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.

Fresh Beans and Tomato Couscous Salad

I am making the most of my weekend before the working week begins all over again. August was a manic month, with so many things on the edge of happening but then not happening for one reason - leaving me both exhausted and disappointed.  I was hoping September would be a bit quieter and a little kinder in comparison, but not so much, so you just make the most of what you do have and march on. 

We had this Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad early on in the week when i time to extract myself away from the computer screen to potter a little longer in the kitchen to make lunch.

It was not really much work, as couscous from a jar is effortless.  I am adoring the pop of colours coming from the cherry tomatoes from the garden.

The couscous also has the last of the runner beans, broad beans,  green beans and peas.  There is no recipe for this.  It simply cooked beans stirred into Ainsley Harriot's  Spice Sensation Couscous and topped off with some fresh tomatoes. 

D is not much of a couscous fan, but i didn't mind this at all. I teased him that i would be making it again, but its unlikely as the beans in the garden are coming the end.

I am sharing this Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

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.

Lunch: Lemon Balm Drizzle Cake and Indian Inspired Potato and Chickpea Salad

Some of my colleagues and people I am meeting through Zoom are saying that they are losing track of days, but I am like - Is it Friday yet ? 

I have been busy at home during a crisis trying to work.  In fact, I think I am sure I am working harder from home more than i ever did in the office, unless it feels that way from staring at the computer screen for hours on end. But on balance, working from home means my lunch has never been so good.  

There always seems to be cake of my own making of course! 

I  teased some of you with a glimpse of this Lemon Balm  Drizzle Cake in my In My Kitchen blog post, but here it is in all its golden gorgeousness. 

Lemon Balm also known as Melissa Balm is a lemon scented perennial herb.  I often infuse the  lemon balm leaves (like mint) in hot water and drink like a herbal tea.  It can also be used in a number of recipes  like ice-cream and custard, but here I added it to cake. 

The 'Lemon Balm - Lemon Drizzle Cake' was splendid, with flecks of green lemon balm running through it, I even topped the outside with lemon balm leaves for adornment. Only comment, perhaps it could have been a bit more lemony, but I know whay that was - I did not have enough lemons, so made do with what I had.

Also a change from sandwiches and pasta salads, I made a Indian inspired Chickpea Salad Potato Salad smothered in mild spices and mango chutney.  I don't think my mother would approve, but I know my nephews and nieces would.  It was still warm when we ate it and I liked that as often my salads at work are cold or just room temperature. 

This lockdown potato salad recipe comes from The Guardian to which we subcribed to about a month ago. To be honest we should have subscribed to it a while back as it perhaps the only online newspaper that I consistently read for news, not just recipes. 

And the 'Lemon Balm Drizzle Cake' comes from Mary Berry which you can find online.  I substituted lemon balm for Lemon Verbena Drizzle Cake.  

I am sharing  this Indian Inspired Potato and Chickpea Salad with Kahakai Kitchen, for Souper Sundays,  a space where bloggers can come share together to share homemade comfort foods like soup, salads sandwiches.

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.

Crushed Potato, Courgette and Feta Salad

So I was sitting in the garden early this evening minding my own business, sipping on some homemade Hibiscus Cooler (recipe to come), when I saw what I thought at first glance were dead dandelion seeds floating by, but when I paused to look properly - I realised they were flying ants!. Eek.  We seem to have so many different ants in the garden this year and I am not sure why?!.  

Anyway, onto some good food from the garden.

Although we have new potatoes growing in the garden, for some reason D has decided not to dig them up yet - so these are shop bought.  These new potatoes were left over from another meal, so I decided to crush them a little and then throw them into a baking tray along with some of my harvest from the weekend: round courgette cut into wedges, yellow courgette sliced into thick coins and some beans doused with some olive oil and then into the oven to roast a little.

Once the courgettes were suitably soft, I stirred in some of the homegrown peas, a little salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Then covered it with some feta cheese and spring onions.  I returned it to the oven for a few minutes, before serving it.  

Even though this was so simple to put together, D liked it very much.  He especially loved the roasted green courgette wedges. 

I am sharing this simple salad with The VegHog who is hosting #EatYourGreens this month.  Please do join in this month, you have plenty of time to share a vegan or vegetarian recipe made with either a green fruit or green vegetable, including herbs! As well as and Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Sweet Potato (with Vegan Black Pudding)

I no longer have an allotment plot and presently I don't have much growing in my back garden plot at the moment, so I have decided to trial Riverford Organic Farmers Vegetable Box for a month.

The Riverford Vegetable Box scheme began when Guy Watson began delivering vegetableses locally to 30 friends in Devon. It now delivers around 47,000 boxes a week to homes around the UK.  Riverford delivers to most of England and South Wales.  

I chose the medium vegetable box which has eight organic varieties which was recommended for 2 - 3 people. This week the vegetable box contained: Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Fennel Bulb, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Courgettes, Onions, Oakleaf Lettuce and Tomatoes.  It was hard to know what to cook with first, I finally settled on the Purple Sprouting Broccoli - a seasonal star, I should know I used to grow some and the sweet potatoes.

