Home Cooking Ideas, Tips and Recipes

[Ladymuck]

*smiles*

I wasn't sure if I needed (pun!) to tip the contents out onto a floured work surface...but thank you for enlightening me;-). Sounds easier in the bowl. Also sounds like a recipe that could be quite therapeutic...will definitely give it a go when I have a spare...however long it takes.

Thanks Declan xx

[katie1997]

Ladymuck Wrote:

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> Katie1997:

> I'd very much like to try your Irish Choc

> Brownies, but could you clarify the following

> please?

> - you mention 3/4 cup cocoa...are you sure?

> Sounds like a lot of cocoa?

> - what size baking container please? And do I

> need to line/grease (or whatever) the container?

>

> - you say bake for 20 mins. but at what oven temp.

> (degrees F) please?

> Sorry to be a pain in the wotsit. Thanks in

> advance xx

*digs out Irish recipe book, revised edition*

Hi Ladymuck - no problemo at all, here are the answers you need:

- it was meant to read as three-quarters of a cup of cocoa (not 3 or 4 cups) tee hee

- 8 x 8 inch square baking pan, buttered (but I reckon you can use bake-o-glide)

- 375 degrees F

best of luck, hope they turn out well, xx :))

[Narnia]

3/4 or three or four cups? That could have been a disaster. I think we need to maintain standards on this thread please. Anyone burnt toast yet?

[Marmora Man]

Pepper & Salt Squid

So quick, so tasty

750 gm prepared squid (or buy 1kg of squid, gut and clean)

Score the "inside" of the squid with diamond pattern - cutting to approx 1/2 or 2/3 way thru flesh

Cut into 2cm squares

Heat teaspoon of black (or better mixed) peppercorns in a fry pan. Once aromatic crush in mortar & pestle. Add teaspoon of sea salt.

Chop one red chilli into slices (leave in seeds for hotter flavour or leave out for milder flavour)

Chop 4 spring onions into slices

Take Wok - heat to smoking, add tablespoon oil. Add half of squid - stir fry for 2 mins. Tip out onto warm plate. Reheat wok - add a little more oil fry rest of squid (2 mins), add half the salt & pepper - toss for 15 secs. Add chilli & onion, toss and stir for 30 secs.

Serve - enough for 4 as a starter or two as a main course. Garnish with salad / noodles to taste.

[Ladymuck]

Thanks for getting back Katie1997...actually I did think you meant three-quarters of a cup, but that still sounded like a heck of a lot of cocoa to me...still, the proof will be in the...erm...pudding...hee hee xxx

Burnt toast twice this morning Narnia! The first time I'd nipped outside to set up the lawn mower, the second I was on here...still, it didn't go to waste...the birds have scoffed it all...poor little souls, I sincerely hope I don't give them cancer... oooh dear...what's the natural life span of a sparrow?

Marmora Man...that squid recipe sounds delish...very similar to something a Phillipino friend of mine makes.

[Narnia]

Dinner Time

I tell you what, some of these dishes are delicious!

[woofmarkthedog]

Hey..

So it was you with the camera

Bad Pu-Narnia

W**F

[Marmora Man]

Marmora Man Wrote:

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> Pepper & Salt Squid

>

> So quick, so tasty

>

>

Forgot to add - don't forget the tentacles - with a really hot wok they'll crisp up and perhaps char at he edges and really add flavour. Cooked this on Saturday for the family - excellent.

[HAL9000]

Marmora Man Wrote:

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> Pepper & Salt Squid

A variation on your theme.

Squid Stuffed with Prawns:

Remove the tentacles

add (cooked) prawns

chop tentacles and prawns finely

season to taste (optional: chopped parsley, mustard, soy sauce, lemon/lime juice, etc.)

stuff the mixture into the gutted squid bodies

brush with butter and

grill until light golden brown

Easy, delicious and highly addictive.

[Ladymuck]

HAL9000 Wrote:

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> A variation...

> ...Squid Stuffed with Prawns...

mmmmmmmmm sounds quite divine...now you're talking HAL9000

[HAL9000]

Black Eye Beans (Greek/Turkish Cuisine)

Serves 1 (main meal), 2 (sides), 4 (starters)

1 tin black eye beans in salt water; 400g net, 240g drained

(The best brand is KTC, in my opinion - 39p a tin or 3 for ?1 at Khan's Bargain supermarket on Rye Lane)

1 celery stalk

1 small carrot

1 small potato

1 small onion [optional]

2 generous handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves (or 3-4 heaped tablespoonfuls of tinned spinach leaves)

Chop celery

Slice carrot

Dice potato [and onion]

Place vegetable pieces in saucepan, cover with water, salt lightly and boil until cooked

Drain and rinse black eye beans in cold water

Add spinach and black eye beans to saucepan and boil for a few minutes to heat through (the beans are already cooked)

Drain well

Garnish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Salt to taste

Serve with fresh crusty bread and

Raw onion and black olives alone

Or with any of the following:

Anchovies

Sardines

Pilchards

Kippers

Smoked mackerel

Tinned salmon

Any other smoked, tinned, salted or preserved fish

[Ladymuck]

Given the comments on another thread, I thought I'd revive this.

