Spanish delights...

I am reading the most brilliant book at the moment:  "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a Spanish author.  What a treat!  It is one of those books you can't put down but at the same time you don't want it to end.  I am only allowing myself to read a few chapters at a time to make it last longer but the suspense is killing me because I want to find out what happens next.  Don't you just love books?

Mango Salsa...

Continuing the slightly summery theme from the last couple of days, here is today's recipe: mango salsa.  It tastes so fresh and fragrant and whilst we had it with the lamb burgers the other day, I think it would also go extremely well with grilled fish or prawns.  Simply mix some chopped mango, cucumber, coriander, red onion, chilli (or chilli flakes) with a dash of lime or lemon juice and season with salt & pepper.  Job done!
To be honest, the amount of each ingredient depends on how fruity or spicy you like your food - I just went easy on the lemon juice as I didn't want the salsa to be too tangy.  You could also add tomatoes or bell peppers but I quite like this simple version.

I already have a couple of recipes to try out and share with you next week - can't wait!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dreaming of summer...

Sunshine in a glass...

What a stunning morning it is!  Cold but sunny with blue skies - just perfect for walking the dog.  Before I went out, we had a lovely breakfast smoothie I whipped up for us in the blender - banana, mango, pineapple (frozen leftovers), plain yogurt, milk, a dash of apple juice and topped off with some cinnamon.  De-li-cious!  I didn't fancy a "proper" breakfast first thing but knew I needed something before the walk, so this was perfect.  I often freeze leftover fruit in small batches to use up in smoothies - it also means I don't have to add any ice to the drink which is great, especially in summer.

Lamb & Feta Burgers...

Last night I tried out another new recipe I had found: lamb & feta burgers.  Oh, they were good!  I changed the original recipe a little and we had them with homemade potato wedges on a little piece of focaccia bread.  I can definitely recommend these as a nice change from beef burgers (although I dare say these would work equally well with minced beef, poultry and possibly even with vegetarian mince, although I have not tried this).  On the BBQ these should be lovely.

Do you get the feeling I am ready for summer? :-)

Belly warmers...

Late again - not sure what is going on at the moment but my early morning blogging appears to have been sidelined by dog duties, chores etc. 

Breakfast was a rather large bowl of porridge this morning. I love porridge!  To save time in the morning, I usually soak the oats in hot water (from the kettle) and a bit of milk in a saucepan overnight - that way, I just have to heat it up with a bit more milk in the morning.  Sometimes I just fancy it plain but this morning I added a handful of raisins to it.  I think my favourite is apple, raisin and cinnamon :-)  I love how this type of breakfast really sets me up for the day and warms me through and through.

Talking of apples, raisins and cinnamon, I have a lovely recipe for muffins that are just too yummy for words.  I made a small batch of these just the other day, putting half in the freezer for another time.  I have had these warmed up with vanilla ice cream for a cheeky dessert or just plain without anything added. Either way, they are very tasty!

Of flat breads and not so flat running...

Oops - I'm a bit late today!  After walking the dog for a long time this morning, I put on my running shoes and actually went for a run.  It was freezing cold down by the sea with the icy wind bashing around my ears.  And on the way back I had to run up two long and steep hills, just to finish me off. I loved it! :-). I used to run quite regularly (never fast or particularly well) and enjoy it, so I'll try and get into that habit again, now the winter is over (haha - so much for it being over - the temperatures are around freezing and we are still getting the odd snowflake).

Anyway, on to today's recipe!

I love eating wraps - add a delicious filling and make a great lunch or turn into a Mexican meal for dinner...simply yummy!  I usually buy a packet of wraps from the supermarket - the cheapest ones cost around £1.20 for a packet of 8 wraps.  But I wanted to make my own.  My River Cottage Bread Handbook has a recipe for tortillas and I thought I'd give it a go.  OMG - it is so easy!!!!  I actually feel embarrassed to think that I have been buying the packaged stuff for so long when making these little beauties is just so easy.  And not only that - making your own is far cheaper, contains no preservatives or additives and is super-tasty as well.  And no plastic rubbish either!  Just think:  a 1kg bag of organic white flour costs roughly £1.30 here and would be enough to make 32 (!!!) tortilla breads.  All you need is to add some water and salt.  So, for almost the same amount of money you can make four times as many wraps!  I was really shocked when I realised this.  And it doesn't take long at all either.  I'm not saying I'll never buy the supermarket ones again (after all, life sometimes gets in the way & then we need convenience) but I think I will definitely try and make these from scratch as often as I can.  I hope you'll give these a go - they are fabulous!

