Spicy Wings

Very often when I get home from work, I will feel super peckish. I'll be walking up to the front door and all I'll be doing is thinking about getting home in launching myself face first into some potato-y, cheesy goodness. I blame our strange hours as a teacher. We have lunch at half 11 in the morning(!!) so by the time I get home, I'm feeling ravenous. Sometimes, as I raid the kitchen drawers, I can be pretty good and stay away from the carbs. And sometimes I know exactly what I want to eat, but it takes too long to prepare it, so I don't bother. These wings, come happily between not being too carb heavy and being quick and easy to prepare.

As it's from Aafiyah's frozen range, you can just take them out of the freezer and shove them into the oven, without waiting for them to defrost, and are cooked in about 20-30 minutes. They make a great Friday evening, post-work appetizer or snack, as my family and I enjoyed them, or can form a part of bigger dinner with sides. I served these wings with chopped cucumber and carrots (hello, vitamins) and topped the wings with toasted sesame seeds for a little crunch. 

The wings from Aafiyah come ready prepared with either a spicy or BBQ flavoured sauce, but I decided to come up with my own sweet and spicy sauce to drench the wings in just to add some more moisture.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I must have been about 16 or 17 the first time I tried peanut butter. I remember hearing about it through American cultural references, but I think it has only become more popular the UK in the last few years. I also remember thinking how strange the whole peanut butter and jam sandwich combination sounded. But then I actually tried it and I was made to eat my hat. Or sandwich. Whatever,

The same applied when I first heard about peanut butter cookies. Although it seems to be another American favourite, it always seemed a little strange to me. I guess I should add here that I've never been much of a peanut fan. I only really ever came across them in packets of Bombay Mix and I always used to pick them out.

But I have slowly become quite fond of peanut butter. I like a spoonful in a hot bowl of porridge or as a dip with slices of apple sprinkled with ground cinnamon. So when I saw the great reviews of peanut butter cookies, I took it upon myself as a reformed peanut-skeptic to try it out at least once,

And what a pleasant surprise these cookies turned out to be. As you can tell from the pictures, they are crisp on the outside but super soft on the inside. I found that the actual taste of the peanut butter was quite subtle in the cookie, and it came through more in the smell rather than taste. The use of brown sugar also gave quite a nice fudgy taste too.

All in all, it was a recipe that was enjoyed both by myself and my family. And considering it took less than 1 hour to make them all, it's a pretty great recipe to try out.

Individual Homity Pies

Hello all, I'm coming at you today with my version of a traditional British Homity Pie. I will confess, I'd never heard of this dish up until a few weeks ago when I stumbled across it online. Apparently, it dates back to World War Two where this meat-free dish served as a rationing meal. It is an open vegetable pie and usually consists of a pastry case filled with an onion, potato and leek filling. 

I came across a version of mini filo homity pies on Great British Chefs and immediately loved the look of them. Using filo is great shortcut instead of making your own pastry, and a little lighter on the old waist too. Though I used some of the traditional filling ingredients of onion, potato and cheese, I decided to add some kale and peas instead of leek for some colour and sweetness. I also topped the pies with some red chilli and spring onion which is great for adding some spice and a little bit of texture.

You also get a little bit of a crunch from the petal like edges of the filo pastry which turns lovely and crisp in the oven. The combination of ingredients used in the pies mean that they're actually quite filling, however, because of their miniature stature, it doesn't really feel like it's heavily calorie-laden.

These individual pies would make a great party food or appetizer and is sure to impress dinner guests. But while your friends or family admire these cute little bites, you can revel in how easy they are to make. As a bit of a traditional desi girl, I'm not too much of a fan of using the oven and prefer just to cook on the stove. I whipped up the pie filling in one pot on the stove, using a bit of a cheat's roux sauce to bring it together, and then just stuck the pies with the filo pastry in the oven to let the pastry cook and cheese melt. 

Like a lot of South Asian families, we often make samosas using filo pastry and usually have some in the house. We usually keep our in the freezer, and let it thaw before using it. As such, I didn't really have too many problems with the pastry drying out during prep. However, if using filo pastry from the fridge, the usual advice is to keep it covered with a damp tea towel to stop it drying out. 

 I got 12 pies out of my ingredients, however, if you use a little less filling or a smaller baking tin, you may be able to get more.