Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette Makes a little over 1 cup of dressing Ingredients 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, roughly chopped 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1 1/2 TB honey 1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 cup water, divided Directions Chuck half the water along with everything else in the container of a stick blender. Give it a good whizz, and add more of the reserved water, a... Read more ..read more

Gingerbread Jam (An accidental recipe) Here’s the story: My wife returned from shopping laden with five pounds(!) of white seedless grapes. She had wanted only two but had been bamboozled by a fast-talking, fast-moving sidewalk vendor and, as the British say, “there you are.” In salads and out of hand we polished off a pound of them, leaving a daunting four pounds to be dealt with. Wife, disgusted at her uncharacteristic weakness, was for 86-ing the lot. I proposed making jelly instead—and... Read more ..read more

Ginger Liqueur Makes about 2 cups Ingredients 2 oz ginger root, peeled and sliced thin 1 vanilla bean, split 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups water Zest of 1 orange 1 1/2 cups brandy (I used St. Remy) Directions Place ginger, vanilla, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Cut the heat back to a gentle simmer and let it go, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Place the orange zest, cooled ginger syrup, and brandy in a sealable glass jar (I used a... Read more ..read more

Ingredients: 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 tbsp tomato paste 100 mls water 1 medium onion, julienned 1 small hot pepper, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1" piece of ginger, cut fine and then julienned 1/2 tsp turmeric 2 tsps cumin powder 2 tsps coriander powder Ghee or vegetable oil for frying Salt Cornstarch slurry for thickening Coriander for seasoning Method: Heat the ghee or oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook on medium until... Read more ..read more

I've adapted this recipe from the Hairy Bikers. They didn't add ginger, dates, apricots and almonds. They also didn't add cream cheese frosting. I did, and it was lovely. Ingredients for cake: 250 g grated carrots 100 g mixed dried dates & apricots, chopped finely 200 g self raising flour 100 g soft brown sugar 100 ml sunflower oil 4 eggs 25 g shaved almonds 1 orange, zested and juiced ( keeping both) 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp of pumpkin... Read more ..read more

Do you dishwasher or hand wash? It’s something people seem to have quite entrenched views on. This is an interesting podcast from the BBC for those of you who can access BBC sound. I don’t think it really covers all the angles but it certainly shows there are a lot of variables and it’s entertaining all the same! Sliced Bread - Dishwashers - Dishwashers - BBC Sounds ..read more

Ingredients: 2 cooked beetroot,sliced 1 small goat cheese, sliced 50 gms French lentils Rocket/Rugula For the marinade/vinaigrette: 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger 1 tbsp honey 3 tbsps olive oil 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tbsp fresh lemon(or lime) juice Salt and pepper to taste Method: Cook the lentils in salted water until soft. Drain and set aside. Whisk the ginger, honey, olive oil, vinegar and lemon(lime) juice together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put... Read more ..read more

Next Monday, April 29th, is National Shrimp Scampi Day. I found this out when I was looking at a restaurant's web site and it was prominently noted, as the dish will be on special. Don't know if we have any shrimp, but have to pick up a couple of things at grocery today or tomorrow so will get some if we don't, and a lemon or 2 ..read more

This was a delicious comforting soup I really enjoyed. Rich in a delicious spiced broth with extremely tender beef chunks, soft noodles and blanched Bok Choy this one is a winner for me and I’m no doubt make it again soon. I cook a lot of things but I”m definitely a sucker for a good soup, stew, curry etc. I highly recommend giving this one a go if you like a spice enriched broth. Ingredients 3 pounds beef shank ((1.4 kg, cut into 2-inch chunks)) 2 tablespoons... Read more ..read more

I'm cheating here and am posting a recipe that is a bit different from the one I actually made today. Reason being that I used malted barley & hop today, requiring equipmemt that most people won't have. If this is against the rules, I'll post what I made today instead (i haven't tagged it as challenge for now) Note that the following recipe has been made by me several times Water: about 8 litre total Sugar: 800 gr Ginger: about 100 gram crushed Sliced limes or lemons: 4 or 5 Voss kveik... Read more ..read more