Showing posts from September, 2011

Tuna, Olive and Tomato Spaghetti

I love living in Cornwall but I often miss out on attending foodie events because I live so far away from London (a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful part of the country). I was invited to attend a Taste of Spain Olive masterclass with chef Omar Allibhoy on the 14 th September in London, which unfortunately I had to turn down due to travel costs. However, Taste of Spain made sure I didn’t miss out altogether and sent me some Olives through the post so I could have a go at creating some of my own recipes.  This Tuna, Olive and Tomato Spaghetti was born after a late one at work. It takes less than 20 minutes to make, which is great  for when time is short. I made this for myself and hubby (the kids had already eaten at Nana’s house), so I added lots of fresh red chilli. However, Rory took a liking to it and ended up eating half of mine (he’s a toddler that likes his chilli....and olives!) and in the process splattered his PJ’s in tomato sauce. It was


Apple Cake

I have SO. MANY. APPLES to use. A whole heap (3kg) went into some Spicy Apple Chutney I made last week - which I will blog soon, I also made some Bramley Apple Compote and 3 Apple Crumbles for the freezer... then just when I thought I'd broken the back of the pile, my neighbour bought round another bag full. These weren't bramleys though, but were too sharp to eat (judging by my 2 year old's face when he bit into one) so I thought I could use them in a cake. The cake is lovely and moist with a light texture thanks to the long whisking of the eggs and sugar at the beginning of the recipe. You could vary it by trying pears instead of apples, perhaps with some cardamom! Mmmm Pear and Cardamom Cake....going to have to try that one soon! APPLE CAKE | Serves: 12 squares | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 35 Minutes | Total Time: 50 Minutes | Ingredients: 2 large Eggs 175g Golden Caster Sugar 1 TSP Vanilla Extract 85g Butter 75ml Milk 125g Pla


Wild Mushroom Risotto

It's risotto kind of weather again, not that I mind - I LOVE Autumn and its distinctive smell. I love the chilly breezy evenings, the bonfires, fallen leaves, toffee apples, fireworks..... and I most definitely love the seasonal food on offer. This risotto is very earthy and rich and perfect for an Autumn evening, snuggled up inside with your family. WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO | Serves: 4  | Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Total Time: 50 Minutes | Ingredients:  40g Dried Wild Mushrooms 1 TSP Vegetable Bouillon Glug of Oil 1 Onion, chopped 3 Garlic Cloves, chopped 200g Mushrooms - any variety I used closed cup, chopped 300g Risotto Rice Glass of Vermouth (or white wine) Large handful of grated Parmesan Salt and Pepper Instructions: Step 1: Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with 1.2 litres of boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes then take the mushrooms out, squeeze off excess water and chop. Add the vegetable bouillon


Mini Quiches

Lowen starts school this week (*sob*) and she is adamant that she wants to take a packed lunch instead of having cooked school lunches (having sampled the school meals on a recent taster day I can't blame her to be honest). With that in mind I've been developing some child friendly lunchbox fodder over the school holidays to try and stop lunches becoming repetitive and boring. These mini quiches are perfect for little hands and mouths and you can vary the filling to suit what you have in the fridge. The ones I have made here are bacon and cheddar, but the possibilities are endless. The beauty with this recipe is that the pastry quantities specified make enough for 24 mini quiches but I do 2 batches of 12  - the pastry is fine to be left in the fridge for a few days so why not make a batch on Sunday night and another on Tuesday or Wednesday night to get you through the school week. MINI QUICHES | Serves: makes 24 | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes  |


Rise and Shine Flapjacks

These fruity flapjacks come courtesy of a new cookbook that landed on my door last week - Hungry, written by Innocent Drinks in collaboration with food writer Anna Jones. The book aims to provide families with healthy, tasty alternatives to fast food and includes delicious recipes for Oven Baked Squash Risotto (which I will be trying soon), Sweet Potato Beanie Bake, Lamb Shank Tagine, Pea and Bacon Soup...as well as desserts (the banana ice cream sounds fab), quick wholesome breakfasts and of course smoothies. The book also has a very interesting wee-ometer page - which I will leave to your imagination...... Not content with just the cookbook though, the people at Innocent will be hitting the road in their HGV (AKA Hungry Grassy Van) between the 9th -23rd September to showcase some of the recipes from the book. HGV will be stopping at London, Bristol (13-15th September), Manchester and Glasgow...and lots of places in between and serving diners with very reasonably price