Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Freezer-friendly, Lunch, Packed lunch friendly, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged beans, carrot, celery, cheese, dumplings, fennel, healthy, hearty, low fat, stew, tomato, vegetables, vegetarian on October 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Hello folks! Just a quick announcement before getting on with this post. Food Magazine‘s 2013 Reader Awards are accepting nominations for your favourite West Country food producers, shops, chefs, cafes and restaurants and, for the first time, bloggers. If you have any favourites that you think deserve some recognition you can vote for them here. And if you’ve enjoyed reading this little blog I would be over the moon if you nominated it. #awkward! Thank you!
Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Side dish, Vegetables, tagged Autumn, cheese, corn, cream, creamed, garlic, Kuri squash, pumpkin, side dish on September 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
At this time of year where late summer drifts into early autumn and warm, sunny afternoons are punctuated by misty mornings and a slight chill in the air I find myself feeling very happy and content with my lot. I’m looking forward to snuggly winter which will bring a family wedding, my birthday and, hopefully, a finished kitchen. But I’m jumping ahead; there’s so much to enjoy in these harvest months. The squirrels I can see from the window are busy scampering about preparing for winter. Veggie boxes are brimming with goodies and the hedgerows are laden with hazelnuts, sloes and blackberries which I need to hurry up and pick before the Devil spits on them on the 29th!
Posted in Baking, Cheese, Dinner, Italian, Lunch, Meat, Party food, Side dish, Snacks, tagged arancini, baked, cheese, croquettes, Italian, mozzarella, ragu, rice, risotto, Sicily, suppli, traditional on July 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »
When I lived in Italy I shared a flat with my good friend from university and two lovely Italians. Over the year there was a lot of cultural exchange as the Italians introduced us to the best of their country: gelato, good coffee, piadine; and the Brits tried to dispel the myth that our food is terrible. We baked hearty cottage pies and stuffed our suitcases with crumpets, cheddar, Marmite and all the necessary items for a proper cream tea. For her birthday our Sicilian flatmate wanted a taste of home and decided to make arancini, deep-fried rice croquettes, a speciality from her home island that often feature at special occasions. She called her mother to get the family recipe and then we gathered round our dining table for the afternoon while she patiently taught us the correct method to make them. (more…)
Posted in Baking, Cheese, Dinner, Lunch, Meat, Packed lunch friendly, Vegetables, tagged bacon, cauliflower, cheese, dinner, dukkah, eggs, Lunch, milk, pastry, quiche, tart on May 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Horray! It looks as though we’re through the ‘hungry gap’ where the last of the winter vegetables are running low and the first of the spring veggies are not quite ready. If you subscribe to a veggie box or community agriculture scheme the hungry gap can play havoc with your menu plan: unexpected frosts can spoil crops, supplies can run out early and you end up with the occasional unexpected substitution. Last week was one such occasion when I had made planned to make pumpkin falafels and ended up with a cauliflower. Granted, it was a lovely cauli but I struggled to come up with an interesting idea for dinner that went beyond the standard cheese pairing. (more…)
Posted in Dinner, Low effort, Lunch, Side, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged bread crumbs, butternut squash, cheese, mash, parsnip, roasted vegetables, side dish, vegetarian on January 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Well this probably should have been a Christmas post but with all the hustle and bustle and manic cooking I somehow forgot to take any photos of this great side dish. Not to worry though, I wanted an excuse to make it again, so I did. Butternut squash is, as you can probably tell by looking at my recipe index, one of my favourite vegetables. It can do no wrong and works in all manner of recipes soup, salad, pizza, tagines… So often it is the star of the show but it is also happy to sit alongside other dishes as part of your supper spread. It is especially good served with roasted meats (pork and chicken in particular) or brasied casseroles, cooked long and low, which should always be paired with some kind of mash to transport you into comfort-food nirvana.
Posted in Cheese, Gifts, Low effort, Lunch, Packed lunch friendly, Party food, Salad, Snacks, tagged aperitif, canapes, cheese, chilli, feta, gift, herbs, lemon, marinated, nibbles, olive oil on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This is a cracking little recipe from the one and only David Lebovitz. A chef renowned for his sweet dishes, he’s also a dab hand at making simple, savoury ingredients shine. I frequently whip up a jar of feta marinated in olive oil, fresh herbs and chillis to consume over the course of the next few days in salads, on bread or, my current favourite, over baked sweet potatoes. At this time of year you can give it as a gift or keep it on hand for an impromptu nibble when friends come knocking.
Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged Autumn, baking, breadcrumbs, cheese, fennel, gratin, side dish, spinach, vegetarian on November 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This weekend I publicly confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am a vegetable obsessive: in the middle of a relaxing countryside walk I bolted for a mobile farm shop. Not that I really mind; even though I enjoy a good steak or tender, slow-cooked lamb, I could quite happily go vegetarian most of the time. To me, the range of flavours and textures in veggies is something to get excited about. Unfortunately there are still some things I struggle with and, up until very recently, fennel was one. I have successfully overcome taste aversions by constantly having a little taste; I once went from hating rocket to craving it in under a week. And the same thing has just happened with fennel. Little by little I started to enjoy subtle hints of fennel seeds then one day I tasted a fennel and spinach gratin and was instantly smitten. I’ve not been able to get it out of my head ever since. On the back of this success there’s still hope for mushrooms and aubergine! (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Italian, Lunch, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged Autumn, butternut squash, caramelised onions, cheese, eggs, individual portions, Italian, light, parmesan, sformato, souffle on October 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I’m flying out to Rome today for a whirlwind work trip. I doubt I’ll have much time for fun but I do have Friday morning free before my flight home that afternoon. And in that time I’ll be attempting to buy as many foodie treats as I can cram in my hand luggage. So while I’m away I thought I’d leave you with an Italian-style dish and a quick language lesson.
Posted in Cheese, Low effort, Lunch, Packed lunch friendly, Party food, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged Autumn, cheese, chestnuts, cider vinegar, light lunch, manchego, pears, salad on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I love cheese. I love cheese with an unhealthy passion and have to ration it for my own health. And cheese and fruit… yum. Why did it take me so long to realise that cheddar was meant to be with crunchy apples, that grapes really were more than just decoration on a cheese board? And why oh why did I labour so long under the misapprehension that Spain had better things to do than make cheese? Nutty, buttery manchego is ridiculously good; I usually have to buy more than I need to account for all the times I walk past the fridge and take a nibble.
Posted in Baking, Bread, Cheese, Dinner, Low effort, Vegetables, Vegetarian, tagged cheese, courgette, easy, gratin, pesto, Riverford, summer, tomato on July 21, 2011| 2 Comments »
I’m struggling to keep up with my courgette plants, for some reason this year they have decided to grace me with an abundance of fruit. It’s not that I’m ungrateful, I love courgettes, but there are already three of them in my fridge, another four on the plants and two more plants that are just starting to produce. I’m trying to find as many different ways to use them; we really enjoyed this cake from David Lebovitz’ site and this galette from Deb at Smitten Kitchen as well as this pasta and this tart from Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini. Just as I was starting to run out of ideas I happened upon a fabulous new cookbook from Riverford farm – a vegetable box supplier just a few miles down the road. Not only do they grow a huge amount of interesting things, they also have a hugely popular field kitchen staffed by chefs from around the world, many of whom have previously worked at the legendary Chez Panisse in San Fransisco.
T and Cake 