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Blackberry and apple crumble (gf) and hideouts for dogs
by Hugo, Canine Correspondent
I’m really not a complaining sort of dog, but there are a few things that have been bothering me recently. The Bossy One invited lots of friends to stay this Summer, which is fine because it means that I can have fun knocking them over and sitting on their laps. But it also means that she has less time to devote to me. And that is not fun, in fact it’s hurtful because I feel neglected. Admittedly she still takes me for walks, but frankly her mind is elsewhere when she’s jabbering away or picking blackberries. Usually she spends her time worrying about where I am while I’m off chasing deer and rabbits. Sometimes I hide to watch her look for me; it’s quite amusing to watch her unspool. Anyway, to get away from it all, I made myself a little camp under the hydrangea bushes in front of the house. Only the hens know where I am; at least they still remember I exist.
Ingredients
300g apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons maple syrup
80ml orange juice
150g blackberries, rinced
80g chickpea flour
40g ground almonds
2 tablespoons almond flakes
pinch of ground sea salt
40g butter, cut into cubes
40g organic virgin coconut oil, at room temperature and cut into small cubes
30g cane sugar
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Gently simmer the sliced apples and maple syrup for a couple of minutes in about 80ml of orange juice (or apple juice or water). Add the blackberries and transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. To make the crumble, put the butter, coconut oil, chickpea flour, ground almonds and salt into a bowl and rub in with your fingertips. Add the almond flakes, mixing well. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit, adding the cane sugar to the top of the mixture. Bake for about 35 minutes and serve hot with vanilla ice cream. -
Curried prawns in agar agar and how to pluck a hen
by Hugo, Canine Correspondent
I’ve had quite a relaxing week because The Noisy One has been away on a sailing trip. I expect he’ll be quite hoarse by the time he gets home from barking orders at adjacent boats (did you like my animal imagery there?). Anyway, it’s nice to have some time off from being shot at and tackled to the ground. There has been one thing that’s been bothering me a bit though: two of the hens are nesting (and very unpleasant they’re being about it too), which leaves one hen wandering around alone looking a bit pathetic; even more so than usual ;-). I’ve been trying to keep her spirits up by grabbing her for a cuddle and an affectionate chew of her wings, but I just get yelled at by old Bossy Boots. Life can be very complicated sometimes *doggie sigh*.
Ingredients (makes 6 mini terrines)
250g frozen prawns
juice of half a lemon
25g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
150ml fish stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 shallot, chopped
1 bay leaf
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon mango chutney
4 fresh basil leaves
4g Agar-Agar powder
Place the prawns steeped in lemon juice in a frying pan and add the olive oil and butter. Fry gently, gradually adding all the other ingredients with the exception of the Agar-Agar and basil leaves. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the prawns are cooked through and the liquid partly evaporated. Once cooked, add the basil, blend briefly in a food processor and set aside. Dissolve the Agar-Agar in a small amount of water and bring to the boil (according to the instructions on the packet). Once boiled, add to the prawn mixture and distribute into moulds (I used silicon muffin moulds). Compact the mixture well. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours and serve chilled.
Health benefits of agar agar
Agar is a good source of calcium and iron, and is very high in fiber. It is an excellent aid in digestion and weight loss and also carries toxic waste out of the body. Other benefits include its ability to reduce inflammation, calm the liver, and benefit the lungs. -
Chickpea flour cauliflower cheese (gf) and the case for the defence
by Hugo, Canine Correspondent
I’ve decided that I’m a dab paw at blogging, so off I go again. I’d like a chance to set the record straight; I felt the last post was rather slanderous (I found that word in the dictionary I got for my birthday). First of all, I do not dribble. And second of all, I only toot the car horn when I feel that The Bossy One has talked to whoever it is she’s talking to for quite long enough and it’s time to get home. She seems to forget that I have things to do: keep the hens in order, bark at the horses if they’re in the wrong field (or for no good reason whatsoever ;-)), check the boundaries for stray deer, wild pigs and badgers, empty the rubbish bin in the kitchen… I could go on – a dog’s work is never done. Especially if he sits in the car all day *sigh*.
