Summer Meal Plan!

So I’ve finally finished all my exams for this year and can finally get back to blogging. As promised I have the perfect summer recipe. I have created a meal plan for a dinner or lunch, and will post the meals in different posts. First off Starter!

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Seared scallops with leeks & lemon chilli butter 

Ingredients

• 4 young, but not baby leeks, trimmed
• 12 scallops , roes on or off
• 1 tbsp light olive oil
• lemon wedges, to serve

 For the Butter

• 250g pack butter , softened
• 1 red chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• zest 2 lemon
• bunch parsley, leaves chopped, plus extra to serve

Method-

1. For the butter, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, then beat well with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps of butter left. Spoon onto a large sheet of cling film, then wrap tightly in a sausage shape. Chill until firm (or put in the freezer if you’re short of time).
2. Set up a pan with a steamer or suspend a heatproof colander over the top of a pan. Cut the leeks in half length ways, then slice into long strips, about the thickness of tagliatelle. Cover, then steam for 6 mins until tender, with no signs of squeakiness. Season, then set aside.
3. Dry the scallops on kitchen paper and season. Heat a heavy-based pan, then add the oil. Once hot, add the scallops, keeping them close together – this helps the sides to stay straight and tall rather than sagging. Sizzle for 2 mins until caramelised and you can see the heat creeping up the outside. Turn over with a palette knife, then fry for 1 min more. Take off the heat, then add a few good slices of the butter to the pan, spooning over the scallops as it melts.
4. To serve, wind a nest of warm leeks in the centre of 4 plates, top each with 3 scallops, spoon over the buttery sauce (it looks smart trickled around the plate), then sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Squeeze over a little lemon juice before you tuck in.

Recipe and Picture from BBC Good Food

Break Time!

Once again I’ll be taking a break, as my exams are commencing. I’ll be back early June with delicious summery dishes. Here are some food related gifs that I saw and liked. (Click on the picture to go to the owners blog)

See you guys soon.

Adeola x

Orange Layer Cake

Recipe from Good Food.

For the Cake

• 225g baking spread
• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 100g brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• finely grated zest of 2 oranges

For the Butter Icing

• 150g butter , softened
• 300g icing sugar , sifted
• finely grated zest of 2 oranges

For the Glaze

• 25g caster sugar
• juice of 2 oranges

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. You will need 2 x 20 cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins, greased and bases lined with baking parchment. Measure all the cake ingredients into a large bowl (reserve a little orange zest for decoration) and beat with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer until combined and smooth.
2. Divide evenly between the 2 tins. Bake for 20-25 mins or until well risen, lightly golden and shrinking away from the sides of the tins. After 5 mins, remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
3. To make the icing, put the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the orange zest.
4. Remove the paper from the cakes. Sit 1 cake upside down on a plate. Make the glaze by putting the caster sugar and orange juice into a saucepan, stirring over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Boil until reduced by half, then brush half on the upside-down cake, using a pastry brush. Spread half the butter icing over the glazed cake. Sit the other cake on top, brush with the remaining glaze, then spread with the remaining butter icing. Scatter with the reserved orange zest.The cake is best eaten on the day, but will keep for up to 3 days in a cool place. It freezes well un-iced or filled.

This is the mixer I used to to make the cake is a Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine. It’s priced at £199 at Argos.

Adeola x

Macaroni & Cheese

So I recently made Macaroni Cheese but my family’s way. We have a special ingredient. We add Ketchup. I know what your thinking Ketchup. But it tastes AMAZING with it and whenever I have normal I don’t like it and have to add Ketchup.

This is the only dish that I like Ketchup with other than that i’m a BBQ Sauce type of person. The Recipe is simple mac and cheese with other secret ingredients  If you do want to try it just add ketchup to Macaroni cheese that you make.

Ingredients

• 250g/9oz macaroni
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 40g/1½ plain flour
• 600ml/1pint 1½fl oz milk
• 250g/9oz grated cheddar
• 50g/2oz grated parmesan

Preparation method

1. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes; drain well and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan slightly larger than that used for the macaroni. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a few minutes.
3. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Cook for 10-15 minutes to a thickened and smooth sauce.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to hot.
5. Remove the sauce from the hob, add 175g/6oz of the cheese and stir until the cheese is well combined and melted.
6. Add the macaroni to the sauce and mix well. Transfer to a deep suitably-sized ovenproof dish.
7. Sprinkle over the remaining cheddar and the Parmesan and place the dish under the hot grill. Cook until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Serve straightaway.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Nigella’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake

• 125g unsalted butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• zest of 1 lemon
• 175g self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 23x13x7cm loaf tin buttered and lined

For the syrup:

• Juice of 1 and a half lemons
• 100g icing sugar

For the glaze:

• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 150g icing sugar

To Make The Cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 C/ gas mark 4.
2. Butter and line your loaf tin well.
3. Cream together butter and sugar and add eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well.
4. Gently fold in the flour and the salt, mixing thoroughly and then add the milk.
5.  Spoon the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 45 mins or until cake tester comes out clean.

For the syrup:

1. Put the lemon juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.
2. As soon as cake is out of oven, puncture all over with skewer and pour over the syrup.
3. Leave cake to cool completely before removing from the tin.

For the glaze:

1. Combine lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and white, add a little more icing sugar if needed.
2. Make sure your cake is completely cool before drizzling with the glaze.

Adeola x

Pancake Day!

So yesterday was Pancake Day and I had quite a few and felt a bit sick at the end of the day. Here’s a few pics of the day!

For dinner we had fajitas. We added tomato salsa and mixed vegetables. It’s extremely simple but taste sooooo good

Adeola x

HAPIfork

If your worried if your eating too much or too little or even too fast, there’s an electronic fork called HAPIfork, that monitors your eating habits.

The HAPIfork can monitor-

• The exact time you start and end time of your meal.
• The amount of “fork servings” taken per minute and per meal.
• The specific duration of each “fork serving” interval.
• Your overall meal duration.

The HAPIfork was invented by a French engineer called Jacques Lépine. He teamed up with HAPILABS President Andrew Carton and CEO Fabrice Boutain to enhance the distribution in the market.

The fork is able to be pre-ordered now and will cost around $99 (which is about £62). The fork is available in 5 different colours. Black, White, Blue, Pink and Green.

To pre-order or for more information go to the HAPIlabs Website.

All information is from the HAPIlabs Website.

Adeola x