So we decided to put all recipes that had been posted that month into a TLB Competition for BEST RECIPE Of the month. The good folk of TLB then voted for their favourites. HERE THEY ARE!! Enjoy! FEBRUARY MEALS OF THE MONTH Well it was a bit of a weird one this month, with the grand total of 2 posts, the winners (sans voting :) are Eveningstar's Tagine of Spiced Kefta with Lemon and Spices (or Moroccan meatballs to you and me) Crazycaver's comment when entering the kitchen was "you're not making weird marmite again, are you?!" but it actually tasted really nice and was a real change from meatballs in tomato sauce. 450g lamb or beef mince 1 large onion - finely chopped or grated small bunch of parsley chopped 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and pinch cayenne pepper (I cheated and used some Moroccan spice mix instead) heaped dessertspoon of butter small piece of ginger grated (or you could use tsp of dried, I suppose) 1 red chilli finely chopped juice of one lemon small bunch of coriander chopped 300ml water (a mugful if you're in the van and don't have a measuring jug!) Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the grated onion until soft. Take half out and mix with the mince in a bowl, adding the parsley and spices with some salt and pepper. Break off small pieces and using your hands (may help if they're wet) roll them into walnut-sized balls. Into the pan add the chilli and ginger to the remainder of the onions and cook for 2 mins then add the lemon juice and coriander. Pour in the water and bring to the boil. Drop in the kefta, reduce the heat and cover the pan. Poach gently for about 20 mins, turning the kefta occasionally. Take the lid off and cook uncovered for a further 10 mins to reduce the sauce slighty. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle some more parsley or coriander on top. Serve with couscous and some bread to mop up the sauce. and Martin'sbus Mexican eggs.... very good breakfast, especially after a heavy night!! feeds 2 to 4 people, but just double up to feed loads Ingredients, 2 onions (red preferably), chopped 1 large red pepper, chopped 2 Garlic cloves, chopped 3 tsp Ground cumin Large pinch of cayenne pepper (feel free to use less or more) 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 4 eggs lump of chedder pepper pinch of sugar Heat a large deep frying pan, and drop a good knob of butter in. Fry the onions, pepper, garlic and add cayenne pepper and cumin. Fry the mixture until soft and the onions have turned light brown. Add the tomatoes, pinch of sugar and cook until reduced a little. make 4 small wells in the mixture with a spoon and crack an egg into each well. season with salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Cook for 3 to 4 mins until the eggs are just set. Grate over cheese cover again for a few seconds until the cheese has melted. Serve as is, or on toast, bagels or what every you have to hand. Best thing is only one pan to wash up Yum MARCH MEAL OF THE MONTH Potop & Lou's pork pie Whenever we go camping we take a pork pie , recently Lou uncovered a recipe to make her own . 1 lb of finely chopped pork shoulder , 55g of bacon , salt n pepper pastry made from 225g of lard , 450g plain flour and 90 ml of water - mix together You need a 200mm cake tin well greased with lard . Line like this - fill like this Cover like this dab the edge with water and pinch the top together to seal Beat a egg in a cup like this until it looks like this Coat the top of the pie with egg . Pop into the oven on gas mark 5 or 190 for 90 minutes and it will look like this - Allow to cool , then pop it in the fridge overnight , 12 hours later mix some powdered gelatine and pour into pie through a hole in the top ,pop back into fridge for half a day until gelatine has set , then enjoy with a glass of cider. No additives no preservatives and tasty , it will all be eaten tomorrow .
