Uncle Ted's Recipes #16: Lemon juice & curd with vanilla and poppy seed cake

 This is a recipe that I thought of from scratch and while it is rudimentary it is simple enough that even the most green of bakers should be able to make it easily.

This is a fairly light cake although it is quite moist and dense so once you have tried it according to this recipe then try playing around with the ingredient amounts.

Ingredients:

350-400g each of both plain and self-raising flour (don't feel afraid to add a little more flour if the mix ends up looking not dry enough)

200-300g lemon curd

5 Large eggs

2 Tablespoons sunflower oil

400g honey instead of sugar

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda or baking powder

lemon juice and grated rind of two lemons

100g poppy seeds

20-30ml vanilla extract

4-6 tablespoons brown muscovado sugar

Method:

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to either 200C fan-forced or 220C double-sided and line a deep baking tray with baking paper that you have crumpled and re-rolled out.

Step 2 - Sift the flour and bicarbonate/baking powder into a large mixing bowl and mix together and then create a well in the middle. On the side, crack the eggs into a bowl or jug and then beat them before adding in the oil and mixing well until the eggs and oil has a tiny bit of a cloudy tint to it

Step 3 - Pour the eggs and oil into the centre of the well in the flour mix and fold it until it is mixed all in. Afterwards, mix in the honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract and 2/3 of the poppy seeds and mix well until all is combined.

Step 4 - Spread half of the cake mix into the baking tray and then spoon in and spread all of the lemon curd on top of this. After the curd has been distributed as evenly as possible, spread on top the rest of the cake mix.

Step 5 - Sprinkle the remaining poppy seeds, grated lemon rind and brown muscovado sugar on top of the cake and then place into the oven for 30 minutes. Check when the cake is cooked by inserting a knife into it and if it comes out as mostly dry or with just a bit of lemon curd on it and no moist cake mix then its nearly cooked.

Step 6 - Leave to cool for 1.5-2.5 hours before serving with lemon and ginger tea or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a glass of white wine.

Uncle Ted's Recipes #15: Saag Paneer with pulses and pre-marinated paneer

Sorry if the lack of updates on this blog has left your appetites for film and video game reviews or recipe posts insufficiently satisfied but here I am again with an old recipe that I have updated a bit during my time spent experimenting with recipes during lockdown.

So here is a recipe I built up for saag paneer with pre-marinated paneer and extra pulses that is suitable for most occasions and is simple enough that it can be adapted to different dietary needs.

Utensils:

• Chopping board
• Sieve/colander
• Garlic crusher
• Large chopping knife
• Small vegetable/herb knife
• Wooden spoon
• Cast iron or stainless steel saucepan or pot with a lid
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients:

• 2 medium white onions
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 400g tinned or frozen spinach
• 400g low-fat coconut milk
• 3-5 tablespoons chilli flakes
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 2 tablespoons allspice
• 2 tablespoons ground tumeric
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 2 tablespoons tikka curry powder
• 1 lemon
• Vegetable oil
• 400-500g diced paneer (preferable), chicken breast or tofu
• 400g kala chana
• 400g green lentils
• 200g chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
• 1 tablespoon caraway or cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds or cloves

Cooking method/process:

1. At least 2 hours before beginning cooking, dice the paneer into a tupperware box and squeeze all of the lemon juice into the box along with grating the lemon rind. Also add in a teaspoon of oil, a few shakes of salt and the tikka curry powder. After mixing all of this into the paneer, put on the lid, wrap in clingfilm and place into the fridge for at least a couple of hours
2. Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in the pan at about 20% heat along with the seeds, pods, chilli flakes and curry leaves along with a handful of shakes of salt before stirring and allowing to lightly simmer for 5 minutes but be VERY CAREFUL to make sure this doesn't burn.
3. Dice up the onions and add them to the pan along with the garlic after it has been crushed before stirring and turning up to 50% heat and allowing to simmer until the onions are moderately soft while keeping close attention to the pan to make sure this mixture doesn't burn. Just before dicing the onions, it would be a good idea to rinse the beans and pulses in a sieve/colander so that they have at least a few minutes to drain.
4. In a mug or bowl, pour a couple of tablespoons of oil before throwing in all of the ground spices aside from the tikka powder with a couple more tablespoons of oil and a few shakes of salt on top before mixing well and setting this curry paste mixture aside for a few minutes.
5. Get the paneer out of the fridge and add it into the saucepan along with the beans and pulses and mix well with a few shakes of salt and allow to cook for 10 minutes at 40% heat.
6. Add the curry paste to the pan and stir well before turning back up to 50% heat and cooking for 10 minutes.
7. Turn the pan up to 75% heat and add in the spinach, coconut milk, tinned tomatoes and a few small shakes of salt before mixing well and adding in boiled water if the whole mix still looks a little dry and allow the mix to cook at this level for 5-10 minutes before turning it right down to 20% heat and allowing it too cook slowly for 1-1.5 hours (keep a careful eye on the pot during this period to make sure it doesn't burn or boil over.

