Pork medallions in creamy vermouth sauce

This is one of my husband's "classic" dishes; he's been turning this one out for several decades and it's as delicious now as it ever was!  Basically, he fries some sliced onion and garlic in oil until softened, then adds some mushrooms and black pepper.  When they are almost fully cooked, he pushes them all to one side of the pan and adds the medallions of pork to brown (these are sliced from a tenderloin - an excellent and very good value cut, which has almost zero wastage).  He adds a little vermouth (or brandy, whatever we've got at the time) and chicken stock and simmers for 3 mins to cook off the alcohol, then finishes with some cream (adding cornflour mixed with cold water if it needs a little thickening).

It's a very rich sauce, so needs quite simple accompaniments.  Rice and salad would work nicely, but we served ours with minted new potatoes, fresh carrots and butter-steamed kale.  I have to say, the kale was completely gorgeous, having an intense "iron-y" flavour that you just knew was doing you good, without the bitterness of some dark green cabbages.

Minty Lamb Steaks!!

Why the exclamation marks after the title?  Because of this anecdote from our history: Warren and I have run two food pubs in the past (one as tenants, one as owners) and when we were looking to buy the latter one, we viewed a village pub that looked promising on paper but, in reality, was seriously run down.  Not only was it situated in close proximity to a maggot farm (which did put us off, slightly!), but their food menu left a lot to be desired.  (Yes, we could have changed this, but it said a lot about what standards the local clientele were satisfied with.)  Pretty much all "boil-in-the-bag" meals, the most popular dish (according to the somewhat vacant landlady) was "Minty Lamb Steaks"; sure enough, an order came in while we were there and we watched in horror as something resembling a lamb burger was taken from the freezer and dropped in the deep fat fryer!!

Last night's meal, I am delighted to report, was not a frozen and deep-fried mixture of dubious meat, cereal and goodness knows what else ... it was a couple of genuine British lamb steaks (although not as good quality or well-butchered as we were hoping), seasoned and pan-fried, with an accompanying gravy made with red wine and - yes - mint!  The sauce was added to the meat in the cooking pan and the whole lot finished off in the oven.  We served it with little potatoes, roasted with garlic, Italian seasoning and onions, plus some green beans and sweetcorn.  (I'm guessing chips and peas would have been the choice at the aforementioned pub!)

Sweet treats for diabetics

Whenever we see a food product that declares it has "No Added Sugar" we always look closer; my husband is diabetic and it's nice to find occasional sweet treats for him that won't send his blood sugar levels sky high.  One of the most delicious is also the one without any artificial sweetener either: St Dalfour fruit spreads.

They come in a wide range of tempting flavours and contain 100% "all natural ingredients" so are also good for anyone (like me) who prefers to limit their intake of refined sugar.  Of course, at 56g of (naturally occurring) sugar per 100g, a diabetic couldn't eat a lot of them, but 100g is well over a third of the jar ... and really you only need a couple of teaspoons to enjoy the full, sweet and fruity flavour.  I haven't yet found one I don't like!!

My husband, Warren, doesn't indulge in a lot of sweet treats (although he does enjoy a few Thornton's sugar-free chocolates and sweets at Christmas!) but there are a couple of exceptions: he often has one or two Tesco sugar-free shortbread biscuits with a coffee when he gets home from work, and sometimes he indulges in a bowl of Frank's Diabetic Ice Cream which now comes in Strawberry flavour as well as Vanilla.

I do like to make him a dessert occasionally and might even self-publish a resource book of all my puddings, one day, with photos and vague recipes (I'm not great at measuring and weighing ingredients, as you may have noticed!!).  So you see, even for diabetics, life CAN be sweet!

Simple baked spud

If you're looking for a quick and easy, cheap and cheerful meal that is still nutritious, you could hardly do better than choose a baked potato; filled with whatever takes your fancy (we had tuna mayonnaise and a little grated cheese last night) and accompanied by a huge, fresh salad, it's ready in no time at all and tastes yummy!

