Great Kitchen

Roasted Pears with Honey, Cinnamon & Cardamom Ingredients: fresh pears honey butter ground cinnamon and cardamom To serve: thick plain yogurt, or pouring cream vanilla bean ice cream Instructions: Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a baking tray with some baking paper. Peel your pears and cut them in half lengthways.  Using a metal teaspoon or melon baller scoop out the seeds of each half and discard.  I also like to trim off the blossom end, although I do leave on the stems for asthetic purposes. Place the pears cut side up on the baking tray.  Put a little dab of butter into the hollow in each pear half.  Sprinkle with each with some cardamom and cinnamon and then drizzle with honey. Roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, flip over and roast for a further 10 minutes.  Flip again and roast until the pears are sweetly glazed, soft and golden. Serve warm with some of the juices spooned over top and a dollop of yogurt or some cream, or even a scoop of vanilla ice

Anything Hash & Perfectly Poached Eggs Ingredients: 2 cups of vegetables cut into small cubes (today I used a leftover baked potato, some carrot, some swede(rutabaga), broccoli stems and a small onion) 1/2 TBS butter 1/2 TBS oil salt and black pepper 2 large free range eggs Instructions: Prepare your vegetables. Peel the carrots and swede, trim any fibrous bits from the broccoli stems, saving any leaves. Chop them all into a uniform size along with the potato and onion.  Heat the butter and oil in a heavy based skillet. (I used my cast iron.) Once the butter begins to foam, add the vegetables. Turn them to coat in the fat then turn the heat down low, cover and allow to cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until everything is tender. Remove the lid, turn up the heat, season to taste with salt and black pepper and cook, turning over occasionally until golden brown in places. Keep warm while you poach your eggs.  Have all your eggs at room temperature and break each into a small bo

English Muffins Ingredients: 350g strong bread flour (2 1/2 cups) 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 160ml milk (2/3 cup) 120ml water (1/2 cup) 1 TBS salted butter Instructions: Sift the flour into a large bowl.  Add the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other. Don't let them touch as salt kills yeast. Mix lightly together. Measure the milk and water into a microwave safe jug. Add the butter. Cook for about 30 seconds in the microwave to melt the butter and slightly warm the milk mixture.  The temperature should be only blood warm.  Take care not to over heat. Holding some of the liquid mixture back, stir it into the dry mixture, adding only enough to give you  a soft dough. It may be a bit sticky, and you may not need it all.  Cover bowl with a sheet of plastic cling film and then cover with a clean tea towel.  Set aside in a warm, draft free place for 12 to 18 hours.  (You can refrigerate the dough after 18 hours if you are not quite ready to griddl

Lemon Pudding Ingredients: 2 large free range eggs, separated 64g of caster sugar (1/3 cup finely granulated sugar) 3 ounces cream cheese 120g sour cream (1 cup) 120ml lemon juice (1/2 cup) 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 120ml cream (1/2 cup) 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 2 TBS caster sugar Instructions: You will need a double boiler for this, or a heatproof bowl that will sit comfortably over a saucepan of boiling water. Beat the egg yolks togeher with the sugar.  Beat in the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, combining well.  Pour into the top of the double boiler, or into the heatproof bowl. Cook, stirring constantly over simmering water, until the mixture becomes thick. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Whip the cream until stiff.  Fold into the cold lemon mixture and then pour the pudding into a shallow casserole dish. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.  Continue to be

Microwave Cooked Potato Chips Ingredients: 1 medium sized red potato, unpeeled, washed and patted dry cold water canola oil cooking spray your favourite seasoning mix Instructions: You need to cut your potato into thin slices.  I cut mine about 1/8 th of an inch thick using my slicer tool.  If you are using a knife, make sure it is sharp and cut the slices as thin as you can.  Cut a thin slice from one long edge of the potato so it won't move around while you are cutting it. This makes is a lot easier.  As you cut the potatoes, drop them into cold water.  This helps to remove some of the starch. Pat the potato slices dry with some paper kitchen toweling.  Have ready a large microwave-safe plate.  Lay the potato slices onto the plate in  single layer and not touching. (You will probably have to work in batches.) Spritz lightly with  the  cooking spray.  Sprinkle lightly with your desired seasoning. Microwave on high in the microwave for two minute intervals, flipping them over each

