Warm Duck Salad

This salad is lovely any season, no matter what the weather. The 5 spice works well with the tangy dressing and all it needs is a plain, crisp salad.



Rub 5 spice over duck breasts and pan fry for about 20 minutes, turning once. You want them pink in the middle. If you’re using breasts with skin on you won’t need any oil, just place them skin side down and they’ll cook in their own fat. You'll need to drain some off it off halfway through cooking though.

While you leave the duck to rest make up a dressing by combining a tablespoon each of soy sauce and rice vinegar with a few drops of toasted sesame oil (this is enough for two salads). Drizzle this over crispy salad leaves then slice the duck and lay it over the salad. Sprinkle over any duck juices and serve.

A Warm Welcome to my International Visitors

When I first started this blog I could never have dreamed of how far reaching it would be across the world. Of course I knew the power of the internet makes this possible but I never thought that people all around the world would be interested in what I write on my little blog here in the UK. When I look at my stats tool which shows me where people are visiting from and I see visitors from all over I’m overwhelmed, I really am. And I get excited each time a new spot on the map appears ‘look, look, I had a visitor from Hawaii!’ I tell Rob, with a big smile on my face. Your visits delight me and I’d like to take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to you all. We may not always ‘speak’ but I know you’re there and I’m very, very pleased that you are.

Here are some of the places visitors have come from over the last two days:

Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, New South Wales (Australia) ~ Las Vegas, California, Florida, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, Hawaii (USA) ~ Finland ~ South Africa ~ Spain ~ Canada ~ Slovakia ~ Portugal ~ New Zealand ~ Belgium ~ India ~ Thailand

The Nasty Bits

So there I was pottering around in the kitchen preparing dinner the other night. A nice piece of belly pork was on the menu, lovely. I took it out of the fridge and unwrapped it then placed it in the roasting tray and started to rub it with salt. Then I saw something that stopped me dead in my tracks. Something I hadn’t encountered before and was not prepared for. There, along the belly were the nipples you sometimes see. Bear with me, this was not the part I was unprepared for. I’d come across nipples on pieces of pork belly before and, hey, I’m a grown-up, I can cope with a few animal nipples – just about. But this, this was one step too far. As I ran my eyes further along I saw, just by the nipples........hairs. Several of them. Ewwww, this I could NOT handle. Hence a quick exit from me and a shout to Rob.

Rob offered to cut the nipples and offending hairs off and I readily agreed. I have to say I couldn’t watch though. When Rob picked up the knife and approached the meat I winced and protectively wrapped my arms around my boobs, making another sharp exit. I know, I know, I’m pathetic.

Noodles!

Noodles are perfect for a quick and easy dinner mid-week, and they're quite delicious. I love a big bowlful to slurp up!

I threw this dish together this evening, as you do with stir fries, and although I’ve outlined what I did you really can adjust it as much as you like. Use different meat, or none at all, try different vegetables – mange tout, bean sprouts, mushrooms, egg noodles instead of rice noodles, and adjust the seasoning as you wish.



Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

Heat your wok over the highest temperature until very hot and add some groundnut oil. Add slices of boneless chicken thighs (you could just as easily use chicken breast) and stir fry until white all over. Now add a crushed garlic clove along with a sliced red pepper, sliced curly kale (or similar, such as spinach, broccoli, pak choi) and sliced spring onions. Stir fry everything until the chicken is well cooked and the vegetables are still crunchy. Now add a good slosh of soy sauce and rice vinegar along with a dash of toasted sesame oil. Add rice noodles you’ve already cooked according to the instructions on the packet and toss everything around to coat well. Once the noodles are heated through the dish is ready to serve.