Eat: Peal Barley and Chorizo Risotto

This is an easy, delicious and fairly budget friendly midweek supper. Delicious enough to serve up to friends and comforting enough to curl up with on the sofa in front of your favourite box set. The recipe uses pearl barley instead of your usual risotto rice and it gives the risotto a little bit more bite and a nuttier flavour too. Even better, at less than 60p a bag {from Morrisons at least!} it brings the cost of making a midweek risotto right down into my budget suppers corner. If that wasn't enough to make you give it a try, Pearl Barley is full of the good stuff. It contains plenty of fibre, potassium and other vitamins and it's low GI keeping you fuller for longer.  Give it a try and you won't miss your usual risotto rice, I promise! Winner winner {risotto} dinner.

Eat: Pesto baked cod

This post might be a little bit like teaching your granny to suck eggs. This recipe is that simple. That said, it is delicious and worth sharing. You're going to need:

sweet potato

kale

tomatoes on the vine

cod

pesto

Eat: Chilli non Carne

This is a lovely and horribly easy recipe that fills the mid-September evening trifecta: comfort food {without the expanding waistline}, purse friendly {still 10 days from payday? Use whatever is in the fridge!} and utterly scrummy.

Eat: Banana Pancakes

With both a holiday and my graduation coming up, my mind is rather vainly on my waistline. If the thoughts of graduation photos weren't acting to spur on me along on the diet front, the idea of slipping into a bikini sure is.

The Aries in me wants to follow in the TOWIE cast's footsteps and declare 'no carbs before Marbs' but what that really means is 'no carbs until Friday night when I convince myself that weekend calories don't count'. Oh well! Instead, I'm trying to make healthier choices as much of the time as possible - the house is packed up with fruit and veg, there are tins of soup in the cupboard and more lean protein in the fridge than you can shake a stick at yet there is one bone of contention. Snacks. S is a mean snacker - whether it's hummus and toast or biscuits - and whilst he seems to never gain a pound, I can't say I've been so lucky. Yet snacking - and particularly, pudding - continues to call my name, especially when we're curled up on the sofa together and S is snacking away.

At this point, you are possibly wondering what on earth a pre-holiday/graduation 'diet' has to do with a giant stack of pancakes. Prepare to be pleased my friends.

Banana pancakes - one of my favourites. Yet these consist of only 2 ingredients - eggs and bananas. There's no flour, no added sugar, nothing. I had googled them earlier today, certain that I had read something about diet-friendly pancakes and this is the website that came up. Count.me.in. I mashed up 2 bananas, beat together 3 eggs and gave the two a good whisk and voila. Now, they maybe could've done with a dash of cinnamon {which I didn't have in the house} but when plated up with strawberries and the tiniest drizzle of honey they are divine. Save to say, I devoured this 'example' pancake seconds after I took the photo.

I think S may have a fight on his hands to prise any away from my diet driven hands.

Love B x

Eat: Chicken, Mushroom and Pancetta Pie

Now, lets be honest. This baby isn't going to win any awards for its looks but it was utterly delicious and perfect for a Sunday afternoon where I was feeling a little 'fragile'. Plus, it was the inaugural pie in my new {to me} enamel pie dish. I had had my eye on these for a while {after watching a few too many Jamie's 15 minute meals} but I was reluctant to spend basically any money on them. This one was a stonking 99p in a charity shop that I happened to pop in to and it's the perfect size for a generous pie for two. Clearly the charity shop gods were smiling on me that day!

Eat: Prawn Ramen

This was another Slimming World Recipe that I knocked up during my week off. I had my first Wagamama experience not that long ago - late to the party, I know - and I was particularly envious of the giant bowl of ramen that Sandy ordered. Looking for some healthier dishes to plate up saw me stumbling across this one and I just had to give it a go. It packed full of vegetables and you could limit or bulk up on noodles as much or as little as you like. We made probably enough for 3 or 4 and S was quite happy to polish off the rest of the portions which gives you a clue as to how more-ish it is. The addition of the ginger and the chilli give it some much needed heat that makes it a perfect comfort food dish without being too heavy.

Eat: Profiteroles

With yesterday being Valentine's day and all, I knew I wanted to rustle up something good to eat. M&S provided the bulk of the meal, I must admit {you can't lose when you can get scallops, steak, chips, strawberries and wine for 2 for £20} but I was determined to take charge of the dessert portion of the evening.

