Oatmeal Stuffing

Ingredients
200g coarse oatmeal
100g Atora-light vegetarian suet
1 onion, chopped finely
salt and black pepper
a pinch of dried thyme

Method
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and then use the mixture to fill the cavity of a large ready-to-roast chicken using a spoon. This is the quantity for a large chicken. When the chicken has been roasted, the oatmeal stuffing will be moist and delicious. This is a traditional Scottish stuffing, sometimes called skirlie, and can be used in turkey or pheasant as well, using the same proportions but altering quantities to suit the size of bird.

Christmas Cake, Part 3

The Christmas Cake is wrapped in greasproof paper, then aluminium foil. It has been labelled and it will be stored in an unheated cupboard (I always put it in the cupboard in the dining room) for two months. About ten days before Christmas it will get its layer of almond paste and a week later, royal icing.

More to follow!

Christmas Cake, Part 2

Following baking, the cake cools in its tin next to a freshly-baked granary loaf. It smells gorgeous!

The cake mixture is ready to bake.

The batter mixture sets rather than rise the way a Victoria Sponge would.

BAKING THE CAKE

Measure out

175g Lurpak Lighter

175g dark muscovado sugar

3 eggs

50g self-raising flour

100g plain flour

1 tablespoon black treacle (didn't have any, so used golden syrup)

1 tsp. ground mixed spice

Beat very well together in a food mixer for 3 minutes.

Stir in 50g blanched chopped almonds (this year I used walnuts instead). Stir in all the soaked fruit and sherry (see Christmas Cake, Part 1)

Grease and line an 8 inch/20 cm round cake tin (or a 7 inch/18 cm square tin). Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and level off the top. Put the cake on to a rack in the simmering oven of the Aga for 4 - 10 hours. When cooked, a warm skewer pierced through the centre of the cake will come out clean. If not cooked yet, bake for another 30 minutes or so and test again. Leave to cool in the tin.

In a conventional oven

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Wrap the tin in brown paper or newspaper and tie it with string. This is to protect the outside of the cake from burning. Bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but don't look until at least 4 hours have passed. A fan-assisted oven may need to be set at a slightly lower temperature.

A low fat cooked breakfast

Two lightly grilled turkey rashers, grilled mushrooms, a grilled tomato (with herbs) and a grilled hash brown. Poach an egg to accompany.

Beefburgers

Burgers are easy to make and are so much nicer home-made than bought. For each burger, use 125g minced beef, season well with salt and pepper. They can be bulked out with fresh breadcrumbs and/ or finely chopped onions and they are nice too. Form the burger shape and grill or BBQ. Serve in a burger bun with lettuce, tomato slices, onion rings, gherkins and ketchup, crisps and coke or lager.

Granny's Lentil Soup

Granny makes lovely Lentil Soup! This is how it's done.

Ask the butcher for a ham bone and add it to 3 pints of water in a large pan. If you don't have a bone, use two ham stock cubes with the 3 pints of water.

Measure out 200g red lentils and chop (roughly, if you are going to blend the finished soup; finely, if not) 200g each of onions, carrots and swede. Add a sprig of parsley if you have one. Add these to the water and ham. Grind in some black pepper, but don't add salt, because the ham bone may be salty.

Bring this to a simmer. Scum will form on the top if you have used a fresh meat bone. This can be removed, or stirred in.

Allow the soup to simmer gently for one hour.

In the meantime, find something peaceful to do - read a book!

Finally, remove the bone, liquidise the soup and check the seasoning. Finish with freshly chopped parsley.

If you are not going to blend the soup smooth, remove the bone and the parsley sprig and stir through freshly chopped parsley. (Sometimes it's nice to blend half the soup so that you get a textured soup.)

Serves 8


There are one or two things you can do with the meat from the ham bone. You can give it to the lucky dog, as I did, or you can shred it and stir it into the soup or you can use it for a sandwich or to add to a risotto. The meat today was delicious and would have made a lovely ham roll!

Leek and Potato Soup

Leek and potato soup can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Even the most basic of recipes ends up as one of the tastiest soups around. The variants include serving it smooth or chunky, or with other ingredients added. Not only is leek and potato soup extremely tasty, it is almost foolproof and you will always end up with a very edible soup. It's quick to prepare and freezes well.
Below is the quickest, simplest leek and potato soup recipe.

Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
Four medium leeks trimmed
Two medium potatoes
Medium onion
1 litre Chicken stock, fresh or water and two stock cubes
225 ml Milk
2 tablespoons Butter
¼ teaspoon Pepper
¼ teaspoon Salt

(optional ingredients)
Fresh chopped chives or parsley.
Four tablespoons of cream or creme fraiche.
I like to add a stick of celery and ¼ teaspoon curry powder in the initial sweating of the vegetables.

Method
Wash the leeks and slice off the tough top green parts. Remove the tough outer layer. Chop the leeks finely. The best way to do this is to slice them lengthwise into three sections then gather the sections and chop them. Put the chopped leeks in a colander and rinse them thoroughly. Soil particles and grit is often present in the outer layers of the leeks.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes, roughly 2cm / ¾ in cubes.
If using stock cubes, dissolve them in boiling water.

1.Melt butter in a pan on a medium heat.
2.Turn the heat to low then add the leeks, onions and potatoes to the pan. Add seasonings. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Stir the vegetables twice whilst cooking.
3.Add the stock to the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened and cooked through. Add the milk and warm through.

Your soup is now cooked and ready to serve. The texture of the soup will be chunky. If you prefer a less chunky texture, let the soup cool for 5 minutes and then either blend for 30 seconds in a food processor or mash the soup with a potato masher (it will still not be smooth).
Reheat the soup until it just starts to boil and serve.
If you want to improve the presentation then add a tablespoon of cream to the centre of each bowl of soup and swirl it round gently with a spoon.
Sprinkle the chopped parsley or chives over the top.