Leftovers #4 Garlic Herbed Spaghettini with Sausage and Red Pepper

Leftover sausages not a problem! First take about a 1/2 cup of olive oil and warm in a pan  over medium heat. Then add 3-4 crushed cloves of garlic. Let the garlic brown nicely. Making sure not the burn the garlic. Remove from heat. Boil water in a pot. Add whatever pasta you fancy. I chose spaghettini. Cook until al dente. Drain. Pour the olive oil with garlic over the drained pasta. Toss to coat. Add the chopped sausages and red peppers or whatever meat, soy or veggies you have. Add the herbs. Then toss again. Making sure everything comes together and all is coated. You can grate some parmesan cheese on top and serve immediately! An excellent way to use leftovers. A very filling meal or side dish. An all around feel good meal! - JW         

Turkey Leek Burger

Once I get a craving for a burger I can not replace it. This burger was in part inspired by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. A food ode to him one might say. I took extra lean ground turkey and added some chopped leeks, a bit of oatmeal, an egg, sage, salt, pepper and a couple of good shots of Scottish whisky. Mixed it all up in a bowl. Shaped the mixture into five patties. Grilled them in a pan until golden brown and cooked all the way through.

This is how I plated it. With a simple kale salad and dressed the burger with Fortnum's Piccadilly Piccalilli. Moist, flavourful and it satisfied the craving  just nicely!  

Midlothian Oatcakes

This morning I made oatcakes and after tasting them I will never buy another prepackaged oatcake again! This evening I will serve them with a blue Stilton cheese and or a Whisky Cheddar cheese. A glass of Scotch will accompany the oatcakes nicely as we toast poet Robert Burns. How are you celebrating Robert Burns Day?   

Victoria Gin

Victoria Gin is Canada's first premium gin. It's smooth with hints of evergreen, citrus, floral and spice. Although I found the citrus to be the most noteworthy undertone to my palette. It's gluten free and possibly might be Canada's cousin to Sipsmiths or Hendricks. The bottle is no fuss featuring a younger Queen Victoria and has it's own batch number. To find out more about Victoria Gin click on this word *Victoria*. - JW  

Lemon Lavender Shortbread

Yesterday I made lemon lavender shortbread biscuits. The flavour is more delicate and aromatic than bitter and floral. To make them, add the zest of one lemon or grated lemon peel from one lemon and lavender buds to the dough. You can adjust the amounts according to taste. I also added granules of white sugar on top to give them a hint of sweetness. Also I like how the sugar mimics twinkling frosty snow. I quite enjoy them with tea which is how I am enjoying them right now. Have a good weekend everyone! 

- JW  

Leftovers #3 - Savoury Crêpes

When you open up the refrigerator and think... what meal can I make with these leftovers. It's amazing what you can come up with. I had left over crêpes, pork tenderloin, cooked veggies, fresh kale and stock. I decided that a savoury crêpe with gravy and a kale salad would be what's for dinner. 

First, I chopped the meat and veggies into random pieces. Filled each crêpe with the meat and veg, tucked and rolled each crêpe until there were two bundles laying side by side on the plate. The salad was chopped kale with radishes and cherry tomatoes and a homemade dressing was drizzled on top. Then it was time to make the gravy. I used the left over Guinness infused stock from the other night. I added some paprika and sage to the gravy which gave it a fabulous flavour. Then I pour it over the top of both crêpes. Dinner was done! Fast, easy and very delicious. All the plates came back virtually licked clean! -JW  

  

Guinness Infused Cumin and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin with Root Vegetables

Sunday dinner was an interesting one. I was inspired by my luv of the spice cumin and a can of Guinness. The rosemary was a last minute add. Why not have stout as the liquid base for the pork tenderloin and root veggies. I definitely saved the stock. 

I rolled the pork tenderloin in olive oil making sure all sides were lightly coated and then added the spices rolling to ensure each side was coated with cumin and rosemary. The pantry was very fragrant over the weekend do to the cumin! The Guinness was added to the bottom of the slow cooker pot, then some veggies, then the herbed pork tenderloin was set on top of the veggies and more veggies were added around it. The remaining Guinness was poured on top. The slow cooker was set to low for about 5 hours. 

The veggies were not under or over done for the most part because I decided to slice them chunky. A subtle flavour infused by the Guinness however still true their form, taste and texture. There were parsnips, carrots and multi coloured baby potatoes. With a few quarters of white onion here and there for sweetness.