Of course, to make it really speedy you need to at least partially cook the spuds in the microwave first, but if you think about it beforehand they only take about an hour in a medium/hot oven and (in my opinion) taste so much better.

V  For a vegetarian version, just omit the tuna and add more cheese and coleslaw, or substitute baked beans, vegetable chilli, creamy garlic mushrooms or anything else that tickles your taste buds!

Mediterranean Meze

Certain foods, like some aromas, are so evocative of specific times and places that just one mouthful can transport you right back there no matter how far away or how long ago; such was true of the meal Warren and I put together last night.  It didn't matter which of the elements we put into our mouths, as the flavours of each one were immediately reminiscent of all our wonderful holidays in Greece and Cyprus.

If you have ever visited the Greek Islands or Cyprus you will need no further explanation; if you haven't, try to imagine a balmy evening with a soft sea breeze just cooling your sun-warmed skin deliciously ... you are sitting outside (probably on a plastic patio chair) at a square wooden table, surrounded by huge clay pots full of geraniums and bougainvillea, while overhead there are grape vines and fairy lights ... you are with someone special and the hum of other diners is somehow no more intrusive than the bazouki music in the background, as you chat about the lovely first day you've had and how fantastic it is to be back ... a dark, handsome and charming man comes to your table and greets you with a smiling "Kali spera", which you return in your best Greek accent ... you order Meze and beer and eat until you're satisfied, knowing that for the next two weeks you will be doing this every night at one or other of the many tavernas ... Yammas!

Clockwise from the top: pitta bread, Moroccan cous-cous, Greek salad, dolmades (rice and mint stuffed vine leaves), herby chicken with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, hummus and taramasalata, gigantes (butter beans in tomato, herb & garlic sauce), mixed marinated olives.

The only things we made ourselves were the herbed chicken (literally just dusted with "Italian Seasoning", pan-fried and finished in the oven), roasted vegetables (left over from Sunday roast; see my Squidoo lens for Autumn veg variation full recipe: Roast Autumn Veg), and the Greek salad (roughly chop cucumber and tomatoes, thinly slice red onion and mix all together with olives; dress with lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper and mixed herbs, then top with cubed feta cheese and sprinkle with dried mint - just gorgeous!!).

The dolmades and gigantes (pronounced "gig-(rhymes with "wig")-AN-tees") were purchased in tins from our local Tesco, where we also bought the other dishes from their deli and bakery counters.  It's so great to be able to buy international food so easily ... although I still try to buy British produce whenever it is an option.

V  This Meze is predominantly  vegetarian already; just remove the chicken and taramasalata and you're there!

Curry from a jar!!

We do know how to make our own curries from scratch, of course, but sometimes ... especially when we're busy with a project (such as "constructing the perfect kitchen"!!) ... we'll just cook a few bits of meat and/or vegetables and throw in a bottled sauce; as long as they are nice sauces made with good ingredients, I don't have a problem with this.  The (extremely RED) one we used on Thursday evening was Sharwood's Butter Chicken as none of us had ever tried a "Butter Chicken" dish before.  The flavour was delicious (but mild), although where the "butter" came in I couldn't tell you; there was no butter flavour that I could discern.

We did make our own sag aloo (spiced potato and spinach side dish) to accompany it, as we'd had rice the previous evening; we also served cucumber raita, poppadoms, mango chutney and naan breads.  It was all ready in less than an hour and was absolutely gorgeous!!

V  Substitute your favourite selection of vegetables for the chicken, and you have an equally gorgeous vegetarian dinner; my choice would probably be a root/gourd mixture, such as butternut squash, turnip and carrot.

