Bon Voyage Frances & Catey

Izzy’s friend Catey is moving to Canada with her family this week and we are sad to see Catey and her family leave our community. Catey’s Dad, Bill has already left and Catey and her Mum, Frances are heading off this week. The last 2 Friday’s Catey & Frances have joined us for dinner on Friday night and James has taken on the cooking and produced a couple of tasty meals that we all enjoyed together. I love those Friday nights – first of all it’s Friday (WOO HOO!!), great company, good food and a glass of red! Perfect!

Chicken Thighs with Pasta, Bacon & Cherry Tomatoes (coutesy of Tana Ramsay – Family Kitchen)

Ingredients:-

6 chicken thigh fillets

2 Tbsp olive oil

140g pancetta cubes or bacon lardons

200ml white wine

300ml chicken stock

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

250g penne pasta

20 torn basil leaves

In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan with a lid, brown the chicken thighs in the olive oil. When they have a good rich colour, add the pancetta and fry until the fat starts to run.

Turn up the heat and add the white wine, stirring to remove the crusty residue from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by about a third, add the chicken stock and bring back to the boil.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and tip the halved tomatoes into the pan, but don’t stir them in.

Put the lid on and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the pasta in a pan of boiling water and simmer for approximately 12 minutes. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Just before serving, add the torn basil to the chicken dish and gently stir. Serve on a bed of pasta.

Serves 4 children

Crumbed Fish (courtesy of Delicious – February 2010)

Ingredients:-

Olive oil

80g fresh breadcrumbs

2 large free-range eggs, beaten

50g plain flour, seasoned

Fresh thyme, leaves picked

4 chunky, sustainable white fish fillets

Lemon wedges, to serve

Mix breadcrumbs and thyme in a bowl. Place the egg and flour in separate bowls. Flour the fish fillets, dip in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Heat some olive oil in a deep frying pan and shallow-fry the crumbed fish for 2-3 minutes each side until golden and cooked through.

Puy Lentil Salad with Feta, Mint and Semi-dried Tomatoes (courtesy of Delicious – February 2010)

Ingredients:-

1 red onion

Extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

200g puy lentils, rinsed

Vegetable stock

Feta

Semi-dried tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes, quartered

Basil , chopped

Mint, chopped

Lemon juice and zest, grated

In a pan soften the red onion in olive oil, add the garlic clove and fry for 1 minute. Add the lentils and cover with hot vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer until tender.

Drain, then stir in the feta, semi-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, mint and lemon zest. Season, add the lemon juice and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to serve.

Crazy beautiful fairies!