All That I'm Eating

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

Fairtrade Coffee Shortbread

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It’s #befair fortnight until 12th October which is all about asking the question, “Are we really as fair as we think?”. The Fairtrade Foundation is working to make us aware of small acts of fairness that can make a big change; like switching your morning coffee to a fair trade coffee. The people at the Fairtrade Foundation sent me a variety of coffees to try and I set about making a fair bake. This recipe for chocolate and coffee shortbread uses fair trade chocolate, sugar and coffee. read more

Beetroot Tzatziki, Beef Koftas and Quick Flatbreads

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Beetroot Tzatziki with Quick Flatbreads and Beef Koftas - All That I'm Eating (2 of 2)

Beetroot can be a bit of a pain in my house, other than putting it in a salad or putting it on the side with something I am sometimes at a loss for what to do with it. When I get a bunch I find the easiest thing to do is to cook it all at the same time then peel it and keep it in the fridge for when I need it. Using the beetroot for a beetroot tzatziki was a great discovery and was so good with the beef koftas and super quick homemade flatbreads.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

For the koftas:

  • 200g beef mince
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper

For the beetroot tzatziki: read more

Caribbean Spicy Bean Burgers with Pineapple Chilli Sauce

By 22 Comments

caribbean spicy bean burger
I have been thinking for a while about posting some ‘themed’ recipes on here. The food I eat at home is rarely expensive so I know that almost everything I cook is reasonably priced. This means I can then buy the organic or free range versions of ingredients without breaking the bank. Most of the reason I eat cheaply is because I mostly cook vegetable based meals. If I do have meat I use cheap cuts, or less of it, but I do very occasionally have a fillet steak blowout. A new outlook for me recently is that humble doesn’t have to be hum drum. Hence the first in a new series of blog posts which coincide with my new Saturday morning radio slot on BBC Radio Berkshire (very excited!) where I will create tasty, easy recipes to feed 4 people for £6 or less. First up, these Caribbean spicy bean burgers.

Ingredients

You will need (for four):

For the burgers –
2x 400g cans of mixed beans, drained £1.58
50g breadcrumbs £0.30
2 tsp ground allspice £0.10
Few sprigs thyme, leaves only £0.10
1 egg £0.35
3 spring onions, sliced £0.35
Salt and pepper £0.02
For the pinepple sauce –
1x 227g canned, chopped pineapple in juice £0.43
125g caster sugar £0.19
175ml water £0.00
4 tbsp white wine vinegar £0.18
2 garlic cloves, crushed £0.05
1/2 scotch bonnet chilli, roughly chopped £0.08
2 tsp cornflour £0.03
Salt and pepper £0.02
4 crusty white rolls £1.20
Total £4.98

Method

Put the drained beans into a large bowl and roughly crush them with a masher or the back of a spoon.
Add all the remaining burger ingredients, except the egg, and thoroughly mix together.
Taste the mixture to check the seasoning and when you are happy crack in the egg, mix well and then form into burger shapes.
Put to one side while you make the pineapple sauce.

Drain the pineapple and then put into a saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the cornflour.
Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for around five minutes.
Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste and then mix this into the sauce.
Bring the mixture back to the boil then remove from the heat.
Blend the pineapple sauce until mostly smooth but with some pineapple chunks still left.
Put to one side to cool down. read more

Baked Blackberry Cheesecake

By 22 Comments

baked blackberry cheesecake
You know when you go out blackberry picking you end up eating pretty much all of them and have nothing to show for it when you get home? As much as it is very hard to resist keeping any of the berries for later I thought it would be well worth the effort for a sort of hidden gem baked blackberry cheesecake. Beneath the pillowy layers of soft cheese you can find little bits of sweet, purple fruit. I didn’t have to save too many either as you only need a handful for this recipe. They do say that picking blackberries in October isn’t a good idea as the devil is meant to have peed on them. If you feel like living on the edge then by all means take the risk; if not, a quick trip to the shops should sort you out.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 180g digestive biscuits
  • 75g butter
  • 600g cream cheese
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 150g sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. plain flour
  • Large handful blackberries

Method

Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin. Spring form is your friend for this.
Preheat an oven to 130C.

Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl; I like to use the end of my rolling pin as it’s immensely satisfying. Melt the butter and mix this into the biscuits.

When the biscuits and butter are well combined press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and then chill in the fridge.

Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar then mix in the sour cream.

Add the eggs one at a time then add the flour. read more

Passion Fruit and Jasmine Iced Tea

By 19 Comments

passion fruit and jasmine iced tea
When it starts getting a bit colder and the evenings are getting darker earlier this seems to coincide with me increasing my calorie consumption. I like to think that I’m planning for the winter and storing some (ahem) insulation but really, I think we all know, I’m just plain greedy. To counteract this I have done a bit of exercise; I’m as shocked as you. With exercise comes the desire for cleanliness and a lack of guilt so that is what this refreshing drink is all about.

Ingredients

You will need (for around 1 litre):

  • 3 tsp jasmine tea
  • 1 tsp palm sugar
  • 3 passion fruits
  • Ice cubes
    • read more

    Celeriac Remoulade, Venison and Sourdough Open Sandwich

    By 18 Comments

    Celeriac remoulade venison sandwich ingredients - All That I'm Eating
    I don’t wish to be cruel but a celeriac is never going to win the most attractive vegetable of the year award. To make up for its less than enticing characteristics you would have thought Mother Nature would make it easy to get inside, peel it like an orange for example, but the skin of a celeriac is as tough as old boots. That’s not to say it’s not worth the effort, the hand cramp and the awkwardness; it’s a great root to take some frustration out on.

    Celeriac has a wonderful flavour, sweetness and crunch and it is at its best (in my opinion) when raw. Uncooked root vegetables must be dressed, it would be rude otherwise, and a classic celeriac remoulade is something I’ve always wanted to try. For me the remoulade needs to have creaminess, some acidity, freshness and a little mustard heat. Combine that with some lovely venison, peppery rocket and tangy sourdough and you’ve got yourself a match made in heaven. read more

    Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares with Vanilla Salt

    By 16 Comments

    vanilla salted marshmallow crispy cakes - All That I'm Eating
    Sometimes I feel like I need to let my inner child out and indulge in something so wonderful and absorbing that I can think of nothing else. I wanted to make some marshmallow rice krispie squares, as I had made them once before with great success, but this time they needed to be even more sensuous and luxurious. Thus, these chocolate coated marshmallow rice krispie squares with vanilla salt were born. A bit of a mouthful both to articulate and masticate. I’m sure lots of people claim to have been on the salted caramel scene before it became fashionable but I was not one of them. No. I was on the salted chocolate scene when I was a teenager enjoying nothing more than alternating a ready salted crisp and a bite of chocolate. I have to admit that I thought it was weird and no one would really ‘get it’ hence why I never made stuffing my face with crisps and chocolate in quick succession a public matter. Now is the perfect time to publicise my secret salted chocolate love affair as I have recently been made aware of Vanilla Salt from Halen Mon. They kindly sent me a tube to try for myself.

    You will need:
    50g butter
    300g marshmallows
    120g rice krispies
    100g milk chocolate
    Vanilla salt

    Start by warming the butter and marshmallows over a low heat until melted. Stir in the rice krispies. Put the rice krispie mixture into a greased dish. Those three steps sound wonderfully simple and they do result in exactly what you’d expect them to, however, it’s the bit in the middle you want to watch out for. Once the rice krispies are in it’s a countdown to see how quickly you can distribute and deposit them before you end up like I did. I have never met anything as sticky as this; it could have stuck greaseproof paper to a non-stick frying pan if it wanted to. During the transition from pan to dish the marshmallow underwent some sort of metamorphosis. It changed from being silky and smooth to stringy and awkward. If you had walked into the kitchen at this moment you would have thought I was preparing far too early for Halloween in making my marshmallow cobweb costume. I had to use my hands to scoop the mixture into the dish and then realised I myself was part of the marshmallow mixture and much time and gentle coaxing was needed to extract myself from the tangled web of mallow. If nothing else make this just to have ten minutes pretending you are Spiderman.

    Let the mixture cool before you portion it up. Melt some milk chocolate and either dunk or dribble the chocolate onto each square. Let the chocolate cool for just a minute before sprinkling the vanilla salt crystals over the top. You want the crystals to stick to the chocolate but not to dissolve into it. Leave to cool.

    I knew what to expect from the rice krispie square before I wrapped my teeth around it but I was really surprised at how the other flavours and textures turned this into an incredibly generous treat. Imagine: firstly your teeth crunch slightly on the chocolate and salt and then sink down into a pink pillow of fluffy marshmallow interrupted by the crisp cereal. Then you get the mouth coating that only chocolate can provide interspersed with sweet and chewy marshmallow and the crunch of the rice krispies. Finally there is the unctuous vanilla salt rounding the whole thing off. This is a treat for all the senses. read more

    Pears Poached in Elderberry Wine

    By 21 Comments

    Pears poached in elderberry wine - All That I'm Eating
    Pears are funny things. They make us wait for that moment of perfect ripeness and when it occurs we have to eat them immediately. I had two conference pears in my fruit bowl. Every time I went into the kitchen I could see their skinny, stalked tops just poking out over the bowl looking at me, testing my patience. These pears seemed to be staying forever firm; even after four days there wasn’t a whisper of softness. Pears poached in red wine is a classic but not something that I’ve ever tried. If anything was going to soften these pears it was being simmered in alcohol. Not just any wine mind but Elderberry wine. Poaching pears is incredibly simple, takes around half an hour and is brilliantly tasty. I also quite like how the pears look afterwards; slightly over to one side almost as if they are drunk.

    You will need:

    2 firm pears 1 bottle Elderberry wine 100g sugar

    Start by putting the wine and sugar into a pan and bring it to a simmer. While you wait for the wine to warm peel the pears and cut the bottom off so that they will stand up when cooked. When the wine is simmering add the pears and leave for 20-30 minutes or until soft when tested with a skewer.

    Remove the pears when they’re soft and then turn the heat up on the wine. Boil the wine until it has reduced to a thin syrup. Depending on the ferocity of your flame and how much evaporated while the pears were cooking this can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Bear with it though and don’t give in to impatience; pears in wine soup would I’m sure be delicious but it’s not quite what you’re after. Serve the pears with their syrup. read more

    Quince baked with Honey and Star Anise

    By 20 Comments

    Quince baked with Honey and Star Anise - baked
    Being a rare fruit I would have thought that a quince would be grateful when somebody bought it and allowed that person to enjoy its flavour with ease. For something so elusive it puts up a pretty good battle when you want to get into it. You wouldn’t have thought so by looking at it; a curious undulating shape and light brown fuzz all over it looks like a right cutie. The glorious smell entices you in and before you know it you’ve picked up a few felt festooned fruits.

    Quinces need time to be tantalising; it’s not one for the lunch box. This is a great way of turning your determinedly firm quinces into soft, sumptuous fruits that you can use in a myriad of different ways. When the ground is covered in fallen leaves and the evenings are slightly cool, the smell of this wafting from the kitchen is unimaginably warming.

    You will need:
    3 medium quinces
    300ml water
    3 tbsp runny honey
    1 star anise
    (Lemons)

    You will also need a very sharp knife, determination and a whole lot of lemons. Once exposed to the air the flesh of a quince browns like no other; blink and you’ll think your quince has been replaced by a muddy potato. To prevent this you need to put lemon juice on everything the quince is likely to touch; chopping board, knife and even the quince itself. It’s also advisable to squeeze some lemon juice into a bowl of water to store the quinces when they’ve been peeled. read more

    Curried Squash Soup with Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

    By 27 Comments

    Curried Squash Soup with Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
    Squash to me is just something orange taking up precious room in my fridge. I have no desire to hack into it, scoop out the seeds and cut up the rest to make something I wish I hadn’t bothered putting the squash in to. I don’t hate them as such; I’d just rather not have anything to do with them. A squash is plain awkward and it knows it. It’s well aware I don’t want it there and it doesn’t want to be there. I’m sure it had grand visions of being made into a wonderful pie or part of a roasted vegetable medley but now it’s stuck with me and it’s going one of two ways; in the compost or in the dog.  Perhaps I am being unkind. I am the only person I know who doesn’t like it. People seem to love it but it’s the texture and flavour which sets me convulsing. However, due to the ever growing list of people who have a deep affection for squash I felt like I should give it one more try. One more attempt for it to win me over before I deemed it only suitable for composting or, in a mad moment of desperation, a secret Santa present.

    You will need (for two big bowls):

    • 1 squash (I had an onion squash), chopped
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 1 clove garlic, chopped
    • 3 tsps curry powder
    • 1 litre vegetable stock
    • 1 sachet concentrated coconut milk
    • Handful pumpkin seeds
    • ½ tsp each of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and cardamom seeds
    • Oil for frying
    • Salt and pepper

    Fry the onion in a little oil until starting to soften and then add the garlic. Fry for a minute more and then stir in the curry powder.

    Keep frying for a few minutes to allow the spices to warm up and coat the onion.

    Add the squash, give it all a final mix and then add the stock and coconut milk.

    Leave the squash to soften for 20-30 minutes before blending. Check the seasoning and keep it warm until you’re ready to serve.

    Take your spices, adding or removing any that you deem fit and add them to a dry frying pan with the pumpkin seeds. read more


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