Childhood favourites...

Brrrr...I am not too sure what happened to Spring but it surely has disappeared from Wales.  It is absolutely freezing and we are even expecting some snow again today.  Oh well - nothing I can do about it apart from wrapping up warm when taking Keith the dog out for his walks.  

With Mr Happy Larder having been away for a few days, I mainly feasted on leftovers but I also made one of my childhood favourites: pasta bake with tomato sauce.  This is a very basic meal but I remember it from when I was a child and still love it.  I'm pretty sure we had it because it was not only tasty but also affordable and looking at the nutritional value, I think it is not doing too badly either ;-)

The recipe is so easy, you don't actually need a "proper" recipe for it.  For two portions, simply cook enough dried pasta for 2 people according to the packet instructions and once done, place in an ovenproof dish together with a good helping of frozen peas (or other frozen vegetables).  In a bowl, mix 2 large eggs with a bit of milk and seasoning; then pour over the pasta.  Now top with grated cheese and pop in the oven at 180 - 200c for about 20 - 25 minutes.  The egg will cook, the cheese will melt and get crispy and you will have a quick and tasty meal. You can also add ham to the dish - simply chop and stir into the pasta/veg mix before pouring over the eggs.

This is best served with a simple tomato sauce.  For mine, I melted a knob of butter in a saucepan and added half a chopped onion.  Gently cook until translucent, then add a spoonful of flour.  Now add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato puree, some water, salt & pepper and some dried Italian herbs.  Job done - easy tomato sauce!  Enjoy!

Food for a busy day

Happy International Women's Day!  I wonder if there is a men's day as well...if not, I think there should be! :-)  A friend of mine is organising a fundraising event for Oxfam nearby, so I will go over there at lunchtime with a batch of jam doughnut muffins.  I hope it will be really successful as she has put a lot of work into it.

I've started having a good sort out at home.  Unbelievable just how much stuff we have :-(  It's not all our fault though because we basically inherited a house full of stuff and then had to move the contents of my flat into it.  Bursting at the seams comes to mind and I can just see some stuff ending up on Freecycle where you give things away for free.  What a great invention that website is - if you haven't come across Freecycle before, why not have a look if there is one in your area?

So, it's busy busy at the moment and food will have to be quick today.  I will have one of my favourite things: red lentil stew.  Well, this can be a soup or a stew really and you can have it on its own, on top of rice or with roti flatbreads.  I use red lentils for this as they don't need soaking beforehand which makes it a lot quicker.  I love the warming curry flavours in this and the bits of sweetcorn and I usually top it with a dollop of plain yogurt (although the stew is not overly spicy - I just find it adds an extra dimension to it).  I can't wait to tuck in... :-)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Feeling jammy

A mixture of drawn out birthday celebrations and family stuff meant that I didn't get a chance to write a post until now.  A beautiful lunch was spent at one of my favourite restaurants in Swansea, Patrick's , lingering over the delicious food. 

I had a beautiful local goat's cheese with beetroot and homemade pickle - gorgeous!  My main course was plaice on a mussel, cockle and leek chowder...heavenly!  Mr Happy Larder's food choices were equally amazing with potted pork terrine followed by lamb three ways.  We were too stuffed for dessert but had coffee that came with a tiny chocolate brownie - just enough to hit that sweet spot. We don't go out for food that often these days but when we do, it feels really special and we love it.  I did have to restrain myself from taking photos of our food :-)

Definitely a lot simpler is today's recipe: jam cakes, also known as jammy dodgers.  Basically, they are shortbread-type biscuits sandwiched together with jam.  I used raspberry and strawberry jam and made large biscuits but you can make smaller ones too.  And I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out the middle.  They were so quick to make (less than half an hour including baking) and very tasty indeed.  I hope you like these as a treat!

Sunny suppers

The sun came out at the weekend and for the first time in what seems like months, I was able to do a bit of gardening.  Just a little weeding and mowing the lawn but oh, how lovely it was to be back out there!  I find it so calming and feeling the sun on my skin was beautiful.  I also had a look at my seed collection as I am itching to get started again with sowing vegetable seeds.  The nights are still frosty, so a bit more patience is needed...

Then yesterday I drew the winner of the giveaway and that made for a great start to the week - I just wish I had been able to give something to everyone, especially to those who go through the trouble of sending such lovely comments so regularly.  Well, there is always the next time and I am already plotting what goodies will go into the next giveaway.  I've got a couple of good ideas... :-)

Despite the recent sunshine, my body is still craving comfort food.  Light summer dishes are not on my menu just yet...again, more patience required.  As you have probably gathered by now, I love doing recipes in the oven and one of my favourites is potato gratin.  We have a great big bay tree in the garden, so I use the leaves from it in this supper dish although I dare say it would be just as nice without.

What a great dish!  It can be a side dish or turned into a meal in itself and it never ever disappoints :-)

Mhm, I can imagine it now, all creamy with lots of potato and vegetables and maybe even some ham thrown in for good measure - yum! As usual, I have amended the quantities of cream and cheese and have added more vegetables to make it slightly healthier without loosing its creamy luxurious taste.  I hope you will like this one as much as we do!

And the winner is...

Ta-dah!  It's Monday morning and as promised, I have drawn the winner of the Fragrant Freebie giveaway under the watchful eyes of Mr Happy Larder and Keith the dog. So, without further ado, the winner is: JANE!  Congratulations!  Your name came out of the hat - Keith was very excited about all the little bits of paper and wanted to help, so he ate the winning ticket as soon as I had taken it out :-) Could you please email me with your details (my address is in my profile), so I can send your prize to you as soon as possible.
 
Thank you to everyone for taking part and a big thank you also to Sue at Somerset Suds for providing the goodies!  There will be more giveaways coming up soon, so watch this space!!!

And after all that excitement, here is today's recipe...

Roti..busy puffing up...

I'll let you into a secret: I love eating with my hands! I don't get to do it very often but it is strangely liberating when I do.  We went on a camping safari in Africa last year and standing around the fire, grilling tortilla bread and sausages for breakfast is one of my fondest food memories. So simple, so basic, so delicious!  But whilst you might not want to throw away your cutlery just yet, how about making some bread to help scoop up that curry, stew,...?  Meet roti, the little flatbreads popular in India and Nepal and for good reason: these are so easy and quick to make, it's unbelievable!  I made some to have with our chicken curry last night and they were delicious!  So, next time you cannot be bothered to cook rice, have a go at making these and be prepared to be amazed.

It's Friday...It's Fragrant Freebie giveaway day...

A little while ago my lovely friend Sue quit her job and decided to start out on her own, making fabulous soaps, body butters etc.  Her company - Somerset Suds - is a great little venture, fully EU certified and her products are simply divine!  And what better way to let you sample some of her goodies than to organise the...

... Fragrant Freebie giveaway!

The prize...natural soaps made by Somerset Suds

Here is the deal - simply add a comment to this post and your name will go into the draw to win a set of beautiful bath products (see picture on the right).  Don't they look amazing? 


Entry is open to anyone, so please share this with your friends, other bloggers etc - the more, the merrier!  I will draw the winner at 8am on Monday, 4th March (UK time), so you have all weekend to post a comment and be in with a chance.  Looking forward to hearing from you and good luck! :-)

And if you would like to find out more about these and all the other of Sue's fabulous products at Somerset Suds, please have a look at https://www.facebook.com/SomersetSudsLtd or send an email to somersetsuds@live.co.uk

Back with more recipes next week...

Have a lovely weekend!