September Garden Party: Salmon Pâté and 2 Coronation Chickens

My sister lives in Australia and just came back after a long hiatus. My mother decided that we should have an enormous garden party and consequently I have spent the half of the week that I haven't spent hoisting bunting, erecting tents and up-cycling glass jars to make tree lanterns in the kitchen.

The menu: smoked salmon pate and caprese skewers followed by coronation chicken, salad and Eton mess.

I am amazed by how long garden party prep takes. Between sourcing chairs and tidying the garden, counting cutlery and washing glasses, hours have been spent.

I have previously shared my mother's excellent coronation chicken recipe. This time I had to make an alternative version for guests unable to eat garlic, onions and spicy food. There is a brilliant recipe that I will share for chicken and butternut squash salad that is much of a muchness with coronation chicken, but too much effort for so few people (and contains onions). So, I tried simple alternatives. Fresh basil and mayo- I was surprised by how subdued the basil became- almost unnoticeable. Perhaps with pesto it would work better, but I am not sure. What did work well was the orange and Mexican tarragon.

Makes one portion: take enough roast chicken for one person, chop into bite sized pieces. Zest a quarter of an orange into a bowl. Add a level tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon. Grind in LOTS of black pepper. Add in a couple of dollops of good mayonnaise and stir. Add in the chicken and coat. Try for balance- you may want to add more orange or pepper, or mayonnaise depending upon how much chicken you are using. Even better if you leave overnight so the flavours can intensify :)

The salmon pate is the simplest thing. Just take 200g of smoked salmon and finely chop. Take three tubs of cream cheese and a handful of chives. With scissors snip the chives into small pieces. Zest a lemon. Mix these ingredients together and add LOTS of freshly ground black pepper. This makes about a pint- that will top a lot of crackers!!!

Orange & Coriander Seed Chicken Rice

What a day for needing to defrost the freezer. What to do with the chicken breasts? I spent the long weekend organising a youth camp. My fresh groceries are at a bare minimum.

I am also trying to save money (and eat more healthily) by taking my lunch to work. So I looked in the dregs of my veg bowl and freezer, stroked my chin like dr evil and came up with a cunning plan. What did I have? A few small onions, my trusty spice cupboard, loads of rice, the end of a bag of frozen spinach, an apple and an orange. I ignored the apple- too much fruit with my chicken might just overwhelm it. 

I used:
An orange
Onions (equivalent of two -three medium sized)
Spinach
Chicken (I had 4 breasts, cut into bite sized pieces)
One cup of rice
Two cloves of garlic (minced)
Two bay leaves
Heaped teaspoon of ground coriander or coriander seed
Heaped teaspoon of ground black pepper or pepper corns
Chicken stock cube or teaspoon of salt (I try to steer clear of salt but most people will want more)
Two heaped table spoons of dried chives

I then:

1. Chopped the onions and sautéed with the spices and chives, in a little rice bran oil
2. Added the chicken, garlic until the chicken is sealed
3. Added the rice and braised
4. Quartered orange, squeezed juice and added skin, left for one minute or so
5. Added the bay leaves , water, stock cube and spinach
6. Cooked with the lid on until all the water was absorbed 

Verdict: pleased with myself 

!!!

Simple to Wowish: Fifle (That's Faux Ginger Trifle)

A faux-Scots name for a faux- Scots pudding. A trifle, without being a trifle, designed to complement a carrot cake on a cold summer's day.

I had intended to make Eton Mess- it is the summer, after all. I was preparing for something nice for a friend's leaving dinner (he is going back to Scotland). But it was freezing, the Head Chef has opted for roast lamb with all the trimmings, my patisserie chef accomplish had made a carrot cake, and Eton Mess suddenly seemed terribly inappropriate.

I did think of making an apple and carrot compote and then realised that it would probably be the sort of thing noone else would want to try and wasn't fair to serve on such an occasion (next time!). What I did make was memorable and ever so simple so I will share it with you.

Serves 10-15 people
You will need: 2 packets of ginger nuts
A small glass of whisky (can be done without, but better with- Brandy would also be good, or calvados)
Apples( I used 11 small ones- you will need sugar if you are using cooking apples)
Custard (I used 2 packs of Ambrosia out of laziness- you could make a pint of birds with extra vanilla in it)

1. Chop and peel the apples and boil for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and allow to cool if you have time (I didn't and it didn't matter too much).
2. Get a large bowl and cover the bottom with a layer of  crumbled ginger nut biscuits (just break them in your hands). Add the whisky. If it is not all absorbed, add more crushed biscuits until it is. 
3. Add a layer of apples, followed by a layer of custard and a layer of ginger biscuits and so on until your bowl is filled. Add some crushed ginger biscuits on top. 
4. Cover and leave to cool.

