mushroom monday

Before I move on from my recent recipe book of the week, i needed to mention another little recipe from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea which i tried last week.

I really love risotto but often think it's just too much faff for cooking midweek for one... but i tried not one, but two risotto recipes last week and this one was delicious:

mushroom and porcini risotto - serves 6

1 handful dried porcini, soaked in 400ml hot water for 30 mins
4 tbsp olive oil plus extra for frying
500g mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and ground black pepper
60g unsalted butter
2 onions, finely diced
400g carnoroli rice
About 1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
150g grated parmesan cheese

Here's how:
Strain the porcini and reserve soaking liquid. Set both aside.
Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms with the garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Put 4 tbsp oil and the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, till the onions are soft but have not yet started to brown.
Pour in the rice and cook over a medium heat, stirring, till it becomes translucent.
Add the porcini and some of their liquid and the sliced mushrooms.
Pour in the stock a ladleful at a time and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid before adding some more. Carry on adding the stock until you have a creamy consistency. The rice must be cooked but slightly 'al dente', and the mixture must hold together.
Remove from the heat and add the parmesan.
Stir well and check the seasoning.
Pour the risotto into bowls and serve immediately.

And after a weekend that involved a chinese takeaway with my friend Suzanne and then delicious chocolate cake in Tunbridge Wells (thank you Sister Claire!), it's back to mid-week healthy meals.

Having checked the fridge last night, it was a case of "shit-ake!' - i'd forgotten they were in there! So i picked up a delicious organic salmon fillet on my way home, and some baby pak choi with a Nigella Bites recipe in mind. And i think this can now be my new recipe book of the week...

salmon with greens and shitake mushrooms - serves 2

2 skinned salmon fillets, preferably organic
1 clove garlic, finely minced or chopped
2 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
125g shitake mushrooms, destalked and sliced
400g choi sum, roughly chopped
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
pepper to taste

Here's how:
Grill or fry the salmon fillets - preferably in a good non-stick pan or on the smooth side of a griddle - until just cooked through and remove them to warmed plates while you get on with or finish the vegetables. (I pre-heated the oven to 150C, pan-fried the salmon flesh side down until the surface was golden and the fillet looked almost cooked, then flipped it over and placed the pan in the oven, reducing the heat to 100C while I did the rest of the cooking. It was cooked to perfection, which is almost a miracle for me when it comes to cooking fish!)
In a heavy-based pan, fry the garlic in the oil until it is warm but not catching. Add the sliced mushrooms together with the choi sum stalks, stirring everything together for a minute or so. Cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, remove the lid and add the roughly chopped choi sum leaves, soy sauce and sesame oil, then let it cook for another 2-3 minutes until the leaves have wilted.
Pile the mushrooms and greens on the plates with the salmon and eat!
Nigella suggests making a little sauce to go with, by mixing Colman's mustard powder into a smooth paste with a little cold water, adding a few drops of soy sauce and a scant, pulpy puree of fresh ginger. I sprinkled mine with some black sesame seeds (and then, off-camera, a very generous dollop of sweet chilli dipping sauce...).

books by rachel: recipe keeper

Books by Rachel: Recipe Keeper

I had to sneak in a little post during my lunchbreak as i have just spotted this beautiful "recipe keeper" book made by the lovely Rachel at Books by Rachel.

I am waiting to see if this is going to be available on Toggle, and if so will be ordering one asap! My recipe "drawer" is overflowing with print-outs, magazine/newspaper clippings and scribbled down notes, so it's time to get organised.

What a lovely way to record your favourite tried and tested recipes, and then perhaps one day pass them on to someone who will cherish them.

rose bakery's quinoa and pepper salad

When i first started reading Breakfast Lunch Tea i was lusting after all the cakes and sweet things but as i'm trying to be healthy this week, the cakes will have to wait until the weekend!

So i made up a batch of this delicious salad instead to take into work for my lunches.

Rose Bakery's Quinoa and Pepper Salad - serves 6
170g (1 cup) quinoa
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper (bell pepper), finely diced
2 medium onions, finely diced
1 courgette (zucchini), finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 dried red pepper (bell pepper), crushed
pinch of cumin (optional)
dash of lemon juice (optional)
chopped fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro) to garnish

Put the quinoa in a saucepan with 500ml (2 cups) water and a pinch of salt.

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 15 mins, until the quinoa is soft and the water has been absorbed. Set aside.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the peppers, onions and courgette over a medium heat with a pinch each of salt and pepper, add the garlic and dried red pepper.

Keep stirring unitl the mixture just begins to turn soft - the vegetables must not soften too much - and the colours blend into the oil.

Check the seasoning (adding a little cumin or lemon juice if you wish).

Pour the sauce into the quinoa and mix well.

Garnish with parsley or coriander and serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature.


I've been enjoying it with some salad leaves, avocado and feta cheese - who says healthy needs to be boring?

bills and ben

This weekend was a busy one... Starting with a night out with the girls on Friday to see Dave - a really good local band who do the BEST covers. We planned to eat out first, then meet other family and friends at the gig. Unfortunately we then got a call to say that the band had had to cancel as the lead singer, Paul, had pleurisy... So we enjoyed our meal out and had an early night instead! We wish Paul a really speedy recovery, hopefully in time for our next girls' night out!

Saturday was a day out with the girls, this time my mum, two sisters and sister-in-law. I am blessed with a fantastic family, and like nothing more than spending time with them. Now and again, we manage to have a girls' day out having coffees and lunch, with a bit of shopping thrown in. Brighton is our usual destination and Food for Friends is a favourite for lunch.

What really made the day was the addition of my almost 5-month old nephew, Ben. He is THE most gorgeous baby ever (ok, so i may be a little biased...) and he delighted us with his smiles and baby noises all day.

The other delight was managing to get a table at Bill's for afternoon tea, and my first ever Lamington - raspberry if you will. It was made from the softest sponge cake, covered in a light rasberry jam and coconut, and topped with a white chocolate dipped strawberry. Yum!

Sunday brought the loss of an hour in bed (but yay for the lighter evenings!) and a 10-mile walk, getting into training for the London MoonWalk. I have done this fantastic 26-mile walk twice before, and am really looking forward to taking part again for this very good cause. More details to follow.

And then the weekend was nearly over, leaving just enough time for a flick through the Sunday papers, and finding a few recipes for the week ahead...

banana smoothie

Most mornings, I start the day with a smoothie. I get up and leave home at early o'clock but have to have something to eat/drink or i end up feeling sick on the train to work. I then have a second proper breakfast at my desk, which keeps me going until lunchtime (ok then, elevensies!).

I was given a Hamilton Beach Classic Blender over 15 years ago (which has just made me think what i actually did just over 15 years ago... but that's a whole other story which i will have to come back to at some point) and it's still going strong. I know a recipe for a smoothie might seem a little simple, but this one from Breakfast Lunch Tea is my new favourite.

So here it is, and it's a lot quicker than making granola (especially for you miss baglady).


Classic Banana Smoothie - Serves 1
1 banana
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp apple juice
125ml natural yoghurt or soya milk (i use half and half)
Put all the ingredients in a food processor/blender and liquidize until smooth and frothy (does anyone remember Cresta? I can't say the word frothy without thinking about the large white polar bear wearing sunglasses)
Variations:
*Add a handful of strawberries in season
*Replace the apple juice with lime juice, the honey with 1tbsp sugar and add a handful of desiccated coconut (i would have to add a shot of rum with this one to make a delicious tropical breakfast cocktail, mmm...)
*Replace the banana with chunks of ripe mango and add a dash of lime juice to the apple juice
*Use any poached fruit and some of its liquid, especially apricots, and you won't need the apple juice

rose bakery's honey granola

I have been lusting after this book for some time now... I first saw it at the top of Gemma's book list on Dressing for Dinner. I added it to my shopping basket on Amazon a good month or so ago and had resisted completing the order until last week. I knew i had been neglecting my blog and was in need of some culinary inspiration! Anyone who knows me well, knows that i would love to run a little coffe shop one day - serving the freshest, tastiest coffee, home baked biscuits and cakes and healthy quiches and tarts.

For now, i will keep attempting to write the business plan and try out as many delicious recipes as possible so when the time comes, i will be ready!

After a weekend of cake-eating, i thought I'd better start with a healthy breakfast recipe:

Honey Granola - serves 6


Ingredients:
400g rolled oats
125g whole almonds (I used flaked)
100g sunflower seeds
100g pumpkin seeds
50g sesame seeds
1 tbsp wheatgerm
125ml sunflower oil
250ml honey (I used half honey and half maple syrup)
50g brown sugar (I left this out)
a few drops of vanilla extract
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 handful dried fruit, such as sultanas (golden raisins) or dates
milk or soya milk to serve (i like it stirred through natural yoghurt and drizzled with honey).

Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Mix together the oats, almonds, seeds and wheatgerm in a large mixing bowl.
Place the sunflower oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan with 125ml watwe and bring up to just boiling point, stirring constantly.
Stir this into the oats and seeds and mix everything together well.
Spread out evenly onto a large baking tray (i line mine with parchment/bake-o-glide) and place in the oven for 1 hour. (i gave a little stir halfway through).
Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake for a further hour (again, i gave a couple of stirs).
Finally, turn the oven off and allow the granola to dry out for a further hour or overnight.
Stir through the dried fruit and allow to cool completely before placing in sterilised jars (i also put some in cellophane bags to take in to work).
I have tried quite a few different granola recipes and what i like about this one is that the mixture stays quite loose rather than clumpy and it has a lovely toasty, nutty flavour.
I will try it with different combinations of fruit and nuts next time too - pecans and cranberries would be lovely.

happy mother's day!

Remember me?? Apologies for my extended absence... life's been hectic. It started with my parents moving house after two years of trying to downsize. From agreeing a sale to moving house, it all happened in under six weeks and i was tasked with selling furniture on ebay and helping on move day. I've only just recovered...

Then i had to go to France for work and in between i've been catching up with friends and family...

Long story short, i've been neglecting my blog and my lovely readers so i now need to make amends!

To kick off with, i thought i'd share some sweet treats from our Mother's Day afternoon tea.

My sister Claire made this delicious cake from a Domestic Goddess recipe:

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake - recipe can be found here.




And i made these yummy gluten-free brownies, also courtesy of Nigella, which has got to be the easiest brownie recipe ever:

Flourless Chocolate Brownies - recipe can be found here.