Moroccan meatballs with cous cous

Winter is creeping in and the annual yearning for red meat continues to escalate. Many meat dishes take a long time to prepare and to cook. It is nice then to have something which is quick, easy and tasty. This is tried and tested – a firm family favourite.

Ingredients
1lb lamb mince
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 medium onion, chopped finely
Parsley, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
Some sunflower oil for frying
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
Tin of chopped tomatoes in own juice
1lb cous cous
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
1. Mix meat, ½ tsp cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper, half the chopped onion and half the chopped parsley
2. Make into small meatballs (size of walnuts)
3. Fry in the heated oil
4. Remove meatballs
5. Fry the rest of the onion and garlic in the same pan, coating with the mix
6. Add the rest of the cumin.
7. Add meatballs and toss completely in this mixture
8. Add the tin of tomatoes and remaining chopped parsley
9. Prepare the cous cous as per the instructions on the pack. I cover the bowl with cling film while the water or stock is being absorbed
10. Fluff up the cous cous, add the butter and mix throughly
11. Season with salt and pepper
12. Add in lemon juice into meatballs mixture just before serving.

Baking and stuff, Chocolate Sponge Cake, Family Stories and Food, Mum and Baking

Mum’s rare chocolate cake

Mum was a brilliant baker – for others but not for us. For charity, for church, she would bake, bake, bake but on the home front, she always limited confectionary. There was no philosophy to it – she simply didn’t lavish us with sweet treats. Pals reminisce about how fascinated they were to always find biscuits in our house when they’d be scoffed within minutes of leaving the shopping trolley in their homes.

We did get treats some Sundays – a couple of chocolate biscuits and a glass of cold milk. Jelly and long life cream. Tinned fruit salad and…eh…long life cream. A sliver of HB Vanilla ice-cream served between two wafers or covered with broken Flake chocolate. Angel Delight. And a dessert I have never encountered anywhere else – never, ever – whipped jelly (long life cream optional). Dad was a little more in tune with the sweet tooth needs of youngsters, sneaking in the odd Kit Kat or bar of chocolate, neatly tucking the contraband into the creases of the Evening Press newspaper.

In the run up to Christmas, Mum would religiously slave over a cake and puddings, intoxicating the fruit with oodles of alcohol taken from a generously (over)stocked drinks cabinet. Then she would get annoyed when no one ate any – that included herself! One time it all got too much for her. She threw down her wooden spoon in a fit of rage, refusing to be a slave to tradition and so no cake or puds were prepared that year as she continued her one-woman-protest. Her sense of victory was immense but short lived. Picture the poor woman’s face when she received not one, but seven, Christmas cakes as gifts. We sat with the hoard of iced blocks adorned with snowmen and plumb Santas in the middle of the table – looking at them aghast. Mum hated waste and we feared we might be forcibly fed the whole lot. Re-gifting was the only sensible way to go.

On her all too rare moments of madness, she would make chocolate cake. Light and delicate, we would savour each rationed piece. I would marvel at the criss-cross pattern on the top. In later years, I learnt there was no great mystery to this but merely the result of cooling sponges on a wire rack!

The Teen likes this cake too but only as a mildly acceptable alternative to my own recipe (which teeters on the verge of being throttled to death by chocolate!). For her, it is an option but never a substitute. Not being a mad fan of chocolate, I prefer this lighter version. It is all a question of taste.

When the Teen was a tot she was horrified at my dislike for all things chocolate. At the tender age of three, she proclaimed that ‘Real mummies like chocolate, drink tea, wear skirts and walking shoes.’ As I complied with none of these conditions at the time, I failed to make the ‘Really Mummy’ grade! Thankfully, the tiny tot wasn’t as disappointed with the cake.

Mum’s Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
For the sponge
8 ounces self-raising flour
10 ounces margarine
8 ounces castor sugar
4 large eggs
4 level tablespoons of powdered drinking chocolate
2 tablespoons of milk

For the filling
4 ounces butter
8 ounces icing sugar
Few drops of vanilla essence
1 tablespoon of milk
1½ tablespoons of powdered drinking chocolate

Method
1. Preheat the oven at 175 C
2. Combine flour, margarine, castor sugar, eggs, drinking chocolate and milk in a bowl and beat well for two minutes with a cake mixer
3. Put into two greased and floured 8 inch tins
4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes
5. Turn out on a wire rack to cool
6. To make the filling – cream together the butter, 8 oz icing sugar and powdered drinking chocolate
7. Add the vanilla essence and milk until blended
8. When the sponges are cold, spread the icing on one side and sandwich the two together
9. Lightly dust the top with icing sugar.

