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

 Fabulous stir-fry made with white cabbage, dark cabbage, beansprouts, carrot strips, chunks of yellow pepper, white onion, red chilli, diced and pressed garlic, and black pepper. I used rape seed oil in the wok.

Cauliflower soup, with Red Pepper and Potato

Cheap cauliflower and cabbage from the Coop resulted in this wonderful soup. The cauliflower was cooked first, after it was stripped of its leaves. Thirty minutes all told. Then it was diced with a sharp knife in the pot. Then I added the diced red pepper and potato, plus the chopped green cabbage.

Simmered for twenty minutes. Mash if you prefer. I added vegetable stock and  black pepper. Simple and fabulous!

 

Winter Vegetable soup

A simple winter vegetable soup based on a bag of soup ingredients on sale in the local co-op. I added the turnip, the stock, and the herbs. We got through a lot of winters on the basis of this sort of soup. Easy to make, and the kitchen smells great while it is on the hob. Basically cabbage, celery, leek, turnp, carrot, plus herbs and vegetable stock. And some (optional) cumin seeds. 

 

Chilli Stir-Fry, with Peppers, Bean Sprouts and Cabbage

Chilli Stir-Fry, with pickled chillies (Aleyna brand), bean sprouts, purple and green cabbage, diced carrot, and slices of orange pepper. Cooked in sunflower oil at a high heat for three or four minutes, and then the heat was turned right down. Stirred more or less continuously for another four minutes. Decanted onto a plate with a spiral of dark soy sauce. Delicious!

King Prawns in Mayo, with a Dressed Salad

A simple salad made with king prawns sourced from Vietnam, dressed in mayonnaise, along with a vegetable salad made with red cabbage, carrot, two colours of lettuce, plus a vinegrette of vinegar (from a jar of gherkins) and olive oil.

Dressed in black pepper. Delicious!

Silverside Beef Stir Fry

Made with trimmings of silverside beef, sourced from Aldi, and a stir-fry mixture of bean sprouts, carrot, white onion, three fresh green finger chillies (topped and diced), plus green and white cabbage.

The beef came from the freezer, so was allowed to thaw for several hours. the pieces were fried in sunflower oil at a medium heat until they began to brown a little (about five or six minutes), stirring occasionally in the wok.

Then the vegetables were added, and the heat turned up to high for two minutes. Stirred together more or less continuously for six minutes or so, after turning down the heat (judge readiness by eye).

Served on a spiral of dark soy sauce. Excellent dish!

Chestnut Mushroom Stir Fry

Mushrooms cut into eight pieces, and fried in a little butter in a small pan. The stir fry vegetables include two kinds of cabbage, carrot strips, bean sprouts, diced onion, plus three red chillies and a crushed clove of garlic. Cooked in a wok with a little sunflower oil for five minutes at a medium heat, stirring every thirty seconds. 

Served on a bed of dark soy sauce. Ten minutes preparation, hot and delicious!

Rice Noodles, with vegetables, chilli and garlic

A pack of vegetables for stir-fry from the co-op, including bean sprouts, cabbage (different varieties), red onion, and carrot. Which I augmented with spring onion. Cooked in peanut oil, with continuous stirring.

I added finely diced garlic, and deseeded green chilli, also finely diced.

The rice noodles (from Sainsbury's) were blanched in boiling water for two minutes, before being drained, and added to the stir-fry in the last two minutes.

Cooked for about ten minutes overall at a reduced heat. Dressed in dark soy sauce on the plate. A fabulous dish!

Mushroom and Cabbage Stir-Fry, with Chilli Chicken

Mushroom and cabbage stir-fry ingredients from the local Co-op, and onion and bean sprouts. Stir fried-for seven minutes at a medium heat (I have an efficient cooker hood, but I still try to avoid cooking at very high temperatures). The stir-fry was decanted to a plate heated in the oven.

The chopped roast chicken was prepared in a separate small pan, with chicken stock, deseeded and diced red chilli, plus a quarter spoonful of powdered ginger (fresh is better if you have a root in your fridge). Simmered under glass for ten minutes until most of the chilli salsa has been reduced.

Serve on top of the stir-fry and drizzle with some dark soy sauce and some white pepper.

Singapore Fried Noodle with Chicken

Stir-Fried vegetables and chicken pieces, with fantastic Singapore noodles from Sainsbury's.

