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.
 

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. 

Winter Salad, with Ham, Apple, grated Carrot, and Spring Onion

Another one of those salads which can be put together in less than five minutes. The beetroot came from a jar (pickled), the ham came from the local supermarket, as did the apple, carrot, and spring onion. Dressed in a little dried coriander.
 

Mango Fruit Salad

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

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.
 

Bramley Apple Turnover

Shop bought apple turnover (a treat), served with single cream. Essentially stewed apples and some sugar, folded in light pastry, and cooked in the oven. In addition to the cream, I served this with a dusting of cinnamon, which is a great accompaniment to apples. 

 

Chestnut Meatloaf with Brussels Sprouts

Made with outdoor bred pork sausage meat from Sainsbury's, one diced apple, one diced onion, three medium handfuls of porage oats, one beaten egg (actually optional, and it was skipped in this case), 100g of diced cooked chestnuts, and 40 g of salted butter, Mix together thoroughly by hand in a large glass bowl.

Herbs and spices used were a pinch of nutmeg and a generous pinch of rosemary.

 Cooked in the oven on the previous day at around 180 deg C, for forty minutes (watched carefully). Sliced when cold, and stored in the fridge.

Because the meatloaf contained pork sausage meat it was important to make sure it was thoroughly heated. Cooked under the grill, and the slices were turned once using a fish slice (about seven minutes each side - judged by eye). Can also be reheated in a flat lidded pan.

Served with brussels sprouts (6 to 9 minutes in boiling water under glass), and semi-skinned potatoes. Can also be served with roast parsnip chips.

Chicken Breast, with Potato, and a Walnut, Apple and Raisin Salad

I cooked three chicken breasts, drizzled in some cooking oil, and dusted with sea salt. Forty minutes in a casserole dish - thirty minutes under glass, and then fifteen to twenty minutes without. 200 deg C, on the middle shelf. Allowed to cool.

Carved, and served with a a walnut, apple, onion, raisin and mayonnaise salad. Plus semiskinned boiled potato. 

The walnut and apple salad was bought commercially, since it was at a bargain price. I could have made that for myself, but you don't always have to do that. 

 

Pear and Apple Crumble

Two cored and diced apples, and five cored and diced pears, stewed in a pan of boiling water for an hour and a half. After that the contents of the pan were gently mashed. The lid was removed, and the contents allowed to thicken (judge by eye).

Two dessert spoonfuls of demerara sugar were added to a bowl, along with three dessert spoonfuls of spelt flour. plus 70g of salted butter. All mixed together by kneading. This can take ten minutes or so.

Cooked in the middle of the oven at 180 deg c for between 40 and 50 minutes (again, judge by eye). Served in this case with a couple of spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt. Eat hot or cold.

Apple and Banana Crumble, with Cinnamon

A simple crumble, made with four apples (diced and cored, but not peeled), and one small peeled banana. Stewed in a lidded pot for a couple of hours at a low heat, along with one cinnamon stick (powdered cinnamon will do just as well).

The crumble mix was made with four dessert spoonfuls of spelt flour, four dessert spoonfuls of sugar (in this case preserving sugar, but any granulated sugar will do, including demarara). Mixed together with around 75g of salted butter (best done with your fingers, for around fifteen minutes).

After removing the cinnamon stick, the stewed apple was spooned into a pie tin, and the topping was laid on top. Cooked on the middle shelf of an oven heated to 180 deg. C for forty minutes. Judge progress by eye! Served with several spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt.

Pork and Sage Meatloaf, with Salad Leaves and Olives

Made with one grated carrot, half a grated apple (Pink Lady), two diced spring onions, three quarter cups of oats, four hundred grams of pork sausagemeant, four cloves of finely diced garlic, and one egg (for binding purposes).

The sausagemeat came from the freezer, and was allowed to thaw completely before use. The main ingredients were added to a pyrex bowl along with a dessertspoonful of olive oil,  and mixed together by hand (very therapeutic) for between five and ten minutes,

Half a teaspoonful of sage was then added, plus a quarter teaspoonful of coriander leaf. I also added a quarter teaspoonful of salt, and the same measure of paprika. Mix once more for about two minutes.

The meatloaf mix was decanted into a tray, and spread flat to the edges. After that, it was divided into .six sections with a sharp knife.

Cooked on the middle shelf of the preheated oven at 190 deg C for forty-five minutes, until the surface of the meatloaf is nicely browned (check progress by eye).

