Recipes

Home made Chicken Soup

1 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole chicken, breasts removed and reserved
2 onions
2 quarts boiling water
Salt
2 bay leaves
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Ground pepper

You could use the breast meat in this soup recipe but I prefer to cook them separately in another recipe. If you do use them, wait until the soup is almost finished and then add them back to the pot until they are cooked through. Should only take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Dice the onion. Peel the carrots and cut them as well as the celery into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces then mince the fresh parsley leaves.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot and sauté the breasts until they are light brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the breasts and set aside. Add half of the onions and sauté until translucent, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Cut up the remaining parts of the chicken (not the breasts) into small pieces to allow them to release their juices in the shortest time possible. This is the hardest part of the recipe. If you have a meat cleaver, it makes the job easier, but if you don’t, do the best you can with a chefs knife.

Add the pieces to the pot, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until no longer pink. Return the onion to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes. Add boiling water, reserved chicken breasts, 2 teaspoons of salt, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer until chicken breasts are cooked, about 20 minutes. Increase the heat if necessary.

Remove chicken breasts and set aside. Strain and reserve broth. Skim fat from the broth, reserving 2 tablespoons to be used to cook the vegetables. Add the reserved fat to the soup pot and sauté the remaining onions along with the carrot and celery for about 5 minutes. When the chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and bones. Shred the breast meat into bite sized pieces and add to the pot. Add thyme and reserved broth; simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Season with salt and pepper, add parsley and serve. You can also add noodles, or small pasta shells and cook until tender.

Vegan Parkin: 1
Ingredients:
8 oz S.R. flour
8 oz oatmeal
2 teaspoonsful ginger
4 oz soya margarine
4 tablespoonsful sugar
8 oz treacle
1/2 pint soya milk.

Method:
Rub margarine into flour and oatmeal.
Add sugar and ginger, mix thoroughly.
Warm treacle and mix to paste, adding milk if necessary.
Put into greased Yorshire pudding tin.

Baking time:
One hour in a moderately slow oven.

Ingredients:
8 oz oatmeal
8 oz flour
1 lb treacle
8 oz soya margarine
1/2 oz ground ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pint soya milk
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda.

Method:
Place oatmeal and flour in mixing bowl and rub into it the margarine.
Add ginger and sugar.
Warm treacle until it is runny and mix in.
Warm the milk, dissolve the bicarb of soda in it, and add to the mixture.
Mix the whole to a smooth dough.
Grease a large, flat tin and line with greaseproof paper.
Pour in the dough and spread to an even depth.
When baked and cooled, cut into squares to serve.

Baking time:
45 minutes, or until dark brown, at 375 degrees F or Gas Mark 5.

Nutburgers

An all-time favorite meatless burger. The nutburger is tasty, satisfying and filling, without leaving you with the heavy feeling after eating a beef burger. And it’s healthier too!
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs
1 cup toasted wheat germ or cooked rice
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, minced
1 onion, minced
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 green or red pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp basil
2 tsp curry powder
Mix all together in a big bowl, drop batter into patties in hot olive oil in skillet. Use just enough oil to cover the pan bottom. Cook until golden brown. Serve on a bun just like a hamburger, with red onion slice, lettece tomato slice……the works!

Vegetable Fajitas

This is a favorite – quick, easy and satisfying.

1 onion
1 each: red, green, yellow bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces mushrooms
several broccoli crowns, cut small
6 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP chili powder 3 TBSP lime juice
fajita seasoning
lemon pepper
guacamole (recipe below)
vegan sour cream (recipe below)
flour tortillas
Slice onion and peppers into strips. Remove mushroom stems and slice the mushrooms thickly. Combine in a bowl, add the crushed garlic and mix slightly.

In a seperate bowl, mix the oil, chili powder, lime juice, fajita seasoning and lemon pepper and pour over the vegetable mixture. Stir well and set aside for an hour or more.

After the vegetables have marinated, heat a frying pan or wok until very hot. Add the marinated vegetables and stir-fry over high heat for 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms and peppers are just tender. Spoon the filling onto each tortilla, garnish with guacamole, sour cream (and if desired, picante sauce or salsa) and roll up. Makes wonderful leftovers (if there are any!)

From “Vegetarian: The Greatest Ever Vegetarian Cookbook” Edited by Nicola Graimes

Easy Guacamole
5 – 6 avocados
2/3 of a jar of organic salsa
fresh cilantro (about half of a batch)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
fairly generous dash of cayenne

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend till fairly smooth. Season to taste.
Refrigerate in airtight container.

Mince pies
8 oz butter, softened
1 lb all purpose flour
2 oz icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 lb mincemeat
an ounce or two of brandy or rum – if desired
beaten egg, to glaze
bun tins to make 30 pies

Cut the butter into cubes. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbes. Stir in the icing sugar. Make a well in the centre, stir in the egg yolk and about 3-4 tbsp iced water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Knead lightly to form a smooth dough (if there is time – chill for 30 minutes). Preheat oven to mark 400F or gas mark 6.

On a floured surface, roll out two thirds of the dough and cut out 30 rounds using a 2-½ inch fluted cutter. Use to line the bun tins. Fill with mincemeat*.

Re-roll remaining pastry and trimmings and cut out circles using a 2 in cutter. Dampen edges of circle and place on pies. Seal edges, brush tops with beaten egg and cook for 20 minutes.

*If desired, mix some (to taste) of the brandy or rum into the mincemeat. Mixture will be a little looser. Delicious when served alone or with custard (British – of course) or cream We highly recommend sampling the recipe repeatedly!!

homemade mincemeat

Mincemeat Filling (yields 3 qts)
1/2 lb beef suet, chopped fine
4 cups seedless raisins
2 cups dried currants
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped candied citron
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried figs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped candied orange peel
1/4 cup coarsely chopped candied lemon peel
4 cups coarsely chopped, peeled and cored cooking apples
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 & 1/2 cups brandy
1 cup dry sherry

Combine the suet, raisins, currants, almonds, citron, figs, orange peel, lemon peel, apples, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in a large mixing bowl and stir them together thoroughly.

Pour in the brandy and the sherry and stir with a large spoon until all the ingredients are moist.

Cover the bowl and set the ingredients aside in a cool place (do not refrigerate) for at least 3 weeks. Check the mixture each week and replenish the absorbed liquor with more brandy and sherry, using about 1/4 cup each time.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

English Mincemeat Pies
eight 2-1/2 inch pie shells
1-1/2 cups mincemeat

Place about 3 tbsp of mincemeat into each pastry shell and cover with sheet of pastry, crimping the edges with a fork.

Place the stuffed pies on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Let pies cool then remove from tin and serve with whipped cream or Brandy Butter

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped nuts

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2/3 cup chocolate chips

2 eggs

Cream together margarine and sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and banana. Add flour and soda. Stir in chips and nuts. Bake in greased loaf pan for 50 minutes in 350-degree oven.