Sunday 19 October 2014

Comfort Food + Nasi Goreng + Autumn Salads: 11 October - 17 October 2014

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful





Autumn has been in full flow this week. We have cooking up plenty of warming, comforting foods what with the windy weather and everyone falling ill. I tried another fish pie this week along with an Indonesian dish called Nasi Goreng. On the baking front, I made Gingerbread and Swiss cakes which turned out to be rather like biscuits.
 Saturday: I was not feeling well today and so the day was spent resting.
Candles always make me happy, and this toasted marshmallow one was no different. You can buy the same one here.
My mum cooked dinner for me this evening. She used this new pasta we bought recently. I love the name!
The shape is really good too. The tubes suck up any sauce coating them.
Mum made one of the ultimate comfort foods - her version of Pasta in a Cheese Sauce. She uses a recipe very similar to this one but isn't as impatient as me, and doesn't rush anything!

We also tried out this Pink Himalayan Salt - a product of Pakistan, no less!

Have you ever tried smoked sea salt before? What do you think? I still need to try them actual dishes yet to see any difference.
 
 Sunday: For a foggy Sunday morning brunch, I made these latke waffles.
I ate mine with scrambled eggs and juice.

Mum ate hers with a fried egg ...
 ... and tea!

The rest of the day was spent lighting more candles, drinking coffee and perusing my new journal.

Followed by blogging (finally!) - this post!
 
 Monday: Autumn is well and truly here in England. Today strong October winds blew, taking all the leaves with them, and there was a lot heavy rain. 
Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian fried rice dish made with leftover cooked rice, chicken, vegetables and plenty of seasoning. This ready-made paste for it had been in the cupboard for ages and with a box of cooked rice in the fridge, I decided that today would finally be the day to cook it.
 The jar already had a ready made recipe on it so I used it but added in a few extras myself.
 I used the paste, cooked rice, chicken, peas, sweetcorn, rocket and spinach.
 I really want to cook the dish from scratch one day though and have my eye on this recipe. I'll have to get hold of all those ingredients first though!
The jar said to serve the rice with cucumber, fresh coriander and a fried egg.
 And, so I did!
 The ready-made paste was really yummy although I did a few dashes of chilli sauce to mine.
 Have you ever tried apples and peanut butter together? It's so good - a real sweet and salty kick.
For dinner, we ate Aloo Methi cooked by my mother, over boiled rice.
 Tuesday: Today felt like a day for pie. And, what with all the lamb and chicken we have been eating lately, fish was the way to go.
It's been a very, very long time since I'd eaten a Fish Pie. I did try to make it a few weeks ago, only to make the filling and then realise there were no potatoes in the house for the mash. I ended up baking the sauce with pasta for a Pasta Fish Bake which also turned out quite nice.
Anyway, this is the recipe I used. It was extremely easy and I made everything during the day, and baked it in the evening for dinner. The only thing I did different was to use white fish fillets, cut into pieces, instead of the fish pie mix in the recipe plus I also added in a few handfuls of chopped baby spinach.
 The creamy filling was topped with a very peppery mash.
 Baked until golden brown, bubbling and crispy.
And, enjoyed for dinner on a windy October evening!
 Wednesday: Today I decided to bake these Apricot Swiss Cakes. We didn't have many eggs in the house and since this recipe used no eggs, it was a winner!
 I followed the recipe exactly as it is written above - only swapping the apricot jam for some of my homemade mixed fruit jam which I made last month.
Also, I found the piping out of the mixture through a star tip incredibly difficult and so spooning it out worked just as well.
So, how did they turn out?
Well, for one, they are not cakes. A biscuit shaped like a cake would be a better way to describe them.
Honestly, they're delicious. I highly recommend you give them a go - buttery, chunky biscuits with a dollop of jam. What's not to love?
Thursday: Did you know that pomegranates are in season all year round? Well, now you do! 
Today I cooked up chicken mince with Chinese 5 spice, spring onions and other wonderful ingredients.
 The smell coming out of this pan was so good!

Once the mixture was cooked and cooled, we rolled out a homemade dough.

Filled the dough rounds with the filling and folded them up to make Potstickers!

Fried them off ..

... until crispy and golden brown.

And, served with a chilli soy dipping sauce!
 I also baked this recipe for Classic Sticky Gingerbread.
 Melted butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle being poured into the dry ingredients.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who panics at this point thinking that it's all going to go wrong!
A little elbow grease later ...
... and 50 minutes of pure magic in the oven ...
.. we have Sticky Gingerbread. This is a cake which I urge all of you to bake before Autumn is over!
Friday: This week, the first batch of brussel sprouts arrived in my kitchen.
I decided to put them into a salad inspired by this recipe.
They were trimmed, halved, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, and laid in a single layer on a baking tray.
After about 25 minutes roasting in a 200 degree oven ...
.. they were golden and crispy.
A world away from the usual boiled version!
They went into a bowl with fresh coriander, mint, rocket, watercress, spinach and spring onions.
I dressed them with a homemade paprika dressing ...
... and with one final toss, the salad was ready.
It was really yummy but next time I might throw in a few roasted carrots.
I've always loved roasted carrots.
In fact, I'm making some for dinner tonight.
And, I roasted them with potatoes last week for a Friday fish lunch.
Anyway, the salad was served with potstickers, a soy chilli dipping sauce and extra dressing - a delicious end to the week!
 


Recipes Posted This Week:


Cheddar Waffles with Fried Chicken and Gravy - I finally got around to writing about these crispy, cheesy waffles. Dig out the waffle maker - you won't regret it!
Cappuccino Fudge Cake - My take on a Mary Berry recipe. She made two layers but I did three and I added a cheeky layer of chocolate fudge icing.
Creamy Chicken Karahi - I made this on the night before Eid. It was really quick to do and a different take on the usual chicken curry.

My favourite links from around the web this week:

1. How you and the world have changed since you were born.
2. This muffin recipe contains two of my favourite ingredients and I cannot wait to give them a go!
3. One of these would be great right now!
4. A lovely post about life with a young baby.
5. Mmmmm ... this crumble.
6. Homemade pickled jalapenos? Yes, please.
7. I read this post at just the right time, alhamdulillah.
8. This though.
9. Anyone for a burger? 



I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with little moments that make you smile,

Wasalaam!


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