Sweetpotato Porridge (From leftovers of sweetpotato casserole)

After my Thanksgiving dinner for one, I still had a bit of sweetpotato casserole left over. I thought why not just add it to my breakfast porridge.
 I've tried porridge with pumpkin and vanilla before so why should this be any different. This is a perfect way to use up any sweetpotato/ pumpkin mash you would have laying around in your fridge. It's even worth making from scratch.
Even the pecans added a nice texture :)

You can find the recipe for my sweetpotato casserole here http://bit.ly/2gadM2D

I made my porridge with barley but you could use any kind of your preference for example oats.
Just make the porridge as you would do normally (or according to the instructions on the package) and mix in the leftover puree. The vanilla flavour adds a nice touch too.

1dl barley (I used Myllärin rikottu ohrasuurimo)
2dl water
pinch of salt
Cook for about 5 mins
Add 4dl milk and let simmer while stirring for another 15 mins
Let it rest under a lid for a few more minutes
Add the sweetpotato mash or casserole and mix.
Handful of extra Pecans.

Voilá!

Stuffed Quail with Sweet Potato Casserole (Thanksgiving for one)

In Finland we don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I've always wanted to arrange a proper American style Thanksgiving dinner party for my friends. I was so sure that I would've this year but even this year I realised it too late.
On the same day I still felt tempted to make a Thanksgiving dinner even if I was celebrating it all alone and thought I'd had to skip it since in no way was I going to roast a whole turkey just to be eaten by myself. However I couldn't't get the idea out of my head and came up with the perfect thanksgiving dinner for one :D

Why should I have to roast a whole turkey when I could just stuff a small quail :) Besides, I even prefer quail to turkey.

This stuffed quail is perfect for a dinner alone or two or why not give all your guests their own little bird to carve into. So much more sophisticated and I think it's a fun idea.

This doesn't have to be only made at Thanksgiving....I for sure know I'll have to let my friends try this dish one day :)

You will need:

1 quail (or as many as you like)

butter, herbs, salt

Stuffing (makes enough for 1-2 birds) :

1 slice of bacon (25g)
1 small Apple (30g)
1/2 schallot (20g)
1 clove garlic
stale bread (20g)
1 tbsp dried lingonberries or cranberries
15g walnuts
rosemary
sage
lemon zest / clementine
chicken stock

1)Rinse the bird to remove any excess blood.
2)Using your finger you can make a small pouch under the skin of the bird on the breast making it easy to fill the space with some herbs and butter
3)Chop all the ingredients for the stuffing, remember the bird is really tiny to fit in too big chunks....so for the sake of the bird keep them tiny.
4)Roast the bread and chopped walnuts in a pan
5)Sautee the bacon, onion and garlic in a pan. Add chopped herbs.
6)Mix all the ingredients together and grate some lemon or clementine.
7) Season to taste
8)Time to stuff the bird...You'll be surprised how much stuffing can fit in
9) tie the bird with string to keep the legs and wings close to the body keeping it's shape

How to cook the bird:
Heat up the pan and roast the Bird in butter on all sides until nice and golden. You can lower the heat once the skin has gone nice and crisp and golden. Quail doesn't take too long to cook. Since it is a whole bird it will take a bit longer than a spatchcocked bird (I almost wrote satchquatch :D sounds the same but that would be a bit funny :D).
You can either leave it on the pan on low temp or put it in the oven for a few minutes on low heat. I roasted my bird on high heat approximately 5 mins and lowered the temp. I kept it on the pan for a total of 10 min maximum and put it in foil to rest. It's difficult to say an exact time since every bird is a bit different and so is the stove in every kitchen. You could even finish it off in the oven.  Quail however can be left a bit pink inside unlike chicken. Just please make sure not to dry out this beautiful tasty bird.

Sweetpotato casserole

240g sweet potato
30g butter
1dl cream or milk (I used 10%cream)
a small dollop of  vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt

1) preheat the oven to 225°C
2) Peel, Slice and dice the sweet potato and place into a casserole/oven form
3) add the cream and butter
4) add vanilla and salt
5)Place the sweetpotato in the oven. As soon as they are soft and a bit roasted on the top mash them with a fork and place pecans on top
6) sprinkle with a bit of muscovado sugar
7) put back in the oven unitil the sugar has melted.

I served my quail with the sweet potato casserole and some Kale.
I also made a quick gravy using the burnt goodness in the pan from roasting the bird by adding chickenstock and flour. I also added a bit of clementine juice to it.

Hope you enjoy!

Indian Butternut Curry and Naan Bread

A few days ago I had a big craving for Indian food and have also been staring at a big butternut sitting on the kitchen table for some time, so what better than to combine the two.
Finally last night I decided to give it some more thought and decided to just go with my inspiration. It was super good...just like sitting at an Indian restaurant but with the comfort of being at home.....The smell of Indian spices is still lingering in the whole apartment :D

On a cold day like this I can't think of anything better than a hearty bowl of hot curry to warm me up from the inside out.

