Egg Noodles, with Sesame Oil and Spinach

Egg Noodles with chilli powder and sesame oil, as bought in a supermarket. Hydrated with boiling water in a bowl for five minutes. The chilli powder and sesame oil were added just after the water.

The vegetables were cooked in a steamer (julienned red onion, sliced yellow pepper, and diced spinach leaves) for fifteen minutes. Stirred together before eating. A basic dish transformed into something much more interesting!

Corned Beef, with a Leek, Chive and Onion Stuffing

The stuffing mix was retrieved from a kitchen cupboard (a Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' offering, which also contained wheat as a key ingredient). Easy to make - add 160mls of water, and allow to stand in a bowl for fifteen minutes. Stir together. Add some olive oil. Then bake the stuffing in a roasting tray for twenty minutes at 200 deg C (middle shelf).

Served with boiled potatoes (prepared earlier) and a mixture of baked beans and chopped corned beef, cooked in a steamer for about twenty minutes at a low to medium heat. Plus a salad of red pepper slices, and some diced raw spinach.

Dressed in a dusting of white pepper and coriander leaf. Delicious!

Sweet Potato Soup

Made with diced leek, carrot, red pepper and yellow pepper, and sweet potato.

Cooked for half an hour until the vegetables were soft, and then mashed. I added some arrowroot powder as a thickener. Plus vegetable stock, paprika, oregano and coriander.

Cooked for another forty-five minutes before serving, with some white pepper.

This is a simple soup capable of endless variation - tomatoes, tomato puree, spinach, courgette, green peas, sweetcorn,  etc.

Shredded Chorizo, with Spinach, Tomato, Red Pepper and Rosti

A simple salad made around some shredded chorizo sausage. I cut a third of a red pepper into strips, halved several cherry tomatoes, and diced a handful of fresh spinach.

I added a teaspoonful of fresh mayonnaise, and a dusting of white pepper.

The potato rosti was fried in a small pan in some olive oil, and was served warm.

Ground Beef with Smoked Paprika and Wheat-free Fusilli

This dish was made with diced Piccolo tomatoes, diced white mushrooms, diced leek, diced red pepper, sweetcorn (from a small tin) paprika, half a 400g  tin of tomatoes, and ground beef (Scottish). Plus three red chillies, and a teaspoonful of smoked paprika.

The 5% fat ground beef was browned for twenty minutes in olive oil, and then the diced leek was added. Cooked for a further twenty minutes under glass, stirring occasionally. Then the other vegetables were added, plus the herbs oregano and coriander.

Simmered under glass for another hour, after which vegetable and beef stock were added to the pot.

The wheat-free pasta (Fusilli, commonly known as Rotini in the U.S.), was cooked in boiling salted water in a pan for ten minutes, and then allowed to rest for a further five, and then drained. I used Sainsbury's pasta, since it cooks very much like the durum wheat version, and doesn't fall apart.

Potato Rosti Patties, with Pork Stew

A pork stew, accompanied with potato rosti patties.

The patties were made with potato rosti, one egg, two tablespoonfuls of cornmeal (cornflour will do just as well), and several pinches of the herb sage. I used an ice-cream scoop to shape the patties. Cooked under glass in a little olive oil,  until they were ready (about twelve minutes).

The pork stew was made with chopped selections from a roasted joint of pork. Cooked with tinned tomato, mushrooms, leek,vegetable and pork stock,  and numerous herbs (oregano, tarragon).

Pork stew with Grilled Courgettes (Zucchini).

A fairly uncomplicated meal, consisting of a roast pork stew (pork from the freezer), along with diced fresh spinach, and sliced courgettes grilled in a little sunflower oil for at least 45 minutes, turning occasionally.

The roast pork stew consisted of tomatoes, leek (instead of onion), and some diced white mushrooms. Plus vegetable and pork stock. Cooked for at least an hour.

Not bad. I bought the courgettes mainly because carrots were unaccountably unavailable, after a number of days. But these are the days we live in, and we do the best we can. I got three red peppers on the same supermarket day, which was a plus. I prefer peppers to carrots.

Lorne Sausage with Sweet Potato and Hash Browns

Lorne sausage is often served as part of a formulaic breakfast menu, but it is much more versatile than that! Here it is served with hash browns, spiralised sweet potato, and spring onions.

The sausage cooks fairly quickly, so it makes sense to begin cooking the hash browns first. They will be done in around fifteen to twenty minutes, in a little sunflower oil. The sausage will be cooked in around twelve minutes, at a medium heat.

The spiralised sweet potato and spring onion will be cooked in ten minutes or so in a steamer.

Served with a dressing of black pepper, and a serving of American mustard.

Wheat-free Spaghetti Bolognese, with Sweetcorn

Not a real Italian dish, as I've noted before, but a firm favourite in the UK.

This was made with diced Piccolo tomatoes, diced white mushrooms, diced leek, diced red pepper, sweetcorn (from a small tin) paprika, half a 400g  tin of tomatoes, and ground beef (Scottish). Plus three red chillies.

