BAKED AUBERGINE, (EGGPLANT) WITH TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Good Afternoon to you,

It has been a while since I posted here on Ivy, Phyllis and Me! and I am sad to tell you, that today will be my last post.

I first began writing Ivy, Phyllis and Me! in June 2012, to record family recipes for my daughters.... and then the blog evolved into sharing other aspects of my life, gardening, sewing, travelling and my home, but always first and foremost, I shared recipes which I loved cooking for my family.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am, that over the years you have returned each week to read my stories and been kind enough to leave comments.... but it isn't the end of Ivy, Phyllis and Me, because I have become part of the Instagram Community, which I absolutely love.  I post each day.... either cooking, home, gardening or sewing, so as you can see, it isn't dissimilar to my blog, but rather than post once a week, I post every day.  I even tell little stories about my day to day life.... well I wouldn't be me, if I didn't tell you a little story.  So if you would like to see what I am up to, please feel free to join me, by tapping the Instagram button on the top right hand corner of Ivy, Phyllis and Me! and you will see that my life has not stood still, it has just moved on.

So although this is my last post, I decided to add a farewell recipe.... after all this is where I began.

So today, we will be making,

Baked Aubergine, (Eggplant) with Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese.... which is a huge hit with my family.

So, for one last time, it's on with the pinnie and time to organise our ingredients. Just to say the dish is made in 3 sections ~ the sauce ~ the aubergines and then the layering of the dish.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

BAKED AUBERGINE (EGGPLANT),

WITH TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA CHEESE

6 tbsps of olive oil (approximately)

1 onion ~ finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic ~ crushed

2 tbsps oregano ~ dried 

1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper ~ seeded and sliced

4 large beefy tomatoes ~ skinned and chopped

1 cup of vegetable or chicken stock

4 large aubergines (eggplant)~ sliced

5 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

3 large Mozzarella balls ~ sliced

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oven temperature ~ 180C/160F  Bake for 45 minutes

METHOD

~ place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan.

~ add onions and cook until translucent.

~ add crushed garlic and oregano and cook for a minute ~ stir

~ add sliced peppers and chopped tomatoes ~ stir

~ add stock ~ stir ingredients

~ place lid on the pan and cook gently for 15 minutes

~ remove the lid and continue cooking until the peppers are soft and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.

~ Add a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Whilst the sauce is cooking,

AUBERGINES (EGGPLANT)

~ place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a wide pan

~ when heated begin to add the aubergines (eggplant) in batches and cook until both sides are golden brown.

~ half way through cooking the aubergines (eggplant) you will need to add the rest of the olive oil.... and perhaps more.

~ When cooked, set the aubergines (eggplant) aside.

LAYER THE DISH

~ Place a layer of tomato/pepper sauce into the base of a wide ovenproof dish.

~ Add a layer of aubergines (eggplant)

~ Add slices of Mozzarella and grated Parmesan

~ Repeat layering until the ingredients are used.

I find I normally have approximately 3 layers.

Pop into a pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes. I think I have mentioned before, that all our cookers work differently.... so I would advise you check how the dish is progressing after half an hour.

Then all there is left to do,

is

Enjoy.

This dish can be eaten hot or warm, which I prefer.... if you love vegetables as much as I do, I just know you will love this dish.

So thank you again for all your kindness and hopefully we will meet up again when you visit my Instagram account... it will be so lovely to see you there.

DAPHNE'S VERSION OF BUTTER CHICKEN ~ A SPICY LITTLE DISH

Good Afternoon to you,

Are you a lover of spice?

Do you enjoy that wonderful after taste, when you have eaten something flavoured with spices.

I know I do.

So today I thought I would share a recipe with you which was given to me by my friend Wasanti. It isn't exactly the same dish that Wasanti would make, as firstly, Wasanti loves her Butter Chicken very, very  hot, whereas I like mine less hot and more spicy.... and secondly Wasanti has her own special blend of spices which are mixed for her in her local village. Having said that, Wasanti kindly gifted me a jar of mixed spices, but I have made Butter Chicken so many times, that although the spices were used sparingly I used them all up quite a while ago.... and you will have heard me say before, that a recipe is a guideline, it can be adapted to suit your own taste, so that is what I have done, adapted the recipe to suit my palette.

For instance, I use olive oil instead of ghee to brush the chicken whilst it is baking,  also I use full fat Greek yoghurt, as both ingredients I use on a daily basis.

Now for the title, Butter Chicken.... does that fill your taste buds with delight.... probably not, I have to admit it does sound rather boring, but when I tell you that Butter Chicken is made with a glorious mix of spices which will tantalise the taste buds, then I feel sure you will be a little more interested.

.... but before I share the list of ingredients, I must tell you, there are two parts to this recipe.  The marinading of the chicken, which can be done first thing in the morning, ready to cook in the evening. Or, if you prefer, marinade the chicken overnight, which I prefer to do, ready to cook the next day.

.... and the ingredients, when you look at the list, you will probably think, 'oh no, not another recipe with 101 ingredients', but please don't fret, as the ingredients list, appears long, purely because of the amount of spices we are going to use.  Again that might put you off, but please don't let it, as I know you may not have all the spices in your store cupboard, but trust me, if you are a lover of spice, once you make Butter Chicken, it will be something you will make over and over again, as once the spices have been bought, the actual dish is not an expensive dish to make. My friends love Butter Chicken and my family love it also,  so I feel sure it will be worth investing in the spices as they will not go to waste.

Now for the dish itself,

What do you think.  Does this Butter Chicken look tasteless and boring.... I would say, absolutely not.  I'm looking at the photograph and I could just reach for a piece of Naan bread or crusty bread and dip it straight into the Butter Chicken sauce.

So let us begin with the ingredients you will need to make Butter Chicken.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

BUTTER CHICKEN

Serves 4

1kg of chicken legs 

THE MARINADE

2 garlic cloves ~ grated or crushed

1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil

100ml full fat Greek Yoghurt

THE SAUCE

40g of unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves ~ grated or crushed

1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon of garam masala 

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

8 crushed cardamom pods ~ crushed, seeds removed

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

1 400g tin of tomatoes ~ chopped

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of sugar

Water - fill the empty tin of tomatoes with water

100 ml Greek Yoghurt
Handful of coriander ~ chopped

You will also need a large baking tray

and

a baking rack

HOW TO MAKE

BUTTER CHICKEN

THE MARINADE

Using a large sized bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

Place the chicken in the bowl and spoon over the marinade and make sure each piece of chicken is coated.  Cover the bowl with a plate or if you prefer clingfilm and place the bowl in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

THE NEXT DAY

Preheat the oven to 180 F

Using a large baking tray, place a baking rack over the baking tray, as you will find, whilst the chicken is cooking some of the marinade will drip through the holes in the baking rack. 

Place the marinaded chicken on the grill rack, spoon extra marinade onto the top of the chicken and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush the chicken with oil and turn over. At this point I spoon any residue of marinade onto the chicken. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.   You may find there is still some marinade left in the bowl, but don't worry as it can be added to the sauce.

Whilst the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.

HOW TO 

MAKE THE 

SAUCE

Using a medium sized pan.

Using a medium heat, melt the butter and add the grated garlic and ginger.  Cook for a couple of minutes, moving the ingredients around the pan.

Turn up the heat and,

add the garam masala, ground coriander,  turmeric, chilli powder, cardamom seeds.

Stir for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat.

Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir for another couple of minutes.

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, sugar, water, lemon juice

and salt.

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. If you have any left over marinade, place it in the sauce (waste not want not) and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, add more salt if necessary.

TO FINISH THE BUTTER CHICKEN.

Using a wide pan, place the baked chicken into the pan and gently pour the sauce around the chicken. Place a lid on the pan and gently simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time baste the chicken with the sauce.

When the chicken is cooked, stir in the Greek yoghurt and garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

You can serve this with Basmati rice and naan bread, or sometimes as I do, just crusty bread.  I have even been known to serve Butter Chicken with mashed potatoes, because the plain mashed potato works well with the rich spicy sauce. 

I have also used this sauce to make a similar curry ~ Paneer Curry.  I have added the recipe to this weeks Featured post.

