Best quick and easy chicken breast recipe – cheat method
Chicken breasts are so fast and simple to convert into a meal. I once had them just sliced and grilled (broiled) for a few minutes, then popped into a toasted sandwich with mustard and mayo to make a deliciously fast supper. The downside is that they are basically flavourless outside of their natural home in a Sunday Lunch whole roast chicken. The trick is to either marinade them beforehand or add ingredients to add some zest. Danny here on Thu evening, giving Fiona a break after her trip to London yesterday. I touched on this in the...
read moreReview: Alternative remedies from Diana Mossop
Danny and I went to London this afternoon to see an alternative healer. Diana Mossop lives in Jersey and consults in London and Jersey. She is the founder of the Institute of Phytobiophysics and has a marvellous reputation for healing ailments and conditions that conventional medicine seems not to be able to help. Around here she is known as The White Witch and many, desperate but “semi scoffers” have been helped by her methods and now visit her regularly. She has been developing and using her own flower formulas for years starting...
read moreMy twist on the Waitrose recipe for Moules Mariniere
Having failed to persuade my partner to share my bag of rope mussels I was determined to make a really great sauce. So I looked at a couple of good foodie blogs for inspiration. Veronica at La Recette du Jour had a great recipe but I didn’t have curry powder. Joanna at Joanna’s Food had a tempting recipe but I was tired and didn’t want to do the maths (her recipe was for 5 kilos). In the end I looked at the cooking instructions on the label for Moules Mariniere. As Danny was getting restive and already grilling some burgers I...
read moreFlowers for September 2009
Weeks of no rain have had a big impact on the herbaceous borders. So there are not many flowers and the few that are there are looking a bit stressed and tired. Can you guess what these flowers are? Hint I found them in the kitchen garden. A small insignificant prize will be sent to the first reader to leave the correct answer.
read moreJoke pasta
Having bought a very smart pasta machine, I made my first pasta last night. It was a dismal flop. Instead of soft delicious ravioli I made nasty miniature chewy hot water bottles. The filling was tasty though. I tried making it using a 400g well of flour “00” on the worktop. I broke four large eggs into the centre of the well and began to combine the eggs with the flour. Easy peasy until the eggs started to break through the wall of the well and cascade towards the edge. I managed to save some of the egg mixture whilst Inca and The...
read moreLife changing devices: the simple preserving funnel
I always thought that preserving funnels were the sort of dinky faddy things that Little Grey Rabbit might have had hanging in her kitchen. For years I’ve found that filling jars with hot jam, marmalade or chutney has been a messy business. My mum advised putting the jars on newspaper before filling – which is a good trick as you throw away the paper and the mess in seconds. But you still have to deal with the sticky jars. Lingering in Newmarket this week I spotted a preserving funnel on sale in a kitchen shop. At half price, it was...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: Spiced apple butter recipe
“Why this is delicious.” Seraphina licked the spoon and examined the tasting pot. “You could add some to an ordinary apple pie and really make it special.” After the success of the pear butter I thought I’d try my hand at apple butter. Fruit butter contains no butter. It has a spreadable saucelike consistency and is lighter than a fruit cheese. Fruit butter is a great way of preserving a glut as it seems to concentrate the flavour and a big bag of apples is turned into just a few jars – this recipe filled 5 x450ml jars. We...
read moreSlowly getting better
“You have been very poorly so recovery will be slow. Eat well, rest a lot and try to do a little more each day without pushing yourself.” I like my doctor. She’s positive and pretty and laughs at my jokes. This is my eleventh week off work. I can do a little more each day but feel exhausted most of the time. But it’s been so good to have time off to reflect and plan and spend a bit more time in the garden, even if it’s just lying on the swing seat reading a book. I’ve also loved having the time to enjoy and experiment with new...
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