Gordon Ramsay's Sausage & Caramelised Onion Hot Pot

Hi, my name is Meg and I am addicted to Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking.

Seriously, so far there's been the Brisket, Baked Porridge, Potato & Beetroot Gratin and Grilled Lobster!

I almost feel like I could complete a Julie & Julia project for this cookbook! The Meg & Gordon project: Ultimate Home Cooking Challenge. Without  even thinking about it, I am working my way through all the recipes, so maybe I should turn it into a project of some sort! Original idea, no of course not, but a good idea, HECK YES (say's my enthusiastic Husband!!). We'll see...

This week has been another gloomy week in London, lots of rain and not a lot much else! It is soup weather and casserole weather! Apologies if you're reading in Australia and are sick of all of these warm and cozy meals, but the idea of getting excited about a salad right now is just not going to happen!!

Having OD'd on soup last week, I decided to give casseroles a whirl this week. And what better place to start then with a good old sausage hot pot! 

meg-made: Gordon Ramsay's sausage & caramelised onion hot pot

A little more involved then regular Bangers & Mash, but worth the extra effort!

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

Olive oil, for frying
8 best-quality pork sausages (I got GF ones)
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 knobs of butter
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
3 thyme sprigs, leaves only (I used rosemary)
150g button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
200ml red wine (I used port)
200ml beef stock
Small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

meg-made: Gordon Ramsay's sausage & caramelised onion hot pot

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Place a large hob-proof casserole dish over a medium heat. Add a dash of oil and fry the sausages until coloured all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the onions and a couple of knobs of butter to the empty casserole dish. Stir in the sugar and thyme (or rosemary), then cook for 10–15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring now and again until the onions are completely caramelised. 

meg-made: Gordon Ramsay's sausage & caramelised onion hot pot

3. Add the mushrooms, stir, and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes.

4. Add the cooked sausages and red wine (or Port) to the dish, bring to the boil and bubble for 4–5 minutes to burn off the alcohol and reduce slightly. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then transfer to the oven for 18–20 minutes uncovered until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce is thick.

5. Sprinkle the finished dish with parsley and serve.

meg-made: Gordon Ramsay's sausage & caramelised onion hot pot

meg-made: Gordon Ramsay's sausage & caramelised onion hot pot

PMI

Plus = Comfort food at its best! 

Minus = Obviously not too healthy!! 

Interesting = I loved the rosemary instead of the thyme, it really took on a "Roast" flavour

Wishing you a wonderful weekend wherever you are! Are you watching the Super Bowl? We probably will stay up for some of it but otherwise are hoping to see some sunshine this weekend!!! Have a great one!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

Introducing....... Poppins!

A few weeks ago I introduced you to meggie, the brand dedicated to my kiddies range of accessories available on my Etsy store. 

Today I want to introduce you to Poppins! 

Poppins is the brand dedicated to my party supplies range, also available on my Etsy store. 

When thinking about a name for my party range I drew my inspiration from my surroundings. One of my favourite parts of living in Hampstead in London is our proximity to my absolute favourite nanny, Mary Poppins. The authoress of the Mary Poppins books (P.L Travers) was an Australian lady who lived in London when she wrote the series of novels about the magical British nanny. There are many references to Hampstead in the movie, the most notable is the neighbouring house of the Banks family, the house of Admiral Boon. 

This house, originally built by a neurotic ex-naval officer was built with two decks with cannons mounted all around to fire salutes on the King's birthday's. It was then the basis for Admiral's Boon house, and happens to be just around the corner from our house, so we feel the influence of supercalifragalisticexpeallidocious every day! 

So in naming my range of balloons and other party decorations, I decided to go with Poppins, which also is obviously what happens with balloons and champagne, two key elements for a great party!!!

There's lots of fun confetti-filled balloons in many fun and beautiful colour combinations (or I accept custom orders to make the balloons fit perfectly for your next event)

And in honour of Admiral Boon, there's even a nautical themed bunch of balloons too!!

In addition to confetti-filled balloons there are also lots of seasonal party supplies, which changes regularly and includes items such as cake bunting toppers, food picks and lots of glitter! 

There's a few exciting new products that are going to be released in February, and Im SUPER DOOPER excited about one of them, so will share that as soon as I can!!! 

I love getting photos of little babies in their sweet little hair accessories, but would also love to see photos of your events decorated with confetti-filled balloons, so make sure you send them through too!!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

Fast Diet - Week 14 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week 14 of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here. 

Ever since I started the Fast Diet 14 weeks ago, I feel like I have been from one illness to the next. Perhaps this is because it coincides with winter, but I just don't feel like I've had more than one or two healthy weeks where I can fully embrace Fasting and give Fast Exercise a go! This past week I have had my Christmas cold return, and coupled with some miserable London weather, didn't quite achieve my exercise goals.

But one of the best benefits for me to be on the Fast Diet is that my awareness of what my body needs has increased dramatically. Whilst I sometimes ignore it when I hear it saying "no more dinner Meg, you've had enough", I always listen when it tells me to rest. So this week I listened, rested and it feels like I have finally kicked this colds' butt!

I decided that the way I was going to banish this seemingly never-ending cold was with vegetables and vitamins. Also known as soup. Lots and lots of soup. Soup is perfect on a Fast Day too, because it can be full of nutrients without hiding many calories. So one particularly grim and miserable Fast Day, I made a trio of soups, and the next day, started to feel better.

On your marks, get set, soup!

The Fast Diet recipes meg-made: Soup trioThe Fast Diet recipes meg-made: Soup trioThe Fast Diet recipes meg-made

Lunch - Courgette and Leek Soup

I wasn't terribly in love with this soup, so am not going to bother sharing the recipe, but it was filling and two hearty serves of vegetables!

Afternoon Tea - Carrot & Ginger soup with Orange

This soup was the soup to cure a cold! I wanted to combine ginger and orange to really up my immunity! I feel like I could bottle this one up and sell it next to Cold&Flu tabs, but the best part is that it actually tasted good too. The ginger and orange really made it so fresh and zingy! The recipe post is here.

The Fast Diet recipes meg-made: Carrot and ginger soup with orange

Second Dinner -  Chorizo & Butterbean Soup

My old favourite from Lavender & Lovage!

Dessert - (fictitious chicken soup)

My little sous-chef was busy making all kinds of this week, but the little nurturer kept bringing me a pot of chicken soup and forcing it upon my mouth! It amused me greatly that it was always the Roast Chicken that she would stir up and present to me, I don't know how she knows about Soul Food at 18 months old, but it was so sweet nonetheless. And guess what - calories = zero! Ficticious food may the way forward!

Drinks

Water is natures best expectorant, so in my quest to banish this cold I have been downing litres and litres of H20 each day!  I also made a range of infusions, particularly with fresh ginger, so sipped on these all day long.

Total calories for the day = 460

Exercise

Not an impressive week of exercise but I have done as much as I felt able to. I've done lots of mini-pilates sessions at home and had my Skype technique session with Joanne Elphinston to perfect my plank, for the 30 to 30 Plank Challenge. 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 3.5kg (7.7lbs)

Goodness gracious me! Lets hope this coming week is a bit more successful! I would just love to have a healthy week so I can actually focus on eating well and doing some exercise.

Goals for the coming week

My goals for this coming week are:

• Continue Plank Challenge, get to 70 seconds holding
• Do a sneaky 16:8 Fast on the weekend
• If my health allows, head to the pool for some laps! 
• Do a big walk through the Heath with the pram up all the hills 

Lots to work on, but also I am proud of listening to what my body needs, and resting when it needs it. But now, it's time to be healthy and get moving!!!

Wishing you a wonderful week!



Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!


  

Carrot and Ginger Soup with Orange - Fast Diet Recipe

This Carrot and Ginger soup with Orange is chock-a-block with fruit and vegetables and without any cream mixed through is a great low-calorie meal to have on the Fast Diet.

Soup is such a funny thing, I think you either love it or are just a bit meh about it. I happen to love it. To me a bowl of soup can settle an upset tummy; can warm you from the inside out on a cold day; and in some cases, provide the biggest hit of vegetables that you need to cure a cold! 

I made this for a lunch one Fast Day and then had it the following day, mixed with a little cream and it was delicious both ways (although obviously, one was a little more indulgent!).

meg-made: Carrot and ginger soup with Orange

Ingredients (4 serves)

8 large carrots, topped and tailed and chopped into large pieces

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 oranges, freshly squeezed

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

500ml water

Instructions:

1. Spray a few squirts of oil spray in a heavy based pot and sautee the onion for a few minutes until it just starts to brown slightly. 

2. Add the carrots, ginger and oranges and simmer for a few minutes. 

meg-made: Carrot and ginger soup with Orange

3. Add the stock and enough water to fully cover the vegetables and let it bubble away for about half an hour or until the carrot has softened and the liquid reduced and thicker.

4. Puree the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until completely smooth.

Serve with parsley and cream (optional) on a non-Fast Day.

meg-made: Carrot and ginger soup with Orange

PMI

Plus = loaded with veggies, filling, uber healthy, the ginger goes beautifully with the carrot

Minus = The soup does taste more delicious with cream

Interesting = The orange is a subtle flavour, so you could add another orange into the mix

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

Australia Day 2014.... Lambassadors!

Happy (belated) Australia Day to everyone for yesterday!!

"I've been to cities that never close down. From New York to Rome and old London Town. But no matter how far, or how wide I roam...." 

I am not sure whether it is just because it has been just so gosh darn miserable in London these past few weeks, but this Australia Day, I missed Home. 

Watching the Australian Open tennis final in Melbourne this morning made me miss our old stomping ground where we spent 4 wonderful years before moving to the UK. But at the same time, it was so leisurely to be watching the Tennis final at a civilised hour on a Sunday morning, rather than through bleary eyes well into the night.

Tuning in to the final songs on the Triple J's Hottest 100 made me miss my Uni days in Queensland where we'd fill an inflatable pool, have a barbie and drink beers all afternoon listening to the countdown. But at the same time, knowing a heap of the top 10 songs made me feel a little like I'm still connected to those happy times.

Giggling at Sam Kekovich's 2014 Australia Day Message made me so happy to have my own little Lambassador to share our Aussie ways with! We were only too happy to fulfil our civic duty to teach the next generation to love lamb!!

Making hamburgers for lunch, made me miss our massive 6 burner BBQ that we loved having big cookouts on our back deck when it had cooled down a little at night. But at the same time, huddled together having amazing Lamb Burgers and watching Maddie eat the world's tiniest burger (and me the world's largest) was a new kind of delicious fun. 

Sitting inside all day watching the rain pitter patter on the window panes made me miss the warmth of the sunshine and the rich blue skies that seems to exist only in my memories. But at the same time, this meant more time reading, playing, eating ANZAC biscuits and dancing together with my wonderful little family, and that wins over a blue sky any day.

And having quite possibly the best pavlova I've ever made, made me miss so many people that I wish I could have shared it with. But then devouring possibly the best pavlova I've ever made (and discovering that after years of scraping away the passionfruit, I actually kind of LOVE it), made me proud of my baking prowess and of having a really fun-shaped country to embellish with!

"....I still call Australia, still call Australia, I still call Australia Home"(If you don't know this famous Qantas add, it's so beautiful, but if you're feeling homesick, it will do you no favours!)

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!