Fishcakes

Oaty salmon and cod fishcake recipe - modified from Tesco real food

Ingredients
800g sweet potato, peeled and cubed - I sometimes replace some of the sweet potato with Swede and carrot
2 x 140g skinless salmon fillets, cubed
360g cod fillet, cubed
4tsp wholegrain mustard
100g oats
200g frozen peas
black pepper to taste
oil to fry
salad, to serve

Method
Cook the sweet potato in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender, drain and mash, allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, place the fish in a shallow pan and just cover with water, poach for 5 minutes, until just cooked then drain and flake.
Mix the mash with the fish, mustard, oats, peas and seasoning. Divide into 8 and mould into rounds.
Heat half the oil in a frying pan and fry 4 of the fishcakes for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. Remove and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining fishcakes. Serve with salad.

I love this recipe and everyone I've made it for has enjoyed it too.

Revitalisation

It's been over 6 years since I last updated this page. A lot has changed in my life since then and I think I'm going to try and update it a bit more now, but I may change the purpose a bit from the original idea.

So the new 'rules' are that the recipes I post may not be completely my own now. If I borrow any I will try to give credit though because I'm not an intentional thief.

If I want to talk about a recipe that I've found online I will post a link to it. If it's from a book then I'll either scan it or type it up and give the book details.

So these days I'm doing my best to eat much more protein and less wheat, so I haven't used my amazing cake recipes lately.

Pancake filling

I notice I've been slacking in my posting of recipes on here. How bad of me. Well I have a recipe for a lovely pancake filling for you.

Ingredients:
2 satsumas/clementines
2 heaped teaspoons of sugar
a couple of splashes of lemon juice
4-6 spoons of plain yoghurt
pancakes (make these to your own recipe or follow my one from last year)

Method:

1. juice the oranges.
2. put the juice (both types) and sugar in a pan.
3. heat it up for at least 5 minutes.
4. be careful to stir it because of the sugar.
5. spread the yoghurt on the pancake.
6. drizzle the juice over the yoghurt.
7. fold the pancake.
8. drizzle any remaining juice over the pancake.
9. Serve and eat before it gets cold.
10. p.s. it's best to serve on a warm plate.
    

Strawberry & Yoghurt Cake

A while ago I saw a recipe for raspberry and yoghurt cake on an internet forum type thingy. It seemed an interesting combination, so I kept it in mind. However the recipe had eggs in and as you may or may not be aware I am allergic to the dratted things. So yesterday I had lots of strawberries that needed using up asap and also some yoghurt. So I decided to experiment. The following recipe is what I came up with.

Strawberry & Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients:
12oz plain flour
12oz strawberries (chopped in half)
6oz margarine
4oz brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground vanilla
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 pint plain "live" goats milk yoghurt

1. Set the oven to 170C.
2. Grease and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.
   
3. Stir the flour, sugar, salt, spice and bicarb in a large mixing bowl.
4. Rub the margarine into this mixture with your fingers.
5. Once the mixture has an even consistency, pour the vinegar and orange juice over the mixture and stir well, but quickly.
6. Stir in the strawberries gently, but as quickly as possible. (The vinegar is reacting with the bicarb and making bubbles to help the cake rise so get it in the oven asap).
   
7. Pour the mixture into the tin and pop it in the oven for 1 hour and 45 mins.
8. Test with a cold knife after this time. If it comes out without any cake on it then the cake is ready.
9. Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack to start cooling.
10. Once it is cool enough to touch, remove the cake from the tin and remove the baking paper.
11. Store cake in an airtight container once it is completely cool.

Everything is ready.


The mixture in the bowl.


The final cake.


Yummy! The first slice.

