Ross-on-Wye Yarn Bombing and Homemade Vegetable Pasta Bake

I think it must have been some time last year in July, that D and myself went to the market town of Ross-on-Wye.  Lockdown restrictions had eased and we were beginning to feel a tad comfortable going out and about again, playing tourists.

As we walked around, we noticed that post boxes, bollards, street signs and lamp posts in the town centre had  been yarn bombed by some local guerrilla knitters. 

Here are a handful that I managed to get photographs of. 

We had a poke around in some of the independent shops.  

We didn't purchase much, maybe a book that had vintage music posters.  To be honest, with a puppy it was proving difficult to go into shops.  When i did, the pup barked, when D went in the pup barked.  He just did not like be apart from either of us, even though there was only a door between us.

The town centre got considerably busy the longer we stayed; and our pup was finding it a bit overwhelming and to be truthful, so was I.    

So we took a gentle walk along the river Wye for the puppy to stretch his legs (but still on a lead). 

So now onto the homemade Pasta Bake.  

This is perhaps one of the easiest Vegetable Pasta Bakes to make.  

I made the tomato sauce for the pasta bake from scratch, but if you want you can use ready made or passata even.  Stir in the cooked macaroni pasta and chopped vegetables: mushrooms, red pepper and spring onions; and for some piquancy capers and black olives. Served like this, its good as a Pasta Salad: warm or cold; or Sprinkle the top with grated cheddar cheese and bake!  

I am sharing this Vegetable Pasta Bake with Souper Sundays for Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

All in One Perpetual Spinach, Chickpea Minestrone and Macaroni

Apparently its the coldest April on record in the UK for decades.  And it shows, as i am still filling my hot water bottle up and snuggling it; or mooching about the house in my shawl, hugging me like a big warm blanket. 

On slightly warmer and dryer days, I have still been out in the garden.  The broad beans have been transplanted and so have the peas.  As long as the frost stays away, they should hopefully be okay.  

I harvested some perpetual spinach for dinner; and made this All in One dish of Perpetual Spinach, Chickpea Minestrone with Macaroni for lunch, that served us over two days.  Once in the evening, hot out of the oven and the other day: room temperature for lunch. Its such an easy dish to make, you just add all the ingredients: minced onions, crushed garlic, shredded spinach, chopped tinned tomatoes, macaroni pasta and chickpeas, in a deep dish and then add flavourings: herbs, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetable stock and then put in the oven to cook and swell.  Stir a couple of times, then serve.

Some of you may recognise this dish as I've made it before with red chard.  The original recipe was adapted from Rukmini Iyer 's The Green Roasting Tin and was made with kale and borlotti beans.  You can find my adapted variation of the recipe here, if you want to make it.    

I  am sharing the All in One dish of Perpetual Spinach, Chickpea Minestrone with Macaroni with  with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

I even made cake - Madeira cake to evoke some warmth, but the recipe i tried from a cookbook on my shelf that will remain unnamed was a bit on the unrisen side.  It tasted alright though. 

Have you been baking? And if so, what?!

Laziest Pasta Salad

I think this may really be one of the laziest pasta salad dishes I have ever made for work lunch at home.

The spinach pasta packet was lurking in the back of one of the kitchen cupboards, pushed back as it not the most vibrant of colours. But it could no longer be ignored. Some of you may remember me sharing the Spinach Farfalle pasta in one of my In My Kitchen blog posts. It was the only pasta left on the supermarket shelves last year when everyone was panic shopping.

The red peppers, artichokes and black olives all came out of a jar and chopped down and stirred into the cooked pasta. Then doused in even quantities with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar and seasoned to taste.  Lunch was served.  Then it was back to day job, which is staring at the computer at words, then faces on Teams calls, more staring at the computer screen and honing in on words spoken amidst poor connectivity. Sometimes, its good to close down the computer screen. But then its onto turning on the TV screen; and if its not the TV screen its opening and turning pages of a book, which also means more words.  I am loving reading words, but my eyes are wary.  I think I need to visit the opticians, but presently with Coronovirus restrictions - that is on pause. 

So roll on the spring, so that I can start turning thoughts to the garden and sowing seeds. 

I am sharing this Lemon Orzo with Broccoli recipe with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Lemon Orzo with Broccoli Florets

It's been a busy  week and I must admit, I was glad for the weekend to come.  

