Upside Down Omelette

 

This is what happens when you watch a few food videos and decide to try one. I can't remember where I saw it or who posted it however the premise is to cook an omelette and a tortilla together. Creating one spherical edible delight that can be rolled or cut into pieces. I don't recall what the name for this was or even if there was a name at all so I decided to call it an upside down omelette for now.  

Crack two large eggs into a bowl and whisk together with 2 tablespoons of milk and salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick frypan over medium high heat, add the eggs and when the eggs start to get bubbly and just about cooked through sprinkle with cheese and place a tortilla on top, gently press the tortilla down and let the cheese melt to secure the tortilla in place, then place a plate on top, remove from the heat and very carefully lift the pan, while holding the plate in place, you may need a pot holder as the plate will be warm and turn the frypan upside, carefully release the frypan. With the egg side right side up on the plate gently shift it back into the frypan with the tortilla side down, place the frypan back over the heat, allowing the tortilla, that's now on the bottom, to get nice and crispy golden brown. Once golden brown transfer to a plate and roll it up like a wrap or cut into triangle slices. I did add some thinly sliced red peppers and sprinkle more cheese on top before removing from the frypan and slathered on some barbeque sauce once removed and on a plate. Of course you can sprinkle some veggies, bacon or meat on top of the eggs as they cook and try different cheeses or sauces. Call it what you will... this was a straightforward and satisfying lunch that was worth the effort. 

  

Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding

 

Having extra hot cross buns laying around rarely happens over Easter. However when there are, they become the puddings of all puddings and create an effortless spongy custard dessert. Utterly comforting and ideal for brunch or dessert with a light drizzle of maple syrup is absolute!  

Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding

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3 cups (6 - 8) hot cross buns

1/2 cup (125 ml) raisins, optional

5 large eggs

1/2 cup (125ml) white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla

1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon (0.5 ml) freshly grated nutmeg

2 3/4 cups (675 ml) milk

Grease a 2 quart (2 L) casserole baking dish. I used a round 9-inch deep pie dish. 

Cut the hot cross buns in half and then cut the halves into cubes, you should get about 4 to 6 cubes per half slice. Place the cubed hot cross buns in the greased casserole dish and sprinkle the raisins over top, if using.  

Beat the eggs together in a large bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and beat together. Add the milk. Mix again. Pour the egg mixture over top of the raisins and pieces of hot cross buns. Let stand for 20 minutes, allowing the egg mixture to absorb and plump up the bun bits and raisins. 

In the meantime preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until set. 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Spinach and Feta Quiche

Curating scrumptious meals is a breeze with frozen spinach. Whether its pasta sauce, an addition to a savoury pie or stew, pizza or quiche one has to admit it's a convenient ingredient to have on hand. During the colder months when just about any leafy green may look questionable, frozen spinach is the way to go. This spinach and feta quiche is the perfect Spring time feast on it's own or with a salad. 

Have a lovely weekend and stay safe everyone! - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Asparagus Quiche

Leftover steamed asparagus plus eggs equal... one satisfying dinner. Add chopped red peppers and plenty of feta cheese, all with a dash of hot sauce. This is an easy weekday meal that has flavour and comfort waiting to be shared.   

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD 

Clementine Cake

This lovely recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's, 1998 cookbook, How to Eat. The cake itself is dense, moist, flourless and has the most incredible orange taste; that intensifies the day after it is made. I recommend making this cake as you will not be disappointed.

Nigella Lawson's Clementine Cake

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Serves 8 - 10

approximately 13 ounces clementines (approximately 3 medium sized ones)

6 large eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 

2 1/4 cups almond meal (ground almonds) 

1 teaspoon baking powder *

* to make this a gluten free cake use gluten free baking powder or omit the baking powder all together.

Method:

Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water bring to a boil and cook for 2 hours.

Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementines - skins, pith, fruit and all, and give a quick blitz in a food processor (or by hand, of course) Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5/190ºC/375ºF. Butter and line a 21cm/8 inch Springform pan.

You can add all the ingredients into the food processor and mix, or, you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped oranges.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or grease proof paper after 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin. When the cakes's cold, you can take it out of the tin. 

