I don’t make deserts too often, frankly because it’s not where my comfort zone lies in cooking terms. But, saying that, I have a very powerful sweet tooth, and that makes me somewhat an expert when in comes to knowing what will taste amazing when it comes to deserts.
Continue reading “Poached Pear Frangipane Tart with Chocolate Ganache and Salted Caramel Ice Cream”
What I eat and when has always been well influenced by seasonal produce. Obviously, personal choice is a large factor in this, but I have always been a firm believer in listening to your body and it will tell you what it needs. Our lives these days are so busy, hectic and cluttered with stuff and things to do that sometimes we don’t always give ourselves the time to listen to our bodies and to recognise that it will tell you if its running low on something, whether it be hydration, sugars, protein, essential vitamins and nutrients. Most of us recognise cravings but don’t pay too much attention to them unless they involve instant sugary hits or comforting mouthfulls of chocolate, sweets, maybe a glass of wine. But, often times, we need much more than just these instant hits of sugar and comfort.
There’s always something lurking in your fridge that, given a bit of thought, can be turned into a really tasty meal! Regularly, I carry out something I like to refer to as a “Fridge Audit” where I go through everything and see what I can use up rather than throw out. I hate waste and I particularly hate food waste, but I also completely love left overs and remnants because it makes me think about how best to use things up! Soups, stews, currys and salads are great ways to use up leftover veggies, remnants of the Sunday roast etc etc! This recipe was borne out of the fact that I had half a beautiful local and organic golden squash left over and some beetroot tops that I separated from some (yes you guessed it) beetroots that I pick up recently!
All hail praise to the humble beetroot! What you can’t do with a beetroot can be written on the back of a postage stamp! It’s funny, because only up until a relatively short time ago (say 10 years ago) I could genuinely say that the only time I ever ate beetroot was pickled from a jar! Almost all my life, I actually thought that the only way you could eat beetroot was pickled from a jar! Didn’t stop me loving it though – I am a bit of a pickle addict! For any of us who would have had a similar culinary experience of beetroot as a child, this humble vegetable has seen a somewhat resurgence in our day to day food.
Continue reading “Roasted Beetroot, Chilli and Fennel Seed Soup”
Yes! It is finally perfectly acceptable to start eating stews again! Sometimes it’s the only thing you want to eat during the week but as we all know, stews that require meat such as beef or lamb take a long time to cook and always taste better if made the day before – just like a good curry. But for during the week, getting a good hearty meal to the table speedily is always the priority. This stew is really tasty swapping out the slow cooker red meat and replacing it with a good quality chorizo that is full of flavour and cooks quickly.
Shut your eyes for a moment and think of autumn. What do you see? I see fall colours and pumpkins and squashes and right now we are in the middle of squash season and I love it!
Puddings…don’t you just LOVE them! I frequently try to convince myself when I’m in a restaurant that a pudding is not as important as that really tasty sounding starter, and that it really is doing me good by only having two courses instead of three. But I am my mothers’ daughter and invariably even if one eye is fixed on the startes, the other eye is roving gleefully over the pudding selection and secretly hoping I can squeeze one in.
Continue reading “Ginger Cake, Caramelised Banana and No-Churn Coconut Ice Cream”
Orzo pasta is so versatile. It has a great texture in the mouth and is a great pasta for coating with sauces as it covers well and doesn’t clump together like rice would. For this recipe I used a pesto that I came across while wandering and meandering through the Clonakilty farmers market one Friday.
Now is the perfect time of year for picking wild rosehips! Hedgerows abound with the bright red bullets of lovliness so there is no reason why you shouldn’t get picking! Pick perfect berries and try and spread your picking out across a number of bushes so you are not stripping one single plant bear of their berries. This also leave plenty behind to act as nature’s larder for the wild birds and hedgerow animals too who, lets face it, have more of a need for these fruits than we do.
It’s here…you can feel it can’t you? Darker mornings, shorter evenings – that nip in the air that tells you that it’s well and truly Autumn! Although I adore the summer, Autumn is officially my absolute favourite time of year! It’s something about the anticipation for the first fire you’ll light, or the first need to pull on your chunky knit jumpers and wear your fluffy socks at night time.
Sometimes a meat free meal is an absolute must! I will go meat free at least once a week, twice if I can and fish once a week too. I think it is a good thing to give your system a bit of a rest from time to time from trying to digest too much meat. And everytime I do prepare a meat free feast, The Other Half is pleasantly surprised at how a) tasty it is (I try not to be offended by this remark!) and b) how fulfilling he finds it. This time of year I like to take advantage of the masses of fresh local Kale that is in its growing element right now. It’s a vegetable with almost magical properties!
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