Stuffed Peppers and Vegie Roast

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/2 Kg basmati rice
• 200 grs fish (I used Cod de-boned and skinless / other fish can be used)
  
• 200 grs Prawns
• 1 courgette
• 1 large onion
• 1 sweet bell pepper (red)
• 4 Large peppers (any colour)
  
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 large carrot
• 1 soup spoon of tomato concentrate (paste)
• 2 soup spoons of fish sauce
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper (powder)
  

Boil the rice in some water a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes (until the rice is cooked but not overcooked) while that is doing dice all the vegetables finely and stir-fry them in come olive oil when cooked add the tomato paste and half a glass of water let it simmer for about 3 minutes then add the fish sauce the pinch of cayenne and the fish, simmer until the fish is cooked, break the fish into flakes and lastly add the prawns (I used frozen prawns peeled and cooked) heating until the prawns are fully defrosted and hot. Once you achieved that stuff the four peppers (you may have some left over rice you can serve it with the dinner) that you previously cut the tops and cleared the seeds, wrap them in foil fully with the lids and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Prior to that if you like as an accompaniment you can cut about 10 large Charlotte onions 2 large sweet potatoes 4 large parsnips and one large fennel into chunks put them in a roasting tray drizzling them with olive oil and some fragrant honey also add salt and pepper to taste these will take about 40 minutes to cook gas mark 200, so manage your time and make them both come together. It makes a rather nice Café/restaurant serving portion ( one pepper, a spoons of rice mixture and the roast Veg, as it can be reheated in the Microwave).

Short and Smoking Cod

This is my latest invention, and I guarantee it was delicious:

Recipe Ingredients:

• 400grs of smoked cod
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic
• 1 large head of broccoli
  
• 1 hand full of cheese
• 1 Glass full of grated cheese
  
• 2 glasses of milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Poach the fish in the milk until cooked then strain fish remove any skin and bones an flake it into a bowl (do not throw the milk away), dice the onion and the garlic finely and stir-fry it until caramelized, add it to the fish, boil the broccoli until cooked then dice it and add it to the fish, finally in a glass mix some flour (about two spoons full) and water until runny cream consistency, take me milk to the heat when starting to boil pour the flour mixture into the milk slowly and always stirring until quite thick like very thick gravy, then add the cheese which will make it thicker still, add this to fish too. (Alternatively you can use instead of milk one cup of mash potato mixed in with the cheese and into the fish mixture)
For the pastry mix 1 cup of flour with about 50grs of butter.mix with your hand until it resembles crumbs then add a little water and kneed it until it forms a soft dough,cut it in half and roll one half to cover bottom of pirex dish and the other half for the lid, brush the top with milk and an egg yolk and bake in in the oven for about 25 minutes.
For the accompaniment I sliced four potatoes 4 carrots and 2 sweet potatoes drizled them with olive oil paprika, salt and pepper. and baked that too in the oven for the same 25 minutes. "Bon apetit"

Strawberry & Chocolate Victoria Sponge

Recipe For the Sponge:

• 220 grs butter, softened, plus extra for greasing.
• 220 grs caster sugar.
• 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten.
• 220 grs self-raising flour.
• Dash of vanilla essence
  

Recipe For the Filling & Topping:

• 15 large Fresh strawberries.
• One soup spoon of sugar.
  
• 250 mls single fresh cream.
• 1 bar of chocolate 60% cocoa.

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4, Use a little butter to grease two 20cm-diameter sponge tins and also dust them with flour. The very important creaming method; that is, the fat and sugar are creamed or beaten together until very light and fluffy before other ingredients are added.
Beat the eggs lightly and add them to the mixture of fat and sugar bit by bit incorporating them each addition you make, continue this until all the egg is in, then the flour add a bit at the time as well and fold it in until it incorporates too with the mixture, keep repeating this until all is in, Finally add the vanilla essence (or lemon zest if you prefer).
Split the mixture between the two tins and bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes, prick them with a wooden tooth pick until the centre if tooth pick comes out clean then they are cooked.

Filling:

Beat the cream and add as it starts to harden the sugar (also add a couple of lemon juice drops). Wash and slice the strawberries, once that is done fold them gently into the thickened cream, that is it filling is done.

Topping:

Very simple for a hard set, just break chocolate into little squares into a glass bowl and melt them in bain marie, then you cover the cake with it which then goes hard when it is dry.
For a soft version I add a tea spoon of butter and an egg yolk mixing it well still in the bain marie, if you spread this one will not go hard should go semi-soft.

Assembly:

The easy bit, put one sponge in a plate, cover it thickly with the strawberry cream let it go out of the cake diameter a bit, lay the other sponge on top with it's base facing top (as is a flatter surfice) run a spatula all the way around the cake to push the excess cream in and make it a smooth surface, then finally coat the top with chocolate, (you can add more decorations if you want like sprinkles etc. its up to you.

The cake on the picture I made it for my niece who was just 1 year old last week, so I wanted a simple presentation, but nice looking at the same time.

Honey "Broas" Portuguese Cookies

(broas are kind of leaf shaped cookies)

Recipe Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 500 grs sugar
• 500 grs Flour
• 125 grs butter
• 125 grs lard (veg)
• 2 soup spoons of honey
• 1 tea spoon of sodium bicarbonate
• zest of one lemon

Composition:

Hehe! is very complicated....
Well put all ingredients together, kneed them really well and then roll it into small balls in your had to a longish egg shape place them in a previously greased and floured tray and sort of press them down with a fork (just a little to a fat leaf shape, place them in a preheated oven to 200 Celsius and bake them till golden brown about 25 minutes depending on oven. I was only scaring you ...see not complex at all.