Tipsy Pineapple with Caramel Sauce

This is a bad dessert. Very bad. In terms of calories anyway... It tastes nice ;)

For 2 portions you need:

1/2 fresh pineapple cut into chunks
1/4 cup soft light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup double cream
1/8 cup rum

Heat the butter and sugar in a frying pan. Once it's bubbling and melting add the pineapple. Sautee for a few minutes and then flambé with the rum. Add the cream and cook out. Serve in bowls and immediately run a marathon to work off the decedent calories...

Bircher Museli (v)

Or soaked oats. A great breakfast dish which makes museli somewhat more digestible for those horrid early starts ;-)

For one portion you need:
1/3 cup museli
2/3 cup soya milk
fresh fruit e.g. chopped strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc
sunflower seeds

Place the museli and milk into a tub/bowl. Add whatever fruit and seeds you fancy. Cover and leave to soak overnight. Eat the following morning and float to work on a cloud of well being :)

Courgette 'Lasagne' (v)

This doesn't use pasta for the layers, but thin slices of courgette. Omit the cheese for a vegan version.

For 4-6 portions you need:
3 large courgettes, topped and tailed and sliced into thin strips length ways (sometimes it's easier to cut the courgettes in half if they're very long)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
herbs e.g. oregano
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 tsp stock powder
1 mozzerella ball
grated parmesan
breadcrumbs
olive oil

Begin by making the tomato sauce. Saute the onion in 2 tbsp olive oil for 5-10 mins. Add the garlic, tomatoes, herbs, vinegar, stock powder and sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 mins till slightly reduced. Season to taste.

Place some courgettes in the bottom of an oven proof dish, add 1/3 of the sauce and repeat until everything is used up. If using cheese add a few cubes of mozz and some grated parmesan in each layer. Finish with a layer of courgettes and top with breadcrumbs and some more cheese. Bake in a hot oven for 30-45 mins till bubbling and the courgettes are soft :) Yummy with a green salad and lots of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Summer Fruit & Flapjack Bake (v)

This is based on Nigella's Blackberry Crisp in her Nigella Express book (p52)

For a generous 4-6 portions you need:
125g butter or vegan marge
60g oats
40g flaked almonds
30g sunflower seeds
70g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
75g soft light brown sugar
650g mixed summer fruits (I used frozen cherries and summer fruit mix)
1/4 cup vanilla sugar

Begin by laying the fruit in the bottom of an oven proof dish. Scatter over the vanilla sugar. Melt the butter/marge and then mix with the remaining ingredients. Press lightly into the fruit (you won't have enough to cover everything). Bake at 160 degrees for about 30-40 mins. Enjoy warm or cold, au natural or with swedish glace/ice cream. It's also suprisingly good for breakfast too ;-)

Mum's Famous Brown Rice Salad (v)

I once posted this on an internet forum, after nabbing the recipe from my mum, and loads of people made it and said how nice it was, so it's a travesty that I haven't yet blogged it on here. Sorry mum.

For 8 generous portions you need:

4-6oz brown rice cooked till tender
Handful chopped apricots
Handful chopped dates
Handful sunflower seeds
Handful pumpkin seeds
Handful pine nuts
2 sticks celery chopped
1 red and 1 green pepper de-seeded and chopped

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinager
2 tbsp apple juice
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chilli
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tbsp soya sauce

Mix dressing together and pour over warm rice, add veggies/seeds and mix. Best made 24-48 hrs in advance to let flavours develop. Keeps for 4 days or so.

Tofu Sweet Chilli Noodle Salad (v)

This is inspired by what used to be my favourite M&S salad bowl (king prawn & sweet chilli noodles) and is based on a recipe in July's Good Food magazine (p56)

For 4-6 portions you need:
3 bundles of medium noodles (soba or udon work well)
1/2 cucumber
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 pack marinated tofu chunks
zest and juice of 2 limes
4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
rocket/watercress and spinach salad mix (1 large handful per serving)
fresh corriander sprigs
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light soya sauce/shoyu

Begin by cooking the noodles as per instructions on the pack. Drain and toss through the sesame oil and soya sauce. If you prefer shorter noodles roughly cut them (or break the dry noodles up as you add them to the pan to cook).

Halve the cucumber, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and then cut into half moons. Grate the carrot. Add to the drained and seasoned noodles. Mix together the chilli sauce and lime juice/zest and mix well. Place the noodles in a tub and add the salad leaves, topping with the sesame seeds.

Carrot, Peanut and Sultana Salad (v)

This is nice in place of coleslaw but is also good on it's own as a summer lunch.

For 4-6 portions you need:
4 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 cup sultanas
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
salt and pepper
3 tbsp orange juice

Combine everything in a bowl and scoff. Yes, that's it ;-)

Thai Green Curry (v)

I have neglected my poor blog recently due to being away at too many conferences and in too much of a giddy spin now the news of my NTFs success is public (it's a hard life yada yada yada...). This was a quick, post conference dish to throw together and a nice tasty one too :)

For 6 portions you need:
1 pack marinated tofu chunks
1 onion
2/3 tub green thai curry paste (the small tub, natch)
1/2 cauli cut into florets
2 small head broccoli cut into florets
2 carrots, sliced
1 pack baby corn, cut into thirds
2 tins cocnut milk
1 pack coconut cream
fresh corriander, chopped

Begin by sauteeing the onion in 1 tbsp oil. Then add the curry paste and cook out. Add the veggies and coconut milk and cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins. Add the tofu, heat through and serve in bowls with lashings of rice. Simple.

Bermuda Creams (v)

I have no idea why these are called this, and I am sure that this recipe is not what the original was. But who cares. It's tasty, and easy. I remember these from when I was a child at Christmas gatherings :)

For each cream you need:
natural yogurt (use vegan yogurt if you wish, otherwise I recommend Total 0%)
dark brown muscavado sugar

Place 1 tsp sugar in the bottom of a ramekin/serving glass. Place 3-4 tbsp yogurt on top (as much as you want) and then top with another 1 tsp sugar. Leave to 'bleed' in the fridge for at least a couple of hours and then enjoy.

Disgustingly Healthy Lunchbox Bulghar Wheat (v)

Tomorrow is meat free monday which for me means a vegan day. I'm also in the throes of trying to empty out my completely over full cupboards in preparation for the imminent house move so this is an eclectic gathering of ingredients, but trust me as it's also very tasty. And healthy, did I mention that already?

For one person you need:
1/3 cup bulghar wheat
2/3 cup boiling water
1/4 tsp vegan stock powder
1 large pinch spices (I used moroccan seasoning)
2 tsp each of hazlenuts, cashews and pine nuts
4 dried apricots, sliced into small pieces
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 stick celery, cut into small dice
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 tsp olive oil


Place the blughar wheat and stock into a tub and pour over the water. Stir. Add the onion, nuts and apricots and soak till all the stock has been absorbed (it's important to add the nuts and apricots now as you want them to soften and plumpen with the wheat and onion needs to lose it's harshness in the water too). Add the seasoning, oil, pepper and celery and stir. Leave to get to know each other over night and scoff for lunch the next day. Feel truly virtuous.

Leftover Potato Tortilla

I hardly ever make 'real' tortilla, i.e. potatoes and onions and eggs a la Spanish tapas regular. But we had some leftover cooked new potatoes languishing in the fridge so I tried it. Truth be told it was a bit bland for me, next time I think it will need some additional garlic, maybe some mustard to kick the cheese a bit more and certainly some more seasoning. But as a blandish side dish with some other tapas it was perfectly acceptable.

For 4-6 portions you need:
2 cups cooked new potatoes, sliced into thin slices
2-3 onions, sliced
olive oil for sauteeing the onions and potatoes
6 eggs, beaten
some cheese if you fancy (I used 1/4 pack ready grated gruyere that needed to be used up)
seasoning

The pan you use for this is important as it should be non stick and also able to be placed in the oven. If you don't have an ovenproof one then grill the top instead towards the end.

Begin by frying the onions in the oil. Take it slow and easy and keep 'em cooking till they're lovely and caramalised. Add the potato slices and gently heat them, trying to get some of the edges nice and browned. Once this has been achieved (it'll take about 30 mins probably) add the seasoned eggs and cheese (if using). Cook gently on the hob till the bottom is set. Transfer to the oven and finish off the cooking process. Take care not to over cook. Eat warm, or chill and enjoy cold the next day.

Triple Chocolate Slice

This is basically a brownie by any other name. But obviously includes three types of chocolate. Cos one just isn't enough...

For about 16 slices you need:
90g plain chocolate
90g milk chocolate
150g plain flour
125 butter
2 eggs
100g soft brown sugar
130g white chocolate chunks

Melt together the milk and plain chocolate and butter. Leave to cool for a few mins. Then mix in the flour, eggs, sugar and white chocolate chunks. Pour into a lined swiss roll tin and bake at 160 degrees for about 30 mins till set. Leave to cool and then slice and scoff.

Yotam Ottolenghi's Black Pepper Tofu

This is a serious dish. Serious as in taste. And serious as in heat. OMG it's hot! And I like spicy food. But it's hot in the right way. It doesn't just blow your head off, it builds up the heat intensity and leaves your lips numb at the end. I've made some tweaks, based on what I had available and what I thought we could cope with. I think the thing that blew me away the most was the fact that Lex adored this dish. It was nearly too hot for me, but he scoffed loads down. Go figure. And go make... The original recipe is on the Guardian website.

For 4 generous portions you need:
400g tofu
Cornflour, to dust the tofu (make sure you sieve this to get rid of the lumps)
Vegetable oil, for frying
75g butter
2 onions
2 red chillies
6 garlic cloves
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 bunch spring onions, cut into segments 3cm long

Begin by cutting the tofu into cubes about 1.5cms square, then dust the tofu with the cornflour. Deep fry in oil till golden and crispy and then drain on kitchen paper.

Blitz the onion, chillies, garlic and ginger till a lumpy puree then fry in the butter for about 15 mins (I guess you could use a couple of tbsp of oil if you want to make it vegan but the butter does add a richness that might need to be replaced by vegan marge).

Add the soya sauces, pepper and sugar and then place the tofu in the pan to heat through. Serve garnished with the spring onions and lots and lots of plain rice. And water. But make sure you eat the rice to lessen the effects of the chilli and pepper!

Rose Scented Rhubarb Syllabub

I've been meaning to make this for a while. I did the rhubarb base a while back and froze it, but haven't had a chance to combine the two components until today. The syllabub base is an adaptation of Nigella's turkish delight syllabub from Nigella Bites. I think this tastes pretty darn good. But then I would say that. Make it and see what you think!

For 8 generous portions you need:
175ml of good quality sweet dessert wine
4 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 large tub double cream
400g trimmed and washed rhubarb
6 tbsp vanilla sugar (or more to taste depending on sharpness)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tsp each rose water and orange flower water

Begin by roasting the rhubarb with the sugar. Place in an ovenproof dish and roast at 160 degrees for about 30 mins. Remove from the oven and add the vanilla paste and flower waters. Taste to check sugar and then leave to cool and chill till completely cold.

When the rhubarb is cold (fridge cold, or it will split the cream), make the syllabub. Place the sugar, wine and cream in a large bowl and whisk till it forms "billowing clouds" to quote Nigella. Taste to check sweetness and then add the rhubarb. Fold in carefully and then spoon in to serving glasses and devour.

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

As requested by a blog follower :)

This is piece of cake to make, and tastes delicious.

For 4 portions you need:
50g pudding rice (or use risotto rice if you can't get pudding rice
1 large tin evaporated milk
normal milk to make up the liquid to 1 pint
2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar

Mix everything together in an ovenproof dish, then bake in a moderate oven (130 degrees) for about 2 hours. Stir every 30 mins or so and leave a lid on the dish if you want less of a skin.

Lily's Scones (by Nigella) (v)

I thought I had blogged these already, given that they're my fave scone recipe, but apparently not. So here it is. Enjoy. And don't blame me when you get fat ;-)

For about 16 scones you need:
500g plain flour
2 tsp bicarb
4.5 tsp cream of tartar
125g cold butter, cut into lumps (or vegan marg)
300ml cold milk (or soya milk)
1 egg (for egg wash) (or more soya milk)
2 tsp vanilla sugar

Lob the flour and raising agents into a food processor along with the butter. Process till the butter is thoroughly mixed in. Then add the milk and keep the motor running till the dough comes together. Tip onto a floured surface and then roll out. The dough needs to be about 2 cms thick. Stamp into scones, re-rolling the dough till it's all used up. Place onto floured baking sheets, well spaced, and brush with the egg glaze. Sprinkle the sugar over the top. Bake for about 25 mins till risen and golden. Serve warm with lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam, remembering to always ALWAYS put the cream on first and the jam on second ;-) I guess if you used soya marge and soya milk you could make these vegan. Instead of the egg wash use soya milk and serve with just jam or vegan cream cheese and jam.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Truly delectable and decedent. But also deeeeeeelicious...

For about 12 portions you need:
900g cream cheese
190g vanilla sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate, bashed to smithereens
300g dark chocolate digestive biscuits
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100g butter, melted

Begin by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile smash the biscuits into powder (use a food processor!) and then add the cocoa powder and melted butter. Tip this into a lined, 23cm springform tin. Place in the fridge to chill for a bit whilst you make the filling.

Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs and melted chocolate and then pour into the prepared tin. Cook at 190 degrees for between 45-90 mins till set. It should wobble in the middle but be set on the outside when it's done. Serve in small portions!

This recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook.

Borlotti Bean Salad with Chive Flowers

This is a staple of the summer salad table. A nutritious but also delicious garlicky vinaigrette dresses succulent beans. The addition of edible flowers is simply an opportunity to show off and scoff the yummy chive flowers which are out all over my garden at the moment!

For enough beans to serve 4-6 people easily you need
1 tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
handful chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper
3-4 chive flower heads, broken into the individual flowers

Mix everything together and decorate with the chive flowers. Delicious with all sorts fo salads or as a side for things like quiche etc

Butterbean and Gruyere Burgers

Not exactly healthy, these given the amount of cheese in them. But they taste nice. Eat in moderation lol!

For 4-6 burgers you need:
1 can butterbeans, drained
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
handful chives, finely chopped
large handful grated gruyere
1 egg
salt and pepper
fresh breadcrumbs

Begin by blitzing the beans and onion in a food processor till roughly mushed. Some texture in the beans/onion is fine. Tip into a mixing bowl and add everything else aside from the breadcrumbs. Mix well. You should be left with a sticky but mostly cohesive paste. Form into burgers and coat in breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a medium oven for 15-25 mins till brown and bubbly. They will fall apart a bit, don't panic. Serve with a green salad and some tomato salsa. Yummy.

Risotto Cakes with Goat's Cheese

I had some left over risotto from Friday night and have been meaning to try and make some risotto cakes for ages. They worked pretty well :)

For about 6-8 cakes you need
leftover risotto (I used a butternut squash one)
Goat's cheese - I used about 1/4 of a log

Place the risotto into a bowl and mix to break it up (assuming it's cold and has been in the fridge). Pick up a dollop, about the size of a golf ball, and squidge it in your hand. Push some goat's cheese in to the centre and close the risotto around the cheese. Shape into a ball. This is easier than it sounds. Repeat till all the risotto and cheese has been used up. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven for about 20-30 mins til crispy on the outside and piping hot. Serve with a green salad and maybe a tomato sauce if you like.

Courgette Fritters

I found some courgettes looking lonely in the fridge earlier and needed to do something with them. So this is what I did.

For 2-3 portions you need
2 courgettes, sliced on the diagonal into slices about 1/2 a cm thick
2 eggs
2-3 tbsp plain flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Mix the eggs with the flour till a smooth, thick batter is formed. Season. Dip slices of the courgettes into the batter and then fry in batches until puffy and golden brown. Drain. Serve hot or warm.

Spiced Chickpea and Parsley Patties (v)

Have you noticed I like Middle Eastern food?! Another gorgeous recipe here :) this time based on one by Ghillie Basan.

For about 8 patties you need
1 tin drained chickpeas
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
large handful parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp each of ground cumin and corriander
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
grated zest of a lemon

Whizz the chickpeas in a blender till smashed then tip into a bowl and add everything else. Squish together to form patties and lay on a greased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 5 mins each side before serving with a selection of other mezze (we had olives, houmous, pitta, tapenade, tabouleh, tomatoes, garlic yogurt etc).

Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Chips (v)

Lex loves any vegetables that are orange, so we often have sweet potatoes and butternut squash (served for him with a side of orange pepper...). He also loves Moroccan spices so this recipe combines the two for a healthy side dish which makes me feel better about him scoffing down coco pops for breakfast and jelly for pudding...

For 4 portions you need
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 12 small wedges
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into about 12 small wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp moroccan seasoning/spices
salt and pepper

Toss the vegetables in the oil and spices. Roast in a hot oven for about 20 mins till tinged with black and soft in the middle. Eat as you wish.

Tabbouleh (v)

There are countless variations for this recipe, and mine changes depending on what I have in the fridge, but the staples are always a grain (quinoa, bulgar wheat or cous cous); lemon juice; chopped corriander and parsley; cucumber and tomatoes; garlic and lashings of olive oil. The recipe below is what we had today...

For 4-6 portions you need:
1 cup bulgar wheat
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp stock powder
1/2 a cucumber, diced
2-3 tomatoes, diced (if you can be arsed then skin them but if you can't you'll live...)
1 clove garlic, crushed
large cup each of corriander and parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
4 tbsp good quality olive oil
juice 1/2 - 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Begin by soaking the bulgar wheat in the stock and boiling water. Leave to absorb for about 30 mins. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients and then mix into the grain. Leave to marinate and then eat. We had it as part of a mezze platter with falafel, olives, houmous, pitta and semi dried toms. Sunshine on the table even if it's peeing down with rain outside...

Corriander, Onion and Pepper Quesadillas

These go nicely with the three bean chilli and are a doddle to make.

For each quesadilla you need:
1 flour tortilla
small handful grated cheese
1/2 sliced spring onion
1/4 finely diced pepper
large pinch fresh corriander

Place the tortilla on a hot griddle pan and then add the cheese and veggies. Fold in half and push down to brown evenly. Flip over and push down again. Serve cut into wedges.

3 Bean Chilli (v)

Obviously this can be any number of bean you want chilli. I happened to want three different versions. Today was cannellini, borlotti and kidney, but black turtle beans are also nice.

This makes a LOT so scale back if you don't want to make some for another day.

For 6-10 portions you need
2 large onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can each of cannellini, borlotti and kidney beans
2 can chopped toms
1/2 bottle mexican beer (it has to be Mexican OK, san miguel at a push but not fosters or carling please!)
1 tsp each of chilli powder, cocoa, ground cumin, ground corriander
2 tsp each of dried oregano, stock powder and sugar
black pepper
Handful chopped fresh corriander
1 tbsp sour cream for each portion (omit for vegan version)

Sautee the onion in some olive oil for about 5-10 mins. Add the spices and herbs and cocoa and heat through. Add the garlic. Deglaze the pan with one of the tins of toms. Add the remaining toms and beans and beer. Season. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15-20 mins. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some quesadillas.

Baklava

Crispy. Sweet. Nutty. Moreish (and moorish lol). A delicious dessert/sweet snack :)

For about 18 squares you need
1 pack filo pastry
100g butter, melted
350g mixed nuts (use pistachios for authenticity but if that's too expensive then a mix of almonds and pistachios also works well)
300ml water
500g caster sugar
juice half lemon and 4 thick shavings of lemon rind
2 tbsp rose water
2 tbsp orange flower water
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Begin by making the syrup by placing the sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind and water in a pan and heating gently. Once the sugar has dissolved boil rapidly for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and add the rose and orange flower water. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile roughly chop the nuts and mix in the cinnamon. Brush the filo sheets with butter. Lay 3 in the bottom of a baking tin (I use a small swiss roll tin) then cover with the chopped nuts and cinnamon. Top with the remaining 3 sheets of pastry and fold over the excess. Score into bite sized pieces. Bake at 160 degrees for about 30 mins. Once out of the oven strain and pour over the syrup and leave to soak in. Delicious with a strong coffee. Or greek yogurt. Or on its own...

Blue Cheese Dip

Quick. Simple. Tasty.

Simply blitz one pack of blue cheese (I used dolcelatte) with a small tub of sour cream. Eat with chips. Delish.

Greek Salad

A yummy, refreshing salad for lovely hot days like today :)

For 3-4 portions you need:
1 block good quality feta
1 red onion, chopped into rough chunks
1 red and 1 orange pepper, cut into rough chunks
1/2 cucumber, cut into rough chunks
olives (I like green pitted ones personally)
2-3 tomatoes, cut into rough chunks
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp good quality olive oil
pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tub semi dried tomatoes

Mix everything together in a bowl. Serve with pitta, houmous etc as part of a mezze platter.

Ricotta Rasmalai

I made packet rasmalai a few weeks ago and they were yumsome, but somehow a bit guilt inducing as they were a packet mix at the end of the day. This recipe for rasmalai is totally grow-your-own-lentils-homemade and if you really want to push the boat out I guess you could make your own ricotta. But I couldn't be arsed.

For about 30 squares you need:
750g ricotta (3 tubs)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1 litre milk
1/4 cup caster sugar
cardommon
cinammon
saffron

Begin by mixing the ricotta with 1/2 cup vanilla sugar. Tip into a greased swiss roll tin and bake at 150 degrees for about 45 mins (it's done when it's set and is starting to come away from the sides of the tin). Leave to cool and then cut into about 30 squares. Meanwhile heat the milk with the remaining sugar and spices. Bring to the boil and then switch off the heat and leave to cool. Place the ricotta squares into a serving dish/tub and pour over the milk. Leave to cool and infuse over night and then enjoy.