Recipe - Caramelised Onion & Goats Cheese Frittata #Vegetarian #GlutenFree

Caramelised Onion & Goats Cheese Frittata

#Vegetarian #GlutenFree

Now this recipe is very versatile and you can basically add anything you want, as long as it is cooked in advance or will cook in the same time as the frittata. So for meat lovers, make sure to cook bacon or sausage before adding it in. This method is for the air fryer, but you can also make it in a skillet and pop it in the oven to finish off.

serves 2-3 people or 4 with sides

Equipment

• Air fryer or oven proof skillet/frying pan and oven
• baking tin that fits in the air fryer
• grease proof paper
• med bowl
• whisk

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs
• 160ml (2/3 cup) milk 
• ~4 tbsp caramelised onions (use your preferred method - I do something like this Instant Pot Caramelised Onions this is A Stove Top Method - they keep in the fridge well)
• 45g (~1/4 cup) soft goats cheese
• 30g smoked cheese (optional)
• handful of frozen peas
• sprinkling of grated cheese (I use a pre-grated four cheese mix, but mozzarella would do, it's mostly for the crust)
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Air Fryer

• Line your baking tin with greaseproof paper on the bottom - as you can see from the image, I use a cake liner, but that's because my springform tin leaks - ask me how I know 😏. In the photos I hadn't cut down my liner, but now I cut off about a cm at the top, which prevents it folding inwards.
• Spread the caramelised onions over the base of the lined tin.
• Beat together the eggs, milk and seasoning (you can add other herbs here too if you like - rosemary would be good).

• Pour into the baking tin.
• Dot in the goats cheese and smoked cheese in little lumps and scatter in the peas.
• Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.

• Pre-heat the air fryer to 150C /300F (my air fryer is an Instant Pot Pro Crisp)
• Pop the frittata in the air fryer and cook for ~20mins or until set in the middle (use a knife to test it). My baking tin is quite deep, so it takes longer, but start at 20 and keep checking.

As you can see my liner folded over, which is why I trim them now.

or

Oven/Hob

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
• Heat a little oil in the frying pan on the hob.
• Add the onions on the base of the frying pan and pour in the egg/milk mixture.
• Dot in the goats cheese and smoked cheese and peas.
• Cook until the bottom is just set.
• Sprinkle over the grated cheese and pop in the oven for 10-15 mins until set.

This comes out as a light and fluffy frittata which is delicious on its own or served with potatoes and veggies.

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Tales with Tasha

Each week we have a theme and so there will be something for all tastes.

• 🎤Micro stories as YouTube Shorts Monday - Thursday - for fun quick viewing
• 🕮A longer story every Friday - for story time, over coffee or before going to bed

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Recipe: Cauliflower Cheese Soup - Perfect and delicious for a cold autumn or winter day. #Vegetarian

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

This is a lovely, filling soup, comforting and warm with some deep wintery flavours. Now the first part of the recipe where we roast the cauli is optional, but it really enhances the flavour of the soup, so only skip it if you really don't have time. 

I made my soup using my Instant Pot Pro Crisp, which is an air fryer and a pressure cooker (I really wanted to try it out since it's new and I had only used the air fryer part once), but it is totally possible using an oven and a large saucepan.