Notes: I used approximately 6 small to medium sized clementines. I used a blender to pulp the clementines and mixed everything else by hand. My baking time was under the suggested time of 1 hour, so I recommend checking it at the 30 minute mark. My total baking time was between 40 to 50 minutes. 

To view the recipe, see the metric conversions, and Nigella's notes go to nigella.com, or click *here* and type in clementine cake.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Huevos Rancheros

This is one of our favourite weekend brunch meals. Packed with loads of goodness and healthy layers it is hard to resist. Instead of using tortillas, I used toasted English muffins and placed a heavy dollop of guacamole over each muffin slice, over that a wafer of old cheddar cheese, a plump fresh tomato slice placed over that, a rounded spoonful of spicy salsa; all topped with a poached egg and chopped green onions. This breakfast... or brunch will keep you going for the rest of the day. It may also be served with a few slices of bacon or fruit on the side however I quite enjoy it as is! 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. - JD  

Breakfast Burrito

This morning my son wanted to make us breakfast and he decided on the breakfast burrito. Which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, refried beans, salsa, green onion and shredded cheddar cheese. He did everything himself except cook the bacon and the side of hash brown patties, myself and his stepdad prepared those. I was on hand as his kitchen assistant and only cleared the unwanted items away. The burritos were very tasty and filling! 

Hats off to the Sunday chef... the elusive kitchen cape crusader is pictured here. Prepping and assembling and much sighing because I was taking his photo. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! - JD  

Onion and Tomato Quiche

I was getting ahead of myself today and this afternoon I made dinner. Dinner tonight will be a savoury onion and tomato quiche with a mixed green salad topped with a fig balsamic dressing. - JW       

My Week in Food

We started off the long weekend with scrambled eggs. Slices of sausages, green peppers, green onion and dashes of cumin and paprika made this a hearty breakfast. A savoury way to start the day. 

Pumpkin Pie. Next to rice pudding and bread pudding this is so comforting and smooth. This is my son's favourite therefore no holiday would be complete without it. 

Hummus with Pita. Snacking and munching. Hummus is a favourite of mine. There are so many things you can add and have with hummus, that is why it is so appealing. Just blitz some chickpeas, tahini paste, crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of water to make it all spreadable.  

I rarely and I mean rarely cook steak let alone red meat for that matter. And to be perfectly honest I wasn't quite sure on how to prepare and cook it. After much thought I decided to marinate it overnight in the following: ginger syrup, crushed garlic, honey, cumin, pepper and a pinch of salt. There were sweet hints of spiciness. Paired with Fortnum and Mason's Highgrove Spiced Fruit Chutney. Letting the contrasting flavours play with one another. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JW  

Leftovers #6 Apple Chutney Bread Pudding

There was a bit of my apple chutney hanging around in the fridge. And there was a half loaf of bread on the kitchen counter so I thought let's put these two together. After a very rainy day yesterday Apple Chutney Bread Pudding sounded very comforting. This was the perfect way to use up the leftover apple chutney. Again bread pudding is easy. All you need is 6 eggs, 1 and 3/4 cups of milk, sugar, cinnamon, butter, 10 slices of day old bread and of coarse apple chutney. 

I buttered an oven-proof baking dish and buttered the slices of bread. Then I cut the slices of bread in half. Arranged half of the bread slices buttered side up in the bottom of the dish. Then spread the apple chutney on top. Sprinkle with some sugar. Crack the six eggs into a bowl add the milk. Whisk together. Pour some of the mixture over top of the chutney covered bread slices. Wait about a minute for some of the mixture to be soaked up by the bread. Then place the remaining bread slices on top, buttered side up. Pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place in a preheated 350ºF oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Serve hot!  

   

Although this is not the most glamorous photo... I wanted to share this sight. I absolutely luv how the bread pudding swells and puffs up in the oven. When it does this you know it is not long before it will be reaching it's true destiny... your stomach!   

You can serve it with whatever you like. I chose a nice drizzle of golden syrup and a sprinkle of cardamom! - JW    

Savoury Bread Pudding

This week I made savoury bread pudding. I made a huge pan so there would be plenty of leftovers. Although I see bread pudding as being a dish one would snuggle up to during the coldest months of the year, I can also see this fluffy seasoned dish making an appearance or two during the warmer months as well. 

To make this Savoury Bread Pudding you will need the following:

1 red onion, diced

approximately 10 mushrooms, sliced

small pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a bunch of spinach or kale or swiss chard, chopped

olive oil

balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

thyme

tarragon

rosemary

summer savoury

smoky paprika

1 loaf of day old bread

8 eggs

2 cups of milk

salt and pepper  

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. 

Prepare all the vegetables. In a pan add some olive oil. Turn the element on to medium high heat. Once the oil has warmed up, add the onion. Stir. When the onion has soften a bit, add the mushrooms. Stir. Add the tomatoes. Stir again and let those vegetables simmer for a bit. When the mushrooms and tomatoes have soften a bit add the greens of your choice. Now the pan may look like it's going to overflow. Do not worry everything will simmer down. You made need to add some more olive oil and at this time you can add the balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar. Stir to make sure everything is not sticking and gets coated with the oil and vinegar. Now it's time to add the herbs and seasoning. I didn't give exact measurements on the herbs and seasonings because you can adjust those to your liking. Once everything has simmered and looks like this...

  

I must say at this point the aroma was very inviting. Everything in the pan had come together nicely. Remove from heat and now it's time to prepare the bread. The day old loaf you use doesn't have to be pre sliced. Since mine was, I cut each slice in half making two triangle pieces. Once all the slices have been cut, butter the bottom of the baking dish. 

Arrange half the bread slices on the bottom of the pan. Take some of those lovely simmered down veggies and spread over the slices of bread. Then placing the remaining slices of bread on top of that and using the remaining veggie mixture on top. Now there is no rhyme or reason to placing the bread. Just place them as you see fit. Trust me when  all is said and done nobody is going to notice how the slices of bread were or weren't arranged. That is the pure charm of this dish. 

Break the eggs in a large bowl and add the milk, salt and pepper. Mix together. Then pour over top of the bread layered with the veggie mixture. Making sure everything gets coated. Pop in a preheated, 375ºF oven for about 40 minutes or until everything is puffy, golden and the eggs have set. Serve immediately with grated cheese on top. 

You can always change the order of the prep work by slicing the bread first, buttering the pan then chopping the veggies and continuing from there. Bread pudding whether sweet or savoury is such a labour of delightful comfort. - JW  

    

Raspberry Bread Pudding

The other day I made a raspberry bread pudding for dessert. The piéce de resistance was the cream on top! 

I took about a cup of whipping cream and added a tablespoon of runny golden honey and a tablespoon of rosewater. Whipped them all together, until just about set, which made a heavenly delight that sat on top and finally melted into all the nooks of the raspberry bread pudding. 

The sharpness of the raspberries complimented the sweet mellow floral cream. This delicately flavoured whip cream would also be best served on fruit, lavender scones, pancakes, crêpes and chocolate cake. This is an absolute must try. - JW 

Eggs In A Basket

Last year throughout my many travels across the English countryside, I found this, a basket full of eggs. Eggs as I know being sold come in cartons of six and twelve or flats of twenty-four if you purchase from a farmer not randomly placed in a basket. It's very quaint and makes one think of many... many years ago when buying eggs this way was probably more common place. I could not resist a photo... I know how touristy of me. Hope you all are having a great weekend!   

Twin Sun Toast

This is my version of the Twin Sun Toast from the Star Wars cookbook. The original has you cutting out two round circles in the bread, using a small cookie cutter. The smallest cookie cutter I had and the shape of the bread enabled me to make the two twin suns. Instead I made one sun, the egg, in each piece of bread. All was good and one might say that the two cut out pieces of bread could pose as the twin suns.

Essentially you use a small cookie cutter to cut out two or as in my case one, circles in each slice of bread. Place the cut out pieces aside. They may be served buttered or dry on the plate. Add a good amount of butter in the bottom of a pan. Let is melt completely and move the pan around to coat the bottom of the pan evenly. Then place the bread inside the pan. Break the an egg each of the holes that you cut out using the cookie cutter. Let the egg set a bit, become white. Then this is the real tricky part you have to flip the bread with the egg over. Be careful. The egg yolks may break but never mind. I don't think your stomach will complain. You want the egg to set a bit more or to your liking. Then remove from pan and serve. 

