Had the cookery group round to my house on Tuesday, we meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month. We have a lot of fun gathered around my kitchen island cooking 3 or 4 recipes each month which participants bear off home in their wicker baskets, just like school cooking classes. We haven’t had a failure yet!
The brief of the group is that they would like to make unusual things. So I enjoy scouring through my extensive cook book collection each month searching out something I think we’ll enjoy. No shepherds pie or fish and chips for us!

This month we made Chicken and Mango Salad; Red Lentil Nuggets and Carrot, Ginger and Goats Cheese Fritters. I can give you the recipes for the nuggets and salad, but the fritters are copyright. I’ll write up a proper recipe card post for the two I can do, but in the meantime – here they are. 

We were going to do Wild Garlic Pesto as well, but my food processor decided it wasn’t going to work. I think it’s just the switch, I’m hoping Mike can fix it.

Red Lentil Nuggets

red lentil nuggets fresh from the oven, with one dipped into sour cream

The recipe for the nuggets is on the Facebook group. The nuggets were easy to make, and as we were baking them, I thought that they could probably be fried in a pan, which would be cheaper than putting the oven on. They were crispy and delicious dipped into sour cream and chutney. They could be flavoured in lots of different ways too, curry paste springs to mind, or just vary the dip!

Red Lentil Nuggets – serves at least 4
250g red lentils
Medium potato
Medium carrot
2 slices bread made into breadcrumbs
60g cheese
salt and pepper

Soak the lentils for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Drain
Put the lentils in a food processor with the peeled and grated potato and carrot. Whizz, scraping down as needed
Pile into a bowl, add the crumbs and cheese. Mix very well and shape into nuggets
Place on a baking sheet and brush with oil. Bake at 180 for 20-25 mins. Turn over halfway through

Chicken and Mango Salad

Chicken and Mango Salad – serves 4
4 cooked chicken breasts
250g diced mango
Cucumber, diced
6 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp mango chutney
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
Little Gem lettuce to serve

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Mix the mayonnaise and chutney together
Mix in everything else
Serve on Little Gem lettuce

It would be lovely with a tin of cooked chickpeas or lentils stirred through. Would be great for lunches, but keep the sauce separate as the salt draws out the juices and makes it runny

Mike’s Birthday

snow in the front garden

It was actually Mike’s birthday, but he wanted to go to Mens Shed. He’s made some good friends there and goes every Tuesday and Thursday. they meet up for pub nights, curry nights and caff breakfasts. I’m so glad he’s making friends on his own. I suggested going to a French Bistro that he likes in the evening, but he wasn’t too keen on going out at night what with the potentially icy weather and all, so we were due to go today for lunch. But look what’s happened overnight! AND he’s caught a cold, or possibly covid, and is currently in bed, although it is only 7:05am.  I’ll test him later. Oh well, we’ll get there eventually!

I’ve haven’t been to bed at all – again. Sigh, damned insomnia, but I suppose I get to witter on to you, so it’s not all bad.

snow in the back garden