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.

Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate muffins for New Year's Day.

I made these on the spur of the moment, and didn't follow a recipe as such (I've made them before). I used 250g of spelt flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a dessert spoonful of sunflower oil, six dessert spoonfuls of drinking chocolate powder, six teaspoonfuls of black treacle, a dash of nutmeg and half a teaspoonful of mixed spice. Plus two large eggs and two pinches of salt.

I added the eggs to 300 mls of cold water, the treacle, and the salt. Beaten thoroughly. Then I began to add the dry assemblage of the spelt, chocolate powder, baking powder, plus the nutmeg and the mixed spice. Beat thoroughly together along with the sunflower oil. Allow to stand for ten minutes or so.

The oven was preheated to 180 deg C. Add three dessert spoonfuls of the muffin mixture to each muffin case. Cook for thirty minutes, watching progress carefully.

Peach, Date, and Almond Fruit Salad

One flat peach, diced, with stoned and diced dates (Deglet Nour), and a small handful of whole almonds.

Serve with double cream, and a small sprinkling of nutmeg. A delicious and simple fruit salad!

Apricot, Date and Almond Salad

An incredibly simple and satisfying fruit salad, with apricots, dates and almonds.

I used semi-dried apricots rather than fresh, which I soaked in water overnight. This version of the dish is sweeter than what you get if you use fresh apricots.

In the morning I halved the apricots, and diced the dates (be sure to stone the dates if you haven't bought them pre-stoned). I kept the juice from the apricots, and fortified it with a shot-glass full of Scotch whisky (Bourbon will do fine instead!).

I added whole almond kernels, without crushing them, and put the fruit and nuts in the fridge for three hours.

Serve with yoghurt dressed in a little nutmeg or mixed spice.

Banana, Date and Almond Fruit Salad

A gorgeous and simple fruit salad made with chopped banana, stoned dates, and a handful of whole almonds.

Topped with three or four dessert spoonfuls of plain yoghurt, and dressed with a sprinkling of ground nutmeg. An excellent breakfast dish.

Melon, Orange and Red Grape Salad

Two different colours of melon, with red grapes and orange segments.  Soused in some white wine and some Grenadine.

Allow to stand in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Served with a Greek style yoghurt, and a dusting of nutmeg. 

Plum Fruit Salad with Red and Green Seedless Grapes

Chopped plums with halved red and green grapes, served with cream. About seven minutes preparation time.

Put the salad in the fridge for forty-five minutes before serving.

You can add a little cinnamon or nutmeg to this dish.

West Indian Style Sweet Potato Curry

The original recipe can be found on the BBC Good Food site at:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/west-indian-sweet-potato-curry

I modified the recipe, because I had stuff in the fridge which needed to be used. The substitutions work very well.








Here is the original list of ingredients, and the substitutions I made:

1 tsp rapeseed oil (cooking stage skipped)
2 red onions, halved and sliced (white onion)
thumb-sized piece ginger, finely chopped (substituted by powdered ginger)
2 tbsp Madras curry powder (substituted by Garam Massala)

1 tsp allspice (substituted by some nutmeg)
400g can chopped tomatoes (yes)
200g sachet coconut milk (substituted by Greek yoghurt)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (I used dried thyme)
1 tbsp gluten-free vegetable bouillon (I used vegetable stock)
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes (yes)
325g white cabbage, roughly chopped (substituted with some diced brussels sprouts)
2 red peppers, chopped (yes)

I also added half a diced courgette, and some cajun seasoning, which resembles garam massala seasoning. Plus three green chillies, marinaded in vinegar. 

I made so much of the main part of the dish that I skipped everything in the rice accompaniment. I boiled some white basmati rice and added some dried thyme during the last two minutes of cooking.  For the record, the ingredients of the recommended accompaniment are as below.

125g brown basmati
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp vegetable bouillon
400g can black-eyed beans

And the originally recommended method:

Heat the oil in a very large nonstick frying pan, add the onions and ginger, and cook for 5 mins. Add the curry powder and allspice, then pour in the tomatoes plus a can of water, the coconut milk, thyme and bouillon.

Add the sweet potatoes, cabbage and peppers, cover the pan and simmer for 20-25 mins or until all the vegetables are tender but with a little bite, topping up with a little water if looking dry.

Meanwhile, tip the rice into a pan with the onion, garlic, thyme and bouillon. Pour in 600ml water, cover and cook for 25 mins or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender – check towards the end to make sure it isn’t catching. Stir in the beans and heat through.

Chestnut Meatloaf, with Parsnip Chips and Cranberry Sauce

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 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. Reheated in a flat, lidded pan.

Served with brussels sprouts (6 to 9 minutes in boiling water under glass),  and with roast parsnip chips in a salsa of tomato ketchup, tomato puree, marinade from a jar of red peppers, oregano, black pepper, smoked paprika, etc. Roasted in the oven for about 35 minutes at 180 deg C. Watch carefully, and turn halfway through. Plus a dessert spoonful of cranberry sauce.

Fruit Salad with Seedless Red Grapes

A classic fruit salad of orange, melon, mango, red grape, and apple. Served with a dressing made with creamy Jersey milk mixed with pomegranate molasses (about 50-50), seasoned with nutmeg and mace. Made in a trice. 

Fruit Salad with Seedless Red Grapes

Leek and Potato Soup, with Cumin

A simple winter soup, made with two medium leeks, four carrots, and two peeled potatoes, all roughly chopped. Cook in water in a lidded pan at a low simmer, until all the vegetables are soft. Mash. Cook again for at least twenty minutes, and puree with a hand-blender. 

Add some coriander leaf, a couple of pinches of ground cumin, a pinch of nutmeg, chicken stock, a dash of Tabasco sauce, and some Worcestershire sauce. Cook for another ten minutes, and serve. A real winter warmer!

Leek and Potato Soup, with Cumin

Minestrone Soup

Wheat-free Minestrone soup. Based on a Tomato and Celery soup on the previous day, made with vine and plum tomato, celery, carrot,  onion, and vegetable stock. With basil, rosemary, nutmeg, white pepper, paprika, and fenugreek. 

I added black lentils, green peas, yellow split peas, wheat-free pasta spirals, broken spaghetti, chopped red pepper and chestnut mushroom, mushroom stock, and chopped garlic. Plus basil, thyme, a little tarragon, and mustard powder as an emulsifier.

Served with wheat-free bread and salted butter. 

Wheat-free Minestrone Soup

Fruit Salad with Walnuts and Havana Rum

Chopped nectarine, plum, apple, banana, and grape, splashed with Havana Club rum (ideally leave the dish standing for a few hours after adding this), and a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon. Serve with double cream.

Fruit Salad with Walnuts and Havana Rum

Yellow Carrot and Orange Soup

Freshly squeezed orange juice, blended yellow carrots, red lentils, vine tomato, spring onion, vegetable stock, white pepper, oregano, sage, coriander, smoked paprika, and a little nutmeg. The yellow carrots (how they used to be) came from Sainsbury's. 

Yellow Carrot and Orange Soup

Faux Borscht with Wheat Free Croutons

Beetroot, shredded tomato, tomato puree, chopped carrot, leek, and potato, a vegetable stock cube and a handful of parsley and a pinch of nutmeg. Plus black pepper.  Bread cubes were fried (slowly) in a little butter

There seems to be some disagreement about exactly what constitutes a borscht. This was not a sour dish, and sourness appears to be part of the definition. Delicious nonetheless! The croutons were wheat free.

 I avoid wheat and barley gluten as much as possible, since regular consumption of it makes me feel unwell (as I starkly discovered in 2003, after a couple of days eating  in airports and railway stations, though looking back the symptoms were starting to show in 1997).  I can also eat bread made with Spelt occasionally, which is an unimproved wheat eaten during the Iron Age

Faux Borscht with Wheat Free Croutons