Potato and egg salad

Hello , today I was eating alone and had some potatoes to use from the garden. I decided to make potato salad as the weather has been kind I am in the mood for something a bit lighter than usual.
This potato salad isn't like the mayonnaise based ones in the supermarket, the dressing is lighter and I have also added some herbs from the garden for good measure:
This is enough for one; if you're feeding more simply multiply the ingredients.
Ingredients:
Handful of new potatoes- scrubbed but not peeled
1 large egg
Chives and mustard cress- couple of teaspoons of each
Mustard -English or Dijon
olive oil
Quarter onion-sliced
Vinegar
Salt


Method:
Drop the potatoes in to a pan of boiling water, cook until tender. Meanwhile cook the egg in boiling water until hard boiled (about 8-10 mins).
To make the dressing mix the mustard and vinegar, then whisk in about 100ml of olive oil. set the dressing aside.
When they are cooked roughly chop the potatoes and egg and add to a large bowl. add the onion, herbs and pour over the dressing whist everything is still warm. This will allow all the flavours to penetrate the salad. Serve warm.
I served this with fish-cod, but I think it would also go nicely with salmon, tuna or even grilled chicken.
Bon appetit!!!

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!!!!!!

carbonnade a la Flammade

(Or beef in beer)
Made this today- it's a Nigella Lawson recipe. Thought that it wouldn't be that good as I don't really like real ale, but it was really nice. Cooked in the oven for about 2 and a half hours and have some left for tomorrow!!!

Served it with pasta as Nigella suggests but might have it with mashed potatoes instead tomorrow. Pictured above.

Some photos of the food I have cooked

 Thai Pork Soup and Rice

 White Bread

Chicken drumsticks in ginger and soy marinade.

Thai Green Curry

I'm always thinking that I like Thai flavours, but never buy or make a Thai green curry. well after seeing it in my magazine, I decided to buy a pack of Thai curry paste, coconut milk and dried Thai herbs and make one. I thought chicken would be best, but added mini sweetcorn and mangetout to get some veggies. I served it with Thai Jasmine rice. I considered making it with fish, but I think that something like monkfish would work best and I couldn't see any in the supermarket, maybe next time.
Any way the instructions on the pack were easy to use, firstly make sure you have everything ready- the chicken is chopped, veggies washed and rice is cooking as the whole process only takes about 15 mins. put some oil to heat in a pan, then add a bit of the coconut milk and the spice paste, then the chicken (I would recommend cutting the chicken quite small so that it cooks quickly) and veggies, then the rest of the coconut milk. boil it for a few mins then once the chicken is cooked through add the dried herbs and its ready to go!!!.
well it was nice, but not as spicy as I had hoped, I don't really like it too spicy, which might suggest that it wasn't spicy at all. It did suggest that you could add sliced chili but i didn't- might do next time. There will be a next time!!

what a day!!

well today was a disastrous day. I won't bore you with the details but needless to say, I probably won't forget it in a long while. Anyway I went on a course during the day, I wasn't doing the course, just observing. Wasn't too bad. Anyway as to what I cooked today I really fancied fish and chips so I went to Sainsbury's on my way back and got some veg oil. the after a bit of Pilate's and some gardening, i set about making our dinner. (the bf is back from his work trip, I probably wouldn't have bothered making it for one). As a mark of healthy eating I decided to oven cook the chips- I find it easier this way and obviously less oily. Then I set about frying my battered fish. the fish had its skin on and although I don't eat the skin (I know that there is nothing wrong with it, I'm just funny like that) I left it on because i couldn't be bothered to remove it. I had forgotten how dangerous deep frying can be, I had to grab something to cover my arms because they kept on getting spat with oil. anyway the end result wasn't brilliant, edible yes but it wasn't going to win any Michelin stars, the batter was a little too soggy and the chips were a bit raw. i hate it when that happens- you're looking forward to something then when you have it it's disappointing. xx

Beef Stew

hello,
well tomorrow I am going to start this new job thingy, so I have decided rather than resorting to ready meals (which tend to be rather expensive IMO) I am going to cook a few bits and bobs today and have them as homemade ;ready meals' during the week. So at the moment I have a shoulder of lamb and a beef stew in the oven at the moment. The lamb will be eaten today and then made into a salad for tomorrow's lunch and if there's enough tomorrow's dinner as well. The beef stew (Italian style) will most likely go into the freezer in meal sized portions and will just need heating up with some pasta, rice or a jacket potato.
here's how I made the stew:
500g stewing beef
1 red onion sliced
2 garlic cloves sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
oil
2 tablespoon plain flour
250ml beef stock
175ml red wine (I used Shiraz)
1 tin/carton of chopped tomatoes.

1) Preheat the oven to 150c
2) Heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Toss the beef through the seasoned flour and fry -in batches if necessary- until it is browned. Remove from the pan and place in a casserole dish.
3) Add a bit more oil to the pan, then add the onions and garlic and fry until softened.
4) Add the beef stock, red wine and tomatoes and bring to the boil, return the beef and then add the herbs, return to the boil for a few minutes.
5) Pour the entire contents of the frying pan back into the casserole, cover and place in the oven for at least 2 1/2 hours. You can leave it for longer as the meat will not dry out in the sauce.
6) Serve with freshly boiled pasta or boiled potatoes or any thing else you wish.
7)Alternatively you can freeze in individual portions for a later date; to cook, fully defrost the portion, add to a sauce pan and cook until heated through then serve as suggested above.