Lemon Pasta with Chicken, Courgette and Sunflower Seeds

Fresh and Filling

This recipe was super easyto make, most of my food does involve quite a bit of chopping because I love vegetables but all of the preparation if worth it in the end.  To some people this dish may seem very simple, but the best thing is you can add as many vegetables as you like.  I decided to keep it light as it is very filling, also I added paremsan and all purpose seasoning to give it a little something something. 

This recipe was adapted from fitnessmagazine.com

Ingredients:

2 tsps salt, wholewheat fusilli (add how much you want. I put enough for 2 days worth), 2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 courgette, 5 spring onions, a handful of sunflower seeds (these were originall pine nuts), 1/2 lemon, 1/2 red pepper, chicken breast, fresh basil leaves (this helps to make the dish extra tasty, don't forget the basil), parmesan to sprinkle on at the end.

Method:

1. Wash prepare and chop the chicken into bitesize chunks.

2. Use the olive oile to fry the chicken.

3. After chicken has been frying for about 5 minutes, start cooking the pasta. (Boil the water first).

4. When chicken is nearly done add some lemon juice, some lemon zest (not the white part of the lemon), courgette, red pepper, spring onion and spices and herbs to taste.

5. Then add sunflower seeds and a bit more lemon juice to your preferred taste.

6. Put the pasta and chicken together and top with parmesan.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Because I Felt Like It

I decided I was going to make some peanut butter cookies that I saw in my fitnessmagazine newsletter.  I missed eating peanut butter on toast with mum, so I thought why not make some low fat peanut butter cookies.  I also tried out this cross hatch design which was done simply with a fork. You can see that they suck together in the oven due to spacing issues but hey they are my cookies and sometimes it's fun to make things different shapes and sizes. The thickness of each cookie should be the same but apart from that make each cookie as big or small as you like :).

This recipe was adapted from fitnessmagazine.com

Ingredients:

125g all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 uncooked oats, 1/2 tsp salt, 85g peanut butter, 5 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 + 1/2 tsp vanilla flavouring, 70g sugar, 1 large egg, 2tbsp water.
(The recipe actually sayus 2/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar.  Personally I think this is way too much sugar, my cookies were sweet enough so I did it my way.  How much of a sugar fix do you really need? Do it my way and have a cup of tea with it instead. )

Method:

1. Combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl blend peanut butter, butter, vanilla with an electric mixer.
3. Add the flour combination, sugar and beaten egg. Whisk or mix after putting each of the ingredients in.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
5. Roll the dough and arrange your way onto baking sheets.
6. Flatten the dough balls and make a cross hatch design with a fork.
7. Bake for 20 minutes then cool for 5 minutes on a rack.

Saffy's Top Tips

1. As stated earlier you do not need to ad a great deal of sugar.
2. Add more oats for extra oaty goodness :)
3. CHeck the coookies after 15 minutes because they cook very quickly.

Spicy Fruit Salad

Fruity Kisses

Warm fruit in a juice which tastes like cordial served with a crunchy light meringue.  This dish feels like your tongue is being kissed :) ... Well that's how I felt anyway.  Boy do I love cooking.

This recipe was adapted from 'The Best of Sainsbury's Vegetarian Cooking' (Reed International Books Ltd, 1992).

Ingredients:

125g (4oz) apricots, 150ml (1/4 pint), orange juice, 1tbsp clear honey, a pinch of ground cinammon, 25g (1oz) raisins, 2 bananas, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 150g (5oz) natural yogurt

Method:

1. Place apricots in a spall saucepan with the orange juice, honey cinnamon and raisins.
2. Cook over a gentle heat until soft, but do not let the apricots become mushy.
3. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Slice the bananas, and toss in lemon juice..
5. Combine with apricots and raisins.
6. Serve with yogurt and meringue. (see my quick meringue recipe)

Saffy's Top Tip

I used apple juice rather than orange juice and chopped up a wedge of orange. Be creative and mix up your fruits to your taste.

Nice 'n Spicy Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

Moist and Delicious

I have never made a whole roast chicken in my life but I dared to challenge myself and cook this beauty.  With a little help from Levi Roots I made a succulent moist roasted chicken which delivered on flavour.  Some techniques I was a little unsure of, but I really urge people to try something they have never done before.  The leap really paid off.