I decided to make a Warm Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Sweet Potato Salad with Hazelnuts that were given to me by a friend. To make this warm salad more of a substantial dish, I finished it off with some sliced of vegetarian black pudding, but that is optional. This certainly made a welcome change from our boring lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad. 

I am sharing this Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Sweet Potato Salad with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Warm Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Sweet Potato Salad with Hazelnuts
Serves 3 - 4 as a starter; or 2 - 3 as a main dish
Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into bite size cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
250g purple sprouting broccoli
3 tablespoons hazelnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Sprouted alfalfa for garnishing
Optional: vegetarian black pudding
For the dressing
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup (or honey)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200oc.
Toss the sweet potato cubes with the oil and spread onto a baking tray.  
Roast for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, gently stir and return it to the oven until soft and beginning to brown around the edges.
Steam the Purple Sprouting Broccoli as you would do asparagus, until tender.
Drain of excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl. 
Put all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk well. 
Pour over the steamed purple sprouting broccoli and gently stir with a spatula to coat well.
To serve
Evenly distribute the Purple Sprouting Broccoli between the plates.
Then pile on the sweet potato cubes and sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Finish off with optional: alfalfa and cooked black pudding. 

If I have tempted you to try a Riverford Organic vegetable box, then please visit the Riverford website. The Riverford website is very extensive and has a FAQ to answer your questions in relation to having a vegetable box delivered to your front door.  For those of you who live overseas there may be something similar happening in your country; or there is always the farmers market. 

Riverford in South Wales is run by Jon and Janet Mier.  You will often find them and their knowledgeable staff at food events across Wales.  If you would like to keep up to date with news from Riverford South Wales, then follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  

Disclaimer: I was kindly given the medium vegetable box worth £14.85 by Riverford South Wales, in return for a plant based recipe using seasonal and organic vegetables from the box.  All views and opinions are my own. 

Spelt Beetroot Salad with Spinach

I've mentioned in previous blog posts, that I tend to make pasta salads for work lunches, but as we had sort of expected to have spaghetti on one of the evenings after work, I decided I had to start using some of the grains in my kitchen jars, namely spelt, barley and buckwheat.  I ended up making this Spelt Beetroot Salad with Spinach and Mushrooms.  

One ingredient I often find in my fridge is cooked beetroot.  Not because I like it, its because D likes beetroot.  Halfway through the working week, I stumble across it and ponder what to do with it as its fast reaching its use by date. So its not surprising to find that I have a number of lunches for work made with beetroot. See below my many work lunches that include beetroot. 
Balsamic-roasted beetroot with winter greens and Pearl couscous
Estonian Beetroot and Potato Salad 

Beetroot Cauliflower Salad

Simple Roasted Beetroot and Carrot Salad 

Beetroot Horseradish Pasta Salad 

Beetroot Barley Goats Cheese Salad 

Beetroot Orzo Pasta and Green Bean Salad

Other than it being a dish to eat mindfully, by that I mean slowly because of the chewy nature of the grains, I actually quite enjoyed it.  In fact I decided to make another recipe with grains the following week. 

I am afraid I don't have a recipe as such for this Spelt Beetroot Salad with Spinach as it was pretty much thrown together with what we had in the fridge.  To the cooked spelt, which of course I cooked.  I added a light dressing of white wine vinegar and oil.  Chopped the cooked beetroot, tossed in the washed spinach, seasoned it and gave it a good stir.  Oh I forgot there are also some kernels of sweetcorn, it was an afterthought to give it more flavour and some slices of raw chestnut mushroom, but I was not that keen with that addition.

I am sharing this Spelt Beetroot Salad with Spinach with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen; and Eat Your Greens challenge that I am hosting this month.   

Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander

The weather is so changeable at the moment, its gone all warm again.

I came home a little earlier than usual and wanted to eat something quite light, hence this Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander.

Of course, this was not going to be enough as a meal for two, so alongside the Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander, I made a Tomato Tarte Tatin.  It made for a nice change.  The feta here is optional, I used it as that is what I had in the fridge, but you could substitute it with halloumi cheese or if your going for a vegan or dairy free option, perhaps smoked tofu.  I think you need a soft texture with the nutty black chickpeas and the fragrant herb brings it all together.

What I like about this salad too, it that it is quite seasonal in colours - going all autumnal, but also a perfect salad to knock up for a Halloween feast if you are planning a vegan or vegetarian Black Food Menu.  

Please don't worry too much if you can't find black chickpeas where you are, just substitute it with the traditional kind, but  do try and find them - You will always find them in South Asian supermarkets or greengrocers and they are sold as Kala Channa.  However, I have noted over the past couple of years, even supermarkets are selling Indian brands labelled as Kala Chana and they are reasonably priced, you can get three tins for a pound in some places (see here), and in a time of austerity - every pound matters.  You can even find the dried variety too, but that takes a little more forward planning.  

I am sharing this Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander with Souper Sundays hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. I mentioned before, I don't always get to join in, but it is a pleasure when I do.  Thanks for hosting Deb; and also #EatYourGreens Vegetarian and Vegan Blog challenge hosted by me this month.  Eat Your Greens is also co-hosted by The VegHog.  Please do join in.  For those of you who have not participated before, please Follow this link on how to join in .