A blog drew my attention recently to a plan that some other bloggers have to try 52 new recipes in 2010. I figure that a challenge like that looks like a good one and it may also give me a good reason to make better use of the large number of cookbooks that are sat in my kitchen.

I figure 52 in a year is only one a week and that shouldn't be too difficult, should it? I admit things may get a bit difficult , but I'm determined to give it a go. I'm not sure if there are any formal rules so to speak, but I plan to count any recipes in my tally - main meals, puddings, starters and baking. We're a couple of weeks into the year, but I can think of at least two new things that I have tried - and one of them I even took a photo of - so off I go. I'll aim to record them all on here.

White Fillets marinated in a homemade pesto

Description
An easy homemade versatile sauce that goes with pretty much anything.

Ingredients
50g/2oz basil
30g/1oz pine nuts, toasted
30g/1oz parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
85ml/3fl oz olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Put the basil, parmesan, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor and season well.
2. Whiz together and with the motor still running, pour the oil in until the pesto thickens.
3. Store in a clean jar in the fridge covered with a slick of oil to prevent it drying out.

I doubled the amount coated the fillets with half the amount .I baked them.Served with tagliatelle that was then coated in the remainder of the pesto. i placed the fillets on the pasta and lightly mixed. A lovely salad anointed with lemon and a touch of oil

chicken curry in a rich massale sauce

Hot,soft crispy ,fragrant sour a really good potato dish

Christmas and the new year aside. I craved some mezze type dishes today flavoursome food .Today's menu a chicken curry, grated salad with nigella seeds, a new potato dish from Lebanon and a coriander and lemon flavoured houmous

Potato dish

4 tbsp of olive oil

400g new potatoes diced

3 garlic chopped finely

1 chilli red diced

1tsp cumin seeds

salt

pepper

juice of lime.

This dish is so simple fry the cubed pot until golden and soft inside, drain and set aside . in the same pan reheat the oil that you fried potatoes in and add the cumin, wait for it to pop and become aromatic add the garlic, chilli add the cooked pots and mix together, remove from heat once mixed together and squeeze the juice of lime.Season and add a large tbsp of chopped coriander. Serve either hot or cold.

You could serve with a grilled piece of fish or steak, simple roatsed chicken ,great for barbeque's as it tastes good hot or cold.

Grated carrot salad

I use a packet of the chanterey carrots topped them and whizzed them in food processor. To a bowl add the juice of 1 lime, 2tsp of nigella seeds ,chopped coriander,salt, a handful of chopped flat leaved parsley. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and mix.

We att both recipes with curry and waitrose shop bought houmous ,and warmed pitta bread . Enjoy.

My slowcooked pasta sauce

Nothing makes me feel like comfort food than winter. As much as I love cusine creole I love food full spot.Today I made a slow cooked tomato sauce. It's such a quick and easy recipe and it has so many uses. I use in with the obvious pasta but i love it mixed with cooked green beans shredded basil.Its also delicious cooked with cannelli beans, or butter beans with a grilled piece of fish.

The following recipe doesn't require much preparation but the resulting sauce tastes like it has taken lots of prep.

Slow cooked sauce

I make a large pot of this but ill give you a more manageable amount.

2 tins of tomatoes, now I don't want to sound pompous but use the best you can afford.I like italian ones.

1 clove of garlic , lightly squashed,

2tsp olive oil

1tsp sugar

salt n pepper

Add all the ingredients to the pan and cook it very very slowly, you must make all the juice reduce. It takes 50 or so minutes for this amount ,the photo shows light bubbles on the surface of the sauce this is ready. Remove from heat.

You can add other flavouring at this point, a pinch of choppd chilli ,a splash of balsamic is nice,or some shredded basil my favourite. Try and make lots it freezes beautifully and it enables you to have standby dishes that make all the difference to those impromptu meals we all have .

Autumn

I love autumn,apart from the gorgeous changes in nature I love knitting/crocheting with all my woollen fibres, as well as all that I love baking .The top two photos are two cakes one baked on Monday packed with pureed fruit and cherries .The second a banana cake with flaked almonds,delicious I'm told .They look very similar but the texture of the fruit filled one was so dense and very cakey.The banana cake much lighter,soft. The colours are very similar I used dark muscovado sugar, you can always ring changes by changing sugar.
I have been baking lots of cakes and not eating them. Not sure, if i should write that but it isn't because I don't like them but its more about making the family feel so happy when I put a slice on cake next to them while they do whatever it is we all do in the evenings. Ahh Autumn, its so wonderful .I'm off to check todays dinner smoked mackerel dauphinose and a side of spinach.

