Sticky onions

A quick cheat alternative to caramelised onions that livens up an everyday dish

Sticky Onions

This is nice with steak, lamb chops or even sausages

Thinly slice a couple of onions and gently soften them in a frying pan in a little bit of butter/spread for four or five minutes (so they are no longer crisp, but not to the point they are mushy).

Add in four or five teaspoons of honey, a pinch of thyme and some black pepper and heat gently stirring occasionally for about five minutes. At first the honey will go really runny, and then it will thicken up. When it is really sticky, add a two or three teaspoons of vinegar and gently heat for a couple of minutes stirring until it is sticky again.

(also nice with a few chilli flakes in)


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Potato and/or cauliflower curry

Somewhere along the lines of bombay aloo or cauliflower bhaji...this is a lovely side-dish for a curry (or makes a good snack or lunch)

Potato/Cauliflower Curry


You can use raw potatoes or cauliflower, or it's a great way of using up leftover boiled new potatoes and steamed/boiled cauli.

You can use all potatoes, all cauli or a mix. This will do about a pound of potatoes or a medium cauliflower (or a proportionate combination)

It's best made the day before to let the flavours develop.


Put a small amount of oil in a pan, and soften one or two chopped onions and two or three cloves of garlic.

Stir in a teaspoon of coriander, a teaspoon of cumin, half to one teaspoons of cayenne (or use paprika or chilli powder if you want it milder or hotter. I usually don't add quite enough cayenne and end up adding some tabasco), and about a quarter teaspoon of turmeric.

Add a tin of tomatoes (if they are whole, bash them up in the pan) and about half the tin of water (if you are using a bit more potatoes or cauli, and especially if raw you may need a full tin of water so there is enough liquid for them to cook in and then the sauce to reduce a bit).

Add in some ground black pepper, a pinch of salt, a bay leaf, three cardamoms and about a tablespoon of lemon juice, then bring gently to boiling.

(If you don't have them, you could leave out the turmeric, cardamoms and bay leaf without any great loss.)

Add your chopped potato and/or cauliflower and let it all simmer until softened, about ten to twenty minutes. (Chop potatoes into bite-sized chunks, break the cauli into small florets and chop the stalks finely)

You might need to add a little bit of tomato puree if you either have a bit too much potato and cauli in it to make the sauce stretch, or if you added too much water and need to thicken it a bit.


You might also like:

Things to have with Poppadoms

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For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Barbecue Marinade

Great as a marinade or a relish

This is a great marinade for pork ribs (will do two to three strips, about 1-1.5kgs) or it can be used as a burger relish too.

This is best made the day before

Barbecue Marinade

Grate a small onion and crush about three cloves of garlic into a pan and heat gently for two or three minutes to soften. Add a little tin (usually about 150g) of tomato puree (that is about three quarters of a tube). Half fill the tin with vinegar then top up with water and add this to the pan (this is about 4-5 tablespoons of each if you are using a tube of puree). Add a pinch of oregano, some black pepper, about a teaspoon of brown sugar and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce. Bring it gently to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Taste and add any more vinegar, worcester or sugar to taste.

If you are using it as a marinade, it will need to be cool before being put on the meat unless you are cooking it straight away. I usually leave ribs marinading for a couple of hours, then put them in the oven for 30-40 mins. About half-way through cooking I pour off the marinade and meat juices, and simmer gently in a pan to reduce back down as a sauce for the ribs, which I serve with potato wedges

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For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Mushroom Rice

A risotto it isn't, but a decent enough taste for the save on effort and fuss.

This goes nicely with chicken (and devilled sauce), ribs, curries, spicy chicken, marinaded chicken (stir in the excess marinade and juices from cooking), smoked haddock, on its own (maybe with some cheese grated over)...

Mushroom Rice

Put a small amount of oil or butter/spread in a pan and soften one or two chopped onions. Add 4-8ozs of chopped mushrooms and let them start to soften for a couple of minutes.

Add 8oz of rice (I usually use basmati, but whatever you have is fine) and stir for a minute, then add 3/4 of a pint of boiling water, half to one vegetable or chicken stock cubes, some black pepper and some parsley (if you are using fresh, add later, about half way through cooking the rice). Bring back to the boil, and then simmer gently on a low heat for 10-15 minutes (stir at least once half way through). If it is a bit soggy, leave the lid off for the last few minutes. (If you are using 'easy cook' rice it'll probably take a few minutes longer to cook)


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Devilled Sauce

This is great with roast chicken legs and potato wedges or rice. Or cook some chicken pieces and have it as a sauce in a baked potato

Devilled Sauce

Start heating a tin of tomatoes. (If they aren't chopped tomatoes, bash them up in the pan.) Add a chopped onion and couple of cloves of crushed garlic. Stir in two tablespoons of vinegar, a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, one or two teaspoons of crunchy mustard, about a teaspoon of brown sugar and some black pepper to taste.

Bring to the boil then leave to simmer for at least ten minutes (onions should be soft) and check seasoning


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Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Potato Wedges

Cut the potatoes (I usually use Maris Pipers, one or two per person, depending on size) into wedges (I cut each into eight: cut longways in half, then half and half again. Or maybe six if smaller, half then into three). Put in an oven tin, drizzle over a couple of teaspoons of oil then rub all the potato slices together to coat. Spread them in one layer and put them in the oven (about 200c/GM6) for about 45 mins. (If they overlap you will need to add about ten minutes, and give them a shuggle half way through)

I usually leave them for about half an hour, then check them. If they aren't yet cooked through (stab a thick one to make sure it's soft) and starting to go a bit crispy yet (depends on how thick the slices are and how packed the tin is), you might need to leave them in a bit longer, or turn the oven up a bit.


Use potato wedges with spicy chicken, in loaded skins or try with devilled sauce or barbecue ribs


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Spicy prawn salad

This will do about 300-400g of prawns (so just scale up or down as required).

Serve with garlic bread (focaccia is good) or your choice of bread (and chopped cucumber, tomatoes, peppers...)

Mix one and a half to two teaspoons of brown sugar, three heaped teaspoons of ground coriander, about half to one teaspoon of paprika or cayenne pepper (according to taste, but even one teaspoon of cayenne is quite medium) with about three tablespoons of lemon juice. Add some chopped spring onions (to taste, at least three or four, or just stick the bunch in) and a big handful of chopped fresh coriander. (If you are not using garlic bread, maybe add in a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. If you like a thicker dressing, add a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil in too. It is still tasty if you don't have any fresh coriander.))

Leave the dressing to stand if you have time to let the flavours develop. Taste it and adjust lemon juice/sugar etc if necessary.

Stir in the prawns about five to ten minutes before you serve.


(This quantity is generally enough for the amount of prawns, but bear in mind if you are using tiddly ones it will not go as far, or if you like to soak up the tasty dressing you might want to make more)

(I made this as a starter for the first meal I prepared for the now Mr TT. It's still a favourite)


A teaspoon = 5 ml

A tablespoon = 15ml

300-400g = 3/4 to a pound (ish...)

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For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )