Italian classic at home...

We don't really watch a lot of TV here (mainly because there seems to be so much rubbish on these days) but I do love cookery shows.  No surprise there, really.  I watched "Masterchef" the other day (it's a cookery competition show rather than one with recipes) and was intrigued to see them make Italian gnocchi.

Gnocchi with a chorizo tomato sauce...

Now, to be perfectly honest, I have only ever had supermarket gnocchi and they have been pretty average at best.  Either very chewy or very  hard...brrrr!  Knowing how Italians love their food, I reckoned there must be more to these little potato dumplings and they did look delicious on TV.  So, poor Mr Happy Larder had to be guinea pig to yet another new recipe - luckily, we were both pleasantly surprised.

I was a bit unsure what the texture the "dough" should be like but since it needed rolling into a sausage shape before cutting, I guessed it shouldn't be too soft.  I needed more flour than the original recipe stated but apart from that it was straightforward.  The great thing is that you can freeze gnocchi - simply put on a lined baking sheet in the freezer overnight and pop into a freezer container/bag the following morning.  When ready to use, there is no need to defrost - just put into boiling water and when they rise to the surface, they are done.  Self-timing dumplings - perfect :-)  We had one batch "fresh" with another in the freezer and I will definitely be making these again.  The recipe is below as well as a link to a video that shows the method and a little trick I picked up from "Masterchef".

Of giveaways and new recipes...

Gosh - how did it get to be May already?  It's a new month, so that surely must mean giveaway time, don't you think?  Well, here we go - the next giveaway will be this Friday, 3rd May.  As before, simply add a comment on that day to be in with a chance to win a fab little prize which I hope will put a smile on the winner's face.  Have a look on Friday to see what it is...:-)  I will draw the winner on Monday to give everyone a chance to take part over the weekend.

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Since we got back I couldn't wait to get into the kitchen and try some new recipes.  And what better place to start than with a recipe request from my friend Sue.  A little while ago she had asked if I knew a good recipe for a red onion marmalade.  I started looking around and found a great one that I think will hit the spot nicely - I made a batch yesterday and had some on my cheese sandwich for lunch today.  For me, it has the perfect balance of tangy and sweet without loosing the taste of the red onions and even Mr Happy Larder - who normally isn't too fond of sweet savoury things - loved it.  Usually I find that chutneys and the like get better as they mature but you can have this one immediately and it is still very, very tasty.  Simple ingredients, easy method and quick preparation with a yummy result - what's not to like? :-) 

Of sunshine and summer food...

Spring is here at last!  Funny how in just the few days we were away, all the plants have come to life and the trees are really beginning to go green with blossoms everywhere.  I took this picture on this morning's dog walk - what a pretty colour!

With the sunshine out, I am starting to finally get over my need for comfort food and my taste buds are wanting to taste fresh salads and the like.  Not sure if that - and the sunshine - will last...we'll see.  During our trip we ate the most delicious seafood and fish.  One of the restaurants we went to in the Blue Ridge Mountains was right by a river and on the menu were all kinds of variations of trout.  You really can't get any fresher than that - straight from the river onto the plate (ok - via the kitchen, luckily for us).  I also love smoked fish, in particular mackerel and trout.  Over here we can get packets of smoked mackerel filets for not very much money at all  including lovely varieties such as black pepper or hot smoked. 

Smoked mackerel pate on sourdough bread...

Inspired by our holiday, I made a smoked mackerel pate for lunch today - it was the topping for my open sandwich but it can be used in sooo many different ways (see suggestions in the recipe below).  It takes only a couple of minutes to make, is good for you with all those Omega 3s and is very tasty indeed. 

Back in the swing of things...

We caught up on some sleep over the weekend and I think we are pretty much back to normal now.  All of us apart from Keith who is still ever so excited to have us back and to be able to run around in "his" park.

I keep thinking about our trip and all the lovely little moments we experienced.  We met some great people and shared quite a few laughs.  One morning, whilst having the stunning breakfast at our favourite place, the Aska Lodge, we talked with the other guests about food in our respective countries (a subject always close to my heart/tummy).  There were quite a few raised eyebrows when we and another couple from the UK declared that there was nothing better than sharing a good joint with the family on a Sunday.  Oh, we laughed when we found out that they thought we'd been smoking drugs with all the family when we were in fact referring to a large piece of roast meat (usually beef, pork or lamb) which is called a joint here in the UK.  You can see how misunderstandings between cultures can happed :-)  It still makes me chuckle now!

Beef & Vegetable stir fry on rice...

One of the things I love doing with leftover Sunday roast (or joint :-)) is a stir fry.  It's another quick and tasty way to use up what we didn't manage to eat up.  Simply thinly slice the meat into bite size pieces and place in a bowl.  Pour over a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil and soya sauce and add some crushed garlic as well as fresh or dried ginger.  Stir thoroughly to cover all the meat and leave to marinate for at least half an hour (the longer the better really).  You can also add some chilli sauce (find a recipe here) or fresh chilli/dried chilli flakes to add some heat.

After marinating all you have to do is stir fry some vegetables in a wok or large pan (we used carrots, mangetout & peppers but anything goes, including leftover veg from the roast dinner), add the marinated meat including the liquid and once heated through, serve on rice or noodles.  Yummy!

Of new friends and inspiration...

Home, sweet home... we arrived back from our wonderful trip to the US and both Mr Happy Larder and I are very tired but very happy.  We had such an amazing time and it was hard having to say goodbye...

I love travelling - ok, maybe not the bit at the airport where you have to remove your shoes, belt, etc but everything else about it.  So many new impressions and experiences and wonderful new friends - to me that is what travelling is all about.  Throw in a few new ideas and inspiration for recipes and I am one happy bunny :-)   It'll probably take me a few posts to write about all we have seen and done but now we are back home, I can't wait to get back into the kitchen and get my hands dirty.

