All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Five Minute Salmon Noodles

By 14 Comments

I blinked and it is the end of January! I can’t believe this is my first post of 2021. But these five minute salmon noodles are quite an apt recipe for now. I’ve been working from home and the appeal of toast and sandwiches has worn pretty thin. However, I don’t want to be making a time consuming lunch each day. So I started to think about food I could make in a few minutes; a few basic recipes which will add variety to my working week and be a doddle to make.

I used some sweet chilli hot smoked salmon for these noodles. It was reduced and I used it for two lunches (the other of which I’ll tell you about below). A handful of fresh vegetables, dried noodles and a soy dressing made from store cupboard ingredients are all you need for a delicious lunch in minutes. read more

Saint Clements Breakfast Juice

By 9 Comments

saint clements breakfast juice with lime

Eating an orange as it comes is something I do not enjoy. Peeling it and eating it makes such a mess and there’s pith everywhere; slicing it into segments and chewing the orange flesh from the skin isn’t particularly pleasant either. However, slicing it and adding to desserts or using the juice is something that I think it worth the time. Nothing beats properly fresh orange juice. A nice glass of Saint Clements breakfast juice was on the cards with my latest delivery of oranges; a fantastically zingy way to start the day.

Ingredients

You will need (for 2 glasses):

  • 3 large oranges
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 lime

Method

I find it easiest to squeeze fruit into a large jug so that the majority of the juice ends up getting caught and it’s easy to pour out.

Squeeze the oranges and lemon into a jug and give it a quick stir. Careful to pick out any pips that fall in! I don’t mind if any bits of orange or lemon flesh get into the juice but if you’re not a fan of bits you can always strain it.

Pour into glasses and add a few slices of fresh lime. You could add a couple of ice cubes too.

For such a simple recipe it works wonders to wake you up in the morning! All those fresh, zesty flavours really pack a punch and the lemon keeps the sweet to sour balance just right. I much prefer juice to a smoothie in the mornings so this is my perfect idea of a breakfast juice. You could add some sparkling water to turn this into a longer soft drink, or mix in a little gin or vodka for a cocktail. A sprig or two of fresh mint would be a delicious addition too.

Upside Down Lime Cake

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upside down lime cake sliced and served

Citrus in January is obligatory as far as I’m concerned. Whether its limes, lemons, grapefruits, blood oranges or, if you’re lucky, bergamot lemons there’s always got to be something citrussy in the kitchen. That sharp hit of acidic, fresh taste is just what I need on these cold, grey days and if that lifting flavour can be added to a cake then it’s all the better. This Upside Down Lime Cake was born out of necessity; my need to be greedy and a need to use up all the limes I had in my fruit bowl.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 100ml golden syrup
  • 1 lime, finely sliced
  • 100g unsalted butter, softened
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 100g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Zest 1 lime

Method

Start by greasing a 20cm cake tin. Don’t use a springform cake tin otherwise the golden syrup will leak out!

Pour the golden syrup into the tin and then put the lime slices on top.

Preheat an oven to 180C.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Properly softened butter is the key to this.

Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar beating well after each addition.

Fold the flour, baking powder and lime zest into the mix then pour everything into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is baked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes then turn the cake out upside down onto a plate.

I was amazed how much the limes had shrunk after I turned the cake out; all that flavour had seeped into the syrup and sponge. The flavour of lime is so distinctive, I think it’s one of my favourite tastes, and this cake distracted me completely from the drizzle outside. The limes themselves are a real treat to chew on after the sponge has been eaten; so sharp, sticky and intense. Also, I don’t think I’m biased in saying this is an excellent cake, the OH described it as, “The best cake ever”.

Chipotle and Bean Soup

By 11 Comments

mixed bean, sweetcorn and chipotle chilli soup

I really struggle to know what to have for lunch sometimes. Usually I am scrambling round in the cupboards trying to find some sort of suitable sandwich filling but I do get terribly bored of sandwiches. If I’m lucky I’ll have some keptovers to warm up and I do pay a visit to a local independent café from time to time too. Well enough is enough. I have decided to batch cook and freeze a range of healthy, filling, vegan soups; one of which is this Chipotle and Bean Soup. So that I can grab whichever soup I fancy and not have to think about what’s on the meal plan for dinner I am making them vegan, stuffed full of veg and flavour packed. I hate to have the same thing for lunch and dinner you see!

Ingredients

You will need (for six portions):

  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • ½ chipotle chilli, chopped
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 700ml passata
  • 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
  • 1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 mug frozen sweetcorn
  • Juice 1 lime
  • Oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Start by heating a little oil in a large saucepan and adding the onion and pepper. Fry on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes until softened. Add the spices and chipotle chilli and cook for two minutes more.

Pour in the passata then refill the jar to half full with water, rinse the jar then add the water to the pan with the vegetable stock and beans.

Simmer for 15 minutes then add the sweetcorn, bring back to a simmer and cook for five more minutes.

Squeeze in the lime juice then add a little seasoning.

Leave to cool and divide between freezable containers then leave to cool completely before freezing.

Currently I have two soups on the go in the freezer, this one and my Autumn Vegetable Minestrone. The problem is that I don’t have enough Tupperware left to make any more soup at the moment; I shall need to rectify that and get some more ASAP! Another soup that I will be making a big batch of to add to the soup drawer is my Split Pea Dahl. I’m also planning some sort of chickpea harissa soup and maybe a nice pea, potato and mint too. Five in total, one for each day of the week. And yes, before you ask, I do label each of my soups up and stack them neatly in the freezer; the satisfaction and uniformity brings me much joy.

No Alcohol Pomegranate Mojito

By 11 Comments

bashing the lime and mint together for mojitos

When it comes to adult soft drinks there are some good options but I don’t like any that are overly sickly and sweet. Fruit juices can be good but they are a little dull; I’m after something which is a bit snazzy. A drink where there has been a little effort put in. My no alcohol pomegranate mojito is so easy to make and packed full of flavour, the pinks and greens are so lovely together and using tonic rather than lemonade gives this mojito a nice bitterness. I made these recently for two guests that came round as I knew both of them wouldn’t be drinking and they went down a treat. You can’t go wrong with mint and lime together as far as I’m concerned.

Ingredients

You will need (per glass):

  • 2 quarters cut from a lime
  • 2 small sprigs fresh mint
  • Pomegranate juice
  • Tonic water

Method

Start by putting the lime and mint together in a glass and bashing them together with the end of a wooden spoon. You can use a muddler if you have one. Squeeze the lime juice out and bruise the mint well to let all the flavours mingle.

Pour the pomegranate juice in until the glass is about two thirds full then top up with tonic water.

If you have any pomegranate seeds or ice to add in they would be great additions.

Pomegranate has such a rich fruity flavour that works really well with the slightly bitter tonic to lift the drink up. The sharp lime and aromatic mint are classic mojito ingredients and you could of course add a little rum if you wanted to. Soda water would be worth a try instead of the tonic too. I like to add a little mint leaf or lime wedge to the side of the glass so it looks a bit more special. I can see several more of these being mixed up soon!

Miso Roasted Aubergine with Rainbow Chard and Soy Dressing

By 14 Comments

miso roasted aubergine with chard and brown rice

There’s a bit of a miso theme on the blog at the moment. For two reasons: firstly, miso is delicious and secondly, it’s expensive and you have to buy quite a lot. So I needed to use up my stash and I really wanted to have a go at my own miso roasted aubergine. Most of the ingredients used are pretty standard store cupboard staples; I was pretty amazed how much more than the sum of its parts this recipe is. It’s fantastic, if I do say so myself, and my miso glaze and my soy dressing will be making many future appearances in my kitchen.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 2 aubergines (normal purple ones are fine but if you can get stripy or white ones they do look lovely and are slightly smaller)
  • 150g brown rice
  • 5 stalks of chard roughly chopped

For the miso glaze:

  • 2 tbsp white miso paste
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp runny honey (use maple syrup or agave to make it vegan)
  • 1 tsp water
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
  • 1 tsp pickled ginger
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Juice 1 lime
  • black pepper
  • 1 tsp sugar

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    Sesame Chicken with Miso Dressing and Roasted Vegetables

    By 15 Comments

    sesame chicken with miso dressing

    Meals which are healthy, filling, full of colour and flavour and balanced are what I try to aim for with my cooking…most of the time. I always seem to come back to the same combination of chicken with some sort of grain; it’s always a winner and none more so with my latest recipe. This sesame sesame chicken with miso dressing is wholesome, flavourful and just the ticket for some quick weeknight cooking.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 2 small chicken breasts
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
    • Salt and pepper
    • Oil for cooking
    • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
    • 150g brown rice
    • 1 small red onion, sliced
    • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks
    • 2 tbsp white miso paste
    • Juice 1 lime
    • 125ml plain yoghurt

    Method

    Start by adding the onion and carrots to a roasting tray, drizzle over a little oil along with some salt and pepper and mix everything together well. Pop into the oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until soft and starting to brown at the edges.