Baked Western Sandwich  Ingredients: For the hashbrowns: 2 medium potatoes, wash, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 3/4 small onion, chopped coarsely 1/2 TBS oil salt and black pepper to taste For the sandwiches: 1 TBS butter 1 quarter of an onion, chopped 4 TBS chopped mixed sweet bell peppers (I used frozen) 3 slices of deli ham chopped 3 large free range eggs, beaten 2 TBS milk salt and black pepper to taste 4 TBS crumbled strong cheddar cheese 4 thick slices white bread toasted and butterd. Instructions: Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Line a small baking tray with foil.  Toss the potatoes together in a bowl with the oil, onions and seasoning.  Spread out on the baking sheet. Pop it into the oven.  Roast for about 10 minutes. While the potatoes are roasting make the filling for the sandwiches.  Melt the butter in a small skillet.  Add the peppers, onions and ham.  Cook and stir until the onions and peppers have softened.  Have ready a small baking tray or casserole

Baked Sausage & Gravy  Ingredients: For the Vegetables: 3 medium potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks 2 carrots, peeled and cut into batons 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into quarters 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1 TBS olive oil 1 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp dried oregano salt and black pepper to taste For the gravy: 1 TBS butter, melted 1 1/2 TBS plain flour 240ml chicken or beef stock (1 cup) You will also need: 4 thick herby sausages Instructions: Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking dish deep enough to hold the vegetables and sausage. My 7 by 10 inch dish is the perfect size. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the gravy. Pour this into the baking dish. Toss the prepared vegetables in a bowl together with the oil, herbs, garlic and some seasoning. Pour them into the baking dish with the gravy. You will have lots peeking over top. This is perfect as they will caramelise a bit. Top with the sa

Garlic Herb Cod  Ingredients: For the chips: 4 medium to large red potatoes, washed and dried unpeeled 2 TBS oil 1 tsp garlic herb seasoning For the fish: 4 cod loin fillets 4 TBS real mayonnaise 4 TBS freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 TBS each dried flat leaf parsley and basil 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced fine sea salt and fresly ground black pepper to taste Instructions: Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.  Line two baking sheets with foil and butter the foil. Cut your potatoes into chips. Just cut them in the size you  and your family enjoy having them. I do mine about 1/2 inch width/depth.  Put the potatoes into a bowl and toss together with the oil and Italian garlic herb seasoning to coat all well.  Pour onto one of the baking sheets and spread out in a single layer.  Bang the baking sheet into the oven.  Roast for 15 minutes. While the potatoes are roasting, prepare the fish.  Wipe and pat dry with paper toweling.  Season each fillet with some salt and pepper and pl

Butter, Onion & Tomato Sauce Ingredients: 480g canned or bottled imported Italian tomatoes, cut up with their juice (2 cups) (alternately you can use 2 pounds (900g) fresh ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and cut into chunks) 70g butter (5 TBS) 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half salt 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta, cooked, for serving Fresh ground black pepper Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for serving Instructions: Put the tomatoes into a large saucepan. Add the butter, onion halves and some salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very slow simmer and cook for about 45 minutes, or until it is to your preferred thickness and the onion has imparted it's flavour to the sauce. Stir occasionally breaking up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. The recipe says to discard the onion, but I kept it in and just mashed it into the tomatoes. (It was good.) Toss with your cooked pasta.  Serve with the freshly grated ch

  Who would have thought just a few  months ago that we would all be sitting where we are at the moment.  Pandemic. It sounds like something from a "B" movie, but we are all in pretty much the same boat.  Having to take precautions and all sorts.  Because of my husband's age and both of our underlying health problems, we are have been self-isolating for about a week and a half now and have been told it could be for as much as three months or even longer.  People have been panic-buying in the shops, store shelves have been stripped bare of even the bare essentials.  What we have in our homes at the moment, is pretty much what we have. It is going to be tough over these next few weeks to keep things interesting as far as food goes to say the least.  I thought I would do a round-up today of some recipes that make good use of store cupboard ingredients and that are delicious and anything but boring.  My whole blog is filled with recipes quite like this because I have always b