As long as you check your stock, this recipe is gluten free and vegetarian. To make it vegan, swap out the cheddar cheese for a vegan alternative and maybe a bit of nutritional yeast to boost the flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can (400ml/14oz) coconut milk
• 1lt vegetable (or chicken if you don't mind it not being vegetarian) low sodium stock
• 150g shredded mature cheddar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets, then cut each in half.
2. Mix the turmeric, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl add 1tbsp olive oil to the cauliflower and make sure it is all coated, then add the mixed spices and toss until each floret is covered.
4. Optional, but recommended - Roast the cauliflower: in the air fryer, place in the basket and roast at 200C (390F) for around 15 mins, giving it a shake at regular intervals, or until the edges of the cauli have browned nicely - in the oven, spread the cauli on a large baking sheet and pop it in at 220C (425F) and roast for 20 mins, turning the cauli ever 5 mins or so.
5. Chop the onion into medium sized pieces.
6. Sauté the onion: for an Instant Pot, press the saute option on high, for the hob, put a large saucepan over a med to high heat and add the other tbsp of olive oil with the onion. Cook the onion, stirring constantly until it is going golden, but not crisping on the edges.
7. Bruise and add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute until it is fragrant.
8. Add the cauliflower (if you would like, reserve some of the cauli as a garnish, but I totally forgot) to the pot and mix with the onion.
9. Add the coconut milk and the stock and stir to combine.
10. Cook until the onion is melting away and the cauli is so tender it is breaking up. Instant Pot - put on the lid, pressure cook for 10 min and do an instant pressure release. Hob - simmer for 15-20 mins.
11. Taste the soup, add more seasoning if necessary, but remember the cheese will add salt. I also added some garlic powder at this point because pressure cooking can mute garlic flavour.
12. Add the cheese to the pot and using a stick/immersion blender, blend the soup until it is smooth.

Serve with something crunchy sprinkled on top, or your reserved cauliflower as a garnish. Those little crunchy fake bacon bits would be really nice, or real crispy bacon, or croutons, or crunchy onions - the options are limitless.

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Tales with Tasha

Each week we have a theme (this week is was vampires, next week it is creepypasta/urban legends) and so there will be something for all tastes.

• 🎤Micro stories as YouTube Shorts Monday - Thursday - for fun quick viewing
• 🕮A longer story every Friday - for story time, over coffee or before going to bed

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It's OFFICIAL LAUNCH DAY at Tales with Tasha - A Spine Tingling Ghost Story

OFFICIAL LAUNCH DAY
at Tales with Tasha

The mico!fiction countdown is complete and it's time for the first official long video on my new, narrated fiction YouTube channel:

Tales With Tasha

Ali works at the Chatham Historic Dockyards as a night security guard. He's new at it, but he likes it, and it suits his university schedule. There's only one rule that seems weird: Do not do rounds between 3 and 3:05am. It has to be a joke, right?

Come on over and enjoy the spine tingling ghost story I have in store for you.

Please come and subscribe and help me get to 1000 subscribers - the first YouTube milestone.

💖Thank you so much.💖

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Tales with Tasha - New YouTube Channel is Live! Lots of lovely fic...

Tales with Tasha
New YouTube Channel Is Live!

It's finally time! I've had to put the launch off twice because of other things coming up, but it is finally ready to go. Drumroll please ...

💖My new narrated fiction YouTube channel, Tales with Tasha is live.💖

Timetable

We are starting today (Sat 23rd Oct) with a countdown of micro-fiction to the official launch, this Friday, 29th October. Every day there will be a new horror based short in honour of Halloween, building up to a longer, ghostly tale on launch day.

• Saturday - Creepy Horror (micro drabble)
• Sunday - Comedy Horror (micro drabble)
• Monday - Werewolf (comedy) Horror (micro drabble)
• Tuesday - Evil Twin Horror (micro drabble)
• Wednesday - Monster Horror (micro drabble)
• Thursday - Zombie Horror (micro drabble)
• FRIDAY launch - Ghostly Horror (short story)

Please come on over and subscribe so you never miss a story. There will be vampires, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and paranormal - all the genres you would expect from me.

And if you enjoy a story, please give is a thumbs up, it really helps the algorithm - thank you 💜. Even better, leave a comment.

Every week from now on there will be 5 vids:

• 4 micro fiction shorts (100 words) Mon-Thurs
• 1 longer story episode (between 2k-4k words) Friday

Format

You get the dubious honour of seeing me in the flesh. All the micro fic are done with the YouTube shorts app on my phone, so it's just me and the camera. For the longer fic, you will also have to put up with me at the beginning and the end so much for that plan - I'm going full audio to begin with because my camera style is terrible, but the actual fic part is me narrating with page animation so the words are on the screen for those who want to be able to see them too.

Bow down before my Adobe After Effects skills! 😂😜💖

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I am listening to a story, being able to follow along on the screen helps me take it in. Hence my choice. It also means I don't have to worry about what I look like when trying to read thousands of words 😉.

