Mess of the week - NOODLEY DOODLEY DOO SOUP

Hello food.....

It's cold, I've got a cold. Need something quick, but healthy, but warm, but tasty. So many things to consider! Noodley Doodley Doo Soup was the obvious option. Have the basic essentials in the fridge anyway. Just some beansprouts to buy. Nice and easy and so so warming. Chicken noodle soup is that 'typical' dish people seem to have when they're ill. This is different though, it has some lovely Asian flavours - which will always be my favouties. Don't get me wrong, this is no Pho Bo (my favourite noodle soup creation). But to get that recipe you'll have to either ask, or get a copy of Jess's Messes!

Here's the recipe for Noodley Doodley Doo Soup:

Ingredients

1 shallot (diced)

1 ½cm cube ginger (diced)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

2 green chillies (deseeded and chopped)

2 stalks lemongrass (chopped)

1 Chicken Breast (sliced)

250 ml Chicken Stock

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

50g beansprouts

Large bunch coriander (roughly chopped)

1 portion of egg noodles

Method

1.      Fry the shallot, ginger, garlic, chillies and lemongrass on a medium heat until softened.

2.   Add chicken and cook until slightly browned

  3.    Add stock and simmer for 5 minutes.

4.     Add noodles and cook for a further 3 minutes.

5.     Add spinach, cook for a further minute, then remove from heat.

6.     Sprinkle coriander over the mix and stir in.

7.     Serve immediately.

Mmmmmm

Enjoy! And hopefully recover if you're feeling slightly off colour too!

MESS OF THE WEEK: Lincolancashire Hotpot

Hello food.....

 So I had a request for a Lancashire Hotpot recipe and this is what was created. The name is because, my family all being Yorkshire, I can't officially make anything called 'Lancashire' however, I don't class myself as being from Yorkshire as I was born in Lincoln, so I'm bringing that in.

This recipe Is a goooood one for making and leaving to eat later as it takes a while to get the lamb nicely tender. I decided to put it on now, as it is getting soo much colder now, a good 'winter warmer'

Ingredients
600g Lamb Shoulder/Neck (diced)
20g Plain Flour
2 Tsp Sea Salt
2 Tsp White Pepper
20g Butter
4 White Onions (Sliced)
1 Red Onion (Sliced)
2 Cloves Garlic
10g Rosemary
10g Thyme
200ml Red Wine
600g White Potatoes (Peeled)
150ml Lamb Stock.
Salt and Pepper

1. Place Lamb in bowl with sea salt, white pepper and flour and mix until lamb is thinly coated with seasoning and flour and place in hotpot dish.
2. Place 15g Butter in a pan and fry onions, garlic rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper slowly until onions are softened. (You can also add some carrot here, if you want to get some of you '5 a day' included).
When onions are soft, add red wine and cook on a high heat until wine reduces and onions have absorbed the wine.
3. Cover the lamb with the onions.
4. Slice the potatoes about 2-3mm thick, depending how you prefer them. Melt the remaining butter and place in a bowl with potato slices and some salt and pepper and mix until all potatoes are coated.
5. Place Potato slices on top of the onion in layers until all is used. You can do this artistically or just as it ends up, it doesn't affect the flavour in any way.
6. Pour lamb stock over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Place lid on hotpot dish then bake in oven 180 degrees/ gas mark 5 for 30 mins.
8. Turn oven down to 130 degrees/gas mark 3 and bake for 2 1/2 hours.
9. Finally take the lid off the dish and turn oven back to 180 degrees/gas mark 5 and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden and slightly crispy.
10. Serve with whatever you like (we had pickled red cabbage).


Enjoy!!!

Let me know if any requests!

MESS OF THE WEEK (7) Zesty, Citrusy, Drizzley, Cakey Cake

Hello food.....

So, As I've said in the previous post I decided to make a lemon drizzle cake. However, I wanted it to be slightly different so I made it just a general citrus one rather than focusing on just lemon.

Here it is, a cakey creation, that worked out quite nicely and hopefully will for you too!

Zesty, Citrusy, Drizzley Cakey Cake

Ingredients 


225g Unsalted Butter
225g Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1/2 Lemon (Juice and zest)
1/2 Lime (Juice and zest)

Frosting - 180g Caster Sugar
                1/2 lime juice
                1/2 lemon juice
                20g Icing sugar

Method

1. Place Butter and Caster sugar in bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs gradually and make sure it doesn't curdle, because then it is nooooooot nice!
3. Add flour gradually and fold in gently to make sure it stays lovely and light!
4. Add lemon and lime, again folding nice and gently!
5. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with greaseproof paper and spoon mixture into tin. Smoooooooooooooooth over and put in oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Check by putting a skewer into the middle and making sure it comes out beautifully clean. 
7. Turn out onto cooling rack.
8. Mix together caster sugar, lime juice and lemon juice. Pour over cooled cake.
9. When frosting has set dust the top with icing sugar. Cut into squares and SERVE! 
10. Lovely CAK!

Cake, coffee, tea, money

Hello food.....

At work my first event to plan was one of the 'Macmillan world's biggest coffee mornings'. However this was slightly different as had to be held in the afternoon, so was a 'coffee afternoon.' With my limited supplies this is how the room turned out, to be honest, the decoration was not important, people were really only there for the food. I made:

• Zesty citrusy drizzley cakey cake (a new Jess's Messes creation)
• Tangy cheesy twists
• Onion tasty tartlets
• Crazy cupcakes (that aren't crazy in anyway, just have pink icing)
• Secret shortbread (no one will EVER get this recipe)

We managed to raise £164 just through a donation box and a raffle for the below hamper, so I'm thinking of doing a cake sale soon to see how much I can raise through that! People always want to eat cake, so hopefully even mooooorrreeeeeeee.....

76 days!

Hello food.....

So,

I may have always been known for my ridiculous christmas excitement and this may seem like I am taking it to the extreme! However, really I am just being sensible and planning in advance!

Jess's Messes raffle prize hamper

I made this hamper

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

as a raffle prize for a 'coffee afternoon' that I held at my new work and suddenly a plan began forming in my food obsessed head. I am going to offer my hampers for people to buy (at an undecided but very reasonable price) over christmas! I'm going to have to think it through to make sure I make the sort of things that last, so people can get them a few days before christmas and they still taste beautiful by the wonderful day!

I already have an order for 2 from the winner of this hamper, maybe now is the time Jess's Messes takes over the world????

Face on a cake

Well, what can I say?

I apologise dramtically for my lack of 'blogness' over the summer. I was working wierd hours, and having no routine doesn't help. So now I have a normal hours job and therefore the blogging can commence with a vengeance!

So, I started my beautiful new job and a cake had to be made as a leaving present, I'm not going to get into the moustache, but it isn't as offensive as it could appear to the outsider! But anyway, a cake had to be made and the Jess's Messes expertise was required. I cannot take credit for the decorations, and I think they were definitely what made the cake what it is! But anyway, at least I'm getting back into my cooking and baking and returning to the Jess's Messes state of mind!

Again I apologise for my lack of enthusiasm over the last month, but now, I promise I am back, and back for good!

Anyone who wants a cake of their face....... probably not best to come to me!

Enjoy your food everyone, and keep checking back for recipes of the week, which will appear AT LEAST once every week from now on! :)

Love Jess