Eat: Spaghetti with prawns and chilli

This is a really simple midweek supper that I pinched from a SW magazine. I try not to eat pasta too much {though give me a bowl of carbonara and I am in heaven} though this one is packed full with so much vegetable and lean protein that I can forgive it. Plus it's got a real kick of chilli that fires up the ol' metabolism {doesn't it?! Yes...it definitely does. Shush}.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti {or any pasta shape that takes your fancy}
King prawns {mine were cooked and frozen}
6 Spring Onions
A couple of teaspoonfuls of lazy garlic or a couple finely chopped cloves
Some plum tomatoes {or, because I was emptying the fridge, the regular kind}
A red chilli
Rocket

Cook the spaghetti til it's cooked to your liking then drain, cover and put to one side to stay warm. Meanwhile, finely chop up your vegetable ingredients, all except the rocket, and de-seed your chilli. Pop the spring onions, garlic, chilli in a frying pan over a medium heat with a little bit of oil. Stir fry for about 5 or 6 minutes until the spring onions are softening and the garlic is golden brown. 

Stir through your chopped tomatoes and continue to stir and fry for another couple of minutes.

Chuck in the prawns and give them a good stir too. Make sure they're properly cooked but don't over do it - no-one likes a rubbery prawn.

Finally, stir this mixture through the pasta. Add the roughly chopped rocket and give that a stir too! Plate up and enjoy with some garlic bread if you're feeling indulgent.

I loved this recipe - there is a fiery kick from the chilli and it's full of lovely summery colours to brighten up your day. Thanks to the pasta base it still feels like a bowl of comfort food. S would have forgone the rocket and made a proper tomato sauce {this was the feedback for Sunday night's dinner} buuuut then it would be a totally different dish, wouldn't it? I've been really organised this week and had all our shopping delivered which means we have loads of delicious options for food {huzzah} but then I remembered pancake day is tomorrow and there is nothing I like more than pancakes for dinner so I am thrilled! Hopefully I'll still get plenty of different meals on the go this week instead of the repetition of a few classics that have got us through my past 3 weeks on placement!

Love B x

Eat: Aubergine Parmagiano

..Otherwise known as heaven in a bowl.

Now I'm trying to embrace a healthier attitude to food this year so this is maybe not one to eat every night {so.much.cheese} but on a rather cold and snowy Friday evening it was the perfect dish to tuck into.

Ingredients:

2 aubergines

1 60g bag of grated parmesan cheese

1 ball of mozzarella

1 jar of tomato sauce {I used the kind with extra garlic and onion. Of course you can make your own but I was going for simplicity here}

Slice the aubergines up, probably no thicker than 1cm or so then grill them until toasted. Flip over and toast on both sides. I did mine in a griddle pan but if you're watchful you can stick them under the grill until they're golden brown and delicious. Put them to one side.

Put a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven proof dish and sprinkle over a helping of parmesan cheese. Cover this with a layer of aubergines. Repeat this until your ingredients are used up - I think I managed about 3 or 4 layers?

On the final layer, cover your aubergines with a layer of tomato sauce then dot generously with mozarella. This is optional but I am a big mozarella fan and had some in the fridge so it would've been rude not to invite it to the party. Alternatively you could cover it with breadcrumbs and/or more parmesan.

Bake in the oven on gas mark 5 for about 30minutes. I ate mine with a baguette that I chucked in the oven half way through and a tiny side helping of salad {token gesture right there}. It probably would serve two people with bread and salad though I could've happily eaten the lot!

LoveBx

Eat: Pork with petit pois française {ish}

This was a pretty simple mid week dinner with a fancy name that makes it seem like you put in far more effort! I'd seen the petit pois recipe in/on Jamie's 15minute meals and played around with it a little bit. As usual, this is a pretty ad hoc recipe but if you like blue cheese, it's definitely worth a shot!

Ingredients:

Blue cheese {the blue-er the better in my book!}

creme fraiche

Pork loin

1 tin of peas

Bacon lardons

Iceberg/Romaine lettuce

Chicken stock {I just used cubes}

I fried the pork on a medium heat {follow the instructions on the pack!}. In a pan, fry off the lardons and then add about 100-150ml of chicken stock. Let this come to the boil and then add the peas, turn the heat down and let it simmer away gently. Keep an eye on it whilst you're cooking - if it doesn't seem to be reducing down, you can always stir through some cornflour to thicken it up.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of creme fraiche over a medium heat and crumble in some blue cheese. Stronger flavoured cheese means you have to add less, but I love the stuff so tend to go a little overboard. I could probably eat this stuff with a spoon if it wouldn't send me into a cheese coma and/or to an early grave. 

When the pork is cooked through, take it off the heat and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, roughly chop a handful or so of lettuce and chuck it in with the peas. You want it to be just wilted. Plate up all together and devour accordingly.

Bon Appetit!

B

x

Eat: Midweek Supper

Back to the blog with some food. Typical! Cooking is up there as one of my favourite forms of procrastination and as far as I'm concerned, it's win win because as procrastination goes, I've still got to eat. Even better if it's rather delicious. And delays essay writing for another 10minutes...

This was a recipe from Jamie Oliver's 30minute meals that I tweaked a bit. I find the recipes a bit confusing as they jumble up the steps for the all components. I understand why - to talk you through making the meal in 30 minutes - but it makes it a bit tricky when you don't want to cook the whole caboodle. This rice and sticky prawns dish took under 15minutes to knock together and was delicious.

Firstly, stick a mug of basmati rice on to cook on a medium-ish temp. Cover with 2 cups (the same cup!) of water and a pinch of salt, put the lid on the pan and leave to simmer away. I made FAR too much for 2 people so remember to use a smaller mug depending on how many you are cooking for.

Meanwhile mix together a glug of sesame oil, olive oil and chinese five spice. Stir through the prawns til they're all nicely coated and leave them to marinade for a few minutes {I used pre cooked king prawns though Jamie suggested scallops in the original recipe. It would certainly make for a delicious dinner though you'd have to adjust cooking times accordingly}.

In a separate bowl. whisk together 3 eggs, a tablespoon of sesame oil, a tablespoon of soy sauce, some salt, pepper and finely spiced spring onions. Take the lid off the pan of rice, fluff it up with a fork then pour the egg mixture on top. Turn the temperature down loooooow, replace the lid and leave it to cook for another 5 minutes.

Chuck the prawns into a preheated pan {the timing of this will obviously depend on whether you're using fresh or precooked prawns, or scallops}, add in a tablespoon of honey and some chilli sauce {I used chilli jam that I had made - not too sweet but just enough of a kick!}. If you use prawns, the sauce might get a liquidy so just drain some off as you go until it starts to get a bit stickier.

Take the lid off the rice and add a good dose of sweet chilli sauce over the top. I served this with broccoli that I had boiled (pre-boiling the water in the kettle meant the veg could be done right at the last minute) then tossed in some soy sauce. It was an incredibly easy and delicious midweek dinner.

I'm feeling a bit uninspired at the mo {plus the weather is properly autumnal at the moment so all I really want to eat is carbs, carbs, carbs, preferably in the form of mashed potato} so I definitely think I'll be trying out more of these recipes!

Any suggestions?

Love B x

Eat: Steak and Ale Pie

I was set on relaxing this weekend {which is surely a bit of an oxymoron...} after the intense first couple of weeks on my PGDE. The course is brilliant but seriously time and energy consuming - as I knew it would - meaning personal time seems to be have been side stepped in favour of textbooks, subject knowledge and lots and lots of reading. So this weekend, there was some me time, wine, a long long run and nowsome proper cooking. The kind that involves a little investment {though not too much} rather than a mad dash midweek supper that you just want on the table. Proper sunday food.

Pie and mash. Specifically, steak and ale pie and mash. Lovely.

I followed this recipe from Jamie {love him} though I have to say I adjusted it a bit. First, I definitely didn't whack it in the oven for over 2 hours. I'd missed that bit when I first skimmed the recipe {though it should've been kind of obvious}. I imagine you'd end up with meat that literally falls apart as you eat it which would be perfect, but sticking it to simmer on the hob for an hour or so instead didn't do it any harm. I also skipped on the rosemary and celery though categorically not the cheese. Adding cheese to anything is a winner in my book, so the thought of a steak pie with cheese AND mash? I've died.

I did try to mainly leave it alone when it was simmering, stirring just once or twice. That said, the smell of it cooking was diving and it just drifted round the flat. It definitely took all of my willpower not to keep tasting and faffing with it.

We have a friend staying with us too {Gok, it's your moment in the spotlight} so I made sure to make a rather hearty serving for 3 and it was delicious. The recipe says 4-6 and it was about the right amount but that depends on whether you like your portions manly man sized or normal human sized. It was perfect for a sunday evening, popular with ladies and men alike. Maybe not your light summer food {and yesterday was one of those rare, light summer days} though delicious none the less. I'm embracing Autumn already.

Next on my list is apple cake. My mum used to bake one all the time when we were younger and for some reason it's been stuck in my mind this week. And some more reading.

LoveBx

Eat: Fish Supper

Well, not quite. Not in the traditional sense, at least. Whilst I do love a fish supper, this was such an easy, healthy dinner to knock up and it only took about 15 minutes all in - less time than it takes to pick up a fish supper from the chippy.

