Pot roast chicken with olives and carrots

1 chicken
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large carrots, roughly chopped (large pieces)
a good handful of green olives
1 vegetable stock cube, dissolved in a cup of boiling water.
1 tsp french mustard (added to stock)
1 glass white wine (French sauvignon blanc)
black pepper
olive oil


Fry the onion, then add garlic and carrots. Put chicken in the pot, grind pepper over the top. Pour wine over the chicken. Pour stock into the bottom of the pot. Throw some olives in.Roast uncovered for 30 minutes at 230'C, then cover with the pot's lid and roast for a further 1.5-2 hours at 180'C

Oat & Apple energy bar

Oat & Apple energy bar

500g Porridge Oats - quick oats are perhaps better. Thick rolled
'jumbo' oats would give a more flaky texture
10 dried dates
1 handful sultanas
10 glace cherries
1 handful chocolate chips
1 handful sunflower seeds
1 handful pumpkin seeds
2 eating apples, chopped into small dice (chop them as late as
possible so they don't go brown)

150g unsalted butter
100g soft dark brown sugar
2 dessert spoons Golden Syrup

Chop the dates into small chunks and place in a bowl with the
sultanas. Add boiling water to not-quite cover and allow to soak for
30 minutes or longer

Chop the cherries into small pieces - roughly 8th's. Put the cherry
pieces in a bowl and toss them in a handful oats to absorb the
stickiness and separate them.

In a large bowl mix all the dry bits into the oats, then add the apple
and dried fruits. Get it as well mixed as possible.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and dissolve the sugars. Then add
the oat mixture in a few batches, mixing it well between additions.

Line a deep (~1.5") baking tin with greaseproof paper, then press the
mixture in firmly with a spatula.

Smooth off the top and sprinkle some extra pumpkin seeds, chocolate
chips and raisins over the top - press them in a bit.

Bake at Gas 2 - 160'C for about 30-45 minutes. It'll still be quite
sticky but firms up as it cools.

Let it cool in the tin before removing and cutting into pieces.

Lemony chicken curry

8 cloves garlic

1 large knob ginger

1 deseeded red chilli 

Blitz these three with a tablespoon of water.

add:

1 tablespoon of tomato puree

Put about 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan -- put this on a gentle heat and add:

1 small cinnamon stick 

4 cloves

Sizzle the spices for 1-2 minutes.  Then add 

2 bay leaves 

Remove all the spices from the oil and pour about half the oil into a small dish -- put this to one side.

Cut into bite sized pieces:

4 chicken thigh fillets

Brown the chicken with 2 or 3 teaspoons of ginger, garlic, tomato and chilli paste.  Put it in a bowl.

Add the reserved oil to the pan, and the rest of the ginger, garlic, tomato and chilli paste.  Fry this for 30 seconds then add

1 1/2 medium onions, finely sliced

Fry this for a further 2 minutes or so, then add 

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

2 strips of lemon zest

A dash of water (to form a sauce)

Cook the sauce for a couple of minutes until it's coming together. Then add

leftover cooked potatoes

frozen beans

1 green pepper

the browned chicken pieces.

Simmer for 10-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and your rice is ready

butternut squash stuffed with beef

500g beef mince
1 large onion
1 stick cinnamon
olive oil
2 anchovy fillets
1 large glass shiraz
2 tsp colmans mustard (i.e. made mustard from a jar)
rosemary
lemon zest
lemon juice
salt
pepper
1 butternut squash

Fry the onion with the rosemary until soft.
meanwhile dry-fry the beef in a couple of batches in a frying pan,
along with the finely chopped anchovy.
Add the meat to the onions and throw in the cinnamon stick.
Deglaze the frying pan with half the wine, add this to the mixture.
Add a little water and cover with a lid -- simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Season with mustard, salt and pepper.
At this point, reduce the rest of the wine by half in the frying pan.
stir a little of the meat mixture into the reduction and return this
to the rest. Add a squeeze of lemon and a few bits of finely sliced
lemon zest (only a little). Allow the mixture to rest for some time,
off the heat.

Bake the squash, whole, for about 20 minutes (until it's easy to slice)

Cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Scoop out some of the
flesh along the length of the squash, to make room for the meat
stuffing mixture.

Reheat the meat and pack into the squash halves. Put the stuffed
squash into the oven at about 200'c in an oven dish, with a splash of
water in the base. After about 15 minutes the meat on the top should
have started to brown -- cover with some foil and cook until the
squash is tender.

cod and prawn curry

2 bits of cod loin
1 pack fresh prawns
big bit of ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a small onion, finely sliced
tablespoon of yellow split peas
a yellow pepper, in chunks
2 small green chillies, deseeded
mustard powder
turmeric powder
tomato puree
handfuls of fresh coriander, chopped
A little lime zest and some lime juice
mustard oil
salt

Cut the cod into large bite sized pieces; dust with mustard, turmeric
and salt, brown on both sides, quickly, in the oil. Put aside.

In the same oil add the yellow split peas and fry until they start to turn brown

Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a short while

Add pepper and onion.

Add tomato puree and some water to just cover. Cook slowly until the
split peas become just tender enough to not break your teeth.

Put the fish back in and add the prawns, cook slowly until prawns are done.

Stir in the coriander and lime, allow to rest for 5 minutes, serve with rice

Mustard Fish Curry

6-7 cloves garlic
piece of ginger about as big as your thumb
3+ hot birdseye chillies
chilli powder (cayenne pepper)
1 small onion
coconut milk, ~1 tin
colmans mustard powder
ground coriander seed
ground garam masala
cod, haddock or other firm white fish steaks.

Chop or mince the garlic, ginger and chillies. Finely slice the onion
into half-rings.

Fry the garlic, ginger and chillies in a saucepan, in some hot oil for
a few seconds.
Add onion, fry a little.
Add a heaping teaspoon or more of mustard powder and some ground
coriander, stir and fry for a short while then add coconut milk. Bring
to a light boil and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile cut fish into large pieces or keep whole. Dust the fish
liberally with mustard powder, garam masala and cayenne. Add some oil
to a very hot karhai or wok and brown the fish pieces on the outside
as fast as possible, take care not to break it up too much.
Then add fish to the sauce and allow to cook on a slow simmer for
~5-10 minutes until cooked through.

Breakfast Pigeon

1 wild pigeon
Drizzle olive oil
Rub in some chopped rosemary
Drizzle chilli oil
Drizzle dark soy sauce

Roast at 220' for 20 minutes. If the breasts are still too bloody,
brown them very fast in a frying pan.