This is what we will be cooking next week, based on our Winter Box delivery:
Pasta with mushroom and creamy Port sauce
Cream of artichoke soup
Cauliflower and broccoli soup
Lentil croquettes (with carrots and parsnips side dish)
Rice and pearl barley stew (NEW!)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Spring gardening
We have done a bit in our garden lately.
First, I planted the raspberry canes in the area which I cleared last autumn, between the vegetable patch and the shed. This South-exposure location should be perfect for our "Autumn Bliss" raspberries. This breed should fruit in September/October time, which will be nice because by then, the strawberries will be gone.
We also purchased a small blueberry bush. I am a BIG fan of blueberries. I hope it will grow fast and give us lots of tasty fruits. The variety is "Earlyblue".
These are our apple tree first buds, which appeared exactly 2 days before the big snow showers. I took the photo after finishing planting the raspberries.
And this is how the apple tree is now:
Then, we seeded various vegetables, including: purple sprouting broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, leeks, and courgettes. The beans have not done so well (1 out of 10), we think it is not warm enough in our house. The trouble is: finding a place where it is warm but out of reach of Chatouille. So we have placed all the seed pots on the spare bedroom windowsill.
And finally this weekend, we have trimmed the hedges (it was long overdue).
AFTER:
You may not spot it immediately, but after cutting the hedge, one can see the houses behind us. We would like to cut it even lower to the height of the garages behind the garden, to get more light and make it easier to trim the hedge in the future. It looks a bit bare now but it will grow again (I hope?). Also, the garden looks bigger and it will be easier to mow the lawn on the right-hand side.
Today, Trave planted some of the potatoes, which we are going to grow in bags on the patio. We chose to grow the "Nicola" variety, which seemed to be a multi-usage potato and also fairly resistant to a few common disease. We shall see!
We now need to weed the vegetable patch a bit and plant our carrots among other things quite soon. Our vegetable patch is not very big, so we are growing tomatoes, potatoes and strawberries in containers.
Let's hope we have a fruitful harvest!
First, I planted the raspberry canes in the area which I cleared last autumn, between the vegetable patch and the shed. This South-exposure location should be perfect for our "Autumn Bliss" raspberries. This breed should fruit in September/October time, which will be nice because by then, the strawberries will be gone.
We also purchased a small blueberry bush. I am a BIG fan of blueberries. I hope it will grow fast and give us lots of tasty fruits. The variety is "Earlyblue".
These are our apple tree first buds, which appeared exactly 2 days before the big snow showers. I took the photo after finishing planting the raspberries.
And this is how the apple tree is now:
Then, we seeded various vegetables, including: purple sprouting broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, leeks, and courgettes. The beans have not done so well (1 out of 10), we think it is not warm enough in our house. The trouble is: finding a place where it is warm but out of reach of Chatouille. So we have placed all the seed pots on the spare bedroom windowsill.Broccoli (purple sprouting):
Tomatoes:
Broccoli (left) and courgette (right):
Courgettes:
And finally this weekend, we have trimmed the hedges (it was long overdue).
BEFORE:
AFTER:
You may not spot it immediately, but after cutting the hedge, one can see the houses behind us. We would like to cut it even lower to the height of the garages behind the garden, to get more light and make it easier to trim the hedge in the future. It looks a bit bare now but it will grow again (I hope?). Also, the garden looks bigger and it will be easier to mow the lawn on the right-hand side.Today, Trave planted some of the potatoes, which we are going to grow in bags on the patio. We chose to grow the "Nicola" variety, which seemed to be a multi-usage potato and also fairly resistant to a few common disease. We shall see!
We now need to weed the vegetable patch a bit and plant our carrots among other things quite soon. Our vegetable patch is not very big, so we are growing tomatoes, potatoes and strawberries in containers.Let's hope we have a fruitful harvest!
Menu week 17
I will be away in Austria for a few days next week so there won't be much cooking going on:
Pizza (red pepper, courgette, mushroom, Mozzarella)
Broccoli and cauliflower flan
Pizza (red pepper, courgette, mushroom, Mozzarella)
Broccoli and cauliflower flan
Honey and Cointreau madeleines
I ordered some fancy no fuss silicon madeleine pans and they arrived last week. I could not wait longer so I made some delicious little madeleine cakes.
