Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Hallway



John has worked so hard over the last few days. Things are starting to take shape. Thank god, we can say goodbye to the nasty old carpet.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010

On leave!

Since my two week leave started the bloody weather has been utter crap! I have yet to start my major house detox and have not attempted to start on the huge pile of ironing.

But, with extra time on my hands i have been able to cook a few scrummy meals, well actually only two, but this is only day three. Will comment on the fish tomorrow once its cooked and been eaten, if it doesn't kill me!

Baked Whole Sea Bream




Baked Whole Sea Bream Recipe

Serves/Makes: 4
Ingredients:

1 whole sea bream, about 2 1/4 pounds (1.1 kg), scaled and gutted
4 ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 large onion, sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
12 black olives
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
How to cook Baked Whole Sea Bream:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200°C).
Wash the whole sea bream and pat it dry with kitchen paper.
Heat a little oil in a heavy pan and gently fry the onion with the garlic until it is soft but not brown.
Lightly oil a shallow baking dish and spread half the softened onion, garlic and tomato slices over the base of the dish.
Put the whole sea bream on top and surround with the olives.
Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
Sprinkle the lemon juice over the fish, cover with the remaining tomatoes and softened onion and garlic, season again with pepper and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the dish, cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and check the fish before returning it to the oven for a final 10 minutes or until it is cooked.


This recipe for Baked Whole Sea Bream serves/makes: 4

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Steak Pie




Serves 6

•1 large onion, finely chopped
•1lb skirt beef, chopped big bite size bits
•0.5 lb beef sausages
•3 tbsp plain flour
•1 beef stock cube
•salt and freshly ground black pepper

•Oil to fry
•Puff pastry for lid. I cheated and bought ready-made... but feel free to make your own!
Preheat oven to 150c.

Prepare the Skirt...
Heat a little oil in a casserole dish and fry off the onions for a couple of minutes. Season the flour and dredge the skirt beef in it. Add to the onions and brown off. Dissolve the stock cube in a bit of hot water and add to the pan, then top up with boiling water until the meat is covered. Add a decent amount of freshly ground black pepper - about a tablespoon.

Put the lid on the pan and put into a low oven for a couple of hours. Check every so often and top up water as required. The water becomes the gravy, so don't let it dry out!

Add the Sausage...
Chop each sausage into three, and add to the meat. Check water levels again and return to the oven for an hour - checking and giving a stir half way through.

Making the Pie...
Righty ho, so we have a lush base which should be full of the tenderest beef steak. If you squeeze a bit between finger and thumb, it should flake without pressure. And that's how you know it's ready!

Increase oven temperature to 170c.

Pour the meat mixture into a pie tray. Roll out your pastry to be slightly bigger than the pie dish. Cut off a couple of edges of the pastry and stick round the edge of the pie tray.


Brush a bit of milk over the edges, and place the pastry on top. Trim the edges and brush the top with milk. Stab in a couple of steam holes and we're set to go.

Bake the Pie!
Put the pie into the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes or so, while you make up some creamy, buttery mashed potato and steam some veg.


It's not pretty food, it's steak pie!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

My best friends wedding




Yesterday was one of the most fantastic days of my life!
Yesterday was the day my best friend got married.
Yesterday I was sooo proud of my best friend
Yesterday she looked stunning
Yesterday she married the man I believe is her perfect match

Today and forever I wish them both the all the very best of luck!

Sunday, July 25, 2010