A Little Apology

I just want to post and say sorry for not updating my blog very much recently. I've been on holiday and since I've been back I have been very busy. Its not an excuse I know. I have been cooking lots of quick and simple meals and haven't tried anything new for a few weeks now. While we were on holiday our camera decided to give up the ghost and broke. I guess it is a good job that I haven't been doing alot of cooking as I've no camera to take any photos at the moment.

I hope to remedy this over the weekend as I am planning on going shopping for a new camera. There are so many to choose from though. I have been doing a lot of research and have looked at lots of different cameras but have still not made a decision on which one to go for. Hopefully I will come home with a nice new camera tomorrow so will get back in the kitchen and take some photos. I'm looking forward to getting back in the kitchen and trying out some new recipes. If they are any good then I'll post them here and share them with you.

Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You

The lovely Sally from Pink Bytes has tagged me.

Here are the rules:
Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share six random and/or weird things about yourself.
Tag six random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok so here are six random facts about me:

1. I hate baked beans and Marmite. They are both disgusting.
2. I have a terrible cookery book habit and can't look at Amazon or pass a book shop without going in and buying something.
3. One of my hobbies is scuba diving. I go most weekends during the summer with my husband and when we go on holiday it is always somewhere we can do some diving. My favourites places have been the Maldives, The Barrier Reef in Australia and The Red Sea in Egypt.
4. I have a birthmark on my bum.
5. I am addicted to buying shoes and own over a hundred pairs. I would love to have a pair of Jimmy Choo's.
6. I am scared of birds. I have a real phobia of them and especially dislike bigger birds like swans and geese as I am convinced I am going to get bitten by them. I think this stems from being bitten by a goose and an ostrich at the zoo when I was a child.

I am going to tag:

Tina
Vonsachen
Pistachio
Violets
Hannah
Laura

Thanks Sally. Its nice to learn a little bit about our fellow bloggers.

Cuban Mojito's

I have recently returned from my holidays in Cuba. We had a wonderful time and I would definately recommend a holiday there. We went to Varadero which is the Cuba's oldest and most established resort. We did a lot of scuba diving which was very good as well as just relaxing on the gorgeous beach. We also spent a couple of days in Havana which is the capital city. It was so very interesting and we could have spent a lot more time there. The buildings were very impressive although it was a shame that such a lot of them are falling into disrepair.

The hotel that we stayed in had some lovely restaurants which delicious food. We also found a very good sea food restaurant right on the beach. It was lovely to go there and listen to the sound of the waves and watch the sunset whilst eating a delicious meal and enjoying a glass of wine.

Traditionally there has been little variety in Cuban cuisine, which revolves around a basic diet of chicken and pork dishes accompanied by rice and beans. In Cuba this is generally known as Comida Criolla. There are a couple of national dishes that are worth trying in Cuba. Ropa Vieja is a type of meat stew normally made from lamb or beef. It is prepared over a slow heat with green peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic. I tried this in a small restaurant in Varadero and it was very nice.

Often found on street stalls, Tamales are prepared from cornmeal, peppers and onions. They are then wrapped in the outer leaves of the cornmeal plant and steamed until soft. They are somewhat bland but are often served with a red pepper sauce to make them a little more lively. Rice and beans invariably accompany most Cuban meals. They come in two main guises, Congris and Arroz con Frijoles. Congris is where the rice and beans are served together whereas Arroz con Frojoles is where white rice is served with a separate bowl of beans which have been cooked into a delicious soupy stew. Other tradional accompaniments to meals are fried plantain, mashed, boiled or fried green bananas which have a buttery almost nutty taste, cassava and simple salads of tomatoes, cucumber and avocado.

Paladares are popular in Cuba. They are privately run usually in the spare room of a house. They were introduced by the state in response to Cubans wanting to earn money through private enterprise. They offer visitors a chance to try Cuban home cooking. Although there are tight restrictions on what can be served, the meals that we tried were generous and well cooked.

If you like rum then you will get on well in Cuba. The national drink is available almost everywhere and can be used in some delicious cocktails. One of the most famous in Cuba and my favourite was the mojito. Ernest Hemingway is reported to have enjoyed a mojito at the La Bodeguita del Medio bar in Havana. I bought a bottle of rum home with me so that I could recreate a mojito when I got back. Although its not quite as nice as sipping one on the beach in Cuba, they are very nice. Here is a recipe if you would like to try one.

• 8-12 fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon of caster sugar or 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup
• light rum
• half a lime, sliced
• sparkling water
• ice cubes
• sprig of mint and a lime wedge to garnish

In a tall glass gently crush the mint leaves and the lime with the end of a wooden spoon or a muddler if you have one. Add the sugar and a handful of ice cubes. Add a good dash of rum making it as strong as you like it. Fill the glass with sparkling water and garnish with a sprig of mint and a wedge of lime. Enjoy.

