Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

I do love biscotti and so does my family.  When a friend shared a recipe she had for something with citrus and coconut, I just had to play around with it.  This is what I came up with.  Delicious on their own or with a cup of your favourite warm beverage.

Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
Finely grated rind of 1 each x orange, lemon & lime (you could use just oranges if you prefer)


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease oven tray.

Whisk sugar and eggs until combined.  Stir in flours and ground almonds, then coconut and rinds.

Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (doesn't take long).  Divide dough in half, roll each portion into an approx 30cm log.  Place logs on tray.  Bake for around 30 minutes.  Cool on tray for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees.

Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into approx 5mm slices.  Place slices in a single layer on ungreased oven trays.  Bake for 30 minutes until dry and crisp turning halfway through baking.

Cool on wire racks.

These should keep in an airtight container for at least a month, but I've never been able to test this theory as they are well gone by then!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Stewed Squid with Pasta

Years ago, I used to love eating stewed squid from one of my favourite little Greek Restaurants in London.  Unfortunately, the restaurant has been long gone, so when I came across some lovely fresh squid a little while ago, I just had to try and recreate this lovely dish.

Stewed Squid with Pasta

Ingredients

Pasta of choice
Olive oil
1 red onion - finely sliced
4 garlic cloves - finely sliced, or crushed
1-2 small chillies - seeds removed, finely diced
Handful of fresh parsley - leaves and stalks trimmed separately
1 red pepper - finely sliced
Paprika
Red wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g squid - tubes sliced into rings and tentacles cut into pieces


Boil a large pan of water and cook pasta to directions on packet.

Meanwhile, heat a spoonful of oil in a large saucepan.  Gently stir-fry the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley stalks until soft.

Add the peppers and a shake of paprika and fry together for another minute or so.

Add a good splash of red wine and the tomatoes. Stir and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Bring back to the boil and stir in the squid pieces. Cover and simmer very gently for 4 minutes.  (You don't want to overcook the squid, or it will become rubbery!)

Sprinkle the parsley leaves over and serve with pasta.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Soul Cakes

Soul Cakes are traditionally baked to celebrate Samhain, a time to reconnect with our ancestors and to honour those who have passed.  This recipe is my own version and makes approx. 16 small cookies.

Soul Cakes

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour - white, whole wheat or a mixture of the two.
3/4 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
1 egg
1/4 cup butter - melted
1 tbsp orange juice


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, beat the egg, then add the butter and orange juice and stir well.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until well combined and the dough starts to form into a ball.

Split the ball in half and repeat until there are 16 small balls. Flatten each one slightly and place on baking tray, leaving a little room for them to spread.

Bake for approx. 25 mins, or lightly brown.

Cool on a wire tray.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Cavolo Nero Pesto

I know, you looked at the title of this post and thought, "Cavolo Nero Pesto, what was she thinking????!!

Well, I really love leafy green veggies, but my family can be a little fussy, so I've been playing with ideas on different ways of using them.  After a not-so-successful attempt at Kale Crisps the other day (I am going to need a food hydrator for things like that), I decided on a pesto instead.  This turned out really well, very garlicky - so you may want to reduced the amount used, if you're not as garlic mad as I am - and there is enough for an easy pasta meal, as well as for basting fish, and/or stuffing under the skin of a chicken before roasting.

Cavolo Nero Pesto

Ingredients

1 bunch Cavolo Nero - washed and stripped from their stalks.  Discard stalks.

Sea salt

40g Butter - approx.

Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic

75g Parmesan - grated

Boil a large pot of well-salted water, plunge in the Cavolo Nero leaves and cook for five minutes.   Remove and drain.

Place the cooked Cavolo Nero in a food processor along with the butter, a couple of tbs of oil, garlic and parmesan and purée until smooth.  Add more oil as needed.

Note*:  I poured a little oil over the top of the pesto in the jars, so it should last a bit longer when stored in the fridge ..... although I think we'll be using it up pretty quickly!

Enjoy!

Caryl  ♥

Banana and Plum Loaf

My plum tree is overloaded with ripe deliciousness and I had a few very ripe bananas in the fruit bowl, so made up this lovely loaf for afternoon tea.

