Rice Pudding

Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks at the old homestead, we have been redecorating our living room, or remodeling as they call it around here, but that sounds rather grand for slapping a bit of paint on. Though we did also install a ceiling fan in preparation for the summer, and replace the door. It’s only taken us three years to get round to it – but there’s always a real shortage of those round tuits around here. :-)

Speaking of the ceiling fan, we had a bit of a close encounter of the reptilian variety. While mucking about in the roof space, we came across a four foot long snake skin – Yikes! Fortunately, there was no sign of its previous owner. (Wipes sweat from brow).

Anyway, enough of the decorating adventures (or misadventures). As you already know, I don’t make many puddings (desserts), but it has been such a cold winter this year that I was craving some nursery food, and rice pudding fit the bill. Whenever I had rice pudding as a kid, I would always put a big dollop of strawberry jam in it and mix it up until it looked like there had been a nasty accident. Nowadays, I prefer to eat it with a few raisins sprinkled on top.

Incidentally, it looks like comfort food will be on the menu for a little while longer yet. Just as we thought that spring had sprung – for the last two days it’s been sunny and a balmy 73F – today it’s been snowing all day. It’s about six inches deep at the moment, with more forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Oh hum! But that’s Oklahoma for ya!

Rice Pudding

No, those aren't rabbit droppings you can see!


Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 2+1
½ cup short or medium grain white rice
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 325F
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add rice and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
• Gradually add milk and cream. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract and bring to a gentle boil.
• Transfer pudding mix to a 7 x 11 x 3-inch baking dish, bake uncovered for a total of 1½ hours, stirring mixture every 15 –20 minutes. Bake undisturbed for the last 30 minutes.
• Remove pud from oven dot with slivers of remaining butter, sprinkle with brown sugar (you can also add a dash of nutmeg if you like), and place under broiler until surface is golden brown.
• Serve sprinkled with raisins, or a dollop of your favorite jam.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Tortellini Soup

Thank you everyone for your messages and e-mails of condolence, I really appreciate your kind thoughts and comments.

Beth at http://jamandclottedcream.blogspot.com/ was asking if I got caught in all the snow during my recent trip to England. Well yes, I did, but other than a very scary drive to Manchester airport, and then the worry that my brother might not be able to get home, I didn’t experience too many problems. I did have to spend my last night in an airport hotel, as the snow was so bad I feared I wouldn’t get to the airport if I left the trip until morning.

Amazingly, despite the airport having been closed for most of the previous day, my flight left after only an hour’s delay. I did, however, have a 5-hour delay in snowy Cincinnati for a 1½-hour flight to Tulsa, where incidentally, it was a balmy 55°F (13°C) at 9:30 at night.



Snow on Christmas Day-Note the Union Jack (British flag)

That didn’t last long though, it snowed here on Christmas Eve, which was all very lovely except that it stuck around until the middle of January, and then the next lot moved in. This has been the coldest winter I have experienced since moving to Oklahoma. In early January we were getting daytime highs of 13°F (-10°C) and nighttime lows of -16°F (-26C), brrrrrr, but perfect for a drop of this hearty pasta soup.

The good news is though, my tulips and daffodils are beginning to sprout, so spring is just around the corner, then I’ll be moaning about the heat. Ho hum! Anyway, enough of my weather witterings, on with the recipe, this is so easy to make and cooks in no time at all, perfect for a mid-week meal. Also, I guess if you use vegetable stock, this dish would be suitable for vegetarians.

Tortellini Soup

Note: I used my tomato gloop mix in this recipe as it already contains tomatoes, peppers, and onions and makes a great base for all sorts of dishes. See recipe here:
http://range-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/08/tomato-gloop-2.html

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ green pepper, cut into small chunks
2 carrots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock.
1 14½ -ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
A couple of teaspoons dried basil
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup green beans, cut into bite size bits
½ cup frozen peas
1 15½ -ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 9-ounce pack of refrigerated three cheese tortellini
Shredded Parmesan to serve

Directions:

• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Sauté onion, green pepper, and carrots for 3 minutes, add garlic and sauté for a further minute.
• Stir in stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, black pepper, and basil, bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add green beans, peas, cannellini beans, and pasta, return to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer for another 7 minutes.
• Serve with a sprinkling of freshly shredded Parmesan and crusty bread.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Sad to say...

I know it’s been a long time since I put in an appearance around here, but my dad died on December 8, and I was back in England until just before Christmas. Dad had not been in the best of health for some time, but the last six months of his life were extremely worrisome.

And the sad news doesn’t end there, I’m afraid. The day after I arrived back in England, Mick phoned to say his mum was seriously ill in hospital, and three days later she died. So we both lost our one remaining parent within a week of each other. Needless to say, Christmas and New Year were a very subdued affair around here. In many ways 2009 was not a good year for us, and it ended in the worst possible way.

Since then, I just haven’t felt like blogging, to tell the truth, I haven’t felt like doing much of anything. But, that’s going to change, and I will be catching up with y’all real soon, in the meantime here’s a recipe.

Chicken and Bacon with a Mushroom and Tomato Sauce

There is some chicken under there somewhere - trust me!

Ingredients:

4 slices thick bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
½ tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Black pepper to taste
1 beefsteak tomato, seeds removed and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Chopped parsley to garnish

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F
• Cook bacon in a large skillet over a medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside to drain on paper towel. Drain all fat from pan but do not wipe clean.
• In same skillet, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Add chicken and a generous grind of black pepper and brown for about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a greased 11x7-inch baking dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Add mushrooms to the same skillet and sauté over a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, basil and another dash of black pepper and sauté for a further minute. Stir in the bacon.
• Remove chicken from oven, spoon tomato/mushroom mixture over the chicken and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return dish to oven to bake for a further 10 minutes.
• Serve with egg noodles, pasta, or rice.
  
  
  

Bonfire Night and Meat and Potato Pie

An American arriving in England on November 5th could be forgiven for thinking the Brits had taken leave of their senses. For on that night, throughout the realm, bonfires blaze, effigies are burned, and fireworks illuminate the night sky. And this has been happening every year since 1605. We do this to celebrate a foiled terrorist attack which would have blown up the Houses of Parliament, killing our King and his government.

On November 4th 1605, Robert Catesby and twelve other conspirators planted 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. A fellow collaborator, Guy Fawkes, was left behind to light the fuse when King James I and his government entered the Houses of Parliament the following day.

Somehow the King discovered the plot, and in the early hours of November 5th, Fawkes was caught red handed and imprisoned in the Tower of London. His fellow conspirators were quickly rounded up, and all were later tried, convicted, and executed (they were hung, drawn and quartered), for the crime of high treason.

When the public learned of the thwarted plot, they lit bonfires to celebrate the King’s safety, and the event has been commemorated ever since.

Because of the Gunpowder Plot, the reigning monarch only enters the Houses of Parliament once a year, at the State Opening of Parliament. And prior to this event, the cellars of the Palace of Westminster are still searched by the palace guards.

I have many fond memories of Bonfire Night.

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November.
Its gunpowder plot,
We never forgot."

So went the rhyme my friends and I sang in childhood, usually in an effort to raise money for fireworks. The other tried and trusted way of obtaining firework money was to make a “guy” ― which usually consisted of some old clothing belonging to one of our dads, stuffed with newspaper. This dummy represented Guy Fawkes, who we would then wheel around in an old pram asking, “Penny for the guy.” Later we burned the guy on our bonfire, which was made from wood, old furniture, and any other combustible material we could find. The bonfire was always situated on some waste ground in our neighborhood.

