21/01/2010 by D.

fruit: Gala apples, Conference pears, pink grapefruit, blood oranges, bananas
veg: broccoli, kale, onions, red cabbage, Valor potatoes, carrots, beetroot

So this is where it all starts, the boxes get a little more samey, a little more ‘oh, not this again’.  Well, fear not.  We shall get through this together and enjoy the beautiful colours, textures and flavours that lie within the lumpen muddy mounds before you!

I have been delving through my cookbooks and pulled out the Roman Cookery of Apicus for some inspiration in the coming month and have some pretty fantastic things I want to try (I won’t post them until they are tested and ingested, however, to save your own tummies).

Currently I am really enjoying apple and banana porridge every morning, as is the whole family.  It really keeps me full right up to my 11 o’clock tea and biscuit.

I never got round to making the borscht the other week, so will definitely do it this week, and will probably do a spiced red cabbage to go with some grilled 5 spice duck breasts at the weekend.

The kale and parmesan tart was a winner, but my all time favourite is still shredding it and doing a stir fry with noodles, garlic, onion, beansprouts, sesame oil and soy sauce.  Like the noodles in the glazed Salmon recipe, but with kale.

Posted in Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

19/01/2010 by D.

This is my take on the delicious Moro omelettes.  Apart from the hour macerating the courgettes, it is a very quick supper to make.

Filling:
4 courgettes, finely sliced and mixed with 1/2 tsp salt (and left for 1 hour)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lightly toasted pinenuts
1 bunch parsley, chopped

Omelette mixture:
6 eggs
2 tbsp milk
100g butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Prepare the courgettes, toast pinenuts and chop parsley.

Whisk together the eggs and milk to make the omelette mixture.  Put a plate in the oven to warm.

Squeeze the water out of the courgettes, heat the oil and fry courgettes and garlic for 5 - 10 mins until soft.  Mix in parsely and pinenuts, season with pepper and keep warm.

You are going to make four omelettes with this mixture.  Use a small frying pan, heat some butter and oil until really hot.  Swirl a quarter of the egg mixture into a thin layer over the bottom, then spoon in a line of the courgette mixture (again, use a quarter of the mixture).  Roll the omelette into a fat sausage and slide onto warmed plate.  Repeat 3 times.

Serve with sumac sprinkled on top.

These are so nice, a really cheap, but extraordinarily tasty supper.  Lovely with a plain green salad tossed with a bit of oil and vinegar.  And popular with both the toddler and the baby, so a good family meal too.

Posted in Milk, Butter, Courgette, Olive Oil, Sumac, Pinenuts, Eggs, Recipe, Toddler, Vegetarian, Garlic, Parsley, Weaning | Print | No Comments »

16/01/2010 by D.

6 rashers dry-cure streaky bacon
1 red pepper
6 eggs
500g spirali pasta
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp thick greek yoghurt
salt & pepper to taste

Boil eggs for 10 mins and put bacon on to grill until crispy.  Boil pasta until al dente.  Chop pepper into small cubes.

Cool eggs by running under cold water.  Peel and mash the eggs and mix in the mayonnaise and yoghurt.  Season to taste.  If it’s a little dry, add some more yoghurt and mayo in the same proportions… some eggs are bigger than others and you need it to make a creamy sauce for the pasta.

Crumble the bacon into the egg mixture, add the red pepper and drained pasta and serve while still warm.

I love this as a lazy hangover brunch, served with a tall glass of fresh blood orange juice, or just a plate of orange cut into segments with the rind still on.  If you have some left over, it is delicious as a cold salad for a working lunch.

Posted in Brunch, Yoghurt, Red Pepper, Mayonnaise, Eggs, Bacon, Toddler, Recipe, Pasta, Pepper, Weaning | Print | No Comments »

15/01/2010 by D.

This is an excellent sauce to have down pat.  It is basically exactly the same as you’d do with minced beef or lamb, but using puy lentils instead.  The finished texture is extremely like a meat sauce.

1 tbs olive oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
4 tomatoes
8 mushrooms
1 pepper (red or yellow)
1 mug puy lentils
1 tin tomatoes
1 stock cube (veg, beef or lamb)
2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 ltr boiling water

Chop up the veg into small dice and mince the garlic.  Fry the onion gently in the olive oil until glassy, then add the garlic and the rest of the veg.  Allow to soften for a couple of minutes then add the lentils, stock cube, tinned tomato, soy and ketchup.

Stir well, then top up with boiling water; the water must cover everything with a little bit to spare.  Stir well and leave to simmer.  Check occasionally and stir, add more boiling water if needed.  It should take around 40 mins.  Season to taste.  The sauce freezes well.

You can use this straight on noodles for spaghetti bolognaise, layered in a lasagne or nestled under mash to make a cottage pie.  The babies really like it too, and for fussy eaters, just chop the veg a little finer.  If you add a tin of kidney beans, a chilli and a tsp ground cumin, it becomes a lovely veggie chilli sauce which is great on baked spuds, scooped up with tortilla chips or ladled into split baguettes for the fantastically named sloppy Joes.

Posted in Stock, Garlic, Soy sauce, Spaghetti, Italian, Puy lentils, Pepper, Tomato, Recipe, Toddler, Onion, Vegetarian, Pasta, Weaning | Print | No Comments »