Banana & Plum Loaf

Ingredients

100g (approx. 1/2 cup) butter - softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 3/4 cups plain white flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 ripe bananas - mashed
Approx. 1 cup plums - pitted and quartered


Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.  Grease two 9x5 inch loaf tins.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla essence.

In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder and baking soda with the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture in thirds, alternating with the mashed bananas until the batter is smooth and well combined.

Gently fold in the plums, and spoon the batter evenly into the prepared tins.

Bake for approx. 45 mins, or until well browned.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Prawns and Samphire Risotto

Having discovered the deliciousness and goodness of samphire recently, I've been playing around with different ways of serving it.  Samphire is also known as sea asparagus and is becoming very well-known as another superfood.  It's actually lovely served with butter and lemon, alongside a piece of fish, but tonight I had other plans.

Prawns and Samphire Risotto

Ingredients

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion - finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic - finely chopped
5-1/2 cups or so of stock - (see note*)
1-1/2 cups Carnaroli rice - (or any other type of risotto rice)
1/2 cup white wine
1 large clove garlic - finely chopped
1 small chilli - finely chopped
350g raw prawns
100g samphire - rinsed in cold water
grated parmesan
black pepper
lemon

Note*:  The stock I used for this was actually the cooking water from a bunch of asparagus I cooked the other day.  You could use any fish or vegetable stock though. 

Also, I made this risotto a little drier than usual.  If you like yours more wet, add more stock.

Melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a large pan and fry the onion until soft and lightly browned.  Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are coated with the butter.

Add the wine, stir, and simmer until it has been absorbed.

This is where I cheat a bit, as in traditional risottos it is recommended to add about 1/2 cup of stock and stir until absorbed, then repeat, until all the stock has been added.  

What I do instead is add all the stock, stir really well and bring to a boil.  Then turn down to a simmer and pop a lid on top until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is soft, but with a little bite - approx. 20 minutes.  Check and stir once in a while and add more stock if needed.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan.  Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute.

Add the prawns, stir and cook for about a minute or so.  You will see them turn a lovely pink colour.  Remove the prawns with a slotted spoon and add the samphire to the pan.  Stir for a minute or so and remove from the heat.

When rice is ready, gently stir the prawns and samphire into the risotto.  Add a good sprinkling of parmesan cheese, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon and stir again.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Blueberry Banana Ice-Cream

After making Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato the other day, and discovering how easy it was, I decided to try a different flavour.  I only used coconut cream this time instead of coconut milk, to see if it would come out less icy - it did, a little!

I love how healthy and tasty this ice-cream is and the fact that it is vegan and lactose free means that anyone can enjoy it .... and you don't have to save it for dessert!

Blueberry Banana Ice-cream

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 small bananas - broken into small pieces
2 x 160g cans coconut cream - (You could use 2 x 400g cans of coconut milk, but only use the thick coconut cream from the top).


Place blueberries, banana and coconut cream into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a container and place in the freezer for approx 3 hours, or until it starts to freeze.

Transfer mixture back to a blender. Blend again, then pour mixture back into a container and refreeze overnight.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I came across this jam recipe on facebook the other day and thought I just had to try it, seeing as I had all the ingredients at the time and I love using chia seeds!  Well, it was the easiest and quickest jam I've ever made and it is also healthy and delicious, so I'm sharing it with you here.

Thank you, to thankfulexpressions.blogspot.com :)  I am so impressed with this jam that I may just be making all my own fruit jams from now on!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients

1-1/3 cup strawberries
2/3 cup rhubarb - cut into small pieces
2 tbsp raw honey (or to taste)
2 tbsp chia seeds


Process all the ingredients in a blender (I used my food processor for this).

Refrigerate overnight, or at least a couple of hours.  The chia seeds will gel, thickening the fruit puree.

Add additional diced fruit if you like it chunky.

Enjoy!  We certainly did in our house!

Caryl ♥

Bulghur Wheat Salad

On these hot summer nights, I haven't really wanted to eat much more than a salad for dinner.  Teenagers though, need filling up, so adding grains to salad and vegetable ingredients is a great way to satisfy everyone.  This salad was tasty and filling.

