SASHIMI TUNA TARTARE MARINATED IN SHAOXING RICE WINE VINEGAR AND SESAMEOIL

Gorgeous fragrant aromatically flavoured sashimi grade tuna tartare, a dash of sweet shaoxing wine is balanced with a splosh of sour rice wine vinegar and then a touch of richness from a drizzle of sesame oil makes this a really moorish dish, finished off with a smattering of finely diced sliced spring onions, scallions and fresh hot chilli.

Prep time 10 minutes 

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

200-300g slice of sashimi grade tuna

(this is important due to parasite safety)

1 fresh chilli de-seeded finely chopped

1 spring onion scallion finely sliced

8 large green salad leaves

The Marinade

50ml shaoxing wine

40ml brown or white rice wine vinegar

5ml sesame oil

(This can be tinkered with to suit your own sweet and sour tastes)

Sides

2 pea sizes of wasabi

50g sushi pink ginger

50ml light soy sauce

A simple and easy dish to prepare, take your tuna and with a sharp knife very thinly slice keeping all the slices together, turn the whole piece of sliced tuna ninety degrees and finely slice again, do this twice more and you will have a lovely finely chopped tuna tartare.

Place the tuna in a bowl and pour over all the marinade ingredients and stir in, leave to marinate for an hour or so or up to eight hours max in the fridge, bring out of the fridge one hour before serving to allow the tuna to slightly warm up towards room temperature.  

Serve sprinkled with the spring onion and chilli along with the large green salad leaves that you can use as your edible plate and wraps and sides of pickled ginger, wasabi and light soy sauce.

BIG GIRLS DIET TACOS SUMPTIOUSLY STUFFED WITH GORGEOUSNESS

 These fabulous salad tacos will have you disgracing your manners at the dinner table, there will be lip smacking, ooohs, arrrhs, and lots of face painting with the ingredients !!!  Well that is how my family eat these and that sings satisfaction to me!

Taco Fillings

Potato and chorizo, cheese and sweet chilli jelly, beetroot salad and avocado, garlic butter peppered courgettes.

My family truly don't mind the difference in eating these salad taco wraps rather than the normal corn or wheat wraps, they still get to eat the same burrito, kebab or taco fillings and for me this is an awesome feat as I really thought they would turn their nose up at the triple layered salad leaves as their taco wraps, they also love the family style serving with all the stuffing ingredients lined up so they can individually stuff the taco leaves on their plates to their own choosing.

Prep time 20 minutes /  Serving time 10 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

I like to serve all the ingredients family style with the taco leaves layered ready to stuff on your plates, then fill your taco leaves just how you like them.

Taco Leaves

4 rhubarb chard leaves

4 beetroot leaves

4 green lettuce leaves

Beetroot Salad Avocado

1 beetroot peeled and grated

1 carrot peeled and grated

2 spring onions finely sliced

1 jalapeno diced

1 avocado fork mashed

1/2 lime juiced

Sea salt and black pepper

Garlic courgettes 

1 green courgette sliced

1 yellow courgette sliced

1 clove garlic chopped

1 tsp butter

1 tsp coconut oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Top with beetroot salad

Pan seared chorizo and potato

100g chorizo 

1 lrg potato small diced

1 tsp coconut oil

Top with beetroot salad

Cheese and Sweet Chilli Jelly

100g strong cheddar sticks

1 fresh jalapeno sliced

Sweet chilli jelly

Top with beetroot salad

On a large family serving platter assemble the grated beetroot and carrot, then the spring onions, season and mash the avocado with the lime, jalapeno, salt and pepper and place on the platter, next add the cheddar cheese sticks, sliced fresh jalapeno and the jar of sweet chilli jelly with a spoon in it.

Next heat a non stick pan to a medium heat and pan sear the potato in the coconut oil, these will take approx 15 minutes to cook, after 10 minutes add the chorizo, cook for a further 5 minutes and then place in a serving bowl.

Meanwhile 5 minutes before the chorizo and potato are finished, heat the oil and butter in a medium hot heat and sear the courgettes and garlic for a couple of minutes, season with salt and pepper, place in a serving bowl .

On your two dinner plates place two rhubarb chard leaves, lay a beetroot chard leaf on top of each rhubarb and then the green lettuce on top of that, then stuff away to your likin.

BIG GIRLS DIET SPICY TUNA AND AVOCADO LETTUCE WRAPS WITH A ZESTY LIME MAYO

 Gorgeous simple yet sumptuous lettuce wraps stuffed with pan seared yellow fin tuna, spring onions, red peppers, spicy chilli, coriander, raw grated beetroot and a mashed avocado rippled through some zesty lime homemade mayonnaise.

Prep time 10 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 1)

3 whole lettuce leaves

3 beetroot leaves

4oz yellow fin tuna (or a can)

1 avocado

1 spring onion finely sliced

1/4 red pepper finely diced

1 red chilli finely diced

1 raw beetroot peeled and grated

1 pinch sea salt (Himalayan)

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 lime juiced

Lime Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

100ml organic cold pressed sunflower oil

1 pinch sea salt

1 pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 the lime juice from above ingredients

First I like to make my mayo, this only takes a couple of minutes, in a deep bowl place the egg yolk, white wine vinegar and a tiny tiny dash of sunflower oil, gently whisk, then slowly start to add a drizzle of sunflower oil approx 2ml at a time, incorporating well, once you have added around a third of the oil you can start to add the oil in bigger glugs, gently whisking in, once you have a glorious thick emulsion add the Dijon mustard, seasoning, lime juice and combine.

If you are pan searing your fresh yellow fin tuna, heat a pan with equal amounts of oil and butter, then sear your tuna steak for approx 3-4 minutes on each side, remove from the pan and leave to cool,then flake, if using a can continue from this point.

Place your lettuce leaves on your plate and line each with a beetroot leaf.  In the mayonnaise bowl place your yellow fin tuna, diced pepper, spring onion, diced chilli, avocado, remaining 1/2 of lime juice, sea salt and ground black pepper, gently mix together.

Generously place the filling in a line in the centre of the leaf spreading left to right then roll up from the bottom to the top, place seam side down on your plate, these are best served fresh and cold, they will keep in the fridge or a lunch box for the day.

MOULES MARINIERE AL A CREME

Soooo in the mood for mussels, I am very lucky that I live with one foot in the countryside and one foot on the beach and this morning after a lovely family wonder down the seafront smelling the gorgeous salty sea air we were all in the mood for mussels, with great rock pools and wave cut platforms all along the miles of beach we have we are able to forage our mussels.  

When it comes to cooking this gorgeous shellfish, some of us, (most my family) love them cooked in the traditional way and then their is me who loves them traditional ish! with lashings of double cream, we all agree on a side bowl of French skinny frites and hunks of fresh warm bread that you can dunk dunk and dunk in that gorgeous mussel stock white wine sauce.

Prep Time 10 minutes /  Cooking Time 5-7 minutes

Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

2 kg fresh live mussels

2 tbsp butter

2 glugs olive oil

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced

1 small handful parsley finely chopped

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

1 bottle good quality dry white wine

500ml double cream

Accompaniments

Hunks of fresh warm crusty bread or french skinny frites, (fries).

First fill you sink with cold water and plonk in all the mussels, leave to soak for few minutes then remove, any beards, do this by pulling at any wiry strings until they come away from the shells, these wiry strings are what help the mussel stay attached to rocks.

In two deep pans with lids, divide the butter, oil, diced onion and garlic, gently pan fry until translucence, approx six minutes, crank up the heat to hot and add the mussels half in each pan, toss the mussels in the onions and pop on the lid to create a steam bath.  Leave for one minute, then add half a bottle of wine to each pan and pop the lid back on, leave on a high heat and steam the mussels for 3-4 minutes until all the mussels have opened, holding the lid on the pan shake to stir the mussels.

At this point if you are in the traditional Moules Mariniere camp sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley and serve in all thier glorious white wine juices.  If like me you want the same gorgeous mussels in that white wine stock but with a decadently ramped up double cream richness, then at this point add your double cream, around 250ml per pan will do it, then finish as the traditional with some salt, pepper and parsley.

Serve immediately in deep bowls with hunks of fresh warm crusty bread or even better thin French frites, dunk away, dunk away!

CREAMY COCONUT MADRAS GREEN LEAF BURRITO

Great good for you food that is so gorgeous you won't even realise you are missing that thing you think you can't live without...bread!  Creamy coconut madras chicken stuffed into a rainbow chard leaf burrito wrap with spinach and kale, accompanied with a raw beetroot and hot chilli pepper slaw.

If you want to turn this vegetarian which I often do omit the meat giving you a lovely creamy coconut madras kale and spinach and stuff the slaw in the burrito too.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 5 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp madras curry paste

(recipe below)

2 chicken thighs skin off diced

300ml creamy coconut milk

2 spring onions sliced

1 red chilli diced

1 clove of garlic grated

1" turmeric grated or 1/4 tsp ground

2 generous handfuls of chopped kale

2 generous handfuls of torn spinach

2 large rainbow chard leaves or bok choi

Beetroot Slaw

1 beetroot peeled and grated

1/2 red pepper finely diced

1 red chilli finely diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp fresh lime juice

I like to prep all my ingredients first and place the rainbow chard burrito wraps on my plates ready to stuff.  Heat a pan and add the coconut oil sear the chicken, add the garlic, turmeric, chilli and spring onion and cook for a minute then add the madras curry paste and coconut milk, bring to a simmer, add the kale and spinach and reduce the coconut milk until you have a medium thick sauce, take of the heat.  Meanwhile toss all the slaw ingredients together and place a portion on your plates.

To wrap the burrito place the madras filling in the centre of each leaf reserving a little of the sauce for serving over the finished burrito, then to wrap, bring the top and bottom of the leaf over the filling then repeat with the left and right sides and on the last wrap roll the burrito over so that the seam side is face down, this will keep your burrito firmly wrapped, you can also pick this burrito up and eat as a street walker.  Pour over the remaining sauce in a diagonal across the wrapped burrito.

RAW GREEN AND CLEAN LETTUCE WRAPS

This is a great feel good tastes great love your body lunch, eating this makes me feel so fresh and clean and that I am loving my body back for all I put it through!  For me I am even more satisfied that everything on my plate comes from my garden as this makes me feel more self sufficient and a bit of a mini eco warrior lowering a little of my carbon footprint and giving a bit back

Prep Time 10 mins 

Ingredients

(serves one)

2 eggs

9 whole mixed lettuce leaves

3 kale leaves

3 beetroot chard leaves

1/2 cup of raw fresh peas

2 spring onions sliced

1 beetroot peeled and grated

1 chilli finely chopped

3 tsp sweet chilli jelly (optional)

First bring a deep pan of water to a rolling simmer add the two eggs and set the timer for six minutes, when the cooking time is up, and this is important drain the hot water out and fill with running cold water as fast and safely as you can, this will stop the eggs cooking and give you a set white with glorious soft slightly runny yolks.

Place the three largest lettuce leaves on your plate and layer on the other two leaves and kale then top with the rest of the ingredients, finish off with a drizzle of sweet chilli jelly if you want.

These are also great as a base for topping with spicy piri piri chicken or some Asian spiced ground pork or anything you fancy.

SPICY JALAPEÑO AND POMEGRANATE GUACAMOLE

Quick and easy creamy spicy guacamole with hidden fragrant bursts of fresh vibrant pomegranate and lime with a lovely fiery kick from the jalapenos elevates this dip to the next level, one of my favourite dips to share with great friends and family.

Prep time 10 minutes

Ingredients

(Generous dip for 2 people)

1 large ripe avocado mashed

1 lime juiced

1 small bunch coriander finely chopped

2 fresh jalapenos finely chopped

1/4 red pepper finely chopped

1/2 pomegranate seeds and juice

1 spring onion finely chopped

1 pinch of sea salt

1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper

This is really just an assemble of ingredients, in a large bowl place the avocado and mash to your desired consistency, I like a almost smooth avocado because the rest of the ingredients add back the texture.

Next add all the other ingredients and randomly stir in, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed using the lime juice, salt and pepper, serve with a bowl of corn chips and great company.

If presentation is required I will reserve a few thinly slices of jalapenos and spring onion and keep back a pinch of coriander to sprinkle over the finished dip.

HOMEMADE ALL NATURAL PEPPERMINT MOUTHWASH

This has taken me a while to make, the fact that it is just Vodka and herbs had me a little concerned about gargling that early in the morning with an alcohol & water solution!  Then I payed some attention to my regular mouthwash, (so obvious!!!) and realised there is no difference in the make up apart from the natural ingredients in the mouthwash I was making and the artificial chemicals in the store brought bright blue or lavender mouthwash I have always used.  I have now made my first batch and am very impressed with the results so far and have found this mouthwash has better cleaning properties with a much softer taste.

Prep time 5 minutes / Infusing time 2 weeks

Ingredients

(Makes1 litre)

200ml premium brand vodka

50ml boiled hot water

1 tsp dried ground cloves

2 tbsp dried peppermint leaf

1 tbsp dried rosemary

2 tbsp dried plantain leaf

15 drops of peppermint oil

Method

Put all the ingredients except the vodka in a ball mason jar pour over the hot boiled water, this should just cover the herbs, pour in the vodka and screw on the lid, place somewhere dark for two weeks, turning periodically.  After the two weeks strain the tincture through a fine cheese cloth and store in a glass bottle.  

To Use

Keep a small glass next to the mouthwash, pour 5 ml, one teaspoon of mouthwash into your glass and top up with a mouthful of water and swish, swoosh and gargle away for thirty or so seconds.

What Do These Ingredients Do For Your oral Health

These are natural cleansing herbs that offer healing properties to your teeth and gums by naturally killing germs, alkalising your mouth while also cleansing and freshening.

Cloves

A old traditional ingredient used in oral health, cloves have natural antiseptic, antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Clove oil will smooth toothache or minor cavities until healed by your dentist.

Peppermint

This adds a traditional flavour and was originally used because of its antibacterial properties and is cooling to your mouth.

Plantain

This is antibacterial and anti microbial and again traditionally used in healing wounds for its ability to speed the healing process.

Rosemary

A cooling herb, also antibacterial with a cooling property that is soothing to your gums.

RASPBERRY TART FROM THE GARDEN

I love the beginning of every season and find that towards the end of each season I start to get excited at the prospects of the beginning of the next season, it is a wonderful ongoing perpetual circle of sort of hard work, growth, production and Mother Nature's giving and giving back to Mother Nature.

Right now I am at the beginning of summer and just getting a hint of what this season is going to produce and bring, the summer season for me is the start of the bounty to come from all of springs hard work, a bounty of beautiful free homegrown foods, today just a few strawberries are ready along with a few raspberries, blueberries, black currents and rhubarb perfect for scattering on your breakfast, making jam and pie fillings or making individual tarts.

Prep time 15 mins / Cooking time 15 mins

Ingredients

(Makes 2)

Sweet pastry

(makes extra, keep in freezer for next time)

350g plain flour

small pinch of salt

2 beaten eggs

150g softened butter

100g icing sugar

Tart Filling

60 raspberries plus

30 raspberries for the decoration

100g caster sugar

First make the sweet pastry, place the flour on your worktop and create a well in the centre, place the butter in the well and add the sugar on top, using a pecking pinching action, gently incorporate the sugar in to the butter, then add the beaten egg into this mix and incorporate into the butter mix, once incorporated flick the mixture into the flour and slowly incorporate, bring together and form a smooth ball, wrap in parchment paper and place in the fridge for one hour to chill.  Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees.

Meanwhile, place your 60 raspberries in a saucepan with the sugar a gently heat through until soft and syrupy then turn up the heat and bring to a simmer to reduce the raspberries until thick enough so that you can draw a line through the saucepan and see the bottom of the pan for a split second, take off the heat and leave to cool.

Flour your worktop and roll out the sweet pastry, line your tart tins with the pastry, line the pastry with a piece of baking paper and fill the tart case with baking beans or rice and blind bake for ten minutes, then remove the baking beans and baking paper and pop back in the oven for a further three minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Fill your tart cases with the raspberry jam and top with the reserved whole raspberries and enjoy.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH TOSTADA SALAD

Fresh and zesty corn tostada salad loaded with rich and creamy avocado, sweet caramelised butternut squash, peppered with grated cheese and seasoned pomegranate molasses tossed tomatoes, a gorgeous crunch of fresh zesty sweet flavours in every mouthful.

Prep time 15 mins / Roasting time 30 mins

Ingredients

(serves one)

1 baked corn tostada disk

1 handful of mixed lettuce, spinach and rocket leaves

1 jalapeno sliced

6 baby plum tomatoes, halved

1 spring onion sliced

1 cup of diced butternut squash

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar

1/2 avocado diced

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp coriander

sea salt and black pepper

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees, toss the diced butternut squash in the coconut oil and season with salt and black pepper, place in a roasting tin a roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning once half way through.

Drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the plum tomatoes, then layer all the ingredients on your corn disk and finish off with a scattering of the caramelised butternut squash and enjoy.

WOOD FIRED OVEN SLOW ROASTED SHOULDER OF LAMB

There is something very comforting about cooking with an open flame, whether it is in a wood fired oven or around a fire pit it fills me with great satisfaction even if I set fire to the meat!  It must stir some redundant Cave Woman gene somewhere deep inside of me!  Slow wood fired cooking adds a great depth of flavour you can not achieve any other way and has given us some of the best tasting cave man cooked dinners.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 3 hrs partially attended

Ingredients

(Serves 3-4 Adults)

For The Lamb

(2.5-3hrs cooking)

1 lrg whole shoulder or 2 halves of grass feed lamb

8 carrots peeled 

1 onion skin on quartered

1 leek rough chopped

2 stick celery halved

1 whole bulb garlic halved

2 stems of rosemary

4 pints of water

1 tbsp red current jelly

1 large pinch of sea salt and black pepper

The Stock Gravy

300 ml Madeira or port

1 tbsp soft butter & 2 tbsp flour mixed together

(this is to thicken the stock gravy)

Serve With:

Steamed vegetables: peas, cabbage, carrots

8 floury potatoes & beef dripping for gorgeous roast potatoes 

Fire up your wood oven at least 1-2hrs before you are ready to cook.  I like to have white glowing embers that only need a couple of logs periodically thrown on so that I can roughly control the temperature between 250 - 300 degrees Celsius.

This is a lovely simple one pan cook, place the lamb shoulders in a deep roasting tin, throw in the carrots, onion, celery, garlic and leeks, sprinkle the salt and pepper over the skin of the shoulders, slide the roasting pan in to the wood fired oven for a couple of minutes to crisp up the skin, turning the roasting tin once to keep the browning of the skin even.

Remove from the wood oven and add the rosemary and bay leaves along with the water, you want enough water to almost fully cover the lamb.  Cover the roasting pan with baking paper and then with tin foil, 

Place in your wood fired oven for 2-3 hours,turning the roasting pan every 20-30 minutes and occasionally adding another log to the fire to keep the heat around 250-300 degrees.

After two hours of wood fired cooking, start cooking your roast potatoes and 40 minutes later start cooking the vegetables that your are going to serve with this.

When the lamb is ready around 3 hrs, drain off one litre of the gorgeous cooking liquid into a deep saucepan, add 300 ml of Madeira or port and bring to a rolling simmer, reduce by half, add the butter and flour mix and whisk until incorporated and thickened, add another knob of butter for a rich and glossy finished texture.

SWEET CHILLI MANGO JELLY

Lovely sweet slightly chilli mango hot jelly that goes great with everything!  Cheese and biscuits, curries, salads, sausages just to start with.  Simple to make and keeps for up to a year once canned, fabulously fresh ingredients full of sunshine and no nasties, there simply is no reason for mass produced companies to add preservatives that you just don't need!

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 20 minutes / Canning time 30 minutes

Ingredients

(makes approx 9 8oz jars)

2 ripe mangoes peeled and chopped

200ml water

600g jam sugar

2 red chillies finely sliced

9 8oz quilted ball mason jars washed and dried

Info On Sterilising Your Jars

Stage one to sterilise the jars run them through the dishwasher on a hot wash or wash the jars in hot soapy water, rinse well and leave to dry thoroughly.  Stage two sterilising will take place by placing your jars and lids in a pre-heated 180 degree oven for five minutes just before the mango jelly is ready to can, hot jars and hot jelly equal successful canning.

Making The Mango Jelly

In a thick bottomed pan place the water, chopped mango and chilli, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until you have some soft rounded mango chunks, not pulp.  Take off the heat and add the sugar, stir until dissolved, pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees, then place the saucepan back on the heat and bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes, this will ensure that you reach jam/jelly making temperature of 105 degrees.  If you boil for longer you will make the jelly a firmer stiffer thickness rather than a wobbly jelly consistency.  Take off the heat and place on your worktop ready to decant.

While the mango jelly is boiling, place the dry jars and lids on a baking tray in the oven for five minutes, this will further sterilise the jars.  Remove from the oven and place on your work top ready to fill.

Place a wide mouth funnel in one of the jars and ladle in the mango jelly, leave 1" head space gap at the top of each jar, firmly screw the lids on.  

Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil and place the jars in to the boiling water, the water should cover the jars, simmer for 30 minutes, then remove the jars, tighten the lids if needed.  Leave to cool on the side and wait to hear the most magical sound of canning, Ping, Ping, Ping!  I love this sound of the depressing lids confirming a secure and safe seal, it is a canners symphony!  

Leave to cool and store until needed, once opened keep refrigerated and use withing two weeks, if your jar of mango jelly will even last that long!

GORGEOUS SNEAKY LITTLE TOSTADAS

Theses gorgeous fresh one mouthful mini tostada disks are a sumptuous delight, loaded with fresh guacamole, crisp ice berg shards, spicy zesty pico de gallo, mexi mex shredded cheese, red jalapenos and spring onions.  Great as a snack or served as an accompaniment to a spicy fajitas instead of flour tortillas, you can load these with your favourite nacho toppings, like pulled pork, chilli con carne or lime and coriander chicken.

Prep time 20 minutes

This is a lovely quick assembly of ingredients, no cooking required! 

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

20 small corn disks

1 iceberg lettuce finely sliced

2 red jalapeño sliced

2 spring onions finely sliced

400g mexi mex shredded cheese

300g sour cream

Guacamole

2 avocados ripe

4 garlic cloves grated

1/2 red pepper finely diced

1 spring onion finely chopped

1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

Pico de gallo

2 beef tomatoes deseeded and finely chopped

1 small onion finely chopped

1 red chilli finely chopped

2 tbsp coriander chopped

1/2 lime juiced

1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

Set the corn disks out on a large platter then simple assemble, start with a dollop of guacamole then the ice berg lettuce, followed with the cheese, piled high, top with the pico de gallo, sliced jalapenos and spring onions, serve with a side of sour cream.

I love these as a light lunch, but I also really enjoy loading these up with chicken fajitas, chilli con carne, pulled pork and zesty spicy lime and coriander chicken.

SPICY CURRY ONION PAKORAS

Gorgeously sumptuous curry spiced moorish onion pakoras, bursting with an abundance of fresh sliced onions, coriander, zesty lemon and toasted curry spices.  So simple and so quick to make, a great snack on their own with a sweet chilli dip or as an accompaniment to your curry dinner.

Prep time 5 mins / Cooking time 5 minutes

Ingredients

(makes 12)

1 large Spanish onions finely sliced

2 red chillies finely sliced

1 tbsp curry powder

1 lrg pinch sea salt

1 lrg pinch fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander

1 cup approx chic pea (gram) flour

50-100ml water

500ml ground nut oil for frying

Place all the ingredients except the water in a large bowl and mix evenly, add enough water to form a medium thick batter consistency.

Heat the oil in a shallow frying pan and using a desert spoon, spoon a generous dollop of the onion batter into the hot oil, I cook four at a time, turn only once after a couple of minutes once you have a light brown crust, cook the other side for a couple of minutes, remove and drain on kitchen towel.  Repeat until you have used all the onion batter mix, serve with a sweet chilli or fruity mango dip.

Watch out these are really moorish and you may want to make extra to save any squabbling !

NO TACO TACO'S CHORIZO AND CHILLI CHICKEN STUFFED SALAD LEAVES

Fabulous way to enjoy taco's without the taco!  Crispy salad leaves stuffed with pan fired hot chilli chorizo chicken and crispy butter fried courgettes, loaded with a zesty pico de gallo and finished off with a drizzle of home made sweet mango chilli jelly, with such great flavours and still being able to eat with your hands this is a winner dinner all round.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 7 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 4)

2 Romanian lettuce or Icebergs levels separated 

1 tbsp coconut or olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 cooking chorizo sliced

6 skinless boneless chicken thighs diced

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 red chillies sliced

1 courgette finely sliced

Finishing Touches

1 sliced chilli

1 tbsp coriander chopped

1 handful rocket

1 lime 

Pico de gallo

2 large tomatoes finely diced

1 small onion finely diced

1/2 red pepper finely diced

1 clove of garlic finely diced

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

1/2 lime juiced

Home Made Sweet Mango Chilli Jelly

(Only takes a few minutes to make)

Put every thing in a sauce pan and simmer for five minutes until thick and pulpy, that's it!

1 ripe mango chopped

50ml water

1/2 cup preserving sugar

6 red chillies finely chopped

This comes together quite quickly, so first make your pico de gallo salsa, just mix all the ingredients together, next make the sweet mango chilli jelly.  Prep the finishing touches and place the lettuce tacos on each dinner plate ready to stuff.

In a medium hot saucepan melt the coconut oil, gently pan fry the chorizo and chicken until cooked, and all that gorgeous paprika infused oil has been released from the chorizo adding great flavour to the chicken.  In a separate pan melt the butter and pan fry the courgette until crispy, this adds a lovely nutty flavour from the butter.

To serve fill the lettuce tacos with the salsa then the chicken and chorizo, top with some of the courgette and finish off with a drizzle of mango jelly, sprinkling of chillies, coriander and a squeeze of lime.

MY FIVE FAMILIES ITALIAN CANNED TOMATOES

Fabulous for the shelf for any self sufficient family.  Gorgeous canned tomatoes ready to go straight from the shelf infused with wet garlic, onions, celery, leeks, herbs and a generous glug of red wine makes this base sauce great for napolitana, ragu, chilli con carne and moussaka.

