Tried and tested recipes from the July 2010 gang

[CakeandRoses]

Here's our shiny new thread for all our recipes :)

Here's my banana bread one:

CHOC CHIP BANANA BREAD

3 Bananas, mashed
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar (I often just use one type of sugar depending what I have in)
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Bicarb
1 Cup Plain Flour
1/2 Cup Wholemeal Plain Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
100g Dark Chocolate Chips (I use ones www.atb-bargains.co.uk/silver-spoon-dark-chocolate-chips-brand-silver-spoon-100g-3373-p.asp

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177c
Mash the bananas well and combine them with the oil and the sugars
Add the choc chips, salt, baking powder and baking soda to combine.
Stir in each of the flours, mixing until just moistened.
Bake in a slightly greased and flour dusted loaf pan for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let rest for a few minutes before removing from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

Vegetable and lentil pie
(sorry if this isn't very nailed down - i made it up as i cooked so hard to be exact re quantities now!)

Pastry:
Have included this for completeness. I only used half of this quantity but you can freeze other half as you know!

110g/4oz wholemeal flour
110g/4oz plain flour
a pinch of salt
140g/5oz butter
very cold water
Sift flours & salt and rub in butter. Add 2tbsp water and mix to a dough, rest then roll out.

Filling:
2 cloves of garlic
good glug of olive olive
1 parsnip
2 medium carrots
'handful' of runner beans cut to thin 2 inch long pieces
1 tin of green lentils
1/2 pint (ish) of vegetable stock - i usually use Marigold bouillon (made up with boiling water as per packet instructions)
Salt/Herbamare (which is what i use) and pepper to taste

Saute a couple of cloves of garlic and a leek in the olive oil
2 mins later add the carrot and parsnip
3 mins later add the lentils and runner beans and enough stock to moisten so it's not dry but not so there's loads of sauce either
Continue simmering until veg is cooked, adding stock as necessary
Season to taste

Place in pie dish and cover with rolled out pastry

Bake at 200c until pastry is done.

We had it with roast potatoes, peas and gravy.

I will make this again with more spring/summery veg like asparagus too

Tarka dal/dahl/dall

I got this recipe from the internet yonks ago but the page isn't available any more so I've lovingly typed it out for you. There's loads of other recipes for it online but i think this is the most authentic-tasting unfortunately the quantities are guess-work.

Red lentils - i use whole standard size bag
Loads of garlic (to taste. I use about 5 cloves)
A few good glugs of oil (whichever oil you prefer)

Dry spices - I use about a tsp of each then add more to taste especially garam masala:
Garam masala
Paprika
Ginger
Chili
Black pepper

1 Cook lentils according to packet instructions (i also rinse lentils beforehand; spoon off the scum whilst cooking)

2 Once lentils are cooked. Separately fry lots of garlic in oil

3 Add spices to oil and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes

4 Mix the lentils and spices together, add salt to taste (you have to have salt as it tastes awful without)

I serve with chapatis, lemon wedges and mango chutney. Poppadoms too if F is lucky

I may never add a recipe but I am interested in what you all cook

Easy banana pancakes:

1 cup self-raising flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 mashed bananas

Whisk together, drop big spoonfuls in frying pan, flip when bubbles form on the top.

(You can do other fillings instead of banana:
currants
sweetcorn
mushroom
broccoli
dried apricots
anything you fancy really!)

Bookmarking for future reference

Everything sounds delicious.

Bookmarking too, great recipes so far

All sounds lovely so far.

Cakes's Mushroom, asparagus and leek risotto

At the request of mlic for her meal plan. We're having it tonight actually.

Serves 2 (massive portions tho - on my risotto box it has a recipe for 4 using 300g of rice...

250g risotto rice, eg arborio
5 medium mushrooms (sliced)
Handful of asparagus, 100g approx but more is fine (tailed)
2 medium leeks (cut into 'coins')
2 cloves of garlic
Glug of olive oil
Good stock powder (I recommend Marigold vegan bouillon as it has a great taste which will really come thru in the finished dish)
Glass of white wine (optional)
Black pepper and a squeeze of lemon (optional) to season

Stage 1

Make up the stock according to instructions and cover it so it remains hot. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil, add the leek, fry on a low heat for a few minutes then add the mushroom and garlic. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

Stage 2

The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add wine (if using) and keep stirring.

Stage 3

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn?t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. After 10 minutes add the asparagus. Cook for 5 minutes then taste the rice ? is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don?t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Stage 4

Remove from the heat. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Add pepper and lemon juice and eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

Method partially ripped off from Jamie Oliver as I use the same method so saved me typing it all.

sorry re the quantity of stock - I think it's close to 1.5 litres. Just making it now so will post again if different.