Recipes

[LadyA]

We had a lovely Recipes thread on pp forum, so I thought one on here would be good to have.

I'm about to make this Relish for Christmas. It will keep several weeks, especially if you seal it in jars with vacuum lids.

Spiced Cranberry & Orange Relish

340g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
Large pinch cinnamon
Large pinch ginger
Finely grated zest & juice of 1 large orange
175g light muscovado sugar

place cranberries, cinnamon, ginger & orange juice in a saucepan and cook over a low heat, with lid on, stirring regularly, for 6 or 7 minutes, until berries have burst. Take off heat, and stir in zest and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. pack into very hot, sterilised jars.

 

[Hen-Gen]

Now that sounds good. I love all those pickle/chutney/relish kind of things. Is it your house for Boxing Day lunch then?

 

[Margaid]

Think I've got it all "in stock" except for the orange! Yum!

 

[bigyetiman]

Yum yum, should have read this before we went shopping !

 

[LadyA]

This recipe only makes a small amount. I usually double it, and do a couple of batches, because it makes a lovely gift.

 

[poachedegg]

What a great idea Lady A.Love other peoples tried and trusted recipes,going to try this one,yum yum

 

[LadyA]

Now that sounds good. I love all those pickle/chutney/relish kind of things. Is it your house for Boxing Day lunch then?

I love pickles, relishes, etc too! They can elevate a cheese sandwich or an omelette to a whole new level! I've made about ten jars of courgette relish this Summer, and I'd be embarrassed to say how much I've eaten already! And I made a nice tomato & red pepper relish with the last of the ripe tomatoes.

 

[bigyetiman]

OH made the Cranberry and orange relish this morning, fantastic and quick and easy to. Thanks for sharing

 

[LadyA]

OH made the Cranberry and orange relish this morning, fantastic and quick and easy to. Thanks for sharing

Great. Glad you like it. I make all sorts of stuff for edible Christmas gifts, so must dig out some more recipes.

 

[LadyA]

I don't drink alcohol, but I do make some nice drinks to give. This is a nice Christmas gin (I'm told!), and certainly looks lovely:

Cranberry Gin:

500g golden caster sugar
600ml gin
400g frozen cranberries (because freezing softens their tough skins, bit like sloes.)

A large sterilised kilner type jar
Sterilised gift bottles

Heat the sugar and gin gently in a pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. put the cranberries in the kilner jar, pour in the gin syrup. Seal and leave in a cool place for 2 to 6 weeks.
Strain off most of the cranberries, reserving just a few. put these into the sterilised gift bottle, and using a sterilised funnel, pour over the cranberry infused gin. Seal. Will keep for up to six months.

 

[bigyetiman]

Don't often drink, best not to with my job, just not worth it, and we do get tested regularly. but OH has a friend who loves different flavoured gin so she will try that for him as she says she has never heard him mention cranberry gin

 

[rick]

Ive just started a batch of Staffordshire Oatcakes (to use up some surplus flour that has been around too long). Usually make 40-50 of them in a go and freeze them. Have a funny feeling I might have posted this in a previous thread, but here goes:

500g Wholemeal flour
500g Plain porridge oats

Need a big stew pan with a lid. Mix the flour and oats in the pan and then add water to first make a stiffish mix then adding progressively more water until it is thin enough so that when it brews it bubbles and wont rise and spread all over your kitchen like the blob!
Its important to stir well so there are no lumps. Then add 2 desert spoons of dried yeast. Mix in and leave overnight. Can be left 24 hours - past that it gets a bit of an alcohol thing going on (changes the flavor somewhat.)
Add salt before cooking and the mix usually needs thinning with some more water at that time too. Needs to be quite thin, like a pancake mix or it wont spread in the pan.
You need a good non-stick medium/large frying pan and get it hot enough that oil smokes a bit when added. It's usually a desert spoon of oil then a ladle of mix. Roll round to spread out like a pancake then wait till the edges of the oatcake lift slightly and it doesn't look wet anymore in the middle before flipping over. As with pancakes there are usually a couple of disasters for the dog before you can get into the flow.

If you freeze them then let the pile cool and then peel them off and make piles of about 10 (a light sprinkle of flour between helps) or you will have a solid block that wont separate when frozen. They are very nice after freezing and warmed under the grill but something else straight out of the pan.

Actually made 26

 

[MrsBiscuit]

They look particularly deliciously homemade, and given I have porridge most days the ingredients are to hand. What do you eat them with Rick?

 

[rick]

Buttered and rolled up is yummy. I like to put cheese on and grill them, topped with tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast. They make good wraps for just about anything as well.

 

[LadyA]

Here's another nice Christmas one. And it's not very sweet, so is a good antidote at this time of year!

Cranberry & Orange Muffin Bread

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, beaten with
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 can (425g) mandarin oranges, drained.

Whisk flour & sugar gently to mix. Add butter, egg, milk & vanilla. Stir well to combine. Fold in cranberries & oranges. pour into a greased/lined loaf pan (or just use a bought liner, and don't grease! best invention ever!) Bake at 375F/190C/Gas 5. Takes approx 40-45 minutes. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

I'm thinking you could just make individual muffins with this. It's like a loaf sized muffin. Very delicious.

 

[bigyetiman]

Everybody loved the cranberry and orange relish. This sounds equally good

 

[Icemaiden]

Ive just started a batch of Staffordshire Oatcakes (to use up some surplus flour that has been around too long). Usually make 40-50 of them in a go and freeze them. Have a funny feeling I might have posted this in a previous thread, but here goes:

500g Wholemeal flour
500g Plain porridge oats

Need a big stew pan with a lid. Mix the flour and oats in the pan and then add water to first make a stiffish mix then adding progressively more water until it is thin enough so that when it brews it bubbles and wont rise and spread all over your kitchen like the blob!
Its important to stir well so there are no lumps. Then add 2 desert spoons of dried yeast. Mix in and leave overnight. Can be left 24 hours - past that it gets a bit of an alcohol thing going on (changes the flavor somewhat.)
Add salt before cooking and the mix usually needs thinning with some more water at that time too. Needs to be quite thin, like a pancake mix or it wont spread in the pan.
You need a good non-stick medium/large frying pan and get it hot enough that oil smokes a bit when added. It's usually a desert spoon of oil then a ladle of mix. Roll round to spread out like a pancake then wait till the edges of the oatcake lift slightly and it doesn't look wet anymore in the middle before flipping over. As with pancakes there are usually a couple of disasters for the dog before you can get into the flow.

If you freeze them then let the pile cool and then peel them off and make piles of about 10 (a light sprinkle of flour between helps) or you will have a solid block that wont separate when frozen. They are very nice after freezing and warmed under the grill but something else straight out of the pan.

Actually made 26
IMG_20181223_093028.jpg

You can cook these in a non-stick frying pan with no fat at all; they keep a soft bottom that way and don't go crispy.
They're traditionally eaten with bacon, sausages, mushrooms, cheese & / or eggs. Make a small cheese omelette, put it onto a warmed oatcake & roll it up. Yum! Less messy than the more traditional filling of fried egg and mushrooms, as it doesn't dribble up your arm

 

[rick]

Anything that doesn't dribble up your arm sounds good to good to me. Will try all!
We kind of like the crispy bits round the edges though
Dad was from Staffordshire and kind of passed this down. Thought they were secret but obviously the word got out!
I have never tried making a omelette and rolling it up - yet. With runny fried eggs and baked beans - Ohhyea! (on a plate of course - that really would be messy otherwise)

 

[LadyA]

(on a plate of course - that really would be messy otherwise)

Not going for the fashion in restaurants now of serving food on anything but plates? It's something that really annoys me. There's a website dedicated to it, called wewantplates.com

 

[bigjim]

Yeah that bugs me. A burger on a slate, metal basket of sweet potato fries, little pot of coleslaw.