First snowdrop

Last year the daffodils and crocuses came en masse right at the beginning of February, and this year, with all the cold and snow we have had, even the snowdrops haven't come out properly. I captured the first one in our garden on Saturday morning:

Menu week 2009-08

I don't know what exactly but something went wrong and only half of last week's planned menu was actually cooked. Something to do with both of us being out and coming back late and then we had no time to cook a full meal. Usually it ends up with grilling some Cauldron organic veggie sausages, making some mashed potatoes, and boiling some peas: not very healthy :-(

So, here is our attempt for this week. We will try to stick to it this time! Although I will probably have to fly to Belfast for a couple of days, not sure yet if and when it will happen though...

Stuffed mushrooms,
served with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Carrot and parsnip bake

Tofu & noodle stir-fry

Lentil paté (NEW!)

Menu week 2009-07

Stuffed mushrooms,
served with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Carrot and parsnip bake

Spinach and lentil curry, with basmati rice
based on creamy spinach curry

Cauliflower and broccoli soup

Light lunch

This light lunch was simply delicious. This is the great thing about working from home: even with only 30 minutes break for lunch, you have time to make yourself something tasty, even if there aren't any leftovers from the previous night's dinner.


These toasted ciabatta with halloumi, sundried tomatoes and a baby spinach and rocket salad proved to be a real treat!

Serves 1:

1 small ciabatta bred, sliced in half
50g low-fat halloumi (Cypriote cheese), sliced
4 sundried tomatoes preserved in olive oil, sliced
2 handfuls of baby spinach and rocket salad, washed and dried (or it will taste watery)
1/2 portion of mustard salad dressing (see below)
Freshly cracked black pepper to sprinkle

1. Arrange the halloumi onto the ciabatta halves and place under the grill until it starts getting golden brown.

2. Place onto a plate with the dressed salad and sprinkle with the sliced sundried tomatoes and black pepper.


For 1 portion of mustard salad dressing (serves 2):
1 TBSP dijon mustard
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil (ideally mechanically cold pressed)
1 TBSP Xeres vinegar

Blend all ingredients well with a mini-whisk into a bowl and mix with the spinach and rocket.

Healthy snack

I am most of the time quite good at not eating 'bad' snacks. I guess it's kind of easy since there aren't any biscuits or sweets in the house. The closest thing to sweet treats that we have in a cookie jar are cereal bars.

But everyone needs a snack every now and then, and with the little one growing inside me, it is quite important to eat when I feel hungry. So as an alternative to the yoghurt and fruit salad, here is the 'classic' hummus and crudités snack:

- 2 or 3 TBSP of ready-made low-fat hummus (well, I'm working full time after all, you can't make everything yourself!)
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into sticks
- 1/3 cucumber, cut into sticks
- 2 celery branches, cut into sticks

Vegetable enchilladas with red kidney beans

These make a very quick and healthy lunch, quite filling too, and very little washing up: what else can you ask?

Serves 4:

4 wholemeal flour tortillas
1 can red kidney beans, rinced and drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
6 sticks of celery, sliced
1 courgette, cut into small chunks
1 green pepper, chopped
2 TBSP millet seeds
2 tsp hot chili powder
1 TBSP parsley
black pepper

topping:
6 slices of mozzarella
1 TBSP pine kernels or sunflower seeds

1. Mix all but tortillas and topping ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Place a layer of the mixed vegetables at the bottom of an oven-proof dish.

3. Fill each tortilla with the vegetable mixture and place in the dish.

4. Cover with mozzarella and pine kernels.


5. Cook for 25 minutes in a 180C preheated oven. Serve immediately.

Menu week 2009-06

No time to published this past week's menu as we had my friend K coming over from Germany, so we had little time for planning for food.

This is the plan for this coming week:

Vegetable enchilladas with red kidney beans (NEW!)

Lentil and chick pea patties,
with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Spicy vegetable soup

Vegetarian paella

Sprouting seeds with bulghur and quinoa

Vegetable lasagne

Spring is approaching...slowly

The bulbs we planted back in October are growing very well, and I am looking forward to seeing some flower buds. We did not do much in the border at the front of the house last year, but hopefully we should have various types of flowers blooming from the end of February till the middle of summer.


So, to complement the yellow rosebush, lupin, grassbush and heathers that we planted last year, we have planted:

- snowdrops
- crocuses
- tulips
- irises
- anemones
- mixed aliums (nigrum, purple sensation, sphaerocephalon, chrisophii, bulgaricum)



And this is how it looked two days later:


And on Thursday 5th Feb:
Ironically, the only bulbs which haven't sprung yet are the snowdrops!

