Menu week 29

Pizza with lettuce
(courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, wild rocket)

Aloo Gobi with French beans

Buckwheat galettes
with creamy mushrooms and broccoli

More photos of Chatouille

Just to make sure I don't leave her alone I guess:

Trave had to extend his dinner, because Madame Chatouille was so comfy:

"Me? Playing with the pegs? Prove it!"

She loves sleeping in the laundry basket:

A warm afternoon spent in a cool spot.

Upcoming festivals

No Glastonbury this year, as we decided to try something new, and I really wanted to attend WOMAD. Then I discovered that Manu Chao was playing at Lovebox in London, so we are going there as well, but just for one day. So, down to London next Saturday, and cycling to Malmesbury the weekend after next.

Performances I would like to see at WOMAD:


Bedouin Jerry Can Band
Rumberos de Cuba
Sabar Drumming with Modou Diouf
Toumani Diabaté
Lo Còr De La Plana
Rachid Taha
Babylon Circus
Afro-Cuban Drumming with Jose Ferrera
Hamid Baroudi
Monobloco
Wasis Diop
Hotel Palindrone
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Djembe Dance with Landing Mané
Filhos de Angola
Orchestra Baobab (they were brilliant at Warwick Arts Centre last year!)
Son de la Frontera

I hope there are not too many clashes!

Garden update

With the weather we have been having here, showers and sun spells, the garden has been doing very well. We just need to keep an eye on slugs :(

Our tomatoes are not quite ready yet, but providing we get some decent sunshine soon (I have not given up yet) they should ripen and be perfect with our wild rocket.

Below are our potatoes. We are very tempted to have a look at them, but we are not sure they are ready yet.


Here is an overview of our vegetable patch, which has become quite crowded! We are quite impressed with the broccoli, which we have grown from seeds.

The French beans are looking great too, which is quite surprising because the day after we planted them out, we had very high winds and strong gales, and most of the leaves had been blown away.
Here is the row of wild rocket, which we seem to be eating in any shape and form at the moment!

This courgette will be ready to be picked very soon now, and there are another 4-5 which should follow in the next few days.

We also have some carrots and leeks. We will have to wait quite a while to eat these.

And against the wall of the shed, we have 6 plants of raspberries, which are starting to show their fruits. They should last us until the autumn, which would be nice!

Simple yoghurt cake

The beauty of this cakes is that you do not need any scales or measuring jugs. And the only washing up you will have to do is 1 bowl, 1 wooden spoon and a loaf tin: isn't it brilliant?

The basis is to use a yoghurt and then use the yoghurt pot to measure the other ingredients.

Makes 1 loaf

1 yoghurt pot, 125g (plain or flavoured - I like to use a lemon yoghurt)
3 yoghurt pots of plain flour
2 yoghurt pots of sugar (1 x caster, 1 x demarara)
1/2 yoghurt pot of vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp flavouring, matching your yoghurt if you chose a flavoured yoghurt
1 tsp brandy/cointreau/calvados (optional)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until they are well blend. Pour into a greased loaf tin.

2. Cook for 30-40 minutes in an oven pre-heated at 200C.

3. Cover with a clean kitchen towel to prevent the cake from sinking.

Enjoy warm or cold.

Mushroom and pepper quiche

We have a lot of wild rocket in the garden. It is nice as a salad, but given the weather we are having, we don't really fancy salads much! For those outside of the UK, it has been raining for days here, occasionally heavily with some sunny spells, and it is very unsettled, so you cannot really plan a nice day out. Temperatures are around 16C, 20C at best. Let's hope this improves soon, because we are planning to cycle to Malmesbury for the WOMAD festival at the end of this month.


Back to my rocket. We have added some to the quiche and it was delicious. The rocket is not as tasty as it is when it is eaten as a salad, but it was nice.

Serves 4:

- For the pastry
180g flour (2/3 plain + 1/3 wholemeal)
80g butter
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP cold water

- For the filling:
1 TBSP basil-infused olive oil
2 red peppers, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into chunks
200g mushrooms, sliced
2 big handfuls of wild rocket, washed, pat dry and cut to a length of about 1 inch
3 eggs, beaten
150ml milk
40g cheddar, grated
salt & pepper

1. To make the pastry, mix together the flours, salt and butter with your fingertips, until it resembles crumbs. Add the water and knead until the dough is nice and soft. Roll out onto a floured surface and place into a greased and floured pastry case dish. Prick with a fork. Cover with baking paper and place baking beans onto the paper. Cook 10 min in a 180C preheated oven. Remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Fry the mushrooms in the oil for 3 minutes in a non-stick saucepan on high heat with some black pepper. Add the peppers, cover the pan and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 2 minutes until any juice from the mushrooms has evaporated.