Serving suggestions:

Serve the curry with spinach and sweetcorn or lentil samosas, garlic naan bread, mango chutney and pilau rice with a garnish of a few leaves of coriander on top.

Serve with an ice cold glass of water or bottle of Cobra beer and after you've finished eating, have a warm cup of turmeric tea and a vanilla milkshake.

What to do with leftovers:

At the end of the week, if there is any of the curry left after you've eaten most of it, try heating up the remainder in some vegetable stock water with half a teaspoon of saffron, 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 150g of stewed lentils to make some saag paneer dhal soup.

Another option to use up any leftovers is to mildly heat it up and then place in a slightly warmed up paratha wrap with pickled red cabbage, dry vinaigrette slaw, cucumber and mint rajita and then closing up the wrap and lightly toasting it in sesame seed oil so that it can be closed up as an Indian kind of, sort of burrito.

Uncle Ted's Recipes #14: Hearty but light chicken breasts

 Usually this is a type of cooking I reserve for fish and seafood (mainly salmon, prawns or cod) but I tried it tonight with chicken and it works pretty well for that too. This is a hearty dish good enough for any night of the week that can be served with a wide variety of additions and side dishes/foods but first things first, let's get to the point of cooking the chicken first.

Utensils/tools:

1 small meat-cutting knife

1 medium baking tray & 1 oven

greaseproof paper or high-quality tin foil

Plate (you can choose to eat straight from the oven with your hands but I would not recommend it)

Ingredients:

2 medium skinless chicken breast pieces

20-30ml soya sauce

4 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons pickled ginger

1/4 chilli flakes (optional)

2 bay leaves (optional)

Cooking steps/method of preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C double-sided setting.
2. Lay some greaseproof paper or tin foil over the baking tray and place the chicken breasts onto said prepared tray. Use the knife to slice the chicken breasts down lengthways once halfway through and then four times sideways across the original cut a quarter through the chicken meat.
3. Pour the soya sauce all into the cuts made into the chicken but do not worry if it spills over the sides of the chicken pieces and into the parcel of paper/foil you've made on the baking tray.
4. Peel the garlic cloves then use a garlic crusher to crush the garlic over the chicken and then extract all the bits of the crushed garlic and spread over the breast pieces along with the pickled ginger. Alternatively, if you do not have a garlic crusher, get the cloves on a cutting board, crush them with the flat of the blade of a knife (with your hand on the opposite side to stabilize it) and then roughly dice the crushed garlic up.
5. Wrap up the parcel by folding it over the top and twisting either end shut and twisting them upwards.
6. Place the tray into the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and place onto a plate that has been pre-heated for 3-4 minutes and serve

Uncle Ted's Serving recommendations

• Mash potato, ratatouille and roasted kale (this is my favourite way of serving this kind of chicken as it's probably the easiest to do considering roasted kale is easy to make and most supermarkets sell ready-to-microwave mash and tinned ratatouille).
• Brown rice cooked in vegetable stock, chilli flakes and red kidney beans with a side of wilted spinach and kale.
• Served on top of a udon noodle, vegetable broth and pak choi Chinese-style broth soup.
• Slice the chicken up and then serve it on top of a salad of avocado, petite pois, mint, bulgur wheat, cucumber, bean shoots and chives.
• Serve as part of a South-East-Asian mixed grill including kung-pow pork loin, Vietnamese pork belly bibimbap, chicken teriyaki and tempura beef.

Uncle Ted's recipes #13: Fruit & rum fudge cake

Considering that people have been asked to keep going out to the shops to a minimum during the lockdown I made this easy and minimal cake recipe so that people can have something nice to snack on with a cup of tea during these trying times.

Ingredients (makes 8 portions):
500g mix dried fruit
200-350g clear honey
15ml white rum
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
6 eggs
250g rice flour
250g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (optional)
100-200 diced fudge

Method/cooking process:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 210C double-sided
2. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and then stir together before making a well in the middle
3. Beat the eggs in a jug or large mug before pouring into the centre of the well in the flour mix and folding into the mix until it is largely or entirely mixed in
4. Add in the rum and honey and mix normally until it is all mixed in and if it ends up being too liquidly then add in a few more tablespoons of rice flour and fold it in
5. Mix in the fudge and fruit before placing into a deep oven tray that has been lined with greaseproof paper
6. Place into the oven for 27 minutes while double checking at the 20-25 minute mark to make sure the cake isn't burning
7. Remove from the oven once the cake is finished cooking and remove from the pan before folding the paper down on the sides and letting cool for 2 hours
8. Cut up into eighths and serve with a cup of cinnamon tea or hot chocolate

Uncle Ted's recipes #10: Sublime seafood pasta

Sorry to all you little dearies that I haven't done a recipe in a good while but I recently thought of this recipe from scratch and thought it'd be great to share with you all.

