Chicken Katsu Curry

EDIT: This post has been rewritten for clarity and superior taste. I have also changed the photos as my photography skills have vastly improved since February 2015 (when this was originally posted)

Originally I made a healthy version of chicken katsu curry, baking the chicken with only a tiny spray of oil, but then I realised that sometimes only butter will do! Now, I pan fry the breadcrumbed chicken to get the golden colour and then bake in in the oven to make sure that it’s cooked through. It’s a great meal and really straightforward to make. For those who don’t like spice - this is as mild a curry as you can get, but no less flavourful for it.

Jam

This is a piece I wrote for the wonderful writing class I attended at All Hallows Farmhouse last month. It's about making jam with my grandma, who now enjoys jam made by someone else (aka me).

Making Mascarpone

This weekend I attended a food writing course at All Hallows Farmhouse in Dorset, taught by the wonderful Karen Barnes of delicious. magazine. I learnt how to improve all aspects of my writing and I hope that you will see changes going forward. There will now be a section on my blog devoted to pieces that I feel are more than just recipes, such as memories, stories and listicles (10 things you may not know about spices coming soon). Below is a 200 word exercise written after Lisa, from All Hallows, showed us how easy it is to make Mascarpone.

Don't Say Never Trust A Skinny Cook: 'Light' Butter Chicken

Author's note: This was first published back at the beginning of 2015 and my photography and food styling skills have improved dramatically since then, so I thought it was time to update! These images are the result of a highly enjoyable lunch. Keep checking back to see more favourites updated with mouthwatering images. 

Dipping Sauce

I've been back in Manchester for a fortnight now and having a blast. Classes start in a week, though I already have a ton of work to do for one module, Serialised Crime. So far though, I've mainly been hanging out around food. A friend and I went to a fair on Saturday, where the most amazing chocolate was being sold (dormouse chocolates). On Sunday I entered a baking competition in which I sadly didn't get though to the second round but I lost to some truly amazing looking cakes so I'm not too upset.

New And Improved

I've been umming and ahhing about uploading this recipe for ages as it already exists in a different form on my blog. It's this Spanish omelette recipe from September 2014. I finally decided to post it in part because of the improved photography and in part because I think this recipe is better as I've been able to tweak it over the intervening 20 months.

There's more butter and salt involved and this omelette cooks slower and for longer, it will probably take 45 minutes to make properly and serves two.

Decadent Boost Brownies

I gave up drinking diet coke at the start of June and genuinely haven't missed the stuff but when I tried to stop eating chocolate at the same time then that was a whole different kettle of fish! In an attempt to get temptations out of the house, I made these brownies with all of my chocolate and sold them for charity (Cleft Palate). The results were extremely more-ish and went down well with all who tried them.

You don't have to use Boost bites, instead you could pick any of the sharing bags of mini chocolates. Maltesers . . . twirls . . . even chocolate buttons. I had a mix of twirls and boosts in my cupboard, which gave a lovely richness and texture to the finished brownies.