Spicy Tomato & Tamarind soup

I got this recipe from olive magazine, its really quick and simple and it uses up some storecupboard ingredients I think most people will have lying around. Its also Veggie friendly and really really tasty & comes in at 107 calories per serving!... This recipe serves 4 and is easy to double or half depending on your situation.

Garlic - 2 cloves

Root ginger - a thumb sized piece chopped

Green chillies - 2 chopped

Ground cumin - 1 tsp

Ground coriander - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander - A small bunch stalks & leaves seperated

Red lentils - 50g

Chopped tomatoes - 2 x 400g tins

Vegetable stock - 500ml

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp

Natural yoghurt - 4 tbsp

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan. Cook the garlic, ginger and chilli for 3 minutes until fragrant.
• Add the spices and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the coriander stalks, lentils, tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender, then blend until completely smooth.
• Chop the coriander leaves and mix with the yoghurt. Swirl into the soup before serving.

Splendid Fruit & Pancakes for an indulgent breakfast...

I must admit although I love cooking and baking and I have an obsession with cookery books, I have had a tendancy to make similar meals without ever trying to make something I haven't ever made before. I do love trying out new recipes though and learning to make old favourites from scratch. So while I was reading through my favourite cookery books I decided to start trying out new things and expanding my knowledge base further. Now I am a huge fan of pancakes but I have always made the english kind, thin with lots of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, which are traditionally served on pancake day. I thought maybe it was time to brance out and try the american kind as Ive eaten them before but never made them from scratch. Nigella Lawson had the perfect recipe in her book Nigella Express.

So... Here are Nigella's pancakes...

for the pancake mix

600g flour
3x 15ml tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

40g vanilla or caster sugar

• Mix all ingredients together and store in a jar.

To make the batter & the pancakes (150g pancake mix makes 15 pancakes about 8cm each)

For each 150g pancake mix, add & whisk together:

1 egg

250ml semi skimmed or full fat milk

1 x 15ml tablespoon melted butter

(I also added half a teaspoon of vanilla essence as I didn't have vanilla sugar.)

• Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan with no oil
• Spoon drops of 1.5 to 2 tablspoons of batter onto the hot griddle or pan and when bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A minute or so a side should do it.

To the cooked pancakes I added some maple flavour golden syrup & pieces of ripe mango, peach & raspberries. And I have to tell you they were mouthwateringly good. I would kill for some right now. nom nom. (I say this as I tuck into a donut topped with chocolate & hazelnuts and filled with a nutella like centre... haha)

So let me know if you make them and how they turn out!!!

Books, glorious books...

So I have said for a while I am a self confessed book addict. Amazon is certainly my best friend. I have a few on my shelves that I just love looking through and reading. So, I wanted to share them with you...

Marie Claire Seasonal kitchen

I picked this baby up for £6 in WH Smith during the january sale (and its a hardback!!!). So this book as it says in the title is all about seasonal cooking. The book is quite large and has some absolutely drool worthy images within. Each season has its own section and also recipes for breakfasts, mains, snacks, & desserts. I love the layout of this book and the size of the photographs are great. There literally isnt a page goes by without me wanting to make something. The book is filled with huge glossy photographs and inspirational recipes. My only concern is that it is an australian book so some of the items may be harder to find, although a quick look in google would probably solve this. Some example recipes are - Roast pork with pineapple glaze, Crab & lemon pasta, raspberry coconut cake, grilled lemon prawns with five spice salt, pan baked eggs with chilli salsa, and bean and sausage stew.

There really is something for everyone here and I would recommend the book to keen cooks and cookbook enthusiasts alike.

A little spice...

So recently I have been obsessed with mexican food, well I suppose it is tex mex really! But anyway I have eventually learnt how to make quesadillas that dont fall to pieces and have been eating fairly regularly of late. I know these recipes are going to drive people mad becase I am not sure of exact quantities and I unfortunately don't have photo's but here are some ideas I have been using...

Spiced Veg Quesies - makes around 6

6 corn tortillas
Half a red pepper diced small
Half a yellow/orange pepper diced small
100g fine green beans chopped roughly
3 spring onions sliced
4 large chestnut mushrooms
a clove of garlic
a sprinkle of cumin, coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper
100g grated mozzarella
100g strong cheddar

Basically cook through all of the veg in a wok and add the spices once cooked set aside,
heat up a heavy frying pan with some good oil such as groundnut/vegetable (something tasteless) Fill your corn torts on one side with the veg and top with cheese, fold empty side over and press hard to avoid seperating. Place the quesadilla in the frying pan and fry on each side until golden.
PS I have found its easier to warm the tortilla's up prior to folding as they can split. This can be done in the oven or microwave.
With my leftover tortillas (packs usually contain 8) I have taken to cutting into 8 triangles and frying like tortilla chips.

