Ratatouille, the Right Way

My tea I had planned for today was Instant Ratatouille Supper, but the problem was, it only used half a can. I didn't want to waste it, so I had it for lunch with a poached egg and toast! A bit random, but it was nice, and filling.

The other half of the can sat happily in the fridge until tea time. This was a really quick tea, hence the name! I just had to prep some instant mashed potato, put it round the edge of a plate and grill it, while the ratatouille was heating. Then I put the ratatouille in the centre, grated some cheese on top and grilled until the cheese was melted. This didn't take very long because I used the finest grater, and the ratatouille and potato were already hot. Even though I love proper mashed potato, I am developing something of a taste for instant as well! I would definitely have this again, if only to have that lunch again!

My flatmate commented that it looked like a pizza, and I see what he means... what do you think?

Banana for Butter!

I have read in quite a few places about substituting banana for butter in recipes. I had bananas. I had ingredients for fairy cakes. I was curious... So I gave it a go! I decided to go for the plain fairy cakes as I have never done this before and thought it would be a good starting point. And... It worked really well! You could only taste a hint of banana so would be good for recipes where you don't want to taste it. The consistency was fine as well, the icing also worked well with banana instead of butter.

Good luck little cakes...

There are a few things I would mention. The cakes didn't rise as much as usual so I would maybe add extra baking powder or bicarbonate of soda... I will have to have a fiddle with quantities! Also, I would reduce the cooking time a little as they were quite well done- but still tasty (as my six flatmate taste testers will verify!). I am looking forward to experimenting more with other recipes with this!

Freestyle Friday #8 and Failed Photos

I had hoped to show you the pictures of the Rancheros Pie from last night, tonight's tea, and my porridge from this morning... But my photo uploading service on my phone still isn't working! I will use my camera tomorrow though until it is sorted, and hopefully get the missing photos on at some point.

Anyway, tonight's Freestyle Friday also had a Mexican theme (you can read about last week's Tex-Mex meal here.). I tried something I had been wanting to try for a while, which is shaping a tortilla wrap round a glass (although you could use anything that is the right shape that will go in the oven) and baking it to make an edible bowl! It worked very well. The edges were a little burnt, so when I do it again I will know to bake for less time. I toyed with quite a few idea of what to fill it with- polenta, rice, minced beef... I went with the rice in the end. No real reason, I just fancied it. I mixed the rice with sweetcorn and fresh coriander. There was also a lone carrot in th fridge, so I peeled it into thin strips with a peeler, stuck them in the microwave until they were soft, and then made a little patty in my new mini frying pan from Ikea... It is so cute! Perfect size for one egg, a scotch pancake, and of course, carrot patties as well ;-) all I did was sprinkle it with some chilli powder and put it in the bottom of the bowl. The rice went on top, and the whole thing was garnished with some pickled jalapenõ slices and more fresh coriander. Just what I needed to spice up my Friday!

Rumbling for Rancheros!

I got to use my slow cooker today! I try to use it once a week at least. This is the recipe I was going to make last time- Rancheros Pie- but didn't have the sweet potato... which is kind of vital as you will see. I like that I can put it on early as I can also get most of the washing up done and not have to do it later!

I say rumbling for Rancheros because the smell in the kitchen was just fab. The mixture of spices in the air really made my stomach rumble! I buy the cheapest meat I can, but you really can't tell after it has been cooking for eight hours. It goes deliciously tender, and with the soft sweet potato topping, juicy sultanas and spicy juices... perfect for a rainy March day!

This is where you would expect to see photos... and I would love to show you some but they are being very stubborn in uploading! I will get them to you as soon as possible though.

And I also realised I left a flavour off the Green and Black's list last night- white... Strong tea. I know it's random, but it works.

Gorgeous Green and Black's and a Simple Supper

I really love Green and Black's chocolate. Just thought I'd get that out there. I have quite few mini bars from Christmas, and I have them as a dessert sometimes. After tea I always have a hot drink as well- one of my many teas! Some of the combinations I have happened upon (I pick a bar at random) went really nicely, so I started thinking about what would go with the other flavours. I have made a little list of what goes nicely, in case you wanted to try it! I have only included the flavours I have tried, but will blog others when I try them... which won't be for a while, as I still have an extremely large chocolate stash from Christmas and my birthday! If you have any suggestions, let me know :-)

Creamy milk- real hot chocolate (As in when it is made with cream and melted chocoalte!)
Milk- Chocolate tea; it is made just like normal tea, there is such a thing as chocolate teabags!
Butterscotch- Warm milk and honey... something children might have, I know, but delicious all the same!
Almond- Disaronno amaretto... cheeky treat in there ;)
Maya gold- mexican hot chocolate (made with cinammon, vanilla and almond extracts)
Cherry- Strawberry and raspberry tea
Ginger- chai tea
Espresso- black coffee
Mint- peppermint tea
70% and 85% dark- black coffee would again go well here!

My simple supper tonight was a grilled chicken breast, brussel sprouts and mash. That is all, no sauce or anything. I got to use my new griddle pan and new scales, which made it even better!

Lucious Lemony Pasta

As you have probably guessed, I am a big Nigella Lawson fan, and last night I had another one of her recipes. It is from the Nigellisima book, which I don't have, but my mum sent me a photocopy of the page a while ago. The recipe was Spaghetti with Tuna, Lemon and Rocket. What it says on the tin, plus a little bit more... the flavours worked well together, even though they are all quite strong. Very refreshing and tangy, just what I wanted. Even though I was certain I would enjoy this dish, it was even nicer than I expected, and I will definitely have it again.

Look at the tiny garlic clove I used compared to a medium one, compared to the oversized one!

The sauce before it was mixed... with a slightly yellow spring onion!

Freestyle Friday #7

This Friday, I went for a Tex-Mex theme. The main thing I wanted to use up was some orange and yellow pepper. I originally wanted to make fritters, and add some frozen sweetcorn to them, but I needed my egg for something else! So I then decided to make some polenta, set it and was then going to cut out circles and grill them. But I didn't get the consistency quite right, so ended up with a sort of mash! Which was not what I wanted, but nice all the same.

To accompany the fritter-mash, I cut a chilli-jalapeño tortilla into triangles, and baked it so it went and and crispy. Finally, I made a barbecue sauce with tomato ketchup, pinch of cinnamon, ground allspice and tiny bit of light brown sugar. It was good, but there was a little something missing, and I realised afterwards it was that it wasn't smoky like barbecue sauce usually is. When I spoke to my mum she suggested something like smoked paprika... Which I have in my cupboard! Never mind, next time!