Polka-dot beetroot and chickpea soup

Not really a soup, not really a stew, this gorgeous red bowlful of pinkish-orange chickpeas is sweet yet savoury and full of earthy, autumnal flavours.

This was a last minute lunchbox filler, and I think the girl did good! I ran out of the delicious kedgeree I made last weekend on Thursday, so Friday needed a no-effort lunch.

Cue: Beetroot and carrot soup in the fridge. Delicious, but not really filling enough. Aah! But I cooked up and batch- froze a huge quantity of chickpeas with garlic, diced carrot and celery (just enough to flavour). 30 seconds of running the chickpeas under the cold tap and they mixed nicely with my soup (which is almost a puree).

Lunchtime at work- chickpeas are defrosted, add a splash of hot water and microwave for three minutes. Not bad!

How to make the chickpeas.
I don't like the thought of tinned chickpeas-  I am sure cooking them from dry is much healthier as there are no preservatives to worry about.
I used 500g dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) which I then soak with two cloves of crushed garlic for eight hours or overnight to plump back up.
Drain them and wash.
I cooked these with a diced carrot, and one diced stick of celery, 2 large bay leaves and some more crushed garlic, so that they would take on good flavours, and not just taste earthy and boring- something which is often labelled at these useful pulses.
I froze these in small batches.
Perfect to add to soups, stews, curries etc- food for thought!

Beetroot and Carrot energy boost soup

I was reading about the energy boosting properties of beetroot and though 'I could do with a bit of that!'.

I'd never cooked raw beetroot before but this soup was a doddle- and so good, hearty and warming. What you will get is more of a puree than a soup- dilute with hot water, chicken or vegetable soup, and to curries etc if you feel daring!

Beetroot and Carrot Soup- makes enough to eat for a week and freeze for another two! 
Two medium sized onions- chopped
Knob of butter/ olive oil
Two kg carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
5 small beetroot (about  750 g) peeled and diced small (they will take longer to cook than the carrots)
Thumb sized piece of ginger (diced)
Two cloves of garlice
Pinch of salt
Black peppercorns
Bay leaves (two)

Put the oil or butter into your largest pan, on a low/medium heat and saute the onion under transparent. Add the other ingredients and braise, making sure that it doesn't burn- you may wish to add an inch of water to make sure.

Put the lid on and leave to cook for about an hour- 1 1/2 hours- until all of the vegetables are delicious and tender. Blitz the soup and you will have the most beautiful, ruby-red puree!

Rhubarb Recovery

In renouncing the twin pleasures and pains of refined sugar, I thought that I may never eat rhubarb again. It is bitter.

Well, I have managed so far with another compote recipe to add to the one I have already shared.

In fact, I may go as far as to say that I was a chicken and will bump up the rhubarb quantity next time- the less you have sugar, the sweeter things become. I have found the same with salt- my friends often find my food not salty enough, but I now find theirs, often, too salty.

When I made this, I used 28 small pears, peeled and quartered -I imagine that would be about 4kg- and 5 stalks of rhubarb. I think that I could easily have bumped this up to twice the amount of rhubarb, getting more of the rhubarb flavour without making the compote too bitter.

I shoved the rhubarb in a large pot with a thumb-sized piece of diced ginger, a heaped teaspoonful of cinnanom  (should have been more, but I finished the pot), the pears (I could have used apples) and an inch of water at the bottom.

After two or three hours of slow cooking the rhubarb had broken down, mixing completely into the pear juice around the larger pieces of pear. Verdict in my flat from everyone who had been queueing for it to become cool enough to eat (including from the one who didn't wait that long and burnt her tongue in the process)- delicious.

Happy :)

My miracle breakfast

Where do I start on my battle over breakfast? Breakfast eaten before I had been up for two or three hours always used to make me feel ill. FINALLY, I have discovered a breakfast that works for me. It is also delicious and nutrition packed, as well as full of insoluable fibre so that it keeps me feeling full for hours.

I have decided to try to give up refined sugar. Not in a religious way, but I am avoiding it and the sugar-low it produces for me 20 minutes later. So my new breakfast consists of oatmeal (porridge oats) left to stand overnight with a good splodge of homemade fruit compote and either orange juice (a good splash) or natural, low-fat yoghurt. Left overnight it becomes soft and delicious (you will need to give it a good stir), easy to eat and easy on the stomach.