APRIL MEAL OF THE MONTH Barneyrubble's Lemon Me Rang Pie Oh gooowd , i hate typin: Make pastry Use 6ozs butter not marge,6ozs plain flour rub together till crumbs form with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar . Add splash cold water and bring together put in fridge in cling film till cool. Take out roll out to fit 9inch cake /sponge tin,butter tin to avoid sticking, press pastry up sides approx 1 and harf inches deep.Prick with fork and blind bake ,no need for beads or rice just stick in oven 150 deg c, cook till firm but not coloured,ie yellow white. Remove and allow to cool. Take three un-waxed lemons, zest 2 and juice three, add to 1narf cups of water with three tablespoons of cornflour whisked in. Put on heat and slowly heat together add cup of granulated sugar stir until dissolved. The lemon filling. Now take 4 large chik eggs separate yokes and whites making sure not to get any yoke in your whites. Whisk up 4 yokes , now take 2ozs butter melt in microwave till liquid, take a third of juice mix and add to whisked egg yokes ,keep whisking so you dont get scrambles eggs and add to remainder of juice flour water sugar mix in pan. Warm up whisking all time till thick ,now special bit add melted butter whilst wisking to lemon mix. This will make it go silky smooth. Pour into pastry case. The meringue. Now get 4 egg whites whisk till soft peeks and only once you have peaks add harf a cup of caster sugar slowly to egg whites till all mixed in and silky smooth but stiff. Spread over top lemon ,making sure it goes right to edges and is a nice and thick pile. NOW make top nice and spikey with back of spoon or knife. Chuck in oven for 10/15 mins keeping an eye not to burn me rang. Oven temp 160deg c. Phew you got that, im not gonna spell check but thats it !! once cooked serve with nice dollop of magnolia or C r E a M AND DE VOW ER. oK ?? if it dunt come out right you cant cook lol. AUGUST MEALS OF THE MONTH 2 very worthy meals won again! Round of applause to Chrisradioman and Baywatcher Chrisradioman's Cowboy Hash & mashed potatoes or rice serves between 4 & 6 people depending how greedy you are:- You will need:- For the hash:- 500g of Minced beef (or Quorn if your one of those wierd veggies) 2 onions 2 cloves of garlic (you can omit this if you'd prefer) 2 Oxo cubes (other stock cubes are available, like smart price if your a tight wad) 200 Ml of boiled water 2 Table spoons of tomato puree 2 tins of Beans & sausages Salt to taste. Method:- Defrost & Fry the mince until the colour changes, drain & remove from the pan & set aside Chop the onions into quarter rings then Fry until they start to soften Finely chop or crush the garlic & add to the onions Add the mince that you set aside earlier (make sure its drained now) Crumble the Oxo cubes into a jug containing a 200 Ml of water, then add to the pan Add the tomato puree & stir Add the 2 cans of Beans & sausages, make sure you open them first & dispose of the cans in an environmentally friendly way, a passing Piky will happily take them off your hands (other scum bags are available) Stir it all & simmer until piping hot. For the mash:- 6 to 8 large potatoes 100 Ml milk knob of butter salt to taste usually a pinch is fine Method:- Peel chop & boil the potatoes until soft, the smaller they are the quicker they boil Drain & mash in the pan Add the milk & mash again add the butter & salt & mash again serve while hot If you prefer you can omit the butter & milk & still in 125ml of double cream You could also add grated cheese to the mash while its hot or even stir an egg into it, then reheat. If i need to tell you how to boil rice then put away your kitchen utensils & drive to Mc'donalds (other junk food establishments selling rubbish are available) BayWatcher's Tex-Mex Breakfast Burritos This is cheap, easy and great when camping. Serve them wrapped in paper towels and all you will have to wash afterward is one skillet and one big spoon. I won't complicate things with details like measurements. Like any other kind of burrito, the ratio is a matter of taste. Ingredients Chorizo sausage for authenticity, but any breakfast sausage will be fine. eggs potatoes diced bell peppers and onions salsa mozzarella and/or provolone Tortillas your favorite hot sauce Prep what you can at home to save time and effort during your trip. Bake the potatoes and dice them. Dice the peppers and onions. Ziploc bag it, toss everything in the cooler and hit the road. I often aim for equal parts eggs-potatoes-sausage, but it really doesn't matter. They're different every time I make them and they're always good. Crumble and brown the sausage in a large skillet with the potatoes. Add the peppers and onions. Once all that gets well on it's way (when the smell starts drawing your family out of their sleeping bags) add the eggs and salsa. Flip, fold, futz, and stir until the eggs are scrambled and everything is fully cooked and blended. Add the cheese, stir, turn off the stove and let it melt. Spoon it onto your tortillas, roll them up and eat them. Hopefully you have made way too much. Throw it in the cooler. It will reheat wonderfully throughout your weekend for quick snacks or an even faster and easier breakfast tomorrow. After a fair share of beer and sunshine, what the Hell, it's even good cold.
OCTOBER MEAL OF THE MONTH WINNERS Once again you fine folk of TLB could note chose just one winner! So a very big round of applause to Eveningstar and Baywatcher. Baywatcher's Lemon Bars Crust: 3/4C Frozen Butter 1 3/4C flour 3/4C powdered sugar 1/2t salt Filling: 4 LG eggs 1 1/3C sugar 3T flour 1/4t salt 3/4C lemon juice 1/4C whole milk Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 13X9 pan Whisk together dry ingredients for crust- Grate frozen butter into it with large hole grater. Stir until it looks mealy and combined. The trick here is to work fast, like you would with pie crust. You don't want the butter to melt. I like to use a thick glass bowl that has been in the freezer for hours. If it is Winter, I make such buttery crusts and pastries right outside at the snowy patio table. Solid little lumps of butter in your mix will give you flakiness. If the butter melts and soaks into the flower it will come out tough and hard. Press mixture into your baking dish using the bottom of a frozen glass, mug, jar, etc,,, freeze for 15 minutes, then bake 16-18 minutes until just slightly golden. Leave the oven on. While the crust is baking, beat the eggs lightly, then whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Pour it over the hot crust, sprinkle with lemon zest, continue baking for 18 minutes or until just the edges begin to turn golden brown. Let it cool and dust with powdered sugar to taste. Eveningstar's Spanish Chicken Stew Feeds four 1 tablespoon oil 150g chorizo - chopped into little cubes 1 onion - finely chopped) 1 teaspoon paprika (more to taste if required) 2 teaspoons spanish paella herb mix (if you can get it but not essential) bag spinach leaves - chopped 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon sundried tomato paste 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 400g tin chickpeas Cooked chicken shredded salt and pepper rice Heat the oil in a pan (I always use a wok) and when warm add the chorizo. Heat until the oil starts coming out of the chorizo and then add the onion. Turn heat down and cook for 15 mins without colouring the onions. Keep adding water if it looks like it's catching. Then add the paprika and paella herb mix if using and cook for one minute. Add spinach, tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas and enough stock to cover everything, bring to boil and then simmer for 30 mins. If you're making it at home, it's nice to take a third of the mixture out and puree it in a blender before returning to the pan to thicken the sauce a bit but not essential for the van! Add the chicken, add more stock and more paprika if it needs it, add salt and pepper and heat through. Serve with rice and grated cheese (manchego to be authentic but anything will do).
NOVEMBER MEAL OF THE MONTH Cataplana (sort of Portuguese Stew) This lot makes enough for about 6, so I freeze it in batches 1 large butternut squash, peeled diced, or 200g belly pork, cut into chunks 6 sausages (veg, etc) or 200g chorizo (leave the paprika out) 3 tsp Spanish smoked paprika 8 medium tomatoes 150ml passata tbsp olive oil 250g onions, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 2 red peppers, chopped 2 red chillies, chopped and de-seeded 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutneg 1/4 tsp al;spice 1.25 l veg stock salt and pepper 2 bay leaves some thyme 1 small bunch coriander, chopped if you want to be authentic add raw pawns at the end or clams Preheat the oven to 230[sup]o[/sup]. Put the butternut squash and sausages (or the pork belly and chorizo) into one roasting tin and the tomatoes in another tin and roast for about 40 mins (20 for the porkies), until they are browned. Remove the butternut squash and sausage mixture (or the porkies) from the tin with all the juices and reserve. Take the toms and add them to the passata and blend together. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and slowly cook the onions,garlic,cumin, cinnamon, paprika nutmeg, allspice and the tomato mixture, add the butternut squash and sausages (or the porkies) , stir until everything is well mixed. Add the stock and slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and add thymes and bay leaves, cook for as long as it takes to pack the rest of the stuff you forgot to pack the first time round! We've never added the seafood but it's supposed to go in at the end with a handful of chopped coriander, (we put it in a bag ready for when we're eating) This is a winter camping fav, pop it in a big flask and it take it for the first nights tea, crusty bread, red wine mmmm : This will be Friday night's tea at the Tatton Park camp out, looks like we might need it, it's going to be a cold one!
DECEMBER MEAL OF THE MONTH Christmas on a Stick After the success at Tatton Park , anyone fancy Christmas on a stick? Perfect campervan Xmas dinner! Why stay in when you can be out http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=5941.0 photo by the very talented Mrs D'n'D These little beauties were dreamt up whilst I was sick and I didn't know if they would work on a bbq, but it did and they were lovely (even if I say so myself!) Everything was prepared at home, popped into boxes another pinched from Mrs D'n'D I was too busy cooking to take pics! and cooked or thoroughly reheated on the bbq potatoes & parsnips cut into decent sized chunks, boiled and par roasted carrots cut into huge battons or big chunks, par boiled, tossed in a little butter and herbs packet stuffing (yeah Paxo!) made up, cooked in dish and cut into big chunks sprouts (yes sprouts) par boiled, tossed in a little butter pigs in blankets prepared just before popping on bbq I had meant to include mini yorkies, but forgot them last minute, so the freezer is full of them! I cooked the piggies first in a bbq sausage basket and as they were almost done added a selection of the veg and trimmings. another one pinched from Mrs D'n'D