Nursery Spaghetti

Here is what you do.

Cook a packet of spaghetti til it's al dente (I say that to make this seem fancier and more foodie than it is, truth be told, but DO cook your spaghetti nicely)

Then you need

One warmed tin of condensed tomato soup (don't add water! must NOT be salt reduced! if you like a lot of sauce, get the biggest can of soup)

One block of Kraft cheddar cheese, grated (this is the one that is NOT kept in the fridge at the supermarket)

You cook the spaghetti, as we said.

You use the warm non diluted soup as the pasta sauce.

You put a LOT of cheese on top.

You eat it up.

Shame. Shame. Shame. Yum.

Lazy Risotto A La Oven

Lazy Risotto A La Oven

2 regular size tins of diced tomatoes (or chopped up tinned whole tomatoes)

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 cups of arborio rice

3 cups of stock or water

1 tablespoon of capers (not rinsed)

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 red onion, sliced

1 tablespoon of pesto if you have it

1 tablespoon of red or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup of mozarella cheese, chopped roughly or grated

1/4 cup of other cheese : parmesan or cheddar : again chopped or grated

Fresh herbs : a half a handful of whatever you have on hand (or a teaspoon of dried herbs like basil or an Italian mix)

Fry the onion, carrot and garlic in a good glug of olive oil until soft and aromatic.  Add the tinned tomatoes, paprika, pesto, herbs, vinegar.  Cook for ten minutes, stirring often.  Season with salt and lots of pepper. (I like white pepper, but black pepper is good too)

While that's cooking, slug some olive oil into an oven proof dish/pot with a lid.  I use a cast iron one.  Heat the oil over a medium heat and throw in the rice.  Saute the rice for a minute or so, stirring all the while.  Then tip in the stock.  Excellent.  Next tip in the tomato sauce you just made.  Perfect.  Mix it all up and finally throw in the cheese.  (You can also throw in some chilli and some lemon juice/nutmeg at this point)

Cook in a medium oven for 30 minutes with a lid on. Ta-dah!  Add more salt or pepper as needed and serve with a dollop of chili or more pesto if you like!

(Based on a recipe I found via The Vine)

Pumpkin and Miso Curry

via

Pip's Potato Curry

serves six

Ingredients

2kg of potatoes (no need to peel, just cut into 1 inch-ish chunks!)

2 onions, peeled and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons of curry powder (I use this one)

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 cup of frozen peas

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To Serve : fresh coriander or mint and some lemon wedges

To Make It

First boil the chopped potatoes until just tender.

While they are boiling, and in a very large fry pan, fry the onion in a tablespoon of good quality oil over a medium heat.  You want the onions to cook for five or ten minutes, until they are soft and golden. Yum.

Then, add the ginger and fry for a minute.  Next add the garlic and cooked potatoes to the onions and toss well.  Let them fry together for 2 or 3 minutes, so they can get to know each other.  

Next sprinkle the curry powder over the top of the whole lot and add 1/2 cup of water and the soy sauce.

Carefully toss and combine, frying for 2 or 3 minutes.

Add the peas and gently mix them through, cooking for another minute or so.

Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with some fresh mint or coriander and lemon wedges.

The end!

Simple Mexican Potatoes

1 kg of unpeeled roughly chopped potatoes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

juice of one lemon

optional : 1 tsp of chipotle powder

Toss all these ingredients together and make sure the potatoes are well coated in the oil and herbs and spices (and lemon juice!)  Tumble onto a heavy based tray and bake in a HOT oven for 35 minutes (until nice and golden and tender and crunchy!) Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with salsa or mayo or yoghurt if you would like that!

Pip's Mee Rebus : Speedy Style

Pip's Mee Rebus

serves 4

Ingredients

A slosh of oil

1 sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, finely diced

1 tablespoon of curry powder : I use this one

a slosh  of soy

1 tsp of white pepper

1 cup or so of coconut milk

1 cup of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1 packet of noodles : around 250g  (the fresh, thickish yellow ones) : soaked in boiling water for a few minutes

1 handful of sliced fried tofu

1 handful of baby spinach

1 handful of bean shoots

Garnish 

Fried shallots (from a packet!)

Lemon

Coriander

Optional :: sliced fish cake, sliced cooked chicken, sliced cooked potatoes

Slosh the oil into a large fry pan or wok.  When it's nice and hot, add the onions and stir fry for a minute or so.  Next add the garlic and sweet potato.  Toss well and lower the heat (to very low).  Put a lid on the pan (or some foil!) and let it simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is soft. Remove the lid and mash the potato in the pan with the onions and garlic.  Add the curry powder and the soy and white pepper. Add the stock and mix and mash until you have a puree.  Now add the coconut milk and mix well. Then toss in the tofu and any of the optional ingredients.  Cook for a minute and then add the noodles.  Toss well.  Finally add the spinach and bean shoots and toss again.