ALERGY WARNINGS: Contains white wine, seafood and dairy.  May also contain nuts in garnishing.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 3-5):

2 Medium white onions

18.5 cl white wine

250-400g mixed seafood (I used mussels, squid and prawns but feel free to add whatever seafood you fancy)

1.25-2 cups of frozen peas

175-200g fresh leaf spinach

400-500g linguini

11g dried parsley

3 teaspoons mustard

150-200g crème fraiche

3-5 g mixed Mediterranean herbs

a pinch of salt

olive oil

UTENSILS/TOOLS:

1 Large cutting knife

1 Large chopping board

1 sieve or colander

1 or 2 teaspoons

1 very large frying pan

1 large saucepan

1 fork

1 wooden spoon

METHOD/COOKING PROCESS:

1)- Start by filling the saucepan about 2/3 or halfway with cold water,  then add in a small bit of olive oil. Start the water on towards the boil.  

2)- Add some olive oil into the frying pan and turn it onto the lowest heat possible.  Dice up the onions on the board after peeling the skin off then chuck them into the frying pan.  Turn up the heat to about medium or mid-high and mix in a pinch of salt while briefly stirring.  Keep simmering the onions for about 10 mins until softened.

3)- When the onions are softened, add in the white wine and mix.  Then simmer for about 5 mins to pasteurise the alcohol. While this is simmering, wash, rinse and add in the spinach and add into the sauce.  Give the spinach about 5 mins to welt then start stirring it in.

4)-  After adding the spinach and wine, chuck in the crème fraiche and mustard and mix into the sauce. When both have been fully combined, add in the herbs and mix again. After doing this, turn the frying pan back down to either a low or mid-low heat.

5)- Put the pasta/linguini into the saucepan and bring to the boil.  Boil the pasta for 9 minutes and make sure to stir every 2 or 3 minutes that it boils with a fork in order to help prevent the pasta from congealing and sticking together.  After the pasta is boiled, drain it and let it do so for about 2-3 mins over the saucepan off of the hob.

6)-  About 4-5 minutes into the pasta boiling, add both the seafood and peas into the sauce in the frying pan and mix until the ingredients are all combined.  After doing this, turn the hob that the frying pan is off but keep it on the hob for the rest of the time that the pasta is boiling.

7)- When the pasta has finished draining, add it into the frying pan and remove from the hob. Then mix together until the pasta has been partially submerged into the sauce and everything is mixed together.  Be sure to make sure that you have a very large frying pan.

8)- Dish onto mildly warmed plates with a wooden spoon and salad spoon or something similar. 

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve along with a glass of pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc and a mildly warm rosemary and sea salt focaccia bread and mixed green leaf salad.

A possible garnish would also be to sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top after serving but only do this if no one has a nut allergy.

Uncle Ted's Recipes #9: Protein-packed vegan curry

Ok I know vegan recipes or even vegetarian ones aren't the most common sight on this blog but this is one cheap and reasonably healthy.  Its good for either keeping in the fridge for yourself for a few days or for a dinner party.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6)

6-10 Tablespoons rapeseed oil

4 small, 3 medium or 2 large brown onions

250g fresh leave spinach washed and rinsed

600-800g chickpeas soaked and drained

300-450g green lentils soaked and drained

650g baby potatoes

4-6 teaspoons of chilli flakes

2-4 teaspoons of chilli powder

1-3 teaspoons of cumin seeds

1-3 teaspoons of ground cumin

4 teaspoons of graham masala

5 teaspoons of ground smoked paprika

Thyme or sage leaves

3-5 cloves of garlic

2-4 cups boiled water

Salt

EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS

1 large cutting knife

1 herb knife

1 cutting board

1 or 2 colanders or sieves

1 large or very large cooking pot or stove

1 heat or melting proof mixing spoon

Teaspoons for measuring spices

Ladle for dishing up curry

METHOD/PREPARATION (Time to prepare approximately 15-30 minutes)

 

Step 1: Dice up the potatoes and place them into a strainer and rinse in cold water for a couple of minutes over the sink then let them drain while you do the other initial preparations.

Step 2: Dice up the onions while pouring the oil into the pot and turning the hob onto a low-mid heat.  After a few minutes, hover your hand over the pan and if there is a mild heat coming off of it, then place the herbs except for the salt and thyme or sage into the pan and stir until the spices are mixed together in one mush.

Step 3: Place the potatoes and onions into the pan with a small extra bit of oil and stir until mixed in well with the spices.  Afterwards, begin crushing and dicing up the garlic and then place into the pan and stir again.

Step 4: After rinsing and draining the spinach, place into the pan and let the spinach wilt. then drain and rinse the lentils, chickpeas and thyme or sage then place into the pan then stir moderately.

Step 5: Add in the boiling water and a couple of pinches of salt and then stir.  Also, make sure that the spinach is mostly submerged so that it can wilt some more and get mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.  Afterwards, do a brief taste test to see if the balance of spices and herbs is to your liking and add more of one of the spices if you would like to.  Afterwards, place the lid onto the pot and turn down to a low heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes while you do the washing up.

