Spicy Moroccan Prawns with Couscous

Ingredients:

- 500g prawns
- olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- half teaspoon chili
- salt & pepper
- coriander leaves/or dried
- lemon juice to serve
- Your choice of vegetables, chopped (I chose red pepper, mushrooms and fresh spinach leaves)
- mixed herbs
- couscous



Cooking Method:
1- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and cook until it becomes aromatic.
2- Stir in the cumin, ginger, chili and pepper, heat for about 30 seconds, then add the prawns.
3- Fry quickly, stirring for 3 minutes. Stir in the coriander and season with salt, heat for about 30 seconds.
4- Transfer cooked prawns and juices to a small bowl and cover.
5- Use the same frying pan, add a bit more olive oil and fry your choice of vegetables. (I chose red pepper, mushrooms and fresh spinach leaves). Add a little salt and some mixed herbs.
6- Cook the couscous.
7- Serve couscous topped with the vegetables, topped with the prawns and their juices. Add a little lemon juice if you like.

Fresh Salmon and Stir-fried veg & rice

Simple, quick and very healthy.



Salmon:
- Place salmon in a baking dish, add salt, pepper, mixer herbs, olive oil and lemon juice.
- Bake in the oven, gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.

Rice:
- Boil 1 cup of rice.
- Choose your favourite vegetables, and chop them. (I used carrot, red pepper, green cabbage, red onion and spring onions)
- Stir fry the vegetables in olive oil for 4 minutes.
- Add the cooked rice to the stir fried vegetables, add some dark soy sauce and stir.
- Serve the rice with the salmon and your choice of salad or bread.

Marble Cake

Ingredients:

4 oz butter, softened
4 oz caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs, beaten
8 oz self raising flour, sieved
1 oz cocoa powder, sieved
1 pot of single cream



Cooking Method:

1- Lightly grease a baking tin (any shape you prefer)
2- Pre-heat oven to 180c (gas mark 4).
3- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk.
4- Add the beaten egg a little at a time, whisking well after each addition
5- Add the cream and whisk.
6- Fold the flour into the creamed mixture carefully, then spoon half of the mixture into a separate mixing bowl.
7- Fold the cocoa powder into one bowl and mix gently.
8- Place spoonfuls of each of the mixtures alternately into the baking tin, then drag a skewer through the mixture to create a marbled effect.
8- Bake in a preheated oven, 180c (gas mark 4) for 45 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9- Leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.

Arabic Peas & Rice

This is a Syrian meal. It's easy, healthy and very tasty.
Mince meat (lamb) cooked in tomato (bolognese style) with peas and sweetcorn. Served with rice, salad and plain yoghurt.



Ingredients:

- 500g minced lamb (or beef if you prefer)
- 1 table spoon of lamb/beef stock granuals
- 2 cans or cartons of chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- frozen or fresh peas
- 1 can of sweetcorn
- mixed herbs
- 1 cup of rice
- salt and pepper

Cooking Method:

- In a large saucepan, fry chopped onion in a little olive oil, then add the minced lamb. Fry for 5 mins until all brown, sturring continuousley. Add salt, pepper and beef/lamb granuals, then add a little water.
- Add the frozen peas and some more water and bring to the boil.
- Add the 2 tins of tomato and the mixed herbs and stir well.
- Bring to the boil, then cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. Add the tin of sweetcorn and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with boiled rice and your choice of salad and plain yoghurt.

Vanilla & Chocolate Marble Cake

It was my turn to host the mums and babies get together, so while baby Lucy was asleep I baked a quick & easy marble cake.



Ingredients:

175g / 6 oz butter, softened
175g / 6 oz caster (superfine) sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150g / 5 oz self raising flour, sieved
25g / 1 oz cocoa powder, sieved
2 tablespoons of double cream
1 pot of vanilla yoghurt

Cooking Method:

1- Lightly grease a baking tin (any shape you prefer)
2- Pre-heat oven to 180c (gas mark 4).
3- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk.
4- Add the beaten egg a little at a time, whisking well after each addition
5- Add the cream and vanilla yoghurt and whisk.
6- Fold the flour into the creamed mixture carefully, then spoon half of the mixture into a separate mixing bowl.
7- Fold the cocoa powder into one bowl and mix gently.
8- Place spoonfuls of each of the mixtures alternately into the baking tin, then drag a skewer through the mixture to create a marbled effect.
8- Bake in a preheated oven, 180c (gas mark 4) for 35 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9- I found the top of the cake was a light colour, so returned to the oven for a further 5 minutes on a higher gasmark. It gave it a golden colour.
10- Leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When my sister Amanda visited last week, we baked cookies together ... very yummy :o)

Ingredients:
- 250g butter, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2/3 cup (150g) castor sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2.5 (375g) plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips



Method:
- Beat butter, essence, sugar and eggs in bowl with electric mixer until smooth.
- Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips and mix well.
- Drop level tablespoons of mixture about 5cm apart onto greased oven trays.
- Bake in moderately hot oven (200c gas mark 5) for about 15 mins.
- Stand cookies for 2 mins before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

Sunday Raspberry Pancakes

Sunday morning pancakes ... what a perfect way to start the day :o)



Ingredients:
170g/6oz self-raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
115g/4oz caster sugar (I only used 2oz)
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
275ml/10fl oz milk
A little butter

Method
1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a bowl.
2. Using a whisk, add the eggs and the milk.
3. To cook the pancakes, preheat a non-stick frying pan. Add a little olive oil and pour a ladel-full of the mixture into the pan - Don't make them too big.
Cook until golden brown and turn over to colour the other side. Remove and place on a large plate. Keep it in the oven while you cook the other pancakes.
4. Serve with jam or cream or fruit ... or chocolate and bananas ... whatever you fancy :)

Arabic salad

Ingredients for Arabic salad are:
Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, onion, fresh parsley and fresh mint.

Chop all the ingredients into small pieces. Then add salt, 3 tbsp of lemon and some olive oil. Mix well .... and it's ready :o)

Fish in the Oven

Healthy and tasty :o)



Place the fish (cod or haddock) in an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil & lemon. Add salt, pepper and mixed herbs. I added some mushrooms into the tray as well.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at gas mark 5.
Serve which either potatoes or pasta and your choice of vegetables or salad.
You can aslo serve it with parsley sauce to make it more interesting :o)

Easy Sunday Roast

Roast chicken legs covered with herbs, honey, lemon and olive oil.

Roast potatoes, carrots and broccoli

My Moroccan Recipe

I was wondering what to cook this weekend, I had a look through my Morrocan cook book and didn't really have the ingredients for any certain recipe ... and I didn't have much time ... so I used a combination of ingredients and created my own Morrocan recipe ... it tasted very very good ... adding lemon and cumin to the recipe was a brilliant idea :o)
If you like Morrocan flavours .. I recommend this recipe :)




Ingredients:

- 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1 medium onion
- 5 spring onions
- chopped garlic
- mushrooms, chopped
- broccoli, chopped
- green olives
- a handfull of sultanas (or raisens)
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and pepper
- 300ml chicken stock

Cooking Method:

- In a large saucepan heat the olive oil, fry the onion, spring onions and garlic. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the saffron, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper and keep stirring.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Then add the broccoli and mushrooms and the chicken stock and sultanas.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Add water if it looks dry. Add the green olives 3 minutes before removing the pan from the heat. You should end up with nice tender chicken in a lemon/cumin juice.
- Serve with rice or couscous.