Spoon into bowls and garnish with coriander, fried shallots and a squeeze of lemon.  You can add some chili too, if you like it spicy!

Tessa Kiros Tomato Lasagna

My version of Tessa Kiros' Tomato Lasagna

Tomato Sauce

1.25 kg of tinned diced tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

a good slosh of olive oil

one cup of warm water of stock

bunch of fresh basil or a teaspoon full of dried Italian herbs

8 sheets of instant lasagna (the dried one) : I used one family sized packet : about 350g

250g Parmesan

Bechamel Sauce

1 litre of warmed milk

3/4 cup of plain flour

120g of butter

nutmeg

Make the Tomato Sauce First

Heat the oil and gently fry the garlic till it's fragrant (not browned!) Throw in the tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes, and then add 1 cup of water (or you could use stock!) Season with salt and pepper and then simmer it on a low heat while you make the Bechamel sauce. (You are meant to puree it, but I didn't, because I am lazy and I don't like too many dishes!)

Make the Bechamel Sauce Next

First warm your milk. Then in a separate large-ish pot melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk like crazy to make a smooth butter and flour paste. Continue to stir the floury butter over the heat for a few minutes to cook the floury taste away. Now start whisking in the warm milk a slosh at a time. Don't stop whisking! Your Bechamel will end up nice and thick and smooth. Good work. It needs to be thick so that it layers nicely.

Assemble it All

Grease a lasagna suitable dish or just slosh some oil and and coat the dish well with it using a pastry brush or your fingers. My dish was around 20cm x 30cm and quite deep. Slosh a layer of Bechamel sauce in first and spread it over the base. Put two sheets of dried lasagna atop the Bechamel. Now layer tomato sauce, then Bechamel, then Parmesan, then lasagna. Do that two times. Then add a final layer of lasagna and top with Bechamel, more Parmesan and dot with any leftover tomato sauce.

Cook in a 360F/180C degree oven for 30 minutes until golden and cheesy.

Eat it all up!

Serves 6

30 Soupy Recipes

Salt N Peppa Shakers via here

Last night we put an extra blanket on the bed.  And we had the heater on at the breakfast table.  You know what that means?  It's time for soup! I really love soup!  Soup with crusty bread, soup with crackers, soup with toasted sandwiches, soup, soup, SOUP!  Here are 30 extra great soup recipes for you to peruse.  Let me know if you make anything... I think I am going to do Sophie Grigson's soup tonight!

1. Chicken and Rice Soup via Martha //// here
2. Baked Potato Soup via Smitten Kitchen //// here
3. Happiness Soup via Nigella //// here
4. Spicy Parsnip Soup via Jamie Oliver //// here
5. Feel Good Chicken Broth via Jamie Oliver //// here
6. Cream of Cauliflower Soup via Pip! //// here
7. Stefano De Pieri's Minestrone via Pip! //// here
8. Chickpea and Celery Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
9. Corn, Bacon and Potato Soup via Pip! //// here
10. Lovely Mushroom Soup via Pip! //// here
11. Creamy Tomato Soup via The Splendid Table //// here
12. Vintage Vogue Soup Paysanne via Pip! //// here
13. Chicken Noodle Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
14. Kylie Kwong's Sweetcorn and Crab Soup via Lifestyle //// here
15. Madame E Saint-Ange's Pumpkin Soup via Recipes For Two //// here
16. Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup via Lifestyle //// here
17. Broccoli Soup via Chocolate and Zucchini //// here
18. French Onion Soup via Girl Cook In Paris //// here
19. Pumpkin, Barley and Miso Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
20. Coconut Red Lentil Soup via 101 Cookbooks //// here
21. Julia Child's Leek and Potato Soup via Food Network //// here
22. Simple Carrot Soup via Stone Soup Blog //// here
23. Sophie Grigson's Vegetable Soup via BBC Food //// here
24. Nigel Slater's Bubble and Squeak Soup via BBC Food //// here
25. Rachel Allen's Chicken and Udon Soup via Lifestyle //// here
26. Simple Tom Yum Soup via ABC Sydney //// here
27. Pea and Ham Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
28. Bill Granger's White Bean and Chorizo Soup via Lifestyle //// here
29. Rice Noodle Soup with Beef and Fresh Herbs via The Splendid Table //// here
30. Julia Child's Leek and Pepper Soup via Smell My Kitchen //// here

Pip's Kimchi Salad

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My Kimchi Salad

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Basic Ingredients
One tub of Kimchi from your local Asian grocer (I buy the Chinese Cabbage style one!)
One packet of ramen or soba noodles
2 diced cucumbers
1 diced avocado
1/2 tub of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 handful of diced beancurd
(you can also add some blanched peas, green beans, snow pea sprouts... whatever YOU love!)


