TOAD IN A HOLE EGGS AND SAUSAGE

 Spices have been added to this batter to give an extra punch – and the turmeric gives a lovely vibrancy to the dish.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 12 standard-size sausages of your choice, pierced with a fork
• 400g mushrooms, halved
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed lightly

For the batter

• 225g plain flour
• ½-1 tbsp chipotle chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 medium eggs
• 275ml whole milk
• 4 tbsp crispy fried onions

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 240C/220C fan/Gas 9.
2. Put the oil into a 20cm x 30cm roasting dish. Add the pierced sausages along with the mushrooms, give the dish a jiggle to cover everything with oil, then cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3. To make the batter, put the flour, chipotle chilli flakes, ground coriander, turmeric and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and milk, whisking thoroughly to avoid lumps, then stir in the crispy fried onions. If you like, you can make the batter beforehand to save time. You can even make it the day before, but it will thicken overnight, so add a couple of tablespoons of milk and whisk up again if necessary before baking.
4. Take the sausages out of the oven and throw in the crushed coriander seeds – you should hear them sizzle and pop, as the oil will be very hot. Pour the batter around the sausages and put the dish back into the oven for 25-30 minutes.
5. Eat the toad hot, with brown sauce or ketchup. Add a fried egg if you like. Any leftovers can be frozen, wrapped in parchment paper and foil, and can be reheated from frozen on a baking tray covered with foil.

Recipe from Time to Eat by Nadiya Hussain (Michael Joseph, £20). Order your copy from books.telegraph.co.uk 

DAHL IN INSTAPOT

 I had chick peas left from the attempts to do Minnie's crisps.

I put them in the Instapot, about two inches of beans or a bit more,  and covered them with water so that the thickness of the water was twice the thickness of the beans.

I used the bean setting and they came out great.  Maybe a bit overdone, but I'd rather have a little mush than hard beans to chew and digest.  I let the steam escape by itself.  

I served with reduced sodium soy sauce.  Tasty.

CATFISH STIR FRY

 So many times I read a cookbook and never follow a recipe. However, I got this great cookbook from the library and then yesterday we bought a stir fry pan at a yard sale. I picked up some Mississippi farmed catfish today, so I cut up the veggies and Elizabeth did the rest. It is one of the best fish meals I have had recently.

Catfish here is noticibly better than what we buy up North. I don't know why.

The rest involved stir fried carrots, onion, mushroom, red pepper, carrot and a sauce made from chicken broth, corn starch, and low sodium soy sauce,.

It was served over precooked rice made in the Instapot.

I'd forgotten how crispy the veggies come out of a 3 minute stir fry. We have not stir fried in years.

The recipe came out of book called, "Catch of the Day:200+ REcipes for the everyday angler" by Chef John Schumacher. I found a copy on line for $4 and it is on the way. These are perfect recipes for Burden Lake filleted bluegills.