CD Sunday - Showtime

I really didn't think I had anything suitable for this week's challenge at The CD Sunday Challenge, which is Showtime.  There are a few suitable images on the La Pashe 2012 CD but between the DT and the other participants there were already some great samples and I couldn't think of anything different to do with the same images.

OK then, use a topper or stamp from my stash along with backing papers  from a CD? No, despite my mountains of stash I couldn't find a single thing that worked.

Back to the CDs for a second look and it struck me that the cute little girl image on the Rachelle Anne Miller Collection reminds me a lot of when my nearly-four-year-old granddaughter dresses up in her fairy outfit and, with the help of her teddies, puts on a "show" for us. So here we go with my interpretation of "Showtime"

Kedgeree

Kedgeree is a dish that dates from the era of the British Raj. It was popular among British families living in India, and also as a breakfast dish in big country houses back in the UK. It is said to originate from the Indian dish kitchari (the spelling varies according to where and when it was Anglicised) which is a mixture of rice and lentils.

The ingredients vary but constant among them are rice and smoked fish. Generally smoked haddock in the UK, although a posh version with smoked salmon is also popular. And it's jolly good made with kippers! There are as  many recipes for Kedgeree as there are for beef stew - none is "correct" or "authentic" because it is an evolved dish, not a classic one,so find out what suits you and enjoy it.

As Mark can't eat any fish or seafood, I often have it as a quick and easy meal for one when he is away from home. The ingredients I use for one (just multiply them up for more) are

75g basmati rice
75g frozen petits pois
1 medium egg
1 fillet smoked haddock
a knob of butter
a handful  of salted peanuts

Boil the egg, cool, peel and slice.
Boil the rice in plenty water, adding the peas for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Place the haddock in a steamer and steam it over the rice until it flakes easily.
Drain the rice and peas and return to the pan with  knob of butter (you can be all health-conscious and leave it out, but it seems to bring everything together with its delicious richness). Flake the fish and add to the rice and peas with plenty black pepper. Smoked fish is usually pretty salty so you probably won't want to add salt - bear in mind you are going to scatter salted peanuts over it.

Serve topped with the sliced egg and peanuts.

You can vary this  in a myriad of ways - adding a fried onion and/or spices to the mixture - turmeric or a good curry powder work well. Leave out the peas, add raisins, chop the egg and  mix  it in to the rice, use other fish or add some seafood, replace the peanuts  with flaked almond - it is a simple canvas that you can paint in your own colours.  Just make sure you have the two wonderfully fragrant items, basmati rice and smoked fish, and you'll still end up with your own form of Kedgeree.

Addicted to CAS- heart

The code word for Addicted to CAS #5 is HEART

Hardly surprising with Valentine's day just around the corner is it? And I thought that would mean lots and lots of red would be used, so being an awkward type I decided to use black and green instead. I had all sorts of stamping planned for this, then spotted my pot of green glitter and ended up not doing a single scrap of stamping! It doesn't look as washed out as  this in real life - I'm having some issues with the flash on my camera at the moment, and Mark isn't around to rescue me by photographing it with his super duper camera (and photography skills)

CFC88 - Love Letters

This week's theme at CAS-ual Fridays is CFC88 - Love Letters and this is the card I'm submitting.

As a crossword fan, I simply HAD to make this:

I drew and coloured in the crossword grid then filled the spaces with diecut letters. And I'd like to share the message I created on the computer for the inside of the card

Turnip, Potato and Carrot Hash - a Random Recipe

This month at Random Recipes it's "the choice is yours" - it's up to us how we choose the book we are going to cook from. Now I happened to have a copy of the 1973 book "Supercookery" on the chair beside me as I read this, so I picked it up, flipped it open at random (hardly fair, after 40 years of heavy use, I  know the book so well I can easily avoid the fish and dessert sections, they're the ones that aren't stuck together - but at least that meant I knew I would hit on a dish I could use).

