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A simple and speedy Thai recipe

This week’s recipe in the Dairy Diary is one of my absolute favourites, and is perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

I adore Thai food and was determined to master my favourite – Pad Thai.

After much experimenting with flavours and ingredients, this is the result.

It’s proved hugely popular
with friends too.

Give it a try – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Speedy Pad Thai with Prawns

Speedy Pad Thai with Prawns

Serves 2
Time 25 mins
Calories 468
Fat 15g of which 3g is saturated

Dried rice noodles 110g (4oz)
Soft brown sugar 2 tbsp
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Tamarind paste 2 tbsp
Fish sauce 1 tbsp
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp
Garlic 2 cloves, peeled and crushed
Thai chillies 2, deseeded and finely chopped
Spring onions 2, trimmed and chopped
Egg 1, beaten
Beansprouts 110g (4oz)
Cooked prawns 200g pack
Unsalted peanuts 50g (2oz), chopped
Chopped coriander to serve (optional)

1 Soak noodles according to packet’s instructions. Mix sugar, soy sauce, tamarind paste and fish sauce together in a bowl.

2 Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok and stir-fry garlic, chillies and onions for
1 minute. Move to edge of the pan and add egg, stirring until softly scrambled.

3 Stir in beansprouts and prawns and cook for 1 minute. Add drained noodles and sauces. Stir for 1 minute and then serve scattered with nuts and coriander, if using.

This recipe is from the 2018 Dairy Diary – watch out for news of the 2019 edition coming very soon!

 

#thaifood

#padthai

#tripletested

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Recipe of the Week: Blueberry and Orange Loaf

 

Blueberry & Orange Loaf

Moist and zesty, packed full of blueberries, this is a gorgeous summer bake.

 

Blueberry & Orange Loaf

  • Servings: 8
  • Print

Calories 316 per portion
Fat 10g (6g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients

  • Self-raising flour 350g (12oz)
  • Caster sugar 75g (3oz)
  • Blueberries 200g (7oz)
  • Oranges 2, finely grated zest and juice
  • Milk 4–6 tbsp
  • Eggs 3
  • Butter 75g (3oz), melted
  • Demerara sugar 1–2 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°fan/Gas 3. 
Butter a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line with baking paper.
  2. Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the caster sugar, blueberries and orange zest.
  3. Pour the orange juice into a measuring jug and make up to 150ml (¼ pint) with milk. Beat in the eggs and butter and then pour this into the bowl with the flour and blueberries and stir until just mixed together. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top.
  4. Bake for 1–1¼ hours until risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  5. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cook’s tips
Don’t over-mix the ingredients or the cake will be tough.
If preferred, omit the demerara sugar and drizzle over some orange glacé icing made by mixing icing sugar with orange juice.

 

Recipe taken from Cook it Slowly! cookbook.

National Picnic Week plus a very moreish recipe (and a special treat!)

 Lake District Picnic

I’ve recently come back from a couple of astonishingly beautiful days in the Lake District.

The deluges earlier in the year, followed by day-after-day of glorious sunshine has resulted in such a verdant and lush landscape; it’s a pure joy to see.

We tackled a pretty sizeable fell walk and so I packed some much-needed sustenance in my rucksack.

And we found one of the most glorious picnic spots I’ve seen – complete with very high bench that make your feet dangle in a comical fashion like a small child.

It may be twee and a little old fashioned,
but with the right location and good
food a picnic can be simply lovely.

Lake District picnic 2

We enjoyed dry-cured bacon sandwiches on soft white rolls and a cheeky slice of Blueberry & Orange Loaf, which survived pretty well in the heat. If you fancy making it the recipe is shown below

The recipe is from our Cook it Slowly cookbook, which in my opinion is one of our best. Find out more about it here.

And as it’s National Picnic Week next week you have the perfect excuse to picnic somewhere gorgeous.

Why not share your favourite
recipe (and location)?

 

Win a Moroccan Dinner SetEating al fresco in style is easy with our fabulous competition prize

We’re giving you the opportunity to win a gorgeous Moroccan Bloom Melamine 12 Piece Dinner Set, which looks just like real crockery.

Click here to enter.

 

 

 

 

 

Blueberry & Orange Loaf

Blueberry & Orange Loaf

  • Servings: 8
  • Print

Calories 316 per portion
Fat 10g (6g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients

  • Self-raising flour 350g (12oz)
  • Caster sugar 75g (3oz)
  • Blueberries 200g (7oz)
  • Oranges 2, finely grated zest and juice
  • Milk 4–6 tbsp
  • Eggs 3
  • Butter 75g (3oz), melted
  • Demerara sugar 1–2 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°fan/Gas 3. 
Butter a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line with baking paper.
  2. Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the caster sugar, blueberries and orange zest.
  3. Pour the orange juice into a measuring jug and make up to 150ml (¼ pint) with milk. Beat in the eggs and butter and then pour this into the bowl with the flour and blueberries and stir until just mixed together. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top.
  4. Bake for 1–1¼ hours until risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  5. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cook’s tips
Don’t over-mix the ingredients or the cake will be tough.
If preferred, omit the demerara sugar and drizzle over some orange glacé icing made by mixing icing sugar with orange juice.

Recipe of the Week: Chicken & Chorizo Pie

Chicken & Chorizo Pie

Chicken & Chorizo Pie

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 751 per portion
Fat 51g (24g sat) per portion
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients

  • Chorizo 110g (4oz), chopped
  • Chicken 4 breasts, cut into chunks
  • Olive oil 1 tbsp
  • Plain flour 1 tbsp
  • Chicken stock 250ml (9fl oz)
  • Double cream 4 tbsp
  • Canned sweetcorn 198g can, drained
  • Ready-rolled puff pastry 320g pack
  • Beaten egg for brushing
  • Steamed green vegetables to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°fan/Gas 6. Fry chorizo and chicken chunks in olive oil for about 7 minutes, until chicken is just cooked.
  2. 2 Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then pour in stock, stirring continuously for a further minute. Stir in cream and sweetcorn, season to taste and spoon mixture into a pie dish.
  3. 3 Brush dish rim with water then cover with pastry. Trim and crimp edges and use trimmings for decorations. Brush with egg.
  4. 4 Stand pie dish on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden. Cut pie into wedges and serve immediately with green vegetables, if wished.

 

#chorizo

#tripletested

#delicious

A magic ingredient!

Chorizo - the magic ingredients

As well as the obvious everyday essentials such as eggs, milk and butter, you’ll always find one ingredient lurking in my fridge – chorizo.

It’s magical! You only need a tiny amount but it’ll perk up the most boring of meals and keeps well for ages.

I often throw it into ‘fridge fried rice’ – a concoction created to use up any leftover veg, fish or meat, sprinkled with a few liberal dashes of soy sauce.

And just recently I’ve fried just a few slices, added a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and some veg stock, whizz with a stick blender and voila it makes THE most delicious pea soup.

Here I’ve shared a recipe from this year’s Dairy Diary which uses chorizo in a scrummy chicken pie – it’s just gorgeous comfort food. I’m treating myself to a generous slice after a hike in the Lakeland Fells this week – perfect!

 

 

Chicken & Chorizo Pie

Chicken & Chorizo Pie

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 751 per portion
Fat 51g (24g sat) per portion
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients

  • Chorizo 110g (4oz), chopped
  • Chicken 4 breasts, cut into chunks
  • Olive oil 1 tbsp
  • Plain flour 1 tbsp
  • Chicken stock 250ml (9fl oz)
  • Double cream 4 tbsp
  • Canned sweetcorn 198g can, drained
  • Ready-rolled puff pastry 320g pack
  • Beaten egg for brushing
  • Steamed green vegetables to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°fan/Gas 6. Fry chorizo and chicken chunks in olive oil for about 7 minutes, until chicken is just cooked.
  2. 2 Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then pour in stock, stirring continuously for a further minute. Stir in cream and sweetcorn, season to taste and spoon mixture into a pie dish.
  3. 3 Brush dish rim with water then cover with pastry. Trim and crimp edges and use trimmings for decorations. Brush with egg.
  4. 4 Stand pie dish on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden. Cut pie into wedges and serve immediately with green vegetables, if wished.

 

#chorizo

#tripletested

#delicious

Plant for summer colour now – and a special treat for you!

Nasturtiums Running Riot

All the wonderful weather we have experienced recently has meant we have been able to eat out in the garden almost every night – a rarity in England!

My after-dinner ‘treat’ is to look through my gardening books pondering what to plant.

Today, I’m off to a local plant fair to purchase some colourful bedding plants, and one of the definites on my list is nasturtiums – they are the easiest and prettiest little flowers and not only do they bring a riot of colour to the garden, they also brighten up your salad!

In this little project from our book Seasonal Garden Ideas, we show you how to plant herbs with nasturtiums for a mass of colour.

Enjoy the bank holiday everyone!

 

 

Win £200 to spend in your gardenAnd don’t forget to enter our fabulous competition to win a £200 garden voucher!

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Nasturtiums Running Riot

In this combination a permanent shrubby perennial – catmint – is planted with a foreground of brightly coloured annual nasturtiums. The two together make an interesting summer partnership.

Plant the catmint in autumn or mid spring and the nasturtiums in late spring. Both will flower in summer. The time it takes to plant the nasturtiums depends on the size of bed or border you have got.

 

What you need

Plants
Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus varieties).

Equipment
Fork, spade and trowel.

 

Instructions

1 The catmint is a permanent planting, so needs to go in first. Neither it nor the nasturtium require rich soil – but they do both like a sunny site. Dig over the planting area, removing weeds, roots and stones.

2 One catmint can reach a height and spread of 90cm (3ft) or more, so allow it plenty of room. Dig a hole large enough to take the rootball comfortably, set the plant in and firm up. Fill in with more soil and firm in again. Water well.

3 Buy the nasturtiums as bedding strips and plant them as close together as you can for best effect – no more than 15cm (6in) apart. Plant them all around the catmint to form a colourful carpet – they will reach about 30cm (12in) in height. Water in well.

Tip
Nasturtiums flower best on poor sandy soils – if the ground is too rich they will produce leaf at the expense of flowers. Incorporate some sharp sand or grit into the planting area if you think your soil is too rich or heavy.

Notes
Catmint has been given its common name for a good reason – most cats absolutely love it. This affection can take the form of a few surreptitious nibbles from time to time, through pulling or biting away whole stems to full-scale rolling around all over the plant. Keep an eye on your feline if necessary – or take pity on the poor creature and sew it a little sachet stuffed with fresh or dried catmint to play with.

Aftercare
Watch out for and remove any caterpillars you see on the nasturtium leaves – they can eat the leaves down to skeletons if left. Treat blackfly infestation with a systemic insecticide. Cut away any dead or damaged leaves. Water well in dry weather. Clear away the nasturtiums in autumn and dig over the ground ready for spring planting the following year. The catmint looks after itself for most of the year, but benefits from being cut back almost to ground level in spring.

Project is taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas

 

 

 

#win

#gardening

#competition

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