I’m not exactly reinventing the wheel here but lately I’ve been stuck in something of a cooking rut partly determined by a drive to make sure we don’t waste food thus reducing our grocery bill and partly due to the boy becoming more and more about routine and vocalising his disgust very loudly when I try and put something new in front of him.  After repeated attempts frittata has now firmly met with his approval and it is a great vehicle for using up vegetables.  An added bonus is that it’s cheap to make, hearty and filling.  Also he currently likes broccoli but only the tender stem variety.  As a parent this makes me a) very smug and b) very poor as it costs double the amount of regular broccoli and I really shouldn’t be indulging his inclination towards fancy vegetables.

For me the key ingredient for a successful frittata is good hard goat cheese that has plenty of flavour. Choose your own combination of vegetables if kale and sweet potato aren’t your thing.  Personally I like the earthy and sweet mix.  I imagine asparagus would be pretty great at the moment and of course you could try tender stem broccoli.

Any attempt to style food photos these days goes out the window, especially when I have a small boy standing at the kitchen gate jumping up and down for his lunch.  I’m all about realism although I did make an attempt to avoid the bits of dried food stuck to our hob.

Sweet Potato and Kale Frittata

Serves 2 very generously but will stretch to 3.

I used an 8 inch skillet.

1 small sweet potato peeled and cut in to dice

2 large cavolo nero or kale leaves

1 shallot finely chopped

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

4 large eggs beaten

50g (2oz) hard goat’s cheese, grated

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat oven Gas Mark 7, 220°C, 425°F.  *I have a truely rubbish oven so you may want to keep an eye on your frittata to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Toss the diced sweet potato in the olive oil, thyme and paprika.  Place the diced sweet potato on a baking tray lined with parchment and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the potato is tender and starting to turn golden.  Meanwhile add a splash of olive oil to your skillet and gently cook the shallot for about 5 minutes.  Add the cooked sweet potato and kale and continue to cook until the kale has started to wilt, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg mixture and cook on the hob until the egg is almost set but the top is still a bit runny, about 5-10 minutes.  Sprinkle liberally with goat’s cheese and place skillet in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the frittata is golden brown and cooked through.  

Crayons, Cake and Pasta etc.

A few photos from this month.  February is always a month I look forward to waving adieu to.  It hints at spring around the corner but keeps you firmly in the midst of winter.  We started the month recovering from another virus.  We’re ending the month with a broken down car but in between there has been this cake, fun at the playground, visits to our favourite local cafe, a trip to the farmers market, messing with crayons but also teaching the smallest member of the household about his favourite vegetable, streams of sunlight across my cup of tea, daffodils because spring soon please and Rachel Roddy’s Tomato Pasta with roasted aubergine chucked in because see above.

Under the Weather and Winter Salad

We’re a household suffering from a heavy cold at the moment, originating from the smallest member of the family who caught it from his nursery pal.  I used to be fairly OCD about getting ill, if you rummage through my bag you are likely to find at least one pack of anti bacterial wipes and if you go through my desk drawers at work it’s likely you’ll find more so perhaps the OCD hasn’t quite left me but I am now resigned to the fact that I am going to spend the next few years catching every germ that comes my way courtesy of little people and trying to relax about it.

In a bid to eat a healthier lunch at work in 2016 I’ve been making this salad in various forms.  Salad in January always sounds very wrong to me but salad in January made with roasted winter vegetables seems just about right.  I tend to use whatever vegetables we have that are in season so carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, you get the idea.  I chop them up, roast them in olive oil and then once cooled mix with salad leaves such as little gem, cos, romaine and sometimes chard.  I also throw in some tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds.  Really you can use whatever you like or have to use up.  To this mix I add a large dollop of houmous.  It is quite literally the glue that holds the salad together and makes it extra delicious.  I think houmous and cold roasted vegetables are a match made in heaven. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten everything up.  So far I’ve been really enjoying my work lunches but I can’t say that all the extra vitamins are doing much for my ability to ward off errant toddler germs but then who can stay well when a little snot covered hand wants to explore your face. 

Courgette, Aubergine and Tomato Pasta and Feeding The Boy

Around the time that I last managed to do anything for this blog I started weaning the boy on to solids and found I was never going to have time to do anything blog worthy ever again!  So, today I was determined to get something down.  This is a really simple pasta lunch which the boy seems to like and which I happen to enjoy too.  A win, win situation. 

I’m not going to pretend to be any sort of expert on feeding little people. They can be stubborn little critters.  I say whatever works for you.  We try to feed him what we are eating and we do our best to eat meals as a family.  This has turned us into early bird diners.  Like so many other areas of parenthood, it’s all too easy to get wrapped up worrying what your child is or isn’t supposed to be eating.  I had high hopes of trying baby-led weaning (in a nutshell, letting him feed himself) but this boy wasn’t into it.  He likes to be spoon fed like a little lord.  His favourite food in the world is plain yoghurt.  His favourite beverage next to milk is water, he goes nuts for the stuff.  I’m happy to say he will eat this pasta dish without complaint and sometimes with something close to enthusiasm.  Little mouth open for the next mouthful is always a heartening sign.  

Recipe makes one serving plus a little extra for those who have a mini mouth to feed.

1 large courgette sliced in to discs

½ an aubergine sliced in to discs and quartered

5 small tomatoes such as cherry or pomodoro, halved

Teaspoon lemon zest

Hard goats cheese for grating or other strong flavoured cheese such as parmesan

Extra virgin olive oil

2 handfuls about 75g of gluten free pasta

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7

Toss the vegetables and tomatoes in olive oil and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to brown.  Meanwhile cook your pasta according to the pack instructions.  When the vegetables are ready and the pasta has been drained return everything to the pasta pan and add the lemon zest, some grated cheese and a glug of olive oil.  Mix everything together.  A splash of water from the kettle can loosen everything up.  Serve with extra cheese on top.  For the baby version just mash everything with a fork and slice up any stubborn bits until you have made the most unappealing consistency you can manage.

Lately...

How time flies when you disappear off to have a baby...  Lately I’ve been spending my sleep deprived days getting to know our gorgeous little boy.  Things are a little chaotic.

In my last week of pregnancy I suddenly found the urge to cook but the seasons also changed on me and now this cherry crumble looks a little wrong.  Throw in plums or blackberries or whatever autumn fruit tickles your fancy.  Recipe here from Green Kitchen Stories along with impossibly beautiful photography.

I also made these incredible sugar free cookies.  In fact I took a batch to give me much needed energy while I was in labour.  Ha, that didn’t happen.  Labour and food did not go together.  This recipe is so good.  I’ve managed to make a couple of batches since and can’t stop munching my way through them.  Recipe here from A Sweet Spoonful.  I used pecans, pistachios and cacao nibs in place of the walnuts. Make sure you top with flaked sea salt.  Don’t skip this part, it’s key to the overall taste of the cookie.

Now that autumn is well and truly under way I’ve been getting back in to soup in a big way.  I’ve been making batches of this curried sweet potato soup at the weekends and I also made a parsnip version of this carrot and ginger soup and added a pinch of cumin to spice things up a little.  So glad it’s parsnip season again!

Novelty Vegetables

I seem to have found my way back to the kitchen lately.  I’ve dusted off my camera and found a little inspiration again.  It helps that there is so much crazy good food to be eaten at this time of year.  I’m literally coming back from the market sinking under the weight of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Ok, my husband is sinking under the weight.  I pretty much carry nothing apart from the small human I’m overcooking.  41 weeks, come on!

I was instantly charmed and intrigued by the purple cauliflower I saw at the market last week.  Obviously I had to buy one immediately and take pictures of it with my phone because that’s the kind of weird stuff that amuses me.  Purple cauliflower tastes much the same as regular cauliflower but I was pleased that it retains its colour while cooking.  A little research revealed that it also has added health benefits containing extra levels of antioxidants.

I was roasting some new potatoes for lunch so I decided to throw some cauliflower in with those.  It made a great side dish.  I’ll definitely be having my husband schlep one home from the market again.

Spicy Roasted New Potatoes and Purple Cauliflower

Serves 2 as a side dish.

New potatoes chopped in to bite size pieces

½ head cauliflower broken down in to bite size florets

For the spice mix: I tend not to measure so add or subtract amounts according to your taste.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon of cumin,

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7.  Line a baking tray with parchment.

Place the new potatoes and cauliflower in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil.  As soon as the water boils remove from the heat, drain and allow the vegetables to steam dry for a couple of minutes.

Mix the spices, thyme, olive oil and honey together in a bowl and add the vegetables.  Combine until the vegetables are well coated.  Pour the vegetables into your prepared baking tray.  Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes turning occasionally until golden brown.

Lamb Ragù

After months with scarcely a blog post two have come along in close proximity, much like buses apparently.  While I’m here twiddling my thumbs and trying to be patient I thought I’d share my ragù recipe with you.  According to Nigella, ragout is French and ragù is Italian.  I tend to think of this version as the latter.  I have no doubt it’s far from the traditional recipe but it’s one that has evolved for me over the years and I like it just the way it is, simple and easy to throw together.  Partly because I like to buy organic meat which is expensive I tend to add lentils as this means I can use less meat to make the pennies and the meal stretch a little further.  Lentils also add a good fibre element.  I cook them in the sauce along with everything else for a long time and you can barely notice they are there if hiding lentils is your thing.

Serves 2, easily doubled
The measurements here are approximate.  I tend not to measure anything but just throw it in ad hoc.
200g lamb mince (I like to use organic lamb mince)

30g (two handfuls) Lentils (either du puy, brown or green), rinsed

Extra virgin olive oil, about 1 ½ tablespoons

1 small onion or large shallot finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 carrots peeled and sliced

½ a large fennel bulb, fronds removed, diced

1 generous teaspoon of dried rosemary

1 teaspoon tomato puree

400ml Passata

Water as necessary

In a non stick pan brown the lamb mince in a dash of extra virgin olive oil and set aside.

In a sauté pan fry the onion in extra virgin olive oil until translucent.  Add the carrots and fennel and continue to cook over a low heat until the vegetables begin to soften.  Next add the garlic and the rosemary.  Add the browned lamb mince to the pan and then add the tomato puree.  Cook for a couple of minutes before adding the passata and a little water.  Finally add the lentils and give everything a good stir.  Leave to simmer for 1 ½ hours and add water if the mixture begins to look a little dry.  Serve over your favourite pasta with grated cheese on top.

Randoms

We are awaiting a big event around here at the moment. Part of the reason for the silence on this here little blog.  Cooking and taking photos hasn't been much on my mind lately.  So all I can offer is a few random photos to share with you from this summer.

The only cake I've made this summer and I burnt it!  Blackberry and buckwheat adapted from this recipe. 

Eating a lot of ragù.

Preparations...

Eggs for breakfast.

Re-learning how to knit.  I don’t know what it is at the moment.

Smoothie: frozen banana, blueberries, peaches, chia seeds, almond milk, sheep yoghurt.

Afternoon jaunt to Watts Gallery.

Cooking millet on the stove for my lunch.

Eating millet with roasted veggies.

Shots of a derelict farm on a favourite walk.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s A to Z of summer recipes from the Guardian. Inspired by lunch at my brother’s house.  The flavours going on here are out of this world.

Summer toastie: goats cheese, peach and avocado on gluten free bread. Also favourite napkin.  About the only thing I could afford in the Anthropologie sale.

Obsessed with columns at Polesden Lacey.

Cherries, can’t get enough.

Breakfast: peaches, blueberries, sheep yoghurt, quinoa pops, toasted almonds.

Roasted Summer Vegetables and a Rosy View

There is a rose in our garden coming out in full bloom.  If you knew what bad gardeners we are you would be impressed.  A few weeks ago my husband cleared an over grown and mostly dead flower bed which had been doing a good deal of looking very ugly for the past year.  We took ourselves off to the garden centre and set about buying plants having no clue what we were doing except that we wanted a few hardy shrubs and a rose bush.  We returned home somewhat out of pocket but with a car boot full of promise.  My husband dutifully planted everything while I idled with a book in a chair offering up helpful and sometimes not so helpful directions.  He planted, we watched, we waited.  The centrepiece of our new flower bed is an English rose bush and I’m happy to report this morning there are two lovely heads in bloom.  The rosemary we bought is thriving, the fuscia is doing well.  As for the others, the less said about those the better.  You can’t win them all.  The tenuous link to this salad being that we can now sit outside and enjoy our lunch with a decent view.

I’ve been enjoying roasted vegetables in various incarnations so far this summer.  I buy whatever is in season but the main players have been fennel, courgettes, carrots, tomatoes and of course kale.  In this version I used up some potatoes and threw in an avocado but I’ve also mixed roasted veg with pasta, quinoa and even millet.  The flavour comes from the roasted veg as they caremelise in the oven, the lemon zest adds a bright note to the whole affair, toasted nuts or seeds add crunch and of course goats cheese for tang.

Serves 2

1 large potato peeled and cut in to chunks

2 carrots peeled and sliced to your liking

½ large fennel bulb or whole bulb if smaller, cut in to wedges.

8 or so small plum tomatoes cut in half or quarters if larger

1 bunch of kale or other greens

1 avocado peeled and sliced

Handful of pumpkin seeds, toasted

Goats cheese

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Zest of half a lemon

Teaspoon rosemary

Preheat oven Gas Mark 7, line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Parboil the potatoes, drain and set aside to steam.  Prepare the other vegetables.  Add the potatoes, carrots and fennel to the first baking sheet.  Sprinkle with rosemary and olive oil.  Place on the shelf of the oven.

Lay the tomatoes cut side up on the other baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and roast in the bottom shelf of the oven.  Keep an eye on the vegetables, turning occasionally.  Everything should be done after about 40 minutes.  The vegetables should be golden and the tomatoes should be beginning to caremelise.

Once the vegetables are ready add the kale to the baking tray to allow it to slightly wilt for about one minute.  Remove from the oven and grate over the lemon zest.  Serve up the roasted vegetables and kale in bowls, top with the tomatoes, avocado, goats cheese and pumpkin seeds.  Season to your liking.