Makes 12 (1 pint) jars / Prep time 30 mins / Cooking time 3 hrs / Canning time 40 mins

Ingredients

(makes 12 jars)

20lb ripe red heirloom tomatoes

2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

2 large onions finely chopped

1 bulb of garlic grated

1 leek finely chopped

2 sticks celery finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh oregano

2 tbsp fresh thyme 

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

500ml good quality red wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

1-2 tbsp sugar

Canning

12 (1 pint) ball mason jars sterilised

(run the jars and lids through a hot wash in your dishwasher & dry thoroughly)

1 deep canning saucepan

In a large deep saucepan melt the coconut oil, gently soften the onions, garlic, leek and celery for ten minutes, add the red wine and reduce by half, next add the tomatoes and sugar, cook these for couple of hours, as the tomatoes melt they will create more sauce, stir occasionally, while stirring remove any tomatoes skins you see, I do it this way so as not to have to scald and peel hundreds of tomatoes before hand, I kinda figure if I am going to be standing over a pot I can remove the skins then.

When your tomato sauce is pulpy, season with the sea salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and lemon juice taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.  When you are happy with the flavour and consistency of your tomatoes then you are ready to can them.

Pre heat your oven 180 degrees and bring your canning saucepan of water up to a rolling simmer, meanwhile take the clean sterilised ball mason jars remove the lids and place both lids and jars on baking trays and pop in the oven for 5 minutes, no longer.  

Remove from the oven and place next to your tomato sauce, hot sauce in to hot jars, leaving one inch head space at the top of the jar, using a chop stick stir each jar to remove any air bubbles, screw on the lids and then lower using your canning tongs in to the simmering water, the jars need to be covered by a few inches of water at all times, simmer for 40 minutes, topping up the water with more boiling water as needed to keep the jars covered.

Remove when cooking time is done and leave on the side to cool, this is my most favourite time, waiting to hear the ping ping ping of self sufficient lids sealing, brings a smile to my face every time.  Once cooled check lids and tighten the outer rings if needed, store in your larder and leave for at least a week to improve before using, these will last up to a year.  

Any jars that have not ping sealed, pop in the fridge and use within a week.

HOMEMADE SHAMPOO BARS

So simple just three ingredients...

 Outstandingly fabulous super sudding natural scented hair cleansing shampoo bar recipe that delivers everything I asked for, gorgeous hair, organic, natural and sustainable ingredients, simple to make, I am never going back to store bought !!!  

 I confess I have been avoiding making my own soaps for a quite a while, with a few failed attempts under my belt and a few Christmas presents that may have been a lovingly wrapped bar of soap when I gave them only to end up a gooey pile of fat on a friends wash basin the following morning had not inspired me to hurry back and try again.  What I needed was not to be afraid of using lye and the saponification process, turns out it is incredibly simple and no more dangerous than boiling an egg!

Prep time 10 mins / Cooking time 45 minutes / Setting time 4 hrs / Rack drying time 3 weeks

Your shampoo bar is ready to use immediately but leaving the bars to condition for three weeks improves the quality of the shampoo.

Ingredients

(makes 12 bars)

Measure exactly

986g coconut oil

168g lye

340g filtered water in glass jug

28g grapefruit essential oil

Equipment

1 saucepan and lid

1 metal spoon

1 ltr glass jug

small glass bowl

stick blender

glass mould (loaf tin)

parchment lining paper

Method

Place the coconut oil in your saucepan and on a really low and heat melt, meanwhile preferable outside take the jug of water and add the lye to the water, stirring for a few minutes, it is important to do this in that order, more below why.  Leave to cool (not un-attended) for five minutes then slowly add to the coconut oil, using your stick blender blend until you have ribbons (trace).

Pop the lid on and leave to cook for 45 minutes, periodically have a peek, you will see that the sides are rolling up the side of the saucepan and folding back down a bit like a rolling wave, if your heat is to high you may find the rising wave push the lid off.

You will know when your soap has saponified and is ready either use a ph indicator strip and you are looking for a ph between 7 - 10, the other way is the consistency should look like vaseline and there will be no puddles of oil on the top of the soap.  It is important that the lye has been cooked out otherwise the soaps ph will be to high and will burn your skin, more information below on this.

Spoon your soap into your mould  and leave to cool, this soap is to hard to cut once set, so after a couple of hours turn the soap out and cut into your bars, place on a wire rack and leave to air for a few weeks to improve the condition of your shampoo.  Store for future use.

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN SHAMPOO SOAP?

Why Not I Say!  Firstly it is great fun making your own products, it gives me a sense of pride knowing that I am being self sufficient and importantly knowing what is in the products my family uses, secondly for £5 I have over a years supply of excellent shampoo for my family, but lastly and most importantly for me it is made with natural ingredients there are no harsh petrochemicals and toxins in the shampoo soap which means it is greener for my family and the environment.  