The orange juice incarnation is a newer addition. Yoghurt is full of marvellous properties (and delicious, and a staple of mine- perfect for stirring into a soup, dolloping next to curry etc) but I am finally taking a stand against my lactose intollerance. I LOVE milk, cheese, yoghurt, CHEESE, cream, butter etc. I love them all. And yet, I know that I am intolerant, although more at some times than others. Giving up, or severely reducing, has actually been much easier than I thought. A former tea addict, I haven't had a cup for days. The orange juice replacing my yoghurt was actually really good this morning. I am still happy and alive.

The final straw in dairy's coffin was a link I came across that suggested that sinus problems can be related to lactose intollerance. This year has been one of discovering my sinuses. I now know EXACTLY where they are after an immensely painful showdown with them as I descended into St Lucia on the way to a friend's wedding that I could ill-afford to attend. After that I could draw a map of where they were, and ended up in A&E that night. Fun times. It is also meant that what I always thought were migraines are actually sinus headaches. It is miserable, and if this lactose stuff helps, we will see...

Anyway, enough about pain and misery, more about (refined) sugar-free compote. People use bramley apples for the best flavour and texture. But with bramleys you need to add lots of sugar. As my pallet becomes less accustomed to the sweet stuff, I might add in a couple, but for now I am sticking to eating apples, which are naturally sweet. I add lots of finely chopped ginger and cinnamon (both delicious and antioxidant etc etc).

Apple Compote (Or Apple & Pear) This probably makes enough for 20-25 breakfasts and is perfect to freeze in small batches.

4kg apples and/or pears, peeled and quartered (core if you like, but not essential)
Cinnamon (2 heaped teaspoons for an intense flavour)
Fresh ginger- thumb sized piece once peeled, finely chopped.

Put it all into a pot with about 1/2 inch of water at the bottom, with a good lid, and cook gently for 2-3 hours. You may want to remove the lid towards the end so that the excess water can evaporate (means that it takes up less freezer space). I often turn off the heat and leave it with the lid off overnight to cool.

I made this same mxiture but had a box of knock-down priced plums- thirty of them- to use up. It was delicious and I put the plums in whole- you just need to be careful to fish out the stones.

September Garden Party: Salmon Pâté and 2 Coronation Chickens

My sister lives in Australia and just came back after a long hiatus. My mother decided that we should have an enormous garden party and consequently I have spent the half of the week that I haven't spent hoisting bunting, erecting tents and up-cycling glass jars to make tree lanterns in the kitchen.

The menu: smoked salmon pate and caprese skewers followed by coronation chicken, salad and Eton mess.

I am amazed by how long garden party prep takes. Between sourcing chairs and tidying the garden, counting cutlery and washing glasses, hours have been spent.

I have previously shared my mother's excellent coronation chicken recipe. This time I had to make an alternative version for guests unable to eat garlic, onions and spicy food. There is a brilliant recipe that I will share for chicken and butternut squash salad that is much of a muchness with coronation chicken, but too much effort for so few people (and contains onions). So, I tried simple alternatives. Fresh basil and mayo- I was surprised by how subdued the basil became- almost unnoticeable. Perhaps with pesto it would work better, but I am not sure. What did work well was the orange and Mexican tarragon.

Makes one portion: take enough roast chicken for one person, chop into bite sized pieces. Zest a quarter of an orange into a bowl. Add a level tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon. Grind in LOTS of black pepper. Add in a couple of dollops of good mayonnaise and stir. Add in the chicken and coat. Try for balance- you may want to add more orange or pepper, or mayonnaise depending upon how much chicken you are using. Even better if you leave overnight so the flavours can intensify :)

The salmon pate is the simplest thing. Just take 200g of smoked salmon and finely chop. Take three tubs of cream cheese and a handful of chives. With scissors snip the chives into small pieces. Zest a lemon. Mix these ingredients together and add LOTS of freshly ground black pepper. This makes about a pint- that will top a lot of crackers!!!

Orange & Coriander Seed Chicken Rice

What a day for needing to defrost the freezer. What to do with the chicken breasts? I spent the long weekend organising a youth camp. My fresh groceries are at a bare minimum.

I am also trying to save money (and eat more healthily) by taking my lunch to work. So I looked in the dregs of my veg bowl and freezer, stroked my chin like dr evil and came up with a cunning plan. What did I have? A few small onions, my trusty spice cupboard, loads of rice, the end of a bag of frozen spinach, an apple and an orange. I ignored the apple- too much fruit with my chicken might just overwhelm it. 