This Week & Beyond

As I mentioned above this week's genre is horror in honour of Halloween, but next week it is dragons and magic, and you'll have to wait to find out what is the week after that. So there will be a lot of variety to keep everyone entertained. It's YouTube, so none of  my naughtier fiction will be on the channel because I don't want to be banned 😉, but the fics will range from suitable for all to teen.

Please come and subscribe and help me get to 1000 subscribers - the first YouTube milestone.
💖Thank you so much.💖

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Recipe: Delicious & Healthy Instant Pot Potato, Garlic & Rosemary Soup #Vegetarian #Vegan #GlutenFree

Delicious & Healthy Instant Pot Potato, Garlic & Rosemary Soup

This is a lovely, hearty and healthy smooth soup that you can add crunchy things like croutons to, if that is what you like. Would also be lovely with nuts or pine nuts or roasted pumpkin seeds - anything like that. It uses coconut milk for some extra creaminess as a delicious alternative to cream or milk.

Now before you say, but I don't have an Instant Pot, never fear, you can make this on the stove top just as easily, except you'll probably have to give it a stir every now and then. Simply follow the instructions using a large saucepan on the hob and cook the potatoes until they are tender.

Vegetarian / Vegan / Gluten Free

Serves 6 hungry people min, and will keep in the fridge/freezer

Equipment

Required

• 5.7 lt / 6 quart Instant Pot (or you could halve the recipe if you have the smaller one)
• or a large heavy base saucepan
• trivet
• wooden spatula
• 1lt / 4 cup jug
• Stick blender of stand blender

Optional if you're not worried about how smooth the soup is

• sieve
• large bowl
• silicon spatula
• ladle

Ingredients

• 2kg/4.4lb potatoes of your choice (I used Albert Barlett Rooster Potatoes)
• 1 bulb/head of garlic
• 1 large white onion
• 1.5 tsp dried rosemary
• 1lt/ 4 cups low or no salt veggie stock (I use 2 good quality stock cubes and boiling water) - chicken stock would work too if you're not worried about it being vegetarian.
• 1 can (400ml / 1.7 cups) coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp oil for frying

Instant Pot Potato, Garlic & Rosemary Soup

Instructions

1. Peel and chop the onion and garlic roughly (it's going to be blended so doesn't need to be fancy, just small enough to fry off).
2. Use the sauté option on the instant pot on high - add in the oil and the onion and fry off until translucent (make sure to stir often of it will stick).
3. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.
4. Set aside in a bowl to cool.
5. Deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot with a little of the stock.
6. Put in the trivet (because potatoes are heavy, they can cause a burn notice if they all slump and stick to the bottom, so having the trivet in the way makes this much more unlikely).
7. Peel and chop the potatoes into small chunks and add to the Instant Pot.
8. Blend the onions and garlic (optional - I did this so I didn't have to blend the soup as much at the end) and add on top of the potatoes.
9. Add the rosemary. To get the most flavour out of my dried rosemary, I like to grind it down in my pestle and mortar before adding it, but you can just add it whole if you prefer.
10. Add the can of coconut milk, the stock, and the salt and pepper (go easy on the seasoning, you can always add more at the end, but you can't take it out).
11. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and choose the Pressure/Manual option and cook for 15 mins.
12. When the cook time is done, release the pressure - this will take a while because the pot is pretty full.
13. Lift out the internal pot to the counter and take out the trivet using a fork. Give it a few minutes to begin to cool before either blending with the stick blender or blending in batches in a stand blender. It can splash when blending, so letting it cool is a good plan - I have a lovely burn from where I failed to do this when making pumpkin soup last week.
14. Optional - Pass the soup through the sieve into a large bowl, using the ladle to get it out of the instant pot and the silicon spatula to push it through. It shouldn't take long, but if you don't want to do this part, you can miss it out, I just hate little bits in a smooth soup that I didn't deliberately put there 😉.
15. Return the soup to the Instant Pot and check for seasoning, add more if necessary. It can be left on keep warm or simply reheated when it is needed.