Bulghur Wheat Salad

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups bulgur wheat
1 tsp ground oregano
2-1/2 cups boiling water
2 medium courgettes (zucchini) - sliced lengthwise down the middle and then crosswise into diagonal slices
1 large red pepper - sliced into strips
Olive oil
2 medium carrots - grated
2 spring onions - sliced thinly
handful pine-nuts
large handful fresh mint - chopped


Dressing

2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 orange - juice only
Honey - a little drizzle


Put the bulgur wheat into a large bowl and mix in the oregano. Pour the boiling water over and cover with a lid. Set aside for approx. 20 mins.

Combine the courgettes and peppers in a bowl. Give them a good drizzle of olive oil and stir well. Transfer veggies onto a baking tray and roast in the oven - approx. 200 degrees C - for 20 mins.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining dressing ingredients in a small jar. Shake well and put aside.

When the bulgur wheat is cooked, fluff it through with a fork and transfer to a large serving bowl. Mix in the roasted veggies, carrots, spring onions, pine-nuts and mint. Drizzle over just a little dressing and mix through. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, mix in more dressing to suit your tastes (some people like just a little and others like it soaked right through the salad).

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato

With the very hot few days we've been having and loads of fresh fruit around the house, I decided to make a fruity ice-cream dessert.  I don't have an ice-cream maker, but I figured I could still freeze my concoction and it would still turn out ok. ...... I still wanted something quite healthy and light, so didn't use cream or eggs and it turned out like a refreshing gelato.

Oh and another wonderful thing about this delicious treat is that it is lactose free, perfect for anyone with lactose intolerance! :)

Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato

Ingredients

1 cup (approx) fresh strawberries
1 bunch (approx) fresh rhubarb stalks - cut into small pieces
2 x 400g cans coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp water


Place rhubarb, sugar and water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until just tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Put the strawberries, rhubarb mixture and coconut milk into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a container and place in the freezer for approx 3 hours, or until it starts to freeze.

Transfer mixture back to a blender. Blend again, then pour mixture back into a container and refreeze overnight.

To allow it to soften, take out of the freezer a good 20-30 mins before serving.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Aubergine & Mushroom Lasagne - 2

There is always more than one way to create a recipe, especially as I tend to make things up as I go along - depending on what ingredients I have lying around.  Here is another of my vegetable lasagne versions - it is easier than my Aubergine & Mushroom Lasagne - 1, and still delicious! :)


Ingredients

Olive Oil
4 x garlic cloves - peeled and finely chopped
1 onion - diced
2 medium aubergines (eggplants) - diced
1 large courgette (zucchini) - diced
200g brown mushrooms - quartered
Dried thyme
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
Dried chilli
Fresh basil - roughly chopped
Lasagne noodles
400g Mozzarella cheese - cut into slices
Cheddar cheese - grated
Parmesan cheese - grated


Gently fry the garlic and onion in a large pan with some oil.  When softened, add the aubergines, courgette, mushrooms and a good shake of thyme.  Stir well and cook until the vegetables soften and start to create their own juices - approx. 30 mins.

Pour in the tomatoes, a good shake of chilli and the basil.  Stir well and cook for another 10 mins or so until slightly thickened.

In a large ovenproof dish, place approx. 1/2 a cup of the veggie sauce, to coat the bottom.  Add a layer of lasagne noodles.  Spoon half the veggie mixture over the top of the noodles, then add a layer of sliced mozzarella and a sprinkling of cheddar.  Repeat with more noodles, sauce and cheese, then sprinkle over some parmesan.

Bake in oven preheated to 190C for approx. 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with a crispy lettuce salad and enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Chia Chocolate Pudding - Updated

I have just put together this, very delicious, Chia Chocolate Pudding and decided to update it here, so you can try it too.  There isn't a huge difference from the original version, but if you hadn't thought of the variation yourself, now you can try it too! :)


Ingredients

4 tbs (1/3 cup) chia seeds
400ml Almond milk
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs honey


Please note:

1. If you are using sweetened almond milk, you may wish to reduce the amount of honey.
2. Try using soy milk or even regular cow's milk.
3. Use melted chocolate or instead of the cocoa powder and omit the honey.
4. Use grated raw cacao instead of the cocoa powder.
5. As in the original recipe, use 400ml coconut milk, instead of almond milk; and replace the honey with agave syrup.

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate for an hour or so.

Enjoy!

Caryl ❤

Carrot & Lentil Soup

This was a quick "throw-together" soup because I wanted to use up some carrots.  It was so good that the bowls were taken away and emptied before I could get a photo!

