A good start to the day

There are many people who quite happily skip breakfast, going about their business on an empty stomach. I'm definitely not one of them!  I love porridge, breadrolls with cheese or jam or the latest favourite: homemade granola! For some reason I always thought that something this tasty must inevitably be very difficult to make...wrong! This version is easy to make and once you've tried it, breakfast will be firmly on the menu!

Oats ready for toasting in the oven

Seeds & fruit mix for granola

I usually replace the vanilla extract with cinnamon and leave out the oil - the nice thing is that you can play with it and make it exactly how you like by adding different types of dried fruit, nuts & seeds etc.  It is lovely eaten with just milk (of any type - nut or soya milk would definitely also work instead of cow's milk) or topped with fresh fruit and yogurt.  Yummy - here is to a good start to the day!

Comfort food...

Pork casserole

I guess everyone has a dish or two that they can rely on to lift the spirit - proper comfort food that warms body and soul.  Well, the dish that comes to mind for me is a homemade casserole!  Already when bubbling away on the stove or in the oven, the aroma filling the house makes me smile.  Even Keith, the dog gets excited (although he also does when I empty the kitchen bin, so we won't take his opinion too seriously).

What I love about this particular meal is that it is easy and requires minimum input - just a bit of chopping, some quick frying and then some time in the oven.  You can use pretty much anything you have in the fridge and larder and it's perfect for using up leftover veg.  We had a pork one with peppers, onions, garlic, tomato and a hint of chilli as well as seasoning.  You could use chicken instead of the pork or make a vegetarian option by adding mushrooms, baby corn, etc.  Served on rice (as we did), mashed potato or in a baked spud - really versatile, really easy, really tasty! :-)  What is your ultimate comfort food? 

The beauty of food ... and a change in direction

I don't know about you but we seem to have a handful of things we cook regularly and especially in our London lives, those didn't alter much at all due to lack of time etc.  Now we live here and I have the time to experiment a lot more with new recipes, I am pleased to say our meals have become a lot more interesting!  I am not into complicated recipes, so it's always nice to find dishes that are tasty but easy to make.  Today, I baked an apricot & almond cake - yummy!  It could have done with slightly shorter in the oven but tasted lovely - we'll definitely repeat this one!

 And for our dinner I made spinach & ham stuffed pancakes topped with a Roquefort sauce...also very tasty if quite filling and probably not exactly New Year's diet-friendly ;-) It could easily be adjusted to make it vegetarian and I guess could be slimmed down by using less cheese.  We had it with a simple salad and it really didn't need anything else...apart from a lie-down afterwards :-)  Very tasty though and I dare say this will be added to our list of favourites!

Looking at my blog and the individual posts, I realise that I do mainly write about my favourite thing - FOOD!  This may warrant a change in blog name because although I do watch the pond and still very much value the little things, this has now somewhat morphed into a food blog.  Not a bad thing at all but I should really make a few changes, create a library of recipes and keep any posts relating to other subjects under a different heading.  I'll have to see how I can do this but watch this space!

New Year, new post

Happy New Year!  As you can tell, one of my resolutions was to finally post on my blog which has been shamefully neglected over the last few weeks!

Christmas was spent with family and was peaceful and happy.  We had agreed not to give sibling presents and had asked Father Christmas not to overdo it and that worked very well.  It was all about spending time with loved ones, sharing meals etc - perfect!  I had made a Christmas cake with my own decorations for the family and was quite proud at how it came out.

 New Year's Eve was low key for us - until the dog got scared by the fireworks and we ended up staying up until 2am after all.  Luckily, he calmed down eventually, bless him.

I love the start of a new year!  It's a good time to put plans into action and whilst a lot of resolutions eventually fall by the wayside, I think they do help to focus the mind on what we'd like to achieve.  I want to continue making food from scratch and have already begun doing so - a large bread dough is currently rising and I have mixed my first-ever sourdough starter (he's called Sergei - might as well name him as he hopefully will be part of our lives for a long time). :-)  We have also continued with our quest not to waste food and I made some bubble & squeak cakes for lunch on 1st January - served with cold ham and lettuce it made for a very satisfying meal.  I guess food will again feature quite prominently on my blog this year...