Soups, Vegan, Vegetable Soup with Barley, Vegetable Soup with Barley, Vegetable with Barley

‘Baby teeth’ optional

We’re all about soups this month. I make them, the Teen guzzles them – win-win situation. Sometimes, however, I tire of clever soups and simply want something warm and comforting. And quick to make and cheap!

This vegetable soup I make is one of the Teen’s favourites. Not only does she like the flavour, she adores the fact that it is a one pot soup with no blender etc. to wash up. There’s another reason we like this soup – it contains a good dollop of nostalgia. I usually cook up a pot on ‘St Stephens Day’ or ‘Wren’s Day’ as called at home. Turkey and ham sandwiches and homemade vegetable soup – a feast fit for kings!

This is a soup with bits. Rather than spend countless hours chopping vegetables neatly, this involves chopping them any which way, throwing them into the pot, cooking the soup and then using a potato masher to break it all down. Simple!

Removing the chicken stock makes it vegetarian and then using only sunflower oil will make it vegan. Removing the butter also makes it dairy free. I am unsure how well it freezes – there are never any leftovers.

Barley can be added too. About half a cup, soaked for half an hour and cooked with the soup makes it more of a meal than a snack. I like barley now – I refused to eat it when little as I was convinced they were ‘baby teeth’. No amount of effort on my mother’s part could convince me otherwise!

Vegetable Soup with Barley

Ingredients
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 ounce butter and one tablespoon sunflower oil (or two tablespoons sunflower oil)
2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or a good sprinkling of dried herbs
1 level teaspoon, dried mix herbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to season
Half cup of barley

Method
1. Melt the butter and/or oil
2. Fry the onions for a few minutes until translucent
3. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for a few minutes
4. Add the stock, herbs and ground pepper (the amount of salt added will depend on the stock used and personal preference)
5. When the vegetables are soft, used the potato masher to break them down
6. Serve hot with crusty bread or brown bread.

Spiced Cauliflower, Spiced Cauliflower Soup, Spiced Cauliflower Soup

Spiced Cauliflower Soup

So the Teen likes soup. Well, not just any soup. She doesn’t like ‘the creamy stuff’ as she calls it, dismissing it as ‘a bit cloying.’ I face a conundrum – she’d like cauliflower soup but with no milk, cream or coconut milk in it. All the recipes I have add some form of creaminess to the mixture.

After looking through a few, well-thumbed, cookbooks, I conjured up the following recipe to tickle the taste buds of my attic-dwelling teen. I wanted to combine what seemed like the best aspects of a few and then to give it a try-out. A culinary experiment, as it were.

And she loved it and so did I (which is strange as I am not a great fan of soup or anything which is a measure of ‘sameness’ in a bowl!).

I used butter as it gave a richness to the soup but that’s a personal preference. This recipe can be made to suit vegans by changing the butter to two tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil and not using chicken stock (eh…obviously!). Removing the butter will also make the recipe dairy-free.

We liked the addition of cayenne pepper as it gave it a little kick but again, that is simply our preference. The soup will be tasty without it too. As I used a commercial stock, I left out salt as there was already plenty. We didn’t feel the need to add more. And it also freezes perfectly.

What can I say? R-e-s-u-l-t!

Spiced Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, washed and cut into chunks with the stem and greens removed
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 ounces butter or 1 ounce of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil or two tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 pint chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the onion until soft
2. Add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes
3. Add the spices and fry for another couple of minutes
4. Add the cauliflower and coat with the spiced onion mix
5. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer
6. In about 15 minutes, when the cauliflower is cooked, place it in a blender and blitz until smooth
7. Return to the pan
8. Heat through
9. Season with salt and pepper.

Beef, Family Stories and Food, Goulash, Goulash with Issues

Goulash with issues…

From toddler to post-teen, I spent oodles and oodles of time in Spain. No – to my shame – I never mastered the language and no, I never developed an ability to tan. Pale Irish skin and auburn hair meant the most I could manage was a light beige after months (and months) in the sun. I resented my parents so much – I was convinced that if I could only go to the local caravan park like some of my pals I would be golden brown…

Why all this time on the Costa? Many of Dad’s business interests were in the area. Well, in the area is stretching the imagination. If he brought us with him, it meant wrenching us away from our house on the beach, strapping us into the car, ordering us not to speak to one another (as one word could always erupt into a fight) and making us endure what has never been surpassed as ‘the’ most excruciating journey. Miles and miles travelled in a hot car with no air conditioning in sweltering heat with a child (me) who got car sick on a level only equalled by the the girl in the Exorcist.

This was no ordinary trip. It involved dirt tracks and winding around hairpin bends until we reached the top of a mountain. There we would alight from a hot car into blistering heat with no breeze and among us, a child (me) who reeked of stale ‘parmesan’. Happy days – not!

Spanish food is still a firm favourite but Spain is also where I was first introduced to Goulash. Near where we lived was a restaurant called ‘El Conejo Loco’ (the mad rabbit) run by a Hungarian beauty and her frequently inebriated Spanish husband. There were many heated exchanges between the two and pots full of drama. To a child, it seemed funny but when I look back, we dined regularly in the middle of a never-ending domestic war. She would hold the balance, smile at the guests while he swiped bottles of brandy and reverted back into the kitchen where he would roar demands, laugh loudly and cook brilliantly. Except for one dish. That was her domain. She made Goulash like her mother made and it was divine.

While others gazed at perfectly cooked Gambas (and they stared back with their beedy little eyes), I would tuck into a plate of Goulash served with noodles and a dollop of sour cream. It was simply the best thing ever. I always wish I had got the recipe but I was precocious enough without stalking elders to ask for recipes too.

Now, when winter sets in, Goulash is made and served exactly as all those years ago. It will never equal that lady’s but it is definitely a firm favourite in our home. It is meant to contain beer but I leave it out – mainly because I like to drink rather than eat the stuff! Here’s the recipe I cook and it is one of those wonderful dishes which indeed tastes better the day after.

Goulash

Ingredients
1½ lb rib steak, cubed
3 level tablespoons flour
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, seeds removed and sliced
2 level teaspoons Paprika
3 level tablespoons good quality tomato puree
Nutmeg, a pinch freshly grated
Salt and pepper
2 ounces plain flour
½ pint beef stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
¼ pint of ale (optional)
1 Bouquet Garni
Oil for frying

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven at 160c
2. Place the 3 tablespoons of flour on a plate. Season with salt and pepper
3. Toss the beef pieces in the flour
4. Fry the onion and pepper in the oil until soft for about 3-4 minutes
5. Add the meat and fry for about five minutes until golden brown
6. Add the paprika and fry for another minute
7. Reduce the heat
8. Add the tomato puree, nutmeg and flour and cook for another couple of minutes
9. When the flour is cooked, gently add the stock and mix, making sure to eliminate any lumps
10. Add the tin of tomatoes
11. Season with salt and pepper
12. Transfer to a casserole dish
13. Add Bouquet Garni
14. Cook slowly for about 1½ hours
15. Remove the Bouquet Garni and add the beer
16. Leave stand for about 15 minutes
17. Serve with noodles and sour cream. Alternatively, it can be served with mashed potato.

Soups, Spiced Butternut Squash, Spiced Butternut Squash Soup, Spiced Butternut Squash Soup, Spiced Cauliflower, Vegan, Vegetarian

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Winter dawned yesterday when I was reduced to wearing the dreaded tights! URGH! I hate them but needs must and all that.

And with the cold comes the greater need for soup. Technically, a slow release food, soup is great. Spiced Butternut Squash Soup is one of the teen’s favourites. I like it because it is so easy to make and it fills the house with the really warm and comforting aroma of spices. She likes it because it is tasty and smooth enough in texture to fit in her flask for college. A winner all round methinks!