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Recipe: Date, Oat & Walnut Bites - Chocolatey goodness without added refined sugar #GlutenFree

Date, Oat & Walnut Bites

Chocolatey goodness without added refined sugar #GlutenFree 

So I am very much into reducing my refined sugar intake at the moment because it makes me feel better. I was eating far too much junk and it does not agree with me. Hence I went looking for healthier alternatives to make at home. There is an amazing channel on YouTube Schnelle Rezepte that has some absolutely yummy ones. This is one of their recipes, but I altered it a little, so this is my version. I have made their version and it is good, but it was a little too dry for my liking and I had to use too much maple to moisten it so it would stick together. 

This is Schnelle Rezepte's version, check it out and give it some love.

The dry version is more like a protein bar, where as my take is more of a truffle texture. Both very valid and just as tasty. They are not sugar free because they have dates and a touch of maple, but the sugars in those are much better than the refined white stuff in everything from the shops. Hence them being healthier than a Mars bar. As long as you use gluten free oats (not all oats are packaged where this is guaranteed) then these are gluten free too and vegan.

These are my version (as you can tell if you check out the YouTube vid, our YouTube host has much better lighting 😉):

Tasha's Date, Oat & Walnut Bites

Please forgive the marks on them - they have been in a bag in the fridge for 3 days and it only now occurred to me to take a picture 😂.

Equipment

• Small food processor/hand blender - mine is a set kind of like this one, but held together with duct tape 😎.
• Food processor
• spatula
• baking sheet lined with grease proof paper or silicon mate
• bowl
• 2 forks

Personal notes:

1. I know in the vid the lovely host only uses one small food processor, but that did not go well for me the first time I tried - too much for the bowl, hence me using the two. 
2. It could also all be popped into the large food processor and done in one, but if you are using unsoaked dates in a big food processor, make sure your blade is sharp because mine just batted around the bits without mincing them the first time. I think it counted as a blunt object rather than a blade at that point (it was old), so I bought a new one 😏.

Ingredients

• 80g/1cup oats (oatmeal)
• 130g approx 3/4cup pitted dates (if you don't have enough dates, I have topped up with raisins and it worked fine)
• 100g /1cup walnuts (pecans would work too)
• 1 tsp maple syrup (you can use more, but I like it just for a background flavour) after making them several times, I don't use this anymore
• 10g/ approx 1.5 tbsp cocoa (it doesn't have to be particularly accurate)
• 150g/5.3oz 72% dark choc (this is 1 cup of choc chips, but I use a bar, hence the oz conversion on this one - Dr Oetker is great for this)

Another variation for sweeter and sharper

• 80g/1cup oats (oatmeal)
• 40g  pitted dates
• 90g dried apricots
• 100g ground almonds (or take almonds and give them a blast in the food processor)
• 10g cocoa
• 150g 72% dark choc
• tbsp boiling water - because on the dates are soaked a little bit of water is needed to make the mixture sticky enough

Instructions

1. Soak the dates in boiling water for 20 mins
2. Put the oats in the small food processor, or in a tall vessel to use with the stick blender, and blend to a fine a consistency as you like. I prefer mine fine, but if you like more texture just give them a short blitz. Transfer to the large food processor.
3. Repeat with the walnuts and add to the large food processor.
4. Drain the dates and add them to the mini food processor and process into a paste (scrape down the sides to make sure everything is processed between blasts). When done, add to the large food processor. If you want some chunky fruit in their too, you could add a couple of whole, unsoaked dates to the large food processor too.
5. Add the cocoa powder and the maple syrup to the large food processor as well and blend everything into one mixture.
6. Remove the blade and set aside.
7. With your hands ball up the mixture and place on the baking sheet, flattening slightly - a pair of gloves is good for this because it is very sticky. I make mine bite size and the mixture makes between 16 and 25, but you can go larger if you prefer. (I make these in double batches of 40 once a week because I give so many away - they are very popular).
8. EITHER - Melt the chocolate in the microwave on high in the following sequence 30s/30s/15s/10s, stirring between each so the choc does not overheat - this should temper the chocolate. OR - Melt 3/4  of the chocolate in the microwave in 30s intervals until completely melted. Add the last quarter of the choc back in and stir to melt - this should temper the choc.
9. Dip the date bites in the choc using the 2 forks, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl before putting them back on the baking sheet.
10. Place in the fridge until set. I keep mine in the fridge because my kitchen is warm and it also means we don't eat them all at once.

These are great for an energy boost instead of a biscuit (cookie) with a nice cup of tea/coffee. They also work for cycle rides etc.

I also tried to create a version that uses peanut butter as well, but I have not perfected that yet. I may just try Schnelle Rezepte's alternative snickers bar instead. 😎

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Recipe - Delicious Focaccia with Perfect Texture

Recipe: Delicious Focaccia

So I made a focaccia this weekend that was utterly delicious and a lovely chewy texture, so I thought I'd share the recipe. It is based on this one by Kitchen and Craft on Youtube, but I changed is up a little, so here is my version. This vid is very good for technique though, very, very useful for all new to making focaccia, so definitely watch it. You may also prefer their recipe.

Ingredients

• 600g/4.5cups Strong Bread Flour
• 1 sachet of fast action yeast (7g)
• 450g warm water (38-39C / 100-105F this is approx blood temp, so if you don't have a thermometer, check it with your little finger, if it feels hot, it's too warm, if it feel cool it's too cold)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

toppings - dried rosemary, garlic granules, sea salt granules

Equipment

• 2 large bowls
• 1 med bowl
• large 35x26cm baking pan (~14x10 inches)

Method

1. Put the flour in one of the large bowls and add the yeast and mix through, making a well in the centre.
2. Put the warm water in the med bowl and add the salt, making sure it dissolves fully.
3. Add the salt water to the well in the flour, then add the olive oil as well.
4. Bring the flour and liquid together (I put a little bit of oil on my fingers so the dough doesn't cling completely to them) until it's homogenised.
5. Grease the second large bowl and transfer the dough to it (a bench scraper/dough scraper is really useful for this, but use a spatula if you don't have one - best not to use a hand since the dough will be very sticky).
6. For this bit, it is definitely a good idea to lightly grease our fingers with oil as well. Grab a chunk of dough (about a third) from the side and drag it up and over the top, tucking it onto the other side of the dough. Turn the bowl 1 quarter and do the same again. Repeat two or three more times.
7. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling film and leave for 20 mins.
8. Repeat 6 and 7 four more times, or until the dough is smooth and shows resistance to touch.
9. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film or something equivalent so that there is an air tight seal and put the dough in the fridge for a slow prove. Overnight is easiest. This is to develop extra flavour and gluten in the flour, since we aren't doing a big knead.
10. In the morning, grease the baking pan and transfer the dough to it. Push it out to the edges of the pan with finger tips. Sometime the dough will resist because it is cold, cover it and leave it for 10 minutes if it won't stretch, then try again.
11. Cover with cling film or a damp cloth and place in a warm place to prove for about an hour. (I put my oven on its lowest setting in advance and then turned it off when I placed the pan in it).
12. Take the pan out and with wet fingers put dimples all down the dough, but be careful not to knock out all the air.
13. Put the dough back in the warm place and let rise for another 45 mins or so before bringing it out. The dough should fill 1/2 to 2/3 of the tin and should look a little bubbly and wobbly. If the dough has not risen enough, find a slightly warmer place - my oven was too cool at the end and I heated it up a little bit, then put the dough back in for another 15 mins, which did the trick.
14. Pre-heat the oven to 230C/450F.
15. Now add the toppings - you can add what you like, I went with dried rosemary, and garlic granules with some sea salt, but go with whatever flavours you fancy. Just add a drizzle of extra virgin oil over the top.
16. Bake the bread for 15-20 mins until golden. If you have a baking thermometer the internal temp of the bread should be ~88C/190°F.
17. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool.

The bread is very nice dipped in oil or slathered in butter 😋.

