Say NO to Takeaway: Make a Thai Pork and Sweet Potato Curry Instead!

When you have someone visiting or staying over with you, it can be all too tempting to just dial-in a takeaway to save the hassle of cooking. There's nothing wrong with that of course. But at least consider the option of cooking instead of reaching for that menu. Make your guests feel loved, make them something :-)

Here is my sister Hungrier Jemma and her fiance Steven, looking very pleased indeed with the Thai Pork and Sweet Potato Curry I greeted them with, when they came down to visit me in Chichester last weekend. They had driven all the way down from Norwich. Since they were due to arrive in the late evening, I figured they would want some dinner on arrival (there's a reason why my sister is called Hungrier Jemma after all!)

This dish is not overly complicated, despite the long-looking list of ingredients and recipe steps. The cooking time is only about 20 minutes, but you do need to prep well.

You can marinade your pork just before cooking, setting it aside as you go to chop your veg and put the rice on etc - then by the time you come to fry the pork, it's all nicely marinaded. Personally, I prefer to marinade meat overnight where possible, but that just doesn't always happen.

When I boil the water for the rice, I put another pan on to boil the sweet potatoes as well. After turning the rice down to a simmer, I finish prepping my veg and then fire up the wok to start frying up the pork and everything. During this, the potatoes finish cooking so I set them aside to cool, adding them into the wok towards the end.

By the time you have cooked the curry through, the rice will be done too. And even if it bings before you have finished the curry, just leave the rice off the heat with the lid on. Not only to keep it warm, but to make it nice and fluffy too :-)

Present the dish to your guests, and hopefully they will look as pleased as Hungrier Jemma and Steven did!

See, you can't go wrong really, can you?

Thai Pork and Sweet Potato Curry

Print-friendly recipe

Serves 4:

450g pork, diced
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp honey
Zest of 1 lime
325g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
75g onion, chopped
2 yellow peppers, chopped
100g mushrooms, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
150ml coconut milk
Handful of fresh coriander
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
3 tbsp creme fraiche

375g basmati rice
475ml boiling water

1) Mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and zest in a large bowl. Add the pork and leave to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
2) Wash and drain the rice. Add to a pot with the water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat right down, cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
3) Gently boil the sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes until just done. Drain and allow to cool.
4) Add the oil to a hot wok. Fry the pork for about 5 minutes to brown.
5) Mix in the pepper, mushrooms, spring onions and sweet potato, tossing well.
6) Pour in the coconut milk and allow it to come to the boil. Turn down and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes.
7) Carefully stir through the coriander and mint.
8) Take the wok off the heat, then spoon in the creme fraiche, mixing well.

You can then serve with the steamed rice on the side, or mix the rice through the curry in the wok before dishing up.

If you liked this, you might want to try making these other takeaway alternatives too.

More porky recipes that might take your fancy. Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day Faux Pas: Orange and Flatmeg Tart

This was meant to be a delightful Orange and Nutmeg Tart.

Nice idea, poor execution.

Can I just say upfront that this mess is my own doing of course. It looks like I accidentally made toast again. Erk.

I should have realised from the start that it was going to go wrong, when I struggled with the pastry. As I went to roll it out, it just kept sticking and falling apart everywhere. And it was shop-bought pastry! How rude. This always happens with the sweet shortcrust pastry I buy for some reason. Never again.

After piecing the pastry together in the tin and blind-baking it, I went on to make the filling. That bit was fine. Then I came to pour it into the pastry base.

Couldn't. Quite. Spread. Out. Enough.

Yes, I had totally underestimated how much filling I needed for the pastry base I had made. No way was I going to faff around making extra, so I just shrugged and baked it anyway. A stupid part of me did think that it might magically grow in the oven.

But of course, it didn't.

The result? A sorry-looking flatmeg tart.

(Still tasted alright though.)

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.

Fancy a laugh at my other Hungry-Jenny-Faux-Pas? Continue reading this post..

Chocolate Marble Shortbread (sort of)

I had this notion of creating beautiful swirls of chocolate in this shortbread...

...but as it turns out, it's quite a difficult look to achieve!