Anyway, I think she must have felt a bit guilty for bad-mouthing me because this was produced last night and she let me ‘clean’ the dish. 🙂
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 cauliflower
25g butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
60g chickpea flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon mustard
200ml milk
100ml chicken or vegetable stock
50g comté (or other hard cheese), grated
50g parmesan, grated
Begin by cooking the cauliflower florets in salted boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
For the sauce, place the flour, butter, olive oil, seasoning and milk into a saucepan and place over a gentle heat. Whisk until it reaches a gentle simmer. Continue whisking, adding the mustard and then the stock little by little, for just under five minutes. Add half of the cheese and whisk again until it melts. Pour over the cauliflower florets which you will have arranged in a baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top and add a little more paprika. Cook for about 45 minutes. -
Spelt flour crêpes and the chaos theory according to Hugo
by Hugo, Canine Correspondent
In the interests of transparency (have you noticed the trendy lingo I’m picking up?), I asked to write today’s blog because I don’t think that the Bossy One is always very honest with you.
The way she presents her recipes would have you believe that she’s a domestic goddess (I heard that on the television), when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The havoc she creates in the kitchen is quite something. Not that I’m not complaining because the more the food ends up on the floor, the happier I am. 🙂
Today’s recipe, for example, should really read something like this:
Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl, use a large shovel to scoop up the ingredients that somehow landed outside the bowl, whilst simultaneously trying to recover from violent coughing and sneezing fit caused by inhaled flour. Make a well in the centre and break the eggs into it, mutter obscenities and pick the broken bits of eggshell out with your fingernails. Whisk the eggs, little by little incorporating the surrounding flour. If you use an electric whisk, you can be sure that a substantial amount of mixture will end up on the surrounding walls, sometimes even the ceiling. Combine the almond milk and water and add little by little to the flour/egg mixture. Turn the whisk to SLOW before pouring in liquid, otherwise it will ricochet alarmingly which isn’t good because it causes more mad muttering (I can also do alliteration :-)). Once all the liquid has been added, continue to whisk until you obtain a smooth batter, the consistency of thin cream (yeah right; in her dreams!). Push back messy hair, smothering small amount of ‘smooth’ ( 😆 ) batter over face.
I won’t go on because she can be a bit sensitive when it comes to criticism, even if it is constructive, and I’d like to continue this writing lark. I will leave you with this thought though: this is a simple recipe – just imagine the scenario with a complicated one 😉
Thank you for your kind words Hugo, I think I’ll take over now. This is based on Delia Smith’s recipe for ‘basic pancakes’, which I have adapted to use with spelt flour and almond milk.
Ingredients (makes about 10 crêpes)
110g spelt flour
pinch of salt
pinch of bicarbonate of soda
2 large eggs
200ml almond milk
75ml water
butter or coconut oil for cooking
Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs, little by little incorporating the surrounding flour. Combine the almond milk and water and add little by little to the flour/egg mixture. Once all the liquid has been added, continue to whisk until you obtain a smooth batter, the consistency of thin cream.
