Lovely cook book

I hardly knew how to boil an egg when I got married many years ago - but this fabulous cook book helped me a lot.  I also loved it because of the fabulous colour pictures and illustrations.

It is the Hamlyn All in One Cook Book first published in 1976.  The illustrations are by Robin Laurie - aren't they great!

It also has lots of photographs as well as step by step guides to choosing ingredients and very easy to follow recipes.

Always came to my rescue when I was having friends round for dinner and wanted something a wee bit special.

Do you have a favourite recipe book?

Love Liz

Home made comfort food - just what we need!

Comfort food - home made meatballs in tomato sauce - yum!  That's what Hubby and I had for our tea (what us Scots call dinner) on Friday evening.

You don't need a lot to make this dish. I used up half a pack of minced pork that I had in the freezer.  (To be honest, I much prefer my meatballs made with pork sausagemeat.).  In a big bowl I mixed it with finely chopped onion, grated carrot and some breadcrumbs (also from the freezer).  

Also added an egg to bind them together and some salt and pepper.  I rolled the mixture into balls, shoogled them in a bit of flower and put them on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

While they were cooking I made the tomato sauce.  I cut some lean smoked bacon in to small pieces and fried them in olive oil - this adds a lovely smoky flavour to your sauce.  To the pot I then added finely chopped onion, carrot and celery.  I let this cook for a wee while then added some flour, mixed well and allowed to cook.  

Then it was time for a  couple of glugs of red wine - used this to get all the lovely sediment at the bottom of the pot.  Once this was done I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, a chopped red pepper, crushed garlic, a dod of tomato puree, chopped basil and a teaspoon of sugar.  

Stirred well, seasoned and simmered for half an hour or so, this sauce is so easy and tastes delicious. It is also much better if you cook it either the day before or earlier in the day you wish to have it. Once cooked I took out half to freeze.

Cooking done well before lunch time, all I had to do when Hubby got home was to cook some pasta, reheat the sauce and meatballs, grate some Parmesan cheese and pour the wine.

We had this lovely meal with a side salad and some garlic bread.  Delicious!  Best of all I've got the other half in the freezer to have another night!

Love, Liz 

Honey, I found the parsnips!

Ok - so yesterday, I found the parsnips that should have been cooked on Christmas Day!

I searched high and low on Christmas Day for these blinking things.  The family even helped, but then assumed that Mum was "losing it"!  They even suggested I hadn't actually bought them. But I knew I had, I just couldn't find them.  Of course they were "hidden" in plain sight - second tray of the vegetable rack.  They look a bit scabby now - but they'll make a great pot of soup!

Don't know about you, but I always, for some reason,  miss something out when I've a big meal to cook.  Ah well, there was so much food, I don't think anyone really missed them.

Love, Liz

It was going to be turkey salad ...

Last night's tea (that's what some of us Scots call dinner) was going to be warm Parmesan crusted turkey steak with salad ........ but ........ yesterday the weather was terrible here in Greenock - it rained all day, and I had to put my lights on at 5.30 in the evening!  So, salad was out, something more comforting was needed for Hubby and I.  So I just decided to make something else using the two turkey steaks that I had available.  This is what I ended up with -

All I did was add some oil and butter to a pan and cooked finely chopped onion, carrot and celery.  I then added the turkey steaks which I had cubed and let them brown after which I added about a spoonful of flour and stirred to coat the stuff in the pan.  Made some chicken stock which I then added and let it bubble away slowly.  I chopped up some orange and red pepper and added to the pan. The whole thing was then put in the oven to stew.  Meanwhile I cooked some mushrooms with parsley and garlic.  Top Tip!  I like to cook my mushrooms separately and add at the last minute - that way they keep a lot of their size and flavour.  When the stew was ready I took it from the oven, added a good wedge of cream cheese and stirred through, then added the mushrooms and some frozen peas.  After that I just let it warm through on the hob.  (Foodie Bloggers be aware that you have nothing to fear from Shortbread & Ginger's meal posts - I don't know all the jargon and I rarely weigh anything!)