Having said that, I was concerned about lye and assumed as the store brought lye comes with a bright orange toxic warning label it was a toxic chemical, something I would never use but then reading that the saponification process removes all trace of lye in the finished shampoo soap still left me concerned as I know with processing vegetable oils, companies use toxic chemicals that would otherwise kill you to separate the oil and then process off the toxic chemical so that the vegetable oil is fit for human consumption, this does not sit comfortably with me and I would never feed this to my family, so would I make and use soap with  method I whole heartily disagree with?

I did some further research on my lack of knowledge about lye and I discovered that unlike modern chemicals lye is a naturally occurring substance that has been used for thousands of years, this is a standard I am happy with, naturally occurring products, Nature vs Man Made.

Further research lead me to learn that that my great grandmother would have made her own lye by burning hardwood ashes, homemade lye allowed for the error of each batch being a little different, this meant that when adding the lye to a recipe there was the chance that too much lye could be added and during the cooking not all the lye would saponificate leaving some behind in the finished soap, this would mean the soap would cause skin irritations and mild burns.  By using store bought natural lye you will ensure quality control and safe soap making.

SO HOW DANGEROUS IS LYE?

Well how dangerous is boiling an egg?  It really is a case of respect, when adding lye to water you create a reaction called saponification of heat and vapour, this stage is not rocket science but you do need to respect the lye, just as you would respect a pan of boiling water, you would not go splashing that around would you!  When mixing your lye always do so in a well ventilated areas, preferably outside and wear gloves and goggles, maybe even a ventilation mask, devote your full attention to the task in hand, don't leave the lye un-attended and certainly don't let any little people near this process, 

SCIENCE BIT - SAPONIFICATION

That is my my word of the week !  What exactly is saponification, apart from a fun word to say!  Saponification is  a process that produces soap.  Animal or vegetable fats are the main ingredients that are saponified, These fats, triesters called triglycerides, are a mixture derived from diverse fatty acids.  Triglycerides can be converted to soap.  In a traditional process like this one, the triglyceride is mixed with lye which under heat accelerates cleavage of the ester bond and releases the fatty acid salt and glycerol making soap.  Homemade soap keeps the glycerol and that gives the soap more moisturising and nourishing properties, commercial soaps have no glycerol, it is removed and sold as a separated product, lowering the quality of some store brought soaps.

HOMEMADE LIQUID HAND SOAP

Another great successful recipe that is so quick and easy to make and works really efficiently, the feel good factor is not only in that my family now have a all natural daily hand soap, but we are lowering our carbon footprint and helping to reduce our effect on landfill, a winner all round!

This cost £0.30 pence and five minutes to make and lasts for approximately 125 uses.

Ingredients

(makes 800ml - filled 5 Jars)

15g Dr Bonner's Magic Soap

800ml distilled or filtered water

Bring the water to a boil and take off the heat, grate the magic soap and sprinkle in to the hot water, using a balloon whisk gently whisk the mixture until the soap has dissolved, leave in the pan to cool and every now and then when passing give another whisk, this is to help keep the mixture emulsified.  Once cooled decant into your hand soap container and that's it!

JIMICA AND POMEGRANATE SLAW

Light fresh zesty take on the traditional creamy coleslaw, this is a lovely summer slaw made with julienned jimica, broccoli stem, carrots and finely sliced red onion tossed a light olive oil and apple cider vinegar seasoned dressing, finished off with a peppering of pomegranate seeds that add a burst of fragrant sunshine.

Prep time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

1/2 jimica julienned 

1 carrot julienned 

1 red onion finely sliced

1 broccoli stem julienned 

1/2 pomegranate 

110ml cold pressed olive oil

50ml apple cider vinegar

Sea salt

Black pepper

1/2 juice lemon

1 tbsp torn coriander 

In a large bowl mix the jimca, carrot, broccoli and red onion together.  In a glass jug mix the oil and vinegar together, add a tbsp of the lemon juice and season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, taste and adjust if necessary with more oil, lemon or vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the julienned slaw, toss evenly, take the pomegranate half with the cut side facing down over the slaw, using a spoon bash the outside this will allow all the pomegranate seeds to fall out with ease, mix into the slaw, sprinkle over the torn coriander and enjoy.

This is great on its own as a side dish, add spicy chicken to make a great salad, or use as a bed on a stuffed flat bread kebab and is great as a accompaniment for tacos.