A Flirtatious Marriage Blog

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#Inspire and #love 

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#RecipeOfTheDay #aflirtatiousmarriage #capellavanryan this is a constant repeater in my winter kitchen. So grateful to the day when I first started making this annual deliciousness. Each time I make it, it gets better and better, richer and richer. More depth of flavor. More rich in colour. Upon this years first frost and the crisp crunch upon the icy ground, it plays a tune, the tune of winter, my nose turns pink then red. I look like Rudolph a month and a half too early. I feel the coldness nip my ivory skin and I know winter has truly made its way and this makes me very, very happy. So it was an easy one to call, what I would make today in my country kitchen. 

Don’t know about you, but I’m feel Christmasy really earlier this year, now Halloween has been and bowed out for yet another year. 

1 Sweat the onions in a frying pan for 5 minutes. Add a fresh batch of mushrooms. Then add the minced beef. Using a wooden spoon to ensure the mince is completely broken up into small individual pieces. No large Clumps welcomed to this party LOL. Unless that is of course your desired finale.   

2 Once everything is golden brown add tomato passa, either shop bought or homemade. (In all my recipes I make my own.) To the mixture add red wine vinegar, red wine, tomato purée, beef stock. Allow to boil for 10 minutes. Then add all the other dry ingredients; dried onions, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, Chinese 5 spice, herbs, black pepper, salt, pepper corns, garlic, Cayenne pepper, chilli flakes, chilli salt. Allow to cook for 2 hours.  

3 Serve with boiled rice, chips, potato wedges, mash potatoes or quinoa. Whichever sparks your keen interest. Perhaps with a wrap or flat bread on the side. Toasted even (my personal fav). Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Possibilities are endless. Either serve immediately once the rice or other sides have been cooked or better leave to rest overnight for all the flavors to become intensified. However you have your bon appetite.  

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

Do yourself a favor, Decode your brain from everything you ever knew about the humble baked beans. Fall in love with a new adventurous find.  

My exceedingly special version two, baked beans, I proudly christened. Oh, so easy to make, oh so easy to eat, the only weekend or midweek comfort snack you will need these wintry nights. All it takes is a little bit of patients. At the end, I promise you now, you will be rewarded with an awful lot of delectable pleasure. A mouth bursting with flavors. And a smile upon your lips for this great deed you have rewarded upon yourself.    

 The Recipe:

1 large tin Haricot Beans

1 Medium sized tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons tomato puree

Beef stock

Soy sauce

Black Pepper

Pepper Corn

Herbs: Rosemary – Sage – Thyme – Bay Leaf

Splotch Chinese 5 Spice

Splotch Cumin

 Method:

Combine all the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and allow to slowly boil on a medium heat for 30 minutes. Then reduce to a low heat and allow to cook for an additional 3 hours. After that allow to simmer before either serving or transferring to the fridge.

 Tip:

For the best taste experience allow to sit overnight, allowing the flavours to intensify and the sauce to thicken and enrich.

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

#APPLE #CRUMBLE 

A #throwback from a couple of weeks ago, because I’m making this tomorrow especially for #Halloween. 

Will record the entire process for you guys. 

Do something today to make yourself #smile. You are #special. 

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

A true #winter #warmer #Chilli, my households fav for warming up and feeling relaxed within the rooms of our home.  

1 Sweat the onions in a frying pan for 5 minutes. Then add mushrooms. Then add the minced beef. Using a wooden spoon to ensure the mince is completely broken up into small individual pieces. No large Clumps welcomed to this party LOL. Unless of course, that’s your thing.   

2 Once everything is golden brown add tomato passa, either shop bought or homemade. (In all my recipes I make my own. Will share a recipe for this soon.)  To the mixture add red wine vinegar, red wine, tomato purée, beef stock. Allow to boil for 10 minutes. Then add all the other dry ingredients; dried onions, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, Chinese 5 spice, herbs, black pepper, salt, pepper corns, garlic, Cayenne pepper, chilli flakes, chilli salt. Allow to cook for 2 hours.  

3 Serve with boiled rice, chips, potato wedges, mash potatoes, polenta or quinoa. Whichever sparks your keen interest. Perhaps with a wrap or flat bread on the side. Toasted even (my personal fav). Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Possibilities are endless. Either serve immediately once the rice or other sides have been cooked or better leave to rest overnight for all the flavors to become intensified. However you have yours

Bon appetite.

Buon appetito

Disfrute de su comida

Smaklig måltid

Ha et godt måltid

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

1 Juice 1 lemon, juice 1 orange into a medium lidded saucepan. Add a quarter cup of chicken stock. Add a quarter cup of olive oil and bring to the boil on medium heat. Allow to bubble and add the chicken breasts. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, Italian herbs, salt, pepper, pepper corns, paprika, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Allow to cook for 1 hour. Only turning the chicken once.    

2 In a frying pan add olive oil, paprika, black pepper, salt, herbs, and onion powder. Cube the potatoes and throw into the frying pan tossing every angle of the potatoes. Allow to cook for 45 minutes or until the largest potatoes are thoroughly cooked through. I tend to use a large lid to keep them covered.

3 In a frying pan sautee 1 red bell pepper, 2 scallions and 3 small carrots Julienne, for ten minutes or until the carrots are cooked, and the pepper and scallions are lightly golden. Once the vegetables are ready serve immediately.

This is the quicker version of cooking it, but for ultimately heavenly results, allow the chicken to cook between 1-2 hours. Nurturing it every 25 minutes or so. The more love you give to it, the more you’ll love it when you tuck in. 

Bon appétit

Buon appetito

Disfrute de su comida

Smaklig måltid

Ha et godt måltid

Hyvää ruokahalua

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

My exceedingly special, version two, baked beans. Oh, so easy to make, oh so easy to eat, the only weekend or midweek comfort snack you will need. All it takes is a little bit of patients. At the end, I promise you now, you will be rewarded with an awful lot of delectable pleasure. A mouth bursting with flavors. And a smile upon your lips for this great deed you have rewarded upon yourself.     

The Recipe:

1 large tin Haricot Beans

1 Medium sized tomato sauce (jar)

2 Tablespoons tomato puree 

Beef stock

Soy sauce

Black Pepper

Pepper Corn

Herbs: Rosemary – Sage – Thyme – Bay Leaf

Splotch Chinese 5 Spice

Splotch Cumin

 Method:

Combine all the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and allow to slowly boil on a medium heat for 30 minutes. Then reduce to a low heat and allow to cook for an additional 3 hours. After that allow to simmer before either serving immediately or transferring to the fridge.

 Tip:

For the best taste experience allow to sit overnight, allowing the flavors to intensify and the sauce to thicken and enrich.

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

Perfect for a Sunday treat or a day barricaded in the house from a wild raging out of control storm. Either way, this is the pure definition of autumn to me. Rich, sweet and simply delicious.

1 Bring to a boil a pot of kettle boiled water, add brown sugar and lemon juice. Once the liquid comes to a boil, add the sliced and cored apples. Reduce heat to medium. Allow to boil for 10 mins. Meanwhile preheat the oven.  

2 After 10 minutes add cranberries and raisins. Allow the pot to boil for an additional 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, allow to stand and simmer for 10 minutes. You still want liquid remaining the pot. Do not allow to boil dry. This will help to create a sauce making the mixture moist but rich in flavor.

3 Prepare a baking tray. Drizzle on the base of the tray vanilla and honey. Add the pot of stewed apples cranberries and raisins. For the topping sprinkle, a tablespoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle the rolled oats, not heavy handily, but enough to cover the majority of the fruit, leaving some gaps. Then smash up a bunch of plain sugar biscuits and sprinkle over, with a flattering dusting. In places where gaps remain from the oats, fill these with crunchy biscuits. Drizzle in a zigzag motion the honey. Take the remainder of your orange and lemon and zest, and juice. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the edges are bubbling and rich.    

4 For the vanilla cream sauce. Trying different elements, I always like to make my own from scratch. Today I didn’t fancy venturing out into the wicked wind of the north. So, I used a can of ready-made vanilla cream, custard will work just the same. I warmed through in a small pan. Then added a sprinkle of All Spice, an additional splosh of vanilla essences and a spoonful of caramel sauce. It only takes a couple of minutes to warm through, in so doing, all the levels melt and blend into one heavenly rich sauce.

The next day I make this I will use my from scratch method and share.

[aflirtatiousmarriage]

Step 1) Roast your favorite sausages in the oven on a high heat for 20 minutes. I used beef sausages infused with herb and garlic and barbecue sausage.  

Step 2) Then turn off the heat altogether, allow the sausages to remain in the oven as you continue with the rest of the recipe.  

Step 3) Boil a kettle of water. Then bring the pasta to a boil in a large saucepan. This is the time to add salt, pepper corns, herbs & lemon juice. Fresh is always best, but don’t feel bad if you use the bottled stuff. Each to their own. No judgement here.  

Step 4) When the pasta has been cooked for about 5 minutes, turn off the hob, and cover with a lid, allowing to complete the cooking process gently for an additional 5 minutes. This helps to prevent overcooking and mushy pasta. This is never a good thing LOL.  

Step 5) Meanwhile, remove the sausages from the oven and chop into cute indigent stumps. Throw back into the oven dish and replace them in the heat from which they were removed.  

Step 6) Now is the perfect time to heat up a frying pan, sprinkle in a good strong bodied flavorful olive oil and throw in a bunch of chunky chopped mushrooms and rose onions. (Red and White will do just as well). Decorate with a good lashing of pepper corns. (And salt if you desire.) As they cook, no need to pamper them with your precious time. Grate you’re favorite cheese or if its the weekend or a special occasion, or you just feel like giving yourself some much needed love and affection, you can combine cheeses. To self love is not a sin. The sin comes when you do not self love and appreciate. 

Step 7) Strain the pasta. Toss back into its original pot. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of olive oil over the pasta, another coating of rosemary and thyme. If you enjoy a true Mediterranean  flavor, now would be the time to add another splash of lemon juice. Otherwise leave it here. Gently but thoroughly dance the pasta about in its bath. Add the generous nest of cheese to it and give only one decent stir. Allow a few moments to melt, and stick indiscriminately to the little Italian Soldiers. 

Step 8) While the cheese is melting take a handful of black olives and chop into half. 

Step 9) All your work has come to an end, its the moment to dish out and allow your taste buds to flow with anticipation. Spoon out a generous helping of pasta, and upon the pasta nest, spoon over the wilted onions and mushrooms. Next, your favorite sausages. Olives. Another delectable lashing of cheese. Veil this mounted beauty with a pinch of black pepper, salt, and/or rosemary. 

Bon Appetit                                                                                                    Buon Appetito                                                                              Disfrute de su comida                                                                              Nyt Maltidet                                                                                Smaklig Maltid