Turkey and Parsnip Stew, with Oven-roasted Chips

Leftover Turkey from a roasted leg joint, stewed in some chicken stock along with diced parsnip and carrot. Cooked for around two hours. The Rosemary and the paprika were added towards the end of the process.

Served with roasted potato chips in olive oil. The potato chips were parboiled for fifteen minutes first. Cook until a little browned. Turn once.
 

Beef Meatloaf and Parsnip Chips

Most meatloafs are made with pork, but it is possible to use ground beef as the basis of a meatloaf. Made with Khorasan wheat, Olive oil, Beef stock, Onion and herbs of your choice. Mixed in a glass bowl until it has the right texture for a meatloaf. Decanted into a flat roasting tray. 

Cooked in the oven for fifty minutes at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven.

The parsnips were dressed in olive oil and then roasted for about twenty five minutes at the same temperature (check progress by eye!).

Coriander Chicken

The chicken breast was cooked in a casserole dish in the oven for thirty minutes at 180 deg C. Dressed in some sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. The cover was removed and the chicken was cooked for a further twenty minutes, with the addition of a little white wine.

The vegetables were cherry tomatoes, green beans from Egypt, and diced carrot. All in some tomato puree, with a little salt. Cooked for about twenty-five minutes. Diced coriander was added during the final ten minutes.

Canelloni Beans, Chorizo, and Oven-roasted Chips

A simple dish of roasted potatoes, dressed in sunflower oil and lemon juice, to complement a stew made with peppers, chorizo, canelloni beans, carrot, mushrooms, tomato puree, and red chilli.

The stew was cooked under glass the preceding day, for about two hours.

 

Basa Fish, Rice, and Pak Choi

Deskinned Basa Fish fillet, cooked in a preheated oven at 190 deg C on the middle shelf for twelve minutes (not turned), dressed in sunflower oil, and a little black pepper.

Served with diced and steamed Pak Choi leaves, and turmericed basmati rice.
 

Black Pudding and Crispy Bacon Breakfast

Mostly I cook with olive oil. The major exception is fried eggs, which taste better if cooked with sunflower oil.

The black pudding was cooked at a medium heat in a small pan, seven minutes each side. The bacon was cooked in another pot, along with the tomatoes, until it was crispy. Watch by eye. After the bacon was ready and decanted to the serving plate, the egg was added along with some sunflower oil for a few minutes until it showed the usual signs of being ready.

Serve with a dash of black pepper and some American mustard (French's in this case). German mustard will do just as well.  

Strawberries and Cream, plus Bourbon Whisky

 A simple fruit salad made from 500g of fresh British strawberries from the customer counter at the local Co-op (they had a glut). 

The strawberries were soused in a mixture of demerara sugar plus a generous glug of Bourbon whiskey. Allowed to stand in a glass bowl for a couple of hours, stirring together occasionally. Park the bowl in the fridge if you intend to eat the strawberries the next day. 

Add a couple of dashes of finely ground white pepper before serving (the way it is done here). Dress in fresh single cream. Fabulous!

Pork Loin Steak with Spicy Chips

Pan-fried outdoor-bred pork steak, cooked in a little olive oil for eight minutes each side at a medium heat. Served with diced mushrooms and spring onion, and spicy chipped potatoes (French fries).

The spiced potatoes (first parboiled for about eight minutes) were soused in a mixture of olive oil a chilli sauce and tomato ketchup, along with the herbs oregano and basil. Then grilled for about seventeen minutes until they began to brown (watch by eye, since all grills are different).
 

Beef Chilli with baby leeks

Basmati rice cooked slowly in a flat pan with a quarter teaspoonful of turmeric.

The Ground beef was cooked for forty five minutes along with the vegetables, and then water, the vegetable stock, and the paprika was added, and cooked for another hour slowly under glass. Fabulously tender.
 

Green and Black Olives with Feta Cheese

Simple dish bought from the local Co-op. Green and Black stoned olives in olive oil, with feta cheese and the herbs oregano and rosemary. Cheaper than assembling the ingredients myself separately.
 

Smoked Haddock with Hash Browns

Steamed skinless haddock, served with garden peas and hash browns, along with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.
 

Vegetable Pie

A simple vegetarian potato pie, made with carrots, red pepper, and spring onion.

The vegetables were parboiled for fifteen minutes, as were the potatoes. Added to a pie dish, while the potatoes were added to a pyrex bowl and mashed with salted butter.

The potato topping was added to the pie dish, and textured with a fork. Cooked in the oven for around fifty minutes at 180 deg C (judge progress by eye).

Thick Cut Bacon with Peppers in a Tomato Salsa

Half a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, in which diced carrot, red pepper, and orange pepper strips were cooked at a medium heat for a couple of hours under glass.