Ingredients

Butter
1 onion - roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
3 stalks celery (including leaves) - roughly chopped
6 large carrots - roughly chopped
Ground cumin
Chilli powder
250g red split lentils
1 tin tomatoes
6 cups vegetable stock
Fresh parsley - finely chopped


Melt a small knob of butter in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic and celery and stir until onion starts to soften. Add the carrots and let cook for approx 5 mins.

Shake in a good sprinkling of cumin and chilli. Stir well until vegetables are covered in the spices. Pour in the lentils and stir until combined.

Add tomatoes and stock. Stir well and bring to the boil. Put a lid on the pan and turn down to a simmer for approx. 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

When carrots are soft and lentils are cooked, take the pan off the heat. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Ladle into individual bowls and top each with a sprinkling of parsley.

We ate this with freshly baked cornbread muffins and a green leaf salad.

Enjoy!

Caryl ❤

Spaghetti with Rhubarb and Fresh Dill

This is another savoury recipe with rhubarb that turned out to be one of the best pasta dishes I've ever tasted ..... and no, I'm not pregnant, which is what most people asked me when I made it! :)

Spaghetti with Rhubarb and Fresh Dill

Ingredients

1 bunch of rhubarb
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbs evaporated milk
1 tbs creme fraiche
1 leek - thinly sliced
125g butter (I have to think about how to reduce this amount)
3 tbs pine-nuts - roughly chopped
3 tbs sultanas, soaked in warm water 10 minutes, then drained
2 small bunches fresh dill - finely chopped


Please note:

1. It would probably be easier to replace the evaporated milk and creme fraiche with single cream instead .... I just used what was in the fridge!
2. The amount of butter is rather a lot, so I will think about what to do to reduce this!

Cut each rhubarb stalk crosswise into 3 pieces, then thinly slice lengthwise. In a large saucepan, combine wine, evaporated milk, creme fraiche, leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Add rhubarb and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, pine nuts and sultanas. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and the flavours have combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in dill and cook a few minutes more. Remove from heat.

Cook pasta in boiling water until tender. Reserving 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta. Mix pasta with the cooking liquid, pine nut mixture and rhubarb mixture.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Rhubarb with Chicken Thighs

Members of my family have mixed feelings about rhubarb.  I quite like it but wanted to try something different, for a change from the traditional sweet desserts that everyone seems to associate with rhubarb.    This chicken recipe was a real hit with everyone.  Unfortunately, it was eaten too quickly to get any photos, but will add one next time I make it! :)


Ingredients

8 x chicken thighs
Olive oil
1 bunch spring onions
2 tbs fresh ginger - grated
1 tsp ground cardamom (I could only get the pods, so opened them up and ground the seeds with a mortar and pestle)
1/2 cup sherry
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup honey
Juice from one orange
3-4 sticks rhubarb - diced into small chunks


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof pan.  Place the chicken thighs in the pan and cook until golden, then turn over and cook the other side.  Transfer the thighs to a plate.

Add the spring onions, ginger and cardamom to the pan.  Season to taste.  Saute until the spring onions start to soften.  Pour in the sherry and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook for a few minutes, then add the stock, honey and orange juice.  Stir to combine.  Return the chicken pieces (and any juices) to the pan, turn the chicken to coat, and bring mixture to a boil.

Cover the pan with a lid and place it in the oven and cook for approx. 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, scatter the rhubarb pieces between and around the chicken, then return the pan to the oven for another 15 minutes.

I served this with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Curry

It was time for another tasty and warming curry tonight and I had sweet potato and cauliflower available.  This is what I came up with.

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients

1 onion - diced
2 large garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 inch (approx) fresh ginger - grated
Ground cumin
Garam masala
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
1 x 400g tin coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large sweet potato - cut into cubes
1 small cauliflower - cut into small florets
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp cornflour
2 tbs water
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts - roasted
1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) - roughly chopped


Heat a little oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion, garlic and ginger for a minute or so.

Add a good shake of cumin and garam masala.  Cook, stirring until nicely fragrant.

Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk and stock.  Stir well and bring to the boil.