Here’s the recipe.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
(Serves 4)

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, chopped into large chunks with the skin left on but seeds removed
1 large onion, skin removed and halved
1 dessert spoon, coriander seeds
1 teaspoon, mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sea salt and ground pepper
Extra Virgin olive oil
1 pint vegetable

Method
1. Preheat the oven at 180c
2. Place the chunks of butternut squash on a baking tray, skin down
3. Add the halved onion
4. Sprinkle with spices
5. Season with sea salt and ground pepper
6. Cook in the oven until the flesh is soft (about 30 minutes)
7. Allow to cool
8. Scoop the spiced flesh off the skin and put in a liquidiser
9. Add the stock
10. Liquidise until the texture is smooth and all ingredients are blended
11. Pour into saucepan to heat and season to taste
12. Serve on its own or with a swirl of cream.

Kofta, Lamb

Lamb Kofta – a versatile feast

In our home, Lamb Kofta is one of the handiest dishes as it is quick to prepare and adapts to all seasons. In Summer, I serve this with flatbreads or pitta, wedges of lemon and salad. Side dishes include plain yoghurt, baba ganoush, yoghurt with mint, raita, roast vegetables (strips of red peppers and red onion) or all of them if we have company!

In Winter, these Lamb Kofta are delicious served with pilau rice, steamed spinach or roasted vegetables (aubergine, red pepper and slivers of red onion) and a yoghurt accompaniment. It’s not the authentic way to serve them but it has got the thumbs up from the teen and many visitors (including the numerous au pairs who have wandered through our lives).

Lamb Kofta

Ingredients
1lb lamb, minced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper or 1 green chilli, chopped finely
½ rind of lemon, grated (more if you prefer)
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl
2. Mix together thoroughly
3. The mix can be made in advance and left in the fridge until needed
4. Using a small ice cream scoop, measure out into equal meatball size
5. These can be fried as meatballs in a little sunflower oil for a few minutes on each side until brown. I prefer to put them on a tray with no oil in the oven at 180c for about 10 minutes
6. Alternatively, two meatballs can be moulded onto a skewer in a sausage shape and grilled. They should be grilled at a medium to hot heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side until brown
7. They are best served hot but can be eaten cold too.

Carrot and Ginger, Carrot and Ginger Soup, Carrot and Ginger Soup

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Recently, I enjoyed a lovely evening with my pal, Nuala. Good food, laughs, memories and wine – always a winning combination.

She was raving about the Carrot and Ginger Soup she had eaten earlier. I’d made Carrot Soup before but the addition of ginger was new. As the teen is a major fan of soup, I decided to give it a go. The verdict? ‘Best. Soup. Ever!’

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil
1½ lbs carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium sized onion, chopped
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 pint good quality vegetable stock
Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to season.

Method
1. Heat oil
2. Fry onion for 2 minutes
3. Add ginger and fry for another 3 minutes until the onion pieces are soft and translucent
4. Add in the carrots and mix until coated with the onion and ginger
5. Cook for a few minutes
6. Add the nutmeg
7. Add the stock and orange juice
8. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the carrots are cooked and soft
9. Season with salt and pepper
10. Place in an electric blender and blend until a smooth liquid
11. Return to the heat and serve immediately.

Noodles with Spicy Pork

Fast food isn’t all bad

Listening to someone dismiss ‘fast food’ out of hand annoys me. Food should be fun and there has to be room in someone’s life for treats as well as healthy options – as long as treats don’t colonise daily eating patterns.

People are often too quick in their rebuking of ‘fast food’ without considering what it actually means. Fast food means…eh…food prepared fast. It may include the expected high fat, salt and sugar foods but there are also many, many, healthier dishes which fall under this title.

Omelettes and other egg dishes, pasta and curry pastes can be made, cooked and on the table quicker than it takes the ‘Man with the Van’ to deliver a take-away. There’s no secret to this. Simply having good staples in the fridge and dry larder and off you go.

Here’s one of the teen’s favourites from when she was small.