The vegetables were stir-fried first in a little sunflower oil, at a high heat initially, but reduced a minute or so after the vegetables were added to the wok (I use an electric cooker, and the hobs take a while to cool down). The vegetables included mushroom slices, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green cabbage, onion, and red chilli (deseeded).

I added the chicken pieces, which had been marinaded and pre-cooked in chicken stock with ginger. The stir-fry was on the hob altogether for seven minutes.

The vegetables and chicken pieces were then decanted to a pre-heated serving plate, and the wok was now used to fry the noodles. I added sunflower oil to the wok and cooked the noodles for two minutes at a medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking (the noodles came vacuum-packed, and ready to cook).

Once ready, the noodles were added to the serving plate, and the vegetables and chicken were mixed through. The dish was drizzled with soy sauce. Delicious!

Garlic and Black Bean Stir Fry

The stir-fry mix was sourced from the local Co-op at a bargain price. Since I also had some mushrooms in the fridge which needed to be used, I decided on a stir-fry with mushrooms in a garlic and black bean sauce.

I diced eight mushrooms (I discarded the stalks) into four pieces, and stir fried them in a little sunflower oil. I also deseeded a red and a green chilli pepper, and cut them into small pieces. The chillies were fried with the mushrooms, along with two small julienned white onions.

Once the onions began to brown, I added two teaspoonfuls of the black bean sauce, plus about 100 mls of boiling water, stirred everything together, and allowed this keynote of the dish to simmer under glass for ten minutes at a low heat. Check the pan regularly so that the sauce has the desired consistency.

The stir-fry mix was 26 per cent sliced red and orange bell peppers. Much of the rest of it was three colours of cabbage leaves (purple and light and dark green), plus bean sprouts and diced onion. I heated a flat pan and brought some groundnut oil to a high heat before adding the mix. I turned the heat down, and stirred the vegetables every thirty seconds or so, for around eight minutes.

After that, the stir-fry was decanted to the serving plate, and the mushrooms in the garlic and black bean sauce were spooned on top. Easy to prepare, healthy and delicious!

Chicken Stir-fry with an Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce

This is a variation of the chicken stir-fry I had yesterday, with additional spring onion.

A basic mix of stir-fry vegetables from the local co-op - bean sprouts, red and yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, red onion, and sliced carrot. Supplemented by a handful of unsalted cashew nuts, some bamboo shoots, and a little sliced water chestnut. Stir-fried in a wok for around seven minutes, starting at a high heat, and a middling heat for the rest of the time. Stir frequently. Watch its progress carefully, and judge readiness by eye.

I heated the roast chicken pieces (diced chicken breast), two diced spring onions,  and the cashews in a high sided pot at a high heat,  along with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Stirred for a couple of minutes until the chicken and the cashews began to brown, then the heat was turned down substantially.

I added the Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce (ready made and sourced from Aldi) to the pot and stirred the ingredients thoroughly together. Simmered under a glass lid for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

There is no garlic or chilli in this stir-fry. Why buy a deliciously flavoured sauce only to risk wrecking the result with additional strong flavours?

Decant the vegetables to a serving plate. Add the chicken pieces with the sauce, cashews and spring onion on top of the stir fry, and serve. Fifteen minutes from start to finish, if you are used to using two cooking vessels simultaneously. And delicious!

Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry

A basic mix of stir-fry vegetables from the local co-op - bean sprouts, red and yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, red onion, and sliced carrot. Supplemented by a diced breast of roast chicken, and a handful of unsalted cashew nuts (cheaper in Asda than in Sainsbury's).

I heated the roast chicken pieces in a wok at a high heat, with some garlic and three green finger chillies, toppedl along with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Stirred for a couple of minutes, then the heat was turned down substantially. I added the cashew nuts, and half of the bag of vegetables. Another light drizzle of sunflower oil, and cooked at the lower heat for another seven or eight minutes (judge by eye is always the golden rule with a stir-fry).

Served on a spiral of dark soy sauce. Hot and delicious!

Chunky Minestrone

A simple but satisfying soup made with fridge leftovers, plus some broken spaghetti, herbs, and paprika.

First I diced a courgette, cut a carrot into small chunks, diced a whole red pepper, and sliced a white onion. There was some leftover Cavolo Nero cabbage in the fridge. I cut the leaves off the stems, diced them, and added them to the pot. Then I added a handful of broken spaghetti, and brought the pot to the boil. Also added about 200 mls of tomato passata, and some vegetable stock. Simmered under glass for about one hour.