I will return with more!!!

Hello all. I am sorry to have left here in a hurry and very sorry to have disappeared for so long. I hope to be back with some recipes soon. I have a new job now and T and I are still planning on moving though not as soon as we thought. I have had some fabulous cookery experiences lately. T has made the decision to go vegetarian which I completely admire though I can't see myself following in his footsteps. I am working as a chef in TGI fridays right now, which I know isn't the most amazing restaurant but it sure beats sitting behind a desk all day. So I am working weird shift patterns and most weekends.
In all honesty I'm just happy to be working again. Job hunting sucks and hopefully this might be a step in the right direction job wise.
Because T has decided to stop eating meat I am eating a lot less too. Although I still buy meat for myself, a few days a week we have non meat meals. Its proving to be interesting. I am amazed with how many meals are truly satisfying without a hunk of meat on the side. I am also happy to know we are cutting our carbon emissions and avoiding cruelty to animals. I only buy organic & free range meat, eggs & cheese now.
All in all, everything is fabulous.
And I can now make the yummiest quesadillas!
hope you are all well.
x

Busy times ahead...

Hi everyone, I just want to say a big thank you for your comments and encouragement! Please feel free to give feedback if you try the recipes!

T and I have just been told that our landlord wants use of our flat again so we are moving out before may 10th. I suppose this can only be a good thing as we have been trying to get a council place for a while now. We aren't truly happy here because it isn't really ours. So this news has put pay to some of the plans we were making. However once we get settled in our new place wherever it may be?! we will start working on our plans again. I know I promised a review of the Leon book and I will do it as soon as I get some time. For those wondering whether to buy it lets just say, YOU SHOULD! its a wonderful book. Well, I hope to be back sooner rather than later with some recipes!

Ashleigh

x

New books, new food, new me...

Hello all, as the title might suggest there are some new things in my life right now. I bought myself The kitchen diaries by Nigel Slater, Already I love him and have bought Real Food, I also bought Leon by Allegra McEvedy. If you haven't heard of this book I will review it soon.

T (le boyfriend) and I are trying to lessen our meat intake and dedicate ourselves to buying quality over quantity where meat is concerned. We are also recycling as much as possible and starting a new shopping list regime. So every week we are planning our meals and sticking to a shopping list just like granny used to! This week we have had two veggie meals, and apparently by just having one vegetarian meal a week you can significantly lessen carbon emissions. We are currently very excited about starting to grow some of our own veg, even though we have a small backyard we are planning to buy some tubs and pots and maybe a raised bed to plant some veg in. I will keep you posted on these exciting plans. Our first veggie meal of the week was an aubergine & tomato curry, we had this with spiced potatoes, chapatis & nan bread. I sadly didn't take pics of the curry but it was sooo good I am posting the recipe anyway! Our second veggie meal was falafel! which I know is big in the USA but I have to admit I was a falafel virgin. I have to say it was a really nice texture, and some lovely fresh flavours thanks to the coriander but it was lacking something I cant put my finger on... maybe more seasoning, Anyway here are both recipes...

Aubergine & tomato curry - (feel good food magazine autumn 08)

Serves 5-6

• 3tbsp vegetable oil
• 700g aubergines cut into 1in chunks
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp fennel seeds
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1inch piece of ginger grated
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 400g tomatoes quartered
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and fry the aubergine for 5 minutes, until golden. Tip into a sieve and drain off the excess oil.
2. Return the pan to a medium heat. Add the spices and stirfry for 30 seconds, then add the ginger, garlic and chilli. Stirfry for a further 30 seconds then add the aubergine, tomatoes and tomato puree. Add a pinch of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes, then stir in the coriander and serve.

I actually added a little water to this when I added the tomato puree, simply because I wanted some sauce to dip my nan into. Also you may find its worth skinning the tomatoes first rather than eating tomato skin later.

Homemade falafel pittas (Delicious magazine May 2007)

Serves 4

• 2 x 400g cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Large handful of fresh flatleaf parsley
• Large handful fresh coriander plus extra to serve
• 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• half a tsp crushed chilli flakes
• half a tsp ground cumin
• 1tbsp tahini (optional)
• 150ml vegetable oil for shallow frying
• 8 pitta breads
• Salad

1. Pulse the chickpeas in a processor until coursely ground. Add the onion, herbs, garlic, flour, baking powder, chilli, cumin, tahini and pulse to a course paste. Season and shape into 16 disks. Chill for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add half of the falafel and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan and add the other half.
3. Fill each pitta with falafel and salad. Squeeze with lemon juice and eat.

I also made some mint yoghurt which was nice with these.