Dressing
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon of mirin
1/2 tablespoon of nice vinegar (white wine, red wine or sherry are all good!)


Garnish
a handful of fried shallots (the kind you buy in a packet!)
a sprinkling of chopped peanuts if you like
a lemon or a lime squeezed over the top
Optional :: Coriander

How To:
Cook the noodles in a big pot of boiling water as per the instructions on the packet. Be careful not to over cook them. That would be yuck. No one likes mooshy noodles. Test them often until they are done. Now, cool the noodles under cold running water and drain them thoroughly.

Mix all the other ingredients together in a BIG BOWL. You can just slosh it all together and mix it up nicely with a pair of tongs or a spoon.Try not to mush it to much if you have added the avocado, or better still, put it on last. Add the cold, drained noodles and toss well again. If you are hands on, use your hands, but keep your chili fingers away from your face etc!

Plate it up and garnish with the shallots, peanuts and lemon or lime! You can add fresh herbs, too, if you like. Coriander would be lovely!

Cauliflower Soup

Here is what we had for lunch today. I like to go to the market on Saturdays before dawn and shop for the whole week as the sun comes up. Then I like to have a big breakfast at home. Maybe bagels, maybe a fry up, maybe a breakfast pizza.... and lots of cups of tea and coffee.  Then I mess about and do a few jobs.  Then I put some soup on.  This week it's Cream of Cauliflower soup.  We had it with a sprinkle of paprika and some Garlic and Cheese bread thrown in for good measure.  Probably that is uncouth.  But I like to throw bread into my soup. I do.  Do  you?  Or am I freaking you out?

xx Pip

Messy Recipe from last time : Minestrone Con Bruschetta

Minestrone

This very delicious recipe is taken from Stefano de Pieri's 'Modern Italian Food'.  Ari had two bowls and commented that it was 'So good and vegetables don't taste like anything, do they?'  Do not ask me why it is called Minestrone con Bruschetta. I do not know. (But if YOU do then DO tell us.)

Also, as an aside, Stefano says to cook little pasta shapes or beans separately and add them in at the end for best results, if you like those in there. In my experience this sounds good as it will keep your soup from being too cloudy and starchy. Enjoy soup. Soup is ace.

xx Pip

Potato Latke (again)

Yum.  Take your time with the frying and these will turn out a golden treat!

xx Pip

:: Super Delicious Super Simple Pot Roasted Potatoes

A simplified version of Nigel Slater's spuds. My kids don't like Taleggio :( I do!


You Need ::
1kg of peeled potatoes, sliced into fairly thinnish slices
30g butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed

Melt the butter and the olive oil together in a big frypan with a lid- over a medium high heat. Throw in the onion, fry for 30 seconds. Chuck in the garlic. Fry for a few seconds.
Now plonk in all the sliced potatoes and toss them really, really well until they are coated in butter and oil (!) Season with salt and pepper and put the lid on.
Turn the heat down to very low. Leave for 20 minutes, simmering away on the low heat. Now open the lid and toss them. Add any fresh herbs you might like. Nigel Slater puts a few bits of Taleggio in. You could put some brie... or whatever cheese you like at this point in there.
Lid back on - still over the low heat. 5 or 10 more minutes. Check for tenderness. And serve when tender. Sometimes they get a little brown and crunchy on the bottom. But I like that!

:: Warm Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Illustration : Joseph Giordano


1kg of pumpkin - cut into 1" chunks or thereabouts
1 onion, chopped roughly
1 cup of frozen peas
2 cobs of fresh corn, kernels removed (just cut them off roughly with a knife)
1 clove of chopped garlic
some sprigs of thyme or whatever fresh herbs you have
a good slosh of olive oil
salt and pepper
a teaspoon of sweet paprika
juice of a lemon

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Plonk onto an oven tray, slosh on some more oil and cook in a medium oven for half an hour to forty minutes (or until the pumpkin has a bit of colour and is nice and tender)

Serve warm - or let it cool and serve cold. You could throw some chopped pinenuts or cashews through this and it'd be nice too!

:: Yummy Tofu with Edamame Beans

We made this after seeing it on the Telly. It was delicious. Click the link right down the bottom for more recipes from this program.

For the bean curd stir-fry

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 400g/14oz firm fresh bean curd (dofu/tofu), drained and cut into rectangles 1cm/½ inch thick (I like to use deep-fried tofu here!)
  
