EASTER TIME OR JUST ANOTHER BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND?

Depending on what you believe in and how you celebrate this could be Easter weekend or it could just be an extended weekend.  In this household it's a bit of both!  We do give out eggs but that's only because it's a bank holiday and family is home; I would have normally given out main eggs on 21st March when Spring began and just done an egg hunt this weekend, but I wasn't really with it at the end of March so it's all been delayed until now.

Last week was back to work after having a semi chilled week at home the week before where cooking became simple fare: quick salads, freezer food and using up bits and bobs in fridge.  Back to slow cooking last week for work days and normal cooking for days at home.

Sausage Casserole (I did partially brown the sausages beforehand and this is before cooking)

Good Friday was a lovely day out with a good friend including a drive through the country, a few foraging stops and a lunchtime drink in a pub followed by some charity shop and antique shop mooching.

A drift of wild ramsons (wild garlic)

Ramson flower

Saturday was dealing with foraged goodies and baking ready for next week and Easter Sunday/Monday.  Had a bit of an issue in the kitchen as the food processor broke so had to go 'old school' chopping up by hand with a large knife and grinding with the pestle and mortar.  Forgot I had those muscles in my arms, haha.

Chopping ramsons, hazelnuts and finely grated cheddar

Finished Pesto in sunflower oil and heat treated jar so should keep longer until opened

 Also had a bit of an experiment with mustard seeds, finely chopped ramson flowers, cuckoo flowers, jack by the hedge, sugar and vinegar.  Took a lot of grinding in the pestle & mortar but it does, at least, look like a mustard and blimey does it blow your head off 😃  Very nice with the mashed potato from Sunday's dinner.

Black mustard seed/ramson flower/cuckoo flower and jack by the hedge - HOT!!

Cuckoo flower - tastes like Wasabi!!!

Plus, of course, there has to be cake and as I had a bit of a glut of bananas left I made 2 banana breads (1 for now, 1 for the freezer) so son will be happy for a while and the infamous Barmbrack which has now become my favourite fruit cake ever and it doesn't contain any marg/butter.  Tried something different with the banana bread as I had a kitchen that looked liked a bomb had hit it and I didn't have room to get any more gadgets out, so tried rubbing in the butter to the dry ingredients and then adding the eggs and bananas which I'd mushed by hand (nothing like getting your hands in food, hehe; they were clean!); worked fine and meant a lot less washing up, so will probably continue to do this in future.

Banana Bread, Banana Bread, Barmbrack!

So no more time in the kitchen this weekend as His Nibs will be cooking including tomorrow so I have an extra day off - whoop whoop!  Back to normal on Tuesday.

Cya and hope you've had/are having a very Happy Easter! 🐰

IT'S THE WEEKEND - HOORAH! (Recipe included)

So how did my pre-planned meals go?  Well the mixed bean chilli was ok, but wasn't chilli enough for me!  I need to remember that my slow cooker is a big one and so I need to put more in than I think; in fact when I think I've put enough in, put in at least an extra teaspoon.

I ended up discovering a half chorizo sausage in the fridge on Wednesday so I finely chopped that and fried it off before adding the pre-cooked tomato/pepper mixture that I'd prepped on Monday and then once heated through, added two tins of tuna, mixed in cooked pasta and covered in grated cheese before shoving in the oven to make a pasta bake.  That disappeared pretty quick!

Thursday I fancied a curry; too be honest I often fancy curry! Managed to get a 800g deboned leg of lamb from Aldi which didn't cost that much and put that, whole, into the slow cooker on a bed of peppers and onions.  Mixed a load of spices together (see below's recipe) and rubbed that into the top of the meat and around the side and poured on a tin of coconut milk and left it to cook on low for 8 hours! Unfortunately, I was at work when it was ready and it had been pretty much devoured by the time I got home meaning I only have the below 'before' photo and not an 'after' one.  Those large white chunks are coconut milk solids and not, as they look, huge lumps of feta cheese 😄

However, this is what it should and partially did look like; courtesy of the cookbook that I based the recipe on although our meat was shredded and not in chunks:

One thing I did do this week was spend a happy 45mins in front of Netflix grating fresh ginger into a jar!  I then covered with sunflower oil, so that I now have a jar in the fridge all ready to go for whenever a recipe requires it.  I also want to do this with the ton of garlic I currently have.

Freshly grated Ginger in Sunflower Oil ready for use

And I've recently discovered fresh turmeric!  It's a root not dissimilar in looks to ginger and I use it in exactly the same way except I don't peel it, I just grate it straight in.  The first time I used it I did peel it and then walked around for a few days with fingers that looked like I had a severe nicotine addition, so have now learnt my lesson and will never peel again! The flavour is far better and less earthy than dried turmeric.  It also means that I have a dish free in my indian spice tin; bonus!

Turmeric!!

No cooking on Friday as partner takes over for weekend and I was working anyway doing an extra shift.  Shamelessly treated myself to chinese takeaway chicken curry and chips on way home and snuggled on the sofa by myself to munch my way through it in peace.

Today me and son were at local Comic and Screen Festival and as partner got called into work today we've been really naughty and had pizza tonight!  So I have not exactly eaten that healthily over past couple of days.  Hey ho!  Back to proper food tomorrow.

What do you call a group of Ghostbusters?  A Gaggle?

BEST SLOW COOKER CURRY EVER!
3 red peppers (or any colour you prefer except green) cut into chunks
2 onions, cut into chunks
800g lamb (I used whole, but you could use ready diced)
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1.5 teaspoon turmeric powder (or 2in 'finger' grated fresh)
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1.5inch thumb of fresh ginger, grated
1 level teaspoon of chilli flakes (change up or down depending on heat required)
1 400ml can of coconut milk

Place the onions and peppers into the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle the chopped garlic, grated ginger and grated turmeric, if using, on top.
Then place the lamb on top of the veg.
Mix the powdered spices and the dried chilli together in a bowl and rub into the top of the meat or sprinkle on top if using diced meat.
Pour on the coconut milk.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on the size/type of meat; stir half way through to incorporate the melted coconut solids.
If you have it, chop up some fresh coriander and stir in once cooked.
Serve with rice!