I used:
An orange
Onions (equivalent of two -three medium sized)
Spinach
Chicken (I had 4 breasts, cut into bite sized pieces)
One cup of rice
Two cloves of garlic (minced)
Two bay leaves
Heaped teaspoon of ground coriander or coriander seed
Heaped teaspoon of ground black pepper or pepper corns
Chicken stock cube or teaspoon of salt (I try to steer clear of salt but most people will want more)
Two heaped table spoons of dried chives

I then:

1. Chopped the onions and sautéed with the spices and chives, in a little rice bran oil
2. Added the chicken, garlic until the chicken is sealed
3. Added the rice and braised
4. Quartered orange, squeezed juice and added skin, left for one minute or so
5. Added the bay leaves , water, stock cube and spinach
6. Cooked with the lid on until all the water was absorbed 

Verdict: pleased with myself 

!!!

Simple to Wowish: Fifle (That's Faux Ginger Trifle)

A faux-Scots name for a faux- Scots pudding. A trifle, without being a trifle, designed to complement a carrot cake on a cold summer's day.

I had intended to make Eton Mess- it is the summer, after all. I was preparing for something nice for a friend's leaving dinner (he is going back to Scotland). But it was freezing, the Head Chef has opted for roast lamb with all the trimmings, my patisserie chef accomplish had made a carrot cake, and Eton Mess suddenly seemed terribly inappropriate.

I did think of making an apple and carrot compote and then realised that it would probably be the sort of thing noone else would want to try and wasn't fair to serve on such an occasion (next time!). What I did make was memorable and ever so simple so I will share it with you.

Serves 10-15 people
You will need: 2 packets of ginger nuts
A small glass of whisky (can be done without, but better with- Brandy would also be good, or calvados)
Apples( I used 11 small ones- you will need sugar if you are using cooking apples)
Custard (I used 2 packs of Ambrosia out of laziness- you could make a pint of birds with extra vanilla in it)

1. Chop and peel the apples and boil for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and allow to cool if you have time (I didn't and it didn't matter too much).
2. Get a large bowl and cover the bottom with a layer of  crumbled ginger nut biscuits (just break them in your hands). Add the whisky. If it is not all absorbed, add more crushed biscuits until it is. 
3. Add a layer of apples, followed by a layer of custard and a layer of ginger biscuits and so on until your bowl is filled. Add some crushed ginger biscuits on top. 
4. Cover and leave to cool.

Verdict: 15 people including hungry boys- wowish. 

Simple to Wowish- Sausage patties

My flatmate proudly arrived home with a packet of common-or-garden sausages last night, reduced to 20p. They aren't the healthiest things, and they aren't the tastiest either. The solution? A radical makeover which we served with a sliced ripe vine tomatoes drizzled with basil pesto.

Makes about 12 medium-sized patties (feeds 4-6 people)
I used:
packet of sausages
A cup of frozen spinach pellets (about 10)
mustard flour and powder (or mustard flour with white wine vinegar/ lemon juice)
chives
3 cloves of garlic (minced/ diced)
one large onion (diced)
nutmeg
japanese soy sauce
salt and pepper
oatmeal

The method:

1. Start with the spinach. Bung it in the microwave for 3 minutes until it no longer resembles a pellet and is a pleasant mush. If you plan things in advance, leave it to defrost for a few hours instead.
2. Launch into the sausages. Squeeze them out of their skins and into a large mixing bowl. 
3. Dice the onion (as finely as you can), ditto the garlic. Add it with a good sprinkling of chives  (fresh or dried) , 1/2 a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a liberal amount of freshly ground pepper and some salt (to taste- I try to avoid salt)  into the sausage mixture. Stir well. 
4. Add the spinach, a large tablespoon (or two) of dijon mustard (or mustard flour and white wine vinegar or lemon juice)  and stir well again. Add soy sauce (this is a completely unnecessary ingredient, but I thought enhanced the flavour and is an ingredient I have a crush on at the moment)
5. Add oatmeal slowly to the mixture, until it is no longer sloppy and can be formed into patties.
6. cook! shallow fry or ideally bake in the oven over a griddle so the fat drains out. 

The verdict from my crack panel of tired flatmates: wowish

Egg Salad with Sesame Wasabi Caviar

There is a certain achievement in making something delicious without meat. Something so good that you don't notice it is vegetarian. This is one of those recipes. It allowed me to use up a bunch of watercress just using the things in my store cupboard.

You need:
salad leaves (I used watercress)
Black toasted sesame seeds
Oil (sesame, groundnut or rice bran)
Japanese soy sauce
Wasabi powder
Japanese rice wine vinegar
Hard boiled eggs (2 per person)

In a bowl mix the sesame seeds, wasabi paste or powder, soy sauce and vinegar to taste. Add some oil- remember you need to be able to stir it into the salad. and Roughly chop the egg. Roughly chop the watercress. Mix all together.

Almost Healthy Peach Yoghurt Almond Cake

Ah, I have been caught up by this almost healthy baking con lark. Am waiting to see how this one will turn out. Yoghurt and peach is such a great combination- all that bitter-sweet goodness. I searched for recipes but all contained great quantities of butter, or called for tinned peaches, or where . Did I mention that I got 12 ripe peaches for £1 yesterday? 


I found this recipe for a pear yoghurt cake and adapted. 


This is what I came up with. It remains to be seen whether it is good! 


Ingredients
8oz wholemeal flour
2oz  unrefined soft brown sugar (this does not make it sweet- if you want a sweet cake, double the amount of sugar). 
3/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
1 large egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used rice bran oil)
4 ripe peaches cut into small pieces (even better-pureed)
1 oz chopped and toasted almonds (I chopped and toasted some whole almonds)

To make:Preheat the oven to 180. Grease a loaf tin. 

Stir together the flour, cinnamon and salt. 

In another bowl beat the egg, sugar and oil. Whisk in the yoghurt. Stir in the chopped peach and almonds. 

Mix all the ingredients and blend.

Put into the loaf tin.
Bake for about an hour until the cake is springy to the touch, shrinks from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 20-30 minutes on a wire rack, then slice and serve! 

Almost Healthy Banana, Carrot and Fruit Cake

This cake has very little sugar and lots of fruit. No cake can be called a health food, but this is a close call!

• 8 oz self raising wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 oz soft brown unrefined sugar
• 2 oz sunflower seeds
• 1 oz mixed fruit (or raisins/ sultanas) soaked in tea for an hour. 
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 2 medium-sized grated carrots

1. Sift the flour and salt into large bowl. 
2. Add the sugar and nuts.
3. Mix
4. Add mashed banana and beaten eggs.
5. Stir in grated carrot and soaked fruit. 
6. Mix well
7. Butter a loaf tin
8. Put mixture into tin
9. Bake for 1 hour at gas mark 4 (350ºF/175ºC) or until  a sharp knife comes out clean from the cake.

Did I mention that is tastes delicious?

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

I had turkey on my mind. This happens occasionally when I remember how cheap it is and how much healthier it is than red meat. It is true that I have tofu in the fridge, but somehow it never hits the meat spot!

Truly delicious- make into burgers, meatballs of a meatloaf.

You need:
500g  Turkey
1 egg
1 small- medium sized onion (red looks lovely but white is fine)
herbs- I used thyme, oregano, chives and LOTS of ground black pepper
salt (or I used a kallo stock cube)
Oat meal (one cup)

1. dice the onion
2. mix with the mince
3. add the herbs and stock cube dissolved in a centimetre of water
4. break in the egg
5. mix well (even better, whizz in a food processor)
6. Add the oatmeal until the mixture can absorb no more- it should be dough like. 

Form into patties and shallow fry, of bake in the oven. I'm tempted to bake them in cup cakes cases.

My Mother's Coronation Chicken

We're still in Jubilee Season, and I wanted to share my mother's amazing Coronation Chicken recipe. This makes amazing garden-lunch or buffet food, and, with a sprig of herbs on top is fit for a feast. What is more, once you have the recipe, you can riff with your leftovers!

CORONATION CHICKEN

4-5lb chicken cooked, flesh removed

25g butter

1 small onion, finely diced

1 level tsp curry paste (or 2 heaped tsps medium hot curry powder)

1 level tbsp tomato puree

4 fl oz red wine (or 2 fl oz sherry + 2 fl oz water)

Juice of half a large lemon

4 canned apricots, chopped, or 4 tsps apricot jam

Half a pint of mayonnaise

5 fl oz whipping cream

Salt and pepper

Cucumber to garnish

How to: 

1. Saute onions in butter till soft.  Add curry powder or paste, tomato puree, wine or sherry and lemon juice.  Simmer uncovered for 10 mins till well reduced.  Strain and cool.
2. Whip cream till floppy.
3. Put mayonnaise, apricot puree, whipped cream and onion mixture in large mixing bowl.  Add seasoning and more lemon juice if necessary.  Add chopped chicken.  Put in fridge overnight (not essential, but allows flavours to develop!).
4. The thing is to get the texture and general flavour, so apricot jam could be replaced by chutney, for example.  I have a note to myself to make 1 ½ times the sauce quantity, so you might like to allow for that.

How to, part 2.

When I made this for the next day, I doubled the amount for stage 1 and set some aside. Add more vegetables (frozen or fresh spinach, fresh peppers, tomatoes, potatoes [for a real vindaloo i.e. curry with wine and potatoes]) , and prepare some yellow rice for a warm version.

How to, part 3.

An excellent way to use up left over roast chicken.  

Banana Courgette Cake

I remember when I first heard of courgette cake as a child. It seemed preposterous- an insult against cakes. It was years before I tried one. My first attempt to make one was disastrous. But this recipe is brilliant. It combines bananas with courgette for nutritious cake.


8 oz plain wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz soft brown sugar
1 oz walnuts or pecans chopped
1 oz sultanas
6 oz (2 bananas) ripe banana, mashed
3 large eggs, beaten
8 oz finely grated courgette (no need to peel)
5 fl oz sunflower oil

1. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into large bowl. Add sugar, nuts and sultanas.
2. Mix well, then add mashed banana and beaten eggs.
3. Stir in grated vegetables and oil.
4. Beat mixture thoroughly for one minute (it will be slightly lumpy).
5. Butter (or line with greaseproof paper) a 9-inch cake tin (or a large loaf tin).
6. Put mixture into tin and bake for 1 hour at gas mark 4 (350ºF/175ºC) until skewer comes out clean from centre of cake.

I would use half the sugar- this was very, very sweet. SO sweet, in fact, that I had to balance it out with a bitter lemon icing- lemon zest and juice with icing sugar. Equally good with sunflower seeds instead of the nuts.

Home-Made Pot Noodle

I now do a loooong commute. Even by London standards. And I want to make my own lunch a) to save money and b) to be healthy.

My pot noodle seems to be one solution. It is super healthy, can survive a commute (without spillage) and left me energised for an afternoon with Excel. Basically, it is based on noodles that cook with hot water and quick- cooking veg (or that which is appetising al dente/ raw).

I used my favourite (seriously, they have become my no.1 staple owing to their quickness and tastiness) glass noodles. Made somehow from mung beans, they only have to be soaked in boiling water for three or so minutes. I added slivers of frozen broccoli (my new freezer veg favourite) run under some cold water just to remove any ice (thawed nicely on the journey). A couple of finely sliced and fat spring onions, a thumb sized piece of diced fresh ginger, a teaspoonful of black miso (any will do but this is healthier) and dash of Japanese soy sauce and about one eggs' worth of Japanese egg roll (proudly home made). I made egg roll as part of last night's supper so had it left over. Small bits of tofu, diced, cooked meat (another leftover- saver) would also work. I have also used a generous handful of sunflower seeds as a nutty protein alternative. I filled up the rest of the box with bean sprouts.

So simple- pour into a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave for 4 minutes or so. Even better, pour over the boiling water and bung into the microwave for a minute or two.

Apple and herb pasta

We had one of those moments yesterday, where the best part of a kilo rather than a more modest amount for two people seemed to pour itself out of the bag into hot water. Half is now in the freezer, parboiled. The other half was in the fridge, awaiting salvation. There was very little in the fridge, but here (I am staying in a house with a herb garden) we had lots of onions, lots of herbs, and a sausage looking lonely. With fresh herbs, anything is possible. How I made it: slice sausage into as small pieces as possible and put into a large pan on a low heat (2) Dice a medium sized onion and add to the pan. Grate two small apples. Stir regularly to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Ruth chop/ tear two are leaves of sage, a small sprig of oregano/ thyme, chives/ small glove of garlic. Add to the pan. Keep stirring. I had LOADS of rigatoni. Good for pasta bakes. Not so good for other stuff. I roughly chopped about a cup and a half of them into smaller rings and chucked it in with the sauce. Threw in a good teaspoon of dijon mustard from the cupboard. Sadly not the Grey Poupon I would eat on toast, but good enough to balance out the sweetness of the apple. Final touch- ROCKET is growing in the garden. I stirred and then dashed out with the scissors, cut a good bunch, washed, rough-chopped (with a couple more sage leaves) and stirred into the pasta. Into a bowl. Topped with a bit more oregano. The apple makes a lovely sauce. Equally, you could purée the onions and apple together in a food processor for a similar effect, perhaps whizzing in (or grating) a courgette. Still mulling over it a couple of hours later. Yep. Good leftovers recipe!