The first recipe on the page was for  a side dish called Turnip, Potato and Carrot Hash. Reading through it, for 6 servings they suggested using 3 carrots, 3 potatoes, 1 onion and just 1 turnip. Now with the sort of vegetable that is called a turnip here in Hampshire, that really wouldn't give much turnip compared to the other veg, certainly not enough to justify it being the first named ingredient. So I decided unilaterally that what they really meant was the vegetable I knew as a turnip all through my Lancashire childhood,  the one that most of the country calls a swede and used that.

As there are only two of us (but we are greedy) I halved all the ingredients.

The veg are cooked  in beef  stock (the recipe says tinned consommé, but I presume that is because in 1973 stock always came in  cube form)  until absolutely falling apart tender and then puréed.

Hang on a minute, that sounds familiar. Isn't that how you make soup? OMG I'VE INVENTED SOLID SOUP!!!!!!

The Solid Soup is then spread in an ovenproof dish, topped with a little butter and baked until there are the statutory Brown Crispy Bits on the top. The recipe suggests serving it as a side to sausages. I think myself it would be a great alternative topping for a cottage pie.

Old fashioned, hearty and cheap, and above all dead easy, it makes it an ideal dish for February. And  if you're watching the carbs, it's a filling alternative to mash with far less potato. Unsophisticated though - VERY unsophisticated. I'm linking up to Random Recipes at Belleau Kitchen, where you'll find many far more sophisticated recipes.... but I bet nobody else makes Solid Soup.

Less is More - Kraft & Kreme

This week it's the second birthday of the Less is More challenge. Happy birthday. LIM!

This week the challenge is a colour challenge, Kraft & Kreme. Although my first idea was to make a second birthday card, I'd just treated myself to a new set of dies and really wanted to play with them, and thought they would look great in these colours. The dies are a new range  from X-cut, called Build-a-Scene. This set has three different views of iconic features of the London skyline which can be used separately or layered to create some wonderful scenes. To accessorise the landscape, there are dies of a London Bus, a Black Cab, a pillar box, a phone box and a lamp post.

I've already used the set to create a much more complex card, which I'm not going to share with you until the intended recipient has seen it for themselves, but here I have used just one of the views along with the Routemaster bus and a black (well, cream!) cab.

I'm really taken with this set of dies and hope X-cut will go on to make them using other skylines - New York, Oxford, Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney..... I'd buy the lot!

Meal Planning Monday - February 4th

It's going to be a funny week this week. Mark is working away from home for a few days, something he hasn't done for ages, and while he's away I tend to base my meals around fish, seafood and peppers - three things I love that he can't eat. But I've not bought the fish/seafood yet because I want it to be as fresh as possible, so I'll make a definite decision when I see what looks good. With that in mind, this week's plan is more of an outline.

Monday Steamed steak pudding with Brussels sprouts  - this was originally planned for yesterday, until I remembered family were visiting and I'd have been in the kitchen while they were here.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I'm hoping to buy some prawns and  some smoked haddock. Then I can use some peppers with the prawns in  a stir-fry (either sweet-and-sour or Malay style chilli prawns)  and serve it with rice, cooking extra rice to make a kedgeree with the smoked haddock. The third meal may be a fish pie, or a haddock and pepper hotpot, or a salmon steak depending on what I buy. In the meantime, Mark will be eating hotel food and will be craving vegetables by the time he gets home - most places just treat them as a garnish, not the main part of the meal the way we do.
Friday  since Mark's journey home at rush hour on Friday could take longer than planned, I'll do something that can be just left in the oven until he gets in - lamb and mixed fruit pilaff served with salad sounds ideal.
Saturday I'm supposed to be going into London for a meeting, or at least attending it from home by Skype, so I'll leave Mark in charge of cooking tonight.
Sunday there will have been a piece of pork in this week's box, so we'll have roast pork with lots and lots of veg.

I've not planned a vegetarian meal this week - unless Mark chooses to make one on Saturday - but my resolution was to have one a week and so far we've had TWO every week, apart from last week when we had three, so it's averaging out very nicely!

If you'd like to see more meal plans, or join in with one of your own, pop over to At Home With Mrs  M and read more about Meal Planning Monday.