We had some beautiful food whilst on the road and sometimes it was just the little touches that were so inspiring.  Take this simple idea, for example, for a twist on the usual olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip you often get in restaurants with the bread.  I always find it annoying that when they pour both into the same bowl, you can never get to the balsamic (thank you gravity).  We ate at a place called The Firefly in Savannah where they served the bread basket with a small bowl of olive oil with a little pile of finely grated parmesan cheese in the middle and a good sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.  It was simple and yet heavenly, so next time you have that bit of parmesan cheese left, I can highly recommend giving this a go.

Soooo much more to write about but given that my body clock is completely confused, I shall wait until next time to share more, including some photos, recipes etc.

Beautiful Savannah

My goodness - this place is stunning!  We arrived in Savannah, Georgia yesterday (Sat) lunchtime and are having a wonderful time.  The historic district is easily one of the most beautiful places I have seen, people are really friendly and the food is great.  There is a danger that I will look like a shrimp by the end of the trip - the seafood is seriously delicious.  I am planning on doing a post with recipes and recommendations as soon as we are back.  It's just lovely being here - can't wait to share what we've been seeing, tasting, experiencing :-)

A quick update from on the road...

I can't believe how many days we have already been travelling on our road trip through Georgia, South & North Carolina in the US.  Both Mr Happy Larder and I are enjoying our trip sooooo much and are loving every minute!  We have had some fantastic food already - I will write more about that when we are back home, so I can upload photos, share recipes etc.

Our first "proper" stay was at the magical Aska Lodge in Blue Ridge - what a wonderful place with the loveliest hosts you could wish for and breakfasts to die for!  More than highly recommended!  We did some beautiful walks there too - stunning forests, hills, etc - I even found a bit of fur that a black bear lost!  Can you tell that I love that place? :-)

We are now on our way to Savannah and I should be able to write more then....

Warming up...

It's quite a lot warmer outside today but I'm still feeling a bit rubbish, so dog walking was a rather slow affair this morning.  Keith the dog had a lovely time nonetheless with lots of running around with other dogs, splashing in the stream and playing ball.  If I find a way of bottling his energy, I will sell it and become rich :-)

Keith pretending to be a statue...

Sometimes he is actually quite sensible (for an 18 month old dog anyway) and settles down nicely...even if it is almost inside the fireplace...

I can't believe that we had that fire going only a few evenings ago but we still get a lot of cold nights and frost in the morning.  Which also means that I still crave comforting food - potatoes, casseroles...that sort of thing.  A lovely but easy and comforting dish I made a little while ago but haven't blogged about until now is this pork tenderloin in a mustard & cream sauce.  It's tasty but doesn't take a lot of time to make and it's great served with potatoes, rice and I guess even pasta would work. 

Pork in mustard cream sauce...

All you have to do is slice the tenderloin into about 1 - 2cm thick slices, season with salt & pepper and spread some mustard on the slices.  Fry gently in a little oil, turning occasionally and adding diced onion and sliced mushrooms (optional) to the pan.  If the meat sticks to the pan a bit too much, just add a splash of water.  Pour in some double cream and adjust the seasoning, adding more mustard to the sauce if needed.  Just keep tasting until it's right for you.  Done!  We had ours with sauteed potatoes and steamed vegetables. I must make this again soon...

On a roll...

When Mr Happy Larder and I first got married, we fulfilled one of our dreams and went to Africa on honeymoon.  We did a safari in a less touristy part of Tanzania and stayed on the beautiful spice island of Zanzibar.  We saw nature at its most beautiful, made fabulous friends and ate stunning food.  It still amazes me how the cooks in camp were able to create the delicious food we ate with hardly any equipment to speak of..  When bread is baked in a hole in the ground, you know you are somewhere quite remote :-)  One of the things we had for breakfast were the most incredible cinnamon rolls we have ever eaten.  In fact, on arrival at the camp the handful of other guests did not mention the wildlife first but these cinnamon rolls - that's saying something.

Well, cut a long story short - ever since that trip I have been trying to find a recipe for something resembling these rolls at least in taste.  EUREKA!  Yesterday, feeling better, I went up and down the internet and stumbled across a recipe that looked straightforward enough to give it a go.  What can I say?  Not only did I make a small batch (I usually make half the quantity when I first try out a new recipe), we loved this so much that I had to make another batch straight after :-)  If you have enjoyed the cinnamon rock cakes recipe, then you will love these (Pigsmightfly, this should go down a treat in your household)!
I amended the recipe slightly and I hope you like what I have done with it.  It just uses slightly less fat and sugar and I left out the cream cheese icing, drizzling mine just lightly with a mix of icing sugar & lemon juice (totally optional - the second batch was made completely without and that was just as nice).  These freeze really well as well - perfect for a little treat later in the week.

I reckon these will also work really well as savory rolls - maybe filled with pesto instead of the butter/sugar/cinnamon mix... mhm, might have to give that a go...

Have a good start to your week!

Sniffles...

Typical - I've managed to stay healthy for over a year with not a sniffle in sight and just before we are due to go on holiday, I get ill :-(. Mr Happy Larder is on dog walking duties this morning and I will hopefully be back to normal soon.  Lots of hot drinks and vitamins for me and a bit of sleep - I usually fight these things off quite quickly :-).  For dinner tonight, we will just have a pork casserole - it's so easy to just throw together and leave to slow cook in the oven - the perfect food when ill as there is really just minimum effort required but you still get the goodness of a home cooked meal.

Talking of food and recipes, I have just realised that I haven't yet posted the recipe for the chocolate cake we had for Easter, so without further ado, here it is.

Have a lovely weekend!