They did not raise as much as they should have, so they did not have their caracteristic 'hump', but they tasted fantastic: great for dipping in a glass of hot chocolate with honey.
Make the dough at least 2 hours in advance, but don't put it in the fridge (I think that's where I went wrong)
Makes ~24 madeleines:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
120g self-raising flour
100g butter
70g honey
30g caster sugar
1 TBSP Cointreau (or orange blossom water)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1. Melt the butter and honey on low heat.
2. Mix together the eggs and sugar. Add half of the melted butter and honey, mixing slowly.
3. Add the sieved flour then the rest of the honey/butter mixture. Add the Cointreau, cinnamon and salt.
4. Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
5. Using madeleine pans, pour 1 tablespoon of the dough into each form. If using a madeleine tin, don't forget to grease it well! The beauty of silicone is that you don't need to :)
6. Bake in a 230C pre-heated oven for 8 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180C and cook for another 5 min until golden.
If like me you have more dough than you have room for in your forms, why not baking the rest of it in muffin cases?
Cabbage gratin
I looked everywhere for my cabbage gratin recipe which I had scribbled on a piece of paper before I started this blog, but eventually I had to face reality: I had lost my cabbage bake recipe, which I had not made for over a year... So I had to make another one up!
It is a very tasty bake/gratin and I bet you can convert pretty much any non-cabbage eater into appreciating this vegetable.
Serves 2 - 3:
1 green/spring cabbage, thinly shredded
2 leeks, sliced or chopped
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
50g butter
30g plain flour
400ml milk
150g Cheddar, grated
40g Parmesan, grated
dried bread crumbs
1. Boil the cabbage for 3-5 min. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, fry the leeks in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes too. Add the rosemary, then the cabbage and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes and arrange into a greased ovenproof deep dish (soufflé type or casserole)
3. To make the sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk well. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the milk. Bring to the boil until it thickens. (if it does not thicken as you wish, add a tablespoon of cornflour and that should do the trick!)
4. Sprinkle the cabbage and leek mixture with the Cheddar. Pour over the sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan and bread crumbs.
5. Cook in a 180C pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately with nice crusty bread.
It is a very tasty bake/gratin and I bet you can convert pretty much any non-cabbage eater into appreciating this vegetable.Serves 2 - 3:
1 green/spring cabbage, thinly shredded
2 leeks, sliced or chopped
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
50g butter
30g plain flour
400ml milk
150g Cheddar, grated
40g Parmesan, grated
dried bread crumbs
1. Boil the cabbage for 3-5 min. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, fry the leeks in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes too. Add the rosemary, then the cabbage and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes and arrange into a greased ovenproof deep dish (soufflé type or casserole)
3. To make the sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk well. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the milk. Bring to the boil until it thickens. (if it does not thicken as you wish, add a tablespoon of cornflour and that should do the trick!)
4. Sprinkle the cabbage and leek mixture with the Cheddar. Pour over the sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan and bread crumbs.
5. Cook in a 180C pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately with nice crusty bread.
Cream of artichoke soup
We had some jerusalem artichoke in our vegetable box. Trave does not really like artichokes and for my part, I have in my head the stigma from WW II transmitted to me by my grandparents, that jerusalem artichokes (topinambours) and swedes (rutabaga) are Ersatzt products which are consumed only in war times. Why would someone choose to eat these when there is an abundance of fresh new potatoes?
Jerusalem artichokes are very awkward to peel. I was not sure how they would taste: I expected them to taste half-way between potatoes and parsnips, but unsurprisingly, they taste like globe artichokes, which I have eaten a lot when I was a kid, as I grew up near Brittany, a region that grows a lot of globe artichokes. You would find them fresh on the market stalls, yummy with mayonnaise or bearnaise sauce!
In any case, both Trave and I enjoyed this soup. As I did not have quite enough jerusalem artichokes, I added potatoes and carrots to it, and it was delicious!
