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December 1, 2018December 1, 2018

LET’S MAKE ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP

LET’S MAKE ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP -( some things are just TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY)

Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup – bursting with colour and flavour

There is no better time of year than SOUP TIME! The climate is getting cooler, flakes of snow are starting to fall and Christmas is just around the corner. So let’s get our jimjams (PJ’s) on, click on the Netflix and get a nice comforting bowl of soup with some fresh crusty bread.

Yesterday I was in Morrisons, a UK based supermarket and in the vegetable department I found this really neat idea. Morrisons had these boxes made up which were labelled – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY – and each box was full of great vegetables and fruit which they were selling for only £1. This got me thinking, how many times do you open the bottom drawer of your fridge and find an assortment of vegetables that are just about ready to put their best foot forward and take a hike right out of the vegetable drawer. So I decided to rescue the situation and turn these TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY veggies and turn them into a wonderful pot of Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup. The result was amazing. I even found a half a bottle of Pinot Grigio and how that even made it into the fridge, only the wine fairy knows the answer to that.

An assortment of – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAYS.

In my search I found 4 softish tomatoes which I chopped up. A bag of carrots that were crying out – USE ME. Some celery that was left over from adorning Bloody Mary’s. A bag of green beans. Several garlic bulbs. In the cupboard I found some Butter and Cannellini beans. Went to the garden and picked some fresh herbs, added 1000ml of chicken stock plus 3/4 cup of pasta and voila. There is no measuring required here and what you will produce is something quite delicious.

ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP – made easy

4 chopped tomatoes (or 1 tin chopped toms), 4/5 stalks celery, 2/3/4 garlic cloves chopped, 2 chopped onions, 5/6 chopped carrots, some chopped green beans, 1 tin butter beans, 1 tin cannellini beans, 1000 ml chicken stock, 1/2 cup of Pinot Grigio if you have any left over (lol), 1/2 cup of a small sized pasta (macaroni or such like), some fresh herbs.

Add 2tbsp of olive oil to your soup pot – add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, green beans and saute gently. Add tomatoes, wine, beans, chicken stock and whatever else you would like to throw in. Mix well, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 1 hour.

Get yourself some lovely crusty bread and some grated parmesan to top off and just ENJOY.

If you are enjoying my Blogs, follow and have put a ‘like’ on my Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Marypremiercru/ – “Mary’s Kitchen”. Please subscribe after reading my blog by entering your email address in the subscription area at the end or side of this blog. You will then receive notification when I have posted again. You can also follow my instructional videos on You Tube – Mary PremierCru (again, please subscribe if you enjoy them).

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

October 22, 2018October 26, 2018

LET’S GET OUR SLOW COOKERS OUT OF HIBERNATION

LET’S GET OUR SLOW COOKERS OUT OF HIBERNATION

The autumn leaves are falling, the mornings are frosty and the temperatures are dropping. As we move into the winter months, let’s turn our thoughts to some winter warmers.

I have just dusted off my slow cooker (crock pot) and placed it on the kitchen counter in full view to remind me to use it! I don’t use this kitchen marvel during the summer months, but now the nights are closing in and getting colder, it’s time to crank the slow cooker back into action and produce some wonderful wintery dishes that fill the kitchen with awesome aromas.

Such a versatile piece of kitchen equipment, especially if your a busy mom or working person, the slow cooker can turn a simple selection of ingredients into something quite tasty.

If you are using meat, I tend to like to brown and seal mine first in a frying pan with some coconut or olive oil before adding to my pot. I also like to sauté my onions and garlic a little before adding them along with the other ingredients.

My first recipe I would like to share with you is:-

CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND WHITE BEAN CASSEROLE3 CHICKEN BREASTS DICED, 3 TBSP. COCONUT OIL OR OLIVE OIL, 1 LEEK (SLICED AND DICED), 1 ONION (DICED), 3 GARLIC CLOVES (SLICED), 3 GREEN CHILLIS (DICED), 6 CARROTS (CUT INTO LARGE PIECES), 2 CANS OF WHITE BEANS (USE ANY SORT – I’M USING BUTTER BEANS), 1 PUNNET OF CHESTNUT MUSHROOMS, 2 – 3 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK, 2 HEAPED TABLESPOONS GREEK YOGURT, 1 TSP CUMIN, 1 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER, 1 TSP OREGANO, S&P.

HEAT OIL IN FRYING PAN – ADD CHICKEN BROWN AND SEAL – ADD SPICES – PLACE IN SLOW COOKER. SAUTE ONIONS, LEEKS AND GARLIC IN SAME PAN – ONCE THEY ARE SAUTÉED ADD A LITTLE CHICKEN STOCK TO FRYING PAN TO DECARAMELISE THE FLAVOURS FROM PAN. ADD TO SLOW COOKER ALONG WITH ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS. COOK ON MEDIUM – READY IN 4/5 HOURS. ENJOY.

LEMON CHICKEN THIGHS & ROSEMARY8 CHICKEN THIGHS, 3 TBSP OLIVE OIL, 2 SHALLOTS, 2 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK, 2 LEMONS (SLICED), 6 GARLIC CLOVES (SLICED), 2 BAY LEAVES, FRESH ROSEMARY, 8/12 PEELED CARROTS (LEFT WHOLE), 1 RED CHILLI (SLICED), 2 TSP CHILLI FLAKES, S&P.

ADD OLIVE OIL TO FRYING PAN, ADD CHICKEN THIGHS AND BROWN SKIN WELL. WHILE BROWNING THIGHS, ADD YOUR CARROTS AND LINE BOTTOM OF SLOW COOKER. PLACE COOKED CHICKEN ON TOP OF CARROTS. ADD SHALLOTS TO FRYING PAN AND SAUTÉED UNTIL TRANSPARENT – ADD TO COOKER. ADD ALL THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS. COOK ON MEDIUM – READY IN 4/5 HOURS. ENJOY.

If you are in more of a hurry, both these dishes can be cooked in a casserole dish and placed in a conventional oven at 375F (180C). Place foil over top of dish if it doesn’t have a cover. Cook for about 1-1/2 hours.

The luxury of the slow cooker is, you can prepare meals the night before in the slow cooker, place the internal pot in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, turn your slow cooker on ‘low’ and come back later that day to a wonderfully tasty meal that you haven’t had to worry about getting burnt. Because the food is cooking so slowly all the flavours are intensified.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy these two recipes.

If you are enjoying my Blogs, follow and put a ‘like’ on my Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Marypremiercru/ – “Mary’s Kitchen”. Please subscribe after reading my blog by entering your email address in the subscription area at the end or side of this blog. You will then receive notification when I have posted again. You can also follow my instructional videos on You Tube – Mary PremierCru (again, please subscribe if you enjoy them).

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

October 13, 2018October 16, 2018

SOME LIKE IT HOT!!!!

SOME LIKE IT HOT!!!!!

So let’s talk Chillies. Why does this small, hot-tasting pod set our world on fire. Deriving from the capsicum family, this tantalising pod of various forms, colour, size and strength of flavour excites our taste buds like no other spice. We take masochistic pleasure in adding it to our food.

We make this powerful pod it into powders, hot sauces, relishes and pickles and we continue to cultivate it to find an even hotter chilli than the present world record holder, The Carolina Reaper.

There are 1,000’s of varieties of chillies, as growers will always continue to try and create the World’s Hottest Chilli. The names given to some of these hotter than hot chillies who have also been proud World Record Holders in the past are the Trinidad Scorpion, 7 Pot Primo, 7 Pot Douglash (extremely rare), Komodo Dragon, Naga Viper and my personal favourite, 7 Pot Brain Strain. These chillies have all been rated by the Scoville scale which is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness/ heat) of chilli peppers and other spicy food. The letters SHU (Scoville Heath Units) will often follow the heat measurement based on the chemical compounds responsible for the sensation – these are called capsaicinoids.