I'll admit, I'm not sure I went the right way about it. The dough I was working with was quite tough - not exactly roll-out-able. I had separated it into two parts - one with cocoa powder and chocolate chips, the other with just the chips, and stuck them in the fridge to chill for a while. I figured, as with pastry, that you need to let it rest before rolling out. But when I took them out, they were pretty firm. I let them sit out on the counter before trying to roll out, but it really wasn't happening.

Hm, dilemma.

I started ripping pieces off either section, sort of squeezed them together, then pushed and flattened it into the baking tray. This seemed to work, so I proceeded to do this with the rest of the dough.

Yes, proper baking skills here.

It was looking a bit lumpy and bumpy on top - probably because of the random way I was pressing the stuff in. But after smoothing it over with a knife (ok, forcing the mixture across because it was still a bit tough), it was looking quite decent.

Into the oven it went, with fingers crossed...

Phew! It still looked like shortbread. I've taken out the chilling of the dough in the recipe that follows, because it's just not necessary. Still need to do the pressing and squeezing of the dough though (until I work out a proper way of doing the marbled effect).

*ssh* no-one needs to know that this whole method is a bit hap-hazard. At least it still tastes good.

Chocolate Marble Shortbread

Print-friendly recipe

For a 7 x 12.5" brownie tin (28 squares):

300g plain flour
50g cornflour
250g butter, diced, at room temperature
100g sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
100g chocolate chips

1) Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Mix the flours in a large bowl. Rub in the butter to a breadcrumb mixture.
2) Add the sugar and chocolate chips, and carefully mix together until it starts to come together.
3) Cut the mixture in two. Mix the cocoa into one half.
4) Rip sections of either piece, squeeze together, then press into your lined baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough until the tray is filled.
5) Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly golden - it should still be slightly soft when you take it out.

The shortbread will firm up a little as it cools, but will remain deliciously crumbly, as shortbread should be, when you come to eat it.

More Hungry Jenny cakes and cookies! Continue reading this post..

Lardy Jen

You know how there are some things in life that always makes you laugh whenever you hear it?

Well excuse my immaturity, but Lardy Cake is one of them.

I first saw this mass of Lardy Cake last year at the local market I usually buy my fruit and veg at. I was with a couple of my friends and we bought one immediately.

Just one? Hungry Jenny was going to share? Erm, look back at that photo folks and take in the massiveness of that Lard. Even after splitting it four-ways, it was only just enough to take! I don't think I could manage a whole one. I'm sure my body would seize up.

When I wandered past the stall again yesterday with my sister and her fiance, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo. Yes, it was a bit embarassing, standing there looking so hungry that I wanted to eat the wrapper as well, but it's the sign that makes me laugh:

"Bun dough with sugar and loads of lard folded and melted at the bottom. Not exactly a health food, but really nice!"

And PS, it was!

Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Simple SuperJam Tarts

Now I'm not really one for being fussy about brands, but when it comes to jam, I find myself only buying this one now...

Yes, it's so tasty that I ate all the jam before remembering to take a photo. You might well have heard me rave about SuperJam before. But when it comes to baking with the stuff, I find myself thinking quite carefully about how to use it. Not just because I don't want to risk wasting it, oh no, there's a bigger reason than that.

Since SuperJam sits on the healthier side within the land of jams, I always feel like I should bake it into something healthy too. My attempt here was some cute little tarts. Not wanting to use butter, I created some oaty almond tart shells instead. The filling is simply SuperJam - that's it. No need to add extra sugar or anything - why meddle with perfectly good jam? The grated lemon zest on top is purely ornamental.

I must warn you though, you really need to let these set overnight in the fridge after baking. Otherwise they will just crumble too much when you try to eat them. So wait, if you can. It'll be worth it.

And you know what? They taste ruddy fantastic.

Simple SuperJam Tarts

Print-friendly recipe

Makes 12:

100g rolled oats
100g plain flour, sifted
50g ground almonds
100ml rice bran oil

200g Raspberry and Cranberry SuperJam
Grated zest of 1 lemon

1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2) Mix together the oats, flour and almonds in a large bowl. Add the oil, coating the mixture well.
3) Use a teaspoon to line each hole of a cupcake tray, spreading out evenly.
4) Spoon an even dollop of SuperJam into each pie shell. Top with some lemon zest.
5) Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust turns brown.
6) Leave to cool, then stick in the fridge overnight to set.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.

If you liked this, you might like this SuperJam Swirl Cake too!

Continue reading this post..

Ginger and Nutmeg Cake (Butter and Sugar Free)

A nice piece of ginger cake to go with a cuppa?

Ok, so this doesn't look like it would sit very elegantly on a saucer beside your tea but it tastes lovely and light. Best of all, it is free of butter and sugar so you can sneak in an extra square to eat if you want (or three).

The sweetness of this cake comes from the dried apricots and raisins which are gently boiled in water first. This is just to stop them drying out when you bake the cake. You don't want your teeth to hit hard bits of fruit now, no.

The moistness comes from banana and rice bran oil but don't worry about this accidentally tasting like a banana cake because it's quite subtle. There is a good bit of fresh ginger, which, when coupled with a pinch of nutmeg as well, makes this a truly savoury spiced cake. Tastes a bit like Christmas actually. Just what you want in August, eh?

Ginger and Nutmeg Cake (Butter and Sugar Free)

Print-friendly recipe

For an 8" square tin (30 squares):

250g apples, cored and diced (can peel if desired)
1 tbsp honey
150g dried apricots
100g raisins
250g plain flour
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g banana, mashed
100ml rice bran oil
50ml orange juice concentrate
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence

1) Put the diced apple in a pan with the honey and just enough water to cover. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, until it mushes to a pulp. Allow to cool.
2) In another pan, add the apricots and raisins, again with just enough water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer until the water is absorbed. Set aside.
3) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour with the ginger, nutmeg and bicarb of soda.
4) In a separate bowl, mash the banana with the oil, orange juice, beaten egg and vanilla essence. Carefully mix in the apple pulp.
5) Toss the apricots and raisins into the flour bowl, coating well. Add the banana mixture, folding until just mixed.
6) Transfer to a lined square tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Other butter free and sugar free baking recipes that might take your fancy. Continue reading this post..

Lime and Ginger Pork

There was meant to be a nice wedge of lime sitting on top sto show that there is lime in this but I forgot. Come to think of it, you can't tell there's ginger in there either can you?

But this really is lime and ginger pork, honest!

You absolutely should use fresh ginger for this - the ground stuff just won't cut it. The ginger is grated and mixed with lime juice to marinade the pork, before stir frying with vegetables. You don't need to chop the skin off the ginger by the way, just grate it all in!

The lime is quite subtle but gives a definite tang to the flavour and you don't want it to overpower the ginger too much. Once you're ready to cook, leave some of the marinade to the side whilst you fry the pork, and add it back in when you've mixed in the vegetables. So everything gets a nice good coating of the lime and ginger greatness.

Lime and Ginger Pork

Print-friendly recipe

Serves 4:

450g pork loin chops, cut into strips
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp honey
100g babycorn
75g mushrooms, chopped
2 spring onions
100g spinach

500g wholegrain rice
700ml boiling water

1) Rinse and drain the rice. Put in a pan and add the boiling water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to the lowest heat. Part cover and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the water is absorbed.
2) Mix the ginger, lime, soy and honey in a bowl. Add the pork and leave to marinade for 15 minutes.
3) Reserve some of the marinade and fry the pork in a hot wok to brown for a few minutes.
4) Add the babycorn, mushrooms and spring onions. Pour in the leftover marinade.
5) After a couple of minutes, add the spinach to wilt through.
6) If desired, add the rice to stir fry through as well, or serve the rice on the side.

Other porky recipes. Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day Faux Pas: Battle of the Tortoise Rolls

Tortoises going into battle?

Ok, so what the heck is going on here then?

Well I was trying to make some tomato and cream cheese puff pastry rolls. But they just wouldn't co-operate. Instead, they oozed out at the ends, turning into these devilish Tortoise Rolls. Angry at what they had become, they turned on one another, preparing to attack (the one at the top, too scared to participate, refused to show its head).

Luckily, they were still good enough to eat, thus avoiding any further conflict and risk of tomato splattered destruction. Phew.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.

Fancy a laugh at my other Hungry-Jenny-Faux-Pas? Continue reading this post..

Hefty Apple and Pumpkin Seed Cake

Don't let the sound of apple and sight of pumpkin seeds fool you...

This one's a bit of a heffer.

There's quite alot of sugar and butter in this. I melted the butter too and mixed it in at the end, to make the cake denser - and hence rather heftier.

Now I know I use butter in pastry all the time (not quite ready to venture out on that just yet). But when it comes to cake, I do try to keep them butter free where I can.

In this particular case though, I had exactly 150g of butter to use up - so I figured I'd try and build a cake around it. You might have read the post I did the other week about baking a cake from scratch by using ratios, where you build recipes based on the weighting of the ingredients in proportion to each other.

So with 150g of butter in hand, I worked out the rest of my ingredients:

Butter - 1 part - 150g
Flour - 2 parts - 300g
Liquid - 2 parts - 300g (applesauce)
Eggs - 1 part - 1 egg
Sugar - 1 part - 150g

When it came to actually making the cake mixture, I went for 2 eggs in the end, simply because I had to use it up and I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw it in as well (luckily, it didn't!). The sugar also crept up a little - only because I did that stupid thing where my hand slipped when I was pouring it in, accidentally knocking in an extra clump. Oops. Oh well.

Still did the job nicely though, thank goodness!

Apple and Pumpkin Seed Cake

Print-friendly recipe

For a 12.5 x 7" traybake (12 bars):

3 small apples, deskinned and diced (300g)
1 tbsp honey
2 eggs
175g brown sugar
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon
150g butter, melted
50g pumpkin seeds
50g sunflower seeds

1) Put the diced apple with the honey in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until soft enough to mash. The water should be pretty much absorbed. Set aside to cool.
2) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Beat the eggs with the sugar in a small bowl. Mix in the apple.
3) In a bowl, sift in the flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. Fold in the apple mixture.
4) Finally, pour in the melted butter, folding until just mixed.
5) Transfer to a lined traybake and top evenly with the seeds.
6) Bake for about 30 minutes until you can pull a toothpick out clean.

More Hungry Jenny cakes here. Continue reading this post..

The Burger of Beauty

Ok, so to some, this might not look like The Burger of Beauty.

But this is no ordinary burger.

It's the first burger I've devoured since my jaw op! It's crazy, I can't believe it's been 6 months since I had the surgery now. My eating habits have pretty much gone back to normal now, bar some things I'm still nervous to try, like tough meat, or biting into an apple. Although my jaw is obviously alot stronger now, I still worry that I might accidentally crack it or something!

Eating a burger then, which is relatively soft might seem like an odd thing to put off trying to eat. It might sound silly, but for a long time, I've been quite hesistant to try opening my mouth too wide! Even yawning was quite scary for a while.

But I hadn't deliberately put off eating a burger for 6 months - it was only when I was in No 12, a restaurant in Chichester last weekend halfway eating it that I realised it was the first time after the op! I was picking it up and eating it properly with my hands and everything.

Yesss, I got over my silly nerves of burger-eating without even realising. The Burger of Beauty won me over without hesitation.

Next thing to conquer? Steak... Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Berry Crumble Tart

Or to be more accurate - Jammy Berry Crumble Pies! Can you see that layer of jamminess underneath there, can you?

And to think I nearly lost the recipe for this!

I had a bit of a drama queen moment when I spent a good ten minutes turning my room upside down (ok, I'm exaggerating there but I'm playing the drama queen remember) looking for this recipe. Usually, I put my recipes together in a little notebook, and keep scribbling away as I make it in the kitchen.

In this case, I was just writing on a scrap of paper. The starting point was from these Portable Apple Berry Crumbles which I made earlier this year.

So I probably could have figured it out again, but I was too tired and it was too much for my brain at that point to try and work out what I had done.

Luckily though, I found the recipe in my recycle bin, phew!

The beauty of these pies, as you can see, is the berry jamminess. I simply spread some fruity jam on the base of the tart and then filled the crumble filling with plenty of fresh raspberries. This is egg-free but has banana and oil which helps to bind the mixture together. So when you come to slice it up, the filling won't just splodge out like a normal crumble would - you will get neat little portions instead!

Berry Crumble Tart

Print-friendly recipe

For a 12 x 8" loose-based flan tin (28 squares):

250g plain flour
100g cold butter, diced
3 tsp sugar
Some cold water
OR
375g sweet shortcrust pastry

125g raspberry jam
25ml water
75ml + 1/2 tsp rice bran oil
1 tsp baking powder
150g banana, mashed
50g white sugar
75g plain flour
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
100g ground almonds
150g raspberries

If you're using premade pastry, go straight to step 3.

1) Mix the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter to a breadcrumb mixture.
2) Gradually add a tablespoon of water to knead the mixture into a dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Roll the pastry out into a large rectangle on a floured surface. Carefully transfer to line the flan tin. Cover with foil and baking beads, then bake for about 15 minutes until just done. Allow to cool.
4) Turn the oven back on, this time to 170 degrees C. Spread the jam evenly over the pastry base.
5) In a bowl, mix together the water, with a half tsp of the baking powder and half tsp of oil. Add the banana, remaining oil and sugar.
5) In a larger bowl, sift in the flour with the remaining baking powder, bicarb of soda, cinnamon and half of the almonds. Fold in the raspberries.
6) Add in the wet mixture and mix until just combined. Transfer to the jammified pastry base and level out the top with a knife.
7) Sprinkle the remaining almonds over evenly and bake for 50 minutes until set.
8) Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures. Continue reading this post..

Carrot Cake (butter and sugar free)

Psst - it still tastes like carrot cake.

When I take cakes into work or someplace, I get one of the following responses:

a) "Ooh, great, can I try one please?" (preferred response)
b) "Oh, I can't, it's a bit naughty" (I'm sorry, but I don't like that response)

When I get the second response, I can usually reassure them that it's either low in fat/sugar or has no butter and/or sugar. Yes, I know there can be other evils in cakes, but bad fats and refined sugar are the two biggies I try to avoid in my baking.

So anyway, I then get one of the following responses:

a) "Ooh great, I'll have a piece then!"
b) "Eugh, it's healthy? No thanks!"

Now come on you 'b' people, 'cake' doesn't always equal naughty, and 'healthy' doesn't have to mean boring and tasteless either. I have to admit that when it comes to butter and sugar free baking, I have had more disasters than success - but in this case of this Carrot Cake, it is one of the successful ones, yay! And it still tastes like a proper carrot cake too.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake (butter and sugar free)

Print-friendly recipe

Cuts into 27 small bars (7 x 12.5" traybake)

200g carrot, grated
1 banana, mashed
1 egg, lightly beaten
100ml orange juice concentrate
75ml rice bran oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
50g pumpkin seeds
50g dried mixed fruit
200g cream cheese, slightly softened
Zest of 1 large orange

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Mix the carrot, banana and egg in a bowl. Pour in the orange juice, oil and vanilla stirring in well. Set aside.
2) In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold in the pumpkin seeds and fruit.
3) Pour in the wet mixture and fold until everything is just mixed.
4) Transfer to a traybake, evening out the top with a knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes until you can pull a toothpick out clean. Allow to cool.
5) Beat the cream cheese with the orange zest and spread evenly over the cooled cake. Chill for at least an hour or so before cutting into slices.

Other butter free and sugar free baking recipes that might take your fancy.

More Hungry Jenny cakes here. Continue reading this post..

Hungry Jenny Faux Pas: Deconstructed Lemon Minted Cake

Ok, so it sounds like this is some cool art piece, right?

And maybe even looks it too? (If you squint)

But I'm not going to sugar coat it for you.

This is just a recipe that went completely wrong.

Ah yes, this is the issue when trying to make a cake from scratch the Hungry Jenny way. Sometimes, I mess around with things so much that I lose sight of whether the texture will come together in a cake-like form.

This was meant to be a cute bundle of butter and sugar free lemon minted cakes. But looking back at the 'recipe' I put together, I can't even begin to explain to you how I got there, or justify why I thought it might work. A sure sign for a disaster to be honest.

It looked so promising when I took them out the oven...

Granted, it does look a bit flat and curiously bumpy but I was willing to overlook that.

Then I went to pull the liners off...

Eek...

And found there was just no way in hell to salvage this one.

Oh dear...

*sigh* I think I'll just leave now.

Fancy a laugh at my other Hungry-Jenny-Faux-Pas? Continue reading this post..