Category Archives: Aga cooking

Breakfast muffin (gluten free)

Posted in Aga cooking, cake, eating disorder, eggs, food, food is medicine, fruit, functional food, gluten free, healthy eating, home baking, home cooking, home grown, home produce, recipe, Uncategorized by

One of my daughters is always dashing around, frequently doesn’t have breakfast and often ‘picks something up’ on the way in to work when she gets her daily caffeine hit.

I know you can buy breakfast bars etc. but when I have looked at the ingredients I can’t really say I would want to start my day in this way.

So, I had a session experimenting at the weekend and created a muffin – full of breakfast  ingredients. Tasty, filling and nutritious.

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Makes 9

Preheat oven to 180c / Gas 4       Lightly grease a muffin tin

Ingredients:

1 cup of rolled oats      1 cup of milk           2 eggs (1 if using non gf flour)

1 cup of gf plain flour    1tsp baking powder   1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup coconut sugar / muscavado sugar       1/2 cup stewed apple    1/2 cup raisins

Method:

Put the oats, milk and eggs in a bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Finally add the sugar, apple and raisins. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

I served them with Greek yoghurt and a dollop of apples sauce.

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…my daughter took a couple to test – had them for ‘breakfast on the go’ – thumbs up from her 🙂

Food traditions

Posted in Aga cooking, cake, food, home baking, home cooking, recipe, Uncategorized by

I was making the Christmas cake last week (late, I know but circumstances have meant it has taken me longer to get around to it) when a friend came to visit. All the ingredients were in the bowl and the final mixing was taking place. I invited my friend to have a stir and make a wish. This intrigued her. She had never heard of this tradition – something I have done since … well since I can remember. In fact we used to queue up to stir the cake and make a wish at my primary school. Interestingly another friend arrived shortly after and promptly stirred and made a wish – she too followed has followed this tradition.

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This brought the conversation around to other food traditions – such as using the top tier of a wedding cake as the Christening cake. Again, first visitor had not heard of this. I wonder whether this is dying out with the advent of cupcake wedding cakes etc.

I don’t think I have made these up and I don’t think they are traditions peculiar to our family household…unless you tell me otherwise! I know we do have our own traditions – one of my daughters has to have mint jelly with her Christmas dinner and has done so since being very young (now 28).If I was to forget this – well –  I don’t know what would happen.

Just wondering what foodie traditions you have in your household…?

Roasted vegetables, watercress and chicken soup

I always make this type of soup using leftovers. When I make a roast dinner or a dish involving roast vegetables I ensure there are some leftover to make soup the next day. Perfect if the roast was chicken as the scraps can be added to the soup and the carcass can be boiled / simmered to make a nutritious stock.

So, to a few leftover roasted vegetables – including potatoes – I add a bag of watercress and pint of stock. I simmer this for 10 minutes, blitz and then add the chicken scraps. Quick. Easy. Delicious.

Seasons

Posted in Aga cooking, eating disorder, food, food is medicine, fruit, functional food, gluten free, healthy eating, home baking, home cooking, home grown, home produce, jams, preserves, pudding, recipe, salad, sorbet, Uncategorized, vegetables, vegetarian by

Chatting with a friend the other day, we started to discuss the seasons – random I know – and tried to pick a favourite.

I found this really difficult but in doing this task I realised that my love of the different seasons revolves around food choices!

Spring: I love spring – the fresh colours – vibrant greens of new buds, blossom laden trees – replaced with fruit in the autumn, blankets of yellow for daffodils. Planting of vegetables under glass ready for the frosts to stop. Hens, ducks and quail come back in to lay.

Summer: fruit sorbets / nice cream. Arrays of salad vegetables. New potatoes…yum

Autumn: the amazing palette of colours and the trees enter their quiescent phase for the winter. This is when I really wish I could paint. With autumn comes such a marvellous bounty of fruits and vegetables and the sound of the tractors harvesting wheat, barley, maize. hay for the animals etc. Nights turning cooler – one pot suppers / casseroles / fruit crumbles  /  jam/ liqueur and chutney making / freezer filling.

and then there is winter…curtains closing early, log fires burning, mulled wine, fruit cakes, mince pies, rich food and of course – family gatherings.

If I had to choose one…probably  autumn.

How about you?

 

 

Leek and potato soup 

Posted in Aga cooking, beating cancer, coeliac, dairy free, eating disorder, food, food is medicine, fructose free, functional food, gluten free, healthy eating, home cooking, mains, Uncategorized, vegetables, vegetarian by

I love autumn and winter – perfect weather for a bowl of warming and filling soup. I tend to make my soups hearty rather than a consomme type.

This soup is so easy to make and quick – from thought to tableware in half an hour😊

For a pan load that will provide 4 generous servings I use:

Ingredients:

3 leeks washed and chopped

5 white potatoes  peeled and chopped into small pieces

1 pint of stock – vegetable  or chicken

Cup of milk – optional

Salt and pepper.

Method:

Put the leeks, potatoes stock and seasoning in a pan. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer until soft. Remove from the heat and blend until nearly smooth. I like to leave the odd chunk. Put back on the heat and add the milk if desired. bring up to boiling and serve.

Lemon and poppy seed gf cake 

Prepare a 2 lb/ 900 g loaf tin

Preheat the oven to 180c / gas mark 5

Ingredients:

170 g Self raising gluten-free flour      120 g light muscavado sugar    2 or 3 tbsp poppy seeds

140 g softened butter          4 eggs ( 3 if using non gf flour)    1 tsp baking powder

Juice and rind of 2 lemons – juice of 1/2 lemon for cake and 1 1/2 for drizzle topping

80 g sugar for topping (mix the sugar and lemon from 1 1/2 lemons together)

Method:

Put all of the ingredients for the cake (except lemon juice, rind and poppy seeds) in to a bowl and mix well. Add the lemon rind, juice from half a lemon and poppy seeds and combine. Put mixture in to the prepared tin and bake for about 35 mins – until skewer is clean.

Whilst the cake is still hot and in the tin spoon the lemon/sugar mixture all over the top of the cake. Once cool, remove the cake from the tin.

 

Steamed broccoli, cavolo nero kale and cod bake

A delicious dish that is assembled and then baked to heat through and crisp up the topping. Takes about 35 minutes from starting to eating 🙂

Ingredients: Broccoli, cavolo nero kale, large cod fillet, cheese sauce, plain tortilla chips, grated cheese and black pepper.

Method:

Steam the broccoli and kale. Gently simmer the cod in milk. Make a cheese sauce.

Once all cooked or made then assemble:

Put steamed broccoli and kale across the bottom of an oven proof dish
Break the cod fillet in to large pieces and arrange
Cover with the cheese sauce
Sprinkle crushed tortilla over the top and cover with grated cheese and black pepper
Bake in the oven until heated through and top crisp

1.Put steamed broccoli and kale across the bottom of an oven proof dish

2.Break the cod fillet in to large pieces and arrange

3.Cover with the cheese sauce

4. Sprinkle crushed tortilla over the top and cover with grated cheese and black pepper

5. Bake in the oven until heated through and the topping is crisp

I served this with gf tortilla wraps smothered in garlic butter and baked till starting to crisp.

 

Blackcurrant cassis 

Posted in Aga cooking, drink, food, home baking, home grown, home produce, preserves, recipe, Uncategorized by

Ingredients:

650 g blackcurrants -washed and drained

750 ml red wine

500 g sugar

100 ml brandy

Method:

Put the blackcurrants in to a large bowl and partially mash them. Add the red wine. Cover the bowl and leave for 2-3 days at room temperature. Stir and mash each day.

Strain the liquid through a colander and then a sieve and place the liquid in to a large saucepan. Add the sugar and warm to dissolve stirring continuously. Allow the liquid to heat up but  do not boil. Keep the liquid hot for 15 mins stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the brandy. Stir. Bottle and seal.

Enjoy – this is delicious on its own, with a sparkling wine or drizzled over vanilla ice cream.

Banana and raspberry gluten free muffins

Posted in Aga cooking, cake, eggs, food, food is medicine, gluten free, healthy eating, home baking, home cooking, specialised diet, Uncategorized by

What do you do with the sad brown banana left in the fruit bowl?  Bake with it!

The natural sweetness of the ripe banana reduces the amount of sugar  needed in the mixture. Fresh raspberries with their tangy flavour compliment the banana extremely well.

Preheat oven to 180c /gas mark 5  Makes 16 muffins

Ingredients:

220 g gluten-free self-raising flour

140 g coconut sugar (or light muscavado)

180 g butter – softened

4 eggs

1 ripe banana – mashed

100 g fresh raspberries

Method:

Put the flour, butter, sugar and eggs in to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the mashed banana and mix till combined. Add the raspberries and mix gently. Spoon in to the muffin tin. Bake for 12-15 mins until cooked.

 

 

Baked apple stuffed with raisins and honey

A deliciously simple desert that reminds me of autumnal suppers as a child.

Take a large cooking apple and remove its core. Place on a oven proof dish. Stuff dried fruit of your choice into the hole and place a heaped teaspoon of set honey on top. Bake in the centre of the oven- gas mark 5 / 180 C until the apple is soft. I served this with a generous pouring of cream. If you wish to play around with the flavours and make it a grown up pudding – a drizzle of a liqueur on the dried fruit before cooking is a tasty addition.

Personally I like the simplicity of the flavours as it is.