Prawn Stir Fry

I went shopping today and I was wondering what I could buy that would help me use up the prawns and pasta I have because I'm beginning to get a little bored of both prawns and pasta. None of the regular pasta sauces were discounted, so I went to the section with stir fry sauces, but they're all horrendously expensive too. So I thought about all the lovely spices I have on my shelves and wondered what to do with them. I ended up buying lemon juice (65p) and pineapple slices in a tin with pineapple juice (28p). I then came home and concocted one of the best stir fries I've ever had without breaking the bank. So without further ado here is the recipe:

Prawn Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 onion (chopped)
2 handfuls pine nuts
1 handful dried cranberries
1 small tin pineapple slices/chunks in juice
2 or 3 tbsps lemon juice
1/2 inch cube of solid coconut
3/4 big handfuls of pasta shells
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked peppercorns
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
prawns
oil
water

1. Boil a pan of water.
2. Chop onions.
3. Put oil and spices (excluding salt) in a frying pan and add to heat. After a minute or two add onions.
4. Add salt and pasta to boiling water.
5. Stir the onions as they fry for a few minutes.


6. Add the pine nuts and cranberries, continue to stir.
7. After a short time add the coconut and half the tin of juice and half the pineapple and the lemon juice. Continue to stir.
8. Once the pasta is cooked drain off the water and remove from heat.
9. Add the prawns to the frying pan and stir for a few minutes.


10. Finally stir in the pasta and then serve.

Serves 2 hungry people.

**note**
I think the pineapple chunks would work better if they were somewhat smaller than I chopped them.

Thoughts on baking

As I was grating carrots earlier in preparation for baking carrot and orange cake (recipe to follow) I got to thinking about maths and how in many ways it is similar to baking and how that could be one of the reasons why I like both of them. Granted, the product of baking tastes far better than the product of any mathematics. However, the feeling of pride after successfully having got from the start to the finish after following all the right steps in the right order to get to a satisfactory end product is the same in both cases.

Carrot and Orange cake

Ingredients:
12oz plain flour
8oz grated carrot
2oz dessicated coconut
6oz margarine
4oz sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 pint orange juice

1. Set the oven to 170C.
2. Grease and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.
   
3. Stir the flour, sugar, salt, spice and bicarb in a large mixing bowl.
4. Rub the margarine into this mixture with your fingers.
5. Once the mixture has an even consistency, stir in the coconut, followed by the carrot.
6. Pour the vinegar and orange juice over the mixture and stir well, but quickly.
7. Pour the mixture into the tin and pop it in the oven for 1 hour and 45 mins.
8. Test with a cold knife after this time. If it comes out without any cake on it then the cake is ready.
9. Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack to start cooling.
10. Once it is cool enough to touch, remove the cake from the tin and remove the baking paper.
11. Store cake in an airtight container once it is completely cool.
    

Prepare for Pancakes!

Coming up shortly we have Pancake Day. I make tasty pancakes, which I was told yesterday are a bit like crepes.

Ingredients:
12floz water
4 1/2 oz plain flour
pinch of salt
oil (for frying)

1. If you are lucky enough to own a blender put the water, flour and salt in a blender and whiz for 30 seconds. Then go to step 5.
   
2. Otherwise mix the water, flour and salt in a container which can be made watertight. Tupperware is good for this.
   
3. Stir out the biggest lumps with a fork or a whisk.
4. Put the lid on the container and shake vigorously until there are no more lumps in the mixture.
5. Heat some oil (but not too much) in a frying pan until it begins to smoke a little.
6. Pour in the pancake mixture, lifting and turning the pan as you do so, so that the mixture spreads around the pan and remains quite thin all over.
7. Return the pan to the heat straight away.
8. Remember to shake the pan about a bit to loosen the pancake so it doesn't stick.
   
9. Once the mixture has changed from it's raw colour to it's cooked colour all the way through and the edges of the pancake have started to lift and go a little brown it is time to flip the pancake (usually).
10. Cook the other side for a similar amount of time then serve.

As a topping on my pancakes I usually go for the traditional lemon juice and sugar. I have found that freshly squeezed orange is also rather nice with sugar too.
My favourite topping has to be stewed apples with vanilla ice cream.