About Me

We moved out to Portugal to live a frugal but better , simpler and peaceful life, our house is a very basic, semi ruin, up in the hills outside Figueiro Dos Vinhos, where we work our land, enjoy life with each other and our dogs, and hope to make the smallest carbon footprint we can,

Saturday 17 September 2011

New Ideas for Cabbage Recipe...

We have a bit of a glut of Red Cabbage at the mo, my lovely friend Marianne, suggested this... and we love it! I served it up with pork chop and potatoes and green beans...

one med red cabbage, shredded.
One large onuion sliced
One large cooking apple peeled and sliced finely  (I cant get cooking apples so used three med eating apples. )
3 cloves.
3 teaspoons of sugar.
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar. I used red as I had it...
And 1/4 pint of chicken stock.

Put all the ingredients together in a ovenproof dish and cook gently for around a couple of hours, the dish must be tightly sealed so the liquid doesnt escape and dry it out. It will cook in ts own juices and be absolutely delish....
We had some left, I chilled it and served it up with cold meat as a kind of pickly... the next day... lovely

Ricks Aubergine stuff.. Recipe..

Rick cooks them briefly in boiling water(large slices) then mashes them, puts them in a fying pan with thick sliced potatoes, and onions, a good glub of creamy coconut milk and lets them cook gently till the potato slices are cooked, then adds chopped peppers.... the peppers stay crunchy and fresh tasting....
Yummy served with grilled fish..

Stripy Aubergine Recipe.

We've been trying different ways to eat all our lovely big aubergines. The way Ive found we like them at the moment as the weather is so hot we BBQ them.
I also have a good griddle pan which I use for them often

So simple...
Mix together, juice of a squeezed lemon, sprinkling of salt, plenty of good olive oil, and a good teaspoon of lazy garlic (lazy garlic is the crushed stuff that comes in a jar)
Then cut up your aubergines into good thick slices. brush with the marinade on both sides and grill till all nice and stripy.... mmmm yum
I add different herbs too... Rosemary worked very well instead of garlic...
As did sage....

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Aubergine & Green pepper Rich Pasta sauce


As Ive no room left in the freezer and the aubergines and peppers are still pushing out tons of fruit, and look to continue for a while yet. Ive been making this pasta sauce.
In a large roasting tin, I use a good sized turkey tin.
Chop plenty of aubergines, peppers, onions and garlic, good dash of olive oil, and a large glug of balsamic vinegar. Then chop and add an equal amount of fresh tomatoes. Sprinkle with dried oregano and roast in the oven till all cooked down and thick and gloopy as in my tomoato puree recipe , which is here somewhere.
Blend with a hand wizzer, add a dash of sugar if needed. put into hot sterilised jars , cover top with olive oil and screw on lids tight . will store for all winter.
Good as pasta sauce, on pizza.