The 5% fat ground beef was browned for twenty minutes in olive oil, and then the diced leek was added. Cooked for a further twenty minutes under glass, stirring occasionally. Then the other vegetables were added.

Simmered under glass for another hour, after which vegetable and beef stock were added to the pot.

The wheat-free pasta was cooked in boiling salted water in a large flat pan for ten minutes, and then allowed to rest for a further five. Then drained.

The dish was served on a plate dusted with oregano, and dressed with dried (or fresh) coriander.

Shredded Chorizo Sausage with Potato Rosti

Sliced chorizo sausage was stir-fried with julienned red onion (one half), five diced piccolo tomatoes, a sixth of a red pepper, cut into strips, two cloves of diced garlic, and five diced white mushrooms.

The onion was cooked first, in a little olive oil until it became transparent, then the other ingredients were added. Cook for a further seven minutes, and under glass for the final three minutes.

The potato rosti was prepared with a grater, which is quite labour intensive. The next day I experimented preparing the rosti with an electric mini chopper. I cut a potato into thin slices with a sharp knife, and further diced the pieces. Six short blasts with the chopper did the rest.

The rosti was mixed with a little salt and olive oil, and roasted under the oven grill in a roasting tin for around fifteen minutes. Check progress by eye.

Cubed Beef Chilli Stew

Good quality cubed beef from the local Co-op. Browned in olive oil for twenty minutes. After that, I added diced leek, a quarter of a yellow pepper, two diced green finger chillies, and three cloves of garlic. Cooked for twenty minutes, with frequent stirring.

Boiling water was added (about 100mls), and then a standard tin of plum tomatoes. The tomatoes were diced with a spatula. Simmered under glass for an hour.

After that I added beef stock (actually a beef Oxo cube), and some diced fresh basil leaves. Allowed to simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Served with boiled potatoes, cooked in salted water for twenty minutes.

Banana and Blueberry Fruit Salad

I've made variations on this simple fruit salad before. I added  half a teaspoonful of maple syrup to the mixture of chopped banana and seventy five grams of fresh blueberries. Then mixed the fruit in with three dessert spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt.  Packed with nutrition and flavour!

This my 900th published recipe.

Cottage Pie with American Mustard

A dish which uses this beef mince recipe as its basis:

5% fat ground (minced) beef from the local Co-op. First I fried a whole Spanish onion (julienned and diced) until it was caramelised. Then I added tomato puree, red pepper, and carrots, plus 100mls of water, and simmered these for about forty minutes, along with beef and vegetable stock.

During this time I browned the beef in a drizzle of olive oil, stirring frequently (in another pan). The heat was turned down after ten minutes (brown, not burn!) I added diced chestnut mushrooms after fifteen minutes.

After thirty minutes I added the beef (etc) to the Spanish onion salsa, and simmered under glass at a low heat for about an hour.

The remaining beef mince spent 48 hours or so in the fridge, then I added it to a traditional enamelled pie dish. I boiled semi-skinned potatoes for twenty five minutes, then mashed them with about 50 grams of slightly salted butter, using a fork. The mash was decanted onto the beef with a spoon until the beef was evenly covered to a depth of about an inch. The surface of the pie was textured using the fork. 

Cook in an oven preheated to at least 180 deg C for between forty and forty five minutes (middle shelf). You can leave it in for longer than that if you prefer a more browned result.  

Leek and Carrot Soup

A typical Scottish soup, made with easily available ingredients, and entirely uncomplicated. The ingredients were: one diced leek (cut lengthwise, and then cut into smaller chunks), diced carrot, plus some semi-skinned potatoes, originally prepared as a mash with butter (i.e., leftovers).

I also added some vegetable stock, and a generous dash of black pepper.

Simmered in a lidded pan for at least an hour before serving.

Nutritious, and not a burden on anybody's digestive system :-).

Pan-fried Chicken

Goujons of chicken breast from the freezer (bought before the pandemic in December). Allowed to thaw thoroughly before being cooked in a little olive oil under glass for twenty minutes or so, first at a high heat, and then a low heat, and turned a couple of times.

The vegetables were cooked in a separate pan, also in a little olive oil. Purple onions, julienned, a sixth of a red pepper, cut into strips, and three medium white mushrooms, each diced into five pieces. Stir-fried until tender.

Served on a dusting of smoked paprika. Simple, and delicious!

Ground Beef, with Greek Yoghurt dressed in Tarragon

5% fat ground (minced) beef from the local Co-op. First I fried a whole Spanish onion (julienned and diced) until it was caramelised. Then I added tomato puree, red pepper, and carrots, plus 100mls of water, and simmered these for about forty minutes, along with beef and vegetable stock.

During this time I browned the beef in a drizzle of olive oil, stirring frequently (in another pan). The heat was turned down after ten minutes (brown, not burn!) I added diced chestnut mushrooms after fifteen minutes.

After thirty minutes I added the beef (etc) to the Spanish onion salsa, and simmered under glass at a low heat for about an hour.

Served with Greek yoghurt dressed in a sprinkling of tarragon.