Jambalaya

I made this lovely dish and blogged it about 15 years ago and had quite forgotten all about it until Josh made it last week. Apart from telling me that the quantities were just wrong ( soo much food ) he loved it and it was time to make it again. I've noodled with the quantities a little and actually there's still enough here to feed 5/6.

Ingredients

90g Spicy Chorizo Chopped

3 Teaspoons Paprika

4 Fat Garlic Cloves crushed

2 Medium Onions Chopped

2 Large Green Peppers Chopped

2 Sticks Celery Chopped

3 Red Chillies finely chopped

3 Skinless Chicken Breasts chunked

Enough raw prawns for 4 hungry people ( about 300gms )

2 bay leaves

1 Sprig Thyme

2 Teaspoons Kashmiri Chilli Powder

450gm long grain rice

About one to one and a half litres chicken stock

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and fry chorizo gently until crisp - drain and set aside.

Fry all the veg in the lovely chorizo oil for about 7-8 minutes until slightly softened but not crispy.

Add the paprika and chilli and stir for about one minute until all coated.

Add the chicken and chorizo and stir for about 3 minutes so that all the chicken and veg are coated.

Add the herbs and the rice stir through and add the stock, I added most of the one and a half litres at this point, give it all a good stir and bring up to the boil.

Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, about 5 minutes before serving, add all the prawns. when all the liquid has disappeared check that the rice is cooked, add a little more water if needed, add salt and pepper and serve. 

This is so delicious and full of flavour. I think that the only thing I would change next time ( not another 15 years hopefully ) is that I would add a good squeeze of tomato paste as the finished dish looks a little colourless. The flavour is amazing but it looks a little pale. 

Allotment Tomatoes

That's it - that's the post - soo many tomatoes.

High probability that I'll make spicy tomato base for soup or pasta sauce tomorrow!

Chicken Jalfrezi

 We love a curry ( all inclusive term in this house for anything that may pass as ' Curry ' ), we are so blessed in the UK for having more curry houses than fish and chip shops but nothing really beats homemade .... unless it was the tragic Biryani that I made a few years ago.

I've made a fair few over the years but this one was a belter, I've looked at lots of recipes online and tweaked them to suit our tastes, honestly every time I make a curry it tastes slightly different anyway as I'm not terribly good at measuring the spices that I put in.

Bearing that in mind, I guess so long as the main ingredients are followed reasonably well it'll turn out lovely.

Ingredients

2 Teaspoons Cumin Seeds

2 Large Onions Finely ish chopped

4 Hot Green Chillies Finely chopped

6 Garlic Cloves Finely Chopped

2 Large Green Peppers Roughly Chopped

1 Large Red Pepper Roughly Chopped

4 Large Tomatoes Roughly Chopped

2 Inches Fresh Ginger Finely Chopped

4 Large Chicken Breasts Cut into Large Chunks

2 Teaspoons Coriander Powder

2 Teaspoons Kashmiri Chilli Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Powder

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Tomato Ketchup

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 Teaspoon Garam Masala

Light Olive oil to fry

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Coriander to finish

Heat a couple of tablespoons oil in a large flame proof pot ( with a lid preferably ), whn nice and hot put in Cumin seeds until they pop, lower the heat and put in the onions, garlic, ginger and chillies and cook gently for about 10 minutes until cooked but not brown.

Add all the spices and cook gently for about a minute.

Add the chicken and peppers and cook while stirring to coat the meat with the spices.

Add all the other ingredients except for the fresh coriander and stir well, add a little water if needed, this is not a saucy curry but you do want a saucy consistency, stir well and cover to cook for about 30 minutes - maybe more if your chicken is in large pieces.

Check seasoning after 30 minutes, don't let this cook too long or the chicken will dry out.

Serve with fresh chopped coriander, rice and naan bread

Blackcurrant Jam

 It's been a great year so far for fruit and veg ( not the potatoes so much ) and Sam has a little blackcurrant bush in his garden that has consistently refused to fruit.... this was his year ... HURRAH, now, there weren't loads of them, but enough to get me thinking to make some jam.

