Wild Rice Salad

18th October 2016

Its probably about time to get back to the cooking also. Its been so hard to get back into routine since September. Winter is coming.

First the rice and quinoa was weighed out in a pan and brought it to the boil. Meanwhile the pine nuts and chopped almonds were lightly fried in a pan of oil until some just started to go a darker brown.

Next a couple of onions were roughly chopped and fried. I added a little balsamic to caramelise them slightly.

In a large mixing bowl the nuts, rice, quinoa and onions were mixed together along with chopped rocket, basil and sour cherries. I mixed in some lemon juice, black pepper and dried oregano also, which created a delicious herby savoury flavour that I'm sure I'll never be able to recreate. This dish was actually incredibly tasty and I'd love to make it again.

Toffee Apple Cake

14th October 2016

I made this cake two years ago for Bonfire Night. It seemed appropriate to make this again during autumn for the work charity bake sale.

Another basic cake mixture of flour, oil, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar. This time there was the addition of two peeled, cored and grated with some lemon juice.

Again this mixture made a cake and a half which meant one for work and one for the house. This was baked for 30 minutes until golden brown.

For the frosting I defrosted some vanilla frosting I made a while ago and added some extra toffee sauce. I iced the cake once I got to work to prevent a huge sticky mess. However, once the frosting warmed up a bit in the kitchen at work it became incredibly gooey. I don't think it detracted from the taste! I certainly enjoyed it!

Rum Cake

30 September 2016

After a trip to Barbados I needed a rum fix. What's more perfect than rum and cake!

A simple cake mix was made with plain flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, eggs and vanilla. A measure (or two) of rum was also added for flavour. I used extra vanilla paste and additional flour in place of yellow cake mix or custard powder because apparently my local shop doesn't sell either. I chopped some walnuts and coated them in flour to sprinkle over the top of the cake. Technically this should be done in a bundt tray but in its absence I used loaf tins. The mixture made enough to do both a 2lb and 1lb cake.

This was baked for 45 minutes until golden brown and the crack was just forming on top.

While the cakes cooled I made the syrup drizzle from sugar, water, butter and rum. Lots of rum. This was all brought to simmer and then taken off the heat to prevent the alcohol cooking...and then I added a little more rum for good measure. I poked holes in the cakes with a skewer and drizzled the syrup over every hour for three hours. There was so much left.

By the end of the evening it didn't look like the drizzle had soaked through at all and the first slice of cake tasted of nothing. Despite the fact I drizzled even more syrup over my slice!

However, after a couple of days' maturation time, the cake tasted absolutely amazing. It was devoured in the office and had a delicious flavour of rum and vanilla. I still have some syrup left to use on a future pancake breakfast...

Yogurt Flatbreads with Barley and Mushrooms

24th July 2016

I was quite excited about making this one. Its been a while since I made anything bready, and actually a week or more since I had bread, so freshly made bread was going to be a treat.

First I made up the bread dough so it could chill for an hour. This contained strong white flour, baking powder, salt and Greek yogurt. A slightly odd combination but it all mixed into a nice dough consistency and I was actually able to knead it pretty successfully. The dough was wrapped in cling film and chilled in the fridge.

Next the dried porcini mushrooms were soaked in warm water and set aside. a mixture of chestnut mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms were chopped up and fried until golden brown. Garlic, chopped herbs and a small amount of vegetable stock (in place of white wine) was added and all simmered together for a few minutes.

The porcini mushrooms and their stock were also added and was all left to cook gently with some additional seasoning to produce a thick mushroom stew.

The flatbread dough was divided into six equal balls. Each was rolled flat to approximately 2mm thick.

A small amount of butter was heated in a frying pan and each flatbread was fried for a couple of minutes on each side. I clearly didn't fully understand that instruction and proceeded to blacken the first couple somewhat. They cooked surprisingly quick to a chewy fresh bread texture which smelt and tasted delicious!

Whilst still warm, the mushroom stew was spooned on top of a couple of pieces of bread and topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt. This was incredibly tasty and I will definitely be making homemade flatbread again in the future!

Pearl Barley and Roasted Pepper Salad

23rd July 2016

I cheated a bit with this one. I didn't roast the peppers myself, but used some already roasted from a jar. Saved a lot of time, let me tell you.

Chopped roasted peppers, olives, spring onions and feta cheese were mixed in a large bowl, whilst the pearl barley was simmered in the pan of water.

The dressing was made up of lemon juice, olive oil, honey, all spice, paprika, garlic and salt whisked together with a fork. This was all combined in the mixing bowl to produce a hearty low calorie salad.

Lemon and Aubergine Risotto

18th July 2016

Salted aubergine is still one of my favourite vegetables so I was looking forward to trying this.

First, one aubergine was pierced and put under the grill for close to an hour, until the flesh had shrunk away from the skin. The second aubergine was chopped into cubes and fried until golden. These were then drained in a colander and salted.

Next was the risotto. An onion was diced and fried until golden brown. A little garlic paste was stirred in. The arborio rice was added to the pan and vegetable stock stirred in a little at a time until soaked up.

The grilled aubergine was defleshed and also salted. This was chopped and stirred into the risotto along with the aubergine cubes and zest from two lemons. Finally chopped basil and a small amount of grated cheese was stirred in as the last of the liquid was absorbed.

This was actually a lot lemonier than I was expecting but worked surprisingly well with the aubergine.

Avocado, Pearl Barley and Bean Salad

July 12th 2016

I've been slightly out of touch with this for a little while. Busy lifestyle and all that. But I'm back on dieting and exercising like an insane crazy person. Summer is all about that for me. I forgot to take any pictures of this being so keen, but it was definitely a spectacular dish, trust me!

First mistake, not having quinoa for the recipe, so I substituted pearl barley which is fast becoming my new favourite grain. This was heated in a pan of hot water.

Secondly, I can never find broad beans in any supermarket so I substituted butter beans as they're basically the same sort of shape.

Two lemons were peeled and chopped into small pieces and mixed with the pearl barley and the beans. Finally chopped rocket, two ripe avocados, black pepper and a little sesame oil was stirred in for a little spice and flavour.

This was a very tasty and fresh summery salad.