Recipes

Veggie Chilli

Ingredients

1 courgette
125g mushrooms, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion
1 pepper, sliced
100g sweetcorn or 250g baby sweetcorn
1-2 fresh chilli's or cayenne pepper to taste
2 tsp tomato puree
1 small can of kidney beans,drained and rinsed (this is optional,
I don't use these when I'm going be using the chilli in burritos)

Method

  • Fry the onions and chilli together in a little olive oil until soft
  • Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer
  • Add all the remaining vegetables except the mushrooms which should be added closer to the end
  • Simmer until the vegetables are cooked but crunchy
  • Add the mushrooms (and beans if required) and cook for about 5 more minutes

Serve with rice or a jacket potato and salad. A sprinkling of cheese
is nice too, or try the burritos recipe

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Refried Beans

Ingredients

1 can of pinto beans or red kidney beans
1 clove of garlic, crushed (or more to taste)
1 table spoon of butter / margarine

Method

  • Melt the butter in a pan and add the crushed garlic
  • Heat gently for 2-3 minutes
  • Drain and rinse the beans
  • Add the beans to the pan and heat gently until they begin to soften
  • When beans are soft, mash to a smoothish paste
  • If mixture seems very dry add a little more butter

These beans are perfect in the burritos recipe, or use as an accompaniment to any Mexican dish or simply as a paté.

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Burritos

Ingredients

veggie chilli
flour tortillas
refried beans
Spanish rice - I don't know how to make this from scratch, I just buy the
flavoured packets of rice
grated cheese

Method

  • Heat the tortilla under a medium grill or in a microwave for a few seconds (until warm and pliable)
  • Spread the middle of the tortilla with a layer of beans, chilli, rice and cheese
  • Fold one edge of the tortilla in (assume bottom edge), now roll from right edge to left
  • Eat

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Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 small onion finely chopped
125g mushrooms sliced
1 generous pinch of ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp dried basil or a small handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to season

Method

  • Fry the onions in a drop of olive oil until soft
  • Add the tomatoes, cinnamon and basil and bring to a simmer
  • Add the mushrooms and simmer until they are cooked through

Serve with your favourite pasta and some grated cheese

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Strawberry/Raspberry Delight

Ingredients

3/4 to 1lb of FROZEN Raspberries or Strawberries
10 fluid oz Double Cream
10 fluid oz Natural Plain Yoghurt
6 tblsp Demarara Sugar

Method

  • Whip the cream until it stands in peaks
  • Fold the yoghurt into the cream
  • Place the frozen fruit in a bowl
  • Top the frozen fruit with the yoghurt cream mixture
  • Sprinkle all the sugar over the top
  • Refrigerate over night

This is a brilliant way of using frozen fruit. The pudding looks spectacular and tastes delicious. Don't be tempted to use less sugar than stated in the recipe or whipping cream instead of double. We tried and it failed miserably

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Sweet and crunchy pickles

Ingredients

8-10 courgettes
2 medium onions
2oz salt
18 fl oz vinegar
8 oz sugar
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp mustard powder

Method

  • Slice courgettes thinly and finely chop onions
  • Cover with salt and water and stand overnight or for at least one hour
  • Boil vinegar with spices and sugar
  • Drain liquid from courgettes and onions and rinse them
  • Pour vinegar mixture over veg and soak for 1 hour
  • Reboil for the whole lot 2 minutes and bottle

This is good with cold meat or cheese, or on its own with bread and butter. It can also be eaten straight out the jar with a spoon if you love pickles.



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Made up minestroni soup/stew

Ingredients

2 carrots chopped into small chunks
1 small cabbage sliced
loads tomatoes skinned and chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
mixed herbs
vegetable stock
olive oil
optional (sausage) cut into chunks

Method

  • Sweat the onions, garlic and carrots in the olive oil until onions are soft
  • and mixed herbs, cook for about 10 minutes
  • add tomatoes and mixed herbs, cooks for about 10 minutes
  • add stock, cabbage, (sausage if using) and pasta
  • simmer until the pasta and cabbage are cooked

A good recipe to use up excess tomatoes. This soup is best made a day in advanced it always seems to taste better the next day



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Potato Bake

Ingredients

There are no exact quantities for this recipe, I guess it depends how big the dish is and how much you like cheese,
onion, potato etc ...

Approx: 2 baking potatoes
             1 small Onions
             Quarter pint milk
             2oz of strong cheese
             1oz butter

Method

  • Peel and slice potatoes (approx. half a centimeter to a centimeter thick)
  • Peel and chop onions
  • Grate cheese
  • Lightly grease a small casserole dish with some of the butter
  • Arrange a layer of potato on the bottom of the casserole dish
  • Sprinkle some cheese and some onion
  • Arrange another layer of potatoes on top
  • Sprinkle some cheese and some onion on this and season
  • Continue building up these layers, to fill dish (finishing with a layer of potatoes)
  • Pour enough milk to cover three quarters of layers
  • Dot remaining butter on top (or as much butter as you like)
  • Bake in the oven until potatoes are fully cooked and the top is nicely browned

To reduce the cooking time you can microwave this dish and finish it off in the oven to ensure the top is nicely browned and crunchy (my favourite bit of the dish).


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If you have any more good recipes please send them in by e-mailing rfiirwin@hotmail.com with 'recipes' as your subject line. Thank you.