Showing posts from July, 2012

Feta Tart with Fig & Plum Relish

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Twitter really is a wonderful thing (most of the time!), especially when it means I discover fab new foodies like Kitchen Garden, an award winning producer of preserves and condiments. Barbara (the owner) and I got 'chatting' over Twitter and next thing I knew some fab product samples (including the Fig and Plum Chutney I have used in this recipe) landed on my doorstep. All of the Kitchen Garden products have handy recipe suggestions on the side of the jars and the Fig and Plum Chutney suggested pairing with salty feta or goats cheese....so that's what I did in this puff pastry tart. I used ready rolled all butter puff pastry as I had it to hand but some day soon I will have a go at making my own. The basil gives the tart some extra colour and visual appeal but I wouldn't go out of your way to buy some - I just had some to hand on my windowsill. I served the tarts with a green salad and crusty bread....best ea


Sausage and Fennel Seed Ragu

Wintry wet weather of biblical proportions definitely called for warming and hearty food at Dinnertime this week. This Sausage and Fennel Seed Ragu was one such meal and uses a slightly unusual method for cooking the sausages - they are boiled in their skins - sounds disgusting but trust me it works. The fennel seeds give the dish a wonderfully punchy flavour so if you are making this for very young children it might be best to half the amount of fennel seed. Have a great weekend. print recipe Sausage and Fennel Seed Ragu by Beth Sachs July-13-2012 A hearty pasta dish Ingredients 8 Good Quality Pork Sausages 300g Penne 2 Shallots, chopped 1 Garlic Clove, chopped 1 TSP (scant) Fennel Seeds 400g Tin of Chopped Tomatoes Handful Parmesan, grated Small handful Basil leaves Instructions Step 1: Boil the sausages in their skins for 8 minutes, drain and leave to cool. Once cool, slit the skins and chop up the sausage meat, set to one sid


Quick Chocolate Fudge

The end of term is nearly upon us (eeek) so Lowen and I decided to spend yesterday evening making some chocolate fudge to give to her teachers as an end of term present. Anyone and I mean absolutely anyone can make this - you really can't go wrong (I don't think!..). I bought some clear cellophane bags to pop the pieces of fudge into and then Lowen got creative with stickers! I'm sure her teachers will appreciate the effort (well, it doesn't exactly take much effort) and is much nicer and more personal than a box of shop bought chocolates or fudge. If you wanted to, you could add some chopped nuts into the mixture or even dried fruit - we kept it nice and simple though. On a different but school related note, I had an email from Voucher Codes regarding some Marks and Spencer voucher codes and I noticed one for 20% off school wear (which expires today)......time to start thinking about the new school year already and not leave it until the last week in August t