Stargazing

 When night is dressed in

Diamonds bright,

The sky sings softly 

Through the night 

Beneath this quiet 

Gentle sky 

Let your dreams like 

Stars drift by

Courtesy of the B & B Challenge on Channel Four in the UK.

For pork chop lovers

Take two pork chops (or more) and place in a freezer bag containing a mixture of brown sugar, salt and water. Leave in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to cook, cut slits into the rind with scissors. Using tongs, fry the fat in a griddle pan (skillet). Then fry the chops in the oil, adding some olive oil if required.

Serve with mashed potatoes and ratatouille.

Ajja, from Tunisia

 

Ingredients

4 coloured peppers (green and yellow perhaps, but any ones will do) sliced
half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
salt and pepper to your taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
2/3 crushed garlic cloves
2 chopped tomatoes (with skin removed if you can bother)
some cold water
6 beaten eggs
chopped onions (optional) 

Pour the olive oil into a non-stick frying pan and add the chorizo sausage.  Stir with a wooden spoon occasionally and when the red coloured oil comes out of the sausage, it is time to add the cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper, garlic and fry for two minutes. Add the tomatoes, a dash of water, followed by the beaten eggs.  

Now is the time to add the sliced peppers if you want them not overcooked.  However if you prefer them a bit mushy, you could add them right at the beginning with some chopped onions.

Stir the eggs and mess it around.....it is more scrambled than omelette.

You can vary this according to taste.....swap the chorizo for minced meat, change the cayenne pepper for harissa paste (just a touch) or tabasco sauce, or if you like HOT food, use all three!

Alioli

The origins of alioli are varied. Apparently it was known to the Romans 2,000 years ago.  The Spanish claim that France copied the recipe and named it mahonaise. They changed it by excluding the garlic and increasing the lemon juice.  According to one story, the Duc de Richelieu visited Mahon in Menorca in 1756 where he enjoyed the alioli and egg sauce so much, he took the recipe back to France.

Jambalaya

 

Ingredients

1 boneless chicken breast for each person cut into chunks
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 white cooking onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
250g of long grain rice
350ml of chicken stock
A small glass of white wine 
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp of paprika
1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning
200g of frozen okra
1/2 a teaspoon of salt and few grinds of black pepper

Method

Pour the olive oil into a frying pan and add the chorizo until the oil turns red.  Add the onions and slowly fry for about 5 minutes until they are translucent.  Then add the chicken chunks and turn until browned a little on the outside.  Add the crushed garlic, paprika, salt, Cajun seasoning and pepper.  Add the rice.  Give it all a good stir.  Then add the chopped tomatoes and a little white wine.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes before adding the okra.

Cover the pan with a lid or tin foil and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.

Mixed Seafood With Parsley

One pack of crevettes 

Two packs of Scottish mussels 

One pack of sweet large scallops

One pack of noodles OR a portion of linguine 

One pack of king prawns

 

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One pack of crevettes 

Two packs of Scottish mussels 

One pack of sweet large scallops 

One pack of noodles OR a portion of linguine 

Three cloves of garlic peeled and sliced 

Salt and pepper if desired 

Olive oil – a good glug

Sweet chilli sauce to serve 

Chopped flat leaf parsley to serve 

Cook the noodles or linguine according to the instructions on the packet. Cook the crevettes in a frying pan with a little oil and lemon until they start to curl. Remove and set aside. If supermarket mussels, then follow the cooking instructions

In a wok add the oil and the noodles. Then add the garlic, white wine and soy sauce. Finally add the seafood with the partially cooked crevettes and cook for a short period of time. About 5 minutes otherwise seafood can become rubbery.

Before serving, add a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle the parsley over the food. Seafood With Parsley cloves of garlic peeled and sliced 

One pack of crevettes 

Two packs of Scottish mussels 

One pack of sweet large 

Salt and pepper if desired 

Olive oil – a good glug

Sweet chilli sauce to serve 

Chopped flat leaf parsley to serve 

Cook the noodles or linguine according to the instructions on the packet. Cook the crevettes in a frying pan with a little oil and lemon until they start to curl. Remove and set aside. If supermarket mussels, then follow the cooking instructions

In a wok add the oil and the noodles. Then add the garlic, white wine and soy sauce. Finally add the seafood with the partially cooked crevettes and cook for a short period of time. About 5 minutes otherwise seafood can become 

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Mixed Seafood with Linguine or Noodles

One pack of king prawns  One pack of crevettes  Two packs of Scottish mussels  One pack of sweet large scallops  One pack of noodles OR a portion of linguine  Three cloves of garlic peeled and sliced  A splash of soy sauce, white wine and lemon 🍋 juice  Salt and pepper if desired  Olive oil - a good glug Sweet chilli sauce to serve  Chopped flat leaf parsley to serve  Cook the noodles or linguine according to the instructions on the packet. Cook the crevettes in a frying pan with a little oil and lemon until they start to curl. Remove and set aside. If supermarket mussels, then follow the cooking instructions In a wok add the oil and the noodles. Then add the garlic, white wine and soy sauce. Finally add the seafood with the partially cooked crevettes and cook for a short period of time. About 5 minutes otherwise seafood can become rubbery. Before serving, add a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle the parsley over the food.

