making good use …

jam tarts

… of the oven. I’m trying to cook in a different style – more on the hob, and less lighting of the big oven unless I can use it for more than one thing. I have a decent oven in the microwave, so I use that more now as well.

We were supposed to be going out last night, but one of the cats is unwell, and we didn’t want to leave her. Of course, we had nothing planned for supper, so we pulled the last tub of chilli from the freezer (must make some more!), and as it was frozen solid, I set it in a small cast iron casserole in a low oven to thaw …

read more at Reactive Cooking

fusion risotto

Now, this really was quite barking, and I wasn’t at all sure it would work, but nothing ventured, etc.

As I said, there was more duck left on the carcass than we thought, so risotto seemed appropriate. Basic rule of risotto in this house is 5 oz risotto rice to 1 pint liquid; the liquid can be anything you like, or a permutation there of – stock, wine, lemon juice, water. So, I thought, in a mad, end-of-the-week sort of way, why not use up the bit of coconut milk left from the spring greens the other night …

read more at Reactive Cooking

apricot and blueberry upside down cake

We had some apricots going wrinkly, and some blueberries that needed using up. I halved the apricots and removed the stones, then put them and the blueberries in a shallow pan with a little water, some honey, and a good pinch of ginger. Simmered them gently for about five minutes.

I beat 125g of butter, 200g of granulated sugar and a slosh of vanilla essence until light and fluffy, then added 40g ground almonds, 125ml of yogurt, 125ml of milk and two eggs, and beat again. Then folded in 150g plain flour and a teaspoon of baking powder (I never use self raising).

I put the fruit in the bottom of an 8″ silicone sponge pan, and poured the cake batter on top. Cooked at gas 4/180˚C for about 45 minutes.

This would work well with any soft fruit, I think – it certainly worked very well with blueberries and apricots!

originally posted at Reactive Cooking

sausage supper

is very fond of kabanos sossidge for his luncheon, which we buy in bulk from Costco. However, the trip before last, they had no kabanos (and no Beurre Isigny either, which was a bit of a blow), so he bought a few packs of sausage from one of the Polish shops. They weren’t nearly as nice, and some of them have languished in the fridge and need using up.

Read more by following the link below

Originally published at Reactive Cooking.