Grannymar

Roasted Ratatouille

Preheat the oven to 220°C

In a bowl mix

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves,
• 1 handful fresh parsley
• 1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
• freshly milled black pepper
• 1 rounded dessertspoon salt

Chop in chunky dice

• 2 medium courgettes
• 1 small aubergine
• 1 medium onion
• 1 each small red and yellow pepper
• 1 lb ripe tomatoes skinned

Add to oil mixture and stir until well coated.  Using a slatted spoon, spread in a single layer on a shallow roasting tray.  Roast on the highest shelf of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and tinged brown at the edges.
Serve with a baked potato or pasta and a side salad.

** When making this dish for one, I dice the potato and include it in with the vegetables and serve with a side salad.  A tasty lazy dish, just what I need today,

Sweet & Sour Pork

Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 200ºC

1 lb Pork Fillet diced
½ Green Pepper sliced
½ Yellow Pepper sliced
Few Green Beans (optional)
1 Carrot diced    I Onion chopped
8oz can Pineapple chunks drained (reserve juice)

Sauce
1tablespoon Cornflour
1tablespoon Caster sugar
1tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1tablespoon Orange juice
1tablespoon Tomato Sauce
1tablespoon Sherry
Juice from Pineapple
Dash Worcester sauce
Seasoning to taste

Mix all sauce ingredients together.  Set aside.  Fry onions until soft.  Add peppers, carrot and beans and cook for a few minutes.  Remove from pan and keep hot.  Seal pork in the pan and then layer with Veg and pineapple in a casserole dish.  Pour over sauce
Cover and cook at 200ºC for ten minutes, then reduce oven to 190ºC for 30 minutes. Test and season to taste.
Serve with boiled or fried Rice.

I bet that made you sit up on a Monday morning! :lol:  It is a long time since I tried ƃuıʇıɹʍ ǝpısdn uʍop!  Right settle down now and I will give you our recipe for today:

Ginger and Pear upside down Cake.

Preheat the oven to 180°C

150g butter
150g light soft brown sugar
2 pieces of preserved stem ginger in syrup, chopped
400g can of Pears, drained
125g Self-raising flour (cake flour)
1 level teaspoon baking powder
2 level teaspoons of ground ginger
1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 large eggs

lightly grease and line a 20cm round cake tin

Mix 25g of the butter with 25g sugar and spread in the base of the tin.  Scatter over ¼ of the chopped stem ginger and then place the pear halves cut side down on top.  Put the flour, baking powder and spices in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to blend (it beats sifting), then add the remaining butter, sugar, stem ginger and eggs and process until well mixed.  Turn into the cake tin and try not to move the pears and level the top.  Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top springs back.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then invert on to a serving plate.
Serve warm with cream or leave to cool completly and slice.

I love the aroma of this when it is cooking.

Do you think it would work with apricots and ground almonds??

Baked Apples

Baked apples make a very easy dessert and can be cooked in the oven alongside the main course or in the microwave.  I often bake just one for myself and place the apple in a large ramekin dish.  This recipe gives direction for microwave cooking.

• 4 large dessert apples
• 30g butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons raisins or sultanas
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans or nuts of your choice
• 60 ml Apple juice
• 175 ml Maple or Golden syrup

Wash apples. Remove cores to ½ inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer or a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about ¾ inch to an inch wide.  Peel the apples one third of the way down.  Arrange in a microwavable dish peeled ends uppermost.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, cinnamon, raisins/sultanas, and nuts.  Stuff each apple hollow with this mixture.  In a jug combine the apple juice and maple or golden syrup and pour over and around the apples. Cook, covered on high for 7-9 minutes for four apples, until the apples are tender.  Reduce the time for two (4-6 minutes) or for one apple (2½ minutes).  Remove the apples to a serving dish and cook the remaining syrup on High for (3-5) (2-3) or (1½) minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly.  Spoon the syrup over the apples and serve warm with ice cream.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

If using conventional oven Bake 30 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry

½ lb Chicken Breast cut in strips
¼ Sliced Green Pepper
½ cup Pineapple Chunks drained
Chicken Broth or Stock
4 tablespoons Oil
2 tablespoons Cornflour mixed to a thick paste with water
1/8 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Brandy
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Sugar
Dash Salt

Heat the oil in a pan and fry green pepper and pineapple until pepper is crisp-tender.  Add enough chicken broth to cover, and a dash of salt.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chicken and cornflour paste, sesame oil, brandy, soy sauce and sugar.  Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.

