Tomato soup, with rice and cardamon

 The cherry tomatoes were blitzed in a blender. The rice was a left over from an earlier dish. I once lived with someone who loved tomato and rice soup. A trip down memory lane. 

Fried Prosciutto ham with hash browns

 Prosciutto ham is dry-cured, so there is no need to cook it. But it is delicious with some delicate cooking, till on the edge of being crispy. The hash-browns were cooked in a separate pan at a medium heat until slightly browned. The prosciutto ham was cooked with the red pepper slices  (added much later). 

Chicken Mayo Salad

 I bought the vegetable salad from the Co-op, because it was a bargain, and looked pretty good. Described as a 'house salad', which is a bit vague and meaningless, and there are many variations on it, sometimes verging on a Caesar salad. This one is straightforward, with two varieties of green lettuce, purple lettuce, red or purple onion, red and yellow peppers (sliced), plus baby tomatoes. 

The chicken was roasted in the oven for about forty-five minutes (check progress by eye), after drizzling in some olive oil. Allowed to cool, and stored in the fridge overnight. Diced, and then mixed with a couple of spoonfuls of Mayo. 

The salad leaves were dressed in paprika and a couple of dashes of tabasco sauce. The chicken mayo was dressed in some ground black pepper. 

Muscovada Glazed Ham, with Roasted Chips

 I steamed the thick ham cuts, as bought from the local Co-op (though I didn't need to - about ten minutes). The chips were roasted in the oven for about half an hour, in a drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of paprika. The egg was cooked in a skillet. 

 What recipes are on this site? A short movie (2minutes 41 seconds) which gives an overview of what is available. https://transcendental-kitchen.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

Haddock Risotto

 A simple fish risotto, with basmati rice infused with madras curry powder, and some diced chorizo. Delicious!

Pollo Arabbiata

 A simple Italian dish: a steamed breast of chicken with some fried mushrooms and chopped tomatoes. Plus some peeled and steamed potatoes, which is the normal accompaniment for this dish in Italy. Easy, and delicious. 

Rice, Prawns and Mushrooms

 A basic dish made with Ecuadorean prawns, spinach leaves, diced mushrooms and boiled basmati rice. Dressed in a little chilli sauce. 

Orange Segments, Blueberries and Cinnamon

 Another simple fruit salad, made with orange segments and blueberries, and dressed with single cream and a dusting of ground cinnamon. 

Apple and Mango Fruit Salad

A simple fruit salad made with a cored and diced Pink Lady apple (unpeeled), plus chopped red mango. Dressed in some single cream.
 

Prawns, Rice and Coriander

 Steamed prawns and rice, with diced yellow peppers and onion (twenty minutes). Dressed in Soy and Chilli sauce, plus diced coriander leaf. Can be served hot or cold. Delicious!

Lamb Kebab, with Yellow Pepper and Onion

 Boneless lamb joint, roasted in the oven for about two hours at 200 deg C (check progress by eye). Allowed to cool a little before slicing with an electric kitchen knife. I used a meat fork to hold the joint in place. 

Served with sliced yellow pepper and one diced white onion, both fried in olive oil. Plus pitta bread. 

Potato Curry

 Essentially this is aloo palak curry made with ground beef, minus the ingredient of spinach. With red and yellow peppers, plus diced white onion, tomato puree, ginger and black pepper. 

Peppers, Prawns and Spinach

 A delicious meal of precooked prawns (a bargain from the local Co-op), sliced yellow and red peppers, plus diced spinach. All steamed, and soused in some gluten free soy sauce. Ten minutes to cook. Fabulous!

Crispy Chicken, with Rice and Peas

 A simple chicken dish, made while I was waiting on a Wimbledon match starting a couple of days ago. A bit like a Louisiana Gumbo. Made with roasted chicken thighs, which then were chopped up and refried. Last time I had a real Louisiana Gumbo was actually in the British Embassy compound in Abu Dhabi, in the mid 90s. They served quite a lot of it, and it was pretty good.