Served cold with green and purple lettuce, halved piccolo tomatoes, and green olives stuffed with pimiento pepper.

Chicken Mayo, Red Pepper, and Pimiento-stuffed Green Olives

Chicken mayo made from two roasted, deboned and chopped chicken thighs, stored in the fridge overnight, and dressed in a little paprika.

Served with finely sliced red pepper (one quarter), slices of Pink Lady apple, half a grated carrot, and green olives stuffed with pimiento.

Fifteen minutes preparation time from the fridge.

Thick Minestrone Soup

Made with diced apple, carrot and potato. Plus diced brussels sprouts, one green finger chilli, and broken spaghetti. I also added some grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

I added a pinch of oregano and coriander leaf, plus some pork stock and two squirts of tomato puree.

Allowed to simmer under glass for two hours.

Potato Salad, with Apple, Gherkins, Garlic, & Brunswick Ham

One unpeeled Braeburn apple, cored and cut into two parts, then into thin slices. Added to a bowl, with diced spring onion (3), three crushed and diced cloves of garlic, one quarter of an orange pepper, cut into strips, and two small pickled gherkins, halved and cut into strips. Add a little vinegar to the bowl from the jar that contained the pickled gherkins (three dessert spoonfuls). Stir together occasionally, and allow to stand for half an hour.

Served with semi-skinned boiled potato in two dessert spoonfuls of mayonnaise, two slices of Brunswick ham, and with a pinch of coriander leaf.

Brunswick Ham Salad, with Apple and Cambozola Cheese

Some delicious Brunswick Ham from Morrison's, served with diced spring onion, diced Braeburn apple, Camboloza cheese, and some commercially available standard coleslaw.

An utterly fabulous dish, which took very little time to prepare. I was going to add boiled potato pieces, but as I put the dish together, I realised this component was not necessary. Plenty to eat without the potatoes!

Dressed with a little coriander leaf before serving.

Beef and Apple Tikka

I'd prepared ground beef beforehand, browned it in some sunflower oil, and cooked with spring onions, diced apple and carrots for twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Afterwards I added boiling water to the pan and cooked the dish under glass for an hour and a half at a low heat.

After which I added tomato Puree, Cardamom seed, Tikka spices, diced garlic, and one large deseeded and diced red chilli. Cooked for another half an hour at a low heat, adding some coriander and oregano.

Served with long grain rice, or basmati if you prefer. Dressed in this case with some diced and steamed curly kale (five minutes), or with some diced fresh coriander leaf.

Cheese and Apple Salad

A simple cheese and apple salad, served with green and purple lettuce leaves, and a creamy coleslaw.

I used Cheddar cheese, but German or Austrian smoked cheese would do just as well. I cut one Braeburn apple into slices after coring.

Dressed with some black pepper.

Blended Tomato and Lentil Soup

Blended tomato and lentil soup. Made with celery, Bramley apple, tinned tomatoes, red onion,  red lentils, and vegetable stock, plus oregano, basil and parsley.

The vegetables were boiled first until tender. Then the tomatoes were added, and the red lentils. After ten minutes or so, the herbs and the vegetable stock were added.

After another ten minutes of cooking at a medium heat under glass, everything was thoroughly blended using a hand blender.

Cooked for another ten minutes, by which time the soup was ready to serve.

Mango, Orange, Grape and Apple Fruit Salad

A simple and delicious fruit salad, made with two colours of mango (white and orange), slices of red and green apple, chopped orange pieces, and purple grapes. 

Served cool, in some single cream.

Pork Curry with Jasmine Rice

A curry based on ground pork, browned for twenty minutes or so, and stirred frequently. After adding water to the pot, I added one diced onion, three desert spoonfuls of oats, a diced Bramley apple, a deseeded green chilli, and one red, and five Brussels sprouts, finely diced, Italian style. Simmer for half an hour to forty-five minutes.

I also added some pre-boiled pieces of potato, left over from another meal.

Add three squirts of tomato puree, or otherwise six dessert spoonfuls of a passata, a pinch of paprika, and half a teaspoonful of turmeric. Add a desert spoonful of a hot curry powder (Asda brand), and three diced cloves of garlic. Add the pork and vegetable stocks. Simmer for another twenty minutes, and add a pinch of coriander leaf ten minutes before serving.

Serve with  Basmati rice infused with jasmine essence. Add some lime pickle if desired.