Add the sweet potato and cauliflower pieces.  Stir, cover the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes or until veggies are just beginning to soften.  Add the peas, stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Mix the cornflour and water together in a small bowl.  Add to the veggies and stir well.  Continue to cook for a little longer.

Stir in the nuts and most of the coriander, reserving a little for garnish.

Serve with brown basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Sweet Potato Pancakes

After making traditional pancakes this morning and only managing to get one for myself, I decided to make a savoury style vegetable pancake to go with left-over veggies for dinner.  I had sweet potatoes in the cupboard, so that's what I made - Sweet Potato Pancakes.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

2 small sweet potatoes
1-1/4 cups plain flour
3 heaped tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
50g butter - melted


Peel and cut the sweet potato into small chunks. Place the pieces into a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook the potatoes for approx. 15mins until tender. Drain, mash and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together into a bowl.

In a separate bowl, gently whisk the eggs, then stir in the sweet potato, milk and butter until well combined.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold together until all the flour is mixed in and a batter is formed. It may be slightly lumpy but that's ok.

Heat a lightly greased pan and pour a spoonful of mixture in.  (I use a soup ladle for this.)  Cook until bubbles start forming on the top of the pancake.  Flip it over and cook a minute or so longer.  Transfer to a warm plate.  Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

Serve as a side, or underneath, stir-fried veggies.  Or you can simply eat them with butter and syrup, alongside a cup if tea.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Blueberry Pancakes

With all the talk about Pancake Day coming up and seeing pictures of pancakes in grocery store magazines, I woke up this morning and had to make some.  Having some lovely lavender and fresh blueberries on hand I thought they'd make a great combination and I wasn't wrong! :)

Below, I have shown the ingredients that I used, but you could certainly change a few things if you preferred.  For example, I felt like a more wholesome pancake and used wholemeal flour, but you could replace this with white flour, or even use 1 cup of each.  Also, you could use regular milk instead of the almond milk, and/or replace the creme fraiche with buttermilk or sour cream.  As mentioned, I used a pestle and mortar to crush the lavender, but you could use a food processor or coffee grinder.

Lavender Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups wholemeal flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp dried lavender (gently crushed in a pestle & mortar)
1 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs butter - melted
1-1/4 cups almond milk
200g tub creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla
200g punnet fresh blueberries


In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, lavender, sugar and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, creme fraiche and vanilla.

Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. The mixture will be a bit lumpy. Stir in the blueberries.

Heat a well greased pan and pour in a large spoonful of batter. Cook until little bubbles start appearing on the top, then flip over and cook a couple of minutes on the other side. Remove pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Serve with lavender honey butter and an extra drizzle of honey, or whatever else takes your fancy.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Chilli Con Lentils

I do love my lentils and the fact that they are full of protein makes them even better.  This is a delicious vegetarian chilli which should really be called "Chilli Con Lentejas", which translates to chilli with lentils, as opposed to "Chilli Con Carne" which is known as chilli with meat.

Chilli Con Lentils - or - Chilli Con Lentejas

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups French lentils (or Puy lentils)
2 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon stick
4 cups vegetable stock
1 onion - diced
2 large cloves garlic - diced (or crushed)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli (or more, depending on how hot you like it)
1 tsp paprika
1 large carrot - chopped into evenly sized pieces
2 large romano red peppers - sliced into evenly sized pieces
1 400g tin kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 200g tin corn
1 400g tin tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs brown sugar
1 cup water
Fresh coriander - roughly chopped


Place the lentils, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and vegetable stock in a large saucepan.  Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer for approx. 25 minutes, until lentils are cooked.

Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in a little oil, in a large pan for a minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.  Add the cumin, chilli and paprika.  Cook another minute or so.

Add the carrot and red peppers.  Stir until well covered with the spices.  Pour in the cooked lentils, including any liquid.  Add the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and water.  Stir well until combined.  Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.

Serve in bowls, over rice.  Top with coriander.  You could also make a simple guacamole to serve with it.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Honey Butter

This is a lovely sweet herb butter that could be used in all sorts of different ways.  I especially made it to go with my Lavender Scones.


Ingredients

100g butter - softened
1 tbs lavender buds
1 tsp honey


Just like with my lavender scones, I used a pestle and mortar to grind the lavender buds.

Add the ground lavender and a nice squeeze of honey to the softened butter.  I used a wooden spoon to mix it all together.

When everything is mixed as evenly as you can, spoon the lavender butter onto a piece of cling film and roll into a small log shape.  Wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Delicious with Lavender Scones or spread on toast or crumpets!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Scones

My beautiful daughter recently gave me a bag of organic culinary lavender.  I love lavender, not only for it's fragrance, but also for it's wonderful healing properties.  Among it's many benefits, including being a great stress and pain reliever, it also helps with digestion, upset stomachs and bloating.  These scones are my first attempt at cooking with lavender.

Lavender Scones

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tbs caster sugar
2 tsp lavender buds
40gm butter - softened
1 cup milk
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)


First, I used a pestle and mortar to grind the lavender buds.  You could also use a food processor or coffee grinder.

Sift the flour into a large bowl with the sugar and ground lavender.

Rub in the softened butter with your fingertips until completely combined.

Mix the milk and creme fraiche together, then add to the bowl, gently stirring with a blunt knife until the mixture becomes a soft, sticky dough.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth.  Using your hands, carefully press out the dough to approx 2cm thickness. Cut into rounds (approx. 5cm) with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a drinking glass. Place scones onto lightly greased baking sheets, or into a lightly greased cake pan. Gently knead remaining dough scraps together and repeat the pressing and cutting out until it is all used.

Brush the top of the scones with a little milk.

Bake in a hot oven, approx. 220 degrees C, for about 15 mins.

Place the scones onto a wire rack immediately after taking out of the oven.

Delicious with Lavender Honey Butter.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Banana Blueberry Smoothie

I wasn't feeling terribly hungry tonight, so instead of cooking dinner I made a banana and blueberry smoothie!  For extra goodness and to ensure I still received the nutrients I need, I also added chia seeds and almond milk!  OMG, it was soooooo tasty! :)  My daughter also loved it!

Banana Blueberry Smoothie with Chia Seeds & Almond Milk

Ingredients

3 frozen bananas
1 handful fresh blueberries
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp chia seeds
3 cups (approx) almond milk


Peel and cut the bananas into chunks and wash the blueberries.

Put the bananas, blueberries, coconut oil, chia seeds and approx. 3 cups of almond milk into a blender.  Turn it on and blend until smooth.

Pour into 3 glasses and drink.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Cold, wintry weather always calls for a warming soup at the end of the day.  The snow stopped me from going shopping today so I had to create something with veggies I had available and came up with this unusual, yet very tasty combination.

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin - cut into small chunks
3 leeks - roughly sliced
1/2 bag kale - roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed
Ground cumin
Chicken stock (I used home-made, but you could use stock cubes and water)
Lemon


Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks, garlic, pumpkin and a good spoon or more of cumin. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables and bring to the boil. Pop a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer for approx 15-20 minutes, until pumpkin is cooked.

Stir the kale into the soup and let it cook for a couple more minutes.

Take off the heat and blend it all together.  (I use a hand blender.)

Squeeze half of a lemon into the smooth soup, stir and serve.

You can add shavings of parmesan, or a swirl of creme fraiche (or both).  I also serve it with In Caryl's Kitchen: Cornbread Muffins.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Red Lentil Dahl with Carrots & Sweet Potato

My daughter has recently decided to try being a vegetarian.  Luckily, I often cook vegetarian meals anyway, so this one was pretty easy.  I used carrots and sweet potato because that's all I had left, before the delivery of my next organic veggie box, but you could really add any vegetable you want.

Red Lentil Dahl with Carrots and Sweet Potato

Ingredients

2 small onions - peeled and finely chopped
3 large carrots - roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato - roughly chopped
3 large garlic cloves - crushed
1 tbs curry powder
250g red lentils
1 400g tin kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 400g tin tomatoes
2-3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley or coriander (cilantro) - roughly chopped
1-2 tbs red wine vinegar


Stir fry the onions, carrots and sweet potato in a little oil, until the onion is softened.

Add the crushed garlic and curry powder and stir until nicely fragrant.

Pour in the lentils and give it all a good stir, then add the kidney beans, tomatoes and stock.  Stir well and bring to the boil.  Cover with a lid or some baking paper and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the veggies are just cooked.  Add extra water if needed.

Stir through the parsley/coriander and red wine vinegar.  Serve over fluffy brown basmati rice or with naan bread.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