A Big Thank You to Katie

The first student recipe tester who isn't related to me. Thanks so much for trying the fish pie Katie, I hope you enjoyed it. Apparently Katie used salmon instead of tuna and thought the recipe was easy to follow.

Phew. Thats a relief.

And look how well it came out too:

Genuinely thrilled to bits :)

Pancakes, Bacon and the Best Scrambled Eggs In World ™

Ooh look! A special weekend bonus recipe for you to try. These pancakes are really quick and easy to make and you can freeze any spare ones to have another day. Just zap them for a few seconds in the microwave. What isn't negotiable is topping them with butter after you've cooked them. It is the law.

You can use plain flour and baking powder as I have done here or replace these with self-raising flour if you have some. This is the smallest amount you can make because you can't really get smaller than one egg and it should make four good sized pancakes. However if you want to make more it is easy to double or triple the recipe.

First thing is to grill some bacon until it is crispy then turn off the grill, put the bacon on a plate and put this plate in the grill space to keep warm. Close the grill to keep the heat in.

So for the pancakes you need:

1/2 a mug of plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
a knob of butter, melted (in the microwave)
1 egg, beaten
150ml milk

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Whisk the wet ingredients together.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a low to medium heat.

Dollop large spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan. You will probably have to cook them two at a time.

Bubbles will appear on the top of the pancakes as they cook. When the bubbles have mostly all burst, flip the pancakes over and cook the other side for another couple of seconds then put them on the warm plate in the grill space.

For the scrambled eggs you will need:

2 eggs
splash of milk - or cream if you have some
large knob of butter

Whisk the eggs and milk together and put into a non-stick pan. Drop in the knob of butter.

So the secret to the best scrambled eggs in the world ™is very low heat and patience. Put the pan over the lowest heat possible and use a silicone spatula to stir. Initially nothing much will happen so you just need to stir occasionally but after several minutes the eggs will suddenly start to set on the bottom of the pan. Use the spatula to scrape the cooked eggs up, but do this gently because you want big soft pieces. This bit doesn't take very long, so you can't walk away at this point. If you do you will end up with an egg frisbee. Keep scraping and stirring gently until the eggs are cooked to your liking then tip them onto the plate with the pancakes and bacon.

Eat. Preferably in front of your jealous flatmates. I have to make do with the dog and cats. But they are definitely jealous.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

H: Should I fry the bacon first or after the pancakes since I'm not using a grill?

'I'd do the bacon first because it will take longer to cook. When it's done stick it on a plate and cover with something - upturned bowl? Another plate? Something like that x

'If you have any tin foil that works.'

H: Do I need oil to fry bacon?

'A little bit - like a teaspoon will get things going but you can do it without if you put the bacon in a cold pan and then heat it. It's up to you x'

H: K!

H: Can I whisk with a fork or should I borrow an actual whisk?

'Ok you have to remind me what you are whisking - it's been a while since I wrote the destructions'

H: Destructions he he he. I'm whisking the batter.

'Oh it should be fine with a fork. Just beat the shit out of it.'

H: Okay!

'Don't forget to photograph stuff xxx'

H: oh yeah! Ok

H: Do I need to whisk the dry and wet ingredients separately first? 'Cause I only have the one mixing bowl...'

'You can do it in one. The previous whisk rules apply though.'

H: Wooo...

'Oh my WORD! That's a PANCAKE right there...'

H: Eggs next!

H: Do I use my frying pan or one of my other pans?

'Are the other pans non-stick?'

H: I believe so

'Then any of those would be fine'

H: Can I use my wooden spoon cause I don't have a silicone spatula?

'Yes of course. I put wooden spoon first but thought you had a silicone thing instead...'

H: Nah that was Tanya's haha!

'Well that looks the business. Well done chick xxx'

Corned Beef and Potato Hash with Speedy Dumplings

Corned Beef and Potato Hash with Speedy Dumplings

This is a quick, comforting, easy thing to make. The basic recipe is fine if you are really strapped for cash but there's a lot you can do to it to make it more interesting. You could add a handful of red lentils or a tin of baked beans, chopped chillies, peppers, mushrooms, peas, corn... pretty much anything you like. You can add tinned tomatoes and top up with water, or slosh in some wine if there's any leftover (yes, I know, me neither) and if you are really really poor you can use just water and chopped up cheapo frankfurter sausages. Or water and a squirt of ketchup/HP/Lea and Perrins. If you are feeding a crowd you can double or triple the amount of potatoes, onions carrots etc. and still get away with using just one tin of corned beef. I know this because that's how I fed six of us when you were little.

The dumplings are super quick and easy to make. You can add chopped fresh herbs or grated cheese if you fancy too.

