The comfort of old friends...

We have gale-force winds and pouring rain today and Keith the dog was not impressed when he found out that the weather in the park (where he desperately wanted to go) was exactly the same as the one in the garden (where he really didn't want to go because of the rain).  After 20 minutes of trotting around in the wet, he had enough and we came back - needless to say that we are both still trying to dry off.

It's been a busy few days with little time for trying out new recipes.  I did cook but relied on our trusted favourites - sometimes you just need the comfort of knowing exactly what ends up on your plate :-)  It's almost like spending time with old friends - no need to explain anything, just enjoying the company. So we had sausages with homemade coleslaw and baked potatoes, savoury mince with rice and peas and stuff like that - easy & yummy at the same time.

One of the dishes I did make that I want to share with you is this fish dish: salmon wrapped in pancetta (a very thinly sliced bacon).  I love how the pancetta goes all crispy and the fish stays lovely and moist!  We had this with a creamy dill sauce and served mine with pasta and Mr Happy Larder's with crispy potato cubes - both worked equally well and with a handful of mangetout on the side made a tasty and complete meal. 

The wrapped salmon does also work really well with potato gratin (you can find the recipe here) and you can also add herbs before wrapping up the pancetta...sage leaves are great for this but why not try basil for a change?  I hope you will love this dish as much as we do.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I will spend my time trying out a few new recipes, so I will have plenty to share with you coming up to Easter :-)

A good start to the day

The start of another week after a relaxing weekend.  We took Keith the dog for his walks and watched a fabulous game of rugby on TV where Wales beat England.  Brilliant!  Being neither Welsh nor English I could just watch it for the fun of it :-)

I love weekends!  Coffee, reading newspapers and relaxing over breakfast is just too lovely for words (even if it doesn't happen like that very often).  Before going out walking this Sunday, I wanted to make a breakfast that would really set us up.  A little while ago I watched a cookery programme on TV which featured these little treasures and I have wanted to try these ever since: "croque madame muffins" - although I'd describe them as "egg cups".  How cute are these?  And not only that, they are absolutely delicious and easy to make but look impressive enough to serve to guests.  

I love how you can adapt these to your taste - I included ham and spinach in ours to make a kind of eggs florentine version but you could easily leave these out.  If you are a vegetarian, then these are also great - no need to have the ham in them if you don't want to.  

I'd really recommend you'd give these a go!

Spanish delights...

I am reading the most brilliant book at the moment:  "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a Spanish author.  What a treat!  It is one of those books you can't put down but at the same time you don't want it to end.  I am only allowing myself to read a few chapters at a time to make it last longer but the suspense is killing me because I want to find out what happens next.  Don't you just love books?

Mango Salsa...

Continuing the slightly summery theme from the last couple of days, here is today's recipe: mango salsa.  It tastes so fresh and fragrant and whilst we had it with the lamb burgers the other day, I think it would also go extremely well with grilled fish or prawns.  Simply mix some chopped mango, cucumber, coriander, red onion, chilli (or chilli flakes) with a dash of lime or lemon juice and season with salt & pepper.  Job done!
To be honest, the amount of each ingredient depends on how fruity or spicy you like your food - I just went easy on the lemon juice as I didn't want the salsa to be too tangy.  You could also add tomatoes or bell peppers but I quite like this simple version.

I already have a couple of recipes to try out and share with you next week - can't wait!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dreaming of summer...

Sunshine in a glass...

What a stunning morning it is!  Cold but sunny with blue skies - just perfect for walking the dog.  Before I went out, we had a lovely breakfast smoothie I whipped up for us in the blender - banana, mango, pineapple (frozen leftovers), plain yogurt, milk, a dash of apple juice and topped off with some cinnamon.  De-li-cious!  I didn't fancy a "proper" breakfast first thing but knew I needed something before the walk, so this was perfect.  I often freeze leftover fruit in small batches to use up in smoothies - it also means I don't have to add any ice to the drink which is great, especially in summer.

Lamb & Feta Burgers...

Last night I tried out another new recipe I had found: lamb & feta burgers.  Oh, they were good!  I changed the original recipe a little and we had them with homemade potato wedges on a little piece of focaccia bread.  I can definitely recommend these as a nice change from beef burgers (although I dare say these would work equally well with minced beef, poultry and possibly even with vegetarian mince, although I have not tried this).  On the BBQ these should be lovely.

Do you get the feeling I am ready for summer? :-)

Belly warmers...

Late again - not sure what is going on at the moment but my early morning blogging appears to have been sidelined by dog duties, chores etc. 

Breakfast was a rather large bowl of porridge this morning. I love porridge!  To save time in the morning, I usually soak the oats in hot water (from the kettle) and a bit of milk in a saucepan overnight - that way, I just have to heat it up with a bit more milk in the morning.  Sometimes I just fancy it plain but this morning I added a handful of raisins to it.  I think my favourite is apple, raisin and cinnamon :-)  I love how this type of breakfast really sets me up for the day and warms me through and through.

Talking of apples, raisins and cinnamon, I have a lovely recipe for muffins that are just too yummy for words.  I made a small batch of these just the other day, putting half in the freezer for another time.  I have had these warmed up with vanilla ice cream for a cheeky dessert or just plain without anything added. Either way, they are very tasty!

Of flat breads and not so flat running...

Oops - I'm a bit late today!  After walking the dog for a long time this morning, I put on my running shoes and actually went for a run.  It was freezing cold down by the sea with the icy wind bashing around my ears.  And on the way back I had to run up two long and steep hills, just to finish me off. I loved it! :-). I used to run quite regularly (never fast or particularly well) and enjoy it, so I'll try and get into that habit again, now the winter is over (haha - so much for it being over - the temperatures are around freezing and we are still getting the odd snowflake).

Anyway, on to today's recipe!

I love eating wraps - add a delicious filling and make a great lunch or turn into a Mexican meal for dinner...simply yummy!  I usually buy a packet of wraps from the supermarket - the cheapest ones cost around £1.20 for a packet of 8 wraps.  But I wanted to make my own.  My River Cottage Bread Handbook has a recipe for tortillas and I thought I'd give it a go.  OMG - it is so easy!!!!  I actually feel embarrassed to think that I have been buying the packaged stuff for so long when making these little beauties is just so easy.  And not only that - making your own is far cheaper, contains no preservatives or additives and is super-tasty as well.  And no plastic rubbish either!  Just think:  a 1kg bag of organic white flour costs roughly £1.30 here and would be enough to make 32 (!!!) tortilla breads.  All you need is to add some water and salt.  So, for almost the same amount of money you can make four times as many wraps!  I was really shocked when I realised this.  And it doesn't take long at all either.  I'm not saying I'll never buy the supermarket ones again (after all, life sometimes gets in the way & then we need convenience) but I think I will definitely try and make these from scratch as often as I can.  I hope you'll give these a go - they are fabulous!

Childhood favourites...

Brrrr...I am not too sure what happened to Spring but it surely has disappeared from Wales.  It is absolutely freezing and we are even expecting some snow again today.  Oh well - nothing I can do about it apart from wrapping up warm when taking Keith the dog out for his walks.  

With Mr Happy Larder having been away for a few days, I mainly feasted on leftovers but I also made one of my childhood favourites: pasta bake with tomato sauce.  This is a very basic meal but I remember it from when I was a child and still love it.  I'm pretty sure we had it because it was not only tasty but also affordable and looking at the nutritional value, I think it is not doing too badly either ;-)

The recipe is so easy, you don't actually need a "proper" recipe for it.  For two portions, simply cook enough dried pasta for 2 people according to the packet instructions and once done, place in an ovenproof dish together with a good helping of frozen peas (or other frozen vegetables).  In a bowl, mix 2 large eggs with a bit of milk and seasoning; then pour over the pasta.  Now top with grated cheese and pop in the oven at 180 - 200c for about 20 - 25 minutes.  The egg will cook, the cheese will melt and get crispy and you will have a quick and tasty meal. You can also add ham to the dish - simply chop and stir into the pasta/veg mix before pouring over the eggs.