After that I added a pinch of basil and oregano, a pinch of paprika, four red dried chillies, and two finely diced cloves of garlic. Simmer for another thirty minutes before serving.

Vegetable Curry with Garlic Naan Bread

A straightforward vegetable curry, made to use up some vegetables in the fridge, including celery, Cavolo (dark green) cabbage, tomato passata, and some mushrooms and ginger.

First separate the leaves from the stems of the cabbage. Chop thin slices off the head of the celery, and a white onion. Add to a saute pan with some hot sunflower oil, and stir fry for ten minutes or so. Turn down the heat and allow to stand for two minutes.

Add boiling water (about two thirds of a pint), a teaspoonful of salt, vegetable stock, about 150g of tomato passata or puree. Simmer for twenty minutes. Blend for two minutes with an electric hand mixer.

Add Madras curry powder (a heaped dessert spoonful), four dried red chillies, and a teaspoonful of turmeric. Add the mushroom, the ginger, crushed garlic, and small wedges from two semi-skinned white potatoes. Add one diced red pepper. Allow to simmer under glass for half an hour to forty five minutes.

Serve with a garlic naan bread toasted for about five minutes under the grill, along with some lime pickle!

Vegetable Soup with Cabbage, Lentils and Tarragon

A vegetable soup made with red and green lentils, chopped Spanish onion, half a Savoy cabbage, potato, green beans, vegetable stock, turmeric, Worcester sauce, and some Rosemary.

I began the soup base with cubed potato and the diced Spanish onion, stir-fried in sunflower oil. Cooked for ten to fifteen minutes at a moderate heat, stirring frequently. Then I added a pint of boiling water, plus the lentils (handful of green, and a third of a cup of red lentils). Stir together thoroughly, turn down the the heat, and simmer under glass for half an hour.

During which time I chopped the green beans into centimetre lengths, and finely diced the cabbage.

After adding the cabbage and green beans, the soup was allowed to cook for another fifteen minutes, when it was semi-blended with an electric handmixer. I added the vegetable stock, the turmeric (half a level teaspoonful), two dashes of Worcester sauce, the Tarragon and the Rosemary (one pinch each). Cooked for another twenty minutes or so, and served with black pepper.

Carrot, Lentil and Potato Soup

This is one of those dishes created to use up surplus items in the fridge. In this case some carrots, boiled potato, and the remains of a savoy cabbage.

The soup base was made with two grated carrots, diced apple, one chopped Spanish onion, and a third of a cup of red lentils. Cooked at a low heat under glass for half an hour.

After that the boiled potato and the chopped cabbage were added, plus the vegetable stock. Cook under glass for another half hour or so, then add dried marjoram and oregano. Serve with black or white pepper. Simple and delicious!

Pork, Mushroom and Chilli Stir-Fry

 Diced pork steak stir-fried in sunflower oil, with a deseeded chopped scotch bonnet chilli pepper. With bean sprouts, mushrooms, white and green cabbage, carrot, and crushed garlic.

Scotch bonnet chillies are about as hot as they come, so the diced pieces were added to the pork stir-fry. The pork was cooked for twenty to twenty five minutes at a medium heat.

The beansprouts were blanched for three minutes in boiling water before being added to a wok with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Then the other ingredients were added. Cooked at a medium to high heat until the mushrooms, white and green cabbage, and carrot strips begin to soften.

Decant the vegetables to a serving plate on a spiral of dark soy sauce, and pick out the pork pieces from the cooking pan, discarding the remains of the chilli as far as possible.

A very hot dish, but delicious!

Chicken and Bean Sprout Stir-Fry

Bargain price bean sprouts, Savoy cabbage and chicken thighs from Sainsbury's yesterday, hence this dish.

The chicken thighs were cooked in the middle shelf of the oven for forty five minutes at 190 deg C in an open roasting tray. Turned once. Allowed to cool a little before cutting the meat into strips.

The vegetables were chopped while the chicken thighs were cooking.Three leaves of cabbage, one small leek, cut lengthways and then diced, one half yellow pepper.

Added were four finger chillies, topped, a few grammes of chopped root ginger, and two cloves of garlic.

Stir-fried at a high heat in some sunflower oil. I added some Thai red chilli sauce and the chicken pieces, I turned the heat down after four minutes. After another minute on an electric hob, I turned the heat off altogether. I continued to stir.

Serve on a spiral of dark soy sauce. Drizzle a little more over the dish. A fabulous meal!