Sticky Garlic Potatoes

Nigella Lawson's Feast is one of my favourite cookery books. There are so many wonderful recipes and everything I have made is very tasty indeed. These potatoes are a favourite in my house and I made these them last night. The potatoes are boiled first and then after they have been drained they bashed and squashed in the pan along with some garlic, before being cooked in the oven. They are a combination of mashed and roasted and galic caramelises in the heat. They are truly delicious and so easy to make. I think they are my favourite way to have potatoes at the moment.

750g little new potatoes
8 cloves of garlic
125ml oliive or vegetable oil

• Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil then cook the potates for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to Gas 7/220C. Drain them and then put back in the pan.
• Peel the garlic clovesby squashing them with the flat of a knife so that they bruise gently and come out of their skins. Put them in the pan with the potatoes and then bash it all with the end of a rolling pin so they are cracked and split.
• Put the oil in a roasting tin and heat up in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Carefully tip the potatoes and garlic into the hot oil and cook for 15 minutes. Turn them and cook for another 15 minutes.

These are wonderful and if you like potatoes then you will love these sticky garlic roast come mashed ones.

I am off on my holidays to Cuba tomorrow so there won't be any posts here for a couple of weeks. I shall be enjoying some diving and sipping cocktails on the beach. I hope you don't envy me too much. I will be back in a couple of weeks so until then take care and I'll see you all very soon.

I've been tagged

My friend Brenda from Tea and Wheaten Bread has invited me to play tag. I have to pick six words that describe me and then have to tag six other bloggers to do the same. The idea is to get to know people a little better and let them get to know a little bit more about me. I think it is a great idea and am happy to join in.

I wasn't sure how I would describe myself so asked my husband for a bit of help. I think these words describe me quite well

• Funloving
• Adventurous
• Sensitive
• Thoughtful
• Passionate
• Dependable

The people I'm tagging are:

Julie

Lisa

Vonsachsen

Hannah

Ilana

Tina

Shakshuka

Over on Vi's Pantry we have a new challenge running. Every fortnight each member that wants to participate takes it in turns to post three recipes. Everyone who wants to take part makes one, two or all three of the dishes and then votes to choose their favourite.

This is a brilliant challenge as it gets to try things that we might not have made before. I have already made several different recipes that are completely new to me. They have all been delicious and will definately be made again.

This recipe is from Francesca who lives in Israel. This is a dish of hot spicy tomatos with eggs that are poached in the sauce. This is a popular Israeli dish and there are lots of different recipes for it. This is Francesca's recipe which I made as a light meal last night. As recommended by Francesca I served this with some crusty bread to mop up the sauce and the runny egg yolks. This was a delicious meal and one that I'll be having again. I think it would make a lovely brunch at the weekend.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons oil for frying (not olive oil)

4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large red pepper

1 green or red hot pepper

5 large tomatoes, skins removed, or 1 large tin of chopped tomatoes with their juice

4 tablespoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon hot paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Pinch of ground caraway (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Eggs (2 per person).

Parsley leaves to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or deep frying pan, and lightly fry the onions and garlic. Add the red peppers and fry for another 4 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, hot red pepper, tomato puree and seasonings and simmer for at least 30 minutes. If it becomes too thick add a small amount of vegetable or chicken stock.

3. Adjust the seasonings now, once the eggs are added you will be unable to stir the shakshouka. 4. Break an egg into a small cup and with a wooden spoon in one hand make a hole in the sauce and with the other gently pour the egg into it. Continue with as many eggs as you need.

5. Turn the heat to low and cook until the egg whites are set (approx 5-7 minutes).

6. Transfer to individual plates and sprinkle with a little parsley. Serve with your favourite crusty bread to mop up the yolks and sauce.

Butterscotch Blondies

Over on Violets Pantry we have been set another challenge. This time the challenge was set by the lovely George whose blog Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess is just wonderful and well worth a read. Each fortnight one of the members sets a new challenge and gives us a choice of three recipes to try.

George chose three delicious sounding recipes for the challenge and I struggled to decide which one to make first as they all sound wonderul. In the end I chose the butterscotch blondies much to my husbands delight.

I often make chocolate brownies but have never made blondies before. With all the butterscotch, white chocolate and caramel in the recipe I did think they might be a little bit sickly but oh my they were just amazing. I had never seen butterscotch chips anywhere but George pointed me in the direction of an online auction site where I managed to get some and they were even delivered the next day.

These blondies were delicious. I wasn't even able to let them cool down before I had to try them. The gave off a wonderful aroma while they were cooking and my kitchen smelt delightful. These were absolutely lovely just as they are but were also wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They didn't last long at all and everytime I went into the kitchen I ended up having a little bit more.

Thank you so much George for this wonderful recipe. I'll definately be making these again. George has the recipe on her blog so go along and take a peek if you want to try these. I'd heartily recommend them.

