Falafel pittas...

I never really new what falafel was or how delicious and easy it is, until recently. I made this the other day in the house when there was nothing in the house for lunch for mum and I. Basically all you have to do is whizz up a mixture in a food processor and then squish into little patties and fry them on the pan for a few minutes, then pop them in a pitta with whatever you have handy... some lettuce, tomatoes, humous, or whats really nice is natural yougurt with some chopped mint. This is really good because the falafel can be a little dry sometimes.

Heres a recipe I used by Rachel Allen

Drain a tin of chickpeas and pop in the food processor along with 2 or 3 cloves or garlic, a teaspoon of both cumin and corriander, and some salt and pepper. Whizz it up, then mix in a spoon of flour and make into into small patties. Fry them on a medium to high heat in a bit of olive oil - they should take about 4 or 5 minutes. Yum Yum Yum.

Cabanosi

This dish is a popular one amongst the Caulwells, Its quick and easy to make and it can be varied easily depending on what ingredients you have in the house. I made it yesterday for myself and Laura for lunch. It might not have been the best option for lunch right before a hockey match but it was tasty all the same!

Recipe
1. Finely chop 1 or 2 large onions. Put on medium heat in frying pan with olive oil. Add 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic and 1 or 2 chopped red chillies (depending on how spicy you want leave the seeds in/out). Peel the thin skin off the chorizo sausage and slice very finely (tedious job). Add to the pan also. Cook altogether for about 10-15minutes... the longer the better I say. Add some tomato puree if you have some... about a spoon or so. Then add 2-3 tins of tomatoes. Preferrebly chopped. Bring to the boil and them simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Finely Chop up lots and lots of basil to the pot (can never have enough). This bit is optional - if you have a hand blended, take out about one third of the mixture and hand blend it and then return it to the pot - this will thicken the mixture and make it extra-yummy. Take the pan off the heat and add half a carton of cream (about 3/4 of a cup or so). Make sure it doesn't curdle as you add it. 9. Put back on the heat and bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I like to add a bit of red wine vinegar then too... its up to you. Its lovely served with pasta or rice and a fresh sprinkle of basil on top!

Waffles with rasperries and maple syrup

Yum Yum Yum. I just made these oh-so-delicious waffles for my folks, their friends and myself. Mum rang me from lidl the other day saying they had waffle makers so she got one and what do you know - I made waffles!

http://www.waffle-recipe.com/

Homemade praline ice-cream with red berry coulis

Mum and Dad had friends over last night for dinner and Mum cooked the most delicious dinner, finished off with this tasty ice-cream for dessert. I haven't gotten a chance to get the recipe off her yet but I will do soon! She did say it was quite easy to make though which is always a bonus. My sister Jos favourite ice-cream has always been Häagen-Dazs Pralines and Cream ice-cream, and in the last year or two its definitely made its way into my top 3! Anyway, this homemade ice-cream is similar enough, but doesn't have the same smooth-caramel texture that the Häagen-Daz version has, but its without a doubt worth a try.

Sunday grub

Today both myself and Eva and the rest of the family (minus one plus one) had a big Sunday dinner at home home. Mum pulled out all the stops. To start, we had falafel with lemon and a cucumber and yogurt sauce. The fresh herbs and spices gave the little balls of chick pea joy a nice, delicate flavour. Then we had 'the famous goose'. I call it the famous goose because mum has been trying to get us together for ages to eat this goose that she had in the freezer. And today was the day. The famous goose was cooked to a golden crispy perfection. The spuds were impregnated with the flavour of the delicious goosey fat. The gravy came from the very unappetizing goose gizzards. There were also leeks in cheese sauce, and for me, the star of the show, cheesy parsnips. Mum boiled them on the hob, then mashed them up to a thick and chunky consistency. She added creme fraiche, lots of grated cheese and some seasoning, and mixed it all up and tipped it into an oven dish. Then she topped it off with even more grated cheese, and baked it. Oh wow. It was delicious.
Dessert was courtesy of Joanna. She made a perfect pavalova. The centre was light and gooey and the outside lovely and crispy crumbly. She put whipped cream and raspberries (or razzleberries as Sally would say) on top. They're not quite in season, but they were reduced in Tesco and were too lovely to resist! This pavalova recipe
 has been knocking around our house and among our friends for years and is still one of our favourite desserts.

Pizza Saturday

Yesterday I was a little bit under the weather and not really up to cooking a big feast. But this didn't effect my appetite, and I still fancied something tasty for dinner! Homemade pizzas are already pretty easy, but if you buy the bases ready made, they couldn't be simpler. I made a tomato sauce with some good quality tinned tomatoes, loads of torn fresh basil, fresh chilli, crushed garlic and some seasoning. Then with some sliced chorizo, fresh mozzarella and a little grated parmesan... pizza heaven. With only 12 minutes or so in the oven, they're so quick and easy. Oh and they can be really fun if you have a few people over and everyone makes up their own pizzas from a selection of toppings. Personally, a straightforward pizza with some spicy sausage is unbeatable. Myself and my housemates scoffed two pizzas and were very happy with ourselves! (Pictures to follow!)

Sweet potato and chorizo stew

I've just made this dish after a long day in college for my folks and I've been craving it all day and it did the trick perfectly!

This delicious stew is a real winter-warmer. It doesn't take too long to make and its a great crowd pleaser. Also, one of the best things about it is that its a great dish to make on a budget!