The bacon pieces were cooked in a little olive oil for about twenty-five minutes, drained, and added to the vegetable salsa.

Add some white wine, a dash of bloody mary spice, the herbs and a pinch of paprika. No added salt or stock. Delicious!

Mango Fruit Salad

Bought from the local co-op as an 'exotic salad'. All I did was add cream to the mix. Delicious!
 

Chicken Minestrone

Minestrone has always been a dish based on using up various left-over ingredients. This version used left-over diced roast chicken and carrot. With added garlic and some red chilli. I used arrowroot as a thickener. Great dish!
 

Beef Chilli with Roast Potatoes

Ground beef, browned for twenty five minutes in sunflower oil along with diced spring onion, Then simmered in water for two hours under glass at a lowish heat. After which the vegetable stock is added, the chilli, the diced yellow pepper, and the haricot beans and tomato puree.

Arrowroot was mixed with some water and added during the last ten minutes (it functions as a thickener). Stirred thoroughly through the beef.

Roast potatoes were cooked in an oven preheated to 190 deg C. Cooking times will vary. These took fifty minutes, drizzled in sunflower oil. Judge by eye. Turned once to ensure even browning. 

 

Minced Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

Ground beef, browned and then simmered for two hours under glass, with herbs and paprika, plus diced onion, served with boiled semiskinned potatoes, and diced and boiled sugar snap peas. 

 

Strawberry and Blueberry Fruit Salad

A fruit salad with diced Scottish strawberries, and blueberries from somewhere, neither of which were doused in sugar or alcohol and marinated in the fridge. Just doused in single cream. It is still early in the season, so those things can wait. Delicious!
 

Shepherd's Pie

A dish made to use up some leftover ground lamb from the fridge. I added freshly podded peas to the minced lamb and lamb stock, plus the herbs rosemary and coriander and decanted the mixture into a traditional pie dish. Boiled potato was mashed with a little salted butter, and this made the crust of the pie.

Cooked on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 degrees C, until it begins to brown. Which should be around an hour or a little longer. Watch carefully by eye, particularly if you don't have an accurate oven thermometer.  

Diced Pork Loin Steak with Cashews

The rice was steamed first and allowed to cool. Regulary turned with a fork until ready (20-30 minutes). Reheated shortly before serving the vegetables and pork on the bed of rice. The red pepper and the onion were diced, along with the mushrooms, garlic and chilli. Stir-fried along with the  (preroasted) pork steak pieces, and the cashews. Served together with a drizzle of soy sauce. 
 

Black Pepper Chicken

A classic Chinese dish, which is simple to make, and with minimal ingredients. Roasted chicken breast, diced, dressed in freshly ground black pepper (this is essential if the dish is to work - ordinary pre-ground black pepper won't do. Szechuan pepper is recommended). Celery stalks, topped and tailed, and cut into thin strips, and then diced. Add diced garlic. Add soy sauce and rice wine. Steamed for half an hour before serving.

Spicy Garlic Lamb and Spinach

Ground minced lamb which had been browned and then simmered under glass for two hours. Then I added diced mushrooms, lamb stock, oregano, and two bay leaves. Then simmered again under glass for another 45 minutes, with some onion gravy granules. I added diced spinach leaves and spring onion, plus half of a chopped yellow pepper. 

I added several crushed cloves of garlic, and a couple of red chillies, which I removed (along with the bay leaves) after an hour or so. 

Served with steamed potatoes (thirty minutes or so), and boiled podded peas. 

Blueberry, Banana and Walnut Fruit Salad

A simple fruit salad with blueberries from the fridge, chopped banana, and two handfuls of walnut pieces, in some single cream. Also excellent with Greek style yoghurt.
 

King Prawn Curry with Spinach

Prawn curry with spinach, with the basic recipe stolen from the 'Jono and Jules do food and wine' site. https://jonoandjules.com/2018/07/30/prawn-spinach-curry/

I skipped the extra sugar, and the coriander, but otherwise it is very similar. I created some creamed coconut, and mixed it all together with the Madras curry powder and the tomato puree. I added lots of diced spinach.

The rice was steamed earlier in the day, and spinach and the peas were added. The king prawns (from Vietnam) were added to the top of the steamed rice, and steamed once again for fifteen minutes.

Served with the tomato and curry salsa. Delicious!

Pollo Napolitano

Great Italian chicken dish, simmered very slowly under glass (for forty minutes) after sealing with a brief stir-fry, along with four cloves of garlic. I made the neapolitan salsa in the same pan, adding the various ingredients one by one (including the tomato puree), stirring frequently.

The peas were fresh from the Co-op, so I spent ten minutes or so extracting the peas from the pods. Cooked separately in salted water for ten to fifteen minutes under glass.

Utterly delicious meal! Often eaten with a dressing of grated Parmigiano Regiano (or some other Italian cheese), but the dish is fine all by itself. 

Baked Potato with Ground Lamb

The baked potato was begun first, with a little butter, in a roasting tray in an oven heated to 190 deg C. It took one hour and fifteen minutes to cook (not wrapped in tin-foil). Check every fifteen minutes, particularly if you don't have an oven thermometer.

From the fridge I took the Fresh ground minced lamb I cooked a couple of days ago, which had been browned and then simmered under glass for two hours. Then I added diced mushrooms, lamb stock, oregano, and two bay leaves. Then simmered again under glass for another 45 minutes, with some onion gravy granules.

I added diced spinach leaves and spring onion, plus half of a chopped yellow pepper. Serve hot.

Ground Lamb and Mushrooms, with Brocolli Spears

Fresh ground minced lamb, browned and then simmered under glass for two hours. Then I added diced mushrooms, lamb stock, oregano, and two bay leaves.

 Simmered again under glass for another 45 minutes, with some onion gravy granules. Served with Brocolli spears, cooked in salted water for ten minutes under glass.
 

Smoked Haddock Risotto

Smoked Haddock, baked in the oven for sixteen minutes at 150 deg C. Broken up with a fork, and mixed with basmati rice and garden peas, stir-fried in a little olive oil.
 

Apple and Mango Fruit Salad

A simple and delicious fruit salad made with fresh slices of Gala apple, chopped mango (yellow and orange), plus black grapes. Kept in the fridge with some demerara sugar for a week, and turned occasionally.

Decanted into a bowl with the juice from the mango pieces, and dressed in some single cream.
 

Pork and Leek Stew, with Red Peppers

Stir fried diced leek, cooked until it began to brown a little, then boiling water was added. The pot was covered and simmered gently for an hour and a half.  Add two red chillies. The pork stock and herbs were added ten minutes before serving.

The pork loin steak was diced and stir fried in a separate pan until the pieces began to brown. Then the pork pieces were added to the leek sauce and stirred through. The diced red pepper was added after an hour and also stirred through. 

Served with boiled basmati rice. 
 

Pork Shoulder Steak, with Green Beans

Pork Shoulder steak, cooked at a medium heat for twelve minutes on each side. Served with hash browns (ten minutes on each side), and green beans, boiled under glass for seven minutes. Topped with chunks of pineapple.

Potato, Spinach, and Polish Sausage Casoulet

A simple casoulet begun as a stirfry of diced polish sausage, diced potato, spring onion, quartered button mushrooms, chopped green beans. I used a drizzle of olive oil. 

Cooked for about an hour at a medium heat. Then I added boiling water, along with some vegetable stock, plus chopped spinach, and the herbs sage and tarragon. Cooked for a further forty-five minutes. 

 

Clementine segments with Black Grapes

No instructions really necessary here. Clementine segments, black grapes and cream. Add cinnamon if you wish. 

 

Breaded Haddock (oven cooked) and grilled chips

 Shop-bought breaded haddock (Sainsbury's), cooked on the middle shelf of the oven for twenty minutes at 150 deg C. Judge progress by eye, as well as by the oven thermometer. 

The chips were first parboiled for about eight minutes, then drizzled in sunflower oil in a glass roasting tray, and grilled for another fifteen minutes or so (again, judge by eye, and turn the chips at least once). The fish was dressed in a sprinkling of dried coriander on serving, along with some tomato ketchup. 

Pork Shoulder Steak, with a Leek and Coriander Sauce

 The shoulder steak was slow cooked in a skillet (medium to low heat) for 45 minutes, and turned once. I used olive oil as the cooking medium, but sunflower oil would do just as well. 

The leek was also slow cooked in olive oil before water was added to the sauce, along with vegetable stock, a squirt of tomato puree, grated carrot, diced fresh coriander, plus a shake of dried tarragon. Cooked the previous day.

Delicious and tender!

Mustard Ham Salad

Boiled potato, grated carrot, mustard ham, baby leaf salad, coriander leaf.

The coriander leaf was mixed with the baby leaf salad, and dressed in some olive oil. Served with a little American mustard.

 

Fruit salad, with Clementines, Black Grapes, and mixed nuts

A simple fruit salad made with clementine segments, black grapes, and mixed nuts (in this case walnuts, cashew, almonds). Dressed in single cream (yoghurt will do as well). Fabulous and healthy dish which takes a couple of minutes to make. 

Spicy Beef and Mushroom Stew,

 Minced beef (ground beef) browned for about twenty five minutes, before water and beef stock was added. Plus diced purple onion, haricot beans (pre-soaked), button mushrooms, Madras curry powder, tomato puree, and red chilli. 

Served with pre-prepared potato.

Ras el Hanout Beef and Bean Curry with diced Garlic

Beef and Bean curry with Ras el Hanout seasoning and diced garlic. Based on an earlier meal with well tenderised beef. 

The beef was cooked with diced leek. Served here with additional spring onions, plus Oregano.

 

Polish Garlic Sausage Breakfast

Slices of Polish garlic sausage slow cooked in a skillet, along with diced white onion. No extra oil necessary. 

Served with a fried egg, and some American mustard. A pinch of salt was added to the yolk of the egg. 

 

Minced Beef and Leek, with Grilled Parsnip Chips

The beef was browned for about seventy minutes before water and vegetable stock were added. Plus diced leek. Cooked under glass for another two hours until really tender. 

Half a large parsnip was diced, and then divided into chips. Grilled until browned (watch by eye!), for about twenty-five minutes, after being drizzled in sunflower oil and turned with a wooden spoon to ensure an even coverage. A simple dish, but delicious! 

 

Hash Browns, Bacon and Beans

Great bacon breakfast with hash browns, and three strips of smoked bacon. The hash browns were cooked slowly in a skillet, as was the bacon. Dressed in black pepper on serving. The hash browns took about twenty minutes as a low heat, and so did the bacon (in a separate pan). If you prefer your bacon crispy, you need a higher heat. 

 

Creamed Ham, Leek and Tomato Soup

Soup made with diced cherry tomatoes, tomato puree, diced leek and diced turnip, plus vegetable and ham stock, plus tomato puree. Cooked for seventy minutes at a low heat under glass. After that I added diced garlic and deseeded red chilli. Plus paprika, oregano, and black pepper. The diced ham went in last, with some red wine and single cream. 

 

Pea and Ham Soup

A pea and ham soup made with some surplus breaded Wiltshire ham. The base of the soup was made with diced turnip, potato, diced leek, and whole yellow peas. Plus ham stock. 

The vegetables were cooked first, for about seventy minutes, after which they were mashed. A pinch of paprika was added, along with a little rosemary. The diced ham was then added, and cooked for another twenty five minutes under glass. Added black pepper. 

Serve as is, or with a bread of your choice. 

 

Lancashire Hot-pot

 A dish based on the preceding beef chilli. The remains of the beef chilli was placed in a pie tin, and the red chillies were removed. The beef was covered by thinly sliced potato, drizzled in some sunflower oil, and cooked in the oven for about seventy minutes - fifty minutes at a high heat (190 deg C), and the rest at a lower heat (150 deg C). Follow progress by eye. The dish was dressed in coriander before being put in the oven. 

Traditional? Lancashire hot-pot would not have had chillies, or sweetcorn. Just beef, and perhaps onion and carrot. I added diced green beans and a splash of red wine before it went into the oven.  

Beef and Sweetcorn Chilli

 A simple dish of Scottish minced beef and sweetcorn. 

The beef was browned with a little sunflower oil. Stirred frequently for around twenty five minutes. Then boiling water was added, and the beef was cooked slowly under glass for two hours. 

The tinned sweetcorn (200g) was added after an hour. Along with three red finger chillies, four garlic cloves (diced), two pinches of coriander leaf, two pinches of oregano, two pinches of paprika, beef stock, and two glugs of Italian red wine (Merlot). 

Served with some potato bread, or another bread of your choice.

Garlic Sausage, Onion, and Chestnut Mushroom

A simple dish, made with deskinned garlic sausage, white onion (diced), and chopped chestnut mushrooms. Pan fried for fifteen minutes, and then cooked in water and tomato puree along with Basil and Oregano. Served with boiled basmati rice. 

 

Rhubarb Pie

I confess I bought this delicious rhubarb pie from Sainsbury's. I could have made one myself if I'd had the ingredients, but there it was in front of me. Rhubarb is popular in Scotland, particularly in conjunction with ginger (rhubard and ginger jam, rhubarb and ginger chutney, etc). 

Served with honey infused Greek style yoghurt. 

 

Garlic Sausage Casoulet

A straightforward casoulet made with chunks of Polish garlic sausage, along with red pepper, potato, diced onion, fresh coriander, and diced flat mushroom. With a little red chilli. Cooked originally with sunflower oil. The gravy was thickened with a dessert spoonful of arrowroot powder. 

 

Tandoori Masala Bean Curry

A bean curry with fried diced potato and half of a red pepper. The simplest way to make this curry is to start with half a tin of baked beans, and add a dessert spoonful of Tandoori Masala powder. Stir thoroughly, and cook at a medium heat. 

The potato pieces and the diced red pepper were fried separately in sunflower oil under glass for twenty minutes, also at a medium heat.