Posts filed under ‘Food’
Birthday Wish List
1) Macarons from Macarons & More
2) Square Toe Black Patent Leather Pumps by French Sole
3) Silk and Lace Top by The Kooples
4) Ankle High Knitted Collar Boots from the Limited Collection at M&S
5) Pearl Earrings from
Tiffany & Co
6) Silk Lace Panel Blouse by Raoul (via Flannels Fashion)
MM
Traffic Light Pasta
Even though the British weather has been absolutely glorious for the past few days, I’ve been feeling a bit down and stuck in a rut, and craved a bowl of comfort!
A stir-fry, some type of curry or a casserole – I wasn’t so sure on what to make. All I knew was that I wanted something comforting, hearty and quick. So with a heavy head I decided to raid the kitchen and ended up making the following Traffic Light Pasta – the name is basically due to the red, yellow and green colours of the dish.
What you will need:
400 – 500g of Penne pasta
Olive oil
Around 7 Spring onions
2 Fresh green chilli’s
2 Large clove’s of garlic
2 Tin’s of chopped tomatoes
6 Sticks of asparagus
1 Green bell pepper
A handful of green garden peas
A handful of sweetcorn
2 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
2 1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
A pinch of garam masala
2 tsp of thyme
What to do:
Begin by chopping the spring onions, fresh green chilli and garlic. Once chopped add to the pan with some olive oil, and begin to saute on a low heat.
Once the spring onions, fresh green chilli and garlic, begin to soften add the chopped tomatoes and stir. After around 2 minutes add the freshly cracked black pepper, salt, red chilli powder, thyme and pinch of garam masala. Cook this base on a high heat for around 3 minutes, stirring in between, and then reduce to a low heat and cook for a further 7 minutes.
Whilst the base of the sauce simmers away, dice the green bell pepper and asparagus and add to the sauce, along with the garden peas and sweetcorn. Continue to simmer on a low heat.
Boil the pasta and once the vegetables become tender, add two tbsp of the pasta water (this will thicken the sauce), followed by the boiled penne to the sauce. Stir and cook for a further 3 minutes.
And serve!
*Some people with lighter taste buds may find the above seasoning too hot. If this is the case, simply add only 1 fresh green chilli – it will make a difference!
*Before anyone points it out, yes my green bell pepper is on the soft side, but I do feel that this dish is great if you have any vegetables going over to the dark side, and you need to use them up quickly.
*Yes, that is a whole massive bag of fresh green chilli’s up there – they are a staple in most Indian households, and as you can see often get added to things like ermm pasta.
*Spring onions really do make a pasta dish taste differently, compared to say the standard onion.
*I quite like how the dish has colour, but you could easily mix it up a bit more by adding yellow bell pepper’s.
*If you’re not a fan of chilli I guess you could replace the seasoning with a more authentic Italian mix, such as fresh basil and oregano
*Whenever the sauce is simmering away, always cover the pan with its lid!…otherwise you end up with hot tomato pasta sauce spitting up at you….
*I normally love to sprinkle cheese upon serving, but I couldn’t think of a cheese which complements all the green vegetables – especially the asparagus. So if you do attempt my recipe, do let me know what you think!
MM
Craving the two cheeky C’s
The two cheeky C’s. By this I mean carbs and chocolate, but sometimes when the sky looks miserable outside, and your heart is sighing on the inside, nothing beats a slice (or two) of nutty chocolate Nutella on slighty toasted multigrain bread.
I am aware that some people like to add a twist to this beautiful classic, by adding chopped slices of banana – this I am yet to try.
Do you have any interesting toast + Nutella + ? combination? Do let me know!
MM
Eggs in a Basket
Eggs in a Basket is a dish in my opinion that is excellent no matter what time of day, fantastic as a quick breakfast if you don’t have much time, and great to give to kids too! (my niece and nephew love it!)
As the name suggests its all about an egg(s) in a basket.
What you will need:
About 2 tablespoons of oil
Ketchup or any other sauce you prefer (experiment!)
1 good quality egg per a silce of bread
What to do:
First take a non-stick frying pan and add about 2 tablespoons of oil. Place on the cooker to heat the oil. Meanwhile take a slice of bread and cut out a circle in the centre – you can use a glass rim, or a small cup, basically anything that will ‘cut’ the centre of the bread into a circle.
Next place the slice of bread into the frying pan and slightly fry one side of the bread. I usually wait till I hear it to begin to sizzle before I flip it over onto the other side (you don’t want it burnt!)
Crack the egg into the centre if the bread, where you have cut out the circle, and let it cook gently until the white becomes solid. I usually cook the egg on the lowest gasmark to make sure the bread doesn’t start to overcook before the egg. Once the white is solid I usually flip it over for about 2 seconds just to seal a thin layer of the yolk, but not long enough to cook it! The yolk must be kept runny!
Once cooked, plate the egg in the basket and fry off the left over centre of the bread. I always try and keep the yolk whole, but unfortunately, due to all the flipping it will sometimes break….very slightly. But do not worry, as I’ve said before it’s all about the yolk being kept runny!
Serve with ketchup or any other sauce you prefer. As you can see the key to this is to keep the yolk still runny, so that when cut into with a knife, it runs into the fried bread.
Enjoy!
MM
Mademoiselle Mundane 