Verdict: 15 people including hungry boys- wowish. 

Simple to Wowish- Sausage patties

My flatmate proudly arrived home with a packet of common-or-garden sausages last night, reduced to 20p. They aren't the healthiest things, and they aren't the tastiest either. The solution? A radical makeover which we served with a sliced ripe vine tomatoes drizzled with basil pesto.

Makes about 12 medium-sized patties (feeds 4-6 people)
I used:
packet of sausages
A cup of frozen spinach pellets (about 10)
mustard flour and powder (or mustard flour with white wine vinegar/ lemon juice)
chives
3 cloves of garlic (minced/ diced)
one large onion (diced)
nutmeg
japanese soy sauce
salt and pepper
oatmeal

The method:

1. Start with the spinach. Bung it in the microwave for 3 minutes until it no longer resembles a pellet and is a pleasant mush. If you plan things in advance, leave it to defrost for a few hours instead.
2. Launch into the sausages. Squeeze them out of their skins and into a large mixing bowl. 
3. Dice the onion (as finely as you can), ditto the garlic. Add it with a good sprinkling of chives  (fresh or dried) , 1/2 a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a liberal amount of freshly ground pepper and some salt (to taste- I try to avoid salt)  into the sausage mixture. Stir well. 
4. Add the spinach, a large tablespoon (or two) of dijon mustard (or mustard flour and white wine vinegar or lemon juice)  and stir well again. Add soy sauce (this is a completely unnecessary ingredient, but I thought enhanced the flavour and is an ingredient I have a crush on at the moment)
5. Add oatmeal slowly to the mixture, until it is no longer sloppy and can be formed into patties.
6. cook! shallow fry or ideally bake in the oven over a griddle so the fat drains out. 

The verdict from my crack panel of tired flatmates: wowish

Egg Salad with Sesame Wasabi Caviar

There is a certain achievement in making something delicious without meat. Something so good that you don't notice it is vegetarian. This is one of those recipes. It allowed me to use up a bunch of watercress just using the things in my store cupboard.

You need:
salad leaves (I used watercress)
Black toasted sesame seeds
Oil (sesame, groundnut or rice bran)
Japanese soy sauce
Wasabi powder
Japanese rice wine vinegar
Hard boiled eggs (2 per person)

In a bowl mix the sesame seeds, wasabi paste or powder, soy sauce and vinegar to taste. Add some oil- remember you need to be able to stir it into the salad. and Roughly chop the egg. Roughly chop the watercress. Mix all together.

Almost Healthy Peach Yoghurt Almond Cake

Ah, I have been caught up by this almost healthy baking con lark. Am waiting to see how this one will turn out. Yoghurt and peach is such a great combination- all that bitter-sweet goodness. I searched for recipes but all contained great quantities of butter, or called for tinned peaches, or where . Did I mention that I got 12 ripe peaches for £1 yesterday? 


I found this recipe for a pear yoghurt cake and adapted. 


This is what I came up with. It remains to be seen whether it is good! 


Ingredients
8oz wholemeal flour
2oz  unrefined soft brown sugar (this does not make it sweet- if you want a sweet cake, double the amount of sugar). 
3/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
1 large egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used rice bran oil)
4 ripe peaches cut into small pieces (even better-pureed)
1 oz chopped and toasted almonds (I chopped and toasted some whole almonds)

To make:Preheat the oven to 180. Grease a loaf tin. 

Stir together the flour, cinnamon and salt. 

In another bowl beat the egg, sugar and oil. Whisk in the yoghurt. Stir in the chopped peach and almonds. 

Mix all the ingredients and blend.

Put into the loaf tin.
Bake for about an hour until the cake is springy to the touch, shrinks from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 20-30 minutes on a wire rack, then slice and serve! 

Almost Healthy Banana, Carrot and Fruit Cake

This cake has very little sugar and lots of fruit. No cake can be called a health food, but this is a close call!

• 8 oz self raising wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 oz soft brown unrefined sugar
• 2 oz sunflower seeds
• 1 oz mixed fruit (or raisins/ sultanas) soaked in tea for an hour. 
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 2 medium-sized grated carrots

1. Sift the flour and salt into large bowl. 
2. Add the sugar and nuts.
3. Mix
4. Add mashed banana and beaten eggs.
5. Stir in grated carrot and soaked fruit. 
6. Mix well
7. Butter a loaf tin
8. Put mixture into tin
9. Bake for 1 hour at gas mark 4 (350ºF/175ºC) or until  a sharp knife comes out clean from the cake.

Did I mention that is tastes delicious?