into a round loaf shape. After put a damp cloth over the dough. Leave for about 30-40mins. The dough will double in size. Then place in a pre-heated oven gas mark 8 to bake for 30mins.

Ahhh...the smell of baking bread was lovely. A bit of the Mediterranean in my kitchen!! The result was brilliant. I served it warm with some butter and had it with Yellow Split Pea soup and frankfurters. Loved it, would definitely do it again.

Krissyho Improv: Fiery Sweet and Sour Beef Noodles

Lunch, thought I'd use up the left over roast beef from the Valentine's dinner my husband had lovingly cooked. Decided to make my own Fiery Sweet and Sour Beef Noodles. Boiled some dried egg noodles. Then added half a beef oxo cube with a big splash of soy sauce. Whilst it was boiling shredded some sweet cabbage leaves, cut some shitake mushrooms into quarters and threw it in.

When the noodles were al dente, served it in a large bowl. Spooned in some shrimp chilli sauce (you can add as much or little as you like according to your taste), a splash of black vinegar and some sugar to give it that fiery sweet and sour taste. Finally, placed the sliced beef on top and sprinkled with chopped spring onions. Yum!