Frugal Foodie ~ Pesto & Blackberries

I picked up a few bargins when I stopped off  at the co-operative on my way home from work yesterday 🙂  I really should try and pop in there more often, after all I have to drive past it nearly every night 🙂

3 Pots of Basil  £1.10 each normally I got them reduced to 30p a pot saving me £2.40

2 Pots of Parsley £1.10 each normally I got them reduced to 30p a pot saving me £1.60

2 packets of Blackberries £2.00 each normally I paid 60p each saving me £2.80

= a total saving of £6.80!!

So tonight I made 2 batches of Pesto…. one for tomorrow night’s tea and one for the freezer,  the blackberries were frozen, they will be a welcome addition to an apple crumble this winter 🙂

Pesto Recipe is a case of throw it in the food mixture until I get the consistency I like

• Basil
• Parsley
• 5 cloves of Garlic
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Put everything in a blender and whizz together adding the olive oil through the funnel

Cheese Scones

Well autumn has arrived and the tree’s are starting to turn beautiful shades of red and yellow, and it’s this time of year I love, It makes me want to bake 🙂

Cheese scones were beckoned by the oven today, and I found this wee recipe in one of my many cook books called “Porridge” by Margaret Briggs ISBN 978-1-86147-069-0.

I have quoted the original recipe below and then my modification to the recipe in bold alongside it, because when I added the milk and egg to the mix it was too runny.    If you wanted a smaller batch of scones, i’d suggest adding half the milk and keep to the original recipe.

You will need :

• 120g (4oz) Oatmeal
• 120g (4oz) Plain Flour (I used double the quantity of flour 240g / 8oz )
• 60g (2oz) grated, mature cheese of choice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt (I would recommend a big pinch)
• pinch of paprika (I used a pinch of chilli powder as i’d run out of paprika)
• 40g (1.5oz) Margarine
• 1 Egg (2 x small pekin Bantam Eggs courtesy of Brenda)
• 150ml (1/4 pint) Milk

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 230 Degrees C / 450 degrees F or Gas Mark 8
2. Sift the flour, salt, pepper and baking powder and mix with the oats
3. Rub in the margarine, then mix in the grated cheese
4. Mix the beaten egg with the milk and add to the rest of the ingredients to make a soft dough
5. Knead lightly, turn onto a floured board and roll out to about 2cm (3/4″) and cut into 5cm (2″) rounds with a cutter or small glass.   Knead the offcuts of dough gently
6. Brush with milk and bake for approximately 12 minutes.   Serve warm

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

I was in my local supermarket earlier and I picked up 2 heads of organic broccoli reduced to only £0.03 each!!  …. you know what it’s like, your head starts going through possible yummy recipes… my head was telling me soup! 😉    I nipped round to the cheese counter and picked up a bit of stilton.

|This recipe should serve six.

Ingredients:

• 50g / 2oz butter
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• 2 large heads of Broccoli
• 2-3 oz of Stilton Cheese or adjust depending on your preference
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• 1-1.5 litres boiling water and a stock cube

Method :

• Heat the Butter in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and leave to cook on a low-med heat for 8 mins until they become soft and clear
• Whilst the onion and garlic are softening, chop the broccoli as finely as possible.   Add the chopped broccoli to the onions and pour in 1 litre of boiling water an a stock cube and bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• When the broccoli is tender, add the stilton cheese.   Whizz the soup well in a liquidiser to give it a really smooth texture.
• Check and adjust the seasoning and reheat if necessary.

Peas and Broad Beans

Picked some more broad beans and peas from the garden for this evenings dinner.. I reckon there will probably be enough left in the garden for another two more harvests.

This is the first year I have grown broad beans and i’ll definately plant more next year.

The Tale of the Cat and the Cat Biscuit

Today,  I bought a brand new bag of  IAMS cat buiscuit… 

It was left on the kitchen table waiting to be put away into the animal food cupboard…

Take one very sly and sleekit birman cat….

Who sneaks into the kitchen when nobody is looking…. jumps up onto the kitchen table and proceeds ……….. to pick

and chew………

and shred the bag open with his claws…..

Until he finally reaches the tiny little brown nuggets that he craves so much!

Why do cats feel the need to do this ?!?!

