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@ma_ndy1905

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Every day dinners from our home in Cumbria. Photos taken mostly in bad lighting without filters or jiggery-pokery.

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'Black' Apple Butter

So called because of the addition of treacle, dark brown sugar, and the long cooking process, which thickens and caramelises, eventually darkening it.

Despite being called 'butter', it doesn't actually contain any. Mine doesn't contain the traditional liquorice - my two don't care for it. To mimic its flavour, I ground some fennel seeds to a fine powder and added a star anise (which they do like).

After a very gentle simmer on a low heat for 3 or so hours, it was ready.

You can eat this as you would jam or have it as a condiment with cold meats, savouries, roast pork, and cheese.

I'm slowly working my way through an over abundance of homegrown apples: several cakes and crumbles, munching on them (so juicy) and today's 'butter', but I think I need to revisit a recipe I made a couple of years ago - Apple Pie Bourbon. If I start it in the next couple of days, it will be ready for Christmas 🎄🍎🥃

Cheers 😁 by @ma_ndy1905

What to do with a cauliflower...

After years of being given wet, mushy cauliflower to eat growing up, my answer to the question was to leave it on the shelf.

I was never tempted by cauliflower 'steak', preferring the real thing, preferably rare, neither was I tempted by cauliflower 'rice'...all those bits 😬 I was once tempted by the fabulous looking Romanesco cauliflower, but only once. It tasted disappointingly of cauliflower 🙄

I recently came across a couple of recipes that have completely changed my mind and that of my husband, who doesn't have a fondness for it either.

First up is Caramelised Cauliflower with Spring Onions and Parmesan.

Ignore the poor photograph. I'd had a couple or so glasses of delicious Crémant de Bordeaux. The light in my kitchen isn't great at 8pm (particularly after a few glasses of sparkly), and hubby was impatiently hungry.

The recipe is by Jay Rayner from his fabulous book Night's Out in the Kitchen, which I think is even better than his first.

Lots of butter and olive oil to slowly sautee the cauliflower, spring onions, white wine vinegar, seasoning, and a generous helping of parmesan. I also added the chopped leaves of the cauliflower.

It was gorgeous! Despite all the butter and parmesan, it was wonderfully light and a great accompaniment to our roast chicken.

It's also a recipe you can play about with ... anchovies, perhaps, lemon zest, some chilli flakes...

See pic 2 for some more cauliflower inspiration...

#nightsoutinthekitchen

Another thing to do with a cauliflower...

Cauliflower Soufflé Bake by Ottolenghi from his book Simple Too.

Quite a few ingredients and steps go into making this dish, with quite a bit of washing up too, but it's not arduous and it is absolutely worth the effort.

Among the list of ingredients are cherry tomatoes, eggs, basil, cottage cheese, and cheddar.

It's a rich dish but not at all heavy. We had it with some sausages from the butchers, which was perfect for a wet and windy night here in Cumbria

#simpletoo by @ma_ndy1905

Cracked Wheat Loaf

I keep saying I'm not a baker, when what I should say is I don't bake very often. It is too precise, too measured, and I'm just not. But when I do, I enjoy it, and so does my family.

I recently saw a post by @bineohnehonig of some madeleines she had made. It was the first time Sabine had made them, and they were everything mine (posted on 20/09) weren't. That is to say, they were perfect.

The recipe came from the book Baking & the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh. I downloaded a sample on Kindle and ordered the hardback the same day.

This is my first bake from it. An unyeasted savoury loaf made with bulgur wheat, warming spices, spring onions, lots of parsley, and mint. And, boy, was it worth the effort. Fabulous.

A 'picky tea' was built around it (see pics 2 and 3), but undoubtedly, this loaf was the main attraction.

Picky Tea

Pretty self-explanatory, but the fennel, homegrown apple, and walnut salad on mixed leaves is worth a mention. The dressing made with apple cider vinegar, hot honey, and olive oil.

The eggs are from young chickens (pullets) that have just started laying. They may be small, but they are so very, very good.

The four bowls at the front of the picture were made by me 🤗

On the plate. by @ma_ndy1905

'Duck' Legs with Green Peas

The recipe from the book Kitchening by Jeremy Lee called for duck legs; mine are made with superbly huge chicken legs from @cranstons_1914 just 10mins down the road.

Roast chicken legs, bacon lardons, finely sliced spring onions, chopped lettuce, butter, fresh mint, parsley, and seasoning.

A very lovely dinner for very little effort. by @ma_ndy1905

Tattie Pot

I have memories of sitting at my Nana's kitchen table as a young girl watching her make this very traditional Cumbrian dish, although the county was known as Cumberland 60 years ago.

I don't recall my mam making it, though but given this was a cheap meal and money was very tight in our house, I feel sure she must have.

I've never made it, until today that is, and I can't understand why not. It's bloody delicious.

We followed this with that most traditional of Cumbrian desserts, French Apple Cake (pic 4). That too, was delicious.

See pics 2 and 3 for the tattie pot recipe which I came across on the Lakeland Dialect Society's website.

May yer fettle be reet x

Tattie Pot Recipe

Yan and hafe lb Mutton (or Lamb)
Hafe lb black pudden'
Twa Onion
Twa Carrots
Turnip to the tyaste
Seasoning
Tatties t'cover
Watter wid stock
Cube mutton, pudden', t'onions, carrots and turnip und shive tatties.

Keeping tatties back, lig t'lot doon int'rowsting tin. Distributing equally.

Season then cover ovver wid tatties.

Add hot watter wid stock t'cover meat und veg but nut tatties. Brush tatties wid a laal bit ov'melted butter tu broon thum.

Reet noo the can put int'het oven (200C/400F) fur 2 hours.

When the teks a deek to see how its gittin' on; if its leuking kissened then put a laal bit mer watter in. If tatties are gitting ovver broon - put a cover ovver.

After the sez Grace - the can git thesel a brossenful.

But, before you eat... 😉

Leynes afoor Meat
by Harold Forsyth

A Cumberland Grace

As seun as t' teable's pack't wid grub

Reach till, an' doan't be flayt.

Bit mind on - it's yon Hev'nly Pow'r

'At allus fulls thi plate!

Let praises rise fra' cwoast ta cwoast,

Ta Fadder, Son and' Hwoly Gwoast

French Apple Cake

Recipe by David Lebowitz. Homegrown apples, and rum.

What's not to love 🍎 by @ma_ndy1905

'Leftovers' Frittata

Apart from the eggs, freshly laid that morning from the farm around the corner, everything that went into the frittata was leftover from a couple of other meals: roast chicken, blackpudding, spring onions, cottage cheese (from Ottolenghi's excellent cauliflower souffle bake), a handful of grated cheddar sprinkled on top (from the same recipe), and seasoning.

Served with mixed tomatoes and finely sliced mangetout, sprinkled with @blackthornsalt

A deliciously light and easy dinner, which meant we could indulge in dessert... ➡️

Homemade Spiced Apple Cake

This was good!

We inherited two apple trees when we bought the house, so we don't have any idea as to their variety. Each are different, and they're not one's I recognise on a supermarket shelf.

One didn't do well this year; the little fruit it did produce was very good, though, and the wasps certainly took a shine to them.

But the other tree has produced SO much fruit. Delicious, sweet, tangy, crisp, juicy, good keepers too, which is just as well.

I've made several cakes and crumbles, and I really ought to make some chutney because there really are too many to eat.

But my word, what a treat they are 🍎🍎🍎 by @ma_ndy1905

#ottolenghisimpletoo

Chicken Schnitzel with Curried Tomatoes

The recipe for the curry sauce sounded simple. Too simple as it turned out.

Fresh curry leaves, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, medium curry powder, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and salt. It was very acidic but otherwise pretty tasteless. However, after adding a bit of this and a bit of that, including some homemade curry powder I found at the back of the cupboard and some homemade garam masala, it came together very well indeed, particularly with the addition of the juices from the tomatoes as they cooked down.

Instead of the usual flour, egg, breadcrumbs mix, the recipe calls for mayonnaise mixed with medium curry powder, and panko to coat the flattened chicken breasts.

I use mayonnaise as a base when I make kebabs on the bbq as it keeps the meat wonderfully juicy. As it did here. Although the mayonnaise was too thick for the panko coating, so it 'slid' a bit as the schnitzel went into the pan to fry.

Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll use a pastry brush to coat the chicken rather than put the chicken straight into the mayonnaise.

Although not called for in the recipe, I had 3 pullet eggs to use. The flavour is outstanding. I wish I'd taken a photo; one pale blue, one creamy streaked buff, and one speckled brown.

Superb said hubby. Superb said daughter. I won't disagree.

#chickenschnitzel #curriedtomatoes
#pulleteggs
#ovenchipsontheside by @ma_ndy1905

Keeping it Simple

Following on from my previous post, a simple but bloody delicious supper.

Buttery scrambled eggs on buttered toasted sourdough with dry-fried mushrooms and roast tomatoes.

#notbreakfast #notbrunch
#bloodydelicioussupper by @ma_ndy1905

Eggs on Sourdough

Deliciously rich, creamy eggs from pullet chickens. Freshly laid this morning from the farm around the corner.

Served with some really good asparagus from the local farmshop.

So very simple, but so bloody tasty.

Followed by an apple crumble made with apples from the garden and shop bought custard. No photo because I forgot 🤦‍♀️

I need to cook like this more often. by @ma_ndy1905

Soup

Split pea & ham, served with no-knead focaccia

The soup was made with the stock of a ham bone from @cranstons_1914 leeks, carrots, green split peas, celery, garlic, fresh thyme and rosemary, seasoning and a couple of bay leaves. Blitzed together once cooked, with generous amounts of meat from the bone added to warm through, and a squeeze of lemon to finish. Very good it was too.

I came across the recipe for the focaccia by @michela.chiappa quite by accident a few weeks ago and made it today for the first time. It was unbelievably easy... a doddle. I'm not a baker as those who follow me will know, but I was delighted with how this turned out, as were my two very happy recipients, both of whom had second helpings. I will definitely make it again.

This is the second soup I've made in as many weeks. Very definitely autumn in my part of Cumbria 🍂 by @ma_ndy1905

#aroundtheworldin80dishes

THAILAND

Crispy Garlic Chicken Wings
Thai Swede Salad (top)
Sai Ua Scotch Eggs (bottom)

Another great cook from the book LANNA. There are so many delicious recipes, it's hard to know where to start...or stop!

The chicken wings were marinated overnight in a spicy paste that includes cumin, coriander, and fish sauce.
They're then dredged in a mix of SR flour, cornflour, bicarb, and rice flour before being deep fried, although I oven baked mine, before being given a garnish of crispy fried garlic and fresh coriander. Sweet chilli sauce on the side. Fabulously crispy skin, with soft juicy meat, and lick worthy fingers.

In my part of the world, we call a swede, a turnip, but whatever you call it, this was a delicious salad. A twist on the classic Thai green papaya salad. Absolutely punch full of flavour; birds eye chillies, garlic, palm sugar, fish sauce, peanuts, and lime juice.

The scotch eggs are made with minced pork mixed with turmeric, galangal, fresh lime leaves, hot chilli flakes, shallots, garlic, fresh coriander, fish sauce, wrapped around a soft boiled egg and fried (my egg wasn'tso soft 🙄). Served with sweet chilli sauce.

My daughter loved them. My husband didn't. I said,'but you like pork and you like eggs...' and he replied, 'I like gin, beer and wine, but never in the same glass' 😂

A huge thank you to Claire @thecultiveater for hosting this monthly event.

This is the 57th country, believe it or not. Our 58th will be Algeria next month, why not join us. by @ma_ndy1905

#aroundtheworldin80dishes

THAILAND

Stir-fried Pork with Thai Basil

This is my third cook from the book LANNA, although the recipe itself is actually for chicken with holy basil.

I love chicken, but not chicken mince for some reason, so I subbed with pork mince from the butcher, and, as holy basil is rarer than hens teeth in my part of the world, I used Thai basil from the supermarket, and just a pinch of ground cloves to mimic the flavour.

The egg, freshly laid that morning, is from a farm honesty box a couple of minutes drive away. They are so good.

We all loved this; fresh and vibrant flavours with just the right amount of heat.

With thanks as ever to Claire @thecultiveater for organising this each month. Can you believe this is country 57!

Do check out the # to see what the rest of this friendly and fabulous group have been making 😋

Next month we're off to Algeria, why not join us. DM Claire for details. by @ma_ndy1905