Sort-of Stroganoff

Not exactly a Stroganoff (there was no white wine involved) but this pork dish was scrumptious, all the same!  We would normally use diced pork for a Stroganoff, but last night we used pork tenderloin, which never fails to amaze me by how cheap it is to buy; I can only assume that it's not a popular cut of meat, because it's so easy to use and creates a restaurant-standard meal, with almost zero wastage.  If you haven't tried using it before, I'd recommend you give it a go; the piece we used last night fed three people generously for well under £3.00.

Stroganoff is such a quick and easy dish to cook; simply fry chopped onion, mushrooms and seal the seasoned pork pieces in a little oil (if using tenderloin, trim off any stringy bits and slice into "medallions" all along its length, each one about 3/4 inch thick).  Add some stock (chicken is fine, if you don't have pork stock cubes) and a little white wine if using, and cook in the uncovered pan for about 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.  The meat should be nicely cooked by now, so just add plenty of paprika and finish with some soured cream; if the sauce is too thin for your liking, add some cornflour mixed with a little cold water.

Serve immediately with either rice. pasta or potatoes and a green vegetable or salad.  Top with a little extra soured cream and paprika for an attractive final flourish!

V  Mushroom Stroganoff used to be a very popular dish with vegetarian diners in the two pubs my husband and I have run; the recipe is exactly the same as above, except you use masses of mushrooms and (obviously) leave out the meat.

Fantastic fishcakes!

Yes, I know it was Shrove Tuesday yesterday - and therefore, in the UK, Pancake Day! - but I like a pancake as a dessert, following a light meal, not as the main event in itself.  Therefore, I decided to use up some salmon "trimmings" from the freezer and make some fishcakes with a green salad as our first course.

Fishcakes are a doddle to make, but I would think twice before buying the salmon "trimmings" again for this sort of dish; it was impossible to tell from the way they were packaged but, although there was a lot of good flesh available, it was riddled with bones, fins, skin and the unappealing white, flabby stuff you sometimes get with salmon.  It was a time-consuming and fiddly job, but I did manage to get all bar a couple of bones removed and the fish did actually taste delicious ... however, I would definitely buy filleted fish in the future!

Boil some potatoes and make into a fairly dry mash; at the same time, poach your fish - either on the hob or in the oven, covered with foil - in some milk with seasoning and herbs (I like tarragon with salmon, but parsley, chives or dill all also go well with fish).  Add the fish in chunks to the mashed potato, stirring it in as lightly as possible, so as not to break the flakes down too much; you can also add any other flavouring you choose at this point (mustard, finely-sliced spring onions, ginger, grated cheese, curry, chilli or Thai spices, etc).

Form into cakes with well-floured hands, then roll in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, before frying in a little oil over a medium heat.  Cook in small batches to retain their shape (the drier your mash, the better they will hold their shape) and keep hot in the oven while you finish cooking the rest.  They are really quite filling (the above platter was more than enough for three people with large appetites!!) and only require a lovely fresh, dressed salad to accompany them.  (We certainly didn't need pancakes afterwards ... so that plan didn't work!!)

NB  I used salmon on this occasion, but mackerel, prawn or any smoked fish would also be delicious.

V  Well, obviously you can't make vegetarian fishcakes, but a "vegecake" would be very simple to create: cook any vegetables you like in whatever way you choose (steam, fry, bake, boil, microwave, sauté, etc) and add them to the mashed potato along with your chosen flavourings.  Coat and cook as above and serve with salad - job done!

Fish 'n' chips ... with a difference!

Up to now I've done little more than pay lip service to supporting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Fish Fight", but last night we had a meal I think even Hugh would have approved of!  While I always try to follow the guidelines for buying tinned tuna caught in the least harmful way (current information favours "caught by rod and line") and have added my name to the petition to stop the terrible wastage from discards, I had yet to commit fully to choosing different fish over those that are in danger of being overfished.