In my hurry to make said jam I unfortunately forgot to take any photos of the before and after but suffice to say , this is the easiest jam recipe ever, naturally high in pectin they don't really need specialist sugar. 

I used jam sugar as I had loads but it meant that the jam was ready in half the time. 

Ingredients

380g Washed Blackcurrants

380ml Water

480g Sugar ( I used Jam Sugar )

These measurements made me one large and one smaller jar of jam.

In a large sturdy pan, slowly simmer the fruit and water until slightly syrupy - around five minutes should do it. 

Add the sugar and stir until all dissolved, once the sugar is dissolved turn the heat up to a rolling boil ( not too fierce ) stirring occasionally until jam is set.

Now, usually I put a couple of saucers in the freezer to test the setting point but I could see after ten minutes that the jam was setting on the back of my wooden spoon, at this point I ladled it into sterilized jars and popped on the lid.

I don't use waxed papers as I try to fill my pots right up to the very top and place the lids on straight away - watching not to burn my fingers. It's always worked for me and as the jam is so hot it creates the perfect vacuum seal. 

I store any jam in a dark cupboard and it will last for at the very least a couple of years......if Mr Deb didn't snaffle so much on his toast!

Tuna Pasta Salad

 

It's hot here in Wales - and I mean ... hot !! Unusual for us as we get a lot of rain here and pretty inclement weather. I'm not sure what I had planned for dinner this evening but any idea went out of the window when I settled on a nice crunchy salad.

Honestly you can put whatever you like in this salad but here are the bones of a decent tuna pasta salad.

Ingredients

300g Dry Weight Pasta

2 Large Spring Onions Finely Sliced

1 Cup Tinned Sweetcorn

1 Finely Diced Red Pepper

1 Cup Fresh Peas

1 100g Tin No Drain Tuna

1 Cup Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper

Cook pasta as per instructions and once just cooked stop cooking by draining and plunging into very cold water, drain very thoroughly and add to vegetables in large bowl.Add flaked tuna and stir to mix.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, yogurt, salt and pepper to make a nice creamy dressing and coat all the pasta and vegetables. 

Chill and serve - simple but delicious.

So many things that you can add to this, chopped red onion, chopped cucumber, gherkins, olives, tomatoes, celery, radishes ... really anything that you have available in the fridge, it makes a great fridge last minute dinner.

Allotment Swede.....

 As promised the lovely swede from the allotment, cleaned and chopped, blanched and frozen - ready for the winter !

Huge swede that honestly thrived on neglect as I popped them into the ground and didn't do much else other than water occasionally .

French Green Lentils With Sausages

 

I remember so well on our first family holiday to France way back in the early 1990's, shopping in the ( always ) fabulous supermarkets, drooling at the lovely fresh produce and buying my first tin of sausages and lentils. I didn't quite know what to expect as this was something that we certainly didn't experience in the UK. What I didn't expect was for it to be so tasty.... as a home cook to a large family, I didn't really use a lot of pre prepared food - way too expensive - but on a camping holiday in parts unknown anything goes right? May be worth mentioning the lovely family from Essex camping behind us that - too late - made 'beefburgers ' from horse mince ... pet mince at that ....

I had a go at making my own version of this classic French recipe many years later - I think it may have been a James Martin recipe but it was time to revisit this lovely dish and give it another go.

Now there are lots of recipes out there but I knew roughly the flavour that I wanted so I settled for this recipe with a couple of little tweaks of course. 

Ingredients

Soak these a good half an hour before cooking the dish

2 Cups Puy Lentils

2 Cups Water

For the Dish 

2 Onions Finely Chopped

4 Fat Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped

2 Carrots Roughly Chopped

1 Leek Sliced Thinly

25g Good Butter

4 Fat Sausages ( I used nice firm Butchers Sausages but whatever you like )

2 Cups Vegetable of Chicken Stock

2 Cups Water

2 Bayleaves

2 Teaspoons Dried Thyme

2 Large sprigs Fresh Rosemary or 1 Teaspoon Dried

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper

Handful Flat Leaf Parsley chopped to finish

Soak lentils in the water for approx 30 minutes and then rinse and drain.

In a large flameproof pot, heat the butter and gently fry the onions and garlic until softened.

Add the carrot and leek and cook for a couple of minutes.

I cooked my sausages for about 20 minutes in the oven until cooked through at this stage and then sliced but you can pop these in whole - I just like them cooked through first.

Add everything else to the pot apart from the parsley, salt and pepper and bring the temperature up to a boil, turn right down cover and cook for approx 40 minutes or until the lentils are soft and buttery.

Add any further stock or water to give you the desired consistency, add salt and pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread

Celery ........Onions.....Swede....

 It's that time on the allotment that I start to actually harvest the long awaited veg..... I have to wonder why I always plant a whole row of things that I then forget that I have to store somehow. Celery is something that I use a lot (onions and garlic are always needed ) but I have a whole row of mahoosive swede that I now have to blanch and freeze .... and we eat it once in a blue moon ..... photo to follow.....

Only another ten of these to pull up.

And a hundred more of these...

Lemon Drizzle Cake

 I've been making this cake for a good few years now and it's really reliable, so quick to make and it's always deliciously lemmony. It really is a - throw it all in a bowl and bake- type recipe, it couldn't be easier.

Ingredients 

• 175g caster sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 175g softened butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• ¾ level tsp baking powder
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  

For the lemon drizzle 

• 100g granulated sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 
  
  
  

Pre heat the oven to 180C / 160 Fan Gas Mark 4

Butter your cake tin, I always use a square tin as it makes it easier to portion when baked.

Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until creamy and smooth

Pour into buttered tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approx 40 minutes until still springy and cooked through.

While the cake is cooking prepare the drizzle, simply add all the lemon juice to the sugar and give it a good stir.

Take cake out from the oven and ( I use a bamboo skewer ) poke lots of little holes into the cake, gently spoon over the drizzle and let it soak into the cake. 

Leave to cool and then cut into chunks.

This is lovely served slightly warmed and although it will last a few days , it's mostly eaten in 2 or 3. 

Can be frozen if well wrapped. 

Shepherds ( Cottage ) Pie

 Growing up we always called this shepherds pie - I don't ever recall it being made with lamb although my grandmother always used minced up left over roast meat ( lamb or beef ) from the Sunday roast rather than minced meat from the butchers. Nowadays it's shepherds pie ( lamb  ) or cottage pie ( beef ) but as I say it will always be shepherds pie to me.

Probably favoured by older generations as it's quite an old fashioned meal, this is still very well received each time I make it. It's a winter type dish as it's pretty heavy and warming - delicious...

Serves 4 ( maybe 6 )

Ingredients

500g Lean Minced Beef Steak

1 1/2 k Good Red Potatoes

2 Large Onions roughly chopped

4 Cloves Garlic finely chopped

3 Large Carrots chopped into large rounds

3 Sticks Celery medium chopped

1 Red Chilli finely chopped

Cup Frozen Peas

Good Shake Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 Cup Mushroom Ketchup

2 Beef stock pots

2 Bayleaves

1 Dessertspoon dried mixed herbs

1 Tablespoon Tomato paste

Thickening cornflour or granules, whatever you use

Olive oil

Butter and milk for mash

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large flameproof pot ( with lid if possible ) and gently fry onion and garlic until slightly golden but not brown ... about 10 minutes...add chilli and beef and keep stirring until beef is no longer pink.

This takes about 10 minutes, once the beef is no longer pink everything else apart from the peas can just go in, no need to be precious here as its all going to cook for another 2 hours anyway, cover with water, bring up to the boil, take the temperature right down to a slow bubble and pop the lid on. Give it a nice stir every half an hour and add any water if it gets too dry, you want it to have plenty of gravy to serve with the finished dish so don't skimp on the stock here.

After a couple of hours bubbling gently away, add the peas and thicken , adjust seasoning to taste and then leave to cool a little.