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PARSLEY

Brought to Britain by the Romans, it gained huge popularity as a culinary herb.  We now know its dark green curly leaves contain Vitamins C and A, plus plenty of iron and minerals. Curly parsley is easy to grow in the garden and is a common ingredient in bouquet garni.  Other varieties include flat leaf parsley which has a slightly stronger flavour.  An infusion of this herb is said to revive the appetite. The stems are edible. 

Culinary uses - add raw parsley to salads. Finely chop and sprinkle on salads and sandwiches. Use as a garnish on casseroles.  

Some people chew on parsley for fresher breath, especially after eating garlic.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOUSE SMELL BETTER

Get plenty of lemons at the ready

Some vinegar too

 

1. If you have buyers coming to look around your home, they will be wise to the smell of fresh coffee or bread baking. Instead, what about boiling up some cinnamon sticks with brown sugar.
2. There’s always the good old scented candle for the bathroom and kitchen.
3. Onion smells can be reduced by popping them in milk. Lemon is good for getting rid of fishy smells.
4. Dried mustard mixed with water is good to take fishy smells from the chopping board.
5. If there is a burned food smell in the kitchen, try boiling half a lemon in an open saucepan.
6. Try roasting citrus peel in the oven at 180 degrees C for a fresh kitchen smell.
7. Smoking as gone out of fashion for a lot of people, but then some still do smoke. Try neutralising the smell by leaving a bowl of vinegar in the affected room overnight.
8. Keep your rubbish bin smelling well by popping some cat litter under the bin bag and changing it every month.
9. Pop a box of baking soda at the back of the fridge to keep it smelling well. A piece of charcoal also works well.

10           Do you have a waste disposal unit?  Try ice cubes and a splash of vinegar or what about lemon or lime peel to rid it of smells.

Tales from central Turkey

 

After this mornings disastrous start when we decided to switch the heating off overnight as we do in England, we will leave the heating on overnight as it's coldest then.  The flat has double glazing and isn't that bad.  Mr J has blocked the window in the bathroom with some Waitrose bags for life we brought with us.  I guess it's hot much of the year and a windowless bathroom could be good.  All the same I'm not looking forward to a shower.  I googled hotels but misspelled the town so came up with nothing.

Everyone is laid back timewise so we didn't leave the flat until 12.30.  Mr J's cousin flagged down a mini bus but it was too full for us to get in.  The next one was OK so we took it to the end of the road where the shopping centre and food markets are.  First stop was to buy a bus pass and change some money.  I saw a woman run over at a traffic light as there are no pedestrian crossings.  You have to rely on a driver taking pity on you to stop, so you can cross the road.  I looked for any sign of hotels but didn't see one.  We wandered into a shopping mall full of jewellery shops with amazing prices so I suspected they might be fake.  Then it was a hunt for clothes for Mr J's brother to take home to his family.  I bought a pair of black and white dogtooth gloves but didn't wear them as the sun was out and it wasn't very cold midday.  We bought cakes from the Parisian cake shop, all creamy, chocolatey and intricately decorated.  I'm not big on cakes or chocolate but eventually went for a syrupy brownie with a walnut on top.  We haven't eaten them yet but may go back one day to their coffee shop.  I was steered into a shoe shop by a pair of sparkling ankle boots and was helped by a charming old man to try them on.  Success for £16.00.  I will try to post a picture.

Tired and in need of a toilet we got a taxi "home" and SIL had cooked beef minced kebabs with potatoes in a tomato sauce with rice.  We went to buy forks, spoons and couldn't find knives so managed without.  Mr J and I went to buy beer and wine from a shop with blinds down so as not to see inside, similar to the way cigarettes are sold in England nowadays.  The wine was a Semillon and is good.  They had no choice anyway.  It was that or nothing in the white wine section.  

The estate agent couldn't get the key to the flat today, so hopefully tomorrow.  Apparently it takes 5 days to buy a property but around a month if you're British so Mr J can't put it in his name as we don't want to stay here longer than 2 weeks.  We will hire a car and driver to see as many properties as we can fit in tomorrow.