Step 6: Serve the curry on a bed of either pilau or basmati rice with a coriander naan and served alongside either an icy cold beer such as Cobra or a yoghurt drink and a glass of tap water.

Hope you find plenty of use out of this recipe if you decide to make it like this or use my recipe as a base template to adapt your own curry recipe from.  Please feel free to make suggestions in the comment section below and let me know how you all get on with this nice, cheap and healthy curry recipe!

Uncle Ted's recipes #8: Post-workout pasta (includes prawns)

Again I know I really haven't been uploading a lot recently on this blog but whenever has punctuality been an aspect of my character on any form of social media?  Really the main reason for this being the case is that I haven't been making any new recipes or seen any new films recently but with this inspired dinner I thought up of recently I figured that now was as good a time as any.

I thought up of this healthy and tasty pasta dish recently a few days before I went to the gym as I needed a good dish that would be a great balance of all the essentials one may need after having a good work out and I think I've thought up a right winner as even if you don't work out its a deliciously healthy dish that ticks all boxes (that is if you do not eat fish).

INGREDIENTS (Serves 3-4 big portions):

300-350g king prawns (pre-marinated tofu if you do not eat fish)

175-250g ricotta

2 bunched handfuls fresh spinach leaves

1 large white onion

2 cloves of garlic

350-400g spaghetti (uncooked weight)

4-6 tablespoons white wine

olive oil

salt and pepper

dried basil

UTENSILS:

1 medium saucepan

1 large frying pan

1 vegetable knife

1 wooden spoon

1 fork

1 cutting board

1 colander

METHOD/PROCESS:

1 - Place some cold water into the saucepan to about just over halfway then add in some couple splashes of olive oil and turn onto boil.  Dice up the onion and place in an extremely low heat frying pan with a few splashes of oil in it and add a dash of salt before stirring.

2 - When the water is boiling, put the spaghetti in, make sure it is submerged for the most part then cook for 9 mins while stirring with the fork every 2 or 3 mins while it cooks so as to not let it become all clumped and starchy.

3 - When the onion starts  to soften after 5 mins of frying add in the crushed garlic and simmer for another 5 mins before adding in the white wine and simmer for another 5.

4 - When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it in the colander over a drain or sink then place the colander over the saucepan after the pasta is dried to get as much water drained away.

5 - After the white wine has had a few mins to simmer then add in the prawns and spinach and stir around for about 4-5 mins until the spinach has wilted before lumping the drained spaghetti on top.

6 - using a teaspoon, spoon the ricotta in several bits onto the spaghetti then stir around until most or almost all of the ricotta is nicely mixed in and all of the ingredients have been mixed around in a balanced way.

7 - Serve onto plates alongside toasted pitta with garlic oil and carrot salad with a glass of white wine (I'd recommend something like La Vielle Ferme) or if you don't drink alcohol then something like lemon or blood orange tea.

Hopefully you'll all enjoy this one as I kind of just thought up of it off the top of my head but it really is a winner if you need a perfectly balanced meal and don't have a huge amount of funds or time so give it a shot as you really can't go wrong with it!

My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg

My 2nd YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxOkndBGSWNv4ckTLl7MCCA

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/ted_lord

Uncle Ted's recipes #7: Champion chilli con carne

Sorry I haven't been uploading onto this blog recently lads and ladies but unfortunately your uncle Ted has been a bit weighed down by work and hasn't really seen any movies recently.  Hopefully something about pop culture to stimulate the brain will pop up soon but until then we have this healthy and simple recipe I have to impart on you guys for some marvellous chilli con carne.

Make this if you've got a dinner party coming up or if you're a bit low on the monies and have to make something in bulk to last you for the week but either way we're on to some fine dining here and for a low budget to boot.  Don't say I never care about you lot.

Ingredients (serves 4 or makes 4 individual meals):

1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1x 440 tin or carton of tomato passata

400-500g of minced beef or quorn vegetarian mince

400g tin of red kidney beans

2 x large red peppers

4-5x green and/or red chillies

1 x large yellow or orange pepper

1 x large or 2 x medium of brown onions

2-4x cloves of garlic

1-2x sticks of cinnamon (optional)

olive oil

1 tablespoon chilli or curry powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2x bay leaves

1x handful of parsley

1x bunch of thyme

a couple pinches of salt

Utensils/tools:

1x large saucepan/pot with lid

1x heatproof ladle

1x vegetable cutting board

1x vegetable cutting knife

1x garlic crusher

1x small knife sharp enough for chopping the herbs

1x tablespoon for measuring out the spices

1x wooden spoon for stirring

1x teaspoon for deseeding the chillies

Method:

Step 1: place the saucepan/pot onto the hob and splash in some oil.  skin and dice up the onion and crush up the garlic while heating the pot on the lowest possible heat then chuck in the onions and turn up the heat slightly and simmer with a pinch of salt for 5 mins before adding in the garlic and stirring.

Step 2: chuck in the mince meat or quorn mince depending on your dietary disposition and break the mince up while putting up the heat slightly and stir around with a tiny bit more oil until most if not all, of the mince is browned. 

Step 3: Deseed, wash with cold water then slice up the chillies and peppers and chuck into the pot.  Drain the kidney beans in a colander or sieve then add into the pot along with the cinnamon sticks while occasionally stirring for about 10 mins.

Step 4: Chuck in the passata and chopped tinned tomatoes into the pot and stir then add in the paprika and chilli powder along with another pinch of salt and stir again.  Place the lid back on then turn down to a low heat to simmer while preparing the herbs.

Step 5: Wash the bay leaves and place into the pot as they are.  Wash then dash up the parsley and wring the thyme off its stalks then place both herbs into the chilli con carne and simmer for another 10 mins.

Step 6: Serve the chilli con carne with the ladle onto a bed of either cous cous or brown rice with a side addition of a small dollop of yoghurt (optional of course) and grated cheddar (again, entirely optional) and with a glass of water and a cup of black tea with a slice of lemon.

Like I said above, this is great at dinner parties when you have not too many resources or big ideas of what to make for the main meal.  If you are serving it for the main meal then perhaps serve after a starter of soup or salad and before a light pudding of something like ice cream or light fruit pudding or fruit salad with yoghurt.  Another bit of advice I would give is to perhaps make this the day before you're planning to eat it so that the flavour has a small amount of time to simmer down and mature at which point it will taste marvellous especially with a dollop of yoghurt and brown rice or cous cous.

Again, I apologise for the lacklustre uploading recently but that is the lot of life on this part of the internet I am afraid.  Alas I must leave you all again but hopefully this cheap and healthy and hearty recipe will help all you lot out for a romantic meal, bustling dinner party or busy week and until next time, have fun with whatever you're doing, don't do anything I wouldn't do and until next time I raise my cup to your good health!

Uncle Ted's recipes #6: Budget cooking tips guest starring P.Sims

Ok so I don't have too much of a coherent structure for this instalment of uncle Ted's recipes but I do have something almost as good.  On the most recent episode of my YouTube channels' GtG podcasts (which you can view in this link for your pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia_VfUVlK08) I discussed with my friend Phillip (aka Flashsupressor) about the budget recipes that we'd scratched together during both our times studying at the University of Sussex. 

See the thing is, whether or not you're a student or a working man with not too much money or time on their hands, we need to save money in this day and age so Phillip and I have thrown together some cheap recipes and cooking tips to help you lot out in a tricky situation.  First I'll put mine up as the suggestions I have for this are more about food budgeting and cooking tips whereas Phillip has provided us with some superb budget recipes.


Ted's recipes & tips

Tip 1:

With reference to my noodle soup recipe (http://crazedcritic.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/uncle-teds-recipes-3-chinese-style.html), when you don't have enough money to buy a nice bit of chicken or salmon or some prawns, a good way to get protein in your soup is to poach an egg in it when its simmering and then serve. 

This not only allows the egg to cook naturally in the soup but it will also absorb some of the flavour of the Chinese-style noodle soup so that you get a truly hearty dish.  Keep in mind that this method of getting more protein is also low fat so everyone's a winner!

Tip 2:

Keeping an eye out for reduced products in the supermarket is a pretty obvious thing to do but getting allot of the food shopping for your week by doing this will not only help to save money but can even force you to be creative in a culinary sense.

Take for example if you found a 9-piece punnet of pre-cooked chicken in Sainsbury's you would think to yourself "What can I do with this?  Some potato waffles and peas or pasta salad and spinach?".  Its a bit of a standard thing to do but you'd be surprised how many people don't do it so get on down to your local supermarket late on Sundays and Mondays and you should be laughing.

This leads into budgeting your food such as setting an optimal limit on food shopping for yourself for £40 for one week but despite how mundane that might sound, you'd also be quite surprised how many uni students I talk to who don't ever take this into account and end up racking up even more debt than originally intended.

Tip 3:

One last tip from myself before we move onto Phillip's budget recipes is to keep in mind the value of tinned products and how much money they can save you.  Getting a tin of sild in tomato sauce for about £1.20 is going to save you allot more than a quarter of a kilo of the stuff for at least two or three times as much.  Not only this but tinned products can keep for insane amounts of time meaning that while stockpiling things like tinned pies, hot dogs, pilchards and peaches isn't the most glamorous thing to do, it can really help in the long run.

Phillip's budget recipes and tips:

Phillip should also help allot of you non meat-eaters out there on account of him being a vegetarian but even still, his recipes are easy for everyone to make and worth it just for the money-saving value.

Phillip's recipes and tips in this post do have a bit more cohesion as he's provided us all with a couple of his budget starters and mains and an interesting little pudding so you lot will want to pay attention if you want a good hearty budget feast.

Starter 1: Omelette sandwich

1)- Crack two large eggs into a bowl with a small amount of milk and whiz until smooth and creamy in colour then add in some fried onions as well as any added ingredients such as cheese or other vegetables.

2)- pre-heat a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil to a mid degree then pour in the mixture.

3)- cook on one side until the edges are solidified then gently lean off the frying pan and cook for the same time on the other side.

4)- serve in between some artisan bread with a small spreading of butter, salt and pepper.

Starter 2: Tomato bruschetta
1)- chop up some vine tomatoes, red onions, garlic and olives into a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

2)- Add fresh chives and oregano and place on some nice artisan bruschetta.

3)- For an optional twist, add some mozzarella on top after placing the vegetables onto the bread then toast in the oven for 4-5 mins at about 160C.

Main course 1: Mash potatoes
1)- cut up the potatoes into quarters or smallish chunks, wash then place into a pan of cold water where the water is at least an inch or two over the potatoes and heat to boil.  Boil the potatoes for about 15-20 mins until a knife can easily pierce through the potatoes.

2)- after boiling, strain the potatoes in a colander or sieve then return to pan before mashing with some milk and then adding in some herbs.  After this point it would also be advisable to add in a bit of butter and a small amount of cream cheese to give the potatoes a nice creamy consistency.

3)- The potatoes can then be chilled for use later such as having with beans and sausages or being shaped into patties for making bubble & squeak.

Main course 2: Cashew & mixed veg stir-fry
1)- pre-heat a wok with olive oil at a high heat and add in mushrooms and fry until softening before adding in diced up carrot then cashews and diced up onion and cook for about 5-10 mins.

2)- Add boiled and drained ramen or vermicelli noodles and toss in the pan for a minute or two until nicely cooked while drizzling in soy sauce here and there.

Pudding: Ice cream bread
1)- melt two cups of any ice cream of your choosing and then mix with one and a half cups of self-raising flour.

2)- add in any extra ingredients you might like to add in such as baking cherries or chocolate chips before placing in a baking-paper-lined baking tin and then bake for 18-25 mins until springy when touched and then leave on side until cooled.

I'm sorry that this was a bit ad hoc for a food post but the reality is that as of late I've been just doing recipes I've uploaded before so I thought that some budget food tips would be the next best thing so on behalf of myself and Phillip I wish yo all the best and hope you all stay safe, don't do anything I wouldn't do and enjoy your meals!



My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg

Phillip's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSig9Fw1OPuku7MwjmtTdUg

Uncle Ted's recipes #5: Working man/grifter's pie

This is a recipe that is probably more hodge podge than other recipes I've made before but I think its definitely one you should have in your repertoire especially if you're a working man or a student with not too much time on your hands.  Essentially, this is a kind of derivative of a nice Shepard's pie and with a low budget and not too much time on your hands its more than easy to make as its designed just for that purpose.  Not only that but if you have several dishes, doing this bad boy and freezing any spares you made will sort you out for dinner for days on end so let's get into this thing and cook an honest-souled meal of the people.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 or 1 person for 3-4 meals)

340g tin of corned beef

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

400g baked beans

250-300g frozen peas

500g potatoes

150-200g grated extra mature cheddar cheese

1 x large brown or white onion

250-350g mushrooms

3 tablespoons tomato puree

11g thyme

a pinch of salt and pepper

semi-skimmed milk

unsalted butter or margarine

sunflower oil

Utensils

1 medium dish

1 large vegetable cutting knife

1 ladle

1 potato masher

1 cutting board

1 colander

1 saucepan or pot and steamer

Method

Step 1:  Pre-heat the oven to 250C.  Wash and cut up the potatoes into quarters and place into the sauce pan before pour water into the pan up to a couple of inches over the potatoes and put onto boil while putting a couple of squidges of oil into the frying pan and setting to a low heat. 

Side note: When the potatoes get to boiling heat, let them cook for 20 mins and 5 mins before finishing, add the peas into the steamer so that they can cook as well

Step 2: dice up the onions and wash and slice up the mushrooms before putting into the frying pan and browning until softened with a pinch of salt and then add in the corned beef into the onions and mushrooms and break up.

Step 3: add in the puree, tinned tomatoes, beans, pepper and thyme into the frying pan and stir around until all mixed together and simmer for about 10 mins while stirring now and again.

Step 4: after the peas and potatoes are cooked, remove the steamer from the top of the saucepan and drain the potatoes before putting back into the pan and placing three or four hefty knobs of butter/margarine into the potatoes and mash until softened and then add in a couple of small splashes of milk before mashing again.  To flavour up the mash potatoes, I'd recommend adding in a pinch of salt and pepper as well as a couple of teaspoons of mustard.

