Slow cooked pulled chili pork!

This is a great family/friends meal and can be served in different ways! Serve with tortilla wraps and sour cream or add kidney beans and have with rice or jacket potato.


You will need the following ingredients

1.5kg of pork shoulder (fat/crackling removed)
1 Large onion
4 Cloves of garlic
2 tins of tomatoes
1 fresh lemon
2 peppers
Fresh chillies (5 small or 2 large) or 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground coriander
10 (ish) sprigs if fresh thyme or 2 tsp if dried thyme
2 stock cubes (I prefer chicken)
Boiling water

Slice half the onion and dice the other half

Use fresh or dried chili

These are my home grown chili, so I have used the seeds too

Heat your pan and then add some oil (not olive oil as it will burn) Add the onion, crushed garlic, paprika, cinammon, ground ginger, half the thyme (leaves only) zest & juice of the lemon.

Take off the fat and all the string (if any) of the shoulder of pork.

Add one tin of tomatoes and mix with the onions, spices & herbs.
Place the meat in the pan and rub in all the mixture.
Brown of on both sides.

Add the other tin of tomatoes and 4 tins of boiling water.
Add the stock cubes
Add one pepper (I used green)
Add a few pinchs of salt
Throw in the whole sprigs of thyme.

Place lid on and cook for a couple of hours until the pork can be shredded in the sauce.
I stir every now and then and cut the meat up so that it cooks quicker.

Enjoy!!

Lemon and strawberry Cake

Delicious light lemon sponge with  fresh lemon cream and sweet strawberries!!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

You will need the following Ingredients:-

250g. Self raising flour
250g. Caster sugar (plus extra 4 tbls)
250g. Soft butter or margarine
4. Free range eggs
2. Fresh lemons
2tbls. Milk
Lots. Strawberries
300ml. Fresh double cream

Don't stress about you equipment use what you have! I have made this cake several times, spoon, food processor or electric whisk! It would be good to invest in a hand whisk as this will save time when whipping your cream, they are very cheap (3.99 & above)

Your sponge!!
Cream your sugar and butter
Add your eggs and mix
Add your flour and mix
Add zest & juice of one lemon
Add your milk and mix
Line a 7" round cake tin and pour the mixture in
Bake in oven at 180c / 350f / gas 4 for 40 mins (depends how good your oven is, check with a skewer to see if cooked)
Leave too cool then carefully slice the cake in half so you have a top and a bottom.

Lemon Cream
Whisk together until thick the cream, zest and juice of one lemon and 4tblspoons of caster sugar. Be careful not to over whisk as soon as it's at a spreadable consistency stop.

The Cake
Smother one layer of the cake with half the cream and place lots of sliced strawberries on! Smother the rest of the cream all over the strawberries and place the other half if the sponge in top!!



I like to decorate the top, mix a little icing sugar with lemon juice or rose water
and arrange the strawberries.



Pork Shoulder

Now what to do with a pork shoulder? Pulled pork wraps, Sunday lunch or slow cooked pork chilli!!

Homemade kebabs

Why not make your own healthy Chicken kebabs.

Thinly slice chicken fillets add curry spices (Chicken tikka, garam masala or a decent mix from the Asian supermarket)

Add raita or natural yogurt (enough to coat all the chicken) mix well, put cling film over the top and leave in the fridge for an hour.

Roughly slice red onions & peppers.

Heat a large griddle or frying pan and then add oil (not olive oil as it will burn) I use groundnut oil but veg or sunflower oil will do.

Fry off the onions/peppers for 1 minute then add the marinated chicken. The chicken should cook very quickly if sliced thin enough.

At the end of cooking add some fresh roughly chopped coriander (if you have any)

Prepare some salad for your kebab, whatever you like!!

Serve on wraps, nan breads, pittas or lavash breads and a good squirt of raita or yoghurt.


TIPS

Check out your local Asian supermarket the choice of breads are amazing and all big enough to make your kebabs!! The nan breads you get in your local supermarkets are not that good.

Add mushrooms to your kebab and make it into a London style kebab.

This recipe is also great for bbqs, just bbq the chicken and if you use a bbq tray you can also cook your veggies.

Scones

I am going to face my demons and make scones today. How can something so simple turnout so rubbish!! Any tips on scone making anyone?

Mango

Today I will be cooking or baking something with these beauties! I didn't realise there was so many different varieties of Mango, lots to choose from at the Asian supermarket!!