Now just a word about cooking times.  It is always difficult to say how long it will take for meat to cook, because it depends on the size of the portions being used.  You might find you need to cook your chicken a little longer. So please, always check to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Also, you might find this Butter Chicken too spicy, or not spicy enough.... again, adjust the heat to suit your taste.

.... and do I think you will make this Butter Chicken again.... oh absolutely.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Saturday.

GOULASH ~ I MADE IT MY WAY

Good Morning to you,

I was travelling on the bus the other day and the lady in front of me was reading a magazine.  She lifted the magazine and the headline read '60 is the new 40'.

I was intrigued and I  started thinking about  reasons why I feel woman of today appear younger than our grandmothers. 

I feel there are a couple of contributing factors. The first is clothes.  There are no style rules for women of our age, we are free to choose whichever style we wish to wear, whereas women of Ivy, my grandmother's generation, did have to conform to a certain set of style rules.

I remember Ivy would always wear beautifully cut clothes, she always wore a hat when she went out and about and her hair was curled. She always carried gloves and a handbag which matched her shoes and her perfume was glorious, she always wore Chanel No 5. The one thing I never saw Ivy wear was trousers.... women of Ivy's generation just didn't have the luxury of wearing trousers,  as it was deemed unladylike.

Nowadays we have so much more freedom where clothes are concerned.  I often wear trousers, actually they are so comfortable, that I probably wear them a little too much, I  have to remind myself every now and again, that I have skirts hanging in my wardrobe waiting to be worn.

Secondly, we have a great choice of hairstyles to choose from. If we wish we can wear our hair long, medium or short, with no one  raising their eyebrows at the length of our hair. The ability to have our hair coloured has made such a difference. Although I do have friends who have embraced their grey hair and I have to say it does look lovely, maybe I will consider this in the future when I tire of going to the hairdressers.  On second thoughts, I think I had better retract that last statement, as Natasha and Danielle will be raising their eyebrows, when they read the words I have just written, because it is a silly sentence.  They know and I know, that I love visiting the hairdressers, so I will never allow my hair to go grey. It just will not happen....  I am being being totally honest with you.

Although it is true to say, Ivy did look older than I do at my present age, she still looked beautiful to my young eyes. Her hair was always neat and tidy, I never saw a strand of hair out of place. I remember on occasions she had her hair permed and also I have seen photos of her with waved hair. She wore her hair long when she was a young girl and shorter as she became older.

.... but Ivy's life was very different to mine. Is it any wonder that I look younger. She lived through 2 world wars, once as a young girl and then again when she was a woman.

These periods in Ivy's life, were difficult, as they were times when food and clothing were in short supply. Firstly as a young girl in the early 1900s and you will get a little snapshot of Ivy's younger years here.  Also during  World War II, when rationing was in place. Gramps was away on ship with the Royal Navy, so it was difficult to work the allotment, which normally provided fresh fruit and vegetables for Ivy, Gramps and my father.  To have a husband away fighting in the war, a young son to look after and continuous bombing of Portsmouth Harbour, must have taken its toll. To deal with rationing, Ivy, like all the women of her generation, had to be creative when it came to cooking and clothing. 

Whereas I can buy any type of food I choose and within reason, buy any item of clothing I desire. With a healthy diet, clothes, hair and makeup I have available to me, is it any wonder that I look younger than Ivy did at my age.

Do I consider myself fortunate?  Absolutely. 

Am I grateful? Again absolutely.

What are your thoughts on '40 being the new 60'?

Now in terms of age, today's original recipe, is classed as old, but I would class my version as young.

Today we are making my version of Goulash.  I have not written Hungarian Goulash in the title, because this is not an authentic recipe.  It is a recipe which started as Hungarian Goulash, but which has evolved over the years to suit my family's taste buds.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the fabulous Frank Sinatra singing 'Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week'.

