I can't claim this recipe is original - it's based on the one in the Audrey Eyton F2 Diet book, which in turn is based on a recipe by Leon Lewis. But it is delicious and healthy, and takes about 25 mins start to finish.
It's a real star - the earthiness of the lentils, the crisp but tender vegetables, and the sweet tanginess of the cranberries, wrapped in a garlic and parsley dressing.
My version also keeps the washing up to a minimum - 2 pans, a chopping board, a knife, a colander and a garlic press, plus a tablespoon to measure the oil and vinegar.
Put 300g puy lentils in a pan with a generous teaspoon of veg. bouillon powder and 850ml boiling water.
Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and cover.
In another pan, warm 1tbsp olive oil and add 3 chopped celery sticks (about 7mm dice). While the celery is sizzling, peel and chop 2 good-sized carrots - again, about 7mm dice - and add them to the celery and stir. Then peel and chop 2 onions - I used 1 red, 1 white - and add those to the veg pan. Stir some more, then chop a courgette into - you guessed it - 7mm dice and add that to the pan. Stir again.
Next, go out into the garden and pick a generous handful of parsley (5 or 6 chunky stalks). Wash the parsley, and chop the stalks finely and add those to the veg pan (stir!), then chop the parsley leaves and put into a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, a good grinding of black pepper and about a level teaspoon of salt, and stir. Peel 3 chunky garlic cloves and squidge them through a garlic press into the bowl, and stir again. Add 100g dried cranberries and stir.
The veg will probably be tender (but with a bit of bite still) by now - perfect. Turn off the heat and let them cool for a couple of minutes. Test the lentils to see if they are cooked - you want them yielding, not bullet-like. When they are cooked, drain them, and leave them to cool for a couple of minutes.
Add the vegetables to the bowl, and stir well to mix with the parsley and garlic and cranberries. Add the lentils and stir again.
Serve warm, and if there is any left over, it is wonderful cold too the next day.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Sunday 25 March 2012
Crumbling...
Two hot puddings in a row. Luxury!
Following a trip to Newmarket yesterday, when I went past the veg stall at just the right time (when they were selling fairly random scoops of assorted things for £1) I came home with various things, including a cucumber, three vine tomatoes, a couple of onions, one cooked beetroot, a large head of garlic, four carrots, a cabbage and four sticks of rhubarb, all for £2.
So, the rhubarb has now gone into a rhubarb crumble which is cooking at the moment alongside a shoulder of pork. (we'll be having the cabbage and the carrots with the pork later on, and some of the garlic and an onion went into the soup).
225g plain flour
85 g butter
50g oats
85g sugar
rhubarb (I'd normally put more than 4 sticks in, but 4 was all I had)
more sugar
Whizz the butter and flour together in a food processor until looking like breadcrumbs; add the oats and sugar and whizz briefly until mixed. Chop the rhubarb into even pieces (about 2 cm long) and put in the bottom of a dish - my crumble dish is an oval pyrex one without handles, a bit like this - I used to do crumbles in a narrower, deeper dish but the family prefers flatter ones. Sprinkle a couple of tbsp of sugar over the rhubarb, then spoon the crumble topping over evenly.
Cook at about 180degC until the top is browning gently and the rhubarb can be seen bubbling away at the bottom of the dish.
Following a trip to Newmarket yesterday, when I went past the veg stall at just the right time (when they were selling fairly random scoops of assorted things for £1) I came home with various things, including a cucumber, three vine tomatoes, a couple of onions, one cooked beetroot, a large head of garlic, four carrots, a cabbage and four sticks of rhubarb, all for £2.
So, the rhubarb has now gone into a rhubarb crumble which is cooking at the moment alongside a shoulder of pork. (we'll be having the cabbage and the carrots with the pork later on, and some of the garlic and an onion went into the soup).
225g plain flour
85 g butter
50g oats
85g sugar
rhubarb (I'd normally put more than 4 sticks in, but 4 was all I had)
more sugar
Whizz the butter and flour together in a food processor until looking like breadcrumbs; add the oats and sugar and whizz briefly until mixed. Chop the rhubarb into even pieces (about 2 cm long) and put in the bottom of a dish - my crumble dish is an oval pyrex one without handles, a bit like this - I used to do crumbles in a narrower, deeper dish but the family prefers flatter ones. Sprinkle a couple of tbsp of sugar over the rhubarb, then spoon the crumble topping over evenly.Cook at about 180degC until the top is browning gently and the rhubarb can be seen bubbling away at the bottom of the dish.
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green, Waiting in a hot tureen!
I've long been an Alice in Wonderland fan and returned to this masterpiece many times through my childhood and again in later years.
I've also long been an advocate of soup. Wonderful stuff. I have battled for years against a husband who likes Cup-a-Soup - which to my mind has all the nutritional value of over-salted wallpaper paste and is an abomination. But if he wants cup-a-soup, that's fine. I prefer not to pollute my body with such rubbish, and often make a cauldron full of soup at the weekend. Weekend lunch is generally soup and bread and cheese and things.
Today was a leek, cauliflower and potato soup day. It came out a delicate pale green colour (hence the Lewis Carroll quote) and was really rather good. Here's how I made it:
Into a large pan, melt 20g of butter and put 500g washed, trimmed and sliced leeks in. Stir the leeks around, keeping the pan partly covered so that they sweat rather than frizzle. While the leeks are sweating, peel and slice a couple of garlic cloves and add them to the pan, then fill up the kettle and then chop up a cauliflower (I used all of it except for a couple of the outside leaves which were a bit manky) and put that in too. Peel a couple of medium potatoes (about 250g), slice, and put them in as well, then add boiling water to not quite cover it all, crumble in a couple of vegetable Oxo cubes, and grind in some black pepper.
Let it simmer for about 20-25 mins until all is tender, then liquidise (I do like my hand blender which I can use in the pan to liquidise soup). Mix 50g skimmed milk powder with about 150ml water and add that as well, then check the seasoning.
Serve hot!
I've also long been an advocate of soup. Wonderful stuff. I have battled for years against a husband who likes Cup-a-Soup - which to my mind has all the nutritional value of over-salted wallpaper paste and is an abomination. But if he wants cup-a-soup, that's fine. I prefer not to pollute my body with such rubbish, and often make a cauldron full of soup at the weekend. Weekend lunch is generally soup and bread and cheese and things.
Today was a leek, cauliflower and potato soup day. It came out a delicate pale green colour (hence the Lewis Carroll quote) and was really rather good. Here's how I made it:
Into a large pan, melt 20g of butter and put 500g washed, trimmed and sliced leeks in. Stir the leeks around, keeping the pan partly covered so that they sweat rather than frizzle. While the leeks are sweating, peel and slice a couple of garlic cloves and add them to the pan, then fill up the kettle and then chop up a cauliflower (I used all of it except for a couple of the outside leaves which were a bit manky) and put that in too. Peel a couple of medium potatoes (about 250g), slice, and put them in as well, then add boiling water to not quite cover it all, crumble in a couple of vegetable Oxo cubes, and grind in some black pepper.
Let it simmer for about 20-25 mins until all is tender, then liquidise (I do like my hand blender which I can use in the pan to liquidise soup). Mix 50g skimmed milk powder with about 150ml water and add that as well, then check the seasoning.
Serve hot!
Saturday 24 March 2012
Chinese Wedding Cake
Well, that's how I've grown up hearing rice pudding referred to. Blame my father for that. I got grumbled at for buying too much milk at the supermarket on Thursday evening, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to make a rice pudding. My boys are quite happy to eat rice pudding - home-cooked puddings are a rarity in this house, so they're grateful for any sort of home-make pudding, not like my fussy younger brother who I remember assuring my granny during a visit there about 35 years ago that he couldn't possibly eat rice pudding because he was allergic to it.
Following a quick walk down to the local shop (who sell pudding rice, bless 'em) I put the oven on to 150 degC, got an industrial-size lasagne dish out, and put 100g pudding rice and 85g of sugar in, plus a litre of semi-skimmed milk and a sprinkle of nutmeg. After a quick blast in the microwave (to bring the milk up to temperature) and a stir, it's now going to sit puddingifying in the oven for a couple of hours to get a lovely nutmeggy thick skin.
Following a quick walk down to the local shop (who sell pudding rice, bless 'em) I put the oven on to 150 degC, got an industrial-size lasagne dish out, and put 100g pudding rice and 85g of sugar in, plus a litre of semi-skimmed milk and a sprinkle of nutmeg. After a quick blast in the microwave (to bring the milk up to temperature) and a stir, it's now going to sit puddingifying in the oven for a couple of hours to get a lovely nutmeggy thick skin.
Thursday 22 March 2012
The cupboard is bare...
...and this evening there was not a lot of time either, as son #1 had to be taken into Cambridge to a talk at the Engineering Dept starring at 7 pm, and son #2 needed to make some cakes for a classmate's cake stall tomorrow.
A delve around the fridge yielded a somewhat tired cauliflower and a bag of leeks that were threatening to go slimy, plus milk and cheese, and a few slices of ham, and the pantry had dried pasta, flour and butter plus a can of sweet corn.
I fished the large baking trough out of the cupboard, and then proceeded to fill it with 550g penne pasta (weight before cooking), the cauliflower (divided into small florets) and the leeks (sliced and boiled with the cauliflower). The can of sweet corn went in, the ham was chopped and scattered over, and 2 pints of cheese sauce made with a pint of fresh milk, 50g skimmed milk powder, 85g flour and 50g butter plus a teaspoon of mustard powder, the cooking water from the veg and the water from the sweetcorn. Oh yes, and about 125g grated cheese. After pouring the cheese sauce over I gave it a quick stir then sprinkled about 100g more cheese on top and it went into a 190degC oven for about 30 mins until brown and bubbly.
4 good portions today and almost half left for another day. Result!
A delve around the fridge yielded a somewhat tired cauliflower and a bag of leeks that were threatening to go slimy, plus milk and cheese, and a few slices of ham, and the pantry had dried pasta, flour and butter plus a can of sweet corn.
I fished the large baking trough out of the cupboard, and then proceeded to fill it with 550g penne pasta (weight before cooking), the cauliflower (divided into small florets) and the leeks (sliced and boiled with the cauliflower). The can of sweet corn went in, the ham was chopped and scattered over, and 2 pints of cheese sauce made with a pint of fresh milk, 50g skimmed milk powder, 85g flour and 50g butter plus a teaspoon of mustard powder, the cooking water from the veg and the water from the sweetcorn. Oh yes, and about 125g grated cheese. After pouring the cheese sauce over I gave it a quick stir then sprinkled about 100g more cheese on top and it went into a 190degC oven for about 30 mins until brown and bubbly.
4 good portions today and almost half left for another day. Result!
Wednesday 21 March 2012
YMCA Cuisine
Tonight was a YMCA night. That stands for Yesterday's Meal Cooked Again. YMCA meals are a handy thing for the time-poor working mother.
The boys had some lasagne recycled from Monday, and husband and I had the leftover goulash and rice from yesterday. We all had frozen peas. A trip to the optician's after school meant that the boys and I didn't get back until almost 7pm and that was too late to cook from scratch.
Tomorrow's going to be a problem. No time to go to the supermarket, and little in the cupboards and fridge. Friday's going to be a challenge too, as I'll have less than an hour to cook and eat before going to the library for my regular 2 hour library duty. And even less food in the cupboards by then!
The boys had some lasagne recycled from Monday, and husband and I had the leftover goulash and rice from yesterday. We all had frozen peas. A trip to the optician's after school meant that the boys and I didn't get back until almost 7pm and that was too late to cook from scratch.
Tomorrow's going to be a problem. No time to go to the supermarket, and little in the cupboards and fridge. Friday's going to be a challenge too, as I'll have less than an hour to cook and eat before going to the library for my regular 2 hour library duty. And even less food in the cupboards by then!
Rice
Rice is good stuff. Where would we be without it? And it's really easy to cook.
I've tried a number of ways of cooking it over the years. Here's the one that works for me. No draining, no colanders, no pre-washing. soaking and rinsing, no faffing. No salt either.
I generally cook enough for 2 meals, and refrigerate half of it (if I can keep it out of the clutches of the ravening hordes), then I have something that I can rustle up a quick fried rice with, or microwave it as an accompaniment on an evening when I am really short of time.
You need:
Basmati rice (I've tried other cheaper rice over the years. Basmati is best. Trust me.)
boiling water
a large mug
a heavy-based pan with a close-fitting lid
about half an hour
Put the pan on the hob, and turn on the heat.
Measure a mugful of rice - the size of the mug will depend on how much you want to cook. Put the rice into the pan.
Add almost 2 mugfuls of boiling water (about 1 7/8 the volume of rice).
Bring it to a GENTLE simmer and put the lid on.
Leave it alone, turning the heat off after 15 mins. DON'T TAKE THE LID OFF UNTIL IT'S TIME TO SERVE IT.
30 mins after you started, the rice is done. (But it's still good and hot 45 mins or more after you started - it's very happy sitting with the lid on until you're ready to eat it.)
I've tried a number of ways of cooking it over the years. Here's the one that works for me. No draining, no colanders, no pre-washing. soaking and rinsing, no faffing. No salt either.
I generally cook enough for 2 meals, and refrigerate half of it (if I can keep it out of the clutches of the ravening hordes), then I have something that I can rustle up a quick fried rice with, or microwave it as an accompaniment on an evening when I am really short of time.
You need:
Basmati rice (I've tried other cheaper rice over the years. Basmati is best. Trust me.)
boiling water
a large mug
a heavy-based pan with a close-fitting lid
about half an hour
Put the pan on the hob, and turn on the heat.
Measure a mugful of rice - the size of the mug will depend on how much you want to cook. Put the rice into the pan.
Add almost 2 mugfuls of boiling water (about 1 7/8 the volume of rice).
Bring it to a GENTLE simmer and put the lid on.
Leave it alone, turning the heat off after 15 mins. DON'T TAKE THE LID OFF UNTIL IT'S TIME TO SERVE IT.
30 mins after you started, the rice is done. (But it's still good and hot 45 mins or more after you started - it's very happy sitting with the lid on until you're ready to eat it.)
Courgettes
Uurgh, I hate courgettes, Mum. Oh no, not courgettes again... why do we ALWAYS have to have courgettes?
Because I like 'em, that's why - and because we grew a lot in the garden last year, so for a while we did have courgettes coming out of our ears. Courgette risotto, grilled courgettes, fried courgettes, courgette-heavy ratatouille - you name it, we had courgettes in it. Useful gardening tip - yellow courgettes are so much easier to see on the plant than green ones, so you can pick 'em when they're a suitable size and you don't end up with inadvertent marrows.
You will need:
Courgettes (about one per person, depending on size*)
A pan with a well-fitting lid
butter
salt
black pepper (or black cumin)
*size of courgette, or size of person...
Cut the ends off the courgette and slice into about 6mm slices. (If they're big, cut the slices into 2 so that they're semicircles, otherwise keep them as circles.)
Put the pan on to heat and put about 10g of butter in it. Let it sizzle, and add 1/4 teasp salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Or, if you prefer, 1/2 teasp of black cumin seeds, which I think go brilliantly with courgettes, but my younger son begs to differ. However, he loves them with black pepper.
Add the sliced courgettes, put the lid on the pan, and shake to coat in the butter. Keep the heat fairly high, and give the pan a shake every minute or so. If a lot of liquid collects in the bottom of the pan, remove the lid and let it evaporate. After 5 mins or so, reduce the heat. They'll be ready in about 5 more minutes.
Because I like 'em, that's why - and because we grew a lot in the garden last year, so for a while we did have courgettes coming out of our ears. Courgette risotto, grilled courgettes, fried courgettes, courgette-heavy ratatouille - you name it, we had courgettes in it. Useful gardening tip - yellow courgettes are so much easier to see on the plant than green ones, so you can pick 'em when they're a suitable size and you don't end up with inadvertent marrows.
You will need:
Courgettes (about one per person, depending on size*)
A pan with a well-fitting lid
butter
salt
black pepper (or black cumin)
*size of courgette, or size of person...
Cut the ends off the courgette and slice into about 6mm slices. (If they're big, cut the slices into 2 so that they're semicircles, otherwise keep them as circles.)
Put the pan on to heat and put about 10g of butter in it. Let it sizzle, and add 1/4 teasp salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Or, if you prefer, 1/2 teasp of black cumin seeds, which I think go brilliantly with courgettes, but my younger son begs to differ. However, he loves them with black pepper.
Add the sliced courgettes, put the lid on the pan, and shake to coat in the butter. Keep the heat fairly high, and give the pan a shake every minute or so. If a lot of liquid collects in the bottom of the pan, remove the lid and let it evaporate. After 5 mins or so, reduce the heat. They'll be ready in about 5 more minutes.
Pork goulash
So, my older son had just returned from a week in NYC, and I wanted to cook something nice for his first dinner back home. It was a week since I'd been to the supermarket, and this week's planning didn't really happen. So I was scrabbling around the kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what I could find. This goulash was the result. And a rather good one, if I say so myself.
One pork fillet (about 500g) - hastily defrosted in the microwave then sliced about 1 cm thick and each slice quartered
half fat creme fraiche (about 200g)
one large-ish onion, sliced
one scant tbsp oil
one red pepper, seeded, chopped
one carton chopped tomatoes
one tbsp smoked paprika - VITAL
one vegetable OXO cube
salt
pepper
mushrooms (170g) sliced
rice to serve
veg to serve (I did courgettes)
Boil the kettle for the rice and then get the rice going. (I'll talk about rice more in a future post)
Slice the onion, soften in the oil for a few mins, then fling in the red pepper and garlic. Stir for a couple of mins, then put in the paprika. Add the pork fillet and the tomatoes, and crumble in the stock cube and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the mushrooms, and give it a good stir. Put the lid on the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 25 mins. (You'll want to turn the heat off under the rice about 10 mins into the 25 mins, unless you like your rice with a crispy bottom).
Cook the courgettes (I'll talk about courgettes in the future too) and add the creme fraiche to the goulash pan. Simmer with the lid off for 10 mins (until the sauce has reduced slightly and the courgettes are done).
Eat!
One pork fillet (about 500g) - hastily defrosted in the microwave then sliced about 1 cm thick and each slice quartered
half fat creme fraiche (about 200g)
one large-ish onion, sliced
one scant tbsp oil
one red pepper, seeded, chopped
one carton chopped tomatoes
one tbsp smoked paprika - VITAL
one vegetable OXO cube
salt
pepper
mushrooms (170g) sliced
rice to serve
veg to serve (I did courgettes)
Boil the kettle for the rice and then get the rice going. (I'll talk about rice more in a future post)
Slice the onion, soften in the oil for a few mins, then fling in the red pepper and garlic. Stir for a couple of mins, then put in the paprika. Add the pork fillet and the tomatoes, and crumble in the stock cube and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the mushrooms, and give it a good stir. Put the lid on the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 25 mins. (You'll want to turn the heat off under the rice about 10 mins into the 25 mins, unless you like your rice with a crispy bottom).
Cook the courgettes (I'll talk about courgettes in the future too) and add the creme fraiche to the goulash pan. Simmer with the lid off for 10 mins (until the sauce has reduced slightly and the courgettes are done).
Eat!
What's for dinner, Mum?...
...is the perennial cry in our house.
As a full-time working mother of 2 teenage dustbins on legs, it's one that recurs on a regular basis. I've been trying to get more organised lately and plan the meals for a week ahead, so my Saturday mornings are generally spent doing the planning and going to the supermarket. With a husband that goes out fairly unpredictably, but who also hates waste and throwing uneaten food away, this is often a challenge. I'm trying to watch my weight as well, and also provide healthy home-cooked food the majority of the time, and the boys are permanently hungry. Oh yes, and the younger one has braces on his teeth at the moment, which necessitates serving sloppy things that don't need chewing for the first few days after a trip to the orthodontist...
So, I'm starting this blog to record what I'm serving up. What's worked, what hasn't... things I will try again, and things that are best avoided. I might put the odd picture in, every now and then, if time permits. If I don't - well, you'll have to imagine what it looks like.
As a full-time working mother of 2 teenage dustbins on legs, it's one that recurs on a regular basis. I've been trying to get more organised lately and plan the meals for a week ahead, so my Saturday mornings are generally spent doing the planning and going to the supermarket. With a husband that goes out fairly unpredictably, but who also hates waste and throwing uneaten food away, this is often a challenge. I'm trying to watch my weight as well, and also provide healthy home-cooked food the majority of the time, and the boys are permanently hungry. Oh yes, and the younger one has braces on his teeth at the moment, which necessitates serving sloppy things that don't need chewing for the first few days after a trip to the orthodontist...
So, I'm starting this blog to record what I'm serving up. What's worked, what hasn't... things I will try again, and things that are best avoided. I might put the odd picture in, every now and then, if time permits. If I don't - well, you'll have to imagine what it looks like.
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