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Banner Photo by Savi P from Pexels

Måneskin #WordSearch - Puzzle fun for #WordSearchWednesday #8

Måneskin - Word Search Fun #8

I am a simple soul and so have decided to share my love for this band and channel it into this week's word search Wednesday. 💖

Måneskin by Vanity Fair Italia

So if you haven't heard of Måneskin, you are probably not Eurovision fans or up with the latest trends on Spotify and Tik Tok. Måneskin is the Italian band that won ESC this year with their rock anthem Zitti E Buoni (Shut Up and Behave). I may, or may not have been listening to their current album Teatro d'Ira Vol 1 on repeat ever since I bought it the week after Eurovision. In their back catalogue they have ballads in Italian, rock in Italian, rock in English and covers too.

One girl, Victoria on bass (and she is badass), and three boys, Damiano on vocals, Thomas on guitar and Ethan on drums - all very talented and they know how to perform. Well worth a listen if you have the chance.

The Puzzle

Options for Solving

1. Click the button below and start solving online. If you create a free account with MyWordSearch.com (you only have to pay to create word searches) you can save your progress and come back later.
    Create account - top left of pop-up.
2. For those who prefer the old school pen and paper, click here to download the PDF so you can print it.

Solution

For those who would like to check their answers or who can't find that last word, here is the solution:

Click to open the puzzle solution in a new window.

Check out My Books Too

I write paranormal, vampires, romance, sci-fi, fantasy and any other genre that takes my fancy, and you can find all of my book here. Some are free so you can try out my writing style to see if you enjoy it. All are available as eBooks, and some are paperback and now hardback as well.

If you enjoy fanfic, I have also been writing that for many years - check out my stories on AO3.

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Assassin's Blood - Paranormal Action Adventure - #WordSearch fun #7

Assassin's Blood
Word Search Fun #7

Greetings lovely people and welcome to word search number 7. I apologise for being absent for the last couple of weeks - it's been a bit hectic here. But I am back today with Word Search Wednesday.

This week my puzzle is based off of my book Assassin's Blood, an exciting paranormal adventure with some romance thrown in to sweeten the deal. It is available for free for to all subscribers of the Wittegen Press Newsletter. The links to download it are in the final welcome email when you sign up. Come and join the Wittegen family. We don't spam and you also get a free short story every month, so it is win/win.

Anyway, on to this week's word search!

The Puzzle

Options for Solving

1. Click the button below and start solving online. If you create a free account with MyWordSearch.com (you only have to pay to create word searches) you can save your progress and come back later.
    Create account - top left of pop-up.
2. For those who prefer the old school pen and paper, click here to download the PDF so you can print it.

Solution

For those who would like to check their answers or who can't find that last word, here is the solution:

Click to open the puzzle solution in a new window.

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Book of the Week

Assassin's Blood

Meet Kira Roltof, or rather Jasmin Welby at the moment because she’s undercover. Kira’s an assassin with a sense of humour that’s almost as dangerous as she is. When hunting down her targets it helps that she’s a vampire/werewolf hybrid and has been at the killing game for over seventy years. Practice makes perfect and all that jazz.

Of course her combined species status could just as easily get her killed as help her out. If either the vampires or the werewolves figure out she’s both, she’ll never be safe again.

Her latest target is a Mafia big shot. Nothing she can’t handle easily, except she runs into a little snag of the vampire persuasion at the end of the job.

Assassin’s Blood is a short story full of paranormal intrigue and action with a little bit of romance to round it off.

To pick up your free copy, join the Wittegen Press Newsletter

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Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula - #WordWearch Fun no.6 #Paranormal

Mina's Children
Word Search

Greetings lovely people and puzzle fans. I must apologise for last week's lack of puzzle, but things were a little busy over this way.

This week the puzzle is based on my latest novella, Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula, an exciting paranormal adventure with vampires, werewolves and even secret agents. The book is entered into the Kindle Storyteller competition, hence it being exclusive to Amazon atm, and even clicks on the link above would really help me out. Many thanks.😘

So what fun things is everyone up to at the moment? I am learning Italian with Duolingo which is fun. I can say "I write books" and "I drink wine", so I think I'm sorted 😂.

Have fun with the puzzle and see you again next week 💖.