It wasn’t until the actual night of November 5th that adults would become involved in the proceedings, with dads setting off fireworks and supervising the bonfire, and moms making all sorts of goodies to eat. My mother always made a big meat and potato pie, parkin, (a sweet, sticky cake), and treacle toffee, (a dark caramel candy), or plot toffee as we kids called it. And when the fireworks were gone, and the bonfire had died down, we would bake potatoes in the fire’s embers.

Bonfire Night was a real community affair and went on the length and breadth of Britain. Nowadays, for safety’s sake, the trend is more towards organized firework displays, and, sad to say, the event is rapidly loosing its appeal.

Now, whenever I make meat and potato pie, while the pie bakes, the rich aromas still evoke fond memories of my childhood and the wonderful Bonfire Nights we all shared.

Below is my mum’s recipe for meat and potato pie, although, unlike me, she did make her own pastry. If you make it, try to imagine a land ablaze with bonfires and a sky alight with fireworks, smell the wood smoke and the gunpowder and, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November."

Meat and Potato Pie



Ingredients:
1 lb. stew beef
¼ cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups beef broth/stock
1 large onion, divided, half chopped into big chunks, the other half just chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves

1 rutabaga peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
4 carrots, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
1 refrigerated pie crust (or make your own if you prefer)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons cold water


Directions:

• Put flour in a Ziplock bag, season with cracked pepper, add the beef stew meat and toss until coated.
• In a large soup pot, or Dutch oven heat olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the flour coated beef to the pan, season with more black pepper, and sauté until lightly browned. Add the large chunks of onion (reserve the smaller pieces to go in with the veggies) and sauté for a further minute or so. Add the beef broth/stock to the pan, and bring to boil. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves then reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, throw all remaining veggies into the pan. Return to boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon transfer meat and veggies to a pie dish. Get all the meat out but you will have some veggies left over, you can serve these as a side dish to the pie. Allow filling to cool for about 20 minutes before topping with the pie crust. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 400°F.
• Add crust to pie, brush with beaten egg, cut a couple of slits in the top to allow steam to escape, and bake for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
• About 15 minutes before pie is ready re-heat stock and vegetables. For a thicker gravy mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a little water and add to stock. Serve the veggies and gravy with the pie.
  
  
  

Cajun Chicken Burger

This has been another favorite grilling recipe this summer, these burgers have a lovely mild curry flavor.

Cajun Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
Black pepper, to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 slices bacon, cut in half
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 Kaiser rolls
Mayonnaise
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced.
2 handfuls of mixed greens

Directions:

• Pre-heat BBQ to low
• On a small plate mix together cumin, coriander, paprika, and black pepper.
• Brush a piece of heavy-duty foil with a little olive oil. Cover chicken with plastic wrap and beat with a meat mallet or rolling pin until slightly flattened. Brush chicken with olive oil, and dip in the spice mix until coated, then place on foil.
• Take another piece of foil, fold up the edges to make a small baking tray and add the bacon.
• Put chicken and bacon on grill and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes, (grills vary so cook to desired doneness), bacon should be cooked until crisp.
• Place cheese slices on top of chicken until cheese begins to melt. Toast buns at the same time.
• Spread buns with mayo and top with the cheesy chicken and bacon. You can also add the salad greens and avocado to the buns if you like, but I prefer my salad on the side.
  

Caesar Salad with Chicken and Bacon

Do you ever have one of those weeks? - I know you have - where if something can go wrong, it will. First of all the vacuum cleaner started making the most bloody awful noise, then the fridge gasped its last and gave up the ghost. So, then you’re waiting for the third thing to go wrong, because we all know these things happen in threes, right? In our case the third thing was the chainsaw, so then we heaved a sigh of relief because at least one of the cars didn’t conk out. Suffice it to say that the local Lowes store did very nicely indeedy out of us.

Anyway, enough of that! I know I’ve been very lackadaisical (isn’t that a lovely word?) over the past few months, but I do have a couple of recipes I want to share with you before I wave the summer goodbye. Not that I’m sorry to see the back of it – as you all know, I hate the hot, humid weather. Now that it’s turned cooler I will be seeking out the heat of the kitchen, and curling up with my computer while we get down to some good old comfort foods.

But before that, a farewell to summer. The first recipe is a Caesar Salad with chicken and bacon. This has been my absolute favorite salad this summer, and I’m sure it will be making a few encores over the winter. The second, which I’ll post tomorrow, is a Cajun Chicken Burger, it’s a BBC Good Food recipe that I adapted to cook on the BBQ.

Caesar Salad with Chicken and Bacon

Ingredients:

For the croutons
½ a French baguette torn into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
A sprinkle of sea salt, to taste. (I know I never use salt but I do here).

For the rest

3 slices of bacon, cut in half.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 romaine lettuce, torn into large pieces

For the dressing

½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded + 2 tablespoons for topping
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Black pepper to taste

Directions

• Pre-heat BBQ grill to low.
• In a medium bowl mix bread chunks with olive oil.
• Take a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and turn up the edges to form a small baking tray. Brush with a little olive oil, place bread on foil, crust side up, in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt and set aside.
• Make another small baking tray from foil and add the bacon.
• Cook croutons and bacon on BBQ for approximately 20 minutes, or until both are crispy. Turn bacon and croutons halfway through cooking. Remove both from grill and allow to cool, drain bacon on paper towel.
• Meanwhile, (back at the range), heat olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat and add chicken. Sauté until no longer pink, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for a further 5 or 6 minutes until golden brown. Add garlic and sauté for a further minute. Remove chicken and garlic to a plate and allow to cool.
• While everything cools, wash, dry, and tear lettuce and add to a salad bowl.
• Also prepare dressing. In a small bowl, mix mayo, white wine vinegar, garlic, black pepper, and Parmesan. It should look about the consistency of yogurt, if it’s a bit thick, add a few drops of water.
• Top lettuce with half the chicken pieces, half the croutons, and crumble over half of the bacon. Toss with ¾ of the dressing. Scatter the remaining chicken and croutons on top, crumble over the bacon, drizzle with the rest of the dressing, top with 2 tablespoons of shredded Parmesan, and serve. YUM!
  
  
  
  

Lemon Chicken Chow Mein Salad

I’m sorry to have caused concern and consternation, amazingly, the way things have been going this year, I have not been ill, just busy with other things. My good friend Vicki (see Victoria’s comment on the last post), called me the other day and told me I needed to get back blogging as you guys were missing me. I’ve missed y’all, too, so thanks for the kick up the bum, Vicki. :-)Anyway, we have a long weekend coming up, and I have nothing planned, so I’ll be visiting with you real soon.

In the meantime, I'll leave you all with this scrummy salad recipe, and hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Lemon Chicken Chow Mein Salad


Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
Juice from ½ a lemon
Black pepper, to taste
A drizzle of olive oil
1/2 a package (about 3 ounces) chow mein noodles
A handful of sugar snap peas, (about 4 ounces) halved lengthways
½ yellow (red or orange) pepper, thinly sliced
A handful of beansprouts
A couple of sprigs of fresh basil, leaves removed and torn

Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil
Zest and juice of ½ a lemon
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• Pre-heat BBQ grill to low.
• Brush a large piece of heavy-duty foil with olive oil. Place chicken on foil, drizzle with the juice from ½ a lemon, and add a couple of grinds of black pepper. Seal foil loosely around chicken.
• Place chicken on BBQ and cook to desired doneness. Remove from foil a few minutes before end of cooking time and brown a little on the bars.
• Meanwhile, cook chow mein noodles according to package directions, transfer noodles to a colander, rinse under cold water and allow to drain.
• While noodles drain, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl mix all ingredients together and whisk lightly with a fork.
• Divide noodles between 2 bowls, throw in the sugar snap peas, peppers, bean sprouts and basil. Pour a little of the dressing into each bowl and toss lightly to coat.
• Slice the chicken breasts and arrange on top of the salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.