Crazy Englishwoman Cooks!

This is another one from my sister. Apparently while my parents have taken the kids away for a week, she is enjoying the free time by experimenting with some new recipes.

Kebabs are always great because you can tailor them to whatever meat and veggies you have. I use metal skewers but remember that if you use wooden ones, you should soak them first so they don't burn on the grill.

Photo by Rich Beales

Lamb Skewers

Mix 150g natural yoghurt with 1 tbsp of mint sauce and 1 tbsp or rosemary. Put the lamb chunks into the marinade and ensure it's all coated. Leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes. Chop red onion and green pepper into chunks.
Thread the lamb pieces with onion, pepper and mushrooms onto skewers and cook on a bbq or griddle pan.  Turn to cook evenly.
We had ours with cous cous but you could have them with salad or rice if you prefer.

They clearly enjoyed there because one minute she was preparing them while we chatted on Facebook, the next she was emailing the pic and saying they had been devoured!

One of my sisters shared this recipe with me over the weekend. Since my hubby doesn't like coconut, I'll have to live vicariously through her shared coconut dessert dreams. (It's either that or scoff the entire recipe for myself!)

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And so it is time for pudding, and when kids are cooking, you know you're in for a rocking good pud...jam roly poly and homemade vanilla ice cream anyone?

Nigella Lawson's Jam Roly Poly

8 oz self-raising flour
pinch salt
2 oz brown sugar
4 oz shredded suet
6-8 tbs water
5 tbs raspberry jam, warmed
milk
1 egg, beaten
demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F or Gas 6.
Sift the flour with the salt and add the brown sugar. Add the suet and enough water to make a soft dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. You want a rectangular piece of dough, about 8 inch by 12 inch.
Brush one side of the pastry with the raspberry jam, being sure to leave a half inch border on all sides.

Fold the jamless border in and brush with milk.

Roll up the pastry loosely and seal the ends well.
Place the roll on a greased baking sheet (sealed edge underneath).
Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Sprinkle with a little more sugar just before serving and serve with hot custard or ice cream.

Next, we watch our young chefs make their vanilla ice cream, which involves a lot of sugar:

some good quality double cream:

and vanilla beans:

As any good chef knows, the secret to good ice cream is all in the wrist:

And although this pic is a little out of focus, it sums up the joy of cooking:

As Brandon and Kaela's mum pointed out in the comments of yesterday's post, the two little chefs may know the importance of eating their vegetables but that doesn't mean they always do eat them. They did, however, provide a delicious side dish to accompany the sausage casserole that they served to their dinner guests.

Oven Roasted Vegetables with Thyme and Honey

1 lb potatoes
1 lb parsnips
1 lb carrots
1 lemon
1/2 lb red onions
olive oil
5 tbs clear honey
thyme
salt and pepper

Wash the root vegetables but do not peel them - remember that a good amount of their nutrition is housed in the skin. Slice the spuds, parsnips, and carrots into large chunks. Halve the lemon, and cut the onions into quarters.

Put all the veggies on an oven tray and drizzle with olive oil and honey.

Add some sprigs of thyme and a good smattering of salt and pepper.

Cook for 30-40 minutes at 350F until the veggies are well cooked. You can stir them a little from time to time to make sure they all get a good coating of the glaze.


So there you have the main course and its side. I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty hungry reading about all this good food. And tomorrow I'll be drooling because we're on to dessert!

Continuing with the intrepid kitchen adventures of Brandon and Kaela...since dealing with a roast and splattering oil was a bit too much for a 5 year old and a 6 year old, Brandon and Kaela decided to serve a sausage casserole for their main course. The following recipe is courtesy of The Hairy Bikers.

Great Sausage Casserole

1-2 tbs sunflower oil
12 pork sausages
6 rashers bacon, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp hot chili powder or smoked paprika
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
10 fl oz chicken stock
2 tbs tomato puree
1 tbs Worcester sauce
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
a good splash of red wine
1 14oz can butter beans
salt and pepper

Heat a tbs of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sausages for about 10 minutes until nicely browned. Transfer the sausages to a casserole dish.
Fry the bacon until brown and crisp, and then add to the sausages.


Lastly, fry the onions and garlic until they soften and turn a pale golden-brown. Add more oil to the frying pan if necessary. Sprinkle the chili powder over the onions and cook for a few seconds.


Stir in the tomatoes, stock, puree, Worcester sauce, brown sugar, and herbs.



Pour in the wine (or water) and simmer.
Carefully, pour the contents of the frying pan into the casserole dish containing the sausages and bacon. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir as needed.
Drain and rinse the beans. Stir them into the casserole and cook for ten more minutes.
Season to taste.



Serve with some good bread.

Now of course Brandon and Kaela also know the importance of eating their vegetables so tomorrow we'll find out what side they prepared to go with this.

These two piratey darling are my nephew Brandon (6) and his sister Kaela (5). In case you're wondering, the pirate costumes were for a theme day at school last month.

As well as their usual school lessons, my sister Sam creates some incredible at home study programs for them that have included creating a worm farm, studying why things float, and more recently cookery. At the end of the each project, they write up a report and earn an achievement badge.


For their recent cookery project, Brandon and Kaela decided to cook a Sunday dinner for my parents. They have been good enough to share their recipes (and pics) with me and so for the next few days, we will be enjoying Brandon and Kaela's Sunday Lunch Extravaganza.

First, the appetizer.



Add some homemade bread:


...and I'd say we've got a pretty good meal in itself.


But this is just the beginning. Join us tomorrow for the main course.