I was playing this song, and doing a quick two step around the kitchen, whilst gathering my ingredients, when George walked into the kitchen. He took my hand and we had a little two step around the kitchen together. These are precious moments.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE MY VERSION

OF 

GOULASH

Serves 6

1kg stewing steak

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large onion, finely sliced

3 large cloves of garlic, crushed

1 red sweet pepper, deseeded and sliced

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

1 stick of celery, sliced

2 tablespoons of paprika

3 tablespoons of tomato puree

sea salt and black pepper

400 ml of chicken stock

200g tin of tomatoes ~ chopped

200ml red wine

4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

HOW TO MAKE

MY VERSION 

OF

GOULASH

Finely slice the onion.

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan.

Place the pan over a medium heat
and 

gently cook the onions until they are golden brown.

Grate the garlic and add to the pan. 

 Cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the paprika, tomato puree and tin tomatoes

to the pan and mix everything together.

Add the red wine and bring to the boil, simmer to allow the alcohol to evaporate. This usually takes a couple of minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt

and

1 teaspoon of black pepper.

Slice the celery into small pieces

and

add to the pan

Cut the carrots into chunks

and

add to the pan.

Cut the sweet red pepper in half

and

remove all the seeds.

Slice the remaining sweet pepper

and

add to the pan.

Add the stewing beef and stir to incorporate all of the ingredients.

Add the Worcestershire sauce to the chicken stock 

and stir.

Pour into the pan.

Stir the ingredients together once again.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat

and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender. Check after an hour that the liquid has not evaporated too much.  If it does you can always add a little more stock.

Check for seasoning.  You might find you need extra salt or black pepper.

Then all you have to do, is find a bowl

some crusty bread to mop up the juices

and enjoy.

Sometimes George enjoys this Goulash just as it is with some crusty bread.  Other times I will serve it with creamy mashed potatoes and broccoli.  It just depends on our mood. Which ever way you eat this Goulash, I feel sure it will become a favourite when the colder weather arrives.

The nights are rapidly closing in and there is a definite chill in the air, so this is the perfect warming supper.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Thursday.

As Always,

SPICY VEGETABLES WITH BULGUR WHEAT

Good Afternoon to you,

Yesterday, I spent a lovely few hours visiting my hairdresser, where I had a cut and blow dry. I tend to do this every six weeks or so.

....and after my visit, I felt very shuzzy. A little like Rita Hayworth in the 1940's film, Gilda. Do you remember when Rita Hayworth swished those beautiful locks of hers, gosh her hair was fabulous.

Nowadays, my hair is just about long enough, to enjoy a slight swish, although in my mind, it felt more like a Rita Hayworth swish, because I felt so good about my hair.

So why does a visit to the hairdresser cheer me up so much.   I think the reason is, the time I spend in the hairdressers, is just about me.  That sounds a little self centred, doesn't it,  but sometimes my days are so busy that I forget about my needs. I get so caught up with other things. 

Are you the same? 

I have to say, my needs aren't many, but a visit to the hairdresser is something I really enjoy.

When I lived in Cyprus, I grew my hair longer and tied it into a bun.  Now that might sound odd, you would imagine that a shorter hair style would be much better in such a hot climate, but I found the reverse to be true. Due to the heat and swimming in the sea, I needed to wash my hair every other day. I found it so easy, to wash my hair, then whilst it was still wet, tie it back into a loose bun..... no shuzzing for me.  I still looked smart, but with much less fuss.

When I arrived back in England, I wanted a more stylish hair cut, so the shoulder length hair was cut into a bob.... and I love it. I can style it in all sorts of ways, I can straighten it, I can curl it, I can clip my hair from my face.... perfect for gardening. There are so many options.

.... and don't you find, when your hair is out of sorts and not looking as you would like it to, whatever outfit you are wearing, just does not feel as good. On the other hand, if my hair is looking fabulous, I can wear a pair of slouchy trousers, a t-shirt and some pumps and I feel fabulous.... it's all about the hair.

.... can I also include a manicure and pedicure to the list.  Now this does not happen very often, because I cook, I sew using a thimble and I am also a keen gardener.  All these loves, are not conducive to prettily painted nails, but when I am with my daughters, we love nothing better than a little nail therapy.... and because I do this once, or twice a year, when my nails are painted, I can't stop looking at them, because they are so pretty.