Chocolate Buttons

I adore chocolate buttons and when I saw these on a shopping trip today I just couldn't resist them. They are a little box full of vintage shaped chocolate buttons. I am a big fan of Hotel Chocolat as they make some of the most delicous chocolates that I have ever tasted. The champagne truffles are amazing as are all of the wonderful bars that they make. I hadn't heard of this company until last year when I was very kindly sent a box of their chocolates from a friend. Now I am hooked and regularly order my stash of chocolate from the website to be delivered.

I went on a little shopping trip today as I have the day off work. I was intending to go out to get a birthday present for my wonderful mum but ended up spending a small fortune on myself as well. I normally do most of my shopping in my nearest shopping centres of Poole or Bournemouth but I ventured a little further afield today to Southampton. There I found the chocolate shop that I could have spent all day wandering around. It has the most delicious aroma of chocolate and such a wonderful selection of all things made from the cocoa bean. I would definately recommend a trip to one of their shops but if you can't get to one then you can order online. I must warn you that this chocolate is amazing and if you're anything like me then you'll spend a small fortune there.

I also found this which I am going to hang up in my kitchen. Isn't it pretty?

Quack Quack

On a trip to my local butcher the other day, I bought some duck legs. They then sat in the fridge for a couple of days while I pondered over how to cook them. I have never cooked duck before so this was something new for me. I have eaten it many times but it has always been cooked by someone else. While browsing some of my favourite foodie websites I came across lots of different recipes and ideas. I the end I settled on this recipe from UKTV Food.

The recipe was easy to follow and totally delicous. The finished duck was really tasty and we'l definately be having this again. To start with the duck legs are chargrilled in a griddle pan before being finished off in the oven. They are baked in a foil parcel and the honey mixture is poured over the top of them. This makes a lovely sauce while they cooking that can poured over the duck if you want a bit extra. This really was delicious and the potato and chorizo salad is scrumptious too.

Pantry Challenge

Over on Violets Pantry we have been set another challenge recently. Every two weeks one of the members sets a new challenge. They pick three recipes and then each of that are participating can pick one, two or all three of the recipes to cook. This is our first challenge of this type and I am hoping to make 2 of the suggested recipes. I think this is a wonderful idea as we can share our recipes and try something new.

Pi set the first challenge and we had a choice of Macaroni, Cheese and Tomato Bake, Finger Lickin Chicken Wings or Apple and Almond Galette. I decided to start off with the macaroni. I do macaroni cheese fairly often but this recipe is very different from the one I normally use. It was absolutely delicious and the bechemel sauce is wonderful. I will definately use this recipe again.

I halved the recipe as there are only 2 of us. I also only put tomatoes on half of the dish as my husband doesn't like them. The only other change I made was to add a little parmesan as I had a small bit that needed using up. I have never used an egg in my macaroni before but it was really nice and gave the whole dish a lovely light texture. The addition of a bit of cream to the bechemel was wonderful too. I'm sorry there is no photograph of my finished dish today as the batteries in my camera were flat and I didn't have any more. I must make sure that that doesn't happen again.

Here is Pi's recipe if anyone wants to give it a try.

Serves 4

250g macaroni
1 tspn dry mustard or 1 Tbsp Dijon
1 egg, separated
180g Cheddar cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g tomatoes, sliced

Béchamel Sauce:
60g unsalted butter
40g all-purpose flour
600ml whole milk
1 bay leaf a little extra milk
80ml cream, optional
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

Firstly make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to form a roux. Let this cook for a couple of minutes to avoid a floury-tasting sauce. Stir in about a quarter of the milk and beat well over the heat until it thickens. Gradually add the rest of the milk and keep stirring vigorously, still over the heat, until the sauce is thick and smooth. Add the bay leaf and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring the sauce to the boil and then turn the heat down to low. Let the sauce gently simmer for about five minutes. Stir every now and then to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan. Thin the sauce by stirring in a little extra milk if necessary. (If you are making the sauce well in advance, do not stir in this extra milk but pour it over the top of the sauce and leave it, to prevent a skin from forming.) When you are ready to use the sauce, remove the bay leaf, and add the cream if using.

Set the oven to 200ºC. Grease a ovenproof dish approximately 20 x 30 x 6cm in size.

Cook the pasta with a tablespoon of salt for about 2 minutes less than recommend on the packet, or until tender but still with some bite. Drain the pasta and tip into a large bowl.

Stir the mustard, egg yolk and 60g of the cheese into the bechamel sauce. Mix the sauce into the pasta and season generously with salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg white until it is stiff but not dry, then gently fold it into the macaroni mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.*

Arrange the tomato slices over the top, placing them very close together. Scatter the rest of the cheese over the tomato slices, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the inside is lightly set.

Serve with a green vegetable or a salad.

*can be prepared in advance to this point and left, covered with a cloth, for several hours.