Serve with salad and crusty bread

Pear & Hazelnut Tart

Preheat the oven to 190ºC

Filo Pastry to line flan tin

3 large pears of equal ripeness, peeled cored & halved
Apple juice or water
70g hazelnuts, finely ground *
60g caster sugar
50g butter, softened, but not melted
1 large egg

Put the pears in a saucepan and cover with the apple juice or water. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently until the pears are just tender. This can take 12-40 mins, depending on the variety and ripeness of the fruit.

Line flan tin with 4 or 5 sheets of filo pastry overlapping the sheets. Mix together the hazelnuts, sugar, egg & butter to form a smooth paste and spread over the pastry base.

When the pears have cooled a little slice in 5mm slices and arrange on top of the nut mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes and ideally, serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream.

* I like to use roughly crushed pecan nuts to ring the changes in this recipe.

Pork & Brandy

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1lb pork pieces
1 onion, peeled & chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded & chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded & chopped
4ozs mushrooms sliced
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1garlic clove
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons brandy
5fl ozs fresh cream
2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Fry onion & pepper in a little oil. Add crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Add pork pieces, dry sherry and mushrooms. Transfer to casserole & cook until tender about 1½ hours. Add brandy and cook for 3-5 mins. Stir in cream and serve.

Serve with baked potatoes & green or tossed salad.

Margo’s Roasted Vegetables

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Carrots
Parsnip
Sweet Potato  
Butternut Squash
Red Onion quartered
Clove of garlic, chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of mixed herbs.

Cut all except onion into large chunks. Steam or boil and cook a few minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl with the onion quarters and a chopped clove of garlic. Add two or three tablespoons of olive oil, and some black pepper and two teaspoons of mixed herbs.

At this stage you can empty into a plastic bag and tie securely and keep in the fridge a day or two.  When ready to cook, spread in a single layer on an oven tray and cook for 35-40 minutes till wrinkly and tender.

Leftovers can be reheated next day.

Breakfast Surprise

I am not a great lover of Christmas, but one of the memories that will remain in my heart was the breakfast cooked by my son-in-law for all of us on Boxing St Stephen’s Day (well… I was in the south of Ireland remember!).

A bitterly cold morning was soon forgotten as we tucked into his very own, made from the ground up  Yee- Haw Yankee Breakfast Pancakes.  With yummy Blueberries.

I recognise that plate and I want more pancakes!

The only sounds were “Pass the Maple Syrup please” and “Any more ready yet, Uncle George?”  From seven to Seventy there were happy faces all around the table.

So today I am feeling lazy and instead of typing out the recipe I suggest you click on the link and join in George’s new adventure at Not Junk Food .  There will be plenty more to come.  I know.  I have been a guinea pig in the past few months.

Huh!  They were blaming me because they lost weight. Seriously though, they have both lost weight, look and feel better and are eating far more healthily.

Potato and Leek Bake with Coriander

Preheat oven to 200°C

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1oz butter
• 1lb leeks, trimmed, washed and cut into ½ inch rings
• 2lbs of potatoes scrubbed and cut into ½ inch slices
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Put the oil and the butter in a shallow roasting tin and put it in the preheated oven to melt the butter.  Add the prepared potatoes and leeks, turning them to coat both sides with the oil and butter.  Spread into a single layer.  Crush the peppercorns and coriander seeds and mix with the sea salt. Sprinkle over the leeks and potatoes.  Cook for 45-50 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely browned.