After lunch I had the second nap of the day.  Mr J went up the road with his sister and found an electric kettle for £7.00.  He also found dining knives and hi ball glasses for our vodka and cherry.  No luck with cranberry juice.

The clothes are cheap here.  Not high end quality so you have to pick and choose.

Yesterday SIL gave her cousin the slip as she thinks he's on a commission from the estate agents and went with the landlord to a Turkish estate agent who showed us about 100 properties on his website.  We squashed into a car and saw two flats.  The first was so brand new the lift was still wrapped up.  So it was a walk up to the 5th floor.  SIL liked it but it was just out of price range as no white goods are included here.  That was 49,000 USD including legal fees. The next 

one was 20 years old and being renovated so again on the 5th floor with the lift out of use so I stayed in the car writing my blog.  They said the flat was nice, cheap, but no sunshine so would be costly to heat in winter.  I needed the loo by then, so returned to the flat where we are staying and let them continue the search.  They took the shared minibus to the centre and saw 3 dingy flats.  Glad I didn't go.  I sometimes feel uncomfortable as everyone stares at me like I am famous.

We spent ages in the first estate agent and they brought us fruit tea which I refused and offended the guy who stared daggers at me so when he offered again moments later I took it and Mr J drank it.  Then the agent took off his suit jacket and an expensive looking watch and ran to the mosque leaving us alone in his office for half an hour.  It was nice to get back out into the sunshine where old men sit at cafes passing the time.

I checked out hotels last night on Trip Advisor.  There is only one.  There's another 9 slightly out of the centre.  Had a good look this morning and the reviews are not marvellous.  The Ramada seems the most hopeful and has an indoor pool and sauna etc.  People complain about the traffic and the call to prayer waking them up.  You can't avoid that anywhere here.  I'm thinking one night to swim if arm will allow, wash hair etc. But people complain about the heating.  At least here the heating works well except in the bathroom because there is no glass in the window.  The agent offered them a brand new flat fully furnished to buy but it was sold before we got chance to see it.  I'm considering going home but that's not easy with the over two hour journey to Istanbul to consider.  The driver can't help me with the case as security is very tight since the bombing.  Only travellers allowed in departure lounge.  

I look at it that it's not forever for me.  SILs will really struggle when we have left as they don't speak the language when you need workmen, a taxi, medical help etc.

I've had a lovely day as it happens.  I think I learned to be intrepid when dad drove us home from Kuwait in the 60's.  Far worse suffering than now but such memories, many happy.  Mr J offered to organise my escape this morning and I will take it but at the right time to suit me.  Meanwhile I've been well looked after and enjoyed my sunbathing on the balcony whilst OH got my courgette curry on the go.  Got a what's app from Jnr this morning and he's the only one who tells me how it really is.  He said I'm bored and that is the worst scenario for me.  Find a hobby apart from reading you can do there.  He's ready to pick me up from HRW but I don't think I'm quite ready to end the adventure just yet.  We are organising my return but in the most comfortable way, perhaps with BIL taking me to the airport when he returns home to his wife and family.  I get on well with Mr J's family after 35 years and we all just cooked together.  They will be sorry to see me gone but understand I'm used to home comforts....don't laugh girls with my flat in Kensal Green.

I can't explain the bathroom window.  It's kind of slatted and doesn't close completely but Louie has blocked it best he can.  My Iraqi relatives who have stayed with us several times in London and Luton so know the UK standards but for them they are just so relieved to escape the constant bombing in Iraq.  For them it's heaven, the freedom from bombing and terror but for me it's a bit of a torture....just shows how lucky we are to live in the UK and I can wait to organise the most comfortable return to the UK.

On a happier note, the SIL saw a flat today which is hopeful and right in the centre of town.  Mr J dragged me out of my low mood and PJs and we got the shared bus with his rellies.  I don't know what the Turkish people think but we were non stop giggling when, the mini-bus, full to the brim,  stopped to let in a guy wearing Army fatigues kneel on the floor and then unbelievably another guy got in and lay on top of him.  I so wanted to take a photo to share with you but my handbag was trapped due to lack of space but we were laughing our heads off.  After a two hour walk in the sunshine and shopping me and Louie got a proper yellow EXPENSIVE taxi home using our photo of the street sign as direction.  It cost us £2.00.  This compared to 80p on the shared bus.  We told him to drop us opposite the flat but he mumbled something we understood as u turn and he dropped us right outside the flat.  It's all good for writing.  We went in a lovely chocolate and Turkish Delight shop and got those for Mr J.  I refused everything but the sweetie owner gave me a designer milk chocolate as a present.  The shop was immaculate.  If I wasn't brave enough to come I would have missed so many things.

The Portuguese brought cinnamon from Sri Lanka to Europe at the beginning of the 16th century.

Nowadays cinnamon comes mainly from Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius and South America.

Hippocrates prescribed cinnamon as a medicine for the stomach.  The etheric oil may have a stimulating effect on the circulation of the blood.

It’s commonly used as an addition to apple pie.

Lamb chops in pizzaiola sauce

Ingredients 

8-12 lamb chops 

8 cloves of garlic 

Chicken stock and white wine 

One teaspoon of salt and a grinding or more of black pepper 

Two heaped teaspoons of oregano 

A squeeze of tomato purée 

Two bay leaves 

A little oil for cooking 

Two tins of crushed tomatoes 

A dash of Worcestershire sauce 

Method:

Fry the chops in a little oil.  My preference is olive oil. Using a large frying pan with a lid is a good idea, to fit all the chops in.

Drain the chops after sealing and set aside on a plate.  Add the garlic (crushed) to the frying pan along with the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to the boil and drop the heat back to a simmer before returning the chops to the pan.  Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes semi covered with a lid.

Serve with basmati rice or mustard mashed potatoes and a vegetable of your choice.  Today we are having asparagus.

Rumi, Persian Poet, circa 1200’s

 Either give me more wine, or leave me alone”

Sounds like great minds think alike!!!

ArrosQD Spanish restaurant in Fitzrovia, London

 The paella was a little different from those we’ve enjoyed in Spain, with a crispy bottom.

The scallops were tasty but super small.  The restaurant is very stylish and on the expensive side.  The open fire cooking is good to watch.  The desserts were beautifully presented and tasty too.  The wine was very good.

Paella 

Alioli dips 

The open fire 

Scallops for four 

Spooky Castles and properties in the UK

GLAMIS CASTLE

Only the Earls of GLAMIS know the secret of a hidden room in the castle’s thick walls. A tongueless woman, thought to have been a servant, unwittingly discovered the secrets of the castle.

The castle is outstandingly beautiful but you might shriek in terror at the spooks. Lady Jane Douglas who was burnt at the stake as a witch is thought to be the Castle’s resident. The Earl Beardie was condemned to a life of gambling after losing his soul to the devil in a card game.

 

Arabic Potato Chab

  Ingredients 

400g of minced lamb. 

One onion finely chopped.

Corn oil for frying.

A teaspoon of turmeric.

A heaped teaspoon of curry powder.

Flat leaf parsley, washed and finely chopped.

Salt and pepper.

Large potatoes for the mash.

A dessertspoon of cornflour.

Fry the onions until translucent. Add the minced meat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, parsley and a teaspoon of curry powder. Cook another 5 minutes and then leave to cool down.

Boil the peeled potatoes in salted water and when soft, drain the water and mash the potatoes with turmeric and cornflour. 

Leave to cool down.

Take a tennis ball size of potato in your left hand and roll into a ball. Make a pouch to insert the meat mixture. Slowly work the potato dough so as to cover the meat completely and flatten into a patty. See photo. Freeze for 20 minutes before deep frying until golden in colour.

Nice served with a big side salad. Brown sauce and beetroot.

Did you know?

Halloween dates back 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain meaning “Summer’s end”

 Each week, the average person sheds around a third of an ounce of skin.

Apple bobbing goes back to the Roman festival for Pomania, the goddess of fruit and orchards

Bram Stokers, who wrote Dracula, never visited Transylvania

COOKING EVERY DAY

 

After over 50 years of cooking most days, I like to take a break. This week we have plenty of leftovers as well as meals prepped over the weekend. This will free up time to do other things. More time for blogging, shopping and chatting to friends. I also want to start sending my books to agents and publishers as I kind of gave up after so many rejections.

Unfortunately, I can’t batch cook for the freezer as my other half isn’t keen on food that has been frozen. He reckons it alters the taste. He is fussy about ready meals from the supermarket too.

One good thing is he enjoys cooking but as age creeps up, he’s less enthusiastic.

Chicken livers with paprika and cream sauce and a splash of white wine, served with white rice

 

Chicken livers in paprika and cream sauce

I lost a tooth about 7 weeks ago. Since then I've been researching implants and have struggled to eat some days. Today I made chicken livers in paprika and cream sauce with a splash of white wine. Husband made white rice. It was fairly easy to eat.

 

Tarragon, mustard and lemon butter

Finely chop a 20g pack of tarragon. Put in a bowl with 125g of softened unsalted butter. Add half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and the zest of one unwaxed lemon 🍋 and a quarter teaspoon of salt, plus some freshly ground black pepper. Use a fork to mash everything together. Baste chicken breasts or pork chops with this butter just before serving or toss through steamed new potatoes.