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All That I'm Eating

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

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Growing Herbs with Dobies of Devon

July 27, 2016 By All That I'm Eating 4 Comments

Growing Herbs - Rosemary

Whether you have a garden, maybe even a dedicated herb patch in your garden, a window box or windowsill you always have room for growing herbs of your own. I love using fresh herbs in cooking, especially in the summer but I can’t believe the price of buying them from a supermarket. I have a sunny little corner in my garden now where I have a few herbs in some pots but before that I grew them on my kitchen windowsill.

Dobies of Devon got in touch to see if I’d like to share some suggestions and ideas for growing your own herbs. Their website is definitely worth checking out as you can order live herb plants as well as seeds depending on how you want to grow. read more

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: gardening, grow your own

Rocket Gardens

June 8, 2015 By All That I'm Eating 9 Comments

I’m not going to lie. I haven’t been donning my gardening gloves recently as much as I have done in the past. Apparently as you get older you get inexplicably busier and growing my own fruit and veg took a back seat while I was getting on with many other things. Rocket Gardens got in touch to see if I would like to try out one of their kits. Their Patio Container garden seemed like the ideal one for me; lots of it can be grown in pots or grow bags which means minimal prep and digging for me! read more

Filed Under: Books & Reviews, Gardening, Reviews Tagged With: gardening, grow your own, review

Grow Your Own Tomatoes with Heinz and a few other garden developments

June 14, 2013 By All That I'm Eating 11 Comments

Tomato seedlings growing and planting out
I love this time of year; everything is happening and alive. Things are changing colour or from flower to fruit and there’s nothing like watching that happen to something you’ve spent time nurturing. I have a few fruit trees which are easy because other than a quick drink in a particularly dry spell I just leave them to their own devices. It’s only the birds and bugs I now have to find a way to deter from my booty.

The above left picture shows my Heinz tomato seeds after about two weeks inside on a sunny windowsill. The right picture (I’m not sure if they’re that visible) are the happy seven plants that went in last week. They’re in a south facing veg patch which has a brick wall behind to reflect some of the heat; I’ve found this is the best patch for tomatoes. There’s a few more plants coming along indoors which were on a less sunny window sill so I’ll hopefully be planting them out soon. read more

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: gardening

Grow Your Own Tomatoes with Heinz

May 7, 2013 By All That I'm Eating 15 Comments

Heinz grow your own ketchup 2
Growing my own fruit and veg is something I immensely enjoy. I have to admit I have rather a ‘chuck it in and let it get on with itself’ attitude but it’s served me very well in the past. I don’t let myself get bogged down in specific seed insertion depths, lopping off this and tying up that. I figure that if something wants to grow then it will and I only help it along with a bit of watering, weeding and the occasional addition of manure.

When Heinz got in touch and asked if I would be interested in receiving a kit to get me growing my own tomatoes I couldn’t refuse! Spring blossom on my fruit trees, the first unfurl of my rhubarb and the wonderful smell of tomato leaves are my favourite things in the garden. As well as the sound of birds, the seed caught on the edge of the first courgette leaf and the unavoidable acquisition of a suntan. Basically, I wholeheartedly encourage you to get growing!

I’ve planted twelve seeds inside on a nice sunny windowsill and will be planting a few outside under cloches later this week. I’ve never grown tomatoes from seed before so I am looking forward to seeing the results. The warm, sunny weather we have had recently will have set them off to a good start so I can’t wait until they’re ready to pick.
Thank you to Heinz for the goodies and seeds. Disclaimer: there is an incentive to post about the Heniz GYO project as I will receive a hamper if I post three times this year. read more

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: gardening

Plummer Pudding

September 5, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 23 Comments

Plummer Pudding - plums on tree close up
My Auntie Jean was not in fact my Auntie; she was my Granny’s sister which made her my Great Auntie. When I was at primary school I used to gambol back to my Granny’s house every day to have a sandwich, play some cards and on the best days have some sweets. My Auntie Jean’s house was conveniently on the way to my Granny’s and I used to stop off some days to have a glass of squash and catch up on the latest news. Some days the two sisters (and on rarer days the three sisters) would meet up and I would tag along. My Granny and I would walk over to Auntie Jean’s house and have a great afternoon trying to coax the tortoise out of his home and watch him happily munch on lettuce. I didn’t think strawberries could get any better than when served with cream but one very hot day we all sat down to a Wimbledon-esque afternoon and for the first time ever I sprinkled some sugar on top. I licked the bowl to within an inch of its life trying to get every last drop of sugary cream out. 

