Monday 10 March 2014

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

With a similar heat to tandoori, plain old chicken drumsticks taste amazing!




Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

This marinade will cover about a kilo of chicken drumsticks or thighs (3-4 people)

Mix 2 tsps cumin, 2 tsps paprika, 0.5 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsps turmeric, 1 tsp black pepper and a pinch of salt. Add 3 cloves of well crushed garlic and 4 tbsps of lemon juice and mix into a paste to rub over the chicken pieces.

I cut into each drumstick before I rub the marinade in, one cut in the side that will be down in the roasting tin and two on top to really get the flavour right through the chicken. For thighs I cut either side of the bone underneath and two slits across the top. It's up to you whether you leave the skin on (it will still go crispy if you do). 

Ideally leave it to marinate for 2-3 hours then roast for about 40 mins at 200c/GM 7 (pour off any fat and liquid after about 20 minutes)

(The poured-off liquid and any excess marinade is nice heated up and thickened with a little bit of cornflower as a sauce to go with)

This goes well with Potato Wedges or Mushroom Rice


You might also like Chicken Kebabs or BBQ marinade for ribs


1 tsp = 5ml
1 tbsp = 15ml


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Sunday 9 March 2014

Cooking with Kids

Fun/easy things to make with kids (will be added to as I find/remember things : )


Cinder Toffee
http://www.mumsnet.com/food/recipe/1645-Cinder-toffee

No Whisk Microwave 5 minute Meringues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcer2xUwX8Y&noredirect=1

Fudge
http://fudgerecipes.co.uk/condensed-milk-fudge.html
Don't start timing it cooking until it is melted and make sure it bubbles gently for a good ten minutes. If it doesn't set, you can scrape it back into the pan and heat it some more (you can micowave it gently to get it to pour).


Chocolate Mug Cake
(You wouldn't serve it to Mary Berry, but it's not bad for just throwing some stuff into a mug and microwaving...)

Mix 2 tbsp of flour (add half a tsp of baking powder if using plain flour), 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, tbsp of sugar in a large mug. Add 2 tbsp milk, 2 tbsp of oil and an egg white. Mix making sure you get all the dry stuff out of the corners mixed in. Microwave on high for 3 mins. Fun to watch it through the window as it looms up over the top of the mug! (From a Blue Peter recipe that no longer appears on their website, slightly adapted by me for if using plain flour not self-raising)


Separating an egg using a plastic bottle
Crack egg into bowl. Get a small clean plastic bottle. Squeeze it slightly, gently put the top of the bottle on the egg yolk and  then unsqueeze. The yolk should suck intact into the bottle!
http://www.flixxy.com/how-to-separate-eggs-using-a-plastic-bottle.htm


Glow-in-the-dark Jelly
If you dissolve jelly cubes in half the quantity of boiling water, then top up using tonic water (containing quinine), it will glow under a UV light once set : )


Easter Baskets/Nests
Melt cooking chocolate and add cornflakes/rice crispies/coco pops in the usual way. Line a plastic mixing bowl with cling film and spoon the chocolate mix in up the sides to make a nest or basket. Once it's set, lift out and peel off cling film (if it sticks in bowl, you can loosen it by quickly plunging the outside of the bowl into warm water). Fill with more chocolate treats - mini eggs are good!


Winter Scene
(Unless you are incredibly quick, you will need to do this a bit at a time and keep sticking it back in the freezer. Use the lid of a plastic box as a base, so you can use the box upside-down as a lid. How big a funnel is entirely your choice - it's nice to have a small one each, or you can do one big one to share. Trees are less fiddly than snowmen to make!)

Snowmen - Fill a funnel with white ice cream to shape the body. Use a round measuring spoon to shape a white ice cream head. Snap a Matchmaker for arms. Use cake decorating sprinkly stuff for the face and buttons (or you can finely slice a Matchmaker). Cut the corners off an After-Eight into a circle to make the brim of a hat and squish the off-cuts up to make the rest of it. Strawberry laces can be plaited or finger-knitted into a scarf.

Trees - Fill a funnel with mint choc chip to make a tree. Decorate using cake decorating sprinkly stuff, strawberry laces are good as tinsel, white chocolate buttons with sprinkles on can go on top as stars

Reindeer Hand Biscuits
http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/graham-campbells-reindeer-hand-cookies.html 
(you can do these any time of year, varying the decorations to other animals)

(Other wintry/Christmas things to do with kids here: http://tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/seasonal-things-for-kids.html)


Making Butter in a Jar
If you have some leftover double-cream, put it into a clean jar and shake. About five seconds after you think nothing is happening and that you will just give up (in reality just a minute or two!), it will suddenly go into a big ball of butter in liquid. Pour the liquid off and shake a bit more to get some more liquid out. Either repeat this again, or put the butter in a bowl and prod at it with the back of a spoon to squish more liquid out. You now have unsalted butter.


'Homemade' Oatmeal Soap
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/bath-and-body/soaps/soap/ 


Spaghetti and Hotdogs
http://veryculinary.com/2011/10/27/threaded-spaghetti-hot-dog-bites  
(we put four half strands through each quarter and call them octodogs)

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Cooking Quirks

A collection of links that have made me smile 
more to be added as I come across them : )

Theseus's recipe:
http://notalwaysfriendly.com/a-recipe-for-disaster/34252

How not to cook spaghetti:
http://metro.co.uk/2012/07/10/two-men-set-flat-on-fire-after-cooking-tin-of-spaghetti-on-top-of-toaster-3372714/

Not so much stealth veg as deceitful:
http://notalwaysrelated.com/not-just-the-cake-thats-lying/30256

70s and 80s foods
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/you-grow-up-70s-80s-7201567

An interesting way to peel spuds!
http://t.co/xt1yG5hjXp

Quick way to peel apples
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2014/09/05/how-to-peel-apples/


Tetris Cheese Sarnie
http://t.co/ySNCA22QAj

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )