We have more strawberries on the allotment than we know what to do with, so we've started eating them for breakfast. You like this smoothie a lot, because it's pink...
Makes enough for 1 (adult). You'll need:
1 small banana banana (the riper the better)
a handful of ripe strawberries, hulled
a tablespoon of yoghurt
3 or 4 ice cubes
Stick everything in a blender. Whizz around until the ice has been crushed, and everything has turned a glorious pink. If you're making it for a little one, don't bother with the ice cubes - just dilute with a little cold water.
27 June 2009
25 June 2009
Broad bean, tuna and spring onion salad
I may have made this even more exciting/even worse (take your pick), by adding the remains of your boiled egg to the mix. Well, I liked it.
Makes enough for 1.
You'll need:
1/2 a tin of tuna
8-10 pods of broad beans (you want a nice double handful of beans)
a couple of spring onions, finely chopped
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a good slurp of olive oil
lots of black pepper
Pod the beans, then cook in boiling water for 5-7 minutes until tender. Don't add salt, or overboil them, or they'll be very tough.
Drain, and decant to a bowl. Add the spring onion, tuna (and any boiled eggs you happen to have lying around), and then dress with a good slurp of olive oil/balsamic vinegar, and lots of black pepper.
Serve with some slices of baguette, spread with butter.
Makes enough for 1.
You'll need:
1/2 a tin of tuna
8-10 pods of broad beans (you want a nice double handful of beans)
a couple of spring onions, finely chopped
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a good slurp of olive oil
lots of black pepper
Pod the beans, then cook in boiling water for 5-7 minutes until tender. Don't add salt, or overboil them, or they'll be very tough.
Drain, and decant to a bowl. Add the spring onion, tuna (and any boiled eggs you happen to have lying around), and then dress with a good slurp of olive oil/balsamic vinegar, and lots of black pepper.
Serve with some slices of baguette, spread with butter.
22 June 2009
Summer bubble and squeak
We trekked over to Whitburn today to visit Souter Lighthouse, which has a rather splendid pirate ship outside to clamber all over. You had fun taking pictures, and dressing up in the princess/pirate outfits. Here's one of yours:
This 'sort-of' bubble and squeak seemed like the perfect idea for tea, and was remarkably popular. Makes enough for 3.
You'll need:
a small spring cabbage, finely shredded (nicer if you take the leaf ribs out too)
enough new potatoes for 3, scrubbed and chopped into small pieces
3 or 4 rashers of streaky bacon per person, chopped into small pieces
Stick the potatoes in a pan, cover with boiling water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until tender, and then drain.
Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a large frying pan (you may have to add a little extra olive oil if it sticks) until it starts to go golden. Add the cabbage, and fry until it's tender. At this point, tip in the drained potatoes, and mix everything together. Fry for a couple of minutes (you may have to add a little extra oil if the potatoes start to stick), and then season with black pepper.
Turn out onto a plate and eat at once.
This 'sort-of' bubble and squeak seemed like the perfect idea for tea, and was remarkably popular. Makes enough for 3.
You'll need:
a small spring cabbage, finely shredded (nicer if you take the leaf ribs out too)
enough new potatoes for 3, scrubbed and chopped into small pieces
3 or 4 rashers of streaky bacon per person, chopped into small pieces
Stick the potatoes in a pan, cover with boiling water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until tender, and then drain.
Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a large frying pan (you may have to add a little extra olive oil if it sticks) until it starts to go golden. Add the cabbage, and fry until it's tender. At this point, tip in the drained potatoes, and mix everything together. Fry for a couple of minutes (you may have to add a little extra oil if the potatoes start to stick), and then season with black pepper.
Turn out onto a plate and eat at once.
21 June 2009
Spiced carrot and lamb salad
I can't claim credit for this one - it's pinched from the Sainted Jamie, who I saw extolling the virtues of carrots on his Jamie at Home programme.
Sadly, I didn't have the delightful purple/white/yellow varieties of carrots to play with (the allotment doesn't seem to like carrots very much), so my version didn't look quite so pretty as the original salad.
Makes enough for 3 greedy people. You'll need:
400g lamb mince
1 1/2 heaped teaspoons garam masala
3 or 4 large carrots, peeled
1 large teaspoon sesame seeds
lots of fresh mint leaves, shredded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large spring onion, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon ginger (freshly grated or powder)
lots of olive oil
Tip the lamb mince into a large pan, and fry until the fat comes out. Add the garam masala, and then cook the mince until crispy.
In the meantime, make your carrot salad and dressing. You'll need to peel the carrots to get rid of the outer skin - then just keep peeling, so you get lots of very thin strips. Shove these in a bowl.
To make the dressing, toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds. Stick in a pestle and mortar, and grind up. Tip into a bowl, add the finely chopped spring onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger and a pinch of salt. Pour in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well, and have a taste. If it's too lemony, add a little more oil.
Toast the sesame seeds in the dry frying pan too, until they go golden (should take a minute or so).
To assemble, tip the dressing over the carrots, and add the shredded mint (Jamie also suggests coriander as well, which I think would make things even better). Mix well. Decant onto plates, add the lamb mince, and then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
This goes well with bread (we only had baguette, but naan bread would be better), and aubergine or lime pickle.
Sadly, I didn't have the delightful purple/white/yellow varieties of carrots to play with (the allotment doesn't seem to like carrots very much), so my version didn't look quite so pretty as the original salad.
Makes enough for 3 greedy people. You'll need:
400g lamb mince
1 1/2 heaped teaspoons garam masala
3 or 4 large carrots, peeled
1 large teaspoon sesame seeds
lots of fresh mint leaves, shredded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large spring onion, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon ginger (freshly grated or powder)
lots of olive oil
Tip the lamb mince into a large pan, and fry until the fat comes out. Add the garam masala, and then cook the mince until crispy.
In the meantime, make your carrot salad and dressing. You'll need to peel the carrots to get rid of the outer skin - then just keep peeling, so you get lots of very thin strips. Shove these in a bowl.
To make the dressing, toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds. Stick in a pestle and mortar, and grind up. Tip into a bowl, add the finely chopped spring onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger and a pinch of salt. Pour in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well, and have a taste. If it's too lemony, add a little more oil.
Toast the sesame seeds in the dry frying pan too, until they go golden (should take a minute or so).
To assemble, tip the dressing over the carrots, and add the shredded mint (Jamie also suggests coriander as well, which I think would make things even better). Mix well. Decant onto plates, add the lamb mince, and then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
This goes well with bread (we only had baguette, but naan bread would be better), and aubergine or lime pickle.
20 June 2009
Gooseberry jam
I'd forgotten just how hideous picking gooseberries is - our giant bush has very prickly thorns.
This makes about 2.5 normal-sized jars of jam - perfect for putting two in the cupboard, and starting one right away. It's definitely on the sweet side. You'll need:
650g gooseberries (topped and tailed)
900g sugar
300 ml water
Stick the gooseberries and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the skins have gone soft and the gooseberries are reduced to a gloopy pulp (this should take about half an hour). Add the sugar and stir, until it's all dissolved. Bring the jam quickly to the boil, and then boil rapidly for about 10 minutes - you really need to stir it well.
Pop a plate in the fridge or freezer, and drop a tiny amount of the mixture onto it. If it wrinkles when you push your finger across it, you've reached setting point. Beware - don't boil this jam for too long, as gooseberries contain a lot of pectin. I made that mistake, and my jam is (a) very dense and (b) very stiff!
Decant into some sterilised jamjars, and leave to cool.
(You can sterilise jamjars by washing with hot soapy water, and then drying out in the oven on a low heat. Using warm jars also stops the glass from cracking when you pour the boiling hot jam in.).
This makes about 2.5 normal-sized jars of jam - perfect for putting two in the cupboard, and starting one right away. It's definitely on the sweet side. You'll need:
650g gooseberries (topped and tailed)
900g sugar
300 ml water
Stick the gooseberries and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the skins have gone soft and the gooseberries are reduced to a gloopy pulp (this should take about half an hour). Add the sugar and stir, until it's all dissolved. Bring the jam quickly to the boil, and then boil rapidly for about 10 minutes - you really need to stir it well.
Pop a plate in the fridge or freezer, and drop a tiny amount of the mixture onto it. If it wrinkles when you push your finger across it, you've reached setting point. Beware - don't boil this jam for too long, as gooseberries contain a lot of pectin. I made that mistake, and my jam is (a) very dense and (b) very stiff!
Decant into some sterilised jamjars, and leave to cool.
(You can sterilise jamjars by washing with hot soapy water, and then drying out in the oven on a low heat. Using warm jars also stops the glass from cracking when you pour the boiling hot jam in.).
16 June 2009
Grandma's marmalade cakes
Everyone felt a bit rotten this afternoon, so we made these to cheer ourselves up. You can make lots of small cakes (the mixture made enough for 12), or one large one (in which case a 7 in cake tin, or a loaf tin should do the trick).
You'll need:
8oz plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4oz butter, softened
4oz sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons bitter orange marmalade (I used rhubarb and orange, which was all we had left)
grated rind of one orange
First of all, stick the oven on at 180 degrees C (all Grandma's cakes bake at that temperature). Mix the baking powder into the flour, and rub in the butter (or cheat, and do it in the food processor). Stir in the sugar - I used brown, but white caster sugar would probably produce a lighter result.
Beat the eggs and the marmalade together - this looks absolutely disgusting. Add it to the dry mixture - you should end up with a fairly stiff mix. I loosened mine with a tablespoon of milk. Stir in the orange rind, and you're good to go: spoon the mixture into small fairy-cake sized cases (of the paper or silicon variety), or into a big tin (see above).
Bake in the oven until the tops have gone golden brown, and a little bit crunchy. It'll take about 20 minutes if you do the little cakes (and keep an eye on them - you might have to turn them round, and bring them out a little earlier if your oven's fierce). A big cake will take about 1 1/4 hours.
Allow everything to cool in its tin for a 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack. They're nicest sprinkled with icing sugar, and would also be good with a blob of creme fraiche and some fruit.
You'll need:
8oz plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4oz butter, softened
4oz sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons bitter orange marmalade (I used rhubarb and orange, which was all we had left)
grated rind of one orange
First of all, stick the oven on at 180 degrees C (all Grandma's cakes bake at that temperature). Mix the baking powder into the flour, and rub in the butter (or cheat, and do it in the food processor). Stir in the sugar - I used brown, but white caster sugar would probably produce a lighter result.
Beat the eggs and the marmalade together - this looks absolutely disgusting. Add it to the dry mixture - you should end up with a fairly stiff mix. I loosened mine with a tablespoon of milk. Stir in the orange rind, and you're good to go: spoon the mixture into small fairy-cake sized cases (of the paper or silicon variety), or into a big tin (see above).
Bake in the oven until the tops have gone golden brown, and a little bit crunchy. It'll take about 20 minutes if you do the little cakes (and keep an eye on them - you might have to turn them round, and bring them out a little earlier if your oven's fierce). A big cake will take about 1 1/4 hours.
Allow everything to cool in its tin for a 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack. They're nicest sprinkled with icing sugar, and would also be good with a blob of creme fraiche and some fruit.
09 June 2009
Coconut dahl
This one was shamelessly lifted from Olive magazine, and tweaked slightly. It's delicious with cold chicken, naan bread and salad.
You'll need:
250g red lentils
a tin of coconut milk (around 400ml)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
1 teaspoon turmeric
a good splosh of sunflower oil
a teaspoon of black mustard seeds
Chuck the lentils, coconut milk, finely chopped onion, tomatoes, chillies and turmeric into a saucepan. Add about 300ml water to start off with (you may need a little more later on if the lentils aren't quite cooked and are starting to stick).
Mix well, and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for half an hour, until the lentils are tender - everything will have gone a beautiful yellow colour.
Take the sliced onion, and fry in a good splosh of sunflower oil until it's crisp and browned. Add the mustard seeds, and fry until they start to pop. Sling on top of the lentils and serve (some fresh coriander on top would also be nice).
You'll need:
250g red lentils
a tin of coconut milk (around 400ml)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
1 teaspoon turmeric
a good splosh of sunflower oil
a teaspoon of black mustard seeds
Chuck the lentils, coconut milk, finely chopped onion, tomatoes, chillies and turmeric into a saucepan. Add about 300ml water to start off with (you may need a little more later on if the lentils aren't quite cooked and are starting to stick).
Mix well, and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for half an hour, until the lentils are tender - everything will have gone a beautiful yellow colour.
Take the sliced onion, and fry in a good splosh of sunflower oil until it's crisp and browned. Add the mustard seeds, and fry until they start to pop. Sling on top of the lentils and serve (some fresh coriander on top would also be nice).
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