HARVEST FESTIVAL

So the recipe I’m telling you about doesn’t contain pink celery but couldn't stop myself from sharing its beauty with you! Isn’t nature just wonderful! 

Now onto the recipe which is what it’s all about and and this is probably a perfect light meal to enjoy during the current heatwave assailing everyone. 

So I’d been out for the day … the temptation was  to go the beans on toast/jacket potato route but I gently forced myself to get to work on a simple couscous salad with halloumi. Not from highfalutin places like the Good food guide … just sent in an email from the Co op of all places. 

 

Salty cheese drenched in oil from a jar of sun dried tomatoes melts in the oven in foil while you season the grains with home grown parsley and oregano. It says to griddle the courgettes but I just stuck them on a tray with the halloumi, added peas and chopped  sun dried tomatoes and bob’s your uncle! ( not said that for ages!! ). I opted out of the lemon juice and could have done with a handful more of the herbs but it was totally delicious and pretty healthy too! 

Think it even justified  the bananas and ice cream and toffee sauce I fancied after I missed out on dessert when I went out for dinner the night before ! Sadly my photos aren’t aesthetically pleasing but I can assure it tastes a lot better than it looks! 

Not sure if the link will take you to the website but if not just write it into your search bar and it seems to appear that way with no problem.

https://search.app/qGGBt59kfzNUGjPA8

'DILL'ICIOUS!

 

There’s nothing more satisfying on a grey rainy day than boiling up a sweet and salty vinegary solution to pickle your home grown mini cucumbers! Adding strands of feathery dill straight from the pot outside just adds to the  contentment level even more! Time well spent when there’s not enough sunshine to enable us to enjoy the outdoors!

Can't find a link to the Tom Shingler recipe from Delicious magazine that I used  so here are the instructions instead.   Put 100mls of water, 300mls of cider vinegar, 60g caster sugar and a tablespoon of salt in a pan.  Bring to a simmer and stir till the sugar is dissolved.  Then add some dill and cool before pouring over your cucumbers.  This made three large jars.  I also added some garlic and black pepper.  He recommends fennel and mustard seeds too.

FRUITS OF OUR LABOUR

Well we haven't really seen summer properly yet.... as someone said to me recently it's playing hide and seek!  Unfortunately its shyness is causing havoc at the allotment with so much refusing to grow at normal speed and a dearth of pollinators to assist the process.

However there are successes.  We have crunchy sugar snaps, huge heads of broccoli hidden amongst the greenery and reliable new potatoes as well as kale and a handful of vibrant cherry tomatoes and we seem to have cornered the market in turnips this year!  Oh and I did have a proud Mummy moment when we harvested some gorgeous caulis before they 'blew'.  Maybe things aren't as bad as I think!

Particularly pleasing and unexpected have been the early currants.  Black and red beads dangled from branches to tempt us into the fruit cages encouraging me to make the BBC Good Food magazine's raspberry and redcurrant cobbler, which we enjoyed doused with single cream.  There wasn't a lot left before I remembered to take a picture so think my effort was appreciated!  A perfect taste of summer despite the cool temperatures!

Someone at the allotment said we are all on a bit of a subsistence diet at the moment ... surviving on just what is growing currently.   Well after our delicious feast  I'd say we are pretty happy with that!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/raspberry-redcurrant-cobbler

 

 

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DO THE TWIST AND IT GOES LIKE THIS ...

                                            

                                       

                                       

 It’s hard to find something inventive to do with cabbage from the allotment.  There’s an inevitability that there will be coleslaw with every barbecue and it’s a great accompaniment to many things, but these two recipes put a twist on things and come up trumps.

                                         

Both use the blanched cabbage leaves as wraps encasing delicious delights.  

The first has more of a Mediterranean slant with its passata based sauce with chorizo,  but the second , which I’ve already claimed the leftovers of as I enjoyed it so much , has a Mexican leaning with its beef mince  chilli and coriander filling.

Can’t wait for him to night fish again so I can savour another portion! 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cabbage-roll-enchiladas

I used my low fat Greek yoghurt instead of the bio as that was all I had and heaped on a bit of extra cheese. I’d also suggest blanching the cabbage leaves for just a tiny bit longer to make them more tender. Other than that a perfect one for the file! 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chorizo-stuffed-cabbage-rolls

SHOWSTOPPER?

If you do anything this summer add your tayberries or raspberries to what could be a stupendous showpiece of a dessert (though as you can see I got a little heavy handed and clumsy with the chocolate!). 

  It offers decadence and probably bad things in bucket loads but then everyone deserves a treat sometimes. It’s simple to put together but yet feels as if you’ve put more work into it. One for the summer repertoire every year methinks. 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/raspberry-dark-chocolate-cheats-ice-cream-terrine

 

ONE, TWO, THREE .... (FOUR, FIVE ONCE I CAUGHT A FISH....)

So yet again we are fighting the weather but I think we have finally seen the back of those awful chilly mornings and evenings and although there is a bit of a dearth of prolonged sunshine we are now getting some of the rain we needed too.  (that has been a hindrance in other respects!)    We are slowly beginning to plant in the hope that the crazy deer doesn't pop out of his hiding place and decimate everything as he has done on previous occasions!

I wrote these blogs a while ago but the timing hasn't been right to publish them so they are a little unseasonal ... there is however still some long stemmed broccoli  in the shops.  I also have a little stash of chillis I froze down at the end of last year and the chives are going great guns just outside the back door so I'm not quite breaking my rules of only blogging using produce we are currently harvesting but hopefully the recipes  might tempt you enough to pop them in a folder  for later.

  We are back to a bit of a health kick.    So consequently lots of fish recipes for you to enjoy.... if you don’t count the salty soy sauce in the first one! It showcases a meaty piece of tuna enhanced with chilli, lime and ginger infused noodles and  crunchy celery and pak choi. I used my less fiery chills rather than the cayennes this time so they didn’t make our eyes water and made us catch our breath less! 

I adapt this from a Waitrose recipe. 

.First make up some coriander butter.

.Add to a pan  and fry your tuna steaks to your liking ( the Aldi's frozen ones are very good value) adding a little soy sauce when you turn the fish.  Keep warm.

.Soak some rice noodles.

.Add some more soy sauce and the zest and juice of a lime to the pan and when it bubbles add 235g of pak choi, stalks sliced and leaves whole, two sliced celery stalks, a good handful of chopped chilli, some chopped ginger and some coriander.

.Cook for a couple of minutes till soft and coated in  the glaze .

.Toss with the noodles and a little more coriander and serve with the fish.

Unfortunately dipped into my birthday chocolate raisins after making this so slightly negated any healthy benefits!

                                 

The second one might be a meal my lovely nephew would  enjoy as one of my recipes using orzo has become one of his staples. It says to use cod  but I used haddock  as I sometimes feel cod falls apart and disintegrates during cooking.  

  

Chipotle and smoked paprika give the orzo its smokiness and  aromats dill and parsley  add a further depth of flavour.  Verdant long stemmed broccoli and peas introduce  colour and more veg and fibre into the dish.  

I didn't make the herby yoghurt as I didn't figure that it would necessarily enhance the dish any further.  It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed it so much I cant wait to make it again, with cod next time I think though.  The picture definitely doesn't do it justice!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/smoky-cod-broccoli-orzo-bake

Then completely different flavours again.  This time using up my courgettes and home made gloriously rich passata from the freezer.  You make a ratatouille base and then top salmon with Boursin and breadcrumbs and pine nuts.  Another one that comes highly recommended! ( Took dreadful pictures though so am just posting the one of the ratatouille!)

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-salmon-chunky-ratatouille

Last but not least herby pollock wrapped in bacon.  Another recipe all cooked in one pan which can only be a bonus from a washing up point of view:)  I used basa fillets instead as I knew it might be hard to source pollock and they seemed to work just as well and they are also pretty cheap and cheerful.

I can't find a link to this one so here is the recipe

.Heat oven to 160 degrees (fan)

 

.Lay 8-10 baby carrots and a thinly sliced leek on a baking tray .

.Drizzle with oil, cover with foil and bake for half an hour till just tender.

.Mix 75g of butter (I use Olivio) ,a squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of chives, oregano and sage.

.Spread over the fish and wrap into a spiral and wrap tightly in bacon. 

.Bake for 25 minutes.

.Boil enough new potatoes for two, crush and mix in chives, one tablespoon of creme fraiche and a knob of butter.

.Serve the fish on top of the potato and scatter the vegetables around.

I think lots of people find it hard to get inspired by fish but there are so many good recipes I'd say it's definitely worth adding some to your repertoire (might not be quite the right word there but think you'll get the gist!)

WINTER WARMERS

It's been hard to motivate myself to blog these past few weeks.  I've still been cooking and taking pics but like everyone I've just not been 'in the swing of things'.  However after a restorative session of yoga this afternoon I  now feel able to present you with a couple of ideas to provide sustenance, warmth and succour ... a basic need for most of us at the moment. 

The first  calls itself a broth, but overflowing with flavour from hot chillis, spicy chorizo and a good dose of coriander and just over four ounces of  orzo, my favourite little pasta of the moment, it can transform into  a meal in itself. The chillis  I'd tucked away in the freezer were a little hotter than I'd envisaged though so we got an extra hot flush and warmth we weren't expecting when we took our first few mouthfuls! And trust me the addition of al dente cabbage works a treat.  As you can see the recipe from  an old 'You' magazine uses spelt but I just decided to tweak it using items from my store cupboard.  Tinned tomatoes work just as well as fresh and the pasta still cooks perfectly if you halve the stock.  Just have a play like I did.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2417505/Food-Savoy-cabbage-spelt-sausage-soup.html

I'm always getting accused of not making chilli con carne enough by 'him indoors'. He still says the second recipe - the exotic sounding cornbread tamale pie,  from the kitchen of Diana Henry who writes so lyrically, (in essence a chilli with a cornbread topping)  didn't count.   However we both loved it and I can't wait to cook it again - a  bowl of  pure hearty comfort!  Mind you I'm sure he will still ask me for chilli every week!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cornbread-tamale-pie