A Little Bowl Of Sunshine

I have been eating a lot of sweet potato. I mean, a lot of sweet potato. Sweet potato wedges, sweet potato mash, sweet potato in my burritos (another thing I have been eating far too much of), you name it, sweet potato will be in it. But I thought I'd give something else a go. I'm trying to eat a bit cleaner, get rid of the winter blubber, feel good on the inside, so a gave a soup experiment a go - and it was a roaring success!

Here is how to make my sweet potato, ginger, lime and chilli soup:

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes

1 medium/2 small onions

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp oil (I used sunflower)

2 vegetable stock cubes

1 litre water

1 lime (juiced)

1 thumb sized piece of ginger

1 red chilli (or more if you like it hot!)

Method

Heat the oil and sweat the onions and garlic until soft

Add the water and stock cubes to the pan

Once the stock is boiling add in the sweet potatoes and allow to simmer

After 10 minutes add the ginger, chilli and lime juice

Simmer until the sweet potato is soft

Blitz, blitz, blitz until smooth!

Vintage Vegetarianism.

Frequent and long standing readers of this 'ere ramblings might remember that last year I gave up meat for lent. Well, I've done the same again this year. It's day one, I'm ill and there is left over chicken pizza in the fridge - it's torture! Anyway, onto the purpose of this post...

I've decided to do a bit more research into vegetarianism this year, and try to expand my food palette from veggie sausages (they are delicious though) and bland risottos. With a little tap into Google I've discovered a whole world of vintage vegetarian recipes! The best seem to come from the website called 'Vintage Recipes' (Imaginative, I know) although some digging has revealed quite a few have meat in, naughty naughty! They date from 1672 (how to boil samphire, and how to fry pompion - whatever that is!) to the 1920s. A lot of these recipes appear to be just how to prepare and cook vegetables, hardly enough for an entire meal! I will attempt to recreate some of them though, and share with you my successes - or failures!

Glancing down the list these seem to be my favourites:

Brighton Stew (1892) - a haricot bean based stew, yum yum yum!

Croquettes of Salsify and Celeriac (1898) - Although apparently I need a fire for this, gas hob will probably do!

Flan of Vegetables (no date) - This sounds like a good one hot for dinner and then cold for lunch

German Lentil Curry (1915) - Sounds like a dhal curry to me, not sure if I have to use German lentils (what are they?), so might substitute for chickpeas instead.

Legume Loaf (1918) - This is from the book 'Foods That Will Win The War & How To Cook Them' and sounds like a nice, nutty bread.

Minestra (1915) - Vegetabley, ricey dish mmm

Nut and Pepper Croquettes (1920) - I'm sensing a croquettey kinda Lent

Savoury Pie (1915) - Another beany, eggy recipe

I managed it last year, I'm sure I'll do it this year! What are you giving up/taking up for Lent? Do you have any favourite vegetarian dishes?

Student Suppers - Risotto

I was only introduced to this Italian rice dish earlier this year when I turned vegetarian for Lent, but even since turning carnivorous again it has remained firmly on my menu being eaten at least once a week.

The good thing about risotto is you can make it exactly what you want; whilst I keep mine simple  using the recipe below, my house mate Heather tops her's off with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Sometimes I swap the veggie stock for chicken stock for a creamier taste, sometimes I use red wine instead of white, and sometimes I don't add any wine at all - usually because I've drunk it all!

So, here's my simple risotto recipe for one serving:

Ingredients:

• 100ml of rice (white or special risotto rice - much more expensive, so I stick to just white)
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 a white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 glass white wine (optional - if you leave it out, just add an extra 50ml of stock)
• 400ml of vegetable stock (more if the wine is left out)
• Peas
• 1 tbs of olive oil

Method:

1. Soften the onion in the oil, and then add the garlic (careful not to burn it!)
2. Add the rice to the onion, garlic and oil. Stir it thoroughly to coat the rice in the oil.
3. Pour in the wine and stir constantly - so the rice doesn't stick to the pan - until all the wine has been absorbed into the rice.
4. Add the stock a little at a time, adding more once the liquid has been sucked up by the rice - and keep stirring!
5. Chuck in the peas when you have about 100ml of stock left so they are cooked.

The cooking should take about 15 minutes (your arm will ache but it's worth it) and should use up all your stock, but just add more water (or wine!) if you run out.

Enjoy!

The Earl of Bombay

Today mother dearest and I wanted a cup of tea, as we always do, but we wanted a cup of tea with a twist this time. And so, with a little thought, the Earl of Bombay was born, supped, and enjoyed thoroughly in this sudden summer heat England is experiencing. I don't know if this 'cocktail' actually does exist and I've just renamed it, but I was pretty proud of how it came out. It's a refreshing, alcoholic iced tea with a hint of rosemary to compliment the gin.

For one beverage, you shall need...

• 150ml of chilled, weak Earl Grey tea (make as normal and then chill rather than using cold water straight away)
• 50ml Bombay Sapphire gin (personally I don't think any other off-the-shelf gin would really work, possibly Hendricks...)
• 3 round slices of lemon (two for the prep, one for the garnish)
• 1 sprig of rosemary (take the leafy things off of the stem)
• 1 stem of rosemary (for the garnish)
• Ice cubes
• A pretty glass or tea cup to serve
• A mesh sieve to strain the drink

It doesn't take that long to make an Earl of Bombay, as long as your tea is chilled before hand...

1. Whilst the Earl Grey is chilling add two slices of lemon to infuse into the drink
2. Put the sprig of rosemary into a cocktail shaker (or a large tumbler if you don't have a cocktail shaker) with some ice and 'muddle' them all together (I used the end of a wooden spoon) for around ten seconds, or until the ice begins to melt into the rosemary.
3. Add the gin, and stir into the rosemary.
4. Pour all of the iced Earl Grey and the lemon into the gin concoction and stir once more
5. Strain through the sieve into the iced up glass/tea cup/vessel that you shall sup from and garnish with a round of lemon and a stem of rosemary.

Enjoy!

Student Suppers: Courgette Fritters

For anyone that reads my ramblings regularly you’ll know that I am a student. It is a well known fact that students are generally poor, but I want to bust the myth that we just live on beans on toast and bowls of cereal so we can spend on money on beer and vodka (or rum, in my case). So, I’ve decided to run this series called ‘Student Suppers’: they are recipes that I’ve found, come up with or tweaked that are cheap, tasty and fulfilling (hopefully healthy too, but I can’t promise anything!).

Ahh the sun is shining and the temperature is creeping up here in Blighty. It's got me in a very summery mood and reaching for some more Mediterranean style food. Mediterranean foods are great for vegetarians as they revolve a lot around fresh vegetables, but can meatified with grilled chicken or fish. Oh, and did I mention its the most healthy diet in the world? These courgette fritters are very Greek inspired and can be eaten as a meal in itself (just make them omelette sized) or as part of a meal, perfectly served with cous cous, a Greek salad and grilled meat. The recipe below will make one large fritter or several small ones.

Ingredients:

1 courgette

1 medium egg

Dash of milk (I usually use a cap full or two of milk)

25g of plain flour

50g feta cheese

Oregano (to taste)

Black Pepper (to taste)

Olive Oil (for frying)

Method:

1. Grate the courgette onto a clean tea towel and squeeze out the excess water
2. Mix together the egg, the flour and the milk to make a smooth batter. This doesn't need to be too runny, it is just meant to bind all the ingredients together.
3. Crumble in the feta, add the black pepper and oregano (you won't need salt as the feta will make it salty enough) and stir through the batter.
4. Add the courgette to the mixture and stir until all of it is combined.
5. If you are going to make one big fritter then pour it into frying pan (with the olive oil) and cook for five minutes on each side - or until or feels completely firm. Smaller fritters will only take 2-3 minutes on each side

Enjoy!!

Student Suppers: Toad In The Hole

For anyone that reads my ramblings regularly you’ll know that I am a student. It is a well known fact that students are generally poor, but I want to bust the myth that we just live on beans on toast and bowls of cereal so we can spend on money on beer and vodka (or rum, in my case). So, I’ve decided to run this series called ‘Student Suppers’: they are recipes that I’ve found, come up with or tweaked that are cheap, tasty and fulfilling (hopefully healthy too, but I can’t promise anything!).

This dish has become a staple supper for me - in fact, I have it every Sunday instead of a roast! Toad in the hole, in my opinion, is delicious! I make it with three sausages, a little onion (and/or garlic sometimes too), and serve it with baked beans when I make it just for me, but it could be doubled up and serve as many people as you can. Of course, you could make gravy with it, but seeing as that is the Devil's liquor I would never do it.

 Ingredients:

2-3 (depending on how greedy you are) pork sausages (or Quorn ones!)

1/2 white onion

50g plain flour

1 medium egg

50ml milk

25ml cold water

1 tbs oil (if needed)

Gravy, beans, ketchup, whatever you feel like to serve.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C, and cook sausages for 10 minutes in a metal pan.
2. Meanwhile we can make the batter: sieve the flour into a bowl, add the egg and then whisk in the milk and water mixture until you have a smooth mixture.
3. Add the onions, roughly chopped, to the sausages and any extra oil if needed, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. When the oil is spitting hot (the hotter the oil, the crispier the batter) add the mixture and cook for a further 30 minutes.
5. Serve with your extra little thing and enjoy!

Student Suppers: Spicy Tomato & Bean Soup

For anyone that reads my ramblings regularly you’ll know that I am a student. It is a well known fact that students are generally poor, but I want to bust the myth that we just live on beans on toast and bowls of cereal so we can spend on money on beer and vodka (or rum, in my case). So, I’ve decided to run this series called ‘Student Suppers’: they are recipes that I’ve found, come up with or tweaked that are cheap, tasty and fulfilling (hopefully healthy too, but I can’t promise anything!).

This soup is ridiculously cheap and very delicious. I brought all the ingredients for £1.50, and it should make around four to five bowls of soup – depending on how big you like your portions!

Add another can of beans instead of the stock and a bit more chilli for a yummy vegetarian chilli.

Ingredients:

400g of chopped tomatoes

400g of kidney beans in chilli sauce - or just plain tomato sauce if you can’t handle the heat ;)

400g of Borlotti beans (drained)

1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 pint of vegetable stock

1 tbsp of tomato puree

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

(If you can handle the heat add a dash of Tabasco sauce, fresh chilli, or 1 tsp chilli powder too)

Method:

·         Heat the oil in a large saucepan, fry off the garlic and paprika (and fresh chilli/chilli powder if that’s how you roll) before adding the onion to soften.

·         Add the chopped tomatoes and all the sauce in the can too, along with the tomato puree. Leave this to simmer with the lid of the saucepan for fifteen minutes; this will reduce the tomatoes down, making them sweeter and taking the acidic taste out.

·         Pour in the kidney beans and their spicy sauce and leave to simmer for another five minutes. Then add the drained Borlotti beans.

·         Finally add the pint of stock to the soup, place the lid on the saucepan to stop reducing the liquid, and simmer for a further ten minutes.

Enjoy!

Christmas Pudding Muffins with Brandy Butter Icing

This recipe is courtesy of Rachel Allen

My family always have left over Christmas pudding so my mum wanted to find a recipe to use it up rather than chuck it out when it got a bit dry. She trawled through the net until she found this one and so I thought I'd share it with you guys :)

This recipe makes 6 muffins, although we found we had too much icing

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

• 1 egg
• 75ml milk
• 30g salted butter
• 2 tsp of sherry, whisky or brandy (We used brandy in our's)
• 125g of leftover Christmas Pudding
• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder (not 1 tbsp like the original recipe said!)
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 75g caster sugar

For the Butter Icing:

• 125g sifted icing sugar
• 50g salted butter, softened
• 1-2 tbsp sherry, whisky or brandy (We used brandy in our's to match what we'd put in the muffin mix)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, 180C or gas mark 4. Line the muffin tins with paper cases.
2. Whisk the egg in a bowl. Add the milk, melted butter and alcohol of choice.
3. Sift the flour, backing powder and mixed spice into another bowl. Add the caster sugar and mix well before adding the cut up leftover Christmas Pudding. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients and mix well together until a soft batter forms.
5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Whilst allowing the muffins to cool prepare the butter icing. Mix together the icing sugar and the butter. Add enough alcohol, about 1 tbsp, to just soften the mixture and make it spreadable.
7. Once the muffins are cooled, spread the icing on top and serve.

They are so yummy! Here's a picture of our's: