What's your favourite Winter meal?

[shiney]

Oh great lists of yummy hearty food!

Lets have the sausage and tomato pie recipe please.

[ina]

... and some of the others, too... Cheese soup, please, and Devon apple cake for me!

Ina

[Wombat]

I haven't had toad in the since my mother made it a verrrry long time ago!

Nev

[Lyds]

Devon Apple Cake -

8oz self-raising flour
pinch salt
2 tsp mixed spice
4oz raw brown sugar
4oz block marj
1lb cookers
1 lg egg

Mix together flour, salt, spice and sugar. Rub in marg. Add chopped apple - I just core and chop leaving the skin on. Add beaten egg and mix thoroughly. Dont worry if it seems a little dry as extra liquid comes from the apples. I bake in a dish 6 x 8" for 45mins, middle to top of oven, gas mk 5, until risen and firm to touch then serve up hot with custard.
Its nice cold in lunch boxes too.

[Lyds]

Sausage and Tomato pie -

This is so easy and not really healthy but if you want to go for a long winter walk you can pop this in before you go out and its ready to come home to.

1lb sausages
14oz tin toms
a good pan of mash
1 onion sliced

Skin sausages and mash together in a deep ovenproof dish. Drain and chop the toms and put on top of sausages with sliced onion. Add some herbs if you like. Pile on the mash and fork it up a bit so you get lots of crunch bits. Pop in the oven gas mk 2. Leave it for 2 hours or so, you can keep it hanging on, then serve up with beans.

While the oven is going for a couple of hours on low why not put in a rice pudding too? I usually do as it is a good use of resources and we love rice pud.

[ina]

I haven't had toad in the since my mother made it a verrrry long time ago!

Nev

It's ever so easy - although I don't have a recipe... I've even made vegetarian "toads". You just need some basic batter (pancake batter, but NOT sweet!), a greased, hot pan, pour it in, stick sausages on top, cook in oven until done...

Yeah, I like that, too. But as I say, with lentil mix instead of sausages. Good thing to make when you have a veggie guest, too (or when veggies have a carnivore guest! ), just make a separate one in a small pan...

Ina

[Millymollymandy]

I've never eaten Toad in the Hole, although I have seen pictures of it. It just sounds awful! I like my sausages with beans and chips, and my Yorkshire pudding with either roast beef or with maple syrup poured over it! These days sausages are a precious commodity and relatives have to bring them over from England.

[Wombat]

Thanks Ina,

Years ago I also had yorkshire pudding..........................made by a Yorkshireman.....................and it was 'orrible!

Nev

[ina]

I've never eaten Toad in the Hole, although I have seen pictures of it. It just sounds awful! I like my sausages with beans and chips, and my Yorkshire pudding with either roast beef or with maple syrup poured over it! These days sausages are a precious commodity and relatives have to bring them over from England.

You can eat toad in the hole with beans and chips, I suppose... Just really need either extra gravy, or lots of tomato sauce with the beans. Actually, I would probably just eat it with veg and gravy - I always think if you have batter you don't need more stodge (i.e. potatoes). Carbohydrates is the polite word, I believe...

Ina

[Millymollymandy]

I've made a few rather non-Atkinsy Indian meals - potato curry, daal, rice and chapatis. It is a bit of an overload, I must admit!

[Wombat]

Yum! Indian! we had butter chicken and vege curry for lunch, yesterday!

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

This summer has been great for Indian food as I've had a constant supply of coriander. Ditto Thai holy basil which just is brilliant in Thai style curries. And I have frozen coriander root for Tom Yang Gung. Shall miss the fresh herbs in the winter. I did freeze a load of holy basil and coriander but I don't know if they'll be any good. We'll see.

Oh and a few years ago when I had a heated greenhouse I grew lemon grass but then I moved so I had to chuck it all which was a shame, but it won't get through a winter, and needs a good long growing season to get enough to use. It's fun trying all these things though!

[alcina]

Ooohh....stew!!! I make stew out of lots of veggies, onions, mince of some sort (or meaty scrag ends) and lots of potato. The potato is important 'cos you don't eat it the day you make it! You save it a day (or freeze it for longer!), then reheat it. The potato disappears and makes it all really, really thick and beause it's a day old all the flavours are fantasic!

I have to confess I'm not a soup fan. I don't know why. I like the idea of soup, I just find find soup...well...unsatifying Of course I'm not a particularly good cook so this may have something to do with it!

My all time favourite pud is apple crumble and custard! Home made...so it's not super sweet. Crispy top, succulent apple chunks, creamy thick custard. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

Waaaahhh....I'm hungry!!!

Alcina

[sunpuppy]

I often have lentil soup (brown lentils rather than red), or green pea soup in winter - they give me extra protein, too, and are very filling and warming. I make shepherd's pie with a mix of lentils or beans and veg, too; or a lentil sauce Bolognese style with pasta.

Ina

Hi Ina,

Could you post recipes for lentil and bean shepherd's pie and lentil Bolognese sauce? I love both these dishes but want to cut out red meat and eat more vegetarian food.

[shiney]

Thanks Ina,

Years ago I also had yorkshire pudding..........................made by a Yorkshireman.....................and it was 'orrible!

Nev

Nev, my dear...you need a Yorkshire Lass to make the pudding. My mum and gran make FAB Yorkshire pudding and there's never any left in the dish.