Now my eggs stuck a bit and I added sufficient butter. The yolks were a bit runny. So  I toasted the round cut out pieces of bread and served them so you could dunk them in the yolks. This makes for a great weekend breakfast. 

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

Potato Kedgeree

On the weekend I made potato kedgeree for brunch. Normally kedgeree is made with fish and rice. The fresh lemon zest and juice gave it a lot of punch, a very summery zing which was good. The curry flavour was mild. I omitted the fresh sprigs of mint. And I really wish I had fresh watercress to add that finishing touch to the dish instead. To save time I boiled the potatoes and eggs the night before. The recipe came from a cookbook that I will be reviewing tomorrow. I will share the recipe with you all now. 
It goes as follows: 

Potatoes - 5 medium, boiled in their skins
Butter - 2 tablespoons (25 ml) 
Onion - 1, peeled and finely chopped
Mild curry powder - 2 teaspoons (10 ml)
Zucchini - 1, sliced
Eggs - 4, hard-boiled
Peas - 1 cup (250 ml), cooked  ... I used frozen 
Plain yoghurt - 1 cup (250 ml)
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon (5 ml) 
Grated lemon peel - 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml)
Salt - 1 teaspoon (5 ml)
Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) 
Sprigs of mint

1. Peel the cooked potatoes and chop coarsely.

2. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. When the foam subsides, add the chopped onions and curry powder and fry gently for about 5 minutes

3. Add the chopped potatoes and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring to combine. Stir in the sliced zucchini and continue cooking for 5 minutes

4. Peel the eggs and cut into halves. Add the eggs, peas, yoghurt, lemon juice, grated lemon peel, salt and pepper to the pan. Combine carefully so that the ingredients are not mashed together. Heat through but do not overcook.

5. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with sprigs of mint.  

This is how is how I served the kedgeree, with two slices of bacon and tomato. Sausages, whether veggie or not, would do nicely too. - JW

Leftovers #1 - Veggie Egg Fried Rice

Yesterday for lunch I made some egg fried rice. Trying to shake this cold you would think I would want a simple bowl of soup. Knowing that I had some left overs just fueled me even more to clear out the refrigerator and make something hot and tasty in about 15 to 20 minutes. It's important for this dish to use left over rice or day old rice... the older the better. Freshly cooked rice will become mushy. I made that mistake many years ago at my first attempts making this dish. Anytime I am cooking rice for a meal I always cook more for with the intention that I will be making fried rice further on in the week. For this dish you will need the following: 

Fresh Chopped Veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli, green onions, onions, bok choy, mushrooms, water chestnuts, peas, corn... essentially whatever you have on hand or whatever you prefer. *Reserve some of the green onions in a small bowl for later. 

Left over pre-cooked rice - about 2 cups (more depending on how many you are serving)

2 eggs

Sesame oil

Canola oil

Low sodium soy sauce

Dry sherry - Harveys Bristol Cream will do nicely!    

Step 1: Heat your pan or wok  over medium high heat and add about 2 tablespoons of canola oil. When the oil is heated add the veggies. This time I used 2 carrots peeled and chopped, 3 cups chopped bok choy, 2 chopped mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli and a handful of green onions. Sautée until veggies are cooked. When the veggies change colour slightly. They have gone darker, brighter or slightly transparent. You don't want to over cook your veggies for this dish. It's important to have some crunch. 

Step 2: Once the veggies are done, make a well in the centre of the pan with the  veggies all around the sides. Now this is when you are going to have to move fast... Crack open two eggs and scrabble the eggs mixing in the veggies. Making sure not to let the eggs stick to the bottom of the pan. You should get a sort of scrabbled egg veggie mixture. It should look like what is pictured here, above.    

Step 3: Add the pre-cooked day old rice. Drizzle some sesame oil and stir to coat the rice with the veggies and oil. Stir frequently. Letting everything heat through and making sure that it is not sticking too much to the bottom of the pan. Also at this point you may add whatever pre-cooked meat you may have on hand, like chicken or ham. Adding the meat at this point is good because you want the meat to be separate from the eggy veggie mixture. You don't want the eggs to stick to your meat.  