Abu Dhabi is one of the original Trucial States, which signed a deal with the UK to allow British access to territory for the protection of the states. So Britain has access to harbour facilities, as does the US, who signed up later (we have the bigger embassy compound :-). I mention this, since it is likely that the chefs who cooked the Louisana gumbo were American, and knew what they were doing. 

Lamb Steaks with Turmeric Rice, Ginger, Spinach and Coriander

Lamb leg steaks unexpectedly available from the local co-op. Half steamed in a lidded pan for forty minutes with some olive oil, and turned once. Great smell in the kitchen. Served with turmeric'd basmatic rice mixed with grated fresh ginger, plus diced spinach leaves and coriander. Absolutely delicious.  

Bacon and Cucumber, Red Onion and a Potato and Carrot Salad Mash

 A strip of fried streaky bacon, plus spiralised cucumber, potato and carrot mash prepared with an ice-cream scoop, and some sliced purple onion. Dressed in French's American mustard. 

Beef Mince (Ground Beef), Chickpeas, Turmeric Rice and Parsley

 A simple dish of beef mince, chickpeas, rice and parsley. The mince was cooked for an hour and a half (along with the chickpeas) until it was tender. The turmericed rice was cooked for twenty minutes or so before being drained. The parsley was added last as a garnish. 

Smoked Bacon, Beans and Chestnut Mushrooms

 A great weekend breakfast of smoked bacon, fried chestnut mushrooms, and baked beans. The bacon and diced mushrooms were cooked in the same skillet, half the time under glass at a medium heat, for just over twenty minutes. With a little olive oil. The bacon was turned a couple of times. Served with some ground white pepper. 

Chicken and Torunska sausage soup, with Spinach

 This began as a chicken soup with carrot, diced orange pepper and mushrooms. After a day I augmented the soup with diced spinach and Torunska sausage. A fabulous result. Simmered for an hour on the hob.  

Mustard ham, Egg and chips

 Sainsbury's used to do a decent ham, egg and chips, but they seem to be outsourcing their restaurant facilities. This is not a difficult meal to make for yourself, even if you haven't got a deep fat fryer. I chipped some potatoes and soused them in a little vinegar, salt, and some rapeseed oil for half an hour while the oven was heating up. Spread across a roasting tray and cooked for about forty minutes at 180 deg C. (watch progress by eye!). The egg was cooked in a skillet on the hob. 

Feta Cheese salad, with Pasta

A simple salad with feta cheese and two varieties of olives, dressed in olive oil. Diced tomatoes, dressed in some chives and black pepper, diced spring onions, grated carrot, plus cooked wheat-free pasta (ten minutes cooking time, with some turmeric). Drain, and allow to cool.  Then dusted with some smoked paprika. Quick to make. 

Milano Salami Sausage, with Olives and Tomatoes

Some Milano Salami from the local Co-op, served along with stuffed green olives, baby plum tomatoes, diced flat parsley, and spiralised apple. Grate your apple if you don't have a spiraliser. 

According to wikipedia, Milano Salami is "a very common and traditional Italian sausage made from equal portions of minced beef, pork and fat. The salami is seasoned with garlic and pepper, moistened with white wine and dry cured."

Not bad at all. 

Prosciutto Ham Salad, with Peppers and Carrot

 Excellent summer salad, with Prosciutto Crudo ham, two colours of peppers, spiralised carrot (grated carrot if you don't have a spiraliser), four colours of lettuce ('baby leaf salad' in these parts). It can be assembled in around five minutes. 

Strawberries and Walnuts

 Fabulous strawberry and walnut salad. The strawberries were diced and covered with a few shakes of demarara sugar and a single shake of white pepper. Then placed in the fridge overnight. Decanted to a serving bowl with the juices. The walnut pieces were added, plus a generous coating of single cream. 