First up the sauce - tomato, garlic, onion and chorizo. Use a tin of chopped tomatoes and then play around with quantities depending on what you like most. We love garlic and chorizo so we maybe went slightly overboard on those ingredients but it was delicious. Soften up the onion for a couple of minutes first {in either oil or a spray} before chucking in some garlic and a generous helping of diced chorizo. Let it fry away for a few more minutes until everything is softened up - keep stirring it so nothing burns! Then add your chopped tomatoes and some seasoning, turn down the heat and let it bubble away.

Whilst that is heating through, spray your fish and pop it in the oven for about 15-18 minutes. I used haddock but I'm pretty sure you could use any white fish and it wouldn't make a difference.

Lastly, in the last 5 or so minutes, pop some green veg {we used purple broccoli} and some new potatoes on to cook through before draining and serving with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper.

Really simple, really healthy and really tasty.

LoveBx

Eat: Chocolate Mousse

So, as I mentioned, my lovely friend Alice provided the pud to go with the mushroom lasagne overload I was telling you about earlier this week. It was delicious. Even after an obscenely {amazingly} rich main, I couldn't help but inhale the lot. The raspberry coulis helped a smidge, cutting through the rich chocolate with a sharp sweetness. I insisted she share this with everyone and voila. Hope you enjoy as much as we did:

Delia Smith is my culinary hero and I always turn to her recipes before anything else, as the well loved/splashed pages of my copy of her book will tell you. Jamie is another favourite in our flat – his chicken satay or curries from scratch have definitely been staples this year. But my search for a quick chocolate mousse ended with Nigella. I had considered her talents as doe eyed looks at the camera and flurries of silk dressing gowns rather than cooking excellence, but this recipe has been popular with friends, and so maybe I will have to peruse some more of her recipes...

Chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis

Carefully separate 4 eggs and hang on to the yolks. Whisk the whites in a clean bowl until just stiff – this took longer than I thought but keep going to get as much air into them as possible as it will make the mousse lovely and fluffy. Slowly heat 240ml of double cream in a saucepan until it is just about to boil. Finely chop 240g of dark chocolate and stir into the cream until melted. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and whisk together. Gently fold a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture with a metal spoon, trying not to knock any of the air out. Fold in the remaining egg whites and then spoon the mousse into little pots (I used those little Gu glass ramekins but wine glasses would also look good). Chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. These measurements make 7 full to the brim ramekins, so use smaller pots or double the mixture if you are catering for more people. 

As a finishing touch, decorate with a couple of raspberries and drizzle over raspberry coulis. To make the coulis simply whizz up a punnet of raspberries (200g ish) with a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar in a food processor.

Delish.

The next dessert I’m going to try is Delia’s profiteroles, I’ve been promised they are quick yet impressive!

Sounds good right? I am adamant that Alice needs to embark upon her own culinary blog because I am just as happy to read about it as I am to eat the results. If you agree, please do chime in with a comment or two.

Love B x

Eat: Wild Mushroom Lasagne

We had some friends round for dinner last night and having been completely stumped about what to make, we stumbled across this recipe. We had originally been thinking light and summery, though this recipe {and the weather} turned out to be neither.

It is chock-a-block with cream and cheese but was utterly delicious. It was incredibly rich though so I would probably make one or two adjustments if I made it again. Firstly, oil and butter to start? I ignored that straight away - not necessary in my book. I'd probably substitute cream for creme fraiche - I think the tang of the creme fraiche would actually be a welcome balance to the strong mushroom flavour whereas the cream and cheese was a bit ott.

I used a mix of Taleggio cheese and gouda because a) Taleggio was really expensive in our local supermarket and b) I thought it might be yet another strong flavour. I thought it was delicious but if you aren't a fan of strong cheeses there would be no harm in just using a mild, melty cheese {like emmental or gouda for example} just for texture alone.

Finally, I used normal mushrooms and a bag of dried mushrooms that I soaked for extra flavour. Delicious if you love mushrooms but if not, stick to just run of the mill button cups and you'll get enough flavour without it being overwhelmingly strong. The sauce cooks for long enough that it can't help but develop flavour as it reduces so there is no concern about it not being tasty.

We served it as small portions with a rocket side salad and red onion garlic bread. The side salad in particular {with tomatoes, cucumber and balsamic vinegar and oil dressing} was a great shout as it balanced out the richness of the lasagne well, cutting through the rich cheese and cream sauce.

It was a lovely evening - with good company, good food and good wine. As with all our get togethers, I love cooking and everyone else chips in something else, whether it was wine, cheese or pudding. My lovely friend made a delicious chocolate mousse with a raspberry sauce which I will share with you later next week.

The rest of today will be spent moving very little {I'm still full!} and getting myself ready for going back to school. The last 4 weeks start tomorrow and I'm sure they'll fly by in a whirlwind of reports and lesson plans.

What did you do this weekend?

Love Bx