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!

Swedish escapade

Just back from holiday in Sweden and have become obsessed with Ryviat-style crispbreads! Swedish foody photos to follow.

A year on ... more local asparagus

So it's over a year since I started this blog and we're back to asparagus season again. Love it! It's great to have local grown English asparagus when it's in season. We had a bunch in our veggy box last week and my boyfriend made this fantastic salad with soft boiled eggs, asparagus and carrot chips.
His cooking is way more ambitious and successful than mine these days.
We ate it watching the DVD of Julie and Julia - have been meaning to watch it for months and really enjoyed it - except for Meryl Streep's Julia Child impression which is actually very hard to tolerate! Then yesterday I caught the end of the Food Programme on Radio 4 and they were talking about food bloggers and traditional restaurant reviewers. (listen again here) All this has inspired me to pick up the laptop again and maybe do a bit more of this. Watch this space!

Sunday pub lunch

Lovely day for pub lunch and a walk with friends. Perfect! And look at the size of the yorkshire puddings!


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Roast vegetable strudel

I had six workmates over for dinner on Monday night so last weekend I spent quite a bit of time looking for a recipe I could prepare in advance and whack in the oven when I got home from work. There were only two veggies out of the eight of us in total so I wanted something that wasn't too obviously veggie but it needed to be hearty and a bit impressive too! I found the perfect solution: a roast veg and mozzarella strudel in Delia's vegetarian book. The recipe is also on her website here. You roast the veg first then layer filo pastry, brushing each sheet with melted butter, and sprinkling broken up pecans and grated parmesan between the layers, place the roasted veg in the middle with mozzarella and roll it up and tuck it all in cosily. You can then cover and leave it in the fridge until you're ready to cook. It worked a treat and went down well with veggies and non-veggies alike! Highly recommended.

Jamie fights obesity

Check out this video of Jamie Oliver tackling obesity in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY&sns=em

New hobby

Ok it's not really an excuse for not blogging but I have been learning a new hobby the past couple of months - knitting! I've never been particularly crafty but I've been inspired by my creative friends to give it a go. We formed a " knit and natter" group so the chance to get together for an evening of chatting and drinking wine was another attraction! Anyway, after 3 months I've completed my first project - see picture below - it's a hat by the way!

Ok, back to food in the next post.

Blogging from iPhone

Just downloaded blogging app - maybe this will mean more blog posts!


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Pancake Day!

Ok, I think I've eaten too many pancakes! With cheese, with nutella and with good old lemon and sugar - yum! Oh well, it's traditional and it's only once a year. Now do I have the will power to give up anything for Lent?!?

Fun and food at the seaside

We just had a great long weekend in Cornwall. Went to the Fifteen Cornwall restaurant for their tasting menu which was fantastic. There was a veggie option for each course - two options for the starter and pasta course, more to choose from for the main and dessert. I'm torn for a favourite between the mozzarella salad that featured blood orange instead of tomato, or the gorgeous squash risotto with sage leaves. The photo I've chosen those is the "amuse-bouche"! Two little spoonfuls per person with a special veggie version for me. Great start to a really good meal.

The only complaint would be that the main course was a bit too large - I would expect something smaller from a "tasting" menu - but with seven courses over three hours it's not surprising we were feeling full! Altogether a very satisfying evening and a great location too.

Cake-tastic!

I tried out my new mixer at the weekend and produced a successful Victoria sponge. Managed to remember to take a photo of the last slice! Successful first outing of the new gadget!