Indian Butternut Curry

5oo g Butternut squash
4 garlic cloves (15g)
1 onion (45g)
1/2 chili (depending on how strong it is)
1/2 tsp-1 tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp ground Turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp cumin (I added a bit more in the end)
1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground ginger (I added a bit more of this too) if you have fresh ginger use this instead :)
4 dl water
salt
1 dl Plain yoghurt ( I used Turkish yoghurt)...I don't remember exactly how much I put in so just add according to your liking to balance off the spices.
1-2 dl Chick peas (amount is not so important)

1) Chop the onion, garlic and chili (and if you have fresh ginger chop that too)
2) peel and dice the butternut into approximately 3/4 inch cubes (you can save the seeds for later use and toast them)
3) Add some oil in a pot and sauté the onion, garlic and chili
4) Add the spices
5) Chuck in the butternut
6) add water and let simmer until the butternut squash is soft and the kitchen smells heavenly
7) By this time if you're making the Naan bread yourself it would be ideal to start frying them on the pan
8) add the chickpeas and yoghurt
7) decorate with fresh cilantro

Naan Bread (makes 4)

I haven't made a lot of Naan bread before so I tried to google for a recipe....well I ended up free styling after all and just decided to go with my instincts on the amounts. I had watched a video on youtube where the Indian lady was explaining the consistency...so I decided to try my own.
These turned out really really good. However once the dough had risen to double the size it was really sticky and difficult to handle...but by adding a bit more flour it was possible to make into the shape of drops like naan bread usually are ( they were still quite sticky so don't add too much flour to keep them moist).

These breads turned out really good. Fluffy and soft and perfect for scooping up the curry and raita. I just love to eat my Indian food with my hands.

You will need:
1 tsp instant dry yeast
1/2 dl milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 dl all purpose flour (+ a bit more in the end)
2 dl yoghurt (I used Turkish Yoghurt)
salt

optional:
garlic and cilantro

1) heat up the milk until about 40°C ( a bit warmer than your body temp.)
2) mix in the yeast
3) mix the dry ingredients together
4) make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the milk and yeast mixture
5) also add the yoghurt
6) mix together slowly combining all the ingredients
7) knead the dough until its nice and smooth
8) let the dough rest under a cloth or cling film in warm place for atleast 2 hrs

9) Heat the oven onto the broil/grill to 250°C (which is the maximum on my oven) If you have a pizza stone put this in the oven
10) when the dough has rested share it into 4 equal sized balls ( if you need add flour until you are able to handle the dough)
11) shape the balls into oblong drop shapes approximately 1/2 cm thick ( just make them the size you would have naan bread)
12) if you want you can keep them plain and just brush a bit of oil on the surface and sprinkle with salt
13) or you could grate some garlic and chop some cilantro on top
14) heat a frying pan (unless you happen to own a tandoori oven)
15) fry the bread until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is getting some brown spots
16) place the breads in the oven onto the pizza stone and bake for a few minutes until the top starts to become nice and golden as well. I'm sure you could make both sides on the pan too.

Raita (yoghurt sauce)

1 dl plain yoghurt
1/2 dl of finely chopped and peeled cucumber (I even deseeded them)
ground coriander
Cumin
Fresh coriander/ cilantro
salt

1) Add the yoghurt into a bowl
2) peel and chop the cucumber
3) add the spices ( you don't need more than a sprinkle since this sauce is supposed to taste refreshing not spicy
4) chop some fresh cilantro and mix
5) add a pinch of salt

Enjoy my Vegetarian Curry!

Lazy mans oven baked apples for those late night cravings

I hate it when you get a craving for those late night munchies that Nigella Lawson seems to be very familiar with. I think I was scrolling on my phone and happened to see a recipe of an apple pie. Now, I had already eaten dinner and was sitting on the sofa watching tv and waiting with excitement to see the next episode of Master chef Australia online (my favourite show btw that always makes me cry)....and thought how can I watch a cooking program without then just satisfying my need of a guilty pleasure of eating at night.
I knew I'd have all the ingredients for an apple pie but decided to go for a lazy mans crumble or whatever I could call these oven baked apples. Now don't let the look deceive you....as I said this is just something for those fast and furious moments when you don't have lots of time.

I just quickly peeled the apples...however if you're even more in hurry for a treat then leave the skin on. I just cut them into random wedges and started to chuck in whatever I got my hands on in the pantry; butter, oatmeal, maple syrup, cinnamon, sugar and salt...that's it. I then popped the baking tray in the oven and headed to the store for some local vanilla ice-cream. By the time I was back, my home smelled heavenly of homebake. The apples were ready.

Now the worst bit is to wait for it to cool down...however I managed quite well.

Now I was ready for Masterchef....Aah! How I love this feeling of satisfaction :) also Nigella would've been proud (maybe not of the looks).

I Used:

Apples from my own garden
Oatmeal
Maple Syrup
Almonds
Butter
Sugar
Cinnamon

Heat the oven to 175°C and bake for approximately 20 mins or until the crumble has a golden colour and the apples are soft.