The Puzzle

Options for Solving

1. Click the button below and start solving online. If you create a free account with MyWordSearch.com (you only have to pay to create word searches) you can save your progress and come back later.
   Create account - top left of pop-up.
2. For those who prefer the old school pen and paper, click here to download the PDF so you can print it.

Solution

For those who would like to check their answers or who can't find that last word, here is the solution:

Click to open the puzzle solution in a new window.

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Book of the Week

Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula

Dracula's Heritage Book 1

Regina Harker, immortal, vampire tainted, descendant of the famous Mina, has spent her whole life preparing for one mission: destroy Dracula.

Mina Harker (nee Murry) was changed by Dracula's attentions and so were her descendants. Reggie comes from this line of vampire hunters, nature's definitive balance to the darkness. Her whole life has been building up to this one mission in Romania, to face the evil that started everything for her family.  Unfortunately there are others with their eyes on Dracula too, and Reggie has run right into them. She must make them allies or remove them from the game before she can face the ultimate foe.

  

Currently free to read on Kindle Unlimited

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Word Search Competition no.2 - Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula #WSComp2

Word Search Competition #2

Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula

Welcome back to my blog for #WordSearchWednesday and this week is competition week. Thank you to everyone who entered my last competition and congratulations to the 2 winners. I very much hope they enjoy their book choices.

Prize

This month I am celebrating my new book Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula, and so this month's competition is to win an eBook copy of the book (or one of my other titles if you already have Mina's Children 😉). Click here to see all the prize options - it's a Google sheet sorted by date, but you can resort to your heart's content.

Mina's Children is exclusive to Amazon at the moment, so if you choose that as your prize it will be delivered as a single shot email in your choice of mobi, ePub or PDF. Other titles also have the option of being given as a Smashwords coupon.

Closing Date: Wed 16th June 2021

The Word Search

How to Enter:

1. Share this post to social media using one of the buttons at the bottom.
2. Online:
   a. Click the link below
   b. Password = Mina
   c. Solve and submit the word search.
   
   
3. or Offline:
   a. Download the PDF
   b. Follow the instructions inside.

Winners will be notified via email next month once the competition has closed. Details collected will only be used to contact you about this competition.

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New Book

Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula

Dracula's Heritage Book 1

Regina Harker, immortal, vampire tainted, descendant of the famous Mina, has spent her whole life preparing for one mission: destroy Dracula.

Mina Harker (nee Murry) was changed by Dracula's attentions and so were her descendants. Reggie comes from this line of vampire hunters, nature's definitive balance to the darkness. Her whole life has been building up to this one mission in Romania, to face the evil that started everything for her family.  Unfortunately there are others with their eyes on Dracula too, and Reggie has run right into them. She must make them allies or remove them from the game before she can face the ultimate foe.

  

Currently free to read on Kindle Unlimited

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Solution

This is the solution to last month's puzzle.

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📚Join My Newsletter📚

Receive 2 FREE eBooks just for signing up and a free short story on the first Friday of every month on Free Fiction Friday.

Click here to join the Wittegen Press Newsletter

List hosted on MailChimp, information will only be used for Newsletter contact, and we do not send spam.

Recipe: Dillegrout - more like Dille-icious - Wonderful Chicken & Almond Stew in the Instant Pot

Dillegrout - more like Dille-icious

Wonderful Chicken & Almond Stew

So this is a recipe from Tasting History with Max Miller. If you have not seen his channel on Youtube, run, do not walk, to check it out, because it is utterly fabulous, as is Max (he really used to be a Disney Prince). 💜 Some wonderful recipes, some not so wonderful too (Kykeon - just nope), but always packed full of fantastic historical information, brilliantly presented and 100% entertaining.

This is Max's video all about Dillegrout:

Make sure to like the video and subscribe to Max's channel - you will not regret it.

Now, I have used Max's recipe, but I have adjusted the method to use my Instant Pot (probably sacrilegious, but I love my Instant Pot), and I reduced it so it will feed 2, since Max's recipe would do for at least 4 I should think. It is very yummy and like nothing else I have had before. It is very nice served with Jersey Royal new potatoes and I think it would also be good with some in season runner beans.

