All That I'm Eating

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

Maple Salted Popcorn

By 22 Comments

Popcorn ready to pop
Nothing gets stuck in your teeth like popcorn. Every time I eat it I am optimistic about the forthcoming pearly white issues thinking, “No, it won’t be like last time. I’ll be extra cautious”, but yet I’m forever picking bits out of my teeth in the popcorn aftermath. This is never a good look. Why do we do it to ourselves? I know I’m not the only one. I can think of one very good reason: because it’s damn delicious, there’s nothing else like it and when you make your own you can truly make it your own.

Ingredients

You will need (for a big bowl for two):

  • 75g popping corn
  • 1-2 tbsp flavourless oil
  • 1 tsp nice sea salt
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Get a large pan with a lid on a medium/high heat.

Drizzle on a little oil and swirl it around so it covers the base of the pan.

Put the popcorn into the pan and put the lid on (it helps if it’s a clear lid).

Keep the pan swirling around so that the popcorn doesn’t catch and wait for the corn to start popping.

Keep the pan moving until you can’t hear (or see) any more pops.

Remove the pan from the heat and take the lid off to let any steam escape. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Bacon and Cheese Pasta Bake

By 14 Comments

It’s a bit weird here at the moment. The days are warm but the nights are surprisingly cold; light lunches but also still comfort food dinner season. The purple sprouting broccoli season is upon us and as much as I like it cooked simply, maybe with a butter sauce, I am craving carbohydrates and big warming meals at the moment. My bacon, purple sprouting and cheese pasta bake is ideal. read more

A spring Saturday picnic

By 11 Comments

I hope that I am safe to say spring has finally sprung. Knowing my luck next week will be full of hail storms and icy conditions but if that is the case then at least I enjoyed the sun while it lasted. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I am a big fan of dining al fresco and there’s not a season that I haven’t attempted to make the most of cooking or eating outdoors. Picnics, barbeques and even making gravy outside when there’s not enough room on the hob; any excuse.  read more

Leek, Cheese and Potato Pie

By 16 Comments

cheese potato and leek pie ready to serve
I like pastry. I also like cheese and I would happily barge anyone out of the way to get my hands on a cheese, onion and potato pasty. The perfect combination of cheese, potato, onion and pastry can be hard to find and I like chunks of potato and onion not a mush; so I thought I’d best go about making my own version so I can make it just right. It’s also British Pie Week next week so the timing of my pie baking is ideal.

Ingredients

 You will need (for a pie for four):
1 medium potato, peeled and in small cubes
 £0.20
1 large leek, finely sliced
 £0.50
1 tbsp plain flour
 £0.02
75ml milk
 £0.05
125g strong cheddar cheese, grated
 £1.00
Small handful chopped chives
 £0.20
Salt and pepper
 £0.02
Small knob of butter plus extra for greasing
 £0.10
Milk for brushing
 £0.02
Readymade and rolled shortcrust pastry
 £1.50
Total
 £3.61

Method

Boil the potatoes and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender then drain and put to one side. Fry the leeks on a medium heat in a little butter for around 10 minutes, until softened, then add the flour. Cook for a minute then add the milk and stir well while heating to make a thick sauce. Add the potato, cheese, chives and salt and pepper to the cooked leeks. Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a pie dish with butter. Take two thirds of the pastry and line the pie dish. Trim any excess pastry, prick the base with a fork, line with greaseproof paper then fill with baking beans or rice and bake for 12-15 minutes then remove the beans and greaseproof and return to the oven for 2 more minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry case. Brush the edge of the pastry base with milk and roll out the remaining pastry. Top the pie with the pastry and press the pastry well onto the pastry base. Trim any excess and brush the top with milk.

Cut a slit in the top of the pastry then put back into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

The leeks and chives in this give a brilliant green colour to the pie so it’s not all beige. I liked that the filling wasn’t too wet and stodgy but you could clearly see and feel the potato and leek. Comfort food is always welcome, particularly when it’s mostly carbohydrate based and this was my perfect dinner on a rainy evening this week. Not only exactly what I wanted but also a bargain for four people. You could of course make your own pastry but when I’m as busy as I am now, readymade and rolled is my best friend. read more

Spelt and Dark Chocolate Pancakes with Yoghurt and Honey

By 21 Comments

spelt chocolate pancakes
When the weather gets like this there is only one way to improve the situation; to fill your belly with buttery things. More specifically spelt and chocolate pancakes. It seems to have been raining forever recently! Each time I glance out of the window there is never even a peep of blue sky and hardly any bright daffodils to remind me it is in fact Spring. But no matter, I have honey at the ready.  Perhaps not the healthiest advice to give, a more svelte person might suggest a nice jog in the park but it wouldn’t quite cut the mustard for me. No, when my fingers are still blue in March I need chocolate and sticky sweet things. That’s where these Spelt and Dark Chocolate Pancakes fit in nicely. Rachel’s Organic sent me some Greek Yoghurt with Honey to try and I thought it would work nicely with these pancakes.

