LINGUINE WITH LEMON, GARLIC AND THYME MUSHROOMS | Recipes | Nigella Lawson

And this is what's for dinner tomorrow since I have everything I need in the fridge.  Lovely Nigella, a kindred spirit!  LINGUINE WITH LEMON, GARLIC AND THYME MUSHROOMS | Recipes | Nigella Lawson

Beets with Feta recipe - Canadian Living

Will be trying this during the warmer months!  Beets with Feta recipe - Canadian Living

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken...

Lovely free-range chicken on offer at the market today so stocked up and have thrown it in the oven drizzled in olive oil and scattered with thyme leaves...enough to make a couple of meals in there so as well as staple fajitas (my son's current favourite) I think a hearty chicken pot pie as well which can be frozen (uncooked) and taken out on a less inspired evening!
As well as my trusty shortcrust pastry (see Easter entry) a creamy mix of veg to go with shredded chicken meat, and if you don't eat meat just add extra veg for an equally tasty homely meal. Today I added some cubed smoked Easter ham that we had left over in the fridge.  
I'm having trouble with my layout so bear with me!

Chicken Pot Pie

• About 300 ml chicken stock (I use an organic cube)

• about 1/2 glass white wine (not absolutely necessary but adds a little something I think)

• 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped

• 3 thyme sprigs

• 225g carrots , chopped

• 2 leeks cut into thin rounds or 2 shallots finely chopped

• cup of frozen peas

• about 10 button mushrooms sliced

• About 1/2 small broccoli cut into small florets

• * or, you can substitute the fresh veg with frozen macedoine veg.

• 4 skinless roasted chicken breasts

• 2 tbsp cornflour , mixed with 2 tbsp water

• 3 tbsp heavy cream

• 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

• good handful chopped 
• parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. soften the leeks or shallots and garlic in olive oil
3. Add the vegetables and thyme and cook for a few minutes
4. Add wine and allow to cook off for a bit before adding stock, cream and mustard
5. Add cornflour mixture and allow to thicken
6. Tear or cut the chicken into chunky shreds and add to the vegetable mixture
7. Put into your pie tin or a deep glass baking dish and allow mixture to cool
8. Cover with a thickish layer of shortcrust pastry (make sure to poke a few holes through the pastry before baking)
9. Bake for 25-30 mins until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden

n.b this recipe can also be frozen before pastry has been cooked.  I find it is easiest to freeze in aluminium trays.

Little Nigel

Finally got round to seeing "Toast", the movie based on Nigel Slater's autobiography.
Lovely foodie film with some great lines: "I was 9 years old and I'd never had a vegetable that didn't come in a tin"..."No matter how bad things get it is impossible not to love someone who makes you toast" (I quite agree Nigel!)
Sweet, funny and some great cooking scenes.
In honour of the 1960s and the young Nigel Slater, here's a nice traditional lemon cake recipe that will make you feel like you've gone back to your Granny's house for tea again!  I made it for my husband's birthday and it was gone by the end of the day.

Soaked Lemon Cake (from Jane Asher's Beautiful Baking)

n.b I've changed the recipe slightly and substituted 3 tbsp of milk in the cake mix with the juice of a lemon as I like it super tangy but you can stick to the original if you want.

175g spreadable butter

175g sugar

3 eggs

grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

175 g self raising flour

pinch of salt

50g sugar

juice of 2 lemons

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line the sides of a loaf tin with parchment  to come a couple of centimetres above the top edge.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy  then gradually add the egg.  Add the zest and gently fold in the flour.  Stir in the lemon gradually so that it doesn't curdle the mixture.
3. Turn the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for about 35-45 minutes until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven but leave in tin.
4. Put the sugar and lemon juice  in a small pan and bring to the boil stirring while sugar dissolves.  Boil for about a minute.
5. Make several holes in the cake with a skewer  going right to the bottom of the cake.  Pour the hot syrup all over the cake. (It will seem like a lot and you'll worry but that the cake will turn into a big soggy mess but don't!  It will be moist and scrumptious!)  Leave to cool.
6. Holding the edges of the paper carefully lift the cake out of the tin and peel away parchment.

I iced mine with decadent lemon butter cream (100g soft butter, 200g icing sugar, juice of 1 lemon) and yet more zest.

Still feeling a bit worse for wear after too many chocolates over Easter weekend so continuing with nourishing soul food for the week.
A take on Fresh's Buddha sauce for tonight's chicken & greens to serve over a nutty mix of brown and wild rice:

Sort of Buddha sauce

1/2 cooking onion, diced
tbsp minced ginger (I freeze mine and then grate from frozen)
1/2 tsp sambal olek
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp Peanut butter

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1/2 cup water

handful of coriander leaves

Lemon Grass (paste is easiest)

oil for cooking (sunflower)

1. Heat oil in pan.  Add onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown.

2. Add curry powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Put onion and garlic into a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

4. Heat before serving.

Serves 2

...an example of the insanity going on in our house this afternoon "it's Minnie Mouse", "No, its Mickey Mouse", "No its Minnie Mouse"...etcetera etcetera at very high volume.
Well people, its neither, its the Higgleytown heroes...pffff.

I adore my kids more than anything in the world but sometimes they are like tiny little energy vampires who suck you dry of any and all vitality!  After 2 days of Easter chocolate and not enough sleep (chocolate for them, lack of sleep for me) I'm feeling drained so will be turning to my trusty "Fresh at home" cookbook for inspiration and recipes that feed the soul.
I'm thinking the Revival Rice Bowl and a Mango Lassi for pudding...
Now I just have to sedate the kids so I can get them in the car to the supermarket.

Happy Easter!  First day blog up and running so shall for now stick to plan with some foodie stuff.
I've always been awful at pastry (sweaty hands you know) but Nigel Slater sorted all that out and now I can bang out a batch of flaky buttery shortcrust like nobody's business.
Spring Quiche and Pesto Pinwheels made with the leftovers for Easter Lunch.
Couldn't find the Nigel Slater recipe online and my books are still in boxes in the garage but this one is essentially the same and will do the trick http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortcrustpastry_1278
Apologies for the rather amateur photography and dodgy layout, I am working on it I promise.

Spring Quiche

Pesto Pinwheels