All posts by Hortense

I love and value life. Having been many times under a surgeon's knife does that... It make you put things in perspective and makes you see life as the gift that it is. Am always up to something creative. Creativity in all things keep life exciting and interesting. I often take my queues from the bible or cartoon... No, seriously. Unless someone tell me specifically that I can't do some thing, it means to me that I can try EVERYTHING (Homer Simpson would say something like that). I love God and if He says I can do it, I CAN do it! So should you! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you like what you find. Bless you. Hortense
Hot dishes, Recipes, Vegan

Stuffed aubergines with peanut butter sauce

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Aubergine, plantain, peanut butter sauce
Aubergine, plantain, peanut butter sauce

Ingredients for 4 portions:

  • 2 medium aubergines – halved and hollowed
  • 2 red peppers – grated
  • 50g leek – grated
  • 1 scotch bonnet – finely chopped
  • 3 small parsnips – peeled and grated
  • Peanut butter
  • 1 ripe plantain – peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves – finely cut
  • 1 small onions
  • Salt & pepper + Vegetable oil
It all starts here
It all starts here

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Hollowed aubergines
Hollowed aubergines

After hollowing the aubergines, set the skins aside and grate its flesh.

Cut the onion in half, chop one half for the peanut sauce and grate the other half for the stuffing.

Ready to bake 1
Ready to bake 1

In a bowl, mix together the grated aubergine flesh, and everything that has been grated. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning before scooping the mix into the aubergine skins. Place the stuffed aubergines into a Pyrex dish, then into the oven for 1 hour at 180C.

Ready to bake 2 plantain
Ready to bake 2 plantain

Peel the plantain and cut it in 4. Place in a baking tin, drizzle with oil, salt and put it in the oven with the aubergines for 25 minutes (preferably in the last 25 minutes).

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Simply fry the chopped onion in one tablespoon of oil for 2 minutes, then, scoop in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Stir to dilute for 1 minute then pour in 400ml of water. Leave to gently simmer and reduce for 7 to 10 minutes.

Serving suggestion
Serving suggestion

Serve as suggested with the peanut sauce on the side or bottom as it may overpower the taste of the aubergine. Enjoy.

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Cold dishes, Recipes

Tuna sweetcorn and garlic bread

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Tuna sweetcorn
Tuna sweetcorn

Ingredients for 2 portions:
250g drained sweet corn
110g drained tuna in brine
2 medium tomatoes
Mayonnaise
Parsley
1 Garlic bread ( from 45p in Sainsbury’s)

This dish is one of the easiest to make on the blog.

Method:
1. Open the tin of corn, drain and pour the corn in a mixing bowl.

2. Open the tin of tuna drain and pour the tuna with the corn

3. Cut the tomato in very small pieces and add to the corn and tuna

Corn, tomato, tuna
Corn, tomato, tuna

4. Add 3 full tablespoons of mayonnaise with a pinch of salt and a bit of black pepper

5. Mix well with a spoon

I love parsley
I love parsley

6. Chop the parsley very finely and add it to the mix

Now just prepare the garlic bread in the oven following the instructions on the package.

Tuna, corn, mayo , garlic bread
Tuna, corn, mayo , garlic bread

Serve. Enjoy.

Downloads, Sponsors

Printing guidelines

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This is rice pudding
This is rice pudding

So, you have decided to print some copies of the booklet for your local food bank.
On behalf of those who are going to receive a copy, MERCI BUCKETS… (It means thanks a million).

I believe that the work done here is good and the print should reflect that. Download the booklet form HERE.
Imagine that you are one of the end users and visualise how the copy that you would like to receive looks like.

Here are my basic recommendations:
• Request a high resolution version of the book as the one here on the blog has a low resolution.
• The cover of the booklet should be harder than the inside pages.
• Mat or gloss finish is up to you.
• The inside pages preferably should be printed on 160gsm card, which means that the outside cover should be 160gsm or higher.
• The binding should be with glue and not stapled.
• The finished document should be A5 (half A4) full coloured booklet.

If you are going to add your logo at the back of the booklet, I am sure you would like the print to reflect YOU. So, quality is more important than quantity.

Do not print 100 low quality if you can print 50 of good quality. If you visit some food banks you will see that quality of goods that are given are often high end and rarely own brand. That should be reflected on the printed document.

Please let me know if you want to include your logo at the back so I can send you the version of the booklet saying “This print run is sponsored by:”

If you have questions, please email me at nashjulie9@gmail.com.

Thanks again for considering printing and donating some booklets for free.

PS: Anyone who uses photos or recipes of this booklet to include in any document that is for sale without my express authorisation will be sued.
Hortense

Recipes, Sweet

Homemade biscuits

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Homemade biscuits - gift
Homemade biscuits – gift

Find the downloadable book on the about page.

Ingredients:
 400g self raising flour
 2 tablespoons powdered milk
 1 egg
 50g butter
 1 lemon zest
 50g sugar
 Pinch of salt (not if you are using salted butter)
 Dark chocolate
 White chocolate
 Vegetable oil

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180C and place the butter in it for 3 minutes to melt.

Biscuit dough
Biscuit dough 1

Dissolve the milk in 50ml of water, then, beat together the melted butter, milk, salt, sugar and whole egg.
Beat them until the sugar granules are completely dissolved. Now sieve into the mix the flour.
Add the lemon zest and work the dough with your hands until it becomes a soft non-stick ball.

Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest for about 10 minutes while you tidy up and create a space to roll and shape the biscuits.

Biscuits dough 2
Biscuits dough 2

Using a rolling pin or a clean full size wine bottle, flatten a portion of the dough on a surface dusted with flour. The thinner the dough, the crunchier will the biscuits be. After flattening the dough, slice it and create shapes. If there are children about, this is the time to let them loose. Let them shape the biscuits.

Biscuit shaping 1
Biscuit shaping 1

Once they are all shaped, place them on the oven tray and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C depending on how thin the biscuits are. If your oven tray is scratch free, there is no need to butter or grease it before hand as the biscuits are dry enough not to stick.

Biscuit shaping 2
Biscuit shaping 2

Once all the biscuits have been in the oven, it is time to decorate them. Make a chocolate sauce like the one made for the sponge cake, divide the biscuits.

Read to decorate
Read to decorate

For some of them, just lay them flat on a dish and drizzle chocolate over them in patterns.

Chocolate drizzled biskits
Chocolate drizzled biskits

For the other set, dip one side in the chocolate then, dust with white chocolate shavings and for the other set, just leave it plain.

Dipped, drizzled, plain, dusted... Biscuits
Dipped, drizzled, plain, dusted… Biscuits

That’s it.

All four options
All four options

Offer them gift wrapped and they look expensive and beautiful.

Homemade biscuits
Homemade biscuits

Let me know how yours tasted. 
HJ

Cold dishes, General, Hot dishes, Photos, Recipes, Sweet, Uncategorized, Vegan

Download The Bank Cook booklet

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Homemade biscuits
Homemade biscuits

Hi, thank you for visiting the page today. This blog is still being populated but,  If you’d like to download the booklet, please go ahead and click on the link below.

Recipes for food banks users – Low res PDF

If you are business and would like to sponsor the printing of a number of booklets please request the High Res PDF by emailing nashjulie9@gmail.com.

Please note, this booklet is not for sale.

Be blessed.

Hortense

 

Photos

How to use…

Image Leave a comment

At least one ingredient in each of these dishes came from a food parcel…

Tin stew
Tin stew

 

 

rice pudding
rice pudding

 

DSC04033
sweet corn
DSC04100
tin tomato, pasta
DSC04190
tin peach
DSC04221
powder milk, dark chocolate
DSC04281
chichpeas tin
DSC04286
lentils
DSC03987
corn beef
DSC03954
bake beans
DSC03916
rice pudding
DSC03901
tomato soup, sausage and beetroot slaw
DSC04310
rice pudding
DSC04328
kidney beans
DSC04370
peanut butter
Tomato soup and sausage
Tomato soup and sausage
General, Uncategorized

Welcome

Image Leave a comment

HJ food parcel sample

“Honey seems tasteless to a person who is full, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.” Prov. 27:7

Welcome to theBankCook.com.

Here, you will find extended versions of recipes from “The Bank Cook” booklet that you may have received.

The Bank Cook booklet was created with all food banks’ users in mind. The recipes are free to print, copy and distribute. So, if you receive food parcels, from your local food bank, church bank, council bank or community bank, this is for you!

Please download a free copy from this  link or just ask your local food bank centre to download and print for its clients. A background free version is also available here.

You or your local food bank can request a high resolution  PDF of the book by email to nashjulie9@gmail.com.

Thanks for visiting.

Every blessing.

Hortense