To cook the crêpes you will need a shallow frying, or preferably a crêpe pan. Melt the butter or coconut oil making sure that the base of the frying pan is coated. Pour a small amount of batter into hot fat in the pan, tipping from side to side to distribute evenly. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
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Pot roast guinea fowl with orange, herbs and leeks
by Hugo, Canine Correspondent
I’m rather down in the dumps today. I don’t usually complain about Her Bossiness but I can’t help feeling she’s a bit blasé sometimes; The young hens have turned into ruffians. Shy and retiring when they first arrived a few weeks ago, they have become rather cocky and full of a sense of entitlement that just isn’t appropriate in a hen. Especially in hens that don’t even lay eggs yet. The worst thing is when their haughtiness involves my food bowl. They nonchalantly stroll into the house, plant themselves on my bed and dig in to my food. Surely that’s just not right is it? 🙁
I’m very keen on this guinea fowl dish, because I get to chew the carcass afterwards. I’m not ashamed to admit that while doing so, I fantasise that I’m devouring one of my volatile companions. 🙂
Ingredients (serves 6)
1 large (or 2 small) guinea fowl (about a kilo)
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
a handful of fresh thyme
a handful of sage leaves
1 tablespoon of olive oil
60g butter
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, washed and sliced
seasoning: sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, paprika
350ml dry white wine
This is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Empty the bird and rinse well. Mix the oranges with the onion and herbs and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the guinea fowl(s) with the mixture and place in a casserole dish (dutch oven) along with the butter, olive oil, carrots, garlic, leeks and seasoning. Fry until golden brown and then add the wine, which should be brought to a simmer. Put the lid on the dish and cook in the oven for just over an hour, or until the ‘sauce’ is beginning to caramelise slightly. -
Chinese pork salad and dogs with bones of contention
Hello! It’s Hugo again. Today I have a bone to pick with the cook (I use that expression at every opportunity – it’s a personal favourite ;-)). I did say I wouldn’t be unkind about the bossy one as she takes me for walks, but I’ve changed my mind. Apparently only fools never change their minds and I may be a bit mad, but I’m not a nincompoop. My problem is this: all it takes is for the sun and a few yellow flowers to appear and she gets all enthusiastic about salad. Salad is for rabbits and perhaps other herby fours, but it certainly isn’t for dogs. We used to have a rabbit called Madeleine until one of the horses let her out of her hutch and she did a runner. I know that the noisy yellow-haired one that shoots me with plastic bullets agrees with me, because we’re on the same page when it comes to food. I feel a bit sorry for him sometimes; she really gives him an earful about ‘not eating enough vegetables’. We both wish that she’d knock this healthy eating fixation of hers on the head. Anyway, please don’t compliment these unappetising green creations, because she’s a bit of a sucker and it’ll only encourage her. Perhaps you could suggest she get all gung ho about red meat?Ingredients:
Crisp lettuce, washed and shreded
White cabbage, washed and cut finely
1 carrot, peeled and cut into ‘sticks’
1 orange, peeled and cut into small pieces
Thin slices of pre-cooked pork (or duck)
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cashew nuts
Dressing:
Rice vinegar
Sesame seed oil
Maple syrup
Soya sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Assemble the salad ingredients in a bowl, add the dressing and serve. To be consumed away from petulant dogs 🙂 -
Chicken tagine with prunes and almonds and black labrador narration
Hello! It’s Hugo writing today’s recipe. I have a feeling the bossy, yellow-haired one often refers to me as the ‘neurotic canine’ or some such. She’s a fine one to talk — you should have seen the state she was in when I was ill recently *evil cackle*. I’m not going to say anything bitchy about her though because she takes me for a nice long walk everyday, if I do abandon her the second we set out, only coming back to shake my dripping, muddy self all over her. This tagine was paw-licking-good, although I might suggest that next time she remove the prune stones. I don’t mind crunching on bones, but stones are for girls. In fact, I spat them out and left them for the hens!
Ingredients (serves 4)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
8 chicken thighs
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bay leaf
Two generous tablespoons of orange marmalade (or apricot jam)
400g dried prunes
200g almonds, roughly chopped
500ml chicken stock
Fresh coriander to servePreheat the oven to 180°C. Gently brown the onions, garlic and chicken in the olive oil in a medium-sized casserole dish. Once golden brown (after about eight minutes), add the lemon juice, seasoning and spices and continue to brown for a further five minutes. Add the marmalade (or jam), prunes, almonds and chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook in the oven for about an hour and a half or until the sauce is beginning to caramelise slightly.I served this with spicy cauliflower.