When all was done this is how it got plated. Just a dash of summer savoury. I was going to make a gravy however I feel sometimes we may add sauce for the sake of making it taste better or hiding the natural flavours. I did have a bit of Fortnum's Piccadilly Piccalilli to the side of the meat, not pictured here, but the pork tenderloin was very melt in your mouth that it stood happily on it's own. - JW  

Cheese Casserole

Yesterday I talked about the Budget Busters Family Cookbook and as I was flipping through the pages the cheese casserole recipe caught my eye. Knowing I had all the ingredients I decided to make it as a side dish for dinner. I found this more like a cheesy bread pudding. I added some small cherry tomatoes and my favourite herb, summer savoury. The tomatoes on top look a little sad, I know. I used what was on hand and the majority of them were put in-between the layers of bread. One may think it's quite heavy on the stodge however it wasn't it was just very satisfying! - JW

Budget Buster ~ Family Cookbook

I bought this cookbook for a mere $6.99! Hoping it would curb the grocery bill a bit. It was published in 2009 and seeing how it is 2013 I think trying to feed four or more for ten dollars is a bit of a stretch. By todays prices it should read feed four or more for $20 or less. And even then that may be a stretch. Let's take the Bread and Butter pudding recipe... fairly simple ingredients that you may have all ready however let's play devils advocate. Let's say we didn't have any of the listed ingredients and that we had to go buy them. 

You need six slices of day old bread. In order to have the six slices you need a loaf a bread. A loaf of bread can cost anywhere between $3.49 - $4.99. 

Butter 2 tablespoons, a pound is $4.99. 

Sugar 2 tablespoons, a 1kg bag is roughly about $3.99.

Golden raisins 1 tablespoon, bought bulk $3.00 approx. 

Currants 1 and 1/2 tablespoons, bought bulk $3.00 approx

Milk 1 and 3/4 cups, a 2 litre will cost $3.49.  

Eggs 2, however they are sold in 6 or 12, $3.49 for a dozen (12).

Allspice 1/2 teaspoon, bought bulk for .49 cents.

And the grand total is: $25.94 plus tax! That's $6.49 plus tax per person based on four people. A simple dessert can really add up. It's interesting when you break it all down. 2009 wasn't that long ago so I can see things being a bit cheaper. Not so much so to make this dish half price. Even then it's not at the price this book is claiming. 

I have made a few recipes from this book, including the Bread and Butter Pudding, Pork with Tomato Rice, Vegetable casserole and the Chickpea casserole. All tasty and somewhat economical. Each recipe has a dollar sign value. One $ = bargain, two $$ = budget and three $$$ = economical The bread and butter pudding had one $. The lowest rating. There are three chapters in this cookbook and they are 1) Soups, Snacks and Sides 2) Main Meals and 3) Desserts. Being economical means being focused! 

As you may know sometimes the best way is to buy bulk, make things from scratch and if your are going to dirty a pot you might as well double the recipe... ie: when making chili make a large stock pot full for more than one dinner. Use local and the freshest ingredients when possible. However tin tomatoes do just fine. Dried herbs are great! Rub them to bring out their flavour. Sometimes the inexpensive/expensive brand isn't always the best. The inexpensive may save money however the list of not so great ingredients may be long. The expensive brand may cost more however the ingredient list you may be able to pronounce. That's where you can decide which items are worth it and which ones aren't. Read labels, quantity and size. Is buying two for one really worth it or does the larger size really save you money? Always go for the lowest amount of salt. Compare items and prices. Budgeting can be hard especially at the grocery store if you plan ahead it will keep you more focused and help you save money. - JW 

      

Leftovers #2 - Turkey Pies

And what to do with turkey leftovers. I made two turkey pies. One with a standard white sauce gravy and the other with a curry gravy. I can only say that they smelt delicious because for now they are resting in the freezer waiting for a rainy day. - JW   

New Year's Eve Eats 2012

I spent most of New Years Eve in the kitchen baking, cooking and preparing. It may not be how everyone spends New Years Eve Day however I quite enjoyed it. I kept everything simple and delicious, of course. 

I made savoury quiche with organic sharp old cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes and my new found favourite spice, summer savoury.

I also served goats cheese with radishes on gluten free crackers. The crackers I bought from a local tea shop, Cally's Teas and are made on site by their cook/baker extraordinaire. 

I also purchased... even though I know how to make scotch eggs... from a local British Food Shop here in E-town. I was having a scotch egg craving and these tend to go fast. They were very delicious! I still would have preferred to make them however they did just nicely. Adding another savoury element to the meal.  

And for the dessert, remember the cookbook Plum Pudding Pie I spoke about and shared the Chocolate Rum Mousse recipe from... well here it is. Even though there is a certain amount of fusing it was easy to make. I served it in a martini glass with whip cream and a chunk of Lindt Orange Intense Dark chocolate on top. Candied orange peel would have worked as well. The orange flavour from the chocolate complimented this fabulous dessert exceptionally! The meal was filling however light. The champagne was sparkling and the dessert was heavenly. A great way to ring in the new year. 

Happy New Year everyone! - JW