Menu Plan Monday

I have a load of spinach and a load of courgettes to use up this week, my courgette plants have totally over taken the veg patch, but the good news is that there are lots of courgettes on each plant, so I will be able to make lots of yummy courgette dishes this summer. I also need to think of/find lots of different recipes so that I don't get bored of them!

I still need to find something for dinner on Friday this week, I'm going out in the evening so it will have to be something quick! This weeks Menu Plan Monday is pretty standard, but I am definitely getting back into the cooking grove, I made bread this weekend, and I am also trying to clear some space in the freezer for all the new things I want to cook. I think it has just taken me a while to get settled into my new place and get comfortable cooking there. I'm still scared about cooking for other people, things always seem to go wrong. But I will have to find a couple of meals that I practice and then invite people over.

Sunday
Lunch: Grilled Avocado, Smoked Salmon and Cheese
Dinner: OUT

Monday
Lunch: Three Mushroom Rice, Salad

Dinner: Chicken Curry, Tarka Daal, Naan

Tuesday

Lunch: Salad with Bread
Dinner: Paprika Maple Grilled Salmon with Spinach and Blue Cheese Pasta

Wednesday

Lunch: Courgette and Watercress Soup, Bread (Leiths)
Dinner: Bratwurst Wraps

Thursday

Lunch: Macaroni Cheese, Salad

Dinner: Tilapia with Curry Sauce, Jasmine Rice

Friday

Lunch: Potato, Smoked Salmon and Watercress Salad

Dinner: Cheese and Onion Quiche, Courgette Sticks, Salad

Saturday

Lunch: Pie, Salad

Dinner: Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne, Garlic Bread

Make Courgette, Cheddar and Sage Pasties for the freezer.

Chargrilled Chicken, Soba and Miso Soup

I am trying to write 150 words on an 1838 script for a dramatised version of Oliver Twist for our company magazine and I'm struggling and procrastinating! Whilst the book is fascinating, I always find it really hard to start writing and scared of seeing myself in print. Weird I know. It is a beautiful handwritten script, written and performed whilst the book was still being serialised, and is part of the Sadler's Wells Archive which is held where I work. I am slowly and painstakingly going through the collection in preparation for an exhibition next year.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with noodle soup, except that when I came home after work on Monday it was just what I needed. Noodle soup always symbolises comfort food to me, its the thing I want most when its raining and horrible outside, as it was here on Monday.

This soup was actually rather tasty. I put in lots of extra veggies such as spinach and bean sprouts to bulk up the veggie content, and although I used a different sort of miso it was still nice and warming.

Chargrilled Chicken, Soba and Miso soup (from Wagamama Ways with Noodles)
(Serves 2)

for the marinade
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp mirin

1 chicken breast
750ml chicken stock
1 tbsp red miso paste
3cm piece of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
200g soba noodles
2 pak choi, roughly chopped
1 hard-boiled egg, shelled and halved

To make the marinade, combine the hoisin sauce, fish sauce and mirin. Add the chicken breast and toss well. Set aside for an hour, or overnight in the fridge.

Chargrill or grill the chicken for 4-5mins each side until cooked.

Place the chicken stock, miso paste, ginger and garlic in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the soba noodles and pak choi and cook for 3 mins or until the noodles are just cooked.

Divide the soup between 2 bowls, ensuring each has an equal share of noodles. Slice the chicken on the diagonal and place on the noodles and broth. Top with half a boiled egg and serve.

Pork in a Wine Sauce

I hadn't planned what to make on Sunday night, and on my way out the door on Saturday night I took a pork loin steak out of the freezer. I had no idea what I'd got out until I checked on Sunday morning and then spent the day looking for recipes. I knew I wanted to make mash because I have a load of potatoes out of my Mum's garden to eat up, so something with a sauce was what I needed. I came across this Pork in a wine sauce in one of my cooking for one books and it looked perfect.



When I was looking for the perfect recipe, I came across lots of oriental recipes but as I eat a lot of oriental food I decided I needed a change, and this was delicious, just what I needed. I served it with chive mash and steamed veggies.

Pork in Wine Sauce (from Quick and Easy Cooking for One by Molly Perham)
(Serves 1)

2tbsp plain flour
Salt and Pepper
1 pork chop or steak
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp tomato puree
2 tbsp white wine

Mix the flour with a little salt and pepper on a plate and coat the pork on both sides. Shake off any excess flour.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the pork gently on both sides, until golden brown.
Remove the pork from the pan and add the onion. Cook gently until soft.

Return the pork to the pan and stir in the tomato puree and wine. Cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 15-20 mins, until pork is tender.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Kebabs

I am always looking for quick and easy meals that I can make on the evenings that I work late. I usually just stick a pie in the oven or microwave something, but I'm trying to make proper meals. The one that I picked for last Thursday was Grilled Lemon Chicken Kebabs from Delia's How to Cook, book 2. It was fantastically easy and quick to make, I put the chicken in its marinade before I went to work that morning and the flavours had worked their magic by the time I came home. I served it with some gnocchi with homemade pesto, and a big side salad.



It does look rather burnt from the picture but actually just the lemon quarters burnt, the chicken was lovely and brown. The chicken really needed some sort of sauce, and the original recipe called for a gremolata, but I didn't have the energy to be doing that at 9pm. Maybe just a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream would have been nice with it.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Kebabs (from How to Cook, Book 2 by Delia Smith)
(Serves 2)

2 boneless chicken breasts
juice 1 lemon,
1 tsp lemon zest
3 thick slices of lemon, cut into quarters 55ml olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 desert spoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves, torn in half
salt and pepper

Chop each piece of chicken into 5 pieces, and place them in a bowl along with the lemon juice and zest, oil, garlic, oregano, white wine vinegar and plenty of seasoning. Cover and leave to marinate overnight or for a few hours.

To cook the chicken, preheat the grill to its highest setting at least 10 mins ahead, then first thread half a bay leaf on the first skewer, followed by a quarter slice of lemon, then a piece of chicken. Carry on alternating the lemon and chicken until you have used 5 pieces of chicken, finishing off with a lemon quarter and a another bay leaf half at the end and making sure you pack everything together as tightly as possible.

Repeat with the second skewer, then place both on a grill rack and put under the grill. As the kebabs cook baste them with the marinade juices. They will need 10 mins on each side to cook through.

Menu Plan Monday

This weeks Menu Plan Monday includes lots of cookbook recipes, I seem to have got some of my enthusiasm back for cooking, which can only be a good thing. I have so much food in my freezer, and I'm still struggling to think of ideas! I'm going to try and do fun things with my Menu Plans, to make it more interesting. I have a whole folder full of print outs and photocopies of recipes, so I'm going to try and do nothing but use them one week. Then I might try and do the same with cook book and with foodgawker recipes. It means that I also don't have so much to look through when making the plans!

Sunday
Lunch: Out for Brunch with my sister, Croque Madame
Dinner: Pork in a wine sauce, Chive and Olive Oil Mash, Veg (Cooking for One)

Monday
Camembert and Tomato Quiche, Salad
Chargrilled Chicken, Soba and Miso Soup (Wagamama Ways with Noodles)

Tuesday
Pesto Potato Salad
Out? or Baked fish with Tahini and Turkish Rice (Lebanese Cook Book)

Wednesday
Lunch: Dim Sum Platter
Dinner: Bratwurst Wraps with onion sauerkraut filling

Thursday
Lunch: Potato Gratin, Salad
Dinner: Prawn and Samphire Stir Fry (Chinese Food Made Easy)

Friday
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: Out at a friends

Saturday
Lunch: Curried Egg Salad
Dinner: Polenta With Wild Mushroom Ragoût or Baked fish with Tahini and Turkish Rice (Lebanese Cook Book)

Potato Gratin

I had a large tub and a half of double cream left over after my house warming party, and this potato gratin was the dish that I immediately thought of. It is a very naughty dish, but absolutely delicious, and sometimes naughty is good! Its one of my Mum's staples and she usually adds courgettes to hers. It can also be made much less fattening using low fat creme fresh or half milk/half cream.

The cayenne pepper was a really good addition and added a little spiciness to the dish.

I served it with a large side salad.

Potato Gratin

(Serves 2-3)

3 medium potatoes, sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

284ml/small pot double cream

handful cheddar cheese, grated

pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C. Layer the onion and potatoes in an oven proof dish, sprinkle over the garlic. Pour the cream over the dish, sprinkle over the cayenne pepper and bake for about 20 mins or so.

Then take it out of the oven and sprinkle over the grated cheese, put back into the oven and bake for another 10-15mins or until golden and bubbling.

Squid Ink Pasta with Old Bay Seasoned Prawns and Scallops

I made an amazing and tasty pasta dish last week, that I just have to share with you. I had some squid ink pasta in my cupboard that my sister bought me for Christmas, and some Old Bay seasoning that I bought from New York back in February that I had been itching to try. So I came up with this Squid Ink Pasta with Alfredo sauce, with Old Bay Seasoned Scallops and Prawns.



I used this recipe from Taste My Plate for the idea and the Alfredo sauce, it came from Presto Pasta Nights. It was much simpler than any of the other recipes I looked at and used cream, which I had loads of and really needed to finish off. I didn't have any spring onions so I left them out.