    Bring a pan of water to the boil and then add the rice and cook according to packet instructions.

    Place the chicken in between two sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to make them a little thinner. Sprinkle the paprika, garlic powder, cumin and salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken.

    Get a frying pan onto a medium/high heat and add a little oil. Add the chicken and fry, turning from time to time until the chicken has cooked through and the spices are lightly blackened. Add the sesame seeds to the chicken for the last few minutes of cooking to allow them to toast.

    Whisk the miso, lime and yoghurt together to make the dressing.

    Drain the rice when cooked and return to the pan, mix the roasted vegetables into the rice and serve up with the chicken and dressing.

    This recipe lends itself particularly well to using up Sunday roast leftovers. You could mix any leftover veg into the rice, top with leftover roast chicken and just mix up the quick dressing. The combination of spices with the earthy miso gives the whole dish a delicious undertone; the sharp lime and sweet roasted vegetables add flavour over the top. Red rice or wild rice would be great if you don’t have any brown, the nuttiness of the rice is great in this dish. All in all this is my new current favourite chicken and grain combination!

    Spicy Sticky Chicken Skewers with Very Lazy

    By 22 Comments

    sticky chicken skewers

    As you might already know I am a big fan of simple, straightforward cooking. I suffer from hangryness you see and when I get home on a busy weekday evening I want something full of flavour that can be rustled up in no time at all. So welcome my Sticky Chicken Skewers into your kitchen. They take just minutes to prepare and the whole meal (including potatoes and tomato salad) is on the table in well under 30 minutes. Just because it’s quick cooking doesn’t mean anything should be skimped on, it should still be full of quality ingredients and downright delicious. Word of warning though, you might walk round work all day with a very smug look on your face knowing you’ve got a great dinner to go home to when you get these on to marinate, do try and hide it.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 2 chicken breasts, diced (you could use scored drumsticks, thighs or wings but they’ll take longer to cook)
    • Juice 1 lime
    • 3 tbsp maple syrup
    • 25ml bourbon (don’t worry if you don’t have any, just leave it out)
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 ½ tsp Very Lazy Red Chillies
    • 2 tsp Very Lazy Smoked Chopped Garlic
    • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
    • Salt and pepper

    Method

    Mix together all the ingredients apart from the chicken to make the marinade. The joy of this marinade is that there is no chopping involved, just a spoon of this and a splash of that and it takes no time at all to prepare.

    Add the chicken to the marinade and stir it all together to ensure the chicken is fully coated. Cover and put in the fridge for at least two hours, ideally overnight. I prepared mine the morning before I went to work.

    Put the diced chicken onto skewers reserving any leftover marinade. Top tip – soak the skewers in water for a few hours before using them to prevent them burning when cooked.

    Heat a pan on medium-high and add a little oil. Pop the chicken skewers in and fry, rotating the skewers until the chicken is cooked basting with the leftover marinade. Keep cooking until the marinade has all been added and has reduced down leaving everything lovely and sticky.

    Serve with simple boiled new potatoes and a dressed tomato salad; both of which you can get ready before you fry the chicken.

    I have to admit that I loved this sticky marinade so much that I have also tried it with aubergine slices (I mixed up the marinade and brushed it on when the aubergine was almost cooked) and tofu (ideally an overnight marination) both fried and barbecued and both were excellent. The marinade itself is actually vegan so you could use it on anything you liked.

    It’s the sticky texture of the marinade that really makes it, the flavours get so intensified with all the marinating and reducing. I took time to make this taste just how I wanted it to and I think it has a bit of everything; the soy and maple combination bring savoury and sweet, the lime brings freshness and the bourbon a faint oakiness. The amount of Very Lazy Red Chillies I used gives the finished skewers a mild to medium heat so you can add more or less depending on how hot you like it; the smoked garlic gives a wonderful subtle smokiness to the whole marinade. Now, when can I put them onto the meal plan again?

