Well, it's the school hols now, so i have been trying out my hand at cooking. Here are one of the recipies that was a success.

Irish Griddle Scones  225g potatoes,  115g flour,  1/2 tsp salt  1/2 tsp baking powder  50g butter  25ml milk  bacon 1. Boil the potatoes in salted water till soft.

3.Sift together the flour,salt & baking powder. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. 4.Add the mashed potatoes and mix thoroughly w a fork. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Mix to form a smooth dough. 5.Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed gently for 5 mins rtill soft & pliable. Rol out to abt 5mm thick. Cut into wedges. Abt 6. 6. Grease the griddle or frying pan w butter and heat till hot. Add the wedges and fry till golden brown on both sides. 7. Toast the bacon while frying the wedges.  Next time i am gonna try the wedges in the oven so it's a bit healthier. My mum suggested cooking the bacon first and then mixing it in the dough and frying. Maybe i'll do that next time. I used cake flour(Prima's) by the way. It's good flour. This dish reminded me of Capati by the way. Maybe i'll get my mum to make capati with potatoes...

current mood: hungry

Although I live alone that doesn't mean I don't cook for myself. Recently I've been trying to adopt a healthier eating pattern but one I can stick to. This requires me to feel I'm not giving up the things I love to eat.

And one of those things is beef stroganoff. It's fast (10 minutes from ingredients out of the fridge to plate), delicious, and easy to cook from scratch.

What really irritates me is the plethora of dishes I've been served up recently that claim to be stroganoff when they AIN'T.

So here I share a purist version for one that doesn't break the bank or the calorie count. And, most importantly, doesn't include a whole load of spurious ingredients it shouldn't for it to be a real beef stroganoff!

4oz good lean beef steak  (I use tail end of fillet, or rump), finely sliced;
1/2 onion sliced;
6 mushrooms sliced;
1 tspn oil;
1heaped tspn meaux (grain) or dijon mustard - your choice;
2 tbspn reduced fat creme fraiche (or sour cream if you want to be absolutely in keeping with the original recipe and don't have calorie/fat concerns)

Heat the oil in a frying pan.
Cook onions until soft but not coloured, adding mushrooms to pan after 2 mins. Stir occasionally.
When both vegetables are soft ( will take about 4 mins in total):
Increase heat, add beef strips and cook for approx 2 mins, stirring to ensure nothing catches.
Reduce heat to low, add mustard & creme fraiche and heat through, stirring.
Serve with brown rice or tagliatelle and a side salad.

1 medium-sized ripe banana, peeled, frozen, and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (you might want to put more to taste, depending on how banana-y you like it)

In a food processor, blend the two ingredients together until smooth. Scoop out and enjoy! It's suprisingly just like soft-serve chocolate ice cream.

2 ounces (55 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (80 ml) milk, whole or low-fat
1 medium-sized ripe banana, peeled, and cut into chunks

Optional:
1 tablespoon (15 ml) dark rum
6 tablespoons (80 ml) Baileys liquor


1. In a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in the microwave), melt the chocolate with the milk.
2. Blend the melted chocolate, the banana, the Baileys, and the rum until smooth.
3. Pour into a plastic or metal container, cover, and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet
1 1/2 quarts

1 1/2 cups fresh apple cider
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon whole cloves
5 whole cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cups cranberry juice cocktail (make sure it's 100% juice)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons dark rum or other alcohol

Stir together apple cider, sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat , stirring occasionally. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove cloves and cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon; discard.

Whisk in applesauce, cranberry and lemon juices and rum. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Freeze as directed in the instructions for your particular ice cream maker. (We find that we get the best texture when we freeze for a relatively short amount of time - about 15-20 minutes, or just until frozen. This seems to keep the texture silkier. As always, leave to harden in the freezer for at least four hours before serving.)

I made a vegetarian lasagne for some of you last year but never got around to posting the recipe. So finally, after a recent poke from moodeln here it is.

I wanted to create a more delicate lasagne than the usual offerings. The ingredients are for a 10 inch square dish, for which I use about two layers of filling.

2 x 400g cans artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
2 x 250g tubs ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons FRESHLY grated parmesan
large handful of basil leaves, torn
1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
250g mozzarella cheese drained and sliced or grated
two large red onions, peeled and cut into large chunks
8 large mushrooms, quartered
3 large courgettes, thickly sliced
Olive oil
about 15 sheets lasagne (either fresh or no-precook variety)
300ml bechamel sauce with lots of nutmeg grated into it.

Toss courgettes, mushrooms and onions in olive oil to coat and roast in a single layer at 190 deg C for 40 minutes or until edges are browned nicely. Cool.

Put 3 tablespoons bechamel sauce to coat bottom of dish then place lasagne sheets to cover.

Layer half roasted vegetables and artichokes. Cover with 1 pot of ricotta, dotting it evenly across veg. Scatter half basil and half lemon zest over, 1 tbspn parmesan and half lemon juice. Layer more lasagne sheets. 

Repeat veg/cheese layer, topping with more lasagne.

Pour over remaining bechamel sauce, cover with mozzarella and remaining parmesan. 

Bake at 180 deg C for 15 minutes max.

Stuff your face!