Chilli Carrot Pasta and Orange Drizzle Cake

You know I do appreciate my weekends.  Come Friday afternoon, I look forward to closing the laptop and tucking it away in its case along with the mouse.  I can then turn my head to my Friday evening and watch some light TV like Gogglebox or Have I Got News For You (but that was not on this week),  so I turned to Netflix and settled on watching  Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods about four African American veterans return who return to Vietnam decades after the war.  There were echoes of Treasure of Sierra Madre.   

I haven't cooked much this weekend though as I needed to rest.  Its been an extremely busy week, in fact its been unbelievably manic since April, which is in stark contrast to  a number of people I work with who say that their pace of life have slowed down and they could get used to it, I can only wish I had that privilege.  

So I am sharing this Chilli Carrot Pasta Salad that I made late last month.   It was one of those recipes where I thought i was being both frugal and innovative with the carrots. However the idea in my head was better than the actual execution of the recipe.  I don't know why I thought the carrots would break down like red lentil dal and cling to the penne pasta like sauce, but that is not what happened. The carrots were grate-y, in fact looking at it you would think there were red lentils in this, but no.

The flavours were alright though - mildly spiced.  The recipe is not dissimilar form the Garlicky Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad, but with the addition of carrot.  Once the carrot had softened up, I used my hand blender thinking it would turn smooth, but it just grated the carrots - I don't know what I was thinking, in fact i wasn't thinking properly.  Regardless of the texture, it tasted okay and was alright to tuck into for working lunch at home. 

I also made Orange Drizzle Cake adapted from the  'Lemon Balm - Lemon Drizzle Cake'  that I shared last month.

It was good. 

I am sharing this Chilli Carrot Pasta Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen.

Spiced Coriander and Carrot Hummus

I've had a couple of busy days, so it was nice to finally have a lazy day.  With the sun shining ablaze, we decided to spend our day in Bristol.  Whilst D was driving towards Bristol, I put on my sunny shades to protect my eyes from the bright light and looked out of the car window towards the skies.  The skies were absolutely amazing, the blues vivid, but the white floaty clouds looked almost 3D and absolutely stunning. 

After walking around Bristol streets, spending some pounds here and there including on street food such as a: mezze that consisted of couscous, dolmas, hummus, olives, a red mildly spiced sauce and salad; vegetarian sausage rolls; and frozen blueberry and white chocolate yogurt.  

When we were coming back on the ferry boat from Brunels SS Great Britain visit, it was nice to watch people enjoying the sunshine and going about their day.   Many were sitting having a picnic of sorts ton the Quay, for example we spotted some women sipping champagne from fluted glasses evidently celebrating something, it made us both smile.   

When we got back home we were not feeling overly hungry. I made this simple Coriander and Carrot Hummus to enjoy with some decent crusty bread.  With the weather being so warm, I have been keeping most of my vegetables that ordinarily go straight into the vegetable wicker basket into the fridge.  I had forgotten about them, as they have been sitting at the bottom of my fridge for a few days now and now had to be used, and this was a good way to use up some of the carrots.   

Raggy Rani doll is peering over some orange tinged hummus that I have potted up to enjoy during the course of the week.  Its also good for making to take on a picnic whether that be the beach, park or Quay. Its also good to use in place of butter for work - lunch sandwiches or over rice cakes. 

Vegan Carrot Biscuits or Cookies

I was conversing with my good blogger friend at Poppycock and other creative nonsense.  She informed me that she was making some Carrot and Orange soup.  I responded back that I had a load of carrots and was unsure what I was going to do with them. I have to be honest I am not quite ready for soup yet.  

Well in a bid to use up 500g carrots, yesterday afternoon I hit the kitchen.  I made not one, not two, not three dishes, but five carrot infused dishes, of which two were sweet .   I also made  a coleslaw without mayonnaise, instead it was perked up with other flavours.

I will share some of the other carrot injected dishes with you in the next few days, but today I share with you these vegan carrot biscuits OR carrot cookies.  

Carrot and Raisin Flapjacks

I still haven't got round to sowing the carrots seeds in the recycled bath tub in my garden.  My excuse is genuine, the persistent rainfall has marred any progress in the garden.  Plus we need some soil to fill it up.  We also need to purchase some compost and us gardeners know, the stuff ain't cheap, so its been delayed yet again. We do have some sand in the garden courtesy of the landlord that we will be using whenever we get round to sowing the carrot seeds. 

Anyway, I picked up some yellow and orange carrots from the grocers about a week ago, I have to admit as I haven't been cooking much, they were beginning to look a bit on the limp side, hence no photograph of it.  However, if you click on the images below, you will be able to see some yellow amongst the orange flecks in the flapjacks.  

My niece loved these flapjacks, in fact she ate two n one go.  I wasn't quite convinced.  They were okay, but not great.  They lacked something.  I think it needs more spices, to bring it closer to carrot cake flavours.  So next time, I may add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger to it. I may also soak the raisins in some orange juice, to give it a bit more zing too.

Carrot and Raisin Flapjacks
Ingredients
Makes about 10 - 12
120g butter
4 tablespoons runny honey
75g golden caster sugar
240g rolled oats
1 large carrot, grated (or two medium)
Handful of raisins
A good pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.  My tray measured 7

½ inch by 11 inch. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, honey and sugar until it all melts. Take of the heat, then stir in the oats, grated carrot, raisins and spices. Using a spatula, carefully turn out into a non-stick baking tray and press down. Place the tray in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the sides are golden. Remove from the oven and slice immediately. Leave them in the tin, when completely cold and remove from the baking tray and slice again. 

Cranberry, Carrot and Orange Bread

One of the imported ingredients I always buy around this time of year is cranberries.  There is just something about these miniature edible cranberry baubles that sings festive holidays. 

Around this time of year, like many I like to experiment with cranberries and make muffins, biscuits and scones,  however there was one cranberry pudding that always featured on my Christmas table: 'Cranberry, Orange and Almond Pudding'.  Its really a warm and seasonal version of Bakewell Tart and we like it with thick custard - but sadly it was not made this year.   As there was only the two of at the table for Christmas dinner, I went for something that would keep and eat well  over the week - Cranberry, Carrot and Orange Bread. 

Its good and after finishing writing up this post, I will be helping myself to a generous slice.

I made a version of this Cranberry Bread a couple of years ago; and found it quite delightful. I like how the cranberries burst, piercing the loaf with their vibrant juices. This bread is enhanced further with specks of carrot, which not only gives it colour, but sweetness next to the sharp tartness of cranberries. The orange juice is there, but ever so subtle.

Cranberry , Carrot and Orange Bread
Makes 2lb Loaf

Ingredients
260g/2 cups plain flour
155g/¾ cup caster sugar
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
60ml/¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
180ml/¾ cup Orange (or Clementine) Juice
115g/1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 large carrot, grated

Method
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda.
In another bowl, whisk the egg with the juice and then stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Stir in the cranberries and grated carrot until evenly distributed.  Carefully spoon the batter into a greased 2lb loaf pan.
Bake at Gas mark 4 for 50 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chantenay Carrot and Thyme Flan

It doesn't matter what the weather is like outside: autumnal or wintry, you can be rest assured that the one vegetable that will always inject some colour onto your plate is the orange root vegetable - the crunchy carrot. Another thing going for the carrot is you are able to find it all year round.  Its also such a versatile vegetable, not only does it appear on your plate as a side dish, it can be transformed into a soup, a cake, a biscuit, a breakfast waffle, a dip or even a jam!

A couple of years ago, I grew loads of carrots: in pots and in the ground.  They tasted surprisingly like carrot.  I know that's a odd statement to make, but once you've grown your own - you really do start tasting  and smelling the difference in vegetables.  Anyway, this time round - no home grown carrots for me, they had to be bought in. 

I was actually looking for some baby carrots for this recipe, but I couldn't find them so in its place I picked up some stumpy  Chantenay carrots.   If you can’t find either of them at your greengrocers or supermarket, just substitute them with the larger variety and chop it in half.  I think carrots also lends itself well to many herbs, but in this flan they are infused with some homegrown (dried) thyme. 

I was encouraged by a blog post written by fellow blogger Nicisme at Cherrapeno to submit a recipe into a competition called a Carrot Competition.  It is being hosted by lovethegarden.com.
UPDATE; Fellow blogger RuckusButt of Food.Life.Dog. made her version of this flan.  I think its looks splendid,  please do go by and check it out here.  

Chantenay Carrot and Thyme Flan
Serves 4 – 6
For the shortcrust pastry
Ingredients
170g plain flour
A pinch of salt
85g cold butter
2 tablespoons cold water
Method for short crust pastry
Sift the flour with the salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons cold water to the mixture. Mix to a firm dough.
Chill, wrapped for at least 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to gas mark 6.
Roll out the pastry and use to line a 8 - 9 inch round dish, then bake blind.  Set aside to cool.
For the Carrot Thyme Flan Filling
Ingredients
1 tablespoons of olive oil
4 – 6 shallots, sliced
4 – 6 Chantenay or baby carrots, sliced in half length ways
1 – 2 medium carrots, grated
150ml milk or for a luxurious texture single cream
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon dried  thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a medium pan, heat the oil and add in the shallots.  Saute until soft without browning,  then add the halved carrots, grated carrots, thyme and seasoning cook on low heat covered until the halved carrots are al dente.  Turn off the heat.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  When cool, carefully remove the halved carrots with a slotted spoon and set aside. Gently spread the sautéed shallots, grated carrots evenly into the flan case. Then as you wish, decoratively lay the halved carrots on top.
Whisk the milk with the egg.  Pour into the flan case.
Bake on gas mark 5 for 30 – 35 minutes until set.  This is good at room temperature or cold.

ultimate dunkable carrot biscuit

Carrots - Bugs Bunny’s favourite food hardly needs an introduction as it is well known by even the smallest child. The health benefits of carrots are also legendary. Many of us have been told that eating carrots would keep your eyesight bright and allow you to see better in the dark.

Carrots belong to the Umbelliferae family, named after the umbrella like flower clusters that plants in this family produce. Carrots are related to other vegetables such as parsnips and fennel; and herbs such as caraway, cumin and dill. The carrot is a plant with a thick and fleshy root. It grows underground and has feathery fern like green leaves that emerge above ground making it easy for one to pull out with ease. There are over 100 different varieties of carrots that vary in size, flavour and colour. While we usually associate carrots with the colour orange, in fact, carrots grow in various colours including white, yellow, red and purple, the latter being the original colour. This year I have grown: Kuttiger; Autumn King; Baby; Chatenay, Rainbow, Yellowstone, Purple Haze and Resistafly.

Over the past few months I have eaten carrots in a variety of ways: simply shredded raw in salads, as a nutritious soup, as crudités and even in recipes such as mosaic carrot and green bean pie, courgette, baby carrot and mint flan, carrot and runner bean flan, and even a rainbow carrot cake, some of which I would encourage you to try. This time however, I decided to make some biscuits with a purple haze carrot (which was orange on the inside), as well as turn them into carrot shapes. Well how else was I going to get your attention?! I think even Bugs Bunny would approve!
I am submitting these to Weekend Herb Blogging#208 or WHB as it is fondly known by. The weekly event was originally founded by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and now coordinated by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything. Haalo is also our host this week. This week there 's a bit of difference too as Weekend Herb Blogging celebrates its 4th birthday (Hip hip hooray) and with that it gets a brand new logo, which I will soon be showcasing in my sidebar. I am so grateful to WHB as it gives me the opportunity to showcase my food made with my home-grown produce. Thank you WHB.
So why carrot shapes, some of you may be asking or maybe not, but I am going to tell you anyway. I am not a tweeter, my life is pretty uneventful to sign up to that, plus I can barely text (really). But I do like reading other food blogs, bloggers comments and exchanging ideas. It was a comment by a fellow blogger on my lavender scones, that prompted me to make squash scones in the shape of pumpkins, which then made me think even more creatively when I came to make these carrot biscuits, hence the carrot shape (made without a cookie cutter). I do enjoy reading your comments, so please do continue share your thoughts and inspire.

Apple and Carrot Biscuits

Makes about 12 - 16

Ingredients

225g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

150g unsalted butter

100g golden caster sugar

50g carrots, grated (I used purple haze)

25g eating apple, grated (I used British Spartan)

Method

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the grated carrot and apple into the flour mixture, then fold into the creamed butter. Knead to a soft dough. Rest for half an hour in the fridge. When you are ready to cook the biscuits, roll out into 1/2 thick and mark into wedges or use a cookie cutter. Fork over the dough and bake on a non-stick surface for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool before cutting.

I have seen various carrot and apple shortbread recipes recently, but I originally came across this culinary combination a few good years ago in Tamasin Day-Lewis (yes Daniel Day-Lewis’s sister) cook book Good Tempered Food on which my recipe is based. These were not so much as shortbread, but more biscuity and crumbly nonetheless.

Sweet Baby carrots

This afternoon, after work I started thinning out the plastic carrot tub. There was a reason behind why I was doing it now, rather than waiting tomorrow. I wanted some baby carrots for our meal this evening.
The carrots were so small, so cute, and smelled so 'carroty'. But not all are blemish free, if you take a look closer look, one of them has been attacked by the dreaded carrot fly. Boo hoo, how? the tub was so high. I cannot understand it. Hopefully, not many of the others will be affected.

I made this recipe of Baby Summer Vegetables with a Lemon Vinaigrette from Delia Smith's Summer Collection. The shelling of the peas, and then popping the broad beans from their outer skins was a bit of a nuisance especially after a long day at work. But hey, it was worth it. And the carrots, oh they were so flavourful...

Shades of green with a tint of purple

My cardoon thistle heads are starting to become the star attraction at the entrance of the plot.

The fennel are starting to look utterly glorious spreading their fern like peacock wings. The lollo rosso lettuces and radishes, both calling out to me to pick them. I will do this weekend.

Fresh carrots from a garden pot

Early this month, I was doubting the fact that carrots were still being grown somewhere in the UK. Then while pottering in the garden, I came across a small pot where I had planted some carrot seeds, and to my surprise unearthed some baby carrots.
Wow!!!
And the smell is so strong.

Last seasons planting

It’s that time of year that I begin looking backwards and forward – to last seasons planting and crops which didn’t do so well; to the coming year and the hope that we will overcome whatever the weather throws at us, and still have a healthy return for our efforts.

Despite the problems with the weather last year, like many gardeners we managed to produce some fabulous specimens from our plot. Please do take a look.

Turnip purple top milan
Rainbow swiss chard - good in tarts and quiches

Tomato san manzano. Good for pizzas and paninis.

Rainbow carrots - no carrot fly. Yay.

Broad beans, calabrese, nint, courgette ronda di nizza, tri-colour and goldie.
yellow french beans neckar gold
Climbing green beans. I also grew purple climbing french beans blauhilde. Sorry I don't seem to have photos of them. On cooking the purple beans turned green. Tasted fine.

I have quite a lot of seeds left over from last years purchase, but this has not stopped me from flicking through the Organic Gardening catalogue where I order most of my seeds.

MMmm now what else would I like to grow...