So for the basic recipe for two people you will need:

6 potatoes about the size of a small fist

1 medium onion

1 large carrot

1 tin of corned beef

1 stock cube

1 level tbs of dried mixed herbs

For the dumplings you need:

100g self raising flour

50g cold butter

Large pinch of salt

You can also use the type of hard margarine which is wrapped like butter. Either way you need to stick the marg/butter in the freezer for about half an hour so that it is nice and hard. Then use the large holes on your grater to grate 50g into the flour.

Make the hash:

Peel and chop the potatoes like you did for the mash we did last week. Put them into your largest saucepan.

Peel the carrot and slice or chop into small pieces, add to the pan.

Peel the onion, cut in half and chop into smallish pieces, add to the pan.

Crumble in the stock cube and sprinkle in the dried mixed herbs.

Add enough water to almost come to the top of the vegetables.

Cover with a lid, bring the pan up to the boil and then turn the heat right down and cook until the potatoes are really soft and beginning to fall apart.

Open the tin of corned beef. This is a very dangerous thing to negotiate actually. I recommend that once you have wound the key around the base and prised up the 'lid' you scoop the corned beef out with a spoon. But be really really REALLY careful when you are doing it and keep the lid bit to the side away from you. An awful lot of people end up in A&E every year due to corned beef tin-based injuries. Just go slowly and take care.

Stir the beef into the vegetables then put the lid back on the pan and allow everything to sit and soften while you make the dumplings.

Put the flour and grated marg/butter into a bowl along with a good pinch of salt. Then use an ordinary knife to stir the fat and flour together, chopping a bit as you go until everything is evenly mixed then pour over about 90ml of cold water. Still using the knife, stir vigorously for a few seconds until you have a rough ball of dough. Gather it together with your hands and squish it about in the bowl until most of the flour has been picked up. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and plop them into a pyrex dish. Preferably one that's at least 5cm deep. Add 2 tbs of water, cover the dish with a lid or cling film. If you use cling film poke a couple of holes in the film. Microwave on HIGH for two and a half minutes.

Use the fabulous bear paw gloves to remove the dish from the microwave and carefully peel back the cling film.

Serve the dumplings alongside your potato hash and add anything else you like to go with it. It's traditional up here in t'North to have pickled red cabbage but you can add ketchup if you really really must.

If it's just you eating then the leftovers will freeze, but defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave.

And you could have the leftover dumplings in a sandwich for lunch tomorrow (family joke).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'I will shop and cook today'

Excellent. Don't forget to photograph everything - even the bus :D

'Noo that'll make me look silly. I'll try the campus shop first and if I need to I'll catch the bus'

That sounds like a plan.

'Also I have lots of regular flour, should just try and get some baking powder?'

Yes that's fine - just add half a teaspoon to every 100g of flour and mix thoroughly. Any herbs?

'Yep'

'But no mixed ones'

Thyme?

'No thyme'

Sigh. Not to worry. You can do it without.

"Oh wait!! Hold on, there's these:

Right, perfect. Either of those will do fine.

'Is this carrot even edible?'

It should be ok if you peel it well and cut off any manky bits.

'Yaay! All peeled...'

Well that looks about right

'Like a Hell broth, boil and bubble...'

'Just about to do the corned beef but I can't turn the key!'

Ok, don't panic. Are you turning to the right way?

'Yep. Just can't get it to move'

Get a normal kitchen knife and stick it through the hole in the key. Use the knife as a lever.

'Ok that worked.'

'Yeaaaaaaaah!'

Haha! You might want to chop it up a bit...

'I already am. Do I turn the heat off or leave it to simmer?'

Turn it off. The meat is cooked just needs to warm through. It will melt into the hot stock if you chop it small enough.

'Ok how much is 100g of flour?'

Umm about five heaped tablespoons. 50g of butter is about a 2cm slice off a block. Just grate 2cm straight into the flour.

'Do I need more flour?'

Uh yes. Quite a bit more looking at that. It needs to feel like sticky bread dough. Did you melt the butter???

'No, it's just really warm in the kitchen. Ok I've added enough flour so it's like bread dough.'

Did you remember to add the baking powder?

'Oh crap. I'll mix it in now. It'll be ok won't it?'

Uhm ................

'They're the hip new half-risen dumplings'

'They taste really nice though!'

 I'd forgotten you don't have any weighing scales. Something to put on the list when you go to Asda, you can get some for about a fiver. 

'I'll re-do the dumplings and photograph everything when I serve it tomorrow'

Ok :) I'll work out a way of measuring the flour and butter without scales. And maybe get some self-raising flour?

*Mutters* Hip new half-risen dumplings...

[triumphant photograph of finished dish and delicious fluffy dumplings to go here at some point today]