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?!

Little Tofu Balls

The sunshine is starting to make an appearance, a good sign that its time to start working in the and spending time in the garden; but  I bet you - come the weekend it will rain.  D has been good though, he has been out in the garden, doing a bit of everything.    

Home cooking, has never been so quiet.  You really think being home, i would have been a lot more creative with all those cookbooks on my shelf, but no - i have been uninspired, sticking to quick pasta dishes or firm family favourites that are a whizz to knock up.  

I did however make these veggie tofu meatballs a couple of week back. I had asked D to pick up some tofu from the supermarket for a recipe i had in mind.  When he did - I could not remember for which recipe, so a quick flick through some of bookshelves on the shelf led me to this recipe.  I didn't quite have all the ingredients for their recipe either, but the missing basil was substituted with kale.

These tofu 'meatballs' were okay and made a bit of a change to what we have been eating at home.  

Leek, Potato and Lavender Soup

The world continues to be a frightful place.

I spent a little time in the garden with D,  fixing the greenhouse after the storms of the week that blew out a number of window panes.  This fixing the greenhouse is an annual expectation, in fact it happens at least four times a year. Our fingers were freezing, slotting them back into place. Then came the hail stones. I was glad to get back inside and do a  bit of cooking for the working week ahead, including making this frugal  Leek and Potato Soup that was made luxurious with a hint of lavender. 

Whilst out in the garden, D pulled out some homegrown leeks.  

This gives me an excuse to also join in with Harvest Monday tomorrow hosted by Dave from Happy Acres.  

We also spotted some purple sprouting broccoli, the only brassica family surviving in the garden.    

Here is some of the purple sprouting broccoli close up - pretty.  We will probably just steam it and coat it in some garlicky butter and serve it as a side dish.

Anyway, back to the soup made with homegrown leeks, potato and lavender soup. 

I haven't cooked with lavender for a while, i think the last time was for a Lavender cake. I was motivated by a recipe whilst flicking through a cookbook and remembering that i had some dried lavender in a jar.  Lavender is very potent, so be careful to stick to the quantity recommended.  

On eating though, I could hardly taste it, but I could smell it  and it had somewhat of a calming effect on me, unless i was imagining it.  It was also very rich, in thickness and leek flavour which i guess should not have been surprising, as they were literally harvested less than an hour or two before cooking. I am sharing this Leek, Potato and Lavender Soup with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Yellow Pea Soup with Red Pepper and Tofu Croutons

Too much turmeric in a dish can be overpowering and that is what happened with this Yellow Pea Soup .  It was edible though, albeit not the flavour i was quite expecting.  

To tone down the turmeric yellow flavour and colour, i first added in some minced red pepper for sweetness and for a change,. I also  made tofu croutons that were fried in a little olive oil and fried until golden on sides to add a bit of body.  It was okay but nothing to get excited about.

However, on the following day, when i decided to through some chopped spinach from the garden and honestly, it made such a difference to the whole soup.  I think it made it even better I think, but no photographs and I regret it. Still, I am not going to share the recipe as it's not one I'd recommend highly. Even though it was not such a good soup, i will still share it with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen only because i like participating and admiring other contributors contributions. 

The soup is all gone, so next few days we will be tucking on another homemade Cheese and Onion quiche - just like school days .  

Here it is, still to have its pastry sides trimmed down, so don't go judging for poor presentation. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, i am going to perch myself on the sofa now having finished cooking for the day and watch some nonsense.   

Sweet Potato Cumin Soup

I've woken up to snow this morning, the rooftops of the terraced houses in front look like a festive card with the hills and trees behind. And from the back, the garden view is a little more lively, with the birds on the search for berries and nibbles. They have been considered, as D has filled the bird feeder with seeds.  No seeds for us though, we have this deep orange, bordering on golden Sweet Potato Soup enhanced with warming spices, namely cumin.  

Ideally I would liked to have put some fresh coriander to the soup as I think it would have cut through some of the sweetness, a little like lemon.  But i cannot remember the last time we had fresh coriander at home; and I will confess its one soft herb, I struggle to grow at home.  Nevertheless, it was still a good soup to eat with homemade bread, albeit from the bread machine.

Its been a busy week and weekend, as i attended a workshop of my accord (not work-related yesterday).  I won't say what the topic was, as it may be triggering for some readers, but it was intense, insightful and valuable to my own mental health and wellbeing.  My only regret was not adding my voice to the discussion; and i wondered why this was and i have been reflecting on this.  Some voices do tend to get lost in a room, even more so on zoom. 

Welsh Leek and Potato Soup

Wishing my readers and those who come by now and again, a  kinder New Year.

It's my blog anniversary tomorrow, 11 years and I often celebrate by sharing cookbooks, but this year I haven't been inspired very much to cook because of the pandemic, hence the lack of blogging last year and flicking through cookbooks, old or new. I don't know how inclined I will be this year either, but I do have a new blog header  to celebrate my Blogiversary as it has become a bit of an tradition to do so.

Baby Tomato Kofta with Smoky Tomato Sauce

So how is your weekend going?!

The part of Wales i live in is in another lockdown.  Not as severe as the first as peopleare still able to go out and about, and moreso to the supermarket, but within regional boundaries.  It is NOW mandatory to wear a face mask which i think should have been the case in the first place, but hey the local government thinks it knows best.  I think in not too long, the whole of Wales will be in lockdown.  Not much for me has changed since the first lockdown, but that does not mean i have got used to it, far from it - we are all managing and coping in our own way. I am finding distractions at home - I have been doing a lot of reading, and attending on-line learning sessions - but there is only so much a person can take staring at the computer and zoom calls.  So I am always thankful for the garden space that is still feeding us well.

I've not ventured very far - that is the honest truth.  I have been out of my area three times to see family and friends and that is all and it was all socially distanced unable to kiss and hug.  And on those days went to the supermarket with D.  D has been doing the weekly shopping.

Anyway i made this Cypriot recipe called Domatokeftethes - Baby Tomato Kofta some time last week. The cookbook author writes ' this is kind of based on a Lenten Cypriot recipe. But it's got a splosh of Armenian ad a sprinkle of Turkey in there too'. 

On recommendation of the cookbook author I served it over pasta.

Then smothered with smoky paprika tomato sauce. The recipe i bookmarked from Sally Butcher's Veggiestan: A Vegetable Lover's tour of the Middle East.

It was my first time shallow frying tomatoes.  I must admit i was a bit nervous because of the liquid content in tomatoes, as i had expected some spluttering. But the not so pretty  batter above, benefited from sitting the fridge to firm up. I guess this also absorbs some of the liquid content. 

The Domatokeftethes - Baby Tomato Kofta  are shallow fried in oil and were a little reminisce of South Asian onion bhaji's minus the spices.  

We had plenty left over to eat the following day - cold.  I am sharing this Cypriot Baby Tomato Kofta with Smoky Tomato sauce with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

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. 

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..

Peanut Butter Pancakes and Groundnut Curry with Kale

I am already whimpering at the thought that tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off, I have to return to work (albeit I am still working from home).

The weeks annual leave does not feel enough, that I am contemplating taking another week off in not too long.

I feel like I have hardly done anything worthwhile.  

Then D gently reminded me that I did a lot of learning.  And this is true, I did a lot of reading, I even attended a on-line Cyber School.  We went for a walk and discovered for ourselves the most magnificent tree. I've done some gardening.  I have overslept without feeling guilty.  I have stayed up late and watched some films and documentaries and mostly and more importantly.  I switched off from thinking about work and got to rest and I guess that is what matters. 

Broccoli and Ginger Soup

Ah so its the weekend and i am pleased not to be doing anything, other than be lazy.

I had planned to do a bit of weeding in the garden, but the dark clouds have been gathering spitting droplets of water, sometimes falling fast, sometimes falling slow, its still rain.  

There was mention of thunder, but i don't know if that has already passed by whilst we slept, as the ground was wet when I opened the curtains this morning.  I slept relatively well, but was disturbed a few times as D's mobile phone kept bleeping becasue it needed recharging.  It was in that moment of wake and sleep that i realised I had been dreaming of working and workplace interactions.  I need to seriously switch off.  I do have a long week annual leave coming up in July, so that will be nice when it arrives.  I can perhaps switch off and read some new fiction and non fiction books by Black writers and writers of colour that are beginning to pile up. This reminded me of books I had when i lived in Glasgow and gave away to Oxfam bookshop and a Women's Library, as well as a community centre when we moved to Wales. I was sad to part with them, but was happy they went to a place where i think some of the new recipients would appreciate them.  I was also reminded of some books that i kept and held back, either because they were dear to me or were of value.  These are still with me but boxed up that i need to revisit them, perhaps a task for when i am on my annual leave and have more time on my hands as were not going anywhere anytime soon on holiday, home or away.

I had planned to make a bookmarked Broccoli and Ginger Soup, but instead found myself adapting the last Broccoli Soup recipe that I shared on the blog.  

Though it does not look that exciting,  i felt nourished. it felt healing to eat. I loved the ginger and it warmed my throat with its natural fire and the blended greens was goodness in a bowl. 

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

Broccoli and Ginger Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
250g or thereabouts broccoli, chopped
800ml vegetable stock

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger or minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan, and saute the onions until translucent, then add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes without colouring.  
Then stir in the broccoli and the freshly grated ginger, ground ginger and cook for a few minutes before stirring in the vegetable stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Turn off the heat, allow to cool before blending either with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.
Reheat season to taste before serving.

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.