I have never missed a deadline and I was not intending to start now. So when the deadline was met with an hour to spare, I called it a day, but I did not feel guilty about it as it had already been a longer working day, and week for me.

This Lemon Orzo with Broccoli was made early this week for lunch in between work and I am glad for days, when lunch is prepped and ready to go.   The citrus piquancy that had infused the orzo and the  broccoli was appreciated by D as he does like lemons.  There's also a little sweetness from the sundried tomatoes and a scattering of toasted pumpkin seeds. If you do make these, only toss in the pumpkin seeds when your ready to serve, otherwise they will get damp and lose their crunch.  

I am sharing this Lemon Orzo with Broccoli recipe with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Little Bit of Green

There was a tweet that went out Sunday night that read 'Can't believe it's back to Teams and Zoom Tomorrow' (meaning Monday) with a person holding their head with a cigarette.  It's captured exactly how i (minus the cigarette)and many others returning to back to work felt yesterday.  

It was good to have the whole week off. Switching off. I made the most of my time.  Its been nice, just reading some non fiction books, watching nonsense and not so nonsense TV, but as I said before in regards to cooking and baking, I haven't done much of late.  I had wanted to make Johanna's Gingerbread Cookies for the festive holidays and decorate them individually and then share with the people in my life, but it never happened.  I hope I live to be able to make and share them in 2021- well, nothing is to be taken for granted now.

Courgette Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

It's been a bit of an unusual week.

The first part of the week I was really unwell.  I don't know what the cause was, but i was suddenly struck with feeling of being nauseas. I can only pinpoint it to going out to the supermarket for the first time and being surrounded by so many people in a way that i have not been accustomed to the past four months, so perhaps I may have picked something.  I could not remains off work for the rest of the week though, as I had a number of deadlines, priorities to meet and that may have also impacted on my stress levels. So who knows, what it was.  I am feeling much better, but still tender and as always thankful for restful weekend for a sleep in and recharging.

Again, i had planned to spend some of the time in the vegetable garden plot, but I am not kidding you - the weekends seem to bring rain. 

We have small patch in the vegetable plot where we sowed some wild flower seeds.  Poppies are coming up, but they're fragility to the elements mean they don't last long and the delicate red tissue papery petals crumple.

Food at home this week has been light and simple all this week, because of my sensitive belly. 
The natural flavours from the vegetables and  fresh herbs came through in this Courgette and Tomato Pasta.  I also liked that the courgettes retained a bit of crunch.  Even though I was enjoying this colourful plate, I was struggling to eat everything on the plate, so the remainder was decanted into a tub and put in the fridge, either for later in the evening if I got hungry again or for the following day for lunch. 

So how has your week been?! And what have you been eating for lunch?

I am sharing this Courgette Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce  with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Courgette Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium courgettes, diced small
3 - 4 cloves garlic, crushed
12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
2 tablespoons basil, thinly sliced
Salt to taste
4 medium courgettes, halved then sliced lengthways
Method
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. In the last 3 minutes, add in the sliced courgettes, bring to a boil. then drain well and set aside.
Heat the oil in a side pan, over medium heat.  
Add the diced courgette and coo k until browned. 
Then stir in the garlic and cook for a minute.  
Stir in the tomatoes and herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Carefully toss the cooked pasta and courgette slices, stir gently to combine.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve. 
Adapted from A Well-Seasoned Appetite: Recipes from an American Kitchen by Molly O'Neill..

Pea Shoots and Asparagus Pasta Salad

Yes, I know what some of you may be thinking - another Pasta Salad! but you will be pleased to note that this one does actually have some homegrown ingredients - Pea shoots.

The pea shoots and pea stems and leaves are all from the garden, not the asparagus - that came from the supermarket. 

Again, its not an overly complicated recipe.  Sauteed a couple of cloves of garlic in some good olive oil, and then stirred in all the ingredients, most of which were raw (except the pasta and asparagus).  Seasoned it with salt and pepper and there you go - all ready.

The pea shoots pasta salad is not heavy in pea flavour, its delicate in flavour.  And to punctuate the green, I stirred in some raw diced red pepper for colour and crunch.  

Another lunch prepared for busy working week days at home. 

I am sharing this Pea Shoots and Asparagus Pasta Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen.

Garlicky Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad

I made this Garlicky Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad last month with the last of the overwintered rainbow chard that was growing in the garden vegetable plot.

The rainbow chard would still be there, but it had begun to bolt, so it had to come out of the ground and make room for the new plants.  I made a number of dishes with it, including Rainbow Chard Pakoras aka Onion Bhaji's - that were delicious, but not as good as my mothers or sister-in-laws.

This pretty Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad was heavily flavoured and scented with garlic, but I don't mind having garlic breath.  It was splendid to tuck into during the busy working week. For those of you who may be interested in the recipe, there is not much to it really.  This is really a tarted up version of Aglio Olio.  

I am sharing this Garlicky Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. Garlicky Rainbow Chard Pasta Salad.

Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad

We haven't had much of an appetite really, as we not expending much energy, but yesterday was different having spent much of it in the garden continuing with the digging and weeding that we had worked up an appetite.

I took me less than 30 minutes to put this dish  together and much of that was cooking of the macaroni pasta and lunch was served:  a big bowl of Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad. 

The macaroni pasta is combined with colourful peppers, spring onions, black olives and then smothered in a Dijon Mayonnaise.  It really was one of the easiest lunches to put together and eat.  I served up and took my bowl outside to eat out in the sun, and I am not even a sun person. I am coming to appreciate my outdoor space a lot more than I have done so in the past. 

D enjoyed Macaroni Pasta Salad so much that he went back for a second helping.  I made a big batch that will serve us both for lunch today as well as tomorrow. I am sharing this  Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen.

All-In-One Red Chard, Chickpea Minestone with Macaroni

I have hardly been out in the allotment garden plot in recent days, partly because of the persistent freezing rain and it has been freezing with snow in some parts of Wales.

I was actually looking forward to November when things around me will be a bit quiet, so that I can also tend to the garden, but its unlikely that the ground will be cleared of spent plants.  One thing that is still growing well is my Rainbow Chard - Here is Ruby Chard.  

I  borrowed a cookbook from the library by Rukmini Iyer called eThe Green Roasting Tin and had bookmarked to make the All in One Kale Borlotti  Minestone with Ditalini, but adapted it with what I had growing in the garden and other ingredients in my kitchen cupboard which these days happens to be a lot of pasta and tinned chickpeas.  

What's great about this recipe is that you put everything in a ovenproof dish and cook! No hanging about the kitchen, stirring ...

There was plenty of left over that I took it into work the following day for lunch. I especially loved how the chilli oil elevated a simple minestrone.

I am sharing this blog post with Dave over at Happy Acres who hosts Harvest Monday every week.

Black Charcoal Cheddar Macaroni Cheese

Last year I made a Black Garlic Macaroni Cheese for World Pasta Day and Halloween that has become a big thing in the UK in the last five years, but this year I had neither the energy or  or motivation to do anything at home or for the trick and treaters banging on the front door. 

This Black Charcoal Cheddar Macaroni Cheese only appeared on my table as some friends rang me out of the blue wanting to come on over for a short visit  last weekend; and as good hostess I wanted to make them something to eat and as it was short notice, I made do  with what I had at home - pasta, milk and cheese.

Despite how it looks, it tastes just as you would expect - like Mac'n'cheese.  To break the grunge grey-blackness, I did scatter over some chopped spring onions. 

I had picked up the Black Charcoal Cheddar Cheese whilst I was in Cardiff recently.  I had bought some Black Charcoal Cheddar last year but never got round to sharing what it looked like, so partly with blogging in mind and partly because we liked the black charcoal cheese I indulged and paid a few extra pounds to bring this cheese home. Look this one is even designed to look like coal!

This is not a sponsored blog post 

I also spotted this creepy graffiti art on the side of a building in Cardiff recently and thought it would compliment my blog post and a late Link to other Black coloured food recipes 

Black Charcoal Cheddar Macaroni Cheese Bake
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
75g butter
1 medium onion - peeled and chopped
75g plain flour800g milk

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

200g-225g Charcoal cheddar cheese, grated plus extra for topping
Salt and ground pepper

300g macaroni pasta

Method
Melt butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onions and cook gently until soft, then garlic and cook until soft.
Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk, whisking all the time.

Then whisk in about three-quarters of the cheese and allow to melt into the sauce.  

Cook until you have achieved the required thickness.

Season to taste and combine well.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al dente. 

Drain, then stir into cheese sauce and gently transfer into an ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
Bake in oven Gas mark 6 for 20 - 30 minutes until golden.  
This dish can be made in advance and reheated.