One of the things I remember about Auntie Jean’s garden was the fruit trees. I think it was back then that I fully appreciated fruit came from trees and not from a packet. Trying to avoid the wasps while picking plums and apples was the aim of the game as far as I remember. Sadly Auntie Jean is no longer with us but her daughter has inherited her fruit trees and was kind enough to let me pick some plums and go back to the garden that I remember from so long ago.

This Plummer Pudding is an unctuous and simple dessert of summer pudding but made from plums. read more

Filed Under: Autumn, Bread, Fruit, Gardening, Plum, Pudding, Recipes By Month, Seasons, September Tagged With: plums, pudding

Peas, Broad Beans and Feta with Roasted Tomato and Chilli Sauce

August 22, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 24 Comments

Peas, Broad Beans and Feta with Roasted Tomato and Chilli Sauce - All That I'm Eating
This is almost the meal that changed my life: broad beans and feta. Until a few years ago I considered any food that wasn’t plain boiled pasta disgusting. I was completely disinterested in anything that wasn’t beige and flavourless. I went to University and had to start fending for myself so a few more exciting things crept into my culinary repertoire; a little melted butter on my pasta for example. I know, exotic. 

I suppose I was what you would call a late flavour bloomer; I think my olfactorary centre and taste buds started to develop with my wisdom teeth. Indeed not only had I grown some physical wisdom I also had some previous culinary knowledge on which to build, and now, more teeth to eat things with. I have always cooked; biscuits with my Granny, cakes and pastry with my Mum and barbeques with my Dad but it wasn’t until 2008 that I really started to experiment. 

At University you become extremely good at procrastination. One of my favourite time wasters was trawling the internet looking for cookbooks. For someone who found flavour offensive I had a pretty large collection of cookery books; I found great pleasure in cooking for others things that I wouldn’t touch with a bargepole. I came across a particular cookery book that sounded pretty good to me; it was over 500 pages long which is a lot of bedtime reading. I ordered it.
What I didn’t know when I ordered it was that it was a book about vegetables; pages and pages of green, red, orange and purple things which were all alien to me but they were organised alphabetically so I liked that. There was one particular recipe that caught my eye, mostly because it seemed cheap. It was green beans with roasted tomatoes. I made it and the textures and flavours were like nothing I’d ever had; the beans were still slightly crunchy and squeaked when you chewed them, the tomatoes were sweet but also acidic. I probably ate more beans at that moment that I had ever eaten cumulatively in my life before. read more

Filed Under: August, Broad Bean, Cheese, Chilli, Dairy & Eggs, Gardening, Lunch, Pea, Quick Recipes, Recipes By Month, Salad, Seasons, Summer, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: beans, lunch, peas, tomatoes

Vegetable Patch Update

July 5, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 15 Comments

Apple Tree - small apples

Oh how the garden doth not grow. If you partake in any form of gardening and live in the UK you’ll know how I feel. I took these pictures about a week ago so they’re slightly old now but it’s not much improved from then due to the persistent, relentless, miserable rain. Normally rain doesn’t bother me because it means my vegetables are happy but June and July have been the worst I’ve ever gardened in. Still, it’s not all bad…

  My apple tree had a pretty feeble blossom this year and I wasn’t sure it was going to fruit but there are quite a few of these little apples adorning the tree so I’m hopeful for a few apple pies. My herbs are doing well but the sage is trying to take over the whole herb patch so I think I’ll need to be a little more ferocious with the cutters than I have been. The rosemary seems to have grown almost a foot so it must be a thirsty plant. I’m not sure you can see it too well but I think that little dark fluffy thing is a potential quince. Let’s hope so anyway, even if I had just one I’d be very, very happy. My golden gages are doing exceptionally well, I planted the tree last Autumn. I thought the frosts and early blossom would have left me gagging for gages but I have a pretty healthy amount considering the size of the tree. I didn’t realise they were russeted but I think that makes them even more charming. With the lack of warm weather I’m not sure when they’ll be ripe for picking. My rhubarb seems to be happily sucking up all the rain and has grown massively considering it’s in the shadier part of the garden. It’s overshadowing my other rhubarb plant though so come Autumn I’ll have to move it. My broad beans are happily growing although there are a few with unwanted blackfly. I love growing broad beans just for the flowers let alone the magnificent and plentiful pods that come afterwards. My tomatoes seem pretty miserable. Normally very thirsty when the weather’s hot they seem depressed at the lack of sunlight. Here’s hoping they’ll perk up and deliver some delicious fruit. My courgette patch is the largest it has ever been with 12 plants gone in and growing well. They do seem almost as upset as the tomatoes so I’m not hopeful of getting any fruit. It’s a shame because these were all heritage varieties; baby blue, flying saucer shapes and knobbly yellow ones. Fingers crossed. I ate the above peas straight off the plant and out of the pod. People say that the peas you grow yourself will be the sweetest. I’ve always thought it’s probably true but would you really notice? It turns out that yes, it is so noticeable it almost smacks you in the face. Not only are they like little drops of nectar but they are so fresh it’s hard to explain. Until you’ve had a pea as fresh as that, you haven’t had a pea. My peas are what I’m most proud of; the reason being that this is the first time I have ever grown them and they are doing magnificently. Well, as far as I’m concerned one pod is a triumph but I’m inundated with them and am waiting for the peas to form.

