Simple Meatloaf

This particular recipe has been knocking around the kitchen scribbled on the back of an old envelope for a couple of months now, so it's time to write it up here. It turns a packet of cheap mince into a midweek roast dinner.

Green Tomato Pie

Summer has turned to autumn. The days are getting shorter, and the tomato plants outside in the garden have stopped flowering. The remaining fruit is not ripening. So the plants have been cut down.

But what to do with all the unripe green tomatoes?

Previously, I have used these up in batches of Green Tomato Chutney.

But I have heard rumours that green tomatoes can be cooked much like apples into pies and cakes.

Google yielded this recipe. I made a few tweaks.

Peanut Butter Cookies

It's a damp drizzly day, and I found a half jar of nut butter in the cupboard that needed using up. So time to brighten things up with some sweet-salty Peanut Butter Cookies.

These are based on the recipe from The Kitchn, but mixed up a bit to match what was in the cupboard.

The Cofresh Sweet Chilli Caramel Peanuts are a recent find in the supermarket Ethnic Foods aisle. Very moreish, with just the right level of chilli hit to offset the caramel sweetness.

Hot Milk Cake with Pandan Kaya filling

So we went to Hoo Hing recently and as usual Random Things To Try somehow found their way into the trolley.

This time the things included a jar of Pandan Kaya, which turned out to be a thick custard-like spread made from eggs and coconut milk, flavoured with pandan leaf. My immediate thought on trying it was that it would make an excellent filling for a cake. Preferably a light plain sponge cake that would show off the filling's flavour without overpowering it.

This American Hot Milk Cake from Farmers Weekly sounded perfect, just needing a couple of tweaks.

I don't bother to keep self-raising flour AND plain flour, and of course when I looked in the cupboard there wasn't quite enough plain white flour left so it ended up being about 2/3 plain white flour and 1/3 chapathi flour.

Tamale Pie

This is a way to turn leftover Chilli or Picadillo into a one-dish meal.

The pre-cooked chilli is topped with a quick-mix cornbread batter, and then thrown in the oven to bake.

I initially came across this sort of thing in Laurel's Kitchen, where it is called Tennessee Corn Pone. However, this dish is apparently more commonly called Tamale Pie across America.

Baked Polenta

I've made this a couple of times now.
It's easy to lob in the oven whilst pressure-cooking something to accompany it, and avoids the traditional constant stirring on the hob of most polenta recipes.

This method of cooking polenta comes via Joy the Baker.

Coconut, Almond and Courgette Cake

This is another cake based on one from Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. I believe I may have already mentioned that whilst the recipes are good, I have a distinct antipathy towards the style of the book.

This is a minor variation on the Coconut Cake recipe, mainly inspired by not having quite enough dessicated coconut left in the cupboard.

Basboosa

I found a bottle of rose flavoured syrup for a few pence in the reduced to clear section in Tesco just before Xmas. It was perfect for this Lebanese cake, made with semolina and yoghurt, and soaked in a flavoured syrup.

It was quick and easy to make - but also quick and easy to eat! I didn't manage to get pictures before it was scoffed! The picture is of a later batch made another day.

Date and Walnut Loaf

A dense fruity date and walnut loaf.

Perfect as a less-sweet alternative to biscuits or cake. You could even have a slice as a quick breakfast if you've not got time to grab anything else.

In fact it's so popular that someone managed to scarf down half the loaf before I got round to photographing it!

Stuffed Marrow

Before we went on holiday, we carefully checked the courgette plants and removed developing fruit. But obviously we didn't check hard enough because we returned to be greeted with a full-sized marrow anyway.

Nothing for it but to make Stuffed Marrow for dinner.

Chocolate Mint Loaf

It's been a while since I posted anything.

I've got into a rut, cooking from the same set of warming winter meals using the same winter fruit and veg each week. The impending spring weather and new season's produce should change things up a bit soon though.

This cake is also part of a rut, being yet another Empty Jar Generating Loaf Cake variant. I do make other kinds of cake too, honest!

Coconut Macaroons

Having made the Key Lime Cheesecake Pie yesterday, I had 3 egg whites sitting in a bowl waiting to be used up.

Time to bake some Coconut Macaroons.

Key Lime (Cheesecake) Pie

Key Lime Pie was invented by American settlers of Florida to use what they had to hand - fresh-laid eggs, tinned condensed milk and fresh key limes. The original pie filling used nothing more than this and relied on the acidity of the lime juice to coagulate the eggs and milk alone.

In these days when we get our eggs from the supermarket of an unknown age, modern recipes lightly cook the pie in order to ensure the raw egg yolks are pasteurised.

This variation bulks out the condensed milk filling with some cream cheese, which makes it a little less sweet, and a bit more cheesecake-like.

Shepherd's or Cottage Pie

Another easy weekday recipe noted here for my daughter's benefit. This is my take on the traditional potato-topped mince dish.

The name reflects the choice of meat: Shepherd's Pie when made with minced lamb or mutton, and Cottage Pie when made with minced beef.

A vegetarian version using cooked beans/lentils or reconstituted TVP instead of the meat, and vegetarian gravy granules, also works.

I usually make one huge pie, and we eat half immediately, and the other half reheated then next day.

Mince Pies

It's December, and mince pie baking season is in full swing.

When baking mince pies, I use a particular pastry recipe that I copied from my mother's cooking notebook, and that she had copied from my grandmother's notebook.

It makes the lightest melt-in-the-mouth mince pies you could ask for, but it is a bit tricky to work with...

Pumpkin Pie

It's just gone Hallowe'en, and I had bought two pumpkins - one to make into a lantern and one to bake pumpkin pie with.

The lantern went down a storm with the local kids, but I didn't have time to make pumpkin pie from the other one until today.

My cooking pumpkin was quite large, and I ended up getting two pies' worth of filling from it.

Plum and Almond Tart

This gorgeous tart of lightly-cooked fruit embedded in a gooey almond sponge looks and tastes impressive, but is actually pretty quick and easy.

It's good when served warm from the oven as a dessert with cream or icecream, or when served cold to accompany a mug of coffee or tea.

Instead of plums, try apricots or ripe dessert pears instead.

Fish Pie

Fish pie is one of those traditional things that is unfortunately a bit of a faff for a normal week-night evening. Too many pans, and too many stages for if you're tired and rushed. Save it for a more leisurely night.

I generally make fish pie from frozen white fish, but some strange individuals have been known to adulterate it with smoked haddock, or salmon.

Two Kinds of Melting Method Biscuits

Two quick melting method biscuit recipes. These were mainstays in any tin of homemade biscuits when I was growing up.

Samak bil Tahini

And now for a quick evening meal, using white fish fillets from the freezer.

Samak bil Tahini is a Lebanese dish of white fish baked with onions and a garlicky tahini sauce.