The World Cup Is Over (for England, anyway)

So the World Cup is over. Yes, there may be two weeks to go but as far as England are concerned it’s over. Sigh.

And so my World Cup themed food must also come to an end. I meant to update after each game but I have been struck down by a particularly awful case of the sniffles and haven’t had the energy to blog so here’s a quick update.

England Vs Slovenia

I was a bit lost when it came to Slovenian food but thankfully my friend Zowie came to the rescue. Zowie is one of my bestest friends. She also happens to be a strict vegetarian. However, she’s the kind of ace vegetarian who doesn’t snarl when I order a double cheeseburger and who suggests yummy recipes like Goulash.

I changed the recipe a bit but I’m feeling too lazy to write it out so if anyone wants my recipe specifically then please ask. Here’s how it turned out:

It was yum, but the way I made it, it was quite liquidy, a bit soupy. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be more stewy than soupy but it tasted good and we ate it with bread to soak up some of the liquid.

England Vs Germany

As I was all bunged up with a cold last night I could not be bothered cooking (I was going to make fancy potato pancakes with sausages as well, honest) so the OH did Frankfurters. Bit of a cop out I know. And we had to eat the German food, after Germany had thrashed us 4-1(2)!

Ah well, there’s always the tennis.

And so, as I was sofa-bound most the of the weekend, I’ve had chance to do a lot of crafting. Inspired by my new favourite blog Ruffles and Stuff, I decided to give one of my dull cardigans a makeover. For the tutorial, click here.

Here’s my boring old cardy before…

And after…

I shortened the sleeves, added a lacy trim, then added some buttons I’d covered in fabric. It was a pain in the bum to make. I’m not a very patient or methodical crafter. Once I’d attached the buttons, I tried to fasten the top and realised the buttons were too big for the buttonholes. So I took a pair of scissors to the buttonholes. I don’t recommend this kind of botched approach but it suits me. So, it may only last a few days before it falls apart but until then, I have a lovely new top!

England vs Algeria aka Lamb Tagine with Flatbreads

Yesterday England played Algeria, so continuing with my World Cup food theme I needed to make an Algerian dish. I decided on lamb tagine, which may be more Moroccan but hey, they’re both in North Africa and I’m sure they eat it in Algeria too. My sister gave me a rough idea of how to make it but I also had a look online for a few recipes as I’d never made it before. I didn’t find any recipes which I fancied so I used this one as a guide but changed it quite a bit to my liking. I love courgettes so that was used as my main veg, I also put in dried apricots as advised by my big sis, and I’m glad I did as they were so yummy, they just melt in your mouth when they’re cooked. Here’s the recipe:

Olive oil

3 courgettes, chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 onion, diced

Some fresh ginger, grated

3tsp ground cinnamon

3tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper

Some lamb (I bought a half shoulder, removed the fat and cut it into chunks)

2 tbsp tomato puree

3 tins chopped tomatoes

3-4 tbsp honey

Some dried apricots

Some raisins

As usual, I didn’t weigh/count everything (I ain’t counting raisins for nobody, sorry) so here’s a pic to give you a rough idea of quantities, if you’re the picky type.

First I fried the onions, ginger, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper in olive oil for a few mins, then added the meat for a few more mins. Then I put this, plus all the remaining ingredients in a casserole dish. I then added a bit of boiling water to the pan used for the onions etc as the spices had stuck to the bottom. Using a wooden spoon, I loosed the spices and added this liquid to the casserole dish. I then put the lid on and put it into an oven (preheated to 160 C) for about 2 hours. For the last hour, I removed the lid, as advised by Rachel Allen.

To go with this I made flatbreads, again an idea my sister gave me. For this, I thought I’d better follow a recipe so I used this one. I was surprised how easy they are to make and quick. Next time, I might try putting cheese on them or make flatbread pizza. Everything tastes better with cheese. Mmm.

The food was great, the tagine was lovely and sweet (maybe a little too sweet, a bit less honey next time) and there’s enough for tonight’s tea, and maybe even tomorrow’s. So overall, the meal was a great success, shame I can’t say the same about the football 😦

Rudding Park Hotel and The World Cup

As promised, although a little late , here are some food pics from our recent stay at Rudding Park Hotel in Follifoot (part of Harrogate, Yorkshire).

The hotel was lovely – they even took our bags to our room – I felt well posh! 🙂

They had a driving range in the grounds so we booked in there before dinner. I was incredibly bad, but the OH was pretty good – let’s hope that’s the only thing he shares with Tiger Woods!

Some people might think it’s a little odd that I take pictures of my food, and well yeah it probably is but food is a big part of the experience whenever I go anywhere and so I like to keep those memories, just as I would take photos of the places we visited and the things we’d seen.

So, you might have noticed that the World Cup has started. I’ve got my inflatable England hands ready, face painted and I’ve even made some red and white bunting for the window.  Strangely, the OH has even decided to back the England team, despite the fact that he’s Welsh. Funny that.

Anyway, for me this is just another excuse to make yummy food. So, on Saturday, as England were playing USA (we didn’t lose yey!) we decided to make USA themed food. We had burgers with sweet potato wedges and real strawberry milkshakes – yum.

I intend to do the same based on every team England face in the competition. I’m really looking forward to Friday when we play Algeria! Slovenia, on the other hand, any ideas?!?!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Happy Easter Sunday!

Yesterday the other half was out most of the day watching the local football team and drinking copious amounts of beer. Meanwhile, I spent the day reading the latest Olive magazine (food porn), doing housework and of course cooking. I really need to revisit my feminist handbook don’t I? Never mind.

As I was cooking for one, I decided to make spag bol, freezing the leftovers. You might think it’s odd to feature a dish as simple as spaghetti bolognese on a food blog but as a child it was my favourite meal and even now, it’s definitely up there as one of my all time faves. My mum used to make spag bol a lot but it still felt like a treat every time she did. I remember the strange smell of the parmesan shaker and the fiddliness of eating the spaghetti, usually resulting in me getting bolognese sauce everywhere. It was also the first recipe I was taught by my mum.

I’m not going to post a recipe, mainly because I don’t follow one, but also because there’s nowt special about my version. I just wanted to share with you a meal that takes me back to my childhood, and not just because I still need a bib when eating it. 🙂

Please leave me a comment and let me know what food takes you back to years gone by.