Food on Friday ~ Lockdown
now that I’m in enforced lockdown I’ll be eating canned goods for another week
None of these following recipes are unhealthy canned goods.
First this week from Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats we have delicious Parsmesan Pistachio Pork Tenderloin.
Parmesan Pork Tenderloin
Now from Tiegha Gerard at Half Baked Harvest we have Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pot Pie with a Garlic Butter Phyllo Crust. That looks wonderful. Me I’m eating pie out of a can!
Skillet Chicken Broccoli Pot Pie with a Garlic Butter Phyllo Crust
From Diane at In Dianes Kitchen, how about these Asian Pork Meatballs ~ I wish.
Asian Pork Meatballs
Chungah at Damn Delicious gives us her Best Ever Beef Stew.
Best Ever Beef Stew
Amanda at Chez le Reve Francais has a wonderful recipe for her Quiche Lorraine with Shortcrust Pastry.
Quiche Lorraine with Shortcrust Pastry
And Finally for this week, Garlic and Herb Sweet Potato Nourish Bowl, from the Minimalist Baker. I would make this if I was allowed out to the store.
Garlic and Herb Sweet Potato Nourish Bowl
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Marmaduke and I still have a little fresh food left
Food on Friday ~ Autumn
fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose
In a couple of days time we will have the Autumn Equinox, the harvests will be taken in, and the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness will be upon us. I expect that you’re like me and wondering where the year went to, and how come I don’t remember what happened.
I believe that this coming Tuesday September 22nd is a time for me to make a fresh start, throw off the constraints of a summer that didn’t have much good going for it, and begin again.
A good place to start our move into Autumn, or Fall if you will, is with some good food, great recipes, and hopefully some very good company.
First this week we have Chungah at Damn Delicious and her warming, nutritious, delicious One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Orzo. We all like one pan dishes don’t we?
One Pot Chicken and Mushroom Orzo
Now, Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest has The 35 Most Popular Fall Recipes. From this collection I’ve chosen a Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf.
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
To go with your chicken, and for the warmer days still to come this year, from Dana at Minimalist Baker we have a Raw Rainbow Veggie Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing. And, just how pretty is that?
Raw Rainbow Veggie Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
This is a super collection from Jessica Merchant’s How Sweet Eats; 45 Of My Favorite Fall Dinner Recipes. With so much to choose from how about a Smoky Pumpkin Bisque with Grilled Cheese Croutons? You need to keep this recipe by you for Halloween.
Smoky Pumpkin Bisque with Grilled Cheese Croutons
This might almost be the ultimate fall dinner recipe collection ever; from Delish Magazine 61 Unbelievably Easy Fall Dinner Recipes. From this cornucopia I’ve chosen these Garlic Rosemary Pork Chops. If you think that pork chops only come in the dry and overcooked variety, then you should try this recipe.
Garlic Rosemary Pork Chops
Or maybe this is the ultimate Fall Recipe Collection; 50 Apple Cider Recipes You Need in Your Life this Fall. From this Country Living apple collection I’ve picked a Roasted Butternut Squash with Cider Vinaigrette.
Roasted Butternut Squash with Cider Vinaigrette
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
if you are lucky you still have rosehips in your garden, and they make up some great medicinal recipes
Food on Friday ~ Quick and Easy
my friend cooks with wine, sometimes she even adds it to the food
In an ideal world each of us would have a gorgeous kitchen, a larder full of exactly the right ingredients, and lots of time to create wonderfully, brilliant, healthy and tasty dishes. Mostly the world isn’t like that, and for many of us there are so many other things we need and want to do rather than stand over a hot stove. Particularly when the weather is wonderful ~ or we have to go to work. Or have a long, hot, soak in the tub.
This week we’re concentrating on quicker and easier wonderful, brilliant, healthy, and tasty recipes.
First up this week, from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest; 15 Minute Garlic Butter Ramen Noodles. Simple, easy, fast, and looking delicious.
15 Minute Garlic Butter Ramen Noodles
Another noodles dish, this time from Chungah at Damn Delicious; Quick Chicken Ramen Noodle Stir Fry. I like stir fry dishes, my perfect one pan meal every time. This one should be ready in 30 minutes.
Quick Chicken Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
Something I must try, from Tiffany at Creme de la Crumb is a Cajun Shrimp and Rice Skillet. This is a one pan dish you should be ale to prepare and cook in just 30 minutes, less if your seasoning is ready mixed.
Cajun Shrimp and Rice Skillet
At this time of year some of you may have peppers growing in your yard. From Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats we have these Grilled Marinated Peppers with Burrata and Breadcrumbs. This dish may take a little longer than the others we’re looking at this week, but it’s a very relaxing kind of longer.
Grilled Marinated Peppers with Burrata and Breadcrumbs
Our first collection this week is from Diane, The Minimalist Baker 26 Quick & Easy Recipes, all of which should be ready in 30 minutes or less. As the weather is not only mostly sunny, it’s also probably hot where you are, I’ve chosen to feature this Greek Goddess Bowl ~ something an Aphrodite would enjoy.
Greek Goddess Bowl
Another collection, this time from Country Living; 77 Best Quick, Easy Dinner Recipes You Can Make In 30 Minutes or Less. I’ve chosen to feature this dish of Grilled Pesto Chicken with Summer Squash ~ and talking of things you may have in your vegetable patch, how brilliant if you have squash growing in your yard.
Grilled Pesto Chicken with Summer Squash
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
we each have our own idea of an Aphrodite
Food on Good Friday ~ 2020
this Good Friday share all the bread, wine, and love you have
Back when I was a boy, Good Friday always meant eating fish ~ and for many in England it would mean going down to the local ‘chip shop’ for cod, chips, and mushy peas. And if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about then you’ve missed out on one of the great meals.
In reality, if you’re a Christian, then Good Friday means not eating meat. After all we are still in Lent. So, this week I’ll be concentrating on fish and vegetarian dishes.
If you are a Christian, you will not be able to go to church today, and whatever your religion you will most likely be banned from attending your place of worship. Personally, I will be going down to the sea to pray for all of us.
First up this week, from the Minimalist Baker, how about this 1-pot curried chickpea soup. You can’t get much easier than this, and if you’ve been feeling unwell the garlic and ginger in this dish should do you the world of good. This is both vegetarian and gluten-free. Gluten is bad for us.
One Pot Curried Chickpea Soup
To go along with that curried chickpea soup, what about the rosemary focaccia bread from Ali at Gimme Some Oven? I love the flavour of fresh rosemary.
Rosemary Focaccia Bread
From one of my favourite cooks; Chungah at Damn Delicious let me show you this sheet pan Easter dinner. Now you probably wouldn’t eat this today, but I know a lot of people will be having family over for Easter Sunday lunch / dinner. If you don’t like the pineapple ham, then try garlic butter chicken instead. I love sheet pan cooking, it’s so damn easy.
Sheet Pan Easter Dinner
If you are having people over for lunch or Easter drinks, then what about these Easter deviled eggs as an appetiser. This very easy and colourful recipe is from In Dianes Kitchen.
Easter Deviled Eggs
Heather Christo has a fabulous little collection called Easter brunch decadence. I really like the look of her strawberry rhubarb scones.
Strawberry Rhubarb Scones
Our final collection today is from Cookie + kate; 50+ spring brunch recipes. All of these are vegetarian. I have chosen to feature the roasted cauliflower and faro salad with feta and avocado from this great collection of easy Easter recipes.
Roasted Cauliflower and Faro Salad with Feta and Avocado
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
unlike most of us Marmaduke can get away for the Easter holiday break
Food on Friday ~ Wellness
love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle
You might have read here that I made myself so ill through a combination of too much booze and not eating the right things at the right time, (and eating a lot of the wrong things, like processed food), that I had to spend a week in hospital. You know what? I would have gone on in the same old way if I hadn’t turned-up for a routine health check.
What has that got to do with a recipes post? From now on I am mostly going to post recipes that seem healthier and better for us in body, mind and spirit. Less fats, more lean meat and oily fish, and much more fruits and vegetables. It also seems that not all plant-based foods are good for us. That high-fructose corn syrup is very bad for us seems obvious, but corn oil, wheat, legumes…..? They’re bad for us too, generally.
So, I will try to avoid recipes that contain anything that’s generally on the minus side of the wellness equation.
First up this week from Dana The Minimalist Baker is her easy 30 minute Chinese Chicken Salad. I think this fits my healthy eating bill perfectly, especially as it’s soy-free ~ plus, just look at those colours. There are a stack of tasty-looking salad recipes on this site, it may well be that this is one of my new go-to sites.
30 Minute Chinese Chicken Salad
Next, from Heather Christo a vegan white bean sweet potato chili. This also has chunks of avocado, fresno chili, cilantro, and green onions. I need to eat less meat so this dish will be ideal when I really want a smoky chili, but shouldn’t eat any beef for a while.
Vegan White Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Chicken has to be part of my new way of living, but chicken can be bland and boring. Not so this roasted garlic butter chicken with lemon olive dressing, from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. I think this dish has got so much going for it…..
Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Lemon Olive Dressing
Salmon has to be part of my wellness diet, and I really like the look of this baked teriyaki salmon from Erin Clarke at Well Plated by Erin. I especially like that the salmon fillet is cooked in foil ~ I love cooking in foil. Erin also shows us how to make our own, healthier, Teriyaki sauce ~ brilliant.
Baked Teriyaki Salmon
Not many know that, until the end of WWII, pork was not much eaten in England. We English ate mutton, pork is actually a German staple. However, this recipe for the best baked pork tenderloin is positively part of my healthier eating plan. Tiffany from Creme de la Crumb tells us how to do it.
Best Baked Pork Tenderloin
As my new eating plan is kind of a modified Paleo Diet our collection this week is from Delish magazine; 40 Paleo recipes that will make you forget you’re on a diet ~ well there are diets and there are diets. I have chosen to feature this good-looking baked swordfish steak, and if you have never tried swordfish steak then you’ve missed out on one of the great things in life.
Baked Swordfish Steak
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
poor little Marmaduke can’t have his canned spaghetti any more.
Food on Friday ~ Better than Take-Out
One cannot think well, sleep well, love well, if one has not dined well.
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part in maintaining good health. Along with plenty of fresh air and exercise it can help you look and feel your best.
This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the optimal amount of food and drink to maintain a healthy body weight. You also need all of the essential vitamins and minerals, else you could get quite sick.
Maybe the hardest part of a healthy diet is the sheer quantity of water we should really drink, and for the average person this works out to 8 x 8 ounce glasses of water, (green tea, fruit tea, herbal tea, coffee without sugar), which is half a US gallon every day, more if you’ve been boozing. In European terms this is 2 litres.
But today we are going to look at some great recipes for fabulous dishes ~ as a much healthier alternative than even the very best take-out.
First up this week we have hamburger steaks with a mushroom sauce from Holly at Spend With Pennies. While there is no way on this God’s Earth that I would buy a hamburger at a fast-food outlet such as McDonalds, I think a home-made burger can be fabulous.
Hamburger Steaks with a Mushroom Sauce
Another home-made alternative to unhealthy take-out; egg roll in a bowl from Well Plated by Erin Clarke. At one time I loved Chinese and Thai take out, but the muck is full of gluten and MSG, and I’ve seen out back of a takeout kitchen and hygiene is in a far country.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Something that you certainly wouldn’t get from the average take-out; chinese mushroom dumplings with sweet chili ginger sesame sauce. Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest has very descriptive names for her recipes. Good for her!
Chinese Mushroom Dumplings
Now Heather Christo always makes her food look fabulous, and this green thai currey with vegetables is no exception. Get yourself some lemon rice and a bottle of Tiger beer to go with it. Heather’s recipes are all allergy free, (for all I know they’re gluten free too).
Green Thai Curry with Vegetables
The Minimalist Baker’s recipes are definitely gluten free, and this easy 1 pot tikka masala looks far, far better than anything you’d get from any Indian take-out place.
Easy 1-Pot Tikka Masala
Our collection this week is from Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats; 25 weeks of my favorite healthier weeknight dinners. From this 175 recipe collection I’ve chosen to feature baked parmesan chicken with lemon arugula. You can get Parmesan chicken as a take-out, but I wouldn’t.
Baked Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Arugula
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Food on Friday ~ December 6th
It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.
Early December and it’s cold, dark, and drear in the run-up to Christmas. Today there is not much cheer around here, and anyway most people are busy making their arrangements for a great Christmas holiday.
Well, I’ll be on my own in the garret again over the Christmas holidays, so one of the things I should do is cook myself some great food. There are some very cool, very easy recipes in this post, and I hope that we can all enjoy them in the run-up to Christmas Day. I’m wondering if there’s going to be any great Christmas time TV.
First up this week, from Barcelona we have Ali at Gimmie Some Oven who has a healthier broccoli chicken casserole, made with pasta, tender chicken, and broccoli in a cheddar mushroom sauce. Despite everything this is a light and very healthy dish that’s really easy to prepare.
Healthier Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Now from Joy the Baker, something else with a broccoli theme; spicy broccoli pizza with homemade pizza crust. This is far, far better than anything you could buy anywhere, and a great pre-Christmas treat for your casual guests.
Spicy Broccoli Pizza with a Homemade Pizza Crust
Dana Shultz, the Minimalist Baker has a cool recipe for one-pot chicken soup with white beans and kale. This 30 minute recipe does look so easy to make, and it’s warming, healthy, and gluten free. What more could you want on a cold December evening.
One-Pot Chicken Soup with White Beans and Kale
Another great chicken dish, and this time the recipe is from the ever-delightful Heather Christo; creamy tomato baked chicken and pasta. I would use gluten free, or wholemeal pasta, but that’s your choice. Whatever this is a great midweek dinner.
Creamy Tomato Baked Chicken and Pasta
Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest always gives us the longest titles for her recipes, this one is 30 minute Chinese egg drop chicken rice soup with garlicky chile oil. Say no more…..
Chinese Egg Drop Chicken Soup
The collection this week is from Country Living magazine; 85 easy Christmas appetizers that will delight all of your holiday guests. From this huge list I’ve chosen these deviled eggs with old bay shrimp from Carrie Purcell. But make your own choices fro your pre-Christmas drinks party and Boxing Day snacks.
Deviled Eggs with Old Bay Shrimp
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
some people are almost ready for Christmas
Food on Friday ~ Mostly Chicken
I will respect this liver. After all it’s not mine. ~ George Best
So, I’m working on this healthier eating plan, with the avowed aim of being fitter, healthier, and detoxing my body ~ especially detoxing my liver, which is the body’s chemical factory.
The most important thing for most of us to do if we want to be fitter, healthier, and have a cleaner liver is to give up booze. If you take a drink the liver will stop whatever it’s doing and start to process alcohol, and your liver will do bugger-all else until all the booze has been flushed from your system. George Best, was one of the greatest soccer players of all time, he died in 2005 of alcoholism after having a liver transplant.
As well as giving up booze I’m also not going to eat dairy, including eggs, and I won’t touch anything at all containing wheat flour, or high-fructose corn syrup. I don’t want to consume the weedkiller that’s routinely sprayed on those crops and persists right up to the point we take the glyphosate into our bodies.
First this week we have a very healthy looking dish from Simply Recipes; green bean salad with lemon and dill by Summer Miller. I guess for most of us this would be a side-dish, but I’d be pleased to have just this for lunch, (maybe with some cherry tomatoes).
Green Bean Salad with Lemon and Dill
From Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats how about this cool looking crispy baked Parmesan chicken with lemon arugula. I know I said I wasn’t eating dairy, but a little Parmesan is more than just OK, it makes this dish. Chicken is a very low-fat meat, and I’m trying for a low-fat diet.
Crispy Baked Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Arugula
Another brilliant chicken dish, this time from Tiffany at Creme de la Crumb. This one pan garlic herb chicken and asparagus looks brilliant, and if I’m so minded I guess I would use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. I love one pan meals, so easy to clean up afterwards.
One Pan Garlic Herb Chicken and Asparagus
Heidi at Foodie Crush has posted this Thai basil chicken, (Pad Krapow Gai). I must try this, Heidi says it’s easy and I really like all the ingredients she’s listed. Especially I want to try cooking with coconut milk. I think I’d serve this with wild rice and quinoa, which I can get at my favourite supermarket.
Thai Basil Chicken
Dana Shultz, the Minimalist Baker, has these ultra-healthy sounding crispy miso chickpea bowls with garlic sesame dressing. It seems this is a 10 ingredient bowl ~ I can cope with that.
Crispy Miso Chickpea Bowls with Garlic Sesame Dressing
And, finally for this week, Teigan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest offers us these weeknight 30 minute coconut curry chicken meatballs. Never mind weeknight, these would be great to serve when you have friends around.
Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
healthy eating needs oily fish
foil pack grilled salmon with lemony asparagus
Food on Friday ~ one pot meals
When you’re cooking a delicious meal, it’s easy to feel good about life.
Living alone in the garret, meals that I can make using just one pot / pan / baking sheet really appeal to me. I like cooking, but I don’t like washing-up afterwards, so the fewer pots and pans I use the better.
If you can make your whole meal in your slow cooker / crock pot, then that also counts as just one pot.
As for me, not only do I try to make all my meals in just one pot, I also try to use no more than 5 ingredients, (not including herbs and spices), and make meals that require no more than 20 minutes of prep time.
First this week we have a soup recipe from Dana at The Minimalist Baker; 1-pot golden curry lentil soup. I bet this would be fabulous after a long walk on a cold autumn’s day. This vegan dish takes about 90 minutes to make, but most of that is it just simmering away on its own.
1-Pot Golden Curry Lentil Soup
Now from Chungah at Damn Delicious we have a cold fighting chicken noodle soup. You’ll only need one pot and about a half hour to make this wonderfully warming autumnal dish. And maybe it fights two kinds of cold…..
Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
Tiffany at Creme de la Crumb has a collection of pumpkin recipes for this fall, and knowing how Americans like their pumpkins coming up to Halloween, I thought I would feature this creamy pumpkin soup with grilled cheese croutons. You are going to be able to make this in less than a half-hour
Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats has posted this great looking recipe for one pan sesame chicken. admittedly you’d want to serve this with rice, but these days I make my rice by using a microwaveable packet, so that doesn’t really count as using a second pan. hahahahaha
One Pan Sesame Chicken
Moving on to a slow cooker recipe, there’s this gorgeous looking healthy slow cooker turkey an white bean chili, from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. I like that Tieghan has served this dish with sliced avocado.
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili
Found for us by Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes there’s this great one skillet dish from Lisa Lin; pasta skillet with chicken sausage, cheese & spinach. Ready in just 30 minutes and so easy to make in just one skillet ~ and if you don’t have a skillet, get one.
Pasta Skillet with Chicken Sausage, Cheese & Spinach
Our collection this week is from Country Living magazine again; 33 quick and easy one dish-meals ~ I know a girl in California who might find this collection most helpful when it comes to meal planning. From these 33 recipes I particularly like the honey-soy glazed salmon with mushrooms and peppers, for a $12 spend and 35 minutes it doesn’t get any better and easier than this.
Honey-Soy Glazed Salmon with Mushrooms and Peppers
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
This is Marmaduke’s idea of what goes into a one-pot meal.
Food on Friday ~ Cookies
Life is better with fresh baked cookies in it.
In everything I’ve shared with you in Food on Friday, I haven’t posted much about baked stuff, mostly because I’m terrible at baking. I have no idea why that is ~ but there you go.
On the other hand, I do like cookies, (except we call them biscuits here in England), and if I ever called at a friend’s house and they’d made any of the cookies / biscuits featured in this week’s Food on Friday, I guess I’d have to force myself and eat some / a lot.
From Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest we have some nice looking browned butter coconut chocolate chip cookies. Tieghan says these are both delicious and easy, and I have no doubt that she’s correct on both fronts. Anyhow I like both chocolate and coconut, and I like them better together.
Browned Butter Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Some more chocolate chip cookies, (why not?), this time Andrea at Cooking with a Wallflower has a great recipe for soft and chewy cherry chocolate chip cookies. Andrea says these cookies are a perfect snack for road trips, and as you all should know, I love road trips.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
You know what? When it comes to cookies you almost can’t go wrong if you add chocolate, and Amanda at Chez le Rêve Français has one of my favourite combinations with her chunky chocolate and hazelnut cookies.
Chunky Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies
As you might expect Dana, the Minimalist Baker has some very good recipes for cookies, and this recent post caught my eye. So how about; vegan trail mix cookies (gluten-free + grain-free), would you like to try those? I had thought of featuring Dana’s recipe for 1-bowl ginger cookies (gluten free) but thought you may like the trail mix recipe better.
Vegan Trail Mix Cookies (Gluten-Free + Grain-Free)
A blog post about cookies would not be complete if it didn’t include a recipe for traditional Scottish shortbread. So here, from Scottish-at-Heart.com we have the best Scottish shortbread recipe. Although there are actually two recipes and a lot of other good information in this link. And, if you’ve never had proper Scottish shortbread ~ then try some, right away.
Scottish Shortbread
I am really not certain how his would work in the USA, but here in England we also have savoury ‘biscuits’, and across the pond you may even call these biscuits instead of cookies. Anyhow, from Petra at Food Eat Love I’m giving you a recipe for chilli cheese buttermilk biscuits.
Chilli Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits
And finally for this week, what would Food on Friday be without a recipe collection. So from Baking Mad we have a whole bunch of cookie recipes, (they don’t say how many and I haven’t counted them), ((actually there are 57 recipes on this page, and that’s so cool)). To go with a coffee I particularly like the look of the vanilla sugar cookies from Nielsen-Massey.
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
cookies are just so versatile and moreish
this is melt in your mouth toffee
from Averie Cooks