Once it is a little cooler, using a slotted spoon, spoon all the meat and a little of the gravy into a nice big pie dish saving the gravy for heating up to serve with the pie.

Top with mashed potato and bake in a hot oven for about half an hour or until the top is nice and golden anywhere between half and hour and 45 minutes should do it depending on your oven.

Serve with veg of choice, I always like green veg in season and a good splosh of gravy.

Spicy Spanish Fish Stew

 This recipe originated from a Rick Stein  recipe from years ago when he visited Galicia and made a delicious fish stew. Now, this is a good recipe..... it still tastes amazing after all these years but I really like it a lot spicier with a greater depth of flavour.  Since then it has been chopped and changed around substantially until it fits our requirements perfectly.... I have found however that over the years its getting hotter and hotter!

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Nice Pieces Cod or Hake patted dry and seasoned

300g Large Raw Prawns ( de veined and cleaned)

1 Whole Ring Spicy Chorizo Chopped into bitesize chunks( I have found Marks and Spencer the nicest so far for this )

2 Large Onions Roughly Chopped

2/3 Large Green/Yellow peppers roughly chopped

6 Large Cloves Garlic finely chopped

5 Hot Green Chillies finely chopped

750g/1kg Little New Potatoes chopped into bitesize chunks

2 Teaspoons Hot paprika

2 Teaspoons Sweet Paprika

2 Fish Stock Pots

Slaked cornflour if you want a thicker sauce

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Enough water to cover

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a flame proof pot ( with a lid if possible ) and fry onions and garlic gently for about 10 minutes, add chopped chorizo and fry for about 5 minutes until all the lovely oil is released.

Add the paprika and cook for a couple of minutes until all the onions are coated then add the peppers and chillies and again just cook for a couple of minutes until all coated

Add potatoes and stir for a few seconds to coat.

Add stock pots and enough water to cover, bring up to the boil then turn down to simmer with the lid on for approx 15 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked.

Add the prawns and place the fish carefully on the top, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Test to see if salt and pepper is needed .

At this point I always stir in a little slaked cornflour to give it a more silky finish, it's not needed necessarily but we like the thicker sauce.

Spoon into warmed dishes.

This reheats ( without the fish ) really well so I always make enough for two days and then reheat well on the second day. 

Onions and Garlic

 Well, my last allotment post photo was taken around mid March 2025 and under the cloches were onions and behind them a whole bed of garlic. Honestly, I planted the garlic and other than a good water during a prolonged dry spell they have thrived on neglect - sorry garlic.

Anyhoo, it's all looking pretty good now ( mid June ) and I'm going to start harvesting and drying, this is the very first harvest and I'm beyond happy with this years progress. We eat loads of onions and garlic and if I can just keep us from buying shop bought with these I'll be happy.

Just have to learn how to string together now.....

Allotment ........ A Journey

 Sam and I spend as much time as we can ( difficult for Sam now as he's so busy with new baby girl and business ) tending to our allotment. We took on our allotment almost three years ago and its been a labour of love. So much hard work goes into turning what was effectively a piece of wasteland into a productive produce site, I can't believe how much rubbish was taken away from our little piece of council land. Many MANY  trips to the recycling centre and lots of deep digging to get rid of plastic material buried under the soil.

After a few really strenuous days ( weeks ) it started to look a little more organised...

Covering a large piece that we knew we couldn't get round to until a later date, it gave us a working area that we could cultivate. We still spent a lot of time digging out plastic and glass but underneath all the rubbish the soil seemed to be really good with lots of worms.

Just a few short months later and it really started to look like a great place to grow all our future veg

Of course, we actually had no idea what we were doing so that first year we had so many runner beans we didn't know what to do with them, however our first crop of lovely little new potatoes made all the hard work worthwhile.

I absolutely love it, it's really hard work ( especially in the early days ) but it's also very good for your physical and mental health. I always feel way more positive after a good bit of time weeding and tending to the plants. 

And so with a new greenhouse ( Thanks Sam ) we started 2025 in a good place, raring to go and see what a new season would bring us....