So, last night we had the traditional British staple of "fish and chips" but gave it a twist: we used mackerel fillets (we've always enjoyed mackerel and these were superb - well flavoured but without any oily aftertaste), which we dusted in seasoned flour and pan-fried, put a few lightly spiced potato wedges in the oven (ready-made, frozen ... we'd had a hard day!!) and added a generous portion of frozen peas.

Served with a slice of lemon and a side dish of soured cream flavoured with lemon juice, chives, tarragon and black pepper, this was a very satisfying and tasty plate of food that filled us up after a hard day's work on the new kitchen!

Please yourself Pasta Bake!

V  I'm classing this one as a vegetarian dish because, although the version I cooked last night (pictured below) does contain meat, the whole point of a "please yourself pasta bake" is that you decide what goes in it!  One of the simplest dishes to prepare and serve (plus it freezes quite well), a pasta bake takes roughly an hour from scratch and needs only a green salad accompaniment ... plus a little garlic bread if you so desire.

Simply place dried pasta in the bottom of a large casserole dish and add some passata, water and flavourings; I used sliced red peppers, chopped garlic, dried mixed herbs, smoked paprika and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  (Remember this is the liquid that the pasta will be cooking in, so make sure there is plenty - alternatively, you could use a ready-made bottled sauce, which will give you exact measurements.)  Give it all a thorough stirring and place uncovered into a med-high oven for half an hour.

Halfway through this time, sauté any ingredients that require cooking (I used smoked bacon, chorizo and mushrooms ... other ideas are courgettes, onions, diced chicken, etc).  Take the bake from the oven, add extra liquid if necessary, tip in the cooked ingredients along with any others that don't require cooking (tinned sweetcorn, frozen peas, tinned tuna, etc) and give another good stir to mix it all together ... remember to check to liquid at every stage; it should be enough to cook the pasta without drowning it!

Finally, top it with some grated cheese.  I used cheddar and a little Parmesan on this occasion, but lumps of softer cheeses work well, as does the stringy pizza-like topping of mozzarella.  Put it all back in the oven for 15-30 minutes, until the topping is melted and all the ingredients are piping hot.  Enjoy!

Lamb Hot-Pot

I'm the only one of six sisters (being the youngest) not to have lived in Lancashire when I was a little girl - indeed, most of my siblings were born in that county, while I arrived and grew up here in Devon.  "Lancashire Hot-Pot", however, was a regular feature on the menu in my childhood home and is a dish I've enjoyed ever since.  There is something very comforting about the steaming potatoes and carrots, surrounded by rich, meaty gravy and a few chunks of tender lamb ... all it needs is some green veg of your choice and you have a delicious, well-balanced meal.

In a casserole dish, put a little oil in the bottom, then layer (don't just throw it all in!) half of your thinly sliced onion, sliced carrots, diced lamb, black pepper & mixed herbs, sliced potatoes ... then repeat, finishing with potatoes.  Make up some gravy (I used granules, but you could make a passata-based one, or stock and cornflour - whatever you like) and pour over the dish almost to the top.  Cover and place in a very hot oven for half an hour, then lower to medium heat for another half hour or so until the potatoes are tender (the meat will then be cooked).  If you like, you can brush a little melted butter on the top at this stage, but either way you should remove the lid and whack the heat back up, to brown and crisp up the potato (I didn't leave mine long enough for this ... we were too hungry!).  Total cooking time, about one and a half hours.

The longer you leave the dish, the more it will "blend" together and not fall apart so much when you dish it up (like mine did!!).

V  I've never made a vegetarian hot-pot, but I'm sure it would be lush!  I wouldn't recommend using Quorn, in this instance, because of the long cooking time (Quorn is much better cooked quickly), but substituting TVP for the meat layers might work well, or (this would be my choice) try a layer of sliced, big fat breakfast mushrooms.  Personally, I would sauté them  first in some oil and black pepper to bring out the rich, deep flavour and maybe even add some sliced red pepper for a piquant tang.  The rest of the layers would be as above, and I would use Bisto vegetable granules for the gravy ... yum!!