Best rubber duck ever!

This was a Christmas present from my parents. All the 'children' (all above 20) got one. Mine is yellow, my sister's is blue and my brother's is green. I am pretty sure they do get annoying if what you want is a relaxing bath... but they are fun!

Sweetcorn and spinach soup

Serves 4

350 g canned sweetcorn
1 TBSP butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 carrot finely chopped
1 large potato, diced
1 litre water
125 ml milk
125 ml double cream
salt & pepper
pinch of nutmeg
200g spinach leaves, chopped

1. Heat the butter in a non-stick saucepan and fry the onion and leek. Cover and cook for 3-4 min. Add the carrot, potato and water and bring to the boil. Add the sweetcorn and simmer for 20 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are well cooked.

2. Blend half of the soup then return to the saucepan. Add the milk and cream and mix well, adding a little more milk to adjust the thickness of the soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer over low heat. Do not boil.

3. Add the spinach and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve hot into warm bowl with wholemeal bread.

Vegetable toad-in-the-hole

First toad-in-the-hole for me and if you don't mind the name of the dish (why on earth does it have this unapetizing name???) it tastes really good.


Serves 4

Batter:
100g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
200ml milk
2 TBSP wholegrain mustard
2 TBSP vegetable oil (NOT olive oil)

Filling:
25g butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 parsnip, cut into strips
3 carrots, cut into strips
1 small broccoli, cut into small florets
100g mangetouts
50g canned sweetcorn
2 tomatoes, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 TBSP wholegrain mustard
1 TBSP mixed herbs

1. To make the batter, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Beat in the eggs and milk. Stir in the muster and leave to stand.

2. Pour the oil into a shallow ovenproof dish and heat in a 200C preheated oven for 10 min. Do not leave the oven/room unsupervised as the oil may catch fire (as it almost happened to us).

3. To make the filling, boil the parsnip, carrot and broccoli for 10 min.

4. Melt the butter in a deep frying pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the mangetouts, sweetcorn, mustard and herbs. Season well and add the parsnip, carrots and broccoli. Mix well.

5. Remove the heated dish from the oven and pour in the batter. Spoon the vegetables into the centre and return to the oven for 30 minutes until the bater has risen and set. Serve immediately.

Potato-topped lentil bake

A protein-packed dish!


Serves 4

Topping:
800g potatoes, diced
25g butter/margarine
1 TBSP milk
50g mixed nuts, chopped
1 TBSP thyme

Filling:
250g red lentils
60g butter/margarine
1 leek, sliced
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 medium broccoli, cut into florets
250g tofu, cubed
2 tsp tomato purée
salt & pepper

1. To make the topping, boil the potatoes for 15 min, drain well and mash with the butter and milk. Stir in the nuts and thyme. Set aside.

2. Cook the lentils for 20 minutes in boiling water, until tender. Drain and set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the leek, garlic celery and broccoli and fry for 5 min. Add the tofu cubes. Stir in the lentils and the tomato purée. Season to taste and place the mixture into a shallow oven-proof dish.

4. Spoon the mashed potato on top of the lentil/tofu mixture.

5. Cook in a 180C preheated oven for 30 minutes and serve hot.

Menu week 2009-04

Winter stew

Cabbage and potato bake
(based on cabbage gratin)

Broccoli enchilladas

Curry with noodles,
based on vegetable curry

Only half a week as we had a guest and ate out quite often.

vegetable curry

This was a perfect side dish to the spicy and spinach wheels, yum yum... But it would be just as nice served with a plain basmati rice.


Serves 4:

1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 small broccoli, cut into small florets
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 carrots, sliced
400g tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 TBSP double cream (or soya cream)
3 TBSP groundnut oil
1 TBSP cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 TBSP chopped coriander, for sprinkling

1. Parboil the cauliflower, broccoli and carrots for 5-10 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a big non-stick saucepan/wok and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for 1-2 minutes. Add the other spices.

3. Add all the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes until tender. Add the cream and mix well.

Serve warm as a side dish and sprinkle with the chopped coriander.

Spiced potato and spinach wheels

Another great recipe from our Vegan Taste of India cookbook.

This is quite time-consuming: it took us 3.5 hours from getting the ingredients to eating our dinner, but it was well worth it I tell you!
Serves 4-6: (makes 12 wheels)

900 g potatoes, diced
100g wholemeal self-raising flour
25g margarine
1/2 tsp turmeric
black pepper

filling:
225g fresh spinach, washed, patted dry and finely shredded
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 TBSP groundnut oil
1 TBSP (soya) plain yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp yellow mustard seed (original recipe with black mustard seeds, but I don't have any)
Black pepper

1. Boil the potatoes until well done, drain thoroughly and dry off over a very low heat. Mash the potatoes with the margarine and add the sifted flour and turmeric. Season black pepper and mix well. Chill for 1 hour.

2. Heat the groundnut oil in a large saucepan/wok and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the mustard seeds and garam masala and fry for another minute. Add the spinach and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the yoghurt. Season with the pepper. Allow to cool.

3. Turn the potato mixture out onto a floured piece of cling film and shap into a 30 x 23 cm rectangle. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the base, leaving 2 cm gap along one of the long edges for sealing.


4. Starting from the other long edge roll up like a Swiss roll (using the cling film to pull the roll up makes this easier) and squeeze the edges together to join.


5. Cut the roll into 2.5 cm portions with a sharp knife.

6. Shallow fry the wheels for a few minutes until golden brown on both sides.


Serve hot with a vegetable curry.

Winter stew

As the name indicates, this is great to warm you up on a cold wintery evening. It is very simple too in many ways: simple to prepare (you could have it ready within 30 min), with simple, basic ingredients.

Serves 2+:

2 TBSP olive oil
500g leeks, sliced
3-4 carrots, sliced
3-4 potatoes, diced
250g smoked tofu, diced
Herbs of your choice (thyme, marjoram, basil, parsley,...)
Salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the leeks and fry for 5 min. Don't let them go brown!

2. Add 2 glasses of water and the carrots, potatoes and tofu. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Season with the herbs, salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Potato and spinach korma

Serves 4:

2 TBSP groundnut oil
500g potatoes, diced
1 big bunch of spinach, shredded
2 carrots, sliced
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
200g korma sauce
1 TBSP chopped coriander

300g basmati rice

1. Parboil the potatoes and carrots for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

2. Fry the potatoes and carrots in the groundnut oil for 4 min.

3. Add the spinach and tomatoes. Cook for another 3 minutes.

4. Stir in the sauce and coat well until heated through.

5. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package instructions (10-12 minutes). Drain well.

6. Serve rice and vegetables onto warm plates and sprinkle with coriander.

Pasta with veg and creamy tomato sauce

Serves 2

250g dried pasta shape

2 TBSP olive-oil margarine
1 bunch fresh spinach, shredded
250g mushrooms, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
4 tomatoes, chopped
4 TBSP double cream
Parmesan and black pepper to garnish

1. Fry the mushrooms in the margarine in a non-stick saucepan for 3-4 minutes. Add the courgettes and fry for a further 3 minutes.

2. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cream and season to taste.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta 'al dente'.

4. Serve into warm bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan and pepper.

Celeriac, mushroom and walnut risotto

Serves 4 people:

1 onion, chopped
1 celeriac, diced
250g mushrooms, sliced
25g butter
10 cl vodka
400g arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock
50g Parmesan, grated
2 handfuls coarsely chopped walnuts
Olive oil, pepper, herbs

1. Parboil the celeriac for 10 min then set aside.

2. Fry the mushrooms in some of the butter in a saucepan until golden brown. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a big non-stick saucepan, and fry the onion for 4 min. Pour the rice and coat with the melted butter until transculent. Add the vodka at once while stiring.

4. Gradually add the veg stock until the rice is cooked.

5. Add the celeriac, most of the Parmesan (reserve some to sprinkle), and freshly cracked black pepper.

Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle with the walnuts and the rest of the Parmesan.

Lentil tagine with couscous

A tagine is a cooking earthware typical of Morocco, usually used to describe the container as well as the contents. It is often a spicy meat or vegetable dish served with couscous.

This recipe is very satisfying and will make a great main course in winter. It is deliciously spicy and an unusual way to use sweet potatoes. It was for me at least.

You do not need the special tagine dish to make this recipe! I used standard saucepans.



Serves 6:

Ingredients

500g red lentils
1 litre Vegetable Stock
1 garlic clove, crushed
700g Sweet Potatoes, peeled diced
550g tomatoes, chopped
1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green peppers, diced
1 Onion, chopped
1 TBSP freshly grated Ginger
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper / hot chilli powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin
Freshly chopped Coriander to garnish

1 cup wholegrain couscous

Instructions

1. Place the lentils, stock and garlic in a large saucepan, bring to boil stirring, reduce the heat cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Add the sweet potatoes, tomato, peppers, onion, ginger, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Bring back to simmering point and continue to cook, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.

3. Cook the couscous according to package instructions.

Serve immediately