Saturday, 26 July 2008

The Benefits of Greek Salad

I love Greek Salad! Its Delicious, summery, and I think it goes with almost everything. A lovely quick meal when you come home from work and can not be bothered spending loads of time in the kitchen is grilling some nice fish or meat and serving with crusty bread and a trusty Greek salad.

We had run out of olives this week, so I substituted them with capers, it was divine and I will be making that again. Sometimes we stray from tradition and put lettuce in as well, but Mr H is a bit of a purist and prefers it without. My only rules for a Greek Salad are good quality feta and a very good olive oil. Sigh, this is making me hungry!

We are hoping in a few weeks we will have most of the ingredients from the garden to make our own, home grown greek salad. The peppers are coming on well, as are the cucumbers and we have a few, very small red onions which we salvaged after the Night of the Red Foxes.

Mr H made a greek feast last night, we were both rather hung over and it made us feel human again. Aubergines stuffed with spinach, ricotta and pine nuts then roasted in a tomato sauce and smothered in mozzarella. Greek Beans. Marinated lamb. Grilled Courgettes. And of course a greek salad made with our first cucumber. Life does not get much finer!

Mediterranean Sausage Bake

This is my version of a Jamie Oliver dish which he made on his last series, Jamie at Home. His version is fantastic and I would recommend you try it. However, my version I think is pretty good too, and slightly healthier as there is no bacon fat! :)

Ingredients for 4
8 Good quality Sausages
6 Tomatoes halved
1 Green Pepper sliced
1 Red Pepper sliced
12 Mushrooms left whole
2 Red Onions cut into thick rings
5 Cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil
balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Heaped Tsp of Smoked Paprika
Selection of fresh herbs - i usually use thyme, rosemary and basil

1. Preheat the oven to approx 180
2. Brown the sausages
3, whilst they are browning chop all your veg and add to a roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper, and add the smoked paprika.
4. Add approx 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tblsp of balsamic vinegar. Throw in the whole garlic cloves and mix it all well
5. Place the browned sausage on top of the veg and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. The tomatoes should be mushy, the veggies charred and the sausage golden.
6. Serve with crusty bread and a green salad. This dish is always best just placed in the middle of the table and let everyone just dig in!

btw, There is no harm in adding a good glug of red or white wine when you add the oil and balsamic vinegar :)

Friday, 25 July 2008

Perfect After Work Pasta

This dinner is quick, healthy and delicious. Perfect after a hard day at work.

Ingredients for 2
Spaghetti
4 Tomatoes
3 tbls Capers
Feta cheese
Olive Oil
Garlic
Fresh Basil

Method
1. Put the pasta onto cook, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins
2. Meanwhile add 2 tbls of olive oil to a frying pan, and crush a clove of garlic in
3. Chop the toms add to the oil and put on a high heat. Season and stir well.
4. When the pasta is ready, add the capers to the toms, and then drain the pasta.
5, lower the heat on the toms and add the pasta to the toms and capers and mix well so all the pasta is coated.
6, Divide into bowls and crumble the feta over and then tear some basil leaves on top.

Easy as that. 15 mins. Obviously this is always nice washed down with a well chilled wine.

Monday, 21 July 2008

Life after Fox Strike

Mr H "fashioned" an enclosure to protect our crops from the foxes. Its no work of art, but so far (touch wood) it is working. Where the potatoes etc were, we have planted lots of beetroot and broccoli, they are starting to sprout :)

Of course cats love freshly dug earth, so no sooner had the enclosure been erected, the cat found a way in and pooed in the middle of it. I of course was crying with laughter, Mr H didnt see the funnyside and the cat got yelled at. The cat didnt care though, he just sat their grinning, feeling rather pleased with how clever he is, as he flicked the earth over his fresh turd!

Our Crops - July 2008

Despite fox strike, we do have a few crops. The tomatoes are all turning red, and then there is the cucumber, broad beans, other beans, salad leaves and tons of calendula. All is not lost.

Mr H is concerned he got a little over excited when planting tomatoes, we have a bout 15 plants. In a months time I am going to be making a lot of ketchup!

The First Cucumber


Broad Beans


Beans!


Calendula


Tomatoes

Ultimate Green Salad

This is summer in a bowl! It is perfect for BBQ's or just as an accompaniment to a piece of fish or meat. Fill a toasted pitta bread with it. I've even had it as a jacket potato topping. It screams al fresco dining, and it just goes with everything, enjoy.

No amounts are given - just throw it all together, use your instinct and preferences :)

Ingredients:
Peas
Broad Beans
Cucumber
Avocado
Toasted Pine nuts
Fresh Mint leaves chopped
Feta cheese cut into small cubes or crumbled
Lemon juice & olive Oil Dressing
Salt & Pepper

Method
  • Add all the ingredients to a bowl
  • Mix well
  • Serve
  • :)

Sunday, 13 July 2008

Mushroom Hunting

Mr H and I both bought each other mushroom hunting gifts for Christmas, perhaps that means we are made for each other? I got him a mushroom knife and he got me an identification book, which also contains some rather gorgeous recipes :)

Autumn seems the best time of the year for finding mushrooms, but there are certain species which pop up all year round. Following this spell of rain in July we decided to go out foraging last Sunday. During 2 hours of wondering around the woods, squinting closely at the ground and getting caught in a downpour, we found one mushroom. Not the most successful mushroom hunt! We brought it home and went through the process of trying to identify it. It was an impressive specimen, big and white with some evil looking scales. As soon as we spotted it I decided it was deadly. Mr H said I'm a pessimist.

In all honestly I may have decided the first time we went out mushroom hunting that I would never have the courage to eat any we find. From reading through our books, and researching on the Internet, the most Delicious varieties of mushroom have a twin, of which it is incredibly hard to tell apart and is also deadly. In fact, some of the deadly ones do not even kill you immediately, it takes a few days before you die of kidney failure. So you would spend 3 days telling everyone about this amazing mushroom you found and ate, only to drop down dead! Now that would be embarrassing.

So we went through the thorough identification process, type of gills, spore colour, does it smell, is there a skirt? And I am pleased to say.... we still have no idea what it was. I still maintain the evil scales was natures warning that it was death in the form of a mushroom. Our search continues.....

Saturday, 12 July 2008

Shmoe's Coleslaw

Like my potato salad recipe, this is great because you use a low fat alternative to mayo. I'm not actually a huge fan of mayo which is why I use things like yogurt, but its also useful if you have friends over who claim to be on a diet. If I am trying to be good myself I do use low fat yogurt, however, this dish is best with a good full fat greek yogurt :)


Shmoe's Coleslaw


1 Fennel Bulb
½ - 1 whole cabbage (savoy, red or white)
1 Medium Onion
2-3 Large carrots
Chives
Parsley
1 Heaped Tbslp Creamed Horseradish
1 Clove of Garlic
2 Tblsp Olive Oil
Large pot of Natural Yogurt

1, Grate the onion and carrot into a very large bowl
2, Thinly slice fennel and cabbage, add to the carrot and onion, season well and mix well
3, Grate a clove of garlic into the veg and then stir in enough yogurt to cover everything well, 4, Add the horseradish and olive oil and mix them in well, before finally adding the herbs and giving one final mix.

Mediterranean Couscous

Mediterranean Couscous

8oz Couscous
1/2 packet of Feta
1 Avocado
2 Yellow Peppers, Roasted slices
4 Tomatoes
Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon Juice – ½ a lemon

1, Prepare the couscous following packet instructions
2, Slice the peppers and roast them in 1 tblsp olive oil
3, Chop the tomatoes and marinate them in salt and pepper, 1 tblsp olive oil and ½ tbls of balsamic vinegar.
4, Chunky chop the avocado, and squeeze lemon juice of the top to help stop it going brown.
5, Crumble the feta cheese into the couscous and mix well, then add the avocado with the lemon juice, and then mix well again.
6, Once the peppers have cooled mix them in with the oil they were cooked in, and then mix in the tomatoes.
7, Season with salt and pepper then serve

Tomato & Halloumi Salad

Tomato and Halloumi Salad

Another great BBQ side dish. This is very quick to prepare , and everyone loves it!
For up to 8 people as a side dish

2 Packs of Halloumi
8 Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Basil

1, Slice the halloumi
2, Heat a little oil in a frying pan and brown each side of the haloumi slices, you will need to do this in batches
3, When they are cold chop them into cubes
4, Chop the tomatoes into chunks of a similar size to the halloumi pieces
5, Mix the cheese and tomatoes in a serving bowl, season with salt and pepper and dress in 2 tbls of olive oil.
6, Chop a large handful of basil, mix in well.

Shmoe's Potato Salad

This dish is perfect for BBQ's. It's less calories than using mayo, and I think a lot tastier. I often get asked for the recipe, so I thought I should share it.

Shmoe’s Potato Salad


For 4-6 People

New Potatoes
Red Onion
Pot of cream cheese
Chives
Mint
Parsley
Clove of Garlic

1, Cook the new potatoes until tender

Whilst they are cooking….

2, finely chop the onion, and roughly chop the herbs
3, Crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil, pound until it is a paste
4, In a bowl hand whisk the cream cheese until it is loose and smooth, add a small amount of milk if it needs some help in being looser.
5, Whisk the garlic into the cheese, mix well
6. When the potatoes are ready, put in a serving bowl, season with salt and black pepper and whilst they are still hot add the dressing. Mix very well until all the potatoes are covered
7, stir in the onions and then the herbs and serve – warm or later cold!

Wednesday, 2 July 2008

The best thing you can do for a friend...

... in my opinion is make them a cream tea. My wonderful friend, who is a Virgo and sorts my life out when it gets a bit too chaotic, recently completed a massive achievement. So I made him a cream tea to celebrate. Cucumber sandwiches made with lashings of butter, touch of salt and black pepper. Home made chocolate truffles with a pinch of chili and rolled in crushed sugar roasted almonds. Baby scones, easier to get an almost crisp coating, with a lovely soft and light middle. Of course there was fresh cream as well. And being a good friend he bought me the following jams for my last birthday (jam is one of my favourite things)

Lavender
Rose & Geranium
Violet

and then he brought with him on the day several bottles of bubbly:)

I also, Finally, got to use the antique cake stand Mr H bought me for that very same birthday!

There is nothing quite like Roasted Garlic

Everyone in the office has a cold. They are dropping like flies, so I had no choice but to roast a whole bulb of garlic and smother it on crusty bread. Life is sweet!

Just drizzle a whole bulb, with skin on, in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 35-45 mins. I have a small pot which is ideal, and doesn't use "bad" tin foil. I understand if you can only use foil, but remember you can wash it up and re-use it if it has just been in contact with garlic :)

This does make a great starter. Just leave the bulb whole and let people dive in, popping the cloves out of the skin and spreading over beautiful, fresh, crusty bread. Don't forget to mop up the oil with the bread too!