The dining room at Rodells, Watford

And first prize for best dressed houseboat on the Cam goes to....

There's an absolutely awesome houseboat on the River Cam, just around the corner from my house, that makes me smile every time I walk past. All summer, there was a hilarious Barbie doll Wimbledon court set up on the roof, of which I regrettably didn't get a photo!

Today, as I wandered along the river into town for lunch with a friend (Thai Chicken Salad at Giraffe, yummy!!), I spotted the best homemade Christmas scene EVER. Perched on top of the houseboat was a snowy land of tinsel trees, sparkling silver horse-drawn carriage, and a Narnia-esque Snow Queen!!

Fabulous! :-)

Gorgeous pilaf / biryani dish using frozen veg, basmati rice, chicken and not much else!



This is my favourite "store cupboard" recipe at the moment; for times when I fancy something tasty but can't be bothered to go shopping for lots of fresh ingredients. You can make it as spicy or mild as you like (or let the heat be guided by the variety of curry paste you happen to have in the kitchen if you're lazy like me!).

What you need:

Chicken breast pieces
Onion - diced
Ground cumin
Ground turmeric
Chicken oxo cube - made up to stock of about 300ml
Cardamon pods
Garam Masala
Curry paste - vindaloo is good for a spicy kick, or tikka paste is full of flavour but milder
Basmati rice (one portion)
Frozen veg - like green beans / peas
Frozen leaf spinach
Creme fraiche to serve (optional)

1. Fry the onion in a little oil in a big pot, on a low heat, until soft. Add about a tsp each of ground cumin and ground turmeric (or similar indian spices, if you don't have those in the cupboard).
2. Boil some water and make up chicken stock (about 300ml - 400ml depending on how much rice you use). Add a couple of cardamon pods and a good shake of garam masala. Stir and leave to infuse.
3. Add chicken cut into pieces to the pot and fry until coloured on the outside.
4. Add about 2 tsp of curry paste and the basmati rice to the pan and stir through for about one minute.
5. Pour in the stock and stir through.
6. If you are using large pieces of frozen vegetables (such as broccoli), add them now, bring to the boil and cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to let it stick! Keep stirring regularly if in doubt!
7. Add the remaining vegetables and the frozen spinach (nestle them into the rice) and leave the lid off with the mixture simmering for about another 10 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or natural yoghurt and some fresh coriander! Voila!

Enjoy :-)

A hotty but a goody!

I brought back a bottle of Mojo Picon (canary chili sauce) from Gran Canaria earlier this year as lots of dishes in the restaurants we went to contained it and it gave a nice kick in a kind of fruity way! Whilst on holiday we cooked a chicken smothered in it one night in our apartment (I think in the microwave if I recall correctly!!) and had it with salad and rice and it was absolutely delicious! On the last night of the holiday we ate at a fantastic restaurant on the little square off the harbour in Puerto de Mogan. It was very traditional and rustic, with friendly staff, authentic embroidered table cloths and wall hangings, and little maritime artefacts and lanterns hanging around our heads. "La Bodega" served us a tapas selection of traditional Canarian Delights - including potatoes cooked in canarian sauce and also succulent rabbit in the picon sauce - plenty of chili, garlic, peppers and a warming fruity sauce.

Last week we experimented with the last few dollops of sauce, having only used it on unoriginal things like chips and pizza until now, and created this curry. We used beef but I think chicken would be fab with it.

Ingredients:

Beef or chicken
Red onion, chopped
Garlic, pressed
Celery, chopped
Jalapeno or similar chili, in rings
Chopped tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree
Chickpeas, drained
Red wine
Canary chili sauce
Seasoning
Fresh coriander leaf, roughly chopped
Rice
Lemon juice

I really did chuck it all together and guess quantities, to taste, but here are some rough instructions:

1. Fry the cubed meat off in a large, deep frying pan in olive oil until no pink bits remain - I squeezed half a lemon over the meat before I started cooking

2. Add chopped onions, garlic and celery and soften on a fairly low heat

3. Squeeze a generous amount of tomato puree over the meat and veg and add the canary chili sauce according to your spice threshold - I dribbled over about a tablespoon altogether

4. Coat everything with the sauce, and use like a paste

5. Once coated and frying nicely, add the tin of tomatoes, allow to boil, season, stir and pop a lid on, leaving to simmer on a very low heat for as long as you like

6. When you are happy with the consistency of the sauce and that your meat is cooked through / tender enough according to your liking, remove the lid and reduce down slightly whilst you cook the rice

7. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with haricots verts or similar, and lemon wedges if you desire

Photo to follow next time I make it - I didn't expect it to be nice enough to blog about :D

Enjoy! :-)