    This is a sponsored post and I was reimbursed by Very Lazy for my time and ingredients. All opinions and words are (as always) my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support me.

    Elderflower, Cucumber and Mint Fizz

    By 27 Comments

    Elderflower cucumber and mint infusion

    The elderflowers are here and it is the best time of year. If I was more of a poet I’d have come up with a second line to go with that. I’ve been shoving elderflowers into various different things for years: cordial, gin, crumble and sugar to name a few. I wanted to try something a little different, and a bit less time consuming this time round, to get that wonderful elderflower fragrance down my neck as soon as I could. A celebration of late spring flavours my Elderflower, Cucumber and Mint Fizz is just the ticket for a sunny afternoon.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two glasses):

    • ½ cucumber, grated
    • 1 lime
    • 3 heads of elderflower
    • Small handful mint leaves
    • Sparkling water

    Method

    If you can pick your elderflowers on a sunny morning it is said to be better for flavour. Having picked in all manner of different weather I can confirm that sunny mornings are actually better; they certainly smell more intense anyway.

    I leave my elderflower heads on my draining board when I have picked them to allow time and opportunity for any bugs to escape (it’s next to the window so they can go back to where they came from). I then follow this with a good shake outside to get rid of any others that are clinging on.

    Squeeze the grated cucumber into a small lidded container to collect the juice. The leftover grated cucumber is excellent for making a raita.

    Squeeze the juice from the lime into the cucumber juice. Bash the mint leaves up a little, either in a pestle and mortar or just whack them with a rolling pin, and add these to the cucumber juice too.

    Pick the elderflower flowers from the heads, leaving as many stalks behind as possible, and add these to the container. Put the lid on and give everything a good shake. I prefer shaking it as I feel this more violent approach helps to release more oils and flavour.

    Leave to infuse for an hour.

    Strain the cucumber juice into two glasses and top up with sparkling water. Decorate each glass with a little mint leaf if you’re feeling suave.

    This would be really rather delicious if topped up with some Cava or added to a gin and tonic. On its own it is so refreshing and has all the flavours of an English summer; I really like it with sparkling water, or just tonic, sat outside with a good book. It looks so delicate but don’t let that fool you, the cooling cucumber, sharp lime, refreshing mint and elegant elderflower all come through so well. If you are thinking of heading out to pick some elderflowers, check out my beginner’s guide to wild food!

    Sticky Soy Chard

    By 22 Comments

    sticky soy chard

    Chard has such a fantastic earthy flavour and I love using it in all sorts of dishes. I used Swiss chard for this recipe but the rainbow variety would work just as well and look fantastic. My Sticky Soy Chard came about because I wanted to treat the chard exactly as I would treat bok choi; covering it in a savoury, sticky glaze. The chard plant itself does have a habit of getting a bit of mud stuck in the leaves so make sure you give it a good wash before you use it.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two as a side):

    • 1 head chard
    • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
    • 2 tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp runny honey (use maple syrup to make it vegan)
    • Juice ½ a lime
    • 1 garlic clove, crushed
    • ½ tsp five spice
    • Black pepper
    • Rapeseed oil, for frying

    Method

    Snap the chard leaves off the stalk so you have individual leaves. Cut off any larger end pieces from the leaves and give everything a good rinse; if the leaves retain a little water that’s not a bad thing.

    Get a wok or large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and dry fry for a few minutes until toasted. Remove from the pan and keep to one side.

    Add a little oil to the pan then add all the chard. Leave to soften for five minutes or so, stirring regularly. The water left on the leaves will help to steam it.

    Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic, five spice and a little black pepper. Tip this into the pan and cook for a few minutes more until the sauce has turned into a sticky glaze.

    Sprinkle over the sesame seeds before serving.

    We had this for a light lunch and it would be fantastic served with just simple steamed rice. Maybe with a few vegetable spring rolls, crispy tofu or chicken skewers on the side. The glaze has a bit of everything: salt, sweet, sour and a little warmth from the five spice and pepper. When cooked this way the chard stalks retain a little crunch and the leaves wilt to a delicious softness. You could try this glaze with other greens too; cabbage, kale or even brussels sprouts would work really well.

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