3. Place the vegetables in the cooked pastry case and cover with the rocket, then the grated cheese.


4. Mix the eggs and milk together and pour over the quiche.

5. Cook for 30 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Enjoy!

Sprouting seeds & broccoli with bulghur & quinoa

Here is a nice, satisfying meal which takes no time to make. Nothing fancy, but tasty and healthy too.


Serves 4:

250g mixed sprouting seeds
1 broccoli head, cut into florets
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
2 tsp hot chilli powder or 1 chopped red hot chilli pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 TBPS chopped parsley
salt & pepper

1 glass of bulghur
1 glass of quinoa

1. Parboil the broccoli florets for 3-5 minutes. Drain.

2. In a large saucepan, place the sprouting seeds, canned tomatoes, broccoli and spices, and heat through. Season to taste. + if like me you have an opened bottle of cheap cooking wine, you can add some of that too!

3. Cook the bulghur and quinoa together in twice their volume of salted boiling water for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Serve the bulghur/quinoa mixture into warm bowls, and spoon the seeds/broccoli on top.

Noodle curry

I cannot quite remember what exactly went into this curry, but it was really nice. On the first night we had the chard/lentils/sauce separate, but it is nicer with everything mixed.

Here is my attempt to recover the recipe:

Serves 4:

4 packs thin or medium egg noodles
1 TBSP groundnut oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
150ml single cream
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 TBSP coriander, chopped
150g green lentils, cooked and drained
500g chard, shredded, parboiled and drained
Salt & pepper
Cashew nuts

1. Heat the groundnut oil in a nonstick saucepan. Add the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
2. Add the cream and spices. Mix well. Add the lentils and chard. Season to taste and heat through.
3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to packet instructions and roast the cashew nuts under the grill.
4. Serve the noodles into 4 warm bowls, spoon the lentil & chard mixture on top. Sprinkle with the cashews.

Home-grown rocket salad

We have a vast supply of wild rocket in our garden. To the point that we will have to eat some everyday very soon or it will grow too big! It is very fresh and tasty. Perfect for a mixed salad with feta cheese and tomatoes.


Serves 2:

1 bowl of rocket, washed and pat dried
3-4 tomatoes, cut in eighths
200g feta cheese, cubed
1 TBSP unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp basil-infused olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper

Mix all the ingredients well together and serve fresh as a starter.

Healthy dessert

I was full of cold and quite weak with possibly fever at the weekend, so we ate loads of kiwis. I also had hot chocolates with plenty of honey. To increase my vitamin intake further, I made the following fruit salad which was delicious.


Serves 4:

500g plain stirred yoghurt
200g strawberries, cut in 4
200g raspberries
4 kiwis, peeled and sliced
a dash of maple syrup (optional)

Mix the strawberries and raspberries with the yoghurt into a big bowl. Spoon the mixture into a plate and decorate with the kiwi slices. You can add maple syrup if you have a sweet tooth!

Menu week 28

Curry with noodles (new!)

Mushroom & pepper quiche with wild rocket

Sprouting seeds & broccoli with bulghur & quinoa (new!)

Cereal galettes
with carrots & French beans from the garden

Goat cheese potato bake

Linguine in tomato sauce

We had some linguine left after the linguine timbales, so we had a simple improvised pasta meal a few days ago.

Serves 2

200g linguine
1 TBSP olive oil
1 courgette, sliced
100g mushrooms, sliced
3 tomatoes, cut into big chunks
50ml single cream
Grated Parmesan and black pepper for sprinkling

1. Cook the linguine according to cooking instructions, drain well.

2. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the courgette, mushrooms and 2 of the tomatoes. Fry for 5 minutes on high heat. Add the cream and the remaining tomato and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat.

3. Serve the drained pasta into warm serving bowls. Spoon the veg and sauce over the linguine and sprinkle with Parmesand and pepper.

Goat cheese pasta bake

This is very much based on the delicious Goat cheese potato bake, and is equally nice.

Serves 4:

400g penne
150g goat cheese, sliced
4 medium-size tomatoes, sliced
2 handfuls of wild rocket salad (ours came straight from the garden!)
250ml creme fraiche
125ml vegetable stock
30g Parmesan, grated
bread crumbs to sprinkle
Black pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to cooking instructions. Drain well.

2. Place a layer of pasta at the bottom of an oven-proof greased deep dish (souflé type). Cover with slices of tomatoes, then the rocket. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper, then a layer of slices of goat cheese. Cover with the remaining pasta, then the rest of the goat cheese.

3. Mix the creme fraiche and vegetable stock and pour over the pasta. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bread crums and cook in a medium-hot oven for 25 minutes.

Broad bean risotto

I was not sure I like broad beans but it turns out I do!


As we did not have quite enough broad beans in our vegbox, we added the few French beans that were ripe in our garden, a jar of asparagus which had been in the back of our cupboard for a while, and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas, and we had a nice green risotto!

Serves 4-5:

2 TBSP butter/olive spread
1 onion, chopped
150ml dry Vermouth
500g arborio/carnoli rice
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bowl of broad beans
+ any other veg you like (optional)
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly cracked black pepper

1. To prepare the beans, shell and wash them, then boil for 3-4 minutes, drain and let cool down, and finally squeeze them gently to allow the bright green bean to 'pop out' of the light green/white pod.

2. Heat the butter and fry the onion for 2 -3 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated with butter. Add the Vermouth: it will evaporate almost immediately.

3. Gradually add the vegetable stock until the rice is cooked (will take up to 30 minutes).

4. Add the beans and any other green vegetables you want to add.

5. Stir in 4/5 of the cheese, keeping some for sprinkling. There is not need for salt, the stock and cheese will make the risotto salty enough!

6. Serve into warm bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesand and black pepper.

Chocolate rum cake

Now this is some chocolate cake!!! It did not raise as much as I thought it would, but it looked amazing nonetheless and tasted delicious.


Serves 8 - 10

For the sponge:
200g plain chocolate
100g butter (I use only olive spread nowadays)
3 eggs, separated
100g dark muscovado sugar
50ml dark rum
75g self-raising flour
50g ground almonds

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm diameter cake tin.

2. Melt the chocolate using the bain-marie technique.

3. Place the 3 egg yolks and the sugar in a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and the rum . Mix well. Fold in the flour and almonds.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm, then fold into the chocolate mixture.

5. Pour into the prepared tin and bake fo 45 minutes. Leave to cool down completely on a wire rack and cut the cake in half horizontally.

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For the filling and icing:
225g plain chocolate
100g butter, cubed
3 TBSP apricot jam, warmed

1. Melt the chocolate bain-marie, add the cubed butter and the apricot and stir until thickened.
2. Spread half of it on the bottom layer of the sponge. Cover with the top sponge.
3. Pour/Brush the remaining of the icing over the cake.

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For decoration:
1/2 apricot, thinly sliced, for decoration
3 TBSP apricot jam, warmed, for the glazing

1. arrange the apricot slices into a flower shape on top of the cake.
2. Brush the warm jam onto the cake to glaze.

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For the ganache piping:
175g plain chocolate
4 TBSP single cream
50g butter, cubed
2 egg yolks
1 TBSP rum

1. Melt the chocolate bain-marie with the cream. Leave to cool slightly then beat in the butter a little at a time. Beat in the egg yolks and rum and leave to cool until firm.
2. Spoon into a piping bag with star nozzle and pipe little rosettes to decorate.

Menu week 27

Based on our weekly vegetable box, this is what we will be cooking this week:

Pasta bake
with goat cheese, tomatoes and wild rocket from the garden (NEW!)

Broad bean risotto (NEW!)

Vegetarian sausages with carrots and potatoes

Creamy chard with spiced basmati rice (NEW!)

Cabbage bake
with celery and tomatoes, sprinkled with mixed seeds

Menu for guests

We had guests coming for lunch on Saturday and more guests coming for coffee and cake in the afternoon. Here is what was on the menu:

Linguine timbales

Summer vegetable gougere

Chocolate Rum cake