Fish curry cooked in coconut

I I am often asked when do I find time to cook from scratch. They say they don't have the time. I

am amazed at the junk food people will eat, strange looking sauces with untold additives.Why cant they see that by the time they have called for a takeaway they could have made this dish ,full of flavour and additive free .This is a really easy dish that can be prepared in 20minutes.

.I have adapted a few things. I find lots of people like fish without bones. I ,on the other hand, love the fish with bones ,most people in Seychelles use fish with the bone.It makes the sauce have depth.For that reason I do this dish with filleted fish . Any white fish, . I prefer to buy my fish from my fishmonger.We often go to billingsgate I buy fresh fish, from the Indian ocean and fillet it myself. I love eating fish that my parents ate in Seychelles it makes the dish authentic .

It's very difficult to find a fishmonger as supermarkets are forcing small business's to go under as they cannot compete with supermarket prices. They have changed the face of our high streets, dozens of one pound shops,.every high street have become carbon copies .Its very sad.We no longer chat to the butcher,baker, fishmonger buying food has become a lonely one.

Ok, rant over.

Ingredients.

3 garlic cloves,

3 green finger chilli's

5cm/2in piece of ginger, peeled

3tbsp of sunflower/ groundnut oil

1 small onion, finely sliced

5-6 curry leaves. (these are become easy to source they can be found in most supermarkets)

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp salt

200ml coconut milk

155ml boiling water

500g of any fish fillet; pomfret haddock,pollack,snapper,cut into 4cm/2in wide pieces

Method;

1 Place garlic, chillies and ginger together in a food processor until smooth.

2, Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion with the curry leaves for a few minutes over a medium heat.You want them softened.

3. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger mixture with turmeric and salt. Fry for a few minutes, then add 200ml coconut milk with 155ml boiling water.

4. Simmer for 8 minutes then add the fish pieces and gently simmer. The sauce should reduce and thicken.

5. Check the seasoning.When the fish is to liking serve with rice and salad

.

I love these recipes of my childhood it connects me to my family, sharing the same way of preparation ,using the same fish. Very comforting,

Serve with rice and a salad.

Method

Chayote/christophene/ Cho cho Salad

Christophene, also called cho-cho or choyote, is a rough-skinned, pear-shaped vegetable.On slicing open you’ll find a very pale green and watery interior, with a soft white seed. It’s almost squash-like in appearance, and melon-like on the inside.
Christophenes grow on vines on shady and cool mountain slopes. Easy to grow and harvest, they are quite economical, plentiful and easy to prepare. Not having much of its own flavour, christophenes can be used extensively in cooking. It is approximately 93% water and is neutral in taste.Very low fact. They are readily available in Indian grocers .

The following salad is one of my favourite

1. 2 cho-cho ,peeled and cut in half. Remove the white seed.
2. 2 red onions , finely sliced
3. 1 /2tsp of white wine vinegar
4. 1 large lemon
5. 2tsp sunflower oil
6. 1tbsp flat leaved parsley, finely chopped
7. 1 or 2 green birds eye chilli ,finely chopped (add according to your preference)
8. 1 tbsp salt
9. black pepper freshly grind (never use the powdered stuff)
   
   

Method

• Steam or boil the cho cho, time will vary as they are often different sizes,you want a bit of resistance when you pierce with your knife. Drain set aside to cool.
• Thinly slice the red onions put into a bowl , add the salt to the onions. Now, this is a little unusual but you must rub and squeeze/massage the salt into the onions. This is something my mum does she says it sweetens the onions. Now ,add some water to the onions, swirl the onions around. . Drain the water and squeeze all the water out from the onions.The salt will be removed and you will be left with lovely mild onions.(They are delicious Ilike to use them when making cheese n onions sandwiches.)
• Add black pepper to taste. Pour 1 to 2tsp of white wine vinegar .
• Slice the cho- cho try not to cut it too thick or thin. Add these to the onions. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add to onions, adjust according to your preference.You are looking for a slight tang and sweetness.
• Add the sunflower oil , I suppose we are making a deconstructed vinaigrette.Allow the flavours to develop. It allows the cho to soak up the lemony,vinegary dressing. Serve with grilled fish and plain basmati rice

Lazy days

Tonight's dinner was a lazy affair. Spaghetti with mussels,cherry tomatoes,basil, dash of white wine, garlic.I really enjoy these quick meals by the time the pasta is ready you can rustle up the sauce. Very quick and packed full of flavour.