Mushroom soup

Mushroom soup is the perfect winter recipe and its quick and easy to make. This recipe should feed four and takes around 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

500g / 1lb 1oz mushrooms (Try and get a mixture of button, Shiitake and finely sliced, dampened porcini to enhance the flavour)

90g / 3oz butter

2 medium onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 litre / 1.8 pints hot chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarians)

1 bay leaf

½ cup / 4 tablespoons single cream

Salt, paprika and freshly ground black pepper to taste PREPARATION: Finely peel the garlic and chop it along with the onion. And clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, take the stalks off and slice chop into quarters.  INSTRUCTIONS:Heat up the butter in a pan and cook the garlic and onions until they're soft, yet avoid browning them Then add the mushrooms, heat over a high heat for up to 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the flour to the mixture, and mix well, until all mushrooms are covered. Then add the bay leaf and hot chicken stock. Allow this to simmer for a while (up to 11 minutes) then remove the bay leaf and leave the soup to cool for a while. Blend the mixture with a hand blended after a few minutes, until it is smooth (avoid lumps) Then begin to heat the soup again, adding the pepper and salt and paprika (possibly even crushed chillies-if you prefer spicier food) Lastly, stir in the cream gently. Leave to cool for a while, before serving. (If at any point you feel that the soup is too thick, feel free to add in more stock until you gain the right consistency)

S is for Salmon.

Personally, I find that smoked salmon tends to be tasteless, hence my recipe for flavoured fish with a fusion of garlic, that is sure to leave an impression.

INGREDIENTS: 
*10 Chopped salmon squares ( 50X50 cm) 
*Fivepeeled garlic cloves
*TBS of tumeric
*TBS of crushed birds eye chillies 
*TBS of solid black pepper (Or you could use pre-crushed pepper and sprinkle it when required)
*TBS of salt
* Finely chopped fresh coriander (as much, or as little as you prefer)
*1 lime 
*Olive oil

METHOD: 
1.) Place the whole pepper into a pestle and mortar and crush it, so that it resembles crushed pepper. Then add the peeled garlic cloves in, and crush them lightly, so that they infuse with the pepper. 
2.) Place the mixture into a cooking bowl and add several splashes of olive oil, as well as the chillies and turmeric and salt. Gently mix these ingredients together, adding in the finely chopped coriander. This should leave with a slightly-solid mixture. 
3.) Oil a cooking tray and place the salmon slices into the bowl with the seasoning, and smother the fish with it, using a baking spoon. Once the fish slices are covered in the garlicy mixture, place them on to the baking tray and place it in to the grill. 
4.) Check on the fish, every few minutes to occasionally turn it, to ensure that both sides are cooked properly. Continue to do so on a medium heat, for 15 minutes, you should notice that the top of the fish, starts to brown slightly. 
5.) Take the tray out of the over, sprinkle on the juice from the lemon, and a couple of splashes of olive oil,and it will be ready to serve. (Best with a large salad and potato wedges).

SPINACH SMOOTHIE:

It may not sound appetising, but it is idea for a quick breakfast drink. Not only is it healthy (with the ample servings of iron provided through the spinach and fruits) but its also delicious ( You may be expecting the spinach to taste horrible-but surprisingly the strong taste of the kiwi and banana disguise it). 

Ingredients: 

2 Handfuls of spinach 

One frozen banana (sliced into small circular pieces)

One kiwi

Half a glass of apple juice (not from concentrate) 

Half a lime

METHOD:

1.) Place the spinach leaves and sliced banana pieces and kiwi into a blender. Also, add the apple juice. 

2.) Blend, until the mixture is smooth (may take a couple of minutes) 

3.) Squeeze the juice of the lime into the mixture, give it a quick blend, before serving. 

Baileys Cake.

BAILEYS CAKE:

Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz butter
• 250g/8¾oz digestive biscuits, crushed
• 600g/1lb 5oz Philadelphia cream cheese
• 25ml/1fl oz Baileys
• 100ml/3½oz icing sugar
• 300ml/10½oz double cream, whipped
• 100g/3½oz grated chocolate
  
  
  METHODOLOGY: 
  1. Melt the butter in a pan and add the crushed digestive biscuits. Mix well until the biscuits have absorbed all the butter.
  2. Remove from the heat and press into the bottom of a lined 18cm/7in springform tin. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for one hour.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Lightly whip the cream cheese then beat in the Bailey's and icing sugar. Fold in the whipped cream and grated chocolate. When smooth, spoon evenly onto the biscuits.
  4. Refrigerate and allow to set for a further two hours. Once set, remove and decorate with whipped cream and cocoa powder dusted over the top. Serve.
     
     

     To garnish, 200 ml of whipped cream and cocoa powder to dust and possibly chocolate curls and strawberries.  

Chocolate shoes. I have no idea how to make them. I would rather just eat them. 

A is for Avocado.

I hate eating healthy. Fact. Hence my challenge to incorporate one item of fruit/vegetable that I would never eat into a meal a day.
Today was avocado.
The recipe I used was from the BBC website, but it was amazing in the sense that I actually enjoyed the avocado-something that I have NEVER admitted to before.

Ingredients:   

• 4 tbsp olive oil-Confession, I probably splashed in more. 
• 1 small ciabatta , torn into small bite-pieces-I decided to use olive cibatta instead (easily bought fresh from M&S) 
• 2 x 80g packs sliced chorizo-I personally chose quite a spicy one. 
• 250g pack baby plum or cherry tomatoes , halved
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• pinch sugar
• 1 large, ripe avocado , halved, stoned and sliced
• 150g bag baby leaf and herb salad-I personally used more. 
• I also chose to add in crushed garlic for the dressing. 
• Also, crushed black pepper. 
•                                                   METHOD. 
• Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the ciabatta for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until starting to crisp and brown, then tip into a large salad bowl.
• Lay the chorizo in the pan and dry-fry for 2 minutes until it gives out a red oil. Toss in the tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Drizzle over the vinegar, add the sugar and season and garlic well.
• MIX TOGETHER Gently toss the avocado, salad and remaining olive oil with the croutons. Spoon over the chorizo and tomatoes and drizzle with any pan juices and sprinkle over the pepper. Serve immediately.

The beauty of this recipe is that its so simple to make for a lunch dish or even for a snack.