Nasi Goreng

This is a traditional Indonesian rice dish, which is served for breakfast. It is similar to the Chinese fried rice, but with the addition of a Nasi Goreng paste (obviously). this is a spicy paste made with chilli and garlic. You can make your own and there are loads of recipes available on the Internet, but I bought mine from my my local Thai shop. Cooked rice is fried with the paste and vegetables. I also added chicken, but this is not authentic, but can make it into a more substantial meal. Traditionally it is topped with a fried egg and crispy fried onions, as seen in the picture. Having never been to Indonesia, I can't comment on the authenticity of the dish, but I can categorically state that it is delicious. I often find fried rice to be a bit bland but this is really nice without being too spicy. The paste I used is this one:

 Unfortunately, there are no instructions on the jar, so it's simply a case of trial and error, but simply fried with some cooked rice will also make a tasty quick dinner.

Pasta in a hurry

The other day it was just me for dinner. I don't mind this usually, but I looked in the fridge, already quite hungry, and with no idea what to cook. I had some mushrooms in there, and some soft cheese (Philadelphia style).  Nigella does a nice looking recipe for this here but it uses raw mushrooms. The thought of this didn't appeal, so I decided on using the soft cheese to make a sort of creamy sauce. This was the result:

It's so simple and easy to make:



Ingredients (for one hungry person)

100g dry lingune (or any other long pasta)

1/2 pack button mushrooms, sliced

2 small garlic cloves, crushed or finley diced.

handful of parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons of soft cheese

tablespoon of veg oil

method:

Put pasta on to boil for the time stated on the pack. Mean while heat the oil in a frying pan, when hot add the crushed garlic cloves and soften. Then add the mushrooms and cook till soft and golden. Add the soft cheese and allow it to melt down to a creamy consitency. Drain the pasta and add to the mushroom mix. stir thoroughly to make sure it's all mixed properly (you may need to add a bit of water to loosen). Add the parsley and season to taste. Serve.



Bacon and sweetcorn chowder.

Continuing with my cheap meals theme, yesterday I decided to make a chowder. I don't really like clams so I was quite happy when I came across a clam-less version in an old copy of Sainsbury's magazine. A similar version can be found here. I didn't have any bacon but had half a pack of ready diced pancetta in the fridge so used that instead. Also I added 250g of fresh white fish (on offer in the supermarket) to add a bit of bul and flavour. Beacuse of this i didn't add any stock though. I was worried that it might taste a bit too milky but it was quite a savoury flavour. I used semi-skimmed milk; I think skimmed might be a bit too watery.
I felt that it was enough as a meal on its own but my boyfriend had a mini baguette with his. He also added a bit of Tabasco, but then he does like his food spicy!!!

Here is the final result , I know  it doesn't look that appetising but trust me it is lovely.

River Cottage Flapjacks

HI all,
Made these yesterday after my boyfriend saw them on River Cottage on Sunday night. I wasn't that keen on the look of them but decided that as I had nothing better to do, I may as well give it a go.
Well they were quite easy to make (I have the River Cottage Everyday Book), just a case of melting the wet ingredients, adding the dry ones then baking for half an hour. The smell whilst they were cooking was lovely so I couldn't wait to get them out and try them. When I took them out of the oven they were still quite soft, so I thought that I had done something wrong, but they do harden as they cool. (The instructions recommend that you don't try to cut them until they have cooled down completely). When they finally did cool down, I couldn't resist having a quick taste. They were really nice, quite sweet so could only manage one, but boyfriend has taken quite a few away on his trip. Will probably make these again at a later date.
9.5/10
p.s. unfortunately no photos as boyfriend has already gone with his. Take my word for it that they were extremely nice!!!!!!