03/12/2009 by D.

1 mug basmati rice
2 mixed peppers (red/green/orange or yellow)
2 tomatoes
8 mushrooms
1 onion
1 german smoked sausage (like the matteson’s ones) *
1 stock cube (beef or veg)
1 cup water (or white wine)
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp dark soy

Cook the rice by adding two mugs of cold water, bring to boil, then leave to simmer until the water is evaporated.  Turn off the heat (drain any remaining water), give it a good stir  and put a lid on the pot to let it fluff up.  Meanwhile chop all the veg. 

Cut the sausage in half lengthwise, then chop from the end, creating semi-circles.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sausage (or tofu) on high in a single layer until it well browned on both sides.  Place on kitchen paper to absorb the grease and allow them to cool a little and go a bit crunchy.

Pour out any extra oil, then add the veg and fry until it begins to soften.  Crumble in the stock cube and stir well.  Add a little water or white wine if it is too dry (depends on how juicy the veg is).  Stir in the rice and season with soy sauce to taste.

To serve, spoon the rice mix onto plates and top with the sausage.

This is a really hearty supper with a deep savoury flavour and a lovely crunchy topping.  You just need to hide the sausage once fried, else it gets eaten before the rest of the dish is cooked.

*For a veggie version of this you can use smoked tofu, though it doesn’t go quite as crunchy, or you can do soy sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  To make them dry-fry the seeds in a hot pan until they start to brown.  Then add dark soy sauce and stir like crazy until you end up with a marmity mass of seeds.  Tip them onto a cold plate to cool, then serve in a bowl to sprinkle over the rice mix.  They make a great snack too.

Posted in Rice, German, Pork Sausage, Soy sauce, Sunflower seeds, Pepper, Onion, Tomato, Mushroom, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

21/10/2009 by D.

fruit: conference pears, cox apples, bananas, lemon, honeydew melon
veg: spinach, butternut squash, button mushrooms, carrots, ambo potatoes, onions, beetroot, reddish green peppers

The bags smell lovely and earthy tonight and those mushrooms look delicious!  I’m pleased to see plenty of pears too, so poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice cream will definitely feature this week as a recipe.  I also fancy a retro melon and prosciutto starter; very popular with both the babies!

The mushrooms are either going into a mushroom barley bake, or will be wiped, stalk trimmed and dipped in garlicky egg, then breadcrumbs and shallow fried in hot groundnut oil.  Yummy with some thick herby greek yoghurt (oh alright then, or garlic mayonnaise!).  The butternut squash will be stuffed, and I’m going to bake the beetroot at the same time, for a beetroot, feta and red onion salad later in the week.  The spinach will probably be curried along with the potatoes and carrots.  I’m getting very hungry now: I just have to decide which one is for supper!

Posted in Garlic, Melon, Feta, Beetroot, Mushroom, Pear, Weaning, Toddler, Onion, Organic Box | Print | 1 Comment »

08/10/2009 by D.

tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 fresh chilli peppers
300g minced beef
8 ripe tomatoes
8 mushrooms
1 yellow or red pepper
1 mug beef stock (from cube)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tin kidney beans, drained
2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp ketchup or 2 tsp sugar
1 pack nachos
2 cups grated cheddar

Chop onion, mince garlic.  Chop mushrooms, tomatoes and pepper into cubes.  Chop the chilli peppers (put one chopped chilli aside for serving with the nachos).  Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and stir for a minute or two, then add the mince and make sure it separates and mixes with the onion.

When meat is brown, add the stock, cumin, chilli, veg and beans.  Leave to simmer, stirring occasionally until you can see orange bubbles on top and the tomatoes start to come apart.  Add the soy and stir, then taste.  If the tomatoes are really sweet, you won’t need the ketchup/sugar.  Generally you will, so add it now.  Leave to cook for another 10 minutes or so.  Then stir and taste again, season as necessary.

When you are ready to serve, heat the grill.  Spread the nachos out on a baking tray and sprinkle them with the leftover chilli pepper, then the grated cheese.  Grill until the chips start to brown and the cheese melts (really quick, about 2 mins so don’t wander off!).  Serve in bowls, with the nachos in the middle of the table.  It is nice to have some bowls of thick yoghurt or sour cream with it too (and salsa and guacamole if you are really going to town).  A bonfire night treat come early.

Posted in Mushroom, Pepper, Mexican, Tomato, Beef, Recipe, Chilli, Toddler | Print | 1 Comment »