If you’re thinking about growing your own I have a few tips for you: read more

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: gardening

Vegetable Patch Update

May 13, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 12 Comments

broad beans growing
Vegetable seeds started to go in to the soil and under the cloches back in March and now, in May, all sorts of things are happening. Since the first year I started gardening I grow what I know and always something new. This year I’m growing: beans (broad and purple), peas, courgettes (patty-pan, cousa courgette and bent Summer squash), tomatoes and maybe something else I’m yet to decide on. Peas are the newcomers in the patch this year.

Beans have always worked for me, especially broad beans. Purple beans were a bit hit and miss last year but I’m trying again this year. I plant the beans under cloches a row every two or three weeks from March until now. 

This year is the first year I am growing peas; they seem to be doing well so far. Although tying string around every pea or bean stem is monotonous, I actually quite enjoy it. The peas and beans are successfully avoiding slug and cat attack so far. 

I thought my rhubarb was gone forever; nothing seemed to be happening in the corner where I’d planted it. Finally and with much enthusiasm it has come up and looks fantastic. I think I’ll wait a little longer before I pick any. read more

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: gardening

Delicate Carrot Soup

November 5, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 10 Comments

homegrown carrots

Sometimes carrots can be taken for granted. The base of a soup or stew, added to stock or shoved on the side of the plate. What a shame. They are such glorious things in their own right and there is no carrot sweeter than a home grown carrot. I planted these little beauties a few months back expecting them to be riddled with carrot fly and a complete disaster. The results have been quite the opposite. I am now inundated.

Before you ask, the one second from right is not a parsnip, it is a white carrot. The two on each end are orange and the other is a yellow carrot. I didn’t know what a rainbow I had underground until I pulled them up.
Whether you’re using home grown or bought carrots, a lovely subtle carrot soup has to be the way to go. Carrot soup is one of my favourite soups but the carrots can sometimes be overshadowed with what they are paired with. Sometimes coriander can be a little too much or the orange overwhelms the humble sweet carrot flavours. Not this time though. read more

Filed Under: Autumn, Carrot, Gardening, Herbs, Lunch, November, Onion, Parsley, Quick Recipes, Recipes By Month, Seasons, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: lunch, recipe, soup

Vegetable Patch Recipes

October 9, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 15 Comments

Home grown vegetables
Recently it has become apparent that most of the meals I eat are vegetable orientated. There are two reasons for this; firstly I have a cornucopia of vegetables in my garden at present and each one needs celebrating in its own way and secondly meat is so expensive.  

I can go into Sainsbury’s and pick up four chicken breasts for £6. Not the extra special ones, not the organic ones, just the standard ones. My alternative is to go to the farmer’s market and pick up two whole chickens for £10. These are free range chickens and I would still get four chicken breasts but I would also get four drumsticks, four wings, four thighs and two carcasses for making beautiful stock with. It’s a no brainer really.  read more

Filed Under: Autumn, Basil, Beetroot, Carrot, Courgette, Dairy & Eggs, Eggs, Gardening, Herbs, Leek, October, Onion, Parsnip, Potatoes, Recipes By Month, Rosemary, Seasons, Thyme, Tomatoes, Vegetables Tagged With: gardening, recipe

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Hello I’m Caroline

Welcome to my site All That I’m Eating. You will find inventive recipes using seasonal and foraged ingredients as well as everyday easy meals and a few indulgent recipes too.

I believe humble food doesn’t have to be hum drum so whether you’ve oodles of onions, superfluous sausages or apples aplenty I hope you enjoy having a look around.

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