Thick Chicken and Leek Soup

 One whole leek was diced and fried at a medium heat, along with a chopped carrot for about twenty five minutes. While that was going on I diced a whole chicken breast. 

The vegetable and chicken components were added to another pan, along with about three quarters of a pint of water and a chicken stock cube, broken into four. Simmered under glass for an hour, after which the soup was blitzed with a moulinex blender for about five minutes. 

I added the chives, a teaspoonful of paprika, a large pinch of ground coriander, a pinch of sage, and some black pepper. Stirred together, and allowed to simmer for another twenty minutes. Delicious!

Prawns with Yellow Pepper And Basmati Rice

Ecuadorian prawns, with diced yellow pepper and mushrooms, turmeric Basmati rice, and served with a four leaf lettuce salad (baby leaf). The prawns were steamed for about five minutes, and the turmeric rice  was cooked in boiling water for about eight minutes. 
 

Rice, with Torunska Stew

 I found my ice-cream scoop, and was able to produce balls of turmericed rice and coriander once again. This was an interim dish, using up existing ingredients from the fridge.  Served with fresh spinach. 

Lorne Sausage, with Spiced Beans and Peppered Chips

 Great Sunday breakfast, based around two slices of Lorne Sausage. One sliced tomato and five mushrooms were cooked in the same skillet. 

The peppered potato chips were roasted in the oven, after being dressed in some olive oil. Cooked from scratch in about 40 minutes. The beans were cooked on the hob for about ten minutes, after the addition of the herbs and spices. The entire dish was added to some diced spinach leaves. 

Delicious! That's about as good as it gets with Lorne Sausage. Much better than just serving it with fried eggs.

Chicken Stir Fry

 Chicken Stir Fry with diced carrot, chilli, red onion, mushroom, yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, and soy sauce. The chicken was pre-roasted in the oven, and then diced. The stir fry took five minutes at a high heat, stirring frequently. 

Vegetable Stir-Fry

 Pretty straightforward and tasty dish. Everything diced and sliced apart from the bean sprouts and the red chillies. Cook for five minutes at a high heat. 

Strawberries, Sweet Sherry, and Single Cream

 The strawberries were chopped up to increase their surface area, before being dusted with demerara sugar. Left in the fridge to allow the strawberry juice to come out of the strawberry pieces. Stirred occasionally until all of the sugar was dissolved in the strawberry juice. 

Soused in a little sweet sherry, and then decanted into a bowl of single cream. 

Chicken Torunska

 Another simple dish, made with diced torunska sausage and chicken, plus carrot and leek. Fried, and then I added water and tomato puree. Cooked for half an hour. The sweet potato wedges were cooked in a lidded casserole dish, after being soused in some vinegar, paprika, rosemary and basil. Plus a little black pepper. For about forty minutes (watch by eye).

Beef and Chickpea Curry

 Excellent beef curry, made with ground Scotch beef. The chickpeas were softened in a slow cooker over several hours, and the beef was browned in a flat pan in a little olive oil for an hour and a half at a low to medium heat. I added diced mushrooms, a red chilli, and a julienned red onion. 

Water was added to the beef along with the chickpeas, and was simmered for a couple of hours, after which the herbs and spices were added. The Madras curry powder was the most important of these. 

Served with some fresh coriander, Basmati rice, and Pataks Lime pickle. 

Grilled Cumberland Sausage with Baked Beans

 Cumberland Sausage used to be strongly flavoured with sage and other herbs. Hard to find instances of those any more - they taste pretty much the same as other pork sausages. 

These sausages were grilled until browned (judge by eye), and served with baked beans infused with some sage (to make up the flavour deficit of the modern product). Also good if served with a sage flavoured gravy. 

Leek and Streaky Bacon Soup

 I made this with some streaky bacon, fried at a medium heat for about ten minutes. Streaky bacon is hard to cut even with a sharp knife (lots of fat) , so you might want to chop it into pieces with kitchen scissors instead. Add a little cooking oil. 

