All That I'm Eating

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

Orange and Caraway Cake

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I didn’t mean to make this cake. I was sat there minding my own business and my mind started to wander. It wandered into realms of freshly baked things, delicious wafting scents and warm moist sponge. My imagination ran away with me and before I knew it my hands and arms were creeping in to the fridge and searching for butter and eggs.

There have been many times where I’ve fancied something in particular and invariably I never have what I need to fulfil my requirements. But this time I did. I was having one of those days where I just needed a bit of warm cake; a spontaneous bake if you will. It was also one of those days where a plain sponge just wouldn’t do; I wanted some spice in my life and so this orange and caraway cake was born. read more

Greek Style Baked Spaghetti and Feta

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Greek Style Baked Spaghetti and Feta
When I was on holiday I endevoured to try as many new Greek foods as possible. I stopped at sampling some of the more unusual (lamb’s brains in intestine) but immensely enjoyed the baked goods and baklava. One of the things I tried and absolutely loved was tomato baked spaghetti with feta; Italian Greek fusion maybe. Either way after a day at the beach, and a carafe of very easy to drink red wine, this meal was exactly what I needed.

Foraging in Greece would be an amazingly acidulated affair; lemons, limes, olives, figs and pomegranates were dripping from the roadsides. I loved the fresh herbs that were used in all of the hot food I had and that no matter where you went bread and dessert were obligatory and free of charge. I had a great time and I can’t wait to try and recreate some of the great flavours I tried while I was over there. Here is my interpretation of one of my favourite dishes.

You will need (for two):
Olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 fat clove garlic, chopped
400g cherry tomatoes
Small handful of basil and parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
170g spaghetti
200g feta read more

Making Sloe and Hedgerow Gin

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picking sloes for gin
Apart from autumn being the time for pumpkin soup, squash in all its forms and stews galore it is also the time for making sloe and hedgerow gin. There are some sloe purists who will not touch this lovely berry until a frost has been. Then there are those like me who pick them nice and early and speed nature up a bit. Either way if you’ve got sloes around it means it’s time to make some sloe and hedgerow gin.   Whether you decide to make sloe gin, hedgerow gin or both you will need to wait a little while before it’s ready. But that’s part of the fun of it, knowing that stashed at in a corner of a cupboard somewhere you are sitting on a purple elixir which is just perfect for sipping in the winter.  

Top Tips

I very much advise you wash your sloes before freezing otherwise you might end up with a few (used to be) living hedgerow beings in your finished gin. I’m not sure anybody would appreciate you pouring them a spider.

When you go out to pick your sloes I must warn you that 1kg of sloes is a good couple of hours of work, scratched wrists, attack of the stinging nettles and excellent fun if you take a friend. I’m not making it sound very appealing but what you get at the end of all the work makes it so worthwhile. You can take a look at this handy guide if you’re new to foraging to help you identify the sloes. I also have a few golden nuggets of foraging advice too. read more

Caramelised Apples

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apples

Apples are everywhere at the moment. They are falling out of trays at the market, falling off the trees along the road and falling onto my plate at any given opportunity. As much as I enjoy an apple on its own, it has to be a good one mind, sometimes you can have too many to know what to do with. Apple cakes, crumbles, pies and flapjacks are all lovely but I wanted to enjoy some apples at their very best and not shrouded by too many other flavours.

These caramelised apples are so quick and simple. They are wonderful to have for breakfast, a light, filling snack for the afternoon and an unctuous end to a meal. Get yourself four apples, any will do but I prefer sharp, juicy apples. Core the apples and cut into slices or chunks.  read more

Vegetable Patch Recipes

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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

Quince and Apple Pie and a Pastry Lesson

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farmers' market pastries

Pastry has to be, without doubt, the best cradle, blanket or hat for any rich, sumptuous bed of fruit, meat or vegetables. It is that crunch, that warmth and that way it crumbles which makes it just so. I thought of pastry as my nemesis. Stupid stuff that was invariably delicious when prepared by anyone but myself. All this was to change when I met Jane. 

Jane makes an awful lot of pastry. She is Jane of Jane’s Kitchen and prepares a marvellous amount of amazing pastry each week for different farmers’ markets around the area. There are trout and caper parcels, Moroccan mountains, seasonal fruit tarts and some classic pies. Best of all Jane uses as many ingredients as possible from the farmers’ market.  read more

Quince and Apple Crumble – adventures with the quince

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The quince used to be a hidden fruit. It seems it was embarrassed of its furry skin, ever varying sizes and odd looks. I had heard rumours of it returning to its former glory and I kept my eyes peeled and nostrils ready for a sight or a whiff of this mysterious fruit.  read more

Buttered Toffee Apple Crumble

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When one suffers from less than optimal circulation in the extremities, they certainly know when the days are shortening and the evenings cooling. To rectify this and to warm the cockles there was only one thing for it. Apple crumble. read more

Seasonal Stir Fry

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It is almost the end of the week and time to use all that is left in the fridge to make room for all next weeks new and exciting food. Trips to delicatessens and markets have been planned in.

I found some stir fry strips lurking in the freezer that I had bought from a lovely lady from Challow Hill Meats at the farmers’ market. This meal seems somehow to always be ready at just the right time, it all comes together precisely at the end. read more

Quick Cheat Risotto and Roasted Vegetables

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Apparently I have become a magnet for books and other similar reading materials. Old and new, modern and traditional, there is not a manuscript that passes me by without a glance or sometimes a purchase. Because of this new exponential accumulation I needed to reorganise and rearrange my boudoir in preparation for a charming new bookcase I had clapped my eyes upon. I wrestled with the idea of what to have for dinner and I knew this rearrangement would take many hours. Do I have a quick sandwich and feel an intense sense of disappointment or…Quick cheats risotto and roasted veg. read more

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