This is best served with a simple tomato sauce.  For mine, I melted a knob of butter in a saucepan and added half a chopped onion.  Gently cook until translucent, then add a spoonful of flour.  Now add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato puree, some water, salt & pepper and some dried Italian herbs.  Job done - easy tomato sauce!  Enjoy!

Food for a busy day

Happy International Women's Day!  I wonder if there is a men's day as well...if not, I think there should be! :-)  A friend of mine is organising a fundraising event for Oxfam nearby, so I will go over there at lunchtime with a batch of jam doughnut muffins.  I hope it will be really successful as she has put a lot of work into it.

I've started having a good sort out at home.  Unbelievable just how much stuff we have :-(  It's not all our fault though because we basically inherited a house full of stuff and then had to move the contents of my flat into it.  Bursting at the seams comes to mind and I can just see some stuff ending up on Freecycle where you give things away for free.  What a great invention that website is - if you haven't come across Freecycle before, why not have a look if there is one in your area?

So, it's busy busy at the moment and food will have to be quick today.  I will have one of my favourite things: red lentil stew.  Well, this can be a soup or a stew really and you can have it on its own, on top of rice or with roti flatbreads.  I use red lentils for this as they don't need soaking beforehand which makes it a lot quicker.  I love the warming curry flavours in this and the bits of sweetcorn and I usually top it with a dollop of plain yogurt (although the stew is not overly spicy - I just find it adds an extra dimension to it).  I can't wait to tuck in... :-)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Feeling jammy

A mixture of drawn out birthday celebrations and family stuff meant that I didn't get a chance to write a post until now.  A beautiful lunch was spent at one of my favourite restaurants in Swansea, Patrick's , lingering over the delicious food. 

I had a beautiful local goat's cheese with beetroot and homemade pickle - gorgeous!  My main course was plaice on a mussel, cockle and leek chowder...heavenly!  Mr Happy Larder's food choices were equally amazing with potted pork terrine followed by lamb three ways.  We were too stuffed for dessert but had coffee that came with a tiny chocolate brownie - just enough to hit that sweet spot. We don't go out for food that often these days but when we do, it feels really special and we love it.  I did have to restrain myself from taking photos of our food :-)

Definitely a lot simpler is today's recipe: jam cakes, also known as jammy dodgers.  Basically, they are shortbread-type biscuits sandwiched together with jam.  I used raspberry and strawberry jam and made large biscuits but you can make smaller ones too.  And I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out the middle.  They were so quick to make (less than half an hour including baking) and very tasty indeed.  I hope you like these as a treat!

Sunny suppers

The sun came out at the weekend and for the first time in what seems like months, I was able to do a bit of gardening.  Just a little weeding and mowing the lawn but oh, how lovely it was to be back out there!  I find it so calming and feeling the sun on my skin was beautiful.  I also had a look at my seed collection as I am itching to get started again with sowing vegetable seeds.  The nights are still frosty, so a bit more patience is needed...

Then yesterday I drew the winner of the giveaway and that made for a great start to the week - I just wish I had been able to give something to everyone, especially to those who go through the trouble of sending such lovely comments so regularly.  Well, there is always the next time and I am already plotting what goodies will go into the next giveaway.  I've got a couple of good ideas... :-)

Despite the recent sunshine, my body is still craving comfort food.  Light summer dishes are not on my menu just yet...again, more patience required.  As you have probably gathered by now, I love doing recipes in the oven and one of my favourites is potato gratin.  We have a great big bay tree in the garden, so I use the leaves from it in this supper dish although I dare say it would be just as nice without.

What a great dish!  It can be a side dish or turned into a meal in itself and it never ever disappoints :-)

Mhm, I can imagine it now, all creamy with lots of potato and vegetables and maybe even some ham thrown in for good measure - yum! As usual, I have amended the quantities of cream and cheese and have added more vegetables to make it slightly healthier without loosing its creamy luxurious taste.  I hope you will like this one as much as we do!