Rapid Ragu

One of my favorite Nigella recipes is for Rapid Ragu (a glorified meat sauce)...made some yesterday and Michael and I enjoyed it with some kitka bread.  Very nice indeed!  :)

I have to also mention that I added two teaspoons of curry spices (not in the recipe), and it made the meal have a more Indian flair, which was also nice.

Just a thought...

:)

Remember that chicken and mango curry I told you about?  Well, here is a pic...:)

Following the recipe?

People always think that they need to follow a recipe religiously in order to get the best out of the dish that they are making, but I tend to disagree.  Nigella has an awesome recipe for red mango curry with prawns, and I decided to change it up a little...instead of using prawns, I used chicken, and I also used chicken soup instead of stock.  The curry turned out so nice, and it has given me the confidence I need to follow a recipe, but also use whatever I have in the house!  :)

Nigella is making a chef of me yet...and she doesn't even know I exist!  :(

You all know that I love making cupcakes, and Nigella really inspired me to do so!  I made another batch the other day, and I think they came out brilliantly...

What do you think?  Please post a comment...:)

Ever heard of pork sausages with butter beans and tomato sauce?  I guess we have all thought about a combination like that at some point.  I tried this for Michael and I last night.  Turned out really good.  The trick is to ensure that the beans and the sausages are cooked through, so I would fry them in some olive oil first before you put them all together in a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes in a moderate oven...

Really awesome and easy food!  :)

I have always heard of welsh rarebit, and I have even seen Nigella prepare it before, but because of my weirdly dark aversion to English mustard, I have avoided the mere thought of it.  BUT, last night I found the strength to just take the dive and make it!  So I did... English mustard and all...and guess what?  It was fantastic!  It really is SO nice and SO easy!  All you need is bread (ciabatta or normal bread), cheese, eggs and yes, English mustard.  Bang it all into the oven and hey...:)

Thank you Nigella again for changing my cooking life!

Hi everyone!  Again, the Italian in me inspired me to create something special for supper last night.  I have always liked the idea Nigella has to use turkey meatballs and pasta.  Unfortunately, I was out of turkey last night, so I had to grab the next best thing, which was mini pork sausages.  All I did was put a pot of pasta on the stove, and brought that to the boil.  Then I snipped the mini pork sausages in half and fried them in some olive oil.  I added some fresh chopped tomatoes (flesh and all), some garlic, oregano, and vinegar.  I also added some salt and pepper to taste.  I banged all this into a large bowl, tossed it all together and hey presto!  :)

I find more and more that learning from Nigella makes me feel more confident in the kitchen.  You can obviously follow the recipe exactly, but dwell a little and see what you can come up with!

Here is a pic of the Italian dish...:)

I spent Saturday making a batch of Nigella's famous cupcakes for a friend's birthday party!  I also decided to make a cake out of the same batter and see how it would turn out...here are the results...

Thanks Nigella!!