Singapore eats

It's been a long time since I got around to writing anything for the blog but a work trip to Singapore has inspired me to take up the keypad again. I'm hoping to have some exciting culinary experiences on the trip and will post photos and reviews here. Watch this space!


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What's in the cupboard?

Ace last minute creation last night with back of the cupboard and fridge finds: hummus made with old jar of tahini and can of chickpeas, pack of cooked lentils warmed, griddled peppers and courgettes and pile of watercress.



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Soup fills you up

I watched the programme "10 things you need to know about losing weight" on BBC1 a few days ago and one of the 10 points was that the same meal made into a soup is more filling. The experiment they did was to feed half a platoon of soldiers a lunch of chicken, rice and veg and a glass of water, the other half the same but adding the water yo the food and blending to make a soup.
Then, after several hours of exercise, they measured how full the soldiers were and those that had soup were much more full. It wasn't how full they felt, they measured how full they actually were using ultrasound. Amazing! I've forgotten the science bit except that there's something that lets water through but holds food in for longer so if your liquid is mixed with food in a soup it will keep you fuller longer.
So soup is a great lunch if you want to avoid feeling hungry and snacking in the afternoon. I'm going to try that and am planning on increasing my soup repetoire. I've already tried pea and garlic (see post below) and had a go at chickpea and chilli yesterday in an attempt to tackle a cold, and I realise I've collected a number of soup recipes I've not yet tried. So look out for more soups coming soon!

A real pea souper

This soup was a real find and looks like a good one for a quick but impressive lunch or starter.



It's Nigella Lawson's Pea and Garlic soup discovered in Nigel Slater's Real Food. It's just garlic, frozen peas, stock, a bit of parmesan and butter. Oh and cream of course! But I don't think it needs the cream. Next time I'll try it without. The longest part is roasting the garlic, after that it's just a few minutes of boiling and blending, perfect!

Christmas is coming

Mince pies with Mum's homemade mincemeat. Before and after dusting to match the snowy scenes outside.

Quick icecream

I must admit I didn't make this myself - it was my Jamie-wannabe boyfriend - but I couldn't resist posting the photo. It's so colourful and tasted as good as it looks! It's the very speedy fruit, yoghurt and honey icecream from Jamie's 30 minute meals, easy!



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Homemade pasta

Inspired by watching recorded reruns of Jamie At Home, I finally purchased a pasta machine yesterday and tonight we made our first tagliatelli. And it worked! Not quite as speedy as Jamie did it but still pretty fast. Feeling full and pleased with myself. :)


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Batch cooking: courgettes, potatoes & spinach

I'm feeling very pleased to have achieved my aim for today: using my veg up by batch cooking for the week and the freezer. A spinach and ricotta lasagna (with pinenuts, my favourite), and a big batch of courgette, potato and feta cakes.



These should be just the job for freezing for quick weekday dinners. Thanks to Delia's Vegetarian Collection!
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Apple cake

After a complete cake flop last month, at last cake success!



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Waste not

I will be tuning into The Great British Waste Menu at 8.30 tonight. It is unbelievable how much food goes to waste in the UK. Am dutifully roasting odd ends of veggies for tonight but feeling guilty that I had to chuck out mouldy beetroot yesterday!