Sunday 4 March 2012

Vegetarian for Lent.

I have done something. Something very silly. I have become a vegetarian for Lent.

My mum is a vegetarian and often I think; "pah... It can't be that hard."

It is hard. Very hard. This morning I went to a market. The first stall was a sausage stall, from Cumbria. The man was very lovely, telling me all about his sausages, how he made them just a couple of days before.

"Would I like to try?" he asked. This continued for many stalls. Chorizo untouched, Parma ham ignored.

I am not a vegetarian because I feel sorry for the slaughtered animals, or because I don't like meat. I have become vegetarian for a stupid reason.

And to make it worse, I am going to Paris at the end of the month. Before the end of Lent.

For Lent next year I will give up something easy, like... erm...

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Veggie Sausage Rolls

Now I know that you can not beat a proper sausage. But my mother is a vegetarian.




Grate some strong cheese and mix with a carton of cream (full fat). Add a grated onion, mustard powder and plenty of pepper. Toast some bread and whizz into breadcrumbs and combine in the mixture too. Get your hands in and make some sausage shaped patties. Roll out pastry (lazy) and line up the sausages (or make one massive sausage along the pastry. Roll and trim. Egg wash and egg wash again. Chop into desired length and bake.


Many non- veggies LOVE these bad boys!

Posh Bacon Butty

Posh bacon butty. Bacon from arguably the best butchers in Wales; Edwards of Conwy (ah-mazing sweet cure, thick cut back bacon), vine tomatoes gently fried, french bread with butter (full fat). Done.


Tuesday 28 February 2012

Choppy Egg

Now, I know that this looks a hot mess. I agree. But this is another favourite of mine, from when I was a kid and poor. My mum used to make it for my breakfast. It is basically fried egg on toast (with full- fat butter), but the magic happens when you chop each slice into 16 pieces. Bite-sized heaven. My mum says I should have grown out of finger food by now...





Monday 27 February 2012

Some cute little cakes I made. I love piping icing.



Sunday 26 February 2012

Rib of Beef

This was a treat tea one night. Sorry about the poor picture, funny lighting. Anyway, this rib of beef was bigger than my head. I marinated it in rosemary and garlic (my favourite) and gave it a jolly good rub before sealing and putting it in the oven for the briefest of time; Served blue.


Fruity Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for my stepdad's birthday. Needless to say he was rather impressed. However, it was nearly a disaster...





I had been very careful when making this cheesecake as I hadn't made one before. Once I had put it in the oven and I was clearing away, I realised I had forgotten to add the sugar. So I had to mix in the sugar in the cake tin, being careful not to mess up the base. Nightmare.

The fruit looks really pretty on top, I dipped each piece in caster sugar and it gave a nice glaze. 

And as well as looking good, it tasted fantastic.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Florentines

I made some florentines before Christmas. They were a bloody nightmare... I had to paint each of them with a different flavour of chocolate. I realised afterwards that it would have been easier to use white chocolate and add different food colouring. They looked fab though.

Friday 24 February 2012

Scallops with Chorizo and Pea Puree

These were so easy. Cook peas in chicken stock. Drain off some of the stock and pulse the remainder with the peas in a blender with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the chorizo, then use the chorizo oil to quickly flash- fry the scallops. Heaven.

Thursday 23 February 2012

Blackberry Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Oh God these were so good. I love the cases and the fruit on the top. I put quite a lot of baking powder into the mixture so they were quite an 'interesting' texture inside. Delicious still though.


Wednesday 22 February 2012

French Mac & Cheese

My mum brought me some bright yellow pasta home from France. So yellow because it was made using so many egg yolks. One of my absolute favourites, especially if I need cheering up!



Make a roux using butter (full fat) and flour. Slowly add the milk (full fat) until the sauce has thickened. Grate a huge amount of cheese (full fat) and stir in. I like plain old cheddar- this isn't the place to be getting fancy. Add some almost cooked pasta (preferably yummy yellow french stuff) and bake, or grill until crispy on the top. I love it with tenderstem broccoli. 

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Raspberry and Almond Tart

Ah-maze. Especially with a cup of tea. With fresh raspberries and home-made pastry.



Monday 20 February 2012

Beef Wellingtons

I haven't blogged for so long. But here we go...


I made some ah-mazing beef wellingtons last week, what with being off school I have actually had time to cook! They were monsters.



Fry the finest beef fillet in a hot- hot- hot pan to brown and remove immediately. Finely chop some big portobello mushrooms and season with a ton of salt and pepper and fry them in the same pan. Blanch some savoy cabbage and dry with a tea- towel. Roll out the pastry (despite being off school, I still haven't got enough time to make puff pastry...) and layer cabbage, mushrooms, steak, mushrooms and cabbage. Cover with more pastry and top with a heart (I am such a girl). Wash with free- range egg and much as possible (chilling in the fridge in between) and bake for 15 minutes, or unitl the pastry browns.