[VeryBerryCherry]

Fantastic!

[Ladymuck]

I re-read the entire thread very early this morning and realised that, sadly, I hadn't made some of the stuff that I said I would. I am therefore going to attempt Narnia's Irish Soda Bread this weekend - the recipe sounds simple, but am especially looking forward to "letting the fairies out".

[VeryBerryCherry]

Where's the recipe for Soda bread? I can't bloomin' find it!

[Ladymuck]

There you go VBC!

Oh, and you do not mix on the floor - that's very important!

[Ladymuck]

Ooops - another moment of madness. Forgot to include the recipe. Voila.

Posted by: Narnia February 27, 10:07PM

You need a circular tin for cooking it in. Grease it or sprinkle some flour into it

2lbs plain flour white/brown or mixture

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon on bicarbonate of sode

1 teaspoon of salt

Sieve all into a large bowl. Make a hole in the centre and gradually add 1pt of milk.

Keep stirring with a knife. Knead the mixture with your hands. This can take a few minutes.If it's too mushy add more flour.

Place mixture in the container.Make a cross in the dough to let the fairies out during cooking.

Put in oven 220 degrees for 1.5 hours. Cover with tin foil after an hour.

Baking may take less time depending on the oven.

Place on tray to cool. Make sure you eat some before it's cool as it's really delicious then.

[HAL9000]

Here's one I prepared earlier - originally posted to Wanted section in September.

Hummus (also spelled hamos, homos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos or hummous)

1 14oz can chick peas (drain and rinse well)

3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste - aka tahina, t'hina, tashi)) - stir well before use

3 tbsp (extra) virgin olive oil

1-2 cloves fresh garlic or 1 level tsp garlic paste

1/2-tsp citric acid powder or the juice of two fresh lemons

1/4-cup (60ml) water (or water and lemon juice combined) (add a little more water if too thick)

1/4 to 1/2-tsp salt

Blend the above to a smooth paste - voila!

Serve with a sprinkle of paprika, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprig of curly-leaf parsley and hot pitta bread.

For the more adventurous: hummus may be flavoured by adding (before blending) a few pitted green olives or diced bell peppers or a slice of sun-dried tomato, etc., etc., the possibilities are endless.

(All of the ingredients are available from Khan's in Rye Lane.)

[Ladymuck]

HAL9000, do you have shares in Khan's LOL? It seems to be your favourite shop.

[cate]

Wot no fresh chickpeas!?!

[Ladymuck]

I know cate! The garlic paste and the citric acid also sent a shiver down my spine. Other than that, it sounds a good recipe and probably tastes better than the readymade stuff in the shops.

[HAL9000]

Gosh - you girls don't take any prisoners, do you? I thought I might get some brownie points for including the fresh equivalents - obviously not?

Of course one can use 'fresh' (i.e. dried) chickpeas - but it takes two or more hours of boiling (sometimes - depending on the variety - in a weak solution of washing soda i.e. Sodium carbonate) to soften them sufficiently to yield a smooth paste.

And what's wrong with garlic paste? Lots of people make their own from fresh - commercial products are made in much the same way. I don't see the problem.

Citric acid powder is a pure, completely natural ingredient - but use fresh lemons by all means.

I have no commercial connection with Khan's - but it is one of my favourite stores as I tend to cook Mediterranean, Middle and Far Eastern recipes with ingredients difficult to find elsewhere around here. I really should sign up for a commission, though.

Hummus made as above is superior to any of the store-bought products I've tried apart from an Israeli brand occasionally available from Sainsbury's which is the smoothest, most delicious I've ever tasted - it's expensive but well worth the extra cost.

[Ladymuck]

*picks up toys and replaces them in the pram*

*all the time, trying not to laugh*

[cate]

Have a look at Helen's blog:-

http://www.helengraves.co.uk/

She has a recipe for home made hummus and it involved peeling each individual chick pea!

She also has a new posting about a food festival this weekend in SE24 AND she has a post on Khan's.

[Ladymuck]

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