Squid Ink Spaghetti Alfredo
(Serves 2)

6ish scallops
8ish uncooked prawns
200g Squid Ink Spaghetti
1 cup double cream
4 garlic cloves (crushed)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Melt butter in a saucepan, add 1/4 of the crushed garlic and the spring onion. Saute for a minute, but be careful not to allow the garlic to burn. Keep stirring.
Pour in the double cream and allow to bubble slightly. Once starting to bubble turn down the heat and add the Parmesan. Stir until cheese has melted. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.

For the prawns and scallops I put them in a ziplock bag with the Old Bay seasoning and left them overnight to marinade. Then I put some oil in a frying pan and sauteed the scallops for about 4 mins each side and the prawns for about 2 mins each side.

When the pasta is cooked add the spaghetti to the sauce and coat well. Then top with the prawns and scallops. This has an amazing smokey and cheesey flavour.

Menu Plan Tuesday Again

This weeks Menu Plan Monday is a day late and last weeks went completely out the window! By the time I had got around to finding a computer to post from it was Thursday! So I didn't bother, I just had a written one on my pin board. One of the best recipes from a couple of weeks ago was this Sausage, Mushroom and Asparagus Rigatoni, based on the Sausage and Mushroom Penne dish from Nilmandra from Soy and Pepper. The only changes I made were using Rigatoni instead of Penne and adding asparagus as it needed using up.



Needless to say it was delicious, it was lovely and creamy with a nice mustard tang. I had leftovers which I froze and had yesterday for lunch and it was none the worse for being frozen. I don't seem to have much energy at the moment, so all my cooking is very simple and quick, often a combination of freezer staples and veggies, or things I have cooked a million times before. I now have a referral to the hospital so hopefully someone there can help, and I'm also trying osteopathy tomorrow to try and ease the pain in my neck and shoulders. Fingers crossed.

Sunday
Lunch: Fry Up
Dinner: Curry

Monday
Lunch: Sausage and Mushroom Penne, Salad
Dinner: Breaded Plaice, Veggies

Tuesday
Lunch: Noodle Salad
Dinner: Out at Yo! Sushi

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken Fajitas
Dinner: Devilled Mackerel with spinach and potatoes

Thursday
Lunch: Quiche, Salad
Dinner: Pasta, Chicken and Pesto

Friday
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: Out?

Saturday
Lunch: Out?
Dinner: At my Cousins for a Barbecue

Many Bento

I have a huge backlog of Bento, I have taken a bento to work at least twice a week for the last couple of weeks and it is so nice to have something to look forward to for lunch. I love my Laptop Lunchbox, it is really useful for a hot meal and salad which is what I have nearly every Monday and Thursday.

The first is quiche on salad, with a side car of mushroom pasta salad, cherries and a babybel cheese.

Next is leftover egg fried rice from the lemon chicken, with fish balls, cherry tomatoes on a bed of alfalfa sprouts, with a green rabbit of sweet chilli sauce, and a blue strawberry of vinaigrette.

Then we have three mushroom rice, with salad, a plum, Japanese chocolate filled mini puff pastry, vinaigrette in the container, and a babybel.

This one is smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, a plum, and some multi-coloured goldfish crackers.

Next I had cod gratin, with salad, strawberries, container of vinaigrette, and olives with feta cheese.

Finally pesto couscous, falafel, olives with feta cheese, muhumarra on a lettuce leaf. Meringues and strawberries in the side car with a bunny of sugar for dipping.

Lemon Chicken with Egg Fried Rice

I love Lemon Chicken. Its the dish I always order from the take away and I eat it a lot when I go out to Chinese restaurants as well. I just love the lemony flavour with the breaded chicken. But I am terrified of deep fat frying. I have even bought myself an electric deep fat fryer and I'm still too scared to use it yet! So I have never made this dish at home. Then an idea struck me, why not just use chicken nuggets instead, they only need baking, so that's what i did!



This isn't an advert for Birds Eye, it just happens that chicken dippers was what I had in my freezer. This is really a cheats meal, but I made the egg fried rice from scratch, and it so easy and delicious to make. I need to try making my own lemon sauce next, but I didn't have my time when I made this one. The Lemon Sauce I used was made by Lee Kum Kee from one of the supermarkets in China Town.

Lemon Chicken with Egg Fried Rice
(Serves 1)

5 chicken dippers
1 sachet lemon sauce
1/2 cup rice, already cooked
1 egg, beaten with a fork
handful frozen peas, cooked
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce

Cook the chicken dippers according to packet instructions

When the chicken dippers are almost cooked, heat some oil in a large frying pan, pour in the egg and scramble slightly, when it is half cooked add the rice, peas and stir to create the egg fried rice. Add the soy sauce and spring onions and stir to combine. Take off the heat and pour into a bowl.

Heat the sachet of lemon sauce in a pan and when the chicken dippers are cooked add them to the sauce and mix until chicken is coated.

Pour the chicken and lemon onto the rice. Serve.