This recipe was taken from 'Levi Root's Reggae Reggae Cookbook', (Collins, 2008)

Ingredients:

1 onion, 1.3kg/3lbs whole chicken, 1 lemon, 6 fresh thyme sprigs, 1tbsp chicken seasoning, 2 tsp all- purpose seasoning, ground black pepper, 2tbsp oilive oil, 4tbsp Reggae Reggae Sauce

Method:

1. Wash and prepare the chicken.
2. Push the onion into the cavity of the chicken.
3. Cut the lemon into 4 wedges and puch right inside with 4 thyme sprigs.
4. Put the chicken in a large roasting tin.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C/ 400 degrees F/ Gas Mark 6.
6. Throw other 2 sprigs of thyme, then sprinkle the chicken seasoning, all-purpose seasoning and black pepper evenly over the top and drizzle with oil.
7. Roast the chicken for an hour.
8. Spread the reggae reggae sauce and cook for 20 more minutes.

Saffy's Tips

1. I did not have a heating rack to raise the chicken so it wouldn't cook in the juices below.  I therefore found a technique on youtube which involves rolling foil in a rope and placing around the outline of the base of the chicken to raise it up.

2. If you want to save a few calories and therefore don't want to eat the skin of the chicken then, rub some of the sauce withing the top skin of the chicken so you don't miss out on the tasty reggae sauce flavour.

3. You know the chicken is cooked when ... A) If you wiggle the leg it should move easy and feel loose. B) When pricked with a sharp knife between chicken breast and the thigh the juice should be clear not pink or red!

Sweet Potato Pie Caribbean Style

"Feels Like I'm Home Again"

I truly felt like I was back in Barbados listening to soca while smelling the flavours of my beautiful sweet potato pie.

This recipe was adapted from latinfood.com

Ingredients:

3 lbs white-flesh sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed, 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained, 2 tbsp salted butter, room temperature, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, 5 - 6 slices pineapple rings , 5 - 6 stemmed cherries (remove stones) , 1 Tbsp melted butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Combine mashed sweet potatoes, crushed pineapple, room temperature butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly.
3. Transfer mixture to a greased 8 x 8-inch casserole dish. Arrange pineapple slices on top of mixture and place a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.
4. Brush the entire top of the pie with the melted butter and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Let pie cool until warm or room temperature before serving.

Orange and Thyme Stuffing

First Stuffing

Everyone who loves stuffing needs to try this recipe! It is fantastic. It is also the first time I have ever made stuffing. I will definitely be using this recipe again. It's the sort of food that puts a smile on your face and is a memorable part of a roast dinner rather than something which you will easily forget.

Recipe taken from Morrison's recipes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion (peeled and finely chopped, finely grated zest and juice from 2 oranges, 200g wholemeal breadcrumbs, 4tsp fresh thyme leaves (chopped), 1 vegetable stock cube (crumbled and dissolved in 2tbsp of boiling water).

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C/ 400 Degrees F/ Gas 6.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes or so until it softens.

3. Remove from the heat and add the orange zest, juice, breadcrumbs, thyme and chicken stock.

4. Mix well, place in an ovenproof dish and bake for 20mins.

Christmas Orange Cookies

Christmas Again

Christmas can be a very stressful period and sometimes when you are so busy trying to make everyone else happy you forget about yourself.  I decided that I was going to have my own special Christmas with someone special in the middle of January after exams.  I wanted to make these cookies at Christmas, but never had a chance to make them. Well better late than never.  They don't taste as healthy as my mothers nutty biscotti but they are sweet and fun to make.

This recipe was adapted from Sainsburys supermarket xmas recipe ideas.

Ingredients:

140g castor sugar, 1/2 tsp pure orange extractr, lemon rind from an orange, 1 egg yolk, 250g butter (cut into cubes), 375g plain white flour, 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

Method:

1. Place the castor sugar , orange extract, egg yolk, butter and food colouring (optional) into a food processor and pulse until well combined.
2. Add the flour, cinnamon and cardamom and mix to form a dough.
3. Shape the dough into flat shapes and wrap in cling film and chill for 20 - 30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 5mm and cut out desired cookie shapes.
5. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cool on wire wrack.
7. Decorate :)

Saffy's Tip

I used a few drops of orange food colouring, I admit it was accidental but it really brightened up the biscuits! Then  the Orange Christmas Cookies actually looked orange :) Yay!

I melted chocolate and placed Christmas decorations ontop, as you can see I also used smarties.  Fun Kiddie Treats! 

Use cookie cutters to make different shapes!