Step 5: place the corned beef filling into the dish along with the peas and stir and then put the mash potato on top and spread evenly before sprinkling the cheddar on top.  Then place the dish into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Step 6: take out of the oven when the cheese has melted on top and serve onto plates with the ladle and serve with spinach and rocket on the side and wash down with mild ginger ale.

Hopefully this one'll help you all out there who are a little bit light on funds at the mo and aren't too into hard-cooking as its both easy and very cheap to make so don't feel afraid to try this one as its a right banger!

Until next time, I hope you all have fun, eat well, take care, don't do anything I wouldn't do and I'll see you all next time!

Please check out my gaming YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg

Uncle Ted's recipes #4: Hangover supremor sandwich

Ok look, as I'm writing this I'm hungover and tired and forgot to take a picture of the sandwich I made after I woke up and I'm sorry but I also don't really give a shit about that.  What I care about here is making sure that I don't completely conk out before going to bed today and imparting my recipe for this marvellous hangover-curing sandwich to all you peeps out there.  Keep in mind that this isn't a particularly healthy recipe but once you've gone through a whole night without sleep because of one too many jagerbombs keeping you awake along with several pints you probably, like myself, won't really care.  You could make it anyway if you don't drink alcohol but trust me, you do so at your cholesterols' own risk.

Ingredients:
3 x slices tiger loaf or wholemeal bread
4 x rashers Danish smoke-back bacon
2 x free range eggs
1 x knob of butter
10-12g chopped up chives
Ketchup & brown sauce (preferably Heinz ketchup and HP brown sauce)
50-100g shredded pre-cooked chicken

Utensils:
1 x medium frying pan
1 x sandwich toaster
1 x heat-resistant spatula
1 x plate
1 x roll tin foil
1 x medium baking tray
1 x greasing brush or if you don't have one then just have some greaseproof baking paper handy
1 x teaspoon
1 x toaster

Method:

Step 1: turn the oven onto 200-225C grill mode and line the baking tray with tin foil before turning the sandwich toaster on to get it warmed up.

Step 2: place the bacon onto the tray and grill until cooked well enough but not so much so that the fat draining off evaporates because we need the drained off fat for later.  Therefore, grill the bacon for perhaps 7.5 mins.

Step 3: turn on the frying pan with the knob of butter in and fry up both of the eggs while sprinkling the chives onto the eggs when you place them into the pan.  Just before the eggs start to brown on the bottom side, flip them over and cook for about 30-60 seconds on the topside.

Step 4: toast the slices of bread in the toaster for a very short about of time say 30 seconds for each slice before placing half of the bacon and one of the eggs on top of one of the slices with some brown sauce then put another slice on top then place the rest of the bacon and egg on top of that one with some ketchup.

Step 5: drizzle the bacon grease from the tin foil over the sandwich and press the shredded chicken into the topside and bottom-side of the sandwich as much as possible.  If this is too fiddly then just place proportionally within the sandwich itself before placing in the sandwich toaster to cook for 5 minutes.

Step 6: serve up with either a cup of Yorkshire tea or harsh black coffee with a couple of sugars in and some orange juice with a brunch bar and bunch of grapes for afterwards.

Now fuck off, I have to go nurse this hangover a bit more, I'm having potato waffles with sausage and peas for dinner so I should be alright.

Part of this recipe was influenced by ideas given to me by my good friend Chris (aka Ginge) and I must give him massive thanks for influencing this recipe.

Uncle Ted's recipes #3: Chinese-style noodle soup with baked salmon or chicken

This was one if my favourite recipes to do when I first started really getting into cooking as both a way of life and hobby around the time I turned 12.  I really more so got into cooking when I was 16 but for years now this has been one of my favourite recipes to make and whenever I go back home from university to my mum's place its always a dish she asks me to cook.  This'll be a good one to cook for the family as you can easily do it in bulk as well as a smaller amount and it'll last for a fair while.  Not only that but this recipe has a notably smaller amount of salt and fat than the other two recipes I've done so far have.  Either way, this is great for summer as its reasonably light but also good for winter as it warms the cockles of one's heart.  So grab some prawn crackers and green tea and lets get on into this one!

Ingredients (serves 2-4 people)

500 g boneless salmon or chicken

3 x large pak choi

5 x stems of spring onion

6 x cloves of garlic

350-500g egg or udon noodles

20-30 g fresh ginger

1.5-1.75 litres vegetarian stock

Soya sauce

Mirin rice wine

Fish sauce

salt

pepper

1 x lemon (preferably unwaxed)

honey

50-75g fresh corriander

Utensils/tools:

1 x medium vegetable cutting knife

1 x small herbs/vegetable cutting knife

1 x garlic crusher

1 x tablespoon

1 x ladle

1 x large saucepan with a lid

1 x cutting board

1 x plate

a roll of kitchen paper

a roll of tin foil

1 x baking tray

1 x medium saucepan with a lid (but only if you're using egg noodles)

Method:

Step 1 - place the stock, and two tablespoons each of rice wine, soya and fish sauce and half the juice of the lemon into the large saucepan and turn onto a mid-low heat. Then peel and dice up the ginger and peel and crush the garlic before putting both seasoning ingredients into the soup mix.  Put the oven onto preheat at 200 C fan-forced.