**The sauce. Now in a separate small bowl add about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of dry sherry and 2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce and gently whisk everything together. You will have to adjust these amounts depending on how much fried rice you are making. You want ample flavour regardless.     

Step 4: Take the oil, sherry and soy sauce mixture (see Step 3) and pour it over the rice mixture in the pan. Making sure that the rice and eggy veggies are coated well with the sauce. Stir again to make sure nothing is sticking too much. Let everything heat for a few seconds longer, then remove from heat. 

Step 5: Once removed from heat add some freshly chopped green onions and serve. Or transfer into a serving dish and add the fresh green onions on top. Yum! 

This is a very quick and easy dish. The main thing is that the rice is pre-cooked. How many days in advance is up to you. The older the better. Chopping the veggies should not take long... you can even chopped them ahead of time. Which means cutting down on your prep time. Which makes this dish even quicker. About 10-15 minutes from star to finish. This by far is one of my go to dishes. Everything you ever want is in this dish and every time I make it, it changes slightly. - JW 

Scotch Eggs

I always crave a scotch egg now and again. Since they are hard to find here, I crave them even more. Then why haven't I made them. They are on my cooking/baking "To Do" list. However when I was in England I was taught how to make scotch eggs by someone who knows and enjoys cooking. That is me in this photo concentrating on the task at hand. When you think about it, it seems fairly simple. Eggs. Sausage meat. Breadcrumbs. Oil. A pot for frying. I did have a video of me making the scotch eggs unfortunately I think I deleted it without realising that I did so. I blame the jet lag. Or me, trying to be cut throat when editing all of my 800 plus photographs taken on my trip! 
                                               
               

First, you hard boil the eggs. How many, is up to you. When the eggs are done, drain the water and let them completely cool. Peel the shells off. With the shells removed and  the eggs cooled you want to take the sausage meat and wrap it around the hard boiled egg. If the egg is too warm then the meat will not cover the egg properly. Once the egg is completely covered, not too thick with the sausage meat, you can dip the covered egg into the beaten egg wash. Covering all the surface of the sausage meat. 
  

Then take the dipped egg and roll it onto a plate covered with bread crumbs. This by far is the most relaxing bit. Coating all of the covered egg with the crumbs. For the breadcrumbs you can buy them in a package at the grocery store or you can make your own. 

The egg should look like this. All covered with the multiple layers of sausage meat, egg wash and breadcrumbs. Repeat the above steps until all the eggs look like this.
Now it is ready to go into the preheated pan with canola oil or any regular cooking oil.  

Place the covered eggs into the wire basket carefully. The oil is hot so tongs should help.   

You want to turn them while they are cooking to ensure all sides fry evenly. Keeping a watchful eye on them so they don't crisp up too much. 

These were the first few to come out of the pan. Nicely crisp. Nicely golden brown. That is exactly how you want them. 

Each egg is encrusted with this breadcrumb meat coating. Once we got going we made a few more. I know deep frying isn't for everyone however it does make the scotch egg what it is. I have heard of popping them in the oven to bake rather than deep frying the scotch eggs. I have thought about trying this method when I make them next because I am curious to see what they would be like. -JW 

Easter Brunch

This Easter Sunday I decided to do a bit of a different brunch. I served devilled eggs, ham, stuffed olives with feta and sun-dried tomatoes, toast, cereal and rounds of bucks fizz. It was a nice savoury brunch. A nice change from the usual pancakes. Well I thought with all the chocolate to be had, it's best to go more on the savoury side. Happy Sunday! - JW

Colcannon

This Sunday breakfast consisted of a simplified version of Colcannon. Served with a side of veggie sausages and topped with green onion. This is a very easy dish to make for breakfast or dinner. Traditionally Colcannon is made with carrots and cabbage or kale and cabbage. I wanted to test this recipe just to see how well it would be received by the hungry masses and then take it from there. I omitted the carrots and cabbage. Essentially to make colcannon you boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage together in a pot. When they are tender drain and mash together. Add butter and brown sauce to the mash to flavour. Serve immediately. My version of colcannon is to mash all veggies together and turn out the mash into a lightly greased 9x11 pan. Then with a spoon make six indentations. Crack an egg into each. Bake covered in an 375º degree oven for 20 minutes or until each egg is poached to your liking. Serve hot. -jw