The perfect accompaniment - a recipe I had seen earlier on TV.  I don't usually watch daytime TV, but it was such a rotten day, I decided to give it a go.  I discovered "The Pioneer Woman" on the Food Network channel.  Ree had made some breakfast potatoes to feed her hungry family who were out on the ranch, working with the cattle.  I omitted the peppers, since I had already put some in the stew.  They turned out great!  The Pioneer Woman has a great web site with lots of fabulous recipes.

Hubby's verdict on the last minute meal - said he'd have it again anytime!  So that's something else to add to my easy mid-week meal collection.  Next time I might make dumplings with it!

Of course a little bit of vintage crockery does not go amiss!
Love, Liz

Strange New Addiction!

I've a confession to make!
I have a strange new addiction to ................. tinned creamed rice!

I tasted it for the first time earlier this year when my brother in law won a food hamper at Christmas and gave us the things he didn't like.  Among the items was a tin of creamed rice.  So in the spirit of waste not, want not I opened it - not really expecting to like it.

Well, a few months later and a tin of creamed rice is now on our weekly shopping list!  I love the stuff!  I'm supposed to be on a diet, but have to have my weekly fix.  I open the tin, pop it in a tub and put it in the fridge - I love it nice and chilled!  Yum!  Doesn't even have to be the well known brand - cheaper versions are just as good, to me!

Do you have any strange food addictions?

Love, Liz

Food Glorious Food

One of the most interesting places I saw on my recent visit to Toronto was the St Lawrence Market on Front Street.

 

There are lots of vendors selling just about every type of food you can imagine.  The sights and smells inside will make you very hungry - so be prepared.  There are live lobsters (and some already cooked) on the seafood stalls as well as just about every species of seafood you can imagine.!  Another stall had just about every cheese you have heard of, and many you might not have!  Herbs and spices, baked goods, speciality foods, foods from all over the world and the biggest steaks I've ever seen - just some of what's on offer.

 

There are also a few little craft stalls too.  The building itself is old and inside there are lots of photographs of its use in previous times.  There's a cafe on the veranda where you can sit and enjoy the surroundings.  If you are ever in Toronto, you must pay a visit to the St Lawrence Market!

 

Love, Liz

Can I ask a little favour, please?

I've started a separate blog called "The Greenockian" which, as you have probably guessed, it all about my hometown of Greenock. 

Would you mind popping over and having a wee look.

I'll be writing about its history and people.  If you have liked my posts about Greenock on this blog, then I'm sure you will enjoy The Greenockian.  I feel a bit lonely just having one follower!

Thanks, Liz

Yummy!

It is a miserable, rainy day here in Greenock and there was nothing in the cupboards I fancied for lunch.  What's a girl to do?

 

Make some scones, of course!

You can see how unevenly my oven cooks things!

Took five minutes to make and then some time in the oven.  Didn't bother with a poncy cutter - just made a rough circle with the dough and cut out wedges!

 

A hot cuppa and scone (actually that's my second one!)straight from the oven with the butter melting - what could be nicer on such a day.

 

Love, Liz

Delicious Dessert & Pretty Plate

Need a quick and easy dessert for the weekend?  You must try this - it is so delicious and takes minutes to prepare.  I saw someone on "Come Dine With Me" make this and was impressed by how easy it seemed!

 

Belgian waffles, white chocolate, raspberries (frozen or fresh) and some crème fraiche - that's all.  Break up waffles and chocolate and place in dish (or you could layer them).  Mix in rasps and pour over some crème freche with a wee drop sugar in it.  Pop in oven for about half an hour and it's done!  It is so delicious, I've not been able to get an "after photo" because it disappears so quickly!

 

Some gratuitous pretty plate pics too!

 

Have a lovely weekend.

Love, Liz

Raspberry Vodka

In October, while many good folk were making their home made Christmas cakes and preserves from autumnal bounty, I was making ... well ... raspberry vodka!  No, I wasn't making the actual vodka myself, just the raspberry flavoured bit!

 

Add fresh raspberries and sugar to vodka (quantities available online).  Shake every day till the sugar has dissolved, then leave in a cool dark place for a couple of months (if you have the willpower).  As you can see, it goes the most fantastic shade of red.

 

I sieved the mixture and poured into lovely little bottles to give as little gifts at New Year, but at home I have a little tot with some of the raspberries left in - delicious!

You can make it at any time of year and I think it would also be nice mixed with soda as a summer drink.  Mine never lasts that long!

 

Happy weekend ..... hic!

Love, Liz

Lyle's Lion

Lyle's Golden Syrup - used by bakers everywhere and one of the most iconic tins in Britain.  Recently I seem to be seeing it in a lot of interiors magazines - holding candles or plants or being used for storage.

Have you ever really looked at the picture on the tin?  It depicts a dead lion with a swarm of bees around it.  It seems a strange image to adorn a tin of food, but it would appear that the story behind it comes from the Bible (Judges 14:5-18) and it's a pretty horrible tale!  In the story, Samson kills a lion, the next time he passes the carcass, a swarm of bees have made a honeycomb in it.  He makes up a riddle about this "out of the strong, something sweet" - and that's why it is on the tin!  Abram Lyle was a very religious man.  This trade mark was registered in 1904, although syrup was first put into tins in 1885.

 

Here's the Greenock connection - did you know that Abram Lyle (1820-1891) was born in Greenock?  In fact, he was a former provost (mayor) of Greenock in the 1870s.  His family were coopers in the town and Abram went into the shipping business, especially the importing of sugar from the East and West Indies.  He later founded the firm of Abram Lyle & Sons, sugar refiners.  He once owned one of my favourite buildings in Greenock - the Glebe sugar refinery, which you can read about here.

He opened a refinery in London, not far from that of his business rival, Henry Tate (of Tate Gallery fame).  The two companies were joined in 1921 after both men were dead.  Thus we have the company of Tate & Lyle, which had a refinery in Greenock until the 1980s.

So, the next time you open a tin of syrup or treacle, just remember the story of the logo and the Greenock connection!

Love, Liz

Morning Tea and Biscuits

Time for a mid-morning cuppa?

Think I'll use this lovely vintage Roslyn china.

What shall I have to eat - yum - an Aero biscuit.  Have you tried them yet?  They are absolutely delicious.

I only keep chocolate biscuits in the house for Hubby and Son's packed lunches ... of course!  But I had a craving for some chocolate the other day and these were in the tin ... the rest, as they say, is history ...  as were the biscuits within a very short period of time!

 

Still, it says on the wrapper that they are only 99 calories, so that's not too bad (if you can limit yourself to one)!  They have orange and mint ones too, but I haven't tried them yet - looks like a bit of research is in order - purely to keep you informed, of course ;-)

Love, Liz

Greetings from Greenock

This is not a sponsored post.

70s Breakfast

Breakfast à la 70s.

Arcopal teacup, saucer and plate - remnants of a wedding gift (of course, I was a child bride, ahem!).

Reading my fav 70s mag - 19 Magazine - I remember using the stuff (correction fluid) in this ad - always ran out just when it was needed most.  Then I moved to an office which used blue paper for correspondence - argh!!!!!  In the days of electric (or even worse, manual) typewriters, you really had to be accurate!  I never did tape type my way to fame and fortune!

But, I digress ... so unlike me!

The reason for this post - these

Three Original Cornish Kitchenware egg cups found in the charity shop yesterday.  Didn't know what make they were till I got them home because they were in the window of the shop and I had to ask the wee old lady how much they were.  She rummaged in the window, told me the price, tutted and then said, "They're naw worth that, gie's wan fifty."  I hastily agreed because she had been so nice and I was actually looking for some egg cups for Easter bits and pieces.

Anyway, to continue - discovered that the mark stating that they were restyled by Judith Onions (what a great name) dates from1968 - 1975 so decided to treat myself to a 70s breakfast today!  Phew, got there in the end.  Is anyone still with me?

Very enjoyable breakfast!

The wee lady in the charity shop was not just nice to me.  There had been an old lady in front of me who bought a purse.  The charity shop lady put a 20p inside it for her because we have a tradition here that if you give anyone a new purse, you have to put a coin in it - I think it is a good luck charm - so that their purse will never be empty.  Is that a west of Scotland tradition or do you do this too?

Anyway, that restored my faith in the human side (as opposed to the business side) of charity shops.  I feel a bit guilty about all my recent moans!

Have a great day!

Love, Liz