So how about you, what makes you feel shuzzy?

Your list is probably totally different to mine. It would be fun to compare.... maybe I could add one or two things from your list onto mine.

So what else was on my list yesterday?  

I made this Spicy Vegetable dish and served it with Bulgur Wheat. It was just the ticket. After being poorly, I really had a craving for vegetables.  I often make this dish with left over vegetables.... you know the one or two vegetables languishing in the bottom of the vegetable basket.  It really is such a versatile dish. Now please don't look at the list of ingredients and think there are a lot, because I have included quite a few spices.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the 1965 Rubber Soul Album by The Beatles. My word it still sounds good.

The reason I am listening to this album is,  last week, Phyllis took a trip, with her friends, to Liverpool. Whilst there, they could not miss the opportunity to visit The Cavern Club, where The Beatles used to play in the 1960's. She said it was a really nostalgic visit, because both Phyllis and my father loved The Beatles music when they were younger. So I thought it would be fun to find my Beatles albums and transport myself back to the '60's.... do you want to come along?

So while I am listening to, and thoroughly enjoying this album, especially the song 'In My Life',  it is time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

SPICY VEGETABLES WITH BULGUR WHEAT

l large onion or 2 red onions

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of turmeric

3 large cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 large carrots

1 small squash (300g)

1 sweet potato (approx 300g)

1 x 400g tin of tomatoes

1 x 400g tin of chick peas

1/2 pint of chicken stock

1 teaspoon of salt

ground black pepper

250g Bulgur Wheat

1 level teaspoon of sea salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil

HOW TO MAKE

SPICY VEGETABLES

WITH

BULGUR WHEAT

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Peel the skin from the squash, remove the seeds and chop into medium sized pieces.  

Peel the skin from the sweet potato and chop into medium sized pieces.

Peel the skin from the carrots and again chop into medium sized pieces and set aside for the moment.

Place the squash and sweet potato on to a large baking tray and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss the vegetables to make sure they are covered with olive oil.

Place in the pre-heated 180C oven and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.  

Remove from the oven half way through the roasting time and turn the vegetables over.  Return to the oven. You want the vegetables to be dark in colour.

Whilst the vegetables are roasting.

Peel and finely slice the onions.

Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions.

Cook until golden brown.

Grate the garlic and add to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Then add the chilli flakes, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and tomato paste. Mix together and stir for a further 2 minutes.

Add the chopped raw carrots and stir.

Add the tin tomatoes and stir.

Pour the stock into the pan, place a lid on the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are just tender.  You don't want them to be soggy.

While the carrots are cooking.

Cook the Bulgur wheat as per the manufacturer's instructions ~ I add 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil before cooking the Bulgar wheat.

Whilst the Bulgur wheat is cooking, remove the squash and sweet potato from the oven and place into the pan with the carrots.

Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan.

Stir gently for 5 minutes.  There is not a lot of liquid in this dish, but if you feel that the dish is becoming a little dry, add a little water to loosen the mixture.

Add freshly ground pepper, then check for to see if you need to add anymore salt.

Place the cooked Bulgur wheat into a bowl and ladle the spicy vegetables on top.

Then, all there is left to do is, find a fork,

and

Enjoy.

This dish serves 4 people, which is too much for George and I.  I place half of the spicy vegetables and half the Bulgur wheat into bowls, pop on the lids and place in the fridge to enjoy the following day.

Do you know, I think the spicy vegetables tasted better the second day, because leaving them overnight, allowed the flavours to develop even further. 

Now, I feel sure you are wondering why I did not say use one whole squash and one whole sweet potato. It would have made life a lot easier.  The reason is I couldn't find the correct weight I wanted, so I bought a large squash and a large sweet potato.  

I roasted them together and divided the vegetables to give me the correct weight for this dish,

and the rest, 

well I added some stock and I blitz the remaining squash and sweet potato and hey presto I had 2 dishes of soup for our lunch.

Nothing was wasted. Now that's my style of cooking.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Kelly from The Essence of Home for Share Your Style Party

and

Laurie from My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies for Snickerdoodle Sunday

and

Fabiola for Inspiration Galore

As Always,