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

For the rest of the stir-fry

• 1 tablespoon groundnut oil
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 75g/3oz fresh or frozen edamame beans, defrosted
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 1 large handful of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks, finely chopped

• Make the bean curd stir-fry. Heat the groundnut oil in a large flat-based pan over a medium heat, add the bean curd and cook for 2 minutes. Add the light soy sauce and cook until the sauce has reduced and the bean curd is browned on one side. Using a small palette knife or fork, lift and turn each piece (careful not to break the bean curd) and cook to colour the other side.
• Add the dark soy sauce and vinegar and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Season with the dried chilli flakes. Transfer the bean curd to a serving plate and put to one side.
• Cook the rest of the stir-fry. Heat the pan and add the groundnut oil. Stir-fry the chilli for a few seconds, then add the edamame beans. Add a sprinkle of water to help create steam and cook for less than 1 minute. Season with the light soy sauce and vinegar and then stir in the chopped coriander.
• To serve, pour the beans over the bean curd and serve immediately.
• Tip: For a fuller meal, serve with steamed rice.

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Simple Crunchy Winter Salad

image via

Ingredients
500g sugar snap peas, cooked for 30 seconds in boiling water - then cooled completely by running under the cold tap or plunging into very cold water.
3 punnets of cherry tomatoes - halved
200g fetta, diced
1 cucumber, halved and seeded, then cut into thin slices
1 red onion, finely diced
1 bunch of basil, roughly torn

Dressing - put in a jar and shake the bejeezus out of:
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp seeded mustard
1 clove crushed garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method::
Cut the cooled, blanched sugar snap peas into smaller pieces (cutting them in half or into thirds - depending on what you like!). Now in a big mixing bowl, toss the sugar snap peas, the halved cherry tomatoes, the cucumber, the red onion and the basil. Mix well. Then add the fetta. Dress with the shaken-and-nicely-mixed-up dressing and toss well. Plonk into a serving bowl and VOILA!

Serves 6

Vegies In A Bag

8 baby potatoes - halved
1 small onion - chopped roughly
4 cloves of garlic - chopped roughly
1 cob of corn - cut into 4 pieces
1 tub of cherry tomatoes
a handful of mushrooms, halved
1 bunch of baby carrots washed and trimmed up a bit
1/2 cup of chicken stock
pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander
a few leaves of fresh herbs - or a tsp of dried herbs
1 large oven bag
1 tbsp flour

Put flour into bag and toss about a bit to coat inside of bag. Toss all other ingredients into bag. Combine well by jiggling and massaging (!) Tie closed with the tie provided. Put a couple of teeny holes in the top of the bag. Pop onto oven tray and cook at 400 degrees (or 200) for 40 minutes. Eat with whichever condiments you like...! Pesto, mayo, chutney. Excellent alongside a nice cut of meat - if you are so inclined. You can use this method to cook lots of different combinations. You could make a curry like this - easy peasy. Or you could add tinned tomatoes and go down the Italian route. So many things you could do!

Skordalia de Mike - A Dip for Lovers of Mashed Potato and Other Such Good Things

1 kilo of very nice potatoes, boiled until tender and mashed roughly and lumpily
2 cloves of garlic diced
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped mint - half a handful

Mix all ingredients together - but not too much - we're going for rustic and lumpy here.
Spread on toast and gobble down.
Or serve as part of a mezze meal - or with a nice lamb chop.

Super Dooper Easy Peasy Peppers with Capers

3 nice medium sized deep red peppers - chopped roughly
1 head of garlic, sliced in half across ways
1 tbsp of capers - rinsed and drained
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of sherry vinegar
half a handful of fresh basil

Heat oil and plonk in the garlic (cut side down). Fry gently until fragrant. Throw in the capers. Fry for a minute. Then add the peppers. Put a lid on and allow to cook on a low heat for 15 minutes until soft and juicy. Lid off now. Turn the heat up and reduce the juices down until it looks oily and yummy. Add the vinegar and half the basil and pile into a big bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature and garnish with the remaining basil. Serve as a salad or on toast.

Famous Light as a Feather Gnocchi

6 large pontiac potatoes (or desiree) peeled and quartered
2 large free range eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
salt and pepper

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until they are tender. Drain well and mash throughly - or pass through a ricer or food mill for extra lump-free ness! Allow to cool. Add the beaten eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix lightly with your hands - but not too much - we need the gnocchi to be feathery light, remember?!

Put on a big pot of fresh salted water to boil.

On a floured surface, roll handfuls of the mixture into long sausage shapes. Cut into two cm pieces and toss in flour to prevent the gnocchi sticking to one another. Once you've made about ten - drop them into the boiling water. When they float, they are cooked! Keep warm (with a drizzle of olive oil) in a big bowl covered with foil until you've cooked them all. Drizzle some more oil on them to stop them sticking to each other - or drop them straight into a bubbling pot of your chosen sauce!