Noodles with Spicy Pork
(4 servings)

Ingredients
1lb pork, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ inch ginger, minced
4 spring onions, sliced sideways
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 dessert spoon yellow bean paste
1 chilli, chopped finely – can use less
Dash of dark soy sauce
Sesame oil
A little chicken stock
Egg Noodles, medium (enough for four people – a full pack of Sharwoods, for example)

Method
1. Heat the oil
2. Lightly fry the garlic, ginger and spring onions for 2-3 minutes
3. Add the minced chili and mix
4. Fry the minced pork and fry until cooked
5. Add the rest of the ingredients
6. Cook the egg noodles, drain and toss in sesame oil
7. Add to the mix and coat completely.
8. Leave stand for 5 minutes

Cooking for the Unreasonable, Uncategorized

Cooking for the Unreasonable

“But you’re going on holiday the next day?” came the response when I said having people over to eat was simply impossible. I work full-time and yet, this couple insist on inviting themselves to dinner. I explain that I am simply too stressed and busy getting ready to leave but they are having none of it. “Ah sure, don’t you have to eat anyway…” There’s no arguing with that (even though we would ring for a take-away if simply left alone). In the end, I cave only to hear “Now you better impress us with this dinner.”

I have to admit that when I heard those words, I wanted to use my limited knife skills for something other than culinary pursuits. So in between packing, cancelling the milk order, newspaper order, washing floors, emptying the fridge, dealing with bin juice, giving keys to neighbours, ironing…I pick a menu and buy food. I need something which takes little preparation, reduces washing up and the leftovers can be frozen. With that, I prepare a pot of chilli which can bubble away while I get on with other tasks at hand. I throw – and I mean t-h-r-o-w – together a Pavlova as I don’t have to watch it and there is rarely any leftovers from that.

And so, they arrive. I transfer chilli, rice, cheese, sour cream into bowls, plonk them down on the table and encourage everyone to dig in. Disappointed faces. “It’s a bit casual…” says she. “I’m not mad about chilli myself…” says he, lip curled as he pushes kidney beans out of the sauce and over to the side of his plate. “Oh and Pavlova…that will see my allergies flare up,” she adds. And then they laugh “Next time, we’ll order in advance” as they proceed to hoover up every morsel of food that is in their vicinity. They guzzle cold beers I offer on top of a couple of bottles of wine. Their contribution to the evening? Their charming wit and repartee… Despite subtle reminders that we need to finish packing and get to the airport by 6am, they won’t be budged. Eventually, as the witching hour approaches, the two waddle off down the drive, mumbling ‘thanks’ and whispering about how grumpy I am…

‘Never again’, I grumble as I finish the final preparations for our trip.

Until the next year. And bang on cue, we are heading off on holidays and the two pipe up to say they are coming to dinner. I repeatedly say ‘No’, ‘It’s not suitable’, ‘Not this year’ but they are heading in our direction. This year, I make even less effort. I roast a chicken, stuffed with lemon wedges, garlic with butter and sea salt spread on the top. I pop in a tray of vegetables to roast. And to make a point that time is precious, I buy a Viennetta ice cream and a container of cheap, commercial, chocolate sauce. The teen is horrified but I figure, if this doesn’t give the hint that time is limited, nothing will.

And so they plonk themselves down at the table and start to graze. The chicken arrives out, crispy and delicious. The vegetables the same and while they complain that there is no gravy, they work like termites through the fare. I take the ice cream block out of the box, in front of them for full affect, and instead of utter disgust, they gasp with childish delight, exclaiming ‘How retro!’ ‘How kitsch!’ They help themselves to big wedges, much to the teen’s annoyance who is left with only a sliver, and happily drown the dessert in chocolate sauce. I watch aghast as they shovel it in, piece after piece, without sparing a thought for anyone else at the table.

They leave at midnight, delighted with themselves. “Best dinner ever”, they declare before waving back a reminder that they’ll see us next year.

A year passes. Pointing out how unsuitable having people for dinner the evening before holidays has fallen on deaf ears. Time for a change of track. Slyly, I book holidays a week early and true to form, the phone rings – same date, same time. But this year an unexpected response. “No, we’re not going on holiday,” I tell them a whopper of a white lie. Stunned silence greets the news. I fumble through the idea of us coming over to them in a week or so and listen as she hastens her retreat from the conversation rather than issue an invitation.

Sigh of relief and a smile to the teen as I relax in the taxi on the way to the airport. I think God will forgive me that little fib…just this once!

The Teen in the Attic

Enticing the Teen to the table and other matters

Author Archives: MG McShane