Recipes

Delicious Thai Chicken Satay, with sautéed Thai vegetables served with steamed brown rice.

This is always a tasty favourite. It looks great, and here’s a secret..... It’s pretty easy to make. It is actually rather healthy when prepared from scratch. It has the requisite levels of protein to ensure that you stay fuller for longer. It is flavoursome and when served with the right additions is a very healthy nutritious meal.  

Chicken Satay has been one of my favourites; in fact, it’s become a bit of an addiction. From the point of sampling it from a street vender in Jakarta whilst travelling, I just can’t seem to get enough of it. Satay is enjoyed and devoured from pretty much everywhere across Asia to the Middle East. The Chinese, Thai, Indonesians, Egyptians and Moroccans to name but a few absolutely love it, and rather excitingly each having their own independent takes on it!  

Ingredients

Free Range Chicken breasts (1 per person)

Tin of coconut milk.

Lumpy peanut butter.

Soy sauce.

Lemon juice.

Chilli flakes.

Pak Choi

Green Runner Beans, Mange Tout, Sugar Snap Peas, or Broccoli.

Sesame seeds/ Mixed seeds.

Kebab skewers.

Method

Chicken Satay

Slice the chicken breast lengthwise, approx 4 times, so you have a piece of chicken which is approx 5 cm long, 1- 2 cm depth, 2cm wide. Pull the pieces of chicken, lengthwise and vertically. You should have about 2/3 skewers per person.

In a mixing bowl add 2 parts peanut butter to 1 part coconut milk. Add a pinch of chilli flakes (season to taste) add a half a table spoon of soy sauce, and half a table spoon of fresh lemon juice. Mix this all together. This should form a reasonably sticky yet runny paste. Place some of the mixture into a ramekin, so you can use this as a dipping sauce. Lay the chicken skewers on some tinfoil. Coat the chicken skewers in the satay mix. It is best to do this with your hands. If you have time, leave to marinate for 2/3 hours. Don’t worry if you don’t have time, it will still taste beautiful.

Cooking Times

Grill on each side for 7-10 minutes, at grill level 3 or 4.

Thai Vegetables

Cut the vegetables listed above (a selection of these or all whatever you can get your hands on) into bite size chunks. For beans and mange touts, just trim these.  Heat a wok with a table spoon full of olive oil on a medium heat. Add the veg. Add 2 table spoons of soy sauce. Add a pinch of chilli flakes. Add a table spoon of lemon juice. Sautee for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a palm full of sesame seed/ mixed nuts.

Remember put your brown rice on to boil 10 minutes before you start grilling the kebabs.

Presentation

Once everything is cooked, it really does look great to present the veg in a small bowl, with the satay placed to the side of the plate. The remainder of the plate should include the rice. You can also make a rice ‘sandcastle’ which aesthetically looks great. Simply buy a rice mould, or get a small angular bowl to use as your mould.  Add black pepper to the top of the rice mound and garnish with some chopped coriander.

Don’t forget your dip!

Tuck in and enjoy! You better eat fast or I may pinch it. J

How to make Awesome Fairy Cakes

How to make Awesome Fairy Cakes

Fairy Cakes allow you to spread a little magic, be it to say “Happy Birthday”, “Thank You”, or “Get Well Soon”.

The Traditional Fairy Cakes have their sponge wings places on the top of the cake, but you can mix up decorating them, add organic chocolate powder to create decadent chocolate fairy cakes.

Below is my full proof recipe which will show you how to create a moist light fairy cake. What’s even better is that this recipe takes between 10-15 minutes to prepare. Get creative, mix it up in terms of decoration. Make the fairy cakes really magical. Spread the love!!!!

Ingredients

Self raising flour 8oz/ 225g (or a cup full)

Caster sugar 8oz/ 225g (or a cup full)

Good Quality Margarine 8 oz/ 225g (or a cup full)

4 Free Range Eggs

2 teaspoons of baking powder.  

Vanilla extract/ pod (optional)

Toppings

Choose from whipped cream.

Or The Cooking Fairy’s favourite- Mascarpone, icing sugar and lemon juice.

Sprinkle stars, balls, sweeties, chocolate........

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 Degrees. Put into a mixing bowl the sugar and the margarine, mix together with a hand whisk, add the eggs, whisk, add the flour, and add the baking powder and vanilla extract.  Mix together.

Place the mixture into bun cases. I always find that to make the most tasty, and impressive Fairy Cakes, you should use a muffin case. Think presentation and decoration, muffin cases come in different colours, patterns and so on. What will look most fun?!

Put the Fairy Cakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them to see that they do not burn. You can test if the cakes are cooked by placing a skewer into the cake. If the skewer comes back clean; the cakes are cooked.

Leave these to cool for 30 mins- 1 hour.

Then get decorating!

Best! :-)

The Cooking Fairy

Sumptuous Spanish Chicken with Creamy Sweet Potato Mash.

This is always a family favourite, and can be made with chicken thighs, chicken legs (which are really tasty and cheaper) or chicken breasts. I would recommend chicken breasts to ensure optimum health benefits. This recipe combines the required protein, and is full of vitamins and minerals which are derived from the vegetables used prepare the casserole. The Sweet Potato is an excellent alternative to normal mashing potatoes such as King Edwards. The nutritional value of the sweet potato is higher, and has a lower Glycemic Index (GI). This means it is slow burning and therefore you will have more energy, and less dips in your blood sugar levels! The sweet potato is clearly win win super veg! What’s better is this recipe should take 15/25 minutes to prepare. (Dependent on how fast you can chop!!) All you need to do is bang it in the slow cooker/ oven. Hey presto!!!

Ingredients

Free Range Chicken (1 breast per person)

Peppers

Onion (red or white)

Courgettes

Cherry Tomatoes.

Tinned Tomatoes.

Sweet potatoes.

Low fat crème fraiche. (Optional) Alternatively use butter and a hint of full fat milk.

Store Cupboard essentials

Balsamic Vinegar.

Brown organic sugar.

Black pepper.

Garlic.

Dried herbs, including basil and oregano.

Fresh Basil or Thyme to garnish.

Chicken/ Veg Stock

Method:-

1.       Dice the chicken into reasonably small chunks. Dice the onion. Using a garlic press for speed, crush the garlic. Throw these items into a wok and brown. Using a slow cooker/ casserole dish set the setting to “low” or your oven to 190 degrees. Dice the pepper, courgette into good sized chunks. Add all the ingredients (except the peppers) to the slow cooker. Add a small cup of chicken/ vegetable stock. Add two table spoons full of balsamic vinegar to the dish; add one table spoon of sugar. Add a teaspoon of basil, and a teaspoon of oregano. Add a sprig of thyme. Season with black pepper.

2.       I would always recommend really tasting the sauce. You are tasting for sweetness, the flavour of the tomatoes and garlic. The balsamic vinegar should really give it a tang! If you are not happy with the flavours, add a little balsamic, or sugar to taste.

3.       Give it a good stir.

4.       Leave this to cook for the day (if you are using the slow cooker.)

5.       If you are using the oven leave for 30 minutes at 190 degrees.

6.       When you get in, or after the 30 minutes, add the peppers to the dish for a further 15 minutes. These now won’t be over cooked.

7.       Before serving add 2 handfuls of basil to the dish and stir so it wilts slightly but remains bright green and fresh!

8.       For the sweet potato mash, simply peel and boil your potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until soft to a fork. Mash the sweet potato with a masher, and add a tablespoon of crème fraiche/ a knob of butter and splash of milk to taste.

9.       Now remember presentation is always the key! If you are making amazing tasting food, you want it to look amazing also! Spoon the sweet potato mash into a plate/ bowl. Leave a section in the middle to hold the casserole. Spoon the casserole on top of the sweet potato mash, and garnish with freshly ripped basil leaves. Wipe off any spilt casserole off the plate/ bowl with a paper towel.

Let me know what you think!  Cant wait to hear from you!!! :-)