Ingredients

Main stew

• 1/2 cup / 60g blanched almonds - I used flaked almonds for speed
• 1.5 cup / 355ml white wine - something on the sweeter side, I used a Pino Grigio
• 1.5 lb / 750g chicken - I used 2 chicken breasts and 3 thighs (UK sized, US tend to be much bigger than ours)
• 1/8 cup / 25g sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground clove
• 1/4 tsp ground mace
• 1/8 cup / 20g (ish) pine nuts (I added a little bit more because I love pine nuts 😉)
• 1/4 tsp dried ginger (I could not find dried ginger for love nor money, so used crystallised ginger which seemed to work really well - I added a pinch of ground ginger as well to make up the flavour)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Added at the end

• 1 tbsp / 15ml white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp rose water
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Instructions

1. Put almonds in cool water to soak for min 1 hr - preferably for several (I know 1hr works because I forgot and had to rush, but more would be better).
2. When almonds have soaked long enough, chop the dark meat and give it a good pounding - I did this between cling film to stop me flinging bit of meat across the room 😂. Keep the breasts whole.
3. Drain the almonds and place in a blender (or a bowl if using a stick blender like I did) with the wine and blitz until you can blitz no more to make the almond milk. It smelled amazing - almost like pear drops.
4. Sieve the almond milk through cheese cloth lying in a fine sieve, allowing to drain and then giving the cheese cloth a squeeze when most of the liquid is through. (I have kept the almond paste that was left over and intend to make frangipane with it).
5. Add the almond milk to the Instant Pot, then add the chicken breasts with the beaten dark meat on top (thigh meat is more likely to stick, so best to make sure it is not under the breasts to begin with), then the spices, seasoning and pine nuts from the first part of the list above.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Close the Instant Pot, set to sealing, then pressure cook (also known as manual) for 20 mins.
7. Allow natural pressure release for 10 mins.
8. Open the pot and take out the chicken breasts, hit cancel, then the sauté option on high.
9. Chop the chicken breast and return to the pot as it comes to a boil. Allow to bubble and reduce for another 10 mins or so.
10. Turn off the sauté option.
11. Add the vinegar, rose water and ground ginger, and stir in.
12. Serve in bowls with the sides of your choice. It was really good with the new potatoes and would probably be awesome with some artisanal bread of some description and/or lighter flavoured veggies like green beans or peas. Not sure it would go with a brassica though.

Mine didn't look stunning, as you can see, since it's all one colour and the lighting in our kitchen washed it out, but it could easily be spruced up with some veggies on the side. This is my husband's bowl when he had already started eating, because I forgot to take piccies at the beginning. 😁

This is my bowl - somewhat smaller - but I somehow managed to get lots of pine nuts 😉.

It might work with jack fruit, for my vegetarian friends - something I may try in the future. Might need a wee bit of veggie stock to bulk out the flavour though, since the chicken does add some.

And there you have it, Dillegrout a la Instant pot. Remember - go check out Tasting History, it's wonderful - one of my go to channels for feel good content. Try out Max's recipe for Sally Lunn Buns too, if you get the chance - so good!

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New Book

Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula

Dracula's Heritage Book 1

Regina Harker, immortal, vampire tainted, descendant of the famous Mina, has spent her whole life preparing for one mission: destroy Dracula.

Mina Harker (nee Murry) was changed by Dracula's attentions and so were her descendants. Reggie comes from this line of vampire hunters, nature's definitive balance to the darkness. Her whole life has been building up to this one mission in Romania, to face the evil that started everything for her family.  Unfortunately there are others with their eyes on Dracula too, and Reggie has run right into them. She must make them allies or remove them from the game before she can face the ultimate foe.

  

Currently free to read on Kindle Unlimited

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Receive 2 FREE eBooks just for signing up and a free short story on the first Friday of every month on Free Fiction Friday.

Click here to join the Wittegen Press Newsletter

List hosted on MailChimp, information will only be used for Newsletter contact, and we do not send spam.