Serves 4:
400g Jerusalem artichokes
1 or 2 potato(es)
2 carrots
1 lemon, thickly sliced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion
1 litre vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/4 ground nutmeg
150 ml single cream
1. Peel and slice all the vegetables and soak them in a bowl of water with the lemon slices.
2. Fry the onion in the olive oil for 3-5 min. Add the (drained!) vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, bay leaves and nutmeg. Bring to the boil and cook for 25 minutes.
4. Discard the bay leaves and blend the soup in a food processor until smooth.
5. Return to a saucepan. Heat up then add the single cream. Heat without boiling. Serve into warmed bowls.
Jerusalem artichokes are very awkward to peel. I was not sure how they would taste: I expected them to taste half-way between potatoes and parsnips, but unsurprisingly, they taste like globe artichokes, which I have eaten a lot when I was a kid, as I grew up near Brittany, a region that grows a lot of globe artichokes. You would find them fresh on the market stalls, yummy with mayonnaise or bearnaise sauce!
In any case, both Trave and I enjoyed this soup. As I did not have quite enough jerusalem artichokes, I added potatoes and carrots to it, and it was delicious!Serves 4:
400g Jerusalem artichokes
1 or 2 potato(es)
2 carrots
1 lemon, thickly sliced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion
1 litre vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/4 ground nutmeg
150 ml single cream
1. Peel and slice all the vegetables and soak them in a bowl of water with the lemon slices.
2. Fry the onion in the olive oil for 3-5 min. Add the (drained!) vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, bay leaves and nutmeg. Bring to the boil and cook for 25 minutes.
4. Discard the bay leaves and blend the soup in a food processor until smooth.
5. Return to a saucepan. Heat up then add the single cream. Heat without boiling. Serve into warmed bowls.
Stir-fry sauce
Stir-fry sauce:
5 TBSP medium/dry sherry
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
1 TBSP tomato sauce
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp coriander
1 pinch ginger
5 TBSP medium/dry sherry
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
1 TBSP tomato sauce
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp coriander
1 pinch ginger
Tofu & noodle stir-fry
I am no expert in making stir-fry and I had to look at various recipes to get some real inspiration for this one. It turned out very tasty so there will be more stir-fries on the menu from now on, for sure!
Serves 4:
1 TBSP chilli-infused olive oil
1 TBSP groundnut oil
250g firm tofu, diced
2 pak-choi, leaves shredded and stems sliced (placed in 2 different bowls)
1 broccoli head, cut into florets
1 red hot chilli, chopped
100g baby sweetcorn cobs, sliced
400g medium-egg noodles
5 TBSP medium-dry sherry
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
1 TBSP tomato sauce
2 tsp cornflour
1 pinch ginger
1. In a wok or large saucepan, heat the oils and fry the pak choi stems and tofu for 5 minutes. Then add all the other vegetables and fry for another 5-8 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked.
2. Meanwhile, whisk all the sauce ingredients together, and add to the stir-fry. Mix well with the tofu and vegetables and cook until it thickens a little.
3. At the same time, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. (I have made my own noodles once, but it extremely time-consuming, and not much better than what you can buy, so really not worth it in my opinion)
4. Mix the noodles to the stir-fry and serve into warm plates.
Serves 4:
1 TBSP chilli-infused olive oil
1 TBSP groundnut oil
250g firm tofu, diced
2 pak-choi, leaves shredded and stems sliced (placed in 2 different bowls)
1 broccoli head, cut into florets
1 red hot chilli, chopped
100g baby sweetcorn cobs, sliced
400g medium-egg noodles
5 TBSP medium-dry sherry
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
1 TBSP tomato sauce
2 tsp cornflour
1 pinch ginger
1. In a wok or large saucepan, heat the oils and fry the pak choi stems and tofu for 5 minutes. Then add all the other vegetables and fry for another 5-8 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked.
2. Meanwhile, whisk all the sauce ingredients together, and add to the stir-fry. Mix well with the tofu and vegetables and cook until it thickens a little.
3. At the same time, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. (I have made my own noodles once, but it extremely time-consuming, and not much better than what you can buy, so really not worth it in my opinion)
4. Mix the noodles to the stir-fry and serve into warm plates.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wholemeal chocolate-coated biscuits
These are fairly 'healthy' biscuits and are really tasty.
Makes about 18 biscuits
75g butter
100g demarara sugar
1 egg
25g quinoa flakes (or wheatgerm, or any other tiny cereal flakes)
125g wholemeal self-raising flour
60g plain self-raising flour
150g chocolate for the coating
1. Beat the butter and sugar with a whisk until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the quinoa flakes (or wheat germ) and flours. Bring the mixture together with your hands.
2. Make little balls of mixture and place onto prepared baking trays. Flatten the balls with the back of a fork.
3. Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 15-20 min until golden. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Once the biscuits are cold, melt the chocolate (bain-marie) and dip the biscuits into the chocolate.
5. Leave to cool upside-down onto the baking sheets and you can make some drawings onto the chocolate coating.
If like me you have some chocolate left, you can drop some onto a baking sheet and top it with various nuts, it will make fantastic treats!
Makes about 18 biscuits
75g butter
100g demarara sugar
1 egg
25g quinoa flakes (or wheatgerm, or any other tiny cereal flakes)
125g wholemeal self-raising flour
60g plain self-raising flour
150g chocolate for the coating
1. Beat the butter and sugar with a whisk until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the quinoa flakes (or wheat germ) and flours. Bring the mixture together with your hands.
2. Make little balls of mixture and place onto prepared baking trays. Flatten the balls with the back of a fork.
3. Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 15-20 min until golden. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Once the biscuits are cold, melt the chocolate (bain-marie) and dip the biscuits into the chocolate.
5. Leave to cool upside-down onto the baking sheets and you can make some drawings onto the chocolate coating.
If like me you have some chocolate left, you can drop some onto a baking sheet and top it with various nuts, it will make fantastic treats!
Nutty fudge
We went mountain biking for the very first time on Sunday, and as I assume we would need some extra energy, I made delicious biscuits and fudge. Both are really easy to make and the fudge requires no cooking at all! They were very popular with everyone.
Mountain biking was new to us and was really good fun. I found it a bit tricky with the SPDs pedals so next time I rent a bike from them I may ask for standard ones so I can jump off the bike when I'm in difficulty. I had to dismount the bike 3 times because the obstacles were too difficult for me. I wish we had done the trail a second time, so that I could try the more technical corners again. We will definitely go there again.
Unfortunately for Trave, he sprained his ankle :(
Difficulty level: 5/5: the really tough bit is WAITING FOR THE FUDGE TO CHILL!!!
Here is the fudge recipe: (not very healthy!)
250g dark cooking chocolate
25g butter
4 TBSP evaporated milk
450g icing sugar, sieved (eeeek, that's a lot of sugar...!)
50g nuts, roughly chopped (I used hazelnuts and pecan nuts)
50g sultanas
1. Grease a 20cm square tin (or use one of these fancy no-need-to-grease silicone magic dishes, which look amazing)
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and cook them bain-marie in a large bowl with the butter and evaporated milk and stir until well combined.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and gradually beat in the sugar. Stir the nuts and sultanas into the mixture.
4. Press the fudge into the prepared tin and chill for several hours.
5. Tip the fudge out onto a chopping board and cut into squares. Lick the chopping board (or give it to your husband/boyfriend to lick). Keep the fudge chilled.
Mountain biking was new to us and was really good fun. I found it a bit tricky with the SPDs pedals so next time I rent a bike from them I may ask for standard ones so I can jump off the bike when I'm in difficulty. I had to dismount the bike 3 times because the obstacles were too difficult for me. I wish we had done the trail a second time, so that I could try the more technical corners again. We will definitely go there again.
Unfortunately for Trave, he sprained his ankle :(
Difficulty level: 5/5: the really tough bit is WAITING FOR THE FUDGE TO CHILL!!!
Here is the fudge recipe: (not very healthy!)
250g dark cooking chocolate
25g butter
4 TBSP evaporated milk
450g icing sugar, sieved (eeeek, that's a lot of sugar...!)
50g nuts, roughly chopped (I used hazelnuts and pecan nuts)
50g sultanas
1. Grease a 20cm square tin (or use one of these fancy no-need-to-grease silicone magic dishes, which look amazing)
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and cook them bain-marie in a large bowl with the butter and evaporated milk and stir until well combined.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and gradually beat in the sugar. Stir the nuts and sultanas into the mixture.
4. Press the fudge into the prepared tin and chill for several hours.
5. Tip the fudge out onto a chopping board and cut into squares. Lick the chopping board (or give it to your husband/boyfriend to lick). Keep the fudge chilled.
Mixed sprouting seed stew
This is a very nice and easy to make soup/stew (I would call this a stew).
Mixed sprouting seed stew
Serves 4 - 6:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes
150ml red wine
1 litre vegetable stock
300g mixed sprouted seeds
2 courgettes, diced
1 TBSP tomato purée
1 sprig fresh rosemary
350g bulghur wheat
1. Heat the oil in a non-stick big saucepan. Fry the onion. Add the courgettes, tomatoes, red wine, vegetable stock, tomato purée, rosemary and seeds. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Mean while, cook the bulghur according to cooking instructions.
3. Either mix the bulghur in the stew or serve the bulghur in warm bowls and laddle some stew over it. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Mixed sprouting seed stew
Serves 4 - 6:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes
150ml red wine
1 litre vegetable stock
300g mixed sprouted seeds
2 courgettes, diced
1 TBSP tomato purée
1 sprig fresh rosemary
350g bulghur wheat
1. Heat the oil in a non-stick big saucepan. Fry the onion. Add the courgettes, tomatoes, red wine, vegetable stock, tomato purée, rosemary and seeds. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Mean while, cook the bulghur according to cooking instructions.
3. Either mix the bulghur in the stew or serve the bulghur in warm bowls and laddle some stew over it. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Potato bake with goat's cheese
Now, this was... incredibly de-li-cious!!! I am by no mean a goat's cheese fan and have only recently accepted to try dishes with goat's cheese, but, mama-mia! This was good. Not too strong at all, as some goat's cheese meals can sometimes be.
Potato bake with goat's cheese
Serves 4
1.2 kg potatoes, peeled and diced (I have used new potatoes, without peeling them)
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
200ml creme fraiche
150ml vegetable stock
pinch of chilli powder
1 TBSP parsley
1 TBSP tomato purée
225g goat's cheese, sliced
180g Cheddar, grated
55g Parmesan, grated
dried golden bread crumbs
1. Boil the potatoes for 10 min then drain well. Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
2. Mix the creme fraiche, veg stock, chilli, parsley and tomato purée.
3. In a big ovenproof casserole dish, lay half of the potatoes, sprinkle with chopped red pepper, pour half of the creme fraiche mixture, then cover with the goat's cheese. Top with the rest of the potatoes, red pepper and sauce.
4. Sprinkle with the Cheddar, Parmesand and bread crumbs.
5. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with some nice bread (if only to mop up the yummy creamy sauce!)
Potato bake with goat's cheese
Serves 4
1.2 kg potatoes, peeled and diced (I have used new potatoes, without peeling them)
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
200ml creme fraiche
150ml vegetable stock
pinch of chilli powder
1 TBSP parsley
1 TBSP tomato purée
225g goat's cheese, sliced
180g Cheddar, grated
55g Parmesan, grated
dried golden bread crumbs
1. Boil the potatoes for 10 min then drain well. Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
2. Mix the creme fraiche, veg stock, chilli, parsley and tomato purée.
3. In a big ovenproof casserole dish, lay half of the potatoes, sprinkle with chopped red pepper, pour half of the creme fraiche mixture, then cover with the goat's cheese. Top with the rest of the potatoes, red pepper and sauce.
4. Sprinkle with the Cheddar, Parmesand and bread crumbs.
5. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with some nice bread (if only to mop up the yummy creamy sauce!)
Split pea and parsnip soup
This is a yummy, yummy soup, and as spring is not quite here yet, we really enjoyed it!
Split pea and parsnip soup
serves 4
250g split yellow peas
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small leek, finely chopped
3 parsnips, diced
2 litres water
10 fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
1/2 tsp ground coriander
pinch nutmeg
parsley to sprinkle
1. Rinse the peas and cook for 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat the oil, add the onion and leek and cook for 5 min. Add the parsnips and cook for a further 3 min.
3. Add the peas, water, herbs, bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Blend in the liquidiser. Pour back into a saucepan, re-heat and season to taste.
