Tuna fishcakes

There was some riced (mashed) potato left after dinner the night before. Wondered what to make with it, bright idea, Tuna Fishcakes.
A light lunch served with salad.

Tuna Fishcakes (serves 3)

Ingredients

1 medium potato (mashed)
1 tin tuna drained and flaked
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 free range egg, beaten
1 tablespoons capers
2 oz self-raising gluten free flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Mix the all the ingredients together in a bowl, lightly season. Divide into 6 and shape into patties about 1/2 inch thick.
Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan, add the oil and make sure you swirl around the pan covering all the base.
Turn heat to medium and add the fishcakes. Fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes then flip onto other side, again fry until golden brown. Flip a couple more times until cooked.
Serve with a mixed salad.

Read More

Fish, Mash and Peas + Parsley Sauce (All-in-one White Sauce recipe included)

Time to raid the freezer, when fish is what you fancy, there is nothing like lots of different types available so everyone has what they want. Hubby = cod, daughter and me = plaice.

Yet again, the potato was put through the ricer, leaving it light and fluffy, so much easier to serve and less "claggy".

The fish can be backed in individual foil parcels in the oven. Peas can be boiled on the top.

If you like sauce then the following is so easy to make, I always use the all-in-one method, it's simple and lump free. Easier than a packet mix too.

White Sauce

Ingredients

1oz gluten free plain flour

1oz lactofree butter

1/2 pint lacto free skimmed milk

Method

Put the flour, butter and cold milk into a small saucepan, over a gently heat using a balloon whisk keep stirring until the sauce has thickened, let the sauce bubble for a couple of minutes until the sauce is thoroughly cooked. Season 

Parsley Sauce

add 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, stir and serve.

Cheese Sauce

add 1 teaspoon dijon mustard and 2oz grated cheese, stir until melted and serve

Read More

Leek and Potato Soup - Simple can be all that's needed

Gently does it

When you aren't feeling quite as good as you should, slightly off colour then soup maybe all you fancy. A very simple Leek and Potato soup would be a failsafe, plus I could put into a pour and store bag and pop in the fridge for later.

Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1lb Potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 Leek, washed and sliced
1 Vegetable stock cube
Water to cover
Seasoning

Method

Put all the ingredients in the pan and cover with enough water so that there is 1/2 inch above all the ingredients.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Remove from heat and then blend using a hand blender.
Season to taste. If serving at a dinner party, you can add a swirl of cream and a few chopped chives, but for convalescing leave out the cream.

If chilled, this is a great vichyssoise.

Read More

Chicken Fajitas - when short cuts are good

A very successful dinner last night.

As our daughter has an intolerance to wheat, gluten and dairy, we had bought a Fajita Kit a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I used this to save some time and create a healthy dinner for all of us.
The kit came with the tortillas, salsa and the fajita spice mix.
I used one chicken breast, plus a red and a green pepper and one onion to make the fajitas.
I added some salad leaves and slices of avocado when building the fajitas with the salsa.
A big hit, the aromas in the kitchen were wonderful. A great store cupboard hit, full of nutrients and very low fat.

Read More

Pasta with tomato, courgettes and tuna sauce.

Lunchtime Dilemma

Using leftovers!
What did I have left, 1/3rd tin tuna (well I did leave for daughter yesterday, but she didn't get back until tea time), also had a box of cooked pasta left from yesterday?
I didn't want to waste this and came up with the following dish and whilst it was cooking, I could nip outside into the garden to grab the fresh flat leaved parsley.

Pasta with tomato, courgettes and tuna sauce

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 courgette, cut lengthways into quarters, then chopped along the length
1 tin tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1/3 tin tuna

Method

You need to cook the pasta if you haven't got any ready to reheat.
In a small pan, heat the oil gently and fry the onion until soft, add the garlic and courgette, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and break them up with a spoon as you cook (I prefer tinned tomatoes as they don't have as much water). Add the capers and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes. Just before serving carefully add the tuna, but try not to mask it, a couple of stirs will do. If using precooked pasta, add it to the sauce and heat through. If fresh cooked pasta drain and toss through sauce.
Serve

Read More

Chicken Fricassee

I bought a whole free range chicken and then took the breast off for our meal.

Electric Steamer

We were lucky to receive an electric steamer last year from my sister-in-law, which is brilliant for cooking the vegetables to serve with the dinner, just pop them in using however many tiers as necessary, I even cook my rice in it too, saves on pots and pans and also doesn't need to be watched. The biggest benefit is you don't need salt and keep the vitamins and minerals in the veg, none is cooked away in the water.

Potato Ricer

I also have a potato ricer, this is amazing, no worry of lumps and I don't need butter or milk unless turning into "creamed potatoes". I use the potato ricer to produce small threads of potato, I carefully spoon them onto the plate when serving without compressing them. I also use the ricer directly onto fish pies and cottage style pies, low calorie, lovely crunchy top.

Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 banana shallots, finely diced

1 red pepper (I used a long thin pepper) cut into thin strips

2 large chestnut mushrooms, halved and cut into thin slices

1 organic chicken stock cube

1/2 pint water

1 free range chicken breast, cut into small bite sized chunks

handful of french beans, cut into small pieces

Skimmed milk

2 tablespoons cornflour

Method

Heat the oil gently and add the shallots, gently fry the shallots until soft, then add the peppers, keep frying until they soften. Once the peppers and shallots are soft add the mushrooms and fry for another minute.

Add the water and stock cube and turn up the heat until the stock is bubbling, add the chicken and beans and lower to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked and the beans are just tender.

Mix the cornflour in a small cup with enough water to make a thin paste. Carefully add this to the pan stirring constantly, thin out the sauce with milk until it is the desired thickness, it should be thick enough to cover the vegetables and chicken with a thick layer.

Check seasoning and add pepper if needed.

I served with mashed (riced) potatoes, tender stem broccoli and carrot batons

Feedback from family was yum.

Read More

Tuna Salad

Tuna Salad (serves 2)

2 oz cooked and cold Seeds of Change Semi-wholewheat Tortiglioni

2 handfuls of salad leaves with beetroot shreds

Half an avocado

2 inch chunk cucumber

1 large tomato

1/3 tin tuna fish in spring water

Extra virgin olive oil

Organic cider vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

Method

While the pasta was cooking (yes I do add a little salt to the water, it is better than salting later), I started preparing the rest of the ingredients. I find that cucumber can make some people a little gassy, my solution is to peel the cucumber, then slice horizontally through the middle of the chunk and using a teaspoon, scrape out the fleshy seedy centre. Then cut the cucumber into small cubes.

Remove the avocado from the skin, again use a dessert or tablespoon to push between the skin and the flesh to remove the edible part. Again cut into small chunks.

I like to assemble the salad on each plate as I prepare, then sprinkle over a few drops of olive oil, plus a couple of drops of cider vinegar, toss on the plate.

Add the tuna to the plate and flake and fluff gently. If you like you can add 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise to the tuna and lightly mix.

When the pasta is cooked (yes, it will be a little more chewy than the normal type, but much more tasty), drain the pasta, return to the pan and immediately run cold water over the pasta for about 1 minutes, strain and you have cold pasta.

Add pasta to the plate and serve. You may like to grind some black pepper over the salad before serving, but that is personal preference.

Read More

Taking the Pressure out of Cooking dinner

How often do you find that you want a rib sticking kind of dinner, get home late from work and realise that you don't have 3 hours to cook the dinner in the oven.
Perhaps you're feeling a little poorly, that doesn't stop the family needing feeding, so you want to cook health meals as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Saving money is good too.

Tonight is one of those nights. I'm not feeling brilliant, have some braising steak to cook, so out comes my Pressure Cooker, frazzle off the ingredients, (making sure not more than 1/3rd full), pop on the lid, bring to pressure and 20 minutes later, the Goulash will be ready. I can then pop in some dumplings to simply steam (not under pressure) for another 20 minutes. Full goulash with dumplings cooked in under 60 minutes.

Get adventurous, the meat is very tender, full of flavour and nutrients.

If you are on a budget, cooking pulses/beans is really quick and easy too, saves you a fortune and a great meal extender. Homemade boston beans are amazing.

My only advice is to get a stainless steel pressure cooker I've got the Tefal Secure 5 6l pressure cooker, not an aluminium pan (may be link to Alzheimers).

Remember, there's nothing like a homemade Christmas Pudding, with a pressure cooker it takes a fraction of the time to steam, but get a pressure cooker big enough to take your pudding (plus greaseproof/foil lid).

I think this is the best labour saving gadget I own.

Read More