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.

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.

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.

Lately...

A few things...

I made Green Kitchen Stories Turmeric Breakfast Muffins.  They are very wholesome!

We took a day trip to Lewes to check out the antique shops and to stop by Harvey's Brewery.

We followed this up with a visit to Charleston Farmhouse, home of the Bloomsbury Set.  I'd definitely recommend the house tour for a little creative inspiration and the garden was stunning.

I loved these mosaic tiles

Pretty pond weeds

We've had a lot of flowers around the house lately.  Sweet Williams.

My friends bought me these gorgeous roses.

Back to food.  I've been making this veggie loaded pasta for lunch a lot lately.  I'm loving my greens and roasted tomatoes at the moment.  There's courgette, fennel, toasted pumpkin seeds, lemon zest and goats cheese in there too.

FYI just finished Blood Bones and Butter, it was a brilliant read.

Roasted Aubergine, Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Over this summer I decided to take every Friday off work.  Not only does it enable me to feel smug on a Thursday but I also get to make the most of summer spread out over long weekends.  I love not having to spend my Friday evening stuck in traffic as all of London seems to be on the move for the weekend getaway.  It seems to me the three day weekend really should be introduced.  In fact it was Winston Churchill who as Prime Minister in the 1950s saw the potential in the four day working week for the future: “give the working man what he’s never had – four days’ work and then three days’ fun”.  How right he was and if only...

I’ve been making this pasta every summer for years.  My husband loathes aubergines so it’s usually a solo affair.  It works well as a weekend lunch or a quick week night dinner.  If I add chopped up sausages I can usually persuade my husband to eat it as long as I go light on the aubergine.  More for me.  If I’m feeling flush then I’ll use toasted pine nuts instead of the toasted almonds.  Olives are another nice addition.  It’s a hearty Mediterranean style dish perfect for warm summer days.

Recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood Serves 2

1 large aubergine cut in to chunks

200g cherry tomatoes cut in half

Handful of basil leaves chopped

Handful almond flakes toasted

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Hard goat cheese, grated

150g gluten free pasta

Preheat the oven Gas Mark 7, 220°C, 425°F

Place the aubergine chunks and whole garlic clove in a baking tray and drizzle with oil.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, give everything a stir and add the cherry tomatoes to the pan.  Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile cook your pasta according to the pack instructions.  When your veg is ready and your pasta is drained, remove the garlic from the pan, snip off the ends and squeeze the roasted garlic out on to a board.  Mash with a fork and return to the vegetable pan.  Add the pasta, basil and some of the goat cheese and mix everything together.  The pasta will mop up the lovely juices from the aubergines and tomatoes.  Serve in bowls sprinkled with flaked almonds and more goat cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

*Churchill quote from the Guardian

My Week in Lunches

Whenever I have some time off work and I’m spending it at home I like to abandon my work day sandwiches and eat something a little different for lunch.  It’s an opportunity to eat a little bit healthier.  I’ll generally just create something for myself out of whatever is in the fridge and needs using.  It has to be something that comes together quickly as I am usually coming in and going out again.  This week a bag of kale was sitting patiently in my fridge so it featured pretty heavily in my lunch time munching.  The general pattern is veggies, a grain and some protein, usually an egg, cheese or toasted nuts of some description.  I might write up a couple of these as recipes in the coming weeks.  It’s back to sandwiches next week sadly.  What have you been having for lunch lately?

Super Greens Pasta

I’m enjoying a few days off work at the moment.  We are currently holidaying at home, well sort of.  There have a been a couple of day trips, the house is looking the cleanest we’ve achieved in months, I’ve successfully had my hair cut for the first time in too long to share here and our old car has struggled through its MOT.  Not exactly like holidaying in Tuscany but we are enjoying ourselves.  It feels good to have time to do simple things.  I’ve also been having a chard moment so brace yourselves for a few recipes featuring chard in the coming weeks.  In the absence of my beloved kale, chard is in season at the moment and it’s so pretty.  I love the multicoloured stems.  I treat it much like kale in that it only needs a couple of minutes to wilt and it’s done. 

I was inspired to make this pasta dish after spying a recipe for pasta with greens, garlic and chilli in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book River Cottage Veg Everyday!  This is a great way to get your quota of healthy greens while enjoying a plateful of comforting carbs.  It also comes together quickly which is much appreciated in this house after work.  I decided to add lemon zest here as I love my greens spiked with a little lemon, it makes the flavours zing.  You can use any greens here, just go for what’s in season for the best flavour.

Adapted from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Serves 2

Large handful of chard roughly chopped. Remove the stems, chop them up and set aside.

Purple sprouting broccoli roughly chopped.

½ onion or 1 shallots finely sliced.

Pinch of dried chilli flakes.

1 garlic clove finely sliced.

Grated zest ½ lemon.

150g gluten free pasta

To serve: extra virgin olive oil, toasted flaked almonds and hard goat cheese or parmesan.

Set a large pan of water to boil and cook your pasta according to the pack instructions.  Warm a skillet with a little olive oil.  Add the onion and chard stems if using and cook for a few minutes until soft.  Next add the chilli flakes and garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Just before the pasta is cooked add the broccoli to the pasta water and the chard to the skillet.  Cook for a couple of minutes until the chard is wilted and the broccoli is blanched.  Drain the pasta and broccoli, rinse and return to the pan.  Add in the chard mixture and toss together.  Add the lemon zest and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Grate in the cheese and mix in.  You might want to add a little pasta water or hot water from the kettle to loosen the final mixture.  Season and serve the pasta with extra cheese grated on top and toasted flaked almonds.