Sin-Free Quiche

This recipe harks back to simpler times, times when I'd have the most serious fights over who'd dared to open my pint of milk, and special meetings to discuss the neglected cleaning schedule.... I'm talking of course of my student days!

One of my flatmates, Sophia, who usually lived exclusively off Caesar salad and Baked Beans, sometimes liked to throw a third food group into the mix... Sin-Free Quiche.

Much like Delia's How to Cheat collection, this recipe uses ready made items such as macaroni cheese from a can, so you can literally just throw it together- great if you're busy studying or holding down a full-time job.

The recipe was given to Sophia by her kind sister, Jody and simplified to meet our meagre budget. So here it is, I give you Sin-Free Quiche!

Ingredients
1x Tin Macaroni Cheese
250g Cottage Cheese
6x Eggs
1x Courgette (cut into chunks)
A Handful of Mushrooms (cut in 1/4s)
1/2 Large Red Pepper (cut into chunks)
A Large Onion (cut into chunks)
A Tablespoon Olive Oil
Seasoning (to taste)
A good handful of grated cheese (for all you sinners!)

1. Start by pre-heating the oven at 180 Degrees
2. Next, gently fry the vegetables in the oil until golden
3. Remove the pan from the heat and beat the eggs together in a bowl
4. Place eggs, macaroni and cottage cheese in an ovenproof dish and combine.
5. Add cooked vegetables and combine.
6. If you're a sinner like me, cover the top with grated cheese (I use Cheddar) and season.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

This dish makes enough for 4 massive, student sized portions, so if you're feeling generous, share the wealth!

The way to a man's heart....

is through his stomach, apparently... so ditch those dinner reservations and get creative in the kitchen! Whether things go to plan or not, it's the thought (and taste) that counts!

So dust off your Delia's and seek out your Rick Stein's and cook your love a meal to remember!

Wishing you all a happy and memorable Valentine's Day!

Delia Through the Decades- BBC1

BBC iPlayer is a wonderful, wonderful thing! Especially when conventional television is a bit of a trek to the other room, and you've just made yourself comfortable with a cup of peppermint tea... Tonight, my bedroom was my living room, and as the wind howled outside, I nestled under the covers to catch up on some cooking!

Often regarded as THE voice of authority when it comes to boiling an egg, or indeed, how to cook, the hardened Norwich FC fan and queen of cuisine, Delia Smith has returned to our screens. This time, rather than telling us how to bake a potato, or how to cheat, it seems Delia's turned the clock back.

As a twenty-four year old aspiring food writer, this program has acted almost as a spring-board for my seemingly unreachable goals, making them seem more real. Like me, Delia was unsure of what she wanted to do for a long time, but there was always this resounding love of food which simply wouldn't leave...


Always in a kitchen, asking questions, whether serving food, prepping vegetables, or doing the washing-up afterwards, it seems we all have humble beginnings. Delia tried her hand at many career choices before falling in with the right crowd at The Singing Chef.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of this show, gone are the images of Delia as a prim 60-something housewife, I'm seeing a new side to Delia, young and vibrant, not afraid to make mother angry, and I like it! She was rebellious, inquisitive and confident, and this show certainly gains favour for me as Stephen Fry voices her story and recounts her ballsy attitude to life.

A prime example of this is reflected en route to an interview with the editor of The Daily Mirror. Reality, it seems kicked in, just for a moment, and it dawned on her that she had no O-Levels, couldn't spell and couldn't type...

This is where her true genius shines though... they saw the raw talent and went with it. The next thing she knew she was baking a cake for a Rolling Stones album cover!


I only wish I had her conviction, I do have a similar gusto for all things gourmet. And like Delia, I'm focusing in on the history of cuisine, reading books about royalty, pre-historic cooking techniques and articles about fig-related bicycle tours around America- it's a good job I find this stuff fascinating!

Next week we see the move from 1960's cuisine to the 1970's, so expect pineapple and cheese on sticks and tin foil hedgehogs aplenty!

A Cornish Culinary Adventure- Days 6 & 7

Well my 'ansome's, I'm afraid these are the two final pieces of my Cornish Culinary Adventure- but fear not.... I'm so loved up with the place at the moment, that I've just baked some pasties. So if you're all good little Piskies, I'll share it with you!

Day 6-

This always happens to me when I go home, I think that i'll eat a Pasty as soon as I return, but the facts are, I still hadn’t had a Pasty until today! After a short shopping trip out, I begged my pops to visit a bakery. Not one to settle for second best on the Pasty stakes, I went to Hampston’s of Hayle- a local butcher and pie/pasty maker famous for their wares.

It was past two o’clock, so my hopes of getting my desired lunch were slightly hindered due to the sheer demand of the wonderful hand held lunch. I didn’t let it get me down though- ‘I’m in Cornwall for Christ sake- the whole county can’t be out of Pasties by now....can they?’ I thought to myself.

I wasn’t expecting the answer to the above question to be ‘nearly’! The butcher only had three pasties left in the whole shop! That just goes to show how popular this traditional mining fodder still is to this day!

Anyway, despite asking for a steak Pasty, I received one with steak mince. It was still lovely, although it didn’t have that wonderful gravy that saturates the crust that you get with the beef skirting. So be warned people- I’ve lived in Cornwall for most of my life and I slipped up my order- make sure you ask if the Pasty is made with mince!

After my mammoth lunch, I made sure to leave plenty of room for this evening’s offerings. As with most other ‘family occasions’ we celebrate at local Carbis Bay restaurant- La Casita, tonight it was my brother’s turn to celebrate his birthday.

I ordered garlic mushrooms in a creamy sauce with a Mozzarella crust. They were rich, buttery, not soggy- the only thing that could have improved them would have been a bit of bread on the side. That sauce was too good to waste (so I frantically slurped it up like a rich soup)!

Always a stickler for local produce, especially fish, I opted for the special Hake fillet with a herb crust and a tomato and basil sauce with Boulangere potatoes. When the dish arrived, it looked wonderfully colourful. The plump white flesh of the fish contrasting with the scarlet sauce peppered with flecks of basil.

However, no matter pleasing a dish is to one’s eye, it has to please the palate as well. And unfortunately, no amount of salt and pepper could remedy this flavourless dish. This really saddened me, as it was such a beautifully cooked piece of fish, but I had to be sent back.

I felt like I'd ruined the evening, embarrasing myself, and my co diners. But the night wasn't over yet! The propietor came over to our table, and quietly discussed the problem. I explained to him that I wasn't satisfied, and he offered me another meal- which I gladly excepted.

Although at first I felt like the evening had somehow been stunted, I'm glad I stood my ground. After having worked in the catering industry for the past 10 years, I've always liked honest customers, who actually give you the chance to compensate and correct your mistakes, rather than leave dissappointed, and never return...

I'd been eyeing up my father's dish of Beef fillet stroganoff. So I made the quick decision to have that as a replacement. And my God, was I glad! It was tender, beautifully cooked with a side of fluffy white rice, I have to say, it was an informed choice (as i'd already shovelled some of my dad's meal down my gob already!)

After quaffing the last of the Rioja, we returned home to eat some birthday cake (which I had made earlier on in the day, along with the Christmas Pudding). And I have to say- Delia, you've come up trumps again!

It was a simple recipe- 6oz Self-Raising Flour, 6oz Sugar, 3 Eggs and 6oz Butter. I added some vanilla essence, and when it was cool, I split the hefty sponge in half and spread with some good quality Raspberry Jam, and whipped cream (of course).

We settled down to watch a fillm, our stomachs full, our appetites supressed (for now!)

Day 7

Since arriving home, I quite fancied doing something a bit different. Maybe leaving the county for a day trip, perhaps?

My father suggested this idea to me again, and we were going to visit Greenway House in Devon, former home to my favourite author, Agatha Christie. But this proved problematic, as neither of us knew how to get there, or wanted to wait up to two hours to be shown around... perhaps next time, eh?

Instead, we opted for the more easily locatable, Exeter. A city full of history, with its Gothic Cathedral nestled between cafes, bistros and gift shops.

As a teenager, I had visited the city quite frequently and often admired a place that used to have a piano permanantly parked out on the pavement. I can only assume that the memory of this place relates to The Pitcher and Piano on Queen Street.

This being a casual father-daugther day out, we decided to have a laid back meal in this sophisticated Georgian style eatery.

Despite having had steak at the meal last night, neither of us could resist the charms of the Rump Steak baguette with caramelised onions...just thinking about it's making me salivate!

The substantially sized sandwiches arrived brimming with pink, plump slices of beef, dotted with wholegrain mustard and slithers of onion. I have to say, for £7.50, these were pretty good value too!

All in all a great time was had by all. I'm sure i've gained a little weight, but who's counting? I'm storing it up for the winter to keep me warm anyway! I look forward to returning home for Christmas, where I'll be making Christmas dinner for 6 people (for the second time!)