Jasper made some breakfast this morning and it looked good. So me and Freyja went to the shop and got our own breakfast, which I have to say is much better. Purely because our sausages were made out of real meat. And ours has bacon. Real bacon. Mmmm bacon. Bacon is good. And toast. The only thing that’s not as good is the picture, but I’m no photographer, so I used my camera phone.
I also thought I’d throw in a picture of Kali and Freyja for luck. Freyja is shown here modelling her new buoyancy aid that her Granny (my Mum) bought for her to go swimming in France.
Kali couldn’t resist getting in the picture either, although I’m not sure she realises what it’s all about. She’s definitely a puppy, and more than a handful. Taking her on walks is a real struggle, but I’m sure we’ll get there. She’s only 15 weeks old bless her, but my she’s growing! In fact, this is her like 5 minutes ago:
If you’re wondering what the white powder is all over her head, it’s not dandruff, it’s sand from Freyja’s sand table we were playing with earlier and Kali decided to roll in some sand that had fallen off. Silly puppy!
Soup is always a winner when you’re ill and my favourite is always tomato soup. Making your own is pretty much as easy as getting a tin, and here’s how it’s done…
Ingredients
- 6-10 Large on the vine tomatoes
- 1pt Vegetable stock
- Basil & Rosemary
- 1 fist-sized white potato
- 1 Large celery stick
- Tomato purée
Instructions
Cut the stalks nubs out of the tomatoes. Roughly slice. Peel and roughly slice the potato into 1-2cm chunks. Roughly chop the celery.
Heat a large saucepan with butter and olive oil. Add the potato chunks and sauté briefly. Add the tomatoes, stock, herbs and celery. Add a squirt of tomato purée and stir thoroughly. Gently boil with the lid on for 15-20 minutes, seasoning as necessary. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Once cooled, liquidise everything and warm back up on the hob. Serve with buttered crusty bread and a nice wine.
I’ve made this lovely dish a few times now – it’s simple, quick and a lot of fun actually! This recipe would also work well with other meats such as turkey.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2x Pork Chops or Loins
- 2x Slices of stale bread
- 50ml semi-skimmed milk
- Plain Flour
Instructions
Make sure you leave some bread out to go stale over 24 hours or so before preparation.
Whiz the bread in a food processor into very fine breadcrumbs. Put in a pasta plate or slightly curved plate. Take another plate of the same and put in your milk, place that bowl to the left of your breadcrumbs. In another plate, to the left of the milk plate, put a handful of plain flour.
Next, take your pork chops or loins and cut off any large pieces of fat. Wrap in cling film and flatten with a rolling pin or meat tenderiser, taking care that the chop stays in one piece. Flatten the meat until it is between 5-10mm thick.
Once your meat has been flattened, take one and place in the flour bowl, coating thoroughly. Dip quickly in the milk and quickly shake off the excess, and finally place the meat in the breadcrumbs. Cover with some loose breadcrumbs and press down firmly to ensure they stick to the milk. Put to the side on a plate, and repeat the process with the other chop.
Heat a griddle pan on medium with a good lug of olive oil and gently cook the chops until the breadcrumbs are a lovely golden colour and the meat is cooked through.
Serve with a nice salad or mash and fresh vegetables.
This is a simple dish that I concocted off my own head when we didn’t really have much in. It’s simple, and not bad for a quick meal!
Ingredients (serves 3/4)
- 6 sausages of your choice
- Tin of chopped tomatoes
- English mustard
- Salt & Pepper
- 175ml White wine
- Tomato Purée
- Garlic to taste
- Sage, Rosemary
- Olive Oil
Method
Skin the sausages so they are soft and pop them in the frying pan in a little olive oil and the garlic, randomly cutting them up with a wooden spoon as you stir them around and seal them. Add in the white wine and season with salt & pepper and the herbs. Reduce the wine down by about half, add tomatoes, a squirt of tomato purée and 2 tea spoons of English mustard. Cover and continue to cook on medium for about 30 minutes.
I don’t know where this recipe is from so I’m not sure who to credit for it. It’s one my mum (and in turn her mum) gave to me from an old-looking magazine cutting, and I don’t know anything more than “it’s yummy!” and it’s such a simple dish to do!
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 tablespoons double cream
4-6 chicken pieces
225g frozen broccoli, thawed
298g can condensed cream of chicken soup
4 rounded tablespoons real mayonnaise
Half level teaspoon curry powder
50g English cheddar, grated
Instructions
1. Preheat a moderately hot oven (Gas 5, 375 deg. F, 190 deg. C)
2. Arrange the chicken and broccoli in a shallow baking dish.
3. Combine the undiluted chicken soup with the mayonnaise, cream and curry powder. Spoon this over the chicken and broccoli then sprinkle with the grated cheese.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is turning golden brown.
