KitchenScraps

Orange and Mango Chicken

Here's a new dish to try out. (we've just invented it!)
fry garlic, in a little olive oil, add cummin seeds -
slice oranges and add them (rind and all) and chicken drumsticks (along with a hint of dried chilli, and some brandy)
Put it all in a roasting tin in a hot oven (200) til chicken is browned. At the very last minute (when you think the chicken is pretty much 'done') add some cubed fresh mango...
mmmm...
we served it with vermicelli and whole 'mouse' cucumbers

recipe for Di- the sweet n sour fan!

Sweet n Sour Beef (Mom Diep's Recipe)
blanch veg in boiling water (eg: Asparagus for 3 mins, carrot for 4 mins, baby corn for 2mins)
drain and plunge into icy water. 

On a low heat mix the following ingreds (no amounts given - sorry - just make according to taste and amounts of veg)
- salt
- sugar
- pepper
- tomato puree
- cider vineagar
- sesame oil
- soya sauce
- dry sherry
- cornflour
- a little water

bring to boil stirring often.  stir to desired thickness, take off heat.

Heat wok as hot as poss, and in a little sesame oil and garlic stir fry very quickly thin strips of sirloin beef.  When no longer rare, take out and set aside.

Put drained blanched vegetables into wok, stir fry a couple of mins, add beef, sauce and spring onions, toss for a min or so...
DONE!

bright red things

We have been productive this year *grin*
Here are some of our ripening tomatoes. We had a great sunny bank holiday weekend.
Has been good for us and the vegetables.

a meal from the unwanted

We had our first crop of potatoes yesterday
and we ate them this morning in a chicken and potatoe soup
along with taragon, oregano, rosemary, chives and vietnamese chives from our garden too
shame the chicken was bought from a shop
i hoped that vegetables fresh from the garden would taste better
and i think they do, Maggie agrees too
I am pleased
it amazes me how a few unwanted potatoes thrown out
ends up as part of a meal
there is something that God is trying to say to me i think
hmmmm
well God bless
PT

salad greens

It is a lovely hot afternoon/evening....friday is so nice.
Our little garden is ripe with vegetables. We have planted mustard and wild rocket. They have grown large and there is more than enough for us to eat everyday and it still keeps growing. Mustard leaves and wild rocket as salad every day, can't believe i'd ever get tired of eating such nice salad greens but there is only so much of the same yummy stuff that you can eat before it becomes boring. We are growing watercress and spinach too but they will take a while to get going. The garden is a perfect size for a little kitchen garden, soon we will have lots more exotic herbs from my folks. Can't wait for our lemongrass to grow to a good size and our chilli plants to fruit. All we need now is some garlic, ginger and lime and we are set.

o check out Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall's website which is on our side bar - we would love to go to the river cottage and have a mooch around if we had time....

Eat don't spray your snails!

Ordinary english garden snails are a great freebie for the kitchen. Phuoc-Tan is out snail gathering now, following Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall's advice. He has prepared a snail cage and will 'purge' them for five days on lettuce, then starve them for two, before we cook em in garlic, butter and white wine... MMM. A far better alternative to pesticides in our opinion!! Happy snail hunting!

brandy butter porridge!

Anh Diep reckons bovril and porridge rocks, and we've discovered another great porridge 'jazzer' - brandy butter! Just stir in the leftovers and enjoy a true 'hair of the christmas dog'!

Young's Christmas Pudding Ale

"It's so magnificent and merry-making that you'll want to put it in a bowl and pour brandy sauce over it."
So says the label on this new discovery of ours, and it ain't just 'marketing' jingle. That pretty much sums up the Ale, which we tasted last night for a date night treat and we cannot help but give it rave reviews. For a surprising ale, try this one!
duo

Roasty little snack

Here's one that's easy and great to snack on. Dry roast in a fry pan a few handfuls of sunflower seeds! We've also tried dry roasting pumpkin seeds, but without doubt sunflower seeds are the most morish!! enjoy

Spice of Life

Was reading in a 'reliable source' recently that CINNAMON can help with diabetes - apparently 1 teaspoon daily helps! (worth a shot!) I've also heard that HONEY kills the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers, GINGER combats nausea, and if you want to rid yourself of halitosis, chew on some CARDOMMON!
mags