I am looking forward to starting out veggie gardening again - after last year's dismal harvest, we are going to invest in a greenhouse.  That way I am hoping to keep the critters out and have my plants grow nicely.  Also, they are unlikely to drown!  The weather has been shocking in 2012 - apparently the wettest on record!  We were lucky enough not to experience any flooding (spare a thought for those who did!) but in terms of gardening and growing food it really wasn't great.  But, after the initial "I'll never bother growing anything ever again", with the new year out comes the ever optimistic veggie gardener who thinks that it cannot possibly be quite so bad again this year.  And so I am already planning what seeds to get, how to organise the greenhouse etc...

Other resolutions?  After successfully completing my knitted winter hat, I will try and make some more things.

 Featuring high on my wish list is a black corduroy skirt...note that I have never attempted to make a skirt, so it'll be interesting to see the outcome...  My lovely husband also gave me a taster wood turning course for Christmas as well as the chisel I have always wanted, so I will try my hand at making a bowl or platter.  I can't wait to get started on this new project but will have to be patient as the course won't be for at least another couple of months yet.

So, with all these resolutions and projects, I hope that 2013 will be a happy, fulfilling and healthy year and wish the same for everyone out there, wherever you are!

Simple meals...

Pasta with broad beans...

More on the theme of simplicity!  A couple of days ago I made a really simple but delicious supper which still makes my mouth water just thinking about it!  Not only was it very tasty but I love the fact that it was made out of only a handful of ingredients and in no time at all.  Pasta with broad beans, garlic, olive oil, mint, a bit of salt & black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice - job done!

And this morning I prepared an equally simple dish for our lunch: mushroom soup!  All it needed was mushrooms (really? :-)), a couple of leeks, some garlic, thyme and vegetable stock (I did use a cube for this).  Again, really straightforward and also very cheap to make.  You can add cream to it but it really isn't necessary and if really hungry, a slice of bread on the side might go down a treat.

It just goes to show how easy it is to make a satisfying meal that doesn't need to cost the earth (quite literally).

Mini peppers...

Before I forget...I harvested some of our homegrown mini peppers again the other day to add to a roast vegetable dish.  How cute are they?  I love the different colours and shapes!  The colours are obviously due to the different stages of ripeness but funny how the orange ones are quite a lot longer/bigger.  I have kept some of the seeds to grow more next year although I am tempted to try the "normal" size variety.  They may have to be grown outside of the house though as their plants are bound to be huge.

This afternoon I will go and collect the last of the tomatoes from the garden.  They are bound to be green ones but I have decided that they need to be harvested before it gets colder.  I will turn them either into green tomato chutney or salsa (the latter can be frozen).  I'd hate to see them go to waste, so that seems to be the best option.

Of blackberries and plums

The last few days I have been busy turning blackberries and plums into jelly and jam.  It is just so satisfying to collect the fruit (the berries only as I had bought the plums) and to then turn it into jars of loveliness.  We came across a few nice blackberry bushes whilst walking the dog the other day and returned later, armed with a couple of pots to collect some.  Not long later and the blackberries turned into several small jars of jelly.  We now have a rather large supply of different jams...strawberry, gooseberry & kiwi, plum, blackberry, ...  It is rather addictive - the kitchen smelled lovely of stewed fruit and sugar yesterday when I made the plum jam and made me feel all cozy and wintery (not that it is winter yet or even autumn for that matter).  It makes you want to snuggle up with a mug of tea and a homemade treat  :-)

Foraged blackberries being cooked...

Ta-dah...blackberry jelly!

Simple

I have just finished preparing tonight's dinner (meatballs in a pepper/tomato sauce, to be served with rice) and have made the shopping list online for the next few days.  Incredible how quickly things add up but there were a few offers that I took advantage of and I suppose that saves some pennies in the long run.  I did have to review the list a couple of times as it is far too easy to load up the virtual shopping trolley and as I hate being wasteful, I try and think twice about whether we actually need something.  That way we can keep waste to an absolute minimum and meal planning very much helps with that.

When you think about it, there is really very little you truly need.  Yes, shelter, warmth, food, water and clothing are pretty essential but even there things can get scaled down a bit.  Why have an enormous house when a smaller one would do or have a wardrobe full of stuff that never gets worn?  Ever since moving here I have made some progress with simplifying things but there is still a long way to go.  I love it when I do "go simple" though.  For example, yesterday's lunch was just some bread, a chunk of cheese, a couple of tomatoes and some homemade chutney.  It was satisfying and simple - just what I needed and not more.  Perfect!

Home, sweet home

Foccacia sandwich...

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, so I went for a walk by the seafront - it was lovely!  I decided to treat myself to lunch in a little cafe/restaurant - I had eaten there before with a friend and loved it, so I was really looking forward to returning.  Well, what a disappointment!  Now, don't get me wrong - I feel incredibly lucky that I can just go and buy myself some food and I really appreciate that.  What was disappointing was how bland the food was - I went for a veggie quinoa burger with fried potatoes and salad.  It sounded really promising from the description on the menu but wasn't tasty at all, not even after adding extra seasoning.  The only good thing was that I was full afterwards :-(
So this lunchtime I made my own lunch - homemade foccacia spread with pesto (also homemade) and topped with lettuce, feta cheese and figs...yummy!  Simple but tasty! :-)

I also harvested the first of our baby peppers :-)  Lovely taste if a little small but hey, they are mini peppers!  I might roast the next lot whole and either preserve them in oil or chuck them into a pasta dish or similar!

Homegrown mini peppers...

Muffins a la Hollywood

Just a brief post today with the latest baking adventures - mini muffins!  I'm not normally a huge fan of shop-bought muffins as they tend to be the size of a cake for four people and get a bit much after a while. These little chaps, however, are a nice size and came out a treat - I went for apple & raisin and mixed berry ones!  The recipe is yet another one of Paul Hollywood's creations, albeit slightly adjusted as I didn't have any blueberries left - but hey, the man knows his stuff!  Next time I'll probably add more fruit but these are tasty as they are.

Muffins...

To blog or not to blog...

...that was the question! :-)  Frankly, I have not really felt like writing which is why there has been a bit of a pause but I am back again now with no doubt more food talk etc.

We had a long Bank Holiday weekend which was lovely - plenty of home cooked food and relaxing as well as some stunning long walks with the dog.  I find it so relaxing to prepare food and eat it - it's a big part of what we do.  As I write, I have a mixture of veg roasting in the oven which I will have tonight for my dinner - possibly with fried polenta strips...a new thing I have been meaning to try. 

Homemade lasagne...

Hubby made some delicious spelt pasta the other day which we turned into lasagne - served with homegrown lettuce and tomatoes!  Doesn't that look yummy?  If you are a vegetarian, please just imagine that it is quorn mince :-)  The whole thing was just soooo satisfying, especially washed down with a glass of red wine.  The cheese on top was Wyke Farm's mature cheddar - excellent for cooking with!  Now, from what I have heard and read about Wyke Farm, they are an old cheese-making business with great ethics.  They are paying their dairy suppliers more than the usual pittance which is great!  Not so great that this has meant that they have lost their contract to supply the supermarket chain Morrisons due to being priced out by cheaper cheese makers who, I dare say, are probably not doing the decent thing and paying farmers enough for their milk.  This is not just about eating a great product - it's the values behind it that count and deserve supporting! So, maybe if you shop at Morrisons it is time to change supermarkets or ask them to stock Wyke Farm cheeses again!  Climbing off my soapbox now...