Easy Tasty Herby Roast Potatoes

EASY TASTY HERBY ROAST POTATOES  (4 people)

4 large or 6 medium potatoes - wash and peel
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 large onion - slice lengthways in half, then slice downwards in long slithers
half tsp onion salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

- Heat oven to 200C
- Cut potatoes across and lengthways, and keep in large chunks (about 1 inch x 1 and a half inches)
- Put potatoes in baking tray
- Add olive oil
- Chop rosemary finely, but unevenly, leaving some pieces quite large
- Add chopped rosemary to potatoes
- Add onion slithers
- Add rest of ingredients
- Mix thoroughly with hands
- Put in oven and cook for about half hour, turning potatoes after 15 mins to even the browning.
- Stick in a sharp knife to make sure they are cooked.

** Please Note, these are very morish. Do a few more potatoes than you would normally do. They're also lovely when eaten at room temperature or cold.

Marilyn's Very Tasty Quick Paprika Chicken Wedges

Serves 4

3 large chicken breasts (boneless)
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive)
half teaspoon onion salt
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon soy sauce

- Switch on oven to 180 C.
- Wash and cut chicken into wedges no thicker than half inch at the thickest point.
- Put it into a heavy baking tray
- Add all the other ingredients
- Using hands, mix thoroughly till all pieces are coated
- Leave to stand for 20 minutes, if you have time
- When oven is heated, cook in the middle shelf of oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked but pieces are still soft.

(To check if cooked - Stick a sharp knife into the thickest part of a few of the pieces. If you have no resistance, and no liquid runs out, it is cooked.)

COMPETING CHARACTERS

Having reread the whole novel straight through, some of the errors shout out at me.

One of those errors, is having the secondary character competing with the main character, with the threat of taking over the plot.

Latchmin, the Main Character is 11, and too obedient. She is coming across as good, but not interesting. The secondary character, Sumati, 14, is stronger, wild, and wilful, and inevitably, her plot line is more interesting.

I have decided to change the plots slightly, and now put the two girls, Latchmin and Sumati parallel to each other. Basically, they both have the same problem, but they each deal with it differently. I am bringing them closer in age too, to even things up- maybe 12 and 14.

Here are some of their differences:-
Latchmin comes from a wealthy home. Sumati comes from a poorer home.
Latchmin has educational goals. Sumati has matters of the heart forefront in her mind.
Latchmin does as she is told. Sumati does what she wants to do, disregarding what she should do.
Lathcmin appears weak. Sumati is strong without a doubt.
Latchmin is reactive. Sumati is proactive.

I have a problem... Latchmin is in danger of being overshadowed by Sumati in the book. That must not happen.

Therefore, I am rewriting Latchmin so that the reader sees more of her Point of View, so as to identify more with her - her fears, her thoughts and her weaknesses. She is afraid that her parents will force her into early marriage. Her main weakness, is that she is too obedient, but that also means that she does the right thing. She also has a strong view of right and wrong.

In the end, Latchmin's strengths must be greater than her weaknesses.

But in the beginning, Latchmin must draw in the reader with her plight - she has a grave illness - a killer.

Cheap, Healthy, Chicken Soup

How to Make Cheap, Tasty, Chicken Soup for 2/3 people

The cheapest way to use chicken is to buy a whole one, dissect it into legs, thighs, wings, breasts and use in another dish. What you are left with is the carcass - the back and breast bones, which still has a lot of meat on it. Don't throw it away. This is not only good for making chicken stock, but for making Chicken Soup.

Ingredients
. 1 Chicken Carcass
. 3 litres water, approx
. 1 medium onion, chopped very finely
. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
. 2 medium potatoes, chopped in small cubes
. 1 stock cube - chicken or vegetable
. large handful coriander or parsley
. 1 handful red lentils
. 1tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
. (sprinkling of tumeric - optional)

Method
1. Place chicken carcass in a large pan three quarter filled with water, and bring to the boil. Cover and lower heat, and simmer for 1-2 hours until the meat is falling off the bones.

2. Remove chicken pieces and place on a plate or board to cool.

3. When half cooled, use a knife and fork, or fingers, to remove the meat carefully from the bones. Make sure you remove ALL bones, especially very small bones. Place the meat in a separate bowl.

4. Strain the chicken water into another large saucepan or bowl,  using a very fine strainer, or muslin.

5. Wash the original saucepan ready to reuse.

6. Heat saucepan, with one table spoon olive oil

7. Add onions and potatoes, and cook till soft but not brown.

8. Add the strained chicken water.

9. Add garlic, stock cube, and half the coriander, and boil on medium heat and bring to boil.

10. Add the red lentils, and boil for about half hour, until the potatoes are very soft.

11. Remove from heat and using a potato masher, mash if required

12. Replace on heat, and add rest of herbs, (salt and pepper if liked, but it is not necessary). Add more water if needed, and boil for another few minutes.

Update on my Self Editing - THE DON'T TOUCH METHOD

HANDS OFF! LET IT SIT...

It is easy to get started on the Editing. Reading through, I was bound to find errors of all sorts - punctuation, grammar, spelling, typos, sentence construction, and other ....plot inconsistencies, etc. This bogged me down, and the process was becoming such a headache, that it became slow to the point where I really didn't want to continue with it.

I DECIDED TO TRY SOMETHING ELSE....THE DON'T TOUCH METHOD

It is not easy to keep reading and trying to overlook these errors as they meet the eye. It feels like sand blowing into my face and me still walking in a sand storm with my eyes open wide, as each spelling mistake or missing word hits me.

BUT!!! I have taken the advice of a clever author, Nell Dixon, who gave a talk at the Romantic Novelists's Conference this July. This was her advice.

LET IT SIT.

1. Don't rush. Leave it for as long as possible. Distance gives clarity.

2. Read through but don't touch.* Very Important!!

     a. Make a note of bits you want to change.

      b. Change the font when editing. It helps to make you see it differently.

       c. Transfer to Kindle

3. Take out. Add in ...in the next read.

4. Polish - another read

5. Work backwards for final edit. Yes, read your work backwards to comb through for errors. 

6. Pay attention to the Last Chapter. First chapters are usually polished to death, but not enough attention is paid to the last chapter. That sells it to the publisher. 

Well, I am currently doing No. 2 - reading through The Jeweller's Daughter, making notes in a separate note book on each chapter on changes to be made. I'm using different colours - black or blue to indicate the highlights of the chapter, green for a really good bit, red for what needs changing.

It is working, because I am getting an overall view of the whole plot as the reader would read it. The temptation is there to make small edits, but I am fairly strict with myself. 

I am surprised and pleased though, how well some chapters are reading already - pacey, emotional and full of tension. 

However, I do have a biggie to fix! I believe that my Main Character, Latchmin is not as likeable and strong as her friend, Sumati, the wild one, who seems to be taking over with her subplot. Sumati is getting a lot of action! This needs sorting. Could be a big change, or increase Latchmin's involvement in the action. 

Reading without editing, means that I am reading it faster, so inconsistencies in the plot are more noticeable. 

I am really pleased I took this advice. Thanks Nell Dixon, I think it is working for me, so far.

Editing is a long, slow, and confusing process, and this makes the need for areas for structural changes much clearer. 

Quick Chinese Herby Egg Noodles

Chinese noodles is a treat when it is flavoursome. Just a few little additions are needed to the regular boiled noodles to make it quite yummy. For this recipe, I suggest you buy the egg noodles that are already in dried portion sizes.

Quick Chinese Herby Egg Noodles - for 2 people

2 portions dried egg noodles in portion packs
a large handful of herbs - Coriander, Parsley, chives (any of these or all) -chopped finely
half teaspoon sea salt flakes
1tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce


- Boil a large pot (3 litre size) of water and add one portion per person.
- Let it boil according to packet, or 3 minutes.
- Stir often with a spaghetti stirrer to separate the strands of noodles.
- When cooked, drain in a colander.
- Replace noodles in pan, and add sesame seed oil, salt, and soy sauce.
- Close pan with lid, and shake vigorously, but carefully, and put aside.
- Using a clean, dry, small saucepan over low heat, place some sesame seeds and toast, stirring continuously till it smells toasted, but not burnt. Be careful to switch off heat immediately, and place in a cool, dry bowl.
- Serve noodles, and add sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

You can have this with any other meat, chicken or vegetable Chinese dish, or on its own if you wish.

Quick Chinese Chicken and Vegetables

Good Chinese food is fresh and does not contain a lot of preservatives and mono sodium glutamate which you find in cheap take-way restaurants. Here is a quick dish that is tasty and extremely healthy. The main thing about this dish, is that it is quick frying in minimum oil, while not letting anything go brown. Everything should retain natural colour, except the chicken which should be white and opaque, NOT translucent or brown.

Quick Tasty Chinese Chicken and Vegetables - for 2

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into half inch cubes
1 large onion - chopped
3 large cloves garlic - chopped
2 sticks celery - chopped
1 handful dwarf green beans (or any kind of string beans) - in 2 or 3 inch pieces
one third of a head of broccoli - cut carefully in small florets
2 medium tomatoes - quartered (optional)
2 spring onions chopped in 1 inch pieces (optional)
Half a large green sweet pepper, cut lenthways
1 large carrot (optional) - cut in 2 inch sticks (not shown above)
half tsp sea salt
2 table spoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
half table spoon vegetable oil

Method

-  Season chicken with salt and leave for a few minutes
- heat a heavy bottomed frying pan or a wok on a medium to high heat
- pour in the vegetable oil and heat till almost smoking but not burning
- add onions and soften till slightly brownish
- add chicken cubes, stir and fry till it turns opaque but not brown (about 5 minutes) Lower heat if necessary.
- add garlic, stir and fry for 1 minute
- add carrots, stir for 2 minutes.
- add celery,broccoli and spring onions and cook for 2 minutes
- add rest of vegetables and stir.
- Add soy sauce and sesame oil, and stir for the next 4 or 5 minutes
OR, cover pan, and lower heat if you have doubled or tripled ingredients.
- switch off heat when chicken is cooked but vegetables are not limp.

Serve with noodles or rice.

Later this week I will give you a lovely quick recipe for Herby Chinese Noodles.

Let me know how you get on!