Ingredients

You will need (for around 16 pancakes):

  • 200g spelt flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 40g caster sugar
  • 20g melted butter, plus extra for cooking
  • 1 egg
  • 275ml milk
  • 40g dark chocolate chips
  • Yoghurt with honey to serve

Method

Start by sieving the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together the melted butter, egg and milk until well combined. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture and add the chocolate chips. Give everything a good stir to make sure it is well incorporated.

Heat a little knob of butter in a frying pan until it just starts to foam and then drop the pancake mixture in using around 2 tbsp of the batter for each pancake.

Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown before flipping them over and cooking the other side. Don’t be tempted to flip too early as you could end up with miserable looking pancake. read more

Coconut Yoghurt Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit

By 29 Comments

I find I get a craving for tropical flavours this time of year; pineapple, mango, dragon fruit and such but it’s a bit of a bore to just eat it raw.

I have been enjoying a coconut yoghurt with banana for breakfast but I wanted to make something creative with it. I do like yoghurt on its own but I think it gives a great flavour to icings, ice creams and other desserts. I like the tang and interest it brings and so it was high time I got my Hawaiian shirt on to start making a delectable panna cotta. read more

Double Sausage, Cheese and Egg Muffin

By 20 Comments

sausage cheese and egg muffin
What’s your guilty pleasure? I have to confess I very much enjoy a particular sausage, cheese and egg muffin from a well known fast food restaurant. I know, shameful. However I am admitting it now as part of trying to cleanse my system. I liked the idea behind the aforementioned muffin; a sausage and egg sandwich really. In order to still enjoy this behemoth breakfast (without the guilt) I needed to try and make my own version. Not only was I going to attempt to fill my guilty pleasure gap I was going to improve on the original.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 4 cumberland burgers
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 thick slices of mild cheddar cheese
  • 2 muffins

Method

I was lucky to be able to get these cumberland burgers from the farmers’ market and without them it wouldn’t have been the same. I reckon you could make cumberland burgers if you can’t get them by squeezing the sausage meat out of some nice sausages and making burger shapes.

Start by frying the burgers until brown on the outside and cooked through. Meanwhile get another pan on the heat to fry the egg in. I fried my egg inside an upside down pastry cutter so it was the same size as the muffin. Maybe a bit unnecessary but I didn’t want odd shaped egg white hanging out of my muffin; it would have ruined the effect! When the egg is almost ready and the yolk still gooey get the muffins toasting. read more

Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Broccoli Stir Fry

By 19 Comments

Kohlrabi, carrots and broccoli
I get a seasonal vegetable box delivered. I like it because it forces me to try new vegetables and recipes to make the most out of what I have. I shouldn’t admit it but I’m going to: there are some vegetables I could live without. It’s terrible I know but I could happily frolic through life without missing celery or leeks. There are also some vegetables that I adore for a short time but when they turn up in my fridge over and over again I’m tempted to put them on the compost. There’s only so much cabbage a person can eat without genuine fear of becoming a brassica. This recipe was devised because of the cornucopia of vegetables residing in the fridge. You know it’s time to use up as many as possible when you can no longer close the door. 

Kohlrabi was the most intriguing vegetable of the lot; it looks a bit like an octopus. Dinner was to be designed around a loving partnership of kohlrabi and carrot.  Toasting sesame seeds is one of my favourite smells.

For two people:

For the carrot and kohlrabi salad:

  • a quarter of a kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
  • three small carrots, peeled and julienned
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • black pepper  
  • 2 tbsp of toasted black sesame seeds

For the broccoli stir fry:

  • Handful purple sprouting broccoli, woody ends removed and chopped
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 sachet miso soup
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • Oil for frying
  • 2 noodle nests

I always remove the ends of the purple sprouting broccoli as I can find them to be a bit woody. You could leave the broccoli stalks in their entirety but they might be a tad tricky to consume gracefully at the table. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Parmesan Pasta

By 18 Comments

Purple sprouting broccoli has to be one of my favourite vegetables. Its arrival on my plate with the warmer weather tells me that in a few weeks time I will be enjoying asparagus. It’s delicate appearance and slightly sweet taste is brilliant with so many foods. I like mine nice and simple; with copious amounts of garlic infused oil and coronary shattering piles of Parmesan.  read more

Rhubarb Sorbet and Shortbread

By 22 Comments

Rhubarb
Rhubarb has been making a few appearances of late and there are only so many crumbles you can eat without wishing for a little variety. Rhubarb has so far featured on here as Rhubarb and Custard and Rhubarb and Blood Orange Compote. It’s been with something else; something to cushion the blow of its out and out sourness. Now is the time to embrace the wonderful cheek puckering that rhubarb provides with a decadent rhubarb sorbet.  

I managed to get hold of some delicate Champagne rhubarb and set about making my sorbet. Two large sticks of rhubarb weighed around 500g which turned out to make enough sorbet for four. Discard the ends of the rhubarb before cutting into inch sized pieces. Put the chopped rhubarb in a pan with small amount of water and about 80g in total of sugar. When I make sorbet I always add a tablespoon of glucose syrup and half the sugar I think I’ll need. The glucose syrup gives it a certain texture; it sort of makes it sticky and gives a thicker mouth feel. read more

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