5. Serve warm with a nice slice of bread.
Split pea and parsnip soup
serves 4
250g split yellow peas
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small leek, finely chopped
3 parsnips, diced
2 litres water
10 fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
1/2 tsp ground coriander
pinch nutmeg
parsley to sprinkle
1. Rinse the peas and cook for 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat the oil, add the onion and leek and cook for 5 min. Add the parsnips and cook for a further 3 min.
3. Add the peas, water, herbs, bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Blend in the liquidiser. Pour back into a saucepan, re-heat and season to taste.
5. Serve warm with a nice slice of bread.
Mini potato Bratlinge
Not the best meal I have ever cooked, but it was quite nice.
Serves 4:
600g potatoes, grated
200g sweet potatoes, grated
1 tsp oregano
2 TBSP parsley
2 eggs, beaten
30g flour
1 TBSP olive oil
to serve:
250g sour cream
steamed/boiled broccoli
1. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the potato mixture in batches on both sides until golden brown.
3. Serve warm with the sour cream and some broccoli florets.
Serves 4:
600g potatoes, grated
200g sweet potatoes, grated
1 tsp oregano
2 TBSP parsley
2 eggs, beaten
30g flour
1 TBSP olive oil
to serve:
250g sour cream
steamed/boiled broccoli
1. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the potato mixture in batches on both sides until golden brown.
3. Serve warm with the sour cream and some broccoli florets.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
menu wk 15
This is what we will be cooking next week. Nothing too complicated, as we will have to juggle cooking with football, cinema (Children of Glory), and 2 birthday parties!
Mini potato Bratlinge (patties): new!
Pasta with creamy mushroom sauce
Split pea and parsnip soup: new!
Mini potato Bratlinge (patties): new!
Pasta with creamy mushroom sauce
Split pea and parsnip soup: new!
Creamed spinach and potato curry with basmati rice
This is a very simple and quick to make dish. I am not a huge fan of spinach but I don't mind it occasionally, particularly with ricotta as a tortellini stuffing.
For 4 people:
300g basmati rice
400g potatoes, peeled and diced
300g spinach, thawed and pat dry if frozen
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
pepper & salt
200ml single cream
1. Parboil the potatoes and drain well.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick saucepan, add the potatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and all the spices. When the spinach and potatoes are cooked, add the cream and stir.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to packet instructions.
4. Serve into warm bowls.
For 4 people:
300g basmati rice
400g potatoes, peeled and diced
300g spinach, thawed and pat dry if frozen
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
pepper & salt
200ml single cream
1. Parboil the potatoes and drain well.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick saucepan, add the potatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and all the spices. When the spinach and potatoes are cooked, add the cream and stir.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to packet instructions.
4. Serve into warm bowls.
Snowy garden
Here are some photos from our garden and neighbourhood this morning (at about 8am):
The photo belows shows the holes in the garage roof through which Chatouille fell on Wednesday. Luckily, she did not hurt herself.
Our tiny apple tree, covered with snow. We noticed its first buds on Friday afternoon.
The photo belows shows the holes in the garage roof through which Chatouille fell on Wednesday. Luckily, she did not hurt herself.
Our tiny apple tree, covered with snow. We noticed its first buds on Friday afternoon.
Chatouille in the snow
It has been snowing overnight and the garden and surroudings looked amazing this morning. Chatouille made her first steps in the snow too!
This week's delicacies
We modified the menu slightly, because we could not find any paneer cheese for the curry (I used potatoes instead) and we did not have creamed spinach with the roast yesterday but delicious purple sprouting broccoli. I could not resist it when I saw the cute little bunches at the greengrocer on Friday: I wish I had taken a photo!
with potatoes, purple-sprouting broccoli and redwine & tomato sauce:
And today's lunch: toasted ciabatta with halloumi, red pepper and basil:
Creamed spinach and potato curry with basmati rice:
Rice and lentil casserole with roasted cashew nuts:
Rice and lentil casserole with roasted cashew nuts:
with potatoes, purple-sprouting broccoli and redwine & tomato sauce:
And today's lunch: toasted ciabatta with halloumi, red pepper and basil:
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