All That I'm Eating

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

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Quiche

By 29 Comments

I used to think of quiche as a dull, beige pastry which got wheeled out from old cookery books from time to time and no one was particularly fussed about it. Turns out I was wrong. It’s a most excellent pastry. I cooked my smoked salmon and broccoli quiche a few weeks ago, divided it up and froze it in wedges. Now I’m working from home I love to have something interesting for lunch. When it’s quiche day, it’s the best day of the week.

The freshness of the broccoli and spinach combined with the flavourful smoked salmon is a winning combination. It feels rather luxurious to have it for lunch. read more

Apricot and Coconut Granola

By 13 Comments

apricot and coconut granola

I used to think I didn’t like dried apricots. As it turns out, I do, but only the extra squidgy unsulphured ones. When you bite into them or pull them apart it’s almost like they are full of thick honey and you can see the strands of sticky apricot trying to hold on to the other half. They are the perfect addition to some apricot and coconut granola; a burst of sunny-day flavours for breakfast is how I like to start my day.

ingredients

You will need (for a big jar of finished granola):

  • 350g oats
  • 150g mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamias, walnuts or whatever you like)
  • 75g seeds (poppy, linseed, sesame or whatever you like)
  • 75g desiccated coconut
  • 125g dried apricots, chopped
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 120ml honey or maple syrup

method

In a large bowl mix together the oats, nuts, seeds and desiccated coconut.

Preheat an oven to 150C and line two large baking trays with baking paper.

Add the honey (or maple syrup) and coconut oil to a small pan and heat gently until the coconut oil has melted. Stir everything together to make sure it’s well combined.

Pour the honey and coconut mixture over the granola ingredients and mix everything together really well with a large spoon.

Tip the granola onto the lined baking trays and spread the mix out over the tray so you have one even layer.

Put the trays into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until it’s smelling toasty. Remove the trays from the oven, mix everything together well and then put back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes so that everything gets evenly toasted. Be careful not to let anything catch but do leave it in long enough for everything to be a lovely golden colour.

Remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool. Add the chopped apricot to the granola mix then tip into an airtight container.

This amount of granola will last two of us at least a fortnight having a generous serving with yoghurt.

I love how dark the apricots are amongst all the other ingredients. You can of course use the orange dried apricots, or any other dried fruit that you like to make it your own. The combination of apricot and coconut together I really like and I think I’d add some coconut flakes next time for more texture. I like to serve my homemade granola over yoghurt and my OH likes to add some to other cereal and make both go a little further.

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!

Autumn Vegetable Minestrone

By 14 Comments

stirring the vegetable minestrone

The weather has certainly changed, although I do consider November to technically be in autumn things have started to get much wintrier. With ice in the mornings, digging scarves and hats out of the drawers and the fire blazing it’s definitely the time of year for soup. The more filling and comforting the soup the better and my autumn vegetable minestrone is exactly that; a restorative bowl of loveliness. Filled with six different vegetables including beans to bulk it all out it’s simple, speedy, cheap and delicious.

Ingredients

You will need (for four hearty bowls):

  • 1 large leek, ends removed, sliced £0.25
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced £0.25
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced £0.05
  • 2 tbsp olive oil £0.10
  • 1 large handful kale, shredded £0.30
  • 1 mug frozen peas £0.15
  • 2 nuggets frozen chopped spinach £0.15
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock £0.20
  • 100g orzo (or other small) pasta £0.20
  • 1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed £0.55
  • Salt and pepper £0.02

Total £2.22

Method

Start by getting a large lidded saucepan on a low heat. Add the leek, carrots and garlic along with the oil to the pan and cook on a low-medium heat. Cook with the lid on, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes.

Increase the heat of the pan slightly and add the kale, frozen peas and spinach. Leave for a minute or two to bring the pan back up to temperature before pouring in the hot stock.

Bring the pan to the boil then add the orzo. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for six minutes.

Add the beans to the pan along with some salt and pepper and cook for four minutes more.

Check the seasoning before serving.

I love that this minestrone is so full of veg and is really substantial and hearty too. The pasta and cannellini beans really fill you up and because it’s not blended each of the vegetables retains its own texture and flavour. This recipe is a great way of using up all those autumn vegetables in the fridge; you could add diced tomato or pepper for a beautiful hit of red too. It freezes really well so it’s ideal for a bit of batch cooking and when it comes to summer, there’s a delicious summer version to try too!

P.S. If you haven’t discovered frozen chopped spinach yet it’s a great freezer staple. I chuck a couple of the nuggets in all sorts of food for extra veg; so convenient!

Harissa Roasted Squash and Red Rice

By 7 Comments

Harissa Roasted Squash with red rice and salad

Sometimes things look tastier than they are and I often find that the reverse is also true. This harissa roasted squash and red rice looks ok, if slightly on the orange side, but trust me when I say it is delicious. Full of colour and flavour, the slight spiciness from the harissa works wonders with the sweet butternut squash. Red rice does take longer to cook than white rice but its nutty wholesomeness is well worth the wait. Bung this oven, sit back and get ready for a taste of autumn; it’s ready faster than you’d think.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 1 small butternut (or other) squash, seeds removed, peeled and roughly diced
  • 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp Harissa paste
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Salt and pepper

 

  • 4 tbsp yoghurt (use non dairy yoghurt to make it vegan)
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt and pepper
  • Red rice
  • Salad

Method

Start by getting an oven preheating to 180C.

Mix together the squash, onion, harissa paste, oil and seasoning in a bowl. Make sure everything is well coated in the harissa. If you like it hotter you can always add more harissa. Tip the mixture onto a baking tray trying to get everything on a single layer.

Bake the squash and onions in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the squash is soft and starting to turn golden.

While the squash is baking cook the rice according to packet instructions; it normally takes 25-30 minutes.

Stir together the yoghurt, paprika and a little salt and pepper.

Serve the squash up with the rice and salad and dollop the smoky paprika yoghurt over the top.

I was really surprised how much oomph the paprika yoghurt brought to the whole dish; it was a great cooling contrast to the hot harissa and it married the veg, rice and salad together so well. The harissa roasted squash was really punchy and the salad fresh and crisp. There are lots of different harissa pastes out there, some are much better than others, so keep trying them until you find one that you like. Wonderfully orange this meal almost glows from the plate, tremendously healthy and filling and ready in under 45 minutes. That’s the kind of weeknight cooking I’m after.

Granny’s Oat Biscuits

By 18 Comments

Granny's Oat Biscuits - pile

When I was young I baked with my Granny at any opportunity. She’s got mad cooking skills and will beat anything together that looks like it’s not going to work, portion up a raw chicken to freeze in the blink of an eye and somehow manages to produce amazing food from seemingly nothing. Safe to say, she knows what she’s doing. However, we made these biscuits once together and, thanks to a timely phone call from my Mum, somehow both forgot to add any sugar to the dough. We made some very successful crackers but it wasn’t quite what we were aiming for. Almost 20 years later I thought it was probably time to give Granny’s Oat Biscuits another try.

Ingredients

You will need (for 16-20 biscuits):

  • 125g margarine
  • 80g sugar
  • 80g oats
  • 175g plain flour
  • Pinch salt

Method

Start by putting your oats into a food blender and blending them to a coarse powder; a few big bits are fine.

Beat the margarine and sugar together then mix in the flour, oats and salt. Mix everything together with all the strength you have in your upper arms. It will look like a bowl of lumpy powder but keep on mixing and you’ll get a dough.

Preheat an oven to 150C and line two trays with baking paper.

Roll the dough out until it’s 3-5mm thick then cut out with a biscuit cutter. Re-roll and cut until you run out of dough.

Pop all the biscuits onto the prepared trays and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven then take off the trays and leave to cool on a cooling rack before storing in an airtight container.

Success! All the ingredients were added in this time; Granny was very relieved to hear this news. I planned on taking some round for her to try but we accidentally ate them all. There’s something that the blended oats give to the biscuits that make them extra tasty; I’m not sure if it’s the nutty flavour or extra crunchy texture. I think these biscuits are great on their own; a celebration of simplicity and something that can be made and baked in under 30 minutes. However, if you wanted to go a bit fancy-pants you could add a little orange zest to the dough or maybe dip the biscuits in chocolate once they’ve cooled down. Delicious additions and something I think I’ll be trying with my next batch. Which hopefully some of, will reach my Grandparents.

Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin Cocktail

By 20 Comments

Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin Cocktail - ready to drink

I made my quince gin as a way to use some of those delicious fuzzy fruits that grow in the garden. The gin has come out a wonderful, pale canary yellow colour and makes a divine gin and tonic. It is in fact so delicious that it deserved a mix up of its own, something to complement the quince’s distinctive flavour. I love using herbs in drinks and puddings and I wanted to add a botanical twang to this drink. A Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin Cocktail is the way forward. Trust me.

Ingredients

You will need (per drink):

  • 50ml quince gin (recipe here)
  • Juice ½ lime
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • Tonic

Method

Roll your lime ferociously before halving and squeezing it out to get as much juice as possible. Put the juice into a small glass with the sprig of thyme. Muddle the lime and thyme together to release the oils from the thyme. Strain the infused lime juice into a serving glass.

Add the quince gin to the lime juice and give it all a mix. Top up with tonic and serve. You can stick another thyme sprig in the glass to make it look snazzy if you like. I did. Yolo.

If you’ve got ice cubes at your disposal then a couple would make a welcome addition to this drink.

Considering this looks like quite a summery drink it screams of autumn flavours. Quince is such an autumnal fruit and woody herbs like thyme always make me think of slow cooking, roasts and chilly evenings. If you’ve not tried quinces before I thoroughly recommend you scour your local greengrocers or farmers’ markets to track some down; they are so worth finding. They have such a fantastic, almost tropical flavour which coupled with sharp lime and earthy thyme is a cocktail certainly worth trying. If you absolutely cannot find quinces you could always plant a tree, or failing that, you could use pears.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Lemon and Black Pepper Cod with Birds Eye

By 18 Comments

Lemon and Black Pepper Cod with Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Rice, finished

When I’m thinking of ways to treat myself in the middle of the week I like to try and make my life as easy as possible. I prefer to make things where everything is cooked together, or use the same tools. For example I would always try to steam any vegetables over potatoes or pasta that I’m cooking, or if I’m roasting something I try to put everything in the oven. That’s what this meal is all about; grabbing a few bits and bobs from around the kitchen and lifting a meal into something delicious. So, instead of going for a standard fillet of fish, I tried the Lemon and Cracked Black Pepper Lightly Dusted Cod from the Birds Eye ‘Inspirations’ range and works so well with sticky balsamic roasted veggies.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 2 Birds Eye Lemon and Cracked Black Pepper Lightly Dusted Cod fillets
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil (for roasting)
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 120g mixed rice
  • Couple handfuls rocket
  • 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Get a large pan of salted water on to boil.

Mix the onions with the olive oil and a little salt and pepper on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for ten minutes.

After ten minutes add the tomatoes to the tray with the balsamic vinegar and the rosemary then return to the oven for 20 minutes. Put the cod on a separate baking tray and put this in the oven at the same time.

Cook rice according to the pack instructions (it should take around 20 minutes).

When the rice is cooked, drain well then add the juice from the lemon and a good helping of black pepper.

Stir the roasted tomatoes and onions through the rice then serve everything together with a good handful of rocket.

Give everything a little drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil before eating.

I think this works so well as a meal because there’s only a little bit of prep work to do and it’s all ready at the same time. The combination of lemon and black pepper cod works so well with the faint rosemary flavour from the roasted veg; the cod itself flakes apart so easily. The onions and tomatoes bring sweetness, the vinegar adds a lovely sticky glaze and the lemon and rocket bring a little freshness too. Depending on which rice you use (I used a basmati and wild mix) will give different flavours and textures to the finished dish. This would of course work with cous cous or quinoa if you preferred and you could mix the veggies up depending on what you had in your kitchen. Delicious, fresh, full of veg and ready in only 30 minutes.

This is a sponsored post and I was reimbursed by Birds Eye for my time and ingredients. All opinions and words are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support me.

Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Olives

By 11 Comments

Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Olives

Sometimes you end up with all sorts of bits and pieces in your fridge; half a bit of something there, a few nibbly bits leftover here and I find these little pieces a great source of inspiration. This recipe is a speedy one which makes use of a few ingredients I can find in my fridge more often than not. Lovingly referred to as ‘pasta with fridge bits’ this particular version was a delicious Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Olives and Mozzarella.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 175g spaghetti
  • 1 ball mozzarella, torn into smaller pieces
  • Small handful olives, roughly chopped
  • Small handful fresh basil, large stalks removed, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat an oven to 200C. Put the cherry tomatoes into an oven proof dish in a single layer. Drizzle over the vinegar, olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes into the oven for 20 minutes.

While the tomatoes cook bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente.

Drain the spaghetti and retain a little bit of the pasta water (two tablespoons will do) then stir through the tomatoes (and any juice in the dish), mozzarella, olives and basil.

Serve up and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil.

I like to serve this on a big dish so everyone can help themselves. It also leads to potential lady-and-the-tramp moments if you share the same plate. Perhaps not one to try on the new neighbours. I love how the cheese melts through the hot spaghetti and sticks everything together; every mouthful is different. The tomatoes are sweet and acidic, the cheese creamy, the olives salty and the basil adds its distinctive herb note. For a meal made out of odds and ends I think it’s a mighty fine dish.

Easy Meatballs with Herby Tomato Sauce

By 11 Comments

Easy Meatballs with Herby Tomato Sauce

I often get left with a collection of fresh herbs. I don’t have a freezer so can’t freeze them for future use and even if they come in a pot, they always seem to die on me. This recipe is a great one for using up almost any fresh herbs you have hanging around (except maybe mint, keep that for the gin). As if this recipe wasn’t useful enough already it also contains super easy meatballs, made from sausages, for minimum fuss and maximum taste.

You will need (for four):

  • 4 large herby sausages
  • 350g tagliatelle (you can use any other pasta)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 small garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped, most of the seeds removed
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Small handful fresh basil and parsley, large stalks removed, roughly chopped
  • Oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper

Get a large frying pan onto a low heat and add a little oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook gently, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir the tomatoes (canned and fresh) along with the oregano into the onion and turn up the heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is thickening squeeze the sausage meat out of the sausages into a bowl and then roll the sausage meat into meatballs. Whatever size you like; I ended up with 23.

Put a separate frying pan on a medium/high heat and add a little oil. Fry the meatballs until they are nicely browned all over and cooked through. Remove the meatballs and drain on kitchen paper.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the tagliatelle. Boil for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain the pasta well then stir the tomato sauce, meatballs and fresh herbs before serving.

Using sausages for this is a brilliant shortcut and adds a great flavour; try using some spicy sausages for a bit of a chilli kick if you fancy it. The fresh herbs in this really lift it up and make it a little more delicate. The fresh tomatoes add a nice bit of sweetness; you can add a little sugar to canned tomatoes but I don’t like to add sugar to a savoury meal. I hope these  pasta recipes have given you a bit of inspiration for your meals (there’s one more to come). I try to make all my meals the same way as these pasta recipes: simple, full of flavour, quick and inexpensive.

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