Step 2 - wash the meat/fish with cold water and place onto a plate with a few layers of kitchen roll on it and place another few layers on top to dry out the fish/meat.  wash and then cut up the vegetables and leave on the cutting board.

Step 3 - place the salmon or chicken out of the kitchen roll onto a bed of foil in the baking tray and season each piece of fish/meat with half a tablespoon each of fish sauce, soya sauce, rice wine, some lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper and a tiny drizzle of honey then wrap the foil over the meat or fish and place in the oven.  If you're doing salmon then cook for 15-17 minutes but if its chicken then do it for 25-30.

Step 4 - if you're doing egg noodles then now would be a good time to place the medium saucepan filled 2/3 the way with warm or boiled water onto boil and cook them for about 3-5 mins before draining and then rinsing briefly with cold water.  If you're working with udon noodles though then just put them straight into the soup mix.

Step 5 -  5 minutes before the fish or meat is due to come out of the oven, put in the washed and cut up spring onions, pak choi and coriander into the soup mix.  When the fish or meat has finished cooking, turn the heat off and remove the lid.

Step 6 - use the ladle to dish up the noodle soup and place at least one piece of fish or chicken on top of each bowl of soup and lay on the table with a fork, spoon and pair of chopsticks for each person eating.

Serving recommendations: Serve with prawn toast and/or vegetable spring rolls and wash down with cold water and either green tea or Asahi beer.  Also, if you're lacking salmon or chicken or are a vegetarian then crack eggs into the soup and let them poach in there to get some protein and if you're a vegan then do the same method with the salmon or chicken but with some tofu and only cook it for 5 mins.

Like I said, this is a really nice one to make in bulk and particularly for the family as despite the long prep times, the actual length of time for cooking the meal is reasonably short.  Therefore, if you're also doing dinner parties then this would be a good one to set as the main meal.  Try this out with some variations if you like and until next time, have fun ,stay safe and take care!

Uncle Ted's recipes #2: Spectacular spaghetti bolognese

This is probably one of if not the most simple and straightforward recipe I'll ever upload onto this blog but I think that most recipes of spaghetti bolognese do tend to have their own special method or way of seasoning so who knows?  This could either be like every other spagbol you've ever had or the best one of all time, either way, I'd definitely say give this one a shot.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 large brown or white onion

2 tablespoons tomato puree

100g black pitted olives (optional)

6-7g thyme

3 cloves of garlic

sunflower or vegetable oil

spaghetti

350-500 g minced beef (quorn mince if you're making it vegetarian)

15-20cl Cotes Du Rhone red wine

salt

pepper

Fresh basil leaves

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Utensils:

1 x medium chopping board

1 x vegetable cutting knife

1 x sieve

1 x large saucepan with a lid

1 x large frying pan

1 x garlic crusher

1 x tablespoon

1 x wooden spoon

1 x fork

Method:

Step 1 - put about 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil into the frying pan and turn to a mid-low heat and prepare the onions and garlic.  To cut up the onion, peel it but keep the root end intact then cut the onion in half and cut each half lengthways up to the root then slice sideways.  Keeping the root like this intact will mean that you have a better grip on the onion when cutting it and make the whole process alot faster and more efficient.  Put the onions into the oil pan with a pinch of salt and then peel the garlic before crushing it and putting it into the onions and simmer for 10 mins until the onions are softened.

Step 2 - Fill the saucepan halfway with cold water and a couple of tablespoons of oil and turn on to boil before adding the wine into the onions and garlic and leaving to simmer for another 10 mins.

Step 3 - Add the mince into the onions and beak up and stir around until browned before adding in the tinned tomatoes, puree, thyme, olives and a pinch of pepper and stir before turning down to a low heat.  If the bolognese starts to get dry then add in a small bit of cold water and stir again.

Step 4 - Get a bunch of spaghetti that fits tightly into a closely clenched hand, one for each person and break the spaghetti in half into the water and boil for 9 mins stirring with the fork so as to avoid the spaghetti clumping together.  This will be helped by the addition of the oil into the water and will give the spaghetti a nice and smooth texture when it is served up.

Step 5 - drain the spaghetti with the sieve or colander when it is cooked and then serve onto the plates before dishing the bolognese on top and garnishing with some optional parmesan and a few leaves of basil on top.  Serve with Cotes Du Rhone or mild ginger ale to drink and with a side salad of rocket and spinach.

This is one of my most prized recipes so use it wisely children!  It might not be the most elegant or complicated but its certainly a nice one and good to make for dinner parties, a reasonably quick and nutritious dinner after a hard days work or as a romantic meal for you and your partner so definitely give this one a shot whether you make it with vege mince or proper beef.  Have fun, take care and I'll see you lot next time!