ratatouille bread

Seeing as it's Mabon I am making a batch of my delicious ratatouille bread. Firstly I need to cook my ratatouille (unless of course I have some ready cooked in the freezer).

Ratatouille

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 sliced aubergine

2 sliced courgettes  

1 deseeded and chopped red pepper

1 deseeded and sliced yellow pepper

2 chopped garlic cloves

14 oz chopped tomatoes or 1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/4 pint vegetable stock

rosemary

pepper (add salt as well if not intending to bake with it).

Method

Fry your aubergine, peppers, garlic, onion, and courgettes in the olive oil. Set aside to cool.

Add everything to your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours.

Measure into 1 and 1/2 cup servings and freeze. Reserve one serving if you wish to bake your bread straight away.

Now you can make your bread

Ratatouille bread

Ingredients

Add to your bread maker in this order

1 1'2 cups ratatouille (if frozen make sure it's defrosted thoroughly before you use it.)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp margarine

1 tsp salt

3 cups strong bread flour

2 tbsp dried yeast

Press the button and away you go, it's really that easy.

I suggest you check on the consistency after 5 minutes, if it's too dry add a little water, it really doesn't matter if it's too wet.

This bread is absolutely delicious with any baked beans recipe. It also makes sandwiches to die for.

Happy New Year Peas

Looking on-line I came across this recipe, not sure why their New year peas, but I bet you'd be happy eating them.         

Ingredients

      

   

1 pound dried black-eyed peas, soaked during the day before needed

3 cups water, or enough to cover peas

1 pound  sausage

1 small onion, chopped

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt  

8 ounces prepared barbecue sauce

The night before place some water in slow cooker to heat up. 

Place peas in a pan of boiling water and boil rapidly for 10 mins.

Drain peas and add to boiling water in your slow cooker.

Leave on low to cook overnight ready for morning.

In the morning

Drain and retain 1/4 the liquid. cool.

Brown sausage and onions together. cool

Place peas in slow cooker. Add sausage and onions with the rest of the ingredients.

Cook  for 6 hours on low.

                  

Serves 6.

Baked Beans In A Crock Pot

This is a simple baked beans recipe, don't be fooled tho because it's very tasty.

1 lb. yellow eye beans

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. thyme

1/4 c. molasses

1 onion, sm.

2 tbsp. margarine

Method

Pick over 1 pound beans. Cover with cold water and soak overnight. 

In morning bring to boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Put 1/2 the beans into pot. Cut 1/2 onion over them and dots of 1 tablespoon margarine. Repeat with second half. 

In a measuring cup put dry ingredients and mix. Add molasses to 1/2 cup mark.

Add hot water to top and mix. 

Pour over beans. Add more hot water to rinse out cup and barely cover beans. 

Cook all day in crockpot. 

Remove cover the last hour to cook down or cool and reheat. 

Can double recipe for 4 quart crock and freeze left overs.

Worth Waiting For Baked Beans

       These are absolutely delicious. The spices give them just the right kick of flavour. Worth a try even if the only baked beans you have tried are out of a tin.    

These are a completely different kettle of fish.

              Ingredients   

                  1 pound dried navy beans

                    2 teaspoons margarine

                    1 clove garlic -- crushed

                    1 cup onion -- finely chopped

                    2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce or Hendersons Relish if your a Vegetarian.

                    2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

                    4 tablespoons molasses

                    5 tablespoons chili sauce

                    1 tablespoon dry mustard

                    1 teaspoon curry powder

                    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

                    1/2 cup dark rum

                    1 1/2 cups tomato juice -- or more as needed 

 Method

                  Place beans in large pot of  water soak overnight.

                  Place a pan off water on your stove and bring to the boil. Add the soaked beans and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. 

Grease casserole dish with the margarine. Rub with garlic. Drain beans. Place in large mixing bowl. 

Add onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire, molasses, chili sauce, dry mustard, curry

                  powder, salt and rum. Mix well. 

Stir in 1/4 cup of the tomato juice. Transfer to prepared dish. 

Cook, until beans are tender, gently stirring in additional tomato  juice as liquid is absorbed by beans.

      Serves 6.

Chocolate and Ginger Banoffee Pie

I saw this recipe in this month's free magazine from my local co-op, it sounds absolutely yummy. I love banoffee pie. Unfortunately as I am trying to avoid too much sugar it will have to be a very rare treat for me but my kids will love it.




serves 8
preparation time:
15 minutes, plus chilling time

ingredients

200g digestive biscuits, crushed
110g Country Life butter, melted
405g can light condensed milk
150g Truly Irresistible ginger conserve
3 Fairtrade bananas, sliced
300ml The Co-operative double cream
40g The Co-operative Fairtrade dark chocolate, melted

method

Combine the biscuits and melted butter and press into the base and up the sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed tin - we used a fluted one. Chill until required. Place the condensed milk and ginger conserve in a small pan and bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously, until the colour has become light caramel and the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and spread over the biscuit base. Chill for an hour or until cold. To serve, carefully remove the tin and base and transfer to a serving plate. Arrange the bananas on top of the caramel. Whip the cream until thick and spoon over the bananas. Drizzle over the chocolate and chill until required. 

nutritional values (approx. per serving)

calories  550,  fat  39.5g,  sat fat  23.2g,  sugars  28.1g,  salt  0.7g