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Cumin lamb and lentil chili

Posted on 04-04-2012 | By: Lucy

Category : Main Course, Meat

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I hope you boys and girls like lamb. Yesterday we went to a cash and carry and bought a huge amount of minced lamb which is now sitting in my freezer waiting to be used in future meals. My mind started to run through all the lamb dishes I knew but I was looking for something fairly quick but filling and chili sprung to mind. Using cumin was pretty much a given for me. I love cumin and suggest using it in pretty much every dish we cook. The cumin gives this dish a sort of Indian flavouring but feels more like a chili to me with it’s thick spicy tomato sauce.

Velvet Chicken and Asparagus Stir-fry

Posted on 19-03-2012 | By: Shannon

Category : Main Course, Meat

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I am a terrible blogger. I got a new job, and I’ve been house hunting, and…well, I’ve had a lot of excuses for being too scatterbrained to blog. Lately I either think to cook or have a camera on-hand, but the twain have not met to give me a recipe to post. UNTIL NOW.

This is the most complicated stir-fry I have ever made. That’s not saying a ton, I always think of stir-fry as kind of lazy food, especially because I can never be bothered to clean and cut all the vegetables, so they’re usually freezer veg. But this is fresh veg! It’s just asparagus, which is pretty easy to cut. Or, if asparagus is out of season or you just don’t want asparagus broccoli would work just as well. I promise, it’s not actually complicated, there’s just a little more to it than throw-crap-in-pan-heat-&-eat. And the texture of the chicken is fantastic, the payoff is totally worth it.

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Sausage Casserole and Dumplings

Posted on 22-11-2011 | By: Lucy

Category : Main Course, Meat

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Winter is here and I am craving warm and tasty comfort food right now. The ‘to cook’ list on my fridge currently reads tomato soup, chili, toad in the hole and curried lentils. Are you noticing a hearty winter theme? My freezer is starting to fill up with all the extra portions you get when you cook large filling meals for multiple people in a household of two. This meal is in that comfort food group with plenty of stodgy grains but also lots of vegetables.

This meal came about when we had a friend visiting who is kind of a big deal in brassicas (also aliums, carrots and legumes)* so we found ourselves using as many of ‘her’ vegetables as possible. This dish is topped with dumplings made just the way my mother used to make them. However, I was disappointed to find out that this involved buying a certain brand of suet and following the recipe on the back. And all these years I thought my mother made the best stew and dumplings from a secret recipe! Continue Reading


Saffron Albondigas

Posted on 30-09-2011 | By: Shannon

Category : Main Course, Meat, Nibbles

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During my visit to the UK, Lucy was fresh off a holiday as well. She had just come back from Spain, and was waxing poetic about all the wonderful food. So, considering the dreich weather, we decided to try to bring a little Spanish sunshine back to Edinburgh, in the form of tapas. And adding saffron: even better.

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Chilli Beef and Lime Noodle Salad

Posted on 20-09-2011 | By: Lucy

Category : Main Course, Meat, Salads, Veg

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I found myself with too many limes last week. I had bought plenty when my mother came to visit in anticipation of many cocktails and G&T’s but between going out a lot, antibiotics and having to go to work the next day this didn’t really come to pass. So instead I ended up looking for ways to use up limes. A few people suggested key lime pie but the danger of eating the entire pie myself was too great so I decided to branch out. Continue Reading


BBQ Pulled Pork

Posted on 26-07-2011 | By: Shannon

Category : Main Course, Meat

Ok, this recipe isn’t quick, but it has extremely little hands-on time. Why am I trying to pass off such a simple recipe? Because I’m lazy? Well…sorta, but mostly because I’m just about to get some travelling in. Where? Back to Edinburgh! So there will be a little Double the Sugar Convention while I visit with Lucy, and we eat our way through the town. As such, I’ve been putting more thought into the trip than into my cooking. Also, if you don’t hear from us next week, we might be too full of food to type. Just so you know.

This is a slow cooker recipe, but it can be done just as easily in a dutch oven. Just be aware that it takes hours, so I’d recommend getting set up in the morning, or at least after lunch.

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Simple sausages

Posted on 06-12-2010 | By: Lucy

Category : Main Course, Meat

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Apologies for the huge lack of posting recently. We have been busy with work, flat renovating, choir and the general lead up to Christmas. It’s no excuse to not post but it will have to do. This is not so much a recipe as an attempt to get myself back into both the cooking and the blogging mindset as nearly all my evenings recently have been spent with a wallpaper stripper or hammer.

Mix honey and sesame seeds together and coat the sausages. Then roast in an oven proof dish for around 25 to 30 minutes turning occasionally. Because they’re quite sweet I served these with mashed potatoes with cabbage, sweet potatoes and honey roast carrots to add to the sweet/savoury flavours. Lovely and simple but feels like you’ve made much more of an effort.

More actual recipe posts to come soon – we promise!


Chicken-Fried Steak and Biscuits

Posted on 19-10-2010 | By: Shannon

Category : Main Course, Meat, Menu

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Many apologies for the lack of posts lately. As Lucy mentioned, she’s been moving, and after I agreed to take on a for extra posts to cover for her, my grandma passed away, and I traveled to the funeral. When I was staying down with family, I did manage to inherit my grandma’s recipe box. So some of the next few posts will be from, and for, my grandma.

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Grill Week: Flank Steak Part II

Posted on 17-08-2010 | By: Shannon

Category : Meat

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Welcome back to the second day of Grill Week, and Part II of the guest post about Flank Steak from Shannon’s husband (and Grillmaster) Paul! If you missed Part I yesterday, catch it here.


Browning the Steak: Flank steak is roughly rectangular, with a short side and a long side. When you place the steak on the grill, place the steak on the cool side and orient the steak so that the long side runs from the front to the back of the grill. If you are using dry seasoning, apply that now.

Rotate the steak often; maybe every minute or so. I rotate my steaks more frequently than that, but I can’t leave them alone. Check the bottom side by lifting one edge of the steak up with tongs. Once the bottom side is browned lightly (enough that there is no red or pink left, but not so much that dark brown patches start to appear), flip the steak over.

Now the top side is lightly browned and the bottom side is still raw. If you are using dry seasonings, apply them to the top side now. Repeat the rotations until the bottom side is also lightly browned.

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Grill Week: Flank Steak

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Posted on 16-08-2010 | By: Shannon

Category : Meat

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Hello ladies & gents! This week we’re doing another theme week at Double the Sugar. This time around, we’re celebrating the season with Grill Week! So keep checking back for lovely grillable treats, there will be a new post every day, and while they may not have quite as much sugar, they’ll still be tasty!

First off, we have one of a two-part post from a guest, my (Shannon’s) husband Paul! He is know to our friends, with only a small amount of giggling, as a true Master of Meat, and there isn’t anyone finer to guide you through how to grill a steak. And specifically, my favorite kind of steak: flank steak! I’ll let him get to it…

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