Although there a numerous varieties of the Hot Peppers, some of the more commonly used in the home and readily available in our supermarkets are the Scotch Bonnet, Jalepeno, Habanero, Serrano and Bird’s Eye.

Anyone who knows me and are followers of my Mary’s Kitchen page (www.facebook.com/marypremiercru) will know that I am a lover of chilli and use it in a great many foods. Let’s just talk about the enormous health benefits surrounding the chilli pepper. Studies have shown that chillies can significantly control insulin levels after eating. It is an overlooked circulation booster and can have a dramatic impact on our heart health, and it is a powerful antioxidant.

Presently I am perfecting some hot sauces, powders and pickles using various

types of chilli peppers. One of my all time favourites is pickled jalepenos which can be used in a variety of ways. I love them with scrambled eggs and omelettes. They are a must with tacos and all mexican food. Nachos dressed in cheese, sour cream and guacamole are missing their crowning glory without – pickled jalepenos. So why not have a go and pickling your own. It couldn’t be easier but I recommend wearing disposable gloves when handling any type of chilli.

10 MINUTE – PICKLED JALEPENO PEPPERS

MAKES 2 X 8 OZ JARS

12 Green Jalepenos, 1 Scotch Bonnet, 2 garlic cloves, 2 Havana Gold Chillis, 2 Red Bird’s Eye. (slice all chillies and garlic thinly)

1 cup white spirit vinegar (or you can use White Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup of water

2-3 tbsp of organic raw sugar (the sugar helps to take some of the heat out of the pickles – lessen the amount of sugar for more increased heat or leave out all together.

Add water, vinegar, garlic and sugar to pan. Bring to boil. Take off heat. Add all chillies to hot mixture. Leave to sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime sterilise you jars in boiling water. Spoon chillies into jar, top up with brine, put lid on.

Keep in fridge – once opened for 2 months.

Once I have perfected my hot sauce, I will share this recipe with you. In the meantime, enjoy this easy to make recipe of pickled jalepenos.

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

March 10, 2018March 10, 2018

MARY’S KITCHEN – GOAT’S CHEESE, TOMATO & CHORIZO

GOAT’S CHEESE, TOMATO & CHORIZO

This is my go to appetiser when I really want to impress my dinner guests and with very little fuss, conjure this delightful blend of ingredients up.

This combinations work perfectly and with the addition of some extra virgin olive oil (always buy the best you can afford), some fresh tarragon or dried, a squeeze of lemon and voila, you have a fabulous starter to compliment any dinner party or simply on its own, a light lunch or supper snack.

You will need a lovely crusty French baguette for dipping at the end. The combination of flavours enlightens the taste buds and it will cross your mind to almost lick the plate, but I recommend using the baguette to mop up the remaining juices. (or a gluten free version)

If you have some small oval ear serving dishes, these lend themselves well to this dish.

Assembling will only take moments and the result will be award winning.

Treat your food like a fashion accessory and layer it up. Great colourful results.

GOAT’S CHEESE, TOMATO & CHORIZO

3 – 3/4″ slices of goats cheese per serving (roughly 100 grams – 4 ounces)

1 Large Vine Ripened Tomato

6 slices of chorizo

A drizzle of Olive Oil

A sprinkle of fresh or dried tarragon

A sprinkle of chilli flakes

Squeeze 1/4 whole lemon juice

2 sun dried tomatoes plus 4 cherry tomatoes

Method – slice vine ripened tomato, assemble evenly in the bottom of your dish – place the 3 goats cheese slices – chorizo – drizzle with olive oil and squeeze 1/4 of a lemon. Sprinkle with tarragon, chilli flakes & black pepper.

Top with sun dried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.

French Baguette for mopping juices. Awesome result!

serving size 1 bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Serve as a starter, light lunch or supper snack.

If you are enjoying my blogs and following me on my Facebook Page – Mary’s Kitchen , please subscribe after reading this blog my entering your email address in the subscription area at the end of this blog. You will them receive notification when I have posted.

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder