THE FOOD OF LOVE

Well I’m not sure it feels right blogging in the current circumstances - partly it makes me feel selfish and that I should be doing something more constructive and selfless to help. However it is food and cooking that are helping me to get through this period of isolation. Manically checking to see what I can rustle up from the store cupboard to sustain or increase energy for others, frantically making lists and planting seeds by the bucketful ... have a succession of salad crops to keep us going. We won’t have enough room for all our plants at the allotment  but will be able to gift to friends and neighbours in this time of possible scarcity.

 

 

 

 

Apart from producing things to give a sugar inducing highs like flapjacks and shortbread  

I’ve been trying a few new recipes which will use up ingredients I’m sure to have excess of in the summer months... courgettes and gnarly celeriac. These were already in the store cupboard before lockdown along with the porcini mushrooms so please don’t think I’ve been scouring the shelves of Tesco for these quirky, unseasonal ingredients when I should have been social distancing!

 

But when everything gets back to normal I can highly recommend these two incredibly healthy recipes ... the first,  little beef and mushroom pies, from the BBC Good Food magazine

 and the other from lovepork.co.uk  although sadly for them I didn’t follow their guidelines and used turkey mince instead making their recipe even healthier.

With its colourful noodles made from butternut squash and courgette ribbons and vibrant punchy sauce made with chilli and low fat creme fraiche it was definitely one to make you drool! Without adding too much to the waistline!

 

 

 

Same goes for the pies.  No pastry to add calories just lots of healthy veg to provide essential fibre and vitamins and pretty quick and easy to rustle up too.

 

I hope that while you read this you are taken away just for a brief moment from the worries of the world ... these difficult times can only make us cherish the small things so much more and help us learn not to take our freedom or indeed the time we are given for granted. As the Italians say

'Andra Tutta Bene' - everything is going to be all right

The world will be a different place after all this but hopefully we will have learned some very valuable lessons
Xxx


https://www.lovepork.co.uk/recipes/pork-meatballs-with-vegetable-ribbons/


https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/little-beef-mushroom-pies

 

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

 

Well actually these delicious Thai flavoured salmon balls aren't nearly as hot as the title of this blog suggests! Just thought it would be a bit of fun:)

 

From the great Leslie Waters of Ready Steady Cook fame - where is she now?!  - this dish never fails to comfort me,  its coconut-scented broth enhanced  by great handfuls of spinach and eye-catching verdant peas.

 

Don't be afraid of the salmon balls - they will look incredibly gloopy and sticky when you blitz them with the egg and breadcrumbs  and my favourite Thai 7 spice mix, but they will magically come together and transform into little pillows of deliciousness.

We are cheating a little bit as obviously I am picking next to nothing from the allotment at the moment, although the first stick of rhubarb came home yesterday and apparently some of my winter lettuces are ready. So my spinach is shop bought and I am breaking my rule that I would only post recipes using ingredients that I'd picked myself but couldn't resist telling you about this one.

I have no link so here is the recipe for you.

Use a blender to process 1lb of salmon fillet and two ounces of breadcrumbs

Then add a beaten egg and a teaspoon of Thai 7 spice seasoning and blitz again.

You can then shape the mixture into tiny balls with wet hands but I find it works just to scoop out tablespoons of the mixture into a pan of hot oil and brown for two to three minutes on each side. 
 
These can then be transferred to a baking tray and are cooked at 180 degrees in a fan oven for ten minutes while you make the coconut broth.

Fry two tablespoons of tomato paste (they recommend sun dried but I just use ordinary tomato puree) with 2 teaspoons of Thai 7 spice seasoning for a minute.

Blend in a 400mls can of coconut milk (I always use the half fat one) and 200mls of veg stock.
Simmer for four minutes and add four ounces of frozen peas and allow to cook before adding spinach and just allowing to wilt.

Put the salmon balls in shallow bowls and ladle over the coconut gravy.

It suggests serving with rice but I can promise you this dish is so rich and filling it will satisfy you completely on its own:) 
 

 
 

MOREISH MUFFINS

 

 

Looking for something tasty to make your warming lunchtime soup go further? These moreish butternut squash and cheese muffins fit the bill.

Topped with healthy pumpkin seeds and given extra zing by some garlic chives picked from just outside the back door it’s hard to stop at just one helping!

 

 

https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/pumpkin-cheese-and-chive-muffins


Not long till I start planting seeds for next year:)

PERFECT PEPPERS

 

I wanted to use up the last of the leeks -  they haven't performed that well this year, I think it was probably too wet in the autumn. This recipe where you fill  red peppers with spicy chorizo and healthy  grains was perfect.  I just used a pre-cooked packet of mixed grains which made it a pretty easy option too. That stray bean which hasn't been trimmed in the pic is irking me!!

 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/grain-stuffed-peppers

 

We also sampled our first cucamelon recently -  well I'm told that's what it's called. Our neighbours on the allotment have grown them this year and gave us one to try.  The slimy seeds, looking a little like frogspawn if I'm honest , added texture to a passion fruit and mango coulis which accompanied a deliciously addictive creamy traybake.  We plan to grow this peculiar, quirky fruit next season.

 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/maracuja-passion-fruit-mousse-traybake

 

 

INCREDIBLY EDIBLE :)

 

    

I’ve still got a hidden stash of home-grown courgettes.    I didn’t really believe they’d be useable when I was advised to freeze them by a fellow allotment holder but they worked a treat in a recipe for a minced beef and courgette casserole that I tried out yesterday. Topped with cream, eggs and grated cheese in the mode of a moussaka - definitely one to add to the repertoire to use up the seasonal glut we are blessed with every year!

 

 

https://ohmydish.com/recipe/minced-beef-zucchini-casserole/

 

 

I used 375grams of mince and halved the other ingredients and it worked perfectly for the two of us:)

BLOWING RASPBERRIES ( A FRUITY FANFARE!)

 

 

If, like me, you have surplus raspberries lurking in your freezer, then this white chocolate cheesecake,  dreamed up by the Philadelphia cream cheese company, is one to try.

 

I used half the ingredients and half again and we had six good sized portions to tempt us.  A nice way to prolong your enjoyment of the  tastes of summer.

https://www.philadelphia.co.uk/recipes/white-chocolate-and-raspberry-cheesecake?r=51

JUST LIKE MAMA USED TO MAKE!

 

 

Well have you ever tried to stuff a cannelloni tube? I can assure you it’s not an easy task!

 

I gave short shrift to the instructions suggesting I put the filling in a plastic bag, snip off the end and pipe it in. Knowing how cack handed I am I couldn’t imagine what kind of a mess I’d end up in! So I opted to use a teaspoon instead, but then because the tube is thinner than you expect it only goes so far in and you end up with a tube about a third full. So I resorted to using a skewer to push it down and thankfully got into quite a rhythm.

 

 And boy was it worth it! Once those tubes were filled with cooked chicken, spinach and a cheese and mustard sauce, topped with tomato, fragrant basil and garlic sauce and heaped with grated cheese, it was one of those dinners that had me going into raptures every few minutes about it’s deliciousness! Definitely one worth the fiddling! 

 

 P.S.  I used my fresh spinach instead of frozen and  I think the chilli flakes are definitely a 'must have' addition.   The recipe is from the cookbook ' Save with Jamie' (Jamie Oliver)  but there is no direct link so am posting the link to another blog so you have the recipe and method.

https://morganmwoods.com/save-money/frugal-recipes/leftover-chicken-recipes/chicken-cannelloni/