Then I added diced leek, cut into circles, and stir fried under glass for about twenty-five minutes, with a little salt. While that combination was cooking, I grated a medium sized carrot. I added that to the mix, and added boiling water. Cooked under glass at a low heat for about an hour and a half. Stir occasionally. Then I added a half a pork stock cube, and a little paprika. Fabulous soup!

Salmon Fillet, and Black Bean Rice

 Delicious meal. An oven roasted salmon fillet (19 minutes, drizzled in olive oil), served on a bed of chopped spinach leaves (raw). I boiled some rice with a little turmeric and then drained the rice thoroughly. Mixed with black bean sauce. 

Smoked Ham and Spinach Leaves

 A simple salad, based on some smoked ham, spinach leaves, stuffed olives and grated carrot (dressed in some horseradish sauce). Easy to prepare, and delicious. 

Diced Pepperoni Omelette

 A not terribly complicated omelette made with beaten egg (of course), tomato, mushroom, diced yellow pepper, spring onion, and diced pepperoni sausage. Fabulous dish. The beaten egg mixture was added after seven minutes. Cooked in a skillet at a medium heat for ten minutes, and then under glass for another seven minutes or so (judge by eye). 

Pepperoni Salad

 Slices of pepperoni sausage, served with stuffed olives, diced red pepper, and wheat free pasta dressed in dried basil. Great salad. 

Blueberry and Mixed Nut Salad

 A pretty straightforward fruit and nut salad, and highly nutrititious. Blueberries from the fridge, plus a nut selection from the supermarket. Soused in single cream, and dressed in cinnamon. Delicious!

Poached Egg with fried Wheat-free bread

 Egg poached in water inside a silicon container. Ten minutes, half under glass. The bread was drizzled in olive oil and browned in a skillet. Delicious. 

Pasta Salad, with grated carrot and diced red onion

 Delicious, but there is not much to this one. Wheat free pasta cooked in salted water for about twelve minutes, and then dusted with powdered paprika. Served with a grated carrot, and about one third of a red onion diced. Dress in a little freshly ground black pepper. 

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce, with Basmati Rice

 Diced chicken breast in a black bean sauce, along with diced spring onion and turmericed basmati rice. 

Honey Ham Salad, with Olives

Simple dish made with honey ham trimmings, a trio of olives (some stuffed), diced baby plum tomatoes, fresh coriander leaves, and some turmericed basmati rice.
 

Chicken Soup, with Paprika and Cardamon

 Really simple soup made with diced chicken breast, tomato puree, paprika and cardamon. Plus chicken stock. 

Beef Chilli with Butternut Squash and Leek

A hot beef chilli, simmered for two hours on the hob. Completely delicious! But I have to say that the amount of effort involved in preparing the butternut squash was out of all proportion to its contribution to the flavour of the dish. It may be a nutritious vegetable, but it has no particular taste of its own. I will be giving it a miss in future.
 

Wheat Free Chorizo!

Unbelievable find in the local Co-op. Gluten and Lactose free Chorizo! Tastes just the same. Excellent! So this is a wheat-free and lactose free tapas snack, lurking on a bottom shelf. Served with some diced leek and chopped green beans. Delicious!
 

Serrano Ham Salad

 Another easy salad, with thinly sliced Serrano ham, a baby leaf lettuce salad, and fresh coriander. Plus sliced white onion and garlic, boiled potato and sweet potato. Dressed in some freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil on the greens. 

Mixed Olives and Feta Cheese

 The local co-op supplies lots of varieties of cheese, but not Feta. But they do supply olive and feta salads, which is the basis of this delicious meal. Added to a baby leaf salad mix of four different colours of lettuce, button mushrooms, and halved baby plum tomatoes. Dressed in freshly ground black pepper.

Chorizo Regio Sausage, with Potatoes

Chorizo Regio with boiled potatoes and fried mixed vegetables. Dressed in some freshly ground black pepper.