Tomato Plant Update

The tomato plants are comng along nicely, this is what they looked like 3 weeks ago…

This is what they look like now…. quite impressive that in just 20 days they have doubled in size!

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

Ingredients :

• 450g (1lb) Rhubarb, shorn of leaves, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm (1in) lengths
• 450g (1lb) cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• 150g (5oz) light muscavado sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For the crumble :

• 60g (2oz) rolled oats
• 175g (6oz) plain flour
• 110g (4oz) unsalted butter
• 110g (4oz) demerara sugar

Method :

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C, 400 Degrees F, Gas 6
2. To make the crumble topping, mix the oats and flour, and rub in the butter until you have a pile of small crumble.   Stir in the sugar.
3. Mix the rhubarb and apples in a pie dish and dredge with the light muscavado sugar, then sprinkle with sinnamon.
4. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly and thickly over the top.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, or a little longer if necessary, until the top is golden brown, with the juice bubbling up a little round the sides.
6. Serve hot or warm with cream or custard or even some gorgeous white chocolate ice cream to melt and ooze into the hot juices.

Recipe courtesy of Sophie Grigsons Country Kitchen – ISBN 0-7553-1054-3

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very happy Easter 

 My Rowan tree in the far corner of the garden,  buds just starting to open out… I bought this tree as a pencil sized stick from my daughters school when she was 5, she is now 17 … we have watched this tree grow and flourish with my daughter 🙂

My Pink Champagne Rhubarb… I’m planning to cut some later this afternoon and make a rhubarb crumble with it 🙂

Finally Gloria, one of our black pekin bantams, clearing the weeds from my 3rd raised bed.  Gloria is top of the pecking order within our pekin family, she has a really cheeky strong character 🙂

Easter Truffles

 

Ingredients :

• 150g / 6oz Plain Chocolate
• 40ml / 2 tablespoons Brandy (Adult version) or fruit squash (Kids Version)
• 50g / 1 1/2 oz Butter
• 60g / 2 oz Icing Sugar
• 50g / 2 oz ground almonds
• 16 small sweet paper cases

Method :

1. Break up two thirds of the chocolate into a bowl and place this over a pan of hot water.
2. Add the brandy and leave to melt
3. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, which should not be too hard.
4. Mix in the sieved icing sugar and the almonds s that it is well blended.
5. Leave to cool place until the mixture is firm enough to handle.
6. Divide into about 16 even-sized pieces and roll into balls.
7. Grate the remaining chocolate, place on a piece of greaseproof paper and roll the truffles in it.
8. Pop each one into a paper case.

Recipe courtesy of  :

“The Cadbury Chocolate Cookbook” by Patricia Dunbar ISBN 0 600 32018 9

Mango Tea Bread

I picked up a Mango at the reduced counter at my local supermarket for 20p,  looked through my cookery books and found this recipe… tastes lovely with butter and homemade jam 🙂

Mango Bread

Makes 1 x 2lb loaf

Ingredients:

• 10 oz (285g) Plain Flour
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• half a teaspoon of salt
• 4oz (115g) Margarine, at room temperature
• 3 Eggs, at room temperature
• 10 1/2 oz (300g) Sugar
• 4fl oz (125ml) vegetable oil
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped
• 3 1/4 oz (90g) desicated coconut
• 2 1/2 oz (70g) raisins

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C / Gas 4 and Line the bottom and sides of a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.. Set aside
3. With an elextric mixer, cream the margarine until soft
4. Beat in the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.   Beat in the oil.
5. Fold in the dry ingredients into the creamed ingredients in 3 batches.
6. Fold in the mangie, two thirds of the coconut and the raisins
7. Spoon the batter into the loaf tin.
8. Sprinkle over the remaining coconut,   Bake until a skewer inserted in the centre  comes out clean, after 50-60 minutes.   Let it stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Just wanted to add a wee warning….. I checked my loaf after 50 minutes because it was smelling like it was ready, when I did it was still gooey in the centre, so I closed the oven door and gave it another 10 minutes.

After 10 mins I went to get it out, and found that centre of the loaf  had sunk, because I skewered it…   Don’t skewer test it until after 60 mins 🙂

 

Recipe courtesy of “Muffins and Quickbreads” by Linda Fraser – ISBN 1-84309-585-8